week zero: mingle

[cyclists]

Week Zero
32 in Competition

On Monday morning, the sun rises on the sleepy village, and when the first ray of light touches the gates at each corner of the village, the previously tightly sealed doors open.

The barriers around the village fall, and leave it entirely open. Each cardinal direction will have a path exiting the village, taking the curious explorers who follow it on an adventure to new territories to be explored. They’ll find that each location that they arrive in appears to be associated with one of the elements. As the Signs had explained the day before, each of the participants in the game possesses an elemental assignment, whether they are aware of it or not.

When they approach the elemental areas, they’ll find themselves more in tune with their new powerset, as if the location invites them to take them out for a spin. The new areas appear to be perfect for training and learning how to use the new skills, or maybe if you’re curious you can discover which of those listed powers you’ve been granted.

Just try not to hurt yourself while you’re out there.

In addition, it seems now that more pieces of the core are being revealed, the river that runs through the village will begin to be dotted with small lanterns floating on the water. Some of them seem to be holding small notes. Try as you might to grab one, they’ll always just barely float out of reach.

Perhaps try sending one yourself and see what results you might get?

Occasionally in the village, you might hear the sound of drums and flutes - is that festival music? - though no matter how you search, you can’t find the source… yet.



Welcome to your tutorial week mingle log! Please see all the links within the log to check out the new updates. In addition, your status page has been updated. In case you missed it, please report all item theft to this top-level where all comments are screened. Private conversations are also open and should be reported under the Week 0 top-level.

A mini-event will also be posted on Wednesday, June 5th, so please keep an eye out for that!

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Comments

[globs]

No...! You can't touch me, remember?! Don't be stupid.

[ they don't know what dancing is but they have to assume it's what everyone else is doing... it looks embarrassing, first of all, and second of all, touching is strictly forbidden here on Cinnabar Island. ]

[daibanana]

[They aren't gonna budge, are they?]

Hm...

[tapping a finger to her chin]

What if I wore gloves? Then we're not technically touching.

[globs]

Huh?

[ like... theoretically, maybe, but!! How embarrassing!! ]

No way. They'd get dirty... I don't even know what dancing is, anyway. Go find someone else to bother.

[daibanana]

... Why would my gloves get dirty?

[Cinnabar you know full well Nana is gonna pretend like she didn't hear that last part]

And dancing is -- hm.

[Good lord, what is the best way to describe dancing]

It's like a series of steps across the floor -- well, it doesn't have to be across the floor, but humans find it fun to do!

[globs]

Stupid. My poison would stain them.

[ now, if they're both wearing gloves... maybe not. But that would mean holding hands?! Cinnabar can't handle that much stimulation. They hug their arms around themself, not meeting her eyes. ]

What's so fun about walking funny...?

[daibanana]

Then of course you can wear gloves too.

[Because she is not giving up here. The smile remains in place, which is why Nana wouldn't blame Cinnabar for not noticing the strain she's beginning to feel.

She doesn't know why -- just that she really wants this dance with her partner.

... It's a little uncomfortable, actually]

I can't really explain it to someone who's never done it before. But if we try and you really don't like it, we can always stop, too.

[globs]

[ they feel it, too - but it's so blatantly opposed to their natural feelings that they end up just feeling confused. It must be the atmosphere in here, they think - too many people around, making them dizzy.

But even being aware that something is weird doesn't help. They'd normally shut this down in an instant; instead, they're feeling awkward and strange. Their hands drop to hang at their sides. For what it's worth, they're already wearing their gloves - being around all these people means being extra cautious. ]

It's definitely too dangerous. Even with gloves. It's impossible. If anything bad happens to you, then something might happen to me, too.

[ they mumble another refusal, but it's less angry, more ashamed. ]

[daibanana]

[Nana... hadn't thought of that.

And for the first time, it's enough to quiet her, make her give Cinnabar a little more space, even if it's only due to her silence. She glances down at her hands before they fall back behind her.]

... Okay.

[Smiling again]

We don't need to dance if you don't want to.

[...]

Is it okay if I stand next to you? I promise we won't touch.

[globs]

[ it's a convenient excuse, really - they don't really care what happens to them. They doubt they're of any use to anyone around here. But they don't want her to get hurt because of them, and she doesn't seem that worried about her own wellbeing. ]

Huh? Why...?

[ her next question seems to completely befuddle Cinnabar, and they stare at her for a second or two, not seeming to know what to do. Then they look down at their feet, tugging idly at the edge of their glove. ]

... Just standing is fine. Do whatever.

[daibanana]

[It's a better reaction than what Nana expected, and her response is to perk up immediately with a wide, happy smile, quickly taking up position near Cinnabar. They're not touching, as promised.

... But Nana is absolutely taking liberties by standing as close as she think the gem will allow.]

Thank you, Cinnabar-san!

[And soon after Nana starts humming to herself, along with the music, rocking back and forth on her feet. Not dancing, but it's... something. It's movement, it's still a chance to relax, and she loves the rhythm she's hearing]

Waltzes and tangos always were my favorite.

[globs]

[ if it's possible for Cinnabar to become any smaller than they already are, they certainly appear to be trying, shrinking away from her as she sidles up to them. No, this was a bad idea. What are they supposed to do now? Their nerves won't calm down. And she's bouncing around all excitedly, and it's kind of annoying - or stressing them out more, but maybe it would be worse if she did nothing at all -- they don't know. ]

I don't know what those are. [ a beat. ] Stop wiggling around so much.

[ no fun ALLOWED ]

[daibanana]

They're types of dances. Humans have created a bunch, and many of them differ by custom.

[Given that she already pushed her luck and still convinced Cinnabar to let her stand next to them, Nana will chill out a little bit. Sorta. She's still rocking, it's just far more composed. The things she does for you, roommate]

Sorry~ I really love music, is all. It's very soothing to hear.

[globs]

[ she's doing too much for them already tbh ]

...

[ they could mention how the only time they've ever heard music was when the Lunarians came to try and destroy their friends, but they decide not to bring it up. Miraculously. ]

Why are there different types? I thought it was just for fun.

[daibanana]

[holy crap, someone give this gem a hug]

It is, usually, but...

[how does one sum up the history of music and dance to a gem who probably has no concept of it? Nana actually stops moving to think on it, quiet for a moment]

There are a lot of types and a lot of different reasons why people love to dance and listen to music. Sometimes it's for religious purposes, so humans will use dance as a way to talk to the gods they believe in, or communicate with each other.

Others like it because it makes them feel good, and takes their mind off other things. It's... freeing. You don't have to concentrate on the horrible things in life if you're too busy dancing with someone.

[A little shrug at the end. For once, Nana doesn't look perky, Just... thoughtful.]

I guess it depends on the individual. Some people don't like to dance at all, you know. They say it's sweaty and a waste of time. There's nothing wrong with thinking that, too.

[globs]

[ they really don't think it looks like that much fun. Is it that freeing? Maybe it's just something they can't understand; they've never been able to stop focusing on all the horrible things in their life at all, and they can't imagine hopping around and turning in circles would provide much of a distraction. ]

"Horrible things?"

[ human life sounds pretty nice to them, if humans have the time to come up with these things. ]