nysalogs | [ OPEN ] ❝ and i don't want to talk about the world ❞

Who: Prompto (

punshots) & YOU
What: October catchall, with open prompts for part 1 of the event!
When: Right the heck now!
Where: Around Olympia
Warning(s): sad boy...but none probably?!

I. MARKET DISTRICT.

[ He's there when the bomb goes off.

Not within range to be affected by it, but as a member of the royal guard, Prompto's very assignment is to patrol the market district. Facing down Victarion after he'd killed a man there the week previous had been harrowing enough, given him too much to think about, too many questions to ask about himself and what he was even doing in the guard in the first place. This latest attack is nothing short of a slap across the face.

Not that he lingers on how it makes him feel - he hardly dwells on it. As always, he's feelings are shuffled neatly aside, even when reaching out to his friends - his brothers - to make sure they're okay in the aftermath, only to find his messages rebounding. Noctis, Ingis, and Gladio - all three, in stasis once more.

He's not equipped to deal with this devastation right now, so he doesn't. He bottles it up, sets his jaw, and goes to work. This bomb went off on his watch, so...he has to find the people responsible, right? Of course he does. It's what...Noct would have done.

So he'll be doing the following:

A. Assisting with clean-up. The bomb has made a terrible mess of things, and these merchants in the market district are people he knows well by now. He knows their names, their families, their hopes and dreams, and something like this is nothing short of devastating for many of them. He can't replace what was infected, but he can at least help clear away what's no longer fit to sell.

He approaches with a hefty (just the adjective, not the brand, Hefty TM Reynolds Consumer Products, Inc.) trash bag that's already pretty swollen with infected goods, wearing gloves and a respirator provided by the Institute. For acting as a literal garbage man, he looks pretty chipper. ]

What's the word? [ He gestures to whatever goods they're sorting through. ] Think they'll pass biohazard infection?

[ Isn't this fun? He's having the time of his life. He's fine!

B. Investigating the area. The crime scene itself is the obvious place to start looking for clues to track down the persons responsible for the attack. Word spreads quickly through the guard that they're looking for individuals tattooed with an "M" on their wrists, so he'll address anyone still lingering nearby, looking over his shoulder and hiding his mouth with his hand - he's very...stealthy... ]

Hey...sorry to bug, but - did you happen to see anyone leaving this area around bomb o'clock today?

[ Yep. Still fine! ]

II. CHASING CRIMINALS.

[ Evidently, his investigating does turn up some promising leads, and Prompto is hot on the heels of one of those suspected associates, which he tipped off with his presence far too early and gave the woman a generous headstart. He's pursuing on foot, leaping between vehicles and over stalls - sometimes more gracefully than others - and if he weren't caught up in this, if this weren't so personal for him, he'd probably take a moment to appreciate the fact that he might kind of look like a badass right now.

But he doesn't allow himself that much, and he pursues the suspect to a tall, threadbare building that looks like it might collapse with a single gust of wind. The woman starts to scale it, and, okay, that looks pretty cool, too, but he's come this far. He's not about to lose her trail now.

So he grabs the closest person, frantic as he turns them to face him: ] How good are you at climbing?

[ And then adds, a moment later after glancing between the building and whoever he's grabbed: ] I'm super sorry about this!

III. TENDING THE ILL.

[ If you didn't know any better, you might think Prompto some sort of crazed, overly-enthusiastic delivery man the way he carts around the city on a bike with a basket filled with soup containers. Where did he get a bike? He probably let a kid hold his gun so he could borrow it for the day. It's not important.

Anyway, that's just what he's doing, zipping across Olympia and ferrying the ambrosia of all illnesses, chicken noodle soup, to his friends - and hell, even one-time acquaintances - in need. He'd been quick to contact just about everyone he knows as the news of the sickness spread, to make sure they were okay, and depending on their response, he tabulated them for future reference. That future reference is now, and he's ringing doorbells, dropping off soup, and by and large wearing a much more genuine smile than he has for days.

It's...hard not to, when he's helping people, even if they might not really need his help.

He can also be caught in between stops, catching a breather on lesser-traveled corners, pulling out his camera to flip back through his photos. He has to go back a considerable way before he reaches his pictures from Eos now, a fact which is so bittersweet it has his eyes glassy, but he grins reflexively at the smiling faces that greet him on the little screen.

With a quiet sigh, he murmurs: ] Hang in there, guys...

