robowest | [ WEEK ONE

ARRIVAL

It's a surprisingly quiet ride. The passenger cart is nothing more than wood and a bit of cotton to cushion the seats but for some reason, even as the train hurtles along down the track, the cart remains silent. It only starts filling with noise when the passengers begin to stir.

There isn't any indication on how you got here. No grogginess, no injuries -- in fact, those who arrive with injuries might find them healed up completely (of course there are others who won't be so lucky) -- but in one blink and the next, you are here, on this train. Maybe you're even sitting next to a friend. Maybe a stranger.

Won't be any time to talk either, the train suddenly slowing down with enough of a jerk to throw its passengers back into their seats. A few seconds later, it comes to a complete stop and with a whistle, the doors open and a voice calls from outside. It's male, with a slight mechanical twang behind it and anyone who looks out the window towards the station can just about spot the portly man out on the platform.

"You might as well come on out, folks. You won't be getting any answers on the train."

Once everyone is out on the platform, the man stands before them taking an assessing look at each person. There is something very off about him, though he looks human enough -- but his eyes are too white, his skin too dry, and his hair is doesn't shine quite right. He is dressed in a flannel shirt, suspenders, and jeans, a cowboy hat atop his head and a badge pinned to his shirt that reads "Sheriff". After a moment, he gives a gruff nod and speaks again.

"Howdy. Real happy to see all of you. Explanations will come... Sunday morning, yeah. Give y'all a bit of time to meet each other. Settle in. Keys are on the table over there, hat and pistol in your room. Don't, er... Don't shoot each other right away but if you do, my office is over there. Go get some dinner, sun's about to set. Wouldn't want any coyote trouble."

And that seems to be... it. The Sheriff tips his hat and turns to head to the building with the large "Sheriff" sign on the front. There is a table nearby, keys neatly laid out for everyone with nametags attached to each one. An owl hoots in the distance and a breeze passes through the group. It's quiet again.

Welcome to game start! Characters will find their items in their hotel rooms and anyone who goes to visit the Sheriff after he leaves will find the station empty. On top of that, rulebooks will not be available to find until later. The Sheriff might be forcing it a little but it seems like the intent here really is to get everyone to interact with each other. If there are any questions, PM or hit up the plurk at

robowest!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Someone kill him now, he can't take this.]

Well, we're not friends or going to become friends, so you can shut down that line of thinking right now. Besides, it's not like all strangers become friends, right? Sometimes they turn out to be enemies who'll stab you in the back.

For all you know, I'm just luring you away from public so that I can kill you.

For all I know— [But she does actually stop, frowning when she turns to look at him, displeased, but not afraid.] —you just want to go on a picnic like anyone else would.

[The insistence that they won't ever be friends doesn't bother her; she's heard that line before, and it didn't stop her. But...]

Why do you say weird stuff like that?

[She looks displeased! Success.]

Don't screw with me. Unlike you, I'm not into those kinds of frivolous activities.

[He shrugs.]

Stuff like what?

Like earlier when we were talking about nicknames. And like now, what you said about luring me away.

I don't see anything weird with what I've said.

[Oh, he knows what she's probably talking about.]

If it bothers you, though, you're free to have nothing to do with me.

[She hesitates—her unending aggressive friendship instinct hasn't died down. But Yuna isn't as stupid as she acts; she plays her silliness up for laughs, sure, but she's good at reading situations. If he actually meant to kill her, he wouldn't have so much as made sure she wasn't skipping the whole way there and tiring herself out, never mind that he wouldn't even say that. He wants to get a rise out of her, she thinks, which isn't enough for her to dismiss him entirely. But...she did promise Eliot yesterday that she wouldn't do this literal exact thing she's about to be doing.

So instead, after a moment, Yuna beams and claps her hands together.] Actually! I think I changed my mind.

[is he free????]

We'd have a better time with our picnic if we invited a few more people, too!

[no he is not. not going off alone with weird strangers but also not refusing to have anything to do with him victory!!!!!!]

[... He was so close.]

No way. I refuse. I absolutely refuse to be seen doing this by other people.

[YUNA IS BAD ENOUGH. He's having traumatic flashbacks to karaoke...]

Just go ahead and ditch me. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, or whatever worthless thing it is you're taking into consideration. Here. [Holding out the not-snacks—] I'm sure you'll enjoy these far more with these whomever else you invite. Goodbye, see you never.

[Yuna pauses, staring at the supplies in mild bafflement, and very deliberately holds her hands behind her back, smiling still.]

Yeah, that's the kind of thing that would be better if we planned it ahead of time. [She continues on like she's having half of a completely different conversation.] If we said something like, "hey, we're going to have a picnic next Saturday at lunch" instead of just being like "picnic! Right now! Let's go!" [This is accompanied by some dramatic jazz-hands kind of gesture and a grin before she holds her hands behind her again. She's not taking the snacks.] What if they already had lunch?

Hopefully we won't actually be here that long, but...yeah, once the Sheriff tells us how long we're expected to be here, we can pick a better day!

[We, we, we. She's not dropping this!!!]

I think if you keep going straight here, there's a hill, and the farm is on the other side of it. [She points, then clasps her hands behind her back again. She won't give up on him entirely, that's just not who she is, but stranger danger has to kick in sometime.] You should keep going if you want to see the cows! But if we're gonna plan a picnic for later, I think I should save my strength for then... Going on long walks like that tires me out a lot, hehe, sorry... [And while usually this wouldn't stop her, it's not a lie, either.]

So we'll try again another time, Shinnosuke-kun! I'll make sure I let you know when it's time to pick a day!

[His eye's twitching with every mention of we, because no, she's supposed to just cut off all ties with him right now?? Stop making future plans involving him????

... Honestly, these things never go to plan. Looks like even here, there's the annoyingly persistent type.

He lets his arm fall back to his side, and with it the (not) snacks.]

If we're here for that long, someone's probably going to end up dead. I wonder, will you be able to keep up this farce even then?

[He's being a bit more openly cruel than he usually is—but he's determined to end this on his terms and not hers, because he knows that otherwise, she won't stop bothering him. What does he have to do to finally dissuade her?]

[Yuna's smiling still, even if something in her seems like it might be faltering at the thought of someone dying. But she touches her hand to her heart, and her voice is steady and certain.]

Everything I've said, I meant with all my heart. So it's not a farce. It's what I really, truly believe. There's nothing for me to keep up because it's really what I think.

[DENIED]

...

[Something twists inside of him, and he's not quite sure how to identify it. Regardless, he smiles—completely insincerely—as he begins walking, waving.]

We'll see. Ah, thank you for the directions!

[DAMN IT]

You're welcome! Bye bye, Shinnosuke-kun!

[AND SHE'S GONE

R.I.P.]

[ WEEK ONE – ARRIVAL ]

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