[(ooc note: Backdate-ish/before Tardis' entry.)

This text will show up moments after Shinji comes across the body.

If anyone came across them in the Loki district,you'd see the distant, lifeless look in Shinji's eyes. If there were tears, Shinji didn't feel them. If it wasn't for the open chest on Kaworu's body, an apparent sign that the gentlemen came, anyone would have probably thought Shinji (who had Kaworu's blood all over himself) did this.

You'll come to know that Shinji can be a boy of a few words, sometimes. The text was awfully straight to the point. ]

Kaworu Nagisa is dead.

I'm so sorry. If only I had done something...

[Shinji wasn't one who wanted to use the network so often, but.. Kaworu is so well-liked by people here. Shinji felt he had to apologize for not doing anything; that it was his fault this happened.]

[ So, kaworu's posts are often to ask things about you. But today, he has decided not to make it about you, as much he loves you all. Because, during the masquerade party last night something happened and that kept Kaworu up all night long thinking about it. And because his only friend left, he will turn to the network. ]

Unconditional love doesn't care for rules such as self-preservation. When you do not care for your shape, you do not care if you are alive or dead, you can forget your truths that limit you and the world of shapes you live in, for you need nothing from this world. And so you can love unconditionally, limitlessly, weightless and without any definitions to it.

I love you unconditionally, from the depths of my heart. [ though he is speaking generally, right now, he will talk about this on an individual level, too ]

I do not understand what romantic love, sibling's love, friend's love. I do not have such limitations to how I feel towards you. For each person I love individually, I can not measure my feelings. I do realize the way I love one is different from the way I love another, because each person I individually love is different. [ but because it's different, it doesn't mean it's more or less. Considering Kaworu's feelings have no weight, it's impossible to give it an amount of how much he loves a person. He loves you and he'd die for you, period. ]

But- [ this is what causes him to stop. That small "but". ]

I am closer to some people than to others and the way this connection is made is drastically different between each of you. I love Jade [ Draco, he is not hitting on your girlfriend, he loves you too, okay? ] and yet the way we connect is not like the way I connect with Shinji-kun. The level of intimacy we share is different.

[ he actually expected to feel the same towards everyone else he loves. Same level of intimacy, same level of being close, same level of attraction towards everyone just the same. And he doesn't. ]

I don't understand why.

[Euri takes a deep breath when the feed starts. This seems a little weird, asking everyone on the network instead of hunting down the people she already knows, but this might be the better option.

She hopes.]

I bet some of you have already noticed the gods sent Crow - Senji home. For those of you that didn't know him he was amazing and really, really great. And the best fighter here ever. He could kick anyone's ass!

So... before he left he was training me to be a better fighter. Now that he's gone I need a new trainer, because I definitely don't want to just stop. There's a certain bastard obsessed with fire whose ass I still need to kick, and there's the war to worry about.

I can pay runes! Or I guess if anyone really wants, potions or charms or herbs - stuff I prepare for the store. I can cook, too. Mostly. So if there's anyone who can fight and is interested let me know!

[Hello Asgard, it's Norman again in his winter jacket and wrapped up in his long red scarf. He's currently giving the feed an incredulous look while sitting on the ground next to Mary and her dog house. (Which may be strange in itself because Mary is actually a green colored sheep.) There's also a giant robot in the background, but that's not Norman's problem.]

Has anyone else been seeing weird box...things floating around? They errr sort of glow too.

[To show that he's NOT crazy, Norman tilts the feed view up so that there's a brightly colored, glowing box hovering above Mary's house.]

Think it's radioactive? [He's probably going to take it down anyways, but he wanted to ask first.]

((ooc: The prize box plot is now GO! Details are here, and Norman will be responding ICly after he's opened it to reveal what's inside. Your character can comment with what they found as well!))

[ He's got a handle on what's going on. At least, as much as most new people do. Hey, and for his effort, he's starting to learn how the people speak over the network... or at the very least, how to feel people out for how they act.

So an anonymous question will pop up on the network: ]

Does justice mean anything to you?

And if you answered yes,
How far are you willing to go to see it through?

--
[ Action/House Loki ]

[ Yuri's taken over the living room slightly, one giant wolflike dog stretched across one of the sofas entirely. He's experimented with the television and after about an hour, he's got a movie rolling of the standard action-with-a-twist fare.

