welcome to akvos (log #1)

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players welcome to the kingdom of akvos. It will happen at random- you could be asleep, or wandering the Temple, or a variety of other options. It will feel a little strange, like a sudden warmth spreading across your skin, and then your bracelet will light up. When you blink again, everything has shifted - changed, developed, like in that blink of an eye you have advanced . . . where, exactly? A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY . . . WAIT, WHO IS THAT? But before anything too weird can happen . . . your watch flashes again, beeps once, and on it has a new message, a hologram-sparkly image with a young man who (to some individuals!) looks quasi-familiar. He is thin, with large eyes and speaks quietly, but with great purpose. Whoever this is, it doesn't seem to be a person that is a fan of much pomp and circumstance. . . but wherever he is, he is speaking on dry-land, though he looks like he's just recently gotten out of a pool. "If you are watching this, then you are a member of the Circle, and have triggered a protective rune that I have cast within this Kingdom known as Akvos that has activated this message. I do not have much time, but my name is Kathashun. I need your assistance, and I am not sure whether we will ever find one another again. But if you are listening to this, heed my words: take care, because you know not what your actions do. The magic in this world is powerful, and whatever is seeping through this planet may not be able to be stopped, but trust me when I say that when we meet -- " There is a noise, a banging on a door, and Kathashun's eyes dart to the left, before a voice off-screen says, "As much as I love listening to you talk, we need to go." There's a moment's pause before Kathashun refocuses his attention on you, and his eyes (normally a deep brown) begin to change into what appears to be a liquid gold color, and the message begins to crackle. "We will meet again. Heed my words; find the Princess." And, just like that, the connection dies, leaving you to the depths of the ocean. Welcome to Akvos. ARRIVAL A: THE PALACE OF WAHINE. The first group arrives at the Royal Palace of Wahine, smack-dab in the bustling center of what appears to be the lost city of Atlantis. It is in an area of Akvos that is completely underwater, with gentle currents wafting through the water that guide people on their merry way. There is plenty to locate here, depending on what you want to find. There are dozens of musically inclined merfolk wandering through the courtyards of the Palace, a shopping area selling intricate jewelry and other decorative pieces, and even the Queen herself. Feel free to set up threads regarding any information you discovered in the World OOC post, but here are some ideas for those needing a place to start! Prompt Ideas: - Are you musically inclined? There seems to be a band of colorful mermaids striking up a merry tune with reed flutes, horns made out of massive seashells, and is that a bass playing the bass? You bet your ass it is. . There's even a potential spot for the Circle to join in, if you're so inclined! They may even pay you for your services if you're really good. - The Queen has offered a reward for any information concerning the location of Princess Kea, who has been missing for a little over a week. A band of scrappy young investigators (complete with matching uniforms) is eager to begin, and has a list of potential "clues" to track down in the Palace area, ranging from: the Princess' prized hair-comb, her harpoon, information on her favorite restaurant, and her beloved pet flounder. None of these items are actually within reach except her favorite restaurant, which will happily either (1) talk about how amazing the Princess is or (2) accept help in the kitchens to serve up a busy restaurant time. Either way, you can earn some seashells. - The Royal Guard is looking for some mercenary work to comb the city for clues, and seeing as the Circle is oh-so-eager to help out with whatever is going on in Akvos, they're willing to give you a shot! The only problem is that you have to be ready to swim, so be prepared to swim endless laps in circles around the perimeter of Queen Wai's massive home to seemingly no avail. . . . do they actually need the help or are they just laughing at you? Dammit. - The Palace of Wahine has an underwater library, which is pretty expansive . . . how do they have all of these materials underwater? There are several helpful octopus-libraries that are using their various tentacles to grab books, scrolls, and other materials off of the shelves to hand them to nearby patrons, and there's a lot of material here about the history of Akvos! You may also find a pretty interesting comic book series revolving around a powerful mermaid who looks suspiciously like Queen Wai, who thwarts the evils of inequality. If you ask Queen Wai about it, she will assure you that she has nothing to do with it, and her constituents are creatively minded people . . . but she doesn't seem to mind the good press. ARRIVAL B: THE DEPTHS OF MARKOLOS. The second group arrives in a rare pocket of air in Akvos -- a massive cavern, with multiple alcoves along the walls. Here, the population seems to be rather bleak in comparison to the rainbow-colored folk in the Palace of Wahine -- merpeople with larger eyes, sharper teeth, and darker scales. You have successfully located the hunting grounds of the Kingdom of Akvos, known as the Depths of Markolos -- an impossibly deep sinkhole that stretches into the depths of oblivion. The local population here doesn't actually know what's at the bottom of it, but lately, there are odd happenings in the Depths that the population will tel you about. For one, dead fish seem to be appearing with increasing frequency, and the temperature of the Depths has dropped to a frigid point. Layers of ice have been found below the surface that were not there previously, and there is plenty of talk of whether or not their food supply for the Kingdom is endangered by whatever is causing this random bout of ice. Prompt Ideas: - Have you ever tried spear-fishing? An angler-fish mermaid, with haunting eyes and massively sharp teeth, is eager to teach the Otherworlders! She's pretty nice, despite her scary appearance, and will pay seashells to folks willing to stay in the "shallow" area of the Depths to spear pretty easy looking fish. She will also lend out fishing equipment for those want to give it a try! - The Brig is located in the Depths, and if you violate the law in other areas, you will be brought here. The cells are small and cramped, with no beds or cots to speak of, and you are fed less-than-great quality raw fish while in here. Petty thievery and the like will be punished for two days, and once you are released, you are stuck in the Depths You can also talk to some of the prisoners here, who will be interested in swapping a surprising amount of seashells for fresh raw fish. They also like to gamble. :) - There are some side-tunnels in the Depths along the walls that contain shellfish to hunt and scavange! The only problem is that some of them have a fairly strong current, and -- voila, it is a massive Slip-N-Slide. Sneaking into one will rocket you through a tunnel and spit you out at a lower level of the Depths, but be careful -- you might wind up face to face with a pretty terrifying looking fish that is a bit too big for you to handle, so explore these tunnels with some care. - The mermaids here will warn against going too deep into the Depths, but there is nothing to stop you from exploring. In addition to the ice clustered along the western wall of the cavern, there's plenty of creepy looking fish in the depths. In particular, the mermaids will warn you against infuriating a creature named Honohu -- who is this beloved little Leviathian-looking monstrosity who will absolutely attempt to eat you if you go too deep. Enjoy? ARRIVAL C: THE FIELDS OF AKOVOSIA The third group will be deposited in a beautiful coral reef, full of color and swaying seaweed. It is an impossibly beautiful sight, and the merpeople here are equally bright and colorful, to blend in with tehir surroundings. There are no shortage of clownfish and angelfish-esque merpeople floating around, collecting plantlife, creating new clothing, or even hunting poisonous smaller fish for usage in their medicinal techniques. However, the more you explore the fields, the more you begin to notice odd patches of dead coral. It almost looks as if certain random patches were afflicted by some type of illness that has completely robbed it of its color. The merpeople nearby will not know very much about it, but if you continue digging and asking the right people, perhaps you'll find out the source of this sudden illness. Prompt Ideas - Have you ever gone dolphin-racing? . . . or, well, they look like dolphins, complete with saddles and harnesses that the merfolk are entirely too eager to pass off onto the landfolk. It seems they race these dolphins in the currents for sport in between their collecting of plantlife and hunting. Feel free to ask the curator of these beings, a burly-looking mermaid who will happily lend you a dolphin for a seashell an hour. - Batter up! You can find what appears to be a weird baseball/rugby crossover sport, in which the merpeople crack hunks of coral with sticks . . . but then tackle each other at the different bases instead of, you know, tapping them lightly to signify them being out. They're always looking for new players to join, but be warned! They take their sport seriously. - Investigating the beautiful coral reef will garner a lot of pretty looking rocks and other types of intricate material that could be used for crafting, which is always up for collecting for money. Mermaids will be wandering around with baskets to collect various goods, so feel free to help out! - Finally, there are a lot of mermaids just sitting around shooting the shit, gossiping, fussing about home, and collecting materials to make what's needed in their day to day lives. A few of them seem to be knitting some type of material underwater -- weird, right? But feel free to obtain some cool textiles fresh off the proverbial racks, for a price. ARRIVAL D: THE THUNDERDOME. The last group to arrive may think that this is some type of stupid joke, as the merfolk around this area really do refer to it as the Thunderdome. It is a massive underwater cavern, filled with thousands and thousands of jellyfish. It seems that the merfolk tend to these beings for a multitude of reasons -- one, for food, two, for venom, and three, for . . . electricity? The jellyfish in this area seem to crackle with energy, and the merfolk in this area will inform you that this is where they obtain power which they charge their weapons and lights with. The bioluminescence is pretty startling to see, and the jellyfish themselves seem to be relatively harmless. But there is a certain area of the Thunderdome that is flickering in and out of darkness . . . an area where the jellyfish seem to be a lot less bright. The merfolk don't really understand what's going on, but whatever is happening in Akvos seems to be affecting the jellyfish in a negative way. They don't seem horribly concerned, but. Here we are. Prompt Ideas: - The armory is located in the Thunderdome, and you can buy a bunch of cool weapons here! Glow in the dark swords, electrified knives, bows, and harpoons can be found here, varying in price. They all seem to be rust-proof, too, given their environment, and the craftsmanship here is like no other. The people here really take their craft seriously, so happy shopping. - The main attraction here, though, is definitely the jellyfish. They deliver a rather nasty shock, and anyone who touches them will glow a weird blue color for at least three days afterwards. The merpeople seem to know how to fix this, but likely will not do so because they warned you not to touch the damn things, you stupid landfolk. Navigate them carefully, and you may even be able to earn some coin in helping shepherd them! - A group of mermaids are looking for people to fish out the sickly looking jellyfish in order to be treated by what appears to be Akvos' version of a veterinarian. The sickly looking ones are the ones that are flickering dim, and while the veterinarian has no idea what is going on with them, they want them out. Just be careful not to touch them, though. You will definitely glow blue for a few days, even though these ones are ill! - The mermaids in the Thunderdome enjoy practicing their skills with each other, in terms of weaponry, battle tactics, and the like, but they also enjoy their downtime too! Find little pockets of folks hanging out, chatting, and playing some weird game that involves what appear to be coral dice and flattened stones. It almost looks like they're gambling seashells or something . . . time to get in on the action, if you can learn the rules, anyway. Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! REMEMBER: For the entirety of this log, you can only physically interact with those in your group. For the first two weeks, the network will be completely defunct. After two weeks, you may send intermittent text messages to those in other groups. From this point forward, the Circle has become involved with the Kingdom of Akvos. What your character finds out, decides, and does from here on out will affect the future of this city- one way or another! But what you do is completely up to you. What you discover, explore, and uncover will be yours to discover, explore, and uncover. Who knows what you might find? :)

Comments

GROUP A

[p_mortem]

i.
[ Minato had wished for a large city for their next world to save, so he should be counting his blessings instead of lamenting the fact that not only is the place underwater, but even the indoors is submerged in water. There's no denying that the palace is beautiful, and Minato feels incredibly out of his element even as he treads water and looks about him- to find several groups of mermaids looking back.

