Keep Calm, It's March Madness!

[sunborne]

Who: Daylight & Noelle & Various.
When: March 1 - 15.
Where: Multiple locations throughout Santa Rosita.
What: The first two weeks for Daylight vis Lornlit and Noelle Rosas. Multiple prompts - limited and open - can be found in the comments below or by clicking the navigation ahead.
Warnings: Possible descriptions of Living Island events. Will update as necessary.

DAYLIGHT VIS LORNLIT, PROMPTS.
🔥 LOOMIS DRIVE 101, MARCH 1 -5.
In which it's the aftermath of the Living Island events.

🔥 BLUE MOON DINER, MARCH 6 - 7.
In which Daylight learns about his new diet plan the hard way.

🔥 AROUND SANTA ROSITA, MARCH 8 - 15.
In which there's something important Daylight's got to share.

🔥 CLOSED PROMPTS.
Pre-arranged activities between Daylight and fellow characters.

NOELLE ROSAS, PROMPTS.
🌹 BLUE MOON DINER, PART I, MARCH 6 - 7.
It's just Noelle cursing up a storm and losing her mind.

🌹 BLUE MOON DINER, PART II, POST-BLUE MOON DINER, PART I.
After going apeshit, just a bit, Noelle - er, Blossom - gets back to work.

🌹 FREDRICK LOREN HIGH, MARCH 8 - 15.
'Blossom' has to tell someone something.

🌹 CLOSED PROMPTS.
Pre-arranged activities between Noelle and fellow characters.

NOTES.
- Using prose for setup but will match my thread partner's preferred style.
- If you want a closed/tailored prompt, feel free to message me or reach out via Plurk on prognostic.

Comments

[grice]

Oh, no, it's not that—

[ was this a silly thing to do? if it was, falco was already doing it because it felt right to. he shakes his head, but only a mild side to side, as to not undo the scarf hiding his jaws, and instead uses his hand to better emphasis. ]

My name is Falco Grice, I live with Mister Erwin. [ and from his messenger bag, he pulls out a notebook, one that was in erwin's possession not too long ago after the disappearances. ] Both of you used this to find us, so, [ he gestures, and the hand that holds the book falls to his side, ] I wanted to thank you. For that and for everything after.

[ he recognizes the effort and his ears are beginning to turn a light pink— but he's grateful and wants to show it, even when such a simple thing like talking seems like an effort. words that require more use of lip-shaping come off slurred and odd, as if he couldn't move his mouth enough for the sound to come fluidly. he couldn't for the most part. ]

[grice]

[ it’s getting— well, not louder, for the most part, but it’s still being annoying and high pitched, longer beeps rather than short barks wail in the work alley and, because the child is far closer to the frequency, winces as it refuses to clam it. ]

I-It’s nothing like that, don’t worry—! Agh— [ to their luck, it slows, and from the slow it comes to a pause. ] It’s, it’s the cursing. You, um, [ he swallow, dry, ] said something about sludge?

[fanoperator]

Some more blinking as Huaisang attempts to take all this in and assign meaning to it. He understands missives and messengers, at least, though the idea of centralizing such a process is completely alien to him. As much as he likes bureaucracy, that is an entirely new level of it.

"Bills?" He echoes weakly, wondering what that even means. He shakes his head quickly. That's not what matters. What he wants to know is--"Does anything come in? From outside? Or is it just... nothing comes in, nothing goes out, and what even are we eating if the food isn't restocked from anywhere?"

That explains the popularity of canned and unnatural foods, really.

[ourworldnow]

"Whoa, whoa- is this? I mean, not that I'm gonna say no, but- I, uh?"

He is a teenage boy. In a closet. With a teenage girl- the leader of his fake fan club, to be exact. Forgive that it isn't his brains that come online first, especially when she talks about the other kids, who are always gossiping about who is dating who.

"Be gentle?"

[inpersonation]

Oh. Right...

