day one

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day one 41 players remaining. There are no clocks in your dorm room to help you mark the passing of time, but at a certain point, in the early hours of the morning, a cheerful chime tune plays over the loudspeaker. Whether you're awake or asleep, the door to your dorm room is now unlocked. You'll have about a forty five minutes, in which you can get ready or grab some breakfast, before the door that allows you into the park unlocks. By this time, you may or may not have noticed that one of your number is missing. The chimes play again, to announce that the park is open, and the rides and music begin to come back to life as a voice plays over the loudspeaker. "Looks like it's time to get started after all! To all our guests, have a magical morning! Dream big and have fun, but don't forget to look for the body! We'll see you in the afternoon at the Hall of Mirrors when it's time to vote, okay?" You will have until 4 PM to explore the park and talk amongst yourselves. Somewhere in the park, you'll find the body of Malik Ishtar. rulebook character statuses private conversations graveyard Voting will close at 10 PM EST on Sept 24. Though a special comment for discussion will go up shortly before voting, you are encouraged to discuss who to vote for throughout the day. Voting

Comments

[siggey]

[ I don't care how long this is going to take. I never talked to this guy, and even if I did hear him suggesting cutting off the cute dog's paw, he didn't deserve this.

I can do this all day. The least we can give him now is some respect. ]

You don't need to force yourself, kid. We can cover this on our own.

[ He looked pretty young. We could probably use help, but I don't want kids doing this if we can help it. ]

[pundulum]

Ah, okay...

[part of him feels like he still should, but he doesn't want to get in the way. What to do?]

Well, I'm gonna be here a while anyway, so I'll at least stick around and pay respects.

[and maybe sneak in there when Sigma isn't looking! That will totally work.]

[siggey]

[ I squint. What's this kid playing at? ]

If you're going to be be here, why don't you step back and keep watch, make sure none of the kids even younger than you accidentally wind up this way?

[shortcutter]

[Levi has no horse in this race, but he's under the impression that the kids are going to see much worse things than this before it's all said and done. His words aren't harsh, and they come out more like a suggestion.]

Let him do what he wants.

[siggey]

[ Levi probably means nothing by it, but that still doesn't really sit well with me. ]

I was just suggesting it, too. There's gonna be better ways to help than having a bunch of people staring at the ground and pounding it away with oars.

[chainjailer]

[Kurapika stares at the two a moment before speaking.]

Let's just take care of this. The body's been sitting out long enough.

[shortcutter]

[Levi couldn't agree more. He's hardly let up from his digging since he started — hardly even glanced anywhere but down. As long as no one starts interfering with what they're doing (and why would they?) then it doesn't matter. This is a task that needs doing, regardless of the circumstances. At least between the three of them, they've already made some good progress.]

[siggey]

Yeah.

[ Can't argue there. I just don't know about us needing more people. Three's a crowd, like the saying goes, and the sooner we get this done, the better for everyone. I doubt Levi and Kurapika want to spend the rest of the day here, either. On the bright side, I think I found the angle to dig that works the best with this oar... ]

[chainjailer]

Hh. [It really was tiresome after awhile, but they're finally starting to make a dent, at least.]

Just a few more feet. Let's hope this is the first and last hole we have to dig.

[shortcutter]

[Aaaand Levi will continue to quietly dig like a boring person. Part of him does want to chat with these two about how they think the voting will go, but it doesn't feel like the appropriate time or place. There will be plenty of opportunity for dialogue later.

Working his muscles like this actually feels pretty good. For him, it certainly isn't a bad distraction.]

[chainjailer]

[After some time--however long it takes three people to dig a hole big enough for a body--Kurapika plunges his oar into the hole and tests the depth.]

This should be enough...let's put him in.

[shortcutter]

[Levi does the deed himself. He doesn't know how many spare blankets there are, so he drops the body in bare, then stands over the grave for a moment.

Afterwards, it's back to work. They do still need to fill it back in.]

[chainjailer]

[It was an unfortunate reality of the situation, that they would likely have to do this again. Kurapika doesn't look at the body as he fills in the hole, and by the time they're done he feels particularly drained.]

