Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 1

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There was a theme park in Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop #7: The Carnival Caper. Sirs, I gotta say, I liked that one a whole lot better. NAVIGATION Click here for the RNG thread! 1. IL PRIGIONIERO: WELCOME TO CORMANTHOR A. A CRASH BETWEEN TWO FERNS Lucretia has given the orders and locale for the next Grand Relic to be reclaimed and destroyed, a task that will present itself with many new and weird dangers that the Reclaimers haven't come across before. For anyone looking to brush up on their history of Myth Drannor, the Netheril, and the forest of Cormanthor, some of you have already learned a great deal of what occurred here, in bits and pieces. Leon, the Artificer of the Bureau of Balance, had described the tale of a very unfortunate city facing a major energy crisis that was bleeding out the land. You've already met the culprit behind one of the worst decisions humanity has ever made (Spoiler: it's Karsus, a god-tier shit wizard who sacrificed himself to get some of you out of dodge back in Lyrabar), and seen the destruction, first hand, of what happened to the Netheril via the events of Vista Virs. Phew, that's a lot of lore to take in all at once. But as history would have it, there are always a few sides to every story, and the fall of the Netheril wasn't the only mass of land that had been affected deeply by its twisted magical decay. The forested region of Cormanthor, not far from the source of corruption, did as well. Cormanthor was once home to capital of High Elves. They had resided in a city deep within, warded carefully from the outside world, known as Myth Drannor. Today, it lay in shambles, lost forever and protected by the sickened forest that surrounds it. You see, over 200 years ago, a floating city of Netherese fashion had appeared over the vicinity of Vista Virs. A battle raged on between heroic paladins and the cult that had raised it into this plane of existence. The result of that war sent the planar magics that bound the raised city into turmoil. Its target? Myth Drannor. And what didn't destroy the city from impact damage left a far deeper, darker problem among the elves that lived there. A twisted sickness, a dark corruption, it seeped deeply into the hearts of all that dwelt there. Legend has it that the Tree of Life itself, Yggdrasil, is at the heart of Myth Drannor. But that's all ancient history at this point. No one's been able to make it deep enough into the woods to find out what really happened. Most often, they find the city of Shadowdale instead, and with that... Wonderland. Speaking of which, you'll be blasted down to the outskirts of the forest. The entire balance of magic in this area is highly off kilter, which isn't entirely new to some of you veteran Reclaimers. When a Grand Relic is used, it often leaves behind a very distinct path of destruction that makes even the most learned scholars scratch their head. Magical interference runs nigh high throughout all of Cormanthor, which makes this mission particularly dangerous. Bubbles are not able to penetrate the canopy of Cormanthor or land directly at Wonderland. As Lucretia had said a few months ago, these missions are going to get harder and come with higher consequences. She has faith in all of you to make better decisions. You're the most amazing and stalwart people she's ever met, after all. Blasted down to Cormanthor in parties no more than 4, you land somewhere near the outskirts of the forest. Look behind you, and you can see the yellow-hued mountains of the Netheril behind you, boasting a land of pure desert and its own uniquely cursed roster of flora and fauna. Pitter patter, Reclaimers. Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out." Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Back to top 2. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS B. EMPTY WOODS The woods of Cormanthor were stunningly beautiful once. Before most people who walk among these trees were born, sure — but once upon a time, this was a beautiful place. A living, thriving forest, like any other great wood. When the Reclaimers enter, however, the first thing they'll notice is the silence. Unnatural, ubiquitous, and oppressive, silence is the single unifying factor throughout these woods. The trees themselves shift, first sparse pines, then white ash and beech, and finally towering oaks, maples, and hickory. The silence doesn't change. There is no noise but the wind rustling the leaves on the trees — and as you get further in, even that begins to fall away. It will become quickly apparent that there's no animal life here. This is a forest in stasis, certainly, but it's utterly devoid of birds flying overhead, four-legged creatures scurrying through the leaf debris. No deer, no wolves, no bears. No monsters. No insects, even, if you're paying attention. Those with the ability to speak with animals will notice very quickly that life simply doesn't seem to exist here. Those with the ability to speak to plants may be even more alarmed, because while the trees and other plants do respond, their replies are sluggish and distant, somewhat reminiscent of speaking to someone suffering with a severe fever, drifting in and out of consciousness. Travel through Cormanthor's forest takes a few days' time, and so much time spent in silence begins to take a toll. Never mind the fact that no matter your Boy Scout badges, you can't forage for anything useful out here: nothing from the forest that is eaten provides any sustenance. Eat a bucket full of berries, and you'll still be as hungry as if you hadn't eaten a thing. The trees press in on all sides, and you know each one is different from the last, but after a while they all start to look the same. Some will be more affected than others. Those with a madness effect (RNG'd or chosen from the list on this mission's dossier) will begin to feel it by the end of the second day. There are infinite options of how to play with this in the frozen forest, but here are a few possibilities: ○ If you have forgotten something important to you (1), it can happen quickly or slowly. Perhaps you're camping with your bubblemates, talking about someone from home. That Greg Grimaldis, was he really that bad? the Reclaimer to your right asks. Who, you ask, perplexed, brow furrowing, is Greg Grimaldis? ○ If reality is beginning to distort (2) for you, you might become abruptly certain that you're going the wrong way. Wonderland is back the way you came. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is absolutely up to something — trying to make you look bad? Trying to hurt you? Who knows, but they're definitely up to something. ○ If you've lost valuable skills (3), they might drop out from under you at the worst possible moment. Even a forest in stasis has its hazards: pitfalls, roots that disguise holes and twist ankles, flimsy bridges that collapse and leave you hanging perilously over ravines, et cetera. Design peril to fit the skills you've lost. When you reach for your tried-and-tested knowledge, what do you know? It isn't there. You have to figure out another way out of this. ○ If you're feeling unlucky (4), guess what? The one person/thing in this whole realm that was keeping you safe isn't here right now. Everything around you is a portent of awful luck. Is that tree telling you to go die? It probably is! Paranoia creeps up on you from everywhere. Even your teammates. There's something about them that makes you certain everything's going to go to hell any minute now. C. EMPTY CITY Before you enter, you can see a town and only a town. Step across the border and you'll feel a barrier, something invisible and not quite permeable. After a pause, it seems to accept you, and your foot touches down in Shadowdale. Then you look up. You can't help but look up. Stretching so high you've got to crane your neck to see to the top is a great gold tree sprung from the center of town. You couldn't see any of it from outside of Shadowdale's borders, but the town, it seems, wants you here. It wants you to see Wonderland. This could be paradise for a while, a place to stay safe from prying eyes and protected by the vastness of the forest as the Reclaimers track down this latest relic. Except, not to put too fine a point on it, it's kind of creepy here. The whole place is empty — not everyone-got-up-and-left-in-a-rush empty, but ghost-town empty. Nobody wants to stay here, it seems. Maybe there's somewhere else they'd rather be. Regardless, it leaves you with plenty of lodgings to choose from. If you don't mind making your own fun, there's plenty to do, too: bookshops to visit, bakeries to use, butcher shops to — okay, maybe not that one. There's a courthouse, though. Who wants to play Judge Judy? Consider any shop or government building one might find in a small town to be fair game. After a few hours, though, it becomes clear that this place isn't quite empty after all. You aren't the only ones investigating. D. A FAMILIAR FACE (OR TWO) ○ The first face you see is a friendly one. Upon seeing the bracer on your wrist, Matthew Hollyweather walks right up to you, all the more readily if he remembers your face from New New Aspen. Despite the setting, he's clearly and genuinely pleased to see Reclaimers here. To those he's met before, he's eager to share all the positive change going on in New New Aspen: the newfound peace, the booming economy, pictures of one bajillion bouncing new spider-nieces-and-nephews. To those new to him, he introduces himself as Mayor Hollyweather of New New Aspen with just enough good-natured self-derision in his tone that he comes off as authoritative but kind of embarrassed about it. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he's been here a while — a few weeks, perhaps, more than long enough to get kind of lonely. Matthew's only company so far has been that kid, who's nice enough, but only showed up a couple days ago. And why is Matthew here? Well, that's where he stops being quite so much of an open book. He's looking for something, that's what he tells you. Something he's missing . . . and that's all. If you want to know more, you're going to roll for it. Everyone can get information from Matthew, but if you were present for the New Aspen mission, you'll get +2 on any DC on top of your existing class or skill bonuses. ○ The kid Matthew is talking about makes himself known soon enough. Perhaps you catch him perusing the bookstore in his fancy-boy suit and spiffy fancy cap, nose deep in a tome his thin arms tremble to hold, clearly paying no attention to you. Or maybe he's chowing down on some truly unusual-looking fried concoction (where did he get that?) in the town square by the fountain, clearly paying no attention to you. Wherever you first see him, he is clearly paying no attention to you. Once addressed, he will brightly greet you and introduce himself as "Angus McDonald! I'm a little boy, I'm ten years old! Who are you? How did you get here? It's a really nice day, isn't it? It's nice to meet you!" Angus says a lot, actually. But other than giving off a strong vibe of needing to be noogied, nurtured, or both, he doesn't actually tell you much. Asking him anything is a good way to get the question turned right back on you. But then, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? If you can stand listening to him extoll the virtues of Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop for a few minutes, you might level up enough to actually learn something. Of course, you can't stay in Shadowdale forever. Literally: you can't. Every Reclaimer's feet are inexorably pulled to the entrance to Wonderland after not very long at all. The golden tree at the center of town is impossible to ignore. Step into the elevator at its base, and you might very well find yourself elbow-to-elbow with Matthew or Angus, staring as the numbers tick up . . . up . . . Carrying you to Wonderland. Back to top 3. WELCOME TO WONDERLAND E. A BEARY GOOD TIME You arrive in Terminal Square, where you can sign up for a membership with Roland and find out more about this larger-than-life amusement park. The entire theme park city seems to run on a currency known as Wunderbux- directly inscribed via magic into a stone you're handed after filling out a small precursory screening by the giant anthropomorphic bear. Gifted with some starting credits and maybe a really gaudy Roland-eared hat, depending on how much of a good Wonderperson you've been so far, he explains that certain actions in the park will add credits or remove them. He advises against owing Wonderbux to Wonderland, if you can help it. "Wouldn't it be unbearable not to be able to ride the rides!?" Yeah. You know what this guy is all about. Chutes and ladders will take you all over the various places of the park, all branching out from Terminal Square. The entirety of the complex is, at scale, ridiculously large. All throughout Wonderland, you'll be treated like a king if you let yourself be pampered. The sheer amount of gilded perfection that went into crafting this place is at a scale even larger than the Moon Base. Gorgeous fountains spouting golden water are not infrequent, stands selling food of every type imaginable pepper anywhere there's space, and often as you pass by, you can hear people having the time of their lives here. F. PLAY WITH ME IN THE SPACE! There's so much to do in Wonderland. So much. Honestly, you wouldn't be the first to say it's overwhelming. That's part of the fun! Wonderland sweeps you away with all of the fun it brings. We could fill pages with the wonders in Wonderland, but why don't we stick with a few highlights and let you fill in the rest? ○ Wonder Square: When you first enter the confines of Wonder Square, you'll notice it looks and feels sort of like a casino... minus the strong and pungent smells that usually accompany those types of areas, typically. The wide birth of the room overlooks a beautiful vantage point of the top of Cormanthor's forest; pale greens look out into a sea of leaves for miles on end, as if the rest of the world doesn't exist outside of Wonderland itself. And why would you think it does, when you're here? Tables are set up for games, games, and- you guessed it- more games. Arm wrestle against a machine to test your strength. Shoot hoops into a basketball for 60 seconds. Engage in a few games of chance: Queen's Call is particularly abundant in this area. You'll notice this is where Maria can most likely be found, surveying the area like a snake mother, carefully winding herself around the pit and ensuring that no one is up to anything less than pure, unadulterated fun around these parts. You can do you best to scam a few extra Wonderbux here, either through legitimate play at any number of the machines present, or otherwise through less than scrupulous means. Don't get caught, though... it never ends up quite well. Dodging in and out of the crowds of Wonder Square, often charging forward and giving his best at a VR simulation of as snowboarding game, you might find Niel here as well. He's awfully energetic, a typical cornerstone of youth in the midst of a truly killer arcade. One thing you might notice, or might... not notice? Every now and then you might look at someone one moment, enjoying themselves thoroughly or getting a little deep into the game they play. You blink, and suddenly they're gone. And so is the recollection of events that've happened the entire last hour of your life. Something tells you not to question it, deep down. If you could only remember what they looked like... or the fact that they were even here to begin with. Oh well, there are games to be had. Might want to head on over somewhere else. We hear Event Square has a ton of live entertainment for you to check out. Some people are even saying that there's a cactus like creature performing Jazz tonight! Now that's something you've never seen before! ○ Round Square: How did you end up in this luxurious tram? It's truly fantastic. Wheeling around the entirety of Wonderland as night falls, you're swept away with the romance of it all. Look at those stars! Look at that moon! You gaze fondly at the person sharing this ride with you, and— Wait, who's that? How did they get in here? For that matter, how did you get in here? You don't remember getting on this ride. But here you are, with a fellow Reclaimer and, if you're particularly (un)lucky, a native elf, too. In the latter case, it might be a good time to ask them some questions. In the former case . . . snuggle? We're not your boss or mom. ○ Speed Square: Upon entering the speed square for the first time, another Roland will ask if you got your Roland Racing Registration! Then you'll have a stamp card shoved in your hands. Going on each roller coaster gives you one stamp on your card, which you can then hand in to a friendly Roland for a beary special reward. ○ Ghost Square: While the Ghost Square has many options to take some years off your life — from haunted houses to fortune tellers to wandering workers done up in bedsheets — the main attraction here is the Hall of Mirrors. It boasts of the "longest mirror maze in Faerun!*". Inside, all the mirrors are kept polished to perfection via magic, varying between normal reflections and wavy funhouse style, but some of the mirrors might reflect something... weird. Either a friend from your home world, or a version of you from your past, or even a reflection of the person's soul. It's a fun ghost story everyone shares. *: The poster has the tiniest print of 'that we know of'. Whoever runs Wonderland has a good lawyer. ○ Reeducation Ride™: Not everyone's the funloving sort we want here in Wonderland, but there are ways to deal with that. For anyone who cheats, is rude to carnival workers, or is a persistent curmudgeon, party pooper, or fun sponge, it's time for the Reeducation Ride™. On this disciplinary ride, you are strapped into a cart that wheels in a wide circle for three hours, during which you are hugged and complimented by a slew of Roland Replicas™. Begone, sour face! Elevate, low self-esteem! Be snuggled! Be huggled! Be happy. Everyone gets in on the fun here in Wonderland. No matter how reticent one might normally be to do so, something about this place just puts pep in everyone's step. Nine times out of ten you might be the kind of person who finds rides, games, and having fun to be childish or beneath you, but guess what? Here in Wonderland, you're at least a little into it. So are the few non-natives you see. Angus is here, trying to figure out the rules of all these arcade games. Matthew is here, getting lost in Ghost Square and wandering the food court. A couple of other faces, too. Anything in the dossier is fair game for your use. But keep in mind, Reclaimers: those madness effects? They're still very much in effect. You're still in Cormanthor forest, after all. The longer you stay, the more you play, the worse it gets. Little by little, hour by hour, day by day. Have fun, kids. Be yourselves. Don't do anything Lucretia wouldn't do. Back to top 4. OOC In order to keep to our goal of providing the most personalized Wonderland experience for all of you, we're setting a limit of 3 RNG attempts per character this log. Additionally, please be aware that while more mundane rolls will have standard-level DCs (for this log, anyway), any RNG with the potential to uncover plot information is high-risk high-reward and will have a very high DC along with steep penalties for failure. As always, we will let you know of this before we roll, and you have the option to decline any roll at any time. Other than that, this is your story to write and your setting to play with! Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread. Back to top blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

