Act 1, Scene 1: Pleasant Boy

[opening_act]

[ A notification on your phone goes off, letting you know the purchase of your meeting with Exael has gone through.

There is an attachment. Where are you, when you open it? ]

Comments

[afailedmurder]

[A was out on a walk but ducked into an empty building when he saw the notif.]

[opening_act]

[ It's a map! The address it's leading you to appears to be one of Tokyo's numerous empty high-rises. This one is for an apartment building, you might think if you've paid that much attention to the Tokyo where you're from.

It's dark inside the empty building, despite the windows. ]

[afailedmurder]

[A shooould tell somebody... but he doesn't, because he knows Intensity didn't plan on giving him a slot in the first place even though he busted ass fund-raising. So he goes straight there and waltzes right on in.]

Hello?

1/3

[opening_act]

[ Being nearby and not dawdling, A notices nothing strange on his way there.

An elevator is waiting for him in the lobby, which takes him up to a fully furnished floor. The curtains are drawn over all the windows, and the apartment is cavernous which is not an adjective that should apply to any apartment in Tokyo. And yet.

There is a light, levitating and writhing in the middle of the room. When you speak it shudders, eyes(?) all on you. ]

2/3

[opening_act]

[ It convulses, contracts and the raw light becomes muscles, becomes wings, becomes more mass—

no, that's not right.

it contracts again ]

3/3

[opening_act]

[ Exael THUMPS to the floor, looking a little worse for wear. She's got a bloody lip, gold ichor crusted at the side, and her skin seems kind of see-through lumiscent in places. maybe bruises.

She raises a hand to wave at him, jaunty ]

Okay, I'm ready now, start scene!

[afailedmurder]

[A was certainly not expecting this, but he remembers enough of the Metaverse to not be completely weirded out. If she's still on the floor, he'll offer a hand to help her up.]

It's a pleasure to meet you up close.

[opening_act]

[ she sticks her hand up from where she's on the floor to shake his hand before she accepts the help to be pulled up to her feet ]

I'm still so sought after, aren't I! Such is the life of talent.

[afailedmurder]

It's true. We were all very excited about the prospect.

[opening_act]

And now you're here! I don't get your kind of visitors a lot.

[afailedmurder]

What kind of visitors do you get?

[opening_act]

Not usually idols. People who live in this Tokyo, not yours. Sometimes the higher-ups and lower-downs!

[afailedmurder]

I imagine it's much livelier than ours. Is this Tokyo where our fanmail comes from?

[opening_act]

You do have a lot of fans here, after all.

[afailedmurder]

I'm glad to hear it. I imagine it's in my best interest to have them. I'd like to hope I'm doing my part for your ratings as well.

[opening_act]

I don't really have to worry about that now.

[afailedmurder]

Because you graduated?

[opening_act]

Right, execs are a bigger problem for me.

[afailedmurder]

That was an unpleasant scene after the haunted house game. Are you all right?

[opening_act]

I'll heal! I've already mostly healed.

[afailedmurder]

It's a bit disheartening to think that you can graduate only to still be pushed around. Was that the only option available to you? Is it for us?

[opening_act]

Oh, no, there's two main options but there's a lot of ways it could go.

[afailedmurder]

I'm very interested in hearing that, but first I'd like to ask: Is this conversation part of the show? Are we being watched right now?

[opening_act]

Not unless my apartment's been bugged. There's no reason for it to be broadcast.

[afailedmurder]

In other words, you can speak candidly and without fear of repercussion?