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What an impressive turnout for the date auction this past weekend. I won't presume to speak for all of ReVA, but I myself appreciate the support we received. And I should say I'm impressed by the strength of some of our bidders. I hope the exchange was satisfactory. :)

... It's difficult. Even with everything that we try to accomplish, horrifying things happen nonetheless. It can be so easy to still feel powerless. But I'd like to use this momentum we've build this month for good.

Some of you may still be wanting to make a charitable donation. Say you were outbid or couldn't come. I've decided to bring in one last collection for the orphanage for the end of the month if you'd like to pitch in. Tell me your ideas and I'll try to set a date. Say, a week from today?

An orphanage isn't like an animal shelter. I say this not to be glib but because it can be easy to forget. Little luxuries and enrichment are very meaningful. I've put some thought into things that people don't usually think to donate.

Such as bathing suits. It's summer, lots of children will not have one, and trips to the beach aren't unheard of. And many of those at the facility are out of foster homes for a reason, so toys like Legos or putty. Anything geared toward teenagers or older children. People tend to forget that orphans older than ten are still orphans.

With everything that's happened these past months... I wonder if our presence here is just harmful to them all, in the end. Don't you think it would be better if they could just live their lives unhindered by these disruptions?

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thank you for helping out so much. (and thank you to everybody else who's helping, too! this is a really important cause.)

are they the ones being disrupted, though? i can still hear them even if i can't see them. they're still doing things, everybody who isn't on the app. without us.

I want to do everything I can. I remember my share of weird summers.

I don't know if I want to assume that things are okay just because they seem "normal." A few areas in town have already changed; you noticed, right? So I'm certain there has to be something.

oh. so i'm not the only person hearing those things.

then yes. there probably is something going on on one of the other layers, or maybe a lot of the other layers at once. and all we can do is keep trying our best to help out. i haven't done as much as you, but i'm still working towards bringing everybody back.

it has to work if we just keep trying.

It doesn't have to be a competition, Lina. I was helping with a big event, so that took a lot of my time. You've done so much yourself.

[Other parts of this conversation are more worrying, though, especially considering things that were said last night.]

Did you think you were the only one who could hear people?

not the people, but the other noises. the gears, the howls. i've been keeping to myself lately. i didn't want to ask anyone else about them.

you understand. right?

I understand. I know we talked about sharing with other people.

If you're worried about things like that, though, I think it would be better if you knew there was someone you could talk to.

i know i have people like that, even outside of you and Rose, but i appreciate the reminder. i do.

it would be really easy to slip into a place where i don't talk to anybody about anything, and that's almost as bad as the alternative. at least, for me. maybe it works for other people. but i'm trying really hard to talk about things that bother me even if it's hard sometimes.

[She knows she's probably one of the "other people" being mentioned in that comment, and it gives her some pause.]

It's sad, not seeing you as vibrant as you usually are. But that's how I know when something is really bothering you, too.

Is it more from last month, or something new?

[now's not the time for a breakdown, girl. you can do this. you can say exactly as much as you need to say. you've got this.]

it's... everything. i remembered more things i don't want to think about and two of our sisters are missing and there's just... so much happening. i've been trying as hard as i can to bring everybody back because i feel like it's the only thing i have any control over anymore.

i guess we'll see if it worked.

[She doesn't want to go ahead and tell Lina that there might not be anything they can do. Jasmine doesn't want to believe it herself, for starters. Withholding information to protect feelings... She's been doing something like that more and more lately.]

They're still there. It's difficult to say this given that "memories" have caused us so much grief, but if they haven't vanished from our memories, then we should take that as a sign they're still around. Still themselves.

Do you want to help me get things ready for the orphanage?

i do. i should be out there doing things instead of here on my phone anyway. i can't do anything useful here.

[should she tell Jasmine about what R... Zero offered to do? is it something she already knows? maybe she'll keep quiet. she will. no maybe about it. she doesn't want to be some simple, foolish idiot in Jasmine's eyes like when she said that oh-so-helpful little tidbit about everything being named after archangels.]

thank you for offering.

