+ Chess is a Gentle-Queen's Game +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone in Wonderland!
Where: The chessboard hills
When: Monday, July 15, all day starting at 10:00 AM
Rating: PG-13 (probably)
Summary: The Red Queen has accepted a challenge from the Queen of Hearts.
The Story:
♥ ICly, characters who will act as pieces were chosen by either queen. The Queen of Hearts announced her choices to her Mirrors very directly, with an order to show up at 10:00 AM on the chessboard, ready to fight. The Red Queen announced her choices more politely, but just as firmly, with a text message sent out over the network listing her chosen pieces and requesting their assistance to protect their fellow Real things. Characters were not ICly able to respond to this message, but the Red Queen will be available after the event for questions/demands/angry rants.

♥ Those pieces who choose to obey the summons will have time to gather any items or weapons they might want to have with them, within reason. Those who don't heed the fliers will find themselves suddenly and instantly transported to their square on the chessboard when 10:00 AM rolls around. They will arrive with anything that was on their person at the time, as well as one weapon (whatever it would be normal for them to use).

♥ Each player sports an armband (since mirrors do tend to look so like their counterparts ♥), black for the Mirrors and white for the Real things, with the shape of their assigned chess piece printed in the opposite color.

♥ Pieces will find that they can't leave their assigned spots until they're told what square to move to by either the Queen of Hearts or the Red QUeen. And if they refuse to move, after a couple of moments, an unseen force will scoot them along to their new space.

♥ When threading moves on the board, please find the appropriate thread under which to comment! It might be helpful to label your thread with which moves/encounter you're playing out.

♥ Players on the board can not communicate with those in the stands and vice versa (other than by jumping around and flailing, I guess). However, players on the board can communicate directly with those in squares adjacent to them or with any challenger who enters their respective squares. Since some pieces have a lot of down time, feel free to have them chat with others on the board while they're waiting around.

♥ Directions from the Queens can be assumed. Go ahead and play out moves without them being officially announced.

♥ The plotting and info post for this log is here.

♥ For your convenience, here are links to the thread headers:
The Game - Moves 1-22
The Game - Moves 23-40
The Game - Moves 41-55
The Game - Moves 56-71
The Game - Moves 72-83
The Game - Moves 84-98
The Game - Moves 99-114
The Holding Area
The Stands

Have fun!

Comments

M!Toothless | open

[no_eels]

Toothless is pleased to find himself back on the Real side of things. Truthfully, it gets a little boring for him on the Mirror side. He misses the thrill of someone not being able to tell him apart from the disgustingly kindly Real on this side, and now his Real has been abducted on the chess board. Like a puppet.

Oh, yes, he's very pleased. Like the other dragon, though he's not aware of it, he skulks around the edges of the stands. He's a big creature in comparison to most in the mansion, and he likes to keep moving. He keeps his yellow eyes fixed on those around him.

He's waiting for someone to make a mistake.

[seekingsanity]

The fortunate thing about today is that Fuminori has some EVE in his system, which keeps everyone looking like people. His vision sometimes flickers back to normal, but he's slowly getting used to the stomach turning changes, even if they make him question his sanity.

Even with the EVE activating his tonic, though, he tends to avoid putting himself at the center of too many people. Though he's paying some attention to the chess match--there are a couple of people out there whose safety he cares about--he's paying just as much attention to the people around him, keeping his distance for the most part.

He catches sight of Toothless and starts to approach, though he's cautious. He knows he's run into this Mirror before, and that encounter has made him somewhat wary, though not afraid. At least right now he can see him clearly--that's really the only reason he knows it's the Mirror. If his vision were as it normally is, he wouldn't know that the Real thing is on the chessboard.

He doesn't speak as he takes a few steps closer, waiting to see what kind of reception he'll get before he tries anything that familiar.

[no_eels]

He remembers this one. Their little altercation in the kitchen, and how timid and odd he is. Toothless freezes in place a moment upon spotting him, and then a thought lodges itself into his mind. The Night Fury would smirk, were he capable. He isn't, so he sits down, glad that they're somewhat isolated at the moment. He doesn't want to make his Queen look bad close to the board, but he's not going to back down from having some fun. No way.

[seekingsanity]

Fuminori takes that as an invitation to come closer. This dragon is aggressive, he remembers, but he didn't actually hurt him the last time they met. It might be worth a second try.

"Are you enjoying being on this side?"

[no_eels]

Toothless nods slowly, ears deliberately forward to make himself look friendlier, his back arching like a ferret as Fuminori comes closer. Maybe he should thank the "Real" dragon for making his stalking even easier. Truth be told, though, he'd be much happier ripping the other Night Fury to shreds. Being over here is interesting, at the very least.

