Don't Skip Your Flu Shot

[purrtagonist]

Who: Everyone! It's a mingle post for the first week of Struxta sickness!!
Where: All around the temple
When: During the first week of the sickness
Rating PG?? At most??
What: Curry, blankets and pillow forts, and other assorted sick things

[With the Struxta illness sweeping through the temple like a wildfire, and with so many new arrivals trying to get adjusted to temple living, it's probably no surprise that things around the Astoria's little pocket of space have gotten a little hectic. Feeling under the weather? Looking for something warm to soothe that scratchy throat? Just want to curl up underneath a pile of blankets and not move for like, seven hours or so? Never fear! A Mysterious Helper (TM) has you covered]

A. Curry in the Kitchen

[The kitchen smells extremely nice during lunchtime this week, the only meal of the day that isn't pre-prepared by the misty servants. Like the scent of coffee intermingled with complementary spices. Those who take the initiative to investigate will find something pleasant waiting for them. A few pots of fresh made curry and steamed rice; a few pots of miso soup (a. . . little on the salty side, sorry); and some freshly brewed coffee already poured into individual mugs, along with cream and sugar and whatever additives your heart desires. It's all strewn out across the counter tops with a handwritten note pinned against the wall above the stove:]

Help yourself, and get well soon.

[There isn't any sign of the mysterious chef when you enter the kitchen, and if you arrive near the end of lunch hour, some of the food and coffee miiiiight be a bit cold. But hey! This might be a good chance to mingle with some of your new coworkers who are also seeking out a warm meal to help quell some of their cold symptoms. Just please don't sneeze into the curry pot, thanks. . .]

[Lunch will be laid out in the kitchen every day at lunchtime for the entire first week of the sickness. Help yourselves!]

B. The Temple Hallways

[THERE ARE BLANKETS AND PILLOWS EVERYWHERE]

[. . . no, seriously. For some reason, it's like you can't even walk down a hallway without tripping over a bundled up blanket or a pillow. What's up with that! For the most part, they're normal bedtime accessories, although you may find a bundle of pillows and blankets stacked up into an ENTIRE PILLOW FORT if you're lucky.]

[Pinned to the walls of the hallways (not every hallway, but enough of them that it should be easy to find one of the signs without wandering for too long) are more handwritten signs:]

Whoever can build the tallest pillow fort will receive one (1) high five as a grand prize. Good luck. Blanket provider is not responsible for anyone accidentally falling asleep in the hallways and blocking your route back to your bedroom.

[Hm. Well, that's weird. Anyway! You can build a pillow fort if you want, grab some blankets to take back to your room, or. . . nap in the hallways. Or do whatever! They're all free for the taking. Maybe you could even team up with another Circle member to try and win that extremely coveted high five??]

C. Wildcard

[Don't feel like interacting with any of the above? That's okay! Make your own prompt based on the event stuff over here, or just use this post for. . . whatever you want! It's totally and completely open for mingling for new and old characters alike, so. HAVE FUN ♥]

Comments

[p_mortem]

[ Yeah... Koromaru's important business involves seeking out shady nap spots and people who will feed him treats, but they're equally important. ]

I dunno... Astoria must've taken both of us at the same time. He shouldn't have been around where I was, though. I was at school, and he should've been back home.

[ But that doesn't mean Astoria won't spirit away a dog just for Prompto if he asks; dogs are always worth an ask. ]

[punshots]

[ Definitely worth an ask, and he'll have to do so - assuming he can even remember this conversation later. It's hard to recall much of anything while his head feels like a jackhammer is pounding into it. ]

Ohhhh, gotcha. So he's from home! Maybe if I can't get a dog, she'd consider letting me have a chocobo...

[ Ah, here he goes. ]

[p_mortem]

[ The best part about this entire week has been that nobody remembers anything, Minato will later find out. It makes it easier to talk and not worry too much if he asks something weird or looks at Prompto too strangely. ]

Forgive my ignorance... What's a chocobo?

[punshots]

Oh, I am so glad you asked!

[ No, really. The question prompts him to reach back to his pocket to fetch his camera, but it's not there. He doesn't even have a back pocket in his pajamas, and he hadn't given it any thought before, but now he feels naked, realizing he doesn't have his lens on him.

Man, this sickness really is doing a number on him! What if there's something that needs photographing? He'll be outta luck! ]

Well, uh, visual aids will hafta wait, but picture this: a big, fluffy bird that you can ride. Also? The most perfect creature to ever exist. That's a chocobo.

