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[ex_purity762]

Sometimes I think it's best I check this forum before doing anything else. It looks like other people are being affected by the water too, but does anyone have ideas as to why? If the water supply itself can cause this, there might be something stranger in this city than we have an inkling of.

There were some things I wanted to ask about though, for those who are in a state to answer.

To start with, I appreciate the efforts made to train people in self defense. I'm wondering though, if anyone would mind helping me train a bit more frequently. As it stands, I'm not sure how much good I could do for others, and I would like to improve. I wouldn't mind compensating for time spent, since I see this as tutoring.

I've been thinking about what I can do for people here, in the meantime. And I have a suggestion, so I would appreciate your feedback. I was thinking of setting up some kind of inbox where people could anonymously post about things they're concerned with. That is, things you might not be ready to talk out with others, but need to get out of your head. In my experience, giving those things tangible form is a bit freeing. If anyone feels they would benefit from this, or has a better idea, please let me know.

Thank you for your time.

I can't get these memories out of my mind | [ handwritten ]

[fatherssins]

[ Adrian had found out the water's true nature a little too late. He cursed himself for not having had the initiative to check the network earlier but that frustration paled in comparison to what he was going through now.

An incessant, grating giggle. The sound of it over time began to seem alien to him; almost sinister in a way. He had had no choice but to leave work early and go home. He sat alone in his apartment, curtains shut (the light bothered him these days) and in his solitude he experienced that first echo he had seen once again.

The death of a burning woman who had called out his name.

He had only recently pushed that image from his mind and now it had come back to haunt him once again. Words couldn't express the overwhelming sense of loneliness that consumed him and, chuckling quietly to himself, Adrian grabbed an old bill envelope and began to doodle.

At first it was just a few wisps of fire, but as time went on the drawing began to take form. It was the woman and in the background an ominious-looking castle.

Subconsciously, Adrian added in his string of network numbers.

As if it were some cry for help. ]

Five Jewels: Colored Crystals [Video | Water Trough]

[destinedforrock]

[Cinderella's image swims and splashes into coherency on the network.

Her head is low, and she has what appears to be a pair of red glasses set on her muzzle. Her forelegs are rigid. Her shoulders flex and release erratically. That, coupled by the "Pppffhff" sounds she's clearly trying very hard to keep pressed back, would seem to indicate that she's also been hit by the giggles.]

You'll never -- pfhee! -- you'll never believe heeheehee what surprise gift it would seem I've wound up with this tihihiiiime...! [Breaks off into a good long stream of giggling and tittering.

She takes a deep breath in after, mouth open.]

A rock.

There -- is a giant rock! Pppffffhhh! Rrrrright outside the fence next to my stable ahhahahahahaaaa~aa...!

[Her head rises with the laughter and she paws at the ground twice. Meanwhile a yowl is heard. Something white and fluffy comes plopping onto her head just at the top of the frame and her laughter breaks off screeching into an "eek!" - and she swings her head down with her eyes huge and an equally-startled white Persian cat fluffed up and draped between her ears. The cat slips, instinctively tries to regain footing, pawing with her claws out - Cinderella's face and head twitch in sharp discomfort as the cat finds a place to kick off and out of the frame.

She's left tossing her head to shake off some of the mild smarting in her pride punctuated by a snort in the direction that the cat leapt off in and turns her attention back to the trough - with something already starting to pull at her mouth again. Trace of a giggle sneaking back into her voice.] Now where was I? Rock!

Well it ju~ust so happens that I had just been on the verge of a revelation when this great - big - ROCK went and dropped... maaaagically by my pasturehuhhuhher... See these glasses? Well, I also learned a little ditty about sewing a while ago of all things, and then there's that cat friend of mine - and my sweet tooth, and the fact that I'm here talking you all right now! [Another laughter break.] And then it dawned on me -- ! Just what I might have to look forward to! If you - catch - my - driffFFffFFFfft! [Undignified pushing back and spasming with a laugh.]

But then -- ! Well! All of a sudden. Giant rock. And what, pray tell, could a giant rock have to do with anythiihiihiiiing that's -- that's SO - important -- ? OOoohhhh I can't even tell if I'm laughing or cryyyHAHAHAAAAIIiing!

[She is very obviously laughing.]

Anyone - anyone like a giant rock? Heeheeee... I certainly can't begin to fathom a use for it ahahaaaaAAand my masters will want the thing out of the way as soon as they find it, I'm sure! It's taking up the view. You're all free to take it, pfffhfffhfff...

