tornheart | APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

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APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Around the city (one prompt at the Green Valley school
Summary: Welcome Ceremonies, Dreams, Stirring a shadow hornet's nest. No big deal.
Warnings: N/A

"Are you ready my black lambs? Let's get to work..."

Apple Picking (General Prompt)

As September begins, the apple orchards of Greenfield Valley school are bursting with thousands of apples of various flavors and colors. There's even an experimental breed that's blue!

Those who have been attending the school know that this means a few important things. The first (and most important of course) is that it means that fall vacation is coming in just a few weeks (despite school having started just a few weeks ago), the second is that the school's menu is going to have a high number of apple-themed dishes until winter, and finally, the opening ceremonies.

The opening ceremonies are - well - one would consider them mostly boring for typical schools. And truth be told, Green Valley is not an exception. A single camera posed at the school's main gymnasium, a large podium in the center. For those who can't be physically there, the school's televisions all synchronized to a live broadcast as does the audio feeds. You can't quite escape it. Yet most people don't - after all it's one of the rare times of the year where the principal appears to wish students good fortune.

The person who stands in the front, Ms Michelle Andersen, is the very definition of an ice queen. Her face is perhaps locked forever into an emotionless stare. Bright blonde hair with blue eyes, both contract to her orange and black outfit.

Behind her, three men, the vice principals, who tend to play the good cops to her bad cop routine and insist that most students call them by their first names unless something really bad has happened; Norman (the most average man on campus that no one would know who he was if it wasn't for his name tag), Jeremy (the tallest staff member standing at over 195cm, thin, a bit of a lisp but he always means well), and Felix (possibly the hairiest man on campus as far as the rumors go, muscular, and a black beard that matches his scowling face when he isn't laughing - which is usually all the time. In fact, he's holding back himself from doing so when Ms. Andersen speaks.)

The presentation is short, as the Principal wishes all the students a great year, gives a bit of data on the number of students (they are up 300 new students from last year), the number of important guests that have passed, then as quickly as she was there, she leaves, explaining that there are additional meetings and events she will explain in greatest detail in the upcoming months.

Afterwards the students are treated to the vice principals singing a welcome song (it goes as well as one would expect it to go), telling the students that they are free to pick as many apples as they want as long as they all get eaten, but everyone is limited to two of the new apples and report to the hospital wards if any of them feel anything unusual after eating them. Just in case.

When the ceremonies are done, students and staff can return to their day...although some of the staff can be heard commenting that the Principal seemed even more...cold this year. Of course asking them for details would just cause them to shoo anyone away and pretend they didn't say anything.

[OOC: Players are welcome to speak to themselves or go have some apples. It's a general school mingling prompt! Additionally, it will be possible to email the vice principals during that week should the characters want to talk with them or ask school questions. Typical school stuff.]

Sound the Rebellion

(Special Prompt for the Unawakened, Monday the 4th)
The school's opening ceremonies aside, the Unawakened’s Monday was rather...strange. The night was plagued with restlessness as they heard the voice of someone laughing. Waking up feeling 'odd', although that differed between all of then - some would feel sick, others have a headache, or some just deciding that wearing a piece of clothing they haven't wanted to worn would look great right now. Perhaps they got a few comments from their relatives about how strange they were acting that day, or a worried glance if they felt sick. It might get dismissed with a wave of a hand.

After all, how can you explain that when they sometimes look upwards, they hear the sound of a child laughing and briefly see a symbol above their heads? Or that this somehow feels...fine?

Maybe in their new state of mind, they might not even notice the people that keep following them around...

Better than a GPS

(Awakened prompt, Monday 4th, day and night.)
"Alright Lambs, time to get to work."

Luci's voice echoed in their phone, laughing. Was he doing a peace sign?

"There's only a few but they'll be useful. I want you to find them and see what you can do. Who knows! Maybe you might be better at this than me, although I doubt it heh heh heh…Now remember what I said! You have to get them to fall asleep...but there's no real rules for that!"

For the Awakened, the symbols above the Unawakeneds’ heads will be as clear as day - Luci will even go so far as play little musical tunes when the characters are close by or distract them using electronics. "Come on! Stop wasting time and do something!"

For the Unawakened who have a relative, it will be somewhat easy. It is the others that will be a pain. Maybe that's why Luci asked for help. Or maybe he just wanted to see his 'lambs' struggle. "Get them to bed! It's not that hard! If you have trouble, just show them the program I've put into your phone and toaster! Or knock them with your toaster first if you want, I don't care! Just go in teams when you go after them, got it?"

It's obvious that 'sleeping' as far as Luci is concerned, is when someone is unconscious - he seems to almost want someone to knock an Unawakened out and then drag him into a room and let themselves go to sleep.

