MarinaNova Asylum

[ those forced required to attend the IDENTITY CRISIS therapy group find themselves directed to a back room of the library. there are snacks and beverages located against one wall, another table on the opposite side with a stack of mirrors, and a circle of chairs in the middle -- otherwise, the room is quite barren. perhaps to prevent those in attendance from getting too distracted... ]

An identity crisis is a time in life when an individual begins to seriously look for answers about the nature of his or her being and the search for an identity. Most teens go through periods of defiance against parental figures and other authorities. Though kids may make extremely poor choices when they choose to defy their parents, they are often participating in a deep exploration of self that will help them determine what they will do and who they will be as they enter adulthood. However, this crisis is not restricted to adolescence and the emergence into adulthood. It can occur at any time, and many people label the midlife crisis as a crisis of identity. Some people find their values, choices, or paths inappropriate after major life changes, such as divorce. Furthermore, nations and communities can suffer these crises, too, as they grow or respond to major changes. Allowing an identity to emerge before making important decisions or changes seems psychologically sound.

INTRODUCTIONS
Who are you? Who do you think you are? Who are you supposed to be? Who are you really? Discuss if you find yourself uncomfortable answering any of these questions. Elaborate on why you may find that you cannot answer them.

MIRROR EXERCISE
Look into the mirror. Who do you see? Is it who you expected to see? If not, share who you want to be able to see when you look at your reflection.

WHEN AND WHERE
Where were you when you began to question your identity? What were you doing? Was there a particular moment or event that sparked this questioning? Discuss and share.

[You'll find the Murderers Anonymous group in one of the rooms at the Education Center. Snacks and drinks are provided. Chairs are set up in a circle in the center of the room. The door will be kept shut for privacy.]

[Paper and pencils and materials are provided on tables throughout the room. Feel free to move around.]

Warm Up
- How do you feel today? Circle all that apply. Why do you feel the way you do? Pick some other other emotions on the chart and discuss those. ("I feel angry when...", "It makes me happy when...")

Activities
- Fold a piece of paper in half. On one side, draw a representation of the part of you that is dangerous, violent, or evil. On the other side, draw a representation of the part of you that is kind, nurturing, and good. Share the result. Explain why you drew what you did and how you feel about each aspect of yourself.
- Silhouette Collage - Make a silhouette of yourself and fill your head with whatever is going on in your brain. What do you think about? What do you like? Dreams. Fears. Hopes.

Exercise
- Write your own eulogy. What would you want to read at your funeral if you were to die tomorrow?
- Write a eulogy for someone who has died/could have died as a result of your actions.

Discussion
- Discuss this paraphrased quote from Elie Wiesel: "Violence is a form of communication for a person who fails to find words." What are you trying to communicate?
- What are your views of death and the afterlife? What happens to us after we die?
- Do you have any regrets? Things you would take back, do again differently...
- Do you feel murder is justifiable? Explain your position.

---

((OOC: Feel free to add in your own activities or prompts! Info.))

[This group therapy session takes place in an appropriately-sized study room in the Education Center. There is one large oval table for everyone to sit at, and a smaller snack table off at the side.]

[The session is divided into two parts.]

PART ONE: Mourning Yourself
Discussion
— Did you harbor any regrets before your death? And if so, is there anything you can do for them with your newfound time?
— Do you know how you died? How did you learn? Did you arrive near-death, or did you hear about it from a friend? How do you feel about the particular details of it?
— Who or what killed you? Have you forgiven it or them? Why or why not?
— Is there anything you wish you could change? Why? Discuss.

Activities
— Write your own obituary or eulogy. Once you've read it out loud, you'll be invited to burn it with a bot-offered candle. (The bot will not hand over the candle.)
— Picture yourself attending your own funeral. When it's your turn to pay your respects to yourself, what would you say? What thoughts occur to you?
— Write a letter to at least one of your loved ones. What would you say about your death to them?

[After this, there is a break. Coffee and tea are provided, along with both savory and sweet snacks. You're still not allowed to leave, though.]

