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]

[...hm. well now he has concerns but he figures maybe they can just talk about that later. instead, he squeezes her hand lightly as they make their way up to the door of the planetarium since the town isn't that big. there there. everything is fine.]

We're doing pretty good following rule number one then. [he stops them just outside the door though.] You ready?

[stillnot]

Yeah.

[ it's hard to let go of her habits and hyper-vigilance, even though by now she's now fairly convinced there's no walkers around this place. but since she scoped out the area before, she's pretty secure in how safe it is, so she doesn't need to adhere to the next bundle of 'rules' she usually follows. ]

[reconnective]

[good. he nods then and after a few seconds for the dramatic reveal he pushes open the door and leads her inside, letting it close again so they can see all of the stars.]

Tada! [...they're just simulation stars, but:] Aren't they cool? You can see all kinds of constellations and everything in here.

[stillnot]

[ she did see inside earlier - even if it was brief - so she knew what to expect. but she hadn't stayed long enough to really take it in, and it is really cool. she's quiet for a long moment, just staring up at the lights above them. then: ]

I guess it's pretty okay.

[ she's probably teasing? ]

[reconnective]

Just okay? [he looks mock-offended, but he's still grinning anyway.] It's not as good as the real thing, but you could spend forever looking and still see something new every time.

[stillnot]

[ she smiles back. fine, she supposes she can be sincere for a minute. ]

It's really cool.

[reconnective]

Thank you. [he did not personally do this, but thank you for agreeing with him.] There was a note from Fox and the others that said they couldn't meet with all of us right away but that they could later. So I think this is where we have to go whenever we want to talk to them.

It's nice on its own though, too. [i just remembered they're still holding hands but that's fine because he's using their adjoined hands to point at something.] Do you recognize any of the constellations?

[stillnot]

It doesn't seem like they can tell us anything useful, though.

[ so is it even worth talking to them... and oh, right. hands. hm. well, that's fine. ]

Mm... Not really. I can usually find the north star, though.

[reconnective]

We should still try to talk to them. Maybe it'll be easier if they aren't trying to answer all of us in a big group. [some people get overwhelmed and that's fine.]

That's the big one people use to navigate, right? [fundamentally he knows but it's more because he wants to give her a chance to talk.]

[stillnot]

Guess so. Maybe I can get more out of them in private...

[ regrettably, she does not have much to say about it. ]

Yeah. It's not the most helpful thing in the world, but it can help keep you on track.

[reconnective]

It's worth a try. I think I'd be kind of scared if I didn't remember anything about myself and just wanted to help. [good thing he's aggressively choosing not to believe they're going to lose memories! haha! wow, why would that ever happen?????]

...that's more helpful than you'd think. It's pretty easy to lose your way, but if you have a light to follow you can always find your way home.

[stillnot]

... Yeah, that would be even more disorienting than waking up here like we did.

[ she still does not entirely Trust, but... hrm, feels kind of bad. okay. she'll definitely talk to them more...

and. wow what a cheesy thing to say? she just arches an eyebrow at him. sorry that she looks so judgey. ]

[reconnective]

[it's the real reason he feels so strongly about being kind to their npcs. it's not like they asked to be here either? so the most they can do is try to understand and help them.

he would voice that opinion except clementine's giving him that look and he looks briefly affronted.]

What?

[stillnot]

[ suspiciously quickly: ] Nothing.

[reconnective]

[hm. well. okay! he won't press it, but he lets it slide while he shakes his head.]

If you say so. [as he scans the ceiling again he leans in a bit closer.] ...wanna see something cool? Take a look at those three constellations up there and tell me what you see.

[he's. absolutely pointing at his own constellation alongside donald and goofy. it's hard to tell if you don't know what you're looking at but he's proud nevertheless.]

[stillnot]

[ hm? she leans closer too because maybe that's the best angle for finding what he's pointing at?

she scans the stars, but doesn't really know what she's looking for... There's definitely a cluster of conspicuously bright stars there, but she doesn't leap to the conclusion that it's... the boy next to her, a big anthropomorphic dog, and a little anthropomorphic duck. why would she think that. ]

Uh, I should tell you, I don't really know much about constellations or anything...

[reconnective]

[nobody should ever leap to that conclusion. so he keeps pointing with his free hand to try and start outlining things.]

It's not a really common one, I guess. But you'll know it when you see it. Look for the duck bill.

[stillnot]

[ she's definitely located it, at least. and? hm?? that kind of looks like Sora? but also that's so ridiculous that even though the thought crosses her mind, she dismisses it.

and she absolutely can't make sense of Donald and Goofy. she's trying to locate a constellation of, like, a normal looking duck, now. ]

Uhh...

[reconnective]

Wait, I've got it. [he lets go of her hand briefly so that he can...strike the same pose as his constellation.] Like this. And Donald's on the right and Goofy's on the left. He's supposed to be taller but I guess the stars had different ideas.

[stillnot]

[ .......... she'll never be able to see what the Goofy and Donald constellations are supposed to make her see, but that's alright. (even if she's confused now about? where the duck comes in?) she looks at Sora, then back to the stars. huh. so it's Sora and his very tall friend and his very short friend. ]

Okaaay. I see it, now.

[ her confusion is perhaps making her less inspired than she should be... ]

Why are you a constellation?

[reconnective]

[someday he will explain the duck, but right now he's mostly focused on the part where she gets what he's (mostly) trying to say.]

It's the mark of a true hero. [he's practically beaming.] Or that's what I've heard. Heroes become constellations for everyone to remember and know the things they've done.

[stillnot]

[ when she laughs it's not even that she's trying to tease him or necessarily doesn't believe him. it's just kind of? hard to react any other way? Sora you are a very absurd person. ]

So what heroic stuff have you done?

[reconnective]

[he's getting the sense that not everyone knows how to deal, so like with others he lets the laughter roll off his back and doesn't look any less proud of himself.]

Weeell...[...he leans in and pokes her cheek with a finger teasingly.] I'll tell you some other time. Let's just say a lot of places are a lot safer now.

[stillnot]

[ pff. she swats at his hand. ]

Ah. Heroic and mysterious.

[reconnective]

Come on. You're definitely curious now, aren't you? [:D?] ...it's a pretty long story anyway.