Once the task is done, and the place is secure, the characters will have to do the same. While the hypnotic wheel from the program is the easiest way, there's no hard rule about knocking oneself out either.

MINDJACK
Once the characters get inside, they'll be in the person's mind and dreams. Eddan's memories are predominant, and the unawakened will be standing there wandering around. It will be up to the Awakened to peel back the fabric of reality, much like curtains and show them the true memories of their past...

But beware. Shadows lurk here, and transforming will be necessarily. And if a character dies in someone else's dream...they might never wake up. So be careful...

The main mission is to showcase the person a few memories. Give them an idea that something might be amiss...it can be a little or a lot. Just be careful that the more memories, the stronger the shadows become... When both are done and awaken, ten minutes will have passed. Perhaps it will be time for question afterwards.

[OOC:The Unawakened characters need to be isolated for the program to run, and so do the players, so half the 'fun' will be setting up the traps so that the characters will be alone.

Awakened might decide to have someone stand on guard while the others go to sleep with the Unawakened, or just all stupidly go together, or find an area where they won't be disturbed - everything is up to you.

The dreamscape can be anything the Unawakened desires! It could be good memories of their time in Eddan or bad memories, a mixture of both, or just silly dreams. Whatever it is, the Awakened will need to 'peel' those memories away - for example showing them that their mother was someone else in their other life, or even directing the person to a mirror so that they can see their true selves. But for each memory - both good or bad, shadows will start to attack both the Unawakened and Awakened. Be careful and let the mods know if a mission goes REALLY bad.]

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Finally. Letting out a breath, Chikusa doesn't answer right away- a trait she'll have to get used to in interacting with him. Instead, he waits for the slightest signs that anything else might be lurking in the shadows... but there's nothing. Just the sound of her voice echoing off of the stage, and dark corners.

Chikusa relaxes and, as he does so, Astaroth loosens its grip around him.

Crossbow swinging down, he glances back at her again. "Right now... This is like a dream. But it's one you can't forget... So don't forget that guy, or anything you saw." His head slowly tilts to the side. "Do you understand?"

That's rather strange logic.

[Kit chuckled, leaning again back into the cushions, one arm braced along the back of the couch and one leg shifting to tuck beneath him on the sofa. He may as well get comfortable if they were going to be there a while drinking and discussing things he was pretty sure Vincent wouldn't openly discuss ordinarily.]

Why do you think that arrogance is determined by failure?

[while it may have been possible to goad Vincent into such topics while sober, he would never be so candid nor animated about them. it seemed that liquor held the secret to making him a little more amiable.]

Because if you actually do what you say you're going to, that just makes it confidence. But if you fuck up then you're a douchebag with an overblown ego.

Yui nods.

"I think having that place will be for the best."

You can succeed and still be a douchebag with an overblown ego.

[The language wasn't the sort that Kit used often, even in the past, but parroting it back at Vincent allowed for a certain emphasis his point would have otherwise lacked.]

In the same vain, you can be confident, still lose, and not be a douchebag at all.

[He finished off his third beer with one more sip, but didn't reach for a fourth, not yet.]

Arrogance is a lack of grace and tact, it is not strictly defined by success or failure, although those both do sometimes contribute as factors.

No, you'd just be braindead.

[in reference to the concept of losing while remaining confident in one's abilities. Vincent shakes his head again, waving a hand back and forth to further underscore just how wrong his companion's definition was.]

Arrogance is confusing your daydreams with reality. People can talk all the shit they like about douchebags who win, but so long as they can't do anything about it it's all just talk.

[he takes another long swig before continuing.]

Your actions are the only thing that matter in the end.

Hmm...

[As he leaned toward the table to deposit his empty beer can atop its surface and retrieve a full one, Kit thought about Vincent's response. What had happened to him that might have caused him to become so single-minded? Or had he always been that way?]

I'm afraid you've just proven my point. By your reasoning, you are indeed arrogant for having lost our most recent clash, and by my reasoning and by winning against you, I have proven that you are indeed not an exception.

[He held up a hand to halt Vincent before he could take offense.]

But that's alright. I'm not an exception, either. In fact, I posit that we are both very flawed and propose we play a game.

[A game within a game, you might say. Since they were already playing a drinking contest.]

We take turns guessing each others' flaws. And you must be honest. Do you think you're up for that?

The hand remains outstretched for a moment longer, just in case he changed his mind, before it drops gently down at his side. Kit seemed to have a habit of understating his problems in order to be less of a burden, but this time she was inclined to believe that he really was at a manageable pain level. If her intuition proved false she could always sneak a heal in later.

His words bring a soft smile to Reimi's face, but the expression doesn't last for long once the memory unpauses itself. There's no mistaking the reaction that the young Kurama's assailant evokes in his present day self, and while she makes no comment on it she certainly files it away for later.

