Week 1

[linkupmods]

WEEK 1

AWAKENING.

You were taken. That much is obvious when you come to your senses and see the world around you. You feel a little groggy – just how long were you asleep for? – but you should otherwise be alert, enough to realize that the surrounding area is unfamiliar to you. You are in front of what appears to be a modern dormitory (or, well, just a large building, for anyone who's never quite seen anything like it before). The area is decorated with balloons, streamers and other miscellaneous decorations with a giant "WELCOME" banner spanning across the front entrance.

You have a moment to look at the people around you. Strangers. No one here looks familiar to you whatsoever. Furthermore, it feels like there is something stirring in your heart, waiting to be brought to light, waiting to speak your truth...

You might need more time to let that sink in, but that time is interrupted by a voice.

"Oh wow it actually worked- Um, I mean! Hello!"

The speaker is a short, plain-looking young woman with dark hair in a bob cut, her hand raised to catch everyone’s attention.


"Welcome to Sunset City! The goddess Braphine needs your help, so she’s called all of you here to fix this place. Fortunately, it should only take about three months of cooperation, I think? Probably. So...

Welcome to your new home away from home!"

The young woman - Mina - goes on to explain the current situation: everyone here has been summoned by the goddess of community and connection, Braphine, in order to rebuild the connections of the people of Sunset City. Lately, the people have become more and more isolated from each other, getting into fights and arguments over the pettiest of details.

While Mina doesn’t know the details, exactly, what she does know is that the goddess instructed her to prepare these dorms for residents ("that’s you!") and to more or less act as her representative. Mina will also note that everyone’s dorm rooms have already been labeled with their names, and that the goddess has deigned to gift some in particular with the means to defend themselves - which is to say, when characters do eventually make it to their dorm rooms, those who did not arrive with one will find their gifted weapon waiting for them with their name handwritten on a tag attached to the item.

For now, people can use their phones to access an app that will allow them to see any currently open commissions - complete the commissions, and they will not only help the community, but also earn money and rewards! And if your character doesn’t know how to operate a phone, well... Mina will patiently guide them through the process, don’t you worry.

If your character has any other questions, they may talk to her at the party, or otherwise contact her via phone!

WELCOME PARTY.

After speaking with Mina, you may have an idea of what you're supposed to be doing here. Things don't have to be all work, though, because despite the state of the city, you are allowed to have fun and get to know one another.

Mina has graciously set up a welcome party for everyone, which will have refreshments inside and outside the dorm, and games available for people to partake in throughout the day at their own leisure! Indoors, there are a variety of board games for you to mess around with. Outside, there's a pool, basketball and tennis court set up with appropriate equipment. Of course, you aren't limited to just those, as there's a small open field at the dormitory where you can play ball in other ways, too. Interestingly enough, there are also some training dummies available for you to use...maybe to put your weapons to use?

Don't forget about the arts and crafts section inside, either, where nametags are laid out for you to create your own (or others')! You can also use this section to create decorations for the dormitory, your room, or even something to give to a fellow dorm mate.

EXPLORE.

You're free to explore the town, too, at your own leisure, to get used to your new home. The city is bustling with people, but for some reason, many of the residents don't have good vibes. They seem unsettled, unhappy for whatever reason. It's not pleasant, but nobody will go out of their way to bother you, unless you trip into them or initiate pvp yourself.…The random trash scattered around various parts of town might make it hard to avoid the former, though. Be careful not to trip on a banana peel, a stray canister, or even something as large as a throwaway tire on the side of the street. The residents will not react positively if you try to interact with them in any capacity.

That being said, for all that the city seems gloomy at a first glance, there is surprisingly an advertisement for a go-kart racing contest coming up in three weeks, and the go-karts are two seaters! The flyers posted around town read that this is a competition for pairs; the driver's seat (left) has a gas pedal, and the passenger's seat (right) has the brake. Looks like the events are being hosted by one of the popular arcades in town, too. Even so, there are prizes for first, second, and third place; the grand prize consists of a good amount of cash, a trophy, and one (1) free night at one of the hotels in Carnation Court for both people. Why not team up with someone and enter the competition, or just find some people to practice with?

(OOC: Please see our OOC section for sign up details.)

NETWORK.

