ᴏᴏ2 ( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ) | ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ

[insubordination]

So.

[ it is a public message, to the network, that pops up on the circle's watches and roy looks Less Than Pleased (tm) with the sudden state of affairs. the weather in the temple is absolutely out of control, there are apparently weird cakes appearing in the kitchens, and the fighting ring has turned into a magical court. great.

so, that may be the reason why roy's tone is particularly clipped, or even frustrated. but he seems methodical, in his words, and he is sitting at a table with a notebook, a glass of water, and a weird looking lizard on the table that has an odd rainbow-shift to the scales.

( ignore the lizard. it seems roy is. ) ]

The Circle is currently compromised of people of a variety of talents; soldiers, magicians, teenagers . . . all of us have particular skills to contribute to the cause of whatever it is we're meant to do here. I know quite a few people [ like maes, and barabas ] have been keeping track of various magical powers that we have been gifted, and organized some semblance of structure -- all of which is necessary. But we have to acknowledge what happened to Akvos.

[ he pauses, there. ]

Astoria has not been entirely clear with the Circle on what our purpose is. That may be an innocent error, or a purposeful move to win our trust. I'm not here to argue the merits of whether or not we should trust her, but we have no choice but to participate in whatever world she sends us to. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck there until she brings us back, and we have some opportunity to assist whoever is there. We cannot depend on her to figure out what to do in order to prevent another Akvos, or -- it seems, another El Minha, given King Kathashun is no longer in his own world.

[ roy taps the pen against the table once. ]

I don't have any solution as to what we did right, or wrong, or whether or not it was our fault in the first place. But I want to begin the conversation to work to prevent it again, and seeing as Astoria is either not willing or not capable of explaining herself at the moment, we need to learn to work without her. What are we missing? What do we need to work on? And what can we do in order to be more organized before our next world?

[ and, finally, roy feeds the lizard one (1) piece of lettuce, which it lazily seems to chew on. ]

I'm of a mind we need to organize fighters, healers, and transporters, but I'm open to ideas and suggestions -- and questions, about previous worlds to those who were not there to experience them. I have been to El Minha, Struxta, and Akvos. And I'm certain "older" members of the Circle will be happy to share their experiences, too.

( filtered to maes + riza )

[ almost immediately, his expression turns from serious and leaderlike to tired. ]

Who wants to keep notes?

[ PLEASE DON'T MAKE HIM DO IT :( ]

( end filter )

( ooc: please feel free to threadjack in this post! especially if you want to use this to foster CR and/or build "teams" that roy is looking to enlist. c: )

Comments

[punshots]

I, uh. [ swallowing, pausing, and trying again: ] I-I can...

[ This...isn't how he wanted to respond to this, but he's still a boy very much shaken by recent events. Even so. ]

I'll help, however I can. I know how to fight, and can run fast...I could take pictures of people in the Circle? Like a directory, I guess. Might...might be handy.

[ Or maybe he's just wasting time, trying to prove useful. ]

[taketori]

All things considered, that would be nice. It may serve helpful to newcomers to ascribe faces to names.

[ Also for him, since he barely knows who anyone is still. ]

[punshots]

Really? You think so?

[ If he sounds a little over-eager, that's because he is. Ever since they got back from Akvos he's been racking his brain trying to think of ways to help, but he's still astonished his idea might actually have merit. ]

Y-yeah, exactly! We usually get newbies when we get back from different worlds, sooo...might be nice if we get a batch comin' in soon, huh?

[taketori]

We have another group coming in already?

[ Granted, it had been a couple months, but he wasn't really expecting many others. ]

But of course, it's not a bad idea at all. A directory of somewhat friendly faces would make it easier to get used to everyone-- except, I don't know how easy it'd be to get newcomers to go along with it.

[punshots]

That'd be my guess, anyway. Won't know for sure until they start showin' up, though.

