[Open] I'm looking through a hole in the sky

[mincingminuet]

WHO: Penelope Raban and You
WHERE: All Over Recolle!
WHEN: All Through November
WHAT: Event Catch All, with open prompts for Penelope's recent regains.
WARNINGS: Possible language, mentions of violent memories.




I November 3rd

[The skies over Apprassage are generally the last place a person can expect to hear the noise of low flying aircraft, but today seems to be an exception. A dull, almost muted whine emanates from up above, not sound enough to be a nuisance but enough to catch attention. Look up and spot a small ship whisking along at a good clip. Follow it and eventually it will set down at the grocery store or Penelope's house, and out climbs Penelope! Say hi maybe?

Friends and acquaintances who happen to be out and about can actually expect the craft to come to a halt not too far off, and a small loudspeaker crackles to life.]

Hey sailor...going my way?

[The bottom port hole slides open at that, almost invitingly, if you trust Pen to fly you around...]


II November 4th-November 23rd:

[Well far be it for Penelope to pass up a chance to have a little fun with turkeys. Donning a capotain like any good pilgrim, and an old witch hunter costume she'd worn to a Ren Faire a few years ago, she's out in search of poultry and their eggs. The campus is her first stop, but she'll eventually end up in Tisse, Hollingberry Field, and various other places! With a net slung over one shoulder, a go-pro attached to a shoulder strap, and a mischievous grin, she's off on a quest.

Help her find eggs, or ask why she's dressed up? Or maybe just roll with it when she comes running up to help you deal with an aggressive bird...]


III All Month Long:

[One thing Pen hasn't done in a while is go out in search of victims for pranks. Or helpers. She doesn't post low effort Vine style videos on her channel too often, but sometimes you just gotta. Camera rolling, she heads to the streets, approaching friends and strangers alike. With a smile and a wave to announce herself, she hustles on up.]

Hey! Got a sec to help me with something?



IV November 25th:

[The strange shifts in businesses going on around Recolle City weren't exactly unnoticed, but for some reason Pen had never considered that it might actually affect her. Not until she went down to the post office to check her business PO Box and got a letter from an unexpected source. One of the stipend checks that her sponsor sent out, right on time. Only...instead of the Fuji Industries logo, it was stamped with an unfamiliar one.

Heading outside, she plunked down on a bench and just stared at it, mumbling to herself...]

...What the hell. When did this even happen?


V Wildcard!

[OOC: Prompts for some things will be added in the comments for specific people as the month progresses. But if you want to do something that I don't have listed here feel free to drop me a comment or PM me at intercession and we can make it happen!]

Comments

I

[lastcomfort]

[ Of course Penelope has this! Penelope was an astronaut for a while, unplanned though it was. But it's a little hovercraft spaceship right out of a sci-fi novel or one of the video games she likes to watch her cousin play! The fact that it stops in front of her is one thing--surprising. But the fact that it's Penelope that steps out of it? That makes perfect sense. At least to Orihime. ]

Peeee~n!

[ That sure is Orihime running over happily, waving. ]

You have your own spaceship! We must be aliens!

[ ...Jumping to conclusions, but you know. ]

[mincingminuet]

[Internally? Pen groans. Because holy shit Orihime way to jump to conclusions and all.

But grumbling aside, the hatch slides open to admit Orihime, with Pen waving happily to call her inside. It's not like her cousin doesn't get dibs on co-pilot, right?]

It's not a space ship, though. It's an airship. I remember that from memories and stuff. Because other me is a sky pirate.

You're the alien, remember?

[lastcomfort]

[ Shoootguuuuun! Thankfully she doesn't have any immediate competition. Orihime is only too happy to bounce onboard ]

A sky pirate??

[ There's a gasp as she puts her hands at her cheeks. ]

Oh, Pen...that's...you're so cool! You're a renegade!

[mincingminuet]

[Oh that bouncy idiot cousin of hers. What a ridiculously charming person.]

It's certainly something. Funny considering that I'm a law abiding citizen here.

[She doesn't even pirate that much...]

You ready for a trip?

[lastcomfort]

But if you existed outside of the law, then there must have been a good reason for it. You're a real hero!

[ That's what she believes, at least. ]

Yess! Do I need a helmet? I do have a pretty hard head, so I might be okay.

[mincingminuet]

I think there was. There were bad people in my world, and they were definitely on the side of the law. Lawful Evil for sure. And there was me and my merry band of Chaotic Good pirates to put them in their place.

[Hime what...]

No helmet, I think we'll be okay. Just buckle up. There's a crash system in place, one status light tells me.

[lastcomfort]

You're like Robin Hood of the sky!

[ Honestly that makes perfect sense to her. Penelope would only be working to help other people out. ]

Okay!

[ She'll do as instructed and buckle up, which is probably for the best, because she's ready to be bouncing her seat. ]

Oh, I should get my camera ready!

[ So out comes her phone as well. ]

[mincingminuet]

[She's something alright.]

You should.

[Pen flashes a peace sign at the camera and off they go, right up into the sky, zipping towards the coastline or something for a good view.]

I meant to ask, have you had anything show up in memory yet? Or...gotten weird mail?

[lastcomfort]

[ This is fun! Orihime gives a small "wohooo!" She always enjoyed flying, this is just more exciting when your cousin is flying rather than being in a 747. It's like being in a roller coaster in the sky.

