WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[You now know why you're here, Titled. The question now is, is there a way to get out of here without invoking the rules? What will those who brought you here do to get you to kill?

Time will tell.

There are fifteen strangers in this place.]

Comments

[totalbullshit]

[ If you've been keeping tabs on the strangers in the mall, you might have noticed that Helena almost immediately seems to have turned into somewhat of a cryptid, barring the exemption of yesterday's meeting. She's never to be spotted hanging out in any of the common areas, if anything, you may see her making her way to the one single bathroom of the place as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. You may catch her on one of these routes today and confront her on her absence and ghost-like behaviour if you want to. Or confront her on the fact that she clearly hasn't changed since arrival, uh....

One of these ways takes a little longer as Helena stops by the Barcade Vending Machines to insert a mysterious chip. She winds up with a Japanese copy of 'The Robber of Sherwood' in her hands, examining it curiously. ]

...looks like Robin Hood? Too bad I can't read it....

[ If you're not catching Helena outside, there is always the option of coming to Room 10, which's door is frequently not shut completely so Helena can maintain at least an impression of what is going on outside.

Later in the evening there's a Lime Chat message from The Nasty though: ]

So what's with those vending machines? Has anyone else tried them out yet? - Helena

[steelmagnolias]

I got a broken calculator.

Have you eaten since yesterday?

[totalbullshit]

Yes. I have canned food in my room.

Do you have any idea how the coin got to you? For me, it appeared without a trace of how.

[steelmagnolias]

Same here. I just came back to my room, and there it was.

[totalbullshit]

Do you think the calculator you got belongs to anybody? The book I got was from someone else here.

[steelmagnolias]

I'm not sure.

I'm just going to put it aside in case.

[ It's pretty much worthless garbage to him, but who knows. ]

Vending machines!

[foolishjustice]

[He can't say he hasn't been curious about those machines, but he sure didn't expect to see the resident bathroom ninja in front of one of them. And holding...huh, that book sure does look familiar.]

It wouldn't happen to be in Japanese, would it?

[totalbullshit]

Hmh?

[ For a moment, Helena looks almost caught to be approached outside, as if she'd betrayed her own principles, but the impression doesn't last. Akechi has been doing a good job keeping the group grounded, she doesn't dislike talking to him. ]

It is. I know a little, because there's a lot of cultural exchange to Japan in Neo Yokio.

[ She holds the book out for him to examine. ]

[foolishjustice]

[He takes it and looks it over, his pleasant smile shifting to a look of surprise, then to something more thoughtful...almost concerned. The signs of wear...yes, this book is definitely familiar.]

This...seems to be from my bookshelf. I can't imagine why it would have been in this machine, however...

[Of all the things in his apartment to grab, why would they just go for one of his books?]

[totalbullshit]

From your... No, I don't know why I'm surprised.

[ If they could "steal" whole people, why not items? Put them into a fun game, because why not...? Yuck. ]

Did they just take our belongings to bribe us with them? I didn't do anything for this coin though.

[foolishjustice]

I'm not certain. I can understand why they might have taken some of our belongings, but not why they would distribute them back in such a way.

[He reaches into his pocket and pulls out four chips.]

I would consider they might be awarded to encourage certain behaviors, but it's not as though I've been acting in ways conductive to their stated desires...

[totalbullshit]

I only received one. You might assume it's because you've been out and about more, but... with a sample size of two, who can tell?

[ Helena sure doesn't think she's been taking part in any behaviour that is particularly useful to the Life Coach or anyone. The most she can think of is the purchases she made for food, so maybe the only purer form of protest there is is to starve.... yeah, she won't go that far. ]

Is the book very valuable to you?

[foolishjustice]

Not in particular. Not that I have many truly valuable possessions, but even so, it's not something I would expect someone too choose as a method of bribery.

Well, regardless of why this item in particular, I suppose I have another potential pattern to consider.

[classmated]

I haven't, but I'm not used to these kinds of vending machines.

Did you get anything interesting?

[totalbullshit]

Interesting for sure. It was a book that belongs to someone else here - at home, I mean.

[classmated]

... they put our possessions in the machine? And they want us to pay to get them back?

[totalbullshit]

It appears so. But we can't pay with the money, the machine only takes specific chips. Mine appeared to me completely at random, it was rather unsettling.

[classmated]

That does sound unsettling. A little too close to extortion too, and we don't even know how we get these chips.

Maybe one of us should try asking the Life Coach about this?

[totalbullshit]

Do you assume she will have anything of substantial value to say about it? ....

[classmated]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Even if we don't learn anything, we don't lose anything by trying.

[notgentle]

i got 3 of those chips but i was going to do it tomorrow
why would they do this instead of money though it makes no sense

[totalbullshit]

3, huh... Someone said it might be to encourage certain behavior, but if so, it's difficult to figure what it is. The fact that I got one at all is surprising if that theory is true.

[notgentle]

that sounds weird yeah
is it injuring people?
what else would they want in their fucked up game

[totalbullshit]

Implying you've already done that and gotten rewarded for it?

[notgentle]

uh
i may or may not have tripped a couple
you know what no next theory