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!

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Comments

a

[evocationary]

[ sipping her coffee, looking absolutely amused. she's got a towel wrapped around her head, on her way back to her room. ]

There sure is, pumpkin. [ a beat. ] I hope you steamed the whole room up. The only proper way to take a hot shower is to make your roommate suffer through a sauna.

[stillnot]

[ the nickname gives her very brief pause, but it's. fine. she lets out a little snort of amusement at the idea. ]

I'm not that mean.

[ and Alphinaud seems too nice to pick on like that. So far. ]

[evocationary]

Oh, please, that is not even the tip of the mean iceberg.

[ she sips her coffee. poor claude and laine have to put up with this. ] Have you eaten?

[stillnot]

I'm a pure angel.

[ she would never even broach the tip of the mean iceberg! wow! but she brightens all over again at that question because-- ]

Yeah, every day since I got here. [ ... she may have misunderstood the question. ]

[evocationary]

[ a - pause. lup opens her mouth. and then closes it, and there's like the briefest flash of emotion on her face before she just looks completely exasperated. ]

Right, apocalypse chic. Tell you what, do you have a favorite breakfast food?

[stillnot]

Not really.

[ i hate this because the only time i can remember clementine commenting on what food she likes it's her saying she loves apples and after playing escha for 2 games in a row I'M DONE ]

[evocationary]

[ YOUR APPLE HUBRIS ]

That's fine. I was going to make you a Grand Slam Breakfast regardless of what you said. [ she tugs the towel off her head and just... throws it in her room. on the floor. ] Come on.

[stillnot]

[ she is unconcerned with Lup's slovenly ways. ]

Oh - uh. You don't need to do that. [ she says, but immediately undermines it? ] Really?

[evocationary]

Yes. Look, don't ask me twice or I'll change my mind.

[ she will not change her mind. she reaches over to tap clementine on the nose and starts to lead the way downstairs. ] How do you like your eggs? Please, for the love of god, give me an answer that isn't I don't.

[stillnot]

[ hrm. Clementine rubs at her nose, but follows Lup. ]

Scrambled...? I guess?

[ is that answer satisfactory??? she's just throwing out the first way to cook eggs she can think of, she doesn't really have a preference. ]

And you can change your mind if you want. [ yOU WERE THE ONE THAT OFFERED ]

[evocationary]

[ it works! ]

Eh. [ is her answer to that second part. ] What about bacon? Do you eat pork? You probably do, considering the whole zombie thing.

[stillnot]

I'm not picky, I promise.

[ ... ] But it's been a long time since I had pork. Not exactly a lot of farms anymore. And, weirdly, not that many pigs running around in the wild.

[evocationary]

That is, uh - that is weird. [ she says absently, making her way downstairs. ]

So like - how apocalypse is it, in your world? Medium? Large? I guess it wouldn't really be large, more like... very.

[stillnot]

I don't know how to answer that.

[evocationary]

Okay, well, think of it this way - are there cities? Are we talking complete devastation because it's early on in the zombie plot, or are we in the section where humanity has started rebuilding the brand, as it were?

[stillnot]

I mean... The cities are still standing. [ mostly. ] But there are so many walkers that it's better to avoid them.

And the walkers have been around for eight years, so. I don't know. Is that early? [ it's half her life, but she knows she's still young. ] I don't think anyone is really rebuilding. Not anything more than small communities, and even those never last.

[evocationary]

I'd say that's mid-timeline. [ she says thoughtfully.

and then, because for as stupid as she likes to act, she does actually pay attention when she wants to: ] Jesus, were you what, eight?

[stillnot]

[ she nods. haha! memories... ]

So you think in another eight years, things might be better?

[evocationary]

[ me having played the first twd game, nodding solemnly ]

A lot of things can change in eight years.

[stillnot]

[ It Only Gets Worse From There

she has Doubts but she lets out a small laugh. ]

There's this kid back home. He thinks things are going to get better - like walkers are just part of an era that's going to pass. It's a nice idea.

[evocationary]

[ she leads them into the kitchen, rolling up the sleeves of her robe. ]

Maybe they won't pass, but it'll get easier to deal with them. [ she says, glancing over her shoulder. ] I mean, by all means, I don't do optimism, but I'm not a doomsayer either.

[stillnot]

[ she... considers this for a moment. ]

The older a walker is, the more it decomposes. Makes them easier to kill. So that's kind of true, in a way. But anyone who dies, turns. It's not like you have to get bit. [ which is old news by now, but she figures maybe people from worlds without walkers don't know those kinds of basics. ] Which means as long as there are people, there will always be fresh walkers.

I want to believe things will get better, like Tenn says. Maybe we'll just run out of people first.

[evocationary]

[ bleak ]

Well, people are terrible, so maybe that's not a bad thing. [ she's going to start making breakfast! ]

[stillnot]

[ sorry for being bleak!! the world sucks!! ]

Sometimes it's better to not run into anyone for a long time. That happens a lot.

[evocationary]

We had places like... like that. [ she stutters on that, and then frowns. reaches up to rub at her ear. ] Fuck.

I - uh, right, yeah. I bet it does.