Welcome To The Village

[number_2]

Who: Everyone who was signed-up for the excursion
What: The Village December Excursion
When: Dec 1st - Dec 23rd
Where: The Village
Warnings: Involuntary capture and confinement including immobilization and restraints, violence, injury, maiming, possibility of death, torture, coercion, gaslighting, mind control, drugging, scientific experiments, and extremely inaccurate depictions of mental health facilities/hospitals, among other potentially triggering themes. Please mark all threads appropriately.




"Good morning, good morning, good morning!" A voice that sounds very similar to Friday's chirps over a loudspeaker outside your character's home. Yes, their home.

Overnight, all the passengers who signed up for this excursion have been transported to their very own personal cottages. They will awake in a bed that is familiar to them. While this home of theirs does not necessarily have to resemble the place they were born or raised, it will be a perfect replica of a place they truly thought of as their home, down to the most minute details.

The cottages are self-contained, the size of a large studio apartment so, in some cases, they may only resemble the bedroom and living room of a person's home with a shrunken-down kitchenette and bathroom adjoined. But the heirlooms of their past are here. A favorite doll? A treasured family portrait? Trinkets you have long forgotten about? All of them will be here, somehow. (All except for weapons, that is.) They are indistinguishable from the real item, down to the molecule.

After that wake-up call, the voice continues on to express that the weather will be warm and sunny, with no rain forecasted. A brass band concert is announced, to start at noon on the lawn next to the living chess set. And once that bit of news is wrapped up, lively marching band music will begin to play. And it will continue to play. All day. From every speaker...including the ones hidden in their home.

Welcome to Your Village

It only gets stranger from here. Characters may be dismayed to find that they are without any of their original clothes or belongings. They awake in conservative button-up pajamas. The closet in their home is full of the latest Village Fashion to choose from. Everything is The Village label brand, including the tin cans of food that stock the kitchen and any of the groceries you could get at the General Store.

Your ship phone rings. When you answer it, you will be greeted, once again, by the voice of Friday. "Your number, please? Of course, you have a number. Look at your badge." If they look down at their chest, they will discover a small round number badge has been pinned to their pajamas. Was that there before? It bears the symbol of a Penny-farthing Bicycle, with a number in the spokes. This is their number.

"No names here," the voice of Friday chides, "Only numbers. Number 2 would like a word with you at the Green Dome. He requests you come for breakfast. Thank you!" Before they can protest further, the line goes dead.


Some Notes:

No matter how many times your character tries to take off and disregard their number badge, they will always find it re-attached to their clothes again the moment they look away and look back.

Your characters still have their phones but now they can only make calls instead of sending texts. They also do not take or store photographs anymore.

If your character destroys or damages anything in their home, or in The Village it will instantly repair the way things used to on the Serena Eterna.

The noise from the speakers can be muffled by covering it with pillows or other creative items, but cannot be stopped entirely. (Sorry Phil)

Comments

the door falls off its hinges... j/k

[number_2]

So far, there's no sign of any trap. They've entered into a strange room tinted sickly green with vaulted ceilings. It's empty right now except for a desk that looks very similar to the one Number 2 uses.

A few moments after they open the door, there comes a--by now--familiar mechanical whirring sound. Out of a hole in the floor rises a chair behind the desk. In that chair is an unfamiliar man wearing a badge that reads 82. His eyes widen behind round spectacles when he sees them. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

leaving the next roll to zen o/

[neverleave]

Thr whirring sound is alarming, but there's no time - or place - to hide before the man in the chair appears.

The only choice is to lie.

"I'm sorry," he says in a polite, yet clearly confused tone, "but we were told to come after hours. Right, Number 11?"

\o/

[myagic]

Of course she notices the way he covers the doorway. Oh, sweet Natsuno. And here she wants to do her best to protect his well-being. Luckily, it looks like he's not in danger at the moment, and Rita steps up alongside him to see the bewildered man.

Right. Time to re-use something like the act they had to put on in Bad Old Jade's memory (not to be confused with New Good Dead Dad Jade).

Rita closes the door behind them and puts her hands on her hips, nodding. "Number 14's right. We're here on Number 2's request. Surely you knew we were coming, didn't you?" She stares straight at Number 82 in as intimidating a fashion as she can.

(16)

[number_2]

"Told to come after hours?" The man sounds incredulous. "That's highly irregular. No, I wasn't told." Her intimidating demeanor seems to be doing the trick, though, because he worries at his bottom lip with his teeth.

"What did Number 2 send you to do? I've made no mistakes, I'm sure of it. Am I being relieved of duty?"

[neverleave]

Rita's actually managed to scare this guy. Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised - the way things are around here, even scrawny teenagers are a potential threat. They can use this paranoia.

"We were told we ought to see how things are done," Natsuno replies, still impeccably polite, the good cop to Rita's bad cop. No comment on whether Number 82 is to be relieved of duty - let him wonder about that. If he's truly made no mistakes, surely it'll be fine!

Natsuno approaches the table. "Will you show us around?" The chair came from somewhere.

(19)

[myagic]

The man is an extremely far cry from Jade, that's for sure. (In the back of her mind, she wishes again that he was here. It's been near-constant the last week or so.)

Anyway, it is of course also thanks to Natsuno's excellent poker face--he's impressive as always, Rita thinks as she steps up alongside him. "And make it sooner rather than later, already."

[number_2]

"W-well..." the man stutters, his eyes darting between the two of them. "If that's what Number 2 wants. I... suppose you better follow me."

He motions them both to step forward. There are faint circular outlines on the floor in front of the desk.

"Stand here," he motions to them to stand within the circle. "Don't be alarmed, it's perfectly safe. I'll lower you down."

If neither of them tells him to stop, he will click in a few buttons and cause the floor beneath all three of them to lower together. They will soon find themselves in a dimly lit tunnel system.

"Where did Number 2 tell you to go again?"

[myagic]

Rita's main goal is to keep close to Natsuno--to make sure he doesn't do anything too reckless and get himself in trouble, and to prevent him from doing anything that could endanger this realm if she has to. She knows it will take time for him to come around to wanting to stay here, so better not to push it just yet and make him suspicious, as much as it hurts to keep so much from him...

Oh, right, this guy's still talking as they end up in the tunnels below. "Patrolling," she answers curtly. It's such a pain to have to try and not be suspicious to either of them, but she cares far less whether or not Number 82 believes her. "In case anybody gets the bright idea to sneak around."

[number_2]

"Sneak around? After curfew?" Number 82 looks like he can't imagine anyone doing something so disorderly. The scandal.

"I suppose some still have little respect for the rules, even here. Very well. Number 2 gave you the passcode for the Rovers, I assume?"