@Jumbus location Agnostic; weird things can happen around New Hope, go crazy with it. There’s mountains, rivers, a lake, nearby forest- even an ocean and a city conveniently within ‘traveling distance’ via ‘traveling for a day to a train station then taking the train’ or whatever, etc. most of the ‘outside New Hope’ bits are off-screen for our purposes, but it’s a typical ‘anywhere it needs to be’ anime town. I do not wish to place it anywhere concrete or ever mention anywhere real ever lmao. If that’s a cop-out my bad, but I’m focusing on what’s right in front of us for this one.
The floor is open to pre-prologue sandbox as I give folks a chance to finish character sheets, or for any stragglers to show up and express interest.
If anyone dislikes my portrayal of their character or how the silly little intro I felt like writing up flows just let me know, I was just having fun with it.
A breeze rustles across a grassy slope, causing an illusion of waves cascading down the hill towards the bank of a still lake. The moon is reflected in its surface, shining through a gap in the clouds and casting an otherworldly glow upon the small village of New Hope.
Sidney relaxes, stretches her fingers, and puts stylus to screen as the breeze reaches the lakeside. Ripples echo outward, slower and more somber than their counterparts in the grass, and the girl's unevenly hewn hair falls over an eye. She halts her drawing to brush the hair from her face- and, as if drawn by a sharp sound, looks towards the camera directly where her green eyes flash in the moonlight.
The flash of green transitions to a forested scene; the breeze sweeping through the branches overhead, dappling the shaded and gnarled path underneath in a cascading and brief twinkling of light that reminisces of the night sky. Rowan strides with deliberate, conscientious steps on the rough trail. Despite her smile and relaxed nature, a weight is clear upon her brow and in the slump of her shoulders. She pauses, glances down at the camera, and reaches towards it with a curious expression. As she bends down the spectral image of an elder woman appears with its hand upon her shoulder. She hesitates for a moment, then completes the motion; she reaches for the camera, and her hand engulfs the view...
The shadows deepen. A pair of eyes appear in the darkness; brown in the black- then light spreads, definition fills, and the face of Elias becomes framed in an austere and drastic cutting darkness. Light from within a room, a huddled, older, figure murmuring in the candlelight. A map of New Hope is visible on the wall. Elias' expression twists into a familiar and comfortable one of benign resignation, and he turns away from the camera and slinks deeper into the shadows of his home. Footsteps recede, and suddenly the darkness evaporates in the glow of moonlight as he suddenly throws open a door. His silhouette burns in the center of the screen, then the light spreads to blind the audience.
The sun, high over Lake Chartreuse. The camera pans down to show the lake surface- which suddenly erupts as the towering figure of Ambrose surges out of the water. His muscular frame sparkles in the spray as the golden sun basks down upon him. The fractals of his reflection in the water droplets reveal different aspects of his life; Lead batter in a village baseball game, agonizing over his hair in a mirror, carrying a large pack of supplies up the stairs to the Old Shrine where the waving figures of the Fontaines smile down at him. He swims powerfully to the shore- only to suddenly find himself in the shade of his sole rival in size in New Hope; Weasel. The swarm of younger Bilica children holler and yell as they swarm around Ambrose and into the waters; Weasel's expression shifts into one of smug superiority. He smirks, and throws the first punch.
Papers explode into the air; books fall to the ground; a pair of glasses clatter onto the grass. Toby falls to her knees, reaching forth for the glasses- but another hand reaches them first. Freyja Hoar lifts them up, twirls them deftly in her fingers, then offers Toby her free hand as the sunlight glints across her own glasses. As Toby rises to her feet she looks around, as if realizing only now that several of the other students have stopped to help her pick her things up. Freyja places Toby's glasses back in her hands, then turns a stern expression towards the retreating back of Weasel; implying the bully had knocked Toby's books out of her hands. The camera swivels.
