INTRO MINGLE

[uploadedmods]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: An introductory first day in the game free-for-all extravaganza.
WHERE: One of 3 locations, to be outlined below.
WHEN: October 1
NOTES: Graphic content including physical and psychological horror.



Characters will wake up in one of 3 places, based on the plotting post that went up on Saturday the 22nd. Unless specifically signed up for the Library or the Church, characters by default will be waking up in the Mall.

Please specify your location in the subject line of your top level.

Thoroughly read the plot post and current setting page for details relevant to your introduction.

You do not slowly rouse, but rather abruptly snap into wakefulness, like a light switch being flipped. The world is suddenly bright, white and backlit, roughly one well-placed lens flair away from being a J.J. Abrams movie. It won’t take long to realize both your wrists are securely clamped by a thick metal strap that juts out of the sturdy steel platform you’re laying on, and it's not long after that to realize the same is true for your legs. Even your midsection is strapped down by the world’s most intense seatbelt, leaving nothing to do but to struggle or to wait.

Fortunately, the wait isn’t very long. The curved white space above you flickers with color, and a perfect square, like a television screen, expands before your eyes. It pans over what appears to be a town, something small and simply populated.

“Hello, and welcome to your first setting.” A neutrally cadenced feminine sounding voice begins, riding the line somewhere between human and machine. As she speaks, captions of the text type themselves in neat and perfect Arial font. “The location is loosely based off Bridgton, Maine, United States of America, Earth. The year is 2007. You have been selected to participate. Obedience ensures an enjoyable and immersive experience for our players. If you have been granted a role, instructions will follow. Do not talk about your role. Do not attempt disobedience. If you have not been granted a role, your objective for this round is simple: survive.”

Characters who haven’t been selected to participate in the story will hear a mechanical hissing, the sound of something unlocking, and their metal straps will retract into the flat surface of the printing bay.

Comments

Shinichi Izumi | mall

[kiseijuu]

( one )
[ Somehow, the torrential downpour he's just been caught in feels like the most appropriate representation of life right now.

Shinichi had run out of the restroom at once, but not in enough time to avoid getting absolutely soaked through. Stunned, he had just sort of walked around, before making his way to the nearby foodcourt to sit down in a lone booth and.. try to gather his thoughts.

The most intelligent thing to do would be to go find a change of clothes. But he's afraid of approaching the robot-like employees. He doesn't know what they're capable of, and their mannerism is disturbingly similar to a thing or two he's encountered back home.

He could probably easily sneak into a store and just nab something dry. But right now, his mind seems to be.. overrun. He can't think too clearly; he's just blinking slowly as he sits there, hair and clothes soaking wet. Migi's usually the voice of logic that steps in to ground him, but right now the parasite is.. perhaps in even worse shape than Shinichi is. He's always been sensitive to cold water, disliking it enough that Shinichi used it to deter him in the past once or twice... but right now? It seems to be painful to his very weakened right hand, which is currently hiding in his jacket pocket like a large spider and refusing to come out. Even if it's cold and wet in there and Migi's giving shuddering jerks every so often.

It's... weird, to see the formidable creature reduced to this, afraid and retreating away from everything. There is something inside of the human that feels sympathy for him...which is a highly uncomfortable awareness. Shinichi removes his glasses, lifts his other hand, and places his elbow on the table, fingers slipping over his face, pressing his closed eyes against his palm. He's no stranger to having to survive, but this is.. this is something else entirely. Every time he manages to slightly relax (and that's a very big slightly), this place throws out some new level of bizarre, pretty horrific, discomfort. If only all of it were a nightmare to wake up from. ]

( two )
[ By now, Shinichi's discovered that there are quite a few "normal" people wandering around in this mall -- normal as in, not one of the weird drones. The ironic thing is, however, that a lot of the people he's either trailed in order to learn information about (led by Migi's pressing curiosity) or randomly bumped into seem to be... not normal at all. (Not that he's one to talk.) Some of the people here are apparently from different places... different times.

