un: shinonome | text, following the monthly post

[nmc0204]

I don't usually post much on the network but this seemed like the easiest way to reach out for this. If we haven't met, I'm Ryoko Shinonome. I arrived here in October last year.

Recently, I've gotten interested in computers and programming in this era. My own time period is much further in the future than the current year, so having a chance to use technology of this kind is something I want to take advantage of. I'm currently attending the university to better learn about them in a school environment, but I want to expand my reach a little bit. Is anyone here particularly interested in programming and encryption? I've been studying on my own, but having an insider perspective is sometimes more useful.

That said, self study can be interesting too. I came across some numerology texts by a Greek philosopher... Pythagoras? Or something else beginning with a P. It says to keep an eye out for clusters of numbers – that patterns can be found in them. If I'm honest, the whole thing sounds like nonsense but there's always the chance that he was on to something.

[ The post ends there. But then, a few minutes later another one pops up from the same user. ]

453324 31241242114254 73532 3334 352334331543

[ ... and vanishes just as quickly, apparently deleted by Ryoko. Maybe she buttdialled? ... Sure, maybe. Anyone who's not inclined to take that as face value might have to do a little digging, though. She's not exactly The Riddler here, so it's not too hard to string together what she means... but she hasn't made it easy for your average joe.

The solution turns out to be right in the post – a historical Greek figure with a name starting with P. But it's Polybius she's talking about here. Decoded on a 5x5 Polybius grid cipher, a message emerges:

uni library 7pm no phones

... well, that's... sinister. But if you're a techie type and you managed to decode this strange invite, what do you have to lose? ]

Video: UN: hotgoss

[bebest]

WHO: Zulius and you!
WHERE: Network
WHEN: Late April!
WHAT: Super fun traumatic AU memories
WARNINGS: World-ending talk here

[Zulius hasn't been doing SUPER since Takame's dungeon. It wasn't so much the almost dying multiple times or being stressed out about people he's begun to care about- though those have been deeply unpleasant. Being in there has opened up a door to a set of very particular memories and no matter how much he tries to block them out, they keep coming. They seep into his consciousness like tar. Which is ironic, really, given the subject of the memories in question. He's not good at dealing with Bad Things. He's been raised to push that sort of stuff deep, deep down and cover it all up with glitz and glamour. If you tell yourself to stop feeling sad for long enough you stop feeling sad, it's FLAWLESS logic. It's served him pretty well. And yet...

He's leaning on the bar at the Vogue, a bottle of scotch open beside him- a sphynx cat in a hot pink little fur coat bats a cocktail umbrella around on the bar top. Zulius is wearing the snuggie he got from the Goodwill...or at least he's wearing the torso part, the rest is draped awkwardly over his zebra body. His mane is on the frazzled side, a far cry from his usual nary-a-hair-out-of-place perfect self. He shifts uneasily, even if he tries to keep his tone airy- because it's fine. He's fine. Everything is FINE because he's not gonna let it not be fine.]

Soooooooooooooooo hi, hey. Random Q for the folks who are from this world and get memories from their past lives. I know that we're from, like, worlds that have been destroyed. Like, big sad, but I get it.

[His ears flick back, advertising the uncertainty he's not willing to show on his face.]

But has anyone had any memories that show them at like...Ground Zero? Like. When the whole world-ending thing actually happened kinda deal? I mean, I know for my fabulous self to be alive, then my past self had to be made unalive eventually, right? I get that, I can do the math. But I didn't expect this to be a "seeing how the sausage gets made" kinda situation. So yeah. Anyone else got that? Just. Checking.

[He lets out a dramatic little uggggggggggggggggggh, leaning backwards on the bar and looking at the screen upside down.]

Anyway, that's depressing. I don't do depressing. It gives you wrinkles. Who's got a funny story or decent gossip? Bonus points if it makes someone else look stupid. Gimmie something good.