New World New You

[holographica]

-> (1)

It begins with a bang; then, disorientation, darkness, dismayed voices, and spells that weigh down your limbs like heavy shackles...

The people keeping you captive seem as unsure as you are of what just happened, and argue and mutter amongst themselves, though they don't hesitate to restrain you, chain you to a pipe in the wall of this bottom floor of an underground parking garage, or lock you alone into a smaller room of the abandoned building where the summoning was held. You seem to unnerve them; they don't want to look you in the eye, and if they have to touch you to lock you up, they do so gingerly, nervously.

But maybe, once they leave you to yourself to go and argue and regroup in private, you're not quite alone? You weren't the only person to come out of the array. You have at least one companion in your confusion, one person restrained like you and not wearing the cultists' strange masks. Take comfort, take inventory, and prepare for anything.


-> (2)

The Joyous were prepared for you to attempt escape. Their preparations don't quite match what they got, but even poorly calibrated spells will do something, and the effects of knockout darts and magically reinforced walls don't discriminate. It's time to blow this popsicle stand...

...But you may want to take a moment to comb the area - once the Joyous have had enough time and reason to weigh their options, they'll run, leaving behind the incriminating results of their "botched" summoning. Those less able to escape confinement under their own power may need a hand, or to band together, or, at worst, to wait quite a while for locals to stumble across them...


-> (3)

You step outside into an unfamiliar town; small, sparse, just off a major highway running through the Neloi Flats. A perfect place for a cult looking for an unoccupied building, because there are a lot of those here, as though the town's peak has come and gone, leaving behind rusty signs for roadside attractions and a main street retinue of shops made of sheer stubbornness and spite.

There's not much direction here. There are locals, who will be confused by you, possibly wary and disbelieving. There's a temple, small like the village but likely to have charity you need right now. There's a highway, and following it in either direction will take you to one of two very different cities.

There's a whole country of possibilities before you, in fact. What ones will you chase, and will you do it alone?



[[As of this mingle: go forth and RP! You can treat this post like a game intro, or like a meme post; follow the prompt/s exactly, or alter the details to suit your tastes, or pitch a completely different scene in your own top-level. Let's get some stories started.]]

Comments

[3] - OTA

[photoshooter]

[So. Okay. This definitely isn't Niflheim. That's some good news.

The bad news is that this town doesn't appear to be anywhere on Eos. The surroundings look similar enough to some of the smaller towns and outposts he and his friends visited, but the little differences he catches unsettle him. As much as his--well, his everything aches, Prompto finds himself restless, unwilling to stay in one place too long.

He wanders the town for a while, rubbing his chafed wrists, looking for the smallest scrap of familiarity. A Crow's Nest diner, or a fishing spot, or, man, even one of those awful portraits of local figures they used to find all over the world. (Or Noctis. Or Ignis, or Gladio. Anyone. Anyone.) But Prompto finds nothing of the sort, and the local shops' price tags aren't even written in a currency he recognizes. Wherever he is, he's on his own. He's not sure he should trust the locals, given his circumstances. He swallows.]

Man, oh, man, what've I gotten myself into now...?

[Eventually, he wanders out beyond the town's edges, hoping against hope for a glimpse of the Regalia rolling smoothly across the open road towards him, driven by--well, no, it wouldn't be Ignis's steady hand, now, would it. A Regalia urged forward by Noct, just a little too fast for comfort, urgent with the need to find his friend and apologize...

Of course, the road is empty. Prompto sighs and turns to look for familiar plants and places to lay a trap, like Gladio was teaching them all.

Later, as the sun starts to dip towards the horizon and Prompto begins to worry about things that go bump in the night, he takes his vegetable spit off the campfire he made, sniffs it uncertainly, and steels himself.]

Well, now or never, I guess. Prompto, it's sink or swim this time, buddy.

[With the remarkable lack of survival skill that makes him who he is, Prompto tries nibbling on one charred tuber, yelps, and holds the spit away, sticking his poor, burnt tongue into the early evening air.

