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

[uncoincidental]

[She can understand that, definitely. Still, it's nice to have familiar faces around in dangerous places, if only because you know there's someone you can trust to have your back.]

If he's not here, he's probably much safer. So you'll just need to focus on keeping yourself safe so you can find a way back to him.

[After a moment, she offers him a small smile.]

...what's your name? Mine is Sheba.

[crueltobekind]

[He nods along with her reasoning, but he looks a little numb, trying to just ignore the panic that he can't shake.]

He'll be looking for me too . . . Maybe we'll get found soon.

[The smile he gives her in return is shaky. Not really surprising.]

I'm Kaoru.

[uncoincidental]

I'm sure we will. [She's trying to sound reassuring! She remembers how scary it was the first time she got kidnapped.] There are a lot of people who are definitely going to be looking for me, and there are a lot of others here just like us... they probably have people looking for them, too. With so many people looking, we'll be found very quickly.

It's nice to meet you, even if all this is... [She makes a face and gestures at their surroundings.] Um, creepy.

[crueltobekind]

[He lets out a sharp laugh, more tension than anything.]]

Creepy's a pretty big understatement, isn't it? What kind of weirdo brings this many people here?

[uncoincidental]

Someone with a lot to gain... but a lot to lose, too. Whoever it is has taken a pretty big risk with their choice of targets.

[She doesn't actually know who Kaoru is but... well. She's not exactly a nobody where she came from; chances are, no one else who's been kidnapped is a "nobody," either.]

[crueltobekind]

I just wish I knew what they wanted us all for.

[uncoincidental]

Usually it's for a ransom, or to use the safety of whoever they've taken as a bargaining chip. But...

[Her brow furrows a little.] Maybe it'll be easier to figure out what they want once we know what everyone they've kidnapped has in common. There has to be some reason they picked who they did, right?

[crueltobekind]

[He frowns uncertainly, glancing back the way he came for a moment]

I've run into a few of my friends already . . . We're all among the richest of the rich, so I was assuming it was as simple as wanting money.

[uncoincidental]

That might be the case, then... [She sounds a little unsure, herself.] I was raised by the mayor of my hometown, and it wouldn't be the first time someone has tried kidnapping me to get him to do something.

But I also haven't been home for a while, so if someone got me because of my connection to him, they'd have to have been following me around for a long time. That's... not really pleasant to think about, you know?

[crueltobekind]

[He shrugs stiffly.]

None of this is pleasant in the first place.