Clearly this surly little demon had appeared in her companion's memories before. What relationship did they share in their last life, she wondered? And was this Hiei sleeping somewhere in Eddan right now?

Unfortunately she'd never know, because I play both of them.

There's a certain irony in many hands appearing again, even in the life of a completely unrelated person, and she can't help but stare at Yatsude with a particular hardness. The demons of this world really did resemble their personas in many ways. It was intriguing to contemplate the possibility of there being a connection.

By the time that Orias' counterpart was defeated Reimi found herself just as willing as Kit apparently was to leave this dreamworld. There was something immensely dissatisfying, almost wrong feeling, about Maya's fate. Who was Kurama to make such decisions for her? It chafed at her more than she'd expected it to.

None of these thoughts find their way onto her face when she turns to acknowledge her companion's request with a small nod. "Sure, whatever you want. But we should probably walk back a little first, just in case the shadows are still active."

If you'd waited for me to get up I wouldn't have lost.

[even intoxicated, even with a gesture imploring him to drop the subject, Vincent couldn't prevent himself from getting the last pigheaded word in. he'd admit his defeat, certainly, but he'd also freely admit that if just a little time had passed it likely wouldn't have been the same final verdict.

the issuance of a secondary challenge piques his interest, however, and he raises an eyebrow at Kit. he's certainly willing to play, but it doesn't seem like it would be a particularly even match...]

Not much of a game, is it? I wouldn't have to guess yours.

[Kit didn't bother to point out the fault in that line of thinking. 'Waiting' for an opponent to get up in a contest where the only rule was 'don't kill' was foolish. Had their positions been reversed, he knew Vincent wouldn't have shown him any mercy.

But he also knew that he was lucky to have been victorious. If he'd failed to act when he did...]

Then we guess whether statements about each other are true or not. I'll even begin. We'll see if you know as much as you think you do.

[He opened his beer first and wet his lips with a drink before meeting Vincent's gaze and saying...]

When I was younger, I was in an accident and pronounced clinically dead for thirty minutes before doctors were able to revive me.

[a soft 'pffft' escapes his lips at the trivia. combined with the way he rolls his shoulders, his posture practically screams too easy.]

True. [his nails tap out a meaningless tune on the side of the can.] But it wouldn't surprise me if it was for longer than half an hour.

[he'd seen the hint of scars on the other boy before, both in their first encounter and during the previous fight. combined with his wanton disregard for his own livelihood or safety, it was easy to assume that Kit had embraced death at least once before.]

Correct. Except for the last part. It was actually for a much shorter period of time: two minutes, thirty seconds. I was just an infant when it happened. I don't really know the whole story, only that my real parents were nowhere to be found then or any time thereafter.

[He shrugged, seemingly indifferent, and took another drink.]

Alright, it's your turn.

Natsu looks at the picture dutifully mostly to see the girl's skill than for anything else, but the picture looks just fine. "Nice." She admires and slips her arm from Karen's shoulder. "Good luck with your article." She does notice that the girl never takes her name which means she either already knows who Natsu is which would please Natsu, or she forgot to ask which means that Natsu won't get in trouble for calling school boring. She waves her fingers and turns back toward the front as though she's been paying attention to anything going on up there.

He takes sooooo long! Kyoko waits patiently... or not so patiently, as his thing around his shoulders settles and the crossbow is lowered and Chikusa seems to check around like he's making it stretch out!

"I can't forget or I need to not forget?" She tries to clarify when he finally says something. Her blood warms again in irritation at the memory of Shotaro. "I'm never forgetting him again. I can't believe I ever did." She starts muttering to herself about what a jerkface Sho is and how she hopes he stubs his stupid toes and gets gangrene and his foot falls off etc, completely missing the last question. And kind of forgetting she's in a dream and anyone else is with her too and you might have to interrupt her Chikusa.

That's not much of a story. Better keep lying about it.

[he points one of the fingers hanging onto his beer at Kit, surprisingly less sarcastic than usual when giving his advice. two minutes dead as a baby was about as exciting as having eaten three hundred pieces of celery.

Vincent takes another sip as he contemplates what to give as his first dubious fact. his companion's mention of parents had gotten him thinking...]

My parents think I'm dead.

[this was a bit unfair since he couldn't know with absolute certainty what they thought anymore, but it was a safe enough bet that he was willing to let it count. they might feel hopeful, but with the way he'd left...reality would have set in no matter what they prayed for.]

[Kit considered that one. Were there facts that might support it?

