week six: mingle

[cyclists]

Week Six
16 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.

"Morning. You've done well purging the corruption in the previous gateway, and we'll be doing the finishing touches ourselves. Thank you for your help. In the meantime, we've got another one for you to explore. It's... kind of huge, so stick together when you can."

When Sol finishes, Lune picks up where they left off.

"Hm... There also appears to be something of a change on the horizon. If you are no longer obligated to those you have been attached to - will you stay by their sides?"

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, everyone will find themselves capable of seeing one another's memories at the simplest form of contact. For those who are closer to one another, they may see a memory the moment they make eye contact, while those who are less familiar may require a slight touch. The memories will feel as though the viewer is experiencing the event themselves.

While it may not be made immediately obvious - there is no partner effect for the week. The houses of the departed partners may disappear, but there is otherwise no bond attaching pairs.



Welcome to your week six mingle! As a reminder, murder proposals are open. We will also have a mini-event this week on Tuesday at 12pm PST.

In addition, ensure that all of your week five private conversations were reported on the page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.

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Comments

[unfriendliest]

i. fire
[ hahaha somebody's in a foul mood. after avoiding everyone on monday though, kara thinks he can... mostly?? tolerate being around people again?? but he's still going to spend a good chunk of his time focused on training in the volcano, going through his usual forms almost single-mindedly, both with and without using his magic.

ah, but if he's not paying attention, someone might get too close when the blade of his sword is coated in fire. then he'll step back, giving the intruder(?) an irritated glance. ]

If you don't stand back, you'll get burned.

ii. gateway, farm
[ you know, after suddenly feeling everything he couldn't over the weekend, kara would love to just sit down with some animals and chill for a bit. he doesn't understand why they're always scared of him, though?

(it's just his face.)

so he's sitting in the middle of one of the animal pens, petting the chickens or yaks as they come to investigate and wistfully watching the sheep keep their distance. ]

I don't know why someone would paint sheep...

[ the chicken who squawks at him in reply isn't as helpful as they might think. ]

iii. gateway, coliseum
[ whatever this gateway is, you have to wonder what they'd need with a stone coliseum. all those cages, the weapons, the maze - maybe it's just for training? maybe he should give this a shot himself? but there's something that bothers him about it, as he checks out the claw marks. ]

What made these...?

[ the scorch marks could be anything, though, when they've got fire and lightning magic at their fingertips. ]

wildcard.
[ kara is avoiding everyone on monday outside of pcs because he's not okay anymore :( but he is available from tuesday onward! he'll mostly be around the fire area, the kitchen, or the armory, though i'm open to anything. ]

ii

[nonbelligerent]

[shess is taking miki's respectively pink and purple pygmy puffs on a walk, in part because he still doesn't know what the heck to do with them. why didn't miki leave behind a user manual before she died.

since the animals here seem to be friendly, he lets them hang out for a bit.]

Perhaps to mark them as a target?

Coliseum

[liversandhyenas]

Sure wasn't me.

[She places her own claws against the marks for comparison. Goodness, these are some terrifying marks, these are larger than her own]

Whatever it was would kill us pretty easily.

ii

[whitewalls]

It could be their way of identifying them? I think that people stealing animals isn't that uncommon.

[ they're very fluffy.... ]

iii

[omegathree]

[He folds up the map and kneels down to touch the scratch marks.]

They're quite varied.

ii!

[televised]

At least they're not branding them.

[Save the sheep??]

[globs]

i - docks

[ this place is a lot easier for them to traverse than the last few have been - thank goodness. Cinnabar, as always, keeps to themself, but they can be found out and about exploring the new area, if only to keep themself educated about what's around. Walking far enough eventually leads them to the docks, and the boats; the gem looks a little apprehensive about walking around above water supported only by wood, but the beams hold, at least for the time being.

That said, they're not quite courageous enough to step onto one of the sailboats. They just stand there next to it, squinting at it suspiciously, their floating mercury rotating around in circles as if reflecting their thought process. ]

... No way.

ii - water

[ alternatively, Cinnabar can be found way out in the water area, sitting crouched at the very edge of a thin rock peninsula jutting out into the waves. They're likely there because they didn't want anyone to bother them, but that's never stopped anyone!! A bunch of the colorful pumpkins they grew a few weeks ago are sitting around them. They're gazing into the water - and, strangely, talking to it, if one gets close enough to hear. ]

You have to stop biting people. They're soft, and they'll die. Someday, they'll come take revenge on you. [ ... ] ... I know it's hard... it's just the way you are. But the way you are... it isn't compatible with anyone else. So you have to stop, and go away.

