WEEK ZERO: ARRIVAL

[gatonina]

ARRIVAL

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PASSENGERS: 41 You know how the story goes by now. One minute you’re somewhere familiar, and the next you’re suddenly somewhere else. Unlike previous times before, the source of your rude awakening isn’t a mystery. A harsh jostle causes your body to lunge forward as a tire jumps over a pot hole in the road. Try as you might, it’s hard to ignore the steady thrumming of an engine and the gentle sway beneath you. The faint scent of gasoline seems to waft from the outside, but as you look around you’ll notice that the windows are locked, tinted, and impossible to see through. Likewise, the door ahead of you appears to be locked as well. Perhaps the scent is your imagination…? Regardless, though the lighting is a tad dim, it becomes apparent that you’re inside a large bus dotted with the occasional seat and amid a jumble of other bodies. The people you were last with may be among your fellow passengers. Perhaps they are not. But worry not; there’s plenty of time to look around and get to know one another on this long, strange trip. It may even be wise to examine the staircase at the other end of the bus. Who knows what awaits you on the other floors? Ah, but before you move too far it may be best to assess the situation. On the bright side, any injuries you incurred have been healed! Isn't it nice to have your limbs in place again? Miracles happen. But...what happened to your clothes? You’re fairly certain you weren't wearing this t-shirt before...and what's with the denim shorts? Maybe you were fortunate enough to get the knee-length version, but for those of you waking up in bootyshorts...well, we're sure you look great! And what better way to tie the whole look together than white socks and tan sandals? At least you'll be comfortable for the ride. Lucky for you, your new threads aren't the only gift you'll receive upon waking up. Attached to your waist is a high-quality bag filled with some fun goodies for every passenger! For those of you who unzip your bag to check its contents, you will find: -Dry shampoo -Wet wipes -Deodorant -Travel pack of toilet paper -Travel toothbrush + toothpaste -Poncho -A stylish travel guide No other items are on your person at this time, even if you were holding onto it as you began your previous departure. That's a bit troublesome, isn't it? Not really; it's still a bus. Be grateful for the extra elbow room, alright? Oh, and one last thing...on the wrist of every passenger is a small, equally fashionable white scrunchie. Not your style? Perhaps it's a good idea to give the travel guide another read. Searching the bus from top to bottom will net zero results in the way of an escape. All of the windows are similarly tinted and locked, and the only exit door appears to be the one on the first level that can't be opened at this time. But hey. You're all old pros at this, right? You know what to do next! Get to know the people around you, trade stories with your fellow passengers, and...well. Buckle up for the bumpy ride ahead.

Comments

SECOND LEVEL...A THING

[gatonina]

[On the second level of the bus, a ouija board sits innocently on the bar counter. Unable to be removed or damaged, the board almost seems to invite passengers to approach it, planchette pointed straight toward the middle.

Perhaps you should say hello? You never know who will answer...]

[fishingforcompliments]

What is this...?

[Flayn is so confused. Why are they on a bus? Why are their clothes different? Why is this happening? These are all questions she doesn't have an answer to.

The ouija board confuses her, too. She frowns down at it, then nudges the planchette. When it moves, she looks the board over and... drags it over to "Hello". May as well be polite!]

[survivaltricks]

[Akira is totally thrown asunder when the bus hits the pothole, the suddenness of the movement jolting him awake like a lightning bolt. he blinks blearily at the ceiling, gray eyes (which are not shaded by glasses) wide and confused]

[. . .]

[then he sits up]

[he looks around]

[he looks down at his shirt]

[he looks at his ugly sandals]

[he looks at the fanny pack he's been given]

[and he looks at the scrunchie on his wrist]

[. . .]

[deep breath]

FUCK.

[fishingforcompliments]

good morning(?);
[Well, this isn't how she expected her day to be going.

Flayn takes a few moments to let her surroundings sink in, then thinks back to the last thing she can remember. Frowning, she shakes her head.]

This cannot be...

[This is the part where she scans the crowd anxiously for any familiar faces. Honestly, she looks more and more ill-at-ease with every unfamiliar face she finds. This sure is a day.]

goodie bag;
[The clothing is strange. The items inside the fanny packs... well, they're a little strange, too. She's looking through hers, examining them all. When she gets to the dry shampoo, she turns it around to get a good look at it, not realizing that the nozzle is pointed right at her because she's never seen such a thing before.

