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

[bloodandstars]

i. party time

[ For at least the duration of Mina's explanation, Maika is listening quasi-attentively — although her raised eyebrow and slight smirk say loud and clear that she's feeling less than satisfied by the contents. But rather than pursue with questions she's scanning the crowd for something or someone, grumbling to herself under her breath. ]

That's your play, old man? If this is some more cat nonsense, I swear...

[ Skepticism has a shorter half-life than hunger, however. Later in the welcome party she's relaxed enough to drift her way over to the buffet tables. More than grazing, she's fully absorbed with finding whatever the least perishable-looking thing is that can be crammed into convenient steampunk fannypacks. Leave her alone! Just a wolf squirreling away food for the winter. If anyone approaches they'll get a narrow-eyed glance. ]

What?

[ ...And a piece of food unceremoniously shoved at them. Beware the cracker suddenly centimeters from your mouth, or the diversionary cupcake threatening to frost your nose. ]

ii. tech support...?

[ Are you a tech-savvy product of the modern age? An electronics savant? A "person who has actually seen a phone before in their life"? If you've made the mistake of taking your phone out and attempting to do anything with it, congratulations! Maika is now staring at you with the intent lupine gaze of the predator spotting prey. She's not asking anything. Just watching, fixedly and unapologetically.

In the absence of unwitting teachers-by-example she's more than happy to take matters into her own hand. Tucked away in the corner of a couch, she has the phone balanced on one knee as she presses buttons at random. Until she makes it make an unexpected noise and jolts, sending the damned thing clattering to the floor. ]

Shit!

[ Now it's war. As soon as Maika apprehends the runaway device she's setting about trying to pry it open instead. It will yield up its secrets to her. ]

iii. fight club

[ The training dummies aren't exactly prime sport, but they're officially Maika's favorite company. She can be found haunting the practice grounds at odd hours, pummeling a dummy with punches or kicks. But if anyone else passes by closely enough she'll abandon what she's doing to actually proactively approach. It really doesn't matter how unlikely her target appears; they'll get a head-to-toe assessing gaze tinged with just a little hope. ]

Hey. You know how to wrestle?

i

[ushirono]

[ He sure was looking at her judgingly--this man in a raincoat without a top on. Then he almost gets food to the face and swats at her hand. ]

Don't want it.

[bloodandstars]

Then quit staring. What? There's more than enough to go around.

[ Seriously, what was the judging look for? Did he want this cupcake? Just for that, Maika is going to make defiant eye contact and jam half of it in her mouth. ]

[ushirono]

[ He looks bemused for a second when he sees her eat half of the cupcake in one bite. Like. Hello? ]

You're hoarding like a squirrel.

[bloodandstars]

[ Hopefully he can pretend to not notice her giving a little grrrph choking noise as she tries to get the rest of it down. Dammit. She's used to being able to eat better than this. ]

Squirrels survive the winter. If you want to take your chances on our hosts' generosity continuing when we're not of use to them... be my guest.

[ This is strategic hoarding! Strategic frosting on her face. Ugh. ]

i. (eye trauma ref cw just to beeeeee safe)

[moonshaded]

[Sweet, free food. Don't mind if she does.

The hors-d'oeuvre that gets leveraged threateningly in Kainé's face is devoured without a second thought when she snaps it right out of Maika's hand with her mouth, chomping the cracker to pieces in her back molars. She's mostly stopped chewing (which doesn't take long since she hoovered the thing down) when she speaks.]

Hey, thanks. [Without missing a beat:] Put your fingers that close to my face again and I'll cram 'em through your eye sockets.

THANKS FOR THE WARM WELCOME KAINE <3

[bloodandstars]

[ Huh. Maika arches an eyebrow at the fate of the cracker as Kainé wolfs — heh — it down. There's an unwanted jolt of familiarity at the thought of a hunger she remembers but can't feel anymore. Whether it's that or the well-known comfort of a casual threat, it pulls a quick grin out of her as she withdraws her hand. ]

You can try.

[ And she gives her fingers a little wiggle that's almost a beckon before she returns them to the task of nonchalantly picking up the next stashable morsel. ]

But I need this set, thanks.

