redactable | WEEK SEVEN: MINGLE

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mingle

WEEK SEVEN: MINGLE

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The darkness...[it's mumbled, and while he's not a huge fan of leaving her alone either, he...well. she reminds him of someone.

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you."

...hm.]

Even heroes need a hero sometimes, you know. We'll be careful, and we'll go after him. [but sephiroth is ahead and heading for the penis building which means they've gotta go. and since lup has taako's hand, sora's taking clementine's despite the fact he doesn't need to. it's partially so they don't get lost, and partially because he wants to.

also hm. bad. guns? sephiroth no shooty? great.] Did...you ever remember how to fight?

[ i don't like reading penis building in sora's metatext. but sure they can hold hands. as is customary in burning villages. ]

... Don't think so.

But it'll be fine? I've still got a gun.

[ she doesn't know that he's unshootable. maybe he'll be shootable later. we just don't know!! ]

[ for some reason, their concern makes a secret smile show up on the woman's face, and she lifts a gloved hand with a wave. if they look back after leaving, she won't be there anymore, so that's... good?

Well, either way, off they go to follow in the fire, which luckily for them has left a cool path up the mountain. They enter the-- it's a reactor, i'm not calling it the penis building anymore, and when they get in...

They're..

in...

A city.

Wait, what?

It's a slummy looking city, mind you, with dirty streets, shitty buildings, shittier lighting and what seems to be something covering up where the sky should be...? But it's a city! There's no sign of the fire, or Sephiroth, or the village. If they turn back, they'll find they seem to have come out of a building, and opening the door behind them there will lead them to a very shitty one room apartment. It's got a very familiar cot, though! Some of you might have seen it in a church. Maybe it's one cot fits all.

There are people all around, looking poor. No, seriously, I'm not making it up, they look poor. They are going about living their daily lives, but... a few of them look distressed, standing in place... and is... is there a ! over some of their heads? Yeah. That. That sure is a green ! over their heads.

I wouldn't have made this joke if the twins weren't there, but now I had to. ]

[stop it's the penis building now and I will never learn otherwise. Taako looks around, judges that nasty boy cot again and then immediately seems more comfortable once he sees some clear quest markers.]

Oh. Now we're really adventuring, huh?

[Just. Going over immediately to one.]

Hail and-- Hail and well-- I forget how this joke goes. I think I'm normally making fun of someone when I say that? Um. Hey. What do you want? Ten bear asses?

[ oh. well, this is better than a burning town and the sad remains of cloud's memories, she supposes. she squints a little out into the city, and then watches - hm, a stranger who looks just like her head off to talk to some NPCs? it's fine.

can't believe we're gonna do a bunch of side quests and then crossdress.

anyway she pulls her hair up into a ponytail and heads over to one of the poor ! people that taako isn't talking to. ]

Hey, hit me with your highlighted text so I can skip through the rest of your dialogue. What's up.

[...well. the worst is how at ease he suddenly feels because his shoulders relax and he sort of lets his hand swing while it's holding clementine's, glancing around the town curiously.]

Guess the gun'll be okay for now. [he takes a look back in the apartment again, but he hums to himself as he glances back to the town itself.] Well! I guess we can help 'em out until we see Sephiroth again. We'll meet back in the center. [he grins, squeezing her hand and nudging clementine off as he immediately bounds over to yet another person with an exclamation point over their head, easily following the lead.]

Hey! Everything okay?

[ clementine just stands there awkwardly for a moment after getting ditched by everyone who understands Quest Markers?

O???Kay???? but sure, she'll also hit up a quest-giver that no one else is talking to yet. ]

Whatcha need?

[ Taako finds himself in front of a young girl who looks like, five, and she looks up at him sadly, because that's the funniest option given the dialogue. ]

Could you help me find my friends? They're cats, and I haven't seen them since yesterday...

[ Lup, meanwhile, will find an old woman ranting; ]

I don't have time for this, I have to find those worthless... They should be doing their job! Who's going to take care of this rat infestation, now?

[ I can't believe you guys are making me do four quests at once, hilarious. Anyway, as for Sora, he'll find a man looking severely distressed ]

I promised my wife I'd bring home a potion, but I forgot... oh, man she's going to kill me!

