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

[ballooncaged]

[Too bad, already tagged Neku! And established that Mizuki has visited the portrait gallery with Nagisa. So here we go. Mizuki appreciating the conversational mood as energetically as she can with the heavy fog of a mass kidnapping.]

It's actually about accurate. A metal pipe's one of my favorite tools. And the Okiura family has some pretty big industry holdings.

[She hadn't been sure that she should talk about that - so she'll deflect to this... Violet.]

What about the "Baudelaires"?

[theawfulaccount]

Industry holdings?

[ How familiar, she thinks, given her experiences. Violet wonders for a moment if they won't meet this "Queen" and find Carmelita Spats in disguise, having taken after her two most recent guardians. ]

If you're looking for a motive towards kidnapping, I am set to inherit a sizable amount of money when I come of age.

[ballooncaged]

[Wow, this is actually making so much sense! Mizuki nods fiercely - partially because she didn't want to dwell on the topic of her own family.]

That could totally make sense! [She paces to other portraits a bit, pointing out Gilgamesh and Franziska.] There's a "king", another "successor"...!

[theawfulaccount]

[ When it comes to not dwelling on the topic of parents, Violet is all too glad to give it her best effort. ]

An "empress," over here. [ She frowns. ] Though I would hardly invoke the Artful Dodger to describe someone wealthy.

[ballooncaged]

Hmmmmm... But what about a tax dodger?

[Walking all the way over to get a close look at Gavroche's portrait and seventy pounds? She mouths "holy moly".]

[theawfulaccount]

I should hope he doesn't have to pay taxes at his age. I'd be worried about myself.

[ballooncaged]

Oh... Yeah...

[Mizuki's worry is rather pronounced, she's taking it quite literally for some reason. Rallying to focus on the situation:]

Then maybe there's a couple different roles in the "game". Like... They're watching all of us kill each other and the ransom needs to go through before time runs out!!

[theawfulaccount]

Something like that could be it...

[ Violet stands in thought, the gears of her mind not whirring towards invention, but towards sussing out, a term which here means "trying to understand," the construction of this game itself. ]

If I could be taken for something as simple as a ransom, though, I imagine Olaf would have tried it a long while ago.

[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.

[theawfulaccount]

[ Sometimes a man is both very terrible and very determined, which is a very foul combination. ]

I suppose not. Or something has changed about the conditions of my inheritance somehow.

[ballooncaged]

They could... have a plan to change it themselves.

[Now she's on this again.]

I mean, if money is their objective, then they'd have to set up some kind of tax shelter.

[theawfulaccount]

Perhaps. I admit I don't know much about financial management beyond what I've been told about my parents' will.

[ballooncaged]

I guess it's all just speculating. About what the other kids are like, about what our captors want, everything. Did you find anything else so far?

[theawfulaccount]

[ Violet shakes her head. ]

Nothing particularly useful, anyway. I'm still getting my bearings - I was in a shipwreck, last I remember, which is a particularly large wrench in all this.

[ballooncaged]

That explains a lot. [Mimics Violet's seaweed stripe, on her own head.] They seem to have taken us from pretty weird places - like, it didn't matter if we were with someone or anything.

[theawfulaccount]

[ Violet nods. ]

Which suggests either some kind of... teleportation, or something I don't like to think about for whoever was with us at the time.

[ballooncaged]

[Thinks harder...] I hope I'm not just running away from the truth, but... teleportation sounds pretty legit. With the people who aren't even human and everything.