Ah ha. Ha hahahahaaaaaaaa! [Another full-on neighing laughter break.

Ending in another big, dramatic gasp for breath.]

IIIII need another drink.

[Pause, blink. Her voice is pressurized and squeaky.] Oh! My I nearly forgot. If anyone might happen to be passing through my part of town, be so sweet as to bring me by something sweet, would you?

Just a little something will do.

[That ends her announcement. She gives into the giggles as she backs away from the trough.]

[closed]

[wirsinddiejager]

Who: Alan Hunter and Mikasa Bito
What: A chance meeting at a water fountain, tainted water, and unfortunate childhood memories
Where: A park somewhere idk I am good at logs
When: August 3rd, before Alan sees the warnings about the water :V

( two shingekis walk into a water fountain )

001 ✰ { h a n d w r i t t e n }

[rivalize]

[Tyler Vaughan. The name's written in bold black on a pinkish piece of paper, bigger than everything else as if to shame him further. Because it's not just a piece of paper. It's a goddamned ticket, and considering the charged fine at the bottom—which is ridiculously high for what he deems to be a very minor offense—he really doesn't need the whole finger pointing to remind him. The message overlapping his transgression has been scribbled carelessly, a sloppy note that gives very little room to guess just how irritated he is.

Figures he'd finally break the ice when he can barely handle himself thinking.]

Who the hell gets fined for jaywalking? $150. Are you fucking kidding me? That's pretty much half my pay for a whole damn week. I don't f

[There's the beginning of another sentence below, scrawled through and unreadable—certainly another bout of indignation, skipped in favor of addressing a mild concern plaguing his mind.]

Probably wouldn't have happened if there weren't so many damn cops around. What's up with that anyway? Can't go anywhere without running into one.

(no subject)

[lackinginfaith]

Who: Kari Acosta + you
What: Kari's creeping on obvious reincarnates as usual, but something goes wrong.
Where: A quieter part of town down a side street
When: Before most people have heard about the gigglewater

( hit the lock, one o'clock, turn the tables )

(Kari's going to be regaining her pearl here, which, ah, necessitates soul extraction. Thus, one big thread is probably the easiest thing to do, and there's no such thing as turn order -- I've taken long enough to post this already and I want to leave this open for anyone to jump in and help it go quickly!)

[bathroom mirror "video"]

[struckout]

[ There's a first time for everything.

In this case, that ever-paranoid woman who's been hanging around but staunchly avoidant of actually showing what she looks like or giving a name? Well, here she is. For once.

Problem is, she looks, well, exhausted- circles under her pale eyes, most of her unnaturally-colored hair hastily tied back, clothing consisting of shorts, a tank top, and despite the heat, both gloves and a partially-zipped, light red jacket. The uneven cadence of her breathing suggests she probably failed at staying away from the water supply (again), and it's only now wearing off. Needless to say, she also seems... unhappy.

The source of her current network connection appears to be a hotel bathroom, and judging from the dry-erase marker in one hand, she's been experimenting with the mirror's network access. In the middle of attempting to get stuff from earlier dates to appear, at first it almost seems like she doesn't realize she can be seen at all. At least until: ]

My house caught on fire. My phone's dead. Computer's probably dead, too. No time to take it to a shop.

[ An obvious sense of agitation radiates off of her as she caps her pen, frowning and voice tense as she speaks. ]

At first I thought... well, you know. But then after the fire department got everything under control, it started again. Turns out... these things are responsible.

[ She reaches into the sink, pulling out something that initially looks just like a mildly-damaged disposable lighter. At second glance, however, the thing has legs, and struggles weakly against the grip of her fingers, clicking in protest. She stares at it herself a moment, but then takes a deep breath. ]

... If they're trying to target us, they're doing a lousy job. This, the water, all of it. It's too... random.

text - hndwritten

[entertainaplanb]

[After... quite the weekend, thanks to the tap water's latest additive, Becky writes her network number on the legal-pad page she was using to try to sort out all the connections she made from revisiting what she'd already remembered.]
( in which Becky's made some notes on what's coming back to her )

[After that, there's a long pause as she catches up on everything she's missed since Friday. Her handwriting's back to its usual appearance; she hasn't had any water yet today, and now she won't.]

