[As delightful as all the hugging is, Jennifer is not a girl that particularly enjoys sudden physical contact, so she has since escaped to the sanctity of her room. After calming her nerves in peaceful solitude, Jennifer's voice can be heard on the bracelets, should anyone check the network.]

Oh my...um, are these sorts of...

...circumstances...normal here? I...I don't remember anything like this in April...

[Nothing like this, anyway. Fog, and something about a hospital, and wasn't there a party? She wasn't a social sort, and the new environment left her too terrified to go.]


It...it could be worse, I suppose. Um...all the singing seemed really fun.

...You all had lovely voices.

[Not that Jennifer would admit anything if they didn't. After that, though, she seems to realize how awkward she sounds and shuts the feed off with the hurried Sorry!

...Only for it to cut back on several minutes later, just in time for it to catch Jennifer humming the bars to this song, unaware that she's once again being recorded.

Oops.]

[Ranka smiles waving her hand slightly as she turns on the video recording.]

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been quiet the past few days but I have someone I really want to introduce you all to.

[She turns the video device towards Alto, and while she's off camera she's speaking in such an upbeat voice.]

This is Alto! He just recently was brought here, and he's one of my friends from where I came from. I hope that he and everyone will get along together.

I know he's really pretty but you shouldn't be fooled, he's very strong!

[He becomes a little indignant at the mention of his unwanted nickname.]

Don't mention that here!

[Ranka starts and looks up at Alto, the camera shaking around as she starts to wave her arms, her hair sticking up on end.]

I didn't mean that in a bad way Alto, but you are really pretty, and that's why the others always called you princess. It's true, that you're really strong though!

[Ranka seems to have brushed past her little blunder as she smiles hopefully at the camera.]

A-anyway! I hope that all my friends really get along with him. He's a good person!

[He sighs audibly and one of his hands disappears off the screen, the viewer can't see it, but he places a hand on Ranka's shoulder to soothe her a little bit. He's not really mad at her for it, it's just a bit of a point of contention with him. Nevermind that.

He turns his attention back to the camera and nods at those who may be watching.]

I'm Alto Saotome. I'm from the Macross Frontier fleet, like Ranka. Uh... pleased to meet you.

[Immediately when the hand goes off screen, her cheeks flush and she looks up at him and then back to the camera, smiling.]

Thanks for listening!

[With a small wave, Ranka shuts off the camera.]

I'm sure everyone's noticed that the gods are playing games again. Thanks to Freyr's post, we don't have to wonder too much about who is responsible. We've still got a lot to learn about what's going on.

Discussion:

1) Do you perceive yourself to be drawn more towards certain people or certain types of people than others?
2) How would you categorise the force of the hugs?
3) Has this case changed how you feel about hugs? (If so, please elaborate.)
4) Has this case changed how you feel about the gods? (If so, please elaborate.)
5. Has this case changed how you feel about your fellow Asgard citizens? (If so, please elaborate.)

Please respond with any information you'd like to share. If you want to respond anonymously or privately that's fine but your honest feedback would be appreciated. Also let me know if you have a question you'd like added.

[Filtered to the Forensic Unit.]

We can't work like this. I'm giving the department time off until this thing is finished. Enjoy.

[Normally she would just resort to text posts, much easier to deal with. But she doesn't quite think her level of severity here would be gotten across with writing.

So -- much sooner than she intended (which was never) -- Lisbeth resorts to making a video post.

Plus this way, everyone will learn to avoid her by sight. She's already been hugged once just walking outside to have a smoke. It was enough to set her off because they would not let her go for hours. Not until she smirked - a twitch of the lips and that was it. But that was enough hugging to last her a lifetime. It was appropriate, she thought, to post a warning.]

If any one of you tries to hug me I'll make sure I'm the last person you get to touch.

And no, before you say it: I don't care if you 'can't help yourself'. Keep. The fuck. Away. From me.

Or I'll use this on you.

[And here Lisbeth brandishes her new best friend. A gun.]

Got it?

[And the feed ends. Scary. First impressions obviously aren't her thing.

Lisbeth will just be holed up in her room. Avoiding people.]

[Audio/Action for Sigyn]

[Whether by coincidence or not, the audio function on Hibiki's bracelet seems to have activated. Judging by the crinkling sounds indicating a paper bag or something similar pressed against the thing... it's probably the former.

Still, the voice of a young girl can be heard over the crackling, singing a rather cute song to herself.]

The big dumpling family
The big dumpling family

The mischievous roasted dumpling, the gentle bean jam dumpling
The moon viewing dumpling is a bit of a dreamer
The sesame dumpling always looks prim, the quadruplet spitted dumplings
Put all of them together to make a family of one hundred

The baby dumpling is always in the midst of happiness
The old dumpling narrows his eyes

The friendly dumplings all hold hands and create a big round ring
They laugh together while making towns on the dumpling star
The rabbits wave from the big moon in the sky
It takes all the happy and sad things and rounds them up...

[She suddenly trails off as she realizes what she's singing.]

...Huh? Where did I learn that...?