RNG

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Reminders for this log:

○ No more than 3 RNG requests per character, please! In the event of multi-character RNGs, whoever posts the request uses up one of their slots; other characters involved do not.
○ Plot-relevant rolls are high-risk, high-reward. Proceed with caution.

[noblegarnet]

Once more, with feeling!

What would Ferran see if he used the Mirror of Truth on Roland?

WHAT MATTHEW HOLLYWEATHER KNOWS

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Want to learn a little more about what Matthew's doing here? Let us know what your plans are here! As a reminder, all characters have a chance of getting information out of him, but veterans of New Aspen will have +2 on all rolls.

[aceso]

Christine would ask a bit about New New Aspen since she wasn't there and be very interested since she's a newbie and learning about past missions can only help, and also offer help with what he's looking for; namely to keep an eye out for whatever it is, if he'll tell her. Any DC is fine.

WHAT ANGUS MCDONALD KNOWS

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If you'd like to try your hand at weaseling information out of this fancy lad, tell us about your approach!

[seasaltkeys]

Whether intentionally or not, Roxas's interest in those Caleb Cleveland books might have been piqued. Where would Angus recommend starting?

With rapport established, Roxas would also probably want to know what Angus is doing here? If he came with anyone? If yes, where are they? Questions like that.

audio, un: garnet

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran had almost forgotten how much glass in the skin fucking hurt. It would be almost funny how the injury was so reflective (hah) of what had happened to him back home after that vision if he wasn't shaking in pain and horror.

That'll teach him to trust any magical artifacts at all, he guesses.

When he calls for help over the bracers, the cheery voices of the Rolands can be heard saying things like "Chin up, buddy!" and "You'll warm up to Wonderland in no time!" Ferran's voice is decidely the opposite of cheery, and honestly it's a miracle he managed to hit the button to open a call at all with his hands being such a mess.]

I need-d healing on the r-reeducation ride...

[MAYDAY :(]

D-don't trust the bears... If that wasn't... obv-vious.

audio, un: million

[dialetheism]

[


Is it bad that their only thought, upon seeing this on the network, is "well that was quick"? Oy vey. ]

Do you, um, need someone to come pick you up, Ferran-san?

christine | ota, will match brackets or prose

[aceso]

{ b. empty woods }
This is her first mission, and Christine is determined to do her best. Coming down in the bubbles definitely isn't what she expected, however, and a few days in the woods begin to take their toll on her. When someone hurts themselves, she rushes over to aid them.

"Don't worry; I'm a nurse." She examines their injury, but then her face sort of goes... blank. She stares at the injury for a moment before looking up into the person's eyes. "Um, you should have someone look at that." In the space of a few seconds, Christine has completely forgotten her profession, or any medical knowledge that might help.

{ c. empty city }
Christine came prepared with her rations, but seeing how there are ingredients right here, she sets up shop in one of the town bakeries and gets to it. Soon the delicious smell of brownies wafts out of the front door and she can be found with a bowl of dough for her next creation.

"Sugar cookies or chocolate chip? I need a second opinion."

{ f. play with me in the space }
wonder square
Though she's never been much of a gambler, somehow Christine gets sucked in. The VR machines and basketball hoops are bypassed for a roulette wheel, and passerbys might stop to question why she's putting her bet on unlucky number 13. In response, she smiles brightly and says, "It's my birthday! May 13th. C'moooon, wheel. Gimme 13!"

round square
"Oh, hey." Christine says, blinking in surprise at the person seated next to her. "Have you been here the whole time? Sorry, I think I was daydreaming." Which is starting to happen a lot up here. It's so easy to lose track of time...

ghost square
The Hall of Mirrors is just a place to see yourself all stretched out into funny shapes, right? That's what Christine assumes, until one of the mirrors shows her something other than her reflection. A man, pale and gaunt lies in a hospital bed, and Christine's face drains of all color to match.

"What the hell?! Stop it! Stop showing me this! What's wrong with you?" She's yelling at no one in particular, but doing so in the hopes the image goes away.

C

[seasaltkeys]

[So Roxas might have a bit of a sweet tooth, and while he'd been drawn to the bakery out of a bit of suspicion (since it seemed to be active in an otherwise empty city), he's easily distracted. Though it's hard to miss the bracers.]

Chocolate chip. Definitely.

mccree | ota, will match brackets or prose

[mccreehaw]

{ c. empty city }
If you think McCree doesn't immediately track down a bar, you're boo boo the fool. Forget bookshops and courthouses, this is where he's at home. Helping himself to a fine whiskey, he stands behind the bar, pouring himself a drink. Looking up as he hears the door open, he says, "If you're old enough to drink where you're from, pull up a stool. If not, I only got one good eye, so stay on my left side, and I won't see anything."

{ f. play with me in the space }
wonder square
Giving him money for nothing is a dangerous thing. It's not long before McCree is sucked in to all the entertainment. He tries to get away with using his cybernetic arm against the arm wrestling machine, and if no one rats him out, he gets away cleanly with a darker green gem.

Later on, he appears beside you to say with an amused smirk, "I hear a cactus is performing jazz tonight. Sound like someone we might know?"

round square
He's humming to himself as the ride goes on, staring down at his Wonderbux gem that's still in the green, but only just. After a few solid minutes of that, he seems to notice someone else, or maybe that person notices him first. Whatever the case, he's seated beside a fellow Reclaimer.

"Hey, there. You know how long this ride is?"

speed square
He has to squash his hat between his knees to keep from losing it, but McCree is having a blast with all these roller coasters. He feels like a kid again, if all his whooping and hollering are anything to go by. As he exits one ride, he immediately heads for another.

"How many you got left to go on your card?"

Speed Square

[doubledsofjustice]

Probably more than you do.

[There's a smiling reclaimer waiting as McCree dismounts from his ride, quite entertained with how much fun he seems to be having. Actually, it is nice to see the other reclaimers seeming to have a good time- it distracts from the looming dread.]

Almost looks like you're having fun out there! [Half sarcastic, and paired with a sly grin.] You're really out to finish the card?

[ribticklers]

A; Shadowdale
[There was an ominous silence to the forest that sets Sans on edge, although he doesn't comment on it. Reaching an abandoned town would almost be a relief if not for that sense of going through a permeable (semi-permeable? would that be better or worse?) membrane to actually get in. That golden tree should have been visible long before they actually stepped across the town limits.

