expiationnet | TEXT | sender: [ unknown ]

[ around noon on friday, all tablet screens go dark at the same time, no matter what characters are doing. then, after a moment, the following text appears: ]

UPDATES INSTALLING.................
INITIALIZING.................
RESTARTING NOW.

[ as promised, screens return to normal. however, a new message appears on the network for all to see ]

SECURITY ACCESS UPDATED
ADDING INFORMATION POINTS
ADDING INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING: CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURES DETECTED
HARD RESET IS REQUIRED

→CLICK TO EXPAND INSTRUCTIONS

→Access EXPIATION'S five manual terminals
→Input code: 2467362925315
→Initialize reset simultaneously at all terminals.
→SYSTEM RESET will restore all functions to BASIC OPERATING PARAMETERS. Extraneous data and information updates will be DELETED.
→Terminal access points shown below.

[ all tablet maps are updated to include several different location pins. users will notice that there are more pins than the number of terminals, and that they don't seem to be terribly specific about exact locations. users will also note that the pins sometimes seem to fade and flicker, as if they might disappear... ]

Security clearances acquired.
Access granted.
Terminals online and accessible.

System failure is imminent. Due to perpetual lack of upkeep, I am unable to maintain systems at optimal levels.
Chosen of Expiation, I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you.
Save yourselves.

I do not wish to d̶̺̀i̸̘̋e̶͍͝
But I wish for you to live
I̷
p̸l̷e̵a̸s̷e̸
l̴̪̗̈́̉̓̌i̶͕̹̹̿̈́̈̚v̴͓̽͑͆̚ḙ̴͍̋͘

ERROR: user offline

[ the AI will not respond to this message, and the ERROR: USER OFFLINE message appears if anyone attempts to message it. however, the network chat remains active. chosen can use this space to ICly discuss ideas and strategies, to have discussions about the best way to move forward, or even to have arguments over whose ideas they think are better. ideas generated here will be added to the event poll when the event goes up, and can impact the future of the game! have at it, go wild, and have fun! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

ive been talking to him while ive been packing. his real concern is me going back home, and he'll be... well. who knows. he died so. there's no going back for him, besides being 6 feet under.

but resetting or destroying the system could lead to either option, u know? resetting could mean we go back from the start. like back to where we first met. and what if.... we're not close the second round? what if we're enemies and we hate each other? what if the big wigs decide not to bring my old man to aldrip or my big sis or... any of the people we have here now?

but if we destroy it, we all could die. for real, this time.

[ Great, now they can actually talk seriously. It looks like her concerns aren't too far off from his own. ]

... yeah I think so too
and hell even if we do start over and things go well... who's to say it's not gonna break again?

[ How many times has the same scenario played out? The world glitching out, static noise filling the air and then... the world ending, but only to go back to how it was a day, a week, or a hundred years prior, leaving people in it none the wiser. Going through the motions, playing out their roles like puppets on strings, reciting the script they never knew they'd been given.

There's a long pause between his last message and the next, almost as if he had to seriously consider if he wants to bring it up... and it's only because it's Jinx that he decides to write what he does. ]

that's what happened back in my world too
it kept resetting and repeating the same shit over and over again

I'm not letting that happen here

[ hm... ]

it hurts to see my people going at each other's throats like this. this is definitely not the future i wanted for all of us here.

everyones seems pretty divided and... they have a right to feel and believe what they want. i just. wished i was faster about doing my cause, because they need a leader more than ever now. i failed to be that for them, it looks like. failed to give them the comfort they needed, to take the weight away from their shoulders and have them on mine.

but if u ask me, im ok with dying. if we have to. i rather die knowing that u and i got to meet, and being proud to be ur little sister than to... get it all erased and never knowing u at all.

that's not on you
even if we were the most organized group on the planet
even if we decided to follow a leader and let them handle most decisions
people still have their own beliefs that they're ready to fight for

that's what makes us human

[ This conversation has taken a turn, and not one he'd seen coming. It's rare that he allows himself to be this sincere, simply because hiding behind sarcasm and indifference makes it easier to get by. But there's no way he could bring himself to dismiss the sentiment of that message... the very same feelings his siblings had expressed during their last time together. That they didn't want a world without him in it, and that they wanted to keep the memories of his brother no matter what.

Only for Ragna to erase all that, and make it like they'd never had a brother to begin with.

Ever since he came to this world, he'd known he might need to do the same to whoever he meets here. And if push comes to shove, he knows he wouldn't hesitate to do that to Jinx, too.

Still... her response warms his heart. ]

thanks
I appreciate it
and I'm glad I've met you too

but I'm not gonna let you die just yet

[ she smiles warmly at his message, too, but then decides to bring it right back around to the jokey side. ]

and if u do, ill just follow u around as a ghost!! ill spook u every night by shutting doors and breaking dishes. it'll be my way of saying "hi".

[ Ah. Of course she had to go there. His Achilles' heel. His kryptonite. His One Fear. ]

s;jagvabhd
don't even joke like that!!

are u scared of ghosts?

what
no
of course not
no way
nuh uh
nope
not even close

what if its a cute ghost?

no such thing

ill prove u wrong later. anyway, we better get going before we die! love u!!

don't

[ If he never encounters a ghost, that'd still be too soon. ]

yeah
I'll see you around if we survive

[ Not the best thing to say as a goodbye, so after a brief pause, he adds one more thing: ]

take care

TEXT | sender: [ unknown ]

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