week one: mingle

[cyclists]

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.

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Comments

[unfriendliest]

I never said that.

[ don't put words in his mouth. ]

You deal with what's in front of you first. Then you can worry about the rest of it, when it's over.

[compendiem]

What if things just keep coming, and it's never over?

[ What if people keep dying, one by one, and he never learns how to deal with it, keeps getting stuck and never knowing what to do? Things pile up behind him, and there's still so much in front. ]

[unfriendliest]

[ isn't that just what happens in life, and in war? ookurikara doesn't know much more than that, even after life in the citadel. after a minute, he simply says again: ]

You should ask someone else.

[ he shakes his head, frustrated that he doesn't know the answer. he still hasn't figured out how to deal with a broken tsurumaru, himself. ]

I can't help you.

[compendiem]

[ Minato sighs and makes to stand up- and then he remembers something that makes him hesitates again, frozen in his half crouched position. ]

...There's something you can help me with. If I can borrow some of your fire.

[unfriendliest]

[ ookurikara had started to turn back to his drills, but the next question makes him pause. ]

...For what?

[compendiem]

[ Minato digs into his bag and pulls out several folded pieces of paper, carefully setting them on the ground and finding a rock to weigh the stack down so nothing blows away. ]

I was going to throw them in the volcano, but... [ It's a mountain and he hates climbing mountains ] I thought it'd be better if you were the one who burned them. They're for Tsurumaru.

[unfriendliest]

[ well ok ]

If you have offerings for him, you could take them to the shrine.

[ he's not moving, though. his eyes actually haven't left those papers since minato said tsuru's name. ]

[compendiem]

[ insert math lady meme here ]

They're not exactly an offering, but— Is there fire at the shrine?

[unfriendliest]

They... probably have candles?

[ he hasn't actually been, so he doesn't know... maybe it's better kara does it himself, after all. ]

[compendiem]

Do I have to light the candles myself, or is it magic...?

[ Minato's been there once, his first day here, and that was to lie down in the river. He can't remember anything about candles. ]

[unfriendliest]

I don't know...?

[ yeah it's probably better that kara do it himself in that case, or whatever these offers are for tsuru will just get tossed into some lava and something about that doesn't seem right. so with a shake of his head, he'll come over to minato and his little stack of paper. ]

I can do it.

[compendiem]

...Thanks.

[ Minato stands back from the stack when Kara approaches, remembering Axel's warning to stay out of the way when somebody uses fire. He imagines Kara would just... poke at the pages with the tip of his sword, or something. ]

[unfriendliest]

[ once minato's out of burning distance, kara does exactly that. he tries not to cut the paper, since they're offerings, but he touches them carefully with the tip of his sword, takes a breath, and watches the flames trail down the blade, as if from the mouth of the dragon carved into it.

he's getting a much better handle on this power, but he stops as soon as the fire catches, and steps back to watch the paper burn. ]

[compendiem]

[ The air is dry and hot enough out here that the paper burns quickly, folded so that the contents are hidden at first, until the pages start to curl and fall apart, thin notebook paper burning faster than the plain white sheets, dark black ink illegible where the paper burns to ash. And then there are the colors. Red. Blue. Black. Yellow. All that's left in the end besides the ash is melted wax, seeping across the ground and mixing into each other into something muddier.

It's some of the crayon drawings from Mary's art session on Saturday, that Minato had sat down to do, along with ones he'd done with Naminé later. Chickens saying their goodbyes. ]

[unfriendliest]

[ once kara sees the colors, and realizes what they must be, he closes his eyes and looks away. ]

Was that all?

[compendiem]

...Yeah, that's all. I think I might go to the shrine anyways, say a few words.

[ Since the shrine's the place to do it, he supposes, whether or not there's candles there. ]

Take care.