He explores the town before the tree, in a fit of contrariness. There are bookshops and bakeries and courthouses. It doesn't look like there was a disaster, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. Or maybe everyone just moved on to a new town. Or maybe they're in the tree. He really does want to head over there...

Sans pokes around the bakery's kitchen. Everything here looks like it would still work.]

Wonder who's been maintaining all this stuff.

B; Games are Just Puzzles, Right?
[Of course Sans heads to Wonderland. Even as a skeleton with more general paranoia than he lets on and a great deal of magical experience and research under his belt, he's not immune to the charms of this place. More than anything, he's drawn to the games. They're kind of like puzzles, you see, and Sans definitely misses his normal daily overdose of silly puzzles.

He's not about to cheat, but he is about to use his own particular advantages. Which is to say, Sans walks up to the guess your age, weight, or birthday booths.]

Hey, go for it, guess my age.

[This is entirely unfair! But anyway please admire the absolutely massive stuffed bear Sans has won, because the guess was way too old.

(So if you happen to have been watching, Sans is younger than a hundred. Appreciate this knowledge.)]

C; Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
[Sans is in jail. He tried selling his food in the park. That's not a surprise, really. What's a surprise is that he got caught with enough evidence to actually end up here. He's only here for the night, but the real problem is that this place is warded not only against teleportation but against puns.]

Aren't there rules against cruel and unusual-- [Punishment. But Sans's voice cuts itself off before he can get it out. Help him.]

D; Mirror Maze
[Eventually Sans makes it to the house of mirrors. He's more entertained by the maze than the mirrors, again because of that particular puzzley feel. Still, the way his reflection warps and distorts is good enough for some jokes about bone density and weight loss, and Sans is pretty relaxed. This amusement park is way more fun than camping was, and he hasn't even gone on the actual rides yet.

He's not worried, and then he looks up at another mirror and staring back at him is Papyrus. Papyrus is there smiling at him. Papyrus is there, in the mirror, and Sans's whole brain jolts, and one fact thunderbolts in his brain: something is wrong.

Webbing blasts out in all directions around Sans, piling up over and over and over as he covers the mirrors--all of them except the one that's showing Papyrus. If anyone else is even in the maze with him, Sans doesn't seem to notice.]

[ribticklers]

[DO NOT REPLY TO THIS, REPLY TO THE TOP LEVEL. This comment reserved for potential extra prompts.]

[seasaltkeys]

[A - The Forest]

[Roxas does not like this forest.

He's not a huge fan of quiet forests as it brings to mind the route to the Old Mansion in Twilight Town, and that never brought anything good. His guard is up and he's constantly looking around. If there could just be something, anything to make a noise. His hands twitch as if he wants to summon the keyblade, but there isn't really a reason to.

It's after about an hour or two that he starts to notice something in the distance. Figures? Other reclaimers? He wants to go investigate but he doesn't want to run off alone. Normally he'd just go check it out, but it's hard to not want to be cautious now, after what happened.]

Hey, I think there's someone over there. Do you see anything?

[The shape looks vaguely familiar.]

[B - Shadowdale]

[Even if the town is empty, it's almost a relief after the forest. As odd as it is, the golden glow of Wonderland in the distance is comforting, a promise of life after the nothing of the forest. And well, Roxas can do towns. Towns are easy and he's eager to look around.]

[i - Safehouse]

[It hasn't seen a lot of use, but Roxas manages to find a small tavern. It's not very large, but looks well kept enough and there's a few rooms upstairs, plus a kitchen in the back. With the right touches, it could be homey.]

I think we might be able to use a place like this!

[ii - Bookstore]

[Roxas finds the bookstore shortly after arriving and makes a note of it. He's developed a taste for reading through the Book Club on the Moon Base, as well as his own research efforts, so he definitely comes back to it. And he's kind of glad that the town's empty in this regard. He can treat it as a library more than a store.

When Wonderland gets to be too much for him, and particularly during the week he suffers from The Jingle, Roxas can be found in here. It also seems to be a good place to ignore the ghosts that keep seeming to congregate around him.

Also Angus wasn't kidding about those Caleb Cleveland books.]

[C - Wonderland; Tramway Panic]

[Roxas hadn't really meant to get on the Tram. It just sort of happened. But it was familiar and kind of fun, since those were a thing in Twilight Town. Not that he really got to use them since they never did end up going to the Beach. And it was more likely that he was going to use the Tunnels to get to Sunset Terrace on his missions.

But he's here, and probably not sitting on the seat the way he's supposed to because there's a sky to look at and it's beautiful. Especially all of the reds and oranges of the sunset...]

It's almost as a good as the sunsets in Twilight Town, right Axel?

[And then he blinks, because you're not Axel. But Roxas could have sworn he was right there.]

...Sorry.

[ D - Wildcard ]

[Want to do something different? Hit me up if you want to plot or for a starter. Roxas will definitely be around Wonderland, poking around here and there and playing it safe. But he might be convinced to go on a roller coaster. The more gentle looking ones. He might balk at a loop-the-loop.]

B-2

[rougerebelle]

[Carmen needed something to take her mind off of both the forest and now Shadowdale. They were too quiet, even with other Reclaimers here, and while she was prepared to go to Wonderland she wanted to see what else she might be able to dig up around town.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly, but when she spotted the bookshop she decided that was probably a pretty safe bet of places to look for information. Especially when one was lacking a proper internet.

She's gotten so used to there being no people that she's a little surprised at first to find someone else already in the shop. She offers a smile and a slight nod of her head in greeting.]

You don't mind sharing all this space do you?

UMINEKO SPOILERS THROUGH EPISODE FOUR/FIVE and possibly further in threads

[epistemologies]

i. welcome to spoopdale

[Well, okay. That was a creepy forest, sure, but the worst is behind them, right? I mean, look how nice and inviting that golden themepark in the huge golden tree looks, the town must be equally inviting. Surely golden things have never been ominous or foreboding and there is absolutely no symbolism he should be super concerned about right now or anything. What Could Possibly Go Wrong.

Battler starts scoping out the town with Optimism, intending to chat up the people around here and see what they know in terms of strange happenings that Might Or Might Not Be Magic. He's a bit more open to the former these days, especially under the circumstances but also in general due to uh, recent life events. But as building after building turns out to be abandoned, and even houses turn out to be unlocked and silent, Battler starts feeling a chill down his spine.

He slumps down on a stoop in front of yet another dead (ha) silent house, chin pillowed against his arms, and grumbles.]

Phewww, okay. This place is officially creepy.

ii. it's all fun and games...

a.

[So here's the thing. Battler's understood some things since the first game. If he has an inkling of suspicion that maybe he's a little more excited to spend time here than he should be, under the circumstances, or that he loses track of time every so often, that's okay, right? It's just an embellishment, to make the experience more beautiful and fun.

Maybe in honor of a certain witch that's not here with him, he suspects the magic....but lets it seep into his bones anyway. He's weirdly good at some of the carnival games, like the crane machines--did you have your eye on a tiny Roland keychain? Or something significantly less cursed? Maybe Battler can win it for you. Or maybe you're peering at one of the leaderboards on a co-op style video game, considering potential Wonderbux rewards for a high score. A redheaded teen might approach you out of the blue, all bright grins and sunshine--]

Man that looks fun, wanna play together?

b.

[Okay but here's the other thing, though. Battler really. Really really really. Really hates vehicles. Anything that is not a car firmly planted on the ground is No Buenos, and Battler, who does not tend to think his life choices through when he isn't being influenced by magic, definitely got into a line for a roller coaster without realizing he got in a line for a roller coaster, and is now either 1) trying desperately to talk his way out of line against the Rolands who are insisting that he'll have a beary good time 2) actually on the roller coaster, possibly next to you, and screaming absolute bloody murder in fear, especially on the loop de loops.]

Oh god--Oh no, oh shiiiiiit, I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall!! Why is it shaking so much?! AaaauuuggHHHHHHHhhHh noooo not upside down, make it stoooooop, I'm gonna fall!!!!

iii. until there's people in your impossible whopper

CW FOR LINKED DESCRIPTION OF GORE, AND UMINEKO EPISODE FOUR SPOILERS

[Really, he should've seen this coming. Make a wrong move in a magic game, and everything goes to shit. He'd only meant to look around casually, an exploratory advance of his first pawn. He'd miscalculated.

In some twisted form of perpetual check, he hears it in the distance every so often. Onii-chan, it calls, and Battler takes off at a run every time, trying to reach the voice before it crumbles into a pile of meat.]

Ange! I didn't forget, I'm coming, I promise, I'm going to beat this Hunger thing and save everyone, just wait for me--

[One of these times, he might be found collapsing to his knees, punching his fist against the ground and sort of. angry-sobbing.]

Just who the hell are you?! Why are you doing this? I won't forgive you for using magic this way! I'm gonna find you, and I'll beat your face in!

[Uh-huh. Just like you were totally going to kill Beato. That's super believable. Especially when you're seemingly screaming at nothing in the middle of Wonder Square. Someone should probably, uh, fetch him before a Roland drags him onto the Reeducation Ride....]

iv. mirror mirror on the wall, who do you miss most of all

[Are you wandering this terrible mirror maze too, fellow Reclaimer? Are you currently staring down your own demons and/or lost loved ones? Well then, you're probably not entirely prepared to get bowled over by a redheaded teen with a somewhat frantic look in his eyes, huh. Sorry about that.]

--Beato?! Where did you....hey, have you seen a blonde lady with....with big boobs in a big frilly dress??? I was sure she went this way...

[And that.]

iii

[snyaiper]

[Ogata is very tired. He hasn't slept in over 20 hours, which on its own isn't remarkable in the face of his military service. It's the constant presences hovering around him that have run him ragged (and unable to sleep). Of course, he's had enough time to trouble shoot. They aren't real. Of course they aren't real. He had, improbably enough, proof of that. He had Yuusaku's bone in his pocket. He'd opened the box to check on it more times than he could count in the past few hours.

But logic can only do so much. It's certainly escaped this guy. Ogata isn't exactly a kind or charitable person, but somewhere deep down in his bitter little heart he understands. These illusions suck ass. He stops near Battler with his retinue of ill fated little brothers, dripping blood onto the ground by the other mans feet.]

You're not going to accomplish anything by yelling at a wall, you know.
[See, if questioned, he will claim the noise was simply irritating. He's resolving that situation.]

Descriptions of violence & gore

[doubledsofjustice]

Woods. (for Eleanor & Michael)

[For Mia, this has been an interesting trip, podding with two fairly new acquaintances. Really, being shot through space with anyone is still just not an experience she's used to, but hey, at least she's with people she's met before. Eleanor's actually good company, Mia's decided, and Michael fills her with questions- never a bad thing.

She's quick to get to the exit of the pod and offers a hand down for Eleanor, half-sure Michael will just teleport out (and you know what? Good methods, tbh). There's plenty of cheery/sarcastic chatter between them, as is to be expected.

