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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Why is that a problem?

[Alright, so Kit hadn't been born in Japan like Vincent, and his knowledge of the language let alone the country's cuisine, was rudimentary at best. He had spent far more time and effort learning about the occult side of things than he ever had anything else. But that didn't mean he couldn't follow a recipe, or even Vincent's instructions.

But before the other boy can think to answer his question, Kit shrugged and looked down at his food. Whether or not the alcohol was to blame or his often easygoing nature, the reply that followed was anything but combative.]

You can make it, then. I'll watch. I enjoy learning new things.

[Vincent scowls at him in between chews.]

I'm not here to teach you.

[bad enough that he'd already admitted to being able to make what he wants for himself without outside assistance. the idea of showing, step by step, that he actually possessed some skill in preparing his country's dishes was a little galling.

but was that really such a bad thing? against his better judgement he'd shown weakness in front of Kit before. nothing had ever happened. and there was a benefit to be had in the form of watching the other boy stumble and, hopefully, setting him up to make more food in the future...]

I suppose not, but what do you have to lose?

[The picture of innocence, Kit stared across the table at his guest and met that scowl without batting an eye. Vincent had given him harder looks in their short history. This was nothing worth flinching over.]

It isn't even your ingredients that will be at stake, right? And you'll get to eat something you prefer.

[he made an excellent point, damn him. the realization only served to intensify that baleful gaze even as his mind (and mouth) worked overtime. eventually Vincent came to a conclusion, although from his sullen tone it was difficult to tell if he was happy about it or not.]

You don't get any more than it takes to understand how things should taste. Got it?

[if this was going to be for his sake, then he'd take the lion's share of the finished product. that wasn't negotiable.]

Deal.

[Said Kit, absolutely knowing better than to point out how little he ate, anyway. However much a taster's test was, it would be more than enough to sate his meager appetite. But to tell that to Vincent was to be purposefully denied anything the other boy wanted to cook, and Kit's curiosity was much too great to let that happen.]

You have to help clean up after. I'll was if you dry. Does that sound fair?

We'll see.

[but he doesn't outright reject the offer, which is often as much as one could hope for when it comes to requesting anything of Vincent. the likelihood was pretty high of him honoring the agreement...so long as he wasn't reminded of it at any point before it occurred.]

[In any case, Kit seemed pleased with Vincent's response. It seemed even he had realized that the other boy's lack of blatant refusal to cooperate was as good a sign as any that things would proceed as planned. Asking for anything more than that would be asking for too much. Probably, that would be the very thing that would cause Vincent to dig his heels in and object to doing anything remotely domestic.

More important than seeing Vincent outside his element, however, was the opportunity to learn more about him. Kit's brain wasn't so addled by alcohol still that he had forgotten his original intentions by bringing out that first case of beer.]

You do know this means you'll have to come by again, right? So that I can try and make it and you can taste test.

[Vincent's own brain, for its part, was already going down the list of food that he missed the most from home. sushi and onigiri, of course, but maybe he could swing some udon as well...it was a shame that Kit didn't have the necessary equipment for some takoyaki.

he almost seems startled out of his reverie by the other boy's reminder, scowling lightly at him mid-chew.]

No shit. I'm not letting you anywhere near my apartment.

[he still needed to keep some measure of privacy in this relationship, after all. and if he was being perfectly honest, this was a far more comfortable environment than his own home. it was nice to have an excuse to crash here again.]

[Kit huffed, his smile falling away.]

I didn't even ask to see your place.

[Although, now that Vincent had mentioned it, Kit couldn't help wondering what the other boy's apartment was like. Dark, no doubt, like the rest of him, from his appearance to his ever-blistering mood. Not very welcoming either, he'd wager. And probably quite ragged. He shouldn't want to see such a place. But he did...]

You didn't have to.

