Peace and Serenity

[strangerpeople]

[Dying hurts doesn't it? Feeling such horrible pain as you realize that you're breathing your last moments. It makes someone wonder about what would be waiting for them in the beyond. Some would say there is an afterlife and it would depend on how you acted that decides where you will stay for the rest of eternity. But is it fluffy clouds and wings or pitchforks and brimstone? Will you remember anything that was once missing?

Not in your case. There's no clouds or fire nor any of your missing memories restored. Ain't that a bitch.

When you come to, you will be lying on a futon and tucked in like you had fallen asleep there all long. You will also notice that your clothes have been replaced with simple cotton shirts and trousers (for both men and women, hey we feel the ladies can wear pants too!) for better movement. But in Vita's case, probably a blessing considering. But something will stick out about yourselves: any wounds you had on you are now gone and healed. The room itself is simple with a couple floor lamps, a floor length mirror, a window, and a dresser but there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary-wait, a window?

Yes, there is one and when you look out of it, it's sunny. Not only that but there are signs of trees and a river flowing around where you are at. So there are two big things that you will now realize: This is most definitely not near the Base

And...you're not alone.]





(OOC: Welcome to Deadland everyone! This is the overall mingle log for Round 3 and due to the nature of it, this will be a bit more relaxing than the game itself. And since the setting is different from the Base, here are the places where your characters will be able to go to:

EXTERIOR:

-The Temple: Your place of residence for the duration. Unlike the Base which is constantly in a strange futuristic setting, this has the feel of a much simpler time.

-Outhouse: Where you can go to the bathroom. There's only one but thankfully it's actually got plumbing. Just a toliet and sink to clean up once you're done with your business.

-Baths: Or rather one bath. Not many folks live here after all. However, the tub is large enough to fit several people and and there is a box where soap and shampoo is stored.

-River: This river seems to be where a lot of folks like to wash up on. It's really weird according to the one who is living here.

-Pink Pond: ...no seriously, there is some weird pond in the back of the temple with a pink colored something. Are you brave enough to take a dip or a taste?

-Vegetable Garden: A large plot of land behind the temple is reserved for growing various vegetables. You have the normal kinds such as eggplants and carrots and celery but then there's smaller trees that grow warm bread and al dente noodles. We are not joking. And they are delicious.


INTERIOR

-Strangers' Room: This is a large room where the Strangers will be sleeping in throughout their stay. There is a dresser large enough for storing things if they wish to do so but it's mainly for extra clothing. The beds here are not bunks but rather the futons they will wake up on. It's easily foldable and there's no set spaces where you are able to sleep. And yes, both men and women will be sharing this room so I hope you kids have some manners and try not to peep on the other like a bad harem anime trope.

-Kitchen: 'Rustic'...is one way to describe it. But hey, at least there's an ice box to keep things frozen, counters to chop things up, tools to do cooking in, a sink with plumbing, and a fire burning stove. Just clean up after your mess, no one wants to disappoint the person living here.

-Hallway Closet: A walk in closet where extra futons, blankets, and towels are stored. Nothing fancy.

-Locked Room: ???

-Pink Bedroom: Someone lives here and would appreciate it that no one snoops through her things.

-Main Hall: A large room that also works for meetings and gatherings. And for fighters, a good place for sparring. There's several wooden poles for training but that seems to be it.

Enjoy your stay, Strangers!)

Comments

WEEK 3 (End)

[strangerpeople]

[Welcome Seto and Naoya.]

[stealsyourduelist]

[Rosenkreuz stirs with buzzing still in his head, shivers through to his bones. The pain of death is still fresh in his mind, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was Naoya's fucking foot... so when he sees him over to the side, asleep, he's hit with a rush of incredulous rage that spurs him to stand and walk over there. After glowering down at him for a hot second, he swings a rough kick at his side.]

Up, cowardly vermin! Even a nightmare is too kind for you now.

[But he will graciously let him absorb just that kick while he decides how badly he's gonna kick his ass.

AFTER THAT HE'LL BE IN THE GARDEN OR SOMETHING. SAY HELLO.]

