utopiamods: (The right way to fight Exaclan)
Rakuen Moderators ([personal profile] utopiamods) wrote in [community profile] rakuen2010-12-28 12:37 am

Introduction!

The tram quickly arrives at the academy station, and the students onboard are ushered off and directed to the front lobby of the school. They can't miss it; there are signs up pointing toward the main entrance, reading "New student orientation" in big, bright letters. If anyone should care to move off the path, try exploring somewhere else, a teacher will conveniently appear to shoo them back toward the lobby, assuring them that "all your questions will be answered inside".

The lobby is big and spacious, looking more like a university or perhaps a fancy international hotel than a high school. There's a woman sitting at a desk ready to check everyone in, but she's not important right now; what the students should pay attention to is the large flat-screen TV set into one of the walls. As soon as everyone has gathered inside, it clicks on and starts to play a prerecorded video. A cheerful woman appears on-screen; when she speaks, she's so chipper you might just feel your teeth starting to rot.

"Good afternoon to our new students here at Utopia Academy! Thank you for choosing to enroll with us for this, our first semester of the new year. Our battle system is the best in the world, set up for you, our students! I hope that you all had a fun journey here, and that you've all made some new friends! You're going to need them soon, so keep them close, okay?

"Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Make sure to listen carefully, and remember, you can find all of this and more in the Exaclan manual!"

A map of the academy appears on-screen. The woman stands green-screened in front of the map.

"Our academy is fully integrated with a virtual network that includes several layers of tactile, empathic holographics geared toward the battle game Exaclan. Exaclan is a game fought between groups of Players using their respective Weapons; if a Player wins a battle, he or she takes possession of the opposing Player's Weapon. This way, Players can own many, many Weapons. Collect them all!

"As for the Weapons, you might be wondering where those come from. Well, as it turns out, only a few of you are going to be Players. The rest of you are Weapons! Players, if you equip your custom-fitted Exaclan gloves, you will be able to unsheathe your weapon from the chest of any Weapon you own."

Meanwhile, behind the woman as she speaks, a stylized cartoon sequence plays out in which a man in knight's garb pulls a sword from the chest of a woman in an elaborate princess gown.

"Now, since you're all just starting out here, you don't own any Weapons yet. In order to take possession of a Weapon, you must ask permission, and then promise to own and protect it. This is very important! Be nice to your Weapons, and in return, they will bring you to victory!

"The items you draw out of your Weapons' chests aren't real; they are part of the holographic Exaclan system. Each person's Weapon will be different, and they aren't just guns or knives, either. Their form is partly determined by the Weapon's personality, but it's partly randomized. Maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe not. It eliminates natural advantages!

"Now, like I said, the Weapons aren't real, but the damage you do in battle is real. You will feel every blow you take from an opponent's Weapon, and physical damage done to your Weapon will damage the person you drew it from, too. So be careful, or you could cause serious damage!"

The woman holds up one finger, grinning ear-to-ear;

"If you win a battle, ownership of the Weapon you fought against transfers to you. You also earn one Token, and you earn an additional Token for every five battles you fight, whether or not you win. Tokens can be used to buy Upgrades, Link Charms, Memory Charms, and Legend Fragments, so do your best to earn as many Tokens as you can!

"Oh, right, about the Memory Charms... you're probably wondering why there are some things you can't remember. That's just a little precaution we took to make sure that you would participate in Exaclan. You've each been stripped of ten memories: Some of them are very important, but some of them aren't. You can purchase a Memory Charm for five Tokens, which means to regain all of your memories will cost fifty Tokens. Ah, there's a catch, though: You can't use the Memory Charms you buy. You have to give them to other people. So get along with your fellow students and make as many friends as you can, okay?

"Now, if you have any other questions, make sure to consult your Exaclan manuals. They will tell you more about the rules of Exaclan, what you can and cannot do with your Weapons, and so forth. Following this video, the list of Players for this Round will be displayed. Anyone not on that list is a Weapon for this Round. Sorry!"

The woman holds one hand up in front of her face apologetically, but continues smiling as ever.

"In conclusion, welcome to Utopia Academy. Let's all do our best and achieve utopia together!"

The video clicks off, replaced by a pale blue screen stating the following:

PLAYERS FOR ROUND -2:
Dave Strider
Gino Weinberg
Grenn Atair
Koharu Izaki
Molly Hayes


((OOC: Feel free to post reactions and general mingling in this post. From here on, you're free to make posts, fight battles, attend class, etc.! If you have any questions, get in touch with a mod.

