WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[Well, this is...happening. This is a thing. This is your life now. The Commander is expecting you to just up and kill one another, and then try to get away with it. No big deal, right? You guys can handle this. You won't fall for what she has. She's clearly an idiot. A loud idiot, but still an idiot. She's not going to get one over you.

...Right?

In any case, the Commander's quarters are now open for anyone who decides they can actually stand to be in the same room as her, but beware - any favor you might ask of her is going to come at a price, and who knows what she'll ask you to do if you decide to gain a boon from her. Unless you're a suck-up like Baku - then she'll apparently be flattered. Maybe that's a good tactic to use?


Whatever you do, try not to murder the bread again. The Bread Did Nothing Wrong.


There are fifteen strangers in this place.]



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Comments

[stealsyourduelist]

So I heard...

[He's yet to hear anyone admit that personally though, so he's just been ignoring it lol.]

I'm from Earth as well, though the year was 1485. The 'other world' I speak of is one where magic and monster spirits reside... though I have heard no tales of a man entering this world. They are summoned to our hands through our contract with the medium card.

What was it like?

[beguiledcard]

Woah...

[ THAT'S. SO LONG AGO...... ]

You're from-- [ mental math (with a brief moment of finger-counting and some glancing upwards): go!!! ] ... five hundred thirty-one years into my past.

[ His eyebrows lift, though, as he considers this other world, since... well... technically, that's kind of how the Metaverse was? ]

My other world is called the Metaverse, and we fought the solidified forms of humanity's distorted desires. The focus became... basically fixing a broken system in society, and changing warped views of important figures.

[ But anyway that's the last thing he wants to dwell on, because that's nudging too close towards him talking about his friends, and... Let's not do that right now. ]

Anyway, the Metaverse is about what some might imagine a place being, when formed by repressed thoughts, secrets, and desires of humanity.

[losergod]

... Repressed thoughts and desires?

[ Hi, that got his attention. ]

... Like a universe being born from one person's desires?

[beguiledcard]

[ He nods. ]

And, if it's warped enough, a Palace will be spawned. My friends and I infiltrated those Palaces and stole the source of the person's distorted views. After that, they were...

[ Something conflicted flickers over his expression. ]

... put on a path towards a better life. Which is all we ever wanted - to help society and rebuild it into something where people could be happier.

[losergod]

... You could... steal people's point of view?

[ He says it quietly, as if he's dumbfounded. ]

... What if it was someone that wasn't bad, exactly? What if they were just... unwell?

[beguiledcard]

My sister-... [ a sad smile ] Ah... not everyone who gets a Palace is a "bad" person. Sometimes, they just got a little lost along the way.

[ There's a small nod. ]

We steal the source of their distorted desires, though it's more like a representation of it. In most cases, after that's removed from the Palace, the Palace crumbles and the person begins recovering.

[ He gives another smile, this time it's more reassuring than anything else. ]

But, sometimes, we don't even have to steal the Treasure. In some cases, the person benefits from us simply talking to their Shadow - a being that resides only in the Metaverse, and is a representation of how the person sees their inner self at the time of the Palace's formation.

[losergod]

...

[ He's quiet for a long moment. And then, a wry smile. ]

It's far too late for that kind of information for someone like me, but... you should be careful, saying things like that. You'd almost make people believe you. That they could be helped.

[beguiledcard]

[ His voice is completely, 100% serious. ]

I'm not the type to give up on anyone, no matter what.

[ Even if... he can't even begin to remember why he believes this so firmly, there's suddenly something akin to a fire in his eyes. ]

Nobody is beyond helping.

[losergod]

[ He just... looks down. ]

... I don't think you could help me even if you wanted to. I would never let someone else into my mind on the best of days, anyway. It's not exactly what I would call a safe space.

[ He has vivid memories of some of the final days of his life. They weren't exactly pleasant. He spent a lot of time getting ill from how distorted his view of his surroundings had become. ]

I certainly wouldn't recommend eating if you were doing such a thing, at any rate.

[beguiledcard]

Personally, I'd consider it more than worth the risk.

[ The smile he gives is just a touch distant, over hearing the last part. He won't say it couldn't be the worst thing he's ever seen, but he's aware he's probably seen enough to warrant questions regarding his sanity, these days. ]

[stealsyourduelist]

[His eyes are lighting up in interest at basically all of this.]

