[OPEN MINGLE]

[justscribing]

WHO: Everyone! It's a mingle!
WHAT: Discussing recent reveals about the simulation
WHERE: Pairidaeza Architectural Studio
WHEN: Feb 3rd morning to evening
WARNINGS: Potential existential crises, discussions of death, memory manipulation, basically everything to do with their actual situation in a simulated environment.




[The actual setup within the garage-turned-studio is away from all the actual workbenches.

On one folding table are copies of multiple documents available around the X: The main document is a summary of a resident from a prior iteration that's clearly been redacted via scanning copies with stuff blocked out. Additionally are copies of the most recent newsletter with the memo on the back and photos of the hotel journal printed in black and white.

Lined up on another folding table away from the one with the documents is an array of finger foods: hummus, chutneys, and yoghurt dips with a variety of sliced vegetables, cheeses, cold cuts, and fresh pita bread. cardamom cookies, panipuri, and both vegetable and chicken samosas take up the other side. Mint water and fresh juice are in pitchers to the center. It's actually a little crowded.

Chairs are set up in small grounds and around the document table. And finally, a whiteboard has been rolled in for people to make use of in group discussions.]



((This is a mingle, so everyone is encouraged to threadjack, make toplevels, etc prior plot mingles have been done. Alhaitham and Kaveh will be around and participating but not taking the lead beyond making sure people stay orderly in the studio and have enough papers.

If you character has discussed the simulation with either Kaveh or Alhaitham, you can also handwave they texted them directly about it.))

Comments

[fauned]

( she feels miserable just thinking about needing to do it so maybe - )

Would it be worse to watch or do though..

[keepgodwaiting]

Probably do. [ She has to admit that. ] 's the only thing I can think of right now that might genuinely fuck with their data.

[fauned]

( ears flattened: )

Man.

( then, sliding over some of her plate of panipuri.. have some. )

What about the surveys? Do you think they actually take the results of those seriously?

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Aw, that's nice of her! Jo picks one up, but also just kind of picks at it. ]

I think they might, actually. 'Least they did in some of the old reports. It seems like they use them to gauge effectiveness of whatever shit they put us through. If we all answered in one way, it might at least tip them off that we know what's going on.

[fauned]

( at that, she seems a little confused. )

Couldn't we just say whatever we wanted then? Why would they trust us?

( they're clearly being observed, and it's not as if they had any real reason to answer truthfully either. )

But also, aren't they watching us right now? I feel like if they were they would've known that people keep finding bits like these everywhere. Do you think someone wants us to find these?

[keepgodwaiting]

It's starting to seem like someone does, doesn't it? That or the whole operation is falling-down incompetent. Or both.

[ She frowns thoughtfully. ] Did you go through the haunted house?

[fauned]

( thinking about yuki almost making paste out of her - )

A few times. ( first time because she did actually intend to go to the party past that area, the rest.. ) I kinda didn't have a choice for some of them.

( oh yeah. )

I gave the survey a 5 for that one to be funny. Why?

[keepgodwaiting]

[ fearne wtf ]

Do you remember any of the graffiti in there? I wasn't paying a lot of attention, I heard from someone else about it. And I remember in the mall there was graffiti some places that was like, "Safety in numbers."

[fauned]

( in her defense she didn't think it mattered!!!!!!!! )

Uhm,

( did she? she doesn't remember. but also she doesn't tend to register things that don't seem important to her, so.. )

Maybe? Did they all try to tell us to stick together or something? Not everything was like that though. I wouldn't have mauled the person I was having tea with if we didn't go together?

[keepgodwaiting]

... Right.

[ Sometimes Johanna looks at Fearne's tits and thinks Damn, am I a monsterfucker? and then is reminded that Fearne maybe is, slightly, a monster.

God, boobs, though.

Anyway, to the point: ]

Ives said she saw something about apocalypses in there, I thought. Ah, maybe I'm jumping at shadows. Telling us to stick together in the mall was sort of fucked up, too.

[fauned]

( that one meme thats like don't let my mental illness distract you from my tits, yeah. but also..... technically........ it was the tea's influence that the mauling even happened but she's not going to bother clarifying that either. )

Is she around?

( it's not a name she recognizes, but she peeks about anyway. )

I don't remember anything happening at the mall that had anything like that.. ( a little before her time, it seems. ) What happened anyway?

[keepgodwaiting]

I haven't seen her yet.

[ Maybe she'll text her, but ... odds are Vanessa has a lot on her mind. ]

In the mall? You weren't here for people getting locked in and chased around by our ghosts?

[fauned]

( there's a joke here about how she saw stars there once - but she will not make it. wow! character development! )

Nope! Not that I remember, anyway. That is kinda similar to the haunted house though.

...

Wait, our ghosts? Not other ghosts?

[keepgodwaiting]

Yeah, people we knew. They chased us, or I guess some people chased them. Either way, when you caught up to each other -- if you were the one being chased, they killed you.

[ She adds air quotes. ] "Killed." Like a really vivid hallucination. And anyone who was around you when it happened experienced it with you.