[Employment Office]

[This isn't Winter's favorite place to be. Somehow she looks even more uptight than she usually does as she stares down her nose at the multiple brochures and career suggestions.]

'Knock 'Em Dead (But Not Literally!): A Beginner's Guide to Bounty Hunting'
'Lawyers and Judges and Bailiffs, Oh My! Welcome to Court!'
'So You've Just Been Kidnapped to a Strange Alien World: Is Fast Food Right For You?'

[A small, almost inaudible sigh escapes Winter as her hands unclasp from behind her back and she takes the bounty hunting brochure. It's not ideal, and hardly a reliable source of income. But if nothing else, it's something she can do well. It's added to her small stack that includes greenhouse attendant, fencing instructor, and food critic.]

[She's on the fence about that last one; a lot of restaurant owners might get reduced to tears in the wake of Winter's ridiculously high standards.]

[Passing over most of the other brochures, her gaze travels to the bulleting board where a variety of colored flyers are posted with 'help wanted' emblazoned on almost every single one. But there's one flyer in particular that arrests Winter's attention.]

'Classical pianist wanted for upscale restaurant and lounge. Competitive pay plus tips.'

[One of the phone number tabs is caught between her thumb and forefinger, and she nearly tears the slip of paper loose. However...]

[...however...]

[She lets it go and closes her eyes with a small shake of her head. It's been several years since she last touched the beautiful grand piano in the Schnee family home. She would need an instrument to practice and shake off the proverbial dust, and that's not something she can afford to do right now. Besides, she's well aware that entertainers make very little to start, and if she doesn't want to find herself in this kind of penniless position again, unable to properly provide for the people who need her, she'll have to seek out a job with higher wages.]

[Perhaps 'health inspector' would be a better fit. It would still make restaurant owners cry, though.]

[OOC: It's possible to offer Winter a job if your character is hiring. If it works out ICly, she might actually take it!]

* * * * *

[Shopping/Hotel]

[Little girls need a lot of things. Even though Winter estimates that the de-aging isn't likely to last more than two weeks, she would rather overstock than find herself coming up short when it comes to meeting the needs of Weiss and (possibly) Adela. They can eat at restaurants, but they still need nutritious food on hand for snacks. And clothes...so many clothes...it's a wonder Winter can carry all of those bags!]

[Which is why she doesn't intend to carry it herself. She can summon an Ursa to assist, since it's tame and well-mannered.]

[So while Winter isn't likely to be encountered away from her charge (or charges), it's still possible to run into her when she's buying necessities. As for where she's staying? She found the nicest hotel money can get, took out a loan, and moved themselves in.]

[Good little sisters deserve nice things.]

[Video]

[This video is definitely coming from Qrow Branwen's device... and the person on it is also very much looks like the person he's supposed to be. Yet... there's something off.]



This is Lie Ren. It would seem I have somehow entered the body of Ruby's uncle. I am not really sure how that is possible at all, but I do hope this ordeal is over soon.

[....]

And if said uncle happens to be in my body in return, please stop him from drinking any alcohol. I would rather not have that stuff taint my body.


[Action]

[It's likely very strange to see Qrow enjoy a nice cup of green tea and a healthy meal in general in one of the cafés in Genessia. Yet, here it's happening.

Or then he's meditating. Waiting for someone or just trying to make time go faster.

Very strange. Very real at this moment.]


(ooc: All icons I'll borrow in this post are from itsaboxoficons c: )

[It looks like Yang. But her hair is a mottled mess of splotchy puke green and clown orange.]

[She also looks mad as hell, if the little sparks flickering at the edges of her ridiculously ugly mane is any indication.]

You know what? All I wanted was one chocolate egg. Instead? I'm dealing with this.

[She points sharply at her hair, purple eyes flashing to red.]

So yeah, I'm not in the mood to put up with a lot of the usual stupidity this place cranks out right now! You need help? I've got your back. Give me a call, whether I'm on-duty in Nova or not.

But now is not a good time to go around being a public jerk, especially if it's on my turf. That's all the warning you're going to get.

[She snaps off the feed. ...Maybe someone should go toss her a chocolate egg. Tease about her hair at your own risk.]

[Video]

Okay, so! Uh. Hi, people! I'm Ruby Rose, and, uh. I'm here now?

... I. Had a point I was going to here, but... Uh...

Weiss? Is anyone else here?

[The video shuts off, as if she accidentally hit the 'end' button.]

