A few hours into the Jaunt

[rustyhonesty]

I've never done this before, but there's a first time for everything.

It's about time to do a check-in to see who are investigating - or at least have an infiltrator persona. My name is Jean Kirstein and... I don't investigate very often.

Apparently, I arrived with an ID that says I'm 21. So I guess age up, or down, is normal in this Jaunt. I also got a surprise guitar and seem to know how to play it...? Anyone else had something like that happen to them?

I won't ask if anyone has an idea of what we're supposed to do, since it's so early on the Jaunt... but it's good to keep your eyes open for any information that seems important.

Comments

[thornsofmalkav]

Hey Jean. Thorne here. I've managed to investigate two and three-quarter times before--Sarmatia, second Shoals, and the three-quarter times are for when I died in Newport and Nova Venezia.

Anyway, we're somewhere I know! Sort of. I mean, some of the names of places are wrong and we're here about five years before my family moved to the area--if the calendar at the information kiosk is right, I was literally born yesterday, like there's a baby in San Diego that's this world's me--but this place is pretty close to where I grew up.

Basically, we're at the top of the central coast region of California, on the northside of the Monterey Bay. Santa Carlita County here--it's Santa Carla in my world. So, uh, if people want suggestions for stuff to do in the area, I can do that. The Mystery Shack is somewhere around here, I know, and the Boardwalk's down the hill at the beach.

Anyway, despite all that, I really have no clue what we're supposed to do. According to the calendar I saw, the big massacre of the local vampire happened nearly three years ago in '86 and Loma Prieta's not due until, like, mid-October and those are the two big events from the 80s here that I know about. And the first might not have even happened in this world.

[rustyhonesty]

Okay, then I've investigated more than you, at least. This is my fifth time now.

[One of them is a Jaunt he'd like to just scratch off the list, but anyway.]

It's good to know we have someone with a lot of information about this place... and happy belated birthday as well? Quite a present you got.

[thornsofmalkav]

I'm one day old and I get to go sort of home? Yay?

This is also technically my fifth time if you count investigating by way of death as full investigations and not partial... but yeah, I know what you mean.

Anyway, the music festival does kind of strike me as the thing we might be here for, just because they bothered to dump us right there. Dunno what'll happen afterward, though.

[rustyhonesty]

If you ever felt old, you no longer need to.

The last time we had a specific event that lasted only for a few days, we were dumped out of the world. In Doki Doki no Gakuen, for the second time there was a visit... but nothing says that this isn't just a prologue for something else.

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh right, that's when everyone went back to anime high school while I was in space. I'm kind of envious. I mean, I've always wanted to go to Japan.

[rustyhonesty]

I can't say I enjoyed that trip, aside from the company I was in. Too much noise and weird things going on...

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah, but didn't you guys have a nice, short, non-traumatic Jaunt?

[rustyhonesty]

Well, that's one other good point. Nothing too major happened.

Except a bar had a fire.

[thornsofmalkav]

See, that's not so bad.

[rustyhonesty]

I guess.

[It's what happened after that still stings a little as a memory. When he got his heart broken for the first time.]

[thornsofmalkav]

Given that we all almost died in space until the weird alien baby that Space Alcuin and Space Vilari had hidden in the engine hatched, I figure a single bar fire isn't that bad.

[rustyhonesty]

Well... no. No it's not. That sounds like shit. [Really, he sounds kind of shocked over something like that happening.

But then his voice is back in passive aggressiveness.]

Yeah. We who were on the Walkabout got it easy. I get it already. Can we move on already.

[thornsofmalkav]

... yeah. We can. Sorry.

[Anime high school: the sore spot among many a Traveler.]

[rustyhonesty]

[Jean sighs.]

No, I'm the one who should apologize. I should be over these things already, but I guess some things stick around longer than I thought.

[He's sworn not to lie to himself anymore, so he'll take the feelings as they come. He still aches.]