[ they sigh, and toss one of the pumpkins out into the water. It floats along the surface; then, suddenly, a triangular fin breaches the water and bumps against it before disappearing back under the waves. ]

iii. wildcard

[ other places Cinnabar can be found:

1. In the library, reading a book. They will immediately hide this book as soon as they realize anyone is looking at them.

2. Sitting near the fire pit in the gateway, since the light keeps them awake. When they think no one is watching, they idly play with their mercury, making tiny sculptures from their hands. They might look vaguely familiar...

3. Other! I'm super open for memory-sharing as well, so let me know if you want to do that in a thread here. (or dm me whatever works) ]

wildcard 2!

[unfriendliest]

[ of all the people kara may be expecting to see here, it's... not cinnabar, for some reason? he doesn't have anything new to tell them, not yet, but he slowly approaches them anyway, eyeing the mercury until he's close enough to see what it is. and when he does, he freezes a few steps away. ]

Is that...?

ii

[nonbelligerent]

[yo.

shess stops a short distance away.]

Talking to the shark?

II

[liversandhyenas]

...are you trying to convince the shark to eat pumpkins instead of meat?

[Godspeed, Cinnabar]

ii

[whitewalls]

[ oh it's cinnabar.....

naminé does not approach them outright, but she'll quietly watch the interaction with the shark. ]

[specialdog]

i. kitchens

[ Akane is sulking around this entire week, moving slow and listless. Which means that whenever she's hungry long enough to actually eat, she heads to the kitchens and then just. Sits there because she loses the energy to actually make anything. Or maybe she actually ate, and you catch her with the empty cup from instant noodles nearby, but now getting up to leave is too much energy.

If she catches you staring for too long she just glares. ]

What.

ii. the steps of memsharing

[ Apparently, at some point, Akane wanted to climb those 125 steps up the mountain. But that time is over now, and she's not at the top of the mountain, so she's just sitting on the steps about halfway up.

Enjoying the solitude...? Or not. Anyway, wow, with her sitting in the way like this, it sure would be easy for your character to accidentally bump into her and trigger a memshare without meaning to! If they're not the type to strike up conversation! Memshare with me!!!!! ]

iii. wildcard

[ As always, I'm open to PCs, but also as always, Akane is just being a little bitch like this all over the place, so if you want to change the location... She's wherever... Sulking and pouting and being a silent moody drama queen. ]

ii

[nonbelligerent]

[shess doesn't bump into her, because he's more careful than that, instead stopping a few steps in front of her.]

... Are you all right? Are you tired?

i

[unfriendliest]

[ well at least after monday kara will be going back to the kitchen to cook so no one starves because he was being emo. akane's there when he arrives, and he just stares at her for a moment before moving to the stove, setting his sword down against the cabinet as per usual. ]

You need something to eat?

i

[blackcoats]

Nothing—

[ honestly, xion was just trying to decide on something from the freezer, but she's just a little too short to reach for something in the very back so she was looking around to see if someone taller was around to help... but, like, now that akane has her attention... ]

... Did you get your boxcutter back from Lune?

i

[whitewalls]

Sorry.

[ she glances around at the room then back to akane. ]

Have you eaten?

i

[televised]

[...]

You look like shit.

[Why is North in the kitchen? We just don't know. Either way, she's nothing if not brutally honest. But, also--]

... Are you planning to eat something?

[omegathree]

I. Gateway, everywhere
[Val has several pieces of paper and walks around this new gateway. If you look over his shoulder, it'll be pretty clear that he's currently mapping out the area.

Not well, mind you, but he has a legend in the top right corner as he looks around.

All of his actions are fairly slow, but it takes a while for burns to heal, especially when it's an inherent weakness of vampires in particular.

It would be so easy to brush against him, wouldn't it?]

II. Gateway, top of the steps

[It's rare to see Val as anything other than confident and self-assured.

Today he's thoughtful as he looks over the island. His cape flutters in the breeze and for somebody who looks so at home in the middle of a volcano, he looks very comfortable in the cold.

His map is beside him, pinned down by a rock.]

Have you ever seen a place like this?

III. Fire

[If some reason you're awake in the middle of the night, you can find Val in the middle of the volcano. His flames surround him in a circle, growing bigger and brighter for a moment before collecting on his sword and behind him in the shape of two bat-like wings. They flap just once before going out.

