SENDER: @ nefelibata | RECIPIENT: @ All

[shiftybladesofcray]

To Whom it May Concern;

Let's assume anyone capable of receiving this message is, like myself, a captive on board this train. While nothing can be determined unequivocally, I've come to some conclusions that bear weight enough to consider.

Thus far, we are only permitted to advance upon the completion of objectives as set by an unknown puppeteer. This "clownductor" assumes an affable but absent persona, and so their true nature cannot be ascertained. The motives are paraphrased below:

1. Read the Instructions
2. Message another Passenger
3. Request Friendship with Another Passenger*
4. Assist a Dog
5. Retrieve Part of Your Person
6. Collect Seeds in Exchange for Personal Information

(*Meaningful connection is not required)

While each appears innocuous on first blush, they aspire to two functions: fostering connections and gaining intelligence. There could be strength in numbers if we come together as one, true, and sharing secrets can bolster such bonds, but let's not be fooled.

There's a strong possibility we are being set up for darker purpose. If on a future car, the motive becomes:

7. Murder a Fellow Passenger

Will it not be all the more devastating after we've bonded? Without hope, there cannot be despair. Despair can breed subjugation, a loss of self and morality, a weakness of character that's easily exploited by those in power. It can breed violence.

I've seen such games put into action myself. Anyone may turn on their fellow man if the correct pressure is applied. If there are sensible people among you, these notions may have struck you as they have me. I'm sending this now as a warning.

Do not play into their hands. They control our passage through the train. They may be watching us. We cannot assume they have our best interests at heart.

Conversely, even if you are able to stay your course? Never assume your neighbor can do the same. We are each uniquely strong and uniquely weak. A miscalculation may cost you your life.

I cannot say whether this is a dream, a simulation, or an alternate reality, though the latter requires tremendous suspension of disbelief. Regardless, we cannot assume that our actions on the train are without consequence. Act with caution, but most urgently, act with hope.

I appreciate your time in perusing this missive. I understand some find reading difficult. If you're so encumbered by your illiteracy, ask another passenger to read it for you. I will not be providing summation.

Thank you.

- Fukawa Toko


****ADDENDUM: Should anyone be approached by or glimpse a half white, half black bear, DO NOT ENGAGE. Contact me immediately and I shall deal with it.

Comments

a day later, voice

[shiftybladesofcray]

[thank you, welcome to the team, I'd say we have t-shirts but this isn't a party you know

Also god, must she respond with voice? He's forcing her hand, revealing her stutter. She won't forgive this......]

L-listen. Just trust me when I say it's dangerous, okay? It's used to sow despair. Sometimes it k-kills people. Sometimes things don't make sense, but that d-doesn't make them any less true.

[sociably]

[ Wow.....this mysterious stranger is truly her new favorite person. ]

you think so? really??
what else is there? i can learn more!

text, un: lottieperson

[oomfies]

are you gonna kill the bear???

[neriticism]

[ And normally chatty rays of sunshine aren't exactly his favorite type of person, but honestly?? Anyone this jazzed to learn new things, even if it's just a phone camera, is all right in his book... :') ]

Not a doubt
K you ready for some advanced techniques?

[ Bet she is. Give him a minute. Eventually he sends over a gently vandalized goblin thing. Whose image he feels perfectly justified sullying on account of being chased up a hill with that stupid club. ]

[ Accompanying it shortly after are the screenshots with circles that lead to the coveted Markup feature. Go crazy go stupid, dear Beatrix. ]

[sociably]

[ It's beautiful, magnificent, a work of art.

She loves it. ]

that's amazing!! i can't wait to try it out
if i have any questions, can i just come back and ask you?

[cuedoves]

[ look he's not gonna judge her for stuttering.... he's gonna judge her for her weird bear statements ]

Is it some kind of spirit?

[ listen he wants it to make at least a little sense ]

[neriticism]

[ Thank you he’s not an artist in the slightest. ]

Can’t wait for you to unleash your greatest masterpiece hon

Sure thing, I’ll be here all week.

Or you know, however long we’re all stuck here.

[sociably]

thanks you're the best!!

[shiftybladesofcray]

[don't

spare sympathy???? for MONOKUMA?????????????????]

it's a robot

[shiftybladesofcray]

[okay even for someone who only recently conceded that ghosts were real what are you—]

No. He's a robot.

[How many times MUST SHE SPECIFY]

[overruns]

[ he doesn't know the art of dick pics, stop ]

Post?

[




oh n ]

It seems I owe Toko an apology...