It's not a movie without food, though. There's a tray of pizza bagels (thank goodness some instructions are easy to figure out) on a coffee table.

He's practicing his telekinesis by tossing an occasional bagel to Repede by levitating it and tossing-- at least, Repede's good at catching. ]

[Some of you may have seen this large, bearded red head around Asgard recently. He looks fairly thoughtful as he addresses his bracelet for what turns out to be the first time to make a post of his own. Rider has been talking to a few people, Equius among them, who have pointed out their part in this ongoing war.

And Rider has been thinking about it. Which is either a very good thing, or a very bad thing.]

I have been discussing this matter with a few others, but we all seem to be at an impasse. So I have come to you, the general populace, for an answer to this question.

Where would we be able to acquire a number of horses?

Uh, hey there! Some weather we're having, huh? It never gets this chilly where I'm from! This place sure is different from Shinjuku. Is this normal?

[Oh boy, speaking to a network of nearly 250 people is just a little bit intimidating, especially since Takato already knows that he's one of the youngest Travellers. A bit of sheepish laughter won't make anything more awkward, will it?]

I'm Takato, and I still have a lot of questions about.... uh, everything. I already know what happened, but is that why there aren't many people in the Freyr house? I mean, why would you have a slide on the second floor if almost no one lives there?

[He's alluding to Freyr's sacrifice, but bringing that up may be a bad move. A really bad move, considering what he's seen thus far.]

Anyway, what I really want to ask about is the drawing power! I mean, it's really cool but I think I'm doing something wrong because it doesn't always work the way I want it to. Is that supposed to happen or am I having technical—er, magical, I guess, difficulties? I like to draw for fun too, but I haven't seen many other people doing it. I can’t be the only one, right?

Oh, and I was wondering.... has anyone heard of Digimon before? [He visibly flinches without warning, and unsurprisingly, another round of sheepish laughter follows.] I mean the card game! The Digimon card game! I have a bunch of cards with me but I can't play by myself.

 I'm very sorry for bothering everyone with this useless questioning, but I was wondering... does this realm of the gods have a time period as it relates to years? I wanted to know what year it was... because depending on what year it is here, we could celebrate the zodiac animal of that year!

Once we find out the year and the animal, I was thinking maybe Ayame's could have a special discount for a little bit! Bring in the new year's animal, and you get a half of discount! If it's the year of the Ram, you could bring in one of these cute sheep, and then you get half off! Or a pig, or a rat, or a dog! And maybe we can make the dresses styled to the animal! I'd love a kimono with little monkey paws on them, I think that would be very cute!

[Awww, this is the happiest he's been in a while. Who wants to ruin it by pointing out several illogical facts? And if you'd like action, he can be seen sweeping outside of Ayame's dress shop.]

[The feed turns on to Norman sitting inside of Hel's Welcome Hall's lounge  with his long red scarf wrapped around his neck and a destroyed book on his lap. He's got a slightly nervous smile on, and his hands rub together in a worried manner before strumming along the book.]

Soooooo....who wants to talk about the afterlife?

[Yup, Norman's doing this. That's right, Asgard. There's a 11 year old who wants to talk about death. Although that wasn't the best way to start off this video, and he has to take a deep breath before continuing.]

I'm not actually talking about religious views, but what do you think happens when you die? Uh, I guess religious stuff works too if you really want to talk about that. I've heard a few things about how death works in different worlds, so I thought it would be interesting to hear from more people.

Also, I thought it would be good to talk about it since a lot of people seem to want to help get Freyr back. [Just going to add some not-bizarre reasoning to this.]

So yeah, if you want to say anything, go ahead. If you want to talk about it privately, you can put up a filter. [A pause.] And...if your world has ghosts or you believe in ghosts, that would be great to hear about too.

[The image is a somewhat rare sight. Samantha is seated behind a worktable. There are a series of beakers in front of her and she seems to have something or another bubbling in a larger one of them. She takes a whiff of it and nodded in satisfaction before shifting to the side and looking at the camera.

Did she have a sort of smirk on her face?]

