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

code

Comments

[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?

[cirquedesang]

[The simple things are outright necessary once in a while - for the sake of sanity, if nothing else - and there's definitely been a dearth of simple things, lately.]

If one plans on doing something by half... what is the point of doing it at all?

[So. Yeah. Him, too. Though the question does draw a bit of a laugh from him.]

Not nearly as much as a friend does. He'd be complimenting your detail by name and lecturing on the lack of mine. I do play one on stage, though, so there is a fondness, I admit.

[vogelfrei]

As much as I appreciate your friends attention to detail, I can't deny the value of stylization. It captures the charm and essence.

[ He's absolutely a nerd who wants to look at every individual feather, always, but even he has to go 'aww, round bird' at drawings of round birds. It's the rules of humankind. ]

That's a cardinal, isn't it? Any specific significance to picking that one for your stage appearances

[cirquedesang]

It does, doesn't it?

[Sometimes the impulse to just coast on vibes is too strong, and 'aww, round bird' is a very powerful vibe indeed.]

Is it? I suppose it might be...

[He seems to consider it for a moment, head tilting to the side as he thinks back on the mannerisms and the costuming... Ultimately the species didn't matter for the show, but Cay had said that was stupid. So. For now, it's a cardinal.]

The red bird is one of the lead roles in the production I'm in at the moment... I tried out to test myself, and it's been a few years now and I'm still surprised I got the part.

[vogelfrei]

[ McGillis has declared it a Cardinal because a bird play without a specifically defined species of bird in the lead is not worth its salt! With this issue settled and out of the way, he is fully ready to appreciate it instead. Or something. ]

Acting seems like an interesting challenge. The idea of slipping into a different role entirely does appeal to me as well, I admit.

[ Mr. Masked Weirdo that he is. ]

What's the story about?