[ MEANWHILE, CLEMENTINE will find herself face to face with a teenage boy with white hair and.. a ... monocle? For some reason? ]

Oh! Yes, thank you, I need your help for my research. Could you hold this for me? It's very important.

[ ... for some reason, he gives her a yellow flower before pointing her in the direction of a hole in a fence? ]

If you'll go over there, there's a wild hound on the loose. That should do it.

[ what ]

[we're speedrunning.

Taako just looks . . . down. Though he seemed confused for a minute there that he couldn't find whoever was talking, and then a minute more when he realized this was truly a pedantic sidequest. Cats? Well. That's fine.]

. . . Right. That tracks. Where'd you see them last? Who I am kidding, they're cats. They don't obey the laws of nature, they could be anywhere.

[ nyoom

also she's still holding the potions which is why it's funny that sora got the potion npc. she squints. ]

Whooo are we talking about. I can kill some rats for you? That's like, a level one quest. Are the rats in the basement of your tavern?

A potion huh...? [he could take lup's, but also, he kind of wants to explore? so he just nods!] I'm on it, don't worry! I'll have it to you before you know it.

[which means bye, losers, he's immediately disappearing further into the town to see if he can find an items shop. or a moogle. whichever is more convenient. he has not thought about how he's going to pay for this.]

[ well, we evaded clem's fire/raid trauma from memloss, but she's still? afraid of dogs??? she takes the flower, but before heading over that way... ]

So - what. What do you want me to do with this?

[ to taako: ]

They like to hang out all kinds of places around the sector, but they didn't come see me today. I'm worried they're trapped somewhere...! You should start over in that alley, though. That's where all the cats hang out.

[ she is pointing him down a dark, scary alley, several twists and turns down. if he squints he can almost see the quest marker on a mini-map. for lup: ]

What? No, the rat nest is in the old abandoned factory. [ the invisible mini-map aka the woman directs her over to the other side of town, where behind a locked gate there seems to be. Well. An abandoned factory. ] They've already started to come into town! If someone doesn't take care of them, people could get hurt!

[ the fuck kinda rats are these. MEANWHILE, SORA: there's no moogle around for him to find, but exploring town will net him a few more [!] quest marks. walking around he'll find that there's a bunch of people hanging around listening to a weird song near a cheap food stand, a bar that's not open during the day that goes by the name SEVENTH HEAVEN, a weapons' shop on the first floor of a two story building with no stairs and only a ladder which seems very ADA compliant, and finally an item store run by some guy. sora will recognize him as a generic npc. He greets him with a "what can I get you". Unfortunately, potions cost money. Rip.

As for Clementine, the boy just. smiles? ]

It's a surprise tool that will help you later! [ what. ] Though you might want to bring a friend to fight those hounds.

To the dark, scary alley it is . . . I hate side-quests . . .

[Off he goes! He pulls out his Lisa Frank knife though. Approaching that quest marker!!]

[ ... great, an abandoned factory. that's what she wanted.

she's going to go with taako, actually, because she's not here to get eaten by giant rats. also, maybe they can make the cats hunt the rats. yeah. solid plan.

she takes her own knife, the one she got stabbed with, and zooms after her brother. ]

[he's making notes of the questmarkers to maybe come back later, vibin' with the song for a little and really getting the lay of the land. it's pretty easy to remember the layout, at least, and he'll come back to help everybody with their quests in a minute.

meanwhile though he's browsing the wares of this item shop before pulling out a piece of gold from fantasy week and pointing at a few potions. is this enough for the potion? can he have?]

[ look normally she'd just do it herself despite the warning, but again. the trauma.

so to pass the time until someone else is free to help her with her first quest... she will take on another one? is there another Quest Giver around that no one has tended to? ]

[ Meanwhile, in Catlandia;

no really. it looks like taako got the baby quest (...well, it WAS given by a baby) because he and Lup have no ended up in an area that is just. filled with cats? that is where all the cats hang out. it's just a regular cat colony. they meow but mostly dodge if they're approached. at least one of them is pure white! the girl was looking for that, allegedly. meow meow meow meow meow. none of the cats seem impressed with the knife, however, and so they hiss.

The guy at the counter takes the gold and looks it over, turning it around... and he lets Sora leave with a potion. He probably got ripped off, but hey! It worked. Yay Sora.