They're like girls in his high school, always travelling together in pairs or small groups, which makes it hard to approach, but that never stopped him. Maybe he'd gotten too comfortable around them, because eventually, he's surrounded by all sides like a child being ganged up by a group of colorful thugs. But if you get close enough to hear their conversation, they're talking about...

makeup?

They're discussing liquid eyeliner and Minato has five sticks of pigment in his hands. ]

Guaranteed waterproof, huh... These'll be useful. Can I really have them?

[ They'll be useful for what? Listen, despite all other evidence, he knows what he's doing. This time. ]

ii.
—sorry, could you repeat that again?

[ There are half a dozen babbling children surrounding Minato, tugging him this way and that, and his feet have floated off the ground so that he's at the mercy of whichever way they pull him. He doesn't look too bothered, although he keeps trying to listen to one child before another pulls on his hair or undoes his shoelaces in a bid for attention.

"Keali'i'wahinewai!" one of the little merchildren gurgles in his ear, from where she's clinging onto his arm. "Ke! A! Li! I! Wa! Hi! Ne! Wai!!" ]

Keali'i'wa— ouch...

[ That's his hair being tugged again... Minato heaves a sigh, casting his gaze out for somebody else- mermaid or otherwise- who looks to be good with children. Somebody, please. He's not sure he's the best choice for a babysitter, and he definitely isn't getting paid enough for this. ]

iii.
[ It's always the case, in a small town or a large city, that gossip travels quickly- and even quicker when you find the right people to ask, who are ever eager to talk to somebody who hasn't heard the story half a dozen times already. Minato's more of an eavesdropper than an interrogator, but while he's usually fine going around by himself and mingling with the crowd regardless, he really stands out in this population of tailfinned folk, lingering in front of the princess' supposedly favorite restaurant. ]

Hey, do you want to grab lung with me...? I keep getting weird looks when I'm just standing around by myself.

[ Nobody just stands there doing nothing, that's suspicious. But with somebody else with him, he won't look so pathetic eating alone and drawing pitying looks.

He's also. getting a tube of eye liner out if you say yes. He knows what he's doing, okay? ]

iv.
[ After several days of asking around, Minato starts feeling a little restless about the situation. Disappearances... apathy... It's not a problem new to him, although he hopes the situation is entirely different. He's not the best at making sense of information, but he can at least start somewhere and try to get everybody to collaborate and pool together what information they have.

He finds a place near the center of the palace where they'd all originally arrived, and has a tarp stretched out before him, weighed down on the corners by an upside down pot, a stack of rocks, and two cans of beans. On the tarp, he'd been writing down some of the things he'd heard around the palace— of the princess' strange behavior, of her last sighted location being the "Fields", etc. ]

If you learn anything else, could you write it down here? Having everything down in one place will help us put the pieces together.

[ Threadjacking is a-okay for this prompt! Or if you just want to jot down some notes and be on your merry way. ]

wc.
[ My plotting comment is here and my plurk is birdseed if you want to plot something else! This wildcard prompt may also apply to people from other groups after the 2nd week. ]

IV.

[dadandgone]

[Maes is all about information gathering and now that he had a clue of what to expect this time (underwater, fish people, etc.) he'd tried to pack a back that could accommodate some water-based travel. And food, because after the last world, he wasn't risking that fiasco again.

He'd come upon Minato's spread mostly by chance, but he's impressed by the ingenuity of it. He treads water for a moment, taking it in.]

That's a great plan. What have we got so far? I've been visiting the library, so I can try to contribute some of that information.

GROUP C

[cmyk]

i.
[ deep breaths

just take a deep breath and

CALMING DEEP BREATHS DON'T WORK WHEN EVERY TIME SHE TRIES, THE SENSATION OF DROWNING GRIPS HER THROAT and there's no way she'll get used to this, fighting against the natural instinct to hold her breath and not inhale water when she's completely submerged. With all this water around them all, nobody can even tell she's crying, eyes squeezed shut so water doesn't get into her eyes (salt water? freshwater? she doesn't know! it might be teeming with bacteria!! what if she goes blind!!!!!)

Hopefully everybody's already gone on their merry way from where they all first arrived so Yachi can die in peace. ]

ii.
[ However long it gets her to open her eyes, the sight immediately steals her breath away- and it's such a sight to behold, all the colors and the life the water is teeming with and she can't help but gasp in wonder.

Against her better judgement, she pushes off the ground towards the reef—- or, that was the plan, but something grips her around the ankles and she's saved from falling flat on her face only because the water steadies her back out.

But looking down at her feet, there's a patch of seaweed that doesn't look like it belongs in the fields of coral, tangled around her ankles and legs and only growing thicker and more unwieldy every time her feet stomp the ground as she struggles, trying to pull herself free to no avail. Alright! Yeah! Cool! ]

Somebody help...!

[ Hmm, maybe don't struggle, because coral is deceivingly sharp, and while nobody can see her tears, they could definitely see blood. ]

iii.
[ Over the course of a few days, some patches of dying coral appear to see new growth- not of coral, exactly, but other aquatic plants that are just as bright and colorful, a trail of which follows behind Yachi every time she steps down on the coral's surface. The streaks of plants and flowers here seem a little haphazard... aaaaand there is Yachi trying to run and dodge from one of the mermaids, who keeps trying to shove a bag of something in Yachi's hands but the other girl keeps trying to go around her and run away— an impossible feat when you're trying to walk under water and are faced off with somebody who can swim circles around you.

"Please stay still! I just want to pay you for your help!" the mermaid is saying, rattling the bag of shells as if the sound of clattering currency would get through to Yachi, although it's questionable that she hears any of this when she's screaming as per usual. ]

iv.
[ Presumably by now, somebody's gripped Yachi's shoulders and told her to calm tf down. She's calm. Super calm. Staring a dolphin dead in the eyes, like you're supposed to do with either a cat or a dog to establish dominance but not the other and she can't remember which is which.

The dolphin stares back at her, chattering.

Be brave, Hitoka, she tells herself, easing towards the dolphin and gripping the harness. She had wanted to see what was on the other side of the field of coral, where the patches of coral seem to be getting worse, and it would take forever trying to walk or swim that distance. The dolphins are used as transportation, she'd been told, and she knows all those stories of dolphins saving people from drowning- they're good, helpful creatures! She's got to believe that!

...

And here we flash forward to something zooming by your character's face like a torpedo, and if you happen to catch what it is, you might see (or hear; you'll probably hear, long before it comes and a while after) a girl, who'd fallen off the saddle, with her foot caught in one of the stirrups, at the complete mercy of this speeding dolphin who either does not notice, or is an asshole who thinks it's funny and does not care. ]

wc.
[ My plotting comment is here and my plurk is birdseed if you want to plot something else! This wildcard prompt may also apply to people from other groups after the 2nd week. ]

ii

[extirpator]

[ the sensation of drowning overwhelms his senses for a moment — but he's practiced being underwater enough. hyperaware of his surroundings and a bit too alert, he registers the crimson before he registers her...well, actual scream. ]

I'm coming!

[ he shifts his onto his heels, launching himself forward (like sharknado), motioning his arms forward and back to propel himself further. his heel settles onto the coral, and he unsheathes his sword before crouching down. ]

Stay still, alright? [ nier's voice is gentle; soft, in spite of the circumstances, look a mother trying to soothe a crying infant. ] I'm going to cut through the seaweed. If you keep stomping, the coral'll hurt you, so bear with me for a moment...

group A

[reeliable]

a.
[It hasn't been all that long since arriving, but Noctis has been having a somewhat unique problem - and that's the gaggle of mermaids that have taken to following him around. What he really wants to do is get away and figure out just how to swim and actually speak better while underwater, but having a crowd is making it difficult.

It doesn't help that the mermaids are giving him some very pointed smiles, batting of eyes, and express how nice he would look with a tail - and the look he gives the first Circle member he finds is a strained help. He's not straight out uncomfortable yet, but boy this wallflower wants to melt into the floor with this additional attention he's getting. The cause is more apparent when he swims closer, with two slits on either side of his neck flaring partially open and revealing neat, light blue gills.

Swooping around, he is just going to hold onto this unfortunate (fortunate?) person's shoulders and give an awkward smile.]


b.
[Noct has finally slipped away from his admirers long enough to find the library, and - well, there is a stack of comic books beside him - he has his nose in a larger book that shows the general geography of the city, and he is currently trying to decide further places to explore once he figures out how. It's a lot of space to cover without fins, and it isn't that he's a bad swimmer. Frowning, finally glancing up as he spies someone else going by with another book, he reaches up to catch their attention and gesture at his table.]

Hey, are you researching? I've got space, if you want to bounce ideas.


c.
[Wildcard! If we planned something out that we want to have happen, slam it here! Otherwise you can hit me up on discord, or on plurk at garchomps]

a;;;

[p_mortem]

[ Oh. Hello.