IV. WILDCARD.

[ Have something else in mind? Hit me up! I can also be reached on Plurk at retroscape for plotting! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He's...not exactly sure what to expect from that apple, after it was just floating in mid-air, so he pokes his finger at it tentatively, as if he's expecting it to just burst and rain goopy apple mush all over him. ]

Uh, for what purpose would you not? [ - He's just joking, of course. He'd never risk jeopardizing anyone's health by chucking these around. Buuut when they've got the cure for the sickness, maybe...

He's just saying. ]

You never been in a food fight before?

[zaShunina shakes his head, still holding out the apple for Prompto to take. Aside from the potential contamination, it shows no sign of exploding in his face, at least.]

I am passingly familiar with the concept. [But no, he's never done it before.] However, doing so would be counterproductive to the task we have been given.

[ As it's not exploding, Prompto gingerly picks up the apple, tosses it up and down in his hand before sniffing it, and then drops it into his sack while making a face.

Yeah, that one's definitely no good. ]

Yeah, but it's not counterproductive to having a good time! [ He chuckles lightly, picking up a bunch of bananas to inspect. ]

- Maybe, once we've got this all settled and sorted out, we can stage a proper food fight for you.

For "fun?" [The act of doing things that aren't necessarily constructive just for the purpose of enjoyment. Yaha-kui zaShunina has some experience with the concept, but not to an extensive degree.]

Unneeded. [He shuts down the idea, shoving more of the spoiled bread into his own bag. After second, however, he stops in the middle of his task and glances from the baker's sour face to Prompto, then to the bag in his hands.]

Morale is positively affected by enjoyment. Perhaps it would not be unneeded for those negatively affected by the attack.

[ He sighs inwardly. At another place or time, he'd be only too happy to show this guy what the meaning of "fun" is, since he doesn't quite seem to grasp it, but things being what they are...

Wait, did he just agree with him? Sort...of??? ]

- Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talkin' about, dude! A food fight, a puppy parade, a big water slide...whatever it takes to help people smile again.

[ And really, weren't all of them negatively affected by the attack? ]

[zaShunina doesn't feel negatively affected, but he's a bit of an odd case when it comes to responding to tragedy. He isn't moved by the attack one way or another, but it's not that he doesn't care, he's just looking at it from the perspective of an outsider.]

A puppy parade? [He's not sure how to respond to any of those suggestions at first, but settles on smiling--even if it's the mannequin-like smile of someone who doesn't actually feel anything behind it.]

They are good ideas. If those are your own answer to the problem, I would like to see them.

[ He knows a forced smile when he sees one, and it has Prompto wondering at just what's going on in the other guy's head. Man, he - probably thinks he's a total loser, doesn't he? But then again, that's nothing new. ]

Really? You would? [ Said with genuine surprise. ] I mean - that's not gonna cure this illness, or anything, but it might lift some spirits when we get to the other side of it all.

[ Which. Let's hope that happens sooner, rather than later. ]

[A forced smile only because communication is a tricky thing and he'd determined a smile to be the correct response in this case, even if it turns out slightly artificial as a result.

zaShunina nods, doll-like smile remaining firmly in place.]

Everyone will formulate different solutions to a problem, but it is in these differing answers that progress will be made. [One, two, three bread rolls float into the sack in the same way the apple had, moving along a telepathic track to the bag.]

Maintaining morale is your answer, correct?

[ Slanting a grin, Prompto nods enthusiastically. ]

That's what I shoot for, anyway. [ He's always been much better at that role than any other, anyway. At the end of the day...he just wants to keep the people around him happy, whatever it takes. ]

So...what's...what's your answer?

[ He has a hunch it might be something different. ]

[Yaha-kui zaShunina hesitates, staring at Prompto with that same artificial smile for a good few seconds before answering--and when he does answer, it's without even a minute shift in expression.]

Mankind has many problems to be solved, but it is in overcoming adversity that it advances. You could say that 'advancement' is the true nature of mankind. This conflict between Wyver and Olympia is temporary, but the world will change as a result. It will advance.

[And thus his 'answer' is a non-answer.]

[ The, uh, staring is a bit unnerving, so it's only too welcome when zaShunina speaks up again, even if his words are a bit - peculiar. It's almost like he's speaking in riddles, the way Prompto heard Gentiana do in the past, with a perspective broader than the here and now - one Prompto has a bit of a hard time grasping himself. "Advancement" isn't always a good thing one way or the other, so it's not quite an answer, but it's...still something. ]

Huh! You know, you were sounding pretty philosophical there for a minute. [ He crosses his arms with a slight grin. ]

Let's hope we advance to a cure for this illness, yeah?

[ OPEN ] ❝ and i don't want to talk about the world ❞

sounds rad as heck

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