PART TWO: Moving Forward
Discussion
— What dreams and hobbies did you have before? Can you pursue them now?
— Discuss what your previous goals were. What are similar things you can do to achieve them here?
— What kinds of relationships have you made, or would kinds would you like to have?

Activities
— Write down your plans for your future. Partner up and discuss them in-depth to flesh them out better.
— Come up with a daily routine, emphasizing your interests. Refer to others to help you find relevant resources or activities.
— Draw yourself 5, 10, or 25 years from now. Share it with a partner or the group.

-
((OOC: You're also welcome to come up with any of your own activities/therapeutic discussion topics! Everything offered here is just a starting point.))

[The Post-Traumatic Stress Group is being held in Trois Park—a particularly relaxing corner of the park has been outfitted with comfortable seats arranged in a circle, with hot soothing drinks and filling comfort snacks right on hand. There are also pillows and weighted blankets. Very soft and slow harp music plucks away from somewhere.]

[After characters are invited to introduce themselves and then to spend 5 minutes doing a focused breathing exercise, there are a variety of activities in store for those attending the group. Everyone is strongly encouraged to share their work.]

Journaling
There are personalized journals with the names of all mandatory attendees on them, but there are unlabeled extras. Inside each one are pages with writing prompts and blanks for free journaling. Prompts include...
— How are you feeling right now? How would you like to feel?
— Do you have nightmares about the event? Are they the same as your memories, or different? Compare any differences and consider why they may be that way.
— Write as much about the traumatic event(s) as you can. Use as much or as little space as you wish.
— Identify what triggers the worst reactions to your trauma. How do you cope? Do you think your coping techniques are healthy or unhealthy? How can you change them for the better?

Art Therapy
There is a list of prompts including the following...
— Draw or paint a scene that gives you peace. Feel free to be as specific or vague as you wish.
— Using the craft supplies, put your feelings into a tangible form and explain the symbolism you've chosen to the group.
— Attempt to express the trauma or a great fear you have because of it. Draw, paint, sculpt, create a diorama.
— Draw or paint a portrait of yourself, emphasizing your good traits.

Partner Discussion
Settle in with your choice of comfort foods/blankets to chat. Everyone is given topics to discuss, including...
— Is it easy or hard to talk about what happened to you? Why?
— Do you blame yourself or feel guilt? Explain why.
— Do you have anyone who you can talk to about it? Help each other identify possible allies in your life or within the group.
— Discuss any topics or situations you usually avoid, and why.

-
((OOC: You're absolutely welcome to come up with your own prompts and ideas, too! These are just meant as a starting point. Jump in and have fun!))

[The Loss/grieving therapy group was directed to the pet cafe. There are treats for humans and animals alike as well as activities to keep you busy and sharing and growing.]

Animal therapy
Talking about painful things is always easier when buried under kittens.

Inkblots
You look at them and discuss of course!
[Examples: A and B (Don't worry about actually taking that test.) Use any inkblot you find or make up!]


Game
There will be a handout with the following instructions:
Go through the alphabet with a partner, taking every other letter. Come up with a word that starts with your letter which you associate with someone or something you miss and explain what it means to you. [Example: (you) A — Apples — Dad always peeled his apples first, but then he'd eat the peel too. (partner) B — Baseball — My dog had this ratty old baseball he took everywhere. He always slept with his head on top of it.]

Card prompts
There's a table full of cards to get conversations started.
— Finish the sentence: "Today, my grief feels like..."
— Finish the sentence: "Today, I'm really missing..."
— List 5 things you don't miss about what you lost.
— What is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning?
— What would you say if you had the chance to speak with someone you've lost again?
— What do you think they would tell you they want for you?
— Name 3 things you will do to fill your time and the void left behind.
— And many more...

(OOC: Don't let these prompts limit you. Be creative, if you want a different kind of prompt or activity then run with it! It's fine if your ideas require additional supplies too. This is everyone's post. Mingle! INFO)

[Welcome to the Family Issues group therapy located in a room at the education center. There are tables, chairs, prompts and various supplies along with food and beverages and a bot to keep an eye on things. Enjoy!]

Photos
There are family member photos everywhere. Make sure to use them to prompt conversations.