He's been cautious around newcomers, given he can't do anything to protect himself. Polite in his shy way, but cautious. He and Migi still spend much of their time going around checking out as many people as they can. As Migi keeps stressing, survival is most important, and they need to know as much about who they're dealing with as possible.

Somewhere along the way Shinichi has procured a small notepad and pen for his hand to use as it needs. For as impressive as the alien's mental capacity and memory is, he still prefers to jot things down to have them as reference.

Shinichi is with one of the people he's encountered now, notepad in hand. They've teamed up for now, gathering supplies, doing general sweeps of the area, that sort of thing. It appears that Shinichi is pausing every so often to scribble things down, which seems harmless enough, like he's just making notes of stuff around them. In truth it's.. quite unsettling to have his hand write without his control, but Shinichi tries to be as inconspicuous as possible about it. He turns to look at his companion then, tilting his head thoughtfully. ]

Is there somewhere else you think we should get some supplies from?

→ ( ooc: I'm just fine carrying over CR from the TDM, unless you'd prefer to start fresh! For the second prompt, I left it open for anyone he's already met and bumped into again, OR someone brand new that he's just randomly teamed up with now. Feel free to poke me on plurk [sweatervest], discord [Jhey#2354], or pms for anything! ♡ )

two

[proactive_with_pep]

I have one other place that I'd like to go.

[Still crouching and adjusting the supplies and various weapons in the bag Buffy doesn't bother to glance up when she replies. She knows firsthand that should, no when, the need for something at a moment's notice came up it was best to have everything in a certain order and readily available to grab than to have to rummage through it all and or give up looking to rely on brute strength. And seeing as how her strength was severely lacking in this place organization of supplies was key.]

I thought I saw a bible kiosk back the way we came. Might be a good idea to take at least one.

[Look, she doesn't normally go about stealing bibles. Honestly. But when there's a specific kiosk in this hellish mall dedicated to bibles only she was taking it as a sign. And when she does happen to feel the need to steal one it's for valid reasons like defending themselves against whatever unholy things might be roaming around. Either by waving the actual bible itself around like a shield or by using a verse, scripture, something or another to turn plain water into holy water. That's a thing she thinks she can do. Maybe. She's going to attempt it regardless.

In a quick motion Buffy slings the book bag over her shoulders and stands back up shrugging lightly.]

Other than that I figure we can head to the food court. Maybe see if we can look for anyone who might be younger than we are and happens to not belong here either?

[kiseijuu]

[ Shinichi's really not that great at all of this -- supply gathering, choosing what to take and what to leave behind. Sure, he's had to do plenty of surviving and alien-annihilating back home, but none of that was really... by choice and therefore he'd mostly fought it along the way. He disliked confrontation, any sort of fighting at all -- though he had plenty of blood on his hands, which made for an interesting contradiction.

In any case, the girl he's teamed up with now seems to be pretty skilled with this sort of thing. Shinichi's been watching Buffy with a mix of awe and nervousness when she's selected various weapons and supplies. She must be around the same age as him, right? How many teenagers their age have this sort of knowledge? But he's following her direction quite obediently. ]

A bible?

[ That has the teen blink in confusion, a hand moving up to adjust his glasses. Shinichi's not a religious person himself, but he can understand why something like that would offer someone comfort in their very bizarre situation. But the way she worded it... 'take at least one.' As though they're talking about knives or some sort of weapon. ]

Oh--that sounds like a good idea. [ He nods, shifting his own bookbag which has some various supplies in it. ] I hope there's no one younger than us in this place... [ He mulls softly, frowning at the thought. Hopefully no children are caught in this nightmare. But she's right, it's definitely worth checking out.

As he begins to follow her, Shinichi hesitates, then voices the question that was dancing around in his mind. His curiosity is polite, in case it is a religious reason for her. ] What do you think we'll need bibles for?

[proactive_with_pep]

[Gathering supplies and having a game plan in place is something to keep her mind off the realization she isn't in Sunnydale anymore. If she keeps moving forward trying to get wherever and trying to help people, then maybe she won't have to stop and dwell on the fact the nice warm bed she had fallen asleep in back at home all safe and cozy after a horrible night patrolling and dealing with an ex boyfriend from Hell - literally - was not where she had woken up.

