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

[dawnblushed]

[yona yeets herself to the fort!! what's going on. if there are any skeletons that try to get close she's going to kick them.]

What kind of "nova issue" is this...?!

[axecessory]

[ wow, skellies. no thanks. she contributes by standing behind yona a ways and giving a small, nearby blaze the stinkeye. ]

More than I signed up to deal with, that's for sure.

[dianxias]

Perhaps our thoughts all manifested it - be careful and stay close by, if you can, all of you. Let's try not to split up.

[ xie lian's got ruoye at the ready as he's also yeeting himself in with his warm colored crew of ladies...! seriously, is there a bucket of water around here somewhere, ]

[siblingless]

[XL voice: Today I'm running around the fort with a pack of wild lesbians.

All she has is a single scalpel, but she's yeeting herself after the gang anyway. What's going on? Any spooky scary skeletons to do a gymnastic flip at? Big yikes.]

A while ago, I was told by Wolf-san that the nova may manifest as something dangerous. I suppose— this is it.

[retellers]

[ Well, the good news is, the fort ISN'T on fire. For the most part. rip to some decorative flags. It's made of stone, mainly, so it makes sense.

The bad news is, it is absolutely TEEMING with skelepirates, as well as what appears to be local marine soldiers. One of whom is wearing a very stupid white wig. He approaches. He speaks ... with a british accent, for some reason. ]

You there! What are you doing standing around? We're under attack! Man the cannons and target their ships! That's an order from Commodore Jimmy Doorington! And get yourselves some weapons before they pillage it all.

[dawnblushed]

[are you kidding? that's great news. the fort teeming with skelepirates means she can kick some ass, as god intended.

yona chooses not to comment on his wig or his weird accent.]

Yes, sir!

[SHE'S GOING FOR THE WEAPONS. GET THIS GIRL A SWORD. once she has one she is absolutely going to cut down some skelepirates on the way to the cannons but she doesn't know crap about cannons so someone else can man those and she'll just cover their backs.]

[axecessory]

[ who the hell came up with jimmy doorington? whose brain is to blame for this? she does not look pleased, but she picks up... whatever. a sword? an axe?

she'll speak directly to the commodore. ]

Um... can't you and your men handle this? I'm kind of scared of, [ ????? ] uh, whatever this is.

[dianxias]

Cannons! Oh, incoming -

[ a skelepirate lunges at him as he's going for said gigantic weapons (the ones that use the gunpowder! he's learned so many things in his time here,), and xie lian ducks out of the way when it does, grabbing for its forearm at the elbow, with a - ] Please excuse me! [ so he can hopefully make a clean break of its sword arm and

disarm the skeleton


let me have this francy ]

[siblingless]

[Oooh, weapons! She knows what she's about and will look around for a rapier and musket, but failing that — she will settle for a regular sword. Sad.]

Goneril-san, please stay close to me! [Yoshizawa, you are a baby?] I'll take care of this!

[Which is to say, despite how shy and polite she can be at times, this girl is straight up running at the skeletons with none fear. Light and quick on her feet, her main goal is to disarm the skeletons first and knock their heads off second, kicking the body parts away if successful. YEET.]

[retellers]

[ Most of the weapons seem to have been pillaged already, but everyone should at least manage to get a single dagger. How useful that will be when fighting an undead crew is a mystery.

sisi failed to identify the mod writing this tag, and so xie lian fails to fully disarm the skeleton. The arm just kind of goes around like one of those school plastic models, and the skeleton uses its other arm to attempt to bonk him on the head while saying "rude". It is assuming it was some form of manhandling, maybe?

Fortunately for Yona and Yoshizawa of the yeet team, the skeletons don't seem to be that difficult to behead. Unfortunately, it looks like beheading them only causes their heads to jump around in search for its body. This is some cartoon physics bullshit. Yoshizawa kicking the rest of it seems to work, but they ARE trying to get themselves back together. Problematic.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Doorington has a nice conversation with Hilda. ]

Are you not a soldier?! Get out my sight and out of my way. Cowardice has no place on the battlefield.