Of course, she ends up spraying the dry shampoo right in her face.]

—ah!

[Well, now her eyes are stinging and she's coughing.]

the wheels on the bus;
[It's a little later on. Here's Flayn on the first deck, covering her ears and making a face.]

This music is terrible...

[Save her. Knock her out. Put her out of her misery.]

wildcard;
[hit me up with literally anything else my arms are open to all of you!! snag me on disco or bloodthirstiest if you want to plot first or have a pc!! though we may end up just having our characters aggressively whisper into each other's ears. sweats about the bus.]

[fishingforcompliments]

[Now, where has she heard a word like that before?]

Ryuji?

[...wait. No, that's not his voice. It's not his face, either, and Flayn looks briefly mortified.]

I am sorry! I mistook you for someone else...

[concasse]

-- NAAAAAMIIIIII!

[Hm, well.

The relative quiet of the bus has just been interrupted by an angry blond man with hairy legs in booty shorts. No one asked for this, but when has God ever existed for these people?

Anyway good luck to every person he nearly trips over as he prepares to turn this bus upside down looking for this "Nami".]

[recrypt]

[ beep, beep, loading... ]

... Du machst wohl Scherze.

[ what follows is probably a muttered burst of more german, probably vulgar. you've got to be kidding her. what the hell is any of this.

also, if you're a recognizable face from blues, she might look you dead in the face and deadpan: ]

Are we sure we haven't all died or ended up in a simulation this time?

knock knock it's 3pm time for your

[ the scrunchie has a bunny theme? how cute. guess what other bunnies might do. knock knock, it's not going to work because these things never do, but might as well sigh and give the impenetrable locked door a good would-be doorbusting kick for thoroughness's sake.

have fun with the inevitable bounceback, whoever's nearby. hey, uh, how much did she weigh again? ]

fake gamer gals

[ fuck it, mario kart time. after going around and seeing that obviously no one has managed to make it off the bus and that nothing is breakable, might as well, right? time to ooze into a beanbag chair and see what the catalog contains, which, hm.

there's at least one controller left open, so if you stop by she'll just glance up, smile sweetly, and: ]

Would you like to play? Might as well kill time until someone inevitably shows up to inform us of the rules here, hmm?

[chaoticlootral]

arrival.

[Hey some of us can pull this look off okay. Obviously he's in the booty shorts, he came from Thots, and he's adjusting the . . . look a bit. Busying himself putting his hair up with the scrunchie, peeling those friggin socks off (if he throws it at you please return it), and tying the stupid tie-dye shirt into a crop. This is all fine. Grumbling to himself, mostly under his breath, but he's also just not super quiet.]

Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me, can't even suffer the terrible fuckin' fate of turning into a horrible demon without being bothered by more bullshit--

wildcard me, binches.

[but seriously do]

[successives]

first deck

[Once it becomes obvious that the windows and doors are locked, and that any attempt at getting out more forcefully are not going to work... She's wandering down the hall of this deck, looking around for something in particular. When she can't seem to find it, she speaks up a little louder than she means to, irritated and more than a little nervous.]

Hey, can anybody see where that fucking speaker is?

[In a perfect world, she would be able to break it. Alas.]

third deck

[A little bit later on in the day, when it's obvious nobody is leaving that day, Natalie can be found on the third deck. She's near the dart board with a few in her hand, just... tossing them over and over again at the board. Or anywhere, really, because she's not really paying attention to where they go as much as the act of throwing them. There's a good chance there's a spread of them over the wall she's facing. If she sees anyone looking her way, she keeps that same frown on her face as she glances over at them.]

What?

[Friendly.]

wildcard

[Hit me up for anything else you'd like to play out!! I'm always down for different prompts or PCs.]

[muragas]

Right?

[ she says, with her tshirt neck pulled as far away from her body as possible so she can peer down into the depths. hm ]

At least it's not the ocean again.

[survivaltricks]

-- what?

[well, if there's anything on this bus that gets his immediate attention, it's that. his gaze snaps towards Flayn immediately, mouth falling open]

[Ryuji isn't exactly an uncommon name, but. . . it's been so long since he's seen his best friend that he can't help his brain going there immediately]

What about Ryuji?

