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

[compendiem]

No.

[ Minato sits on top of the lid so the zombie will get the hint and stop wasting its energy. ]

This is the lock...? What combinations have you tried so far?

[coastal]

I haven't... It appears to be a puzzle of some sort.

[it's way too high-tech for her]

Can we really just start punching in numbers?

[compendiem]

It's worth a try, right? 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, et cetera. Like that, it shouldn't take much time at all.

[ That's... if the combination is only 4 digits. Maybe it's 10 and they're going to be here forever.

He goes ahead and starts off with the first combination: 0000 ]

In the meanwhile, we can brainstorm other ideas. But it's good to keep calm while doing so. So we don't panic whoever's inside.

[coastal]

[the idea of being calm is so foreign to lili

and she's just going to frown at that - ]

Not much time....

[she already thinks this is a very bad idea and is getting impatient. she should not be expected to go on any rescue mission ever]

Could there be something we could use to force the rest of it open?

[just BRUTE FORCE]

[compendiem]

[ Minato thinks to himself for a bit, and then digs around his bag— he pulls out a nail, one of the straighter, but more rusty and bloodier ones from his nailbat, and holds it out to Lili. ]

If you can find the breathing hole, you could try to use this as a wedge to make the gap crack open wider.

[ But she has to be careful not to nail the zombie in the face. ]

[coastal]

[uh

on the one hand, she'll take it and begin to look for what he's suggesting

however]

Whose blood is this?

[she has to wash her hands later? hello?]

[compendiem]

Uh.

[ It's dry blood!!! Minato busies himself with the combination lock so he doesn't have to look at Lili. ]

It came like that. ...My blood might also be on it, probably.

[coastal]

Why is your blood on it?!

[there'S SO MANY QUESTIONS HERE

so much for being calm]

[compendiem]

[ Lili, get to work or the zombie is going to die!! Especially since Minato sits up in surprise, hands hovering over the lock instead of working on it. ]

Because... I bled on it? It's one of the nails from my bat. Sometimes, I get hit with the rebound.

[ It really sucks, you know, swinging a weapon at a Shadow only to have it counter the attack and you sock yourself in the face. ]

It doesn't come off no matter how hard I try to wash it.

[coastal]

[she's still looking!! but she keeps glancing between minato and the coffin because there are so many concerning things being said here what the fuck]

Nail - bat?!

[she read it on his scroll but doesn't know what the fuck it means, nice]

You use this as a weapon?

[compendiem]

Yes. But imagine more of those. Like thirty, stuck in a bat.

A stick, not the animal.

[ Just in case she's going to start screaming and hitting him for whirling around a dead spiked mouse on a string or something ]

[coastal]

[that's honestly entire possible because lili doesn't know what the fuck a baseball is

and she's just going to

look up and stare at minato for a second

and then shake her head and go back to trying to find a place to wedge this nail....]

That's so... crude...

[compendiem]

[ Honestly... yeah it is. He has some nice, elegant weapons, some hilariously crude ones, some in between. It's just more interesting using whatever new ones he gets his hands on, instead of the same thing day in and out.

He gets back to working on the combinations too. ]

I received it from a friend, so it's not like I could throw it away. And... it's what came to me from home. So I'm sure it'll be useful, somehow.

[coastal]

... a friend gave you that...

[she

gets that there's probably sentimental value but also she has to repeat it a little dubiously because what the fuck]

[compendiem]

Yes.

[ It was a reward for beating up monsters. But a gift sounds nicer than a hitman's bounty. ]

[coastal]

... are you sure they liked you?

[compendiem]

...No. Do you think I was being bullied?

[ Would Elizabeth do that???

Yes she would ]

[coastal]

[what the fuck]

Of course you were being bullied! What are you even doing - don't allow people to treat you that way!

[there's

another knock from inside the coffin]

Ah - I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

[compendiem]

I don't—-

[ But ah, yeah, they'd better free the zombie first before talking about Minato's treatment by his friends. He gets off the coffin and joins Lili by her side, crouching down next to where she was last looking. ]

...Do you have any water on you? Or have a way to get some from back at the entrance?

[coastal]

Um, I can...

[she'll hand minato the nail back and then

pause as she looks at her hands, which start to emanate a cold from them. a frost will start to gather over her hands as she's trying to concentrate enough to crystallize it into ice

she hasn't cared to hide her power all damn week]

[compendiem]

[ Minato takes the nail back and tosses into his bag, and then just sort of... stares. ]

...Cool.

[ On the other hand, I keep forgetting Minato even has powers, but that's also fine. ]

Are you able to melt it after? It needs to be liquid, for this.

[coastal]

[ . . . hmmmm.]

Do you have a cup? It might not be immediate but given the temperature I'm sure it'll melt on its own...

[compendiem]

[ Minato does in fact have his stolen coffee mug still. It has kind of a salty fishy smell to it, when he digs it out and silently hands it over. ]

[coastal]

[well that sure does sound gross

but lili will eventually be able to create small pieces of ice, depositing them inside the coffee cup with little plinks]

[compendiem]

[ It really needs to be water, not ice, so while Lili's busy making the ice, Minato sticks a finger inside the cup and stirs the chips around a little. Come on, melt faster, there's a dead man dying in here. ]