Edit: A mod mistook how much Memory Charms cost. They're five tokens, not ten. Oops! So the post has been edited slightly. That is all!))
queenscheckmate: we are young (captured lost hope; fight till the end)

[personal profile] queenscheckmate 2010-12-30 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
Kallen had only ran to the entryway of where she had walked into the building. She didn't dare look back because she didn't want to believe it. Hell, it might have been an illusion. She was sure she wasn't shot up with Refrain or anything of the sort before coming here. Kallen knew what he could do to people; she saw the reality of the drug through her mother. Broken memories, living in the past. Not even once after Lelouch's death had she considered it. Not to mention, she had fought off Suzaku when he tried to inject her with it.

Finding a moment to catch her breath, her ears picked up a familiar voice. For a moment, Kallen swore she was hearing things. Because honestly, this had to be some sort of trippy dream. Lelouch was dead and she was pretty sure that voice belonged to Suzaku. She had killed him. By her own hand, he died.

Kallen refused to acknowledge the voice.
myownfuture: (B'dump)

[personal profile] myownfuture 2010-12-30 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
"They control everything -- well, almost. They aren't as powerful as Iwahijiri, of course, but..." She trailed off, still distracted. Try as she might, she couldn't picture Sumita's face. She couldn't remember the first thing about what he looked like, outside of his general body shape and skin tone. What was this? She drew in a sharp breath without quite realizing it.
greennotgold: (I don't know...)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
Fletcher winced. He was pretty sure his brother didn't want him hearing words like that. "O-oh. I-I see."

He edged away from the older boy.
greennotgold: (Huh?)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
"Dormitories?" Fletcher repeated as he stepped up to the counter. He peered up at the receptionist.
thatguywhohasablog: indifferent slouch (:/)

[personal profile] thatguywhohasablog 2010-12-30 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Clearly Dave was not making a particularly good impression. That was okay. Or it wasn't going to stop him, at least. "I mean I can just about make out the rules of whatever creepy weirdass game this is, but hell if I know what anyone's actually trying to accomplish with this thing. Probably some bullshit like we're all stuck in the virtual reality subconscious of a comatose little girl, and we've gotta accomplish some arbitrary meaningful goal by beating each other to a pulp with the digital friendship manifestations of each other's souls or whatever and then back in the real world the orchestra swells to a crescendo and her eyes flutter open and her lonely CEO father finally knows what it's like to be loved."
greennotgold: (Peeking)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
Fletcher just stared.

That was pretty specific for a random guess, or at least he thought so, but it was mostly just confusing.

He didn't really know what to say to any of it, so he just repeated, "...oh."
thatguywhohasablog: indifferent slouch (:/)

[personal profile] thatguywhohasablog 2010-12-30 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
Dave looked back at Fletcher for a moment. He could have kept going, possibly indefinitely. Normally the incomprehension of whoever he was talking to didn't put him off in the slightest, but then again normally he wasn't talking to people face to face, and when he was they weren't usually kids younger than he was who'd apparently been abducted to take part in some kind of bizarre virtual reality combat game and had their memories erased.

Dave Strider didn't particularly pride himself on compassion, but Fletcher's eyes were very big.

He shrugged again, and said, "I don't know. Some kind of weird interdimensional social experiment, I guess." He paused. "Are you, uh, okay there?"
frozen_desires: (aw fuck me silly)

[personal profile] frozen_desires 2010-12-30 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
If Tougyu felt any pain, he gave no sign of it. In fact, the only indication that he noticed what she'd done was look up at her with a somewhat annoyed stare.

"Running isn't fighting and a stupid bitch like you wouldn't stand a chance at close range combat." He remarked absently, straightening in case she decided to do something more violent next time. There were only two women he'd take that kind of treatment from, and Grenn wasn't one of them.

Still, here he had a golden opportunity. If fighting was the only way to get back his memories then he needed a player who was willing to take him. And despite the low standards, his window of opportunity was already dwindling, especially since one of the five players was one of Himoto Sora's possessions.

No, the only way he'd get to fight is if he found a player who was as desperate for a partner as he was.

"Make me your weapon."
greennotgold: (Unsure)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
"O-oh," he said again. Social experiment? They didn't have those in Amestris, but he could sort of guess what it meant from context. Kind of.

He nodded. "I-I think so. My big brother's here too..." He looked down at the floor. That's where he usually looked when he was nervous and talking to strangers.
thatguywhohasablog: indifferent slouch (:/)

[personal profile] thatguywhohasablog 2010-12-30 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
"Huh. Lemme see that." Dave leaned forward a little, frowming slightly. "Was that there before?"
thatguywhohasablog: either slightly concerned, vaguely impressed or mildly confused (huh)

[personal profile] thatguywhohasablog 2010-12-30 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh. Cool." Dave kind of wished his big brother was here as well, but there was no conscious level on which he would actually admit that. "He a whole lot older than you or what?"
greennotgold: (Hiding behind Russel)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
Fletcher nodded. "He's five years older than me. He's really overprotective sometimes, so he'll make sure nothing bad happens."
veepofchess: (on a bike bitches)

[personal profile] veepofchess 2010-12-30 08:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Who is Iwahijiri?" he asked. He felt like he was grilling her, but she seemed perfectly willing to give up the information, so he wasn't about to stop now.
myownfuture: (Pinged)

[personal profile] myownfuture 2010-12-30 08:05 am (UTC)(link)
She might have mistrusted Lelouch's motivations -- no boy she'd ever met was ever just genuinely curious about something -- but no harm was being done by sharing. It might even do some good.

