You're My Friend, They're My Friends (IC Intro)

[whimsicalism]

Whatever you were doing before, wherever you were before this moment it doesn't matter. The world seems to grow dark around you: an almost inaudible giggle floats to your year before you lose consciousness completely. Other it belonging to a child there's no defining characteristics of the voice. Maybe you just imagined it? Even if you did, one thing is clear when you wake up.

You're not where you were before. The bedroom you find yourself is plush and well decorated, almost like a fancy hotel or apartment. That might be little comfort considering that it's clear that you don't recognize it. Before you rush off to explore your surroundings there's a message pinned to the door to the hall.

From the desk of the Queen:

Hello, my friends dear.

I can only hope you enjoy your new life here. For those you stirring from sleep, this is my promise that I will keep: I will let you go if that is what you desire but the price for it will be quite dire.

For my rules are quite clear that I don't wish you to leave. Yet I will, if you can take the grief.

If you wish to know my name and the reasons to my game, meet in the audience hall for tea. Tea, yes, a grand tea party for my grand guests! Cake and sweets are what we need to meet. In an hour we both will be there, no peeking before!

Signed,

Instead of a signature, there's a small feline paw print underneath as well as some strange sort of heart crest?

There seems to be others moving outside your room. Perhaps it's time to explore, to see if anyone else knows what's going on. Don't slip on the playing card (an ace of hearts, with the heart shape replaced by the strange crest). That there's a scribbled phrase of 'dormez-vous? dormez-vous?' on the card but surely one of the others slipped it under your door.

This Castle seems like a strange place ot live in... yet for now it's quiet and peaceful, even if the Audience Hall is locked.

Comments

[xxxx_me]

Oh.

[It's like the dream worlds after all.]

I was in a different World before I came here, then. I think it was Teacher's.

[whimsicalism]

[The poor tapes have been abused enough. As for the pouch, it looks like it's more like some cloth that's been roughly stitched into a makeshift pouch. It's a nice, if old, fabric with some fluffy clouds printed on it but we all know what's in a woman's purse is very important.

Well, there's four items in it. They're rather random items, too. A fancy looking silver earring with a blue jewel in it, a a snapped string of some kind, an animal tooth, and a broken blue colored pencil.]

[strictura]

[ That's sort of like the question about where the information accompanying their portraits came from, isn't it? Whether someone put in the effort to spy on them and learn these things about them, or if they just ripped the information directly from their brains somehow.

In any case, he shakes his head. ]

I noticed the garden while I was looking around the library, but I haven't taken a good look at it yet. I'll have to see it for myself.

[ Though he doesn't doubt what she's saying at all. After looking around a little and learning a few things about the people here, he'd probably be more surprised if everyone did see the same view of Towa City. ]

Did your window show a place you recognized?

[golden_king]

Hmmm...a clue to our situation?

[ ... ]

Well, I guess this is a dead end on my account. But, if you do find a 'weird mark' on someone else's hand, I would like to know. Every little detail could be important, and seeing as you're looking for it in the first place...it'd be good to be in the know.

[soverainty]

Hmm? It's not a real castle?

[She blinks and taps a small finger against her chin in thought, looking around at their surroundings again. She'd been thinking of this castle too when she'd said refurbished, but it's not like they know exactly what the outside looks like yet. At least, she doesn't. It's... a confusing state of affairs.]

Did you see the outside already? I haven't found the way yet. So I don't know if it's supposed to be like a fairy tale, or something more modern, or both.

[battlestations]

[Yeah he is.]

Yes, I know how aging works, thank you. I've been an adult twice and hated it both times, so that isn't going to sway me to their side.

[whimsicalism]

[It doesn't look like it, no. There is a large tree in the garden, though, if she feels like some climbing.]

[theawfulaccount]

I'm also worried, but Klaus and Sunny can take care of themselves.

[ Or at least, she thinks, that is her hope. ]

[ballooncaged]

No, it's not a big deal! [Puts hand on heart.] I love—people with disabilities!!

