[While others are at the party, Saya's going to take advantage of the time to train. With people occupied maybe she can use her full strength without worrying. Li-- Hei promised to meet her, but she doesn't wait for him. Better to spend her time warming up.]

[At first glance the dojo might seem empty, but watch out -- that blur flying past you is Saya, and that flash is her very sharp katana. She moves silently, impossible to follow with human eyes except as a motion trail, filling the hall with soft thuds as she kicks off walls and ceilings. Finally she lands, dead center, katana slicing through the empty air in front of her. She doesn't move for a moment, but there's a drip-drip-drip. It's blood that's trickling down her blade, through grooves carved into her sword and off onto the mats.]

[Saya pauses, glancing at the sound, her eyes losing their eerie red glow -- and gasps. Then she grabs a towel and starts frantically cleaning up.]

Ohhh... I didn't even realize I did that! What a mess...

Good morning, everyone! [This morning, it isn't Acumen's disembodied voice greeting you: it's a video post of a smallish robot, sitting on the grass and playing idly with a cat on its lap. And it sounds -- unusually happy, perhaps.] My name is Sentience, for those of you who do not know me. I am now the warden of this facility.

I would like to extend my thanks to those of you who helped me to correct this situation. I would like to encourage all of you to sleep in today -- you're probably exhausted, and you have more than earned the rest. I have arranged for a party, as I believe I indicated I would; a banquet this evening at the shelter.

Please rest assured that I have every intention of making your lives here as positive an experience as I can. To that end... I will be answering any questions I can that you may have for me, and I will take any requests or suggestions that you may have in altering the way this facility is run, to make it a better place where you could live more happily.

Let's see... There are no completed requests in the queue. Today it will be cool again, and... New inmates will be arriving! So please be aware of that disruption to your daily events.


((OOC: For those of you who participated in the plot, you once again woke up in your own beds this morning, but this time everything was just as normal, except for the fact that as Sentience indicated, you are extremely tired. Characters who did not participate in the plot will have no idea that anything happened, and will have to learn about it the normal way! You may video or voice reply to this post, and you may threadjack anything. Despite the video, Sentience is not anywhere you would be able to find it in the dome.))

[[Open to participants at the end of Round One!]]


[You wake up suddenly, and you're not where you were. But looking around, you find you're in... your own room. Your own bed. It's dark and quiet, late at night, and any friends and roommates you might have are there with you, still sleeping, or just waking up.]

[But something is wrong.]


((OOC: This mingle will function the same as the last mingle. Sentience will make a "prompt" comment for each new development, and then you respond to them and thread amongst each other. In this mingle you start out separated, so you are also welcome to use your communicators to video or voice chat with each other in response to each prompt comment. But you are only capable of speaking to other people who are in this mingle; you cannot hear, speak to, or communicate with anyone who isn't taking part in the event. So don't tag any other action or network posts on the community if you're in the event!))

[Late afternoon in Sector 3, a slightly-built robot, different from the many that wander the facility, has gathered with a few of the inmates in front of the movie theater.]

[They're planning a party, or so they say.]

[...Within an hour they break away and head to an unremarkable, sealed building towards the dome wall of Sector 3. And then Sentience's party disappears inside it and they are not seen or heard from again for the rest of the day.]


((OOC: The first event mingle. Do not respond to the post itself! Sentience will make several comments over the next few hours. Each comment is a separate prompt, describing the action that's just happened and which is happening. Comment to a "prompt" comment to set your character in the mingle, so that other characters can tag you there! If you want to tag Sentience, Sentience will be making comments just like every other character so that you can interact with it directly.))

[Allen and Link (the person) are, of course, incapable of sequestering themselves in their apartment for the day just because of some obnoxious robots. They have Link (the dog) to walk, Timcanpy (the golem) to keep from flirting with pretty girls, and lots and lots of food to eat.]

[Find them in the place of your choosing! And then kiss them.]


((You will be threading with both of them, but indicate if you want to kiss Allen, Link, or both in your subject line! ...Boths will be one after the other, not simultaneous.))

[Anri's enjoying the relative quiet and fresh air of the early morning, happily oblivious to the day's mischief... and partly just blissfully oblivious. Find her near the water or, somewhat less likely, kneeling outside the pet cafe's transparent windows and simply watching the animals, her expression pulled to detachment.

She has no idea what today has in store.]

[it feels good, getting up and getting dressed and heading out the front door of a house that's actually his. he's never had that sort of independence before, although it wasn't far ahead in his future when he left Terca Lumireis...]