[ But maybe he shouldn't have speculated. Will he be disappointed if their reprieve at the temple comes and goes and no new faces show up? ...As long as it's possible some of his friends could be among them, then absolutely. ]

Would be kinda weird to have someone shove a camera in your face when you're still gettin' used to all this, huh? Man, we almost need like a full-on newbie orientation at this point.

[ HE IS NOT VOLUNTEERING FOR THAT. ]

[taketori]

[ wow prompto, are you psychic

Of course, he wasn't sure himself that he even wanted his friends here. They'd all get into trouble... and like hell he'd want Shinomiya to be placed in any kind of danger to begin with. It might not be this way all the time, but he'd feel more comfortable with the other staying home. ]

That... sounds good, but on the other hand, that may be a pain to set up. Plus, with all due respect... wouldn't that be something Astoria should do?

[punshots]

[ maybe being a psychic has been his true power all along :thinking:

He's not wrong, and Astoria's explanation upon arriving had been enough for Prompto when he got here. But it's not enough for everyone. ]

Might be, but she's pretty busy, isn't she? I mean, it kinda seems like she's got a lot on her plate right now besides taking the newbs on a tour of the temple, or something...we could save her some trouble.

[ Though saving Astoria some trouble might not, uh, be popular with everyone. ]

[insubordination]

[ luckily for you, prompto, roy recognizes traumatized youth from a mile away. ]

That would be a good idea, actually.

[ in a musing tone. ]

We need to figure out who is still here, and who isn't. A directory would be a good place to start.

[punshots]

[ There's a little astonished beat of silence before he responds. For all he's been trying to help out since they got back, found it necessary to act outward to keep from collapsing in on himself, he still doubted he had anything useful to give.

So, this is unexpected. ]

Y-yeah, sure, sure! I'm on it. I could get everyone's names and pictures — kinda like a census. Might help if, uh, new people start showin' up soon, too.

[ And it will help them remember who they've lost, too. ]

[insubordination]

Good.

[ a pause. ]

Cataloging who has been here before, too, would be helpful. I know people can come and go from these worlds, and some may even come back . . . it would help reduce the stress of those people if we could prove to them, somehow, that they were here before. And a place to remember those people would be a nice addition to the Temple, I think.

[ YOU WANTED A PROJECT, PROMPTO, YOU GOT ONE. ]

[punshots]

[ Oh boy, okay, this is happening. He did want a project, it's just a little surreal that there's actually support behind it and it's going to happen. It's...definitely nice, though. A breath of fresh air after feeling like there's been a fist over his throat since they got back. ]

Then count me in! On it like a baby bonnet. [ Some of his usual energy returns to his voice. It's a very welcome change. ] Got any recommendations of where it should go? Or should I just...find whatever wall looks most like it needs some pics on it?

[ He does have an eye for that sort of thing. ]

[insubordination]

I am far from an artistic genius; I leave you to your craft.

[ read: this is literally just to make you feel better prompto do whatever u need to do kid ]

I suggest somewhere easily accessible and pretty. Maybe the courtyard near the fruit trees, or by the lake, so the Akvosians can see it if they so choose. They can't exactly come onto dry land.

[punshots]

[ Thanks, dad... ]

Yeah...good point! Bet we could scope out somewhere nice by the lake. Just gotta make sure it stays safe from the weather...

[ But then again, maybe some members of the Circle have powers that could help with that. ]

[inheritedearth]

That's a good idea!

[Aerith had noticed early on that Prompto tends to be hard on himself, but...]

There are enough of us that someone should be keeping track, and considering how many people we just lost...

[Insensitive, maybe, but it's practical to keep a detailed directory.]

[punshots]

[ She's not the first to encourage his idea, but he's still bewildered by her response anyway. He's not the ideas guy, so having one that's actually valid is a big deal for him.

The sound of his usual energy rings a bit more clearly in his response. ]

...Yeah, for real. Might, um, be a nice way to remember who's gone, too.

[inheritedearth]

That's what I was thinking.

[But hadn't quite been able to bring herself to say. She smiles, however, and there's a forced note of cheer in her voice.]

