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]

i. Monday morning
[ Minato's made a very quick run through of the area past the gateway, and eventually doubles back and finds himself in the suite. He spends no less than half an hour just lying on one of the beds with his arms outspread and feet hanging over the edge, and then forces himself back up to poke around the room some more. Maybe he can get the fireplace working... Maybe-

Maybe he finds himself locked in the walk-in freezer and is pounding on the door in hopes somebody else even bothered with these rooms. ]

ii. Monday afternoon
[ Somehow he escaped and lingers in the hospital room this time, thankfully not needing to self-amputate any frostbitten fingers or anything like that. He doesn't know what a lot of this stuff is, but he's curious nonetheless, lingering by the chemicals and jotting down names and formulae into a notebook he's carrying.

He also finds scalpel to show Val later. Until he finds him, Minato will just place a dummy flat down on the operating table and poke at its arm with some morbid curiosity. ]

iii. the rest of the week
[ The rest of the week, Minato can be found in the casino with several cups of cold coffee next to him that will be used to fuel this gambling addiction that's taken hold. If you need Minato, he'll be here. He doesn't even go back to his house to sleep at night.

There's one chance in 32409583070498023 that he might win the jackpot, but he still might!!! Even if the jackpot is just all the coins he threw in himself. ]

wc.
[ etc!! at birdseed or card#9038 ]

i

[specialdog]

[ ......... Akane passes the freezer door and makes eye contact with him, but just. stares at him.

she is too baffled by how he did this to himself to think of helping him right away. ]

[compendiem]

[ Minato stares right back at him, but when it's clear that she isn't going to help him, he breathes on the window to fog it up and writes a backwards "SOS" with his finger. ]

[specialdog]

[ ooookaaaay fiiiiine, she'll open the door. ]

What did you do?

[compendiem]

[ Oh thank god, Minato exits as soon as he's able to, leaning against the wall next to the freezer. ]

...Thanks. I didn't want the meat to spoil, so I made sure to shut the door tight. I was afraid it might have frozen shut...

[ He did this to himself. ]

[specialdog]

[ even with an explanation, she still looks deeply confused and unimpressed...

but after another long moment of judgmental staring... Akane shrugs off her hoodie and hands it over to him... ]

... Just until you warm up.

[compendiem]

[ Minato hesitates for a moment, and then takes the hoodie. Instead of wearing it, because he's not really sure it would fit, he just hugs it close to his chest. ]

...It's really warm. Thank you, Akane.

[ He's going to leech all body warmth from this hoodie and return it cold, sorry. ]

[specialdog]

[ it's a pretty oversized hoodie so it would proooobably fit him, but honestly, she appreciates him not putting it on.






actually, in retrospect ]

... You've showered, right? [ because, like, last time she checked he was just wearing the same clothes and....... ]

[compendiem]

[ He may or may not have picked out 2304985 of the same plain white button up shirt and black slacks to wear for his entire time here. ]

You're going to have to give me a time frame.

[ He's showered... at some point in his life, yes. ]

i

[moonprisonpower]

[ how does minato manage to do this. ]

[ saix stares at him through the freezer door for a full unimpressed fifteen seconds before opening it and freeing him. ]

What were you doing there?

[compendiem]

[ It's a mystery

to no one, because anybody can tell that Minato is just a dumbass and these things happen. Minato gives him a long suffering look for those entire fifteen seconds until he's finally freed, walking away from the door far enough that he can't feel the cold anymore before speaking. ]

Thanks. It's... There's no ice cream in there. In case you were wondering.

[moonprisonpower]

[ saix closes the door once minato's out and follows him. he was completely unphased during those fifteen seconds, it was a rad staring contest that minato ultimately won. ] I wasn't wondering.

[ that's a lie he was definitely wondering. ]

But you should be more careful. If I hadn't been here, you could have frozen to death.

[ watch out saix people might think you care or something ]

[compendiem]

[ The corner of Minato's mouth twitches just the slightest, like he's trying hard not to smile. Aw. Saix cares. ]

I'll be more careful in the future... Wish I had a torch or something, though. Would be useful to have light and warmth in a place like this.

[moonprisonpower]

[ wow no he doesn't don't slander him like this ]

Or find a way to shut off the freezer.

[ duh!! ]

Did you find anything in there worth looking at?

[compendiem]

[ He ignores the second question in favor of addressing the first. ]

We can't shut off the freezer. The meat will spoil and go rotten. Meat's expensive; it'd be a waste.

[moonprisonpower]

This meat isn't for us. And if we were to go in and out, it would remain at acceptable levels.

[ minato has strong feelings on food conservation ]

[compendiem]

[ He absolutely does. Food is important, and that's why he was ): at Saix spitting his fish blood tofu all over the ground, what a waste. ]

Doesn't matter if it isn't for us. Don't want to spoil somebody else's meat, either. That's rude. And unsafe.

[ Meat's got to be kept frozen unless it's right before cooking!! Even it remains cold enough inside, doesn't that just mean... they'll be cold too, walking around in the freezer? There's no good way to deal with this. ]

iii

[nonbelligerent]

[uhhh]

Minato... have you left this room at all?

[why... does he always seem to be here...]

[compendiem]

[ He turns his head towards Shess without pausing in his lever pulling, because it's not like he needs to see or be conscious to play the slots. It does take him a moment or two to refocus his eyes on Shess, though. ]

...Yes. In a given time frame. ...What day is it?

[ He's gotten up to use the bathroom? He thinks, anyways. True to form, the days start to blur together when there are no windows. ]

[nonbelligerent]

[...]

Have you eaten?

[compendiem]

[ Minato gestures at the many cups on the table next to him-- accidentally knocks one over, but it's okay because it's empty.

...He glances over and pushes the full cups of coffee just a little more out of reach. ]

Yes.

[nonbelligerent]

I don't think those count as food. Do you want me to bring you anything?

[compendiem]

[ He pauses to think for a second, and then gestures at the cups again. ]

If you could go on a coffee run for me, I'd really appreciate it.

[nonbelligerent]

Something besides coffee, please.

[compendiem]

I'm in the middle of a bet I don't want to lose... I can only have coffee, or that'd be cheating.