Minato blinks at Noctis' face for a second, before tilting his head to look over his shoulders at the other mermaids circling around them. With the way they keep trying to reach for Noctis' hand, or play with his hair, or coo at his face, it isn't hard at all to put context clues together.

Minato clears his voice, and puts his hand on Noctis' arm, turning to address the mermaids. ]

Back off. He's mine.

[ Is this how you scare away suitors?? idk ]

group c

[intoningly]

I. SEABISCUIT

[

This

but it's Zero on a dolphin, and that dolphin is barreling towards you at an extremely fast speed.

Get out of the way or don't? Regardless of whether she does or doesn't mow you over, she'll trap you by swimming very fast circles around you. ]

HEY! You got a second?

[ She asks, like you can really get away from her anyway. ]

II. Alls Fair in Love and Underwater Rugby

[ Again, you're probably just minding your own business– collecting shells, getting hit on by merfolk, etc.

Then in another second, you're on the ground. You've just had 130 pounds of Zero hurled at you in a full body tackle. You probably want an explanation right? Zero stands, a ball tucked under her arm. ]

You were standing on my third base.

[ To make her point she prods a large, flat shell at your feet with her toe. ]

I'm practicing. So either play, or get out of the way.

III. Wildcard

Hit me with whatever, my plurk is valroyeaux if you wanna plot

seabiscuit

[archaeo]

Slow down!

[Aphra shouts as she just barely rolls out of the way. And now she's trapped. Great.]

What is it?

Group C | Hunk | OTA

[formleg]

I. Meet the Locals
[Hunk spins around.]

Woah what?!

[He gasps, speaking under water is startling and he gasps for a second, thinking he's about to die. In his surprise he sort of...spins...in the water before collecting himself. He's fine. This is just that world jump they'd been warned about...but who was that guy on the watches. Hunk looks around but doesn't see anyone he recognizes. He tries again.]

Hello? Can anyone hear me?

[He's speaking slowly, getting used to the feeling of it, but the watch doesn't seem to be responding at all. Hunk frowns, tapping at the screen with his finger.]

Come on. Don't tell me they're going to break now! Did I get the only non-waterproof one?

[He debates breaking it open, but exposing the inner workings to the water seems like an even worse plan. He hears voices nearby and swims over, coming around a particularly thick batch of coral -- only to find a trio of mermaids. Of course. He floats for a moment and they stare at him with equal surprise.]

Uh...hi? [There's a pause and then he asks.] It's not safe and warm here, is it?

II. Food Or Medicine
[After he gets adjusted to the fact that they are under water, they can breathe, and nothing here is immediately trying to kill him...well Hunk takes to the culture pretty well. He'd obviously drawn to the food stalls which seem to be just as colorful as everything else. The mermaid behind the stall is giving Hunk a curious look, but she doesn't seem to mind his attention or questions.]

Okay, hold on, you're telling me the mucus from this sea slug can unclog your sinuses AND you use it as a sauce? [There's a pause and then he asks.] Can I try some?

III. Coral Collection
[Hunk's a baker and a mechanic, so he understands the importance of gathering the right materials. He'd seen a lot of stuff in the market, figured out their system of exchange, and decided why not? Hunk can be found floating among the coral, holding a basket and tucking various pieces of coral and plants into it. Maybe you're helping him or just swimming nearby, but he sees you and waves.

But then his eyes go wide and he calls out.]

Watch out! That's poisonous.

[Apparently whatever you were about to swim into or touch isn't good for you.]

IV. Boldly Open
[Don't see something of interest here? Hit me up on Discord, PM or bouncyerbear if you want to plan something or start your own prompt below.]

ii

[cakewitch]

[ She is very interested to know if the sea slug mucus is any good and swims closer. In her gorgon form, it may not originally be clear that she isn't just a different kind of merperson until she speaks up, ]

I've been wondering what kind of cooking they could possibly do down here. Last time I vacationed in a mermaid dimension, we mostly ate raw fish and seaweed.

Sara Lance | Group A

[sassy_assassin]

I. Arrival
[ Sara's first reaction is a bit of panic—she and deep water don't have a good history. However, it's just for a moment. Her training to remain calm kicks in and she realizes she can breathe... or something like it. In any event, she's not drowning, this isn't Lian Yu (probably) and... Are those mermaids? ]

What in the fresh hell is this?

II. Investigation
[ After a few minutes adjusting to her situation and processing her location, Sara decides... hey, why not investigate? She's got nothing else going on and she'll probably run into Zari and John sooner or later. She's not great at being idle, so why not ask around. Maybe the fish princess will be grateful for her efforts. So, she approaches some of the locals to inquire. ]

Hey. How's the whole princess hunt going?

III. Restaurant life
[ For lack of any real leads on the investigation, Sara decides to help out at the restaurant. She has experience, after all, and it'd be a good place to eavesdrop and try to get clues. Come and find her there! ]

IV. Wild Card!
You probably have some more creative encounters in mind!

(( you can hit me up at lulabeth ))

i

[dadandgone]

[Maes is only prepared for this place in that Astoria had warned him there would be water involved...and fish people. Keith had also mentioned that maybe Astoria would forget that they couldn't breathe under water. So, when Maes blinks and finds himself floating in the ocean's depths he's...also nearly in a panic.

Hadn't he already nearly drowned once thanks to those eels in the caverns? And now he was about to do it AGAIN? He'd thought that surely Astoria couldn't forget something so crucial.

Except then his panic catches up to his logic. Arriving here, he'd already taken a breath and while he had breathed in water it hadn't really...felt like that. Maes hears a voice near him about that time as well and he looks over at Sara.]

This.

[There's hesitation, he's testing out this whole 'speaking under water thing'.]

This would be the new world...

Konoha | Group C

[lumberlady]

01 | ARRIVAL | LOST: ONE BLACK JINBA

[It's disorienting enough to breathe air one minute and water the next. To be listening to that message and then be in the ocean. Thanks to one of Waver's spells back in the lake caves this isn't the first time she's done it, miraculously enough, but she still thinks she's going to drown at first. Still takes a while to figure out how to speak, how to orient herself underwater, navigate the currents, but-]

Have you seen Mikuni?

[She's growing frantic again for a different reason, paddling around with powerful kicks and trying to be understandable when she speaks, gesturing around them, at the scattered, smaller seeming group.]

He's a jinba, like me, but all black! He was just here-

02 | DEAD CORAL REEF | GRAFTING

[Konoha may have grown up on a farm, spent every year since she was old enough to stand planting rice and tending crops, but she didn't know about coral. Still, she was hoping the same general rules applied... and if there was a blight, you had to clear it out and replant! So she's swimming with purpose, hauling a large chunk of living coral in her hands, weighing her down to the point that she can semi-walk along the sea floor, gritting her teeth with effort but not complaining.

Getting to the space she'd cleared out in preparation for new transplanted growth... Konoha is displeased to see an eel has set up shop in the hole she made, and she casts around for the nearest person, not wanting to deal with wrestling the large chunk of rock and attached coral down and then back up again. (It's a real awkward shape!)]

Hey- Excuse me! Can you chase this eel out of here?

03 | LIVE CORAL REEF | INJURY

[Trying to get live coral for these grafting attempts doesn't prove easy. The merpeople had thankfully been willing to show her not just how they did their weaving but also how they waterproof their metal, so she's got her tools, but. You need a really good footing to pry a large piece of coral out of the reef bed, have to weight yourself down so you don't float away, and with poisonous fish to dodge every now and then, the ocean currents, and, you know... trying to brace on coral...

For anyone else in the area, there's a sudden yelp, a scraping, scrambling, and then the noise dies in a whimper and a barely audible "ouch, ouch, ouch-"... Before the scent of blood in the water, and then the sight, begins to drift out from where a certain centaur's front leg has punched through some rocky coral branches into a hole in the reef, cutting her in the process.]

04 | ENCAMPMENT | TETHER

[It's hard to tell the time, under the sea. It seems like the days blur together, and Konoha has to end up just... sleeping when she's tired, or when the merpeople do. Just like when they're in the Temple she keeps as busy as she can, trying to figure out why the coral is dying, "infiltrating" the merwomen weaving circle to talk with them a bit freer...

A. And now she's trying to brush her hair. Usually done up in a bun atop her head, long, voluminous strands are wafting in the water like inky black tentacles as she tries to get it untangled with a small comb... Until she spots a fellow Circle member also headed to sleep- or looking like it.]

Need some rope? I've got some extra.

[... Which might be a weird question, but. There is a rope wrapped around her lower equine chest, tied loosely to... a large hunk of coral. This centaur isn't drifting off into the depths while she sleeps, thank you very much.]

B. Other times she can be seen tethered to some coral... crafting? She's got a basket filled with the textile materials favored by the locals as well as shells and pretty sea glass and coral, staring at the pair of arm guards she'd been given by the merwomen and trying to replicate the weave, nibbling on her bottom lip in concentration.

When she sees someone approaching she assumes it's for her Astoria power, which she's been vocal about to the new arrivals, looking up with a smile.]

Hey there... Hungry?

05 | WILDCARD

[If there's too many hits on the other prompts or you have a different idea, feel free to tag me with whatever, hit me up at stormcoming, or consult Konoha's plotting post comment]

03

[extirpator]

[ crimson. copper. his ears perk. his eyes rover. and then— ]

Konoha!

[ the water has er, nerfed his speed quite a bit, but he "sprints" just about as much as he can — once he reaches her, nier is quick to undo the cloth belt around his waist before dropping to his feet. ]

Come over here. We need to treat this.

Group D

[foundafamily]

A. Shepherding jellyfish, anywhere, any time

[Firo is relatively adaptable to their physical situation—after frantically trying to swim the surface and resigning himself to drowning when he doesn’t make it, he eventually figures out that they can breathe here. For… some reason. He’s not going to think too hard about it, wary that if he does, the spell will break and he’ll drown for real.