If you need any help, count me in. I'm still trying to find my place here, but... I'd like to be of assistance, if I can.

[punshots]

[ Boy, is that familiar...Prompto's been here coming up on nine months and he's still trying to find his place. Losing the people that defined his place hasn't helped, but at least this might be diverting enough for the both of them. ]

Then you're in luck, 'cause I'm gonna need all the help I can get. First order of business is just gonna be figuring out where to put it. Not like we've got a shortage of options, here.

[inheritedearth]

We'd want it someplace central, right? Somewhere easily accessible by everyone here, but where it's not likely to get damaged— so the kitchen is probably out.

[Don't want to risk spilling anything on it...]

There are some common areas that might work, though.

[punshots]

Ooh, yeah, no go for the kitchen. Aaaas nice as it'd be to have a snack while you reminisce.

[ It's no good to grieve on an empty stomach. ]

Maybe we could even retrofit one of the empty rooms. I don't think the ghosty servants would mind, do you?

[ He's genuinely asking. Those guys creep him out, so he avoids interacting with them as much as possible. ]

[Video]

[spaceforged]

Any help is something. Taking pictures of people would be good for a directory. We'd at least be able to id members of the circle without having to look for the watch.

[He pauses, and adds with a bit of a grin.]

Anyone who's listed as a shapeshifter you might want to ask to take a picture of their other shape too. It might curb some of the shock we bring when we change shape.

[His humor subsides as he thinks things over. He speaks again, his tone calm.]

What's your combat specialty?

[punshots]

Oh, hey, good call, man! Miiiight not be a bad idea to take a picture of other peoples' powers, too, just in case they're, uh, alarming.

[ Some of them can be kind of intense, but between the directory and the pictures, they should cover their bases, he thinks. He hopes. Gods, he is not a logistics guy. Does this even count as logistics?

After a brief pause: ]

Ranged weapons. Uh, guns, mostly. Tried a few other things, too...but my weapon hasn't seen much action since I got here.

[ They haven't exactly been to a lot of worlds with bullets, and he hasn't found any in the temple. He's mostly held onto it as a last-ditch-effort, worst-case kind of a thing. ]

[spaceforged]

What other things did you try? Anything you think you could use long term when ammo is tight?[It wasn't that long ago he was carrying a gun around himself. Ammo was an issue even when he employed as a security guard on Shehui.

He picks up a journal and a pen, then looks back up at Prompto.]

I'm trying to put together a list of supplies we can watch for and gather on other worlds. I'm hoping if we can build in this realm or at least request certain things.

And yes, some of our powers are pretty alarming. Some of us are too, I think people might have handled Geir better if they knew a massive dragon was around.

[punshots]

[ A quick nod as he blurts out: ]

Ohhhh yeah, I almost crapped my pants the first time I met him! [ Well, he's nothing if not honest. ] Might help with names, too. There're people who've been here ages whose names I still don't know.

[ And he should fix that. They're a team now. Hopefully, this little project of his can help with that for all of them. ]

As for other weapons...I dunno, I've used a little bit of everything. Shortswords, knives, polearms, you name it. Only when my buddies put 'em in my hands, though.

[ He's hardly practiced with them, but maybe he's been neglectful. ]

[spaceforged]

I think we have a few teachers for all of those, but like you, there are still people in the Circle I don't know. We've been pretty scattered about. I definitely think this will help us put names to faces.

The active list could be updated each time we're back here. I'm sure some people would be willing to help maintain it.

[He can think of a few people. Organization helps them feel a bit more in control and they're all for that. Mostly.]

It's a start and could help put people at ease. As much as we can be given the circumstances.

[punshots]

Heh, I could totally use a few people helpin' me with it. I'm not the most organized guy. But pictures? Those I can handle.

[ It's one of the few things he can really say with assurance that he's good at, so as long as someone else help keep him on task and can track who's coming and going, they might just do this thing. ]

Any little bit helps, right? Wish...wish I could do more for the mermaids, though.

[ His heart aches for them worst of all. ]