WEEK SEVEN: MINGLE

[retellers]

WEEK SEVEN: MINGLE (21 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. As usual, the participants will find that their lodgings have changed, and should anyone check their PHS, Chiron, Ochako, Soo-won, and Dorothy's profiles have been removed. They may also find that they have difficulty recalling complete details of the past weeks. Furthermore, it looks as though the rules have updated. Not everything is the same as the previous pattern, though. The barrier to the north is back up, and once more, what lies beyond is an empty field. In contrast, however, participants may notice that they can finally access a place they haven't been able to before... Additionally, it looks like the Leaders aren't around. No matter where the participants look, they're nowhere to be found. Should anyone try calling for them in the Planetarium, there will be no response—not even a message telling the participant that they're busy. Finally, everything around the participants begins to... glitch? Buildings may suddenly blink out of existence and then back in, random items like chairs or cups may suddenly distort even while they're being used, and looking at any particular thing for too long may give someone a headache. It's worse than it was that one week, though: participants will find that it's happening to themselves as well. Body parts might suddenly glitch out of existence then back in, and there will be a shot of pain when it occurs. It'll happen randomly, but it also seems to occur more often if they're touching something or another person.

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

Comments

[papasha]

Mhm.

[Nooo, Ash-child come back. Blanca looks... kind of sad about it? He didn't even get to make sure the kid was okay. His frown turns kind of sour when he glances down.

He'll check the guy out to see if there's anything useful hiding around in pockets, or something.]

[retellers]

[ The guy has a wallet with money in his pocket, I guess.

The girl responds, smiling in gratitude. ]

Oh, you know how it is. Men just suck, sometimes! No offence.

[ She looks at Blanca. ]

... Is he okay, though?

[ Blanca, that is. Not the guy on the floor. Fuck him. ]

[robopriest]

None taken.

[Yeah, men DO suck.]

[He looks back at Blanca, eyebrows furrowed in concern.]

...I don't know. Hey, Blanca! [He wanders back over, clapping a hand on his shoulder, but his voice is quiet.] You look like you saw a ghost...

[arkitect]

I have some suspicion a place like this may well be full of them.

[he created it that way once, after all.]

...shall we attempt to find the boy?

[there's no telling which way he went, probably, but... they can try.]

[papasha]

[Hmmm. Well, he takes a little of the guy's money, sorry. Not for himself, though.

He stands up into the clap of Hansa's hand on his shoulder, and he shakes his head a bit.]

I'm all right. It just... looked like Ash is all.

[He holds up the money and waves it a bit at the girl.]

Here. Lunch compensation for him harassing you. We should go get some, too. Maybe the people familiar to us will be there...?

[retellers]

Oh, it's fine! I brought my own lunch, actually... Would you like to join me?

[ She smiles sheepishly. ]

I made some for my friends too, but they ended up not coming...

[robopriest]

...

[He grins at the girl. Sure, this might all be fake, an illusion, all over again, but...]

[How could he say no to that?]

Your friends ditched you? Forget them. We're your new friends now.

[arkitect]

[of course. emet-selch exhales an exasperated breath, because he does feel it's probably best to follow more familiar faces... but he can see that grin on hansa's face and is pretty sure they're going nowhere.]

... well, if he insists, then I suppose we're staying.

[papasha]

[What kind of friends would just not show up for food? Honestly.

He gives Hansa a playful jab of an elbow. It turns out, the slut is a delinquent, and the delinquent is also a slut. Sorta.]

We'd be honored.

[Time to have lunch with a girl.]

[retellers]

[ I hate everyone here except Emet.

But the girl beams. ]

Great! How about we go to the rooftop? It might be hard to find a seat in the cafeteria by now, anyway. Hehe.

[ Unless they have Very Strong feelings about eating elsewhere, she'll grab a bag and go ahead and lead them up to the school roof.

Once they're up there, she hands all three of them... bentos? This is definitely not appropriate for the setting, but hey, at least the view of what's still Emet-Selch's city is nice. ]

[robopriest]

[SHUT UP HE'S BEING NICE TO THIS GIRL WHO GOT ABANDONED BY HER FRIENDS SMH]

[But he follows. You know, up here...it really is beautiful. This city feels like its lost in time.]

[And it is, in a way.]