Fascinating! Rather than the world of spirits, it sounds just like a concept I read in the Ancient Egyptian manuscripts. I believe my ancestor called it 'the room of the soul'... the landscape of the soul reveals whether a man is good or if he is evil.

[He may be missing some details since his ancestor is Seto, who had the Millennium Rod and not the Ankh. But speaking of which, Akira didn't mention any items, so what the hell.]

To reshape its contents is possible, but 'tis a rare and incredible power, lost to the sands of time. I wonder how you came across it...

[beguiledcard]

Honestly, that's a really long story that I'd rather save for when we're... maybe sitting down over some coffee.

[ There's a hint of tiredness in his smile. THINGS AND. KNOWLEDGE YOU JUST TAKE FOR GRANTED, HONESTLY... ]

Since I'd have to explain what a smartphone is, and then what a phone app is...

[stealsyourduelist]

Coffee appears to be an interest of yours, [This being the second time he's brought it up.] I haven't tried it since my pilgrimage, but perhaps we shall have to in that case.

Although, is a smartphone like a smartwatch? I was told that's what this is. [The big annoying thing on their wrists, he means.]

[beguiledcard]

Ah- [ blinking, and then giving a quiet chuckle ] ... Guess it managed to become more of one than I realized.

[ He nods, his expression briefly shifting between something tense and something forced to remain calm. ]

I stayed with a man who became more of a father figure, than just a temporary caretaker. He owns a cafe, and I used to help out whenever I could. He taught me everything he could about coffee beans and how to brew a great cup of coffee. That's how we bonded - over those lessons, as well as lessons on how to make curry.

[ A smartwatch...? Yeeeeah... no... ]

That's definitely not what I would call this, though. [ looking at the watch as though it somehow insulted him, briefly ] This is... kind of cool? But not what I'd consider a smartwatch. And a smartphone is way more like a... smaller version of a computer. If the computers around here could do maybe a hundred times more, and process information ten times faster.

[stealsyourduelist]

I believe I can imagine it. [It's a bit of a strain but look, he's not an old man, he can be flexible.] Still, that's quite the leap in ability... Is the technology here actually outdated?

[What a disgusting notion!! Even if he teaches himself to use all the systems here, he'll still be behind... let's go back a bit, he doesn't want to think about that. Besides, he was making an unusual face when he first started talking about the coffee guy.]

I wonder if a lack of guidance now brings you unease. It seems as though you are missing a mentor in this man... not to mention the chaos that your previous experience in this situation must have been. You are still quite young, after all.

[Should he be concerned.]

[beguiledcard]

[ He pauses for maybe a single second, and then gives a slow and serious nod. ]

To me, yes. [ a beat ] Very.

[ But the talk of missing a mentor has his expression definitely dimming a bit. A distant sort of smile appears as he shakes his head. ]

I'm fine. [ A BEAT..... ] ... I'll be fine.

[ More like he'll continue being a lying liar who lies. Much worry should probably be felt. ]

[crouching_sin]

Contract? Like with a demon?

[Excuse him he is here for this.]

[stealsyourduelist]

Certainly. One of my men deals in demons exclusively, although they are better known to us as fiends.... there are beasts and fairies, machines and warriors, and many more. Mine is the powerful Blue Eyes White Dragon.

[crouching_sin]

[...]

I've never heard of it, but surely someone could have come up with a better name than just its physical description? That's like calling you "Blue Eyes Beanpole".

[stealsyourduelist]

I believe it's a fine name if you know the history. It came from the spirit of a woman with snow-white hair and eyes of blue who had been persecuted in Egypt. She was stoned for her foreign appearance, yet had a soul as powerful as the gods.

[crouching_sin]

[Rosie do you want to have sex with this card or just own it -]

But it's a dragon now, right? ... It's somewhat obscure and confusing, then.

[stealsyourduelist]

[He already owns the dragons, but as for the flowery descriptions he's mostly just quoting someone who wanted to fuck it.]

Yes, the soul was that dragon... Well, the Egyptians had a different concept of souls, so the truth may be more complex than that, but that's the summary.

[crouching_sin]

They had multipart souls - or at least, that was their belief. There were at least five parts.

[stealsyourduelist]

So you're familiar. Then it's simple. The monsters of Egypt had all originated from a person's Ka - their double self and life force.

[crouching_sin]

Interesting... that's not something from my world, though I do know some Egyptian magicians did... interesting things with magic.