So, here I am working on magical defenses against the rigors of making certain fish-brained, fin-rotted, purple-obsessed morons look like chumps, and I was almost curious if they were making any progress with their "White Sciences" [Yes, she actually made the quote signs with her fingers as she said that, snickering.] in preparing my ultimate downfall. I mean, it isn't as if they don't prattle about all the ways they're going to have me at their mercy, and I was honest to god wondering if all of that was just a bunch of hot air.

...this is Eridan Ampora. What the hell am I talking about? Of course anything Captain Ahab's said's all hot air.

[Another snicker. Anyone who knew Samantha very well might recognize that some of it was effected bravado. She was still struggling with what her feelings were about him, but these little games were much easier to play on the network, and part of her had a feeling he'd get a kick out of shouting back at her.]

But, since I was thinking about it, I got to thinking some more. What really are the differences between magic and science? It's not like I haven't talked with a few of you about this, and I know what a certain moron thinks on the subject, but all the same with the power turned back on through the runes so to speak and with us able to affix just a little bit of the power of this world into a potion, I was wondering what some of you might have thought was the difference.

Oh, and Ahab, I am expecting great things out of you. Just so you know. Don't think I'm sitting idle over at the shop all the time.

[There's a teenager dressed in a sweater vest with an apron over it on the screen, and he gives an almost shy little wave as if he still feels awkward making posts. In fact, he does. He's standing in the kitchen at Sigyn house, and he has quite a few trays of cookies set out on counters. They all look to be the same kind, with slight variations like different amounts of jam on them or slightly different amounts of browning, etc.

He waves a hand around himself. As well as the cookies, there are a few notebooks lying around, with lots of scribbling on them, as he's worked on the recipe.]

Excuse me, everyone, but I'm afraid I'm need of help. See, I've been baking this type of cookie that isn't my specialty, and I'm not entirely sure which of these batches that I've made is the best. I want to get it absolutely right because they're for a friend, so could anyone please come try some for me? They're called "jammy dodgers" and are kind of like shortbread cookies with jam, so if you're familiar with them especially, I'd appreciate a critique. I'm at Sigyn House.

[Pause.]

Doctor, you can come try some too, but we have to save at least some for the party, okay? Otherwise I'll feel like I didn't give you anything!

[the bracelet camera's feed cuts in looking up at the sky, catching both the fairylights and the clouds above them, visible in the light reflected from the snow. the view pans and sways a little, and there's the sound of boots crunching on snow. it's late, and asgard is quiet. sophie's voice is quiet, too, and her bracelet stays pointed at the lights and the sky, showing the pretty view, although she's aware she's recording]

The season of metal seems thoroughly passed, now. I wonder if there is a solstice here? Certainly not Christmas. Is the celebration of midwinter universal? It seems most people would call for the light to return, for the world to melt again.

[she keeps walking for awhile, chronicling the lights]

I probably shouldn't like the night, not anymore. But I do. With the snow, it's so quiet, it presses in around your ears, wraps you up in silence. Almost like dreaming.

[when she turns the camera toward her, it's obvious she's been walking awhile, cheeks and nose and ears red with cold]

Is anyone else still awake?

[ Jade's voice is chipper but seriously congested; she has apparently contracted the Cold from Hell, and she is absolutely aware of how ridiculous she sounds. For the record, she is also abjectly miserable. Girl didn't catch a lot of illnesses on an island all by herself growing up. ]

I lost my bracelet, in case anyone was wondering where I went. [ She sniffles severely. ] I don't think Draco told anyone, so I promise I haven't been ignoring anyone, I've just been a little indisposed.

But the decorations that are up now are nice! And- [ She sniffles again, whines softly. ] -and if anyone wants some nice winter flowers or anything like that, let me know, I'm afraid my powers are starting to get a little rusty.

[ She ends the feed, then starts it almost immediately again: ]

And what the hell are you supposed to make your nose unstuffy? This is hard to breathe and it fucking sucks. [ Jade swallows, begins to speak again, sneezes hard, and just ends the feed entirely. ]

I-I'm sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, b-but... I was wondering...

[He hesitates, debating with himself whether he should continue or not. After a moment of silence Ruca finally asks the question:]

Just... when do you start to consider someone... a "friend"?

[After hearing Bianca's words, Ruca can't help but wonder about that. Making friends is something he's never been good at; not to mention that "friendship" itself isn't something easy for him to understand either. He doesn't even know if anyone would want to be friends with him. Who would want to have such a boring friend as him

There's another pause, as the boy reconsiders what he just had said and quickly, in nervous voice he adds:]

I-It really is a stupid question, isn't it? Y-you don't have to answer... I-I'm sorry for taking your time.

