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

[forefall]

Does it?

[ Four takes a closer look, stepping towards the card tables. ]

How would you win at this kind of game?

[ That they both don't seem to know much about. ]

[whitewalls]

I'm not sure...

[ she squints at it ]

Poker...?

[forefall]

[ The look she gives Namine is one of confusion. ]

Poker? As in... a tool used to poke?

[ She's missing some foundation gambling knowledge. ]

[whitewalls]

There's someone I know from back home... well, I don't know him very well.

[ since she personally didn't interact with him. ]

He had cards like that. He liked to play games.

[forefall]

Did you hear from other people if they were nice games?

[ Not every game someone likes to play is fun, after all. ]

[whitewalls]

He seemed to enjoy himself, at least. But he was also good at them.

[ you'll probably like something better if you win ]

[forefall]

[ She frowns. ]

We're at a disadvantage since we don't know those kinds of games. [ A brief pause. ] We can make up a game we'd both understand.

[ They can rig it so they both enjoy it. ]

[whitewalls]

Oh! That can work.

[ what are they gonna do... toss them out of the casino? ]

Let's look at the cards and see what we can figure out.

[forefall]

[ She takes out a deck of cards and starts flipping them over, so hey're all numbers and face up. ]

It goes up to... nine? And a... king? Queen? What does the J means?

[whitewalls]

[ she has to think about it. ]

... jack?

[forefall]

Isn't that a name?

[ How does that fit with kings and queens? ]

[whitewalls]

I think so...

[ she just stares down at the cards

her knowledge on this is very minima don't ask her questions ]

[forefall]

[ they don't know jack

she will be gracious and move onto something else even if namine knows more than four does on this. ]

Then, what kind of game shall we make? Perhaps we should use only the numbers...

[ so they don't have to think about what jack means ]

[whitewalls]

Maybe... whoever has the higher number wins?

[ it seems simple and straightforward enough, when they have no idea what they're doing. ]

[forefall]

That sounds like a good idea.

[ Four removes the face cards and turns the numbers so the design faces up, but she doesn't collect them into a pile or even shuffle them. ]

We each pick a card at random?

[whitewalls]

I think that works.

[ it's fine. she'll peer down at the cards. ]

Ready?

[forefall]

Ready.

[ She picks a card at random and flips it over.

It's a three (of diamonds). ]

Do we want to have a prize for the winner?

[whitewalls]

[ she'll pick one up as well-- five of diamonds. ]

What do you think would make for a good prize?

[forefall]

[ She hands Namine the three of diamonds since she won before picking up another card: 10 of clubs. ]

It depends on the person. What's good for me may not be good for you, but a favor is usually easy enough. We don't have access to very many things here.

[whitewalls]

[ 4 of clubs... she hands her the card. ]

That's true. Winner gets a favor then.

[forefall]

[ She takes it. Next up is a... seven of hearts. ]

All right. Do we want to put a time limit on collecting the favor, or... is it an indefinite one?

[whitewalls]

Indefinite, maybe.

[ granted they should cash in quick considering. murder. but.

anyway, eight of hearts. she takes it. ]

[forefall]

All right. That way, we won't feel pressured.

[ they just have to believe they won't die? it's fine.

Four picks up a four of hearts. ]

[whitewalls]

I wonder how they can have whole places dedicated to games like this...?

[ she says as if they didn't just make this one up

seven, of spades ]

[forefall]

[ To Namine, the card goes. ]

It's a mystery to me as well. It can't be that sustainable. I don't know if I could understand anyone who spends all their time in a place like this.

[ five of clubs ]