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

[dianxias]

i. affection, affection

[ xie lian is not at all an affectionate person. in fact, most physical contact tends to just make him embarrassed! so being in an oddly affectionate mood is strange for him, and participating in unprotected handholding seems near scandalous....

however! do you know who is affectionate? ruoye. if you are standing anywhere near xie lian within about three or four meters, you might notice something tapping politely on your shoulder. hovering there in mid air is a long strip of pretty standard white silk that looks a bit like a bandage; it appears to be attached to xie lian is turned away from it entirely, doing something else.

and the moment it gets your attention, ruoye will attempt to greet you by patting your cheek with its... bandage end. pat pat.

it's a snake (?) ]

ii. wildcard/pc option
[ have mercy on me i wrote a top level already i dont wanna write another one ]

[robopriest]

[?????]

[He just stares at the bandage. He stares at Xie Lian. Back to the bandage?]

[Hansa will just?? pat the bandage back? he is SO confused]

...Hi?

[dianxias]

[ xie lian is completely unaware of this happening rn. he's just doing xie lian things. the mii music is playing in his head.

ruoye wriggles in midair at being pat!! and then starts to try and wind around hansa's fingers, in between them, if it can. hello!! ]

[robopriest]

[He just allows this to happen with some added befuddlement, but...well, he can't say it isn't cute. He manages to try to rub its head? The top part of it?? With his thumb, turning his head back and raising his voice.]

Xie Lian, I do hope you are keeping track of your cute little friend.

[chanteuser]

[ she squeaks??






but after a moment she? tickles it under what might or might not be its chin. does ruoye have a chin?? ]

[dianxias]

[ it is a strip of fabric so you decide.

anyway ruoye seems to LOVE this. it sticks the end of the bandage out like a cat receiving a chin scratch for more affection, and starts nuzzling into alex's fingers. yes! yes more please! ]

[chanteuser]

[ it's a chin now.

well then. hello there ruoye. she looks a bit bewildered, but keeps on scritchin' ]

I have no idea what you are but you're very friendly, aren't you?

[heartablaze]

[Oh!

She's been meaning to come grab Xie Lian by the hand, but Ruoye stops her well before she can start to run. She giggles, both her hands coming up to stroke her knuckles against the fabric.]

Hi, Ruoye! It's great to see you again.

[She looks up at Xie Lian, then back at Ruoye, her voice dropping a little.]

Hey, um, is Chijin busy? Should I come back later?

[dianxias]

[ yay, yay, attention for ruoye!!! it loves this, hamming it up immediately and stretching out between her hands, then wriggling for attention. as it's wrapping around her hands, it stops, and starts to lift its little bandage end towards xie lian. what's xie lian doing? i don't know.

he feels the little tug, though, and glances back. ] Ah - Miss Hikaru. Ruoye, when did you ....

[evocationary]

[ oh noooo ruoye,

she just squints at the bandage. she'll... pet it? she guesses? ]

Hey, Leo. Your weird dog is loose. [ is she talking to xie lian ]

[dianxias]

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


anyway ruoye seems pleased by this because lup (taako) is a woman and all women are queens! it immediately starts rubbing into her hands like, indeed, a dog, as xie lian turns. ]

...Ah...me? [ weird dog... oh - ] -- Ruoye!

i

[papasha]

[me having flashbacks to jiang cheng strangling poor ruoye

LUCKILY THIS TIME, there is none of that. Blanca is polite, if extremely confused by the state of... this... thing here.] Hello. [He's not even sure it will understand, but a greeting is fine.

He, um, clears his throat a bit.] Excuse me?

[dianxias]

[ LEAVE RUOYE ALONE ITS A GOOD NOODLE

luckily, there's no angry purple grapes to strangle innocent strips of fabric today, so!! with the taptap, ruoye ducks the end of its bandage like it's asking for pets. pet it.

...thankfully this tomfoolery is stopped by xie lian when blanca calls for his attention. ] Ah, yes?

[ ... ]

...Oh. [ ruoye wriggles, because it has done nothing wrong. ]

[dawnblushed]

[RUOYE WHY.

yona somehow manages not to shriek when she turns and sees a... bit of white silk just patting her shoulder, though she does look pretty freaked out! and then she goes absolutely still when it pats her cheek.

???

?????????]

[dianxias]

[ hello nice lady!!!

ruoye gives a pleasant little wriggle in midair. please love it! look at it. it's very cute. wiggle, wiggle. it looks like it's asking for pets like a dog...? ]

[moondumplings]

[ usagi, having seen much weirder is completely unfazed by this? though the fact that it's not actually snake shaped and is much more of an innocent ribbon gets her to coo and lift a hand out for it to sniff instead of screeching quite loudly at wiggly thing.

sure okay, usagi. you're trying. ]

Hello...? Who are you?

[dianxias]

[ ruoye does not have a nose so it does not sniff her hand. bless her heart.

instead, it does wind around her palm, though! it's not hard, at all, just like picking up a hair ribbon, and it wiggles around and then into her fingertips! yes! hello cute girl! ]

[cuedoves]

[ i am so sorry, but zuko is going to reflexively grab ruoye and hold it away from his face ]

What is this?!

[dianxias]

[ it doesn't make a weird noise or anything!!! ruoye just straightens out like it's startled, and then tugs on its other end, making xie lian stumble. ] - Wah!

[ luckily, when he turns, he will free zuko from having to flip out. ] Oh -- ah, I'm so sorry, please don't mind it, Ruoye, what are you doing!

[ ruoye is the one trapped here??? ]

[soulus]

[Rufus stares at the serpentine silk. How much would this sell on the market?]

Yes?

[dianxias]

[ RUFUS NO.

xie lian is unaware of this happening, so. ruoye hasn't decided if rufus is a cute enough person to get lots of pets, but it does politely stick its little bandage down a little, as if asking for pets. ]

i

[infreefall]

[ ochako is... confused? but still kind of delighted? it's cute, in its own way. so ruoye gets a pat too. ]

Is this a quirk? [ haha what is happening. ] It's almost like Aizawa-sensei's capturing weapon.

[dianxias]

[ ruoye has no idea who aizawa-sensei is, or what a quirk is! but it wiggles when it gets pat, and starts to wind itself up around her fingers. hello, ochako! love it!! ]

[suddenlybees]

[ FUCK SNAKES Kano yelps and reflexively jumps back and puts as much distance as he can between him and Ruoye, ramming his side into a counter corner where it hurts the worst AAAAAAA ]

[dianxias]

[ OH NO KANO. luckily for him, ruoye seems equally startled by this motion - it jumps and suddenly leaps back to xie lian. ]

Oh -- Kano! Are you alright?! That sounded like it hurt...