[She hopes that doesn't sound too weird and her sincerity shines through. A detailed explanation of her reasoning would be all the more troublesome when the matter at hand is an urgent one!

His neck seems sturdy instead of bleeding all over the place, so now that he's turned around towards his body, Mizuki repositions to put both hands lightly behind his horns as she nudges the back of his skull towards the body with the front of her foot.]

Is this good?

[She's trying to get right ahead of it instead of actually lift his head up.]

[scratchitti]

Right.

["Guess I should explain then"]

...I've been snatched up like this before. And back then we had marks on our hands after getting a task. Like the Queen and her little 'meet up' in an hour. So I was checking to see if it might be the same thing.

[seventhlittlemonster]

Oh, I'm sorry! Everyone on Chestnut Street is so used to me doing this that they can see it coming as soon as I raised my hands... [He chuckled sheepishly.]

[Outside the window, the landscape was a moonlit suburb, but all the houses looked... deserted. Decrepit. Even the stars in the sky did nothing to help it feel more alive.]

That... that looks so much like Chestnut Street, too... [As he stared, tears leaked from his eyes, accidentally crying onto Manaka's hands.] I m-miss my brothers and sisters... and my Momma...

[rhododendronhoney]

That's good. [She pats him on the back a few times.] Oh, by the way, what's your name? You know mine, but I don't know yours yet!

[scratchitti]

...wait what. You were an adult?

[He reels back like Nigel might actually be a tiny grown creeper man]

[golden_king]

[ The one and only! Gil would absolutely answer in the affirmative if asked too, no matter how improbable that notion would be to regular people. It's fiiine. ]

Yeah, I think it's wrong too. The Queen really has a lot to answer to since she's the person who put all this together.

[ But, ah well. ]

Let's do our best to work together, though. We're in the same situation so there's no reason to team up, right..."Nagisa", was it?

[rhododendronhoney]

[Well. Alright then, she'll go ahead and try climbing it, being careful not to step or tug on any of the thinner branches.]

[theawfulaccount]

Perhaps? Though I think if this were a dream we could work our way out of it somehow.

[ Violet remembers vaguely someone - Klaus, most likely, but it could have been her parents - mentioning something called "lucid dreaming," wherein one can always take command of a dream one is in and shape it to their will.

While lucid dreaming is real, I am afraid that even were this all a dream, it is difficult to seize the reins of a nightmare. ]

[seventhlittlemonster]

A-Ah, hey! [He was so not used to people putting his head on for him, let alone without screwing it back on, but... Hey, what works, works.]

Y-Yeah, thanks, miss, uh... [He didn't catch her name but he will catch that American cheese cracker stuff she offered him while screwing his head tighter to make sure it stayed.]

[xxxx_me]

...

Maybe we should start by looking for a key?

[That's definitely not a random item to search for in these circumstances.]

[immaculacies]

Doing something... Well, not exactly. What I want to know is what you can see from it.

[seventhlittlemonster]

Oh! It's Seven. Ignore that I came from Room 4, I am in fact Seven. [That big red seven on his pajamas wasn't just for show.]

[soverainty]

[Oh, what a cute pouch. Wonder who it belongs to... she'll just keep it safe for now, even though she probably shouldn't be rifling through other people's things. Mysteriously waking up in a murder castle might take a little more precedence just now.

Niko will examine the items one by one. What shape is the earring? Is the string just in two pieces and is there any clue to how it might have snapped? Can she tell what kind of animal the tooth is from?]

[battlestations]

D-Don't look at me like that! I just got hit with an aging ray, okay!? I turned back, jeez.

[rhododendronhoney]

Yeah, Mom and Granny will look after Basil, and Rowen's away at college...or at least supposed to be. I guess...I'm worrying that they were also taken and ended up somewhere other than this place.

[battlestations]

I don't know about that. What kind of supervillain just asks for a ransom?

[whimsicalism]

[This tree seems to have had it's share of climbers. There's at least one jaggedly broken branch from those who weren't as careful. Now you're on top of the tree, Cori! What do you want to look for?]