[ the reminder of why she's out here has her irritation flare up but she bites down on her tongue, knowing that if she let out another colorful word then they'll be getting an earful. quite literally.

plus she needs to salvage her 'blossom' act and so opts with looking ashamed about what she had done, looking away with a guilty expression about her face. ] I'm sorry about that... Um... It's going to sound silly, I know, but someone threw up all over in the diner earlier. I've had to clean it up all by myself and it wasn't easy.

I know that's not a good reason for being so crude, I know. [ she looks back at him, her eyes wide and blinking back what seems to be tears. ] Again, I'm so sorry. Is your head alright? Do you need water or ice? The least I can do is make up for that awful display of manners.

[chromiums]

Lorna clearly doesn't understand at first, but then he mentions that he can't eat food anymore and she understands. She'd been doing similar things upon realizing she could feel (and now move metal objects again), but the reaction had been like gaining back something she'd thought was lost. This looks a lot less pleasant. She finds another glass of water and hands it to him, though she's not sure if it'll be helpful if he can't eat food.

"Here. Rinse out your mouth," she says, glancing at the staff who have come to investigate the commotion. "Do you think you can walk?""

[inpersonation]

“Oh!”

It doesn’t take her a second to realize what he’s saying/requesting and Noelle has to resist the urge to frown. She, instead, wills herself to blush, giggling behind a hand covering her mouth. “We’re not here for anything like that, silly,” she assures him, “I’m with someone back home, more or less, and besides!

“I need to tell you something I noticed about the teenagers from here. The local teenagers, not the teenagers part of our group.” For one thing: “They don’t act like teens. At all.”

Nice to meet you, Neigbhor! | For Claude. | March 15.

[inpersonation]

Note: Set after Angelo, Noelle, and Okuyasu's jump on a police officer. She's been hit with Level 6 Tranquilization and will be in this stage for a week, ranging from March 12 - 19. If you would like to interact with Robbie!Noelle, let me know and I'll arrange something.

[ it was easy to tell something was wrong with 'blossom' almost immediately.

she could be found at her locker on monday morning, cheerfully singing a song under her breath - all the chapel bells were ringing, in the little valley town - while she was taking out certain things from her locker and carelessly dumping them in a trashcan she (politely!) asked for.

closer inspection reveals them to be her notebooks containing her careful notes on maths, sciences, and a few other things that look like calculations and notes on other things... like plans and projects, one of them focusing on the network devices. she took careful notes on its capabilities and limitations, listing features it could have but is hidden, and more.

not that she seems to care now. noelle happily dumps more items on top of the notes, not seeming to care at how they're being crumpled and torn under the considerable weight of them.

whether she notices claude or claude gets her attention first, the results are the same: 'blossom' immediately turns to face him, with an unnerving grace and a delightfully vacant smile. she beams at the sight of her friend, wide as her mouth will allow, showing all of her teeth, chirping out a happy, ] Morning!

[ she politely places a lid on top of the trashcan so she can focus all of her attention on claude - it'll be awfully rude to ignore a boy, after all! - looking at him with an empty yet piercing gaze that shows no one's at home. ]

It's such a beautiful day, Claude. Are you excited about school? Because I'm sure excited about school. [ she laughs, stilted and forced.

hahaha ha ha ha haaa ahaha. ] I can't wait to tell my mom I'll be focusing more on home economics! She'll be so proud of me for focusing on what a lady really needs to know!

It's quite alright with us. | For Da Vinci. | March 11.

[inpersonation]

Note: Definitely set before Angelo, Noelle, and Okuyasu's jump on a police officer.

