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[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: Jan 12th to Jan 19th (real time), July 11th to July 18th (historical time), 1884
Location: Black Rock, New Mexico, USA
Characters: All transports
Summary: Fearing UE reprisal, the Initiative corrals all transports and shoos them onto a mission back to the Wild West, to vote Gerald "Moony" Jackson in as Mayor of Black Rock. Transports are encouraged to used all their wiles to encourage townsfolk to vote in favor of him, too. Other than that, they're free to roam as they will for 7 whole days! Good luck finding food and shelter, masses. (See the OOC post for more information.)

The Initiative had been terse and rushed as they gathered the transports into the Transporter room, and anyone unwilling to participate will have been forcibly hurried along. The Initiative employees had seemed distracted and worried, and unwilling to stand around and debate. It was time to move. The teleportation had gone off without a hitch, and a roomful of transports have been treated, quite suddenly, to a broad and sunny blue sky, and especially to the heat of mid July in the American West.

Enjoy your weeklong stay in Black Rock, New Mexico! The town is small and sleepy, with just 3 good saloons and one questionable (but considerably cheaper) one. There are a few inns, but these inns aren't quite prepared to room a sudden influx of over 300 travelers, and some people might have to bunk up or get creative with their sleeping arrangements. If you sleep in an inn at all, of course. There's plenty of unexplored wilderness out there to sleep in instead, isn't there? Just make sure to check your boots for scorpions in the morning.

The only instructions are "vote for Gerald "Moony" Jackson for Mayor, and try to convince others to do the same", and you've been given just enough money to cover a very sparse room and board for 7 days, if you don't spend it in anything else.

So, how do you spend your time?

Edit: Overflow log!

Comments

open, anywhere & whenever

[frorn]

[ Jack hadn't been sure what the fuss was all about, but he'd followed after everyone out of curiosity. A decision he instantly regrets when they get teleported and he's greeted by a summer sky and heat that's like a punch to the face. So of course the first thing he does is desperately reach out to the wind, but there's nothing cool there to be found. Without that colder wind, there's no way he can fly off to someplace cooler either.

He's already pale, but he pales even more and after five minutes, he's really not looking too well at all. He takes refuge in the nearest bit of shade, gracelessly plopping down and clinging to his staff while griping about the hot weather to himself.

In fact, you can probably find him being very miserable and hiding in the shade for the whole week. At least he fares better during the nights, where he can be found floating around, making temperatures drop and freezing things in spite. Basically, he's being useless and unhelpful as far as the voting thing goes. ]

[breakingskylark]

[Of course people won't like the weather, that much is to be expected, but this one seems to be taking it a bit personal. They hadn't even been there for an hour yet and already he looks worse for wear. But he doesn't approach him at first, no. He has far too much business to do to be worried about someone throwing a fit over the heat.

It's only about two days later when Mukuro has finished his work meddling with the votes and finds himself bored without a single thing to do that he takes note of the boy who still seems to be rather unpleased with the weather. It's daytime when he approaches the shade the other is hiding in, looking vaguely amused.]

Kufufu... Still not used to the weather?

[frorn]

[ 'Rather unpleased' being the understatement of the century. If it wasn't for the cooler nights, Jack's not even sure if he would make it through the day. He's never stayed in heat like this before. Always somewhere on Earth it was time for winter and that's where Jack went, only this time he couldn't go and the heat of the day makes him feel downright terrible.

It's no surprise then, that when a guy comes up to him looking somewhat amused, the amusement rubs him entirely the wrong way. He can't even bring himself to care that this guy can see him. ]

Wow, what tipped you off? [ His voice is deadpan and laced with heavy sarcasm, before he adds, slightly milder but still annoyed: ]

This isn't my kind of weather.