If anyone finds themselves drawn to the smell of toasty (if we're being generous; ruined, if we're not) vegetables or the sound of an idiot hecking up his own life, they'll find a young blond man in black frantically fanning his mouth and whimpering. As if this day could get any worse.]

[soft_focus]

[Reira admittedly was attracted more by the smell of burning food than she was the sounds of someone burning their tongue. She certainly SEES the man burning his tongue, but she tries not to pay too much attention to that as she peers out from some plant coverage, frowning a little in judgement. Smooth, dude...smooth...

Still, burning plants...she hasn't seen too much cooking in her life, but she has enough sense to at least examine it from afar. Hopefully that isn't poisonous.

She's certainly not checking (bad enough she has a mutated right arm, but strangers don't have a good history for her), but she. Could probably try and get help if he collapsed right now.

Probably.

Erp.]

[photoshooter]

[Collapse he does, though only in a fit of dramatic whining. Prompto promptly flops onto his back in the dirt, raising the vegetable spit to let his sorry dinner cool.]

Whyyy-hy-hy-hyy. Why does the world hate me. [He waves both his free hand and the spit in the air above him.] I'm a good person! I'm nice to animals! And, I-I mean, sure, I've made mistakes, but I always say I'm sorry. And I mean it! So, why? Why can't one thing go right for me, just once?

[He lets his free arm drop back to earth, staring at the darkening sky above, then groans and flings it over his eyes, voice dropping.]

Oh, Noct. Where are you? [A bitter chuckle.] Or, I guess the better question is, where am I?

[A long moment passes. Suddenly, he starts to sing.]

When the night has come and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see...

sCREAMS THAT SONGS EVEN BETTER/WORSE!?!?

[soft_focus]

[....Alright there is only so much she can take before she has to try and snatch some food herself. The singing is 'that much'. (That and her personal soul hitch-hiker, but at least one of the two is predictable)

Creeping carefully and quietly around, she tries to slip nearer to the fire, doing her best to avoid so much as casting a shadow over the other's face. She could get provisions from the temple, sure-but make a fire? HAH.

She's, um. Not sure what kind of meat this is in her little pilfered pouch but she knows what cooked meat looks like so she'll just stick it in the coals and wait for a bit.

Ignore the smell of cooking meat IT'S NOT THERE-]

It's literally in FFXV, I couldn't NOT

[photoshooter]

Oh darling, darling--

[Okay, wait, no. Prompto couldn't ignore the smell of cooking meat if he were dead, that's how hungry he is. He stills, then sits up immediately, eyes wide, and catches sight of the little figure on the other side of the fire.]

What the--? Wait, hey, when did you get here?

[He almost goes for his gun, but the size of her makes him hesitate before he even fully registers what he's seeing. A kid...?]

prompto plz,,,

[soft_focus]

Ha-AHH- [This is very almost a NOPE, BYE situation, and the fact that this is a 6-7 year old facing a probably mostly adult (or at least, that's how she feels. You're probably an adult right?) doesn't really help.

Actually the only thing that keeps her from bolting out right is probably the fact that she has Her meat sitting in this fire now.

She's eyeing it though, so she's probably considering it.] ...um...

...b...Before the singing... [She will admit to hearing your small break down, sir.]

[photoshooter]

[Of course he's an adult! He's such an adult. Look at him, taking care of himself like the utterly competent adult he is. (Don't look. Don't let him be an example to you, kiddo.)

The actual answer to his more rhetorical question gives Prompto pause, and he sags in his seat again, surprised threat reaction dialed back down to uncertainty and curiosity. This is a very small kid. Smol, even. She looks scared, too.]

Oh. Well. [He clears his throat and tilts his head as if that'll help him get a better look at her. With his hair, it makes him look sort of like a bird.] Now that you've heard what these pipes can offer, why don't I take requests while your meat cooks? That is your meat, right?

[He won't steal it, is what he's saying. It's his fire, of course, but she's so little.]

[n_octis]

[ It wasn't the smell which brought the two to the campfire. (Well, that was a little lie.) Noctis had been held for quite some time, in the dark. Injured and hurt, questioned. Once he had been freed by his Togekiss - these people hadn't expected a beast held inside a small ball - Noctis had been trembling and suffering the side-effects of seeing the Dream World. The two, thusly, hadn't gone close to town.