Audrey places her hands on her hips. Brazen boldness flares in her almond eyes. The group of kids helps Toby pick up her things in the background, but in the foreground Audrey unleashes a silent torrent of words whose sharpness are tangible even in the silence of the scene. Weasel's eyes flicker with surprise, then settle into annoyance. He reaches out to push Audrey out of his way- but the girl launches a vicious kick and launches herself at the larger boy in a hurricane of rage. They tumble out of scene as the gaggle of lesser Bilica children fall over each other to follow. The camera rotates with their fall, and in the blur of motion the scene transitions; Audrey and Weasel sitting, apart, glowering at one another outside the Nurse's office, each one wearing a series of bandages, as their fathers mutually berate them. The hatred between them flickers as their parents' tirades go unheard.
The torrent of shouting dies down into a pleasant chatter. Warmth fills the air- and excitement. As the arguing parents fade out of screen, the image is replaced by an oven; it opens, and a wondrous panoply of baked goods emerges on a tray. A kind gentleman with a wrinkled, laugh-lined, expression removes the tray and sets it on a granite countertop to cool. William runs through the room, laughing at something one of the other kids in the bakery had said, and reaches for a muffin carelessly; he picks it up, and burns his hand. He juggles the confection comically for a few moments, before his grandfather places a napkin in his hand and William can finally hold his scalding snack. William waves in a friendly manner of farewell, then runs back across the room to his friends; each step he takes, the background rapidly shifts. His first step is in the bakery, his next shows him on a mountain trail going up Mount Bilica, the next sprinting along the dock on Lake Chartreuse, the next leaping from a stump in the Weeping Sam, and the last shows him on the road out of town.
William's sprinting figure fades into a spectral image. It becomes replaced by that of Nathaniel, who is rooted in place rather than running headlong out of New Hope. Rather than the impatient excitement of William, Nathaniel's expression is a pensive one of someone who dares to dream. The camera pans around him, showing him in a myriad of environments; The road out of New Hope swirls around him, then becomes a bustling city street, then the balcony of a high rise apartment, then suddenly the window of his own room back on the Westmoreland Farm. He lifts the window open- only to recoil from the pig stench outside and slam it shut once again. As he does so, he's suddenly in a classroom. He turns his head back and sees his brother socializing with Ambrose Hightower and Audrey Springer. Nathaniel shakes his head, and reaches for a thick textbook on his desk.
The book opens, a breeze billowing over its pages. The contents change from thick historical analyses to the ledger math of the accountant. Old pages, dog-eared and worn, flutter listlessly in a dingy room. Damon's eyes are looking upon the pages, but unseeing; the unheard words of a father flowing over and through him, but the meaning being lost somewhere within. The silhouette of the imposing, monolithic, Ashton Howard circles around Damon in an almost predatory manner- until Damon suddenly slams the book shut. Dust fills the air; the silhouette is lost in the chaos; Damon leaps onto the desk and pirouettes on a foot. He lithely moves, his body dancing to an unheard rhythm. His eyes close, and the dim world around him becomes replaced by that of the stage; the theatre; the ballroom; the elegant halls of the gala. The shuttering light of the cameras flickers across his features as he dances and composes- but a shadowy hand grabs him by the back of his collar and drags him back down. His eyes open, and he is merely laying on a grassy hill outside New Hope, gazing up at the twinkling light of the stars as the breeze carries across Lake Chartreuse and tousles through his hair.
David runs a hand through his hair, dust filling the room around him. He sneezes, exacerbating the issue by dislodging another cloud of dust from the opened tower of a library desktop. The dust settles on him as he leans back in the chair and stares up at the ceiling in a moment of contemplation. He slides back in the chair and rises to his feet suddenly, striding with swift, deliberate, steps to the nearby window and throwing it open. He shields his eyes against the direct sunlight for a moment, then leans out the window to get fresh air. As he breathes in deeply, he closes his eyes and the world around him shifts in a rhythmic manner implying a calmness and peacefulness to his thought process; the library around him fades into the small computer lab of the school, where he shows a frustrated Freyja Hoar how to handle a minor software issue; the dock of Lake Chartreuse, where the student council had gathered to plan some school function and his help had been requested with handling a projector and sound system; the dinner table, where his father was attentive and curious about his day despite the tired eyes and fatigued demeanor; the computer store, where Nicolas and Sarah were eager to show him a new technological marvel... But then he opens his eyes and breathes out, and is once again alone in the Library. He closes the window to the sound of his peers having fun outside.
