theafflicted | 00

PROLOGUE

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing – something strange begins to happen. There's a sudden burning sensation that wraps around your right wrist and part of your forearm. If you glance at the affected area, you'll find that it's...glowing. The glow is pale blue, and it's so bright that it hurts to look at. The burn itself isn't so painful that you feel like keeling over just yet, but it does hurt nevertheless.

But before you have time to try to soothe the pain, you start to feel lightheaded, dizzy. Perhaps some of you may attribute this to any injuries you may currently be sustaining. For those who were previously unscathed, however, there's quite possibly no explanation for this other than the sudden appearance of the mysterious burn on your arm.

There is no time to mull it over, though, because it is the last thing that you see before the world suddenly fades to black.

-----

When you regain your senses, your vision is blurry; but when it starts to even out and you survey your surroundings, you find yourself sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair. Looking around you’ll see rows and rows of chairs, all facing the same way towards a desk, a podium, and an empty wall. A projector hangs from the ceiling and the lighting is bright and artificial... For some of you, it might be reminiscent of a college lecture hall. For others, you might have never seen anything like this before.

Your wrist, by the way, feels perfectly fine...though there’s now some kind of strange marking on it. It looks like a scar of some sort, and if you choose to touch it, it doesn’t feel inflamed or damaged in any way...but that doesn’t mean you don’t experience any pain. Perhaps the last thing some of you remember is a hard-fought battle, and the aches from your injuries still linger; some of you might not even remember getting hurt, and yet, your body aches like it has; for the lucky ones who feel fine, well. Pray that it lasts for a little while longer.

Because the moment someone gets hurt – emotionally or physically – there’s a small chance you’ll feel it, too. Where and who and what it’s coming from, though, is on you to figure out.

In front of you on the desk is some kind of device – a tablet, for those of you who are familiar. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be capable of doing much of anything right now, other than take photos and videos with the Camera app. There's also a translating app for those of you who need help reading some of the text around campus, as it is all in English. (Verbally, however, you can understand everyone in your own language. Tablets are also in characters' native languages.) It seems to be incredibly durable and hard to break, but you may want to be careful with it regardless.

Something shifts in your pocket (or...in your socks/shoe/what have you, if pockets aren't a thing) as you move around. Should you reach in and feel for it, you’ll find some kind of card – those who are familiar with modern technology will recognize that this is some kind of card you need to swipe. It has your name and a photo of you on one side, and the back of the card has the word "KEYCARD" on it.

There are also other people here, scattered throughout this mysterious classroom you’re in. In fact, there’re a bunch of you — 29 others, to be exact.

And now... you’re free to do whatever you want. Mostly anything, at least, given that once you step outside and explore, you’ll notice an ominous fog behind the various buildings within view. Still, this is a good time to get your bearings, check on what you have - and don’t have - and talk to the people around you until orientation starts.

-----

( OOC: Welcome to your Intro Log! The partner system is in effect for the Intro Log, meaning that yes, pain share is happening! For some notes regarding the partner system, your character will not know who their partner is upon arrival. It’s entirely possible that they find out now if their partner gets or is already injured, or if they can pick up on their mood. Otherwise, they’ll find out later today...!

Anyone who tries to leave campus grounds will have to enter through the fog, but no matter what, they will mysteriously wind up back onto campus grounds. And for clarification, the keycards are what characters need to gain access to their dorms!

Finally, we will have an NPC Reveal at 6pm EST today! )

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Hien is just the average person compared to Ace's appearance, really. His back is killing him though. He hates it. Ace's eating speed is truly remarkable, He wonders if Ace can beat him in an eating contest. Hm...

Anyway, here's this weirdo with the checkerboard-patterned eyes and distorted voice full of static. He sounds like a demon. ]

Yeah, toss me one.

[ Said demon wants apples. ]

[ Might be fun to try out an eating contest sometime. He'd be down for it. As for the appearance and voice, he doesn't bat an eye at it. He's seen plenty of strange things in

He uses an underhanded toss to throw it over, making sure it's not being whipped at him. Don't want to damage the fruit! ]

Pretty strange place we've ended up in, but at least they've got a pretty good selection.

It could be better.

[ He catches the apple easily and bites into it. Huh. It's pretty good quality apple. It doesn't feel like he's eating mush. ]

Like... buffet-levels of better. They probably use the funding for something else.