No, Stella had decided to let Noctis remain on her back as she soared around, landing only when she was sure that they weren't anywhere close to where they'd been. The paths and environment unfamiliar - and besides, she wasn't much of a flyer. She was more of a battler.

It was the light of the campfire which brought the two near. But when he was visible, Noctis looked over - letting himself stand from his Chocobo-sized steed - and couldn't help but smile a little.

Prompto. They hadn't gotten separated. Had they? They'd been separated in wherever the Dreams led. And every step seemed to aggravate his own injuries. (Not just his injuries from this day, but his deep scars from Genesect.) Might as well... give a wave and call out. ]

Prompto?

[photoshooter]

[The first familiar thing he's heard all day; Prompto could swear his heart stops. Tongue forgotten, vegetables forgotten, he turns away from his fire to look for the source of that most important voice. His own comes out weirdly hushed. Overcome, perhaps.]

Noct?

[There's no mistaking that silhouette, no matter what strange skies it stands beneath. Prompto's mouth opens in a disbelieving smile.]

Noct!

[Damn the torpedoes, damn his bruises and broken ribs, Noctis is here. Prompto's scrambling to his feet to greet him, tripping twice, eyes warm and overbright with wetness he won't admit to, if questioned. He runs like only he can, wind-swift and laughing.]

Where have you been, you son of a bitch!

[If Noct doesn't move, he's going to have a very excited friend jumping all over him and ruffling his hair and holding his face between his hands, as if to make sure it's him, that he's real.]

[n_octis]

[ He was trying to hobble forward, using his Pokemon to steady his steps. The first time Prompto tripped over, however, he couldn't help it - breaking away from her, he rushed forward to him.

It really was him. Being hit by a distortion was thought to be inescapable - that's what he had been lectured about quite a bit three years ago. Noctis is a little concerned, however... because he's missed him. But not to the level of this-- oof. ]

Calm-- calm down-- I'm fine, Prompto. I woke up with cultists-- I didn't know you were here.

[ Or that it might have been longer for Prompto. Different situations. He pauses for a moment, trying to stop Prompto from knocking him over. His legs, after all, felt almost like they were to collapse under him. ]

...Are you okay?

[photoshooter]

I. [Settling down on his heels rather than the balls of his feet, Prompto lets out a wobbly laugh.] Yeah. Yeah, everything's all right now.

[Well, besides the fact that they've been kidnapped to another dimension and his everything hurts and he has no idea if Eos is okay, let alone the rest of their party. All of that is fine. Noctis is here. Whatever happens, at least someone can make sense of it as long as Prompto stays by his side.]

What about you, are you okay? What happened after--['After I fell off the train?' No, he won't say that.]--after Ardyn attacked us? Are Ignis and Gladio okay? Are...

[He notices, now, how exhausted Noct sounds, how gingerly he's holding himself. Prompto frowns.]

Are you hurt? Dude, c'mon, sit down. I've got a fire.

[n_octis]

[ He can't help it. Confusion seems to enter his face - who's he talking about? Who's Ardyn, did they get attacked? Is his head-- has he forgotten something?

He shakily makes his way to the fire before replying, however. With his fluffy white bird-like friend nesting next to him, giving a look of concern. Something's wrong, but she won't just say it. Prompto looks different and he's talking about things of another world. Things Noctis was to be told if it was needed - but not yet. Would her role of guardian need to be expanded?

He looks to Prompto, though, putting his arms around his Pokemon. ] You're not making sense, Prompto. But--

[ Yeah, he's hurt. They're both hurt, clearly. ] We're alive, at least. We're both alive.

[photoshooter]

[Oh, no. Something cold settles in the pit of Prompto's stomach, sitting there all indigestible and heavy. He's not making sense? Does Noct not remember--was it all something Prompto made up? Or is Ardyn still messing with Noctis? What happened to them?

He follows Noct and sits down again to his left, grunting minutely as his injuries remind him once again of their existence. Stella doesn't get anything more strenuous than a curious look. It's just like Noct to turn up just when he's needed with a wondrous, mysterious creature at his side.]