"They're a massive corporation with an obscene amount of power," she replied in disgust. "They're the ones who own Utopia Academy and made it so the girls here were oppressed. Even before they implemented Exaclan, the girls didn't have any rights at all."
veepofchess: (chess anyone?)

[personal profile] veepofchess 2010-12-30 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
Lelouch made a noise of disgust. More of the strong stepping on the weak just because they can. It seemed that he still had work to do. "Thank you very much for answering my questions," he finished. "Can I come to you if I have any more?"
myownfuture: (You bore me)

[personal profile] myownfuture 2010-12-30 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
"You're welcome," she replied, staying cordial the whole way through. "Yes, sure. There are a few other people here from Utopia Academy, too."
summerstars: (Default)

[personal profile] summerstars 2010-12-30 09:10 am (UTC)(link)
Stupid..?

"I am not a female dog, slag brain, and an obstacle course requires coordination. Or have you perhaps never run one?" Grenn gave a stare right back. How dare he call her stupid! And what sort of insult was calling someone a bitch, anyway? Humans weren't even related to dogs close enough for the comparsion to be apt!

And then..! To literally demand--! But she knew she needed at least one weapon. It was an accident that they had even started to talk to each other (if you could call it that). She couldn't rely on luck to get her any other possible weapon...

An image of Sora flittered briefly through her head, but it was mentally shook away. Sora had at least two friends here, and one of them could be one of the players; she'd want to be with them. And Grenn wasn't sure how to find her in this crowd, anyway, or start a conversation, especially about this.

"Right." Grenn rolled her eyes and then narrowed her eyes. "But if this is going to be as... painless as possible for both of us, we'll both try to keep insults to a minimum. You can think what you want about me, but if you call me stupid or..." another pause to roll her eyes, "a female dog again, I don't care if I can't play, I am not gonna use you as my Weapon." If she was going to try to be respectful, he was too.
frozen_desires: (this shit is outta whack)

[personal profile] frozen_desires 2010-12-30 09:36 am (UTC)(link)
Tougyu tilted his head to the side. "Slag brain...?" What kind of insult was that?

Well, it didn't matter. He had a player, a bossy one, but one nonetheless. That was definitely a step in the right direction. At her conditions of being a pair, Tougyu's eyes took on a thoughtful light as he considered them. For a moment he thought about arguing, about saying how he should be allowed to say whatever he wanted regardless of the circumstances and that she wasn't allowed to deny him that right.

But then again, he was a weapon now and by the unofficial Exaclan rules, weapons had no rights.

So, instead, he shrugged in a non-verbal sort of agreement and looked straight into her eyes. "Make the promise."
summerstars: (hmm)

[personal profile] summerstars 2010-12-30 10:12 am (UTC)(link)
She did not want to. This was the sort of person she'd avoid as long as possible, normally. Just her luck that she would accidentally get stuck with such a person.

She did not like him. But, she didn't really need to. She didn't like that "promise" either. The only ones who "owned" people were those who had slaves, and slavery was reprehensible. It happened, of course, what horrible facet of humanity didn't, but reprehensible.

She was tired. There was a faint column of pain going up through her body from her legs. Nothing she hadn't learned to deal with, but constantly there, anyway.

"If you would allow me to... borrow you, for the duration of the round, I'll do my best to keep your weapon as unharmed as possible." There. She hoped that would be close enough to the original 'promise' that it would count. Borrowing, she could deal with.
tenwholeryou: (hnnnnngh.)

[personal profile] tenwholeryou 2010-12-30 12:21 pm (UTC)(link)
He shook his head quickly, then turned away from Dave long enough to spit on the mark and scrub harder.
greennotgold: (Adorable peeking)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 12:32 pm (UTC)(link)
How did she know that? A shiver ran up his spine at the comment. "Um-- y-yeah... Which way is it? Is my brother staying there too?"
greennotgold: (Afraid to speak up)

[personal profile] greennotgold 2010-12-30 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
His face fell. Take that, evil receptionists: The face of a sad ten-year-old.

"Um... are they near each other?"
thatguywhohasablog: chillin with his collection of awful alchemised objects (all these things are legitimately cool)

[personal profile] thatguywhohasablog 2010-12-30 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Looks like some kind of weird magic tattoo shit," Dave observed. "I don't know like maybe it just showed up now because of the intense mystical pact we just made." A glance at his own hand confirmed he didn't have anything similar, though. Hmm.

Page 5 of 13