If the crushing weight of the water above (don’t think about it) and the lack of air around him (don’t think about it) don’t disturb him for long, one thing does: where the hell is everybody? Information is sparse as he wanders the waters, and he eventually has to admit that this isn’t going to be a quick search. In the meantime, he finds himself roped into helping with the jellyfish. Maybe it’ll ingratiate him with their hosts, maybe it’ll get him money to bribe them, either way, it seems a good plan.

Now the only problem is the implementation. Fellow shepherds may notice that one of their own is having a spat with one his stubborn jellyfish charges:]

Hey, you—get over here—

[He’s been warned. But he reaches out to swat the jellyfish in the direction he wants it to go anyway.

And gets fried for his troubles.

When he regains his senses, he growls at the jellyfish, impotently angry. And very blue.]

You little—

[Point and laugh, y/n?]

B. Gambling, anywhere, any time

[Firo’s not not enjoying playing with the jellyfish, but he’s relieved to see that gambling is alive and well here too. He may be underwater but this is his element. At any point, you can catch him first observing to learn the games and then diving into the action himself—eventually amassing a pile of shells.

He studiously keeps his eyes on the objects of play and away from the mermaids themselves, using only his peripheral vision to pick up clues in body language. Maybe it’s strategy …maybe he’s just really shy, as the observant person may notice a faint pinkness to his cheeks. Underwater fashion is a lot for a 1930s guy to get used to.

In between games, he’ll give a nod of greeting to any Circle member who arrives on the scene.]

You played before?

C. At the far wall, a few days after they arrive

[Firo squints at the message, as if the longer he looks at it, the more it might reveal. Predictably, that’s not the case.

He’s talking to himself but, since he’s not bothering to modulate his volume at all, it might sound like he’s addressing someone.]

Guess we didn’t really help much in the end, huh?

D. Wildcard
[ooc: Feel free to hit me up (pm, crowghostie, discord at crowghostie#2437, carrier pigeon, etc.) or just throw something out there if there’s something else you’d like to do!]

C.

[tamerinblue]

[A bored pre-teen is never a good thing. She wasn't interested in gambling or jellyfish herds. She wanted to do something, but those weapons cost money and she wasn't quite motivated enough to try.

Which left exploring. She probably should have said something sooner, instead of following the older Circle member who seemed to be following some kind of coin. But, she wasn't quite used to speaking up...she preferred action and it's not like he called her out on following him or anything.

It feels a little strange then when he suddenly seems to address her. Was he talking to her? She wasn't close enough to make out the writing, but decides that invitation enough and swims up beside him instead.]

What does that mean?

Group C

[brodakota]

[A - Initial Arrival]

[North has never really jumped worlds before. There was his initial arrival, but he doesn't remember that a whole lot, on account having several different thoughts at the time. Needless to say, suddenly finding himself surrounded by bright coral and water was a bit of a wake up call. Wait...water?

There's a brief moment of flailing and floundering as North attempts to swim up, looking for place with air because he's probably going to run out soon before it occurs to him that he's not drowning. He also doesn't have his armour with him, which he's not sure is a good thing or not.]

So....is that normally what happens?

[B - Dolphin Racing]

[Things North should probably be doing: looking for his friends, checking in on the other people who have arrived, setting up some sort of camp or respite area to sort out what's going on.

Things North is not doing: Any of the aforementioned things.

Things North is doing: getting completely distracted by the dolphin? racing.

He can honestly say he's never seen anything like it. He's seen horse races, sure. but this is on a whole different level. And well, he wants to try it. What's the point of coming to a new world if you can't try things like this after all? He'd never get the chance otherwise.

He'll at least try to be subtle about it.]

So I think we can rent those things. It might help us with trying to figure out what's going on here. Or at least cut down the travel distance.

[He's not eager, not at all.]


[C - Investigating the Coral]

[North is not quite sure where to start with this investigation. It's never really been his job or strong suit. He was a sniper after all, so he could do long distance recon or taking out targets. Hard investigations and talking to people? It's still kind of a new area.

But the locals are friendly, or at least, interested in him. He's been handed a basket and is using it to collect pieces of coral that seem interesting. Some of it is shiny and bright and could be used for currency. Most is dull and dead, but North figures he can use that to maybe get a closer look, see if they can science anything out of it. Hopefully someone in the group is a little more inclined towards that field.

Of course, all of this is kind of hard to concentrate on when he can hear the locals giggling, and a few swimming past a little close for comfort.]

I think this is enough for now.

[Maybe he has enough for some of the textiles he saw. He's got to keep his pants deals after all.]

[D - Wildcard]

[ooc: If you want to plot something else, let me know!]

( prompt b! )

[sunborne]

... how much will it be?

[ daylight didn't have a lot of money to his name. (well, er, for this world, to be clear. he's pretty sure he's comfortable enough back in his world.) he still was trying to figure out what seashells were decorative and what seashells are actual currency.

he begins to pat himself down in search of some seashells that he knows, for sure, is money. some of the merfolk gave it to him as thanks after he gave them their copies of the sketches he made. ]

Beat | Group D

[soundsurfing]

1. i'm blue da ba dee da ba daa

[ 'Don't touch the jelly fish' had gone in one ear and out the other, and once Beat had figured out how to maneuver himself around more gracefully in the water, what's the first thing he's doing?

Reaching straight out towards a jellyfish. The Princess could wait until his most basic need of sheer curiosity had been filled. Plus, back home, Jellyfish fights are a thing during the game and maybe they're warning not to touch if you don't want to fight?

No, they're warning because the moment Beat paps a jellyfish - relatively gently with his palm - there's a water-muffled CRACK! of someone being zapped and a lot of bubbles. Those bubbles are because Beat yelled, a lot, and hasn't figured out how to talk properly underwater. Which is probably good as there was a lot of swearing.

Beat backpedals as fast/good as he can, cradling his hand and slowly beginning to glow blue. He hopes no one saw that... ]


2. sorry beat, your princess is in another gambling circle

[ Okay, so this isn't looking for the Princess either but, well, he didn't want to be among the Jellyfish right now. The mermaids, after heartily laughing over his blue state, agreed to introduce him to their little game. He's simply watching for now, however, sitting nearby and nursing his right hand where he got zapped. Oh it requires shells. Shoot.

He turns to the nearest non-mermaid with a furrowed brow look. ]

Uh... do you know if they mean specials shells or jus' like, beach shells?


3. whose afraid of the big bad jellyfish?

[ Back at it, Beat looks like he's now actually helping out, using tools provided by the mermaids to gently catch and bring in the sickly looking jellyfish. His careful handling gets a few giggles from the stalwarts who've been at this for years, but he remembers the shock, and doesn't care if these are ill. They probably still hurt. ]

Yo what's wrong wid 'em??

[ The murmurs he gets back are along the lines of don't know, unsure, trying to find out, etcetera, and he looks frustrated. He's still helping, however, and will be grateful for anyones aid so he doesn't get shocked again. Yeah he's completely forgotten about a Princess. ]

4. round and about

[ Wildcard! Anything else you want to snag Beat for? He'll be here and there, checking out weapons or warning people to NOT TOUCH THE JELLYFISH. ]

1

[tamerinblue]

[Ruki wasn't particularly interested in poking around the jellyfish, but there didn't seem to be a lot else to do out here in the Thunderdome. She's only half paying attention as Beat floats towards one. She tilts her head. He can't seriously be considering touching one them...

Oh, yes, he apparently is considering that. To her credit, Ruki does wince when he's zapped with a good jolt of electricity. He seems to be fine though and Ruki shakes her head, chuckling a bit as he starts to glow blue.]

Way to be stupid. They told us not to touch them.

[Apparently she's mastered talking under water just fine.]

group b!

[televised]

option a:

[Well. This sure is happening. And as if the entire experience of suddenly being shifted to another world isn't disorientating enough, then there's the message they all receive shortly thereafter. North keeps staring at her watch after the connection dies, eerily still in the way that only an android could be, no effort expended in avoiding the uncanny valley. It's only after a good, long moment that she snaps out of it, mumbling to no one in particular:]

... Who the hell is Kathashun?

[Whomst the hell, indeed.]

option b:

[After an initial bout of exploring, North can be spotted exiting the Brig. There's something of a thoughtful look on her face, her eyebrows knit together as she rubs her thumb against her index finger in something of an anxious gesture... and then she makes eye contact with one of the other members of the Circle. Her expression hardens as soon as that happens, her hand stilling entirely and falling to her side. After a beat, she marches right up to whoever it is she spotted.]

You. [Yes, you.] Are you any good with a spear? The prisoners will supposedly pay us if we bring them fresh fish.

[They're gonna need some of that sweet, sweet money if they're going to be stuck here for a while.]

option c:

[So. About the dead fish.

Because androids gotta be androids, North is just going to. Casually pick one up. Turn it over. Inspect it like there is absolutely nothing gross about this. And once she's apparently determined that it's just, you know, a dead fish? She's going to toss it over her shoulder without making sure nobody was standing behind her.

Sorry, but not sorry if it happens to hit anybody on the face. Them's the breaks, folks.]

wild card.

[Come up with your own scenario or remix one of the above! I have a plotting comment over here, and anyone is free to hmu on plurk over at beheads.]

c......of course

[punshots]

[ And from behind her, there comes a yelp of utter surprise and then a long, long sound of disgust. Not that he should be surprised by the presence of fish, you know, here, but when a slimy, stinky dead fish catches you in the eye with no warning, it's a fair reaction. The fish slaps Prompto unceremoniously right across the face, and caught off-guard as he is, he stumbles back a few paces, sputtering: ]

Euuurgh, grossgrossgrossgross — fish eye, I got fish eye!!! Fish in my eye—

[ He makes it sound like some kind of medical condition, but should North turn around at this outburst, she'll find one blonde (human) boy with a hand over his eye in a makeshift eyepatch. ]

Wh-wh...where did that...why'd...

[ With his remaining eye, he twists around, looking wildly for the source of the dead fish assault. He looks up, too, in case, y'know, it's raining fish in here. ]

Joshua | Group B

[giveuponyourself]

[A] At the Sinkhole

Well, this place is depressing...

