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.

"I won't ask you again. Try to pay attention this time."

There was a girl chained to a concrete pillar in a dimly lit area struggling to catch her breath. Her clothes disheveled, she seemed to have gotten into a confrontation with the man in front of her. She was a pretty girl with bright blue eyes, her cheeks were flushed and her full lips were swollen. Kanda had done a good number on her by then. "Is that any way to treat a woman?" She scoffed, giving the pacing exorcist a glare.

"I'm starting to lose my patience.

Truth be told, Kanda had lost it hours ago when he first placed those sealing chains on her and stabbed her a few times with his sword. Her limbs were almost useless by now and whatever threat this level four akuma had was long gone. It had been following him, stalking him for the right moment to kill him but Kanda had known. He had been waiting for the thing to strike and when it did underneath the pretense of a very frisky brothel girl, Kanda had attacked. Normally, he would have killed an akuma and moved on but this one was different, it had been wearing something very peculiar and Kanda wanted answers.

"Where did you get this headband." He asked again, bringing it to her face as he grabbed a hold of several locks of hair as he forced her to look upward at him. She yelped but the only thing that came from her lips was a very metallic evil laugh. The akuma was getting angry and it was starting to transform. Kanda was unphased.

"Silly boy, why are you chasing a red-head, you should try a blond instead."

Kanda brought Mugen against her hip, cutting into her side before grabbing at her neck and choking her. The akuma cried and shrieked trying to free itself from the impale but it only helped in making the human exterior fade only leaving the monster that the girl truly was. Kanda grinned.

"Now that the mask is off, maybe you'll start getting a little more serious."

"I'll end you, exorcist."

"Try again."

He grabbed at his swords handle and twisted it deeper into the akuma. It choked, the wound starting to calcify and chip. Kanda had gone too far, the beast was dying and he hadn't gotten the information he wanted. Again. How long was this going to go on for? All of these things following him were clearly mocking him. The akuma squirmed as it took it's last breaths, a last effort of it's pitiful existence had it scratching and tugging at his coat but to no luck. Kanda was as cold as a gravestone. He let the remains crumble to the floor as he sheathed his blade and stared at the lump of ash disappointingly clutching the green bandana in his right hand.

"... I'm sorry, Lavi." I'm trying. I'm trying everything I can...

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.

 When she closed her eyes and sleep claimed the corpse the soul of Madoka Kaname thus controlled, she dreamed of better days. 

What precisely? Anything one would think of: playing alongside her friends in a schoolyard, or even singing together in a too-small Karaoke box, the familiar sounds of badly-recorded J-Pop fluttering in the air. Madoka's heart often fluttered from event to event, grasping for the normalcy she'd left behind, and yet at the same time embracing the life she'd chosen to lead with no regrets. 

Tonight was no different. 

The school roof wasn't the most comfortable place to lie down, but Madoka cared little. She lied flat on her back, bentou long finished and neatly set aside. The sky was almost an endless expanse above her, with barely any clouds. 

The sun didn't even shine in her eyes.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes. It was so warm. She could just lie here for a while. Nobody would mind, she was sure...

The sound of an expertly played piano fills the air, its tune something akin to the rushing wind... And then the sounds of a violin, its strings lovingly caressed, taking the listener down, somehow, to the depths of the deepest seas... The lights come on in a flash -- its a concert.

"It's Haruka!" someone exclaimed.

"She's so cool!" Usagi agreed, unable to take her eyes off of the pair. The music that had just filled the concert hall drifted away, as the musicians took their bows and accepted the applause that washed over from the crowds, just as someone screamed...

"It's the Three Lights!"

"Huh? Where?!" Usagi cried, looking around furiously, "I can't see! Where's my binoculars?!" No way was she going to miss the biggest concert of the century!! The Three Lights, the hugest pop group to come to Tokyo!

"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: "Movie Night" mingle log
When: any time agreed upon by the players
Where: anywhere there might be movies showing: theatres, dvd rooms, homes, drive-ins. also, movie settings.

It's an old, old, story: falling asleep and dreaming of that movie that was playing until just a few moments ago. Maybe taking the part of the hero, maybe the dastardly villain, or maybe even just some side character there to fill a purpose in the plot and no more. It might be a dashing adventure, a passionate drama, a sickly sweet romance - anything at all. But it's playing out right now.

Or maybe the movie is playing up on the screen. There's a comfortable couch at a DVD Room, or a seat at the theatre (amid a crowd, or alone with that special someone at the back of the room), or even just a comfortable chair in a warm, cozy house.
Whatever it may be, movies are the order of the night.

(ooc: This is a post to keep threads together for the Movie Night theme. Separate posts are also fine, and this one is optional. Feel free to be part of a movie, or watching one; if need be, specify in the subject line)

Minako never once regretted the choices she's made in life. She knew that the moment she accepted Artemis' companionship, and subsequently the transformation pen he gave her, that her life would never be the same.

She's never looked back once.

The friends she's made, the people she's met, the countless number of lives they've saved, it was all worth it. It was well worth the sacrifices she's made for herself, to protect the ones she loves and will continue to love. She knows that years from the, the world will flourish and part of it is because of her.

Even still, there's still part of her that wonders what might have been. What could have been, if she had said no all those years ago. Especially tonight, as she stands outside a sold-out concert arena to her favorite idol, ear pressed against one of the doors so she could listen in. Could that have ever been her? There were days where she liked to dream it was.

Rudely interrupted by someone telling her she couldn't loiter and listen, she stuck her tongue out at their retreating back.

"Just you wait! That'll be me in there one day!"

Probably not, but she still had visions of bright lights and adoring fans. She sighed, contently, and then promptly pressed her ear against the door again.

Mercury is in a vast, open room made of marble with elegantly carved pillars and supports, that all could have come from a temple in ancient Greece. But instead of an altar, pride of place is given to a massive supercomputer. The terminal and viewscreens take up the entire far wall, where she gives them her full attention.

Her eyes barely move as she studies the computer intently, scrolling through lines of code and occasionally taking down notes. There! She sees exactly how to fix that problem now, one that's been nagging at her for what seems like weeks. But after long enough, her head starts to droop over the console and the words on the screen blur into her thoughts, and then into darkness as she falls asleep.

Ami wakes with a start. Nighttime shadows remind her of how long she's been sitting in this chair, with a can of tea leaves and a hot cup of strongly brewed tea to keep her company while she works through the long hours. The marble hall becomes a comfortable room, modern and spacious, with heavily-laden bookshelves and tropical fish. The massive supercomputer is none other than her laptop. With a pang of irritation, she realizes she can't remember the answer that was so clear a moment ago in her dream. She sits up straight, and goes back to her task right away.

Her eyes barely move as she studies the computer intently, scrolling through lines of code and occasionally taking down notes...

(ooc: since it's a dream in a dream, people can feel free to choose which to catch her at/flit through both)