[Okay, well, it's no pit, but he's probably done causing problems. If there's nothing else to see, he looks in the direction Sabo is indicating.]
Think we ought to head out?
[He'll walk that way, idly looking at any pillars he passes for just a glimpse at new info. Anything, anything at all. He'd begun to have an eerie feeling that things weren't on the up and up here as far as the story they've been fed, but now that he sees that lecture hall he's ready to voice some of those doubts.]
Remember the jewelry store? [He didn't get to talk about it at the town hall, but it was mentioned, so he figures it's safe to bring up at least in a passing, vague mention.] Getting that saaame vibe right now.
[Of course, it could just be some generic lecture hall and the resemblance is coincidental or the product of scarcity/a lack of competition, but... The vibe is off. And he wants to know what's on the outside of that lecture hall.]
[ Hien still wants to inspect the pillars, so he goes around, using his skimming powers at work. If he starts getting the feeling of how there's nothing else of importance, he looks around the room. Is there anything other than digital pillars and the exit Sabo found? ]
[ frowns at the mention of how this is like the jewelry store given what they found there. many frowns. though that makes him wonder—no videos or cameras in this room, right? nothing up on the ceiling that would be important to notice? they...did fall into this place?
either way, when hien implies his intent to stay, sabo isn't thrilled but at the same time the comparison about the jewelry store has him really thinking about next steps. ]
Okay, it looks like the exit leads to something that looks like the lecture room. [ hmmm. sabo trusts nothing and will be sus of everything. if anything comes at him, it'll get an ax to the face as a warning. ] I doubt it's the same place.
[ to madara: ]
Feel comfortable leaving Hien here while the two of us move ahead?
[Madara just doesn't like all this tech that's just barely out of his grasp. He's no slouch when it comes to investigation, but nothing in this place has sat well with him at all. Especially not this.
He looks at Hien. Then back to Sabo.]
Yeah. If he says he's fine, he's fine. I just want to check out what's in and outside of the lecture hall. Then we can circle back or decide on a direction.
[ > Hien looks around the pillars, and there's one pillar in particular that may stand out: The phrase sponsors come up in relation to the Kizna Project. Various locations will flash around the pillar with coordinates – "United States (37.0902° N, 95.7129° W)", as an example. But there's one in particular that's a little odd.
It reads "Estelline (Unknown, could not locate)".
> Sabo and Madara look towards the exit. As they walk towards the exit, they'll see very quick glimpses...of faces. They look like hologram portraits of each person, but each portrait only flashes once before it fades away. Under each portrait is another smaller image of the mark on their arm that is exactly like the ones the current characters have....and these images actually flash right next to pillars that mention the word Kiznaivers.
The more they walk up towards the exit, though, the more they'll realize that this is actually quite different from the lecture hall they're familiar with. Similar concept, but a different interior design entirely. Will they exit fully? ]
[ Hien doesn't say anything. The coordinates mean little to him, since it's not like he can suddenly teleport to somewhere in America and tear apart one of their sponsors with his bare hands.
Anyway, he's starting to wonder if Estelline is just in a little pocket dimension of its own. He remembers seeing those orbs earlier, and he thinks things like that could be possible. They even have Florence the android.
So Estelline is a sponsor regarding the project. Hien tries to see if there's anything more on that pillar. Then he'll assume there's nothing of interest in the other pillars and explore the room itself to see if there's anything that stands out. ]
[ There isn't much else on that pillar, unfortunately, and he's right in that the other pillars are mostly just numbers and data. Maybe a few things about negative emotions, but again those are just keywords like "sadness" and "loneliness".
[ Cool. Since the pillars are useless, he gets out his tablet from his bag, takes a picture of the sponsorship pillar with relevant info and the room in general, before putting it away into the bag.
...
He quietly breathes in and out before running around and swinging his bag to glitch out all the pillars!! He wants to see if anything would affect the real world if he did something like this.
Assuming that he doesn't get retaliated on sight, he'll leave the room to reunite with the other two after all the pillars are turned off. ]
[ Glitching out all the pillars doesn't seem to do anything for the time being, but Hien will be met with pitch darkness. The entire thing just kind of turns off.