[If you're in the Freya welcome hall, you'll have probably heard Vyse and Aika singing quite loudly for some time now. Standing on top of the long dining table, arms round each other's shoulders, kicking their legs out, they don't look like they're going to stop any time soon.]

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!
We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!


(OOC: as a joint post, replies may come from either Vyse, Aika, or both!)

[ There is a gray, horned girl on the video--considering how obnoxious the others are, it is likely many will recognize her to be a troll. They are pretty notable, after all. She does not seem to be paying attention to her own screen--she is not looking at it, but it may be hard to tell due to her glasses. She is sitting and a cane is leaning against her shoulder

She does not seem incredibly perturbed. Maybe she is good at hiding her feelings? Maybe she does not think this is real? Maybe the few minutes with that bland person in the scentless room was enough time to collect herself.

Or maybe she is just a poor, poor, helpless blind girl that has no idea what is going on. ]

Hey, what does a blind girl need to do to get some help around here?

[ ...Is she talking at the screen or around her? ]

--nk fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbows... ♪

[Hello, Asgard. Nanase is feeling a little singsong today, except she doesn't seem to realize that she's seriously singing it out loud.]

Pink fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbo--

[She looks like she just realized what she was doing, since she has the biggest unsure expression on her face. Nanase immediately cuts that off and the video feed turns off, replaced with the audio function. How embarrassing to space out like that--]

Um... Sorry about that. I didn't mean to... do that. [Oops.]

I'm Nanase Kuga... It's nice to meet you, but, um... I was wondering if anybody knew if I can buy a cell phone charger here. Or a digital camera. Some stationary too. Maybe something cute...

[There's a small pause.]

If somebody doesn't mind, could you help me practice my powers?

Thank you.

[The feed cuts with that. People in the Freya house lobby might see her still singing this song, maybe a little absentmindedly. Expression excluded while she's sitting down, staring at her bracelet.]

[The video opens to Cheriour sitting on a bench, surrounded by Faceless people. His bracelet is to the side, and one can see that he’s got a book named “Fairytales and Other Stories” opened in front of him, and a Faceless girl is pointing at one story in the table of contents over his shoulder.]

You really want me to read this one? [His face falls somewhat, but he nods.] Um,okay. If you really want to hear it, then I guess I'll tell it. I warn you, it's not really one with a happy ending...

[But the Faceless girl just keeps pointing at the book, and Cheriour lets out a sigh, not being able to say no. He props the book on his knees, and after a pause, starts to read aloud, voice calm and steady.]

( OOC cut for a very long tale and an unsettling picture )

[Cheriour falls silent and closes the book, staring at the group of Faceless people around him with a sad expression.]

The moral of the story is…there are always consequences for what you do. No matter what. Or another moral, I guess, is that there is always someone worse than the worst person out there...

[And the people just stare back as he puts the book under his shoulder, preparing to leave, when he suddenly, with slight horror, notices his bracelet blinking at him to the side.]

Wait, what, this was on?!

[OOC: TL;DR basically there's an evil prince who kills his brothers and gets punished in return by a terrifying creature (who happens to have some similarities to said angel reading the tale) who uses the prince's tainted heart as a pendulum. SORRY FOR THE LONGNESS I couldn't help it. ;;]

Hi Asgard.

[ Rapunzel isn't really looking at the screen. Though she throws a distracted wave in its direction with one hand, moving a paintbrush with the other. She's in an alleyway that's just wide enough to be spacious and narrow enough to be innocuous, hanging from something that's just off camera and looking for all the world like what's behind her is normal.

It's all pretty much par for the course with her, really. The massive building wall covered in words too many and small to be properly read, illustrations, bits of paper, and random scraps of junk pasted or hung over them and connected by string. Its all normal.

Normal in the way that being totally batshit is normal. ]

So. Aha. I was wondering if someone could maybe help me out? I've sort been keeping track of things. Things I've learned. [ yeah only sort of ] It's easier that way! When stuff is organized. I like that. Don't you? I like understanding things and taking them apart and breaking them down so they're all nice and sorted. And there's a lot to learn here so keeping track of it is very important.

But one of the things I've been keeping track of? It's the plants. See? Right here underneath - uh. Nuclear physics. I've noticed that there are certain plants are around in the park that are around during my birthday. Which makes me wonder if it isn't around that time of year because it's warm and summery and - even if we don't really know the months it kinda fits?

Aaaanyway. [ She smiles and finally looks up from her current painting, the beginnings of a mural inspired by Asgard itself. ] I was thinking I could find a nice leaf for my birthday. There's a certain leaf I've always wanted to have. And I thought it might be fun to go on an adventure looking for it! And...looking for other things too. Like - clues I guess. So if anyone wants to go on an expedition that would be amazing. And - Heh. I would be very grateful.

[ Today's video post starts with lots of glare; sunlight streams directly into the feed through a window for several second until whoever's got the camera on shifts--apparently pulling their arms down from above so that they're held at an angle where there's just a view of the windowsill and their hands. Normal people hands with black nails and a lovely little midget wolf spider dangling between them. They'll twist upward so they stand parallel with the window, and as the spider taps at his hands to test the waters Kaz will start speaking like he's talking to someone off-screen. ]

Okay, so...I guess the first thing is glad t'see you're eatin' right. I mean you started off super-puny so I figured you'd be dead by but seriously, look at you. Totally fattening up there. Good work~ When it gets warmer I'll sneak some of the good stuff in for you. My treat.