[seekingsanity]

"...But it seems like you don't like the crowd much." He was avoiding them, after all. Fuminori could understand that.

[no_eels]

Being in a crowd of Vikings makes it easier for them to hurt you, to surround you and catch you. The Night Fury knows this from experience. He shakes his head in regard to the question — claws digging into the ground a little as he watches Fuminori like a black, leathery hawk.

[seekingsanity]

"Me neither."

Fuminori crouches, one hand flat against the ground, as he tends to do when he's around Toothless.

"But I guess we don't really have a choice this time."

[no_eels]

A flash runs through Toothless' gaze, a sharp twitch in his head in Fuminori's direction. He almost nods, instead, as they certainly didn't have a choice — but the dragon is going to take advantage of the situation as much as possible, after all. A flash of fang and a soft growl is all that heralds a lunge in the Real-Viking's direction, as Toothless snaps his jaws at his closest leg.

[seekingsanity]

Fuminori has time to jerk his head around to look in Toothless's direction, but he isn't fast enough to get away from him. Falling flat on the ground, he feels Toothless's jaws close around one leg and instinctively kicks at the dragon's head with the other, biting back a yell of pain and smothering it.

[no_eels]

Toothless tightens his jaws, the eye on the side of his head being kicked closing. Overall, he looks fairly smug as he takes one step back, trying to take Fuminori with him, and then shakes his head back and forth like a dog with a chew toy. He can taste blood already, and it's making his heart pound faster.

[seekingsanity]

Despite being whipped back and forth like that, Fuminori claws at the ground, groping for anything he can use as a weapon. Their location is unfortunate, in that respect: there isn't really anything in the hills that he could use if he could get his hands on it.

His vision flickers for a moment in and out of the macabre array that's normal for him, and he goes still, closing his eyes.

[no_eels]

Prey that doesn't struggle is completely uninteresting to Toothless. He pauses, not letting go but taking his measure of just how still the Viking has gone. Does shaking really affect him that much, or is he pretending to be unconscious? The longer this goes on, the more in danger he is of being noticed by other Reals. They'll surely come to their side's aid.

Finally, jaws clenching down even harder, he flings Fuminori forward by his leg as a test.

[seekingsanity]

The second Fuminori hits the ground, he's trying to scramble to his feet. It isn't graceful or even successful--he can only manage to get to his knees--but his eyes are open and his chest is heaving, ready to fight or flee, whichever he's capable of at the moment.

[no_eels]

Toothless gives an excited little snort. Prey that can play games! He's hit the jackpot, clearly. He crouches down, claws digging into the ground, and waits for Fuminori to move, tensed and ready to go. Behind him, his tail lashes like an angry cat's. All of his teeth are bared as he watches the Viking.

[seekingsanity]

Fuminori freezes except for his breathing, staring at Toothless, trying to guess what he's going to do. He can feel his pulse in his leg where he was bitten and it makes him very aware of how ill-equipped he is to fight off a dragon.

His eyes dart away, giving away his trajectory before he launches himself to one side in a stumbling sprint.

[no_eels]

Letting out a ferocious snarl, Toothless starts forward after him. His back arches up as he moves, dancing to the side, watching where the Viking goes but making no move to block him. He's curious where Fuminori is headed.

[seekingsanity]

Away is the only way to describe Fuminori's goal. He can tell Toothless is playing with him--he could have caught him quickly if he'd wanted to--so he dashes for the stands. If he can get into the space under them it might slow Toothless down enough for him to manage to flee even with a bum leg.

[no_eels]

Closer to the stands presents a danger of being ganged up on, but Toothless follows at a slow trot. It's just another method of taunting him, of playing with him. He has no intention of killing him or maiming him further, among all the other denizens of both sides of the mansion. He snorts quietly under his breath in savage amusement, baring his teeth at the retreating Viking in front of him.

[seekingsanity]

Fuminori doesn't stop running until his leg gives out and he falls in the grass. He pushes himself up quickly, looking back to see if Toothless is going to continue his pursuit.

[no_eels]

Pleased-looking, eyes wide, Toothless draws to a halt and simply watches Fuminori as they stare at each other over the distance of a few scant feet. He could easily move forward and attack again, but they're closer to all of the other Vikings now. That would be risky, and not as much fun as catching him away.

He growls softly in the back of his throat, as if reminding the Viking of this fact, before slowly turning and heading back where they'd come. He's had his fun.

[seekingsanity]

Fuminori is acutely aware that he only escaped because Toothless decided it would be that way. For several moments he remains frozen in the grass, making sure the dragon isn't going to come back, before he struggles to his feet to escape to the relative safety of the crowd. As much as he dislikes being around other people, it might be a better choice than wandering around the fringes.