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

[privatedomicile]

1. Welcome! (warning for vehicular manslaughter mention/casual drug use mention)

[When your cooking partner runs over two men with his car in front of you then tells you to run, you sure as hell listen. Jesse’s sure of that much even if he isn’t the smartest man around. What doesn’t add up is where he ends up.]

What the hell? [He squints at the welcome banner and the various bizarre people around. Is he on shrooms? No, he’d remember if he took shrooms. So this is just real, isn’t it? Mina’s explanation doesn’t really help much.] Hey, I’m not joinin’ a cult, yo, I’m like a…agonostic. [Jesse’s pretty sure that’s the right word for it. Whatever, he’s gonna go get some chips.]

2. TRASHMAN (two in one)

[Sometime after the party, Jesse is trying to explore the city, and the vibes are extremely off. He finds out the hard way and trips over a banana peel of all things and right into a random civilian that takes to chewing him out. The argument goes on since Jesse is not a very quiet guy.] Calm your tits, bitch, I said I was sorry! That’s–screw your mom! [Jesse returns the middle finger the stranger gives him and mutters to himself.] What crawled up his ass and died?

[The next day, given his own negative experience with the trash of this place, Jesse takes up the request to clean up the city, having two separate bags: one for actual trash, one for random shit he finds that he thinks looks cool.] Oh, hell yeah. [He picks up a tamagotchi and shakes it a little to check if it’s broken.]

3. Make Your Mark

[Jesse can’t help being tempted by the big canvas urging him to draw, especially since he gets free pencils for it. He gets particularly into perfecting a drawing of some kind of superhero, but squints at the colored pencils in thought and clicks his tongue.] I never figured out what color his cape was. Shit.

2 - TRASHMAN (Cleaning Edition)

[silentfury]

[After exploring the city for a while, it was obvious to Yuri that he stuck out like a sore thumb with his helmet on. So while he helped gather trash, he made sure to have it removed. (He didn't think about the fact that being shirtless also made him stick out like a sore thumb, but that's an even harder habit to break...)

He recognizes Jesse from their strange gathering of strange folks and gives the man a nod of acknowledgement, then picks up an empty soda cup and looks over it with curiosity before throwing it in his trash bag.]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse looks up at the big shirtless guy, figuring he's not a local given he decides to help out.]

Thanks, man. ...you're friggin' jacked, by the way. What kinda weights are you liftin'?

[silentfury]

[Weights? Yuri shakes his head at that. He's heard of blacksmiths making them for warriors to train their bodies with, but he doesn't use anything of the sort. Most of his strength comes from lifting logs and animal carcasses and the like, and honing his fighting skills.

His lips parse in thought as he tries to figure out a way to explain this to the smaller man... He holds one hand out and makes a sawing motion on it with his other hand, then mimes the shape of a log. If the signing doesn't work, then... he'll just have to find something to write with then!]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse tilts his head like a slightly confused dog at the charades. The big guy’s not much of a talker, huh?]

So you…saw—-oh! Like a carpenter. Sweet!

[silentfury]

[Yuri should've seen this coming, but still. Ugh. It's close enough though - he's worked with wood enough in his time among nature to qualify as a journeyman carpenter at the very least. So he gives Jesse a small nod.]

[privatedomicile]

Hell yeah. Most guys'd use power tools for that stuff, but you're man of the woods-ing it, huh? I dig it. Up top.

[He holds up his free hand for a high five.]

[silentfury]

[Thankfully, the high five is a universal gesture it seems, as Yuri understands Jesse immediately. Unfortunately, Yuri doesn't know his own strength, and the high five is a bit rough.]

[ofthehearth]

Red? Blue? Those seem like common colours.

[ arlecchino is just. there is an attempt at a stick figure of some sort maybe which is just sad considering Jesse's elaborate drawing. look her talents don't lie in drawing ok let's not go there ]

[privatedomicile]

Oh. Yeah, primary colors. Red cape is like, classic hero work, yo.

[He starts shading in the shape on the color and glances over at the stick figure. Ok, he's not gonna tell a stranger that her drawings suck, but...]

Give him a cool-ass sword. He's gotta be able to fight other stick-people.

1

[elfemeral]

[ speaking of bizarre people, there's a small woman with elf ears around. one that's getting a little closer, yes, as she lingers around the chips at the same time he goes towards them as well.

not food she's seen before. some of them are a little bright, with orange dust... ]

You don't believe what they've said about a Goddess?

[ idly, as she observes them. not that frieren isn't a bit agnostic- oh, sorry. agonostic herself, even if the concept of it all is more convenient. ]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse looks over at the big-eared lady (not that he should point out her ears, that’s a dick move) and shrugs at her question.]

Who knows if there’s any god, really, you know what I mean? But hey, if the goddess is real and she’s a babe, I’ll take being wrong.

[He chuckles jokingly.]