[p_mortem]

Oh.

[ Minato's eyes light up in sudden understanding. A large bird that is potentially rideable... ]

An ostrich. They're not typically kept as pets, but they're pretty cool.

[punshots]

[ ...what is this ostrich he speaks of ]

Uhhh...sure! Whatever the heck that is. "Pretty cool" doesn't even begin to describe a chocobo, but if your world has something like 'em, you ought to be be feelin' pretty lucky!

[p_mortem]

[ Maybe different languages translate "chocobo" differently. Same bird, as far as Minato is concerned. ]

Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen one before, though. ...I don't think I even know where they live... [ They're real animals, supposedly. Maybe he saw one once upon a time in a zoo, but he'd have been too young to remember, or otherwise didn't care enough to remember. ]

They're more commonplace where you're from? Like how pigeons and crows are in the city?

[punshots]

Pretty common, though they don't live in the city. Too cramped for big birds like those. [ Yes, he's taking that very literally... ] They live out in the wild all over the place, though. People even run ranches for 'em. Ah, the dream...

[ Once they're doing taking care of, you know, the world ending, maybe he'll retire and become a chocobo farmer... ]

Next time I see you, I'll show you a pic. I've got a ton from back home on my camera.

[p_mortem]

That'd be great. Photography— I was in the school club for a bit... I like seeing people's pictures.

[ Rather, people take pictures of things they like, things that inspire them, things that speak to them and things that they want to capture in order to convey something to somebody else— those sorts of things, he always likes to see. ]

[punshots]

[ Oh — a kindred spirit!! ]

You were? That's awesomesauce, my dude! [ He actually gets so excited that he starts coughing again. Give him a moment... ] D'you have a camera? What model is it? Are you more of a traditional film or a digital guy? Me, I see the merits of both but digital is just so practical if you're out on the road a lot, y'know? How about subject matter? People? Nature? Animals? Abstract? What are your feelings on selfies?

[ Sorry, Minato. ]

[p_mortem]

[ Getting bombarded with so many questions at once, Minato's very eloquent response is- ]

Uh.

[ And he basically lets his mind blank out and forget one question as soon as another one comes rolling in, barely hanging onto the last handful by the time Prompto is forced to take a breath. ]

People. Usually. ...I don't really take selfies. I like taking pictures of people smiling.

[ And he hardly ever does that, staring at his reflection in a mirror from time to time and all he can see is how tired he always looks. Not great selfie material. ]

[punshots]

[ To be fair, Prompto has already forgotten most of his questions as well, his feverish brain too foggy to really hold on to more than the last thing that Minato said anyway. Still, that's a great answer, and he nods eagerly in return - so eagerly, in fact, that he actually makes himself a little dizzy. ]

That's...eugh.... [ Give him a moment. He rubs at his forehead, and then picks up the thread of conversation like nothing has changed. ] Th-that's what I like to take pictures of, too! Nothing tells a story better than a smile, y'know?

[ And his pictures from home tell so very many stories. ]

[p_mortem]

[ Honestly, Minato's starting to wish he had a video camera to capture this moment. It's such a pity Prompto will forget. ]

...Yeah. It's such a fleeting moment, but if you time it just right... You capture a feeling, not just a scene. That's really cool.

[punshots]

Yeah, that's it exactly!

[ This is the language he is most fluent in, and it's a joy to hear someone speak the same way he does about photographs. Hopefully some glimpse of this will remain in his memory — he'd be even more enthusiastic if he didn't feel like death. ]

I feel like you can really tell a lot about a person by the way they sm—ahhh—achoo!!!

[ He catches himself just before he sneezes into his curry at least... ]

[p_mortem]

[ Thank goodness for that, though Minato scoots his chair away, chair legs dragging on the floor without bothering to be inconspicuous. ]

Why don't you finish your food and go wash up? My phone's still got a couple hours left on it. You could show me how you frame shots. [ ... ] After you take a nap. I think I could use one too.

[punshots]

Yeah? [ Even as he furiously wipes at his nose with a napkin, he sounds enthusiastic, a light in his tired eyes. ] You got yourself a deal! Post-naptime, you and me, shop talk!

[ It's good for him, to have something to look forward to like this, sick as he is. ]

[p_mortem]

Yeah. I'll see you later.

[ If he remembers about it! Even if not, Minato will come poke him sometime. If he can't use his phone to call, he might as well use the last of its battery life capturing moments like these.