Themes: escapism, ambition, abandoning loved ones
The name Krot sticks in Sasha’s throat. Sure, if their sibling had lived, if the family had stayed in Yugo-Graad, if their parent Matija hadn’t become a junkie, maybe then Sasha could have really been something in the gangster world. They make friends easily, friends who trust them almost immediately. This ability, far more than whatever nonsense about “alphas” Matija would ramble on about when the uppers met the vodka in their system, is what really makes someone the spider in a web of crime. In this life, however, it was Valja’s influence that stuck instead, and Sasha wants to use their charisma for something better. They talk a lot with their friends (and their first love, their true love) about politics, about philosophy, about independence and freedom, and they want that for themselves. First, though, they have to make a respectable name for themselves and have to become someone the bureaucrats would consider deserving of their own flat and a steady job away from their family. Sasha is always looking for a way to get ahead but only finds ways that harm the people they love; will they finally give in and exploit their relationships to get ahead, or let empathy rule their choices and stay tied down in La Cage?
FULL GROUP TEXT
(mandatory for members of the group and Immigration Officers, optional for others - for example various other foreigners)
The immigrant housing occupies one whole wing of La Cage, the more decrepit one, hosting families that are far from home. People love creating distance between one another. Migrants from Graad and Oranje and some undocumented poor souls live here, stuck between horrible jobs in local sweatshops and old dreams. All together, squashed under one roof, the various cultures are clashing and mixing with each other, while everyone is still trying to maintain a sense of belonging. But is it even possible to call La Cage home?
The Fantasy Dreamers came together through their shared love of role-playing games. What started as a run-of-the-mill tabletop game has now evolved into a complex homebrewed live-action augmented reality role-playing game where the lines between what is fiction and what is real are severely blurred. For some of the members, potentially past any point of rescue. And can any of us blame them? Living in an ancient and wondrous fairytale kingdom where the rivers flow with wine or fighting for scraps on the mean streets of Revachol? What would you choose if you were presented with those options?
The annual Pétanque Club Final is one of the most-hyped events of the La Cage calendar! Every year, Team Blue and Team Red go head-to-head in… well, what is honestly a pretty chill match complete with good-natured competition, electing the next Club President, and a few drinks in the sunshine. Even though this year’s teams seem to be divided along slightly political lines, there’s no reason to think their wholesome friendships cannot withstand mild disagreements as they have in previous years.
