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

[twinsightful]

Have a seat. [This is unfortunate because:] There's this game called Daifugo. It involves the whole deck, and the object of the game is to win by playing stronger cards than your opponent.

[whitewalls]

What makes a card stronger?

The number?

[twinsightful]

Yeah. [Time to deal all 52 cards.] When you lay down a card, I have to lay down something higher in order to keep getting rid of my pile. You can get rid of a few cards at a time but only based on what was already set up. So let's say I played two cards at an opening, like a 1 and a 2. You could then play a 3 or a 4, or something like that, but no more cards than that even if you had a 5. The goal is to get rid of all of your cards.

Get it?

[whitewalls]

[ hm

she eventually nods. ]

Sounds easy enough.

[twinsightful]

There's an easier version of the game too if you want to try that. I read about it but it didn't sound as fun. [Solely because it didn't involve all sorts of mechanics where someone was a higher rank than other people, but eh.]

[whitewalls]

[ you goddamn rich people and your hierarchy ]

No, we can do this version.

[twinsightful]

[Time to kill him. The cards are all dealt and he looks over the pile.]

Normally in this game, the daihinmin would be the one dealing. It's the person with the lowest rank. When the cards are deal, the daihinmin needs to give their two strongest cards to the daifugo, which is the highest ranking player. Usually you also have the hinmin and the fugo who also exchange cards. From there, the daifugo and the fugo are allowed to give the daihinmin and hinmin cards they don't want.

But since it's just you and me, we'll start with the cards that we have. And you can go first since I dealt. You can play any number of cards with the same face value.

[whitewalls]

[ she nods her head. those sure are a lot of words he threw at her, but she'll just examine her hand

... and hesitantly put down two 3s, and then look at him questioningly to make sure she did that right. ]

[twinsightful]

[A nod.]

Good. So now...[He looks at his hand, and he puts down two fours.] We can only play two at a time now but they have to be higher-ranking cards. It doesn't have to necessarily go in numerical order either.

[whitewalls]

Got it.

[ she nods, and then looks back at her hand. ]

Do you play games like this often?

[twinsightful]

Not exactly like this, no. [And so they play.] But we've been trained to know how to entertain our guests in a variety of situations. It's part of our operations.

[whitewalls]

Operations?

[ like his job? ]

[twinsightful]

Yes. For our club. [He trumps her cards again.] We have a specific set of rules and activities and guidelines we're supposed to follow for our guests to keep everything running smoothly.

[whitewalls]

[ hm. she glances at the cards then back to him. ]

Is it fun? Your club?

[twinsightful]

[...a smile.] It's some of the most fun we've ever had.

[A club that accepted them and allowed them to play the right part and keep their bond close as ever, but not only that a club that became like a family. It's no secret they would do anything for each other now, and...well. Maybe the world isn't really full of idiots.]

We're on a break now because all of us are studying abroad, but we'll bring it back soon.

[whitewalls]

That sounds really nice.

[ to have a group of friends you can do things with like that. ]

... even if you're apart now, your hearts are connected. So you'll always find your way back to each other.

[twinsightful]

You think so? [That's comforting, actually.] It's funny...everything started and ended with our president, I think. Even when we thought we would be separated, we found a way to stay together. I'm half-expecting a helicopter to appear with everyone else.

...but it's been a week now, so perhaps not. [He plays a few cards.] You must have people you miss, don't you?

[whitewalls]

... there are. They don't miss me though.

[ she doesn't have anything higher than his cards. hm. ]

I wasn't particularly close to anyone.

[twinsightful]

And that's why you think those same people don't miss you? [What kind of tragic life has Naminé been leading...] You can still miss people you aren't very close to.

[whitewalls]

[ she shakes her head. ]

It's a little more complicated than that.

[twinsightful]

...is it something I'm allowed to ask for an elaboration on?

[whitewalls]

... yes. But maybe later?

[ that's pc territory ]

[twinsightful]

[PC with me then binch??]

Later then. [He looks at the cards...] This game is kind of hard to play with only two players, isn't it?

[whitewalls]

[ BEE MOOTS ]

Kind of. Although I don't have anything to compare it to.

[ IT COULD JUST BE? A HARD GAME IN GENERAL? ]

[twinsightful]

Maybe we should start with an easier game. I've heard Go Fish can be fun. [Because yes, his attention span has wandered off.]