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

[immaculacies]

Mm-hm! [ Manaka nods. ] There's a garden outside, if you want to go look. Everything out there is way too perfect to be real... Oh, and if you decide to try going over the hedges, it just takes you back into the foyer, somehow. There are a few ways I can think of to create an effect like that, but with everything else, doesn't it seem simplest to assume this place was made from someone's imagination?

[ Well, to Manaka, it does. ]

[immaculacies]

Mm, I see! Is that a place you know, then?

a truely unfortunate series of events

[byzer0]

I'm not the first, or are you blind too?

[ Pointing to Youji who is probably a mere several feet away and then again at Youji's profile. ]

[strictura]

[ IT KIND OF WAS, he doesn't love raining on parades or anything, but sometimes you've got to take shit seriously!! ]

Good. Whoever they turn out to be, it's going to be important that we all stand together against them and make sure everyone remembers who the real enemy is.

[immaculacies]

Yes!! [ She answers a bit too loudly, but it's probably fine. ] I mean, I think they must be... I want to confirm with a few other people first, but for now, that seems like it's probably the case.

[byzer0]

Mmhmm, mmhmm. We've learned a whole lot since the last time we did this too.

[ He gives Neku an arising look. ]

Didn't I just say? We're both Zero, who are you?

[caligulass]

Oh.

...

That sounds handy. How did they do it?

[immaculacies]

E-eh, it's okay! [ Manaka pats the top of Seven's head, almost frantic. ] I'm just not used to surprises, that's all! And I've already seen what I've needed to now, so... Why don't we just go back out?

[seventhlittlemonster]

...is it really? [He sniffled.] Well... alright then. I want to ask now that that's out of the way, what's your window like? [Now he was interested in that all of a sudden... hm.]

[battlestations]

So that's your angle. [Working together with teens!! It's Nigel's turn to think the person he's talking to is naive. The idea of cooperation is exactly why he wanted there to be more kids in the first place.]

Of course, it'd be hard to disagree with that, but these matters are rarely that easy. Do you have something in mind, or are you trying to make allies for yourself first and foremost?

[littlebratziska]

[At some point after him, Franziska throws open the door and comes into the library, glances over the selection, and scornfully turns away from the fiction section. Of course, non fiction is in a very sorry state, but she ignores the boy at the shelves as she notices the stain and steps closer to look at it, wondering if someone had spilled something and that's why there were no books left, but, looking closer...]

I-is that... is that blood??

[battlestations]

And what's rude about it? Teenagers don't like children either -

[He pauses after he looks over his shoulder at whoever talked.]

Aaand you're apparently an alien duck so I don't think I'm even talking about you. Yet.

[Man, meeting aliens already. Kind of frustrating he got yanked here before he could do any official G:KND training.]

[littlebratziska]

Are you... are you some new, experimental species of duck? Is this supposed to be a scientific facility?

[look she is TRYING to make sense of all this]

[battlestations]

Me too, but that was a pretty obvious tell, soooo.

[He gets this a lot but it is pretty wild coming from this dude, he's just gonna be blunt.]

Well, I don't know why you wouldn't be. You're really big and you look strong too. I bet you could kick tyrant butt if you got some training.

[littlebratziska]

Well, that's the point of a portrait, isn't it? Maybe... maybe whoever set this up had photographs of us, that they'd taken before all of this.

[Which is unsettling enough in its own way]

We... we could have been asleep for long enough for these to be painted, right?

[ballooncaged]

I don't know. Kind that doesn't gouge people's eyeballs out? Guess extortion is more like a regular villain.

[rhododendronhoney]

I guess it's pretty low on the priority list...but I do think homemade food tastes better. Plus I'd like to prepare snacks for everyone too, you know?

[battlestations]

Eeeew, you have someone stealing eyeballs? That's disgusting!

[seventhlittlemonster]

You mean like punching people?! I could not, I shall not! Momma told me to never do such a thing! [The concept of hurting anyone was so. appalling to him that it was almost comical.]

[ballooncaged]

Oh, I... see...

[Violet has gotten repeatedly kidnapped by this one guy? What the hell? Has Mizuki misunderstood, a word which here means "I wish I could remember a catchy alternative for misunderstood in time"?]

Maybe the people who took us don't have the full story? But they do look pretty confident with their profiles and everything, so you have a point.

[battlestations]

Seriously?

[Seems like a waste tbh!! But he won't tell him his parents are subjugating him out of fear if it sounds like he has an actually nice mom. So far it could go either way.]

...Well whatever. You don't actually have to do it, so long as you don't forget that you could.

[ballooncaged]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kind of nice to just get that acknowledged instead of either stuffed-shirts too squeamish to acknowledge it or hella creepy ABIS employees.]

Maybe even two someones. Well, with more than one potential witness here, the MO is pretty different from that. [So that's good!!]

[rhododendronhoney]

Yeah...last summer there was this whole thing with our worlds merging together and me and my friends getting called in to stop it... [A pause]

You are a Pokemon, right?

[ballooncaged]

Oops... [Seems that approach was a little rough for him. Now she knows!! Leans against the wall taking out some jerky for herself because it's starting to sink in that it's been like a few hours.]

Okiura. [Raising an eyebrow. The politeness almost makes him sound like an adult after all.] Mizuki Okiura. [Briefly putting on affectations as a joke, extending a contactless hand like a bowing hotel servant.] And you, sir?

[littlebratziska]

[Franziska had made her way outside and investigated the tree, carefully breaking off a promising seeming branch for a switch - it's not her crop, but she feels more comfortable with something. She almost drops it when a bald boy (who is shorter than her! One of the few benefits of this place is how tall the general population makes her feel) starts shouting behind her. She spins around and swings her new switch, as she would have her crop, hard.]

A foolishly foolish fool who values only foolishness for his foolish opinions would do better to keep his foolish mouth shut!!!