Roleplaying exercise
There is a hand out that explains roleplaying each other's key relatives including:
— Tell the person how you feel and what you needed from them.
— Express frustration/anger with the foam bats provided.
— Hug it out.

Game
There's a poster with the following instructions.
Word associations: start with a word that makes you think of family and then go back and forth with a partner, occasionally stopping to discuss what the words represent.

Card prompts
There's a basket of cards to get conversations started.
— What do you think of when you think of family?
— Who are you closest to in your family and why do you think that is?
— Who are you most distant or confrontational with in your family and why do you think that is?
— Have you lost a family member? What happened?
— What is your earliest memory?
— What was your childhood like?
— What sort of stressors were there in the family? (Separation, divorce, moving, loss of job, births, deaths, abuse)
— And many more...

(OOC: Don't let these prompts limit you. Be creative, if you want a different kind of prompt or activity then run with it! It's fine if your ideas require additional supplies too. This is everyone's post. Mingle! INFO)

[This was new. Things like this never happened to Trowa. Emotions were practically a foreign world, one that he couldn't really navigate on his own. Short of using a book or some sort of search device to search "what does x mean", he didn't have much of a way to figure it out on his own.

This is what lead Trowa to start the video looking into it as it sat in front of him. As usual, he looked calm and collected. However, those who knew him well enough might know that there was a look akin to confusion in his eyes. Even his cat seemed to know something was odd as she had hopped up in his lap and sat purring as he lightly pet her on the head]

Something... odd happened a few days ago. I was a friend of mine and I got this odd feeling. I... I'm not sure what it means. I'm not even sure the best way to start describing it. I guess I felt kind of... warm being around this person.

Does anyone have any idea what this might have been?

[He's being deliberately vague about when this happened and who this happened with]

|Open Action|

[he emerges from Sector Six a bit worse for the wear, torn and stained clothes and a rather mangled communicator. It took some time and effort to get it working properly after the flood, leaving him lost in the sector for several days - not that it was an entirely unenjoyable experience. In fact, he may have remained there a bit longer than was unavoidable, exploring, and for that reason he's feeling a little bit guilty. His sister Verity surely must have worried... (and it's a strange thing, that every time today he's called her his sister Ikol has expressed irritation and refused - or perhaps been unable - to explain why)

He makes a detour to a clothing store before he heads to their shared apartment, hoping to find something more presentable]


|Closed Action - to Verity Willis|

[now less grubbily attired, he approaches his and Verity's apartment with no small amount of caution - but he puts on a brave face as he opens the door]

Verity! I have returned, most victorious, to tell a wonderful tale as incredible as it is true... of a deep and treacherous wood, great floating rocks, and of perilous danger narrowly yet thoroughly avoided!

[ The Wardens would mess with everybody on the day of Haruka's driving class. This makes teaching motorbikes rather complicated, as Haruka is currently leaving a trail of roses sprouting in her wake everywhere she goes. She'd hoped that if she took her feet off the ground it'd stop, but it doesn't seem to be bound to commonsense measures like that.

So come along, anyone interested in motor scooters! Bring yourself however you are. Just don't drive directly behind the teacher. That would turn into a lesson on emergency evasion fast. ]

What a farce.

[ Maybe they should cancel? ]

["Secret secrets are no fun, secret secrets hurt someone."

Today, secrets will be a little less secretive than usual.]

action
[One thing Verity knew for sure was the greeting she received when she woke up wasn't a lie. Verity couldn't even say that waking up in prison was the strangest thing that's happened to her since Loki came into her life, in fact, between breaking Sigurd out of Asgard' dungeon and Doom locking Loki away, prisons seemed to be becoming a pretty common thing. Not that that it any easier.

Figuring out the communicator wasn't too difficult, after consulting the map provided she started making her way to one of the clothing stores listed. The jumpsuit at least was a problem she could solve in her own.]

video
[Taking advantage of the lush and abundant lifestyle advertised, Verity waited until she had found a bar and a glass of wine before turning on the video feed.]

So did anyone else miss their trial or was that just me?

[She pauses, not sure if she really wants to know the answer to this next question just yet.]

Also does anyone know if someone named Loki is here?

