WEEK 2

[whimsicalism]

The first week at the castle passes without any (recent) murders. Mysteries were found, questions asked, bonds formed, and Halloween celebrated. Now as Sunday 'dawns', you might feel your mind a little lighter as your first memories fade. Will this be just a week celebrating the (questionably) best thing about October or will more sinister things be afoot?

Either way, it looks like the Alices will continue their game.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Hello, and welcome to week 2! Don't forget to submit your memory losses here and your activity here. If you want to ask or annoy the twins you can do so here. As always, don't forget to turn your threads in for 'fabulous prizes.]

Comments

[prescience]

[Like a few others, Oriko is perturbed by it being October: It certainly wasn't anything close to that date that she can remember. She nods in approval at both the calendar itself and Franziska's addendum.]

I concur.

Should this go on for much longer it may be possible to discern patterns in the dates that aren't readily apparent...

And we will want to keep our heads, regardless of what happens to our memories.

[ballooncaged]

Yeah... The date that we came here, that's good too. And we were told that Queen Alice lost game related memories.

[strictura]

All right, I can add those in.

[ Takes a pen from his pocket and adds under their respective dates:

Oct 3: Arrival
Oct 10: Halloween party
Oct 11: Ib's punishment/memory lost

Oct 31: Halloween

If you're looking that closely, there's also still a small question mark in the corner on the 23rd. ]

Anything else so far?

[prescience]

[Why yes, she is looking that closely, trying to pinpoint if there are other days that can be struck out.]

Let's talk about the next Saturday, the 23rd. What exactly are you expecting?

[strictura]

[ Pretending that said Friday unless that was deliberate! ]

...Nothing in particular, but that would usually be my birthday. Since it still should have been a few months away, I want to remember to check the portrait hall on that date to make sure they haven't updated my age.

i did mean friday i just have lost all track of time for the entirety of 2020

[prescience]

That's a clever idea. I'll have to remember to wish you a happy birthday. I think I'd be a little relieved if the portraits don't change, but what about you?

[Oriko clasps her hands, running through some other possible dates, wondering if there's more that should be tracked as they stay here and their memories possibly wane.]

For me, it should have also been a few months until October... yes, it was a beautiful spring. While I doubt it matters where - or when, even - we were before we were taken, do you have any interest in keeping track of that information?

relatable tbh

[strictura]

Ah... You really don't need to do that. [ Please don't, in fact. ] And I'm hoping it doesn't change. I don't want to think that I'm actually missing that big a chunk of time, and I'm not in any hurry to get older anyway.

[ Definitely not. ]

Making a list of where we were and what date it was before we came here?

[ He's not sure how much bearing that would actually have on anything, but having more information is never a bad thing. ]

It wouldn't hurt.

i only know what month it is bc i work in scheduling and also i track hallmark christmas movies

[prescience]

[Ah, a tender spot - Oriko inclines her head slightly in response to the request, acquiescing. No birthday well-wishes.

In the end, accounting for that information isn't going to bring them the most important answers, but she can also see it as a process of elimination.]

Given the nature of our hosts, I theorized we were all brought from somewhere with some magic, or, at the very least, extraordinary circumstances.

...I would also like to remember, in case something important is lost. [The possibility that the memories the castle drags from them might be bigger and bigger over time lingers at the back of her mind.]

[soverainty]

Ah, your birthday, Shingetsu-kun? I wonder if we could get you a cake. The Alices seem to like cake a lot, so it shouldn't--

[PAUSE.]

Of course... It would be the best birthday present not to be spending your birthday here, wouldn't it...?

[strictura]

I-I'm really not interested in celebrating it, actually, so let's focus on more important things.

[ It was a tiny question mark instead of something anyone else would be able to understand for a reason!! ]

[soverainty]

I see... Is it because it’s not real?

[... she seems to realize she’s prying after a moment and shakes her head, pigtails swaying gently as she moves on.]

It was spring at home, and now it’s almost winter... skipping months or a year really isn’t a good feeling like this, is it? Time travel really is a lot more complicated than you’d expect.

[Possibly the understatement of the actual year, but y’know.]

[prescience]

What doesn't she remember, I wonder?

Could it be related to the Alice-san who is a cat doing something she wouldn't agree with?