WEEK ZERO: MINGLE

[retellers]

WEEK ZERO: MINGLE (43 remain) Rise and shine, gremlins. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and it's the start of a new week. Speaking of new, if participants turn on their PHS, they'll notice another section available. There's also an alert for a new message, titled TEAM ASSIGNMENT. Opening it will reveal which Leader they have been assigned to. Furthermore, at the corner of the PHS screen is an icon of an animal, depending on who their Leader is. It is visible only to them and no one else. That's not the only change, though. Participants may not notice at first—or perhaps they will?—but sooner or later, they may realize that they're... missing something? Strange. Three Leaders can be found around the area, open (?) to approach. If participants want to speak to them more privately, or to an absent Leader, it looks like they'll have to go through another channel. Which is to say, the Planetarium is now open! Finally, for the rest of the week, the participants will inexplicably have the urge to be physically affectionate. That person you just met days ago? Time to cuddle! This complete stranger you ran into? It sure is tempting to hold their hand. This urge can range anywhere from minor to impossible to ignore, depending on the situation. Enjoy your bonding!

NAVIGATION locations ₓ˚. statuses *+:｡ ic profiles :ₓo ic rules ･ﾟﾟ･｡ audience requests murder proposals ｡✧o private conversations ･ﾟo｡ curfew ･ﾟ✧ memories

Comments

[horologia]

i. penny arcade
[ freedom to wander but no real direction on what to do or where to go means that unlike her first day here, she's just... going to be poking in and out of different buildings? she lingers in the penny arcade a while longer, though, staring at some of the machines curiously.

there's something oddly nostalgic about the DDE machine, which is... funny, because it's just a normal arcade machine? it's existed forever. anyway, if you're close enough, she might comment: ]

... What does DDE stand for? It looks like Dog Drug Reinforcement, but... are all the names of things here slightly different from what we know?

[ i wish i were making up the dog drug reinforcement thing, but! as you do. ]

ii. edge of the barrier, any direction
[ yes, including the parts that in the dark spooky forest, where things veer away from cute d*sney frolicking animals and turn a little more that runaway sequence in snow white or something. surprisingly intrepid for someone so timid, huh.

but in any case, she's going to be reaching a hand out to press against the barrier, as if testing the strength or resistance. ]

... Do you believe them, when they say that nothing exists beyond here? That it might be here for our safety?

[ alternatively, if it's the bridge: ]

Why the middle...? What if something gets dropped on the other side of the river by accident?

iii. wildcard me
[ come at me for pcs as i sprint off to work, you know where to find me. i'll keep tagging weekend threads too, but you know, for reference, ellipsesinaction / Unidentify#1562! ]

edge of the barrier

[stillnot]

[ Huh, someone else out in the dark and spooky forest. ]

I don't know. All of this is really hard to wrap my head around. But it does seem obvious that we're all from different worlds, and if something that impossible is true, then the rest is more believable.

... But that still doesn't mean that they're telling the truth about everything.

[horologia]

They've already said this is all memory-based, though. Not that I'm saying this might be the case, but, um, how would we know that our memories haven't already been affected? Maybe we only think we're all from somewhere different...?

[ god i am not here to talk about muses speculating about something that sounds suspiciously like potential dangit roomba spoilers though so- ]

They, um, could just be telling the truth as they know it. Since they're saying they're kind of working for something else...

[stillnot]

False memories are... Also a possibility. But an even harder one to imagine.

[ false memories sounds? very impossible. like, it's not, obviously. magic and memories mixing means false memories is very much on the table. but she just cannot believe that her memories are fake. there's just no way. ]

[horologia]

Is there a point where things become too unbelievable?

[ everyone being from different worlds is fine, barriers made of magic by a sentient realm are fine, but their memories potentially being altered by magic isn't? ]

[stillnot]

We're already past it, for me...

[ which makes it hard to judge much of anything. ]

[horologia]

This isn't the strangest I've seen, personally...

[ you know that one sheepish smile she makes with kyouko on the bridge in the third movie, yeah, that's the face she's making. shut up i don't have the icon uploaded. ]

Well, I suppose the strangest thing is how normal it's trying to be. If that makes sense?

[stillnot]

[ clem nods because despite her completely different context, she agrees. the normalcy of this is fucking bizarre. ]

It does. It's like they're trying so hard to make this look like the way things used to be.

[ ... well. ]

There is some weird stuff though, right? Like the castle.

[horologia]

Right. The one that always looks the exact distance away, no matter where we are within the barrier... and apparently might exist in a different- space entirely, if we take Fox's words at face value.

[ spooky. ]

That castle... probably has more answers for us, right? But none of us can get there.

penny arcade!

[siblingless]

... Dog Drug Reinforcement?

[She has so many questions, but this is the first one. The fuck.]

[horologia]

[ get yourself your own official remix of your anime's opening theme, gameified. dog drug reinforcement! ]

I don't think I could explain the name even if I knew. I... guess it probably has to do with that psychology concept? Though I'm not sure what that has to do with dancing games...

But, um, do you... not have this game?

[siblingless]

[Why is PMMM canon like this.]

P-Psychology concept? I'm sorry, I don't get it.

[Is this a funyarinpa? Oh, well. She shakes her head.]

It's not that. We have something similar in my world as well. It's just, ah... The name isn't quite the same.

[horologia]

You know, that one thing where you train someone to react a certain way, just because they get used to expecting something when... never mind, it's not really important.

Does that mean it's DDE for you instead?

[siblingless]

[??????????????????????????????????????

She is 15 and what the FUCK is Pavlov??? Either way, she shakes her head.]

DDI, actually. Dance Dance Insurrection.

[horologia]

... I wonder if a version exists for every letter of the roman alphabet.

[ DDE, DDR, DDI... what's next, a DDX? ... that sounds like wwx's long lost cousin or something, maybe not. ]

i

[suddenlybees]

[ Pokes his head in here because he just heard a very strange combination of words. ]

Hm? Isn't it Dog Drug Reinforcement?

[horologia]

That's what I said, isn't it?

[ dog drug reinforcement! what's so strange about it. ]

[suddenlybees]

Yeah, that's what it is! D'you know how to play? Show me, show me~

[horologia]

I- I'm not very good! I only recently got out of the hospital, anyway, so it's not like I can exert myself for very long yet, and I didn't exactly have any chance to practice or play there...

[suddenlybees]

Baby steps, baby steps~ Here, I'll take three arrows and you take the last one and we can do it together?

[horologia]

Now you're just being patronizing.

[suddenlybees]

I'm not, I'm not! I'm being totally serious— you're gonna need some help until you're back in tip-top shape, right?

[ But fine, he will concede this much: ]

Then, how about two and two?

[canned]

[Alphonse, who had noticed this small, young girl wandering deeper into the woods while he was out investigating and followed her, answers almost immediately]

No. I don't believe it. I've heard the same kind of talk before, and there's never a good reason for trapping people somewhere against their will.

But you should be worried about your safety here. There's some dangerous animals out this far.

[horologia]

Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I- might not look it, but I've dealt with some dangerous things before?

Though I guess I probably should try to avoid exerting myself too much, just in case- but even so, I really couldn't just sit around while everyone else does something. Especially when, like you said, there really isn't a good reason to keep us here...

[canned]

I understand exactly how you feel. And I guess I do know someone even smaller and younger than you who can take care of herself, too.

But it is starting to get darker, so—

[there's a sudden rustling in the bushes and he gently moves her behind him, his hand lingering protectively on her shoulder]

Stay behind me.