[did he think that he wouldn't be able to read between the lines in that statement? or was it that unusual for people to be paying any sort of attention to what Kit was leaving unsaid? he certainly couldn't tell in his present state, so he simply waves a piece of sausage vaguely at the other boy.

truth be told, it was his roommates more than the undying need for privacy that prompted him to refuse holding this in his own home. working in a public area like the kitchen would mean that he'd be forced to keep them in check the entire time, essentially ruining any enjoyment he might have gotten from the activity. it's difficult to tell, but he shows more of himself in the company of Kit than he'd ever allow for other eyes.]

[Reflexively, Kit's hand flashed across the table to grab at the sausage being waved in his face. He wasn't really hungry anymore, but it was difficult not to respond to such teasing by stealing the offending object straight from the fingertips of the one waving it around.]

I hadn't even thought about it until you mentioned it.

[He canted his head to the side, watching Vincent with open curiosity now.]

Why don't you want me to see it? You've seen where I live.

[wow, rude. Vincent's brow furrows in dissatisfaction, his own hand reaching out to try and grab the offender's by the wrist. it honestly didn't even matter that he had two plates' worth of food remaining; it was the principle of the thing.]

Some people aren't so trusting all the time.

[it was a good excuse, anyway. sound. what argument could Kit come up with to beat that?]

[Kit hadn't quite allowed his wrist to be caught, but Vincent managed it anyway. It seemed swiftness was fleeting when he was still fighting off the lingering effects of alcohol.

Not to mention a comment like that.]

You trust me enough to come back.

[What the hell did that mean? Even Kit didn't know. But it implied that he trusted Vincent enough to let him return, too. When had that happened?

Troubled by the thought as he was, his grip on the stolen food only tightened, determined not to release it without a fight. Or some resolution to their conversation that wasn't so puzzling. Whichever came first.]

I can handle you.

[speaking of things that didn't particularly make sense, uhhhh what? what were you trying to say with that one, Vincent? it's almost impossible to tell, but he seems very sincere in his answer.

maybe it was something about being able to take him on if things turned sour for whatever reason...but honestly, that was still a tenuous sort of connection at best.

unlike Kit's grip on this sausage, apparently. he squeezes his wrist harder, shaking his hand back and forth to try and get him to drop it. come on, give in. let go already, dammit.]

[Yeah, even Kit didn't follow that one. His face said as much, too. Brows furrowing and lips pursing as the statement tried and failed to register as making any kind of sense at all.]

If that's the case, there shouldn't be a problem with me coming over sometime!

[Nope, he was absolutely not letting go! In fact, he was even fighting harder not to let his hand flop around and, if Vincent paid close enough attention, he was even trying to pull his arm back. At this rate, he'd be dragging Vincent across the table if he didn't let go. Stupid food gremlin.]

[he's drunk, alright. cut him some slack. you should be grateful that he's even able to follow the conversation and form complete sentences right now.]

You're a problem all on your own.

[annoying!!!! like right now with this stupid food bit. Vincent could absolutely feel the other boy trying to withdraw with his prize (and himself) and can't abide by the action. so he rises to meet the challenge - quite literally.

bracing himself with his free hand, he leans across the table...and shoves Kit's fingers, sausage and all, right into his mouth. if the surprise of the action doesn't prompt him to let go, his tongue will set to work almost immediately trying to worm the morsel away from the other boy's grasp. take that.]

You just got finished saying you could handle...!

[Kit didn't get to finish that thought as Vincent climbed up and leaned over the table, mouth clamping down over the sausage and his fingers both. And, as if that wasn't already enough for him to deal with, Vincent's tongue followed suit, snaking around and prodding at that meaty prize in what he could only presume was an attempt to take it back.

Why he wasn't using his teeth was beyond Kit...but he wasn't about to sit there and be slobbered all over. He made a face and, finally letting go of the meat and plucking his fingers from Vincent's mouth, wiped them across the other boy's face.

Served him right.]