This has to be some form of kidnapping, even if she was beamed up somewhere, right?]

Yeah. Do you know what a bible is? [Buffy merely assumed bibles were a universal thing people knew about. And by universal she doesn't mean literally universal since aliens don't exist where she's from. Or maybe they do? Possibly. She'd have to ask Giles. There could be reference to aliens in one of his books. Whatever the outcome she figured anyone from Earth knew what a bible was.]

I hope there isn't either. This whole scenario is already creepy. Who kidnaps teenagers and throws them in the mall while being vague as hell? [Buffy knew the answer to her own question; evil. Evil people. Evil demons. Evil in general did this. Man, oh man, did she want to get her hands on whoever was behind all this.]

Hmm? [She asks coming out of her daydreaming of beating a faceless body to a pulp. It was something to keep her motivated. An end goal if you will.] Honestly I'm hoping I can make homemade holy water with it. You know bless the water and then use it as a weapon if there's anything demonic here that can't stand it.

[Realizing how he may take the way it all sounds coming from a small blonde he's only just met she adds.] Where I come from it works. We have vampires and demons, and holy water helps in making them think twice before attacking.

[Either the last part would help him understand or confuse him some more. Buffy wasn't sure which it would be.]

[kiseijuu]

[ Shinichi nods in regards to the question about knowing what a bible is. It's a fair question in this place -- he's run into several people by now who don't seem to be...from anywhere around here. Or from the time he's used to. So any information to catch each other up on seems to be fair game, really. ]

This is... I would say it seems like a nightmare, but unfortunately it's way too real for that. [ He mulls quietly. Out of the very odd things to happen to him in his life lately, this definitely ranks up top. There's no resting, really; new bizarre things just keep popping up ever since he woke up here.

...Speaking of.

When she starts answering about what the bibles may be used for, Shinichi just stares for a long moment. Homemade holy water... Is she some sort of clergymember? He looks visibly nervous at the mention of demons; just a few months ago he would have claimed not to believe such things existed, but after you get invaded by an alien from another planet and used as its host body, you sort of start realising the world is bigger than you ever imagined. So while he's looking pretty nervous as she speaks, there's no disbelief on his face right now.

It's when the other mentions that where she comes from actually has demons -- and... vampires?! -- that Shinichi starts sputtering. ]

Y-you have... vampires? [ He nearly drops the notepad he's still holding, fumbling with it. Of course, Migi immediately starts jotting down notes about this, which Shinichi has to try to play off as casually as possible. He glances down as his hand starts writing down the information that the girl just told him, eyes still wide. ]

You've fought things like that? [ CLEARLY. Comically enough, he's hunching forwards a little as if trying to shrink his own tall stature down. Buffy's words have just struck The Fear into Shinichi. ] H-how can you tell if one is near? Can you tell that?

[proactive_with_pep]

Except peoples nightmares can very much be made real. [That was probably one of the quickest responses she's had in a long time. And one of her firmer ones. It comes from experience. Man did it ever.] At least they can manifest into being very real. Though I'm not sure this is anyone's nightmare. [No, she knows that was way wrong.] Unless it's a whole bunch of nightmares wrapped into one? Which surprisingly is also very possible.

[Magic royally sucks at times. Science? Eh, not so much she figures. Which is why she's set on this being the work of the former not the latter. No way in the world could science replicate magic.

Buffy can't help but watch the way he fumbles with his pad and pen before going to move as if to catch them in case he does, but he doesn't and she steps back a little, so as not to crowd him, giving him some space to breath]

Yeah, but they don't sparkle. [In case that was going to be his next question. It often was whenever people found out vampires existed.

Maybe dropping bombs like that wasn't the best of ideas? Even in a place like this. He looks a little more nervous, or worried, than she expected.]

And demons. And magic. And a whole bunch of really not fun stuff. [Because the obvious solution was to add more bombs to the mix. Good job not making Shinichi feel freaked out, Buffy.]