So, about those phones...there's a non-zero chance that you may post your live thoughts onto the network without meaning to. Likewise, you may also unwillingly comment on someone's post with your thoughts while reading it. Yes, this phone grabs from your psyche, for better or worse! Well, mostly worse, but oh well. There isn't a fix for this "bug" just yet, but you can still use the network intentionally! Just don't be surprised if you get a bunch of notifications for a post you didn't even know you made.

COMMISSIONS

TOP MODELS

A local boutique is looking for people to model their clothing, but they plan on taking group photos instead of single shots. This will be a summer-themed photoshoot with summer outfits (not necessarily swimsuits!), and the photographer (who is cranky, sorry) plans on encouraging all kinds of interactions between their subjects for some unique photos. Participants will be able to keep the outfits they wore for the photoshoot! How nice.

CLEANUP

You've seen the questionable state of the city streets. Should you feel like doing your part by cleaning up some of the trash, you may find something valuable hidden in all the rubble. And who knows? Maybe some of the residents might actually respond kindly to your efforts... (Cleaning up can unearth things like jewelry; collector's items; small, old electronics -- just to give you an idea! Go wild.)

PVP ENABLED

Basketball, volleyball, soccer match anyone? Monopoly? Uno? Or, better yet, a sparring match with your fellow dorm mates…? Whatever you feel up for, Mina would like residents to get some friendly ("friendly") competition going in the spirit of getting to know one another.

LEAVE YOUR MARK

The arts and crafts area has a large paper canvas taped to one of the walls with a "DRAW ON ME!" post-it stuck to it. There's a lot of room to be creative with this, and yes, you will get paid for just decorating the dorms a little bit through this commission!

OOC

READ ME!!!!

• Welcome to your event log! Currently, Personas and Elements are NOT in play but you have your weapons with you regardless. These things will be unlocked when we introduce the Nekyia in Week 2.
  
• Please use the OOC PLOTTING POST for all plotting purposes. Please do not plot in Discord.
  
• If you would like to sign up for the Go-Kart Contest, please fill out the form and submit it here! There will be a follow up to this in a Week 4 mini event. :)
  
• Furthermore, we have a very big series of events we are planning to do in later weeks. We will OOCly give details and open signups early in Week 2, with the introduction of the Nekyia. Keep an eye out for that as well!
  

ic comm | inboxes | ooc comm | full nav

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Comments

[proposed]

... That's right. It's enough. You don't need to do anymore.

[ Those emotions... He can't understand them at all. It's like gravity; he's aware of the theory and its existence, but it's far beyond the grasp of his consciousness. That's fine though. Dazai doesn't need to understand.

But it's not a lie when he agrees. ]

You did what you had to, right? However it ended, and however difficult it might have been... You did what you thought was right... If so, no one has the right to criticize you for your actions right now.

[ It's impossible to know the specifics, but the knife, the bloodied clothes, the tears and fear - they speak more than a clinical explanation would. And that sentiment is something he can vaguely understand; he can vaguely feel it, as someone where he accepted everyone, and as someone who finds himself to be justified in everything he does.

His fingers twitch, palm lifting just ever so slightly before falling, before he finally manages to twist his wrist and extend his hand. It's a foreign motion, like learning to walk, but he manages to leave it hanging there for her to accept or reject. He is, in fact, probably the worst person for this, sorry girl. ]

And once you've washed the blood off of your skin and clothes and hide the knife that you carry, no one will think to.

[destage]

[Sayaka shivers a bit, still white knuckle clutching the knife. She doesn't know what this man is thinking, what he's doing, really, but strangely the words...do get her to ease a bit. She's not sure what he wants, if he wants to disarm her, if he wants to help her or hurt her or force her into the spotlight, but--

She focuses on his words for a moment, despite the tears that continue to fall as she keeps running things over her head. Her free hand grabs at her sleeve, rubbing at her eyes a bit as she listens to him.

no one has the right to criticize you for your actions right now.

Something about those words, something about it gets her to stare at him. She tries to process all of this, every bit of it, and he extends his hand out like it's so easy and she's staring, she's staring like she doesn't know what to do and she looks stupid, she looks stupid, she'd be stupid to trust him but he's offering her kindness, understanding, it's...

Sayaka's free hand is shaky, but she extends it, gently and slowly towards Dazai's, though she speaks softly and very uncertainly.]