[He takes the bento from the girl, giving her a nod.]

Thank you for the meal. You really made these yourself? Some friends, skipping out on something like this.

[arkitect]

[jan if they did class intros do they know her name. will he look stupid if he asks. IF THEY DON'T KNOW HE'LL ASK but otherwise send help jan.

emet-selch has no complaint about the rooftop, though; he likes having the view, even if this is clearly not the same place he recreated. it still looks the same on the surface, something he hasn't seen in-person for some weeks.]

I suppose they are not terribly reliable.

[he's looking out at the skyline as he speaks, though, not at her.]

[papasha]

[Yet again, I'm being gaslit.]

Sure. Let's go to the rooftop.

[This is very much what Ash's friend would be accustomed to, he thinks. Heading to the roof to have lunch. But he follows the girl, and Hansa and Emet to the rooftop.

He looks around, and then joins them so he can take a bento.]

It looks good. [In before we're told it looks disgusting.] Are they busy, or did they simply turn into no-shows...?

[retellers]

[ It does in fact look good! And will also taste very good, if they dig in. Apparently, this girl—whose is An Onoya, if they were paying attention to introductions—can cook. ]

They didn't show up. How horrible, don't you think?

[ She sounds more jokingly upset than anything, though, as she takes a few steps to better peer at the skyline. ]

... Isn't this city beautiful? But everything, no matter how beautiful, comes to an end eventually. Hey...

[ She turns back to look at them. ]

Which do you think is more important, the past or the present? Would you sacrifice memories of a painful past so that you could be happier in the present? Or would you give up the pain of the present so that you could return to a time when things were better?

[robopriest]

[Everything comes to an end eventually.]

[He glances over at Emet-Selch, his expression suddenly somber, before he hides it by looking down at his bento. Its delicious, really. A meal in the city of the dead.]

[And what she says...]

[He frowns.]

What kind of questions are those? [He shakes his head. Even after everything, his answer would be...] Haven't you heard the saying? "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there". Which is to say that, I live in the present, and I always will. But that doesn't mean I want to sacrifice my memories, either. They make me who I am. My present couldn't exist without them, even if they were painful.

[arkitect]

[he does have the bento, but he is not eating it because he is forever more cautious than that. it's not like he'll die that fast if he doesn't eat, anyway, it's fine.

her questions, though they don't get him to look away from the city, make his brow furrow, mouth pulled into a thoughtful frown. he doesn't need to be looking to know that hansa likely glances his way; still, he doesn't look back.]

...there are moments when I do wish it were possible to simply return to a better time, and between the two, I would never sacrifice the memories of my own history.

[a brief moment of honesty, at least. it's easier to say so here, looking at a vision of that past.]

But such things are not so easily done, nor is it such a simple thing to undo all which has occurred. To unmake what has been created. For better or worse, the world carries on.

[he has accepted the present and the fact that he will never bring back what was lost-- but while emet-selch won't go back to his old ways, well. especially here, it's hard not to miss what once was.]

[papasha]

[Well, that's some heavy conversation for cute bentos on the rooftop.

Quietly, he glances from Hansa to Emet, and then away while the two of them answer the girl in turn. He's... answered this already, hasn't he? He's answered it here, at the beginning.]

I still agree that your memories make you who you are. They are your experiences, after all, whether good or bad. It's what I would personally choose, too. Continuing to live in the present, trying to be happy in it.

However, I think it is up to each person to decide what's best for them.

If it means forgetting their painful past to live in a happier present, or if it means giving up their painful present to return to a better time in the past. I don't condone living in the past, but... I understand its appeal when your present is a terrible place to exist.

[retellers]

[ That's rude, Emet.

But she smiles at Hansa. ]

... That's a good answer. I know someone who'd probably agree with you... though for many, it's probably easier said than done, huh?

[ Her gaze sweeps over the three of them. ]

Would you say you're content? All of the painful things that happened to you, especially recently... Were any of it worth it, for what you gained? New memories, friends, loved ones... Two of you are totally dating. Oh, though I guess that makes one of you a third wheel here. Awkward.

[robopriest]

...Oh, dating? [He looks directly at Emet, before back to her.] Its not really dating. Its...well, I think we'd be here for a while if we explained it.

