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

[seventhlittlemonster]

Uh... please? [He is seriously stuck and his body is grabbing at the air where his head used to be, he's on a road to nowhere.]

[undershadow]

[ Or maybe not a dream! Lena blinks down at him before registering the very obvious obstacle. ]

Dude, you're almost as tall as me without the rest of your body. Even if I picked your head up, how would I get it all the way [ and she jerks a finger in the direction of the ceiling ] up there?

[seventhlittlemonster]

Just hand it over to my body, when it has me it can do the rest! [He tried to shout.] Body, I'm over here!

[His body turned right... bumping right into another room's door.]

...It has trouble with the searching part, as you can see.

[soverainty]

Well, no, not really. Sometimes games are really into immersion, I think-- Ah, Von Karma-san...?!

[Niko blinks as she attempts to re-explain her reasoning because like, some of this is stuff she takes for granted, obviously -- even if not everything fits, enough of it fits that she's not completely panicking right away.

So she and Franziska are sort of at opposite odds here and one hand reaches out in an aborted motion to try and stop the other girl as she runs off. Oops.....]

... That really didn't work out.

[soverainty]

Well, you're not wrong, I haven't heard of Embla. But I've never heard of a place like this either, so I guess it's not so surprising?

[Does. Does that help.

She's not quite sure how to reassure somebody from a fantasy fictional faraway foreign country!! Attempts were made.]

I mean, I'm from Japan, technically.

[soverainty]

This is like looking at a crime scene...

[Judging by the dust, the damage probably isn't recent?

Are the slices through the Burton films pretty clean, or no? In general Niko probably has a good handle on what various blades and laser cuts look like, so if it was a knife or a sword or something else she'd be able to tell!

Same goes for the stabbed one, she's definitely less familiar with bloodstains, but y'know. Is there just a few drops of blood or does it look like there might have been more? Also she is totally not touching that. Unsanitary!!

Let's hope there are no more stabbed Alices, either.]

[immaculacies]

Ah, yeah... It's probably better to try and understand when you're older, anyway! Um, but it's really nice to see outside my window, so I don't really mind it, or anything...

Oh, but we were going to leave! [ She sing-songs as she hefts his head up again. ] Okay, up you go~...

[immaculacies]

Mm-hm, probably. The question is where exactly the power to do this came from. It's not out of the question that a child could have the power to do this on their own, but still...

[ Manaka trails off, humming to herself. ]

[immaculacies]

Ah, yeah, like boundaries in a game! [ Manaka isn't thinking about video games when she says it, but it seems like the point translates well enough. ] That's how the rules described it, too, after all. This whole place must have been created to be a gameboard for the Queen.

[seventhlittlemonster]

[He giggled as children were wont to do when lifted by the taller ones.]

You have such a gentle hand! You really are nice a nice lady, miss, uh... [oh boy will he ever be better off being left in the dark]

[theawfulaccount]

I couldn't say. I hope not long, I need to get back to my siblings as soon as possible as it is.

[theawfulaccount]

I'll... I can tuck it in the room I woke up in for now, I suppose.

[ And so she did quickly cache the seaweed away, a term which here means "to drop into a corner of a private room until further notice."

And as she closed the door: ]

I'm sorry, by the way, have you seen a boy with glasses or a toddler with very sharp teeth around? I'm not quite a stranger to being captured, but usually they don't grab just one of us.

[theawfulaccount]

[ Violet stands for a moment looking at the cartoon duck in contemplative silence, a term which here means "less confusion than one might expect while standing for a moment looking at a cartoon duck in contemplative silence." ]

... I wouldn't know how to answer that, honestly.

[rhododendronhoney]

Of course I want to get out of here. But we'd need to gather everyone together for that anyways, and we might as well do it over homemade food. Besides, it's probably significant in some way that we don't have a kitchen available to us.

[soverainty]

[Can't believe her meetings with both her neighbors are just kind of a general disaster area. Niko rubs at her eyes a little because there are totally tears of surprise or pain or any number of other things, take your pick in this place, and then spots the hand being held out and brightens a little.]

Oh, I just slipped. It's okay... I think.

[She'll take the hand and pop to her feet -- seems like she's limber enough, just playing cards have it out for her. The card is given a mildly reproachful look before she bobs her head, down and up, and takes in the girl that just came out from the room nearby.]

Thanks for the help! I hope I didn't scare you? The situation is scary enough already.

[rhododendronhoney]

[Okay...does the appearance of the castle change in any way as she gets nearer to it?]

[soverainty]

S-Sorry! Sorry, I... didn't see you there?

[Niko kind of trails off once she's got her bearings (still on the floor, it seems nice to stay here for a minute in case it betrays her again), but she doesn't have far to look up because there's a... small duck person... wearing clothes?? (???????) And talking. Hm.

Well, it could be worse. She raises a hand to gently knock it against her head, but she didn't hit her head, so it's just a silly gesture.]

Um. Playing card underfoot, yes. [...] You're...

[How do you tell someone they're a duck, or ask someone whether they're supposed to be a duck, or really try to duck around any other number of awkward acquaintance questions when your sudden acquaintance is a duck.]

[rhododendronhoney]

Yeah, it does look nice...I wonder how they got my appearance down so well, though. I've certainly never posed for a painting, or even a photograph like that.

[golden_king]

Mhm! First one who finds a hidden door gets 100 points!

[ He'll enthusiasically run around the area, knocking over some of the books like a gremlim whole evading splotches of blood. It's all good. ]

[rhododendronhoney]

[Whoops. Cori waves her hands, looking flustered.] Oh, no, I'm sorry I assumed! I-It's just that I've never seen a duck that looks quite like you, and Pokemon can look like all sorts of things!

[immaculacies]

[ It's fine. After all, Manaka is also a momma. ]

Aha, it's because I'm a big sister~ My name is Manaka! [ She seems to be in a lighter mood once again, as she carries Seven's head back out of the room. When she reaches the threshold of the door, though— ] Umm, do I just hand you back to yourself, or...

[seventhlittlemonster]

That is true... Maybe they're just that good at painting.

[It's not like he really understands all the effort it takes to paint, that was his second-to-eldest brother's job. Sometimes. Only when Three decides he wants to be a painter that day.]

[seventhlittlemonster]

Oh, do go ahead, miss Manaka.

[His body politely placed its hands under his head, lifting it from her hands and screwing it back on with a flourish.] Ta-da~

[golden_king]

[ Just wait until they experience the novelty of talking animals...Gil in particular was eyeing the duck one again at least. ]

That's true. Since there's a lot of kids that went missing once maybe there's even a trail to follow!

Or, hnm...maybe it still wouldn't be that easy?

[undershadow]

I mean, it doesn't have ears... so this probably won't work either.

[ She cups her hands on either side of her bill to form a makeshift feathery megaphone, then yells with some intense volume control, considering her size. ]

HEY! BODY! THIS WAY! [ ... ] Anything?