+ The Time Has Come, the Time Is Now +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone in Wonderland!
Where: The chessboard hills
When: Monday, June 11, all day starting at 10:00 AM
Rating: R for (sometimes excessive) violence
Summary: The Queen of Hearts has declared war and the time for battle has come.
The Story:
♥ ICly, the Real Things who will act as pieces volunteered and are led by the Red Queen. The Mirrors were chosen by the Queen of Hearts without being given a choice. 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 pieces and requesting their assistance to protect their fellow Real Things. Characters were not ICly able to respond to this message.

♥ 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 summons 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). Likewise, any spectators who are not in or around the stands by 10:00 AM will find themselves transported there.

♥ Each player sports an armband, white for the Real Things and Black for the Mirrors, with the shape of their assigned chess piece embroidered in the opposite color. Royalty pieces wear crowns indicative of their status. Should a pawn be promoted to queen, a crown will appear on their head.

♥ 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 top-level under which to comment! It might be helpful to label your thread with which move/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 whose square they share. 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 waiting for a comment to officially announce them.

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

♥ For your convenience, here are links to the thread headers:

The Donation Box
Pre-Game
The Game - Moves 1-20
The Game - Moves 21-40
The Game - Moves 41-60
The Game - Moves 61-80
The Game - Moves 81-100
The Game - Moves 101-117
The Holding Area
The Stands

Have fun!

Comments

[255000255000255]

Souji!

[ Monika beams for a second before her face fades back into dismay. God, even seeing someone she loved wasn't helping right now, especially when he looked so dashing and brave. What kind of bizarro world had she stepped into?!

Oh, right. Wonderland. ]

Um. Yeah! Yeah, I'll be okay. [ She clears her throat, trying to mimic his stance. He looks strong that way, so she'll probably look the same! ] I've been waiting for this for a while!

[ That was somewhat true, but the light squeaking in her voice says she's got more bark than bite. ]

[eatsyourscience]

[He smiles a little, though it's clear how nervous she is.

The smile doesn't last, however. He'd like to reassure her, but wants to be realistic.]

It might be dangerous. But if you end up facing off against someone, you can forfeit.

[255000255000255]

[ For once in her life, realism is actually getting through to her. Monika sighs quietly, visibly deflating. At least she feels like she can talk to him about this honestly and without judgement. ]

I know.

[ She snorts quietly, though there's little amusement to it. ] I'm a little in over my head. I thought I could, y'know, be helpful on the sidelines. I'm used to reading about battles, not being in them.

[eatsyourscience]

You didn't know what you were volunteering for, did you.

[It's not really a question, because the answer is clear.]

I don't think anyone really did.

[He has a feeling that most of them were expecting something more...war-like.]

[255000255000255]

[ Despite it all, she laughs. ] It's that obvious?

[ You'd think she'd know better by now. Impulsiveness had not been treating her well. But...all the times it had made up for that, so no big deal!

Maybe not this time, though... ]

I guess I just got tired of feeling so useless. Everyone else gets to do so much and I... [ Her brow tightens. ] Well, I can't. I didn't want to let this opportunity to slip through my fingers.

[eatsyourscience]

[He moves a little closer to her, wanting to be reassuring.]

Why can't you?

[He thinks there must be some way she can get involved with things--though he doesn't fully know about her circumstances. All he's been able to guess is that she's from a video game of some sort.]

[255000255000255]

[ Normally, him getting closer would've been a dream come true for her. Today, it's just making her hunch her shoulders nervously. Bizarro world, indeed. ]

I mean, it's not a big deal in the long run! So there's really no need to talk about it.

[ Even as she says the words, she wonders why she keeps trying the avoidance technique on people. With a sigh, she drops her machete to the ground without really paying attention to where it lands. ]

It's...really complicated, anyway.

[eatsyourscience]

I don't mind listening. Anytime.

[Now probably isn't the time, but it might help take her mind off of things.]

[255000255000255]

[ She gives a half smile and quiet chuckle. ] I know.

[ There's a silence. It's almost tempting, the idea of no longer keeping her biggest secret with him. At least she'd be able to reveal it under her own terms, unlike how it'd happened with Minato. The two of them were so important to her, so it'd only be fair. She could trust them.

Mm, no. Maybe not now. Probably not ever. Still, she'll take advantage of having a willing listener. ]

Do you ever feel like, um...you should accept things the way they are? You know, stop fighting for what you think you want when it doesn't seem like it'll ever happen?

[eatsyourscience]

[He's quiet for a moment, considering how much he should tell her. This isn't something he talks about much. But...if he wants her to be honest with him, he feels he should be honest with her. At the point that stops being a two-way street, he'll start keeping things to himself.]

I used to feel that way all the time. There wasn't really anything I wanted to do or be.

