thevine | ✦ WEEKEND ZERO

✦ WEEKEND ZERO: PILOT EPISODE

REMAINING

Welcome! x

Good afternoon passengers, and welcome to the marvelous Scylla, heading directly for Napalm Springs... We are expected to arrive in approximately a time... Please enjoy your refreshments and entertainment while we make our way through the coral reef...

And with the startling boom of a foghorn, you awake on the deck of a boat. A superyacht, specifically! This isn't where you just were, but you should've seen this coming, right? Whether it was five minutes ago or five years ago, you signed a contract with a representative who told you they could make your dreams come true. Seems like your contract has activated! The OnlyFruits Media Group has collected each of you to shuttle off to a brand new season of The Vine, a reality show where three teams compete against each other for the chance to have their dearest dreams come true. There's always a twist (what sort of fruit would we be if there wasn't some sort of zest), but... you aren't quite sure what that twist might be just yet. Is that anxiety you're feeling, or are you just seasick? Anyway. When you wake up, you'll find that you are all dressed in dapper formal clothing. What a way to make a first impression! To both you and your... fans, potentially, since you get the sense that you're being watched, even if you're not sure how. If you have personal belongings, you won't find them for now - maybe they got sent ahead to your location already? And yes, this includes pets. Oh no. But there's nothing to be done about it. You might as well enjoy your stay on the Scylla, for now. And maybe meet your future potential teammates and rivals, while you're at it?

YO HO HO HO

In the words of Twerking With the Stars season 15 winner, Smdy Aamberg: You're on a boat! (You're on a boat!) You're on a boat! (You're on a boat!) Everybody look at you 'cause you're sailing on a boat!

It's a little packed on this ship, but for the most part? You're not too crowded. It's made to carry about forty people, so there's enough space to spread out. You can even find little places to be alone, should you so wish. Mostly. Again, you think there might be cameras, but you can't see any of them and even if you could, you wouldn't be able to break them. The main attraction of the ship is the cabin on the deck. Inside the cabin is a fully stocked bar, complete with mixers and garnishes. A fridge with pre-made meals spans across the underside of this bar, and there's enough in there for everybody on board to have at least three meals a day. How does it all fit? Just trust us, it does. If you try to take more than your fair share, you'll get electrocuted by a mysterious force, so maybe don't do that. Or do, if you're into that kind of thing.

There are tables and booths inside the cabin to hang out in, as well as a dance floor smack dab in the middle of the floorspace. There is a disco ball hanging down from the ceiling in the center of the multicolored dancefloor. From nine PM to midnight, this plays in the cabin, so enjoy your clubbing. At least it's not able to be heard outside of the cabin itself, so if you want to sleep, you can do so on the deck. There's a bunch of lounge chairs out there, go wild. Speaking of, aside from the lounge chairs, on the deck is a small pool with a hot tub extension. It's perfect for lazing about with a drink, or getting to know your fellow contestants. And why did we tell you to find a lounge chair to sleep in? Well, unfortunately all of the rooms in the sleeping quarters are locked and cannot be opened by any means, save for one. This room has one king-sized waterbed with a funhouse mirror on the ceiling directly above it, an armchair in the corner, and nothing else. The door to this room does not lock, and is weirdly warm. You can sleep here. Not sure why you'd want to, but you can. And yes, there are bathrooms. Public ones, with stalls and sinks. There is one shower. Keep that in mind. At the very back of the yacht is what appears to be the engine room, or something like it. It's locked, but the sign on the door reads:

YOUR CAPTAIN TODAY IS FLYINGWAY. PLEASE ENJOY YOUR TRIP TO THE ISLAND.

No amount of brute force or wits can break into this room. If you try to get in anyway, do let us know.

Special Delivery!

As a complimentary gift for participating on the Vine Season 69, you receive a small canvas tote bag full of goodies!

✦ A small box containing three mini key lime tarts. ✦ A cute handheld fan with a detachable stand. ✦ A pillow that definitely doesn't look like what you think it is (slightly NSFW). ✦ A book about how to deal with the stress of travel! ✦ A colorful OnlyFruits water bottle. ✦ A pack of sesame biscuits. Not cookies. These are legally and emotionally distinct from cookies. You feel this in your soul.

☰ OOC NOTES

✦ Welcome to your Weekend 0 Mingle! ✦ You currently DO NOT have your home item, any canon outfits, or your game-provided phone. Powers are off. ✦ ICly, profiles are still hidden! We will let you know when you can see them ICly. This also means your character ICly does not know what team they are! ✦ Don't forget to turn in your PCs if you start them! ✦ Have fun, and always feel free to come talk to the mods if you have any issues or comments or anything you want to share!

🔗 FULL NAVIGATION

STATUSES // IC PROFILES // LOCATIONS // MURDER PROPOSALS // CYOA SIGN-UPS // AUDIENCES // CURFEW // PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS // REPORTING // AC & EVENT SUBMISSIONS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I can. It's not like how fl--

[he stops himself from continuing, as if remembering someone's advice on word usage.]

