WEEK TWO: MINGLE

[retellers]

WEEK TWO: MINGLE (37 remain) Rise and shine, gremlins. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and it's the start of a new week. To the participants, yesterday's events may seem distant now—albeit not as distant as their life before this. Whether or not they notice, they will have lost a memory upon waking up. The barrier to the north is down, and beyond the bridge lies new areas to explore. Strangely, what was there last week seems to have been replaced overnight. That's not the only thing that's different, either. The participants will find that their lodgings have changed, and new buildings within the town have been unlocked. Finally, should anyone check their PHS, Cater, Sharon, and Kano's profiles have been removed. 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. Furthermore, it looks as though the rules have updated. If you break the current ninth rule, participants will get shocked. It will be a mild shock at first, but the longer they touch each other, the stronger it will get. On that note, if your character did not share a memory last week, please make sure to check your notifs! Participants may also find that their memories of the past few weeks are getting fuzzier... as though they can't recall some of the details without focusing. Finally, this week, every time a participant gets within one foot of someone, they will experience the emotions the other person is currently feeling and vice-versa. This will last for ten seconds even after they've stepped out of their personal bubble, after which the sharing itself might share, but the knowledge will not. Have fun!

NAVIGATION locations ₓ˚. statuses *+:｡ ic profiles :ₓo ic rules ･ﾟﾟ･｡ audience requests murder proposals ｡✧o private conversations ･ﾟo｡ curfew ･ﾟ✧ memories

Comments

[lionson]

Yeah, might as well. Though I'm hoping they can at least keep up the liquor at these places. I don't smoke anymore, so drinking is one of the few vices I can indulge in.

[chanteuser]

[ there's just a long pause there. smoking, huh. ]

...

I'm starting to think this place was really into the idea of gathering up the most atypical priests it could.

[lionson]

It did, didn't it?

[And since he's already found out that he won't literally die for sharing secrets:]

I never wanted to be a priest. I don't believe in God, or in Heaven, or any of that. But it was a choice between 'be killed' or 'become a man of the cloth', so here we are.

[chanteuser]

[ wow, secrets. ]

... People are pretty determined when it comes to staying alive. I never liked my first job either.

[ ... ] I guess it's not something you can just up and leave once you've committed and your life's on the line?

[lionson]

First jobs are usually the worst, so I can drink to that.

[He would drink to anything right now.]

Nope. I'm in for life. The powers that be made it very clear that if I ever tried to leave, I'd be killed right away.

It could be worse, though. Most of the messages in the church- be kind, help others, be a good person- I can stand behind. So it's not like everything's a lie. It's just a shame that so many people need to hear 'be good because God told you to' instead of 'be good because it's the right thing to do.'

[chanteuser]

[ haha!

he has no idea. ]

... I've never really thought much about religion. If I did, I'd probably think I'd been abandoned by this point, one way or another. Most of the kindness and saving I've had has been thanks to much more solid hands, rather than spiritual ones.

[ ... ]

Maybe threatening people in your clergy isn't a particularly "good" thing to do though.

[lionson]

"Most of the kindness and saving I've had has been thanks to much more solid hands," huh?

[He sounds amused, but there's definitely a feeling of 'boy I know that mood' and absolute sadness. He understands it a bit too well.]

Yeah, most of them are rotten to the core. The few good ones though, they make it worth tolerating the rest.

[chanteuser]

I've... had my life ruined by people, but also saved by people as well. It's always been people, not concepts.

Although I don't hate the idea of believing in something so strongly it guides you.

[ she just... doesn't know if she can. or if she'd ever be able to. ]

Yeah? Corruption runs deep in a lot of things.

[lionson]

It sounds like corruption runs deep in the world you live in too. Some things never change.

[Or maybe they do, since Alex found help somewhere.]

Who was it who saved you? Someone you keep in touch with?

[chanteuser]

[ she takes a sip of her wine, and nods. ] It's a bit sad that neither of us are surprised by that.

Mm. I live with them.

[lionson]

It is, but it means we can understand each other without having to explain it, yeah?

You must like living with them, huh?

[chanteuser]

[ she just lifts her glass to that. cheers? ]

It’s better than things were before. It... won’t be forever. But I’m grateful to them all the same.

[lionson]

Nothing's forever. Enjoying it while you can, that's what life is.

[He lifts up his glass. Cheers!]

[chanteuser]

[ she takes a sip! ]

Easier said than done, sometimes. But it's a nice concept to remember.

[lionson]

True enough! I count myself lucky, the last few years have been pretty easy on the 'just live' side of things. Before all of this, at least.

[Let's not talk about how Shiro is ready to literally die for some of the people here.]

Have your days been better too? Before coming here.

[chanteuser]

[ she takes another sip of wine. ]

And worse. They were... better in the months before I came here, but things in general were dicey.

[lionson]

Hmmm? Anything you wanna talk through? Or nah?

[chanteuser]

It's... a lot. The good part was leaving my old job, but there's a lot happening in the city in general and things are uneasy.

[lionson]

The kind of upset that doesn't just affect you, yeah? Well, here's hoping it all goes well.

[Another toast!]

[chanteuser]

Yes. That's one way of putting it.

[ another! toast! ]

We'll see. Just got to make it through all of this first. [ ... ] But, you mentioned something people you're fond of back home? The "good ones"?

[lionson]

Yeah, there's a few. Seishiro, Naoya, Tadashi, they're good people. Of course, they'd have to be for me to put up with them, they live at my church.

Shura's another good one. She's a bit of a spitfire, but she has a good heart. There's my sons Rin and Yukio, of course, but I'd call them good no mater what. Then there's Kuro too. Aaah, so many! I don't think I could name them all.

[chanteuser]

[ let's focus on the main thing here.]

-- You're a dad?

[lionson]

Yep! I've got two sons. Actually-

[He pulls out this doll he got at some point. It's of two boys stuck together in a get-along shirt. It's one doll tho, with the horrors of fused bodies hidden under the large shirt covering most of the doll.]

I never actually did something like this when they were fighting, but it's not a bad idea.

[chanteuser]

[ she leans over to get a better look. even if they’re just dolls, she can see the similarities between the two boys even in fabric alone. ]

They’re twins?

—- I’m not sure that fabric would actually be enough to contain two teenagers in the middle of a fight, honestly.

[lionson]

Yep. And you're not wrong. They're 15 now, any fight they have would destroy a shirt like this. Aaaah, but when they were little, it might've worked.

[Alex will feel joy and love and fatherly pride practically radiating off of Shiro. He loves his kids.]

The one with the glasses, he's Yukio. He's always so serious all the time, but it's just because he tries to be responsible. The other one is Rin, and he has a hell of a temper. But he's also got a good heart too. They both do, actually.