Hijinks Mingle

[potentite]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere around the hub!
When: Days 103-105
Open/Closed: Open mingle!
Notes: See this post for details on the moon prompt and this one for the telepathy/dream/spirit prompts!



[A | Flower Gleam and Glow]
[The nearby moon is still passing close to the hub island, meaning the effects are still in play. Perhaps now is the time to stop and smell the large lit up sparkling moonflowers that have bloomed? Or be annoyed by the mosquito-like insects that came with them.

Alternatively, the deer seem to draw some sort of energy from the moon's light. Given their size, at least their sudden aggression and proximity to the base camp isn't the worst thing in the world but a kick would still break a rib or other bone so be careful! Possibly help each other deal with these cute but troublesome fauna.]



[B | Eavesdropping]
[For some reason, the telepathy will suddenly get rather wonky. Characters won't know why it's happening, though of course no doubt there will be ponderings, but it means characters won't be in control of their ability to broadcast — or more specifically, not broadcast — their thoughts. Time to find out secrets of an embarrassing nature. Or maybe something sadder is going on in your character's head.

If this wasn't bad enough, the area around the signet might experience burning or tingling. Just try to keep a lid on your brain for the day and distract yourself from any annoying pain.]



[C | Talking In Your Sleep]
[Or maybe your character just doesn't have the most interesting thoughts. Maybe they're busy thinking about pie instead of their upsetting childhood. That's fair. Pie is great.

But surely sometimes it haunts their dreams. With the telepathy running amuck, it's no wonder dreams and nightmares are leaking through, too. Of course, it doesn't have to be an accident. Feel free to grab a friend and share a fanciful dreamscape together on purpose! But for those nuts that are tougher to crack, accidents can and will happen.]



[D | Who You Gonna Call]
[Last but not least, as Friday rolls around, there seems to be something odd going on with the island. If your character is inclined towards the spiritual or supernatural, they'll no doubt notice the strange heavy thickness hanging around. There are whispers in the air and all of new energy just feels solemn. Might be good to give people a heads up and keep an eye on it.]

Comments

[talim]

[ SOUNDS GOOD TO ME ]

Madoka... she's been incredibly helpful. I've been teaching her about first aid for awhile now, and she's always working hard, doing her best. You could call her my assistant.

[ he hums, thoughtful. ]

You two are different, but that's not a bad thing. The world needs more people like Madoka. She's something else.

[ jude can't help but think that... if madoka is the sun personified, then homura is the moon. that's the impression he gets, when he thinks of the two side by side. ]

She's too selfless, though. Reckless, even. She needs someone looking after her. A good friend, a person who knows her and cares about her.

[ it's obvious enough, but his expression and tone of voice make it more than clear that he's referring to homura being that person herself. ]

[antemeridian]

[ ... if they're exchanging little, small stories, then... ]

... She was the class health officer in school. The nurse's aid. It really only meant that if anyone needed to go to the infirmary, she would be the one to guide them there and help them through the small things, always with encouraging words for even the most timid or useless of students.

I'm not surprised... that she'd be the same here.

[ it's a good way to remember the Madoka that was. a normal girl, from before she had the weight of the world on her shoulders that Homura couldn't protect her from, all the despair that ever was and will be. Madoka is here, of course— but Homura has carried and caged away years of memories of Madoka.

telling them as stories sets them free. keeps them alive outside of her and Madoka, even if she's trying not to think of when Madoka might have to— go, again. ]

She has always been this way. [ she agrees, and there's the faintest trace of something wistfully fond in her tone. Homura isn't looking at Jude anymore, thoughts and focus elsewhere in the distant past. ] Madoka is... she's gone to such lengths to save a cat, once. A stray, who'd gotten hurt. She cried over it and tended to it and then took it home, took it in, then asked me not to tell someone else, someone she respected, because she thought it'd seem silly.

[ a little more quietly, then, her gaze flickering low to the ground: ]

I don't know how someone like her ever thought to befriend someone like me. You think much of someone you hardly know, Jude Mathis.

[talim]

She mentioned it, I think, but she didn't go into detail about what a nurse's aid was, exactly.