[elfemeral]

[ babe?





a babe....................... babe? babe.

that's a little unexpected, actually. unexpected enough for frieren to turn away from the d*ritos and look up at jesse directly. ]

Oh? From my experience, most people want the Goddess to be an older, adult woman. I think this is the first time I've heard someone say they'd prefer a baby to guide them.

[ children are less judgmental... it makes sense, in some respects. ]

[privatedomicile]

...no? That's not--the first one. A babe as in, you know, a...fine woman. [The girl is not gonna know what a MILF is, and Jesse does not want to be the one to explain it to her.]

Ain't it supposed to be the other way around anyway? With kids. A four-year-old's not gonna know what to do. They're just gonna want cereal.

[elfemeral]

[ milf? mage i'd like to fight?

but, um. okay. she misunderstood the youths. the usual. ]

I see. So, it's like Sein... you're also into older women. It's fortunate you're surrounded by at least two.

[ in the most even tone possible. she means herself (1), of course, and then also the goddess (2). two whole milfs.

anyway. that was more said for her own conclusions than anything else, so- ]

Do you believe a Goddess needs to eat like a human baby?

[ yes, that's the part she's focusing on. ]

[privatedomicile]

[...is he being called out as a MILF hunter--]

Hey, chicks my age are cool, too. I'm open. Hold on, two? How old are you? Cause Mina can't be older than like. Twenty-five.

[Jesse actually does genuinely contemplate that question for a moment, rubbing at the back of his head in thought.]

...I think a Goddess can eat whatever she wants, yo.

[elfemeral]

[ she gives jesse a little smile at that question, which may be something of an answer itself. twenty five... the blink of an eye for an elf. if those are the numbers he's working with, then she can confidently say she's the older lady he seeks.

more importantly. ]

You're a Goddess and can eat whatever you want.

[ she repeats that first, carefully, glancing back to the spread of chips before turning back to him. ]

What would you pick... yo?

[ ... sorry, she felt like saying the word she hadn't heard before. but also, she'd like recommendations from the one who seems a little more at home with a little thought experiment.

don't mind the fact she completely ignored the age question, ]

1. welcome to the cult life.......

[cramschooling]

..... Agnostic? You mean, you believe in a divine being but not the one that got shoved on you in the middle of a kidnapping?

[Cram isn't going for the chips, but he is going for a drink because between poking at Cronos and at everyone else he's done a decent amount of yapping by now, or will once I've tagged out more. He sips at a soda and makes a bit of a face -- there's definitely weird and sugary drinks back home but this has its own sort of... something.

Meanwhile, his mecha arm, which he is definitely not using for the tiny soda can, speaks up again:]

It looks like they've provided a nice amount of refreshments. Whoever is in charge here mustn't be the goddess, and is doing quite a bit of work on their own.

Isn't this the bare minimum......

[privatedomicile]

Yeah, that. I'm just thinkin' you shouldn't believe every kidnapper's a god. If some smokin' lady comes around and starts walking on water, I'm all there, but for now? Not buyin--

[Jesse looks at the large arm with wide eyes when he hears it speak.]

Dude. Did your power glove just talk?

[cramschooling]

I'd say just about every kidnapper I've ever seen's pretty far from a god. I guess if it was a god it wouldn't be called kidnapping...

[It'd be like, summoning or being spirited away. So maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but this is a complaining session, QED.

The arm blinks back at Jesse, placidly. It speaks up again:]

Indeed. I am Cronos, the autonomous AI of this unit. It's a pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances.




And I must say, I agree with your assessment of a 'smoking' goddess. Though I'm not sure why she must walk on water.

[privatedomicile]

Uh-huh. The name's Jesse, I'm the autonomous... [Jesse incorrectly puts emphasis of every syllable of "autonomous".] ...guy pilotin' these tiny flesh hands. [He holds up said hands and wiggles his fingers around.]

But like Jesus, you know? Any babe can say she's a goddess, but she's gotta have the miracles and shit to back it up. Otherwise, you know what's up, man.

time to encourage fighting the locals

[cirquedesang]

[The vibes are so off, and the city is so messy, but a distraction from both of those things comes all too easily when one of the other kidnappees trips, and ends up in a shouting match with a local.

Maybe this place isn't so terrible after all.]

Perhaps you should ask him.

[Who said frustrated muttering needs to stay private, anyway?]

[privatedomicile]

[Jesse's eyebrows raise curiously at the other person's suggestion.] Ain't you supposed to pick your battles? Random bitch in the alleyway sounds like a wasted one, yo.

[cirquedesang]

Does it?

[...Okay, maybe it does to the people in the fight, sure, but given they both seem short tempered at an initial glance, it definitely does not sound like a wasted one to the one watching with metaphorical popcorn.]

I suppose so, if you're satisfied with him believing you to be a ah... 'bitch'... going forward.

[privatedomicile]

...does that guy owe ya money or something? That why you're tryin' to get me to go wail on him?

[Jesse figures Celeste might have an ulterior motive even if he has no clue what it could actually be.]