Once they've gotten a ways into the forest, however, Mia grows quieter, walking a few paces behind Eleanor and Michael, arms crossed under her chest. She keeps an eye on everything around them, sometimes zoning out- but returns to listening when she can hear Eleanor and Michael speaking to each other. She has a lot to learn about them, and they clearly know each other- so listening to them will give her more information on them. Of course, sometimes that also leaves the opportunity to prompt them to speak, as Mia does while they continue to traverse through the eerily quiet forest.]

So, I'm assuming you two are from the same world-- is that right?

[A little weird, since Michael's given the impression he isn't human and Eleanor certainly seems human enough despite being as Dead as Mia is.

It's way better to think about their conversation, though, than about Mia's feeling they aren't quite alone. There is nothing living in their surroundings- except, perhaps, if they run into another team of reclaimers- and Eleanor and Michael don't seem to be worried. So Mia simply rubs her fingers against the beads around her neck, arms still crossed, and keeps her attention on them.]

Wonderland

Hall of Mirrors [CW: descriptions of light gore, murder, violence, hangings & executions... Also Ace Attorney Spoilers??? But?? Not really]

[Mia shouldn't have come in here.

The ghost square honestly seemed to be the most fun part of the park at first glance. The Haunted House had even been cute, a bit childish for someone so intimately acquainted with haunting, but a sweet effort into being scary- despite the larger of the scarers nearly frightening Mia into a defensive punch. (It's hard to stay afraid, though, once you've profusely apologized to an elf in blood prosthetics.)

But there had to be something in the hall of mirrors, hadn't there? Surely Mia hadn't just gone in on a whim and made a mistake?

In the dark of the hall, surrounded by these mirrors, though, Mia is sure she shouldn't have entered. This is the longest (and... Only) maze she's ever been locked in, and every turn shows her something she hates.

Her reflection follows her through the long hallways, but in her reflection she's different. Pale as a sheet, face covered in blood that's dripping from her head. Her eyes in her reflection are vacant, irises greyed. She keeps her eyes ahead, but when she approaches a part of the maze where mirrors surround her, Mia has no place to hide from the pale reflection in front of her.

Instead of herself, the reflection in front of Mia is of a woman about her own height but much older. She wears a cape and kimono, but her hair is cast down, her skin as pale as Mia's reflection was-- and instead of blood pouring from her head, the woman's kimono is absolutely drenched in blood draining out of a hole in her chest.

The mirror to the side Mia turns away to only shows another woman, younger this time, only about as tall as Maya but with red hair. Though her face is also similarly dead, this woman still smiles, despite the red welts & bruises in a perfect line across her neck.

On Mia's third side is a man with a similar bruise ring around his neck-- scowling. He's got a rather comical look to him-- despite this, it's his image that Mia gasps loudest at and backs away from-- immediately slamming herself hard into the mirror behind her, because this is still a dead end no matter how much she wants to get away. She loses her balance and falls on her ass, rubbing her head where she hit it-- and for a moment, when she examines her hand, she could swear the shadowy places on it were blood.

She doesn't move immediately from the floor, despite taking another gasp just to get some air in her lungs, bringing her knees to her chest and burying her face in them.

...she just needs time to regroup, is all. Or maybe a hand? Just. Give her a minute.]


Wildcard

[Wanna meet up with Mia elsewhere? Go for it! Or plot with me at love_struck or on disco with lucifine#8125]

Reserved space

[doubledsofjustice]

[don't reply to this one! Got some more starters in the works for babysis/might make starters for others.]

ota - will match tagging style

[rougerebelle]

A. Into the Distorted Woods [Limit 3]
1| Carmen had been doing her best to prepare for what may come, but there was only so much you could do to study when real world application would often laugh at such endeavors. It’s not until she steps out of the shuttle, takes in the surrounding trees and vegetation, that it really sinks in that not only is she still in another world, but that it is like anything she has encountered before.

It’s dense, like many jungles she’d been through, but that was where the similarities ended because Carmen was observant enough to pick up on the one startling fact: the silence. When you’re a thief you pay attention to your surroundings and make sure no one gets the jump on you. Most times that was in a big city or building, but even she was familiar enough with more exotic locations to recognize that she should be hearing something right now. At first she chalks it up to their arrival possibly startling any wildlife, but after walking for several hours with her group and no bird song she pauses, not moving forward. It was probably about time for a break anyway, right?

“Okay, I’m new here, but can someone tell me if it’s common for the forests of this place to be THIS quiet? There’s not even any birds singing.”

2| As the next few days pass, the lack of bird song and any sounds besides her group moving through the forest continues to unnerve her. She tries to strike up conversations sometimes, but the silence is just too oppressive and makes her want to be silent in turn. Carmen keeps to herself and takes to watching the others instead.

Something feels wrong, beyond just the silence and it grows with each passing hour. At first she couldn't put a finger on it, something lurking in the corner of her eye. You might catch her suddenly looking over her shoulder or stopping and looking up. Each time she frowns, shakes her head, and pushes on, but eventually she slides up next to you as they walk and in a low voice asks, “Is it just me, or are we being followed?”

B. Down The Rabbit Hole [No Limit]
After the silence of both the forest and then Shadowdale, Carmen was extremely relieved to find the lights and excitement of Wonderland. So much so that she didn’t think too hard about the implications of it, she was just so glad for noise outside of herself and the other Reclaimers. There was music even! Some small part in the back of her head reminded her that she SHOULD be suspicious, but it was hard to muster.

She walked towards the grand entrance and decided it was time to find out what this place was really about because clearly THAT investigation was going to take awhile.

1. Round Square| If Carmen were to try and recollect the events that led to her sitting next to a stranger on the tram ride, she couldn’t say. She was pretty sure last she checked she was heading for a completely different area. Instead she’s sitting with...well that’s a good question actually.

“Uhm...do you…do you remember how we got to this point?

2. Ghost Square| Spooky things never really frightened Carmen as a child and so Ghost Square had not been too big of a concern...at first. However, that was before she entered the Hall of Mirrors. Whether she’s behind you or ahead of you, Carmen has stopped walking and is staring with wide eyes at the mirror before her.

“It can’t be--,” she mutters. However, before she elaborates she catches sight of something reflected behind her and turns. When she looks back whatever she saw in the mirror was gone, at least if her expression is anything to go by.

3. Food Square| The Forest Fare had been nothing to write home about because it had literally done nothing for her or anyone else. It’s not surprising then that Carmen makes her way to the Food Square eventually. Carmen takes in a deep breath and can’t help but smile. “I don’t even know where to start. Let’s find something good.” Zack would definitely be making a bee-line to anything large and fried, so maybe she should do the same.

“Oh! Do you think they have funnel cakes?”

4. Wildcard Wonderland | In general it is pretty easy to find Carmen wandering in and out of different squares at different times. So you can literally find her anywhere and come up with any scenario you like. Come at me!

ghost square.

[jailed]

[ he recognizes her, from the initial arrival. and akira (dressed in a long black coat and pants, generally unassuming and 100% a rogue. and he's about to greet her when he overhears her say "it can't be." ]

-- you alright?

[ he ventures, as he takes a step forward, out of the shadows. was it him she saw, or something else? no idea. ]

[napstar]

A. Into The Woods
[ At some point during the trek through the woods leading up to Shadowdale you and Minato met up and are now travelling together. There's safety in numbers after all. You might even forget he's there But after a while this quiet and unconcerned kid starts looking more and more frustrated. Over the next hour he frowns, then crosses his arms as he walks, then kicks some rocks out of his way. Suddenly he stops in his tracks and speaks up. ]

We're going the wrong way.

[ It's been worming its way into his mind, this sensation that they were probably, and then definitely, going the wrong direction. They must have gotten turned around at some point. He's seen that exact tree before, these same rocks. Right? He must have. Why else would he be so sure? ]

B. Dunk your head in the fountain (do it do it do it)
[ A group of Reclaimers are bickering near a water fountain, arguing over who's going to test the suspiciously yellow water. Perhaps you're one of them, or maybe you were just passing by when Minato dunked his head in the fountain to test it out. After staying under for a few seconds he pulls out and shakes his head to get the liquid off, spraying some poor nearby souls. ]

It's apple juice.

[ Wow.

Of the several Rolands that came out of the woodwork to witness this, one of them hands him a towel and a gold star sticker. Uh. Is that the correct number of Rolands? Minato hasn't seen more than one before. But he blinks and they've scattered off as quickly as they appeared. ]

C. WATCH THE TRAMCAR PLEASE
[ The sky glitters like a thousand little fireflies are saying hello, though the closer one's eye falls to the horizon the more the stars are drowned out by the glow of the park. Lights flash and guests chatter all around the tramcar as it putts its way around Wonderland. The night is warm, slightly humid, and a light breeze carries the smell of popcorn and -- saltwater? Minato doesn't question it.

It's the end of summer, which is always bittersweet. But for now, for as long as this night lasts, you and Minato have this together. He sighs with content, a smile on his face, and rests his head on your shoulder. He hasn't been this... happy? Yeah. He hasn't been this happy in a very long time. ]

D. Contractual Obligation
[ Please have a lawyer present before signing contracts in Wonderland. For the past few minutes, Minato's been getting a bit antsy. What were you doing together? Finishing dinner? Browsing a gift shop? Maybe you both just got off a rollercoaster you rode together. Whatever it was, once it's a little after 8pm he suddenly starts walking away, though he's considerate enough to give a short explanation: ]

Sorry. I have to go to the casino.

[ That's a little odd. Isn't he underage? If he tries to reveal too much, he'll be affected by something on the short term madness table! : ) Feel free to message me if you want to discuss the effects. ]

Wildcard
Minato will be suffering from a distorted perception of reality (madness #2 from the ooc post). Feel free to tag multiple prompts if you'd like, or tag me for something of your own creation! I can be reached at kelories or on Discord at Kelories#6484

B

[reloves]

[ Minako was most definitely one of the people arguing about the testing of the water - or rather, trying to suggest that if someone ought to try it, it at the very least shouldn't be the cute innocent girl among the group here, what if it's poiso--!

But then Minato comes along and just.. dunks his head straight in, making Minako clam up in an instant. And immediately feeling more worried. Because oh geez, what if it really is poison and this guy is just dying right in front of them?

.. the conclusion, compared to the sudden intense burst of worry, is rather anticlimatic. But Minako still seems rather jittery as she turns to him. ]

A.. Are you sure it was just that?

akira kurusu ( joker ) | ota.

[jailed]

food!

[ akira, in a much more comfortable outfit when he wants to be vaguely intimidating, is watching the bears with a relatively even expression. he doesn't look freaked out, or bothered by them. if anything, he just looks resigned to the fact that this mission is going to be extraordinarily fucked up.

amazing.

but the more akira wanders around, the more he seems to be... investigating. it's a subtle tell, but lingering a bit too long near certain stalls and the fountain to eavesdrop (which he's good at doing, but you can almost tell when he lingers a bit too long near someone or other. talking to angus takes some time, but once he's done with that, he's back to mingling. listening, collecting. figuring out what the hell is going on.

that being said, if he catches you paying attention to what he's doing, he'll offer you some sort of food. a pepper thing. ]

It's probably not poisoned.