There is indeed another quest giver for Clem, an older woman near the apartment building they ended up. ]

Looking for work, are you? I've got just the thing. Could you help change the water filters in the rooms up there? [ she will hand Clem 3! water filters ] They don't make the water taste any better, but at least it's potable this way.

[ this city is a dump with a lot of cats. ]

[well if it's just cats that's probably fine. Putting the knife away! Putting it away. Turning to Lup before he sort of. Hunkers over. You know like when you're trying to lure a cat.]

Okay, I'm gonna unleash my master technique. I'm gonna-- Here goes! Flank it!

Pspspspsps!

Impressive.

[ she puts her knife away - and digs through her pockets? she has... cotton candy? do cats like cotton candy. c'mere kitties.

she does her best not to snortlaugh at the pspspsps - and joins taako in making grabby hands for the cats.

we're gonna murder so many rats with these cats? ]

[well. while the twins are doing whatever the fuck in catlandia, sora's jogging his way through town back to his original quest mark to hand over the potion! he'll ask if there's anything else he can do for the guy, but assuming not, he will turn and go to seek out clementine to help her with whatever task she's doing.

that is. if he can find her. where is he even going right now?]

[ she's upstairs in some random apartment doing plumbing APPARENTLY. it's. it's probably fine? these kinds of puzzles are always just a couple button prompts, right. ]

[ The cotton candy does not seem to attract the cats, but a grey tabby does come closer at the secret pspspsps spell! And an orange one, too. That's not the cat they want, though. The white cat is simply licking its paw in a corner, ear twitching.

For his success in the quest, Sora gets a small orb-- and everyone gets a flash, like two memories superimposed on each other in a way that is actually very obnoxious. Almost like an obligatory cutscene... y'know, if it was bugged out.

At first one, there's Sora, in an odd, empty space with a door, facing a silver-haired man. A lot of the dialogue is bugged out and barely audible, but one sentence stands out-- I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts... is light! right as the door opens and light pours out, blinding him and the rest of them.

Then, it's right back to fire, as someone walks with difficulty through the streets on fire, following after... yep, that sure is Sephiroth again. Why is he always here when things are on fire. The memory seems to break apart already, skipping to where he's cornered-- and there's no mistaking Wolf's voice. "I killed you with my own--" as Sephiroth interrupts. "Oh, you need not remind me. It was the crowning moment of our time together."

The memory flashes again, and it's back to Sora's, having apparently skipped quite a lot because the door is gone and he's now watching an island be rebuilt, holding hands with a red haired girl as the lands start to separate. Sorry to Clementine. His voice is still squeaky. "I'll come back to you, I promise!" "I know you will." and the lands split too far, their hands no longer able to reach--

And now they're back on the streets of the city, though they're at least no longer on fire. A young woman with a braid is looking at Wolf in concern. "Hey, are you okay?" before she holds out a singular yellow flower that Clem might find familiar ... and also they're like, all over the church in the castle.

Then everything goes back to normal, like no time passed at all, except they have a mild headache. Isn't that cool. Anyway! Back to Clementine! Her fun adventure of the day is that while switching the filters out is literally just taking the filter that's on the tap and installing the new ones, while the first two rooms seem normal, the third one has some kind of dude in a dark coat moaning in bed in it. That's fun.

Ignore the flashbacks it's what Cloud would do ]

Oh boy. Don't know what that just was, but, probably good? Right? Getting memories is . . . good! I hope.

Um.

[Cool.]

Psst, okay, flank the-- flank the cat. I know how their minds work, so I'm gonna just doooooo . . .

[He sits down and just. Scoops up the gray one and starts petting it.]

Wow. Amazing! What an amazing cat. The truly most astounding cat in this cat party. None of the rest of you fuckers come close to how great this cat is.

[ give her a second, she's reeling from all those memories, wow. she's like, very suddenly glad she shot sephiroth in the face? yeah. ]

... Ow. [ she mutters. but - she'll just follow taako's plan. she picks up the orange cat and drops it in taako's lap before... flanking, like she's told. she's going to catch this thing.

how many sets of twins does it take to steal a cat, that's the question. i'm glad sora and clementine are actually getting quests done. ]

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