[video]

[purrtagonist]

[the video starts of as nothing but static and white noise, a few seconds of black and white chaos that seems like nothing. but then a voice, distant at first, cuts through]

-- ing on? Helloooooo. . .

[a few moments later an image flickers into view along with the audio, although it's grainy and of poor quality. but everyone can see Akira front and center! he seems to be somewhere dark, judging by the poor lighting, and he's seated on the ground with a metal wall (???) behind him]

Oh, perfect. Stay that way for about five minutes? Cool, thanks.

[is he talking to his watch? anyway]

Remember that underground Connor-san was talking about a few days ago? Fooooound it.

[he gives a two-fingered salute as to emphasize his point]

If anyone wants to come tunnel camping with me, I'd appreciate it. It'll be fun. Probably? Probably. Bring food and water though; I haven't eaten or drank anything all day. Maybe also bring tools and explosives and other things that can break through thick metal walls?

[he angles the camera to show the wall against which is sits. it looks pretty sturdy, and it's clear what he's asking in so many words: please break me out of here]

That'd be pretty cool, too.

[somehow, he manages to sound so extremely blase about, um. being trapped in underground tunnels?? he pauses for a moment, as though thinking, before he perks up to speak again]

Oh, right. This place is huge. Probably about as big as the city itself. I wasn't able to wander too far in, but once we manage to break down the entrance, I think we should gather up a bunch of teams to come explore it. If we dive far enough, maybe we'll find something interesting.

[there's a pause as the video feed glitches out for a second or two, Akira's face replaced by more static, more white noise. but eventually he returns, brows furrowed as he flicks at his watch like he's trying to make the damn thing work]

Let me know if you need directions. You'll know you've found the place if you see two people-- [Ryuji and Ann, probably] -- standing outside a giant metal wall yelling at me for getting stuck.

[and that's when the feed cuts out entirely]

((a network post for this here! I don't plan on posting a tunnel exploration log, BUT once Akira's free you can totally handwave and/or thread out your characters exploring the tunnels and finding what's inside that post c: have fun everyone!))

Comments

[bleps]

[You know, it can technically be an answer. And so Connor takes it as one, despite how uncertain of a tone Akira’s answer might be.]

An ability of yours?

[purrtagonist]

You can call it "mine," but it's from Astoria.

[so really, this is the witchess's fault]

I can turn myself intangible and walk through solid objects. But it's kind of glitchy? Doesn't always work.

[bleps]

[Ah, their special "powers", strange as they are.]

And thus the reason why you're now stuck. I think more practice would be beneficial to you, so you don't find yourself in a similar situation once more.

[purrtagonist]

Part of the reason I'm stuck. I think there's something down here that messes with Astoria's magic, too.

[judge. based on the glitchy watch]

[. . . and he's been practicing!1 it's just. slow going]

[bleps]

Just something to keep in mind for the future. Though it's difficult to account for instances where our powers may not work, it's always 'better safe than sorry', as the saying goes.

[No judgment here, only advice that probably doesn't really need to be reiterated.]

At any rate, will you share with me your current location?

[Since Akira seems relatively(?) safe and whole, Connor feels as if it's fine to ask this, so that he can begin snooping around as well.]

[purrtagonist]

Hm? Oh, of course--

[and he relays that information without much hesitation. there's no harm in it, and he does need someone to swoop in and save his reckless butt]

Once the barricade is broken, we should split into groups to explore this place. I don't know what's down here, but it's gotta be something good.

[bleps]

I agree. The more hidden something seems to be, it often means there's only more to uncover.

[And so the information is committed to memory, and Connor feels a surge of... well. Perhaps not excitement (it's definitely excitement), but an enthusiasm that burns a little brighter.]

Thank you. I'll hopefully see you soon.

[purrtagonist]

[adventure is always exciting!]

Yeah, hopefully. [a thoughtful pause, before he continues] I could probably survive another day down here, but not much longer.

[AND YET, he says that so casually]

[bleps]

We won’t let you stay down there for that long.

[Even if he’s useless when it comes to getting Akira out, this is still a team effort and therefore worthy of the term “we”.]

[purrtagonist]

[aw. the use of the term "we" kind of makes Akira feel like he's part of an actual team. . . rather than a ragtag group of world travelers who don't know what they're doing 90% of the time]

When you say it like that, I'm beginning to think we need to come up with an official party name.

["members of Astoria's circle" doesn't have a great ring to it]

[bleps]

A party name?

[He sounds a little amused. (What are they, in a jrpg?)]

And what would you call us? The "Circle" isn't dramatic enough?

[purrtagonist]

[maybe not but he totally is talking to a jrpg protagonist]

It gets the point of cross, but it doesn't really convey our personality to the world. Does it?

[bleps]

[but Connor needs his dialogue options to function]

And what descriptors would you use to determine the personality of this group as a whole?

[purrtagonist]

Eclectic.

[I mean]

[fair]

[bleps]

Eclectic. Difficult for me to argue against that.

I will “brainstorm” — as the term goes — ideas for a more favorable team name. I’ll let you know of the results at a later time.

[purrtagonist]

[nods!]

Count me in on that plan. I'll have something drawn up by the time we return to the temple.