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya wakes up with a groan, curling in on himself a bit from the kick and holding his head. This... doesn't feel like a new body. And these clothes don't feel like what he was wearing. And he's never had an afterlife, just waking up and another cycle of life.]

[But his head still hurts and his side still hurts, and his body twitches a little with the memory of being electrocuted. He's been badly burned by electricity before... and then his brain catches up a bit and he realizes exactly who kicked him.]

[Naoya forces a pained smile.]

Well, hello there.

[stealsyourduelist]

['SAY HELLO' WAS HONESTLY DIRECTED AT THE OTHER RESIDENTS... but]

Yes yes. How lovely to see you again.

[Since that at least means they caught the right person. But as far as Rosenkreuz is concerned Naoya doesn't really deserve to smile either, so maybe he'll just try to step on that face next.]

[crouching_sin]

[It was more what he'd say anyway.]

[But he'll roll out of the way, throwing a futon pillow at his face.]

Are we really doing this again?

[stealsyourduelist]

Squirming off, worm?

[He easily blocks the pillow - that's most of what he's been training for this past week, after all.]

'Twas over too fast, for you.

[If he could duel, maybe he'd demand satisfaction that way. But right now, this is all he's got. He's just going to keep following him with attacks. Maybe even use extra feet this time if that'll pin him more easily... he'd eventually like to proceed to punching him in the face, but we're going beat by beat here.]

[illusionarymelody]

[So Vita pretty much decided earlier to give the boys their space to duke it out because boys will be boys and she knows very well how they tend to communicate with fists rather than words even if she never quite understood that herself.

So she just decides to go about her business and figures she'll find the new arrivals at some point. So right now she arrives in the garden meaning to gather some vegetables for a meal.]

I'd say good to see you again, but I doubt you want to be here any more than I do. Still I can at least offer a tour and tell you what Akira and I have found out so far.

[Her voice seems a bit hesitant, like she's trying to figure out what sort of reaction he's going to have. They were on decent enough terms, but that could have changed in a week. Plus she doesn't know yet if he was the victim or culprit or what even happened.]

[stealsyourduelist]

[Rosenkreuz glances up from the blossoming eggplants. Well, he doesn't really trust anyone here, all things considered. Rosenkreuz can at least give her credit for not choosing him as her victim, so he guesses she'd be as good of a temporary ally as any. It's also not a surprise she and Akira are working together given the contents of her letters, whenever he got around to noticing their existence. Could she have known it would be advantageous still to maintain a good relationship after death? He doesn't know, but he'll play along nevertheless.]

... That would be much appreciated, miss. I'm afraid we wound up in the same boat.

[On too many levels really. Why is it always when they're naked?]

[illusionarymelody]

[She didn't know, but she was a bit less bitter about dying since she knew that was a potential result and her death was pretty quick, just humiliating. From the same boat remark, she's now guessing he was the victim too. She's not going to venture to think he was killed naked too.]

You can call me Vita. I'm truly sorry that it had to happen again, but not surprised. I'd also like to hear if the rest of you learned anything new and how the others are doing.

[stealsyourduelist]

Ah, I do remember, Vita... [He was just calling her miss to be extra polite (and betray less suspicions.) Then again he just ran around calling her THE AZURE DIVA during the case because actually using people's extra af titles just feels like the natural thing to do.]

But 'tis not you who must be sorry. [He gives a very serpentine smile. People might want to make sure one or both of them is accompanied in their future time here...]

We learned several things, some that seem immediately relevant, and others that do not. It's hard for me to say if the others are fine now after my trial, but if winding up in this place means anything, I can guarantee at the least that they caught the scoundrel.

[crouching_sin]

[After that whole... incident... Naoya peels off to try to avoid Rosenkreuz for a bit. He heads out to the garden, and then starts wandering around. He's restless, and all of this is... disturbing. There's too many implications, here.]

[He finally sits down at the bank of the river, checking that there's no one around him, before pulling his knees into his chest and letting out a few long, shaky breaths.]

[This isn't okay. He should be in another body, another life... he can handle this, but dealing with dying - if he even really did - is going to take some time.]

[beguiledcard]

[ He'd needed a moment, too... maybe.

