bus

[mgtropes]

BUS? A BUS???

The wheels on the bus (don't) go round and round...

You wake up on a bus.

It's a very nice bus, though. Luxurious, even! The seats are comfy and can be used as beds, with pajamas also available for you to change into. It's stocked with enough food and drink to last a week or so, along with a bathroom that also has a shower and free toiletries to use. The downside, however, is that apparently you have to share—as you're not alone when you awaken.

It seems like you're not where you should be, either. The bus comes equipped with TV screens, but rather than any movie or show, it's reality TV in the most literal sense. You might even recognize a few faces over there in the terminal, but either way, you can watch the participants go about their day. You're as equally confused as they are, after all, even if miles (?) separate you.

For that matter, that's pretty much all you can do. You're stuck on this bus. You can't access where the driver's controls would be, and there's no driver to begin with; in fact, the bus isn't even moving. The doors are shut, and any attempt to break the windows will send you bouncing back. Opening the shutters will treat you to the enticing sight of... outside airport scenery. You're on airport grounds somewhere, but you can't tell anything other than that. If you do some digging around, though, one compartment on the bus contains a random assortment of card games and board games for you to entertain yourselves with.

Better get cozy, because you might be here for a while.

RUNDOWN

• This will be your one mingle post until next Friday.
• You do not have any personal belongings on you. Unlike the other players, you also don't have a phone. Sad.
• The W0 weekly effect, once revealed, will apply to you as well.
• Your characters are able to see anything that takes place on the public mingles, including network posts, via the bus TV screens. You may also handwave them being able to see the initial notification that the players all received on their phones.
• We will have a small, pseudo-mini-event for you on W0 Wednesday at 12pm PST/3pm EST.

NAVIGATION; (FULL NAV)

INFO

PLAYER STATUSES IC PROFILES MURDER PROPOSALS CYOA SIGN-UPS

SETTING

NPC AUDIENCES LOCATIONS ROOMING CURFEW

REPORTING

PC TURN-IN MOD REPORTING EVENT TURN-IN VOTING

Comments

[feminitis]

[that's such a mood, wrio.]

Yes, that would have been the ideal... [she gives a sigh, because alas, ideal situations are rarely meant to be.] And it was eight weeks in the hotel. The amount of time people had spent in the other places originally varied, but longer experienes were more common than shorter ones.

[frostfist]

[ a quick exhale through his nose. ]

Yeesh. And here I was thinking about how those two weeks felt like the longest two weeks of my life.

[ imagine. he could have been watching people die every day for eight weeks straight! hellish!! ]

So how do we get out? Or rather, how did people get out in all their previous encounters?

[feminitis]

It varied... but at the hotel, everyone participating was bound by the terms of a contract, where basically if they were present in the lobby at the end of that eight week period, they and the people close to them who had been taken hostage would be free to go. Problem is, the whole situation was rigged to get them killed so they'd be unable to make it back. But they found loopholes and managed to get back anyway... the entity that had brought them there was really mad about that, but he couldn't do anything about it.

The other ones all had different ways to escape. I imagine we'll have to figure out what's necessary here to do so, and that there will be some kind of condition unique to this place.

[frostfist]

[ that sounds exhausting. ]

Figures. We - the group I was with - had something similar as well.

[ again: hellish!!! ]

Guess there's not much we can do here then other than wait and take a look around.

[feminitis]

Right... it's frustrating not to be able to do much for now, but if the patterns hold, things will start to happen little by little and we'll have chances to make more meaningful progress.

[a beat, and then she smiles.]

In the meantime, we can also get to know each other. [a bow, then!] My name is Seizaburo Kamiya - [she has encountered enough white people in her games to give her given name first to wrio, sorry dude] - and while I'm sure we both wish this wasn't happening, I do look forward to working with you to find a way out of this.

[frostfist]

[ sorry that i am once again playing a white man who needs his hand held through times like these

but her energy is infectious, and he finds himself perking up as well, smiling slightly. ]

Wriothesley. It's a pleasure to meet you..... [ uh, maybe he shouldn't fuck up and misgender right out the gate ] Seizaburo.

[ there's definitely an accent to that pronounciation. again, i'm sorry for my white man. maybe if the sakoku decree hadn't been in effect for so much of his life, he would have had more practice. ]

Though it's a little unfortunate that we're stuck here for the time being. Not exactly the roomiest place I've ever stayed.

[feminitis]

A pleasure to meet you as well, Wriothesley-san.

[pros of multiple murdergames: she's gotten better at pronouncing names that aren't japanese! cons of multiple murdergames: she keeps using honorifics with people. at least this is better than when she called lup "lastname-san" because her profile said "lup lastname".]

It definitely leaves a bit to be desired in terms of space, doesn't it? Although, I have to confess - it's less crowded than the first troop's sleeping quarters back home.

[for now, anyway. she'll lose it if people start dying and they just all start crowding the bus.]

But there's not much space for us to move around and stretch our legs, either.

