+ 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

Cissie | OTA

[cisskabob]

[Cissie is angry, and frustrated, and scared out of her mind. Tim Drake is out on that field, the last person she has left in Wonderland from home, one of her oldest friends, her best friend here. He's more than capable of taking care of himself, she knows that, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a human being, and many of the Mirrors out there are not.

Even having superpowers didn't save Kon or Bart, back home. They both died in battle. While she watched, on television.

Watching and waiting from the sidelines, unable to do anything, helpless to stop what might happen... It should be familiar, but it never gets easier, and somehow being physically present is worse.

Or maybe it's worse because she actually did volunteer, but she wasn't chosen. Part of her--not a small part--was relieved, up until she found out that Tim had been chosen. She knows others on the field too, and watches them closely, but she's not as close to any of the other chosen Reals.

But this, the way she's feeling now, watching people die in front of her, the incredible urge to be holding a bow in her hands and to stop this insanity? This is why she quit the hero life. This is why she set aside the mask and laid down her bow. And she actually offered to pick it up again, to walk into battle. Why did she think she'd changed? That seeing a friend hurt wouldn't bring out this side? How could she have been so stupid?

Her fear, her guilt, her anger at the entire stupid situation is all just boiling under the surface, and has her tensed like a spring. Anyone who approaches her is likely to receive curt responses, or else trigger her temper. She tries to reign it in, to restrain herself from snapping at the people around her, from her friends and acquaintances, but she is thisclose to bursting into tears or punching someone or something, and she can't say which will win out.]

[krmvgivv]

[Please don't punch the tiny child who's approaching. It might seem like a good idea at the time, but you'll feel guilty later,

Dipper approaches cautiously, holding a massive bin of sprinkles.]

I was bringing these to Mabel, but it seems like you could probably use a handful. You okay?

[cisskabob]

[Cissie may be tense and angry and anxious, but Dipper's probably safe. At least for now. She's a little startled when he speaks, only because she didn't even notice him approaching. She looks at the tub of sprinkles and... well, somehow that's surprising enough to distract her.]

...Are you sure Mabel needs that many sprinkles? Wouldn't it be easier to just, like. Give her a bag of sugar and a spoon and then take cover?

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper pauses and looks at the bin.]

Believe me, this is nothing for her.

[Mabel is a terrifying sprinkle-eating force of nature.]

[cisskabob]

...That's a little scary, to be honest. [But it's said with a hint of a smile, and a fond tone, so clearly she only sort of means it. Still, these kids don't need the unlimited sugar Wonderland can give them.]

[krmvgivv]

[He leans in, lowering his voice.]

If she ever offers you Mabel Juice, run.

[cisskabob]

What is Mabel Juice?

[krmvgivv]

It's like if nightmares and coffee had a baby.

Before the match

[mrsarcastic003]

[It's almost time to make their way to the checkerboard hills, and Tim has packed everything he can think that he might need in his belt. It's not quite the Robin costume, but it's the closest he can get without risking a deal with the vendors. Wonderland messes with their memories enough without volunteering for more.

And anyway, it's a pretty good approximation, between the space armor and the modifications he and Damian had made. He's managed to incorporate the wings into the cape, and he hopes he won't need them, but he's prepared.

He knocks at Cissie's door ready to walk with her down to the field. He knows she's going to be anxious and there' snothing he can do about that, so he wants to spend a little extra time with her--hopefully it will help.]

[cisskabob]

[Cissie isn't terribly surprised when someone knocks at her door, and she's even a little relieved that Tim thought to come get her, rather than just going down on his own. She takes a second to try to compose herself before opening the door, so she can try to smile and be supportive, rather than the hot mess she feels like.

There was a moment, when she saw the list of players, that she was relieved not to see her name. That moment was immediately followed by a sinking feeling of dread as she realized Tim's name was on the list. She's been having some kind of roller coaster of emotions ever since, and seems to have settled on something between scared and angry, which mostly leaves her feeling sick to her stomach.

She manages something that might resemble a smile when she opens the door for Tim, at least.]

Hey.

[mrsarcastic003]

Hey.

[He holds out his arms so she can see the armor, belt and modifications he's made.]

What do you think?

[cisskabob]

[Cissie does actually give him a once-over, taking it in, and how it's similar to his suits back home, and different. She shakes her head.]

You made this? [She reaches out to touch a piece.] What does this do?

[mrsarcastic003]

According to Damian it's supposed to turn into wings when they're fully extended.

[He gives her a little grin.]

Did have a chance to fully test it yet, though so I'm hoping I don't have to fly anywhere.

[cisskabob]

[Cissie's eyebrows shoot up, and she tilts her head to give his suit a closer look.] That's... I mean, it sounds awesome? But... Yeah, how would you even test that safely? Flying, I mean.