[ and noelle had gotten used to being alone in the house too.

when she wakes up and rolls out of bed, needing to make breakfast for herself before she went to school, she froze upon the realization that this isn't her bedroom.

she immediately goes to check if the knife is still under her pillow and, yep, still there, against all odds. she's taking the damn thing with her as she quietly goes down hallways, looking at photographs and evidence of who lives her.

a quick inspection reveals that, apparently, it's her who lives her. her and someone else, a woman. it looks like she got shuffled into another family again after her 'dad' ditched her and... noelle isn't sure how to feel about that. she knows it makes her stomach twist, her cheeks flush, grip tightening on the knife's handle way too tight but.

she doesn't know how to pinpoint the exact cause of it.

maybe it's why when da vinci finds noelle standing at the doorway of her room, noelle is trying very hard to resist the temptation to whip out the knife she has tucked under her pajamas. she instead lifts up the breakfast tray she half-assed, showing a presentable display of toast and coffee and fruit. hell, she went as far as to get a vase and flower to decorate it. she needs to sell the big bright smile she feels on her face, knowing well impressions are important despite her twitchy, twitchy nerves. ]

Morning! I hope I didn't wake you up. [ she looks bashful and embarrassed when asking this, staying at the doorway until she's given indication she can go in. ] It looks like we got shuffled together and I wanted to get on the right foot with my new family member! I hope we can get along.

[sunborne]

“Yeah,” is his eventual answer, after he forces himself to not gulp the water down. Much as he wants his throat to stop burning, he’ll like to get the taste of burger and fries out of his mouth. “I think I can walk.”



He bounces his leg to test how bad the pins-and-needles are — Not that awful but not something he would wish on someone who merely annoyed him. He’ll live, though, and he steels himself to try and get on his feet. “Give me a sec to pay the bill? Least I can do for the poor staff here.”

They have suffered a lot in the last two days with his antics and he does feel bad for being a menace. He fumbles for his wallet, pulling out enough to cover the meal and a tip he hopes will make the mess worthwhile.

[sunborne]

... He had never thought of that, actually. That majority of the food they have in town is the canned, stocked food. It would explain the town’s damn obsession with jello.

It makes his new diet more finicky than ever but that’s a bridge they’ll cross when they have to cross it. Right now, Huaisang has a good question that Daylight needs to answer: “From my understanding? Maybe nothing comes in? I haven’t seen any packages or mails from outside but there were so many items in the dead room… I wasn’t sure what was from here or what was from outside.”

He sighs, crossing his arms. “Believe me— I was tempted to grab some stuff and see what was being held back but it’s not possible.” He quickly explains why: Too many of the locals work there, the distant, creepy ones who watch you like a hawk. How one of them was the postmaster general, meaning this was all on purpose. “Honestly? I’m surprised I was allowed to be part of the group at all. It’s... unnvering how deep this goes, I won’t lie.”

[sunborne]

[ upon hearing his name, daylight’s face lights up in joy and recognition. ]

Falco! Yeah, yeah; Erwin was really worried for you. Oh man, the talk Erwin and I had when we— [ and this is where daylight is smart enough to stop himself, knowing that maybe it’s for the best they won’t dwell too hard about that period. ]

Yeah. It’s nice to meet you proper, buddy. Erwin seems super fond of you so any friend of his is a friend of mine! I’m... [ he pauses, needing to consider his words. it’ll be a lie to say he’s doing okay because, well, that’s not the case at all. judging by the speech and the scarf, something happened like what happened to kiara and okuyasu and agatha.

in the end, he goes with a genuine: ] I’m glad you and the others are with us again. We did whatever we could to get you guys back soon as possible.

[ he tries to bring some levity to the conversation by grinning broadly, exaggeratedly rotating his right arm to show off how stiff it is. ] Though I don't think anyone can top Wrathion's attempt to try and take on the entire police station at the start. He was super worried for his friend, Anduin.

[ he's never letting that go, wrathion. ]

[sunborne]

The assurance he can ask any question is comforting so Daylight nods as he takes the glass of water, taking slow and careful sips to wash the taste of his mouth.

He might as well start getting straight to the point:

“Did anything come back for you?” Daylight manages to wheeze that out as he takes a deep breath, trying his damndest to not lose in this fight against nausea. “I think I got something back and it’s, like, the shittiest thing I could have gotten back, at all.”

He now wishes he had never complained about his height in the past. At least his height didn’t impede his diet.

[shalamayne]

"Did anything come back for me?"