[He's mostly talking to himself as he pokes around. Needless to say, arriving in a dark, underwater cavern was a bit.. jarring. If he were more used to his human form already, he'd have had more of a panic about the being about to breath underwater thing, but thankfully as it stands he's just sort of... assumed he'd be able to breath! That worked out shockingly well.

Though the surroundings were a different matter. Swimming wasn't so bad-- it kind of just felt like he was able to levitate again, which was frankly a huge relief! But it was also fucking freezing. And here he is, standing close to the cold, icy shelf, and his hand extended outwards, as one of the poor dead fish floats in front of him with a soft blue glow.]

Good grief... that's not pretty.


[B] Tunnels

[Yes, it seems like Joshua's current interest was just accruing as many seashells as he could, given that it was the currency here. This place was freezing and boring, but there was a lot you could do with the seedy type of characters that hung out in the dark, and a good handful of money.

Thankfully, it's pretty easy to do! His telekinesis may not have been as strong as it had during the Game, but it made it easy to hold on to a part of the wall, and reach out to pick up one shellfish at a time, and float it over to his slowly growing cache.]


[C] The Brig

[Why are you here. Why are you here with Josh? Because Joshua has a handful of seashells, and wants to see what kind of fun gambling games are happening here with aforementioned seedy underbelly!]

Come on. Maybe just a couple round of cards~?


[D] Fishing?

[Well-- the angler fish-mermaid was kind of enough to be showing people how to fish, and Joshua really has nothing else to do. They were supposed to find the Princess? Or something? But by all accounts, it seemed like there was no 'princess' to be had in the depths.

So, why not! He'd taken up one of the offer spears and listened to the mermaid's instructions. This body wasn't exactly the most physically able, but he's still being a flashy idiot, trying to spin the spear around on the back of his wrist. With a little help of his telekinesis, with the tip of the spear glowing blue to show that he was totally not doing this out of natural talent.

It gets a good chuckle of amusement out of him, before he finally stops and holds it in his hand, hefting it aloft and actually aiming it. At whoever's nearby. Though it's just for fun, and he has no intention of actually goring another person.]

Careful~


[CLOSED for North] Two Idiots Screaming dot wav(e)

[It's probably just happenstance that brings the two of them around to learn some spear-fishing at the same time. They've got the basics down at least! Josh has even managed to nab a fish or two, but now he's still busy messing around with the old fishing spear, balancing it on the back of his hand-- with a bit of telekinetic help, keeping the spearhead steady.]

Hey-- think you can reach that one over there?

[He points to one of the fresh, not dead fish a few feet away from their position.]

you know which on(e)

[televised]

[In an ideal world, North would be spearfishing by herself. But since this ain't an ideal world, she has no choice but to grudgingly accept the company of someone who she presumes to be human. The task itself isn't as uphill a climb as she had initially believed, given the difference in physics, but it would be a lie if she said she wasn't frustrated in the slightest.

Raising an eyebrow when he speaks up, she glances his way before directing her attention to she fish he just pointed out, watching it as it lazily swims through the shallow waters.]

I might.

[Might, if only because this is far remove from any experience she's previously had. It takes her a second to calculate trajectory, strength, velocity... and how all of this would be affected as the spear moves underwater. If she still had her LED, it would be flickering while she thinks. But since she doesn't, all Joshua will be able to see is a minute twitching of her eyes before she adjusts her grip on her spear and throws it.

It finds its target a moment later, stabbing through the fish at an angle and pinning it to ground... Though not without raising a dust cloud and disturbing some of the fish corpses around them. Gross.]

Group B

[fashionabot]

a. arrival

[ The sudden switch into another world is a new sensation and with the sound of water, for a moment she's deathly afraid that she might be taking another nosedive into the lake. Fortunately, she's only dropped off in one of rare pockets of air in this world.

After the initial transmission from Kathashun, she desperately tries to operate her watch to send a message out. The first person she thinks of trying to contact is her captain. ]

Number 2?

[ ...Nothing. The network is completely defunct. Great. A4 isn't used to working on her own, without someone to follow.

Looking down, she finds a package still grasped in one arm. She opens it, pulling out a piece of dried peach to munch on. Androids don't actually need to eat... yet she's capable of it. Stress eating, maybe??? But she'll just smile at you if you come up to her...

For those of you who may know Connor, you'll recognize that she's wearing his CyberLife jacket, with the front open. This is not the android from CyberLife??? It's not the proper size for her either. In fact, it might be a little too long... ]

b. spear fishing

[ Eventually, A4 attempts to take on spear fishing, sacrificing her time on the rare pocket of air in the cavern and into the water. At this point, she'd lost count how many times she'd got her dress soaked. Her dense, heavy build allows her to simply walk across the shallow area's ocean floor instead of swimming.

It takes awhile for her to get used to it... but she can later be seen simply walking back out of the water, a fish stuck on her spear. It might be considered one of the "easy" fish, but look— she's smiling and proud of herself. ]

Look, look! I did it!

c. exploration

[ If you look like you're going off to explore the tunnels on your own, A4 won't allow it. She needs something to do, plus she'd hate to any of her fellow Circle members get hurt. By now, she'd acquired a spear from her fishing lessons that will likely be useful for fighting if she needs to.

Hopefully wherever you're headed has a slower current that's easier to wade through. She's a heavy android, likely to fall further down the depths if she isn't careful enough. ]

Hey, wait up!

d. wild card

[ My plotting comment is here and feel free to hit me up at propinkist! ]

c!!

[televised]

[Had it been anyone else, North would have carried on without bothering to slow down for the person calling after her. Luckily(?) for A4, North happens to be okay with her company — meaning that she stops long enough for her fellow android to catch up.

Turning around, North opens her mouth to say something





and promptly makes a noise that's not entirely unlike a dying animal, her voice modulator apparently taking a dump the minute her eyes land on the CyberLife jacket.]

—What are you wearing?

[h m.]

Group A

[flyingsolos]

i.

[ Well. This is problematic. Not only has she ended up underwater, her lungs rebelling for a good chunk of time at the very concept of speaking underwater, but she's ended up without... well, Kou. Akira. Ann. Prompto. Quite a few other people who are very much not here, and as much as Rion's been searching for them on her own, she's finally inclined to ask some of the natives.

You can catch her speaking with three of them now, one of them playfully tugging her up to eye-level when she starts to sink. ]

So two guys, asking about the Circle... a King and a-- seriously, they can world hop too?? Ah, wait-- I mean, that's super helpful, thank you, but can I ask just one more huge favor?

[ As they tilt their heads, Rion seems to be struggling to figure out how to word this. ]

If you see a dark-haired guy while you're out and about and he's about to do something stupid, please stop him. Smack him if you have to. Oh, but that's the dark-haired guy who always looks bored, not the dark-haired guy who's got-- well, maybe he won't have his glasses here, but he's good-looking and he's taken, but you can stop him from doing something stupid too. And there's this dorky-looking blond guy who'll want to take selfies--

... You know what, please just keep an eye out for any guys. They're probably going to do something dumb.


ii.

[ Is she musically inclined-- SHE SURE IS. And while she's still trying to learn all she can about why the heck the King of El Minha was here and what happened to the missing princess, even Rion has to take a break.

So she can be found perched on the comfiest thing that constitutes a seat, listening to the mermaids play (while trying not to think about certain Disney movies) and giving her throat a try once she thinks she's picked up on one of the melodies.

She ends up coughing up bubbles the first few times, but she seems to be getting the hang of it after awhile, even as she's making a face because boy, does that feel weird?

Join in? Hang? The power is yours!! ]


iii. wildcard

[ Open for plotting or just wing it and I'll roll with it! ]

i.

[wraithes]

[ she's listening, in the shadows, and her lips purse together in an attempt to keep a smile at bay, because this girl reminds her fiercely of nina. bossy, in charge, and apparently surrounded by men who were idiots. it's a familiar lecture, and it makes her a little more inclined to abandon her typical space of "staying out of the way" to approach this girl.

and so, seemingly out of nowhere, inej is lingering by a marble column - a girl dressed in darker clothing, with raven black hair and dark eyes, raising a gloved hand in greeting. she looks like she's dressed to slip into a dark alley and never be seen again, but you know. she's trying to look approachable. ]

Looking for your friends?

[ she pauses. ]

This is my first time doing this, so I am searching for my -- people, too. [ friends seems like the wrong word to use for jesper and kaz, but. whatever. ] Are we normally separated like this?

Izuku Midoriya | Group D

[shootstyles]

i.
[This is only slightly terrifying. He thought he was going to drown, he's in a weird place full of strangers, he can't contact his teacher or Kacchan, oh and he almost killed himself with his new powers yesterday.

This is a lot to take in and he can't even start writing things down in his notebook. So he'll have to settle for just... walking aimlessly around the thunderdome, talking to himself.

so we're underwater. miss astoria must have sent us here. and we can breathe. but none of us have water quirks. so do we have two quirks now or is this just temporary? is it even a quirk or something more like magic. and beyond that, theres the pressure at the depths of the ocean. shouldnt it be crushing us right now? is that why our communications don't work?

SO SORRY IF HE BUMPS INTO YOU.]

ii

[Izuku Midoriya is a goddamn meddler and so when he sees a group of mermaids trying to help a sickly jellyfish, he can't help but go investigate. At first he tries to move his way through the crowds of jellies towards one of the sick ones. It works until he approaches the sick one, it sees him, panics, and smacks him in the face with a tentacle leaving a welt on his cheek and a nice blue glow that clashes badly with his hair.

But instead of leaving, he just wanders around the area, watching, trying to see if there is anything he can use to get closer without getting zapped. Something like maybe you.]

Hey um, you're with the circle right? What's your quirk? I mean, power. Maybe we can work together to help those little guys out?

iii
[Izuku pays little attention to the game that the mermaids are playing with the shells. He's no good at those sorts of games and he certainly doesn't gamble. He only watches for a minute or so before turning to leave...

Only to come face to face with a mermaid who is VERY, VERY INTERESTED in him. At first she simply prods his nose and face, then her hands drop and start to inspect his surprisingly (for his age) muscular body.