[frostfist]

[ imagine we spend all 8 weeks in the bus. i would peace out after week 2. ]

Yeah, I'm not sure how we won't go stir crazy if we're going to be stuck here for more than a few days. Unless that's the whole point of putting us in here.

[ he's not ruling out anything right now. ]

[feminitis]

...we'll have to be careful about our food supplies, since we don't know how long we'll actually be stuck in here.

[she hasn't fully investigated everything just yet, but she does see what looks like some food and drinks, so. at least they haven't been set up to starve right off the bat.]

[frostfist]

[ wow, it's been a long time since he's had to worry about rationing food. ]

Good idea. [ ... ] How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

[feminitis]

I am nineteen years old, sir.

[according to the way they calculated ages back then, anyway.]

[frostfist]

[ A BABY*............. ]

Just Wriothesley is fine. Really. 'Sir' just makes me feel old.

[ which he is, so. ]

[feminitis]

[she laughs, smiling a little sheepishly.]

My apologies. You give off the same sort of air as the troop captains from back home, and I'm used to calling them "sir" or "sensei".

[frostfist]

[ he purses his lips, looking a little thoughtful. ]

Well, I was in management for a few years before this. Never led any sort of troop or army before, sorry to disappoint.

[ but, ah— ]

Were you some sort of soldier then?

[feminitis]

That's right! I'm a member of the Shinsengumi's first troop. We patrol and protect the city of Kyoto, and deploy for battle when the shogunate orders it.

[there's a beat, and she chuckles a little.]

...but I suppose with the way these places work, there's a strong chance you've never heard of them before.

[also like. he's white so she's assuming he wouldn't know even if they were both from earth, i'm sorry.]

[frostfist]

[ she is so right and she should say (believe in) it. wriothesley at least has the decency to look a little sheepish about his total ignorance over everything she's just said. ]

You're right, I'm afraid I haven't. I never got out much until recently, but I did learn a lot the last time I was [ hm, how to put it ] stuck in one of these situations.

[ like seme and uke. important life terms. ]

[feminitis]

That's just the way these things go! Even if someone was to know everything there is to know about their own world - which I would argue is impossible, because one's world can be vast - the universe is even larger than that, and there are many more worlds out there than most people would ever imagine.

[she laughs.]

If I'm being honest, thinking about it sort of gave me a headache when it first came up, but it is a little exciting to learn new things. What is the place you came from like, Wriothesley-san?

[frostfist]

[ his turn to laugh lightly. ]

You're right about that. We may not know much, but I like to think that just means there's a lot of new and exciting experiences left for us to have.

[ anyway, ]

As for me...I'll take a guess and say you've never heard of Fontaine. I was born and raised there, and while it has its fair share of problems like any other nation, it's a beautiful place to visit. Do you like the ocean?

[feminitis]

Fontaine... oh! You are from Teyvat, then?

[huh! she looks intrigued.]

There were two men from Teyvat in the last place I was, but they came from Mondstadt. We never much discussed it, but there was information about Teyvat in the files about the participants. Fontaine was listed as one of Teyvat's seven nations, but I must admit I know nothing more about it than the name itself. Is it an ocean nation, then? [she smiles.] The country I come from is an island, and I was born in a port city. The ocean is beautiful!

[frostfist]

[ huh. he blinks once, surprised, before said surprise quickly morphs into interest. ]

It is indeed, surrounded on all sides by water. The beaches are lovely, the water sparkling, and the food delicious if you ever have the chance to try it.

[ it's his home, for all that he has his gripes about it. ]

Who were the two from Mondstadt, if you don't mind me asking? Maybe I've met them before.

[feminitis]

It sounds idyllic! I would love to be able to see it rather than simply hear about it someday. What makes the food so good, do you think?

[she hums.]

Alberich-san and Ragnvindr-san... ah, that is, Kaeya Alberich and Diluc Ragnvindr. Are you acquainted with them?

[frostfist]

[ another laugh. ]

It could just be my bias talking, but Fontainians tend to make an art form of nearly every activity they pursue. Sometimes it's purely for display but many times they do pour their whole heart and soul into whatever passion they choose to follow.

[ it's nice. ]

I think I've read the names in the paper once or twice. Mr. Diluc Ragnvindr, prestigious owner of the Dawn Winery in Mondstadt?

[feminitis]

An art form... Wow, I really would love to see that someday! Fontainians must be very passionate people.

[she definitely has a bias for people who fully throws themselves into everything they do...]

Ah, yes, that's him! And Alberich-san is the cavalry captain of Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius.

[frostfist]

Ah yes, the Knights of Favonius. I don't believe I've heard of him personally, but he must be quite the capable fellow if he's with them.

[ truly she's rubbed elbows with so many important people. ]

Neither of them are here [ with a nod towards the tv screen ] with us, are they?

[feminitis]

It doesn't look like it so far... or, at least, they've not appeared on the screens that I've seen.

[she supposes there is the possibility that in the time she's looked away from the screen they were on it, but who knows?]