[ On account of the empty left sleeve that says she does not have fingers left to spare at the moment, for disposition into sockets or elsewhere. ]

OFC YOU ARE SO WELCOME

[moonshaded]

[Handouts? Not her favorite. Celebratory party banquets? That's even worse. Instead of squirreling away preservable resources the way Maika is cramming everything that will last into her cargo pockets. If Kainé was about to hoard food, where exactly would she put it, anyway? She's much more concerned with mowing her way through the spread like a ravenous and unstoppable animal, a bear in the camp, before she finds a place to set up and sleep that isn't crammed into a tin can with dozens of other people.]

Yeah, being armless would be a real bitch to deal with, [she agrees.] You don't want to be the first to find out.

[The fingers on her own left hand flex unintentionally mid-forage, a sense memory of some stupid bullshit she doesn't have to deal with any longer twitching through the nerves.]

You gonna eat those? Outta the way. [Unless Maika is going to take anything from the tray in front of her that she's so far ignored, Kainé will be taking over her spot at the table. She doesn't get too close, though, choosing to let the prompt do her pushing for her.]

[bloodandstars]

Oh, I definitely wouldn't be the first. Wouldn't even be a first for me.

[ Although even at her most disembodied, she'd had options. It's still such a sense of — singularity now, to be irrevocably and concentratedly herself and no other.

Her expression never shifts from moderate amusement as she lets Kainé claim the place at the table. There's a good distance between them but Maika leans back nonetheless, a casual slant to the way she shifts her weight against the table that says it's not a retreat but a tacit acknowledgement. ]

Be my guest. [ Although she's still watching with a reflexive, ingrained curiosity just how much Kainé is putting away. ] ...You'll make our hosts real happy.

3

[drawnorigin]

[He's not looking for a fight! He's just looking for a place to get some stretches in, because he wants to keep limber just in case! You never know when an opportunity to perform will arise.

So when Maika approaches, he grimaces.]

No, I can't say that I do. I wouldn't be a good target...

[He didn't even wrestle as a kid...]

[bloodandstars]

[ Sorry Jeno... Here he is just minding his own business, and now there's a woman scrutinizing him from head to toe, visibly sizing him up at great length and with no apology whatsoever. ]

It's not complicated. You just keep your feet on the ground.

[ He's small for her usual opponent. But she hasn't been feeling herself since Golga so maybe she should just try it? Pick him up just a little bit? ]

[drawnorigin]

[Unfortunately, with the way Jeno dresses she can get a good idea of the kind of shape he's in. He's incredibly thin, with the slightest definition nodding to acrobatics and not building strength. Crop tops expose too much.]

Simple in theory, but in practice...

[Not that he has any qualms fighting a woman, no matter how many arms she has, but he doesn't want to get injured and then have to recuperate from it.

But they'll get rewards if they wrestle, and he does need the money... Ugh.]

But if you're going to insist on it, then... fine.

[bloodandstars]

That? "Insisting"? If you always fold like a rain-soaked piece of paper, you're not going to be much of a match.

[ Honestly, he's probably not going to be much of a match regardless. Too thin to have much heft to him, even if he's at least not un-athletic. Well... considering her yearlong nap hasn't done great things for her physique, they might be just about even now. ]

I'll show you Scyth style. Anything's allowed, but you lose if anything but your feet touch the ground. Got it?

[ Hopefully that's an affirmative, because she's already lunging forward to make a grab for him. ]

tech support!

[skypsalms]

[ have no fear!! kururu is here to save the day!! sort...of... there is a limit of what she can probably teach given the fact that it's not like she knows the ins and outs of the phone 100%. also because it's rude to take something that someone else has gifted you apart that you might not be able to put back together.

though she doesn't quite step in to help until she sees maika go about it all in the wrong way. ]

Would you like some help?

[bloodandstars]

[ Thank goodness Kururu is intervening before I have to ask the mods what happens if a dumbass smashes their phone within the first week...

Maika glances up in surprise, vexation written all over her face. But after a second she shoves the phone out towards Kururu. Please take this before her temper gets the better of her. ]

You can start by telling me what idiot decided to stick a light and a bunch of breakable parts onto a... is this supposed to be a radio?

