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

[vogelfrei]

[ There's laughter. As soon as the introductory speech ends, laughing is all McGillis can think to do. Goddess of connections? Restore the city? And he was brought here for that? Now? It's the greatest joke he's ever been told, and he hates it passionately. So he throws back his head and laughs and almost chokes on it.
If that wasn't concerning enough to onlookers, he also looks miserable. His hair is hanging limply all over his face, covering his right eye almost entirely. His cheek and the corners of his mouth are smeared with blood, and more concerningly, so are his clothes. There's a large bloodstain right on his chest, just above the armor of his pilot suit. The side of the suit is ripped in a bloody gash.
He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be healthy and uninjured under all that blood, and he most certainly should not be building connections with anybody.


McGillis laughs so hard, he thinks he's going to choke on it. And then he stops, apruptly, and the world around him doesn't fade away and... What now? What do you do when you're the punchline of some cosmic joke and the laughter has ended? Where do you go from there?

...

Later in the day, he can be found looking far more put together, doing commission tasks. Once he has completed the modeling task, he'll be blood free and wearing a nice summer outfit with a Hawaiian shirt. A respectable gentleman!

(That's your wildcard option because I'll be in and out until Sunday so I'll focus on tagging out more! Feel free to come to me though!) ]

[emptyself]

[ soujuurou listened to the introduction as calmly as someone could be when they've opened their eyes in a place that they've never been in, surrounded with people that they've never met before. a little confusion, a lot of concern, and...well, that was about it. so the world needs their help? then that's just how things are.

however, seeing this man (blonde hair, tall— a foreigner?) look so disheveled...well, that's even more concerning to soujuurou than mina had just told them. ]

Hey. [ he sounds genuinely concerned, but also like an animal that's ready to spring off at the sight of a threat. ] Are you alright? You look pretty beat up, I don't think you should be laughing about it.

[vogelfrei]

[ This is surreal. Soujuurou looks and sounds so utterly mundane that it paradoxically makes him feel like he's a hallucination rather than a person of flesh and blood. Why would someone like that be interacting with him, when he's...

Okay, he needs to focus. On the off chance that this isn't an absolutely bizarre hallucination caused by extensive blood loss. ]

I'm not laughing about my injuries. Or even about my lack thereof - I haven't felt pain since we got here.

[emptyself]

You haven't felt pain?

[ soujuurou blinks, tilting his head to the side just slightly in confusion as he gives mcgillis a once over. ]

Oh, huh. You're not injured. [ therefore. ] That's a relief. It would've been really bad if you bled out right after Mina-san gave us such a nice welcome.

[vogelfrei]

[ Honestly? Bleeding out a second time would kind of be preferable to whatever 'bonding' he is expected to be doing here. ]

Yes, it would have greatly inconvenienced everyone to have a dying man among their group.

[ Good thing then that he's dead and not actively dying! ]

You look perfectly content to be here.

[kandata]

[Hearing McGillis laugh and seeing him in this state makes Kirumi approach]

Would you like to be accompanied to your room?

[Well, truthfully, she's asking because she hopes to have time to see if he needs help. You look very injured, dude, that's a lot of blood]

[vogelfrei]

[ That question feels bizarre, which makes it line right up with the rest of this situation. 'His' room? He doesn't know this place. He's never consented to being in this place.

Those are thoughts that swirl through McGillis' head, but the part of him that has trained for years and years to be competent in social interaction refuses to let his unhinged mood take the wheel on this.

The result is a pretty sudden switch to flat and conversational, totally at odds with his whole appearance. ]

I'll be fine on my own, but if you have any idea of where I could find a washroom to clean myself off, that would be appreciated.

[kandata]

Certainly. I have located the washrooms already -- they are well equipped for this situation. I can attest to it.

[Kirumi just...indirectly admitting she had to handle a similarly disastrous situation on herself, blood included]

I also am willing to wash and remove the blood from your garments at a later point, if you desire so.