[celestial_wizard]

[ Lucy didn't like the heat either, but at least she was tolerating it better than Jack was. In fact, not too long after Jack stopped to plop down in the shade somewhere, there is the sound of someone approaching. That someone of course, being Lucy, all decked out in new western style attire. And bearing a drink. It wouldn't be good if someone collapsed from heat stroke or something, which is why she leans down to offer a cool beverage for him, giving him a small, concerned smile. ]

It's not much, but try this. You look like you're ready to melt. [ IN a non literal sense, we hope. ]

[frorn]

[ The sound doesn't quite register to Jack, the heat is making him slow and sluggish and unfocused. It doesn't help that his thoughts are occupied with ways he could get back at the Initiative for doing this to him. Thus, he doesn't notice Lucy until something is being held in his peripheral vision. He looks up, blinking owlishly at the drink and the girl holding it out to him. It takes him a moment to realize that she actually means for him to take it. ]

Thanks. [ He musters a grateful smile as he eagerly takes the drink from her. He doesn't drink it though, he merely takes it between his hands. Liquid was nice, liquid was easy to freeze and that's exactly what he does. He freezes it and then just holds onto it for dear life. The fact he could actually feel the cold of the ice was a worrying one to him. ]

[ex_symbioses706]

( ranka's excitement to see a new place - at least, so she told herself to find some good in another mandatory mission - has been getting fairly wilted in the heat. it was a nice change from exsilium at first, but after a while...

...well, it's hot.

so it's in seeking out shade that she finds someone else who's done the same already. )

Jack?

[frorn]

[ Oh. A familiar face. Normally that was plenty cause for excitement, but the heat brings an exhaustion with it that digs its claws deep into Jack's chest. It makes his breathing turn labored, although it has no need to be since technically he doesn't have to breathe at all, but old habits die hard and whatnot.

So all he manages is a weak smile for a grand total of maybe 10 seconds before it falters. ]

Hey, Ranka.

[foolish_seal]

[The movement's not hard to miss, so on seeing the guy more or less collapse, Minato makes his way over from whatever he was doing. Most likely just wandering.]

You alright?

[frorn]

[ Jack was just trying to make himself comfortable on the spot, as comfortable as he could get anyway and that was hardly at all in this weather, when someone approaches him and he finds himself glancing up at a blue-haired teen.

His knee-jerk reaction is to claim he's fine, but there's just no way he can pretend he is. He most certainly doesn't look fine in the slightest. ]

Not really. [ He huffs in defeat, pointing up at the sky. ] Heat's not really my thing.

[fintastic]

[ Feferi's seen that look before, that's totally floored and dehydrated look, mostly on herself. She makes her own way over and approaches without an introduction, holding out a canteen full of water. ]

Here, you might need this.

[frorn]

[ People coming over with something liquid to offer him are fast becoming Jack's favorite type of people. Or ... fish-people (?) in this case. Granted, they probably keep expecting him to drink it, which he doesn't plan on doing.

He takes the canteen with a weak, grateful smile and then holds it for a moment, contemplatively, before he glances up to her. ] Can I empty this?

[crystalia]

_{( It's during the day that she spots him, and concern kicks in before she thinks about it and she heads his way. She doesn't ask after him immediately, though, instead starting with: )}

It almost makes you miss all the rain, doesn't it?

[frorn]

[ Jack actually appreciates not being asked after right away. As nice as it was that people could see him and worried for him, it was ... well, it was rather obvious he wasn't doing so great. What was the point in asking?

He straightens a little so he can look at whoever spoke to him properly. The question gets a sheepish grin. ]

I didn't think I ever would, but yeah.

[limitstorm]

[ unlike Jack, Riku blossoms in the heat. he's missed the sun, and he looks pretty jubilant as he plays his final song on his saxophone in a nearby street. pocketing the money the townspeople give him, he wanders for a place to sit--and he finds Jack, though his brisk walk slows.

it's kind of funny--Riku doesn't generally see that kind of color on hair unless it's his own or someone foreboding. that said, how can he turn away from someone that might need some help?

