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theafflicted2022-05-21 07:30 am
afflictionmods) wrote in theafflicted2022-05-21 07:30 am
00 - prologue
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! )
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Hien continues eating his chips as if he didn't hear Riku, but the next time Riku opens his mouth (probably to question him? Maybe?), he jams a fried onion ring snack into his mouth.
Do not perceive. ]
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...Are you even listening?
[ Grumble, grumble, then: ]
Well, can I at least join you? I'm a little hungry myself, heh...
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Hien turns to face Riku fully. Sorry for his weird white and black square patterned eyes, but Riku will just have to deal with it, and Hien always risks being called a monster when he shows normies his eyes and showcases his voice.
Either way, it doesn't look like Riku will report him or anything, so he holds out another onion ring. He wants to feed him. Eat, you sweet, summer child. ]
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[ Well, Riku's not going to call him a monster per se, but before he takes the onion ring: ]
Are you okay? Your eyes – do you need medical attention?!
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Hien stares at him in silence before shoving the onion ring into his mouth again. He shakes his head no though. What a caring kid. ]
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[ He's assuming that means the guy's fine, then. Hopefully that's the case. He'll go ahead and sit next to him though and pull his knees up to his chest. ]
I hope I'm not bothering you? It's just...none of my friends seem to be here, so it's nice to have company.
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He'll take his chances. ]
You're not bothering me, so you can stay here as long as you'd like.
[ His voice is full of distortion and static. ]
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A-alright! As long as you're sure you're feeling okay!
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Just think of it as me having bad mic quality.
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[ He'll go ahead and grab the snack Hien was trying to feed him earlier, though, and shove it into his mouth. He takes a moment to chew and swallow before he turns to the other man with a little smile on his face. ]
Oh, right! I'm Nanase Riku, by the way, but you can just call me Riku. What's your name?
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[ He doesn't think his last name is important when he'll call everyone by their first names anyway. It's just who he is, regardless of the culture he's surrounded by.
...
Riku just tells him to call him by "Riku", but "Nanase" also sounds like a first name, so you know what. He'll just roll with it. ]
Food always makes things feel better, especially if it's good food.
[ Not like... convenience store food, but he's eating anyway. ]
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[ Look at that. A simple introduction brings a smile to Riku's face, and he nods at the notion that food makes things better. That is certainly true, especially now. ]
I wish the food here was better, but I feel like I can't complain. It's food in a strange place, so...
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[ Since that's what this place seems to resemble. Riku seems to be familiar with convenience stores and by looking at his attire, it's easy to guess that he's from a world that Hien is familiar with. ]
... Can't say I blame you. Colleges are already strange as they are.
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[ Sorry to disappoint u Hien, but yeah, he's just a regular (?) dude from planet earth. ]
Did you not like going to college?
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[ He had friends, first of all. ]
But it's not the lifestyle I could keep.
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Mm, that's understandable. I feel like it'd have been impossible for me to keep up with college myself, since I'm an idol.
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[ ... ]
Oh, the tabloids are gonna blow up about you back home, huh?
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[ Oh! How cool!!! ]
Haha, I'm sure they'll be fine without me at home, but you must know what it's like to have the tabloids gossip about you, too, right?
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[ Hien only looks like he's in his 20s, but he's had multiple chances at this, so he's done so much in that single industry alone... ]
I didn't really stand out though, since what I was best at was giving everyone else the spotlight. Tabloids weren't all that interested in me after I let one of the journalists follow me around everywhere. He said my life was boring.
[ lol ]
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[ He trails off a little. Yamato... Riku really, really hopes he's doing alright. Hien kind of gives off those kinds of vibes, now that he thinks about it... ]
That's not a bad thing though, I think. You get more privacy that way!
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[ He loves sleeping more than anything in the world. ]
You look up to your leader?
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[ He softens a little, thinking about it. ]
Yamato-san is the kind of person that shields us while giving us the spotlight... He acts a little nonchalant about things, but he really cares about us a lot. Just like a big brother.
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[ Except Hien's idea of shielding is getting rid of obstacles behind the scenes... he might as well be the shadow janitor. ]
So, what would you think he'd say in this sort of situation?
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[ ...but it's too bad he did, just before Riku got here. ]
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Did something change in him? Since you said "not normally", so he must have done something wildly different to his usual personality.
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