[overruns]

[ Oh, that's fine, actually. He prefers this—letters and texts are convenient, but gauging tone and intent takes voices and faces. ]

My apologies, Ardbert. I cannot claim any expertise when it comes to using these devices...

[ sometimes you are medieval ]

But I'm happy to share what I know. They are not paintings, but rather 'photographs.' Moments captured in instant time, instead of painstakingly built up with brushes and pigment.

[overruns]

It sent. You're picking up on this device faster than I did, if it's any consolation.

[ good work, zuko! dimitri means that unironically, but i, nu the player, think he's stinky ]

[badtempered]

i mean ig if u want to u can wait like a day or two for them to calm down
they seem like kind of an asshole tbh but maybe they'll understand that ur just rlly bad with phones

[shiftybladesofcray]

[Cute. Ha! As if she'd fall for this! No one has ever called her cute, not even when she was still in diapers!

Also playing like he doesn't know how to use emojis, as if. He must think she's the stupidest girl alive to try pulling a hackneyed stunt like this!]

There! Now you've got it! 😉

[soulshard]

[ There are no trains quite like this where Ardbert's from, either. Only trollies. And while he could push past the reasons behind Fukawa's current mood, he doesn't want to do that. He can always ask her more questions about her past experiences when she's calmed down. ]

I imagine that for someone who hasn't seen the things you have, it would seem like madness or paranoia. It always sounds as if it's beyond the realm of possibility until it's happening to you.

[ He speaks from experience, but that's implied rather than confirmed. Ardbert isn't interested in making this about him. ]

As for the dog photo... it did seem as if that was a genuine mistake on his part. A good number of us have never used devices such as these before.

[soulshard]

[ Sometimes you are medieval. Or medieval with a side or airships and ancient technology. It's fine. ]

No need to apologize! I only wanted to make sure your friend got to see that adorable pup.

[ Photographs. He has no real sense of how it works, and can't help but view it more as magicks than technology, though he's certain Aria would correct him. Mayhap he'll ask her more of this later. ]

It's truly a marvel. To think we can preserve these images on this tiny devices... it beggars belief.

[shaft]

[ She has a point. Claude isn't enough of an optimist not to think of them as anything but captives here, and while he's not sure that their experience will take such a grizzly turn, it is a possibility.

And if it happened, what would they do? He's already met one passenger all too eager to slice through anyone he meets, and he doesn't know most of the people here to think they wouldn't do the same.

What a pain. ]

That's a terrible thing to witness.

What role did the bear play in all this?

[shiftybladesofcray]

Yeah...It was hard to b-believe even when...

[She'd insisted to that other guy that she hadn't been directly involved. More by omission than by fibs. Toko's not sure where she is right now, or if it's a "where" in the first place — the simulation theory is the most sound one yet — but she took a huge risk mentioning the Killing Games. Yet there was no recognition at all. Not one person acknowledged what she was talking about, or even called her out personally. If they really are oblivious it's better they don't know who "Fukawa Toko" is. They'd never accept her otherwise.

Ardbert can think she was part of the games, that's fine. The devil's in the details though, and Toko wants to drive that devil out.

He mentions the photo and she gives a long groan. He's probably right, annoying as it is to say. Half the people seem to be obfuscating stupidity, or programmed to believe they're from some C.S. Lewis knock off. Again, leaning heavily on the simulation theory here, and her present company is among that number.]

Ugh...I know. Still. That girl d-didn't have to tell me to buzz off. It's still my post, not hers.

But I'm guessing that's n-not why you're calling. Was it just about the t-train, or?

[shiftybladesofcray]

It wasn't a night at the opera, that's for sure.

The bear is the mascot for the group behind both games. They've made several robot versions of it. Some attack people blindly, others are used as a mouthpiece for the masterminds.

[shaft]

I see. [ He still doesn't know what a robot is. ]

What was the purpose of these games? Money?

[shiftybladesofcray]

[She's putting way too much faith in him, clearly.]

To sow despair. They were put on to demoralize the world.

@ ben

[onlyhope]

A trap is a distinct possibility, caution is certainly due.

However it is also likely that we are being encouraged to work together for an entirely different reason.

Take the name of the very train: the Existential Express. Isn't it equally possible that we're being asked to self-reflect?

[philandery]

I'll use this power responsibly. 😘

[ that's 100% a lie in fact he is already abusing it. ]

Sorry. Got a little distracted there. Also meant to say that I still owe you one. And I'll do my best to return the favor, if you're ever in trouble.

[oomfies]

ohhh... 😳 okay

[ A pause, ]

you didn't answer my question tho! lol