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.

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( 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

[Well this may as well happen. Phantom reaches up reflexively to catch Marcus's wrist as he dangles and then just... starts to laugh. A very normal reaction.]

What part of this eludes your understanding? I know everything about him. Every memory and thought he'd be ashamed for you to see. You think a mirrite's flimsy connection could compare?

[For a moment something sharp and furious flashes in Marcus' eyes, and he almost looks as though he may in fact commit more violence...

... and then he just tosses Phantom, not hard enough to really hurt him but hard enough that he'll definitely be feeling it when he lands.]

If you think just being able to share his thoughts and memories means you know him better than I do, you're even more of an idiot than I thought.

[Phantom lands with a little huff of impact. There's no echo of pain this time, at least not the physical kind. But for just an instant Phantom's expression twists. That hit something closer than Marcus may have anticipated.]

...Tell yourself whatever lies your ego requires. That brings you closer to him after all.

[And he picks himself up to turn on his heel and make as dignified an angry retreat as he can.]

[Were he not still angry, Marcus might almost have smirked in satisfaction upon seeing that momentary shift of Phantom's expression. There's something so very fulfilling about finally being able to strike back, to really hit where it hurts without the fear of being quite literally unmade that he doesn't even mind the brief sympathetic twinge that shoots through his own body when Phantom lands.]

I'd rather be close to him than to you.

[A last final twist of the knife as Phantom makes his retreat.]

[Marcus might miss the slight physical flinch when his words connect. But depending on how he's feeling, it's not impossible he feels the non-physical counterpart, as Phantom's mood drops precipitously.

It's nothing Phantom needed to hear aloud to know. He's still walking faster than he needs to as he escapes.]

[Oh, he feels that, and while there's a certain smugness there... there's something else too, something he's not sure he can identify and is even less sure that he wants to bother to try to.

Well. It's not as though it matters now, anyway.]

00 - prologue

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