day zero

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day zero 42 players remaining. [You wake up in a temporary barracks set up behind an amusement park. The weather is chilly but pleasant, and there aren't any lines for the rides - in fact, it seems you have this place to yourself. The entire park appears to have been abandoned some years ago, and though everything is in working order, it is overgrown with plants and seems rusted and unsafe. As for you, something has happened, though you aren't sure what. There's a throbbing pain in your head, and you can't focus, as though you're coming off heavy pain medications. However you think you should look, you look like a human now. Under the bandages wrapped around your temple, old and smelling like blood, you'll find a recently stitched up scar wound and the inability to focus on your memories. You have no knowledge of how you came to be here; you may even have forgotten certain aspects of your life, or feel confused about them. The fact of your missing memories is obvious, a dark blank spot. Under the bandages around your wrist, you'll find a brightly colored bracelet, decorated with the face of the smiling cartoon animal on your wall, embedded into your flesh. It beeps a merry tune and welcomes you to DreamLand Fun Park. Just then, a voice comes over the loudspeaker.] "Good morning to all of our new guests! The park is now open! We'll get started later, but for now, have a magical day with your new friends! Oh, and there may be a few nasty side effects to your medical condition. If you meet someone having trouble adjusting to reality, please be polite!" [In your room, you'll find a small box containing several personal items - no weapons, magical items, or technology advanced beyond the early 21st century, and nothing dangerous, but otherwise anything you would ordinarily find on your person is there. Of course, nothing with cell reception or internet connectivity can manage to pick up a signal. If you swipe your bracelet against the steel door, it unlocks. You may now explore your accommodations, or venture out into the park.] profiles character statuses setting This is an IC mingle covering the first day! Night roles will go up Monday at 4 PM EST, but you are welcome to continue to thread here once that happens. Make sure to follow any updates on plurk!

Comments

Royce Bracket

[eventhandler]

A: WALKING AROUND

[Don't look now, but there's a zombie wandering around.]

[...Oh wait, it's not a zombie. Of course, he might look like one, what with the vacant look on his face, the circles under his eyes, and the way he slowly wanders everywhere, hands loose at his sides, but Royce Bracket is not a zombie.]

[Don't mind him, he'll just approach you if he sees you're doing nothing - his voice is hardly what you would expect coming out of him. It's frail, weary, and sounds like it'll devolve into incoherent mumbling any minute.]

Can you...do you know where I can find more cigarettes? I don't...I don't have enough...

B: PETTING ZOO

[The scent of tobacco greets you if you wander near this area - Royce has already lit up a cigarette and is standing near the hutch, staring at the animals as if he's trying to mentally dissect them.]

[You might think you are sneaking up on him, but suddenly he turns around, his deer-eyed stare now directed at you - he gestures vaguely to the petting zoo hutch with a frown.]

What's the point of this...?

C: PLEASANT STREET

[It might not be chalk, but this whitish rock Royce found is just as good. He's scribbled out what looks to be a series mathematical equations around him on the street using it, and for now, he just stands and stares at his scribbles, puffing on his cigarette and murmuring numbers under his breath. Because clearly, being in an amusement park is all about having fun with numbers.]

b

[poyoyon]

To pet super cuddly animals! Although Ibuki thinks the goat looks more like it'd kick you!

[ That's apparently it????? Wow. ]

But doesn't it feel like it needs a cow? And a toucan?

[eventhandler]

Ah, I was more... [Well, technically he was asking about their entire situation, why they're here, what's the point of this park...but he's never been that good at expressing himself clearly, anyways, so he'll let it slide.]

I see. To pet. [A pause, as he brings his fingers together, tapping his fingertips against each other.]...What's a toucan?

[poyoyon]

It's a bird that's loopy for fruit! Eheheheh!

[ Cereal mascots, Ibuki? Really...? ]

Ibuki definitely thinks it's weird without those things around!!

[eventhandler]

...I don't understand.

[What are jokes and cereal mascot references.]

Are they...normal to have? I'm afraid, I'm afraid I've never seen them or heard about them before.

[poyoyon]

Well, the last place Ibuki was at had them on the ranch!! It's weird for the place with animals not to have them! But eveeeeeeeerything's different! It's Kidnapception! Ibuki's been double-kidnapped!

[ IT'S GETTING RATHER TIRING... ]

She's a really desirable kidnapee!

[eventhandler]

Double-kidnapped?

[He tilts his head to the side, like a curious owl, puffing away on his cigarette. That's...intriguing, to say the least.]

Why were you kidnapped? The first time.

c

[photoshot]

[ a black-haired passerby pauses, snaps a picture of the mathematical equation. it might as well be mythical runes to her, but it's definitely worth investigation. ]

What does it mean?

