DAY 00

[thecomputer]

[Good afternoon, Citizens!

Your consciousness blurrily returns as the transport tube your comatose body was stored in opens up, admitting you access to an unfamiliar room. One wall is covered by vertical tubes, one occasionally sliding open to admit another confused person. The wall across from you has a sign saying "PROCEED TO CENTRAL HUB", with an arrow pointing at a red doorway in the corner. The wall to your right contains an unlabeled, dusty, and poorly-lit hallway with blue walls, floor, and ceiling. You can't see the end from here.

Somewhere on your person, you will find a thin, smartphone-sized object that wasn't there before. One side of it is lit up with a red background and a number of disabled menu items. Most of the screen is taken up by another message saying "PROCEED TO CENTRAL HUB".

What is this place, anyway? And who are these people stumbling in through the transport tube array?]

[[Beyond the three prompts below, anyone may start their own prompts to mingle or go off and do their own thing or whatever else they want!]]

Comments

[cantarellacookie]

Being murdered? [She thinks for a second.] Slow. Not very pleasant.

[alchemicals]

No warm guiding light leading you to your friends and loved ones, then? Shame.

[Kimbley.]

[cantarellacookie]

[She shakes her head.] I woke up in this body when it was over.

[alchemicals]

Good thing I'm not a big believer in the afterlife.

You still feel like you, though, right? Not like anything's missing?

[cantarellacookie]

[You mean like a mystical sword that may or may not have physical form until it exits her chest?]

Yes. I think so.

[alchemicals]

[More like your soul or any number of your organs but you know what, that works too.]

From what I understand, it's not usually that pretty when people raise the dead.

[cantarellacookie]

Is it?

[She reaches up to pet Chuchu absent-mindedly.]

[alchemicals]

I've never seen it, I've just heard stories. I'm not stupid enough to try.

[cantarellacookie]

[Pet, pet, pet.] Of course you aren't.

[She... sounds sincere? Maybe?]

[alchemicals]

There's also no one I'd miss enough.

[...Kimbley we were doing so well]

[cantarellacookie]

[Some people are like that. She continues to pet Chuchu.]

They might not thank you even if you did bring them back.

[alchemicals]

I probably wouldn't thank anyone who brought me back, either.

[cantarellacookie]

Mmm.

[She's not surprised, really.]

[alchemicals]

What about you, Himemiya?

Glad to be back?

[cantarellacookie]

I'm fine.

[The true answer to that is: "it's complicated."]

[alchemicals]

I know you are, and that isn't what I asked.

[cantarellacookie]

[What would Utena want her to say if she were here? It's not too hard to figure out.]

Yes, of course.

[It's complicated.]

[alchemicals]

[Hmmm.]

Good. You're an interesting person.

[cantarellacookie]

As are you, Mr Kimbley.

[She... sounds sincere? It's hard to tell with this girl.]

[alchemicals]

[...he tends to surround himself with people like that.]

I'm going to try to get that girl to knock it off until the game starts proper. After that, all bets are off.

[That...isn't really reassurance so much as it is "let's wait until the fun is actually supposed to start to have fun, because I don't feel like getting gunned down today," but you know what, it's a thing and he said it.]

[cantarellacookie]

Thank you, Mr Kimbley.

[It's all right. She's probably going to take it in the spirit it was meant in.]