[open mingle] I do my crosswords in pen

[keepgodwaiting]

WHO: Constantine (keepgodwaiting) & you!

WHAT: Metaplot deciphering!

WHERE: The Welcome Diner

WHEN: Early December

WARNINGS: Probable discussion of human experimentation


Another month, another weird new building, and Johanna has been thinking. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then they ought to try some new things, right?

Trying to stay away from the dorms at Halloween didn't work. Trying to escape the mall had mixed results. So maybe it's time to abandon the avoidant strategy and see what happens if they approach things a bit more head-on. Starting, in her case, with investigating every open door she could find in the Science Center until she found the director's office.

(Yes, she did just get told off by several friends for running into potentially dangerous situations with no backup; no, she did not alert anybody that she was going to do this; but hey, it was completely uneventful and therefore she has not broken any promises to anyone!)

The most interesting thing in there, by far, is the unlocked computer, and with a little digging she found a very interesting email. More carefully redacted notes. And she wonders ...

So one evening -- around dinner time, after sunset, in the hopes of being available to the most residents -- Johanna posts up in the welcome diner with a stack of notebooks, pens, and her phone. She's hand-copying the redacted file from her phone onto paper, with XXXXXs to indicate the number of characters in the redacted words. It's an arduous process, and every so often she straightens up from the work with a groan to crack her back. After she gets the whole thing copied down, she picks up her phone to make a network post:

Anyone good at crossword puzzles? I've got a doozy of one I'm working on in the diner and could use some help.

Anyone who cares to join her and try to decipher the redacted words, or make additional hard copies of the file to share out, is more than welcome to do so. Or just grab a cup of coffee and share theories with each other.

[ ooc: Feel free to treat this like an open mingle, converse with other characters, hop around, etc! I'll be making a top level with the text of the two redacted files from the newsletter, in which we can crowdsource guesses about what the missing words might be!

ETA: Feel free to put guesses in this document! ]


 

Comments

[luminously]

( Zelda hadn't hesitated to make her way to the diner. With as much as she's wanted to put in her own efforts into trying to help others here, she's mixed with both anxiety and relief to know that something's been found here. At the same time, she knows better than to get her hopes up. Things have been kept from all of them on purpose. While she doesn't doubt that Robby has found something that could indeed help... to what extent? And, how much more would be out there to discover?

She opens the door, stepping in swiftly, but quietly before she greets Robby. )

Good afternoon, Robby. I thank you for waiting for me here. Though... I trust that others have made their way to the diner to see what has been found as well.

[strongroots]

[ He's sitting when she comes in, a familiar sight that gets his attention when she comes on over. His hands clasped on the table in front of him, but they untangle after Zelda speaks. ]

It's fine, you didn't miss anything. It's a debrief of an iteration -- a group who went through what we did.

[ It's not a comfortable explanation, the subject still a heavy one, no matter how many times Robby shares it, but it's easier to get to the point now. And he grabs a copy of the report, holds it and its sheets to Zelda. ]

You might wanna sit. Your choice.

[ He can't say how she might take to the information. There's been a few different reactions. ]

[luminously]

( Zelda falls silent for a moment before reaching to take the papers, brows furrowing before she looks back to Robby. )

I trust that it is not wrong to assume that what you have found is not good news.

( Not with the way he tenses up, or the way that he suggested that she sit. She does as suggested, sitting across from him before glancing at the papers. )

11 months? So... we were not the first of those who were sent here.

[strongroots]

We're the fiftieth. [ He nods to the paper. ] That zero-nine on the report? When we get the messages asking us how we're liking the place, it says 50. The reports people keep finding are for a 47.

[ So Zelda can imagine how they came to that conclusion, and what it means for how long this has actually been going on. ]

[luminously]

( Her expression shifts then, looking alarmed for a moment before her mouth presses together into a fine line. )

"11 month lifespan"-- and while I hesitate to assume before studying this closely... I am certain that they were not allowed to simply return home.

( It makes her chest constrict with the thought of it. The thought of never returning to Hyrule... She misses it dearly -- she misses the people there dearly. )

[strongroots]

[ Robby looks down momentarily, hands clasping together. ]

The answer to that's down the end. [ ... ] A lot of answers are.

[ Ones that generate more questions, but the weight of them, what they mean: there's no exaggerating what they mean once they're read, understood. ]

[luminously]

( Zelda takes in that answer, frowning deeply and looking to Robby one last time before resuming her read, her expression growing more grim as she continues.

After she finishes, she sets the paperwork down. )

... We had already known that this city possessed its dangers, but now it is all the more urgent to find a way to leave as soon as possible.

[strongroots]

[ He sits quietly, as she reads and once she's done, even momentarily after she makes her declaration. How, is the question both most important, and so useless to ask of anyone.

But he takes in a breath, exhales it as a sigh. ]

We're gonna need a big brainstorming session to come up with a way how.

[ Because so far, nothing's worked. ]

[luminously]

You are right. However...

( Zelda goes quiet. She doesn't want to believe that this situation is hopeless. She's been in a situation where she almost lost hope. If she lets her faith in what's possible waver now, it may end up horribly for everyone here. )

We must do something. Surely, gathering those who would be capable of assisting us with such a task would be the first step.