[Action]



[In front of the hologram of Weiss, there is a girl with mostly black hair, and a black-and-red outfit, and she's panicking a bit.]

Ack, was that the end call button?! Cancel! Undo! Something!

[And she starts trying to work through the menus very quickly.

Depending on when you arrive, it might have been a little bit. And she probably hasn't succeeded yet. Perhaps bothering her to focus on other concerns might be a good idea?]

[Video]

[A young woman with red tangled red curls plastered wetly to one half of her face furrows her brow at the screen, holding it a little too far from her.]

This thing actually work?

[A beat, and her frown deepens.]

Guess I just answered my own question.

[Click! Aaaaaand she's gone. That's it? That's it.]

---------------

( The Full Story (Action Prompts) )

[ It's Weiss! And it's not a post about Pokemon. She's not in an office or her room or anything like that. In fact, she's dressed up and is zipping up her boots as the video starts. Seems like she's a little distracted, or possibly getting ready. ]

I know I've spoken to a few of you about it, but I think it's about time I make it official: The Genessia Scientific Research Center will be restructuring to include exploratory groups, archeology, historians, cultivators, and protective detail for the groups that go out doing this.

As it is still a non-profit organization, we can't offer much in the way of pay but if your goal is to find out more about this world, how to go home, or how to stay we would like your support in launching new projects and expeditions. Have an idea? Let me know and we'll see what the GSRF can do to further it as long as it works toward our mission.

We will be holding a fundraiser in the near future to help further support these efforts, though for now I'll be pouring significant portions of my own savings into funding expeditions. So...

[ She shifts her weight to one side, quirking her eyebrow at the camera. ]

Let me know if you're interested in joining or donating to the GSRF and we'll discuss your potential employment or volunteer work. Or if you're looking to test your combat skills to make sure they're at least up to par to help protect a team, I'll be at Attleton's Colosseum for the next few hours to warm up.

Welcome to the Festival of Amore!
A wonderful festival dedicated to celebrating love of the romantic nature.



The whole park is decorated in the traditional colors of Valentine's Day, red, white, and various shades of pink. Hearts are the theme and though you won't be turned away, those without a partner to spend the evening with may get a few strange looks or start to feel rather lonely.

Festival Games
There are a number of activities to partake in, including festival games, the most popular of which seems to be the Super Ball Scooping, in which hundreds of balls float around in a pool of water, secretly marked with prizes- mostly goldfish, though there is one hidden that has a special romantic getaway to win! The challenge is that you must use a paper net, so the balls will often break as you try to get them into your bowl. Additionally, the balls are stirred up after each play of three scoops. Other traditional festival games like dart tossing, wack-a-mole, ring toss, and more. However, there is one challenge that you should be aware of for all games. You and your partner must do them together! This means two hands on the ring when you toss it! Hold the paper net steadily together! Good luck!

Food Stalls and the Chocolate Fondue Stream
There are a variety of foods from around the world available at the festival, most of which seem to have some kind of love-related theme to them. Spaghetti for two a la Lady and the Tramp, heart-shaped pizzas, pink french macarons, hearty waffles on a stick, romantic eggs in a basket, Shrimp skewers, and more.

Running through the inner circle of the food stall areas is a small stream raised above the ground with candy and fruit decorations lining it to hide the metal fondue heater that keeps the chocolate within the body of the stream warm and flowing. There are large bins of fruits like strawberries, bananas, rice krispy treat bites, and other fun things to dip in the chocolate river. It's very cute, and very chocolatey.

Paddle Boats
The large pond in the middle of the park has a number of paddle boat swans available for you and your partner to go through a tunnel of love, or simply enjoy the water and get some alone time away from the rest of the party for a good cuddle.

Live Entertainment: Eli Ayase and Nico Yazawa!
The live entertainment will be provided by celebrity idol Nico Yazawa and Eli Ayase tonight! Put your hands together for a special performance filled with their L-O-V-E for everyone! ♥ ♥ ♥ They've got a wonderful set prepared!

Feel free to enjoy the concert either by standing up close or putting down a blanket for you and your bae. Blankets are available for purchase if you forgot yours!