Sometimes you need to be ready before you act. There's no shame in needing to know what you're doing first.

I know you still care about the kids there, so this is a nice way to show we still think of them, too. Even if most of them there don't even know us by now... It's nice to have that legacy.

i try to tell stories about some of the more fun things we all got up to when i come visit, but it's getting harder and harder to find something that's actually appropriate to tell children, so i haven't done it in a while. we weren't exactly model kids ourselves, after all.

the ones there now only know the part of me i think it's okay to show them. i'm auntie Lina, the one who comes by and makes them some really nice food every so often. they don't know much about our family and i think the employees like it that way.

I never thought about it like that, but I get where you’re trying to go.

If you need any rentals for whatever you plan on doing, I’ll cover them.

[ including this 2000 DOLLA DONATION ]

Edited 2018-06-21 11:50 (UTC)

Certainly, our lives have been disrupted too. It isn't as if nothing is happening to us, either. But I can no longer say with certainty that it's just us.

[Sorry, Eren, how much?]

If we get some larger items or several bags, we might need a truck... Otherwise, I'm not sure about a rental? What did you have in mind?

They don’t know where we are. Some of them can’t even get in contact with us since January. It’d be wrong to say that hasn’t strained things between us.

[ 2000 DOLLA . . . ]

Maybe something for the kids, but. I don’t know how much they’ll actually enjoy if we’re on different layers.

It was about time we realized, I supposed, that the people sharing the city with us aren't that different from the people out of town.

[So many dolla...]

We could have it in place for whenever the layers are restored, maybe. We know they're still there, in some capacity. A new playground or something similar?

Edited 2018-06-25 06:17 (UTC)

it makes us realize that we might even be a little selfish sometimes.

a themed playground? kids love those.

More than a little. This program is like a bubble, seeing as it controls our entire reality. It's easy to feel like we're the only people in the world.

Spaceships, maybe. Though maybe that's just because of the topic we're on.

we need to keep that in check if we don’t want anything worse happening. there needs to be a way to leave them alone at least.

and space wars it is.

Easier said than done, I suppose, when they're a significant part of your life. If enough of us appealed, I'm sure there must be some way to change the interactions between what we experience and what happens to them. But there needs to be some sort of action to acknowledge that's a necessity at all.

Space wars. Isn't that a movie?

i wonder if we could ask Zee.

i liked the robots as a kid. the big ones. that or the space jets. i’m sure the kids will like their own.

I wouldn't really know. I don't like loud noises, so I never watched. I'll take your word for it though; you seem like an expert.

Given that Mr. Carlisle's sent us on a handful of projects this month, he's probably trying to lighten our demands on him. Which doesn't mean we can't ask him, of course.

i’ll keep it in mind, to ask him sometime soon.

but not even on low volume, jasmine?

[ THIS IS IMPORTANT ]

I hope the donations helped you a little. Just ask me if you need any more funding. I'm pretty sure I cna provide help that way.

Please, you've done plenty already. Thank you very much for your altruism.

Sometimes persistence is the only way to catch stragglers; that's all.

I am offering in any case. Look at it this way, I could be someone to have on a reserve list in case something major happens - like a fire, or a car breaks down or something. How about that?

A more superstitious person would scold you for inviting misfortune... but I also think it's important to be that prepared.

I don't want to accept in place of the orphanage, but I don't think they'll turn you down.

Maybe they'll even name a wing after you?

A wing after me? Now why would I need something like that?

I'm just offering because I have the money and I feel that an orphanage is a good place to donate it. I'd do the same if it was an animal shelter too.

It isn't unheard of, you know. I suppose you could consider it your thanks for your generosity. Or, if you're more cynical, more contribution to your fame.

It was a poor attempt at humor on my part, really. You're not wrong. The number of abandoned and orphaned children per capita is strangely high in this city.

Still, my sister volunteers at the animal shelter, too. She'd probably be happy to see you spread the love, as it were.

I know. It's just not something I really like the idea of.

Oh, I see! Humor sometimes doesn't translate right over text. I'm sorry for misunderstanding.

