[Oh look, it's the rare and elusive Mr Hasn't Officially Made A Network Post Since Arriving.]

It's a bit late, I know, but when giving thanks for a good time one is never tardy, isn't that so? [The delay mostly being caused by Puck having spent a good deal of the last two days asleep.] You throw a great party, o new overlord. I suppose thanks go to Acumen too, wherever "he's" stored away now. No need to respond, by the way; I just wanted to get that out there.

But speaking of not responding... question~: Who is up for a little story-telling time? I'll start: "Once upon a time, in a world both near and far, there was a castle as pitch-black [there's just the slightest stress on that previous word; barely even there] as the darkest night..." Then you continue the story! Come one, come all; no need to be shy.

[Look how considerately vague he's being just to spare the frailer inmates from the horrible truth. ...The other option being that Puck just enjoys turning even the task of information gathering into a game. Not enough detailsss to stalk in Sentience's post.]

And if that premise doesn't speak to you, feel free to start your own, or even share a whole story. I might even tell one myself in exchange~

[Somewhere people work out there is a man. A man working out. He chose his location well. He is shirtless and possibly glistening. It's a thing that happens. You can't control glistening. Thousands of people may be afflicted with glistening and you'd never know. At least not until their curious dog, Salty, decided the communication device was a chew toy and managed to hit one of the buttons.

Have a torso, Marina. There's an interesting tattoo on it and everything. And since this torso is working out you can see muscles flexing. Do you like the view?

How about now with a GIANT tongue coming right at you followed by dog slobber?]

[It can be heard from a distance: the clang of clashing blades, the telltale sizzle of small explosions, bursts of rushing air that are more felt than heard. Get close enough, and a caped figure flies overhead, an armored knight in pursuit. A ball of fire launches from the blue-skinned man's hands as he hovers above ground, toward the knight who blocks with the flat of her sword and leaps up at her attacker. His sword flashes and there's a clang -- odd, because her hands look to be empty.]

[Feel free to gawk, if you like. What, you've never seen a blonde knight with an invisible sword and a stone-skinned, fire- and lightening-throwing sorcerer battle before?]

[By all appearances, it's a fight to the death, except for two things. First, no matter how strong the attacks seem, neither of them is injured. And second, if you spot either of the combatants in the right moment, you might just catch them smiling.]


((OOC: Saber will be winning the battle if your character wants to react to that, but it should be pretty epic. Tags can come from Zelgadis or Saber, specify if you want one or the other or both! (Ari will be getting to tags tonight or tomorrow.) Please no injuries from the fighting, they'd never let people get caught in the crossfire~ o/ ))

( Deep Puck thoughts that mostly amount to 'be more fun, guys' )

( The actual spell )

[OOC: Feel free to thread amongst yourself, anywhere in the dome! Here's the OOC post for details.]

[The shelter is clearly equipped for a celebration to mark the changing of wardens. Everything is neat and tidy, with decorations and a generous food spread laid over the tables for the taking. There’s also the usual entertainment in the common areas – TVs, video games, movies. Maybe you can talk someone into an impromptu karaoke party. Why not? Sentience doesn’t mind.

There’s a party to be had, so get down with your bad self.



Need an invite? Aren’t quite sure what’s going on? Well, here’s a friendly neighbourhood Judith to explain it to you. The camera feed pans over a glammed up corner of the shelter’s common area before going back to her face. It’s clear she’s pleased by the set-up.]

If I had known this was planned, I would have made some special cupcakes.

[Are you wondering what goes into Judith’s special cupcakes? Keep wondering.]

I suppose after all the excitement from last night, it’s nice to have some fun and relax. I’m not sure it’s fair to have one party directly following another – but maybe I’ll get to make up for missed opportunities. [She wanted to kick a robot’s face in, okay.]



((OOC: Mingle post for Sentience’s party in the shelter! The shelter is decorated with streamers and there’s a feast spread! But only three types of ice cream, though. Create threads and tag amongst yourselves! It’s a celebration, anything goes. Backdated slightly to the early evening.

If you want to respond to Judith via video, feel free! There will be a thread for that right here! Notifs are turned off otherwise.))

Alright, I'm stumped, and it's pretty hard to stump me. I get that I'm in prison and there's apparently no escape. If you crack the glass, all the water pours in and even if you manage to get out, the 168.327 times normal gravity will crush you flat. Clever. But this really doesn't look like a prison. I mean, what prison hands out gift baskets? Not exactly the most intimidating first gesture.