[Vincent gets about half a second of delicious victory because the tools of his triumph are smeared all over his face. letting out a loud cry of disgust, he reaches up to violently bat the other boy's hand away -

only, because he's intoxicated, he completely forgets that said hand was the only thing keeping him upright on the table. before he can even realize his mistake he's tumbling over, right into Kit. really, they both had something like this coming.]

[Kit started to laugh, but before more than a loud hah could escape, the sound became startled as Vincent was suddenly close...closer...

Much too close!

...and crashing into him. Food skid across the table top and stopped precariously near the edge, but by then the legs of Kit's chair had already skit backwards. Skipped across the floor. Caught and tipped.

In an unceremonious mess of limbs, the two of them went fumbling over backwards with the furniture and crashed onto the floor, the wood rattling beneath Kit's back but otherwise breaking most of his fall, but Vincent's awkward weight atop him leaving him a bit dizzy and wanting for air.]

[this was possibly the worst thing to do after nearly inhaling fifty pounds of food in a single sitting. the world tips and spins around Vincent, his stomach somersaulting violently as if he wished to join in on the festivities. he can't help but groan softly when they slam onto the ground, the jolt to his system entirely unwelcome.

rather than attempt to extricate himself from the current situation, he shows off his stellar priorities by reaching for the closest hem of Kit's shirt and beginning to wipe his face off with it. might as well while he's waiting for things to stop imitating a carousel.]

[Kit was still for a moment, staring expectantly at the other boy, but when he didn't get off on his own and instead proceeded to be even more of a brat, Kit gave him a shove. Dumping Vincent next to him so he could push himself up on his elbows, he tried to get a look at the table and make certain too big of a mess hadn't been made.

He really didn't feel like sweeping and mopping...and it seemed, for now at least, he wouldn't have to. He was spared a disaster zone by the merciful hand of fate. Or coincidence.

A hand he did not spare Vincent which was thwacked across his head when his attention turned sharply back to the other boy.]

[Vincent grumbles at being so rudely unseated, but seems content to take the trade...right up until he gets a heavy smack across the head. that was super uncalled for, considering this was entirely the other boy's fault.

he growls lowly and then kicks out with a foot, looking to simply shove one of Kit's elbows out from underneath him rather than do any actual damage. he wasn't quite petty enough to start a full-fledged brawl over something so stupid. yet.]

[Vincent could tell himself that as much as he liked, but that wouldn't make it true. He knew his companion by now. Or he should have. Kicking Kit's arm out from under him and causing him to collapse onto his side was a surefire way to start something.

And start something it did.

Puffing up, Kit rolled over and grabbed onto the offending leg, giving Vincent a sharp tug toward him. He wasn't sure yet what he was going to do, but he assumed sitting on them and pinning them down would be a good start and would at least prevent Vincent from kicking him anymore!]

[the start of his unkind laughter is cut off sharply as he suddenly finds himself sliding across the floor. squirming and thrashing as he might, Vincent continues to slip closer and closer to his doom. unable to process any other way out of this mess, he latched onto Kit's shoulders and roughly pulled the other boy toward him.

what this was supposed to accomplish was sort of unclear. most likely it was another way to meet the challenge head on, throwing his opponent off-guard by the unexpected victory. unfortunately he didn't really have a follow up plan for that moment of vulnerability, but it was fine. he'd just improvise.]

[Alright. That had not gone as planned.

Kit hadn't braced himself to avoid being pulled forward in retaliation, but to prevent being knocked over backwards instead. Vincent was prone to lunging at his opponents, after all. That had seemed like the most likely scenario.

But he was wrong.

And that meant that when both of his shoulders were seized instead, Kit wasn't able to prevent his weight from being pulled down on top of Vincent. In fact, there was nothing he could do at all as he crashed into the other boy and they tumbled to the floor together again, nothing except throw both hands against the floor to keep their foreheads from crashing into each other.]

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