... thing is, Riku's not sure how to help. is it the heat, or hunger? he's seen other Transports who're wilted from hunger and he's given them the money he earned, sometimes buying it himself, so they don't have to just sit alone and be questioned by others or given weird glances.

and if it's the heat, well... Riku has his own cure for that. he approaches and sits down near him, cautious, one hand on the strap holding his saxophone on his shoulder. ]

Hey. You look like you could do better. What's got you down, the heat or no food?

[frorn]

[ Jack's head feels heavy and by the time someone joins his side, he is ... well, it couldn't really be called nodding off. More like somewhat succumbing to the heat. He didn't even have the energy to complain to himself anymore at this point. So when someone sits down near him and speaks to him, it's a most welcome distraction and it forces him to focus again.

He sluggishly looks over and squints at the silver-haired teen with a— was that an instrument? How odd. With the close proximity that Riku's in, he can probably feel the cold radiating off Jack's body. Despite that, he still says: ]

Heat.

[imusntrunaway]

[Shinji's noticed the winter spirit during his trips into town and has become quite familiar with seeing him crouched in the shade. At first he mistook him for the Angel--it was the white hair that did it--but with a better look it became clear that it was someone else.

Still, each time he passes Jack's way he stops to leave a cup of water nearby before walking on. Not a word exchanged or a glance of acknowledgement. But he does this throughout the week like clockwork whenever he encounters him.]

[frorn]

[ At first, the boy randomly leaving a cup of water nearby had been puzzling to Jack. The way he made no notion that acknowledged Jack's existence initially led him to believe that the boy wasn't able to see him at all. Jack had taken the cup regardless then as there was no one else around to take it, but when the boy came again a second time and did the same thing and then a third time, Jack caught on. He was leaving the cups of water for Jack. He has no idea why Shinji didn't speak or look at him, but he appreciates the gesture all the same.

He actually comes to anticipate the boy's visits, wondering each day if the boy will come across him again and leave him some water to freeze and hold onto. He doesn't say anything either since it seems the boy prefers it that way, but sometimes, when he feels he has enough energy for it, he sends a nice cool gust after him as a token of appreciation. ]

[whatsupcroc]

< Jack? >

( An appaloosa with a mental voice that sounds almost like Collette ambles by, coming to a stop when she absently pokes her nose at a few scraggly strands of grass she has no interest in eating. She's not sure if she has the right guy or not, ears swiveling around forward as she lifted her head and craned her neck to look directly at him.

She's saddled and bridleless for now. Turns out it's easier to get into a loose saddle and try to flail through a morph that way than any other. Life is suffering for everyone okay okay. )

[frorn]

[ Way to startle a guy, Collette. Bad enough there's a voice in his head, but when there's nothing but a horse to connect it to when you know that voice doesn't usually belong to a horse, it's kind of a double whammy of surprise. ]

Collette? [ He has to glance around him to make sure and it's still just the horse with him. Briefly he has to wonder if maybe he was having hallucinations and was suffering from what they called a heat stroke. But all the same, he squints at the appaloosa uncertainly. ]

Is that— Is that you?

[wearsblack]

[Jack isn't the only one more active at night. A certain witch is taking advantage of the cooler temperatures and ample shadows to get in some fun that doesn't make him feel like he's about to keel over from exhaustion. Somebody floating certainly catches his attention, and Teravian follows him accordingly and with quiet interest. When Jack frosts over a window, he sneaks up and runs a finger over the pane, just to see if what was happening was really real. At some point he's overcome with curiosity enough to get the spirit's attention, but cautious enough to stay cloaked and instead reaches out with the Touch.

Inside his mind Jack can very clearly a flat voice ask him

What are you?]

