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

[retellers]

Oh, you don't need any of that!

[ Helpful.

She points at an entrance to a train station, while Byleth seems to accept this flirtation which is just how I assume the plot of 3H goes. ]

You can start there.

[chanteuser]

No, we really do---?

[ BYLETH. WHAT THE FUCK. ]

[lecarre]

[Well.

Wouldn't be the first time Ange's dealt with a mission on less info than that, so she just shrugs and gives it up as a lost cause and moves towards that entrance.

Ange is honestly just assuming at this point that the Realm is fucking with them and that's how it goes.]

[axecessory]

[ well Francy you're not wrong. hilda shoots both of them an exasperated look before going over to the train station.

judging by how this place has been going so far, they're not going to get much help from any npcs. ]

We're probably searching for one of our Leaders, right...?

[discernments]

That is the purpose of our mission.

[ presumably. ]

Although I'm not sure which. Did any of you talk to the Leaders about what they remembered?

[ ok what does this train station hold once they enter it

Is it full of monsters ]

[retellers]

[ No, it's a normal train station?? Wow. People are just patiently waiting for the next train to come by. The only thing that stands out is one girl's fashion sense, but somehow it still isn't weirder than what you guys are wearing. ]

[chanteuser]

[ excuse me her outfit is adorable. ]

... If someone stands out here, we should probably be talking to them, huh? [ she's starting to figure out how this walks.

also, she shivers. going from outside cold to indoor slightly warm does that to you. ]

Hello? Miss?

[lecarre]

[I'm super duper glad that Alex went to talk to her because Ange is pretending like she doesn't know her.

Because Ange is bad.

Anyway, she follows, inspecting Chise casually to see what she says.]

[axecessory]

[ the best-dressed npc is always the most important one in a room. she'll go up with alex to speak to chise. ]

Sorry—could we have a moment? We're searching for a missing person.

[ are you the girl we're looking for... ]

[retellers]

[ Chise's gaze lingers the longest on Ange, before turning her attention to the platform. ]

Come. The train approaches.

[ And she's right! It does, but it... looks like something you'd see from the 1800s and not a modern day setting. No one finds this weird though, and Chise boards without waiting to see if they'll follow. ]

[chanteuser]

...

[ i mean what the heck else are they meant to do here? nothing else about the train station stands out does it? ]

I guess we're going, then...?

[lecarre]

[I, Cal, have a very bad feeling about this. It's worth noting because Ange always has a bad feeling about things so that's nothing new.

Anyway, Ange inspects the train for a moment before she sighs and nods.]

Prepare yourselves. [just in case. Time to get on the traiiiiin.]

[axecessory]

[ jeanne is coming along because they are always holding hands. hilda looks very dubious, but the realm is clearly pushing them in a particular direction, whatever it's taking them. ]

I'm not seeing any other leads for us...

[ so, off they go onto this train. which, for the record, still looks very modern to her. ]

[discernments]

[ This anachronism is something to note. She can tell between modern day Tokyo and this not as modern day train.

Her grip on Hilda's hand tightens briefly, if only as a warning of caution than anything else. ]

Would we be lucky enough that this train will take us to whoever we're supposed to find?

[ She thinks the answer is no, but onto the train anyway!

If the train station held nothing bad. Hopefully, the train will also hold nothing bad. ]

[retellers]

[ Hilda, looking at this old ass train: wow technology

Ange may have a feeling of deja vu while looking at the train but it's fine. Off they go. Chise is just... walking down the compartment they entered, looking around. She pauses to look at them. ]

I hope you are prepared for combat. Let's go.

[ And she just immediately runs to exit this compartment to go to the next. ]

[chanteuser]

[ alex is not prepared for combat and she's in heels. she MIGHT curse under her breath.

is there anything she can grab in the train compartment, like a pipe or something she can swing at an assailant? please? because she's gonna grab it and hold it like it's excalibur. ]

[lecarre]

[Ange just. Closes her one remaining eye.

Dislike. Hey last time she was here she was also in a maid uniform. That's wild.]