[ a helpful observation, right? ]

wonder square.

[ akira is (mostly) playing these games legitimately, but he may or may not be scamming at certain card games with sleight of hand. he's good at it, and honestly, better to win something better than nothing.

that being said, he doesn't linger at any one table too long. he's dumb, but not stupid, and doesn't want to get caught scamming in a foreign casino, because the last time he got caught in a casino that was relatively hostile-ish, it did not end spectacularly for him.

still! akira will be wiling to play a round of games with you, regardless of what they may be. he'll shoot basketball hoops, or play a round of cards. but while he does so, he seems to . . . double-take, once or twice. blinking, and then narrowing his eyes at a table. and the third time he does it, he says: ]

Something isn't right.

[ underneath his breath.

do you hear it? ]

ghost square.

[ halls of mirrors are always creepy, but akira is goaded into going into it by probably a weird fucking bear. at any rate, he walks through the hall and glancing around at the mirrors, not looking too interested in the entire thing before he pauses in front of one.

at first, his expression just looks surprised. his brow furrows, confused, and akira takes a step forward, his hands still in the pockets of his coat... but once he gets closer, his eyes widen, and akira immediately turns around to face whoever is behind him, opening his mouth to say something, before he sees . . . you? ]

. . .

[ and he says nothing to you, before turning back to the mirror, reaching out to touch the glass with gloved fingers. nothing weird happens, and for all you can see, it's just the reflection of akira's face, which looks about a shade paler than it usually is. ]

What in the hell was that?

[ he sounds distracted, before he takes half a step to the left, to another mirror, seemingly trying to re-enact the same effect. please stop him before he tries this with every single mirror in the longest mirror maze in faerun. ]

wildcard.

[ i am down to have akira on any of the squares, including the roller coaster, the re-education ride, and the train!! he is already taken for the initial arrival group. if you have any thoughts/want to plot, hit me up @ protestations on plurk! ]

wonder square

[gambolshroud]

[The two of them are leaning against one of the card tables in Wonder Square when Blake notices that Akira's attention seems to be drawn elsewhere once more, even if only for a moment. She catches a glimpse of that double-take out of the corner of her eye, and when he finally voices his concern, she frowns slightly, looking up from the game itself.]

Well, that goes without saying, but— what's caught your attention?

[Nothing about this place is right, but it sounds like he's caught onto something.]

[bu773rfly]

[1] through the woods

[points at the nested toplevel. go there]

[2] reality check

[Wonderland isn't real.

In, you know. In the same way that everything isn't real. An unfortunate, inevitable way that zeroes out if you think about it long enough, because if nothing is real then what is meaningful must not be real, so there's still value in this dream. In the Reclaimers. In retrieving the relic, and....dismantling....

Experiencing Wonderland?

Right. To destroy something, you have to understand it, generally. And Erika mostly destroys things, so it's nice to take the time to thoroughly understand them first.

Understanding games. Find Erika immersed in one, rapt with fascination. Try to grab her attention for any reason. Watch her turn around and blink and stare at you for a long few seconds, like a computer booting back up. Hear the fans spinning.

She whips out a permanent marker and reaches for your arm.]

Hold still.

[2.5] hold still, she said

[The same ordeal awaits those who ride the tram with Erika. More likely than not, they come to halfway through her masterpiece. What's the subject? It depends.

Or maybe you deter her early. Choose your fate, and have your new temporary tattoo chosen.]

[3] seek time latency

[Mirror mirror on the wall.

In the spirit of exploration, Erika is here. The mirrors...are having...an interesting time with it.

Static, in her vicinity, creeping into your field of view. Squint hard enough, and the static is actually butterflies. Quelle fucking surprise. There's a lot of them, more than is usual for Erika even in her moments of least coherence, a deep and swirling endlessness that is puddling merrily across the halls in the world within the mirrors and nowhere to be seen without.

Deep, swirling, descending into flashes of monochrome, occasionally leaching color from around it, even from your...uh...your, uh....

Only occasionally, though.

Erika is wandering at a snail's pace, because each cooperating mirror is showing her something a little different, and when you find her - if you find her - it could be any of a few things. Maybe this. Or this. Or this? Or maybe...well, if it's this one, she looks more than a little irritated about it. But maybe it's not any of those things?]

[4] wildcard

[hit me up @ hologramblue if you have an idea or don't. it's a wonderland of possibilities.]

fun with camping / closed to landing team

[bu773rfly]

[It's a catchall for forest bubble team! It's foresty, and bubbly.]

Aziraphale | OTA | will match brackets or prose!

[eastofeden]

Woods

For someone who so loves books and reading and calm nights with a mug of cocoa in front of a fire, Aziraphale is surprisingly averse to silence. Or perhaps it's just that he's not used to it, after centuries of living in London, surrounded by people and life and noise. This forest, with its unnatural stillness, makes him anxious, and so he's doing his best, whether consciously or otherwise, to fill up the quiet with words.

Unlucky for whoever he happens to be with.

"The Revolution - well, directly after it, really, they called it the Reign of Terror, a very apt name it was too. I got involved quite by accident - there were these crêpes, you see, can't get them anywhere else, and nothing else would quite suit. I thought I'd just pop in for a bite, and before you knew it, there I was, in a cell with my hands bound!" He pouts, rushing on without letting his companion getting a word in edgewise. "It was awful, cold and damp, and my head was next on the chopping block when suddenly..."

He pauses at last, frowning. He knows this story, of course he does, and he knows exactly what had happened next, who had arrived and frozen time to save him. Only it's...fuzzy, for some reason. He can't quite remember now who it had been. How very strange.

City

What's a little creepiness when there are bookshops to explore? Certainly no one can deny that it's better than the woods. Aziraphale brushes off the inherent spookiness of the place as best he can. He spends his days exploring the town; any Reclaimers motivated enough to set up shop in the empty bakeries and start baking will shortly get a visit from a very appreciative and enthusiastic angel, more than happy to sample their wares, and he's drawn to the bookshops as if by magnets, getting himself lost in the stacks for hours. Should someone come across him with his nose in a book, they could quite easily stand there for a good five minutes before he suddenly becomes aware of their presence, giving a jump.

"Oh! You startled me!"

Wonderland

Amusement parks have never been Aziraphale's scene, but he is nothing if not open to new experiences. The extra bit of oomph this place provides merely boosts his natural enthusiasm into pure, unbridled joy. He laughs and beams, seeming almost to glow as he bounces from one game in Wonder Square to the next. And though he loses more often than he wins, that doesn't dampen his zeal a bit. Hey, maybe rescue him before he gets himself too deep into WonderDebt?

Once he's finally able to tear himself away from the games, he finds himself on the tram in Round Square, and wouldn't you know it, he's ended up next to you. It is beautiful, even romantic, and with all his memories of a certain demon who goes too fast conveniently (or not so conveniently) faded away, Aziraphale is free and clear to smile shyly at his companion, batting his eyes and quite swept away by the magic of it all.

The Hall of Mirrors in the Ghost Square is something else entirely. Aziraphale walks slowly along, fascinated, stopping to stare every time the mirror shows something a little stranger than a stretched-out or compressed version of himself. Perhaps he's in an unmistakably old-fashioned outfit. Perhaps he's something that looks nothing like the Aziraphale you know, a beautiful but terrifying mass of eyes and feathers, constantly flapping and hovering in the mirror. Or perhaps what appears isn't Aziraphale at all, but someone else, someone Aziraphale pauses in front of, only to frown at quizzically.

"Who is that?"

Wildcard

Got something else in mind? Hit me up at butteredcups or on Discord, or jump right in with a prompt!

Ello Again - Wonder Square

[rougerebelle]

[A place like this was right up the alley of someone familiar with the intricacies of cons and scams. It was practically all VILE invested in, outside of the thievery and heists she had trained for of course.

She knows what to look for and places her bets and picks up games carefully. However, not everyone is so skilled, and that becomes blatantly apparent when she strolls by a card table and spots a familiar face.]

Oh hey, you're that guy with the fancy footwork...didn't peg you as a man of chance.

guido mista | ota

[protegge]

i. hole up kid ( shadowdale )

[Shadowdale, like the forest, is too quiet. At least it doesn’t hem him on all sides in the same way, although for Mista, someone used to the quiet bustle of city backstreets, the utter silence of Shadowdale is almost as frightening as the gloomy pressure of Cormanthor.]

[Visually, though, it’s more familiar, so he does his best to make a home base, something to suffice for the moment. He doesn’t want to be alone, and he’s up front about that:]

This place freaks me out. You wanna bunk together? I found a house that has like five jillion bedrooms.

[It’s a nice place. Not actually five jillion bedrooms, more like five, but it’s well-put-together and homey, a huge improvement over the forest floor. Except Mista keeps catching things that bother him, seems like. The arrangement of furniture and decorations, the organization of spices in the cabinets, dishware . . . Everything he touches is left in small groups of three. Three stacks of three plates in the cabinet, two groups of three glasses.]

[There’s a crash, eventually, which turns out to be him breaking a wine glass deliberately on the kitchen floor. This isn’t a violent gesture, but one of deliberate destruction; his expression is pinched and focused, anxious sweat beading on the nape of his neck.]

It — that was the fourth one. So we’re fine now.

ii. there’s a storm coming down ( wonder square )

[Mista’s in some trouble, it seems.]

[The first time he went through the hall of mirrors, he found himself frantic for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on, pushed into a corner until he felt his only option for escape was to fight his way out. Somehow he escaped physically unscathed, but he has been punished: he’s in debt.]

[So he finds himself in Wonder Square, morosely arm-wrestling a robot arm and mostly winning, or playing ring toss and mostly winning, or playing whack-a-gnome and mostly winning. However, he skirts the card games like if he goes too close to the tables he might catch on fire. Weird, that. Somebody really needs to drag him into having some fun.]

iii. you aren’t safe ( round square )

[Ah, romance! Mista’s favorite subject, other than gun. Not that he’s particularly in the mood for it right now, but if he’s going to be shoved into one ride at this stupid place, he’s okay with it being the one where you go in a big slow circle and don’t have to interact with any Rolands.]

[After the initial panic at being manhandled into fun, he settles into his seat on the tram and catches sight of the other person sharing his space before collapsing backwards with a weak grin.]

Thank fuck. I thought it was gonna be, like . . . I don’t even know. [Anyone other than a Reclaimer in the opposite seat would be a nightmare in this place, let’s be honest.]

iv. under the earth ( ghost square | max 3 )

[Why is Mista back in the mirror maze?]

[That’s a good question. He’s been somewhat cryptic about it. He asked for help — I need someone to back me up in there, in case I go crazy again — and says he saw something weird while he was in there, something he’s not sure what it even was. That’s the other reason he wants backup. It’ll be easier to figure out what’s going on, in his mind, with more than one set of eyes.]

[For a while, it goes okay. And then he turns left, and something happens.]

[From the outside, it looks like Mista’s totally lost it. When he turns left, he enters a medium-sized mirrored chamber, not a corridor. He shuffles a few feet down it, then turns left, left, left again. Moving around the room as though guided to some destination, but all there is is this one open space. He hesitates, continues in the direction that looks to him like forward: left, left, left. Ultimately, he’s walking in a square.]