It's sort of my job - [Full on air quotes because she didn't exactly get paid for the gig.] - to find the bad ones and slay them. [Air quotes now replaced with Buffy jabbing at the air with an imaginary stake, or pencil, or knife or something jabby.] Right now? No. My ability to pick up on vampires or demons is sort of non-existent here. As are my actual abilities. [She can't help but sigh. Having her strength would be really nice right about now should something jump out at them in attack. Still, she'd protect anyone she could by any method. Even if they weren't entirely human.]

Why? You're not a vampire, are you? [Buffy raises a brow in questioning, head tilting as she gives Shinichi a once over.]

[kiseijuu]

[ The response is quick and sounds very sure of itself, and it leaves Shinichi blinking in thought. She definitely speaks as though from experience, with nightmares manifesting into reality... Which he is half-tempted to make a dry joke about how his life has felt like a nightmare come true for awhile... but somehow he gets the feeling she meant it literally.

The replies simply solidify that she isn't from any average backgrounds. Shinichi is listening with wide eyes the whole time, though he's half-distracted by the scribbling notes his hands are still doing. It's... not exactly social etiquette to write notes as someone's speaking; it can read as pretty obnoxious, but of course Migi doesn't know human norms and is just logically trying to get down as much information as possible. So the human teenager hopes this doesn't read as rude, all while trying to keep focused on what Buffy is saying, processing everything. ]

You slay them...? [ That sounds.. pretty familiar actually. Obviously it seems a lot more detailed and organised on her side of things, but tracking down opposing entities and getting rid of them has sort of become his job along the way, as well. Not that it's one he ever signed up for willingly, or wants to keep doing. And.. she has abilities? That's especially interesting to Migi, who pauses purposefully for a moment, waiting and listening. ]

No! [ Shinichi shakes his head immediately at the question, realising he might come across as slightly suspicious with his whole... behaviour and self. ] Um... I'm... well. I guess I could say I track down bad things, too?

[ He hesitates, not wanting to say too much, but... they're probably fighting for their survival in this place and Buffy certainly seems like someone he wants on his side. ]

Though for me, it's... aliens that I.. hunt. [ The word "hunt" feels strange. He doesn't quite like associating himself with it. ] I have some abilities that help with that, too, but they don't really work here. [ He glances down to his hand. A sentient alien hand that can't use any of its abilities here. Great. ]

Truthfully, I was thinking that those weird people who work here might be aliens? But they don't exactly fit the bill, at least not the ones I'm used to, anyway.

one

[sanephiroth]

[The food court is the best place to sit and lean against something. Not that the chairs are very comfortable. One man, dressed in a weird leather uniform, decides to wander over. His movements looking graceful though there's something off about it - something in the way he leans just a bit too hard forward sometimes.

He bumps into a chair and moves around to slump into it. With a grimace, he takes another swig of a bottle of alcohol - whisky, probably, looking miserable and angry. He stands out with his silver hair and green eyes and the uniform, so there's that.

If their eyes meet, Shinichi would get a judgmental stare.]

[kiseijuu]

[ Shinichi is still sitting there with his hand pressed against his face when he hears movement -- immediately, the young man looks up and around, catching sight of the stranger approaching his position. He can't help his eyes from widening, startled. The man is... quite unique in appearance; his attire certainly a category of its own, but then there is the long silver hair. And the way he's moving... is he injured?

Oh. Oh. It's alcohol.. and the man looks none too thrilled. Shinichi stiffens, sitting up a little straighter, feeling uneasy. He can feel Migi shift as well, having heard the shuffling, but for the moment his hand remains safely tucked in his pocket.

And that's when Shinichi catches those green eyes. The expression isn't anything friendly; in fact, it's downright terrifying to him....The man's eyes seem almost ethereal, and the sharpness of them has his heart skipping a beat. ]

Um--Are you.. are you all right?

[ Frightened though he is of the stranger's initial appearance, he can't help asking, even though he's obviously very nervous as he does so, eyes still wide and voice quivering a little. ]

[sanephiroth]

Why is there two of you?