Which...will also carry over to Madara and Sabo's thread. ]
[Madara is dead set on looking at this lecture hall, but the holograms stop him cold, especially the swiftness with which they disappear, and the symbols below. He looks at his arm, as though he (and not his player) had forgotten the mark was there.]
[ it's really unfortunate that the holograms don't last a moment longer for either of them to whip out their tablet and snag a photo real quick. sabo's a man of many talents but he doesn't have a perfect memory. he'll frown as he responds. ]
No, it doesn't. It's the first time I've come across this word. I also haven't seen those people before in anything that I've stumbled into so far.
[ he'll look back to hien and then to the room before them. the obvious question is on his mind. do they leave hien here and just go ahead? in theory it should be okay but at the same time.... ]
I wonder how long Hien will take.
[ until someone gives a strong opinion to go forward into the room, sabo will, at the very least, stick his head into the exit and see if that will be okay. could have tried to do something else but his head first but it'll be fine. he's taking a better look of the room...or trying to. ]
[ Sticking his head into the exit is perfectly okay. In fact, it looks like he's just going to go through the barrier blocking them! The room, unlike the Estelline lecture hall that has individual desks, has straight tables for each row. It's also pretty dark in here, minus the light coming from whatever they're in right now.
There doesn't appear to be anyone here, too. It's just them. ]
[This place is just every kind of not adding anything but more confusion for Madara, but once the images disappear, he just... accepts it and moves on.
He looks into the lecture hall, dimly lit though it is. It's different, for sure. Just another university, from what he can tell. But where is it? That's kind of the question for him right now.]
We won't go too far. I'm going to check the room out and see if there are any security cameras.
[Which he then does. If he doesn't see any in the dim light, he'll start looking for a light switch. It feels like they shouldn't be here, so he'd hate to be caught.]
[ imagine if it wasn't okay and sabo just ended his entire life just like that, but he's also just going to accept things as for what they are as he watches madara step further into the exit...? next room? ]
Alright; try not to fall down any holes.
[ a joke, of course, but also somewhat serious because who knows what they're getting themselves into here. sabo will still be half in and out of the "exit" as he waits for hien. though depending on what madara finds upon flipping the switch, he may reconsider holding back. ]
[ >Madara looks for a light switch, and Sabo is half in and out of the "exit". RNG says that Madara is unable to find a light switch in time before all the lights from the digital world go out. The room is now pretty much pitch black. ]
[ He gets out his tablet again and is able to somewhat navigate his way through the pitch blackness of the room. Madara and Sabo will just see a weird light... hopping(?) up and down as it comes closer—
Hien runs into a desk in the lecture hall and topples over. ]
though also less sarcastically "thanks hien" when he hops over with the light not that he stays long. sabo would do some moving but he has an axe in one hand and would not want to accidentally swing it and hit someone, so, uh, sorry hien. he'll just wince as hien goes crashing into a desk. ]
If you stand still with the light I can come help.
[ > G, Hien. At least his sacrifice isn't in vain: The light from his tablet at least provides enough extra vision for Madara to find a light switch against the left hand wall, near the place where everyone exited from.
[ > Mama switches the light on, and suddenly, up at the top near the doors to this "lecture hall" are...
Surprise! A couple of these guys. And it looks like they've got some equipment for some nebulous reason. Their plans really aren't apparent, because they don't say anything to you, even as the light switch flips on. But they've sure got some stuff like a fishing net, a bug net, grappling hook, oh my god look at all this equipment.
[ Hien immediately doesn't trust them, because they were right there when the lights were off. He's thinking these guys are here to kidnap them one way or another and maybe they can interrogate one? He'll leave that to Sabo and Madara.
The tablet goes back in the bag, and Hien picks up a chair and throws it at one of them, making sure not to hit the other one in the process. ]
[Madara is standing here for a second. Thinking on this. Because what?
But then Hien throws down and Madara just laughs for a moment before jumping up on one of the lecture hall tables and using the rows of tables to top-speed sprint his way up to their new friends. All he wants is that grappling hook, so he's going to grab the chair nearest the one Hien didn't aim for and try to knock that grappling hook out of the rejected youkai's hand.]
all of this is happening. sabo typically does the diplomatic approach first before diving straight into violence and chaos, but he is also great about adapting. so while madara and hien are definitely going to spook these friends(?), sabo will try an alternative that involves him making an attempt into cornering one of these questionably friend-or-not-friend shaped buddies with the use of his axe. he won't outright threaten it, but he won't exactly come off as a safe space. ]
Sorry about the others but—I do have a few questions I'd like to have answered if you can.
> Hien goes for the throw. The throw manages a hit on New Pal #1 and knocks them off-guard. They holds their head, ouchie ouch, and they manage to drop what they're holding: A baseball bat??? The other one next to it (#2) looks over at Hien and moves to pick up the bat before Hien can.
> Madara does parkour all the way up to the top, and the fellow (#2) is still reaching for that baseball bat. Unfortunately this one has pretty good reflexes and stops what it's doing to protect its grappling hook. It tries to aim it at Madara, actually – but the 17 from RNG manages to barely save him. The hook misses and gets knocked out of their hand, but the hook is still out on the floor, as is the rope.
> Sabo tries the diplomatic approach and uses his axe menacingly. This one, #3, however, is not easily perturbed. They just kind of give Sabo a knifecat look before they reach for their own baseball bat and swings to give Sabo a big bonk on the head.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Okay, well, it's no pit, but he's probably done causing problems. If there's nothing else to see, he looks in the direction Sabo is indicating.]
Think we ought to head out?
[He'll walk that way, idly looking at any pillars he passes for just a glimpse at new info. Anything, anything at all. He'd begun to have an eerie feeling that things weren't on the up and up here as far as the story they've been fed, but now that he sees that lecture hall he's ready to voice some of those doubts.]
Remember the jewelry store? [He didn't get to talk about it at the town hall, but it was mentioned, so he figures it's safe to bring up at least in a passing, vague mention.] Getting that saaame vibe right now.
[Of course, it could just be some generic lecture hall and the resemblance is coincidental or the product of scarcity/a lack of competition, but... The vibe is off. And he wants to know what's on the outside of that lecture hall.]
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[ Hien still wants to inspect the pillars, so he goes around, using his skimming powers at work. If he starts getting the feeling of how there's nothing else of importance, he looks around the room. Is there anything other than digital pillars and the exit Sabo found? ]
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either way, when hien implies his intent to stay, sabo isn't thrilled but at the same time the comparison about the jewelry store has him really thinking about next steps. ]
Okay, it looks like the exit leads to something that looks like the lecture room. [ hmmm. sabo trusts nothing and will be sus of everything. if anything comes at him, it'll get an ax to the face as a warning. ] I doubt it's the same place.
[ to madara: ]
Feel comfortable leaving Hien here while the two of us move ahead?
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He looks at Hien. Then back to Sabo.]
Yeah. If he says he's fine, he's fine. I just want to check out what's in and outside of the lecture hall. Then we can circle back or decide on a direction.
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It reads "Estelline (Unknown, could not locate)".
> Sabo and Madara look towards the exit. As they walk towards the exit, they'll see very quick glimpses...of faces. They look like hologram portraits of each person, but each portrait only flashes once before it fades away. Under each portrait is another smaller image of the mark on their arm that is exactly like the ones the current characters have....and these images actually flash right next to pillars that mention the word Kiznaivers.
The more they walk up towards the exit, though, the more they'll realize that this is actually quite different from the lecture hall they're familiar with. Similar concept, but a different interior design entirely. Will they exit fully? ]
thread division starts here
Anyway, he's starting to wonder if Estelline is just in a little pocket dimension of its own. He remembers seeing those orbs earlier, and he thinks things like that could be possible. They even have Florence the android.
So Estelline is a sponsor regarding the project. Hien tries to see if there's anything more on that pillar. Then he'll assume there's nothing of interest in the other pillars and explore the room itself to see if there's anything that stands out. ]
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He's got pretty much everything he needs. ]
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...
He quietly breathes in and out before running around and swinging his bag to glitch out all the pillars!! He wants to see if anything would affect the real world if he did something like this.
Assuming that he doesn't get retaliated on sight, he'll leave the room to reunite with the other two after all the pillars are turned off. ]
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Which...will also carry over to Madara and Sabo's thread. ]
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Kiznaivers?
[He turns to Sabo.]
Does that mean anything to you?
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No, it doesn't. It's the first time I've come across this word. I also haven't seen those people before in anything that I've stumbled into so far.
[ he'll look back to hien and then to the room before them. the obvious question is on his mind. do they leave hien here and just go ahead? in theory it should be okay but at the same time.... ]
I wonder how long Hien will take.
[ until someone gives a strong opinion to go forward into the room, sabo will, at the very least, stick his head into the exit and see if that will be okay. could have tried to do something else but his head first but it'll be fine. he's taking a better look of the room...or trying to. ]
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There doesn't appear to be anyone here, too. It's just them. ]
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He looks into the lecture hall, dimly lit though it is. It's different, for sure. Just another university, from what he can tell. But where is it? That's kind of the question for him right now.]
We won't go too far. I'm going to check the room out and see if there are any security cameras.
[Which he then does. If he doesn't see any in the dim light, he'll start looking for a light switch. It feels like they shouldn't be here, so he'd hate to be caught.]
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Alright; try not to fall down any holes.
[ a joke, of course, but also somewhat serious because who knows what they're getting themselves into here. sabo will still be half in and out of the "exit" as he waits for hien. though depending on what madara finds upon flipping the switch, he may reconsider holding back. ]
i rolled a 2
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Hien runs into a desk in the lecture hall and topples over. ]
I'm okay.
[ He gets up and tries to find the other two. ]
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Having fun over there?
[Madara gets his tablet out for light... Light switch attempt #2...]
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though also less sarcastically "thanks hien" when he hops over with the light not that he stays long. sabo would do some moving but he has an axe in one hand and would not want to accidentally swing it and hit someone, so, uh, sorry hien. he'll just wince as hien goes crashing into a desk. ]
If you stand still with the light I can come help.
[ HE IS ARMED. ]
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> Sabo is armed and ready.
> Are you ready to turn the light on, Mama? ]
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flip]
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Surprise! A couple of these guys. And it looks like they've got some equipment for some nebulous reason. Their plans really aren't apparent, because they don't say anything to you, even as the light switch flips on. But they've sure got some stuff like a fishing net, a bug net, grappling hook, oh my god look at all this equipment.
What will you all do? ]
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The tablet goes back in the bag, and Hien picks up a chair and throws it at one of them, making sure not to hit the other one in the process. ]
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But then Hien throws down and Madara just laughs for a moment before jumping up on one of the lecture hall tables and using the rows of tables to top-speed sprint his way up to their new friends. All he wants is that grappling hook, so he's going to grab the chair nearest the one Hien didn't aim for and try to knock that grappling hook out of the rejected youkai's hand.]
Sorry! You should've said hi before we did!
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all of this is happening. sabo typically does the diplomatic approach first before diving straight into violence and chaos, but he is also great about adapting. so while madara and hien are definitely going to spook these friends(?), sabo will try an alternative that involves him making an attempt into cornering one of these questionably friend-or-not-friend shaped buddies with the use of his axe. he won't outright threaten it, but he won't exactly come off as a safe space. ]
Sorry about the others but—I do have a few questions I'd like to have answered if you can.
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> Hien goes for the throw. The throw manages a hit on New Pal #1 and knocks them off-guard. They holds their head, ouchie ouch, and they manage to drop what they're holding: A baseball bat??? The other one next to it (#2) looks over at Hien and moves to pick up the bat before Hien can.
> Madara does parkour all the way up to the top, and the fellow (#2) is still reaching for that baseball bat. Unfortunately this one has pretty good reflexes and stops what it's doing to protect its grappling hook. It tries to aim it at Madara, actually – but the 17 from RNG manages to barely save him. The hook misses and gets knocked out of their hand, but the hook is still out on the floor, as is the rope.
> Sabo tries the diplomatic approach and uses his axe menacingly. This one, #3, however, is not easily perturbed. They just kind of give Sabo a knifecat look before they reach for their own baseball bat and swings to give Sabo a big bonk on the head.
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