Do you — shit!

[Suddenly he slams his eyes shut, covers them with both hands, letting out a hiss of pain that doesn’t seem to be relieved any by shielding his eyes. But he . . . keeps walking. Shuffling in that square.]

Where’d that come from, Jesus, that hurts — you still there? [Is that you, making that noise? Is that you, with those heavy footfalls?]

v. wildcard

[Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar. PM this journal or PP passiones for plotting. Also for that last prompt, you’re welcome to just find Mista in the mirror maze for normal shenanigans, and there’s no limit on how many people can do that.]

( closed | bubble drop )

[protegge]

A. YOU GOT GRIT ( CAMPING )

[It’s been a long couple days.]

[Not just for himself, Mista knows that much. It’s wearing on all of them, and this is real fuckin’ early in a mission for them to be this exhausted. But something about this place just hems in around them, like every time they turn away and back the trees behind them are a little bit closer, a little bit denser.]

[It’s too goddamn quiet.]

[They’re camping for the night — he got the fire started, nine months later vaguely fucking competent with a tinderbox, and it’s Alex’s turn to tend it — but he’s too occupied with how dead everything feels to remember how to make decent conversation. Except for the obvious, which has become almost compulsive by now:]

You doin’ okay?

B. THAT’S A FACT ( TRAVELING + MADNESS EFFECTS )

[By the time the sun rises on day four, things are taking a decisive turn for the worse. They’re still making their way steadily towards the center of the forest, but everyone’s getting steadily twitchier and more distracted by—]

[Well, take Mista for example. There’s something different about him. His trusty, hideous hat is not on his head. He has noticed. And while he made a brief stink about it not being in his pack, he’s gone wide-eyed and quiet now, frequently wheeling around to stare behind them the way they came. When he faces ahead, he counts the trees under his breath until he loses count, then starts over. Not a great conversationalist, really.]

[After a while, though, he can’t keep quiet in the face of his own paranoia.]

I don’t — I don’t think we should go any further. Not like this. Not that way.

[feytality]

I. Empty Woods ➤ Paranoia Feygent;

[ you're walking in the woods, out of the corner you see her -- maya labeouf. okay, no, for whatever reason, you and maya (and nick junior) are walking together. maya, though, has been weirdly quiet for several minutes, enough that you might have even forgotten she's there. ]

[ that is, until she speaks up. ]

Why are you leading me this way?

[ her voice is quiet, but if you turn, she's staring wide-eyed, right at you, as if she's looking right through you. it's probably a little unsettling. ]

[ nick junior, on the other hand, is on her head, and fluffs himself up to make himself look figure and snaps his bill at you. the bird means business!!! answer quickly. ]

II. Empty City ➤ Professor Layton isn't in this one;

[ if you too are finding shadow vale creepy and poking your nose around, you will probably run into maya. ]

[ find her in a few places: ]

[ A: in the bakery, dressed for the occasion, breaking apart loaves of bread to make an "M" for maya. what a good use of her time. ]

Welcome! Care to browse my dough-y wares? It's 500 gold pieces for anything!

[ now she's stealing sans's shtick. whatever expression you make in return at her outrageous prices, she giggles. ]

... Just kidding! But you have to admit, I pass for a pretty convincing baker. I could even use an assistant. [ that's you??? maybe. ]

[ or B; find her in the courtroom, at the judge's bench. specifically, right where he or she would be --- she bangs the gavel as you enter. ]

Order! Order!

[ there is literally no one else here this is so stupid. ]

Court is now in session for the trial of you! Do you have any evidence to claim innocence, defendant? If not.... I'll have to pronounce you guilty!

[ of what??? ]

[ or C; find her snooping around, particularly around the base of the tree (without actually entering wonderland) and the government buildings. when her eyes meet yours, she gives you a big cheeky grin. ]

You know..... if we could carve out a piece of that big ol' gold eyesore, we could sell it and be rich for life.

[ why is this her priority. ]

Did you find anything?

[ she says it like she just shared an important piece of evidence and wants one in return. ]

III. Ghost Square ➤ When will my reflection show who I am inside, etc, etc;

[ of course maya wouldn't pass up something called a ghost square, though it's a very bad decision that she'd soon come to regret. ]

[ very soon, actually. as she heads into the maze, several people show up on the mirrors. a little girl wearing the same acolyte uniform maya does, a spiky haired man in a blue suit, a woman in a kimono, and.... well, the reflection appears so quickly it's hard to tell, but a menacing looking man. ]

[ at the last one, maya's head whips around to see if another person is present -- and she notices you. there's a look of pure terror in her eyes, but there's not much time to linger on it, because she's suddenly grabbing your arm. ]

Hey, um, I think all the bears and rides are getting to me, because I'm seeing some weird things in the mirrors right now!

[ she laughs but it sounds extremely unnatural and nervous. ] Can you tell me what the mirror looks like to you right now?

[ her grip is pretty tight for such a small, shrimpy person. her hands are clammy too, ew. anyway, if you indulge her, you'll see yourself in the mirror, and.... well, if you were present for vista virs, it's legion! if not, it's just a big scary monster made of a collection of souls. nice. ]

[ one little detail, though? maya's part of those souls, all writhing full metal alchemist style as if they want to get out. she's pretty distinct in the mirror, too. cool. ]

IV. Speed Square ➤ The need... for speed;

[ so there you are, minding your own business, investigating, playing at the casino.... whatever. suddenly, she pops out in your field of vision. ]

Stop whatever you're doing!

[ she looks serious and determined!!!! what could this be about? has she found a new lead?? she points dramatically at you. ]

I need your help investigating something really important!

[ if you choose to undertake this important (????) task, maya leads you straight..... to the scariest looking roller coaster. apparently this is that super important task. ]

Come on! Let's investigate!

Wildcard;

[ hit me with anything ]

Top Level II: Revenge of Top Level

[feytality]

i. Despite everything, it's still you; cw: glass-related body horror, split consciousness (limit: 2)

[ maybe it's your first time in the hall of mirrors, or maybe you came back here for some reason! but there's a new addition. a perfect replica of maya, made of glass. nice, huh? and creepy. definitely creepy. because it's perfect, down to the details. it's sitting on the ground, face tilted towards the mirrors. as if this place wasn't unsettling enough, you feel as though you're being watched. ]

[ all of a sudden, its head turns towards you. that's a jump scare moment for sure. and then it speaks. ]

Please---

[ the voice sounds exactly like maya's, (except very small and quiet, which is unusual for maya) but she repeats the word "please" three or four times. the glass maya keeps staring in your direction, but somehow it doesn't feel as though she's looking at you. ]

Don't touch the mirrors.

[ that too is repeated, even more. what the heckie? ]

ii. Closed to Alex; cw: death

[ if alex is brave enough to resist wonderland's pull and head back into the creepy forest of creepening, he will be greeted with a truly odd sight. ]

[ animals in the forest. specifically, two wolves. one is pitch black and actually kind of scrawny and scruffy looking, and the other one is grey and bigger. both of them have the hempen rope all reclaimers receive tied around their midriffs, which is attached to.... something in a bedroll. ]

[ someone in a bedroll, actually. it's shinjiro, still and motionless and mostly covered up -- but his hair and beanie are still visible. a closer look will tell alex that he's mcfucking dead, and the wolves appear to be pulling him along like he's in a sled. ]

[ the black one looks particularly tired and worn down, to boot. it notices alex watching this bizarre scene play out, gives him a look that's tired and pitiful, and keeps dragging the bedcorpse along. ]

[ they're not moving particularly quickly, so if it's easy for him to catch up to this strange scene, if he wants to. ]

iii. Getting Yggy with it (nanananna, nanananana);

[ maya's poking around wonderland again!! but this time, it doesn't seem like she's particularly interested in the food or the attractions or winning things. it seems like she's looking for something. ]

Hey!

[ she waves to you, but she seems a little more focused than usual. still cheerful as ever, but if you're particularly perceptive, something seems different. ]

What are you up to?

[gotyourbach]

A.

[Investigation is extremely important, it's true. Kaede has been poking around where she can, but spotting a certain toy piano as a prize attracted her attention immediately. Well, how could she resist trying to play for it? And nagging some of her friends to lend her Bux in an attempt to get to that prize?

And now it's hers! She's very contentedly testing it out, sitting on the ground and playing a few childish songs on the toy-sized piano, whatever she can fit with its limited range. A little tinny voice congratulates another well-played song with an enthusiastic,] GOOD JOB, MAESTRO!. [There's a pause as Kaede stretches her fingers, then-- pop! Magically where the piano stood is now a keytar.

Or, perhaps you've come across her later, sour-faced and trying to play said keytar like a keyboard when with another congratulation and a pop! an electric keyboard stands in its place. Or the upright piano. Or the grand piano.

(One person per stage of the piano, please!)]

B.

No, you can't come in the hotel! There's no room!

[Outside a slightly-above average hotel, Kaede appears to be arguing with... a grand piano. It looks like it's breaking her heart to do it, her hand clutched to her chest as she all but pleads with the instrument.]

Look, there's an overhang, the weather is going to be fine, so just... stay here, okay?

[She takes a step back, toward the hotel door, and the piano wheels itself forward to follow her.]

Aaaaaaagh, jeez!!

C.

[At some point while hanging out with Kaede, either eating, chatting, investigating, or playing games, her eyes widen with a guilty start, then she checks her bracer.]

Oh... sorry! I have to head to work! We'll hang out later, okay?

[It doesn't matter how important what they were doing was, she has to go, and the urgency in her voice suggests that no matter what, she has to leave now.

Since when does a Reclaimer have a job working at the carnival? Pressing her for more details will result in a roll from me on the short-term madness table!]

D. wildcard!

[Want to do something else with Kaede? As long as it doesn't interfere with her job (8:45pm-midnight), feel free to use this prompt here! She'll be investigating Wonderland, trying the snacks, sneaking comfy naps on the tram, and playing her portable piano prize in different places around the park. Feel free to hit me up on plurk with any other ideas @ jaderhade!]

C

[ribticklers]

[Sans wasn't talking about anything particularly important--that's often the case with Sans--but Kaede saying she has a job is definitely enough to get him to focus.]

You got a side gig? [Since being a reclaimer is kind of a job already.]

[alethiological]

1. Sidekick: 1d4 = (1) = 1
[ That was the worst hike ever. A dying forest interlaid with the ever-present wind only he hears, swirling dust devils of pure anxiety, feeding back into him in the worst feedback loop ever. Meanwhile everyone nearby is slowly going mad in different ways. The one good side is he's used to his level of cruelty. Made for it, even. He is a reliable bastion of sanity throughout this whole woodland romp.

Eventually, there's a town. Finally. The stress goes out in one barely-audible sigh before reformatting back to focused annoyance. ]

Alright. What are we here for again?


2. Another stamp for the Wonderous Tails
[ The Roland at Speed Square is an asshole. He wants to offer a punch card, really, but they don't have lockers big enough for that prize. You'll have to rent a hotel room for the night!