Anduin takes a moment to pointedly glance at where his arm used to be before looking back to Daylight with a small smile. The question is oddly appreciated though, if only because Anduin had been wondering how he could ask anyone else something similar. He glances back around as he pats Daylight's back again, making sure no-one is listening in.

He lowers his voice, just to be sure.

"Some of my healing spells returned. Basic, but they work. Not that I can demonstrate right now, but if you feel it would help I am happy to get you out of here." It makes sense that some kind of thing being returned could make Daylight poorly, but Anduin would be hard pressed to even guess what it could be. He just knows Daylight sounds convinced about it.

"You think something came back?"

[grice]

[ the good thing is: falco doesn’t need too much convincing and chooses to see the better— maybe she really was having a bad day and cleaning someone’s vomit wasn’t going to make it better.

they earn silence. the boy, for the most part, sighs out enough that even his shoulders relax. ]

M’alright. Thank you, Miss. [ might as well, since it doesn’t sound like something that out of the blue, ] I’m just looking for something, [ he shrugs, ] strange. I beep when I get close to some places.

[ so maybe they might be places of further interest, even though it was already blatant that something was amiss around those parts. ]

[ourworldnow]

Of course she's got a someone- story of his very short life. He ruffles the back of his hair a little, playing it all off, then gives a shrug.

"What do teens act like?"

Seriously, he's only seen it in movies and books, how 'normal' kids act.

"In the 60s, anyway. I mean, I thought there were a lot more drugs involved, but it's small town life, yeah?"

[grice]

[ daylight might not see all of it, but he might be able to tell that falco was smiling after the given beam with the way what’s visible of his cheeks round under his eyes. ]

I haven’t met them yet, but I’ll remember their names. [ and how someone named wrathion took on the entire police station. wow. ] I’m glad, too.

[ and to be here, at this moment! anyway, there was something else. ]

Can I help you with anything inside still?

[fanoperator]

"I'd be surprised if anything came in," Huaisang agrees. "This place doesn't seem real, anyway. We're isolated, wherever we are. It's surprising they don't even exchange letters within the town, but it makes sense that this place wants to stifle communication. The more we talk and share and investigate, the better we'll all be."

Drawing Daylight further inside, Huaisang puts on the kettle for tea and pours a couple of glasses of gin in the meantime. "Alcohol," he says, pushing the glass toward Daylight. "It can help with shock."

He absolutely feels the shock himself. As much as Daylight is human, perhaps he has human responses to these things. "You have to pretend you are part of the group. Pretend you don't see anything wrong. Get back as soon as you can, if you're supposed to be there now."

People who are helping. | For Takame. | March 1 - 7.

[sunborne]

Note: Setup for a big player plot I have in mind. If you would like to be involved with the plot, let me know and I'll arrange something.

[ it's important, more than ever, that daylight tries to get on the good side of the residents of santa rosita. with an idea brewing in his head and a fire lit under his ass since the kidnapping incident, daylight knows the sooner he can execute this plan of his, the more chances they could curry favours with the people here.

but holy fuck- how many pets can be stuck in trees?

daylight lets out a little grunt of frustration as he finally grabs pickles the tabby kitten from the tree branch they're stuck in, ignoring the way the feisty feline is sinking their claws into his skin, yowling and hissing and spitting up a storm. he grins and bears it because yeah, yeah - take it out on him and only on him. little suzy was scared witless for your well-being so the last thing the girl needs is her beloved kitty to try and bit a peice of her flesh off.

he's all smiles when presenting the sourpuss, giving the grateful girl and mother a big thumbs up as suzy gathers her glowering feline into her ars. ] There you go! I'm glad my friend and I were able to help you two out.

[ thank you so much, suzy's mother sighs, tears brimming her eyes as she wipes them away with a monogrammed handkerchief. if there's anything i can do to help you two young men, please let me know. i'll do anything! ]

Oh? Anything in return? [ daylight shares a look with takame, practiced at this point. ] Well... Now that you mention it, I do have a few questions for you but why don't you let Suzy inside first? We can wait out here.