[ Jimmy draws his old fashioned gun, kicking a skeleton in the chest and shooting a singular bullet through its skull. It shatters. This seems to stop them altogether... hmmm. ]

[dawnblushed]

...

[hm. well.]

Sorry about this -

[SORRY, SKELETON HEAD. yona watches one carefully to map its trajectory, then steps forward to stomp on the bouncing skull. bye bye.]

[axecessory]

[ while the yeet team is off to fight these things with a dagger and a whole lot of gumption, hilda lets sumi play hero for a moment to harass this guy some more. her voice is So Sad. ]

I am! I really, really want to help, but I'm unarmed, and—

[ she is going to make big puppy dog eyes at his gun. give her the gun. ]

[dianxias]

We need to break their skulls -- oh, nice kick!

[ xie lian fails at his disarming because i assume francy is behind all shitposts, so he gets bonked right when he looks up to compliment sumi on her martial arts!

unfortunately he's xie lian and his head is hard as a rock so he's probably fine. also i rolled this so!!! xie lian gets his other arm free and sticks his fingers right in this skeleton's stupid eyeholes so he can smash its head into the nearest wall! ]

[ cheerfully: ] Do any of you girls know how to use a cannon? [ ??? ]

[siblingless]

[Oh. Hm. Well. That skeleton sure just talked.]

I don't suppose the skeletons are willing to negotiate, are they?

[Where on the fort are they, exactly? Because if they're at the very top or in a space with windows, she is absolutely going to take the skull of any skeletons she beheads

and

kick it straight out of the building.

Otherwise, you know, she'll settle for slamming the butt of her dagger into the skull to crack it open like a walnut. To XL:]

I don't, sorry!

[retellers]

[ They're near enough to the top that Yoshizawa can lovingly kick that skeleton skull right out over the rocks near the shore of the fort. Take that, undead pirate. Yona and Xie Lian kill two others. They can pick up the swords the skeletons were carrying, but there's a problem. The arms are impossible to remove from the handle. This makes it kind of hard to use.

The skeletons are realizing these girls and Xie Lian mean business and start to retreat to higher ground.

Commodore Jimmy Doorington, third of his name, stares down at Hilda. ]

Can you even use a pistol? [ but he seems to accept that the answer is a yes, because he gives her the pistol?? ] I have but two bullets left. Make them count or may you rot in Davy Jones' Locker with the rest of the filth attacking my town. Charge!

[ and off he goes, drawing his sword and attacking some skeleton in a cool hat ]

[dawnblushed]

[what's that? they're retreating?]

Get back here!!

[nah, yona's yeeting herself right after them. she attempts to take one of the swords the skeletons had been carrying, but since she can't get the arm off, she uh.

she just throws it at the retreating skeletons in a bed to behead them, and will once again crush their skulls beneath her feet as she pursues.]

[axecessory]

[ she shakes her head at xie lian, because no, she can't operate a cannon. actually, she can't really operate a gun? but she's got one.

can't be that different from the arcade... ]

Thanks, Bloorington!

[ also, did you know that one of hilda's worst stats is her accuracy? now you know. anyway, she takes aim and shoots at one of the retreating skellies. eat lead, sucker. ]

[dianxias]

[ HILDA YOUR ACCURACY

okay, well! they're retreating! that's good. xie lian uses ruoye to grab another one around its exposed spine so he can yeet up to it and kick its head clean off into yoshizawa's path so she can yeet it properly off the edge. ] Incoming, Miss Yoshizawa!

[ this is fun! he's probably agitated every injury he's gotten in the past week, but that was last week so it's fine. ]

I don't really know how to either, but - well, it can't be that hard. [ last week it was xie lian with a pistol and this week it's xie lian with a cannon

he lands in front of one with relative ease and looks out at the ocean and the ships. ] Which ones are the enemy ships, exactly?

[ hm bad ]

[siblingless]

[i hope hilda just accidentally killed jimmy doorington the third. let his family line end here.]

Stop right there! Tell us why you're attacking the town!

[Anyway, yeah? She's booking it after the skeletons? Get back here, binches. She needs to shake you down and make her senpais proud. When XL calls out to her, however, she immediately spins around and yeets the head out of the building, complete with a nice gymnastic flip. Hate this JRPG bullshit.