...Oh, is that what's causing this? Much as I hate to encourage the bottled-water machine, it looks like I might have to. God, my sides hurt. At least I have some for those times when the tap water tastes too much like the ocean.

In any case, I thought I'd include my notes on everything I've revisited this weekend, in case it rings any bells for anyone else. I'm not holding my breath, but you never can tell.

(And on the bright side, I have a charger now.)

video; iPhone

[earnedmystripes]

[It's been a couple of weeks since his little freakout over the network. To those who might have seen him in the immediate aftermath, he looks a lot better by now. Still a little tired and stressed, maybe, but who isn't these days, with everything going on?

He's settled at a desk today, with some handwritten notes and post-its scattered around, though they're not legible from this angle.]

So, uh, can I ask you guys a kinda weird favor?

I've been thinking a lot about what to do in case I up and forget everything again and I'm still in town. I don't think I can convince myself of any of this crazy stuff without actually remembering, or that I can't trust my coworkers, [well, except Nick. But he's not about to out him as a cop if the other doesn't actually say it himself.] so I've been leaving myself notes around the house to either call in sick or insist on desk duty if I can't remember a password of some sort.

Think it'd work better if it wasn't one I came up with, just in case.

[He's thought about the numbers, but he doesn't know if it's risky to just...leave a connection open somewhere. Some word or phrase that would be meaningless out of the context of the numbers club would work better, he thinks. And most of the people on the network don't know him well, so it wouldn't likely be something he could connect to his own life and ignore if it came up.]

video {iphone}

[ursoreckless]

[he's been posting on the network mostly in video so he wasn't going to start to change it. the bright blondness of his hair was fading to more natural reddish-blond, the mass of curls trimmed to a more manageable mess but despite the make over, he looks tired, withdrawn and a little sad.]

What kind of messed up life would have a couple guys using live ammo on each other and laugh about it?

[his accent has gotten thicker and rougher. there's still some care to make sure he's understandable, though far less attempts at refined pronunciation.]

Almost acting like a bunch of kids, running around shooting toy guns but the blood and guns're real and I know I was bleeding all over.

We both were.

[a sighs and he shuffles around a little, the phone moving with him. it seems he was laying on that big comfy white couch of his.]

Anybody else getting weird fighting dreams too? [because it might help to hear other people having similar dreams.]

[closed]

[skycutter]

Who: Two bros who don't know the other is on that weird network too, aka Miles (skycutter) and Pierce (purity).
What: Pierce has cookies and is bringing 'em to his little bro, though there's something strange in the water.
Where: Miles' house.
When: August 3.

( Whoever said laughter is the best medicine is a lying liar who lies )

♫ 002 [text; handwritten]

[counterclock]

[Scribbled into her biology notes into a little squared off session, Avery is apparently bored and can't pass up the opportunity to troll the network since she can do that without irritating her professor by being on her phone to use the internet. (Bleh.)

There's a couple scribbled doodles and some scratched out vocab notes on the edges of the post, but the most prominent feature is two words:]

moisturize me

[for anyone who doesn't get the reference. oops.]

002M

[toobig]

handwritten text; [12:09AM]

It's safe to say that almost everyone knows about the water being tainted, right?

Well... it's also effecting showers and I think someone said it happened to them while they were brushing their teeth?

I, uh. ...Well, you're not meant to laugh that hard in the shower. It was... pretty painful.

Anyway, I thought I might as well let everyone know.

[Bertholdt also experienced his second Echo during his shower, a frightening sensation of being very very very tall, skyscraper tall. He might tell you about it, and more, if needled enough.]

001. [ video; laptop ]

[summit]

Okay, uh... Wow. [ There's a stunned teen staring straight at you. Well, not at you - at his laptop camera. His hair's disheveled and he's wearing baby blue pajamas, illuminated only by the light from the computer. ] It actually started recording... Uh.. Wow, okay. That was broken before, but, it's definitely not now. I don't really know, how I knew the address - it was in my head, I mean, but maybe I saw it on a billboard or something? Or just, in my head... Well, anyway, wow... Hi.

I was sort of expecting this to be, just a 404 page. Or... grey text, for some reason. That's really weird but, you know, something like that. [ That sounds really crazy. ] It looks like this place has a lot of laughing people, so, that's a plus, I guess?

[ So very, very awkward. He runs a hand through his messy mohawk and scrunches his nose. ]

Wow. I'm really bad at this. There's a reason I stopped doing verbal analysis videos.