Not only did Vincent not attend school, but he seemed to hang around the worst parts of Hagu and, albeit not having known each other for very long, the other boy had never mentioned a family before. But none of that necessarily meant they thought he as dead. Those piercings meant he either had a guardian or connections. Knowing him, the latter seemed more likely. And given his penchant for fighting and how there had never been interference before...Kit had to believe that statement was true. It was too much like the Vincent he had come to know for it to be anything but that.]

I believe that is true. At least as far as you know. You strike me as someone who hasn't had contact with your family for a long time.

[A little like himself, come to think of it.]

[ha. well, he should have expected as much going with something so obvious. no one with halfway interested parents would allow him to do a quarter of the things he was embroiled in.]

Think it's been a little over two years by now. Bet they still haven't packed up my room.

[it would be just like them to do that, sentimental fools that they were. leave that flame of impossibility burning and create a shrine all in one, something to visit on weekends and light incense in. would they have put a picture of him up there for a proper shrine? he can't help but wonder.

it's no surprise that he downs nearly half the can of beer in a single swig immediately after.]

Your turn.

That's all? I'd expected longer.

[It wasn't judgment in Kit's voice, but genuine (if sedate) surprise. This truth meant that up until a little more than two years ago...Vincent might have been less of a handful? And if the parents he spoke of were the type to not pack up his room after he'd left, it made Kit wonder what had made Vincent go in the first place. Who ran away from their family like that? Their real family, anyway...

He sighed, stole another sip from his beer, and shook his head.

What could he lead with next?]

My greatest fear is being unable to change.

[rich only children with attitudes, that's who. he'd had his reasons for waiting as long as he had to run, none of which he reveals even in his inebriated state. might need to save those for a future factoid.

pulling apart the next challenge was far more interesting, anyway. he takes a surprising length of time before responding, seemingly giving it a serious amount of thought. eventually, however, he shakes his head.]

Nah. You're afraid that you don't want to change.

[Kit's confirmation this time was a solemn nod of his head. He hadn't expected Vincent to pick up on that fact so effortlessly, but after spending so much time together, perhaps it was only natural.]

I keep trying. And I keep falling back into old habits.

[He forced a smile and took the first deep swallow of beer he'd had for a while.]

But the kind of person I used to be...

[He shook his head and, with a wave of his free hand, dismissed that train of thought.]

Anyway, it's your go.

[in his buzzed state, Vincent hadn't even realized that the question he'd answered was meant to be challenging. his companion was someone who excelled at adaptation - change was nothing new for him. it could only be the fear of his own flagging motivation that would trouble him so much.]

Stop half-assing it, then.

[even though the advice was simple, he knew how difficult that could be. but it was the only way to smash through the thick walls of one's own psyche to become what you actually wanted from yourself. no success without heartache.]

You know who I am.

[it's sort of an oblique statement, but in his addled state he doesn't so much as doubt that Kit will figure out he's referring to his name.]

[Kit laughed softly, but the sound was wanting for genuine mirth. For the time being, no further comment was made about change. He decided that he would let that be the next thing he shared. Right after he figured out how to respond to Vincent's new question.

Was the other boy subtly indicating that he knew that Kit knew his name? Was this a test? Or did he genuinely think that he'd managed to keep his identity a secret from him all this time?

Already this game was getting more complicated than he anticipated, but there was no backing out now.]

How can I?

[Kit shook his head. He'd been careful. He'd told no one.]

You never told me your name...and I never asked.

I know.

[just the thought of his own caginess makes Vincent laugh, the sort of smug pleasure that a small child receives from being intentionally difficult. he'd done it at first out of wariness, but with the way their relationship progressed it was now simply to hassle his companion some more. knowledge was incredibly powerful between the two of them.]

But I've got a dead one, too. [he cants his head in Kit's direction.] It's Yuki.

[no one had used that name since moving to Eddan but his parents. for all intents and purposes it was dead - both to him and to the rest of the world. there was no harm in sharing that.]

[Yuki...]

I never would have guessed.

[Truth be told, the more Kit thought about it, the more he felt that Vincent's dead name didn't seem to suit him at all. He wondered as he took a deep swallow of beer, was it his parents or him that chose the American name? Had that been how Vincent had disappeared and was it the reason they thought he was dead? With a new name he would be harder to find. Especially if he steered clear of schools or other places that might demand legal documents from him.]

I'm not a good person.

That's the point.

[to this game and to burying his life with a family and in Japan. his parents had wanted reason but they'd gotten snow. he wonders idly if it was even a surprise to them when he'd run off, with the way he'd been his entire life. even his name had been a fight.]

Of course you're not. But that's not much of a secret; nobody is.

[he punctuates this matter-of-fact statement with another swig of beer, already halfway through the fourth one. it was getting harder and harder to focus on speaking clearly, but he was determined to see this through to the end.]

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APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

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