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[ The last thing she remembers is being with Will, exploring the shit cave. No, really, actual shit. So, being here at all makes no sense, she has no memory of how she got here, why she's here, who or what brought her here. All of these people are total strangers. It makes literally no sense that she's here at all. This has to be some kind of crazy hallucination, right? She spends a few hours laying low, scoping the place out, exploring and trying to figure out what she can on her own. So many are just...going about their lives like nothing is wrong at all. There's a kitchen, a diner, an actual pool?? Objectively, it's a normal-ish place, which means, this is all very, very wrong. At least if her family was here, they could...figure this out together.

For a moment, there's a pang because her family doesn't include her dad now. Or does it? Will had been so hopeful, but both she and Judy were more pragmatic. Was there a chance?

Right now, though, she has to deal with where she currently is, which is stuck in some weird place. ]

So, hey, I was wondering how long it usually takes for someone's family to show up here with them?

[ Totally chill. Calm. She's really worried about her family, but admitting that out loud on the device would mean it's potentially being recorded and she can't betray her cool exterior completely. ]

There's five of us altogether. [ Dammit. Again. ] Four of us. Sort of. We were on a ship and we- [ She stops herself abruptly. ] You know what, not important right now, right? I'm trapped here and here is apparently some weird pocket dimension between time and space, am I on the right track?

Random shout-out to whoever kidnapped us, though: I'm digging the closets. Unlimited Oreos? Totally cool. Also laced with something to brainwash me probably but at least I'm going down happy.

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[ She's yet to see the downside to them being here other than the fact that being here against their will would suck, so: ]

Isn't it a little better than the alternative? For some of us, I mean?

[entreats]

That depends.

[ On your outlook on life, mostly, as far as Ange is concerned.. ]

My family is dead, and yet I still wouldn't want to see them alive again and stuck in this place. A lot of really dangerous things happen here.

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[ That's honestly surprising to Penny. But then again, what does she know, she's only been here for like a day. ]

Really? They're dead, but they'd be better off staying dead than being here? It's...that bad here?

[ She bites her lip a little, worried now.

But also- ]

Sorry about your family, though.

[entreats]

It's okay. [ Her voice softens just a bit at that. It's rare for her to hear that sort of thing being said genuinely, after all, even if she's definitely still brushing the remark off a bit so she can sweep her own feelings about it under the carpet. ]

But.. hmm, it's probably better. People tend to die in this place-- a lot. I don't know if that cycle of death and rebirth would be worth it to a lot of people.

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[ Dying frequently? That's definitely not a perk, unlike the closets. ]

...oh. Um. That changes a few things.

Has it like, basically happened to everyone at least once here?

[ That's also sort of her way of asking if she's ever died, but without asking directly because it also feels weird and a little...too personal. At the same time, she's curious. ]

[entreats]

Not to me.

[ Ange offers up that answer easily even without knowing that she was kind of angling for it - judging by her tone, it doesn't seem to bother her to talk about it. ]

Not in this place, anyway. But I've heard from a lot of other people who have experienced it, so I'd say it's pretty common. Definitely more than half of the people here have died at least once.

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Glad you haven't had to go through that.

[ And it also gives Penny a shred of hope, that maybe it won't happen to her, either. ]

But...sorry for the rest of them. I don't know how I'd feel dying and waking up here and not even being able to escape. Just stuck here.

[entreats]

[ She lets out a breath. ]

Yeah. I think you've actually nailed it there. The worst part about it has to be that you go through something as extreme and painful as that and then just.. wake up here again. As if nothing happened. And knowing you'll probably have to go through it again sooner or later.

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That's a hell of a way to torture people. Talk about a mindfuck.

[ That's language she definitely would not be able to use back home in front of her parents, so she's taking advantage of it a little for sure. ]

You know a lot about this place, have you been here for a while?

[entreats]

[ Don't worry, Penny, there's no judgement for that over here. At least not from Ange - she doesn't mention the other's use of language at all. ]

Yeah. It's been a while, but it's hard to remember how long exactly. You tend to lose all sense of time in this place. [ Since it's just.. so weird. All the time. ] I think I got here around the start of the year, so.. it's almost been a year now.

That's still definitely not as long as certain others have been here though.