Don't worry, she laughed when she saw the royalty results too. And then shrieked in terror.

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto 2/12 near Recollé

So, I've got a ... question. The freaky things don't exactly seem to be stopping, and one thing hit me as really weird. The whole. "Founder's Day Court" thing. It didn't stand out to me until afterwards, but... well. I looked back through what's been posted to Retrospec so far, and... There are definitely more than a couple of us chosen from that who are also on THIS. That ... seems more than a little odd, doesn't it?

[Someone seems to be lacking a certain amount of energy that's normally on display. Why, it's not as if many more "freaky" things have been happening, right?

I mean. Unless you woke up in the middle of the night with some awfully weird visions in your head, or you're desperately trying to stave off the desire to build a conspiracy wall in your bedroom.]

Comments

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto Yes, that! Exactly that!
Maya Aimoto I thought I was losing it until someone brought it up!

[rosettareflected]

[Ah, there's the pit of dread forming in her chest.]

Alicia Clover Perhaps we are.

[...that might be a little ominous to leave quite there, Alicia realizes after a second.]

Alicia Clover Although I only remember a piece of architecture that does not seem to exist in our world, mostly.

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto Whaaaaaat would you say if, like.
Maya Aimoto I dunno.
Maya Aimoto I said I saw you and some other girls like it was from some other life entirely.

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover I would ask how you knew it was me?

[Her mind is whirling already. It's impossible. It's impossible, and yet...]

Alicia Clover And, if it's not too much... what you saw?

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto It was definitely you! Your hair was different, but it was definitely you!
Maya Aimoto It was a sleepover and we were all having a pillow fight but an old man was yelling at us about being too loud and everyone had anime hair!
Maya Aimoto Well, I guess yours was a bit more normal...

[She's going to leave out the animals and pink haired baby. For the moment.]

[rosettareflected]

[...oh, hell.]

Alicia Clover Kind of an orange or maybe gold color for hair? Eyes about the same color?

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto Uhhhh, yyyyyeah...?

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover Look, Maya, I understand we're friends. But reading that is really freaking me out. I don't
Alicia Clover How do you have a memory of me that I don't have?

[Professor Lunise's words come back to haunt her: how often do you remember something differently than a friend? Or in this case, the friend remembers and she doesn't even know what the hell is going on. She's going to hyperventilate at this rate, she really needs to calm down but she's kind of forgetting how.]

[strongestheart]

[Maya sees this, and anxiety begins to grasp at her. Alicia's saying they're friends! "But." There's that "but."

She doesn't quite know how to deal with it, a part of her just wants to turn things off and bury her head under a pillow but somehow she persists.]

Maya Aimoto i'm sorry
Maya Aimoto i'm sorry i'm not trying to make things weird, i just
Maya Aimoto i don't get it either
Maya Aimoto i'm really sorry

[rosettareflected]

[That was not the intended effect, and Alicia immediately recoils; what has she done? She's still freaked out, but some semblance of self returns to her.]

Alicia Clover Oh, I'm sorry, Maya! That came out very, very wrong. I'm scared, and I'm frustrated, and
Alicia Clover Not that it's any excuse. I don't blame you. I blame whatever is going on in this Godforsaken place.
Alicia Clover Please, talk to me... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...

[strongestheart]

[oh thank god she didn't scare her off

She takes a few moments to respond, but does inevitably.]

Maya Aimoto Oh, ah. Thanks. Sorry if I kind of

[Nearly freaked out? Kind of freaked out.]

Maya Aimoto This is all too much to take in, I don't know if I'm going crazy one minute or the next...!
Maya Aimoto I don't want to scare anyone, I just. I don't get what's going on...!
Maya Aimoto I'm remembering things I never saw, or having friends I didn't before now!
Maya Aimoto I know this has to be weird to hear.

[rosettareflected]

[Oh, thank heavens, she didn't scare Maya away... She takes a deep breath, hoping she can come across a little more calmly than she feels.]

Alicia Clover Believe me, this isn't the first thing that's scared me. It's just the most present because it directly involves someone else I know. And if you're crazy, then we can all go to the mad house together.
Alicia Clover I don't understand either. Part of me wants to ask about sleepover, but part of me thinks I'd be better off not knowing. How far down does the rabbit hole go?

[strongestheart]

[Oh good, back to... normal? Ish? She'll take it for now.]

Maya Aimoto If it's any consolation, you'd probably rock a straight jacket better than most.

[What? She's not wrong.]

Maya Aimoto I mean if you really have to ask, it actually DOES get weirder.

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I'd prefer not to add that to my wardrobe if at all possible, aha...
Alicia Clover Weirder how, though? It's already shaping up to be strange enough with just what you've told me.

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto um
Maya Aimoto tiny brightly colored floating animals...

[rosettareflected]

[Blink, blink. There's radio silence for a moment.]

Alicia Clover It'd only be weirder if you told me they corresponded to our hair colors. Then we'd truly be knee-deep in an anime.

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto ...They did?

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover That is indeed weirder, alas. It's also highly unusual and I have questions that I am not certain you'll have the answers for at present, given we're both still largely in the dark on what we're seeing.

[Like who broke physics.]

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto I've got nothing BUT questions and all I keep getting is more and more of them.
Maya Aimoto At least the animals were cute...

[rosettareflected]

[There's a long pause. Then:]

Alicia Clover A rabbit, and a dog, and a bear, and a cat. Pink, and blue, and yellow, and purple.
Alicia Clover Why do I know that? Maya, the only way we can have the same memory is...

[She can't type the words. If she does, it's admitting to herself that her life has gone upside down. But aloud to herself, without even thinking about it:]

...if we knew each other before this. If we were friends long ago. Oh, God. What's going on...?

[strongestheart]

[...

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!]

Maya Aimoto THAT'S EXACTLY IT!
Maya Aimoto Don't tell me you remember the same thing?! When did that happen?!

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover Someday I will learn not to borrow trouble. I only just remembered it now - you were talking about it, and I was asking questions, and all of a sudden it just hit me.
Alicia Clover It's vivid, and very surreal... We look like we were having fun, at least? And so do whatever those flying things were.
Alicia Clover Oh, this is so confusing...

[strongestheart]

Maya Aimoto oh my gosh

[WHAT SORT OF POWER IS THIS THAT SHE WIELDS?!]

Maya Aimoto I'm sorry!
Maya Aimoto I mean. I guess I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing it.
Maya Aimoto ...it did look like fun, though...

[She gives a forlorn sigh to herself, then blinks at another part of it.]

Maya Aimoto Um, this might sound crazy but then again maybe nothing does at this point, but have you ever met girls named Rachel or Melody around here...?
Maya Aimoto Like, actually here - not crazy shared memory land!

[Actually, she realizes a part of her should be ecstatic she shares something with a new friend and someone so cool and famous! ... But the weirdness is kind of overriding that for now.]

[rosettareflected]

Alicia Clover It's... it's fine. It certainly isn't your fault, in any event.
Alicia Clover I do know Rachel, we've met a few times. Melody... I don't know her terribly well, but yes, we've met. Why do you ask about them?

[...That blue-haired girl looked kind of like Rachel. Then...]

Alicia Clover You suspect Rachel and Melody were there, too?

[strongestheart]

[Well, this just gets freakier by the moment.]

Maya Aimoto Yes, I do! Or at least... whatever it is we're remembering! They're involved!
Maya Aimoto If you remembered something like that, then that's got to be the case!
Maya Aimoto I was super nervous about telling any of you about this, I didn't think you'd believe me, and then... THIS.