[ promising to come back with delicious treats for them to have as thanks, the mother and child (and hellish cat) dip back into the house. the moment the door is shut, daylight sighs and rubs the back of his head, huffing under his breath as the tension leaves his tired, tired body. doing all these favours the last few days has been a mess but!

they're making progress. the notebook he's using to keep track of the answers to his questions - thoughts on south santa rosita? feelings on going there more often? what would you like to see, for events? - that he's been sharing with takame as daylight gets a better idea of what's expected and what's wanted.

speaking of takame: ] Thanks for helping me out on this.

I don't know if I could make the headway I'm making now, doing all these favours and asking the questions, if you weren't here to give an extra set of hands.

[ someone had to keep little suzy from climbing up his back to make a desperate grab for her beloved pet. ]

[inpersonation]

"I don't think small town life means they act like their bones will give in."

It's a strangely sarcastic comment coming from someone like Blossom, Noelle realises, so she tries to deflect with what she noticed during her shift at the Blue Moon Diner: Mostly how they act much older than they appear to be. Preferring to hide in corner booths to speak politely to each other, wear cardigans and order coffee and do crossword puzzles.

"The fact there's no real gossip is what I noticed the most." She makes her eyes wide, like even she was surprised by this. "They have nothing but good things to say like the Mayor or the Chief of Police. Nothing but gushing praise and compliments."

Which is weird, you have to think. When you're by your friends and think you're alone, surely you'll let loose and say some bad things, right?

[inpersonation]

[ thank fuck for that- her ears felt like they were going to explode with how loud the ringing was. so thing to keep in mind when around him: do not curse under any circumstances. gotcha.

and hey! it's not a total loss. he said something pretty interesting and she's not going to let it get away from her that easily: ] Some places?

[ she blinks a few times, tilting her head in curiosity at what he had said. ] What kind of 'some places' do you mean? Because if you beeped because of my cursing - and I'm really sorry about that! I am! - maybe it's more of... an alarm? Like, um, what cars have when they're too close to something?

[ she's really hoping he knows what car alarms are. she had quickly gotten tired of explaining what this device did this or that for her 'dad' before he bounced. ]

[undiagnosed]

Predictably, Archer's about to slam the door in Daylight's face and tell him to fuck off in several creative ways and different languages, but stops at the last second. Hang on. This guy sounds familiar. Like he might've heard him on the wrist radio before...?

Archer shifts the door, showing that he's holding a handgun in his free hand.

"Get weird and you'll be fertilising my herb garden," he snaps, irritated that he's even doing this. "What?"

[grice]

[ at least he’s seen cars more than enough during his stay to look into it himself, so there’re no barriers there! he frowns slightly at the comparison, but only because it wasn’t matching up the same way. if it were that way, then he’d beep all over the place when he didn’t. ]

Town Hall, miss. I can’t go there without it making, [ he gestures, ] a scene.

[ in his opinion, it’s suspicious. ]

[sunborne]

Daylight can barely hold his bitterness back as he answers Anduin, “I know something came back. One of the shittiest things I inherited from my parents.” If not the shittiest thing he could inherit from them. Stars, what he would give to pick what he ended up getting.

Okay— There’s that urge to puke again. Combined with the noise around them and not to mention the smells causing his stomach to flip flop, it’s probably for the best they bounce.

“I definitely think we need to take this talk outside.” He begins to try and sit up, slow and careful so he doesn’t do an unwanted encore of his earlier performance. With how close he and Anduin are, the poor guy would end up getting caught in the, um, crossfire. “Give me a second to pay and leave a Sorry I Fucked Up tip for the staff.”

[ourworldnow]

"That is...huh, you're right. That's super messed up. Adults are the number one enemy of us all."

He frowns and looks at the door of the closet. Man, he really has been away from 'real life' too long, that he didn't even notice all that. Just too happy to have a warm bed and five square meals (second breakfast and midnight snacks count).

"But it's not dangerous, right? Just another weird thing about a weird place."

He mentally crosses his fingers that he might yet wiggle out of looking a gift horse in the mouth, here. He's trying to hard to just enjoy what he can.