you're going to be amazing

[As those with special assignments start on their way, everyone capable of and willing to receive it receives a message over the magic mental connection that links them all in this illusion. It's the Little Mermaid's voice—Sayori's voice—loud and clear, brimming with affection. With passion and pride, as she speaks from the bottom of her heart about her friends in the Bureau.]

( The Reclaimers )

[She'll answer any responses after the CTAs have concluded.]

[Michael sucks in a breath through his teeth. It kinda helps to see Monika out here having to do this too, but it's still, uh. A lot. And so soon after Wonderland, too - it's not quite as bad as that, he didn't hurt anyone, but still...]

Hi. It's me, Michael.

I just wanted to say, I am so sorry to anybody I terrorized while we were in that illusion world. Which was...all of you, in theory. I was around for that entire fake history, and I spent a lot of time giving little kids nightmares. Very weird, in retrospect. So if you had some kind of trauma in there...sorry for that.

Also, um, quick question - why are my pockets still full of teeth?

[First on the screen is Wash, brightly lit by the glowing Bond Engine, looking tired and excited and relieved and honestly just...overwhelmed. Today has been a goddamn Day, hasn't it.]

Soooo. The Bond Engine works, I'm pretty sure we have magic back, we went on the ship, and...

[The video turns around to reveal a voidfish - smaller, but still very much a voidfish - waving a tentacle at them.]

There's another voidfish down here. I...think it's a baby.

[An unexplained psychic network that includes a whole lot of mortal beings he doesn't know was, frankly, far too much power to give Michael at this juncture. At first, he was just as alarmed as anybody; for all his millenia of existence, no one has ever been able to connect mentally with him this way! So he kept quiet early on, listening and observing.

After a few days, he hasn't learned much. He still doesn't know who any of the people involved are, or even how many there might be. But at the very least, they don't seem aware of his presence. Otherwise they'd have driven him out by now, or at least warned each other not to talk to him. So...why not try to make a little use of the thing?

Which is to say that at random points throughout the next several days, there come faint whispers in the back of everyone's minds:]

Behind you.

Look out!

I see you.

[Michael's still learning to use this, of course. It's probably not perfect; he's the pioneer of mind-net trolls! But boy, isn't this neat?]

[A few minutes after the Voidfish's impromptu all-minds poetry reading on the 25th, Michael makes his own more traditional broadcast!]

Did everyone on the moon hear that just now? Everyone in here did, but - that was the voidfish! I didn't even know you could do that, buddy, that's great! And I'm glad you liked the poem, too. I thought that might be a fun holiday snack.

[okay, he got distracted there, but back to the bracer:]

...it'd be nice if some other people visited it today. Really drab in this room.

[That's an excuse. The poetry reading was the most loud and obvious thing to happen here, but Michael noticed the rest too. Two stars...

He already had suspicions. He put them right in the last two lines of the poem. It just feels so sad, all the time. Maybe that could've been about anything, but Michael's come to learn that people are the hardest thing to miss. Did it have a friend once? They're different in size; maybe a parent or a child? That's weird to think about, but for all his fondness, he knows the two of them really aren't the same sort of creature. Just look at how pretty it is.

He's never been the most tactful person. But the thought of yelling about all of that over the network feels bad. He's not unwilling to share; it didn't seem like a secret. Just...maybe a little more privately.]

[ here's another one of those weird posts!! whomst is this??? ]

i talked to the hunger again. i have information.

the main thing is that its like legion but it's made up of an entire world. or it was when it stated it's probably more now. they were people but they're not anymore. the man i talked to wasn't being possessed like i thought he was he's a spokesperson or something and he was the one who started it. he gave me this big villain speech about how life is pain and meaningless and about how he wanted to break the laws of reality or whatever to become more. i guess literally everyone in his world agreed with them that they weren't happy with limited by laws of existence and all fused together or something. they want to expand and occupy the same space as other things and basically consume everything with their shared unhappiness. he told me that i was the only person who didn't agree with him and everyone the hunger got is together without suffering and they're not dead but i don't believe it. he really wants people to see things his way.

he's also been trying to kill the director and seven of her friends. he has a theory that he has to kill all eight of them to stick and i found out he's right. i know it's hard to trust ms. lucretia but she means well and i think it would be REALLY bad if it got her so i think that we have to protect her and those other 7 if we find out who they are. i'm betting the group of 8 thing why she's still alive after dying so many times.

[ though maya herself is starting to catch up!!! ] her plan is to starve the hunger but. ryuji was right that it's in the celestial plane. like, for real. i saw john eating it. it was horrible.

there's something else i need to tell you all so come talk to me in person when we start the mission. and please don't ask me if i'm okay. i just need a little more time.

[ (all replies will be text unless otherwise noted!) ]

[Some people might've noticed a familiar (or not so familiar, depending) huge man wandering around the base these past few weeks. He's mostly been skulking around the dojo, but he's also been milling about, looking at all the Candlenights decorations with a vaguely mystified air. It's not until shortly before what many people would think of as Christmas Eve that he actually gets around to asking.]

So I've been wondering. Did those New Aspen people invade while I was gone? Why the hell's this place all covered in their sorta weird sparkly nonsense?

[He pauses, as if giving everyone the chance to absorb his absurd conclusion. And then decides to make it worse.]

Figure we gotta fight those cats if we're gonna beat them back? I'm a lot stronger now so I can definitely kick their ass this time.
[This time, he says. As if he's tried to fight the cats from New Aspen before. (He has.)]

Hello?

[Komaeda’s low voice spoke softly, maybe a little unsure. He had sort of left without saying anything. But then, it’s not like anyone would have missed him or even noticed his absence!]