[frorn]

[ During the nights, Jack took his revenge. Or that's what he would like to think of it. It didn't matter much when day came again, the heat of the sun was too overwhelming for his frost to linger. All the same, he went to town when the temperatures started dropping. With the drastic difference in the night that came naturally, it was easy to urge the wind to drop those extra few degrees more to make it nice and comfortable for Jack. Nice and comfortable meaning freezing cold for everyone else. Without the clouds though, it was very difficult to make it snow.

So to make up for that, and also because it was just fun, Jack goes around frosting up the windows, making little works of art wherever he went. He's on his way to the next window when suddenly there's a voice in his head, startling him. He wheels around in a flurry of snowflakes that automatically come with his shock, clutching his staff and raising it as he glances around, trying to find the source. ]

Who's there!?

in the dark of the niiiiight~

[got_it_memorized]

[He's been going over a few notes he'd taken over the course of the day (old habits die hard, and these will make for some interesting reports to share back home, if he's given the opportunity) when he hears something over his head. Curious... is there a loose shingle on the roof? He glances over his shoulder to make certain Roxas and Xion are asleep, then gets up and quietly pushes the window open. Leaning out and craning his neck to look up toward the roof, he's a bit startled to see a thin dusting of ice seems to have collected along the edge of the roof.

[That's peculiar. It had been like a zillion degrees earlier, and even now the air doesn't feel anywhere near cold enough to freeze. Something is afoot.

[Stepping back and opening up a dark corridor, Axel portals himself up to the roof to investigate--]

Uwaugh!

[--and nearly loses his footing entirely. Dropping to a crouch to lower his center of gravity, he steadies himself against the rooftop. That would have been fun, to pitch off the roof of the inn, nothing like breaking a leg on a mission. What in blazes is going on? Glancing down, he realizes there's ice beneath his hand. The whole roof is iced over completely!

[Well that makes like absolutely zero sense. Turning over his shoulder when he hears movement nearby, he spies a white-haired boy in a hoodie seeming to hover above the adjacent roof. With a wave of a large hooked staff, the boy twists in the air and as Axel watches in amazement, a shimmering coat of ice follows the boy down the length of the roof.]

Huh.

[Shifting to sit so he doesn't risk sliding off the icy roof again, Axel watches the boy a moment, then lifts a hand to wave at him when his presence is noticed. He raps his knuckles softly against the ice beneath him and raises an inquiring eyebrow.]

Little unseasonable, isn't it?

[frorn]

[ The night comes as a huge relief to Jack when the temperature starts dropping dramatically. The colder weather chases the exhaustion of the heat away and soon enough Jack feels reinvigorated, leaving him more alive and energized and ready to extract his revenge. And by revenge he means finally having a little fun. He's already working on coaxing the wind to drop the temperature even more as he sets about frosting over windows and freezing roofs to slide off in the mean time.

He'd make it snow if he could, but there weren't enough clouds around to do so. Or well, technically he could still make it snow, but that would require more effort than he was willing to put in right now. He's happy enough just flying around and freezing things over for now.

It's nice and empty out on the streets at night so when he notices movement on one of the roofs he'd been decorating from the corner of his eyes, it instantly catches his full attention. From where he's floating on the wind, he can make out the shape of a person— waving? A gesture Jack doesn't hesitate returning and with a burst of wind that leaves him trailing snowflakes in his wake, he flies up to the person and comes to float in front of the man with a wicked grin. ]

Should that matter? [ The question comes with a playful inquiring tilt of his head. ]

[undroppedeaves]

[Well this was bound to happen eventually, what were the initiative thinking sending them to such a place with not even a warning or word of where they were going, giving them no time to prepare.

So when Sam saw the figure slumped in the shade grumbling about the heat he went towards him.] You should probably get inside, it's a little cooler there.

[frorn]

[ Jack slowly looks up when he realizes someone's talking to him to find a ... child? No wait, that didn't sound like a child's voice just now. He squints for a moment before deciding it's too much effort and gives up trying to figure it out after 10 seconds, instead focusing on what was just said. ]

Really? 'Cause I don't think they have air conditioning yet ... do they?