Fortune Telling
Love fortune telling, of course! Find out your romance's future from famed fortune teller Geneva Godiva! She won't give any truly negative fortunes of course, it's a positive occasion, so if your outlook is bleak she might try to phrase it more positively or offer advice to turn things toward the positive. Feel free to pick your own fortune- be it anything from "You might want to see a couples counselor to make it through a rough patch, darlings" or "I see triplets!" or just "Wowie, I can see clearly now- your rain is gone! Looking good for this next year, sweetie pies!" Enjoy and have fun, the accuracy of the reading is up to you, but she won't tell you that a relationship is going to sink at any point. She'll use crystal ball, tarot, whichever- but not seance or anything. It's happy lovey-dovey fortune telling!

End of the Night
The festival itself was timed with the arrival of Genessia's firefly season. The first night of fireflies rising coincides with Valentine's Day this year, so if you stay until the end of the festival, you'll be able to see the fields light up with little glowing bugs. It's a romantic sight, best seen with your partner.

( Action + Introspection (Vague Spoilers for Volume 5 and Blake's character short) )

[Text]

These necklaces are pretty. Kind of an extravagant gift to give your captives. But I guess that...

I guess that means we're all on even ground now. Even if some of us don't want to be. [Passive aggressively throwing that at some people.] Let me get to the point: anyone see a woman with long, wavy black hair and gold eyes and cat ears? Or a loud blonde with a matching tail? We got separated.

And the cheapest apartments around.

Thanks.

- Ilia

[Video]

[An orange haired girl appears on the feed, waving cheerfully.] Salutations, Genessia! My name is Penny, and it's a pleasure to meet all of you. [A pause.] I've come to understand that many of us were brought here from our own worlds, and I've decided that I'd like to help out as much as I can while I'm here!

I'm sure it must be strange winding up in an unfamiliar place... it's also rather exciting, though! [Of course, she was a little nervous. Not as nervous as she could be, considering she saw a familiar face in a hologram not long after her arrival... but the concept of being in a new world, a new universe, excited her more than it scared or unnerved her. Even if it placed her far, far away from her father. She'll just have to hope he doesn't notice she's gone. She does hate worrying him.]

I couldn't help but notice that someone from home is here... I don't know if you'll see this, but if you do, hello Weiss! [Waves again.] If anyone else from home is here, please let me know! I'd be oh-so-happy to see you!

I think, in the meantime, I would like to explore around this city and see what there is to find. It's so big! [And with one final wave as a farewell, she cuts the feed.]

--

[Action]

To some, Penny may stand out more than the average new arrival, with her brightly colored hair and outfit -- but to some she may blend in more. It's not hard to spot her stopping and staring at every new thing she finds with slightly widened eyes, or pestering passersby with questions about the world that she hadn't found the answer to yet. Trying to make new friends and learn as much as she possibly can about this new world she's been 'kidnapped' to.

WHO: Yang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen
WHAT: Qrow is trying to get drunk and Yang decides to join him. They might talk about feelings. Yes, it's exactly as scary as it sounds.
WHEN: February 4th
WHERE: The Drunken Monkey, Fayren
NOTES: Talk about fucked-up families and RWBY season 5 spoilers
( Read more... )

[Look, it's the happiest person alive.

No, it's just Mordecai, looking just as dour as ever]

Since it's come up at least four times this week on the network, I feel another PSA is in order.

Yes, it's February.

Yes, that means it is Valentines Day soon.

It is a day commemorating the death of Saint Valentine, who was tortured, publicly beaten to death, and then beheaded, his amputated extremity paraded about town, as per was the usual for the time period.

It was, until the 1400's at least, but now it's about reminding everyone that they are required, under penalty of great personal humiliation, to find a mate, reproduce, bear children, and pass on their genetics in the interest of continuing the species.

Subsequently, you are required to purchase your fleeting target of increased hormonal activity processed, sweetened and hardened bean paste and bits of shiny glass cut to look like expensive bits of polished rocks.

Bear in mind that most of you are mortal, and those who are not are in the minority. Even if you find someone you can tolerate significantly more than most people for an extended period of time, you will all still most certainly either die, or out-live your child bearing partner.

So try not to get over-excited.

Chances are with how things have been, you will have many, many, many lonely, empty Valentines days left to procure yourself an adequate specimen for continued reproduction or, barring that, someone who triggers the appropriate chemical reaction within your synapses.

WHO: Winter Schnee, OPEN
WHAT: EVENT - Reign of the Ice Queen begins! See the loose outline for a general idea of when the events take place. You're welcome to make threads here or individual posts to the network.
WHEN: January 14th - 31st (tentative; may end sooner depending on character actions)
WHERE: Fayren
NOTES: Original event post is here for more event details. Don't forget to add your character tags if you join in!