I have to confess I’m at a bit of lost as to what happened. I was just lucky I happened not be far away and could find the crash. But, this is a rather troubling development, isn’t it?

Gooooooood morning New New Aspen-slash-Moon Base Alpha!

[This is...perhaps excessively chipper. Especially for Church.]

This is your local very handsome and capable robot Church here to ask a very important question: who here cooks? Who here bakes? And why is baking its own category when it's really just cooking but with an oven full of bread?

If yes, have you ever made latkes? Challah? Those little...those little jelly doughnuts I don't remember--sufganiyot, that's the stuff! Are you good at baking and frying things in oil, really, is the real question here. Can you take direction on how to make-slash-fry these things?

And finally, who wants to help celebrate being alive?

[ Natsuki's been doing a lot of thinking after her first mission. The fact that they failed has put a lot of things into perspective, and so she decides it's time to write a poem.

... Well, re-write one, to be specific. The general meaning here seems appropriate, but it seems like a nice touch to change the words around a little bit to better suit the audience. Not that there was anything wrong with the original, of course. Why would you imply that?

In any case, one evening after they've returned to the not-so-much-on-the-moon Moon Base, a picture of some writing in a notebook appears on the network. ]



[ It's rather short, isn't it? She chooses to offer no explanation, at least up front. ]

[Sans posts a basic rundown of everything that happens during a "default" loop.]

we need to keep track of what's going to cause changes
far as i can tell, this is what happens if we don't do anything
you do something that changes it, you tell everyone here what you did and what changed and when
we're not getting anywhere if we don't keep track of this stuff

[So, this is the basic IC info sharing post! Go nuts!]

[The message comes a few loops in. At least enough for everyone to recognize that there's definitely looping happening, but probably before it's fully realized how that can be used to the advantage.

There's been a lot of waffling over whether or he should ask this. A lot of turning the bracer on and off, typing and re-typing the message.

Finally at the start of the next loop, it goes up.]

This place is real, right?

Like, Boarbumps? The Town? They're actual places that exist.

This isn't just some simulation or something that the relic created?

[If anyone goes looking for Roxas, he will probably be found not too far from whatever their starting area is.]

[Halloween has come and gone, but not everyone had the chance to celebrate. Things have been pretty awkward since Monika's arrival and she chose to avoid the party in hopes of not making it worse. However, after receiving a nice little gift, she's in much higher spirits.

So she send out a video a few days after the holiday. It's starts with her smiling with a wave, a book in her free hand.]

Hi everyone! So after my test of initiation, I actually got a copy of one of my favorite books from it! It's called "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein! You can probably guess how I got inspired by my username ahaha!

Anyway I wanted to read one of my favorite poems from it if that's okay! I rarely get to do this anymore, and I was hoping it might inspire others to maybe share some poems or other writing too! [Monika turns the book in her hand and flips it open to a bookmarked page.] This one is what the book is titled after.

[She clears her throat before she start to read:]

"There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends."

[Monika lets out a breath as she closes the book with a smile on her face.]

Shel Silverstein really was a genius. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for listening!

[Most people probably didn't really noticed Ogata's absence the last two weeks. He's not a very social person and he keeps to himself. He has, however, been out of the Brig for all of two days and his presence is already becoming something of a nuisance. All day today, anyone exiting or entering the dorm building will find themselves shot. By a watergun. Those with sharp eyes can catch a glimpse of Ogata on the adjacent roof. Stand around long enough and you might get blasted a second time. If you open your window even, you risk the chance of dealing with Ogata's water-based sniping.

Later in the day, comes something of an explanation;]

My demands are simple.
I want my weapons returned to me. I know Maya has them, but she refuses to give them back.
Get them away from her and back to me and I'll stop.

Until my property is rightfully back in my hands, this will continue.

[ good day, reclaimers! do you feel up to being assaulted by a wall of kaomoji? nope? TOO BAD. ]

HEY EVERYBODY (＠´ー`)ﾉﾞ it's honoka!!
I rly hope everyone's doing better after after our last mission ＼(º □ º l|l)/ it was really rough!! make sure to take care of urself if you got messed up, ok???

that's not what this post is about exactly i just thought that was important to say lol ANYWAY!!

idk how many of you guys know this but back home i'm actually a school idol (￣▽￣)/♫•*¨*•.¸¸♪ that means i write songs and perform concerts with my friends (we're called μ's! like muse not mousse lol) and it's a lot of fun ♪♬((d⌒ω⌒b))♬♪

and one of the most important things about being an idol is making people feel uplifted! that's what my friend back home nico-chan says. so i've been thinking about it and i really really REALLY want to put together and hold a big concert for everybody before our next mission!!!! with everything that's happened, i really hope some good music could help to cheer everyone up a little bit ♬♫♪◖(● o ●)◗♪♫♬

so i just wanted to ask if there was anyone who'd be interested in helping out, or even performing maybe? i'm a bard and i'm good at singing and dancing, and i think i can teach some people if they want to learn!

ヽ(o´∀`)ﾉ♪♬ you can message me or comment here if you want to help out! thanks!

[Michael sounds unusually sober when he makes this post. Troubled, even.]

Hey - has anyone else noticed other people losing their memories? I think it started right after we landed, and it's been getting worse. It's not like with the Voidfish - it's more like her memories are just getting edited perfectly, so she's not even aware of the gaps. Way beyond anything we could've achieved at home...

[But uh. Never mind all that.]

We should check in with people we know well. I don't think you'd be able to tell if it had happened to you.