WEEK ZERO: ARRIVAL

[retellers]

WEEK ZERO: ARRIVAL (43 remain) Whatever each character was doing—chatting with friends, going to bed, saving the world—ceases. In fact, it's likely nothing more than a groggy memory now, as they open their eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Apparently, they took a nap right in the middle of a small town, plopped outside on the paved road. Ow? Oh, but it looks like they've been given a goodie bag. Everyone likes gifts, right? Inside, it contains: - a single random one of the following headbands and sparklers - packets of tea - one unlabeled pill - a rock that resembles the galaxy - if they're of age, a mini bottle of alcohol; if they're underage, a can of Mountain D*w Baja Blast instead - a singular condom - a single random one of these pillows (how did this fit?) - a handheld device Should they boot up the device, the screen helpfully informs them that it's a Participant Help System (PHS). Not much on it, but it does have a few apps, including a memo one for taking notes. There's also a messaging system, though it's only capable of receiving messages, not sending any. As a matter of fact, there's an alert for a new message already. Maybe it'll explain what's going on. Good evening, everyone. Uh, how are we sure they’re arriving in the evening? Just say “hello”! Or “greetings”! Greetings is fancy, right? Oh that’s true. Greetings, everyone. That’s better? Yes! Except maybe we take out the that’s better part in the final version. Will do! We’re sorry that we’re not here jklk oh no how do i erase what i wrote. Where is the question mark. Help press backspace. What is a backspace it’s written on the keyboard. Do you even know how to read? right now. There are a lot of things happening that’s so vague? Could we maybe TRY to not be ominous, guys??, It’s going to be ominous no matter what we say, so who cares so we need time to best prepare for you all. We will greet you properly soon, so please make yourselves at home! There are a lot of places to explore, and the kitchen has a lot of delicious food. Please don’t be shy, but also, don’t damage anything. It’s a little inconvenient. They’re going to do it just because you sound so fucking whiny. I’m sorry oh this is how you write somewhere else. Please do not fight or do. We don’t control your life choices. No please do not fight how do i make an exclamation mark maybe we should’ve gotten someone else to write the draft of the message? No offense. I’m sorry Sorry stop apologizing. No one else volunteered. Maybe we’ll luck out and none of them know how to read Thank you for your time! We’ll see you soon. Also, we promise you haven’t been kidnapped or anything! Oh dear. I don’t know if this is going to be edited, so if it isn’t, then I do apologize to the participants for our lack of organization. We’re doing our best! Probably. Er, what? Unfortunately, it seems as though that's the only info they're given for now. In the meantime, why not explore the surrounding area? A number of buildings are locked, and the Planetarium appears to be closed, but there's enough to keep the characters occupied for a day or two. They might even want to get to know their fellow "participants" better, while they're at it.

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]

[there's a wince because that sounds bad, and also he's taking it a little seriously. but he'll play it off as a joke anyway.]

Guess this is a nice change of pace for you. [...bu no, back to sincere then.] No new injuries or anything?

[stillnot]

[ both of them just internally like ha????? haha what??? at each other every few sentences. ]

A better change of pace would be not getting kidnapped. But no, nothing new. Not even a headache.

[reconnective]

Hey, if we can't have that I'll take the next best thing. [which is everyone being safe despite possibly being kidnapped.] Did you see the message on that device they left us? Whoever brought us here wanted us to know we're not actually kidnapped.

[so that's something.]

[stillnot]

What they want us to think might not be the truth, though.

[ Sora, people can lie. You know that, right? It's important to me that you know that. ]

[reconnective]

[okay yes but consider.....they are not lying.....]

We won't really know until we get to talk to them. I want to give them a chance to explain everything when they can before deciding what to do.

[stillnot]

What could they even say to justify this?

[reconnective]

I don't know. That someone else is responsible and now they're trying to help us get out of trouble? Maybe we were supposed to end up somewhere else and got here instead. I just think anything could be possible right now.

[stillnot]

[ Hmm... She genuinely hadn't really considered those possibilities. Her thoughts about them bringing here had all hit a wall at AJ not being here and then come to a complete halt. ]

I... Guess that could be it. But even if they were getting us out of trouble - I was with someone. I would rather have stayed.

[reconnective]

[it's when she says that that he pauses, a slightly concerned look on his face as he glances at her from the corner of his eye. it makes sense. of course there were the people they left behind and the people waiting for them. it's why they have to leave as soon as they can in the first place.

it's that same kind of thinking that pushed him onward, and it's why after a few moments of silence he speaks again.]

