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

[stillstands]

[ It’s her. She is the rule enforcer. ]

Do you actually know how to play?

[twinsightful]

Of course I do. We've hosted a few casino nights for our club and I've read about some other games. It's easy enough.

[stillstands]

[ . . . . ]

What kind of club were you running?

[ ???? ]

.... but alright, I’ll play a round.

[twinsightful]

[He uses his legs to push out a chair for her, practically beaming.]

I didn't tell you about the host club? [When in the hell would you have brought that up, Kaoru? But he's busy dealing a hand to actually play poker.]

[stillstands]

[ So much doubt, but okay. She's sitting. ]

...

[ Wait. ]

A host club? Like... suits and calling everyone 'my lady' and overpriced food and drink?

[ Excuse?? ]

[twinsightful]

It's not that bad. Though we treat all of our guests like princesses and we do provide tea and snacks. [How to explain the host club...he's dealing the cards and picking up his hand, allowing Miki to do the same when she's ready.]

Tamaki-senpai had the idea during his last year of middle school because he wanted a club to entertain everyone. [It's a little odd to call Tamaki by his actual name, but whatever.] We were invited when we were still in middle school, and the idea seemed sort of stupid at the time but Tamaki-senpai is very persistent. The club's been running for a few years now, and for an hour our guests join us for tea and conversation while we provide different themes and activities each day. Sometimes we host larger parties or trips as well that our guests may attend. Each of our guests signs up for a time slot with any of the hosts to spend time with us, depending on which type of host they're looking for.

[...a smile.] It's been fun, actually.

[stillstands]

[ The idea of being called a princess kinda makes her want to pull a face, but she focuses on picking up the cards in front of her instead. ]

... That's a really involved school club. We had gardening clubs, and running clubs, but nothing like an entire host club.

[ That's so specific? ]

I guess the point of a club is to be enjoyable and teach you something along the way. If that's the case then it sounds like something worthwhile. If kinda... specific.

[twinsightful]

It doesn't really classify as a normal club, but it's also one of the things that makes our school the most popular in the region. [Just throwing that out there.] A lot of our themes are focused on cultures and stories from around the world, and highlights about Japanese art and history. We spend an hour a day after school planning and brainstorming what to do next.

[He looks at his cards.] What's your buy-in for this hand, by the way?

[stillstands]

That's a lot more in depth than I might have expected. You theme your events entirely?

[ Just. A flat look. ]

Buy-in with what? It's not like I came here with much worth trading.

[twinsightful]

Yes. Our mom helps with the costuming and we do the research and set-up. Some of them are more fun than others. [But he happily ignores that look.]

It doesn't have to be an object. You can always bet a favor. [No.]

[stillstands]

[ oh. bad. ]

That sounds a bit like making a deal with the devil. I could always just fold. [ Immediately. Before the game starts. ]

[twinsightful]

Do you know how to have fun, like, at all? [Boooo. Don't fold, that's rude.]

[stillstands]

[ Boo to you too. ]

I know how to have fun, I'm just pointing out there's not a lot to bet and I'm worried about what kind of weird things you'd ask for as favours.

[twinsightful]

What makes you think I'd ask for something weird as a favor? That's just rude. [Leave him alone?]

[stillstands]

[ She will call you out as necessary. ]

Because you seem to get a lot of enjoyment at my expense.

[ Mister "I'm-Just-Going-To-Keep-Spinning-You-When-You-Don't-Know-How-To-Spot". ]

[twinsightful]

Is it my fault your reactions are funny? [He looks at his cards then.] What's wrong with that?

[stillstands]

It might be. Could be the sign of a sadistic mind.

[ she's looking through her own cards as well. not folding though. ]

Maybe we should just agree to figure out something at a later time and play the game. Like a non-specific I-Owe-You.

[twinsightful]

[Yeah the grin that follows says that this isn't the first time he's heard that, but there's a little shrug.]

Alright. A non-specific I-Owe-You will do fine for now. [...he trades out a card.] And with that, I suppose that will be my opening bet as well.

[stillstands]

[ Hm. Bad. ]

Alright then. I guess that means we can start.

[twinsightful]

Good. As I assume you know how to play...how will you proceed?