( Outline of Events - OOC )

Despite the weather predictions in the newspaper...predictions that were seldom ever wrong...the day was not met with sunshine and a smattering of clouds. The temperatures dropped severely, and a bitter wind swept through the towns. Sleet pelted the rooftops, then hail, driving people indoors.

Then a heavy blanket of snow began to drift down, sealing up the bald patches of grass, icing the streets, and piling up higher and faster than seemed wholly natural.

By noon, the whole of the realm was steeped in at least a foot of snow, if not more. It sloped against doorways, weighed heavily on rooftops, and lined buildings with toothy, shining icicles. To the shock of the few townspeople that dared to venture outdoors in the unbearable weather, they saw that the royal structure had been completely covered with a thick sheet of ice that sealed the drawbridge, the windows, even the arrow slits. Stranger still, the castle was completely silent. There were no sounds of soldiers, no captains barking out commands.

Investigating the castle uncovered some unsettling sights. A man near the back was frozen solid with a pick in his hands, undoubtedly attempting to break the ice that sealed the castle. Another person stood close by in the familiar robes of the Ivory Tower, fingers outstretched and mouth opened as if in the middle of an incantation to throw magic fire to melt the ice. It should have been clear to even the dimmest of dimwits that trying to break, thaw, or remove the ice around the castle in anyway carried dire consequences.

By evening, the troops began to move through town - creatures molded of snow and ice were by far the most numerous, but there were also ice trolls, enormous polar bears wearing elaborate platinum armor, even mischievous rime fae. All of them roamed the streets, particularly the bears and trolls that always moved in pairs, and seemed to be openly patrolling. Anyone who defied them were suddenly flash frozen on the spot by a bolt of blue light that stabbed down from the pearly gray skies, and carted away, seemingly back toward the castle, but none truly knew their final destination.

An undercurrent of fear began to spread through the town as more houses were frozen over -- no one could say whose house would be encased completely in ice, but those who fell victim knew the cause just before they were frozen solid.

No one was allowed to defy the new reign of the Ice Queen. No one was allowed to speak ill of her. Either they agreed to continue their lives under her rule, or they would be punished. And that was all there was to it.

[Yang's serious face flashes onto the screen, her arms loosely folded over her chest. One hand comes up to gesture as she begins.]

So I'm just going to get straight to the point for this: I need some sparring partners. And I don't just mean people who are good at punching and kicking, I mean someone who can test me and push my limits.

[She shakes her head with a small frown.]

I just... I need to be better. More controlled, more thoughtful. So whatever you're good at, weaponry, magic, super powers -- I'm interested. Maybe I'll give you a run for your money too.

...And if you're any good at dealing with enchanters or illusionists, send me a private line. There's a bounty that's giving me more trouble than he's worth, and I could use some tips, or back-up.

[Not something she likes admitting, especially for a one-star bounty, but that's how things stand.]

WHO: Qrow Branwen, Spock, Winter Schnee
WHAT: The blizzard has struck Fayren! It doesn't seem to hamper Winter and her duties, however. On her return from her patrols at the castle, she comes across something unusual, and brings it home where Spock has taken refuge from the storm.
WHEN: January 3rd, 2018
WHERE: Fayren - Winter's Quarters

( From the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow! )

Who: Jaune and Qrow
What: Qrow finds Jaune camping in Nova City
When: Now
Where: Nova City Park
Warnings: to be added
( Read more... )

So... Genessia, right?

[ The bored drawl belongs to a man looking just as bored sprawled on the bed of what is obviously one of the sparsely decorated bedrooms in Commonspace. His red eyes are his most striking feature, other than the bottle he is holding in his hand. Just at the edge of the camera, you can make out something which looks like a strange giant sword propped up against the wall. ]

The name's Qrow Branwen, and I hear having been snatched from another world is nothing unusual around here; it's not even a story that earns you a free drink. [ He takes a sip from the bottle. He does play the too cool for you card rather well, but if you look closely you might notice that he looks a little too wan and haggard, like someone who hasn't fully recovered from sickness yet. ] Now that makes it a pretty miserable place in my book, but I'm willing to let you prove me wrong.

First step would be telling me that Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang Xiao Long or Ruby Rose are here. Or Ozpin. Hearing from Ozpin would make this place better, too.

Step two is telling me where I can get a better drink, this swill's better suited to stripping paint.