[That offer pretty much happened automatically because she's used to providing an excellent service no matter what, but also if she realizes how unusual it's for a teenager her age to be telling someone HEY I WILL CLEAN UP THE BLOOD she doesn't realize it. And even if she did, she wouldn't care. Her job is her everything, after all!]

[vogelfrei]

[ It doesn't strike McGillis as as unusual as it might another person. When he was her age, he'd long had a body count. His companions in the last stretch of his life were child soldiers. Judging from her clothing, Kirumi is a servant, and servants often have seen some shit. ]

... no need. It doesn't look like I'll have much use for a pilot suit here, and just washing it wouldn't be enough to make it functional again.

[ He briefly gestures towards the large gash on the side of the suit. ]

And I couldn't pay you right now.

[bloodweapon]

[...looks at this guy covered in blood and losing his shit... yeah, no that scans. That's fair. Can't blame a guy for losing it being in a stupid situation like this after whatever the hell he's already been through.

It's only once he's calmed down that Fray approaches to speak.]

I'd ask if you're faring alright, but it's obvious you're not.

[...thanks, fray.]

[vogelfrei]

[ Some part of McGillis is expecting all of this to be some kind of dream sequence brought on by blood loss, playing in the split second between losing consciousness and death. It would be merciful if it was that, because that would mean he hadn't just made a very weird impression on a group of strangers he may be stuck with.

Unfortunately, his surroundings don't vanish and people actually stop to talk to him. Hm.

He pushes his hair out of his face a little, which only results in some more blood from his glove getting stuck to it. Hm. ]

I'm more alright than I have right to be, which is its own kind of problem.

[bloodweapon]

Understandable. Given the amount of blood, it seems likely you should have died.

[...did he really need to say it...]

What happened to you?

[vogelfrei]

[ ....... ]

You've already deduced it perfectly, haven't you? I died.

[ Or at least he has absolutely no idea what else could have possibly happened there. ]

My side was stabbed through by shrapnel and I was shot in the chest. A combat situation.

[ He is absolutely not going to elaborate on what context lead to that combat, and he's loathe to admit this much to begin with... but it's kind of hard to be vague and evasive when your injuries are mapped out for all to see. ]

[ilfochrome]

[ ...well he can't just ignore that laughter, can he? ukyo approaches the very tall blonde haired man; just close enough to get a look at his state of being but still respecting and giving him an ample personal bubble. ]

Does it still hurt?

[vogelfrei]

... it does not.

[ And actively thinking about it, that may be contributing to this feeling like an out of body experience. Pain of the caliber he'd experienced before coming here doesn't just vanish. ]

I'd go so far as to say it feels like I was never injured at all.

[ So maybe scratch 'feels' like an out of body experience - is this even his body? Is this place real at all? ]

[ilfochrome]

[ the smile he offers is small and solemn. ]

...that's good. But you still experienced the injury in the first place, haven't you? Even if it's vanished, rewound, or numbed, it still happened. It's hard to forget things like that.

[vogelfrei]

Not just difficult, I'd say it's impossible.

[ If you know a man's past, you can control him. That goes for everybody in the world. ]

But it's done. I've been injured and healed, so right now I have to look at the new cards I've been dealt.

[pharology]

Oh-- Hello! [Jordi looks up at the man coming into the room, caught in the middle of wiping his face down with a damp paper towel, surprised but not shocked or scared. Right. He saw the name on the label-- he has a roommate.

But before he can confirm the man's name, he smells the tell-tale metallic scent of blood in the air, and even sees it on the man-- and drops his paper towel onto his desk. His nervous demeanor melts away, and his voice strengthens, going from civilian into a trained field medic.]

Do you need healing?

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis has lived with roommates for much of his life, whether cramped into small chambers with a bunch of other poor children, or bunking with Gaelio at basic training for the military. It doesn't particularly phase him, even if he'd prefer to avoid it.

That his roommate clearly isn't human is an interesting boon to the setup, a curiosity to distract him from the miserable nature of his own situation.

... well, distract him until it's inevitably brought up two seconds later.