It's not quite the same as the technique at home, but it's something a little more familiar to him.]

IV. Wildcard

[Val can be found in the boutique, library or very occasionally the kitchen.]

ii

[whitewalls]

It's pretty extraordinary, isn't it?

[ even if she can't help but wonder what the really large stalls are for on the other part of the island... ]

[tothemaxwell]

FIRE;

[Apparently this is the cool thing for all the dumbass nonhuman fires to do, which is to hang around in the fire realm in the mIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FROM SUNSET TO SUNRISE, and do fire shit. Which is precisely what Milla's doing. Wreathed in flames, she's basically doing fancy parkour from one lava column to another, never stopping for very long—and the flames are persistent, wrapping and spiralling around her in a lazy, dangerous fashion.

She does a mid-air cartwheel through a boiling steam vent, avoiding scorching by mere centimeters, and honestly, the whole thing is just a little over the top. It's hard not to think that she's just doing it to show off.

When she notices she's not alone, she lands nimbly on a platform, and places her hands on her hips, smiling.]

Care to join me?

[Who would want that???]

GATEWAY - MEETING HALL;

[Considering all the steps, it's pretty empty in here. Just a bunch of longtables, benches, pillars and an ever-burning fireplace.

And Milla. She's here too... sniffing.

She's just walking around, and sniffing.

Every once in a while, she'll frown, and turn in another direction.

Okay. That seems like normal Milla behavior at this point honestly.]

PAINTING;

[At various points throughout the week, Milla can be found scattered throughout the realms, the village, and the gateway, with a brush in her hand, "PAINTING FOR DUMMIES" in the other, and a canvas (or, at least, a piece of paper) on her lap, spread out on a flat piece of wood. On it is inevitably always baby's first landscape rendition of whatever vista or locale that lays immediately before her—from still art with fruit in the kitchen, to mountains in the gateway, you can probably catch her around.

She's currently holding up her thumb, one eye closed, lips pursed with concentration.

The fine arts are clearly her passion.]

WILD;

[hit me up and i will love you ]

painting

[whitewalls]

[ she's peering over at what she's painting. ]

Oh. That's cute.

[ it's sheep ]

[autocatalysis]

air

[ with an element like lightning, it's probably easier to toss around mostly uncontrolled bolts and arcs than manipulate it in more refined manner simply for how volatile it is. that's simply how it is, after all, and while the unpredictability and activity of it made it easier to tap into in the beginning...

people have probably already seen him tossing out lightning strikes by now, whether guided by the aid of some thing conducive or no. a couple more may have been witness to the static that'd built up around him involuntarily when he was agitated, for some reason, but if you should head to the cloud banked ravine, instead of anything like that, they'll find him sitting fairly sedately on a rock outcropping somewhere, either carefully juggling and guiding a small orb of ball lightning around or attempting to make- glimmering, shining shapes and forms, out of briefly flickering threads and sparks in the air.

it looks like he's fairly lost in thought or, more likely, deep in focus, but if someone actually tries to approach them (or him), he might shoot them a vaguely dubious look but nothing too harsh. ]

I don't have to tell you to be careful, right? We've all been here long enough to know that not all the lightning here is because of magic, and even that isn't all necessarily under control.

gateway, docks

[ these are some incredibly old fashioned ships. the promise of their boundaries not being as strictly drawn in this particular gateway as opposed to the previous is somewhat tempting, as is the mystery of what lies beyond the fog in the distance, but... ]

How many people would it even take to man this type of ship?

[ also, he may or may not be warily glancing up every now and then. it's hard to miss the skittering of claws across rocky cliffsides, even before accounting for the feeling of being watched. ]

wildcard

[ hmu for whatever you please, julius isn't actively trying to avoid anyone especially after saturday. i'm open to anything, but he's mostly around the gateway, armory, library, or the above areas. ]

docks

[omegathree]

[Val is off to the side, mapping out the gateway and looking over at the dock without any hint of recognization.]

Hmm... I've no idea. Demons don't have these kinds of ships.

mini-event: night fury.

[cyclists]

mini-event: night fury.

On Tuesday, the screech of a beast echos through the air, drawing attention back to the gateway.

Early in the morning, a piece of (somewhat slobbery) parchment can be found plastered to the side of the houses.

The corruption has been located not far from the shore. Set sail and take flight to fight for control and purge the darkness from the innocent.