The porthole window of Brown's room thuds with the light impact of a stone, rousing Brown from a book-wrought mid-day doze. He untangles his limbs and glances out to see the young Odaya Bilica, waving from the dock nearby at his window. Her expression is still crowlike- but is decidedly more tame than others typically experienced. Brown begins to move, rising from his desk chair as he stretches his arms and back to shake off the sleep. The scene shifts, Brown reaching up to the highest shelf of a library aisle and retrieving a book for a slight farm-wife. Nearby, his mother and Hickory discuss something in quiet voices. He turns his back on them and gives them their privacy, beginning to walk away. His footsteps carry him seemingly unseen through school halls, festival stalls, and even through the city streets- until the large hand of Weasel Bilica grabs his shoulder suddenly and pulls him around face-to-face. Weasel gestures towards Gavriel, Simeon, Raphael, and Isaias Bilica; the quartet bashfully hold up schoolbooks in an embarrassed entreaty of help. Brown smiles and nods, and turns towards the local café.
The camera pans upwards and way, then to the village entrance, where it focuses on the simple post greeting all who enter; "New Hope, where all your dreams come true".
Summer. The most cherished of days for those who must attend New Hope's squat school experience. The school season is simple, but to some stifling, and the opportunity to stretch one's legs in the summer is yearned for by even the most academically inclined as the period of Final Exams waxes to a close. Free time, family obligations, social headaches...
Summer is the time. In New Hope, this particular summer has felt as if it never wants to end. Days are long, weeks are longer, and the excitement bubbling about this year's Summer Festival has caused the event to feel as if it would never arrive. Now it looms over the horizon like some predator waiting to pounce. The bakery is full force, the grocer's shelves are practically empty as supplies have been bought up, the lakeside is busy with those who are preparing decorations and supplies...
But there's time. The hustle and bustle of energy permeates the atmosphere of New Hope, casting even a positive light over the gloom of the Weeping Sam and making Mount Hoar look a little less intimidating with its craggy peak. The days are idyllic. The village is alive and thriving. The dock of Lake Chartreuse has a particular bubble of excitement; Freyja Hoar, being the outgoing sort that she is, was helping the elders prepare a ceremonial raft for the festival- but is now swept up in doting upon young Stig. Even the more austere of the farming folk can't help but take a break to play with the toddler as Freyja walks with him along the dock and holds him over the waters, causing the quiet boy to smile and wave his hands at the surface as if he wants to be thrown in.
this is not a required scene to interact with; you are free to create your own scenes and interact with your characters as you see fit within the area surrounding New Hope.
Tomorrow (The 11th) I shall open up an initial sandbox roleplay period. This will encompass a time nebulous and vaguely ‘Before The Summer Festival’ while school is out.
The deadline I’m setting for applications will be the 21st (the Saturday after this one).
From there, I will start the Summer Festival and segue into the beginning of our Prologue; this will hopefully occur around the 25th, but will be no later than the 30th.
I appreciate all the interest in this so far. It gives me nostalgia for my early days of the hobby. I’ve got good vibes from the crew and characters. Later this week I’ll likely open up an initial sandbox scene for people to roleplay in as others finish up their characters. From there I’ll set a deadline to finish any character applications, and after that I’ll set the scene for the Summer Festival and begin the Prologue proper.
@Cassette I dig it; you built in a drama for me to work with for the time skip, and built in your own reason for him to have a deep draw to the village despite being an outsider. Approved, just keep communication up for the potentially antagonistic antics he may get into between the other players should those situations arise. Probably doesn’t need to be said but I’m covering the bases.
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