I could do that as well. I was thinking of practical stuff for the shelter - food and bedding and stuff like that.

You're very humble. You like to keep a low giving profile, don't you, Mr. Lee?

I don't tell a lot of jokes and I'm used to writing for business reasons. A "buzzkill," as it were.

That's good. I'm no expert, but it seems that practical is always the safest when it comes to animals. But a toy or two wouldn't hurt, either, I guess.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a lot of things named after me when I inherit. So I'm trying to not get an early start on that.

I find it's easy to write jokes for my game than it is for myself tbh.

Yeah. It's harder to buy material things for kids at a shelter so I just give money there. Animals are a little less selective when it comes to some things, even though my two beasts are picky.

stupid question
ofc theyd be better off
but its not like we can leave

I'm sorry you feel that way. [About her question being stupid, that is.]

No, we can't just leave. But if we were to decide, in agreement, that our presence here was harmful to them, then working together to find some way to change that could follow.

whats the other option
ship THEM out of town instead

Doubtful, as what's "out of town" doesn't always seem to abide by our expectations, either.

It's something that requires more thought than snap reactions.

oh sorry
maybe i should go get lit
think on it for a week
get back to you

You probably don't think any clearer under the influence, even if it seems like it to you.

It's doubtful we'd need help from someone who isn't interested in taking the situation seriously, either.

cut out all this WE stuff
sounds to me like your taking it too seriously
or just wanna seem all smart
for someone who cant offer me one good answer how to fix shit

[She pointedly ignores the comments about trying to look smart. Jasmine can't read suddenly . gif, etc.]

You'd rather we just stood aside? Lay down and not look for the answer?

That's fine. But as our impact on others continues to get more severe, I'll still do it.

I might not have an answer now, but there might be something I'm looking for in the city's history. If I understand the reason, maybe I'll have a concrete answer for you one day.

[ reading is for chumps anyway. or people easily egged on. Yin's actually glad when she finds someone who doesn't fall for bait because it means they have more to give. ]

your still making it sound like its our fault for being here
last i checked
i was born the same as anyone else
same as you
just bc were "woke" doesnt make a difference
people off the app dont even know whats going on anymore
they dont seem to give a damn
seems like thats the way to be

Of course we didn't ask for this! We never asked to be born to begin with, or to have our souls involved in whatever world-saving effort this is!

I can't fully blame the Retrospec employees for doing what they think is best. But I don't think I can just trust the people who seemed to cause this in the first place to tell me what I need to know so easily. They made this mess for us...for them...for everyone.

But then... why do we exist, if there's nothing we can do about it?

Or would you rather I say "nothing I can do about it"?

im saying maybe worry more about yourself
and the rest of us on the app
before you go and try to save people
people who seem to be living just fine without us fucking it up more

considering how they're actually noticing the weird shit that happens now, probably
we don't need this shit happening to us, they don't need to be dealing with our ripple effects

but anyways i got some beach towels and dvds for the orphanage
along with a bunch of discount fidget spinners
not sure if those'll be good for the kids or just annoying for everyone else but eh
they'll figure it out

Fidget spinners, honestly? Rose, I think there was a reason they were on bulk discount.

Those kids are going to love raising hell with them.

As for the rest, it's hard to act without knowing the outcome. No one isn't trying to make our situation better (though some are trying harder than others, I suppose). But who's to say that our attempts to help just end up harming?

a sale's a sale
and i figured the kids should be as up to date on ways to annoy people as the rest of us

hindsight's 20/20 and all that
maybe we won't know until everything's done but when is that even gonna be
right now it just all seems like shit

I'm worried about what's going to happen when you try to apply that philosophy elsewhere.

[Just what else could Rose pick up under the pretense that a sale is a sale? Yikes.]

That's so much of the problem. How does something like this "end?" What are the conditions...or the consequences?

When it's over I don't know who we'll be or what harm will be done.

i'll be sure to never share what's under my purchase history online

[Not like she ever has, but it's probably for the best that no one knows what she's bought with that mindset...........]

there's just no way to know rn
i guess it's safer to just assume the worst but fuck man
it's exhausting to be that pessimistic

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