... If this is what I suspect it is, we may have to stop this train in a hurry. [She doesn't want to call it until she's sure, though.

But also, like, she's pretty damn sure.

A glance at Alex.]

Stay in the middle of the group.

[And then she steps on ahead to follow Chise. Hooray!!]

[discernments]

[ Do any of them have weapons on them? Did Jeanne even bring her weapons on stage when they performed, and would she still have them after they got knocked out? Who knows?

She lets go of Hilda's hand.

Jeanne is usually a vanguard type of person, so she moves forward, too! ]

Please yell if trouble comes from behind us.

[retellers]

[ The next carriage is just people waiting to get to their next stop! Those people are also samurai, with swords, and they're going to immediately just charge towards them. Chise simply slices through some of them and moves ahead without looking back, leaving Blackpink to deal with the rest.

And yes, if you had left your weapons backstage, they would have vanished, don't worry about it. ]

[chanteuser]

[ alex has been gifted a pipe. a single pipe, which she will grip in her hands like a lifeline. she nods when ange tells her to stick to the middle of the group -- she's... happy to follow suit there, as she doesn't know what the heck she's doing in a serious fight. ]

R-right, I will.

[ she keeps the pipe close to her, and glances around to see if there are any assailants sneaking up from behind.

go go team blackpink lizards. ]

[lecarre]

[UGH. IT IS THE SAME. GREAT.

Chise is moving forward, and Ange doesn't know if the same Boss Foe is lurking somewhere around here. She doesn't know if the other train is there. But if this is plucked from her memories as it seems to be, it seems best to plan for the worst case scenario.

Anyway there are samurai and Ange is unarmed because I sadly could not think of a way for someone with one broken arm to lug a keyboard with her. :(

It doesn't stop her, though; she ducks a sword immediately, reaches out with her one good arm and tried to fling the nearest samurai away with a tidy throw. Still she's not really made for long bouts of combat, especially not in this state, so, uh--

With some slight actual urgency in her tone:]

We need to continue and keep up with her.

[chise protect us]

[axecessory]

[ oh, this escalated quickly. there's not an opportunity to talk the situation down before these samurai suddenly charge them in this unfortunate, narrow train.

and of course, hilda left her main weapon backstage. instead, she wastes no time flipping her guitar, holding its neck like she might an axe, and slams it straight into one dude's face. she will swing it again if necessary. double-tap! bye! ]

No need to tell me twice!

[ she's not standing around to get stabbed. sidelong to alex: ]

I'll keep you covered, okay? So keep moving!

[discernments]

[ francy made a joke about jeanne bringing the entire drum set, but i'm making it real.

partially real. jeanne has uno cymbal, and she's going to use it the way god intended. the fight has already begun, so there is no real need to stay quiet anymore.

CRASH - she slams the cymbal into one samurai's face and then turns to slam it down on another's head, aiming to kick a sword out of one of their hands so she can quickly pick it up, if she succeeds. ]

Alex, for any one that we make falter and fall, follow up and hit them where it will hurt the most. We do not want any of them getting back up and following us.

[ jeanne "the best defense is a good offense" d'arc

She knows Alex is not soft.

RUNNING AFTER CHISE LET'S GO ]

[retellers]

[ I love them all so much. Thankfully, the samurai seem to be taken by surprise at their uh... unconventional weapons. It's enough to slow them down enough to be attacked by their various items, but the advantage won't last too long, so they better run.

(does a dice roll) One of them manages to nick Ange on the arm, but it luckily isn't too deep, so it'll be more of an annoyance than anything considering she's already down one.

They can hear a commotion from up ahead. Chise seems to be yelling something but it's hard to hear over the sound of train and battle. ]

[chanteuser]

[ alex does as she's told by jeanne and smashes one of the samurai in the balls with a pipe before hustlin' down the carriage after ange and presumably jeanne.

she's keeping in the middle, like she was told. good thing she knows how to run in heels.

can she make out anything significant from the commotion from where she is? any sounds that stand out? ]