backdated to 6/29- Losing more than a bet

[onlythankyou]

Jun Kurosu shax@applenet.net
Shared the following message below:

We've all noticed names that vanish from the app, right? Those who don't make it to the end of the countdown. That can happen to those of us who have, too. It's more extensive than simply leaving the chatroom, though.

I can confirm that Marchosias 29, also known as Okuyasu Nijimura, is, for lack of more descriptive words, gone. Completely gone.

Comments

Jirou Sakuma ⚔ Dantalion (pretend i'm not this late)

[forsteri]

[What could this even mean?]

11: Your experience is different than mine.

Jun Kurosu ⚔ Shax (i see no lateness here)

[onlythankyou]

...It is?

What was your experience like, then?

<3;;;

[forsteri]

I still have a brother.
He just... forgot. I happened to mention a discussion I'd had here, and he got

[There's a pause here, as he searches for the word.]

He said he didn't know what I was talking about. When I expanded on it, he got very defensive, and then almost aggressive. He told me not to make things up.

[This has been weighing heavily on him. He's been very uncomfortable at home since then. The swell of anxiety he gets talking about it, even now, is an unpleasant reminder of that.]

<3333

[onlythankyou]

That's odd... Why wouldn't it follow the same pattern?

And there's more to it than just being the only one who remembers. The part of me that was his brother now remembers a childhood alone, while I retain the original set of memories.

[forsteri]

It's like reality... rewrote itself. But now that you say that... I know what my brother looks like. But the brother that came to the orchard with me that night feels both like it was the same person and not that person at all. It's a strange feeling.

[onlythankyou]

It wouldn't be the first time it's been rewritten in such a way, in my experience, but that...was another matter entirely. I'm not sure what to make of it right now.

[forsteri]

Right now... it seems to me to be a way for the city to stay... as calm as it can be, given the deaths.

[onlythankyou]

That makes sense. I doubt it's the only reason, though - it somewhat reminds me of the information locks.

My main question, then, is why your brother returned to how he was before while mine disappeared. What makes us different, in terms of the new rules?

[forsteri]

That part I can't begin to guess at. I wish I could.

[If he could, maybe he'd be able to understand more about all of this. As it is, all he has is his notes and his theories.]

[onlythankyou]

I have a few thoughts, but discussions of the nature of reality aren't well-suited to this medium. There's nothing solid yet, either...

[forsteri]

Can I meet you somewhere? I'd be interested to hear your theories.

[onlythankyou]

That's fine with me. I'll need some time to gather myself; it's something of a personal matter, but I'll keep it as distanced as I can. When and where?

[forsteri]

That's all right. You don't have to tell me anything you aren't comfortable with telling me.

And will this do?

[He drops a screenshot of a map there with a time in the afternoon, tomorrow, indicated, but not a specific location -- only a few blocks in Eastmount.]

I'm not sure if this network is still compromised, so... come to the place where the flowers have eaten the sun.

[There's a spot near where he lives where the flowers strung on lattices above the street have plunged it into shadow -- it's still possible to see, but every year the leaves block out more of the little spots of sun peeking through, and the residents have taken to stringing Christmas lights through it.]

I'll be there when you get there. I'm pretty easy to spot, I've only got one eye.

[This isn't true, but this is what most people expect, so this is what he lets them think. It'll do for his purposes.]

[onlythankyou]

[It's almost more for the other's comfort than his own, really. While he isn't really comfortable telling someone about his past, especially not a stranger...he also wouldn't force that kind of burdensome story on another person.

Eastmount...and a riddle. It's not the most elegant, and if the network is still compromised, then this person may have just put themself in danger. Better arrive early, then, just in case. Thankfully they're not a navigator, but all the same: two fighters makes for better odds than one.]

Yes, that's alright. I'll have a means of indicating myself, as well, although somewhat less distinctive.

[He'll just need to pick up some gladiolus stems and nutmeg geranium...]