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!
  

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Comments

NO SHE'S SO KIND....

[goei]

Mrmph...
[He would have shooed her away, but apparently it's not simply telling him to move or get up or some more pejorative version of that, so he actually turns his head to look at what he's being assaulted with.]

Wh-
[But he doesn't actually ask what this is for because he has been hungover so, so many times. After giving her a skeptical squint, he takes the offered water, sniffing it, taking a tentative small sip, and then after a pause, downing half of it in one go.]

'F yer tryna poison me you aughta do better'n that.
[Apparently he's too suspicious of the crackers.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ At first she wonders if maybe the crackers simply weren't to his liking, but then there's the assumption of a poisoning attempt. Sunrise looks down at the plate of crackers, and despite her expression not changing at all there's this vague air of someone thinking, "These are poison???"

(Well, she did take them out from a clean if sort of musty-smelling cupboard, but they don't seem spoiled...)

After a moment, she takes a cracker and pops it into her mouth. Whether it's to check for poison or prove a point that they aren't poisoned is a mystery. ]

[goei]

[Ah. Well. He observes her for 30 seconds just to make sure she swallows it and it doesn't immediately kill her, and only then will he take the rest of the crackers and start eating them.

Between crackers, he bothers to ask;]

Whaddya want?
[Surely this isn't an unmotivated act of kindness.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ So Izou, bad news: ]

Nothing.

[ A straightforward, blunt answer, because...yeah, she doesn't want anything in particular at the moment? Simple as that. Helping someone with their hangover is an automatic process when she's been living with someone who has an iron liver back home.]

...Is sleeping on a sack comfortable? [ She doesn't know that this is called a beanbag, so "sack" it is. ]

[goei]

[That's absurd, but he doesn't have the energy right now to question it further, especially since she asked him a question to distract him.]

Course it ain't. Not sleepin' here cause I want to.

[cleansewithfire]

You cannot stay in your room?

[ Assuming everyone here has a room, anyway. ]

[goei]

Hell no. How's a guy like me gonna share a room with some little girl?

[Trying to frame it as if he's not being chivalrous in letting her have it but rather he's too cool and masculine to hang with some GIRL!!!]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise, a girl who also has a guy as her roommate: ]

By discussing with her and finding an arrangement you can both agree on...?

[ ...She apparently took the rhetorical question literally, given how the implied framing sort of just soared over her head. ]

[goei]

What's there ta agree on??? Ain't no situation where an unrelated girl and guy can share a bedroom 'less they get hitched. I may not be a fancy guy but even I know that!

[This would be surprisingly old fashioned if it weren't for the fact Izou died in 1865.

Anyway, as Izou gets agitated enough to raise his voice, he winces slightly at the exertion. His hangover is still hangovering, after all, even with the water and crackers.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Huh. Today Sunrise is learning that's a thing and it is serious enough business to at least some people, since she can certainly hear Izou get agitated.]

...But I share a room with Mr. Richard.

[ So that situation does in fact exist?

(Somewhere, in another universe, at least two people sense a disturbance in the Force and/or feel a headache coming on for some ineplciable reason.) ]

[goei]

[Izou doesn't know who that is, but he does know that's a white man name so he can at least intuit the important info here.]

Wh- And yer just fine with that?? What if he walks in on you changing? Or tries ta force himself on you!? Even if he ain't a bad guy, people could think all sortsa things about you being loose or something!

[Me, knowing who Richard is: not a problem that man is definitely gay.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ There's a pause as she seems to be seriously considering what Izou just told her... ]

I think it would be more unpleasant for him than it would be for me. [ Given her body is several kinds of messed up and the glamour doesn't hide all of it. ] If he turns out to be a bad person, we live on the fourth floor and I do not think he can survive a fall from that high. I am also armed.

[ Sunrise, ]

But I would rather not have to make a mess. Fortunately, Mr. Richard has not been a bad guy so far.

[ Sunrise,,, ]

...And I do not see why I should worry about people thinking I am "loose".

[ Sunrise. ]

[goei]

[Tiktok of Izou's face journey as Sunrise says all this shit that keeps using that bang sound effect every time she says more wack shit.

He does respect her willingness to murder, he just was not in any way expecting it.]

That- I mean, it'd ruin your reputation! Don't modern girls worry about that sorta thing still??
[Listen he knows things are different now but he's pretty sure being a slut is still bad.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise, arguably missing the point: ]

I do not have much of a reputation to ruin. [ As far as she knows, anyway. This is just an objective fact? ] How is being a "modern girl" related to this?

[ Also a genuine question, because she frankly does not understand what "modern" is supposed to mean here. ]

[goei]

[he shifts a bit, settling back into his terrible bean bag bed, rubbing at his face a little as he continues to be regretfully more and more awake. After doing so, he just covers his eyes with his forearm because headache.]

'Mean like... Master's gotta remind me sometimes that things're different now from when I was alive. But I was pretty sure that's still somethin' ta be worried about. That girl Asahina sure didn't seem keen on sharin' a room with a guy like me in any case.

Dunno if she's the weird one or you are.

[cleansewithfire]

It is probably me. [ She says this so plainly like it's also just a matter of fact.

...It finally sinks in that Izou said "when I was alive" and she squints at him for a moment. ]

Are you a ghost, sir? [ It'd be weird if he was, because normally she can tell this sort of thing right off the bat. ]

[goei]

Nah. Heroic spirit. Guess it's kinda like bein' a ghost, 'cept I've got a proper physical form made outta mana, see.

[He lifts his arm off his eyes just enough so he can accurately reach up and bap her in the arm with his other hand. See? Corporeal.]

Normally I'd be way more cooler'n stronger than any of you as a servant, but that goddess must've fucked up the summoning. Don't think I could pull off my Shimatsuken properly here at all.

[cleansewithfire]

[ ...Kind of like ghosts that are powerful enough to become corporeal at will, Sunrise thinks. There's a long pause as Sunrise seems to be thinking hard before she makes up her mind about something.

She is also totally unbothered by that arm bap since she gets what he's trying to prove there. ]

What is "Shimatsuken"?

[goei]

[Even with his eyes covered once more, the grin at that question is readily apparent.]

It's my noble phantasm. My special technique.

[He shifts to be sitting a little more upright, lowering his arm to properly smirk ominously at her, clearly rejuvenated by the chance to brag.]

Any idiot tries a swordplay technique on me? I can copy it. Doesn't matter what school they're from or nothin'. Once I see it I can do it just as good as they can.

[cleansewithfire]

[ ...Is this what's called "being proud", Sunrise wonders. ]

You must be very good to understand any swordplay technique...

[ That is somehow her main takeaway from all this, yes. ]

[goei]

[It's the correct takeaway as far as Izou is concerned.]

That's right! And don't you forget it! Yer talkin to the sword genius Okada-
[And he stops short, grimacing and putting a hand over his mouth as a suddent wave of hangover nausea hits him.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Even a sword genius can be defeated by a hangover, is what Sunrise is also learning. ]

Please drink more water, Mr. Okada.

[goei]

[After he masters his nausea he does just that. Finishes the rest of the glass.]

... sword genius Okada Izou. Now, you gonna let me sleep th'rest of this off?

[cleansewithfire]

[ He even has a surname (or at least she thinks it's a surname)... ]

Alright. Take care, Mr. Izou.

[ She bows politely! ...Yes, she did change how she's addressing him. ]

[goei]

[Worry not;]

Don't just go gettin' all familiar with me usin' my given name just because ya helped me out a little.

[Whoops.]