[Its just how it is! Hansa nonchalantly shrugs, before chewing down on some rice as he considers his answer.]

And...yes, I'm content with what I have. What I gained. What I'm not happy with knowing that people's lives are being played around with. [A pause. His eyes narrow.] So, little lady, who are you? The Realm? You sure seem to know a lot about us.

[arkitect]

[that last comment absolutely gets a roll of his eyes.]

Do not feel too sorry for him. He has his own partner and they are terrible to put up with.

[do you know, npc, how many times he has just looked away from blupca. many. god.]

I should like to know the reasons behind such questioning, as well, but if you truly must ask--

[hansa has part of this covered, and given the way things tend to work here, he is likely to need to answer so they can keep going? so. he exhales a sigh.]

Had I not been here, I would have ceased to exist. I would not cast aside the time granted to me so easily-- nor would I be asked to lose more, after all that I have already lost.

[papasha]

[Ahhh.......

He has the damn decency to look a bit sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment or two. Haha! He has done no crimes, EMET, PLEASE. Maybe Emet is the third wheel, okay.]

I don't mind exactly.

[The expression slowly fades into something more serious again at Hansa's inquiry.]

It was worth it. I think you always have to go through a little pain to gain things you consider worth it.

[retellers]

[ Glad Emet realizes there's no getting out of talking about Feelings, because if he refuses I can instead put you all into bunny outfits instead and make you a boy band.

At Emet-Selch's blupca comment, she grins and girlishly clasps her hands in delight. ]

Aw, they sound adorable! 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I'm a little jealous, actually... [ She sighs. ] At this rate, senpai's never going to notice me and I'll be single forever...

[ Anyway. Going back to Hansa's question, she looks thoughtful. ]

Though to answer your question... not exactly? I'm no more the Realm than, say, Kaiza was, Hansa Cervantes. [ She smiles, her expression soft. ] Thank you for looking after him, by the way. While he wasn't quite the same person, he's someone that the two of us [ ? ] have only ever wished happiness for.

Buuuut you can just think of me as a phantom. Or, to be more accurate, you could call me someone's heart? Like, not literally, though. In the end... whether you believe it or not, I'm someone who wishes happiness for all of you, too.

[ She pauses. ]

So... I'm really glad to hear that—that you all found something that made it worth it. Despite the long, long nightmare, that alone makes it worth it for me—for him—as well.

Say, do you know the saying about the cobbler's children?

[ Meanwhile, if Blanca was a bad student and didn't silence his phone, a notification goes off! New text message from his lone contact: Ignore her. ]

[robopriest]

...

[At the mention of that name, Hansa stiffens. The look in his dark blue eyes is stern, almost cold, but not quite.]

...Kaiza? [He's put the chopsticks down, staring her down.] I would be careful about talking about him so...nonchalantly, even if you're some phantom.

[It rubs him the wrong way, that he's talked about as if he's just another form of another existing person. Maybe that really is true. But he saw that boy grow up. Raised him.]

[His son belongs to him and Emet-Selch, alone.]

And I don't know about that. What is it, some fairytale?

[arkitect]

If you simply wait to be noticed, then yes, you shall be.

[he no longer has patience for that kind of thing, he is just going to be blunt with her. it's fine.

but then she mentions kaiza, and that, along with hansa's tone, drag his attention away from the city.]

...Hansa.

[a slight shake of his head, his own voice quieter. he understands the feeling, he does, but there's something about the mention of him not quite being the same person-- emet-selch is not unfamiliar, after all, with people existing in various forms. with the concept of someone he once cared about existing in a different way than he knew.

he does know the saying, probably, but he kind of doesn't care about talking about that at the moment.]

Does he yet exist, then, in a different manner?

[that's the important question to him right now, and he thinks hansa might want to know as well.

also boy if this npc knows about the cyoa that's awkward for emet specifically,]

[papasha]

Love is nice, but it doesn't make you who you are as a person.

[Just, for the record.

He doesn't like the text message he gets, though he does pause before replying so he can reach out and put a gentle hand on Hansa's shoulder. He gets it; he decked a guy earlier, too. Still. ]

The cobbler's children who didn't get shoes because he was too busy making them for his customers?

[The text he sends back says, Easy for you to say. What should we do?]