[applechemist]

A. First Things First

[ You know what, this might as well be happening. After Thots, and how that ended for her, fucking sure, why not. Escha doesn't even get up from the floor of the bus, at first. She just sits up and takes stock of what she has in the fanny pack.

... And after reading the rulebook, she puts the scrunchie up around one of her pigtails. Then stands up to look around more closely. Priority number one is: ]

Logy?

[ ... Hrm. Logy is not here. Escha just lets out a very, very long sigh. ]

B. Time For Wine Right Now Immediately

[ Second things second! After managing to nudge past people to look around a bit -- Escha decides that floor two is where she belongs.

She is immediately getting herself a nice glass of wine, and taking it to go sit down with. And once she's seated, taking off her socks and shoes for good measure. Then putting the shoes back on. Socks and sandals is stupid. >:( ]

[vigilantics]

a. no

[ sometimes...................... things happen

but after standing up, brushing herself off, and looking around, stephanie will simply take off her fanny pack, walk to a window, and then just fuckin yeet it as hard as she can

it bounces off and hits her in the face. it's fine ]

b. still no

[ or you can find her opening the bathroom stall door and staring intently before softly muttering, ]

Oh. You jerks all better flush.

[ruffboi]

arrival

[Magnus stands up from the floor of the bus, rubs his head, looking down at his clothes (ugly tie dye shirt, fanny pack, and big cargo shorts) and immediately begins ripping the sleeves off his shirt.]

Okay, guys, don't worry. I've got vehicle proficiency!

1/3

[survivaltricks]

[his gaze snaps towards her, and--]

[survivaltricks]

[why is she. looking down her shirt]

[voidbreaker]

i. first deck

[ hopefully all of y'all are in the "think fast" kind of mood, because there's literally no warning at all before some guy just throws his stupid tiny bag right at one of the windows.

he has the reflexes to duck when it comes ricocheting back pretty much immediately, dropping down so that it sails over his head!

but do you? ]

ii. dos deck

[ like 0.3 seconds after bag-gate, ash has just dragged his ass up the ladder and is sat the bar area - there's a glass tumbler in front of him, and he's leaning on one elbow and pouring a solid glass of what looks like whiskey into the tumbler. if you sit yourself down at the bar opposite him, he does literally nothing to acknowledge you and certainly doesn't offer to pour you a drink. in fact, he kinda looks like he'd rather you just kept walking. ]

Other drinks are available. Feel free to grab 'em.

[ and touch his at your peril.

... unless you're a blues native, in which case he still won't offer you a drink, but rather than brush you off, eventually pipe up: ]

I didn't actually think I'd miss that stupid house, but at least it had a bit more legroom.

iii. seating area

[ ash is here, and he's nabbed one of the cushioned sofa seat... things, and sprawled out in it. he's not really paying much attention to what's around him, but he does frown thoughtfully at the dart board hanging on the wall. ]

...

... if this shit is what I think it is, then having sharp, shiny ass darts hanging around like that's kinda like pouring gasoline right next to an open flame.

[ruffboi]

Hey!

[Oh, hey. It's Akira! The two of them know each other, mutually, both very familiar with one another.]

What gives? Any idea?

[survivaltricks]

[FOCUS, AKIRA]

. . . ah. . . an ocean?

[gatonina]

[there's a short pause before the planchette moves. ]

hello?

[applechemist]

[ Escha just. Laughs. You said it, buddy. ]

[slobjection]

[ you all knew what would happen.... ]

Knock knock.

[fishingforcompliments]

You spoke like him, so I thought...

[Her voice trails off. ...no, he's completely unfamiliar to her. He wasn't on the island at all.

...but still. What are the chances? Ryuji might be a common enough name where he comes from, but he was the first person with that name that she'd ever met. So.]

...the person you are thinking of. He has blond hair, correct?

[recrypt]

Scheiße!

[ a familiar voice agrees, far too cheerfully ]

[survivaltricks]

[it's probably no surprise that Akira BEELINES towards the ouija board when he sees it. with a frown on his features (brow wrinkled to match), he reaches out to touch the planchette and speak at the board. aloud. like it's a person]

Heeeeeeey.

Anybody there?