Yeah? Hell with that. The bear gets abandoned to hand out more punch cards and you, the poor nearest person, get a giant dog stuffed at you. Or what is probably a dog. It is Incredibly Stupid looking. Whatever is the dumbest thing you're thinking about? This is dumber. It let's out a noise that is supposed to be a bark, maybe, you'd hope, but just ends up coming out as BORF! ]

Here. Grand prize. Congratulations.

[ Take it. The circle-dog of stuffed animals calls for you. ]


3. A lapis-framed mirror / cw: lightly flavored cosmic horror
[ Of all the various spooky stories floating around Wonderland, only one held to be infallible across the board, to have a dedicated place it appeared in. Halfway through the maze, just past the broken light bulb, is The One Fucked-Up Mirror. It reflects what you can't face, your worst fears, your true self oooooooh spooky. Whatever narrative, that shit didn't work in Persona 4. It won't work here.

Also, because ambient Wonderland-flavored brain-control, he writes it off. It's just a ghost story, in Ghost Square, everyone has one. Instead he'll fix that one lightbulb they're always using as a reference. He's tall, but it's juuust high enough to be annoying, just enough to mean he's too busy to notice The One Fucked-Up Mirror behind him. And... uh.

It's... something that can't be explained well. It has two wings, definitely, bright and clear as molten sunlight, large enough to encompass reality. Or at least it feels like they are. The rest is bits and pieces, tiny scraps that only be parsed one at a time. There's no eyes. Or two many eyes. Are they even eyes? Letters in a language you can't understand burned in old pages, rings and rings and rings of light. A sunrise wrapped around a black hole - watercolors. But you can't name the colors. It's everything and nothing at once. Gant.

It's beautiful. You also can't stare directly at it for more than two seconds before you want to run away at high speeds. Possibly into another mirror. Be careful, kids. Assuming you go for either the Running Into Mirror or Boggle Vacantly In Horror option, he'll actually stop to stare. Wait a few seconds. ......Dude. ]

Ah... You okay?


4. Blah blah wildcards
[ We all know how this goes. Message me on discord, pm, plurk, blah blah. Discord will probably be the best way to get me. Just throw an @ at your coat rack mod. In general, he's forgotten Lucretia and will be spending most of his time at the poker tables. Free booze and snacks at the casino, aww yiss. ]

Opened to 1 responder only. cw: body horror, gore, possibly angry mirrors 1v1ing you

[alethiological]

[ It's later in the week. The Hall of Mirrors still remains steadfast in being a nightmare to navigate, that One Fucked Up Mirror still spreading around in fun horror stories. Maybe you haven't seen it, maybe you've come again to try and find out what's wrong, either way. Right where the said One Fucked Up Mirror resides, there's a collapsed body. There's not much blood. It's mostly kept in by two large glass shards embedded straight through clothing.

The mirror's reflection is the more worrying thing here, at least visibly. It's generally the same description as above - some winged nightmare creature that loves you unconditionally - but you can stare at it for more than two seconds now. It still hurts, still makes you want to run, can only focus on in spurts, but it's longer. It's wrong. It doesn't move, too weak.

The two wings are replaced with stained glass replicas, cracking like frost on windows, slowly moving in ways the rest Isn't. One is torn out, or at least a valiant attempt was made. The metal lattice stretching down like black roots, invasive, desperately clinging to stay attached. But that's not the worrying part. The problem is more the stained glass looks... sick. The colors are muted, slowly melting away into a deep ashen gray. The gray descends, tinting flesh and ink and light into that same lifeless color.

A black vine pulses, alive in ways it shouldn't, giving a bit more color to the wings. This is fine. Everything is fine. ]



[ ooc: Putting this here for the cw: reasons. So! Tldr from my bad dice luck. Healing doesn't work, full-stop. Making any physical contact with the glass means it spreads onto the person. It does fade away, but there was no time frame given so o o p s. Gloves might stop it? Or not? Who knows. I have no preference who grabs it, but preferably someone who has no issues ripping out giant shards from someone's lungs. Or who wants more horror in their lives blows kiss ]

Leonardo da Vinci | Pre-Bear

[aviphile]

C | EMPTY CITY

[Something isn't right about this place.

Isn't that expected in this line of work? There's always something just an inch below the mark, a touch of gouache in an oil painting. Picking out what's wrong is like a game for da Vinci - a mental round of "I Spy" that restores the canvas of the world to its natural properties. It's what she did before she was plucked from her dying universe and planted here.

The laws of magic are different here. (but that may mean more loopholes to be exploited.) There's no grounding for Solomon to have existed in this universe. (existences may transverse universes. existences such as demons.) There shouldn't be this niggling feeling in the back of her mind, yet - yet -

Da Vinci can be found exploring the town, meticulously taking notes of their surroundings. There's something about her demeanor, though - the way she keeps glancing over her shoulder, the way she stares a little too hard at someone's face, as if trying to mine something from their features. Her characteristic smile isn't as bright. Why is she so intense...?]

Hey. [She taps her pen against her cheek.] Can I ask you a question?

E | A BEARY GOOD TIME | POSSIBLE HALLUCINATORY BODY HORROR

[Ah, but all her worries melt away when she enters the theme park. There's an allure to the rides that sweep away her underlying fears, and she's soon sporting one of those ridiculous Roland-eared hats, with three more in the bag. She merrily hums as she plays with her jewel, and it's like all the weight from earlier has lifted from her shoulders.]

Chutes and ladders, huh? This place is like one giant game board.

[She grabs for your hand.]

When do we get a chance like this? Come on, I'm not going to let you chicken out! Our charges already have a head start on us!

[... is she talking to the right person?]

Leonardo da Vinci | Post-Bear

[aviphile]

🧸 | EEYORE

[There's something wrong with one of the Rolands. For one, he's curled up against the fence, face buried in his paws. Did someone hurt him? Who could've done that to such a sweet bear? But if you choose to approach, you'll realize something:

The Roland is crying. He makes muffled, dry sobs that shake his entire fluffy body. You can barely hear him over the festivities - and thank goodness for that, because why in the world would someone be unhappy in a place like this? And as the mascot, to boot? Seems like someone needs some cheering up! Show him what Wonderland's all about!]

(ooc: da vinci's been turned into a bear. . . oops.)

[mycrosstobear]

i. Empty City

[Well, it's less unnerving than the forest was, he'll give the city that.

But it doesn't make sense. Even if everyone evacuated the place in a remarkably orderly fashion, or everyone just mysteriously decided to move all at once, there's always someone who holds out. Someone who's too stupid, or stubborn, or simply can't leave.

You don't end up with a town this empty without it having been harmed.

Wolfwood spends his time going through the houses, looking for anyone who still might be hiding here. Hiding is an operative word - he checks the attics and basements too, just in case. He's looking, he supposes, just for anything out of the ordinary. And stocking up on root vegetables from the cellars while he's at it. Shame to let food go to waste.

He'll give whoever else who may be snooping around a nod.] Met anyone?


ii. Wonderland - Food Stalls

[It may be a shame to let food go to waste, but Wolfwood's not so sure about the stuff up here. It smells good - there are too many frying onions around for it not to. He'd wandered over, drawn by the scent, and then stopped. Is it...actually safe? Sure, the food down in the town had seemed fine, but the way people up here are acting...

Hope you didn't think he's part of the line, since he's been standing here a little while now.]


iii. Wonderland - Wonder Square

[Wolfwood settled on one of the arm wrestling machines as an easy way to pick up a few bucks. Or it should have been an easy way, but he can't quite get the meter all the way up. He always ends up a notch or two short.] Oh come on.

[So this is what it's like to have normal strength? Well, it sucks. But he's not leaving until he wins. It's a matter of pride now.]

wonder square

[feytality]

[ he's got a captive audience as he struggles against the machine! maya wouldn't have any luck with a machine like this, so she does the next best thing: eat snacks and watch. very unhelpfully. ]

[ and she has lots of snacks. he's the entertainment! ]

I think you almost got it that time.

[ he did not. she's a little shit. ]

Michael | OTA, will match

[eudaimonikos]

A: Shadowdale

i. come to hell, we've got cookies

[Shadowdale may be a creepy ghost town, but at least it's proving to be a lot cheaper to live in than Lyrabar. Michael already has a free place to stay, courtesy of Eleanor, so the next problem is food. Everybody knows that fair food ain't cheap - we should try to avoid that if we can!

Which brings us to the bakery. 

The butchershop might be more Michael's speed, but the smell in there is horrific and frankly he does not want to be responsible for the cleanup. Anyway, where's he going to get more meat from? The bakery, on the other hand, still has plenty of stock left over. Shinji recently taught Michael how to bake cookies, and that turned out alright. He's good at baking! He can do this! There's a smell of chocolate chip cookies in the air when you enter, and Michael is squinting at a recipe card. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbow and there is some kind of dough monstrosity happening on the table in front of him.]

What does "active yeast" look like?

ii. i want to steal

[All these houses are abandoned, so that means it's totally cool to break in, right? 

Michael hasn't physically broken in. There's actually no sign of forced entry at all. But you might notice him through a window as you're walking around town, just sort of rooting around in peoples' belongings in one of the homes. He glances up and grins, waving.]

B: Wonderland

i. let's please leave las vegas 

[Michael is intimately familiar with hellish places disguising themselves as heavenly ones. The fun carnival atmosphere of Wonderland is not exactly putting him at ease.

For one thing, he doesn't trust these stones. His sort of demon doesn't go in for deals and contracts, the way humans so often think they will, but he's still suspicious of the concept of debt. Whoever runs this place, he doesn't want to owe them anything. He doesn't want his friends to owe them anything.

Unfortunately, that does mean trying to earn more Wonderbucks. So he's hanging around the casino, playing games here and there and occasionally sitting in on a game of poker. Wash just gave him lessons, and he's not actually trying to cheat this time. It's not cheating if he just reasons out the odds, right?]

Hey. How's it going - win big yet?

[At some points, though, you may find him standing alone, staring at nothing with a furrowed brow.]

Was...did you see something, just now?

[On the other hand, if you go looking for him after he's been missing for two days, you'll also find him in the casino. He's wandering around in a bit of a daze, holding a gin and tonic without drinking it. Classy af.]

ii. spooky scary skeletons

[But at the end of the day, Michael's generally kinda chill. After a few days, during which nothing terrible happens, it's not so hard to let his guard down a little bit. He's still sure something awful is going to happen, but why not have a little fun before it strikes?

He seems to have gotten deeply involved in the haunted house in particular. It looks like he's actually giving directions to a few of the elves who work there, pointing at things and making illusions of horrific scenes that they could replicate practically. It is, honestly, so much fun.]

Hey! Come here a minute. [He beckons at any Reclaimers he sees.] What's the scariest thing you can think of? That we can put in a haunted house - I'm not looking for anything existential here.

iii. mirror mirror on the wall -

[At first, Michael has fun in the hall of mirrors. He's got illusions, after all, and you might see him playing a little game of visual telephone with the funhouse mirrors - changing his appearance to suit what they're reflecting at him, trying to distort himself in the right way to make the reflection appear normal.

