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]

[ Minato looks over at Hisoka without leaving. ]

Hm? No, I wasn't planning on leaving... Just seeing if there were anybody else on the floors who want to come down with us.

[ Party in the basement... There'd be no point of hitting all the buttons if he weren't going to sit it through to the end, anyways. ]

[wildc4rd]

Hmm. I see.

[The whole of him peels away from the back wall and moves to the door. There, he leans his shoulders and head out to look both ways.

And then he comes back in to Minato.] No one. ♣

[compendiem]

Too bad...

[ Minato looks a little disappointed, but it's likely no surprise everybody's just decided to take the stairs now, seeing either 1) Hisoka, or 2) that the elevator is taking forever to inch down one floor at a time. ]

Have you been down to the very bottom? I'm kinda surprised it's not all flooded, like it was upstairs.

[wildc4rd]

So sad.

[The doors close again, and Hisoka leans instead on the side adjacent, the one not covered by buttons. His arms cross.]

I haven't. It was interesting the upstairs was flooded, wasn't it?

[compendiem]

[ Better luck next time... ]

Yeah, it's gross... The whole place is going to get moldy at this rate, if there's no ventilation.

[ No windows anywhere... It will be a nightmare of a mosquito nest soon. ]

[wildc4rd]

I'm sure mold will be the least of your worries.

[He peers at Minato.]

No one seems to be here. I don't know if it matters.

[compendiem]

[ ... ]

Do you think everybody's died and decomposed?

[ Hisoka is hinting at something but Minato has no idea what. He'll make some blind jabs into the void, or something. ]

Maybe... they were in the water, and we just missed them.

[wildc4rd]

Is that what you think? How exciting. It's too late, I'm afraid. They have been left behind.

[The next floor opens up to them when the elevator pauses. Hisoka watches Minato this time to see if the boy will peek out.]

[compendiem]

The elevators and everything work, so I thought we'd be able to find somebody.

[ He does not peek out the door, but simply looks up and stares out into the hall. There is nobody standing right in front of the elevator, and therefore nobody who wants to get on, and that's all he really cares about. ]

It the electricity bill isn't paid for a month or two, the electricity should be cut. Whatever happened to everybody... it was at least that recent. Right?

[wildc4rd]

Maybe they just don't take care of their house.

[It isn't he seems convinced of this; there's teasing. Like playing devil's advocate.]

If you're really worried, you can get someone attuned to water to move it all for you.

[compendiem]

[ Maybe they should take care of their house!!!! Think of the property value... water damage is hell to fix. ]

Oh... That's a good idea. I was just going to see if I can find a hose and do it myself, but that might be easier. Do you know somebody attuned to water?

[wildc4rd]

I might. [One finger lifts to press over his mouth, though he's smiling around it.] It's a secret.

Don't you know someone attuned to water?

[compendiem]

I know Lili is, but hers is more ice. Freezing the corpses is sorta the opposite of what I want... it'd be tough to chisel them out, after.

[ why is it a secret!!!! help him out ): ]

[wildc4rd]

[The clown loves secrets.]

Ah. She may still be able to help you. If you ask her nicely. Water is water sometimes, even if hers is a little cold.

Be creative. I know you can do it.

[compendiem]

[ Water is water sometimes... He doesn't understand, but this is also normal. ]

Freeze the water, then set it on fire...? [ No, that would just turn it back into water. ]

Maybe I could just set the water on fire as it is... Get it to boiling point for it to evaporate...

[ And burn down the entire building and possible any corpses inside. ]

[wildc4rd]

[The fact Minato is actively trying to find the best way to go about this critical is terribly amusing. Hisoka isn't laughing, but he is smiling.]

Are you really that curious to find out what lies beneath the water? What if you see something else more interesting?

[compendiem]

[ He Needs to Know. ]

I'm really that curious. What could be more interesting that drowned corpses beneath the water's surface?

[wildc4rd]

[At this, he shrugs.]

You wouldn't get off on any floor, so how would you know? Straight from the top to the bottom. I hope something interesting is there.

[compendiem]

I'll go back up later... The exit is there, after all, so I'll have to, eventually.

[ He's just doing this systematically, okay? Start from the bottom and work his way up seems to make more sense than going down one by one and then having to climb stairs at the very end. ]

Besides, the boss is always at the bottom-most floor, right?

[wildc4rd]

Hmm. Are they?

[He's thinking more...... leader than RPG boss, honestly. Which just makes him think about Chrollo, and thinking about Chrollo is a little cursed. It's tough being angry and horny at one man.]

You're looking for the boss already?

[compendiem]

[ Honestly, if there were a leader to this whole thing, dealing with them seems like a much better idea than running around forever not knowing what he's doing. ]

If there's a boss, there's a goal, and a plan can be derived to address that. We would do much better if our efforts were more focused, instead of being turned loose in a building and asked to find out whatever we can. A boss we can fight.

[wildc4rd]

[A little bit of a grin appears.]

Is that the strategy you plan to use to play the game we're playing now? Or at the meeting perhaps?

[compendiem]

[ He was thinking something more in general, but- ]

Which meeting?

[ No! He doesn't want to get up every morning for meetings!! They're too early. ]

[wildc4rd]

The one we had to attend for Mary.

[The trial. It was great, wasn't it, Minato?]

[compendiem]

[ That wasn't a meeting, that was a funeral. ]

Hm... I dunno if punching anybody then would've worked... But it's true we could've been more unified.

[ It seemed like every time he suggested something, like communal bloodletting, he was immediately shot down. ]