Y...yeah. At least there's that.

[He keeps watching Noct for a moment, then turns towards the fire. His veggies fell in the dirt, but he's not hungry anymore, anyway. Also, they probably weren't going to be very good. He's man enough to admit that he can't cook for beans. ...Mmm. Beans. He misses Iggy.]

What... what's the last thing you remember, then?

[Does Noct not even know what he did to Prompto, back there?]

[maximumest]

[why Broly's even remotely still in the vicinity is a very good question, even he doesn't know. He wasn't going to find out where he is just by hanging around these strangers, that's for sure, and-

... is that a fire?

Prompto's visitor is sudden, literally dropping from the sky on the other side of the campfire right about when the incident with the burning mouth on burnt vegetables thing happens. Honestly, at least he could be mistaken for a weirdly tall human, and Prompto like a tailless saiyan with the wrong hair color but ... is that a veggie?

It looks like a veggie.

Anything Broly would have said goes unspoken as a look of mixed pity and disgust crosses his face.]

Is that a root?

[A root! Plants weren't for eating, they were bait for the things that were for eating!]

Don't eat that, you'll make yourself sick.

[photoshooter]

BwaaAAAAAAhhh!!

[Powered by a spike of pure panic, Prompto flails to his feet and summons his gun in one utterly ungraceful, limb-throwing motion. The sad veggies are further ruined as they fall to the ground. Alas, poor veggies. We knew thee well.

Who on earth (or Eos, or underground Tokee-oh, or wherever) would mistake Broly for a weirdly tall human? Human beings don't drop out of the sky! Prompto levels his gun at Broly's face across the fire but speaks instead of shoots. Or, well. Tries to speak, anyway.]

What? Who, where--what the?? [So articulate. Such eloquence. Wow. With both hands, Prompto gestures with his gun from Broly to the empty sky and back.] How?!

[EXPLAIN?????]

[maximumest]

[Humans drop out of the sky all the time where he's from! Granted he's never met one and doesn't know that, but they do. Flying is commonplace! WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE SHACKLED TO THE DIRT

It really doesn't occur to him that just dropping in is the problem here, and the gun should be seen as a threat but ... nothing like that ever had been before so ... clearly all of this is the fault of other things. Like perhaps the burnt veggies, which his gaze drops to. Trying to eat those would make anyone freak out.]

I warned you. Stay here. And get rid of those things before you try them again.

[There's only one thing to do, save this poor bastard from himself. Broly isn't a very good hunter OR fisher, but there was very little a lot of sudden concussive force couldn't handle.

Probably he should be more concerned with the gun, but instead he's ...

... Yep, back up in the sky.]

[photoshooter]

[Ah. There he go.






]

WHAT.

[Prompto Argentum has seen a lot of things today. He's seen a lot of things since he left Insomnia for his best friend's sudden wedding. He's witnessed the rise of gods--and their falling, before empires, before daemons, before his uncrowned king.

He has not seen monkey people literally leap up, up, and away into the sky.]

WhaaT IS GOING ON??!??!

[He considers running, but it's all grassland in every direction. There's no cover, he won't be able to get far before it--he--whatever that is notices and comes after him again shouting about gods know what THIS time. His running technique? His shoes???

Prompto disappears his gun, drops to his hands and knees, and just groans to the heedless earth.]

Why is this happening to me...?

[...A minute later, as an afterthought, Prompto gets back up and hurriedly digs a hole with the nice rock he found earlier and buries his burnt sunchokes. Just in case. He has no idea why the giant monkey man is so anti-vegetable, but if Prompto can't run in his condition, it'll be better not to antagonize him.]

I'm sorry. It doesn't get saner.

[maximumest]

[A handful of minutes after Broly leaves, to the north there is a strange green flash across the grasslands as if a power transformer had exploded some distance away, and a short time after that a brief rumble through the ground like a very low power quake.

And then there's peace, a pleasant little campfire and the tentative chirps of some cautious crickets, occasionally broken by much smaller greenish flashes even further away, and no rumble this time.

Chirp. Chirp.