Perhaps it's a little alarming to see a stretched-out, warped Michael casually strolling through the maze, but...well, he hasn't really thought it out that much. Have fun!]

iv. - who's the fairest of them all?

[But if you run into him later, you may see a different sort of reflection appear in a particular section of the maze. It's just Michael, totally normal in dimension and appearance. He's wearing a more sober grey suit with a traditional black tie, the only pop of color being the blood. It saturates his arms up to the elbow, dripping from his hands, and splashes and sprays of red are painted across his chest and face. There's shining red bits of unidentifiable tissue on his sleeves.

The real Michael startles when he sees it, dropping all of his illusions abruptly as he flinches back against the opposite wall. The bloody reflection moves along with him, like any other reflection...but for just a moment, there's a flash of a sharp smile on its face.]

C: Wildcard

[ get me wherever! ]

A-ii

[mylawn]

[76, on the other hand, has no qualms about physically breaking in. After he gets over the slight shock of an entire town seemingly abandoned, he starts to look at it from a practical point of view--they're on a mission, and it's worth taking a look around to see if there's anything here that might be useful to them. He tells himself he's just borrowing everything for the time being. Grand Relics are extremely important, after all.

He's currently creeping around one of the empty houses when he spots Michael in the window. 76 is startled for a moment, but then he figures the guy has had a similar idea. The waving is probably a little much, but--

76 has to bust into the house the old fashioned way, but thankfully it's an easy task for someone like him. Once he's standing in the foyer, he spends a moment giving the place a once-over before he takes another step inside.]

Anything good?

[hijumpkick]

A – The Forest
[Man, were these forests creepy. Hayner’s no stranger to walking through dark forests, though the only real forest he’s walked through was the woods that led to the Old Mansion outside of Twilight Town. But while that forest had some familiarity behind it due to his and his friends’s traipsing through it searching for various mysteries, this one was just… unsettling.]

[He doesn’t have Beacon drawn, but he’s still a little twitchy. He keeps looking around, expecting to see something, but… nothing. Not even a bird chirp or an insect noise. Eventually, he’ll rub the back of his head and let out a huff.]

Man, can this forest get any creepier? It’s so quiet!

[He half-yells the comment, if only so there's some noise in this darn forest!]

B – The Town
[Out of the empty frying pan and into the empty fire… or something like that. The forest was creepy enough, but now everyone is in this ghost town. This, however, feels a little more up Hayner’s alley; even if it’s empty, he’ll take civilization over creepy forests any day.]

[Since most of the shops look abandoned, Hayner will take his time looking through them; it’s not stealing if it was left behind, right? So as he looks around for a potential safehouse, he’ll be peeking into the backrooms of shops, behind counters, and anywhere else that seems interesting. Of course, since normally this type of behaviour is frowned upon, if someone calls him out on it he’ll jump in surprise, hiding whatever trinket or oddity he was examining behind his back.]

H-Hey! Don’t scare me like that!!

A – The Wonderland
[As eerie and quiet as it was getting here, Wonderland seems… pretty fun, actually! And though he knows there’s potential dangers here, Hayner can’t help himself from trying a few carnival games. And thanks to a few lucky tries, he’s already got a giant Roland plush tucked under one arm and a couple other prizes tucked under the other.]

[He’s laughing, and honestly having a good time. If you come across him, he’ll flash a broad grin.]

Hey, look at what I won! It’s huge! Man, this place is pretty great, huh? Hey, you wanna try the ring toss game next??
[He seems really into the games! Although, if left to his own devices, he might just spend all his time playing games. How long had he been playing games? Huh…]

B

[reloves]

Hey, isn't it your own fault if you got scared by just that? You should be more on your guard!

[ It isn't really like Minako to scold someone over this, but for some reason this place sets her so weirdly on edge that the very thought of someone else not being absolutely 100% on guard right now seems odd to her. Isn't it normal to keep glancing over your shoulder just in case in a place this creepy?

(No, Minako, that's just your growing paranoia.) ]

Besides, what are you doing over there to begin with, huh?

Kokichi Oma | will match styles!

[slieght]

Wonderland

A. Games

[Of course the games are going to attract Kokichi's attention. He's just a big kid after all. He's also very, very good at them. He can be seen going from game to game, playing each one to earn Wonderbux or win prizes. Between each game though, he pauses to roll up his sleeve and write something on his arm, and then off he goes to the next. Weird.

He doesn't just play the single players though. He'll join anyone who's on a two player game that doesn't have a partner, or he'll wave down people nearby to invite them to play with him.]

Come onnnnn, I'll go easy on you! Oh, but that could be a lie, nishishi!

B. Pranks

[Whenever you're relaxing in the park, you may feel a very light tap on your shoulder. Should you turn around, nobody will be there. But there will be...another tap on your shoulder. Turn around again and there's still nobody there...this can go on for a long time if you're willing to put up with it, before you may catch the sound of snickering from behind something nearby. A garbage can, a bench, a Roland...Kokichi's small, he can hide behind a lot of things.

Or maybe you just felt something touch the top of your head? If you reach or look up, you'll knock whatever it is off, and the item can be a variety of things. Harmless stuffed toys won at the games or other smaller prizes, various foods (that have cooled down if they were fried at any point), things like that. They're never anything that could hurt someone or make too much of a mess. Though you may be subject to a glass of water spilling all over you. Again, the source could possibly be tracked back to Kokichi, if you hear his nearby laughing.

You could also possibly catch this happening to elves as well, a very spooky looking purple hand - Mage Hand for those familiar - picking on anyone with in range.]

C. Investigating

[There are times where Kokichi isn't going a million miles a minute with all of the fun too, seemingly just taking leisurely strolls around the park enjoying a snack or a drink. But he's absolutely following people during these times. Just nonchalantly, happen to be going that direction style following. He's trying to pick up what people are talking about, trying to keep track of things...with only moderate success. But now's a good chance to approach him if you aren't looking to be forced into a long round of games.]

D. Mirrors - V3 spoilers

[A spooky mirror maze absolutely needs a little gremlin sneaking around, trying to spook unsuspecting people as they try to enjoy(?) it themselves. He'll keep himself just out of sight of the mirrors his target is looking in, waiting until they seem sufficiently distracted before creeping up and shouting a loud, "HEY!"

Right behind them. Meaning, possibly, right behind you. Or maybe you're catching him in the act.

However, you could also catch him as he stares at a mirror himself with a look of confusion and vague discomfort as he stares at a reflection of what appears to be himself. He doesn't look any younger but he does appear...far more dead inside, an empty expression on the reflection's face, and fairly beaten up.]

Weird...

Wildcard

[Anything else is free game too, save for the casino since he's underage. He loves rides and will absolutely go on the roller coasters, he loves junk food and will eat nearly anything you could find in a carnival, and as suspicious of everything as he is he's also easily caught up in the fun of the park. Prompts A-C can also involve Niel, Kokichi running around with him a lot of the time, too. Feel free to comment here or hit me up at knittybitty for specific plotting!]

Closed to forest party

[slieght]

[The silence was getting to be a bit too much for him, and he was glad to see that at least Kaede was feeling that too. It didn't make him look too weak for being so affected by it.

But it also doesn't stop him from being loud and annoying to try to fill the empty silence. It started with just harmless chatting as they walked, but by the time they set up camp he's pulled out some cheap toy he probably bought at Fantasy Costco and is enjoying the clapping sound it makes.]

Hey, hey, can the rations they give us be cooked on a fire? Or are they just cold rations we have to eat as is? Does Fantasy Costco have food? I want to get stuff to make over a fire next time. We could get a pot and bring some rice. I packed some of the magic cookies though, I'll share if you guys want! They're still warm, obviously.

[Setting his toy down, he moves to unpack those cookies. Because now they sound delicious and he did just offer to share.]

Have you guys ever gone camping before? Well obviously Akamatsu-chan probably has by now, so I guess she doesn't have to answer. No wait, do we have to catch food to eat if we eat all our rations out here? And all of the cookies?

Izuku Midoriya ("Deku") | My Hero Academia

[shootstyles]

i. Into the Deep, Dark Woods

[This isn't right. There's something about this that isn't right. They're going the wrong way. He's seen that stump before. And that funny mark in the grass, he's seen that before too.

Why can't anyone see it?

Maybe because it isn't actually there. But to Izuku, it's completely real. The idea that they're going the wrong way, that they're losing site of their goals crushes down on him as though gravity itself has shifted. It's hard to even breathe.

Finally, he can't take it anymore. He finds the person nearest to him and grabs their arm firmly and starts pulling them away.]

I'm sorry but we have to stop this! We're just going in circles! You need to come with me this way!

ii. Love at First Round Tram Ride
[Wait.

How the heck did he get on this ride? He doesn't even like rides. The last time he got on a ride in middle school, he threw up on someone's shoes.

To make matters worse... he's affectionately, kindly, delicately holding their hind.

RIP Izuku Midoriya.

Turning red, he throws drops the other person's hand and flings himself onto his side of the tram, as far away from them as possible.]

Oh! I'm so... I'm so sorry! I really don't even remember how I got here!

iii. Ghost in the Mirror

[Izuku doesn't like these mirrors. They're unsettling and he hadn't found any clues in here like he'd hoped. He's just about to turn around and leave when he sees someone in the mirror that isn't himself. Someone with narrowed red eyes and spiky blond hair. He doesn't know this person and yet... he feels drawn to him. But as he approaches, the reflection of the other person moves away, down the long hall of mirrors.]

Hey! Wait!

[And he takes off, far too swiftly for someone in a house of mirrors. He darts and dodges but can never catch up to the retreating back of the other boy. He tries to make a leap for it and-

Shit you're there.

Izuku twists out of the way and smashes his shoulder hard into a mirror, cracking it ever so slightly. Not that he seems to notice or care. He just keeps staring down the hall.]

Hey...

Wait...

iv. We Don't Need No Reeducation

[Okay, so maybe he isn't exactly the sort that's cut out for theme parks. Which is probably why he's being accosted by a bunch of Rolands to go on the reeducation ride. He is, apparently, very adorable and seems like he needs some good hugs.]

N-no! I'm having a good time, I swear! I'm just... not really into gambling. Though I could definitely give it a try! I just really don't want to go on that ride. Rides make me kinda sick? And you probably don't want me getting sick all over your nice... fur?

[Someone save him.]

ii sorry deku

[slieght]

[Does he remember getting on this ride? Yes, he does. Does he remember Deku joining him? Vaguely. He's been keeping track of time as best as he can, so he definitely remembers someone getting on, but between then and now, he'd gotten a little distracted by all the lovely sights on this tram ride. He'd wanted more of a view of the park, in an investigation sense, but...well. It's not the first time he got distracted.

And he's not the only one, looks like, as he stares at Deku while the other boy apologizes. Instead of reassuring him, however...his eyes begin to water.]

S-sorry? You're sorry? Y-you don't r-remember the vows we m-made? The promise of e-ever l-lasting love?

[There's only a beat before he starts sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks as he absolutely wails.]

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! H-how c-could you?! I thought I m-m-meant something to you! I th-thought wh-what we had was s-special!!