[ that means, resoundingly "goddess yes please" ]

[skypsalms]

[ damn. maybe i should have gone for one of the other topics instead... though thank you for reminding me to see if anyone's asked about what if someone tries to take apart the phone. for now, kururu will easily receive the phone shoved her way and make sure to not drop it. ]

Oh!

[ giving the phone a look over to make sure that it hadn't been damaged before she got here. ]

For starters, this isn't a radio; it's called a phone—a cellphone to be exact. It can do a lot of the same things a radio can do plus a bunch of stuff it can't.

[bloodandstars]

[ NARU OUT TO CAUSE ME, PERSONALLY, MINOR WEEK ONE TRAGEDIES???

The phone is (currently) (luckily) still more or less in one piece, if a little bit scratched on the back from its short fall. For now... Maika stares at it, then at Kururu, and tilts her head a little. ]

Like what? And why did they give them to us?

[ That's the question that's worth dismantling it over, if you ask her. ]

fight club

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Fellow odd hour haunted unite, although Eli must have taken a break from beating up the dummies because he's surprised to see someone else there when he returns. Even more surprising is that she immediately approaches and... asks him that?! Wrestling?! ]

Wh... I guess? I mean. Not like the sport or anything, if that's what you're hoping for.

[bloodandstars]

[ She perks up a little at the affirmative, raking him with a frank glance from head to toe. She's not so over-blessed with sparring partners here that she's going to be picky, but she likes to be prepared. ]

I don't care about the sport. I'm just looking for a more interesting patch than beating on those things.

[ With a little jerk of her head towards the pitiful training dummies. ]

[fullmoonmutt]

I get that, but...

[ He gives the dummies a quick glance before returning his gaze to Maika. For his own part, he looks athletic enough, but he's more wiry than he is super muscley or anything like that. ]

I can't grapple with a girl. Where would I put my hands?

[bloodandstars]

[ Where... what? She holds her one arm out from her body as if to gesture at the whole length of herself. To her way of thinking, there's plenty of handholds. ]

...Anywhere? It's not like I've got a shield on me.

[ Okay, there's a tiny spark of (possibly evil) amusement in her eyes when she takes a step forward, gauging if he's going to retreat. ]

i

[ledbythewind]

[That... was absolutely not the response Richard had been expecting when he approached the woman apparently intent on stashing away half the contents of the buffet table. (Not that he'd been planning on eating anything either way, but still, it's the principle of the matter.)

He stares at the woman for a moment, then at the cupcake being shoved in his face. There isn't even any deliberation there before he gives a simple:]

No thank you-- I'm not hungry.

[Meaning that if Maika wants to keep it for herself, she's more than welcome to do so.]

[bloodandstars]

[ People keep encroaching on her territory and they're not even here for the food? Maika gives him a suitably scathing look, and then another at the cupcake.

Damn. She really doesn't get hungry like she used to. But she's also not wasting the food, having grabbed it. So after a moment's further debate on whether to plaster it on this stranger's face she instead takes a bite and suppresses a grimace. ]

Suit yourself. It's not poisoned. Probably, anyway.

[ You know, helpfully and efficiently sharing the info newcomers need. She's a real team player like that. ]

So what are you doing here if you don't want the food?

[ledbythewind]

[The remark may have been offhanded, said without any serious thought behind it, but at the mention of poison the color drains from Richard's face and his eyes turn flinty. It's years of practice in having to maintain a facade for formal events that allows him to keep his expression otherwise neutral; still, when next he speaks, there's a cold edge to his tone that wasn't there a moment ago.]

I wanted to see what they saw fit to attempt to bribe us with. Although I wouldn't exactly call this a banquet...

[It's... just snacks, really. Kind of disappointing.]

[bloodandstars]

[ It wasn't by design, but she's not going to ignore free information dropped into her lap. Uncomfortable fullness or not, now she has to eat this stupid cupcake as nonchalantly as possible. Jumpy bastard. ]

Bribes are for people you're still trying to convince. They've got us cornered, so why bother? We should be glad it's not threats instead.

[ Except for the threat of a stomachache later, which Maika is grimly resigning herself to. ]