WEEK 3: April 15th - April 19th

[cartesio]

Third Week

The peaceful times are over. Moloch von Zinzer was murdered, and Nine was sentenced as his murderer. Everyone in Cartesio knows that.

Although life goes on, it seems the town of Cartesio isn't going to forget the tourists' transgressions. Not only they commited larceny in the cinema, they also murdered and executed in their town! It's no surprise their hospitality towards the visitors has cooled down considerably.

Not only they're maintaining a tense cordiality with them, they also have started talking behind the visitors' backs. All kinds of rumors are starting to sprout, yet nobody seems to be willing to say it to the tourists' faces. Talking directly to most passerby makes them distrustful, and nobody seems to want to be in close quarters alone with them.

It's only matter of time before the relationship between tourists and Cartesio starts degrading even further.

In the lobby of the motel there's a few more brochures, and the maps have been updated once again.

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the third week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

SUNDAY

[cartesio]

 

NEWSPAPER - April 15th

[cartesio]

[Weather: Pleasant weather, expected to last for a long while. No impending rain.

Tragedy has shaken our town once more. On the morning April 13th, a fire was reported in the junkyard. Our reliable fire fighters set out to combat it immediately and they found a single car on fire, a human body inside of it. It was later identified as the remains of tourist Moloch von Zinzer. In an act of unprecedented violence, he has been stabbed and left for cremation. Had the firefighters not arrived on time, the body might have not been identifiable.

In a swift decision, the crime has been put on trial that very same afternoon. Tourist Nine has been found guilty of homicide and sentenced to death. Though the matter has been resolved among the visitors themselves, the members of our community cannot help but worry about the violent tendencies on display here.

This journalist urges every citizen to be cautious in dealing with the strangers.]

EXECUTION

[cartesio]

April 15th. Execution day. Just like the Sergeant said he would, at sunrise three people enter the execution room: the Sergeant himself, the culprit who performed the crime, being restrained by the Sergeant -- Nine -- and the executioner who volunteered -- Oda. Nobody says a word, the atmosphere is heavy. Anyone from the town who chooses to watch is forced to stay outside the execution room, looking inside from behind a transparent partition.

The electric chair is ignored. Instead, Nine is left in front of it, in the center of the room. The Sergeant steps backwards to the entrance, keeping Nine restrained with his power until he judges he's far away enough. As soon as Nine feels he can move freely again, he uses fire. His hand glows, it's his last desperate move! Underneath the Sergeant a circle of fire sprouts, enveloping him briefly in a column of flames, lasting just a moment, Nine watching and hoping to see the Sergeant knocked out, or simply injured enough to get away. To his side, Oda watches, impassive but ready to act if it turns out they'd be able to leave.

Any hopes Nine had of getting away are dashed when, after that brief moment, the Sergeant is seen, intact. He hasn't even shifted positions. All he does is shake his head, speechless, before closing the door to the execution room, and watches the procedure away from the rest of the spectators.

Resigned to his death, Nine's shoulders slump and he faces Oda. What can one say to the person that's executing you? Even though he's not in any position to make any requests, he puts his best brave face, smiles daringly, and says very clearly:

"Let's get this done quick, yo"

He wasn't going to let himself spend his last moments with fear, that simply wasn't Nine's way. Oda nods, raising his gun, and takes careful aim at Nine, right to the head. The sight of the gun is fearsome, once it aims Nine's resolve wavers for a moment, enough that, in an attempt to keep himself calm and accept his impending death, he starts humming . It feels like that moment extends forever, Nine humming to himself, taking a deep breath and just...standing there, ready to accept death.

Oda never hesitated in his role. The moment he entered the room he knew what he'd have to do, and he was willing to do it. Both as a sign of respect at Nine, and because he didn't intend to do it any other way, he was going to make it as quick as possible -- one bullet. For just a few short seconds, although for everyone watching and taking part of this seemed much longer, Oda lets Nine hum.

"...I hope you get to see your friends again"

The last words he'd hear weren't what he expected. Although he doesn't stop, he steels himself the moment Oda pulls the trigger, as if that was going to make the endeavor easier for him and for his executioner.

The humming stopped. Suddenly, time marched on. Nine slumped to the floor, lifeless after just one shot, just like both him and Oda hoped. Oda lowered the gun, looked at Nine's lifeless body as a farewell, and turned to the door of the execution room.

"It's done"

Maybe the Sergeant noticed how heavy the ambient was, because he doesn't reply. All he does is open the door, and lets Oda out of the execution room. Only once almost everyone leaves, he enters, takes Nine's body, and marches out, carrying it over his shoulder.

The first execution had been completed.