So my big question to my fellow "inmates" is: what exactly is going on here? How did they snatch me up and hold a trial that I don't even remember? I doubt they really care about justice, but why lie about me getting a trial?

[A sigh. This is really getting him nowhere.]

The point is that I'd appreciate information besides the info in the pamphlet. Thanks.

[[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.))

[Kurama is in his study in his home in Sector 4. The place looks more like a conservatory than an office, with plants growing on every available surface. Some are simple green-leafed houseplants. Others are plants not often successfully kept inside, though they seem to be thriving. Amongst them are Japanese Maple bonsai and miniature rose bushes. Kurama has also propogated orchids and a few flowering varieties of carnivorous plants. He's even managed to grow a miniature cherry tree, which takes place of pride beside a blood red miniature tea rose at the corner of his desk.]

If I may trouble you once more, I would like to inform interested students that I have added a Botany class to the schedule. We will be meeting on days that end in 2 and 6, in Room 7 in the Educational Center. The class format will be a mixture of seminar and lecture, as well as hands-on work and lab sessions. Students of all levels are welcome. Please consult the course catalog for further information.

Once again, thank you for your time.

[ooc: I didn't quite plan to have D and Kurama officially announce their classes one right after the other, but if I don't get them done tonight, it's never going to happen. XD]

[ well, it's a nice day today. all moved in to a big house, which is a -- really, really weird feeling, not gonna lie. he's got a patrol to do, and a lot of cooking to get done before Flynn can think to try, but that's fine. seems like it'll probably be a pretty quiet day.

oh, little does he know.

he'll be over at Brave Vesperia HQ in the afternoon; in the morning, you might find him in his shiny new house in Sector 5, and you can also find him hanging out in the arcade or maybe just idly scouting out the fight club's arena. come one, come all! ]


((ooc: RNG for the kind of bot that catches you with Yuri, but I'm up for anything! He will be cool about it, and a pretty good kisser. ♥))

[ today is the day when Kanda will hate his life. oh so very much. and then, with more perspective, he will hate your life -- and possibly attempt to end it.

where can you find him? well, he might be gardening, tending to the plants in one of the many open spaces around the dome -- or he might be in the athletic complex's training hall, meditating. ]


((ooc: RNG for the kind of bot that catches you with Kanda, but I'm up for anything! Just as long as you don't mind a little violence afterward. :D))

[Lovely day for being in any open, common area of the dome, isn't it? Of course there is a chance of kissing bot, but it's always something in the underwater prison.]

(OOC: Check out the OOC post for details. Pucker up! Edit: Links for those with loading problems!)

[ today in the park area of sector 4, one can find a certain redheaded witch who is currently figuring out that there's a cap to her magic. and she doesn't like it. ]

What? I can't- But that's not even a big spell!

[ oookay trying something new, then. she tries a barrier-

nope, nosebleed. she stops as her head starts spinning and she falls to the grass below her. ]

Can I not do anything here?

[ determined to figure out if it's ALL of her magic still or just part of it, she tries levitation. oh, well, that works, for all the good it'll do her. she just keeps sitting there, face turned down in what could pass as a sulk. this bites.

eventually, she turns on the voice feed. ] Has anyone else had trouble with their natural powers here? Even after the ball-and-chain thing?

[ a female voice pops up, sounding somewhere between awe and exasperation ] ... Feynriel, I think I worry about your imagination. What in Andraste's name are they teaching you in Tevinter?

[ pause ] You could add an ogre or two, for a little color.

[Someone is not a happy Yomi! Her crimes are bewildering and hurtful and false, she's stuck with a cold, lumbering weight tied to her ankle - and her cell phone is missing. Her gaze darts every which way, back taut with apprehension and every muscle coiled for a blow... not that one lands. Not unless you count the robots bustling around her, trying to ferry her to chores.

It's an illusion. A Category A, or an echoer, or-- or something. She's not going to let it affect her, cutting through the fallacies and the impossibilities, keeping her voice and her head cool.

She only fumbles briefly with the communicator before tapping it on, transmitting.]

Director? Noriyuki? ... It's Yomi. Something's happened, I think I'm caught in some sort of illusion or web. Kagura's gone and so is my weapon.

