entrancelogs | + The Time Has Come, the Time Is Now +

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:

Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.]

[ 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?

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.

[ 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?

[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.]

[ 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?

[~~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?

[ 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.

[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.]

[ 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?

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.

[ 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. ]

+ The Time Has Come, the Time Is Now +

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