...Why do you want to help me? [Her voice is soft and delicate, and she winces, but--] I-I. Don't mean to be rude. But...what are you getting out of this?

[Nobody does something out of the goodness of their heart. Sayaka knows this, just from the way of the world, and it's always been something she knows.]

...Do you just like helping people?

[proposed]

[ He shakes his head, the slightest sign of an emotion showing itself now - some mockery of amusement. ]

No, I'm not that considerate... I gain nothing by helping you. I don't gain anything by ignoring you either.

[ Even if he were to consider it, Dazai does find that he stopped making that distinction between like and dislike long ago. It's one more dichotomy that means little enough to him that he can act in this way, drawing up his knee and bringing his now half-asleep foot to the ground before pushing himself with her hand in his own.

It is, perhaps unfortunately, an earnest answer. To this day he doesn't quite understand the words that motivated him to act as much as the motions that followed. But he thought on it, and he tried, and sometimes he thinks he can understand just a little bit. Dazai thinks he can understand that person just a little.

How to put it, then... If he were more in sync with his own emotions, he might be able to articulate it - how others had helped him, how much of a difference it made, so much so that he's lived this life as a living ghost, and yet... He can't, and so what comes out is, ]

It doesn't matter either way, but... I think a world where someone takes your hand like this is would be little more wonderful. That's all... Do you think that's strange?

[ Dazai does. Even now he does, but he can't discard the idea, nor the logical truth that it offers - he draws, but someone else wins; it's that sort of impossible situation. It's best left a mystery, but perhaps the point might come across - he does it because he wants to, nothing more and nothing less. ]

[destage]

Then why are you...?

[Sayaka's long accepted that the world is a deeply confusing place, but TV never prepared her for anything like this. TV always said that there was black and white, right and wrong, and it made it all look like everything was supposed to make sense. That things were linear, despite time and time again, that Sayaka was proven wrong--

Either way as she's pulled up and helps herself up, she listens to Dazai. The way he speaks, it's...strange. But the strangeness is...genuine. Or at least it feels genuine--for all of Sayaka's studying of people, for all of her knowledge and attentiveness, she really wasn't prepared for anything like this. It causes her to pause at his questioning, her eyes dull and pensive, before she answers.]

...It is. But...it's not your fault, sir.

[Sayaka smiles, though it feels unintended. It feels like the only thing she knows how to do with her face, her default.]

I thought that too. A...long time ago. When I saw idols on the stage, smiling so bright and so wonderful...it made me want to be like them. I didn't have anything else in my life, and I wanted that warmth for myself, but...

The world doesn't operate like that. People only offer something when they want something in return. Nothing in the world comes for free, or without hard work, or without giving things of yourself in return.

[This is the most honest Sayaka's ever been with anyone, and even if she's been good at staring at Dazai for a bit, her gaze averts.]

...I'm sorry. I must sound ungrateful. But I...I think the world would be nice. If it was that wonderful.

[proposed]

[ Dazai offers a light roll of the shoulders. He won't deny it. ]

You're right. Everything in this life comes at a cost, even kindness, but it isn't always paid for by the person who receives it. It can be a form of payment too.

[ Dazai studies the young woman. He's not much younger than her, but the entertainment industry is enough to crush anyone who dares to enter it. The idol world is akin to a venus flytrap; it snap shuts and slowly digests anything that makes the mistake of landing on it.

But then, all love is like that. Those few times he's found it, it's melted away in the same way that a dream does. ]

It can be a form of penance. It can be a reason to live. It can be granting someone's wish... For me, you could say it's the same. I was friends with a strange person who said the same thing - that the side that helps people is a little more beautiful.

[destage]

[A form of payment too.

...Boy, isn't Sayaka familiar with that. Sayaka isn't so used to being studied and finds her gaze averting a bit, even if she finds herself nodding her head in agreement. It's difficult to be seen through to such an extent; something like this would mean an ended career, the end of her peaceful days and life in the industry, but...

Well. She hasn't had peaceful days in a very long time.]

...Your friend sounds like he's got the right of it. I think...if more people thought like that--the world would genuinely be a better place. I hope maybe...sometime, I can pay back the kindness you're showing me, too.

[There's a lot she can't talk about. A lot she doesn't want to, because the idea of doing so is painful. She still doesn't know if she can trust this one fully, if she'd be thrown away or cast aside--]

...Do you have a name, sir?