[Sakura is sitting on the edge of the bed and kicking her legs around a little before speaking] If you could have anything for Christmas, what would you ask for? [this is her sneaky way of trying to find out what to get everyone...] I think I'd ask for a new pair of knee guards. My old ones are really scratched up from all the times I've slipped on my AT.

...I'd also like to visit a zoo so I can see penguins and elephants again. [QUICKLY] I don't want them to be arrested though! I just want to see them. ...I'd like to see everyone from back home too. [her legs stop moving] And all the friends I made here. Like Ushiro-kun and Josak-san, and Lavi-san... [ashton nakama kaito teddie kamui kobato adachi fai lelouch everyone. but thoughts like these aren't what she wants right now, so Sakura pushes them away.]

[she moves a hand to her head and moves it forward, measuring her height.] It'd be nice if I could grow a little bit taller too! Taller than my brother. That way I get to call him shortie. [AND STEP ON HIM]

[private]

Syaoran-kun, are you busy? I'm really sorry if you are, but I just wanted to ask you something quickly!

[The device is certainly beyond anything Yuuki is used to working with, but its instructions on how to use it is clear. She appears on screen. A brown, chocolate smudge decorates the side of a pretty, porcelain cheek near her mouth on the right. A few wrappers litter the ground at her feet, along side the familiar welcome basket. She’s beautiful, almost doll like, despite the mar. An ageless appearance though she clearly appears young, even within her early teens, But it’s an appearance different from that of an ordinary person, and sets her apart, too. Her eyes are wide, a deep, liquid brown and innocent (as though still fill of life), though not amused. Full, pink lips thin as she frowns with a look of disapproval into the screen.

She isn’t happy.

Cloaked in a white school uniform, her brows knit, expression firm as a normally warm gaze stares hard into the camera of the device. Atop her left arm is a black arm band, with a curious red crest. It matches the silver necklace, barely visible around her slender neck. She pulls the black band up, readjusting it and brushing her long waves of rich, mahogany hair over her shoulder.

Back straight, polite, though resolute and unwilling to be dismissed or ignored, she opens her mouth to speak. It’s clear she’s impatient, her annoyance a spasm of irritation that crosses her face, but shadowed by an underlying urgency.]

I haven’t done anything worthy of being arrested again. If this is a joke, it isn’t funny. I want to know the truth.

[Because the crimes listed are nothing short of ridiculous, charges more absurd than anything sensible, regardless of any validity to them. They’re a reflection of the truth twisted out of context. Although, she’s painfully aware the hunters don’t need real reasons to take one of her own kind into custody. They’re the only group outside of another pureblood who would possibly have the ability to pull off something this elaborate. Still, she has a job to do.]

Where’s the Association President? There are too many important things going on for us to be going through this all over again! Humans could get hurt. I want to talk to him immediately.

[He isn't quite sure how it came to this, but he is in the convenience store walking down an isle he had never intended to use. Clinging stubbornly to his shoulder in a precarious yet graceful balance of weight and determination is a small black cat. She is a tiny thing and yet she has refused to release in the pet cafe. Her resilience was so obvious that he stopped trying to make her.

This is a very odd situation. A week ago he would have refused her easily. But for some reason in the course of his conversation with the man at the pet cafe and the kitten's refusal to leave him be thereafter...he gave in.

He should probably find himself more pathetic than he does. Give him time and he most likely will.

And that is how he finds himself at the convenience store collecting supplies for a small kitten and then returning to his residence, all the while not sure what he is doing and why this little black animal is intent on remaining with him. Cats choose their keepers, but why this one chose him is beyond his comprehension.]

{OOC: Do not ask me how this happened, it just...happened. Feel free to run into him at the store, on his way home, or when he gets there if there is a reason for you to be at his house.}

[It's one thing very few people realise about him, that Lind keeps tabs on certain people. So the instant he notices two very specific people aren't home, he makes a round of the dome.

