[Game Opening, Part 1 - What Souls Here May Bring]

[stringmods]

The drawstrings cut,
my hollow ebony stained wood plomps to the floor—
THUD

Eyes open, souls recollect.
The new me, erect.

I make my own decisions, have my own priorities,
have my own thoughts.

No external force taps into me—
Freedom.
- Jana Bielecki
Who: (Everyone OPEN LOG)
Where: (City Hall)
Summary: (You've just arrived in the city. Welcome.)
Warnings: (Intro logs are pretty warnable.)
Style: (The text is in prose, but feel free to write back in action tags if you feel more comfortable.)

They always say the first day on a new job is always the hardest.

But tell me...did those tasks include being taken from your own homeworld, dumped into a city you didn't recognize, meeting a man dressed in the purest of whites with a butterfly mask, to be bestowed the power of Persona, and then having some Men in Black lead you to the city hall saying you were expected?

...

...at least your things are apparently safe in your new apartments?

...

...looks like you might be here for a while.


What a way to start the first of September...

As they usher the last of you in, you realize that they've been preparing this for quite a while. There is a small table with food on the right, mixed cuisine (although the main theme seems to be Japanese dishes). Some strange computer program appears next to you and seems to be translating what you are saying so those before you understand. Language barriers? Don't be silly!

Most of the men ignore you after that. You are expected to mingle amongst yourselves a bit before the main 'show' starts, it seems....

Comments

Fujieda Yoshino | Digimon Savers

[isnottheworst]

Yoshino sighed to herself as she sat down. Truth be told, she was surprised at how well she was taking this, even though her mind was heavy with questions. Like what was going to happen to her old place, what her parents and sisters would think, what her employers would say...

... And of course, the responsibilities that awaited her here...

Nevertheless, she sat at a table, picking at a plate of food with her head resting on one of her arms. "This is the worst..." she sighed.

[the_voluminous]

"Is it really?" Here. Have a very large beard lean towards you, Yoshino. "Would you perhaps like a trade? I have... Rice balls. Very inventive, these cooks, to make balls of rice."

With an amiable smile, Volstagg shifts his weight and offers her his plate. The rice balls are far from the only thing stacked on there.

[isnottheworst]

Blink. Blink. Oh my, that's a very large man.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Um, I didn't mean the food... just the situation..."

She smiled nervously and pushed her plate towards him. "You can have it, actually. No need to trade, I'm not very hungry..."

[the_voluminous]

"Well, thank you!" He laughs cheerfully and hums to himself as he picks up her plate and wedges it somewhere into his pile of food. He leans back and starts shovelling food into his mouth, pausing only to take a sip of whatever drinks happen to get within arm's reach.

He does stop, after a few seconds, to brush crumbs from his beard. And it's only about then that her words seem to reach his brain. "The situation is nothing to be worried about, lass. It's just another adventure. Odin knows I've seen my fair share." He waves his hand. "They give us food and lodging, we do whatever quests they summon those as mighty as we for, and then we go home. It's as simple as that."

[isnottheworst]

"... Yeah," she said with a sigh. "It's not my first time in another world, to be honest, I just..."

She sighed again.

"Just thinking about what I left behind, I guess."

[the_voluminous]

"Ah." He nods knowingly. "Friends, family. A boyfriend, perhaps?" There's nothing teasing or mocking about it, just a question. "Fear not. These things happen. Undoubtedly, you'll return to them safe and sound, with stories and perhaps gifts to give!"

Volstagg laughs again, then leans in. "To be honest, my wife won't be pleased with this, but why fear her nagging? It isn't here, it isn't now! And she'll be pleased to see me when I return home from another conquest, bringing souvenirs to our children." His many, many children. "And if she isn't, then a pox on her! I'll slip down to the pub to enjoy drinks with my friends!"

Somehow, he seems to have lost the idea that he wanted to try to cheer her up...

[isnottheworst]

Yoshino sputtered a bit, and end up flailing her arms a little.

"Boyfriend?! N-No way...! There's not even anyone I like like that! ... I just meant my family and my job, really..."

[the_voluminous]

Volstagg watches her, trying and failing to hide an amused smile. He's got an olive stuck between his teeth. "I'm sure they'll understand once you explain things to them." It's such a casual dismissal of that. "Like I said, these things happen all the time."

[isnottheworst]

"... the sad thing is, in my life, that's actually completely true..."

[the_voluminous]

"Then they should already be used to it. What's the problem?"

Explain why suddenly disappearing for an unknown amount of time, for an unknown reason, is bad. Yes. He honestly doesn't get it.

[isnottheworst]

"... In those cases, they had some idea of what was happening before it did," she replied, feeling a little bit aggravated. "Or... I had the opportunity to say goodbye to them first, at least."

[the_voluminous]

Nope. He's still not getting the problem. Volstagg flounders a moment, shovelling food into his mouth to cover the time he needs to think up a response, then swallows. "Well, you've always returned safe and sound before, yes? They might worry, but as long as you can return to them safe, everything should be fine. Right? And, as you've adventured before, they will accept you were just swept up on an unexpected journey. Yes?"

[isnottheworst]

Yoshino just sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"I think people have different standards about that sort of thing where you come from. And in my case, it's more of a matter of duty than just up and deciding to have an adventure..."

[fools_journey]

"... not quite. At least the food's good," says a sleepy-looking teenager seated nearby. He's got a cup of coffee and at one point had a plate with yummy things on it, but he seems to have eaten it. Now he is trying very hard, and if it means engaging random strangers in conversation, then so be it.

[isnottheworst]

Yoshino looked up with a start, and then smiled politely.

"... I suppose," she said. "I guess I'm not very hungry right now..."

[fools_journey]

He shrugged. "Neither am I, but it keeps me awake..." He paused before smiling just a little back, meaning to be reassuring. "I'm sure things will be all right here. None of us are alone here."

Well, depending on one's definition of 'all right,' of course.

[isnottheworst]

"... Thanks," she says, smiling gently. "That's... actually kind of comforting."

She scoots her chair a little bit closer. "I'm Yoshino. Fujieda Yoshino."

[fools_journey]

"Arisato Minato. ... it's a pleasure to meet you, Fujieda-san."

Of course, if she prefers her first name to be used, he'll comply with her wishes, but given how many first meetings are happening now, he figures it's best to err on the side of polite.

Either way, he continues to smile at her a little.

[isnottheworst]

She just smiles, not showing any sign of being bothered by being referred to by her last name.

"So... is this your first time being brought to another world?" she said, half jokingly.

[fools_journey]

"I suppose, so. But I've moved around a lot in the past. It doesn't seem that different in some ways..."

New location, new faces, new things to get used to... It's all the same, from that point of view.

[isnottheworst]

"... I see. Though I'd think it'd at least be a little bit jarring...?"

[fools_journey]

"Hm." He shrugs. "A little. I usually had more warning for past moves."

[isnottheworst]

"I guess I just have trouble wrapping my head around the idea." Then she laughed nervously. "And here I'm already someone whose been to other worlds..."

[fools_journey]

"Really?" He tilts his head, interested. "What sorts of worlds have you been to before?"

[isnottheworst]

"... well, the Digital World for one," she replied. "It's a world made entirely out of data..."