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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cleanup!!

[destage]

[...

Sayaka's been seeing this all day, honestly. Maybe it's just her own frustration welling in her, especially after someone had the absolute gall to throw trash at her--admittedly, rather unintentionally, but there was still no apologies or anything. And while Sayaka herself is willing to be a perfectly good little doormat, when she sees Aubrey about ready to fight someone for that...

Well. There's a part of Sayaka that can't let that stand. Sayaka finds herself walking over, clearing her throat politely but very firmly, looking directly at the person that Aubrey's about to square up to.]

Excuse me. I think that you've been very disrespectful to this young woman right here--this young woman has been over here as long as I have, picking up trash off of the ground very dutifully. [Sayaka's voice is very firm, but she's clearly trying to be supportive of Aubrey, even if she's not entirely sure how this is going to go.] ...While I understand that it's our jobs to be picking up trash around here, I think you owe this young woman an apology--she's no servant, and the way you just threw the trash at her--that's very deeply unkind and disrespectful of you. If someone did the same to you, wouldn't you be upset?

[Sayaka looks to Aubrey for a moment, pausing a bit. Making sure she isn't stepping on toes, but--at the very least, she wants to make sure the girl isn't going to beat the shit out of this person. Keep calm, smile, be polite.]

[moodwrecker]

[She catches that glance, and while she still looks pretty pissed, she turns that glare back to the person who caused the problem in the first place.]

Dude... it's not like you're the city's cleanup crew, so what's it matter to you?

It matters because we're obviously cleaning up right now. Pick up your own trash and stick it in a trash can. It's not like it's hard.

[destage]

[Honestly, Sayaka gets it. Though Sayaka does tense briefly, she tries to get something a little friendlier on her face. Kinder, though still firm and slightly chiding in tone. But at least attempting to be kind.

(rolling charisma: ...4...)]

Well, shouldn't it matter to you? This is your city as much as anyone else's, isn't it? Just from what I've seen here, there's a lot of things in the city to be proud of--it really is a beautiful place, even if it is a little messy. Which isn't exactly helped by littering, is it?

Even if we are right here to clean it up, that doesn't mean that it isn't deeply rude to just treat this young woman here like your own personal trash can. It's just disrespectful to such a beautiful place, and to someone who's working as hard as she is. I think it's just a simple courtesy, is all.

[Sayaka's quietly hoping that this at least placates the absolute dimwit in front of them--words she's not bringing to the forefront, thanks--but also to at least try to implore them to take some pride in this place. It really seems like nobody does...]

[moodwrecker]

[Okay she can't help but look at Sayaka like uh, you have no idea who you're talking about clearly... But the person just gets even more annoyed.]

You're real uppity for some kid picking up trash. If it bothers you so much, just leave it on the ground.

[They make a shooing motion, and Aubrey, somehow not pleased with this response, begins reaching for her trusty nail bat. She's used to people being pricks to her, but...]

You wanna try saying that again?

1/2

[destage]

[Keep calm, smile, be polite.

Keep calm, smile, be polite.

Keep calm, smile, be polite.

Keep calm, smile, be polite.

Keep calm, smile, be polite.]

[destage]

[Sayaka's thoughts are running a mile a minute. She's not--she's not used to being in a situation like this, she usually tries to excise herself from them as quickly as possible, especially when it's getting to a point where her thoughts feel like they're screaming in her skull.]

I am only asking you to consider someone else's feelings, just this once. The feelings of someone who's working incredibly hard for this island's sake, just--

[Sayaka's at a genuine loss for how to de-escalate, but she's not going to let this become a confrontation if she can. Hell, girls have to stick together, that's what she's always known, and she looks to Aubrey for a moment and...

Oh god, no, no, no--]

--Please don't get in trouble, I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, m-maybe we should go--

[It's whispered, very quiet, but her attention is solely on Aubrey for the moment and away from the person, which she's hoping isn't a mistake. Maybe she's a bleeding heart, but she doesn't want Aubrey to get in trouble for her sake, she looks like a perfectly kind girl, this is too much.]

[moodwrecker]

[She glances over her shoulder back at Sayaka. Yeah, figures a girl as prim as her wouldn't be used to this kind of thing.]

I can take 'em.

[...]

You should get out of here, though.

[No need for the both of them to get in trouble.]

cw: murdergame adjacent thoughts

[destage]

[Neither of us should be getting in trouble. If this rat--if this bas--if this jerk had just apologized, this could've--

Sayaka's thoughts race, but there's something in her that knows she can't fight the good fight like this. This is going to come to violence, and there's...nothing she can do.]

...I'm sorry I couldn't help more.

[It's soft, apologetic, and Sayaka gives Aubrey a firm nod--she doesn't have any physical ability and she hates conflict, but. She'll leave this to Aubrey, despite everything in her telling her this is a betrayal.