[clearities]

[ Sakura avoids the execution. She's not going to watch someone be put to death like it's some sort of spectacle-- she doesn't want her last memories of Nine to be like that, just like how she was forced to see Mira-san die in that horrific way. So instead, Sakura spends her time in an attempt to be productive. Or at the very least, doing something else entirely different. She promised herself that she wasn't going to cry anymore. At least, not right now. If she has to cry again, she'll do it for completely different reasons. The pain hasn't gone away however, and she's not certain if it ever will, but she's going to try her best to cope at the ice cream parlor, getting several scoops of strawberry ice cream to see if it would melt the anguish in her heart. It doesn't. Later on, she can be found at the park. It's her usual spot for relaxing and clearing her mind, but this time she seems to be making some paper crafts-- specifically, flowers on one of the benches. While she might be a little spaced out, she won't say no to some company. ]

ice cream parlor

[pursuitofdeath]

[He's trying to make himself useful today as well-- which included checking out some new places. An ice cream parlor speaks for itself, but he still visits it anyway. He's not entirely disappointed, when he sees Sakura inside. He noticed she didn't come to the execution, so she'd been on his mind a bit.

He takes the chair across from her and spins it, sitting on it backwards; resting his arms on the back and his chin on his arms.]

Strawberry?

[Cute...]

ice cream parlor;

[kingbomber]

[ He angrily digs his own scoops to nab some strawberry ice cream himself.

...When he looks to see she's gotten the same, he just kind of makes a face. ]

You too?

park

[marmoron]

[Keith happens to be doing some community service gig when he spots Sakura seated on the bench. Seeing how spaced out she seems though, he merely waves to acknowledge her existence and resumes prettying up the park as ordered by planting some hydrangeas.]

ice cream parlor

[streetwolf]

[Wayne doesn't eat ice cream why is he here? But he's just here, staring down at her and hovering.]

I thought you wanted to avoid this place?

open + building investigation

[pursuitofdeath]

[Dazai attends the execution. Not out of any particular desire to see what's going to take place; but because there's nothing else he can be doing at this moment. It's difficult to watch, certainly. But he doesn't take his eyes off of Nine and Oda. Not even when the Sergeant is attacked. He knows it won't make a difference. He'd been prepared for anything either of them could have done.

He waits for Oda after, when it's done.

But later he goes to abandoned building #2 to investigate just what this space may have been used for. So let's see if he can get inside, shall we?

In the evening he visits the ice cream parlor. Well... this is a nice way to cope. It's sweet, after a whole lot to be bitter about.]

post execution

[odasaku]

[ oda leaves the execution room as impassive as he arrived in it. on the outside, that is.

but maybe dazai can tell how much just one kill wore him down. he doesn't know what to say at this moment, because-- what is the right thing to say? how should they act? ]

Got anything planned for today?

[ oda decides to ignore the elephant in the room for now. and he hopes that dazai won't bring it up either, just for the sake of making things less tense. ]

Investigation

[cartesio]

[Compared to other places, this one is very easy to get into. It's a small, one-story building, with a sign on the wall, so faded it's impossible to read. The front door even is unlocked]

ice cream parlor

[doublelammy]

[You know what helps everything? Sweets. And that's why Millium's making her way back to the ice cream parlor, after two weeks without it.

She doesn't get a ton, for once – her appetite's just not in it. But she does get a nice cone of mint chocolate chip.

Mimicking what she'd done for Oda at lunchtime, she just plops down beside Dazai without a word, licking at her ice cream.

She does raise her off hand in a slight wave. That counts as a greeting, right?]

[odasaku]

[ once the execution is over, oda is practically unavailable for a good chunk of the morning. he doesn't seem to be overly upset about his actions, but he's clearly keeping some sort of distance between himself and the rest of the tourists. he doubts that anyone will want to speak to him anyways, so he'll just do them the favor and stay away from the start.

that said, in the afternoon, oda's in the diner, eating lunch. though he still looks really distant, you can approach him there because he's not sacrificing his lunch, y'know.

and, later in the evening, he'll be on a park bench. this time, though, he's not feeding birds or anything like that. there's a lit cigarette between his fingers, which he occasionally brings up to his lips to take a drag from. he's quite deep in thought, but... he's approachable. ]

park

[clearities]

[ Perhaps he might be avoiding other people, but... after a while, Sakura decides to actively seek him out. Not to mention that the park is one of the few places that she goes to actually relax. While she's not feeling the greatest herself, she doesn't want to actively add anymore problems onto the others' shoulders-- or be a burden-- so when she approaches, it's with a small smile, carrying a bit of papers in her arms. ] Ah, Oda-san...? Can we talk for a bit? [ There's no anger in her voice. ]

diner;

[kingbomber]

[ At some point, the blond comes and looks for the other man, and slams own his gathering of food on the table, barely managing to spill it everywhere. ]

Still able to eat after all of that, huh?

diner

[doublelammy]

[Millium does not attend the execution. In fact, Millium spends her time between leaving the cell and the diner in her room at the motel. Sleep comes and goes.

Millium can't spend all day cooped up in her room, though. Eventually, her stomach starts growling at her to actually do something about it, so it's off to the diner with her.

She initially grabs food to go, but she pauses when she catches Oda out of the corner of her eye.

She doesn't say anything before simply sliding into a seat across from him, opening her little to-go container to produce a sandwich.]

Hi.