[Samantha is sitting in her shop, glass beakers full of various chemicals, an apparatus doing some sort of filtration going nearby. She looks over at it idly and yawns, having just turned on the feed. Looking back at the screen, she gets a truly impish look on her face, one fang showing.]

Ok. So the world isn't ending tomorrow, and we're hopefully busy trying to prepare for the next great battle. Fine and dandy. But this city's gray as hell, and just training troops won't cut it. That gives me a perfectly good excuse to do something I've been wanting to do for a couple months.

I've got a ... yeah, I can go with friend here. He's kind of an idiot, and he is so damned wedged up in his little shell that he really needs to get cracked out of it. So, I'm setting the dumb dumb up. And this is where all of you lovely people come in. I am setting them up on a blind date, and one of you lucky people gets to be the other half of the date. I'll pay for a nice night over at Folkvang for you two, whichever one of you who pipes up I think's the best match. I will make sure he shows up, one way or another.

Gender's not an issue, as far as I can tell. Don't expect him to put out, and if you think I'm going to let you hurt him, you've got another thing coming. You're going to play nice with him or there's goin to be hell to pay. So, who's in?

 [Here's a rare occurrence - Ritsu using the bracelet on purpose! And looking cheerful! He is standing in front of the former Ayame's shop...]

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to have bothered you, but I have a small announcement to make. Myself, Sora Naegino, and Haseo Nakai have decided to keep open Ayame Sohma's Boutique. The three of us are looking for clothing designers and those who can sew, so we can continue keeping Ayame's dream alive.

[So far, so good! Only one apology, and he's being sweet and heartfelt. Could this be a day where Ritsu doesn't make an idiot out of himself?]

Ayami-nii always believed in the beauty of... Men's fantasies!

[Nnnope.]

We will strive to be the number one supplies of men's dresses! And women's too! If you like attire such as mine - 

[Yes, he's wearing a dress again.]

Then we will be the store for you!

[ As painfully unnecessary feeds go, please appreciate this one for having 254.6(6)% more muttering, fumbling and awkward pauses than your average sheepish interlude. ]

...sorry. Sorry about everything that's been happening. The losses. The... inconvenience. Sorry about all that.

[ It appears he is growing a spine for the next part - ]

And sorry, but - what's a good job for someone who... can't do anything?

[ ...and that the spine has now entered evolutionary recession. Muffled rambling mode: engaged. ]

Not fix things, not tell jokes, not do your physics homework, not herd cattle, not... be a... witch, not really punch, not carry the groceries without ruining the eggs, not... nothing. Nothing at all.

[ Sigh. ]

What's a good job for someone like that? And where could they get it? Along with about forty-two mops. Thank you.

[His feed opens with the sounds of rustling and the oh-so-beautiful scenery of... a messy teenaged boy's room. Okay, so he's normally a lot more organized than this, but cut him some slack, Asgard. The last couple of months haven't been easy.

But he's not addressing Asgard, oh no. He seems to be tidying up (sort of) and mostly humming along. Occasionally he'll sing lines that he remembers, but he's not too concerned about his performance. Have no fear; though he lacks the finesse of a true vocalist, he's not bad enough to burn ears.]

I... a-ahh, how long was this―?!

[Aaaaaaand he finally noticed.]

I guess I... bumped it. Haha... ha.

[Nothing like being put on the spot. Otonashi leaves the room, heading out past the main welcome hall. Nothing to do now but pretend like that didn't happen move forward!]

I think I need a change of scenery. And maybe a change in mood. We're all still here after all, but so many people have ... disappeared, haven't they? In my world... that meant that they accepted their lives and found peace.

[He shivers when he steps outside. The season is changing!]

Before I head out, do any of you want to ... I don't know, go to lunch? Just a normal lunch? I'll even buy for a few of you if you can't. [Because he kind of misses his normal, everyday lunches with his off-the-wall friends. He's no social butterfly, but he'll try. He can't be the only one who feels off.

Yuzuru tries for a smile, waves to the feed awkwardly (Otonashi, the feed isn't a person, silly) and cuts it.]