Not too long later he sighs and stops, already having tried to contact Kaito via the network and a private post. No luck. Akito won't be happy about this...]

If anyone's looking for Kaito or Gazelle, don't bother. Neither of them seem to be here anymore. [He sounds a little tired. Lind's had enough of people appearing and vanishing]


((OOC: Akito will have a thread for replies to him. Feel free to tag either or both of them))

What do you all do for fun? You know, games, hobbies, anything.

I need new things to do.

[Sighs.]

LETTER RECIPIENTS

• Orihime: a letter from Alucard.
  
  MASS MAILERS
  
• To Yuta Takizawa, Alma Karma, Ava Wilson, Sakura Kinomoto, Wayward Vagabond, Jennifer Shibuya, and Rogue: a package from Kamui (Fuuma Monou).
  
  PACKAGE RECIPIENTS
  
• Kohran Li: a package from Kunihiko Moji.
  
• Kamui Shirou: a package from Kamui (Fuuma Monou).

[It's a strange day. The post office, in the morning, was empty, still, and quiet.]

[When at last came the staff to operate and deliver the mail, PM was entirely absent. And again, during the late afternoon route, no PM.]

[The volunteers bustle about, though, making sure that the day's mail is delivered despite her self-imposed, day-long vacation at home. Not that it is much of a vacation to her. Still, she is not entirely missing, as she converses with her volunteers on the network, in private channels and in brief exchanges.]

[Volunteers on duty will be linked in this post if they want to have open action threads!

Duo Maxwell
Miranda]

[Again, sorry for my fail in not sending these out last week, orz. Click here for pen pal signups. Mail submissions for Day 142 go here!]

[Ritsuka offers the video a smile, his small body hidden under many layers of thick winter clothes. He's not wearing a hat, though, since it tickles his ears. He's outside in the park in Sector 4, already knee-deep in snow.]

Yuta! Grab your coat and come meet me in the park. I'll start working on a snowman until you get here.

[He hasn't forgotten his promise to play in the snow with Yuta, though if anyone else should pass by, they're welcome to help build a snow family with him.]

[The video opens to some frantic clinking. Komui's in the shelter kitchen, desperately fiddling with a coffee maker.]

Anyone know how to get this thing working? It's broken or something. [ -- it isn't. And yes, he knows there's a coffee shop, but it's not the same. Also, it's entirely possible that he hasn't slept in two days.] Lenalee told me to take down my coffee Komurin and --

[and he can't even finish that sentence. Why's he crying over coffee? Anyone who knows him at all will probably guess what's going on: Lenalee's vanished. Again.]

[At first, it may be difficult to make out the pale figure against the backdrop of snow, but as one draws closer, important details fall into place: the pointed, erect ears; the lean body covered in sleek, silver fur; the gleaming red eyes; and four tails snaking through the air as though they have a life of their own. With the restraints gone, Kurama has chosen to test what abilities are now available to him, and can be found in one of the parks in Sector Four in his native form, that of a four-tailed fox. Perhaps someone will put two-and-two together and realize that he is in fact the red-haired youth who arrived the day before; perhaps he will instead be assumed to be another individual entirely. Either way, he's warm enough with his thick coat of fur, and keen to learn what limitations may have been placed on this form by Acumen.]

[ooc: Kurama only told one person he was a youko, so Naoya should be the only character who could figure out right away that the fox is Kurama, I think. Anyone else would have to go on hints given today, if he bothers to give them at all.]

[voice | private | Murata - unreceived]
Hey, Murata. Where have you been? [And then a few hours later.]

[voice | private | Conrad & Wolfram]
Conrad? Wolfram?

...It's Murata.

[voice | open]
[That usual bounce isn't in his voice today.]

No one is allowed to be baseball manager anymore.

[Because that's clearly what sends people away who he'd really rather have not away.]