We may be separated from the people we care about now, but we're never too far from them. As long as they're still in our hearts...we'll always find each other again. [there's another pause.] My friends are waiting for me, too. I don't know why we're here, but whatever the reason is, good or bad, we'll figure out what to do and get everyone back to their home worlds and those people.

But we can't find a way without at least listening to them whenever they show up.

[well. tell us how you really feel, sora.]

[stillnot]

...

[ that's a very kind thought, which genuinely is the only thing preventing her from pointing out that her being separated from AJ was in the middle of a very urgent situation where he might, like, die without her.

but she'd found her way back to him before. if he's alright, she'll do it again. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I'll at least hear them out. But I'm still reserving the right to be pissed.

[reconnective]

[there's a slight laugh that isn't entirely amused, but more understanding.]

That's fine. If they tell us something that isn't good at all, you can say "I told you so" and I'll make it up to you. [how? well. he'll figure it out, but he will feel kind of bad if he's very wrong about this. he has his own reservations, but he wants to be hopeful anyway.]

[stillnot]

Hey, in that situation, they're the bad guys, not you.

[ ... ]

I will still rub it in your face, though.

[reconnective]

Yeah, okay. That's fair enough. [and just like that he's at ease once more, offering her another smile as they approach the door to the emporium.] We're here. Let's see what we can find.

[into the mystery giftshop they go...]

[stillnot]

[ she laughs lightly, and heads into the mystery gift shop...

She's been pretty serious about only caring whether things are useful, but... Seems to be enjoying looking around! There's so much shiny new stuff. ]

Think they have walkie talkies?

[ ... but ultimately she's after practicality. ]

[reconnective]

[look at this stuff, isn't it neat? etc etc. sora's also pretty happy to look through all of these items, hands behind his head as he peers at different displays to get an idea of what's available.]

That'd be really helpful if they did so we can talk to people wherever they're at in town. Wanna split up and look? You take this half of the shop, I'll take the other.

[stillnot]

[ she. looks him over.

given what she's heard from him so far, she kind of doesn't think he's going to have the same frame of reference for what's 'useful' as she does... she's worried he'll overlook something, honestly.

but she doesn't want to be mean and say as much, so. ]

What, you don't want to look together?

[reconnective]

[okay first of all, rude. but second of all yeah she's not entirely wrong, it's very likely they consider "useful" two different ways. thank you for sparing his feelings though because now he just thinks it's because she doesn't mind his company.]

Oh. I guess that's probably better. This place is pretty big and there's a lot of stuff to go through. Let's start on this end and make our way down.

[stillnot]

Good thinking.

[ she starts looking over the shelves, running her fingers (... all 9 of them) over all the toys, because even though they aren't useful and she's too old to care about toys, she still kind of wants to touch them. she wants to bring them home to AJ - he could do with more to play with.

... but mostly she's looking for things that could be used as weapons, and is predictably not finding anything. ]

[reconnective]

[hey cola where the hell is clem's other finger and when were you going to mention this??? but in all seriousness sora likely isn't going to say anything even if he might notice. while clementine's looking at the shelves, sora seems to be focused on the displays set up around the shop. there's something about the castle that he seems to focus on, but he does his best to search through things and scan for anything that might help.]

It might be a good idea to take some of the writing supplies for stuff. [perhaps a pen could be used for defense.]

[stillnot]

[ i mean realistically it's on the ground somewhere in her world. near a car door? don't worry about it. she glances over to Sora, curious about the castle fascination, but also does not comment. ]

Couldn't hurt. Could draw a map or something.

[reconnective]

[closes my eyes. anyway this continues to be a thread of them noticing things about each other that they're never going to talk about, but his eyes light up at that suggestion.]

A map's a great idea. The town isn't too big right now, but that could change. Especially if those locked buildings unlock soon.

[stillnot]

And if that barrier goes away, we might need to mark safe-zones. Depending on what's past it.

[ also yeah, you could definitely stab someone in the eye with a pen. so that's two good uses, right there! ]

[reconnective]

Right. I was thinking of checking out the forest later, too, to see how far the barrier goes. It'd be a good idea to have that distance written down somewhere.

[yaaay teamwork...?] Have you drawn a map before?

[stillnot]

Not very good ones, but... Good enough.

[ it doesn't need to be perfect, though. usually she's more concerned with conveying what landmarks to look for. ]

[reconnective]

Probably better than what I can do. Usually we just find maps on new worlds when we get there. [he is smart enough not to say "in treasure chests."] Once we find some paper we can start assembling something good enough.