A little while after that the peace goes away again because the saiyan's back, and he's got a whole lot of something with him, which are unceremoniously dumped by the fire.

The smell of burnt flesh is immediate.]

Okay. THIS. Is food. None of it is a stick or a root or a LEAF and tastes much better besides.

[It's..

Well there's some fish in there, weakly flopping. A half of a charred something with hooves. A couple of bunnies with missing heads, seemingly burnt right off, and some kind of fat quail-sized bird. Half of it.

It took some effort to get variety, okay.]

Oh, I know. I remember my DBZ days...

[photoshooter]

...

Dude.

[That sure is a lot of dead animal right there. Prompto makes a face, but maybe not for the expected reason. He's had some time to calm down--well, "calm down." He's had some time to resign himself to the insanity of the experience he is currently experiencing, let's put it that way. He crosses his arms disapprovingly.]

You are gonna let me cook it, right? I mean, first of all, that's way too much meat for two people, so unless you want to spend the next week eating gross rotting beast-flesh, you're gonna let me cook it.

[Or, well, burn it. Or something. HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO COOK ALL THIS? He sighs and crouches near the carcass heap to see what the damage is. If only Iggy were here...

Look. This is approximately what his crew's been living off of since the fall of Insomnia. He's not gonna lose his head over a couple grossly decapitated bunnies.]

You didn't happen to see any salt while you were, you know, zooming all over the sky?

I had a dream that I tagged this already but I sure didn't

[missleadingquestions]

[The sound of an idiot hecking up his own life??? Sounds exactly like what Maya's been listening to for the last four years of her life. She's been spending the evening closer toward the highway too, having gotten out her frustrated crying and screaming and whatnot (as anyone would be wont to do in this situation), and couldn't help but follow the smell of fire.

The scene she stumbles upon is that ridiculous guy from earlier, so she can't help but approach with a laugh. It's an appreciated one, though; in times of trouble, laughter feels sacred.]

Y'know, usually people give it a minute or two off the heat.

[Her smart-ass comments, as though Prompto needed it.]

I know I said I was going to have restraint, but... spoilers, I don't

[photoshooter]

[BwaaAAAAaagh, oh no, it's the funny girl from before. WHY NOW, ASTRALS? DO YOU LIKE TO SEE HIM SUFFER?

He puts his tongue away and covers his mouth, then uncovers it and waves.]

Oh! Hi!

[Hi. All right. That sounded just about as dumb as usual. He carefully sticks the spit into the ground so the vegetables can cool, clears his throat into his fist, and turns away to shamefully hide his face in both hands. Prompto Argentum, you are a disaster.]

Whaaaat can I help you with?

I don't remember you ever claiming to have restraint though

[missleadingquestions]

[Oh, this guy's great. Seems he's about as functional as Phoenix, which despite what one might assume actually draws Maya closer. She plops herself right down next to him on the ground.]

I didn't get your name earlier.

[She tells him, grinning like the cheshire cat.]

I'm Maya Fey.

[And I'm lost and lonely and don't want to be but hey]

I SAID I WASN'T GONNA TAG THIS TILL LATER...

[photoshooter]

[Oh. She's not making fun of him. Well, not vocally, anyway, and that's good enough for Prompto's head to pop back up, as interested in ditching his lonely existence as she is.]

My name? Oh. I'm Prompto. Prompto Argentum. But you can call me Prompto.

[What... else was she going to call him, okay moving on.]

Uh, so how are you doing? After all, you know. That, back there.

oh you actually believed yourself when you said that, I see

[missleadingquestions]

Prommy. Got it.

[Because she can't not be at least a little facetious. The second question gets her to hesitate for a moment, though, and she rocks from side to side as she looks for an answer.]

I'm okay. [Things have been worse.]

Are you still hurt from earlier?

: ( I have a problem

[photoshooter]

[Aw, crap. He ducks his head and laughs a little, though it's more self-deprecating than actually mirthful.]

Oh. I mean, that? It's nothing. Seriously, nothing to worry about. [Shrug!] You should see the train.

[Actually, the train IS a wreck, but Prompto doesn't know that, seeing as he FELL OFF OF IT.]