subdivided | week one: mingle

Week One
30 in Competition

As the sun rises on Monday morning, all participants will find themselves awakening with a sense of purpose. Regardless of where they slept the night before, they’ll find themselves compelled to return to the main meeting hall first thing in the morning.

Approaching the hall, however, they will find a large, swirling mass grey in color looming near the sakura tree. This swirl cannot be approached just yet, but seems to be locked and waiting for something more.

As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. Though they’re together, it’s Sol who speaks up first this time.

“Last night, Lune and I were finally able to get some answers. Or, at least, something we can do to help. The core’s still experiencing fluctuations and some instability, but we’ve figured out a place some of it might be coming from.”

They stop, excitedly holding up a scroll.

“This core is connected to several worlds out there. It’s the heart of the universe and everything that happens here can be affected by the outside, and can affect the worlds you come from. We found somewhere that seems to have a source of darkness lurking around…if we find it and clear the corruption, we can help stabilize the core a little more and help protect yourselves while you’re here.”

With that, they seem to lose steam just a little, looking back at Lune for a moment before nodding.

“So, uh…we were able to open a gateway for you to this world. Checking it out might help us pinpoint the source and get this done faster, so…leave whenever you’re ready. There’ll be another gate on the other side to bring you back here.”

That seems to be it, though Sol looks back to Lune again. “Anything else?”

"Look after one another," they repeat again. "And do not believe it is possible to be over-cautious."

The moment participants leave the hall, they will find that the gateway has changed from grey to white, the opening widening enough for multiple people to step through. The Signs will soon take their leave, and all will remain peaceful once more.

In addition, as the week goes on, partners will find that a simple touch (even accidental) may incite the bond between them to grow stronger for a moment. They will experience a swap of memories through their connection, taking a moment to see a piece of their partner's past without any control over what exactly is being shared.

Welcome to your week one mingle! Please note that as of this week, murder proposals are open. CYOA sign-ups are also live, and will close at Tuesday, 8 AM PST. They will be running on Tuesday afternoon and evening, so please be mindful of your own availability!

In addition, ensure that all of your week zero private conversations were reported on the page, and your week one private conversations are reported on that page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.

main navigation.

locations ✧ powers ✧ profiles
private conversations ✧ audiences ✧ faq

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...

quietly, shess approaches, stopping a short distance from her.]

Bad dream?

[her hands are still in fists and her mouth neatly placed into a scowl]

... a trick, it would seem.

[so why is it that she can't calm her heart? why are her thoughts still so scrambled? even now she looks around, as if there's any chance that she might be missing something, like she might be failing someone again.]

Be careful not to injure your hands.

It's a cruel punishment, if that's what it is.

Then if you also...

[ . . . she turns to shess and for just a moment, there's a flash of unguarded fear. her voice is steady, but risks trembling every few words. but she still has to ask. she still needs to get confirmation.]

Was it a dark-haired woman? Hair to her shoulders? Hanging by a noose?

[he pauses, with no recognition in his face, before he shakes his head.]

[it's hard to say if that's what lili wants to hear or not - but then she'll just turn away from him, facing away even as she brings her hands up to her face to brush at her eyes. the tears might have frozen over a little bit with how rowdy her emotions were but...

a breath out - she can probably see it manifest in front of her.]

... I hate this place.

[...]

Do your best to endure it, Lili. It was likely meant to hurt you, so the greatest way to get back is to stand tall regardless.

Though I know that's easier said than done.

[she's going to shake her head at that. there's still a tremble in her shoulders, as if she can't quite manage to get ahold of her emotions as fast as she'd like, but she has to. she has to.]

I'm... not going to let them win.

[knowing that just unfortunately doesn't make her less upsetti spaghetti]

Do you want to distract yourself?

... you don't need to look after me.

[especially since it sounds like shess had his own personal version of the punishment inflicted on him]

[yeah but he gets hit with stuff like this all the time, it's fine]

You say that every time.

Because I mean it every time.

[she'll keep her back to him, it's fine]

I'm not your responsibility, and I don't need your help.

[please don't make her into a burden]