His face is so red it's impressive the water around him doesn't start to literally boil. He tries to sputter something out but only manages to create bubbles. If you happen to be passing by, his eyes will lock with yours with a look that says "HELP PLEASE".]

ix
[Wild card! Feel free to hit me up on plurk to plot anything at mythal!!]

iii

[soundsurfing]

[ Oh hey, that's pumpkin-dude. He's about to wave to catch his attention and say hi, only to pause when the other gets absolutely molested. For a moment Beat just blinks in surprise - that mermaid sure is interested in him - and then he can't help himself.

He laughs.

Even more so when the guy catches his eye and asks for help silently. Utterly pretending to take it the wrong way, he gives a double thumbs up and a really large, exaggerated wink. ]

Group A | Maes Hughes | OTA

[dadandgone]

I. Library Part 1, Setting Up a Base
[A Palace is a great place to arrive, though Maes is more than a little perturbed by the fact that Roy and Riza are both nowhere to be found. But, just like in Struxta, there can only be one problem to deal with at a time. He decides he needs information first, to find out the layout of this place and see why they're here.

It's once again his priority to find a library. He can be found there most days actually, usually in the morning when it opens. The first day he's hunched over whatever they use to write on around here and is trying to transcribe that message they got. It's not word for word, he doesn't have THAT kind of memory, but he does have keywords down like 'rune', 'Kathashun' 'Danger?' 'Gold Eyes.']

But where is this rune...is it something physical? Hmm...

II. Library Part 2, Maps and Things
[On the following mornings, he can usually be found pouring over atlas scrolls and maps. Trying to get an idea of where they are and where the other Circle members might be. Of course, he has no way of knowing if the other members are even on this world since the damned watched aren't working.

However, he's doing his best not to panic. At least the library seems to be fairly quiet in the mornings and he's managed to make a lot of notes -- since he can't very well mark on the library's maps. Of course, some days it's hard not to drift off to sleep with the soothing water and quiet chatter of the library around him. Somehow Maes has learned how to sleep without drifting away. Do you want to wake him though?]

III. Dancing Dad?
Ah-hah [He chuckles nervously.] I don't want to be rude. But I am married.

[The music seems to have drawn a bit of a crowd and several mermaids have paired off to dance, though there is a small group of mermaids floating around Maes and trying to get him to dance with them. They'd never seen a land-dweller dance before. How did he plan to move in the water? They pleaded and pleaded and finally he accepted the hand of a plump, green skinned mermaid.] All right, I suppose one dance can't hurt.

[He spots a fellow Circle member and points, calling out loudly.] But my friend over there should join us as well! Come on over!

[Listen, if he has to put up with flirty mermaids and dancing then so do you.]

IV. Open
[Want to try something else? Create your own prompt here or PM me to plot something specific!]

II; library with maps!!

[infailtration]

[ "Doing their best not to panic" seems to be the general mood of this group, honestly. York certainly falls into it, though unless you catch him while he's trying to send a message over the defunct watches (and said messages are increasing in desperation as the days go on), he looks pretty chill.

Mostly he's been trying to keep busy, and the most important items on their agenda seem to be 1) finding the other Circle members 2) finding the missing princess. In that order, to him. He's not making much headway just asking around about either of those things, so today York is hitting the library as well. Also looking for maps -- of the area, to figure out where the others might be (why doesn't Akvos have its own network, honestly!), and maybe of the palace. He doesn't think anything hidden or locked off will be on a map, but if it is..? Well, a locked or secret door isn't going to stop him.

He's surprised anyone else is in here so early, though, and blinks at the sleeping man currently right on top of a bunch of scrolls that look like exactly what York wants. Hmm. How is he managing that, how long has he been asleep here, and should York wake him?

The first two questions can't be answered without the third, and York does want to look at those maps. So he reaches out and gives the stranger a gentle shake. If he doesn't wake up at that, maybe he's out heavily enough to simply dislodge... they're inside, he won't float away, this plan is fine. ]

Hey... it's morning, buddy.

GROUP D

[heartslight]

i.

[ Kairi can be found, at times, practicing her magic here. Which happens to be seashell telekinesis. She was quick to realize not only its usefulness here, but the fact that this is the perfect chance for her to get some practice in.

So you might come across her with her face stuck close in a small hole in the wall, and she's staring into it pretty strongly. She's not weird, she's just using her powers, okay. To pull out some seashells she saw stuck far into the hole — too far for someone to get their arm in and pull them out.

She's not doing a particularly great job but they're inching out slowly ... ]

Come on ... Just a little more!

ii.

[ In her downtime — when she needs to rest from everything else she's trying to do — she can be found floating on top of a rock or some such, meticulously weaving a small string between some of the flatter seashells she's found. It might look something like this, though without the face and with differently shaped shells, or she may be making a bracelet out of some smaller shells. Regardless, she's rather concentrated on it (it's not as easy under water, to be honest), and she has a couple finished ones laying on the rock next to her.

She's more than happy to give one away or help others make some! ]

iii.

[ Kairi has seen what happens when you touch a jellyfish from some of her glowing companions around here, and she's doing best not to get herself hurt. Or glowy.

So she's elected to attempt to use her powers. More practice!

She's controlling a few seashells, moving them carefully behind an afflicted jellyfish and trying to use them as a means to push it over to where she needs to bring it. Unfortunately, she still doesn't have such precise use of her powers, so she's having some trouble, often dropping the seashells or having them spurt forward quickly and accidentally hurt the jellyfish. ]

Ah — sorry! I didn't hurt you, did I?

[ The jellyfish can't respond, honey. ]

iv.

[ Kairi has very little fear. She's ran headfirst into darkness before and she'll do it again, dammit. So you might notice someone making their way toward the darker areas, without any hesitation.

Maybe stop her before she does something stupid ...... or help out instead. ]

wildcard.

[ Anything else you want to do or something we talked about doing that doesn't fit into these? Come at me! Feel free to hit up my plotting comment here! ]

iv

[alphascape]

Kweh kweh! [ And as usual, the translated text pops up on Kairi's watch. ] Kairi, wait for me!

[ Guess what, Kairi? Alpha's going to help out. He's swimming as fast as he can to catch up to her. His little mechanical minion is latched onto his back, the flashlight on its head lighting up as they both descend further into the darker area. ]

GROUP C

[sunborne]

i;; the colours of the currents.

[ daylight, first and foremost, is in awe of this place.

(well... after he stops panicking about the situation, the fact he can't communicate with majority of his friends, the rather ominous message he got before jumping-)

after he's calmed down and gathered himself together - which does take a while, and most consist of daylight hiding behind coral, trying to gather himself - he finds himself down to one particular element: the arts. because of course.

when there's singing in the currents and vibrancy all around him, the first instinct of day is to either capture it or join along. he ends up doing both. this is most likely where daylight can be found: curled up somewhere peaceful enough, holding a pleasant chat with his subjects while sketching out their features. ]

... Oh! Hey there! [ recognising someone as part of the circle, daylight raises an arm to wave them down, or to let them know he sees them now. ] How have you been so far? Are you okay?

ii;; hot and cold.

[ of course, daylight does become serious when he remembers what he and the others are possibly here for. he remembers the message that was sent to his device, the face that's such a shock to see after months and months of travels and adventures: king kathashun of el minha, urging for someone to find the princess.

he wonders if the message meant that kathashun — with jalin? the voice from off screen almost sounded familiar enough, but it's been months since anyone has seen either — is also here? is he safe? is this world connected to el minha? =

hrmm... too many things for his poor processor to consider. let's focus on one thing at the time.

like his coin. he's noticed that something about the coin is changing while he's exploring the fields, a shift in its temperature. cool then hot, hot then cool.

find the princess, the king had urged. maybe if daylight figures out what's making the coin act so funny, it'll help take the group a step closer to that goal...? that'll be a good place to start!

... if he can figure out where he's supposed to go with his darn coh no! he bumped into someone! ]

Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry! [ daylight whirls around - possibly almost smacking the poor person with his winglets in the process - as he tries to help steady the person. ] You're not hurt, are you? I'm sorry! I've been trying to get my stupid coin to work and I can't make heads or tails of it right now. Are you alright? How many winglets am I wiggling??

iii;; now that's a foul.

[ were you enjoying a bout of dolphin racing? or that strange baseball/rugby game they have here in the fields? were you thinking that maybe, just maybe, this would be a peaceful day? without any shenanigans whatsoever??

well— sorry, but daylight is going to crash that.

literally. ]

Sorry! Sorry!! [ daylight tries to pedal back from the playing fields but its too late. the event comes to a screeching halt thanks to the giant robot coming out of the blue, almost knocking out a few of the players in the process. some are knocked out, unable to stop their collision with the giant metal teenager. that is so going to leave a mark on them.

it isn't long before players and referees swim towards a shocked daylight, angrily scolding him for his interference in the match. he tries to explain himself, he really does, and, all the while, daylight frantically waves his hands back and forth. like that'll ward them away from him.

huh. it seems he has a tight grip on something in a servo of his. a coin...? ]

—This is all in the name of investigation! I swear! I didn’t mean to! I— What? No! I’m not being paid to do this on purpose. I don’t even know you guys could get paid—

[ uh oh. looks like daylight is in need of help. ]

iv;; between a rock and a hard place.

[ … this is much too familiar for day. he really hopes this doesn't become a thing.

in his attempts to squeeze himself through a coral growth, trying to follow after the trial of the dead patches, it seems he underestimated his size.

now he's wedged between two large coral crags, his upper torso (and his winglets, thank goodness) sticking out from one end of the hole, with his kicking legs sticking out from the other end of the hole. can this get any worse?

it can. because he sees someone is heading towards him. he huffs, winglets twitching in both agitation and embarrassment. ]

Do not laugh.

v;; meawhile, meddy-

[ daylight is able to spend long bouts of time underwater without worries of his circuitry frying.

meddy cannot.

as a result, meddy is forced to spend most of their time in the air pockets that can be found dotted around the fields. sometimes day will transfer them from pocket to pocket, but the brief time in the water is enough to have meddy act twitchy. neither charge nor droid want to know what happens if they're forced to stay longer than needed.

so they're resting here, huffing and puffing as they listlessly float back and forth in their little patch of dry safety. sometimes they'll attempt to flag down a passerby's attention - beeps, chirps, the works - in hopes of getting some information, or to check on them if they see any bruises or cuts on them.

meddy just- meddy needs to do something, anything, while stuck here. knowing day is out there, without them to supervise him, is driving them nuts. ]

vi;;; wildcard!!