...I'm heading back, but first. [He looks around the brush nearby before finding a few distinct rocks and placing them as a gravemarker.]

That should be enough. [Enough to respect the dead, and enough...to remind them of where he was buried should they need to dig more holes.]

[shortcutter]

Go ahead.

[Levi will stay for a bit longer. He wants some time alone now, and this spot is as good as any. After Kurapika leaves, he looks over the rocks marking the grave and burns their shapes into his mind. Malik Ishtar's headstone. He wouldn't forget.]

[pundulum]

Keep watch...?

[And "Kids even younger than you?" ...This is age discrimination! He's a little hurt by that squinty suspicion, too.]

I don't really mind doing that either, but. He wasn't that much older than me, you know... None of us can help that there are kids here. I just want to help out like anyone else.

[Having said that, he'll give them some space.]

[chainjailer]

[Kurapika lets out a small sigh, trying to keep hold of his temper.]

And he wasn't much younger than me. I highly doubt age is a factor to the monsters behind this--the murder, and the game.

[He pauses in his digging to address Yuya a little more directly.] You can help however you want. I don't think trying to shield anybody from the truth is going to help in the long run. We have the body covered anyway, so it's not like we'll be exposing anybody to...the worst of it.

[siggey]

[ Why is he making it sound like it's fine for kids and teens to crowd around a horribly mutilated dead body? I'm not doing this for fun either... ]

That doesn't mean they all need to see this or get too curious.

[ ...

I sigh, leaning over to look at him in the eye. ]

I know your intentions are good, but think about it. Your arms are probably going to hurt like crazy before we're done, and besides, can you really not think of anything better to do, other than join us chumps in digging?

[chainjailer]

[Shooting Sigma a bit of a disapproving look.]

He shouldn't be discouraged just because it's hard. If you want him to do something else, then just say it. Don't manipulate him. Don't make it sound like an option when it isn't.

[pundulum]

Yeah, I know... I was mostly speaking for myself.

I may have twig arms, but I also have ridiculous hair and an unimpressive winning streak! What I'm saying is you will not find a bigger chump here than me.

Buuuut.... let's not fight, okay? I said I don't mind keeping watch.

[Because Kurapika's getting a bit intense here, Sigma's grumpy, and he feels like he's causing more trouble than this is worth!!]

[siggey]

What are you talking about? I'm just saying people shouldn't be encouraged to do unpleasant things they never should be faced with in the first place.

[ I grumble back, shooting an annoyed look at Kurapika. Why's he always so full of himself while needing to sound 'just'? Not that I think what he's saying is any fair. I'm perfectly aware that bad things are probably going to keep happening. I just refuse to become complacent and let anyone parade around a dead body no matter how it looks.

Continuing to dig, I focus back on the green-haired teen. ]

Sorry about my friend here, as you can see he's a real nice bundle of control issues. What's your name?

[pundulum]

N-Nah, it's okay. [he was just defending his honor!! he thinks... he has no idea. But he and Kurapika have already met on better terms, so.]

Sakaki Yuya. [Japanese order.] Nice to meet you. And at any rate, thanks for doing this, guys.

[If the VIPs thought they could kill him because no one would miss him, they'll be proven wrong. He didn't know Malik but he will keep him in his memories... something like that.]

[chainjailer]

[Wow Sigma, Kurapika's just looking increasingly displeased over here, but he says nothing on it since Yuya's gone on to thank them.]

It's what should be done. Even if this were the body of a VIP, I wouldn't treat their corpse any different.

[siggey]

I'm Sigma. You too, Sakaki.

[ I manage a light grin back, ignoring however Kurapika might be looking at me right now. ]

Yeah, leave it to us. You take it easy!

[pundulum]

That's good, I think. [to Kurapika... He may be a bit severe, but it seems like he has a strong respect for life. ]

Sure.

[So, he'll just stick around, let them bury Malik, and keep an eye out for anyone else to let them know what's going on. It's a little boring, but his twig arms will thank him later.]