(What if she doesn't come back? What if Sayaka's just leaving this pink haired girl to her fate--a fate she doesn't deserve, that this useless jerk could've avoided if he just treated Aubrey like a human being? What if she comes back to a body instead of a person? She'd be unable to live with herself, it'd be sickening, it's be awful, it'd be--)

It's what sees Sayaka make a brief, distressed detour back to the dorms, mostly to rummage through and see if she can find anything to patch Aubrey up--she doesn't find much, some bandages and that's about it, but it'll have to do.

Sayaka runs back, likely long after the brawl has ended. How is Aubrey doing?]

[moodwrecker]

[She raises an eyebrow at Sayaka's apology, but she shrugs it off as the other girl makes a run for it. No, instead, she turns her full attention to the resident in front of her, taking out her nail bat and swinging it to point at him, a harsh grin on her face. Though Sayaka won't be able to see her, she'll likely be able to hear her speak up before they're quite out of earshot:]

If you want a fight that bad, then I'm here to deliver. Bring it!

[This might be exactly the kind of stress relief she needs, even if there's a tug at the edge of her conscience, knowing that it's exactly this kind of behavior that caused so many problems for her in the first place-

But right now, with this smug asshole in front of her, looking down on her like everyone else?

She can't bring herself to care.

By the time Sayaka makes her way back to the scene, she... probably encounters Aubrey running back to the dorms, actually. She's got a nasty bruise on her cheek, it looks like the rando did in fact get a punch in, but that's all.]

[destage]

[...

So guess who has two thumbs and absolutely doesn't notice Aubrey coming until it's too late and. Promptly smacks right into her as she tries to rush out to get the bandaging?

Considering the fact that Sayaka lands right flat on her butt, there's. Probably going to be no need to guess, but she barely even registers the pain--especially so on her right wrist that she lands on, wincing slightly, but--]

--You're back! Are you okay? Do you--do you need me to find you a hiding spot?

[...She's not going to be surprised if Aubrey was followed but Sayaka's no snitch, at this point safety's the top priority--]

[moodwrecker]

[There's a pained grunt as they collide - this is so not what Aubrey needed after getting a fist to the face. Fortunately, while she does sway, she doesn't actually lose her footing.]

Ow- watch it!

[It sure stings too, ow ow ow-

Wait, who did she even run into...?]

-?! You again?

[She came back???]

[destage]

I-I'm sorry, I--

[Okay. Deep breath, Sayaka. Keep calm, smile, be...]

I--of course? I...I didn't know what to do, so I came back here to try and find something to help, and...I wasn't...

[...God, she is so frazzled. So frazzled that social graces are...kind of a miss (9) but Sayaka at least takes a breath to kind of calm herself before showing the bandages she managed to find.]

...I wanted to make sure you were okay, at the end of it. I mean...it's my fault that the situation escalated so badly, so I...

[moodwrecker]

[Aubrey just looks at Sayaka, utterly baffled.]

...

Are you stupid?!

[With no further explanation than that, she snatches Sayaka's arm to haul her up to her feet again so they can continue running back to the safety of the dorms.]

[destage]

A-Am I--wha--?!

[Sayaka absolutely freezes the fuck up upon having her arm grabbed, but she ends up going along with Aubrey. She's not sure what's going on, or whatnot, but her eyes look around just to make sure they don't get caught because...well, that's all she can do.

...Lead the way, Aubrey, Sayaka is kind of short circuiting a bit but will be back online in a moment--]

[moodwrecker]

[The way back to the dorms is thankfully uneventful, and once they're past the doors and in the lobby, Aubrey will finally release her arm to lean on the wall and catch her breath.]

...Ugh. That jerk.

[destage]

[Sayaka at least manages to compose herself by the time they're back in the dorms--it helps that she's finally released, and Sayaka herself rests on an opposing wall just to kind of catch her breath.

She's used to running in the morning, but this was a lot...]

...What happened? [...] Did you manage to get a good shot on that jerk before he hit you?

[moodwrecker]

[Aubrey gives a short huff.]

That's the only hit he got in. After a couple whacks with my bat, he ran for it instead.

[She raises a hand to touch her cheek tenderly - ah, yeah, that doesn't feel great.]

I'll have to find an ice pack.

[destage]

[Every part of Sayaka feels like she should be chiding Aubrey for resorting to violence, but...]

...Good. That jerk deserved it.

[You know what. If she's going to be an asshole to someone, it may as well be with a girl who's not going to give a shit. Either way, though, Sayaka purses her lips a bit, feeling guilty, but--]

Do you want me to go find one for you? I only found a few bandages when trying to get something, but I think we've got some around here--I'm sure I could ask Mina-san too, if worst comes to worst.

[moodwrecker]

[She looks mildly surprised at the offer, as well as the realization this girl found bandages at all, but... After a short moment, she nods.]

Can you? I want to wash up.

[Seeing as they were in fact picking up trash and she should probably just, make sure if she pokes at the bruise it's with clean hands and all.]