[ want to do something else? feel free to do it here! also, you’re welcome to hit me up/plot with me via my plurk prognostic if there’s something specific you want. ]

ii

[hatamon]

[Being underwater means there's plenty of room to maneuver out of the way, so Daylight bumping into him doesn't do more than knock him off balance. Normally Takeru would be quick to reassure him that he's fine, but... pretty much nothing he's saying makes any sense.]

Uh. Well, now I'm wondering how hard you hit me. You're trying to what?

group d

[invasif]

A.) AQUAPHOBIA
[ The things that lurk underwater have always terrified her, since childhood. Since she was told about deep caverns filled with water and creatures. Maybe there was a reason she hadn't gone with any of the groups into the caverns. It was easier to avoid than to tolerate the continuation of what she sees as a childish weakness. But now here she is, plunged into the water with no real recourse for herself. She doesn't try to bob or float, sinking fast like a stone with her eyes shut tightly. Glittering lights swirl around her and up into her loose trailing hair. It's not the power she wants to use, it's the witch's magic and she can feel that. She wants her own powers back, wants to be releasing fear into the water around her like the venting of some poisonous steam.

Instead, this: twinkling lights that inspire everything around her to try their very best. Jellyfish grow brighter, swim faster, sting harder ]

B.) A KNIFE
[ Assuredly, she'll calm down eventually, but the look of exhaustion doesn't leave her face. Upon establishing that she can buy a weapon with the shells, she will immediately look for ways to acquire some cash. ]

We should all acquire weapons. How can we pool our resources? Do our abilities compliment one another?

[ She is soft-spoken, but sensible enough. ]

C.) PLACING YOUR BETS
[ She is with a group of merladies, listening to them talk about their activities, their weapons, their sparring. She points between a pair of them, a pair she has deemed competitive enough to perhaps be baited into this: ]

Who would win?

[ There's some laughter and some rabble from the group, ]

Shall we see, shall we bet?

[ Will they notice, if she uses her little glittering lights that cling to her to make sure her fighter wins? ]

D.) SWIMMING WITH THE JELLYFISH
[ Her swimming isn't very good, considering she's never done it before. She is practicing, with the jellyfish. It seems a fine enough excuse to work on nudging the sickly ones out. She gives them a touch of her inspiration and they move faster, their lights blinking.

But she'd probably listen, if someone wanted to teach her a better swimming technique. ]

B.

[godcards]

[ Given that Ilde is actually bringing up a reasonable point, Malik isn't quite so hostile or flippant like he has been towards other new people. He's not soft spoken - in fact quite the opposite - his arrogance ringing through his voice clearly. ]

I can't answer your questions, but I can at least agree that we should get weapons.

GROUP D / alisaie leveilleur

[adelphoi]

scrounging for seashells;

[ normally alisaie would be absolutely over the moon to visit an underwater world - and, well, she is - but it is quite severely dampened by the fact that she has been completely cut off from those whom she cares and worries for. even the network is entirely unavailable. it's radio silence, which has her positively sick with anxiety.

still, she has no reason to assume that they are unsafe. she is here with many others, and while it might not be entirely comfortable living arrangements, they are by no means in trouble. at least not yet. the merfolk are amicable enough, and this kingdom is absolutely sprawling, it makes sense enough that they might not have all arrived at the same place. what a terrible time for the network to be unavailable, though..

anyway, at least she is an incredibly strong swimmer, and she's already accustomed to breathing underwater. she zips about the sea floor quick as a fish, examining the sand and picking through it for valuable shells. most of them are eroded or broken, but here and there she finds some good ones.. ]

you shall have my sword;

[ well, even if she's not entirely happy with her situation, alisaie cannot turn down the chance at a new weapon. the rapier she had picked up in el minha so long ago is okay and all, but it's quite ordinary, and while nothing will be as comfortable in her hand as her aetherial blade, or the rapier gifted to her by urianger, she makes do.

but she won't say no to an upgrade, and these weapons are not only beautiful, but fascinating. also electrified? that's useful, and definitely a step-up.

alisaie spends a great deal of time poring over the offered arms, looking over not only the rapiers, but everything there is to offer. she chooses for herself a small dagger with a glowing blue edge first before she's testing the weight of a few rapiers in her hand - one particularly elegant piece with a strong edge that cracks with electricity is especially nice. but, hmm.. ]

I certainly hope it will feel the same on dry land..

herding;

[ she cannot quite return to her important people, but thankfully there is plenty to keep her busy, and alisaie is happy to lend a hand. these merfolk don't seem so bad, after all, and it isn't their fault that she's stuck here - considering they've all but invaded without invitation, she thinks they're being quite courteous and civil.

so if there are problems to be solved and work to be done, she's here for it.

even if that work is.. herding jellyfish?? if nothing else, if gives her the chance to examine the ones who seem to be inexplicably waning - though it would seem she can discern little enough. aside from their light lessening, the jellyfish seem otherwise.. completely normal. for jellyfish.

anyway, she has no idea how to properly herd jellies, but she's doing her best to move a small pack along toward a charging station - they're quite easygoing little fellows, but it's difficult to direct them without touching them.. ]

There there.. no, no - this way!

[ maybe she should transform into a ray.. ]

wildcard;

[ not liking any of these prompts, or want to tweak one of them? go for it!! ♥ ]

weapons!!!

[insubordination]

[ roy is not a strong swimmer, or really. anything strong underneath the proverbial sea, and he has literally been struggle-bussing the entire time he has been here. but he sees a familiar face, in alisaie, being one of the "older" members of the circle, and he makes his way over to see what she's looking at. ]

A knife is a knife, isn't it?

[ a knife is not a knife, roy, but whatever!! ]

What about them wouldn't make them work on dry land?

group A

[uncommonsense]

a. jam with the band

[ To her friends, this probably wouldn't be surprising at all.

Haruhi's immediately taken up what looks to be a hastily put together guitar, strumming along in harmony with the rest of the mermaids. It was a little shaky in the beginning, but she's able to pick up on what they're putting down pretty quickly, following along with their song. It's not long before she's adding in a whistle, which comes out with a few bubbles on her end too. Come say hi, or come catch the show! ]

b. welcome to our grand reopening

[ Find the Princess.

The identity of the guy on his watch was completely lost on her, but it sounded important. With all the fun going on, a mystery was a mystery, and she was technically on the clock. This was why she was brought here, to help save a princess and save a world too, right? So what would be the easiest way to get some information and learn more about the world?

Work at the restaurant, of course! Haruhi's been waiting tables most of the day, which led to her slowly learning to pick up on how to talk underwater. It was neat, and it gave her a chance to learn a lot more about the locals around there. That... and try to keep an ear out for anything regarding the Princess.

If for whatever reason, you've decided to come in and have a seat, Haruhi'll be sure to come right up. ]

Welcome! Can I get you something?

[ Play it cool. She's on the clock twice now. ]

c. obligatory

[ Just explore and pal around with Haruhi! Hit me up with anything you may have. ]

b

[p_mortem]

[ Find the princess. The brevity betrays just how monumental a task it is, when all Minato's been able to do thus far is hear second-hand what'd happened, and try to follow in the princess' last known footsteps. It's why he finds himself here in the restaurant today, trying to keep his complimentary auto-refilling glass of water from floating away when Haruhi approaches his table. ]

Uh. Answers, preferably. [ Isn't that what they're both here for? ] But barring that... a job interview, maybe. And whatever appetizer you recommend that doesn't come soggy.

honerva | group d

[quintessencial]

let’s get this over with

[It’s curiosity that gets to Honerva - she’s been warned, yes, but a warning, a precaution, is no reason to stop. You have to learn some things the hard way, and surely the sick jellyfish aren’t as strong or as much of a threat as their healthier counterpart.

That would be wrong.

She yelps when she gets stung, but the pain eases after a moment. The tell-tale blue glow does not - which is interesting in itself! She’s used to being able to change the color of her skin, but that capability seems lost to her right now. She also doesn’t usually glow when she changes colors.

She takes a moment to stare at her hands in wonder, before looking over at whoever happens to be closest.]

It’s incredible, isn’t it?

[Oh, no.]

browsing, any time

[Gathering shells takes time, and it’s not like Honerva necessarily needs a weapon? She’s not a fighter, and the thought that she’d need to become one makes her nervous. She’d rather stay behind, figure out the problem, then… Try to fight it.

Still, after seeing the offer for lessons on the network she’s curious. Seeing there’s a market with weapons on offer just seems like the perfect storm, so she can be found there browsing. And sometimes, after a little bit of convincing, she can be found swinging the weapons around as if testing out their weight and heft.

Her form is... well. It certainly is. Someone might want to step in before she hurts herself or the shop keeper.]

herding, any time

[Honerva isn’t deterred by the jellyfish, even after getting stung. She’s learned to keep her distance, but she still seems to be in absolute awe by just about everything here. Her focus is...intense, to say the least, as she herds them towards the veterinarian.]

It will all be fine. [Yup, she’s cooing at them as she works.] You’ll be better in no time at all.

[She’s not...sure of that, but, you know. It’s not like they can understand her. Or can they?

She gives them a curious look, but she doesn’t prod them. Not this time.]

darkness, a few days in

[She doesn’t travel into the darkness, but she goes to the edge of it and stares. And stares.

It’s...uncanny. She’s spent so much time around the Rift, around light, that this is something entirely different. She wonders what it is - she wants to find the source, find what’s taking the energy from the jellyfish, find what’s causing all of this, but she just has herself and nothing else.

So she stares, and she considers, and she ponders. If anyone swims by, she’ll call out to them, but for now she’s content to observe.]