[Sephiroth practically growls. He's been buzzed before, not drunk and certainly not this level of shit faced. It's like his mind is working two steps slower than his body, which is about ten steps slower than his usual form at the moment.

He holds himself tall as he stares at Shinichi.]

Did the woman give you a role?

[kiseijuu]

[ The tone of the man's voice simply makes the boy even more nervous, enough to forget his clothing is still uncomfortably cold, and he shifts back in his seat a bit. This intimidating person is clearly quite drunk, to a point that Shinichi has never been exposed to in person before. He doesn't know what to do or say, and Migi isn't being much help, so he just stares with wide eyes back up at the man and decides to obediently answer whatever he asks. ]

The woman? O-oh, the voice from before? [ He nods, swallowing hard. ] Yes, I was told to survive, and find a girl--

[ Suddenly Shinichi gasps as a sharp wave of pain ripples through his chest, leaving him leaning forwards, panting out a bit. That's right. He's not supposed to talk about it. He sits up shakily, looking to the stranger. ]

I can't.. We shouldn't mention it...

[sanephiroth]

[He frowns at the sudden display of pain. So that rule applies to everyone then.]

Hmph. Intimidation and pain. A potent combination. [His words are a little slurred but he seemed familiar enough with those sort of tactics. His eyes has wandered as he thinks but quite abruptly snaps back to Shinichi] Name.

[kiseijuu]

[ Obviously this guy is in the know about what's going on here, though Shinichi's too nervous to really dwell on that right now. Migi, on the other hand... Weak and tired though he may be, the parasite is seeing the opportunity right now to learn whatever information this stranger possesses. Slowly, the boy's right hand will slip out of its coat pocket to rest beside him, a seemingly normal gesture. ]

I'm Shinichi. Izumi. Er, Shinichi Izumi. [ Again, he's almost comically obedient to respond at once, a good dog. ]

What's your name...? [ He ventures, cautiously. It's..polite to ask in return, right? Even if those creepy glowy green eyes make him want to look anywhere else. ]

[sanephiroth]

[Mostly in the sense that he's felt the consequences from sheer stubbornness. He processes the name in his head. He's good with names though this one is rather strange.]

Sephiroth.

[He focuses on Izumi, finally noticing what's so odd about him.]

Why are you wet?

[kiseijuu]

[ Seph..iroth...? He doesn't even know what language that might belong to. Just where is this guy from?? But he's quickly answering the next question. ]

I was in the restroom and suddenly it just started... pouring down rain? Right inside the room. This place is crazy...

[ He's speaking carefully, not sure exactly how to talk to someone who's so intoxicated. Being Shinichi, he's at least going to try to help out a bit, even if this guy does intimidate him quite a bit. ]

Er... would you like some water...?

[sanephiroth]

You're not lying, are you?

[Skipping right past the helpful suggestion for water.]

Making fun of my inebri-- ine-- drunkenness.

[kiseijuu]

No--! I swear, I know it sounds... outrageous, and I can't explain how, but it really happened like that.

[ Shinichi watches him struggle over the word, and Migi finally starts moving around again, gaining interest in their company. His right hand slips out of his pocket, resting on his leg innocently enough, but watching their company silently. ]

Er... [ This makes Shinichi nervous. He doesn't want the parasite to see this man as a hostile threat, not that there's much he can do in his weak state... ]

Maybe you shouldn't drink too much. I-in this place. You could get hurt somehow...

One!

[flowerclip]

[oh hey, it's that guy! The one she'd been running around with screaming like chickens with their heads cut off. Hm.

Either way she's quick to approach, looking cheerful before she realizes that Shinichi looks like he's definitely seen better days here. Her hand lowers from its raised greeting and she slows a little upon her approach, frowning in concern.]

...Um... Hey? Are you okay?

[kiseijuu]

[ He knows he needs to get up, get some new clothes, but he has to take a moment, which is steadily becoming several moments. In fact, he might even have just... stayed there for a good while, had a voice not tugged him out of his haze.