[She speaks up only because she feels like she should say something. This time, at least, she understands the tightness in her chest, but it doesn't change her from wanting to speak to try to remedy it even a little.]

park

[streetwolf]

[He hadn't spoken to this guy. But he'd done the execution, so he'd pay him his dues. Not that Wayne was entirely sure doing what the sergeant wanted was a good thing.

He just plonks himself on the bench. Sitting for a moment.]

...You know that's bad for your health?

diner

[robitussin]

[When she notices him in the diner, she almost leaves him alone to eat, but... For whatever reason, after a moment, she approaches.]

Hey.

Park

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus walks over to the bench, leaning on the back before circling around and sitting next to him. He doesn't speak for a while either, looking forward before turning to Oda.]

Are you worried what people will think about you volunteering?

Lunch

[quickpersuader]

[Well, Kino was getting lunch anyway, so Kino will go ahead and sit opposite him with a sandwich and salad.]

Looks like we had similar ideas.

investigation

[robitussin]

[Natalie doesn't go to the execution. She wakes up well before the execution takes place and assumes she'll be transported there regardless. When she isn't, though... She has no particular inclination to watch the proceedings.

Instead, she wanders around the town. The first thing she takes note of is the newly added graveyard. Even if the weather is good today, she feels cold looking at it, somehow. It doesn't have anything to do with the suddenly overcast weather surrounding the area, even if she takes notes of that.]

...Well, that's fucking creepy, to say the least.

[Before leaving the area, she goes to explore around the mausoleum. It's locked, but she wants to look around the area and see if there's anything notable or strange about it regardless.

After that, she comes across the chapel. It's hard to miss, especially with the large statue standing near the building. She regards it for a few moments, before speaking up to anyone who might be nearby.]

I honestly can't decide if that's really impressive or a little bit intimidating. Thoughts?

investigation

[kingbomber]

[ Once again, Bakugou's been reinforced about how much he hates this town. At some point, Bakugou takes to investigating the chapel because it's new, though he doesn't know what he's supposed to be expecting here.

He can be found nearby the ice cream parlor, about to purchase some strawberry ice cream, though he's giving the person manning the station a death glare before holding out his card.

After that, he can be found by the park, with some bread, looking kind of really irritable (as expected) and he's heading closer to the pond, though he stops and turns to face someone if they come by. ]

...What?

investigation? npcs? + open

[carbide]

[Olympia isn't any more sure what to do with herself now than she was last night. If anything, she's even less confident now that she's seen the Sergeant basically ignore a powerful-looking magic attack.

When she stops by the motel lobby to destroy another guestbook (this time just tearing it in half), it's a relief to see the new maps and the new locations that come with it. Exploring will give her something to do.

And explore she does, starting with the chapel. She isn't particularly religious herself, but her understanding is that Sunday tends to be when places like this are active, so it seems like a good time to find someone who can explain things. And if not, she'll just do some exploring on her own.

Later she heads for the tavern again and, ignoring the looks she gets from the other patrons, starts playing around with the pool table. This makes a better distraction, mostly because she doesn't have a clue what she's doing. It takes her a few tries to not hit the cueball so hard it flies across the room. After a while, though, she decides she's had enough practice, and she'll quickly move to intercept anyone who makes the mistake of coming near her.]

Want to play?

Investigation!

[quickpersuader]

[Kino attends the execution. The quick death does not much faze the traveler, but then, not much has, so that's likely not a surprise. Afterwards, it's back to business as usual.]

[Graveyard - Investigation, open to PCs]

[Kino spends some time here, looking at the different graves intently, the names inscribed upon them. There's history in graves, and Kino is nothing if not curious.]

[Ice Cream Parlor]

[Just as basically everyone else, Kino's here to partake in some ice cream! Kino seems pretty pleased. Some may notice that Kino is sampling different flavors with each scoop.

This is, without a doubt, the very best addition to this town.]

[Clothing Store]

[Kino eventually can be found here, browsing through the clothes, particularly mens' button down shirts. Or, rather - boy's, given Kino's size. Come critique this incredibly boring sense of fashion? Or help in the search? Either is an acceptable use of time.]

[marmoron]

around town - morning/early afternoon
[It's some time after the execution that Keith is finally free to leave jail and his first order of business is to figure out exactly what the hell happened while he was thoroughly inconvenienced by the po. If you thought maybe spending a few days in jail would've cooled his jets a little, you'd be dead wrong. He'll skip right over the whole hi hello good to see you again routine and dive headfirst into:]

What happened?

[He's heard some of it from Nine, but the whole thing just sounds like a bad fever dream....]

Park - afternoon
[Next on the order of business -- this goddamn mandatory community service thing that Keith has to do as part of getting to leave jail. It's pretty clear to see what Keith's feelings are about this whole deal as he's on his hands and knees planting some pretty looking flowers for the community's park. Judging from the look on his face, you'd think he was on sewer cleaning duty....

If he catches you staring, he just looks up with the most deadpan expression.]

Can I help you?

Weapon Shop - late afternoon / NPC interaction
[Hi, Mason. Do you regret selling one of these nasty tourists all the guns yet? Well in any case, Keith makes his way to the store later in the afternoon to make a fairly simple request.]

Howdy. [It's polite enough, that's a start right?]