--most people do.

[socks go next. pant legs are rolled neatly on either side.]

Join me?

[ so, she's either talking to another mechanical being or something entirely inhuman. got it. her expression remains unreadable even as she takes it in. ]

I haven't been able to fully diagnose the magnitude in which they've tampered with my systems, if at all. I'll pass. The last thing I want to deal with is water damage when I don't have access to my usual tools and backups.

[ a pause as she waits for jem to settle in. ]

Well?

[ as if to ask, 'how is it?' ]

Edited 2026-02-21 07:58 (UTC)

[jem accepts the answer he's given, introduces himself,]

Call me Jem.

[then sticks his legs in the water, bare, per instructions. the water bubbles merrily around them.]

It's kind of nice. And they tampered with my systems, too. [solidarity.] Do you have a pilot? I'm not receiving mine's vitals anymore.

[ an introduction means she has to give one, too…

well, whatever. ]

Marionette.

[ simple, if a bit on the nose—what with the clockwork key embedded in her spine. ]

And I've never had such a thing. You could say my directive has always been autonomy. [ but she studies him more closely now, as if watching for any changes that might suggest he isn't built for hot tubs, actually. ] Is being able to act independently one of the modifications? Or have you always been capable of it?

[jem mouths 'marionette.' committing it to memory. an offhanded comment of:] I like it.

[so far, jem appears to be fine partially submerged in water. if anything, he doesn't appear to get all that technically wet. water beads on the surface of his skin, but isn't visibly permeating. would he wrinkle if he soaked a long time? only one way to find out.]

Semi-capable. If I'm within four-hundred feet and I don't have a direct order, I can usually do what I want. My pilot's kind of unusual, though. He doesn't give a lot of commands. What's it like to be fully autonomous? You aren't lonely?

[ oh my god

you can't just say that!! all of that!!!!! her gaze snaps to gem so quickly it's a miracle at all her head remains attached to her neck.

… ]

What purpose does loneliness have for a puppet? I wouldn't have such a module installed. If I were capable of it, I would've wasted away hundreds of years ago.

[ talking purely objectively. she scoffs. ]

I'm free to do whatever I please. What more matters?

[jem, normally animated, goes very still, very quiet when marionette says that part about 'wasting away' on purpose. he controls his expression well enough, but that one hit. oof. guess it's what he deserves for what he said first. instigator's guilt.]

I wouldn't know. I like being awake.

[he pulls one knee up to his chest, resting his heel on the tub's edge.]

Have you been on your own for all those years?

Pulonia was created shortly after I was, and he has remained at my side ever since. It may feel strange not to have him beside me, but I am far from incapable without him.

[ they do not mention that pulonia is incapable of conscious thought or conversation, but that's fine. holding conversations with oneself is perfectly normal. the way she's just standing here, arms crossed. ]

So you enjoy being in operation. What else?

[jem has no idea what a pulonia is. he's guessing they're another of whatever marionette is.]

What else do I enjoy...? I like my pilot, obviously, even if he's a drunk. And doesn't know what he's doing almost ever.

[just the facts, ma'am.]

I like flying, whether it's me or if I'm traveling on an airship. I like battling and I like winning. And I like trying new things, so this competition seemed like a good idea when I signed the contract.

[ the way she's about to ask if this is all on his own volition (which! good for him! we love mechanical beings finding purpose in this house!) when she gets sidetracked by something else entirely.

okay. ]

Is that what you were promised, or simply what you came here for? A new experience?

[ to the cadence of: are you serious? ]

[a short headshake.

also, i'm so sorry, marionette. you could always kick him into the tub. it would get his big muppet coat soaked, but he'd stop saying stupid shit.]

No, nothing like that. There's something I want to do for my pilot. I came here for that. But if you're fully autonomous, what are you doing here?

[ this is just her and her terribly short temper. if anyone should be kicking anyone into a tub, it should be jem to sandrone. ]

Not because of your pilot, then.

[ as if to reaffirm. ]

Same reason you are—because there's something I want. Is that a surprise?

[he would never. unless the opportunity was there and he thought it would be very funny. otherwise, he would never.]

Not because he asked me to, no.

[confirmed! jem is here of his own volition insofar as he has one.]

A little. You seem like you wouldn't need someone else to grant your wish.

[ to be here for someone else, huh.

she parts her lips as though to remark on his observation. he isn't wrong—everything she has ever set her sights on has always been accomplishable.

but then—she remembers herself and laughs a dry, dry laugh. ]

You should know that anything capable of intelligent thought has the capacity to not be what they seem.

[ and because this is captcha, she curtsies. ]

Well then. Seeing as a little hot water hasn't fried your systems, I'm taking my leave. Nothing I would've hated more than being held responsible if you malfunctioned.

✦ WEEKEND ZERO

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