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

[assistance]

a) anywhere, tbh, im awful at picking locations,

[ if your concept of personal space somehow hasn't been violated yet, one alyssa zaidelle seems to be deadset on changing that. with as much persistence as a petitioner on a college campus, she can be found basically anywhere in the small town, with her phs in hand and a pen tucked behind her ear. she makes a beeline for anyone she happens to run across, and she may or may not try to grab hands or even cling onto arms if she isn't stopped. this sort of thing... just happens. ]

Hiya! I'm sure you've heard by now, but it seems as though most—if not all—of us have noticed something missing from our memories. I'm doing a bit of data collection to see if there are trends in the sorts of things we've lost, if some of us have forgotten more than others, what exactly the extent of our losses are... you know, that sort of thing. So! If I could have your name and what you've lost—no need to extrapolate unless you really want to, of course—I'd really appreciate it!

[ with a chipper smile, she'll be nyooming around like this throughout all of monday... ]

b) kitchen

[ ...until the evening, where she can be found in the kitchen instead. she doesn't have a knife this time, though! she doesn't seem to have much of anything with her, actually, which is why she's heading to the fridge to see if there's anything to snack on in there after a long day of aggressively questioning people... until the new memo posted on one of the doors catches her attention. and she just kind of stares at it. ]

Hm... I guess it would make sense that not every world would have the same concept of what a mermaid should look like.

wildcard
( hmu for pcs @ xion#7051 or just yeet a thing here i need to refill my water bottle thank )

a:

[horologia]

[ please....... please let go... she's too timid to make alyssa do so herself, though :( (or maybe she likes the contact? a mystery.) ]

R- really? I thought... the point of forgetting was that you wouldn't know. How would you know you forgot something if you don't remember it in the first place...?

[ unless it was like, something ridiculously obvious like that one man's name, because everyone has names. but memories are hardly all like that, are they? maybe they'd notice the general shape of things missing, if it's really that obvious, but specifics...? ]

Have so many people really noticed?

[assistance]

[ luckily, homura only gets a handhold, which is honestly very tame for alyssa. ]

The degree of memory loss seems to differ from person to person. Some can pinpoint exactly what they've forgotten, while others aren't even aware anything is different. That's one of the main things I'm hoping to learn more about by asking around!

[horologia]

That... doesn't seem entirely fair. I wonder why the differences... After all, unless it comes up in conversation, I don't see why we would notice so quickly?

[ ... ]

Well, I suppose some of us are more likely to share these things than others. I, um, wonder though. What's stopping us from just telling someone else everything about us, just so they can... remind us again if we forget? Other than that most people here probably don't know each other all that well?

[assistance]

Theoretically, nothing, I guess. But life is hardly ever fair, you know? It's just a harsh reality that nobody likes to talk or think about.

...

That being said, it isn't going to deter me from doing my job. Do you have an idea of what you've forgotten, or should I put you down as "unsure"?

a

[recrowns]

[oh - his arm is clung onto but he doesn't seem fussed about it. rather he looks pleased to hear that someone's asking around]

If I may - would you mind sharing your findings afterward? I'm trying to find if there are any similarities between what people are forgetting as well, though most of my inquiries are incidental.

Ah - but my name is Soo-won, preferably Won, and I've forgotten a political figure, I think.

[assistance]

[ great minds think alike! without any sign of being pushed away, alyssa takes that as an invitation to get all up in soo-won's personal space. hewwo sir. ]

Of course! The more eyes we have to look over the data, the more angles we're able to consider. Not everyone thinks the same way, after all.

[ with her arm still looped around his, she taps away at her phs—first she types something into the notes app, then switches over to the profiles one. ]

And noted, Won! Do you think this person has something to do with the revolution that's mentioned in your file?

[recrowns]

[that's

that's a lot of space but it's fine right now he's distracted by the conversational topic]

There's a chance of it. There was recently a switch in the leadership of our kingdom. Such things are rarely accomplished alone.