For any discarded swords she finds, she will stomp on the hand to try and crush the bones, and free the hand from the limb's grip. Please, sir. Your loot.]

[retellers]

[ The enemy ships have a pirate flag! So does, unfortunately, the Howling Rose. Hmm. I'm sure this is fine. Of course, before any test of the cannons, they need to be full! There does not seem to be any canonballs or gunpowder in these right now...

Also, while Yona, Xie Lian and Yoshizawa did a great job crushing some skeletons, there are more around the cannon area! Some are, for some reason, ringing the bell and giggling about it. Focus, man. You're the bad guy mobs.

Hilda, meanwhile. Well. Well.

Commodore Jimmy Doorington is hit right between his ribs. He falls over in the stairs with a cry, clutching at his side. One of his men rushes towards him, kneeling. ]

Commodore!

I'm... done for. This is what you get for trusting a woman with a pistol.

Commodore, that's sexist.

It's era appropriate. Please... come closer.

[ The young man leans closer. Their faces are nearly touching now. The commodore lifts his non-bloody hand to the younger one's face. ]

I've always loved you. Remember me as I lived... and not as the idiot I was for giving a pistol to a random woman I didn't know.

Commodore! Sir!

[ with the last of his strength, jimmy doorington the third brings his mouth to the young man's and kisses him. The young man kisses back, in tears.

Hilda is standing in the background and is forced to watch this. ]

[dawnblushed]

[yona is oblivious to the commodore jimmy doorington the third's untimely demise, and is instead focused on the problem in front of her, which right at this moment is the skeletons.

...why are they goofing off. guys, that's embarrassing. this is a battle.

yona stows the dagger in the sash at her waist, draws an arrow, and aims her bow, which was definitely with her the whole time.]

Hey! Leave this place in peace or I'll put an arrow through all your skulls!

[axecessory]

[ oh, hm. that's awkward. goodbye... skellington? (doorington.)

hilda spends this turn—patting his lover's back? there, there. ]

He died as brave as he lived... and he truly loved you.

[ she's known him for three tags ]

[dianxias]

[ you know who also was oblivious to this tragedy was xie lian, so. his first plan is not, in fact to immediately start pointing weapons at the skeletons but then yona is already doing that. kids these days are so cool...

anyway. i’m going to assume he picked up a sword with a skeleton arm attached on the way over here, so xie lian holds it out in the direction of the skeletons, just kinda holding on over the hand so the arm bones dangle off. it’s fine. ] You can take the bell with you, if you’d like.

Thank you for your cooperation! [ ?? ]

[siblingless]

[Everyone in the yeet squad is perfectly oblivious to the fact that Hilda said no gay rights. Damn.

Mods didn't say she couldn't, so here she is with a skeleton hand free sword. She opens her mouth to say something, and then snaps it shut to give XL the most befuddled look. Sir, that's private property? She points her sword at the skeletons as well, wishing she had a gun. Boo.]

You may take the bell— if you promise to replace it later!

[retellers]

[ The skeletons look at each other, look at the trio in various positions of threatening and/or letting them go, and decide to simply continue to play with the bell, ringing it obnoxiously. It is very loud.

A skeleton with a huge hat and a skeleton parrot on its shoulder steps out of a doorway, kicking the corpse of a poor town soldier aside with its skeleton peg leg. It looks badass and yet ridiculous. He aims a pistol and shoots at his own men. They stop goofing off and grab their weapons, falling in line with their captain.

It's... a stand off!!

Meanwhile, in a hate crime, the young man is removing the stupid wig from the commodore's dead head, revealing a full head of surprisingly clean hair. He turns to Hilda, in tears. ]

I always thought he was bald. If I'd known he was secretly handsome, I would have made a move much earlier instead of using him as a sugar daddy. I've been a fool. These pirates will pay for their crime.

[ Hilda is the one who killed him? and yet, the young man gives her a very pretty ring with a large red jewel. where was he keeping that ]

Take this. Where I'm going, I won't need it.

[ the young man wipes his tears and yells as he charges at some random skeletons. Hilda is free of her hate crime. ]