But, with that subject...Orihime gets strangely quiet. ]

...A-Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that...

[mincingminuet]

Yeah? Me too.

[Putting the console on autopilot, she spins around and looks at Orihime. They've got time, and it's not like they have to worry about traffic.]

What's up, Orihime?

[Since this...seems serious.]

[lastcomfort]

Really?

[ She looks up at that, but then shifts awkwardly in her seat. ]

Oh, I don't really want to ruin the flight. This is supposed to be fun! Is yours a good thing?

[mincingminuet]

Oh no, don't even start that.

[Pen rubs the back of her head weakly.]

I've been worried about it for a while but fuck it. Orihime. I don't think that our other selves were from the same place.

[She hasn't seen any family. At all. Except that lizard guy. She is also quick to clarify her feelings, jumping right on that.]

That doesn't make me love you any less. Or make you any less my family. It just means that our other selves weren't tied together like we are. And we're us. Not them.

[lastcomfort]

[ She listens, but if she was ever worried about that? Well...Orihime just shakes her head with one of her soft, understanding smiles. ]

I wouldn't ever think that, Pen. I haven't seen as many things as everyone else, but the people I have spoken to have had some reservations about the "them" they were seeing. Worried that they were going to turn into someone that they didn't like, someone that might be horrible...

[ She thinks of Derek, specifically, and how he saw a younger version of himself be callous and rude to his colleagues. ]

But that's what I've been thinking, too--that we're us! And we make decisions here because of who we are. So that's what matters more than anything. You'll always be my Penelope, no matter what universe!

[mincingminuet]

Oh. Well I cannot imagine you in any reality being anything less than wonderful?

[She reaches a hand out and drops it onto her cousin's knee, giving it a squeeze and flashing a happy smile.]

My girlfriend and I have been talking about this a lot lately because she's seen some bad stuff, and I've seen some bad stuff, and we both really agree. Even if we regain all the memories of our other selves? We'll still be us. Because our memories aren't going away. So these older memories, from other souls...they're being built into us.

Sort of like in our games when we add a template to something. You know. You have me...the geek girl, and then you apply the sky pirate template to her, and then you have a geek girl sky pirate. She's both things, but the geek came first. I'm the base. Not this other girl.

Same for you.

[lastcomfort]

[ Penelope...

Orihime is totally tearing up now. Gross, ugly, feeling tears. ]

...You're the best!

[ She wants to reach out and hug her but, you know, strapped to the seat. So she just hugs Pen's hand to her chest instead. ]

That's exactly what I want to believe!

[mincingminuet]

[ugly, gross tears are perfectly okay. Pen just breathes a sigh of relief that she and Orihime are on the same page. Her hand just goes right on along with her cousin's wishes and she smiles fondly.]

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I'm not planning on becoming anything but a more advanced version of me. If that means my past self chooses my advanced class, that's fine, so long as I still have my memories and the people I care about.

[lastcomfort]

[ They're gross but full of love for her cousin, okay. HER COUSIN ANY REALITY! ]

I find it hard to believe you could be any cooler than you already are! Although a sky pirate is pretty cool...

[mincingminuet]

It is.

[Gross but still...love is love.]

I hope you feel some better about it, Hime. I know it's scary but it's...yeah. It's reality.

[lastcomfort]

...M-Mmm...

[ Her mood clearly dampens a bit. She looks down at her lap. ]

I-Is it...is it all real? For...for real, real?

[mincingminuet]

Yes. Or...okay.

[Unbuckling as they reach a hovering point, Pen puts both hands on her cousin's shoulders.]

It was real in the past life, and some of it is real now. I don't know about all the crazy monsters and stuff in the other world, but I know that the powers and such are real. And the memories are.

And hell, they're freaky, but you know they aren't gonna hurt you.

[lastcomfort]

...

[ And the memories are...

They're real. What she saw, what she felt--

--how is that possible? ]

...P-Pen...

[ They aren't gonna hurt you. ]

...Do you remember the monster that you fought? That you and Tons fought because of me?

[mincingminuet]

[Okay, that reaction isn't a good one. Pen frowns and pulls her face back enough to study Orihime more closely.

Clearly something else was on her mind now...]

Yes. I do. I couldn't forget that.

[lastcomfort]

[ This is what she's been meaning to talk about, but really hasn't wanted to. She wanted to dream about being a sky pirate! That would be so much fun. Or even just eating the world's biggest jelly donut. Why not that?

Orihime looks up, much more somber than her usual self. ]

I know what it was following me...why he was following me.

[ She exhales slowly. ]

The other me? That...that was my brother.

[mincingminuet]

[Quietly, Pen undoes the buckles holding Orihime down and pulls her upright. Into a hug. A hug she clearly needs after a statement like that. That rattles her, more than it probably has any right to. It's not her brother, not Frank or the others. But still.]

I'm sorry.

[It's all she can think to say, but she says it again.]

I'm really sorry, Orihime. That thing...? You mean to say it was your brother, or something like your brother's ghost?

[lastcomfort]

[ She does need the hug. She needs it pretty badly. So she doesn't hesitate to return it, wrapping her arms around Penelope and trying to hold herself together as she looks over her cousin's shoulder.

She nods, taking a deep breath. ]

Yes...he died. And...and he thought I forgot about him. I think that's why he was--

[ That. ]