[ a beat passes. he can feel the weight of homura's words; he can feel the weight of the burden she's carrying on her shoulders. for such a small and demure girl, it's a weight that jude doesn't think she— or anyone else— should have to carry. he doesn't know the details, but he's perceptive enough to realize that she's fragile. that her heart is heavy. ]

Madoka will befriend anyone, but she's special to you, isn't she?

[ jude can tell. he can tell by the look on her face and the tone of her voice, that overwhelming fondness. ]

Whether you understand it or not, she cares about you. That's not something that I can see changing. Isn't it better to accept that? To grasp that knowledge and hold it close, rather than trap yourself in your own self-doubt?

I... understand. I've been there, myself.

[antemeridian]

[ her gaze flickers back up to jude; a side glance. then she's carding her hair behind and ear. 'special,' of course, or whatever right she had to lay claim to such a thing.

but. ]

You misunderstand. I understand that she cares. And regardless of how she may or may not feel about me, there isn't anything that would stop me from trying to protect her... from trying to look after her, as you say.

What I doubt is my ability to be the kind of person capable of doing so properly.

I am selfish, cold, and indifferent, Jude Mathis. I do not trust people. I do not care for them before they have done the same for me; I am not strong enough for that kind of generosity. The day I take Madoka's care for granted will be the day I've finally lost my way.

[talim]

Would a selfish, cold, and indifferent person recognizes those flaws in themselves? Would a selfish person acknowledge being selfish? Would a cold person take the time to stand here and talk to me? Would an indifferent person really care about those things at all?

[ it doesn't make sense to him. ]

... I hate to break it to you, but despite what you're so insistent on convincing me of, you're not going to push me away that easily, Akemi Homura.

Selfish, cold, and indifferent people don't protect others at all. I can't claim to understand everything, but I understand that much.

[antemeridian]

Of course they could. None of those traits imply a lack of self-awareness, after all. Nor do they preclude being able to care for someone.

[ but she sighs, quietly. she's a little thrown by his bothering to argue otherwise; it isn't as if he has anything to gain in it. ]

I don't know why you're determined to think better of me, but it doesn't matter.

[ an inelegant topic change, but- ]

What do you think of these disturbances, then?

[talim]

[ jude shakes his head. he isn't prepared to argue with her. she's right; they've only just met, but jude trusts his instincts, and his intuition tells him that homura is not a bad person.

whether she accepts that or not, that's just how jude sees it. ]

I think they're ultimately harmless, but there's definitely something going on. Something changing. What that is... I couldn't tell you.

[antemeridian]

[ her lips purse a little at his reaction and response, though which part of it is unclear. she made the point she has to, so why does she still feel somewhat off balanced?

but in the end she also relents, bowing her head and allowing her shoulders to slump just slightly. ]

... I hope you're right.

[ she wishes she could relax, really, but not with what she knows. different world different circumstances, but her own experiences make it too hard to be forced to simply take a wait and see approach. ]

[talim]

[ a troubled frown tugs at his lips. he can feel just how unsettled he is by looking at her. ]

Hey, try not to worry so much, okay? I know I can't exactly tell you what's going on, but I'm sure things will be all right.

[ he doesn't have proof of that, but that's just how jude gets by. believing in that hope. ]

[antemeridian]

[ she doesn't seem entirely convinced, but: ]

I suppose. There is no use... in worrying pointlessly over things we have no control over.

[ another quiet sigh, but she forces her posture to ease some. reasserting logic to help compartmentalize, even if it doesn't do anything about the lingering heaviness in the air. ]

[talim]

You're right about that.

[ jude hesitates, uncertain as to whether or not it'd make her uncomfortable, but he reaches out to give her a gentle little pat on the shoulder. ]

Try to smile for Madoka, okay?

[antemeridian]

[ she doesn't flinch away or snap at him or anything, so there's that. she also doesn't much react to it at all, but.

well. she does smile, thin and wan. ]

It is a great request you're making of me.

But of course, I will try.

[talim]

[ jude beams at her. ]

I know it is. That's all I could possibly ask of you.