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

[reconnective]

[oh. wow. she's actually allowing this? AW YAY THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS GROWING!!! he is so excited. anyway he's pulling her further into the planetarium to make sure she has a good look at the constellation, leaning in a little.]

Yeah. My data says "junior hero" but it hasn't been that way for a long time. Would a junior hero be in the stars?

[sacredchants]

[ IZUMO IS A GOOD GIRL AND DOES NOT DESERVE THIS.

and as he tugs her closer she lets out a noise of protest but still doesn't shove him off. if anything, she's just trying to maintain a healthy level of physical contact between the two of them. don't lean into her!!! ]

You're in the stars?

[ sorry she can't pay attention to them because of THE CONTACT ISSUES. ]

Where?

[reconnective]

[this is going to be a comedy of errors where every time izumo leans away sora will lean back in. this is fine.]

Right there. [pointing!! and he'll grab her hand to point in the same direction so she can look.] That's me, Donald and Goofy.

[sacredchants]

[ WHY MUST THEY BE HOLDING HANDS NOW. THIS IS TOO MUCH. ]

D, donald? Goofy? What kind of names are those?

[ but she'll mumble as she squints at the sky and tries to not think how he's holding her hand!! how dare he hold her hand just like this!!! ]

And...I can't tell. It all looks the same to me.

[reconnective]

[she suffers so much being stuck with him.]

They're my friends! We make a really good team. [:D but wow?] Start from the bottom, you can kind of see Donald's foot there like a flat line before his leg goes up. And my shoe starts next to him on the left.

[sacredchants]

[ i hate how sora is the only person to have held her hand thus far this week. i'm living in a nightmare. but i guess. this is happening. she's trying to see what he's drawing for her. ]

I don't even know what a "Donald" is supposed to look like.

[reconnective]

[handholding uwu]

He's shorter than me, about this tall. [he uses his free hand to gesture. and he continues to gesture while he's talking.] His tail's like this, and his bill's like this and his feet are like this.

[sora has just described a duck.]

[sacredchants]

[ yeah, okay, she'll follow along and say the thing we're all saying. ]

Like a duck?

[ wow i wish i could have her judge him for that but she cannot. ]

[reconnective]

Well, his name is Donald Duck. [i'm now concerned why this is okay by her standards.] You see him?

[sacredchants]

You could have said that from the start.

[ unlock more of her lore and you'll find out. but, she'll squint harder at where sora is pointing and...vaguely see what he's talking about. ]

I guess. [ now...there's more to it, right? ] And you're supposed to be standing next to him?

[reconnective]

Sorry. [he's not sorry in the slightest.] But yeah! Donald's on the end, and then me, and Goofy's over there. He's taller than both of us but you can sort of see the top of his hat right there. [pointing!] Heroes only appear in the stars when they become true heroes so that everyone can remember them forever. Even if Phil didn't want to say so, we knew we were heroes after all.

[sacredchants]

[ as sora explains the stars to her, she'll squint at him and try to follow along and see what shapes and such. it...doesn't go very, admittedly, but she's trying. (un)fortunately, she's forgotten all about how they're holding hands and maybe(?) leaning(?) into him(?) for all of this.

you know, since it's easier to see what he's seeing that way. it kind of blends into the whole experience. ...maybe. ]

Who's Phil?

[reconnective]

[he's enjoying just relaxing here and explaining everything, so now they're just stuck like this. great job everyone.]

He's Herc's trainer! And he was in charge of the games at the Coliseum for a while. He's a friend of ours now but when we first met him he trained us a little when we were visiting.

[sacredchants]

[ is this what they wanted? this must have been what they wanted...

sora sure is just saying words and hoping that they translate over well, which, they definitely do not as izumo will turn to him and give him the weirdest look. ]

Someone like you fought in a coliseum?

[ she's imagining bara, sweaty greek/roman men and that is decidedly not what sora is. ]

[reconnective]

[hope she gets used to that sometime soon because sora loves saying words and hoping they translate well. but also he looks offended??]

What do you mean someone like me? Of course I did! [they are. about the same height. it's entirely understandable that she's skeptical but wow.]

[sacredchants]

[ she will definitely not and will call him out on it whenever she can. ]

You're scrawny. I bet we weigh almost the same.

[ is this a dig at her or at him? actually, it's at him. izumo's comfortable with her build...for the most part. ]

Aren't coliseum fighters supposed to be... [ she gestures a flex with her free arm. ] You know. Tough.

[reconnective]

[no bully!!]

We do not! [huff. he would fold his arms over his chest, but instead he leans into her to pout in her face.] Herc's really strong like that, but we still fought Cerberus on our own and won. And we fought in the Hades Cup in the Underdrome, too.

[sacredchants]

[ no!!! she'll bully!!! bully all of the time!!!! ]

Cerberus...? [ she'll pass on the "herc" and hope that it doesn't stand for hercules because that's the last thing she needs to deal with. ] You fought a three-headed dog? The guard dog to the underworld?

[ she's. just going to aggressively squint at him. who are you?? ]

[reconnective]

[haha. rip. he doesn't see anything wrong with this still since it's just fact for him, and he doesn't mind being upfront about it either.]

Yeah. We fought him a couple of times when Hades sent him in.

[sacredchants]

[ she.

actually has no idea how the fuck she's supposed to reply to that. absolutely no idea whatsoever. this guy who isn't even taller than her and looks like a slightly buff noodle is telling her he fought and won across multiple battles against cerberus.

wait, no, she has something. ]

Next thing you'll tell me is that you can fly.

[reconnective]

[...the nervous laugh as a response probably isn't promising!]

I can't do it here, but we did learn a while ago.

[this just in: local boy is starting to remember how bizarre his adventures have been.]

[sacredchants]

[ closes my goddamn eyes.

she says this with the utmost sincerity and evenness in her voice. maybe? probably. or it could be that her brain just gave up wanting to understand this. ]

You're not allowed to tell me anything else about yourself from this point on.

[reconnective]

[the worst is that he laughs instead of trying to defend himself.]

Okay. No more explanations. [THAT WASN'T EVEN AN EXPLANATION?]

[sacredchants]

[ ....

SHE SAID THIS BUT. ]

You're really going to be okay with that?

[reconnective]

Sure. [truth be told he completely expects her to take it back later.] Why not?