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

[... In the time since they left the lecture hall, Tamamori's somehow managed to get even more messy and rumpled than he already was -- but given how much of a disaster he was to start with it might not be super noticeable.

He sure is tracking mud into the bookstore, though. Oops.

Tamamori traipses through like he's not quite sure he's supposed to be in here, but he's quite sure he also wants some notebooks, though his pile is larger and considerably more haphazard, like he just nabbed whatever was at hand without consideration for colors or much else except that it was made of paper. Currently he's stuffing pens into his hakama like some kind of reading raccoon, pausing when he notices a compatriot(???).]

--You wouldn't happen to know where they keep the manuscript paper? This can't be all there is?

[Sometimes you are a hoarder but also complain about Free Stuff. That's the kind of man he is.]

[ Ah, a stationery gremlin. Gentaro watches, amused, as the other man shoves pens into the depths of his hakama. His question, though, undeniably intrigues him. He makes a note to strike up a conversation about writing, later. ]

So far, I've yet to find it. Not for a lack of looking, of course... perhaps it is simply hiding from us? If that is the case, it seems we may have to undertake a quest to locate and retrieve it.

[Possibly a stationery-and-everything-else gremlin, given he's finished with the penpocalypse and is now eyeing up the actual books with a distinct gleam in his eye. It looks like they've been rifled through to some degree already -- either by him or by whoever else came by, not many of them are especially polite when it comes to raiding -- but he shuffles over and starts getting his greedy fingers all over them anyways.]

Hmhmmm. All of the clothes are western style, and I can only read half of these-- [no, he can probably read even less than that but NOBODY KNOWS THIS OKAY he can hide under cover of Indecipherable Alien Language] --so I guess it makes sense I'd have to deal with this paper, but manuscript paper and proper pens are so much easier. I've never even seen these models before...?

[I can't believe he came from before ballpoint pens. He stops to scribble suspiciously in one of his notebooks, mumbles to himself about everything being inconvenient, looks up again.]

What was that?? What kind of weird quest is that robot and fake teacher cooking up this time?

Edited 2022-05-26 16:49 (UTC)

[ .... Interesting. Well. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that there should be fellow captives that come from a time before ballpoint pens. He can't help a quiet chuckle at the mumbling, then taps his chin.

Honestly, he can't blame him for going wild in here. He'd be a hypocrite if he did. ]

Hmmm. What indeed? The most fulfilling quests start with mystery, do they not?

00 - prologue

bookstore/gift shop

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