[well. Flynn is in a good mood this morning. he stretches out a little, standing by the curb, limbering up for a dawn jog with Suzaku]

[you can catch him jogging around the dome in the morning, in the house in Sector 5, or out and about later on in the day! and he is up for pretty much anything and anyone, but I will be rolling RNG for the kind of bot that catches them!]

[Sector 3 is a popular destination for entertainment! People may be interested in seeing a movie at the theater, getting a drink or singing karaoke at the club, playing games at the arcade, or dropping by the Brave Vesperia headquarters -- on business or otherwise. In addition, Sector 3 has a lot of apartments and small houses; maybe people are just coming and going on their daily routine, or you might be seeing a friend who lives here.]

[Everyone who might have passed through Sector 3 today -- morning, noon, or night -- is invited to thread out a chance encounter here, or a date, or a gathering of friends. Just tell everyone where your character is and what they're doing, and go!]

[ (But if your occasion takes place after dark, remember there was a bomb threat if that's relevant to your character.) ]

[As soon as the "daylight" comes on, Conrad's slipping out Zelda's door, having eaten and cleaned up the platter she brought and folded her blanket neatly, leaving a quick note that he will be back to wash it later. Hopefully she won't be worried, but he has things to do.]

[Namely, finding Wolfram and avoiding Diva. Which is why he tries to be careful as he moves through the alleys and streets, but there's no avoiding everyone. He only hopes that people won't take much notice of the small bandage on his temple.]

( Private Voice Filters to Tear and Hei, respectively )

[Link is picking up a piece of wadded paper and shaking it at you. Yes, YOU! Littering is despicable!]

I strongly suggest with the cleaning only a few days complete everyone should do their part to keep it in excellent condition. If we are to be in prison we might as well be in a pristine prison.

[Ew, he's holding someone else's trash. Is that gum?]

[Flynn leans in close and squints a little to see the list of defense force patrols, and then. sighs. ...yeah, this isn't great. but he's reluctant to get glasses, too. because... well...]


[voice / filtered from Yuri / I wonder who he's talking about]
Have you ever been in a situation where... you don't want to do something because a friend would laugh at you -- but if they knew you were hiding it, they'd laugh even more? [awkward silence]

[ Wandering around the snowy park? There are two things to look out for: (1) don't trip over the bright orange ropes that close off a large open area, (2) take cover and watch for a stray snowball, and (3) ... you know, you might want to join in for this is a Snowball Fight.

Only guidelines: no weapons, no head shots, no stuffing snow down someone's mouth, collar or anywhere else uncomfortable. Play to your heart's content! Spoiler: there's no winner.

Warm drinks and snacks are served in a nearby tent (ah, thank goodness for space heaters!), while towels and blankets are also available. You might want to take advantage of the snow as well -- make snowmen, snow angels, your own sculpture as you wind down~ ]

( --- OOC Guidelines; PLEASE READ --- )
 

[familiar face, anyone? she's a grumpy mcgrumpypants today oh nooo.]

I just woke up with what feels like the worst hangover ever, different clothes on, and chewing gum in my hair. Again. Once was way more than enough, and I didn't even fucking do anything last night! Even I just relax sometimes y'know, geez.

So, I need icecream and someone with superpowers. Now! I'm not getting any younger here, y'know.

[Today is quieter around the shelter -- and there's less food. It's getting kind of cramped in here, isn't it? And boring. There are plenty of games and entertainments left over from the party, but everyone is gathered together and... finding things to do.]

[So what are you doing?]

I've deduced this much of this place:

You all so readily accept your imprisonment, like there's nothing you can do to change your predicament. You accept your fate and attempt to carry on your pathetic lives as if that's your sole purpose in this universe.

Consider it curiosity. What were you BEFORE Acumen? What were your destinies before being kidnapped and brought here?

There are some of you who have questioned about the knowledge of others. As far as I can tell, you've only absorbed that knowledge. You've done nothing with it! If you have the knowledge and the power to change things, then why would you wish to idly sit around and waste your time and energy on mundane things that Acumen says that you can do?

[Raistlin is, as usual, dressed in his black robes. He looks irritated and his expression is peering down at anyone who would be answering the video, almost like he's looking down at them for their beliefs. Raistlin is attempting to provoke a reaction from anyone who responds, though he's still out of his element. He's still trying to understand this world, this technology, and what his role is here. If you answer, he will be brutally honest in his responses, but that's just who Raistlin always has been.]

[Anri pulls away from the crowds early on, hands tense and expression far – it’s easy to assume she’s miles away mentally, and ordinarily she might be.