Shinichi blinks in what seems a sleepy manner, but it's more that he's just a little out of it. Removing his hand from his face, he lowers it and glances over to see-- someone familiar. The girl he'd met, who's from 1921. His eyes slowly widen in recognition. ]

Hey, I'm... [ Shinichi pauses, blinking down at his wet clothing and frowning. ] I got caught in... the rain? Um.. in a room... [ Explaining that is...bizarre. ] Are you all right?

[flowerclip]

[At the recognition she gives a little wave and a smile, before wincing in sympathy.]

The same thing happened to me! Is the future always like this? It's so weird! [She waves her hands a little in emphasis and then shakes her head.]

I mean, I'm as okay as I can be I think. Sometimes there's some really cool things, and it's neat to see them. But it's also so... different sometimes, and I want to go home. I miss my family and friends.

And no amount of cat pictures on the phone thing can make up for that!

[kiseijuu]

[ It's the little smile she sends him that really pulls Shinichi out of his odd foggy state.. because something so simple is invaluably kind in this sort of situation. A little reminder of humanity, of something normal.

He sits up straighter, moving slowly due to being soaking wet -- but turns towards Petunia. So she experienced this, too... Now it's his turn to frown in sympathy for the girl at her words. He understands that, missing his family, wanting to go home. ]

Whatever this is.. it isn't the future. Not the normal future, anyway. This is some kind of nightmare... Ah, I'm really glad you're okay, though..! I've run into a few other people, and I was hoping you were doing all right.

[ Shinichi pauses, remembering the whole being from 1921 and not having cell phones thing. So this is a pretty interesting bit of information! ] Cat pictures on the phone?

[flowerclip]

[She takes this all as a silent invitation to sit with him, which she gladly does. She feels like she's been running around nonstop, or maybe that was just all the adrenaline beginning to leave her as she grows to accept the situation more and more.

There's a couple nods--Not the future, a nightmare sure she believes that, and she smiles to know that he was concerned about her. How nice of him! But there's the important thing here-- Cat pictures.]

Yes! [She rummages around in her pocket before pulling out the sleek (for 2007) phone.] I found it! And a nice boy showed me how to use, uh what was it called? The Internet!

[She eagerly pulls up a picture, barely able to contain her happy giggles.] See? Isn't it great?

[kiseijuu]

[ Despite everything, Shinichi's starting to feel better bit by bit. Maybe this place has just really been getting to him. There's been so much to take in, but -- sitting here with someone who's a familiar face through it all feels a lot nicer.

It's still so incredible that there are people here from different times, and he listens to her attentively, leaning in to look at the screen. Is that a... a cat meme? It is. He has some recent experience with people who haven't been exposed to the world of memes before -- Migi's constantly finding new things online he doesn't understand and which Shinichi has to explain to him. ]

A cat meme! [ He's smiling, the gesture spreading into a laugh of his own. ] I haven't seen these kind in awhile... Oh, there's the Advice Animal ones you might like, too! Though.. I'm not sure they'll be available online right now since we're in 2007...? [ He's not sure how that works. Will the things they look up be limited to 2007? If so, he's pretty sure that particular meme wasn't around yet. ]

Did he tell you about youtube?

[flowerclip]

A... meme? [She doesn't know what that is, but she can assume it refers to the cat pictures with the text and stuff. That also makes it sound like there's plenty of others beside these cat ones. A whole world of memes is open to her...

Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head slowly at the question.] No. What's a youtube? The internet has more stuff? [It's absolutely boggling her mind to think of just how much information this internet thing could hold.] How much stuff does it have?

[kiseijuu]

It's a place where you can watch a ton of videos of things. There are a lot of cat ones! [ Okay, he's getting excited about this, too... Something so simple as the internet can really make a person happy when they've woken up without their own phone, in a creepy weird mall with seemingly no way to leave.

He leans closer to show Petunia the URL to the website, and then directs her to the infamous Talking Cat video that took the world by storm awhile ago... He can't help laughing as he watches it again after so long, slipping his hand up to stifle the sound, afraid to laugh too loudly in this place. (I mean... he did plenty of screaming earlier though.) ]

It's ridiculous, really... and a little horrifying...