[Ianto looks tired and not necessarily alright but very much alive. The suit is a little too crisp, too precise, like he spent too long in the mirror this morning trying to look normal. The same thing can be said for his tone of voice; he sounds functional, but a bit like he's trying too hard. Mostly he's just not in the mood to deal with any sort of emotional responses from other people but he feels like he has a responsibility to say yes, hello, I'm alive and apparently we can't die here anymore, also there's a prisoner here with us very willing to torture people to find that out. So then, deep breath, let's get this over with.]

Sorry for all the trouble. I'm alright. [He is very much not alright but he's always been one to lie about that sort of thing.]

[Locked to Defense Force]

I'll get details written up when I can, and answer any questions you might have now. I imagine there may be a few.

[Private to Nico]

Hello, I know we haven't actually met but Jack described your powers to me after you helped him with Spike's soul and I thought it might be worth speaking to you. If it's an imposition I understand.

[Plink, plink, plink.

Flashing lights. Beeps, clicks, spinning, clacking.

The sun isn't up, but it makes everything glitter all the more starkly. Find a table or a machine or a buffet and make yourself comfortable.

What happens in the Marina casino stays in the Marina casino.

Plink, plink, plink.]

(OOC: Casino Night information)

[ Audio | Action ]

[ Boy, did this bring back memories. Not bad ones. What he can remember of the Lotus Casino was pretty good, actually, outside of the euphoric haze that kept him and his sister from ever wanting to leave. And they didn’t – and seventy years slipped away. You can learn a lot in that time, even with the time folded down so it only felt like a month. With his memories washed away, that casino had been the only thing he knew.

He shuffles a deck of cards as he wanders around, sometimes stopping to pull the lever on a slot machine. Bianca never really let him gamble (but he totally did. What she didn’t know…) He makes a crucial decision. ]

I don’t hate this.

[ Here we have a man, a tall dark handsome man if he got to say so himself. Walking around the dome in the afternoon and wondering what the world had gotten to.

Facilier had heard the morning announcement and he had not liked it at all. He was a man of class and he had heard none of those weird names for exercise.


He will be around all the different sectors today, except for sector six of course. And he will be in a bad mood because he knows what the art of burlesque has turned into.

[April looks bored, because she always looks bored.]

If I don't get to see someone being hit in the face with a pie today, I'm going to be very disappointed in all of you.

Video
[a boy, about thirteen, directs a strained smile at the camera]

Dome denizens! I feel a certain amount of what I believe mortals call 'deja vu'... I have been subjected, once more, to a fate worse than death! The Orange Jumper of Doom. [he tugs distastefully at the collar. He knows where the clothing stores are of course, but everything's so out of sorts he feels the need to make contact and find out what's going on]

Action]
[anyone wandering in Sector 3 might find him leaning against one of the willow trees in an attempt to look casual and lazy but really because he's terribly dizzy. He's keeping an eye out for danger though, glancing up from the video feed semi-frequently]

(( ooc: EVENT INFO! Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary, Marina Nova!

The bots have been busy cleaning up the dome and setting up decorations for this momentous occasion, and by now there isn't a nook or cranny left un-pimped! Bright blue MarinaNova flags wave happily in the artificial breeze together with the colorful ribbons that have been wrapped around poles. The streets are illuminated by strings of lights and paper lanterns and each sector gate has been lovingly decorated with fragrant flower garlands.

Of course, that is far from all! There wouldn't be much of a festival without entertainment and your loving wardens have made absolutely sure that there's something for everyone!

( Let the celebrations begin! )

Enjoy!

[in one of the classrooms, all the desks have been cleared away. Those who are invited (or who choose to attend) will find several pillows arranged in a circle on the floor, so that everyone can sit facing one another at more or less equal height.

There is a list of suggestions on the white board:

What did you used to do that you now think of as bad?
How long has it been since you stopped being bad?
What actions have you taken to avoid being bad?
Have you ever interacted with someone who you treated wrongly in the past? If so, describe the experience.
Explain to the group what made you realize your actions were wrong.
Discuss the role of guilt in your decision to change your ways.
Describe an action you regret having taken.]