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

[Idia was raiding the place to get his own array of snacks. He hit the chips first, then the non-chocolate candies, then as he's working his way along the shelf to the chocolate candies he's absolutely frozen in place by the fact a woman's there.]

[... a woman adamantly shoving a chocolate bar in her mouth?]

[How would this go in a game or series... a strange woman, the protag offers her another candy bar, the connection forms-]

[-offer it coolly, offer it with style-]

[-nope! Not possible for him! When he finally does work up the courage to try he's basically extending his arm with a Kit-Kat firmly grasped in his fist. And because he took so long to work up his confidence (he probably walked away and did a loop before coming back) that the moderate body heat of his hand has melted it slightly.]

[Honestly, you know, if she ignored him, that might be kinder.]

[ On the one hand: anyone who actually pays attention to her and tries to be helpful earns an immediate minus in Miach's book. She prefers to surround herself entirely with self-centered people, it's her general MO to keep watch for those who disregard her and then grab them to her circle.

On the other hand... nobody has ever been this bad at being helpful before. And that counts for something?? Also his hair is impressive. ]

Is that an offering or a bribe?

[ She does hold her hand out expectantly though, RELEASE THE KIT KAT FROM ITS JAIL. ]

[That wasn't on his mental list of possible responses, so it's going to take him a moment to process. It's somewhere between "go away and die" (negative) and "thank you so much" (also negative because they must be assuming he's a freak).]

[It's at least easier for him to let go of the candy bar and set it gently on her hand. He tries very carefully not to end up accidentally touching her because then, then SURELY he would cross over into creep territory. There was a 0.005% chance he wasn't already in it and wanted to maintain it if he could.]

That, um... one of... ... favorites, if... ...want to.

[ Miach has obtained +1 slightly melty kit kat!

She doesn't know what to make of Idia, really. He seems like someone who would have been bullied in the ancient days where bullying was still a thing. She's never met someone who made her feel that so clearly. As she stares at Idia and muses about this, she does also unwrap the kitkat. Offering accepted.

The kind thing would be to let him go now. Miach is not kind. ]

Why? Tell me what you like about it.

[ And she takes a bite herself. She finds it more bearable than Snickers, by a small margin. ]

[Idia absolutely can't maintain eye contact. She's staring him down and, despite his height, he looks like he might crumple under it. Her mental assessment is pretty fair. There wasn't really anything about his physical person that made him a target, but his behavior absolutely just exuded the vibes of an easy target.]

[Same with the way his shoulders start at her question but he doesn't look like he'll actually defy her by leaving or not answering.]

Ah. [There's some solace in the fact that, really, is there any non-lame way to answer this question? If every attempt is going to be lame, then there's some inevitability he can hide in.]

It's... fun... to snap them apart... and while the selection here is [lame] n- not good- you can usually order them online in a lot of different flavors...

And something about them... just, like, "victory is certain!" like that.

[ With her mouth still half-full: ] Victory is...?

[ In a Japan without kit-kats, the 'kitto katsu' has not yet reached Miach's ears but after going over it again in her mind, her eyes flicker with recognition. ] Ah! I hear it now.

[ Okay, now she's done chewing and can look her graceful self again. ]

What do you want to win?

[ She just thinks it's fun to hear him stutter around... ]

[There is the very slightest upturn at Idia's lips that she gets the pun. Don't ask how the hell the pun translates into Idia's native language. It just works!]

M- Me? [why would anyone possibly want to hear about him? her unspoken reason is actually the most reasonable one to him!]

W- well, plenty of students hand them around during exam season but I don't have any trouble with that...

[A pretty confident statement for someone with the backbone of tissue paper]

Game raids, too, it's easy enough to seize victory with my own hands...

Hmm... So it's less of a good luck charm and more of a declaration of intent for you.

[ And that's honestly cooler than a charm or prayer could be. Miach still only tastes more sugar than she has experienced in a decade and between one Snickers and one Kit-Kat she is starting to feel kinda sick, but... valuable experiences! ]

S- something like that.

[... explaining gacha right now would absolutely be social suicide. He knows that much. He also knew that it didn't matter how many Kit-Kats you ate, the gacha rates would still be merciless.]

... d... ... did you... like it?

[ Though Idia has no way of knowing this, Miach would love gacha. The depravity involved in that kind of gambling... it's perfect! ]

More than the other one at least. I think I just ate more sugar than in the last year combined, so I feel a little like dying, but I'll get used to it.

[ She shrugs lightly. ]

Certain victory over my metabolism, I suppose?

[More sugar than in the last year combined? The only frame of reference Idia has for someone who would subject themselves to something like that-]

... Are you a- ... m- model?

[A pretty person, unused to eating sugar, and wear the feeling of "I'm better than you" like a catsuit?]

Huh?

[ The connection between modeling and dieting doesn't immediately occur to her - body types have become pretty homogenous in her society, so there is less emphasis on it for the entertainment industry. As long as it's a standard size body, it's fine.

Modeling as a whole has pretty much fallen out of fashion as soon as the technology to holoproject. clothes onto a customer's body came into being. ]

No, I'm just unfortunate in terms of my dimension.

[Truly, Vil would have a lot to say about that, something something true beauty is timeless and people would show it even if their bodies were all the same... Idia can't really relate. It's not what he's passionate about.]

Un... fortunate. [he parrots back]

[That gives him a few ideas. He doesn't really want to voice them, though. A world devoid of calories was probably disastrous in one way or another. He was also getting the idea from the few times he ended up talking to others that, there were certainly some unfortunate worlds out there.]

... th- then, you should take as many... you want, I think.

00 - prologue

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