[assistance]

Ooh, political intrigue... not my cup of tea, personally, but it does give some variety to what I've gathered so far.

When you say you've forgotten them—do you think it's just their identity that you can't remember? As in, can you remember the things they've done to earn their reputation, or is their entire existence just sort of a blank spot in your memories?

b

[discernments]

[ Jeanne is looking at the fixed microwave like she doesn't know what it is when she hears Alyssa. ]

Does your world have mermaids?

[ As in, not fictional? ]

[assistance]

I mean, not actually... at least not that I'm aware of!

[discernments]

Then, are the mermaids in your stories.... ones that have fish tails but are human on the upper half?

[ She can no longer assume. ]

[assistance]

Sure are! Which is why this one... raises questions. The basic idea is there, after all, but...

[ this one is still very "hm," ]

A!

[dianxias]

What I've lost...?

[ xie lian, a certified Very Old Man, squints into the distance as a nice young lady approaches him. ]

...Um. I'm not sure if I can tell you, if I can't remember it.

[assistance]

[ nice young lady does not care about very old man's apparent-or-not age, because she's putting her hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic look on her face. that's rough buddy :( ]

Ooh, yeah, that's unfortunate. But do you get the sense that something is missing in general?

[dianxias]

[ thinking, thinking... ]

...maybe? It's quite possible. [ he gives her a little smile and pats her hand! it's quite alright, don't mind, don't mind... ] But, to be honest, there have been many things that have slipped my mind over the years...

This is about the nova, right? Are you gathering information on it, miss?

b

[infreefall]

[ curiously: ]

So what are mermaids like in your world, then?

[assistance]

Well, the half-human, half-fish motif is still there, but they're usually more... how do I say this... easy on the eyes.

[infreefall]

[ well, she can't help but laugh at that. ]

Okay, but the amabie is supposed to be helpful! It's supposed to guard you from illness. Regular old mermaids can't do that!

a!

[siblingless]

[WELL. Guess her arm is getting grabbed! She normally wouldn't mind this very much, but with this week's effect, she minds it even less. So Alyssa is getting a friendly smile in return, and zero attempts to pull away from her.]

Oh, that's a great idea! I hope you don't mind if I ask about the results later. [Alyssa is still holding her hand, but she goes ahead and bows a little anyway. More of a gentle inclination of her head than anything, in this position. Starting off cheerfully, and growing more uncertain as she continues:] My name is— My name is... It's...

[...........................]

Yo...shizawa...? Oh, no.

[assistance]

[ well, while alyssa is pretty chipper at first, that response puts a bit of a concerned look on her face. ]

Uh-oh. Should I put down your name for your loss?

[ with her free hand, she scrolls through the profiles app, looking for a matching picture... once she finds it, she tilts her screen to show the other girl her own profile. ]

Is it not "Kasumi"?

[siblingless]

[She's a little wide-eyed now, mouthing her surname like she's expecting that to fix the issue.]

I, ah— Y-Yes, I suppose you ought to.

[Goodbye, her name... She doesn't even need to look at her profile before she shakes her head, expression pinched.]

... There was a mistake. I can guess how it happened, but my name isn't "Kasumi."

a

[suddenlybees]

[ Oh yikes, oh no, Kano freezes when his arm gets grabbed and he tries very gently to wiggle his way out of Alyssa's grip without actually prying her off. ]

Baron von something and did you actually collect anything asking people like this?!

[assistance]

[ she squints at both the freezing and the. name he gives her. it is much more obvious she is reacting to the name, though. ]

...you know, me asking for names was just a matter of formality. You realize everyone can read the profiles, right?

[suddenlybees]

I mean, yeah, but how many people actually pay attention to it?

[ Some people like to indulge him and call him Baron and those are the only people he respects. ]

Anyways, if it's just formality, we can skip it, right? Learn anything fun about people?