McGillis is no longer feeling manic like he did on arrival, so Jordi just gets a weary shake of the head in response. ]

The goddess took care of that well before we arrived. I'm sorry, I'm usually a less obtrusive roommate than this. I'm Brigadier General McGillis Fareed, it's nice to meet you.

[ Don't mind that he's wearing a bloody pilot suit and holding a gun limply at his side, these are minor inconveniences. ]

[pharology]

[... Oh, he's fairly young for a Brigadier General, isn't he? Jordi has to wonder what's happened... But for now, he still has to help this man-- he might not be injured anymore, he still has blood on him. Making sure to keep his hands in sight where McGillis can see them, Jordi steps forward.]

Please let me help you clean up, then. [And he can check for himself if there's any lingering injury.]

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis can see that he is being pacified like a jumpy horse and he does not like it. Rationally he recognizes that Jordi is doing the smart thing in approaching an armed man while making clear he is no threat, but emotionally all he wants is to not be treated like he is any kind of fragile anymore.

He remains tense, maybe more so than when he entered the room.]

Thank you, but there's no need.

[ A firm boundary - he's not physically stepping back, but his body language does convey a clear 'no further'. ]

I don't have clothes to change into as of yet, so I'll have to take care of that before cleaning up properly. Just washing my face will have to be enough for now, unfortunately.

[cirquedesang]

[That's certainly a respectable gentleman (and distinctive Hawaiian shirt) he's seen... entirely more often than expected, all told. It's almost as though he's just as intent on doing as many of the commission tasks as Celeste is himself, though why is obviously impossible to say...

But now he's here, drawing... birds?

Unexpected.

Cute, even.

So Celeste pulls some red pencils to sketch out his own little friends for McGillis's birds.]

Putting off this task, were we?

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis has been keeping track of the people he runs into while doing commissions - it's good to know who is taken these tasks (or the matter of their own livelihood) seriously and who isn't. After all, there is no telling of what the real purposes of all this are; of whether or not he'll have to rely on (or fight with) the other people brought here.

Celeste would have stuck out even if McGillis hadn't actively been trying though - he's just that pale. ]

I could ask you just the same.

[ McGillis is currently in the process of drawing what is meant to be a blue parakeet - but the artist has more knowledge about the defining features of the bird than he has artistic experience, so the rendition winds up middling in quality. He'd probably be better off stylizing more. ]

This task is low effort, so it felt like a decent finish. Like a dessert to a heavier meal.

[cirquedesang]

[The ~merciful gifts of the goddess~ being that they were all given basic accommodations, a roof over their heads, beds, a kitchen with more than the basics, actually, so they would be able to do more than get by but actually live somewhat comfortably... were all well and good, if they persisted. With three months ahead of them - at least - there was no guarantee of anything, so best to take everything seriously from the jump, rather than take it easy and then complain when there's a change.

Because surely there would be.]

Ah- I've been caught.

[Clearly there's no dancing around the topic of like sees like, here-

Highly Defined Parakeet, meet Sketchy And Stylized Redbird The Second, offering what seems to be a... piece of bread.]

That's quite a bit of care taken for something meant to be a low effort dessert.

[Ya bird, he's detailed, my guy.]

I thought it better to leave the canvas open for those more inclined to make use of it.

[The kids and kids-at-heart and the graphic artists among them - he could have always swooped in on a filled page and added little details to others' works without much fuss. A hat here, a smudge of glitter there, but luckily there was little need for that.]

[vogelfrei]

[ Whatever McGillis himself is doing with his detail-quest here, he does appreciated the Sketchy Redbird Duo... It's nice to have a greater variety of birds on the canvas. Though he is a very angry and complicated man, he can appreciate the simple things every once in a while. ]

I'm not in the habit of doing things by half measures.

[ Sure, he could have drawn a stick figure and collected his pay, but that would be an insult to his work ethic. ]

And enjoyment of the task at hand does lower effort as well - I'm not much of an artist, but I do appreciate birds. I take it that so do you?