What do you think is hiding out there?

wildcard

[Honerva will be out and about getting her nose in everything she possibly can, so feel free to hit me up! Or, if you want, you can hit me up at daintily or on discord @ nickknack#8156]

d a r k n e s s

[godcards]

I don't make a point of dwelling on those kinds of thoughts... but if I had to guess, I'd say that there isn't much out there.

[ Not right here, anyway. He can see far enough in to confirm that there isn't anything immediately suspicious, although he is still a little unnerved. ]

mae borowski | group A

[witchdaggah]

a: weird autumn

[ the first thing mae does is wind up playing bass for the music group. it's lucky but unfortunate, because technically doesn't know any of these songs. thankfully, she's good at rhythm games; once mae gets the flow, she manages it play well!

so, like. there's a cat playing bass with a group of fish? ]

Hey!

[ when the song ends, mae's congratulated on a surprisingly good job. the band chatters about it for a moment, ignoring as she tosses her hands up and shouts: ]

Yeah, pretty good considering I don't know this song!! [ this is her life. being good at bass and minigames, apparently. ]

b: "this is ratatouille..." "oh god what did you do to him"

[ at some point, mae is considering getting a job. not for a logical reason, honestly - she just wants to re-enact disney's ratatouille. but there's also a different reason for this - so she's sat outside the restaurant on a bench, talking outloud. to you? maybe. i don't know. she's a protagonist in a story driven game, so it's mostly just exposition for the player. who would be you in this case! this was a long joke, and it's not funny anymore. ]

Okay, Mae. Missing princess, important looking guy told you to look for her. You are so good at finding things. You've got a knack for finding things. Especially dead things. If she is dead you will probably find her first. Hopefully she's not dead and you still find her!

[ a beat. ]

Wow, I am going to just, like, completely ruin all my morals to play Super Mario Brothers in real life, huh? Jeez. Don't say I never did anything for you.

[ another beat. mae stands. ]

Worse comes to worse, I can just pretend it's a Disney movie!

[ DONT LET HER PUT HER RATS IN THE KITCHEN???? ]

c: eff the cops

No.

[ here is mae. here is the royal guard. here is mae rejecting the royal guard. her reasoning? ]

I'm serious. The Royal Guard is like... The cops. The police. I don't mess with the police. Eff the police! Eff the cops! Eff the Royal Guard! I'll never join your ranks, scallywags. Ne'er do wells by the people!! Where were you when the economy crashed??

[ oh my god. ]

d: an internet petition to install new cellphone towers in atlantis

[ there's really no mistaking mae at this point. the fact she hasn't eaten a merperson yet is really, like. proof positive she's a domesticated cat. there are so many sushi options here and she isn't attacking. not once. not at all. the joke is she wouldn't do it in the first place, and how dare you consider that she would do stupid thing in particular.

but she is still stupid, so mae walks up to a trashcan, undoes her watch, and...

proceeds to smack it on the metal part before standing on it in a desperate bid to get some bars. well. ]

e: wildcard

[ feel free to me pm if you'd like to plot. i'm weirdautumn also, if you'd like to plot on plurk! ]

c

[moonlightbeast]

[Mae what are you doing why are you insulting the underwater-cops?!

Atsushi just. Jumps right in and tries to nudge Mae out of the way while stuttering out an apology.]

P-p-please excuse my friend here, she's just confused! She doesn't mean to insult you!

group a;

[bleps]

ONE;

[Freshly upon arrival, there’s not much time to enjoy the sights — or even take in the feeling of disorientation at being forcefully transplanted from land to sea — before they’re met with a message from a man of royalty that Connor doesn’t recognize, but has heard about through his inquiries regarding the Circle’s very first world jump. A message of caution, a request to find the princess (queued up, almost immediately, as an active priority in his mind, flagged as an on-going task until otherwise notified), before he fades from vision.

Disconcerting.

And then, the palace of Wahine lurches and looms above.

It seems to take even less time to realize that an inordinate large portion of the group’s gone missing. Fast forward mere minutes later, and here comes Connor, approaching a fellow Circle member with a tug of a frown on his features, pointedly enunciating his words so they don’t come out as underwater garble—]

Excuse me, I need to see your watch.

[let him see your watch!!!!]

TWO;

[Concern hasn’t quite ebbed away for the others they’ve separated from, and likely won’t for a while yet. But Connor’s turned his focus to their surroundings, taking in the setting and the pulse and livelihood of the palace as he centers himself, begins to form an itinerary of what to do, where to start. Music pulses in his audio processing, and he’s drawn to a colorful band of aquatic musicians — each in possession of a different instrument that he can recognize in shape as its more traditional counterpart, but never has he seen something so finely crafted from iridescent and overlarge shells before.

The music’s lyrical and energetic. He thinks he likes it. But the performing mermaids are the sort that like to get the audience involved, and eyes drawn to a pair of strange-looking foreigners (Connor and the conveniently placed Circle member next to him — that’s you), a pair of them smile and practically shove their instruments into the android's and his companion’s arms, with the expectation that they join.

It looks like a mix between a conch shell and a french horn. He might as well have been handed an alien lifeform. His LED flickers blue at his temple in an attempt to process how to proceed from here; he doesn’t know how to play french-shell-horn. Heck.

MAYBE HIS PARTNER DOES—] Can you play? [CAN YOU PLAY THE SHELL HORN, FRIEND……..]

THREE;

[He’s starting to doubt the credibility of these so-called investigators.

Gathering information on the princess’ favorite restaurant seems to be a dead end — not because it isn’t easily located (it is; it’s not exactly a hole-in-the-wall, but a busy, extravagant, and brightly colorful establishment with strange dishes and eager waitstaff) but because there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of information upon actually arriving here.

Questioning employees and patrons garners only the same shadow of rumor, and usually not even that much. Only a glowing recommendation of the princess, admiration of the highest regard, but nothing useful that might lead to her current whereabouts.]

I think it’s clear that coming here was a waste of time. [—he speaks up over the hum of the crowd to whomever’s accompanied him on this little outing.] Have you learned anything useful?

[Looming just over his shoulder is an employee who’s going to come and ask for them to help in the kitchens. Let Connor and co. be blissfully unaware of this fact… for now.]

WILDCARD;

[I’m over at aurajen if you want to plot! Otherwise, feel free to do whatever, I’m flexible.]

one;

[infailtration]

[ Disconcerting is exactly the word that York would use, except he'd use it about everything. The message from Kathashun, the move happening with no time for him to suit up like he'd planned, the fact they're suddenly underwater, and the realization that not everyone seems to be with them. It's all very disconcerting, and though he isn't actively freaking out, when Connor approaches on his blind side York startles badly, attempting to drop into a fighting stance on reflex.

It doesn't quite work, underwater. Neither does speaking, this is going to be a bit of a learning curve. ]

Sorry -- sure.

[ He offers his arm to the stranger, curious what he might want -- is his not working? Wait... is York's not working either? He's just been taking this in, a little overwhelmed, and hasn't tried messaging anyone yet. ]

GROUP D

[undeserved]

a

[ This is wholly unpleasant.

YoRHa androids are meant for fighting on land, in the air, or even in the vacuum of space. In fact, they can go pretty much anywhere... except the sea floor. 2B is waterproof, or she's supposed to be, but she's still 100% certain she shouldn't be submerged for long periods of time. If Pod 042 was with her, she could ask it to run diagnostics on her system, see if the pressure or the salt or anything else are going to damage her over time - however, as luck would have it, Pod was with A2 before they left.

Compounding the fact that she's underwater when she most definitely shouldn't be underwater is the fact that 9S is nowhere to be found. On top of that, communications aren't working. And on top of that, she's far too heavy to even make an attempt at swimming.

This is her first mission with this new group. She thinks she liked Hathaway's more organized chaos a little better. After spending a solid five minutes struggling with various things (moving, talking, existing at all underwater) followed by another two or three minutes of standing still and not moving (checking her internal diagnostics for problems, checking her memory banks for relevant information, god knows what else), 2B approaches the first fellow teammate she sees with what is most likely a look of determination hidden behind her blindfold. ]

How do we contact headquarters?

[ she's gotta get out ]

b

[ It's easy to notice that there's another predicament facing 2B compared to the other guild members - she's soundly anchored to the sea floor. While others are swimming about and investigating the jellyfish, mermaids, armory, and other points of interest, she remains at the very bottom of the Thunderdome cavern, walking across the sandy substrate about as slowly as you'd imagine.

It's a shame. Once she'd gotten over her initial panic, she'd been able to take a look at her surroundings, and to find them quite beautiful. The ocean made up a huge part of Earth - one that androids were largely unable to explore. Even the waters she has seen were largely polluted, filled with shell casings and defunct missiles and other debris from the thousands of years of warfare that had taken place on the planet's surface. 2B never could have imagined that such beauty could exist underneath the black ocean waves. The vibrant blue of the water, the sleek, colorful mermaids, the forests of coral visible beyond the cavern, the alien glow of the jellyfish, an animal she's never seen before - all of it is mesmerizing. But she can't get close to any of it the way she is now.

Once she's wandered around the bottom of the Thunderdome until she's exhausted any hopes of finding the princess right away (you never know), 2B can be found sitting alone on the ocean floor against the cavern wall, gazing up quietly at the languid movements of the jellyfish. Though her expression is difficult to read, there's a sense of wistfulness about her. ]

c.

[ WILDCARD!! feel free to PM this journal if you wanna plan something, or just throw anything at me! i promise i'm down. ]

b

[alphascape]

[ It's while Alpha's struggling to herd jellyfish that he notices something of interest down on the very bottom of the ocean floor. He places his current task to a halt and begins swimming his way downwards, weaving through herds of jellyfish to investigate. A small crab-like machine, Omega, is latched on his back with a light to further brighten his path.

The farther he swims, the more it becomes clear to him what's at the ocean floor. A person, but definitely not one of the merfolk. And very likely, someone from the Circle. What is she doing way out here?

As loud as he can, he calls out with a chirp: ]

Kweh?!

[ At the same time, 2B's watch will light up with the text: ]

Hello?