[255000255000255]

[ She jerks back at his response. ] Really? You're one of the most put-together people I know!

[ And she considered herself such a good judge of character! Wow.

She fiddles with one of her jacket sleeves. Friends are supposed to be there to help with problems, right? Real friends, at least. So she should keep trying to talk! Easy peasy. ]

Well, I--I know what I want, at least. But I'm starting to wonder if I won't get it.

[eatsyourscience]

Why wouldn't you?

[He looks back at her steadily, shifting his sword so that the tip is embedded in the grass at his feet.]

[255000255000255]

[ She shrugs a shoulder. ] I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against me.

[ Kind of dramatic, but...oh, well. It was expected of her, she imagined.

Monika sighs, looking up at the sky. She wanted a moment to take it in. Even if it was stupid to hope otherwise, she had a feeling once this was all over, things would go back to the way they were. Maybe not immediately, but it'd happen. ]

...Say that--um, hypothetically, of course--that there was something really wrong with me. Would that change how you felt about me?

[eatsyourscience]

I guess it would depend on what it was.

[He'd like to say no, but past experience has taught him that it does happen.]

But probably not. Especially if it's something you can't help.

[255000255000255]

[ A small smile forms on her face. ] Okay. That's good to know!

[ There's a highly compelling temptation to leave the subject there, like she normally would. But Ryuji seemed to have a point. Talking to people really was nice. It's not like she was still stuck in her old hell and had no choice but to be isolated. This new one at least had people!

She takes a seat on the grass after moving her machete out of the way. She's not looking to stab herself, for once. ]

Can you tell me what it's like to have real friends?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji sits down facing her, laying his sword in the grass.]

I don't think I've ever had a friend who wasn't a real friend.

[He thinks for a moment of how to explain.]

Having a friend is like creating a link with another person. An understanding between the two of you that can't be shared. And you build on it a little at a time, until one day, it can't be broken.

[It probably sounds a bit idealistic.]

[255000255000255]

[ Her eyes widen slightly and a look of awe covers her face. You'd think he told her the secret of eternal life. ] That's how it's supposed to be?

[ Well, no wonder her "friendships" always rang hollow. Not that she could really consider her "friends" actual friends. Even if they'd had some nice moments together--or what fuzzy memories of them she could remember, at least--it always had a feeling of being artificial.

Ha, well. Of course it'd feel that way. It was hard to find much room in her already damaged heart to care about them. ]

So...are we friends, then?

[eatsyourscience]

[Well that's how it is in Persona-ville.]

Yeah. We are.

[He's already got a decently strong link with her, though it still needs some work.]

Don't you think so?

[255000255000255]

[ Monika momentarily looks up at the sky, thoughtful. She'll always prefer for them to be lovers, but that's not really possible, so... ]

Um, yeah! I think so! [ She smiles and gives a cheesy thumbs up. ] Friends forever!

[ Huh. Interesting. Saying that didn't sting as much as it used to.

She bites her lip, sinking into her thoughts again. This sort of thing actually sounded familiar. She kept getting vague memories of some sort of sleepover, but they remained out of her grasp. Frustrating. ]

Sorry to kind of bring this out of left field, by the way. I thought I knew what having friends was, but I'm learning that I honestly don't. Or maybe I do...?

[ Her brow tightens. ] I wish I could remember.

[eatsyourscience]

[He plucks at the grass a bit while she thinks, but then turns his attention back to her when she speaks again.]

Re-learning isn't the worst thing in the world. And you've got time, while you're here.

[It had taken him a while, at home, to really get the hang of being friends with anyone. He'd only had a year to do it, too. But some people had a lot less. He didn't know much about Monika's situation at home, so he couldn't guess how much difficulty she really had with something like that.]

[255000255000255]

[ She laughs quietly. She feels suddenly awkward. ]

Guess I have a lot to relearn, then. My most concrete memories are from the few days before I got here. Everything else beyond that is, well. [ She wiggles a hand vaguely. ] The weirdest part is knowing things without knowing how I learned them, though. At least it's free knowledge?

[eatsyourscience]

It must be confusing. But that's not a bad way to look at it.

[He glances toward the field, where people are gathering.]

We better go. I think it's almost time.

[255000255000255]

[ Her reply dies on her lips when he tells her it's time to go. It brought the nervousness back, stronger than ever. Monika swallows hard and nods, pushing herself up. ]

Y-Yeah. Guess so.

[ She bends down to pick up her machete, her hands already shaking. The action felt so final, just like leaving him was going to be. It'd probably be a long time before she saw him again--physically, anyway--so she gives him a wistful look, taking in the memory of him as well as she can. ]

Thanks, Souji. Good luck.

[ With that, she jogs away towards the field before he can respond. She'd never want to go otherwise. ]