Akira hasn't made a point of giving himself one, since he got here. Instead, he's stayed so busy with house chores and distracting himself, he probably avoided letting himself feel much at all over it.

In any case... he's eventually heading straight over to speak with Naoya. He doesn't say anything at first - he just... quietly sits down next to him, his own expression not quite readable. ]

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya isn't all that surprised to see Akira approach. He doesn't say anything, not for a bit - he just watches the water flow past. He lets out a long breath, closing his eyes.]

I did try to stay alive, you know.

[beguiledcard]

[ Silence is something he's gotten used to, especially these days. Back home, there had been plenty of times where silence was unspoken mandatory. Here? It's just something that naturally happens. Yet, in this specific moment... it just feels heavy. He doesn't even realize it, but his hands are curling into fists - fists that tremble a tiny bit, the second he hears Naoya speaking.

And, when his own voice finally breaks free, it's just the tiniest bit strained, a painful lump in his throat surfacing with the fourth word: ]

What was the motive?

[ It's asked before he has a chance to think much on the question. ]

[illusionarymelody]

[Well, Vita can understand him being restless. This place may be nicer than the base, but they are still technically trapped here until they can figure out a way home and she's not going to accept going home without freeing the others. She definitely prefers to be outside and does tend to walk along the river a lot because she's trying to figure out what link it may have to the base. If they arrived via the river, there must be a place they came from and even with fast currents, it can't be that far. Yet she's found little to explain where they entered the river.

Well, as she's walking trying to think about what she's missing here she sees Naoya. Well, at least he's one who is likely to care much about what she did beyond her choosing Akira as a target.]

I admit, I'm surprised to see you here.

[crouching_sin]

[He smiles a little bit as he sees her approach. He hadn't disliked Vita, which is more than he can say for some people. He leans back slightly, looking up at her.]

Well, I hadn't exactly planned on showing up. This isn't what usually happens when I die.

[illusionarymelody]

Actually, I'm more surprised that you would be swayed by those incentives. But truly, I'm more interested in knowing about anything the rest of you learned and how the others are holding up since we have no way of knowing what is going on there.

[She remembers their discussion. Naoya did have an enemy to fight, but he was also confident in his skills, but Rosenkreuz said it was a play for power. That doesn't make sense, but she's also not going to press if it's uncomfortable.]

Exploration and stuff!

[illusionarymelody]

[So after Naoya and Rosenkreuz told her about the weird things that match up between the base and the temple, Vita has an idea and is on a mission. She's going to try and send a message via the pink pond. It probably won't work, but she has to at least try.

She's going to try to obtain a bottle or some other small container that can be sealed, paper, something to write with, and something to weigh down the container.. Feel free to come upon her during her search or help out.

Afterwards, she's going to head to the bath and hope very much it isn't occupied. She just really wants some alone time and the bath is so nice.]

[strangerpeople]

[And the container...sinks to the bottom of the pond.

Bring the bottle up after an hour or so?]

[illusionarymelody]

[Sure, anything different? Besides being all covered in ice cream?]

[strangerpeople]

[Nope! Congrats, you now have a bottle coated with delicious strawberry ice cream!]

????

[macherieneutre]

[It's nighttime and the temple area is quiet for the moment...until Kerri decides to make her presence known a bit more loudly than normal. It doesn't matter where any of the Strangers are because she will call to them. Even if you are in the baths, she'll call outside of it because she doesn't need to see any more naked people; she's already seen at least two of you without clothes. But it's the same line no matter where you are:]

Hey! Something really big has shown up further down towards the Neutral Zone's border! Does anyone want to come with me to take a look?

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya's not sleeping. It's not like he has any real need to right now... or desire to.]

[But at the sound of someone calling, he gets up from where he was sitting just outside the temple. ... Ah. This must be Kerri.]

I'll go. What sort of 'something'?

[illusionarymelody]

[Well, Vita finished her earlier bath (and likely disposing of the contents of that bottle), so she's dressed and hears.]

I'd love to come take a look. Should we bring anything with us just in case?

[macherieneutre]

It's THIIIIS big!

[Have you ever seen a child try to describe a large object by widening their arms? That's what she is doing despite not being a kid.]

Hmm, maybe some rope just in case, there should be some by the garden.