[ Like kidnapping people across worlds. ]

[ Now that gets his attention and he nods. ]

You're right about that. I could go for an endless food supply right about now.

[ Even though he's finishing off his second apple, his stomach still makes a sound like plates upon plates of food would be good. Alas, he settles for stuffing another apple in his mouth before looking around at the unmade food. ]

Wonder if we've got any really good chefs in the group...

I'll cook something for you if you promise not to inhale it.

[ Savor his cooking. Please. ]

[ Oh. That's a hard one. He tilts his head and thinks for a moment or two. Delicious food sounds worth it. ]

You've got a deal!

Alright. What's your flavor preference? Sweet? Hot? Sour? Bitter? Savory?

[ He starts looking around to see what he can use for ingredients. ]

I really like hot foods, but as long as it tastes good, I'm not too picky.

[ He'll appreciate being fed at all. ]

Good answer.

[ Hien is one for hot food himself, but he also likes when people aren't all that picky like him. That way, he can cook basically anything. When he finds the ingredients, he thinks about what to make, then prepares them. ]

What's your spicy tolerance?

My favorite food has ghost peppers in it. I can handle a lot.

[ At this point, he'd be satisfied with most anything, but good food is even better. So, he appreciates someone cooking for him like this. ]

Noted.

[ Ghost peppers... and it's his favorite too? Wow. He starts to cool and it takes him around 20 minutes or so, but when he finishes, he presents Ace with a plate with a chock full of tomato bacon pasta with a bunch of chili pepper flakes mixed into it. It looked like he could eat a lot, so he cooked a lot of pasta. It's a heap on the plate. Hien gives Ace a fork. ]

There we go.

[ The food is pretty good with a careful balance between the tomato, bacon, and chili pepper flakes so that none of them overpower one another. ]

[ To him, heat is certainly a good thing. In more ways than one.

As for the food, he waits like a good boy and doesn't make a fuss. Though, he might be munching on the fruit nearby, it's certainly not going to ruin his appetite.

When he's handed the fork, he perks up and it takes every ounce of his strength not to just dive in and devour it. ]

Thanks! Is all of it for me?

[ Before he, you know, eats everything. Just in case he's supposed to be sharing with anyone else. ]

Yup. Dig in.

[ As long as Hien sees people enjoying what he makes, it makes him feel satisfied enough that he's not thinking about anything else.

The food might as well be calling for Ace. Eeeeeat meeeeee ]

[ Without any more hesitation, he starts to dig into the meal. It's so good that it's really hard to hold back, but he's making sure to savor each and every bite.

After a few bites in, he takes long enough to give Hien a big thumbs up over the food. What a good meal! ]

Thanks. As long as there are ingredients, I can cook something up. I can't cook buffet-style though, unless it's something like soup.

[ One man soup kitchen. ]

But I have a feeling you wouldn't like just soup.

[ To be good and actually savor the food, he actually stops to talk between bites instead of during bites. ]

Soup isn't bad, but it isn't exactly the most filling. [ Another mouthful, some more enjoyment. ] Pretty nice that you're willing to cook for strangers.

[ Ace has manners! Unlike someone... ]

Hm? Yeah. You looked... hungry [ an understatement ] so I thought you would want something better to eat than seemingly infinite apples.

[ Sometimes he has manners. Since Hien made him promise to enjoy the food instead of wolfing it down, he is behaving. Especially at the idea of potentially being cooked for again in the future. ]

This is a lot more filling than the apples.

If pasta wasn't more filling than apples, I'll hand over all my cooking accomplishments into the nether. When you're really hungry, pasta is the way to go. The dishes are easy to make and you don't need many ingredients to make it taste good... of course, people can make complicated kinds of it too, but it's nice for the majority.

[ working class food yeah ]

The name's Hien. You can probably find me in the dorm building, room 8.

[ Because he knows he'll be snoozing a lot. ]

Come find me if you want a meal like this.

Thanks, I'll make sure to keep you in mind.

[ Since this food is really enjoyable. ]

I'm Ace, located in room 12, if you ever need anything.

[ Hien nods. He's seen all he needed to in the kitchen and cafeteria, so he'll move along. ]

Later.

[ This guy will probably be here for a while more because food, but he gives a nod at Hien. ]

See you around.

00 - prologue

2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject