trustfelled | Welcome.

The last thing you remember hearing is static.

There were words in there, perhaps, quiet whispers like the rustling of leaves, like the crinkling of paper, like rust being scraped off a knife. The words aren't anything you'll remember, but they're there, and there are a lot of them washing over you, and it might be concerning if it weren't so warm where you're lying.

You wake feeling disoriented, like you've been asleep for a long time.

Of course, it's probably odd that you're waking up just now - perhaps you were in the middle of something important, perhaps you were waiting for something, or maybe you were just going about your day, but even before the whispering came you can clearly remember doing something back home. Can't you? Something else. Something that wasn't looking around the room you've found yourself in.

It's not your room, either. Not the one you're used to.

The room here is grey and white and tile; even if the bed is nice (and the bed is nice, it feels like it's been designed to cater just to you, maybe if you keep your eyes closed you can pretend it's a favor), the room itself is spartan and oppressing. The walls are cracked and the floors are in disrepair, but despite that there's not enough noise - it's silent, the quietness of it pressing in on you, and even if you can't see any cameras you get the distinct feeling that for good or ill, someone is watching over you as you get up.

That might be enough to make you move, to make you not want to stay there. But even if you stick around for a while to look around in there, the walls hold firm despite their decrepit state and the pervasive silence isn't going away - if anyone's in the rooms near you, you can't hear them. If you want answers, you're going to have to leave. Be sure you grab the key sitting on your desk on the way out.

Once you step out of the room into the hallway you'll most likely find yourself face-to-face with other confused people who feel as though they don't belong here either. Maybe you'll find something if you explore together; maybe it's safer in numbers.

Wherever you end up going - and there are several places to go - you might want to check the large room toward the center of the communal area of the building. A subdivided foyer is here; at first glance, it even seems to offer you a look at the outside. Of course, once you've gotten over that particular disappointment, you might want to check out the walls, where you'll find some very interesting information about yourselves hanging on the walls. There's some other framed information that you'll most likely want to get a look at as well, seeing as how it could be the key to escaping this place.

Although, speaking of keys... Despite your best efforts, you won't find any doors. The windows you find here and there are far more durable than they should be as well, and any attempts to break out won't work. It seems you're stuck here for the time being.

Maybe your fellow captives have some thoughts on all of this.

Welcome to Beacon General Hospital.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Of course it does. ]

...So, let me get this straight. This is a sport where girls dress up in bathingsuits, on a platform, and try to hit each other into the water with just their...extremities.

[ Hoo boy. ]

It...certainly sounds like something that wealthy men would pay a lot of money to see.

You'd be surprised at how fast the stadiums fill up. Why bother with something that pays poorly when you can really make it big?

[She says, completely unashamed.]

I do suppose you have a point. If you're looking for something with a payoff, and you have the skill, there's no harm in going for it...

[ Putting aside things like, you know, modesty, but, you know what, she's not judging her as much as she's judging the sport itself-- ]

And I guess there is a certain amount of training that must go into it, as well...

That's exactly why a bunch of people decide on Keijo instead of olympic level sports. It's worth the payoff for the dedication. It's a sport full of really amazing people.

[Modesty is a small price to pay for riches and fame, okay-]

What about you, Hanekawa-san? Do you have any dreams?

Actually, yes! It's a bit of a secret, so I haven't told anyone just yet; they say that when you have a wish, you shouldn't say it out loud, but, since you asked...

[ She gives her a small smile, and turns her voice into a stage whisper. ]

I've been planning to go on a trip, you see. A huge trip, all over the world. After I graduate high school, everyone's expecting me to go to university, and I imagine that my teachers will be heartbroken when I tell them, but...I had been thinking, recently, that I was a bit too bookish and sheltered, that I hadn't seen enough of what the world had to offer beyond my little hometown.

So I'm in the process of planning the route, to go from one country to the next, by foot, by plane, you name it. I've even been saving up a bit of money to cover the expenses...But I'm going to expand my horizons, and see everything there is to see.

Sounds like a great dream to me!

[Seeing the whole world, meeting new people and hearing new languages, picking up a bunch of souvenirs- it sounds like a wonderful way to live.]

Sure, you might disappoint a few teachers, but this isn't about their dreams, right? It's better that you don't disappoint yourself.

Do you really think so? I've been thinking that it might be best to expand my horizons as much as possible. I recently had a bit of an eye-opener of an experience, you see. This past Spring Break, I had a chance encounter with someone, and since then, I've been starting to realize that there's far more out there than I could have possibly anticipated.

And now that I know that things are out there, it seems a shame to let them be without me witnessing them for myself. Besides, there isn't much for me in my small town, anyway. I can't stay there forever.

[ And she doesn't want to, of course. ]

It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it. As long as you've thought it through, what's the problem with going off and following your dreams? Maybe you'll find something out there that you really love.

[...It's not the path she took, or entirely the same principle, but from where she stands now? That's a sentiment she carries deep in her heart.]

Just make sure you send your friends postcards.

I wonder about that. Maybe I'll come to some kind of realization, like, "the thing that was most important to me was back where I started all along," or some kind of cliche like that...

[ That makes her sound a bit more lovestruck than she'd like to admit, though. ]

I'll do my best to keep them updated, though, of course. It'd be quite rude of me if I simply fell off the face of the earth.

Or maybe you can bring something big back to your hometown. I know one of my roommates is hoping that if she hits it big, it will get more people to move into her village.

[Non-chan kind of belonged in Aquors, really. But anyway-]

Get a bunch of souvenirs, too. Something to treasure those memories forever.

Welcome.

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