Weapons and quick lessons shall be provided, along with companions for ease.

Tame the beasts, and bring them home.

On Tuesday, the portal seems to be aflame though perfectly safe to walk through. Stepping through, participants will find that they're no longer entering the peacefully empty village but instead on a boat heading to an island off-shore. The ship cuts through the water silently, breeching through the fog and approaching an icy valley.

Below in the valley, the sound of war can be heard as burly vikings fight one another, axes and shields clanging against one another. Shadows loom around several of them, flickering darkness curling in tendrils as they fight on. Though the vikings appear to be the target, it's not them that require attention. As the valley comes into view and opens up, dozens of winged, fire-breathing creatures soar through the air, diving and attacking with little prompting. Dragons of all shapes and sizes soar and dodge attacks, ruthless and unrelenting as they turn to snap and attempt to kill anyone who gets too close. Scattered across the battle field, rusty machines begin to generate a thick, acidic green smoke to trap any dragon that gets too close and gain control of their mind, turning them on any human who attempts to stop them. Cutting off the source of hypnosis by breaking apart the machines will help the dragons gain some clarity, but vikings will work quickly on foot to intercept your path. Swords, shields, and even a mace or two can be found if you look enough. Arm yourself, and fight through to break the poisonous capsules and take out the guards.

But it's not just a war that must be fought. For those who are more strategic and less combative, a team of strong-willed dragons will be at the ready for an aerial rescue. Mount these creatures and take flight to round up newly freed dragons and bring them back to their home in the village. Leaving the battlefield behind, other dragon-riders will follow and pursue through the skies. Learn to control your dragons, fly your way through the biting winds and snowy weather, and finish off the vikings chasing them down to break the dragons free from their enslavement.

Lucky for you? There's a guide strapped to each creature's saddle with tips, information and battle strategies to help you learn how to train your dragon.

Best of luck.

npc.

[dragonaire]

[A blast of purple light is the only warning anyone gets before the flap of wings can be heard and an explosion hits the ground in the valley. A sleek black dragon roars angrily, and atop of his back sits a young man in a flightsuit. He doesn't dismount, leaning forward to shout over the din of the battle below.]

Break the hypnosis and get them out of here! Toothless and I can take care of the rest.

[The dragon, Toothless, makes a sound of agreement as he lowers them closer to the battle. Looks like this man is your chief for the day. He'll be around to answer questions, give directions, or rattle off useless dragon facts to help in battle.]

A Thing;

[cyclists]

A Surprise...?

On Wednesday morning, everyone in the village will wake up to find that somewhere near the main hall by the river, a large glass tank filled with water is bolted into the ground. Inside this tank swims one (1) subdued shark. Please be nice to him.

[papawolf]

[ Is the shark on time out?

Lets just share some fish he caught. ]

A THING;

[cyclists]

night falls.

Victims

The night falls and overtakes the village, all sources of light nearly drowned out. As participants sleep on Thursday evening, something not-so-pleasant comes upon them.

Plumes of white smoke billow through the air, the sounds of someone panting breaking through the silence. Thick and blinding, the smoke shrouds a figure that darts back and forth, running as fast as they can. As they reach a dead-end, a bright flash appears and a glint of metal catches in the light before the darkness overcomes the scene again.

Without a visible light source, sound is the only sign of life as a crackling, fragmenting splinter pierces the air. The cracks begin slowly, the pace of the breakage growing faster and more frantic before several pieces drop straight down into the dirt.

It's almost anticlimatic…but a closer look brings forth a pair of bright red eyes staring up into the night.

Abruptly, everyone awakens. Though the darkness continues to loom, they are all compelled to make their way to the main meeting hall. Inside, the lanterns are lit with enough of a glow to see a scroll unfurled and draped over two glass boxes. Though the bodies may not be recognizable in the light, the scroll provides an answer.

Julius Kresnik and Cinnabar are dead.

✩★✩

Welcome to your sixth death announcement! As per game schedule, there will be no investigation for clues at this time and even if characters go to explore on their own, it seems that everything has been reverted to perfect condition.

As sunset on Friday approaches, the light will return to the village. With the vague outline of the sun high in the sky, this light will shine brightly for a full twenty-four hours.

Try to sleep through it while you can. Tomorrow's a big day, after all.

LUNE

[cyclists]

[Lune will place tea offerings and flowers - white chrysanthemums - at the foot of each grave before making themselves available for questions.]