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

I could probably teach you how to-- [Hang on.] Wait, they have Cup Noodles where you're from? Like, that's the name of the brand?

Geez, that's a pretty weird coincidence. [Is Cup Noodles somehow universal?]

[ Yes, Cup Noodles is truly what connects them all...

He chuckles, looking a little dismayed himself. Of all the things! ]

Yeah, you bet! My buddy Gladio is kind of obsessed with them. [ Never mind the way he sorta...stumbles over Gladio's name there. It's fine. ]

Oh, really? I didn't know that about Mr. Gladio!

I'll have to bring it up with him next time I see him. We've totally got Cup Noodles back home too!

...You knew him?

[ Then...guess this responsibility falls to him. There's no one else left to do it, and while her words could still hold true if Gladio woke up out of stasis again, there's no telling when that might happen, and...Prompto owes his buddy more than that. ]

Might have to...take a raincheck on that one. He's back on ice again as of a few days ago.

[ He wears a tired smile. ]

[Not the reaction she was expecting! It takes her a second.] Wait... what do you mean?

He's back asleep? --we can go back to sleep?! Nobody mentioned that to me!

[ Man, it's hard to hear her say that, and he wishes he had a better explanation for her, but he doesn't and Prompto nods solemnly. ]

Y-yeah, 'fraid so. I guess, for whatever reason, they just can't stay awake anymore, so...Darma takes them back. B-but - Gladio might be back! People can wake up again, too.

[ And he has to at least offer her that. It's a reminder he needs, too. ]

Oh jeez, that's...

...I'm sorry to hear that. That's really terrible. You must miss him.

...yeah. Yeah, I do.

[ He shrugs his shoulders halfheartedly. ]

Just keep him in your thoughts next time you're chowing down on some noodles, okay?

[ It's what Gladio would have wanted!! ]

I hope he at least got to come to the party before he left. [She says, a little glumly, before realizing that he's probably taking it way harder than she is, since he knew Gladio better. So she forces a smile.] We'll just have to make sure nothing burns down too badly before he wakes up again!

Don't worry, he got to show off his abs at the beach before he became a popsicle again.

[ So at least he got to go out doing what he loved...not wearing a shirt. ]

Right. Hah - I don't think he'd appreciate a mess like that to wake up to, so we'll just have to find a way.

We'll definitely get things back in order here before he's back, I bet. This is just--

[She pauses.] Er, I guess it's a little crazy though, to be honest. I never expected anything like this to happen here. It seemed so... safe.

[ He chuckles, though there's nothing funny about this at all. He just...knows exactly what she means. ]

Yeah, seriously crazy. One day we're out partying on the beach, and the next... [ He gestures vaguely. ]

We'll get it all sorted out, though. You can bet on that.

Oh, yeah! Definitely! We've come way too far to let something like this stop us! [She nods emphatically.]

I wish there was more I could do other than help with the laundry, though.

[ Self-consciously, Prompto glances down at his soup bike, at the cups of soup sitting in the basket. He...knows the feeling. He's trying to do as much as he can, but he's spread so thin as it is and hardly feels like he's making any difference at all. It's frustrating, to say the least, and he smiles knowingly at her. ]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I wanna help take care of everyone, but I want to help catch those guys, too. It's like I can't make up my mind where to help out.

[ Admitting this isn't easy for him, either. ]

[You takes a moment and then sighs.] I think that if I tried to catch anyone, I'd probably just be in the way.

But you fight monsters, don't you? You're totally equipped to help do that!

[ He...likes to think he's helping, but he worries in reality, he's only getting in the way, too. ]

I mean...yeah, but this is...different. We worked as a team back home. [ He chuckles then, a little sheepish. ] But that's no real excuse, huh? I'm gonna keep trying anyway.

--right, exactly! We can talk ourselves out of helping all we want, but it's harder to put in the work!

I'm sure you could find people to work as a team here, too.

[ His smile turns a little wistful, like he's not so sure about that. It'd taken him his whole life to find friends like Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio, friends he could work so seamlessly with. What were the chances of him finding something like that here, too?

But of course, he doesn't say as much, instead nodding. ]

You know? I bet I could, too. I'll just have to keep looking for the right team.

[She brightens up.] Just keep looking, then!

I'll let you know if I see anyone looking for a monster-hunting superhero team!

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

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