[When there's no answer, she fidgets with it a little.]

... Director? Takahata? [Yomi's voice takes on a sharp note, cracking like a whip.] SDCD, come in!


((OOC: Preemptive warnings of slowness, am overseas and partly computerless at the moment.))

[Hikaru is missing Kaoru like crazy. That's not unusual since his brother is his entire life, and it feels like he hasn't seen him in a very long time. Not having him here always felt terrible, despite making friends and always meeting new people.

Look at how hard he's concentrating.]

Will you help me with a personal survey? It's just some things I've been thinking about.

Some of you may remember Kaoru, my brother, when he was here for some time. We're used to people assuming they know what being twins is like, but most of the time, they're wrong. So here's where the survey part comes in:

What do you think twins are? More specifically, identical twins.
What kinds of things do you think when you see twins?
Do you ever assume they are the same, just because they have the same face? Be honest.

I want to know what you think. People really can't be as clueless and as dumb as they have been in my life. I hope you prove me wrong.

[It's Day 151 in Marina, and for Kurama and the inmates who've chosen to sample the Mythology course, it's the first day of class. The door to the classroom is open a little early, to give students plenty of time to find a seat and get comfortable, or to speak with the instructor before class if so inclined. The chairs have been arranged in a circle to allow for free flow of discussion. This class session is a meet-and-greet, not a lecture. Kurama stands off to one side so that his presence will hopefully not have too much impact on where the students sit, and he can readily be engaged in private conversation.

Once all of the students have arrived, Kurama takes a seat in the circle between two of them and offers the group a welcoming smile.]

Thank you for coming. I hope you've all had the opportunity to go over the course description and to hear the plans for today's session. As a quick reminder, this is the Mythology course, so if you were expecting something else, check your schedule, though I do encourage you to stay. You might have some fun. [His tone is on the comfortable edge of teasing, meant to help put the students at ease. First days can be nerve-wracking, he knows.]

Today, I'd like us all to get to know each other. We'll go around the circle and share names--there's no need for any honorifics or titles here, unless you prefer to use them--and if you have a folktale or legend you'd like to share from your world, please do. I'll get us started. My name is Kurama. That also happens to be the name of a mountain outside of Kyoto, Japan. There is an old story that claims the mountain is home to the ruler of the tengu, a powerful type of youkai, or demon, who are sometimes worshiped as gods. He is believed to have taught one of Japan's greatest warriors the art of swordsmanship more than eight hundred years ago.

[Kurama keeps his telling of the tengu of the mountain with which he shares his name brief. He wants his students to have plenty of time to share stories of their own, and after entertaining questions, moves the discussion around the circle.

After class, students are welcome to linger to chat with each other, or to bring any questions to Kurama they'd like to have answered before they leave.]

***

( OOC Information. Please read before tagging! )

[Sougo has the most important question on his mind, and he needs to ask.]

So if we don't need money, why do people work? People really like busting their asses for nothing?

[He's seriously trying to figure this out, and it's apparent on his face. He had a reason to work back home, but now? Pffffttttt this will enable his laziness.]

When I'm finally free from this chain, I'm going to be drinking and eating and sleeping and shitting all day.

Okita Sougo, retired at 18. This is the life.

What would make this perfect is if I could screw some bitches. Can't have it all, I guess.

[Welcome to the Devil's Compass, it's Poker Night.

The record player might be playing something jazzy in the background, there's (plenty of) smoke wafting in the air and the taps are just waiting to be... tapped. For those who quit the game or didn't come to play in the first place, the pool table and dart board are free. But why wouldn't you come to play poker on Poker Night? Scared of all... the big bad cheats?]

As a reminder, the first meeting of the Mythology course will be held tomorrow. We are meeting in Classroom 7 at the Education Center in Sector 2. Our first day will be a chance for everyone to get their feet wet, so to speak. I'll open the floor to students who wish to share some of their favorite folklore or legends from their home realities. I won't require that everyone share a tale, but discussion of the stories will be encouraged. This will be a chance for all of us to get to know one another before beginning more focused studies.

[ooc: The course information is available here. I'm not sure yet if I'll make a post for the class meeting itself, but if there's a strong desire for one, and the mods approve, I'd be happy to make that post next week, or if next week won't work, then at a more appropriate date, with back-dating as needed.]