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[ when the feed comes on, riza's expression is tense. controlled. she's looking straight into the camera. there's an air of professionalism to her as she speaks, but that's to be expected.

she's lived through enough warzones, calamities, and nightmares to know how this goes. ]

My name is Riza Hawkeye. I know some of you, but-

[ not important. she blinks herself out of that. roy was always better at this, wasn't he? okay, breathe. ]

We need to regroup. I'm sure everyone has felt some part of what is going on, but things are getting out of hand. We can't turn on each other at a time like this, not with whatever is happening down below. I know a lot of us are scared, but if we're going to get through this, we need to pull together.

[ a beat, and then she exhales. riza doesn't look fantastic, honestly. she hasn't slept in who knows how long, and with everything going on around the ship?

but she's trying, that has to mean something, right? ]

Anyone who needs help, come find me in the lounge. I know basic first aid and can see what I can do. If anyone has any kind of healing abilities that are working? I can help with those too. I'm trying to collect what supplies we have, but help is appreciated.

I'll be in the Lounge if anyone needs to find me.

[ and then the feed cuts.



ooc timeline wise! this is happening semi-post the event log but pre the wrap-up log! meaning that people who went down in the first log can be back up, but all the dead bodies haven't made it up. she is open for network stuff but also if you just want to action meeting her in the lounge......feel free.

also.....no one has told her about roy yet so. that is open. c: ]

What happens to the people that leave here?

Do they make it back home or... something else? It doesn't seem to make much sense.

[ The camera doesn’t show Hank’s face at first; it shows a little mermaid girl, one hand buried in his dog’s fur, looking back at him as she swims into the tunnel to the hopefully safe place underneath the palace. The girl seems reluctant. The dog doesn’t. Sumo’s always liked kids.

Hank takes a deep breath, clears his throat, and squints upward, muttering to himself. ]

Fucking seahorses. What kind of cartoon bullshit…

[ Then the guy he’s looking at throws a very real weapon from atop his very stupid seahorse, and Hank looks a little sick. He doesn’t move the camera to show it. That’s not what he’s here for. ]

Look, anyone try to sit these royal asses down and tell them to talk to each other like goddamn adults? Can anyone even find em in this fucking mess?

[ A sigh comes from the right and the camera pans to Shiro, black edged helmet held in one hand and brows furrowed. This isn’t going to be easy and he can already feel the headache coming. But it’s this or more people die. He faces the screen squarely. ]

We need to find out what each side wants out of this conflict. We can’t get them to talk if we can’t find their common ground. It’s going to be difficult, but we need as much help as we can to find them to figure that out.

[ Roy, in some weird mixture of exasperation and pursing his lips together to prevent from laughing at Hank’s “fucking seahorses” comment, clears his throat before he speaks, coming into view at Shiro’s right, arms crossed over his chest. ]

We’re assuming they want to be adults.

[ but now that that pointlessly cynical comment is out of the way, roy turns to business. ]

They seem to be centralized in the Palace of Wahine . . . or, at least, that’s where they will be, if the King continues to advance. They seem to be amenable to talking, at any rate. [ at least, given the Princess’ seizing of the network and begging for assistance from all of them. ] The worst that could happen is they refuse to come to the table . . . so any information anyone has managed to collect about the Queen, the King, or the Princess would be appreciated, particularly in regards to motivations and who would rule this place once we leave.

[ and Roy, who pauses, turns to Hank with a sudden seriousness: ]

Do you think the seahorses go to the victor of the battle, or are they up for the taking as compensation for doing their work for them?

[ Hank takes a second to switch into bullshit mode but after that second he raises his eyebrows, answering dryly. ]

I think the seahorses are forming a union as we speak, there’s no way we’ll be able to afford em.

[ Then he looks back at the camera. ]

Come on, guys. Anyone here got experience talking morons out of stupid shit? The sooner we fix this the sooner people stop dying, so uh. Let’s put our heads together or… whatever stupid pep talk BS you wanna hear, I don’t know. Let’s just stop chasing after all this weirdo bullshit and figure out how to fix whatever the fuck it is we came here to fix, okay?

(OOC: This is meant to function as a party post sort of thing, a way for characters to share information they get from their questions, figure out strategy, argue over who’s going to deliver the final offer, etc. Answer each other’s comments, threadjack, go wild. Team Negotiation is go, y’all.)

Soooo how's everyone feeling?

[THIS MESSAGE HAS A PURPOSE HE SWEARS]

Serious question, by the way. I talked to Astoria as soon as we got back, and she was pretty worried about the way I. . . felt to her?

[GOD PUTTING IT THAT WAY SOUND WEIRD]

She said that I brought something back with me from Struxta. Something dark, evil, heavy. . . wrong? I don't know about you guys but absolutely none of that is confidence inspiring. Wonder why.

