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

[chanteuser]

[ for the majority of the night, alex is quite happy to just sit at the sidelines of the f e a s t. she's got a thin glass of something that looks nice and bubbly, and is quite content to watch people mill past and enjoy themselves.

eventually she'll go and check out the food, setting down her glass long enough to select a plate of some smaller snacks - sandwiches, some salad, that sort of thing - before she moves outside to sit on the steps and just enjoy the ambience of people milling around and chatting.

and probably the fireworks, if those are still exploding away too. ]

[suddenlybees]

[ The fireworks are still exploding and Kano hates it, thanks.

He comes up from behind Alex and peers quietly over her shoulder and snatches a cherry tomato off her plate of salad, his now. ]

[chanteuser]

[ oh my god.






yeah, she's startled enough to make a sort of wheezy choked noise, like she just took in too much air without letting it out, and start coughing. ]

[suddenlybees]

[ This was one of his more innocuous approaches and it still turned out this way. ]

H-hey! Uh—!

[ He pats Alex on the back, sort of like how you're supposed to thump someone's back to help them cough off whatever's lodged in their throat, but also not at all like what you're supposed to do because Kano's thumps are way too soft to do anything useful. He doesn't want to hurt her ): ]

[chanteuser]

[ it's what i expected.

she's okay though! she's okay. it takes a moment or three to stop the awkward coughing but she waves a hand at him midway through to let him know she's not. well. dying. ]




-- you, uh. [ le cough. ] Could've given me a little warning.

[ at least she wasn't sipping her drink at the time, it's the little things that count. ]

[suddenlybees]

I did?

[ Sort of? He reached past her shoulder that that split second should've been warning enough okay ]

Anyways, you can't let your guard down in a place like this, y'know?

[ He goes so sit down beside her instead, and pilfers another tomato. ]

[chanteuser]

More than half a second's warning, please and thank you.

[ she's already aged like five years this week and three of them are probably due to kano. ]

You can't let your guard down anywhere, really. [ after a moment she just starts picking the tomatoes off her plate wholesale and popping them on her napkin.

which she hands to kano once they've all been gathered. there you go tomato boy. ]

[suddenlybees]

[ thank ya, Kano takes those tomatoes and carefully folds the napkin into a little bundle he can put in his pocket for later. ]

So how come you were so surprised? Are you sloshed already?

[chanteuser]

I'm not drunk, you barely made any noise! All I felt was a hand on my shoulder and suddenly you were leaning over me?

[ hello?? ]

[suddenlybees]

[ "I'm not drunk" that's what a drunk person says. Kano knows his drunk people. ]

Haha, it's not like I didn't make any noise? The party's just very loud!

[ So long as he shuts up, he does not make a lot of noise on the quietest of days, though. Silently picking his way through the inn like a cat, swatting things off desks and stealing people's food. ]

All the music and the fireworks, yikes~

[chanteuser]

[ somehow the visual image of him being a cat swatting things off desks is perfect. also this her first glass? rude. ]

Not a fan of them?

[ she points a finger up at the fireworks, and then back into the inn at where the music and the partying is. ]

Either of them?

[suddenlybees]

[ His eyes follow where Alex points, not minding the party so much since it's mostly background noise, but the fireworks, he can feel himself tense ever time they go off overhead.

He shakes his head, leaning against Alex slightly. Reaches over and picks a spinach leaf off her plate and eats that too. ]

[chanteuser]

[ hmmm.

alex lets him lean again her and lifts her hand to stroke his hair. just once, not pushing her luck in case he's uncomfortable with the contact. ]

It's okay. Do you want to go sit inside?

[infreefall]

Guess they learned you're supposed to set them off at night, huh?

[ the fireworks, that is. ]

[chanteuser]

[ hewwo ochako ]

Well, someone did at least. They're pretty, aren't they?

[infreefall]

Yeah, they are! I always liked the fireworks in festivals and stuff. This almost feels like that.

We should probably thank whoever set up the show for us, if we get a chance.

[chanteuser]

I've never seen one before. Are they all like this? Loud, but colourful.

[ hmm. that's a nice idea. ]

Do you know who it was? I knew about the feast but the fireworks were unexpected.

[infreefall]

First you don't have arcades, and now fireworks? You're really missing out, huh? [ she laughs lightly, and nods. ] You're supposed to watch them from far off, but yeah, they're always pretty loud. It's worth it, if you ask me!

Though I'm... not sure who did it. We'll have to ask around.

[chanteuser]

I don't think where I'm from is prone to wild celebrations. [ hmmm. ] Further away than this?

[ they're coming from the roof, aren't they...? ]

I wonder if whoever did these would be honest if we asked them.

[infreefall]

Not even for festivals? [ weird. what do they do to celebrate, then…? ] Usually, the fireworks are even further away, so there’s no risk of hurting anyone. And so it’s not as loud, I guess.

Why wouldn’t they be, though?

[chanteuser]

I've never seen them, so... no. [ uuuuuuuuhhhh we'll pass on that ]

If they were wanting it to be a surprise, they might want to keep an air of mystery about it. Like... giving a surprise gift, maybe?

[infreefall]

A surprise gift, huh… Pretty nice of them, to do that for a bunch of people they don’t really know.

[ she smiles, and leans in to gently bump alex’s shoulder. ]

So how do you like it, then?

[chanteuser]

The fireworks?

...

Loud. [ it's not wrong! ] But they do look lovely. I didn't realise there were so many colours and shapes they could form.

[infreefall]

Hahaha! Well, like I said, they're usually a little further off than this.

But it's nice, right? Girls I know are always saying they're fun to see on dates, and things like that, but I wouldn't know.

[chanteuser]

[ she laughs. ]

Me neither. Maybe it's the fact they usually happen at night? That's supposed to be romantic, isn't it?