Welcome to the Program

[airlockedmods]

Good Morning, Champions. In the interest of maintaining healthy sleep patterns, a day/night cycle is in effect. Your presence is expected in the cafeteria in exactly one hour.

[The voice comes through not a large speaker, but through the device that's attached to each Champion's arm. Further investigation of the features of the device will reveal a list of profiles, a mini-map, and a list of rules. The hallways are shiny white and silver, with running lights along the floor and lights on the ceiling, and at the junction of the hallways is a sign with a knife and fork icon and an arrow pointing down the hall.

Welcome to the Excellence Program, Champions. Time to get to know your teammates.]

Comments

[immaculacies]

Of course. You said it yourself; this is some sort of bizarro alternate dimension.

[And, fittingly... Manaka doesn't understand a word of her explanation. It's strange, standing there and replaying her words in her head and not being able to come up with a single piece of information that fits. She doesn't mind it, though—at least it's novel. Manaka blinks, and without realizing it, her eyes widen in surprise.]

Ah, that sounds really interesting. The moon isn't anything like that, in the world that I come from. There aren't any people that live there anymore, and definitely not enough to create a shield like that — and they disappeared a long time before the moon landings happened, too.

[lovecolored]

[ Marisa opens her mouth to give another hearty agreement, but then stops, and fiddles with her PIP. ]

There's some kinda rule against property damage, though...what's it say...? "Any Champion caught tampering with, obscuring, damaging, or otherwise trying to "improve" or "modify" any surveillance camera, door, lock, wall, floor, ceiling, computer, air vent, or other structure or machinery will be subject to punishment."

...man, I don't wanna end up with my fingernails ripped off just for writin' 'you suck' or 'filthy hat thief' on the walls. But it's temptin'.

[ she sighs ]

[le_mat]

Kaiba-san and I tossed around a few theories but...

Kitchen

[theundertaken]

Oh...shit, that's not a bad idea. [Max comments when he walks in, and then spends a few minutes poking around cabinets himself before turning to Thomas properly.] Want some help with anything?

[challengesfate]

[Ah - she'd ask why someone wouldn't know what a Risen is, but they had only just appeared, from what she last remembered - the name had not even been decided on yet. So when Lucina speaks, it's with a touch of warning.]

The Risen are corpses brought back from the dead by way of dark magic. They cannot think or be reasoned with - their only drive is to fight, and to kill, for the sake of the Fell Dragon Grima. I've spent much of my life battling them just to survive.

[le_mat]

Simulatuon...

[there's a bit of both disbelief and consideration in his tone. Such technology didn't exist. But as far as he knew the technology for the PIP and other things here didn't either. Not outside the Metaverse. Yet here it was]

I didn't even think of that.

[theundertaken]

...no? [He frowns a little; that's a weird thing to say.] Well, uh, I'll try not to be some kinda antiquated jerk about it.

[theworldsliveliestcorpse]

I know right! Like geez, I hope we don't hafta use these things, or I'm gonna have to abbreviate it to something. It'll probably sound stupid though. Like.... Champion of P.S.E.T.S.C.I.N.A.E.B.G.I.M.Y.W.H.G.A.? Shit that sounds even worse!


[Karamatsu what even is your title!?]

Ugh. Maybe we'll just make up new ones for them or something.

[lovecolored]

[ Marisa, predictably, provides no additional explanation. ]

Woah, really? What sorta people lived on your moon, then? [ color her interested ] Were they super snooty, too?

[challengesfate]

[She'll lean over and look at it, reading it thoroughly, then looking at Karamatsu...then back at the title...then back at Karamatsu.]

...That's...also something that...I did not know someone could be the champion of.

[Wow, who thought of these titles, this is super rude.]

[challengesfate]

I'm afraid I have never gotten to take trips for pleasure.

[But, uh. All that other stuff is just sort of going right over her head?]

They launch...I'm sorry, space...shuttles? I don't understand.

[newcycle]

Or... we could just call them by their names.

[at least her title made total sense to her-- and it was one of the nicer ones.]

You're... Zombina?

[andjerry]

I hope I'm wrong. It's not a comforting thought, is it?

What's on the line? [the fate of the known world, thomas, this is an avatar character]

[challengesfate]

...Oh! I think that is a kind of coffee. I have only heard stories of it before...

[Tea would definitely be great though. Anything would be great, so long as it was normal.]

[theundertaken]

Space shuttles? [He blinks, but seems to get over any surprise pretty quick.] Uh...okay. It's like...do you know airplanes?

[theworldsliveliestcorpse]

Hell yeah. Though it might be more fun to throw them to the courts and watch 'em squirm afterwards.

[She's pretty sure that there's at least several major charges here.]

[immaculacies]

Of course. But who says it's only for our hearts? It's probably monitoring our blood, our brain functions... Anything tangible that you can think of.

Of course, I don't think it's perfectly benign, either. It just doesn't surprise me that we would be blocked from taking them off. The real question is whether that's for our benefit, or someone else's.

[newcycle]

I'd never heard of any of it before now, but Bolton made some for me.

[she shrugs a little bit]

Which... looked complicated enough.

[lovecolored]

Hmm...

[ ...... ]

An arcane ritual that needs hair from its sacrifices?

[ MARISA COULD YOU MAYBE LIGHTEN UP A BIT ]

[newcycle]

[well, she also pretty firmly does not believe she's crazy... for now.]

We need to save the airbenders.

Uh-- which... Maybe you haven't heard. Since maybe some people have never heard of bending?

[newcycle]

... A what.

[hey, at least rituals aren't triggering to her yet.]

[theundertaken]

I guess that's good? I don't know why anybody would kidnap me, but it wouldn't be for money, so that just leaves, uh. I dunno, fun?

[yeeeesh]

Lotta people to kidnap at once.

[le_mat]

[he laughs slightly, though it's a little humorless.]

I mean, I don't know if we're ACTUALLY in space. But if this is a set it's the most detailed and realistic one I've ever heard of.

[theworldsliveliestcorpse]

Thaaaat's me! The world's liveliest corpse, Zombina-chan!

[Let her just double check the profiles aaaaand....]

And youuuuuu aaaaaaareeeeeeeee aha! Korra-chan, right?

[theundertaken]

Not like we're gonna see it if we can't get out of here. We should see if there's, like, escape pods or something.