[eventhandler]

[He raises his head to stare at her (what is she photographing his equations for?) before he speaks, his voice a low murmur:]

Er, well. It's...calculations. Permutations. Trying to figure out...how something, someone, like me, gets from point "A" to point "B"...

[photoshot]

[ for reasons. it's what she does. ] Other than flying, walking, swimming? Of course, I suppose only one is relevant right now.

[eventhandler]

No, no, not like that... [He lets out a huff, shaking his head. Of course, he didn't expect she would entirely understand.]

This place is not like the place I was in before. To get from that place to here is...more complicated, more complicated than just a walk.

[photoshot]

[ be patient with her...! ] I don't think this place is like anywhere any of us had been before. But you have a point. One does not simply walk out of this park, it seems.

[eventhandler]

[Another huff, but it seems a little more amused this time - his mouth quirks upward, as if attempting a smirk.]

No. No, one can't. But my city, my home...it is not so easy to leave, you see. It's very, um, isolated. In fact.

a

[billows]

[ This is a feeling Francis knows all too well, so his suspicious gaze ends up a little sympathetic. They both seem to be in the same boat, and Francis brings out a pack of cigarettes as if to show his only supply. ]

We're probably going to have to ration here.

[eventhandler]

[He lets out a sigh. What a shame. He stares at the cigarette pack the other man shows to him, before shaking his head. What he found in his room won't be enough, he knows that now.]

It looks like we will have to, yes...

[billows]

[ He doesn't seem to take his own advice, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up, shoving the pack back into his pocket. ]

You look like you could use more than a cigarette, if you don't mind my saying.

[eventhandler]

Do I...?

[Of course he does. He was in the middle of something that he thought would never happen, something he couldn't stop. Then, he woke up here with a bracelet and a gash on his head. Things couldn't be looking more down right now. To think, he left that place, all while it was...]

[He can't even finish the thought. He raises a thin hand to comb through his unruly dark hair, looking vacant.]

I suppose...I suppose I do.

[billows]

[ Fortunately, dark-haired weirdos make him feel right at home. So he holds out his free hand for a shake. ]

Francis Abernathy. How about we look for a couple of drinks, too?

[eventhandler]

[Dark-haired weirdo is an accurate description of Royce, to be perfectly honest.]

[He stares at the offered hand - he's never liked shaking hands, it's always...well, he can't describe it. It takes him a moment, but he sort of just gently puts his thin, bony hand there, kind of moves it up and down a little, and then retracts his hand within seconds, like it's a crab rushing back to its hiding hole in the sand.]

Royce. Royce Bracket. [A pause.] Drinks would be nice, yes.

c

[5_9]

[ I mean, Legion thinks it is, at least. As Legion approaches, it focuses on the equations, and naturally, is able to process them quickly. He might not exactly notice Legion approaching from behind, but the synthetic, odd voice should be enough to catch his attention. ]

There is an error in your equation.

1/2

[eventhandler]

...!

[There's a certain kneejerk reaction to that voice. It reminds Royce of skittering creatures, white and red, of nights awake with mathematical formulas outlining the shape of a sword that was not a sword, of a friend, blackness swarming up her arms, her voice no longer soft, but that of...]

[Well. Her new voice was like this voice.]

[So, Royce jumps, lets out a coughing gasp, before turning around, almost half-expecting to see something from the city he came from, his beloved city, ruined by those with voices like this...]

2/2

[eventhandler]

[...But his initial assumption is incorrect. There's no blazing red or white here. He blinks, his hands gesturing nervously before he folds his arms. The momentary panic gives way to confusion, and then to intrigued fascination. What...was this thing?]

[It takes him a moment more before he realizes what this individual said, and he turns back towards his scribbled equations with a frown.]

...Uh. Erm. Where, exactly?

[5_9]

[ Legion pauses as Royce reacts with surprise, because it recognizes the fear well. No one here has recognized it as Geth yet, but that didn't mean that no one would, so it at first comes to the conclusion that this person did. Though with the acceptance, that is clearly not the case. The plates around its head shift, giving off the impression that it's watching and listening.

Legion steps closer, then crouches as it carefully points with its three-fingered hand to a particular section. ]

Here. The phenomena you are attempting to model is not adequately represented. It may be modeled within a margin of error of 0.005 percent if you substitute this part with a summation of integrals of these equations. Alone, they do not suffice.

[eventhandler]

Ah, that? [He runs the calculations through his head again. The...robot? person?...is right. There's a faint sting of pride, since he prides himself on his expertise in this area, but oh, well.]

[He squats down, taking the chalky rock to scribble out the part he pointed at before he starts them anew nearby, with Legion's advice in mind.]

Yes, yes, that is...that would eliminate the error. You are certainly correct...

[5_9]

[ The plates on its head continue to shift, and the light in its head focuses, seeming to read over the equation more. ]

Everything else is correct. We find no errors otherwise.