[AHA]

She also told me that the wilting plants around the temple aren't normal. "Everything here seems to be just here. Present, alive, blooming," is what she said, word for word. She's never seen anything here die before.

[. . .]

I don't really know what she's talking about, especially because I feel just fine. I don't think she does yet either, though I imagine she's going to investigate. Just be careful, all right? And if you notice anything off about yourself, let me or someone else know.






Because if we all came back possessed by space demons or infected by robot tuberculosis I'm gonna be pretty pissed.

Hello, everyone! It's your favorite displaced idol, Rion Kugayama here, with a very important announcement!

[ Rion's sure going strong today, completely beaming and enthusiastic, like she's used to presenting herself to an audience (she is). ]

Aaaaand that message is that a shocking amount of you have no idea what an idol actually is. Or have the wrong idea entirely. So--!

Idols are performers, and they're a pretty big thing back home! It's largely about singing and dancing for the public, but there are times when acting or modeling are involved, too. We wear a lot of hats, but it's all important work, and if you think it sounds lame--

We'll have a nice little chat after this announcement, okay? ♥

Anyway, there's one more part that I need to mention, because while people perform for a lot of different reasons... true idols are there to bring dreams and hope to people. They're there to make the bad days a little brighter, and to make you smile.

[ Rion sobers for a moment, smile taking on a gentler slant. ]

I haven't really had a chance to talk to everyone after we got back from El Minha, so if you're feeling down or tired, just let me know. No better way to explain what an idol is than to demonstrate, right? I'd be happy to do my job and sing you a song, free of charge the first time around! You'll just have to excuse the whole lack of background music thing, since a certain Astoria-san didn't give me any place to charge my Xiphone...

[ SIGH. But! She's back to full energy again, flashing her invisible audience a wink. ]

That about sums it up! If you have any questions, you know where to find me! I look forward to having you all as fans one day!

[ humbleness, what's that. ]

[ the feed opens to julius in the garden, standing beneath a fruit tree - a young man in his early twenties, with blond hair and clear golden eyes. he looks a tad tired, with dark shadows under his eyes - but for those who knew him from before, he appears to be in better condition than they last saw him.

notably, he wasn't at the icebreaker. but - those are minor details. ]

Hello, everyone. My name is Julius.

[ he gestures to the greenery behind him with a sweep of his hand, a slight smile tugging at his lips ]

I'm interested in developing the garden - we may need to upkeep it ourselves in the future, and I would imagine the relevant skills would be necessary in other worlds for ensuring a consistent food supply. However, I don't have much knowledge on cultivation myself. If we work together, we'll have a better chance at succeeding.

[ his expression settles back into its usual quiet seriousness now, as appropriate for something more dangerous ]

I was a soldier back home, and I used to teach drills to my teammates. In the interest of keeping our skills sharp, I would also like to propose some sparring sessions and other exercises.

[ a pause, before: ]

If you're interested in either of these, please let me know. I look forward to working with everyone here.

Due to Chelseamod's ineptness with Dreamwidth communities, the tag post is now awkwardly floating around amongst your entries.

VIEW IT, IN ALL OF ITS GLORY.

[What's shakin', fellow Circle members? Are y'all getting used to the temple? Raiding the kitchen? Checking out the forest? Venting some of that I've-been-kidnapped-by-an-interdimensional-witch-possibly-for-the-n'th-time steam in the sparring ring? Regardless, you are getting a brief video message:]

Hiii, everyone! I'm setting up a game in the big room next to the kitchen, so come play if you want!

[If you choose to investigate, you'll find that there's a collection of bottles, pencils, silverware, etc.-- anything Keiichi could get his hands on that's small, semi-pointed and that can theoretically spin-- laid out in the middle of the room. And, all around the room, there have been several questions written neatly in chalk on the stone walls. When Keiichi sees you, you'll get the spiel (or, if you're lucky enough that he's distracted, the "rules" are written higher up on one wall for anyone he missed).]

Oh! Hi! Did you want to play? It's an icebreaker game! You take one of the spinners-- I did the best I could, haha!-- and pair up with someone or get in a group, sit down and take turns spinning! Whatever question the spinner's pointing at, you answer! Or you could just all answer each question, it doesn't matter! The point is just to meet the other people we're going to be living with here and have fun! Oh! And, don't worry! I'm going to clean up all the chalk when everyone's done! Have fun, okay?!

( questions under the cut! )

[So! What'll it be, Circle? Do you grump at the mass text? Walk right on through? Actually sit down and play an icebreaker game with all these perfect strangers? (Intend to walk on through and then get roped into playing by the host?!?) Sneakily add some extra, more interesting questions to the wall while Keiichi's not looking? Up to you! Play in groups, play in pairs, refuse to play at all, DO AS YOU WILL. ALSO here's a RNG if you wanna go that way instead of picking questions yourself.]