I'd tell you not to pay me back but s'not like you've got anything I want. Your place is pretty empty...the other idiot that lives here can't decorate for shit. [ And while he carries on the little wolf spider will drop to his thumbs and start crawling around there, scoping out the large "O" he's made with his fingers to spin a web ]

So, rule number one. ( OOC cut for stuff that sounds dirty but isn't )

[ CONGRATULATIONS ASGARD YOU NOW KNOW HOW TO FIGHT A SPIDER. That's what he just described....ye...p.......

GIVIN' ADVICE TO ALL THE ARACHNIDS. ]

You got all that Qhhth'ssqhk? This is important shit. [ YES HE ALSO NAMED THE SPIDER SHUT UP. ]

[The feed starts as video--shaky and hard to see. For a split second, you can see what seems like a young girl sitting in a wheelchair, before it switches to audio only.]

H-Hello?

[A pause which seems to drag on for eternity, before the girl starts talking again. She sounds rather nervous, and her breathing seems to be significantly shaky.]

I don't know if... there's anyone is hearing this, b-but... [DEEP BREATH.] My name is Rei. Hazama Rei... I-- I've read through everything I was given and I followed the instructions, but w-what I don't understand is... why me?

[Another pause, but at least her breathing is somewhat steadier now. However, it's very obvious from the way she's speaking that she's practically forcing herself from how scared she is. Maybe. That's the logical assumption, at least.]

I-- I'm sorry. This must be something you hear every time a new, ah... traveler, is brought here. However...! I-If someone would be so kind as to fill me in on the details I may be unaware of, I would appreciate it. Um...

...Thank you.

[And, finally, the audio is cut off. Help a poor, scared girl out?]

[Kate cuts the feed in with her at the Arena, having just worked out and looking physically charged. Endorphins and all that. She's sitting on a bench in one of the Arena training rooms.]

It's come to my attention that there are a lot of people here without any kind of self-defense training. Since there is no kind of police force [yet] for protection purposes, would anyone be interested in classes? I'm no expert, but I know a bit about the basics.

Just an idea, let me know if you're interested. And if anyone does have any kind of training or experience and would like to help out, contact me. I'd be all for setting something up.

[She gives a small smile before cutting the video.]

O-oi! Whose idea was it to use my desk for their filing cabinet? I have to work here you know -- what do you mean, they're all mine ... ?

[That sure is a big stack of files on that desk. Almost bigger than the person to whom that desk belongs -- but since that person is Conan, this is not such a big deal! A view shared by the woman who Conan is talking to, who seems to laugh as she leans back against her noticeably emptier desk.

Conan grumbles, evidently not seeing the humour in the situation.]

So what are these ... the reports for Detective Beckett -- ah, I didn't expect them to be done this soon. Guess that means the lecture was a success! And this -- the analysis of the plants. No changes? Then Henrik can take this ... Oh, the domestic in Freya? Not looking for a third party, no ... but I'll have to talk to Yuri-sensei and Edgeworth-sensei about the situation.

[Conan goes tip-toe to starts sorting through the files as he talks.] Ha ... looks like I'm not going to get to work on the newcomer guide today either. Or the supply kits ... Speaking of -- I had a meeting with the Director about staffing. He agrees that we should be looking to recruit travellers with more knowledge in the field of--

[Field of what? Sadly, it will have to remain a mystery for now -- because rearranging the files on his desk, Conan has unwittingly triggered an avalanche of paperwork. That huge pile on his desk has given way, sweeping the tiny detective with it -- and the feed ends abruptly obscured by a sea of folders.]

((ooc: if your character might be interested in joining the forensics department, take a look at this! Thank you!))

I remembered what I was going to ask before everything here went crazy.

[She's sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, a cloak thrown over them as a sort of blanket.]

Do you think birthdays count here? I mean, we don't really know the exact date, but you can guess by seasons. I know my birthday would've gone by if winter is just ending. But if time is frozen back home, does that mean that we're sort of frozen here too? Will people my age keep growing? Should I consider myself fourteen now, or will I be thirteen fore - until this is all over?

It's not the most important question, I know. But I'm just curious to know what other people think.

[ when the video flickers on, there's the face of a very uncertain girl, biting her bottom lip. when she realizes that the video worked, she quickly bows, before speaking in an equally uncertain voice. ]

H-hello! [ ahhhhhh nerves. /)_(\ she pauses here, as though plucking up her courage, before looking into the screen imploringly. ] I... I'm sorry for taking up your time, if you are listening. I just had a question that I wanted to ask. [ deep breath! ] I just wanted to know if... if everyone's eyes could still...

[ ... but that's so unclear askfdsal. she pauses again, as though trying to recollect her thoughts. ]

Can everyone still see what they normally 'see'?

[ another pause. and then, she kind of deflates. in a sheepish voice-- ] ... ahhh, I'm sorry. This must be such a strange question.