[Agito's in a foul mood after yesterday. After being put through being forced into a younger form and being dragged around by his other, and now the fact that it's newbie day, a day he despises, the dark is not in the best of moods at all. He can be found tearing through Sectors 3 and 4 on his AT, just restraining himself from destroying something. He's not that far gone, and he's not stupid enough to bring Acumen's wrath done on him. The small scars his AT leave behind are enough as it is]

Fucking hell, it's always the same here. [The sound of his AT can be heard whirring in the background] Stupid shit like yesterday happens, and now the bunch of new shits who sound all the same. Stop fucking whining about being brought here, useless idiots.

Why is this place so fucking boring? [It's easy to tell he's irritated. He has energy to burn and no one to take it out on. The shark is bored as hell. It's not really a good thing]


((OOC: Feel free to use this to call Akito or Lind as well, if they need to be contacted))

Pardon me. Is this device functional? [Tap tap tap. Then, a little louder:] Pardon me!

[At first it's only voice, but after a bit of fiddling the video function comes on. Enjoy your view of the bridge of Nia's nose, Marina. It pans back after another moment, leaving her whole face in view. Absurdly bright eyes, unfaltering smile... check, check.]

Ah... hello, Marina of Prison fellow people! My name is Nia. It is lovely to meet you. I will be residing here as of now, so I hope we can all be good friends.

[Beat, then she adds:]

Oh, yes. Thank you for the time you spent listening. [♥]

[ there's silence for several beats, and then a soft, off-key huming. it goes on for maybe a minute, and it certainly sounds like a 'real' song -- but nothing any of you should recognize. it's an old, old lullaby.

finally, a husky feminine chuckle, and ]

Happy Halloween~...

Ooookay, joke's up, I'll bite. Jail? Seriously?--freaking hilarious, sure, and kind of. Elaborate for a "learned your lesson yet?" prank, should this turn out to be one. But hey. I can roll with it. The basket was a nice touch!

Even I have to cry I'm stumped on this one, though. Can't we call it a release on good behavior? I'll be a good girl from now on, won't do it again, promise? No fair trial aside [he-hem], these crimes are stretching just a little, and adding insult to injury... Who goes to prison for disobeying orders?

Right. Me, apparently.

[...]

[Shoulders slumping, Steph crouches down a little, showing herself still in her Batgirl suit, as she... pokes one of the bots of the sector she's been running around in, before it turns on her face and zips away.]

... I know, right? Tough crowd.

[Sigh. Anyone who wants to run into a purple vigilante on their sector of choice this morning is free to do so, she'll be doing the Batman and creepin' around until then. Or at least, until waffles are had.]

[Well, he's male again. That's a nice relief.

After stealthily disposing of his undergarments from the previous day - a garbage bin full of girl's underwear may look odd, but much less odd than a teenage boy's drawer full of it - he washes, dresses, feeds Mochi and eats, then heads out on a mission. He's either been too busy or too female to do this for the past couple of days, but now it's time. An organization like the Defense Force shouldn't be held up by his indecision.

You can either find him heading from the shelter to the DF HQ, or peeking his head in curiously. Anyone there?]

((thread with Suzaku is closed, but he's open for interaction!))

[ Seira barely opens her eyes to unfamiliar territory before a message begins to echo in her ear. Certain words stand out to her -- criminal, warden, facility...? Dome? She sits up and looks around at her surroundings -- distinctly not the same surroundings she fell asleep with, she is certain. And there's a ball and chain on her foot? She lifts her foot to examine it, as if that will help -- but of course it doesn't, so she rests her foot again... What is going on? The message ends, and she feels at the communicator on her ear. She isn't exactly sure what to do, and she doesn't see anyone around... ]

Hello?

