WEEK 1

[whimsicalism]

Well! That was some tea party, huh? You've finally seen the faces (or perhaps the singular is more proper here?) of your captors. A pair of creepy twins seem to fit the overall theme of the Castle at least. Why not have Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum, after all?

Regardless, it doesn't seem that they're changing their minds any time soon. The first floor of the Castle is still open up to you. The Audience Hall is still locked most of the time so perhaps you can meet the Alices there if you need to. There are plenty of things to occupy your time before the inevitable slow erosion of your memories. If this is a game, who will make the first move? You or the twins?

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday

((OOC: Welcome to peace week! There will be no case this week so just have fun and explore. If you want to investigate please put Investigation in your top level. Don't forget to put threads in for regains or go to the Audience Hall to meet the Alices.

Also, if you want to keep up to date on things we now have a discord server!))

Comments

dining hall

[octopups]

[Oriko has probably seen Amdi by now, at least from a distance; it's hard to miss a gaggle of literal aliens trotting around the castle. And of course there's his portrait, with all eight of him just sitting there cheerfully under a single name. But he hasn't been super outgoing yet, and he was sitting quietly and nervously in the back of the Queen's tea party yesterday.]

[So when two of Amdi trot up to her from different directions and sniff a little towards her cup of tea while the other six of him alternately feed each other out of a set of oddly-shaped soup bowls clenched in their jaws, that is probably still pretty weird.]

What are you drinking? [Says a disembodied young boy's voice from one of the dogs' general direction.]

[prescience]

Ah, Amdiranifani-san.

[It is, actually, a little weird, especially because she can't watch all eight of him at once, given that they are in different places and she isn't sure which one she should, at any time, be looking at.

Very little seems to have noticeably taken her off guard throughout her time in the castle so far, but figuring out which dog to politely address actually seems to be flustering Oriko. She's watching the dogs eating soup so intently that she doesn't notice the snout coming towards her teacup, and actually jumps a little.]

Goodness! [Composing herself, she sighs and adds:] This is just tea. Have you had it before?

[octopups]

[Don't worry Oriko, all his canon human friends have exactly the same problem.]

[The two of Amdi actually jump a little in turn when Oriko does, and he arches his necks down and tucks one nose into a chest in embarrassment.] Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you.

Uh, um, [He fidgets a little, thinking.] I don't think so? Maybe we don't have it on my world.

[prescience]

That's quite all right. I just didn't see you there.

["You?" Is that right? There has to be a correct way to refer to one being who is also many.]

It's a little bitter. You may find that it upsets your stomach if you have too much.

[Even with that warning, however, she pours a separate cup for him.]

[octopups]

[The two of Amdi watch with interest as she pours the cup, and two more of him actually break off from his meal to come inspect this new "tea" thing.]

[One of him sniffs at the liquid with interest while another very gingerly touches its nose to the porcelain cup (and then pulls it back quickly; yep, it's hot!), and then three of him take it in turns to continuously blow on it while the fourth breaks off with two more from the soup group to go make a doggy pyramid to grab a spoon off of an untouched place setting a little further down the table.]

[prescience]

Careful! [A bit guiltily, Oriko follows up:] I should have warned you that it would be hot. You're not hurt, are you?

[Having determined that it's this one, for now, that she should be speaking to, Oriko forces herself to talk to the dog-like creatures assembling around the teacup. She willfully refuses to look at the ones digging through the place setting, though it feels a little like it might kill her not to.]

I'm...a bit jealous that you can multitask so well.

[octopups]

[The one who booped the cup does indeed turn to look at her, but it might be mostly to lift up its head toward her to show her its un-burnt nose.]

Don't worry, I'm fine! I saw the steam coming off the top so I knew it'd be hot, I was careful.

[The one holding the spoon in its mouth comes trotting back while the others from the pyramid start pulling over a nearby chair. Climbing on his own backs is a little too unstable for proper table manners!]

Haha, that's what Jefri always says. I'm more jealous that humans can be so close to each other!

[prescience]

[He seems none the worse for wear, so she relaxes a bit.]

I can think of a few times in my life it might have been easier if there was more than one of myself.

[Oriko's brain darts, perhaps ironically, in several different directions at once. But before she can drift off too far in thought, she continues.]

Can't you be close to more than one person at once?

[octopups]

[The member she's been talking to (who had been standing up on its hind legs with front paws on the table) breaks off unceremoniously to get out of the way of the ones pulling up the chair, and then the member holding the spoon in its jaws hops up onto the chair with one other totally different member. Amdi keeps carrying on the conversation with his voice coming from the spoon-holder now, as though this is a perfectly normal thing. Because it is.]

Oh, I can be close to plenty of people in this place, because nobody else here is a Tine like me. But back home, people from my planet can't get very close to each other or we can't hear ourselves think.

[There's something very subtle that's been happening ever since Amdi came into the room. Every now and again, some cup or plate will vibrate very briefly at a very high pitch, sometimes strongly enough that it will make a small an audible sound, like the way a singing wine glass might make another vibrate sympathetically. And, if Oriko has very keen hearing, she might have occasionally heard a hint of a sound that's something like the quiet whine of an old CRT monitor, or that mild tinnitus some people get when they yawn too hard.]

[Meanwhile the member of Amdi holding the spoon scoops up some cooled tea (a little awkwardly; this silverware isn't really ergonomic for Tines) and the other one sitting on the chair sips it delicately. What kind of tea is it, by the way?]

[prescience]

[It's noticeable, especially when attention is drawn to it - her own head feels so empty these days that it hurts almost all the time. Actually, Oriko places her fingertips to her temple at one particular vibration, trying to make sure it isn't illusion or hallucination or something else.]

I see. You have to have a way to keep track of yourself. So you may not ever be alone, but its lonely in its own way.

[She stirs her ow teacup with a small spoon, then sets it aside without drinking. The tea is almost certainly Earl Grey or some other tea-party appropriate blend; since she poured him a fresh cup it's warm, without any additives.]

Sometimes it's difficult for humans to be close, too. They repel each other all the same.

[okay oriko jesus christ]