From her vantage point, the entire countryside opened up before the priestess Mercury. Mountainous terrain spread from there to the horizon, dotted by caves and carpeted with forest. The broad vista took in a pristine landscape.

The beauty of the scene was marred only by the keening and noising of what might be animals, They sounded thick, and primal, and not as distant as a traveler might have preferred. Mercury faced in the direction of the noise anyway, noting it carefully, before she turned to return to her camp. More distant still, too distant to be seen, was her destination.

There was a long way to go yet, and there were many obstacles between her and her goal. Yet she had taken on this journey and quest willingly. The sign that her plans were favored were her healing powers. She was confident, in this bright morning, of her path.

The mellow dance hall had an old timey feel to it: wooden paneling, sweethearts dancing slowly with each other as the gentle music of a big band song played. Steph was standing to the side, searching over the slow moving couples to see if she could find...if she could find him. But something was off. She knew she wasn't in the 40s anymore. She knew that. She was wearing her new Captain America uniform. One that Coulson designed. Yet...yet the setting looked just like home. And there was hope in her chest that Bucky was just really late.

No. This was a dream. It had to be.

Who: Everyone! Open to All
What: Valentine's Day mingle logs
When: any time generally around the holiday
Where: awkward cupid / conversation hearts / repay the gesture

Love is in the air, from chocolated Japan to cherubic America, from Victorian times to the far-off future. There are dreams of romance, candy, timid (and bold!) love confessions, and hearts everywhere.

(ooc: This is a post to keep threads together for Valentine's Day. Separate posts or additional subthreads are also fine, and this one is optional. Since some of the affects have potential to force a character's reactions icly, it may be best to discuss between the players or note your preferences/anything you'd rather avoid.)

Kanda had been expecting some animosity on his return. No one really liked a traitor.

To his surprise, it had all been the exact opposite. The minute Kanda had walked through the main gates of the Chinese branch, he was greeted with sobs, tears, and exclamations about how he was never allowed to die or not!die the way he had again. Komui had taken him into his arms and Lenalee had sobbed and followed suite. After everyone was sure Kanda's hands couldn't reach for his sword he had been overrun by a dog pile. They told him he was home. Kanda knew better.

The only reason he had returned was because he had to. Being an exorcist meant he had to do what the innocence living inside of him wanted: kill akuma. If he went off that plan he would be corrupted and then he would become a fallen. He'd lose his mind and die in excruciating pain. Kanda had things to do before he decided to bite the dust.

I have someone to find...

After the scientists and the section leaders had their turn welcoming Kanda back, they left him to his own devices. He hadn't eaten in days so the first place he went to was Jerry's kitchen in the cafeteria. The guy was so annoyingly animated he figured it was going to take a lot of patience to deal with him. He hadn't even gotten near the cue line when he could all ready hear Jerry talking.

"Well if it isn't my new favorite General!" Several finders turned around and gave Kanda a hard look. "Where have you been? I've ordered all this soba and you haven't been here to eat it all."

Kanda gave him a weak smile and ordered his usual before sitting in the farthest corner away from everyone. He was a general now. No doubt about it.

"Hey." 

Nothing but a simple tombstone, engraved with nothing but a "Z", stared back at him. Not that X expected it could talk; a slab of stone under a large blossoming apple tree didn't make for good conversation, he wagered. Still, there was a comfort in small, silent things, from the simple grassy field that made up their meeting place to the hilt of the beam sabre that sat next to the bouquet of irises that lied down next to it. 

It wasn't meant to be an extravagant place full of pomp and ceremony: the clear sunny sky, endless grass (short of the single tree), and lack of any sort of building made that abundantly clear. 

"It's been a while since I've seen you...sorry about that. I've been busy and it's been hard to get away, even to sleep. You know how it is."

X chuckled, scratching his head. 

"But we're starting to home in on the last of the straggler groups still holding onto Sigma's ideals. We might even win the war soon, and then...well. Things will be peaceful again. Maybe I'll be able to go back to being a B-class, huh?"

Maybe. Maybe he'd even be able to wear his favorite human clothes, like he was wearing now: blue upon blue, with even more blue. Right now, he couldn't have even worn these around the base with as little free time as he had, but here, it was all right. In dreams, everything was safe, including prattling about at a gravestone in the middle of nowhere like he was a character in a human drama. 

Well. He was alone. 

There was no harm in creating a grave for an old friend that didn't exist in the real world, just as there was no harm in voicing his thoughts to him.

After all, it wasn't as though anyone could hear him.

Who: Everyone! Open to All
What: Holiday Mingle Log
When: the holiday season
Where: Locations in comments, or add your own.

Tonight, dreams take the form of the winter holidays. Everything is imagined in grand scale, from a winter wonderlandscape to a glorious feast, to gifts under the tree and the inevitable mistletoe. All of everyone's favorite things have made their way into the dreams. And it feels so vivid and real.

(ooc: This is a post to keep threads together for winter holiday antics. Separate posts are also fine, and this one is optional. Feel free to use the location subthreads as prompts, or to add something entirely different. These include hints of the dreams crossing into waking life; those are small and entirely optional as well.)

Who: Everyone! Open to All. World inhabitants can be npc'd as needed.
What: World Exploration : Suggestion Info here
When: all through November and beyond
Where: Locations in comments, or add your own.

There are whole new worlds out there. Some people know this already, some are learning it for the first time. Tonight, it's a world of mystery where nothing seems to work entirely by normal logic and everything familiar from waking life can become different. Flowers have a temper and may not like being picked, animals wear dapper clothes, and all of them talk. Some of them are helpful.

Whether flitting around the edges of this world at the Rabbit Hole or the Entryway, caught up in the Mad Hatter's tea party, taken to the Castle of the Queen of Hearts, the Croquet Ground, or somewhere entirely different, it's Wonderland. Be careful: The signs shouldn't always be obeyed.

(Notes: This is a log to keep together threads exploring Wonderland. Relevant threads can also be made as separate posts throughout the rest of the month or beyond. Mostly, this is an experiment to see how a mass log will work for world exploring. As usual with OPN, it is entirely optional and creative liberty is fine and encouraged while working within the setting. Feel free to use the location notes as prompts, but also feel free to do something else entirely. More world suggestions always accepted here.)

It's the middle of night, and it's dark. There's a chill in the air. Stars, moonlight, articifial lighting, all of it seems to be conspicuously absent.

So where is that patch of even deeper darkness coming from, like a shadow of a shadow? It slips through the air, sensed more by its motion than by sight, creeping closer...

(ooc: for pun theme, a member of shadow galactica as a literal shadow! also, trying out potential for a waking dream; feel free for characters to think they've woken up to find the shadow in their room/wherever they're sleeping - set any scene desired.)

Tonight's dream takes place by a secluded arctic lake, nestled among the frozen snow. Subtle strains of classical music come from nowhere, adding to the atmosphere of calm. Ami seems completely at ease, seated at a table resting on the surface of the ice. Though the sharp scent of cold air finds no relief in the thin sunlight, she seems unaffected. She tucks an errant lock of hair out of her way, and scrutinizes the arrangement of pieces on a chessboard, deep in comfortable thought.

All in all, it's a perfect birthday.