[ She pauses a moment before trying to focus her mind -- perhaps Regis is nearby? Or the children? Rai, or Frankenstein? Her head is swimming too much for her to currently focus well enough. She sighs. Again her hand finds the communicator on her ear, and she takes it off to look at it. Examining it, unfortunately, doesn't help her understand what it is or what is going on... Perhaps, if she puts it back on, she could try... talking to 'Acumen'? Hmm... She puts it on and looks about again to be sure that no one is around whom she could just ask directly... She feels a bit silly talking to something or someone she isn't even sure is there anymore, but... well, what else can she do? ]

'Acumen'... Where am I?

[It's hard to imagine a more regal or more deadly looking demon when Sesshoumaru appears on the video feed. He is clearly displeased at the current circumstances, his mouth compressed in a thin line, his golden eyes narrowed with disapproval. The way he cracks the knuckles of his right hand, as though he can't wait to use his claws on something, serves as a subtle warning. Good thing, too, because he's not inclined to waste words on Marina at this juncture.]

Explain.

[Yes, the brochures were a help, but Sesshoumaru vastly prefers to have a face to go with the information. He's never dealt with a computer before, and if there's a flesh-and-blood presence of any kind he can hold responsible for his abduction, he will be more than happy to demonstrate just how annoyed he is.]

[ooc: I am still on hiatus, so replies will be slow.]

[Allen managed to get to the shelter for breakfast as per his normal. He ate a giant mountain of food, as per his normal. He ate some candy, because it was there. And now...]

[Now he doesn't remember any of that. In fact, he doesn't know how he got here. He doesn't recognize any of the people. The communicator and the robots are kind of terrifying for him, so he skipped out of there and put the communicator away. He doesn't know what happened to his left arm -- why it looks differently, why it's working. Why he looks differently. Why he's older and the last thing he remembered, he was seven years old.]

[He doesn't even know why he's not hungry. That's never happened before.]

[A mistrustful Allen is wandering the streets now, with his hood pulled up self-consciously. Bother him?]



((ooc: sorry for INCREDIBLE LATE; here's memory-loss circus-era Allen. Allen will be speaking ~thick Cockney English~ so pretend I'm tagging as such even when I get too pained to keep typing it))

[Have a video of a ten-year-old girl who might look familiar to those who know Zelda. Yup, she had one of those strawberry gummies, and as a result, all her clothes are now too big for her. Which is why you only get to see her face in this video. She captures just enough so that people will recognize her, since her voice is now that of a child's.]

Are there any women who would be willing to do me a favor?

[Guys are free to respond, of course, but she won't be asking what she needs from them.]

[ When the broadcast starts, the camera is propped up on a shelf in a closet. There is a small hill of cloth that blocks the bottom half of the video, but what can be seen is the top of someone's back. It must be a woman's, because of the straps of a black sports bra that can be seen -- well, it's either that, or Neil has started cross-dressing.

And people will recognize it's Neil (or Lyle, to those less observant) because of the distinctive long brown hair, or just in the voice that calls out. This was not an accident. ] Alright, Marina. You win. [ His voice sounds a bit... higher. A touch softer. Though it could be because he sounds like he's in a great mood. ] This is hands-down the weirdest thing to ever happen to me.

[ He turns then, to face the camera, and it's then clear what he was talking about. His lean, muscled chest has two new additions held back by that black top, there are distinct curves to the hips and waist showing above the belt of his jeans, and there are even subtle changes to the angle of his chin, nose, and--

No, that casually amused grin is still his, even with slightly fuller lips. ] How long do you think I'll be like this? A day? Two? [ A little laugh. He grabs a light blue shirt off of another shelf and pulls it on. It's a little tight for obvious reasons. ] ...think I should get a new wardrobe? Lacus' dresses aren't exactly my style.

[ Then, hands on his hips, he twists so he can look down at his backside. ] At least the jeans still fit. [ If quite snug. ]


((OOC: Open to action for anyone at home, or visitors. There are decorations outside, so trick-or-treating is encouraged -- but Big Sis Neil will only be passing out homemade goods and none of the tainted candies.))