It’s a little different this time. Her gaze catches across one of the quiet rooms as she crosses it, approaching Diva – Anri isn’t attempting any innocuous façade, but withholds Saika’s presence for a bit longer, her hands empty.

There will be time soon enough for that. If she is being granted an opportunity, she intends to take it.]

... Diva-san?


((OOC: First thread is Diva's, others will come in as needed. Thanks! ♥))

Good morning, Marina! [Have a very smiley pink haired girl on your video feed!] For anyone I haven’t met, I’m Lacus Clyne and I’m very glad to meet you.

It seems as though we’re all going to be in the shelter today, so we should make the best of things. I was thinking that we should get together and have a big winter banquet! Anyone who wants to help cook should please feel free to come to the kitchens and assist, and if not you should still come and enjoy the food with us.

Dinner will be served at 5 in the main cafeteria, and after that maybe we could have fun playing games and watching movies together. I hope everyone has a good day, and I hope to see everyone at the feast!

[A few minutes later]

I just learned that today is also Ritsuka’s birthday! To celebrate there will be a cake and some special desserts and decorations. [as many decorations as they can find without access to the store.] Everyone please, stop by to wish him a happy birthday!

***
((OOC Notes: Mingle post, open to all! Reply to Lacus by [video] or there are several action options: [cooking] any time before 5pm ICly, [dinner] a huge buffet of almost anything you could want, or [after dinner] for card games, board games, and movies throughout the cafeteria and nearby common rooms! Your character is in no way obligated to be at all of these, but they could be if you want~

Also! A link to Ritsuka’s birthday party will be added once it goes up. There will be cake and lots of special desserts and pretty decorations in one area of the cafeteria.

If anyone wants to intentionally or unintentionally sabotage the food, please contact me OOCly before you do so. Thanks and ENJOY!))

[...quietly]

I have been giving a great deal of thought to the incident a few weeks ago, and your -- opinions on what happened. I think I have decided that I cannot excuse what the Engineers do in the name of entertainment. It feels like -- an abuse of their power.

[after a beat]

I understand that it's unlikely that most of you would be willing to help me. But -- is there anybody here who would be willing to act... as...

[another pause. almost embarrassed]

...my bodyguard?

[ The feed cuts on to a certain young boy looking less pleased than usual. He's standing in a Shelter room and sighing. ] Alright, you know... [ The camera pans to show the contents of the room. It is spotless and the floor looks very clean and... open?

That's because there is only one bed in the room. ] Anyone notice anything wrong with this picture? [ He'll give people a moment to think about it. ] Yeah. One of my cots is missing. The one I had already broken in, too, so thanks to whoever decided to help themselves while I was out of my room. Why didn't you ju—

[ There is a noise in the background; something skittering across metal. Touma freezes and looks up. ] Huh?... hang on.

[ He sets the communicator down and walks over to the wall. It sounded like it came from up top, so he fetches the chair from the other room and stands on it to look into the vent and....

Are those... eyes...?

He pries the cover open and peers closer and— ] AGH! [ The scream is punctuated with a thrust of his FIST into the vent. Satisfied with the squeak that results from his attack, he scrambles off of the chair while a tiny voice inside says, rather cheerfully: "It's rude to hit someone you've just met." ]

[ Touma picks the communicator back up and looks about as angry as can be. ] Screw this place. Seriously. I can't move out quick enough.

[ Oz slammed his fork down, effectively blocking Break's bid for his cake. ] I'm surprised at how calm everyone is. They've hardly protested at all about getting kicked out of their house. [ mm... cake. ] Do you think they're just being quiet?

[ Break, rather put out by the effective block to his cake-pilfering ways, elects instead to snag a piece of the chocolate torte sitting at the edge of the table, keeping Oz's elbow company. Let it never be said that he wasn't exceedingly spry for his old age. ] Mmm, you're right! I haven't heard a single peep out of them. All like little mice, hiding away. Why do you wonder that is?

Maybe we should ask them. Of course, we'll have to make sure they're telling the truth.

[ Another pop of cake into his mouth, chew, swallow. ] But what if they don't wish to tell the truth?

Then we'll have to dare them into giving it up. [ Oz sips at his tea before turning to the network device sitting on the edge of the table. ] Wouldn't you agree? [ yep, they've been talking to the dome this whole time. ]

[ From Break's shoulder, a clacking voice pipes up. ] Truth or dare! Bet they're too scared for dares!

[ So, who is up for a little game of truth and dare, hmmm? ]


((ooc: tags will come from both Break and/or Oz. Feel free to thread jack in reaction to whatever truths (or dares) the others might come up with. Green font = Oz, Blue font = Break, Purple font = Emily))