+ 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

[nomorules]

Mon--

<sub>[The rest of her name dies on his lips as she bodily throws herself at him, arms winding around him. For a moment he can't fathom what's happening, mouth open but nothing coming out.

Monika being an allusion to a Japanese girl might not have any compunction passionately bear-hugging someone, but as an actual Japanese boy who's not used to such displays, it comes as a surprise to Ryuji. His voice squeaks when he speaks again, noticeably higher in pitch.]</sub>

Mo--Monika!?

_{[Once more with feeling: what is going on.]}

[255000255000255]

[ With a giggle, she pulls back without letting go. He wasn't getting away so easily! ] Hi~

[ Her head tilts with a smile. He's probably so happy to see her, it's hard to speak! ] You seem surprised! Guess you didn't expect to see me out here, ahaha!

[ ...That makes two of them, honestly. ]

[nomorules]

_{[Thank god she dropped that machete. He wouldn't want to see the carnage if her grip happened to slip with it still in her hand at this range--]}

I... y-yeah.

_{[Yeah, honestly, he is pretty surprised about that. The reminder of their purpose there distracts him from the warmth blazing to life in his cheeks and the fact his hands are brushing her back for lack of knowing where better to put them.]}

What's... what's goin' on? Why are you dressed like that?

[255000255000255]

O-Oh, um. [ She giggles again, briefly glancing down at herself. ] I kinda volunteered to fight. I was trying to look, well. Badass!

[ She shrugs a shoulder. ] I'm starting to realize how absolutely stupid I was to do it, but do you think I at least look like I know what I'm doing?

[ Hopefully he says yes. While volunteering for the game was mostly to have a taste of freedom that she prayed would be permanent, she truly wanted to impress him. That way when he asked her out, he'd know he made a good decision! ]

[nomorules]

But why--why would ya do that? _{[Fighting is one of Ryuji's top favorite hobbies and even he'd backed the hell off this one.]} Do you even know how to use that thing?

<sub>["That thing" being the machete at their feet.

It wouldn't be the first time he's been in the company of someone wielding a ridiculous weapon (Ann busts balls with a whip in a cat suit, for crying out loud), but he wouldn't have expected it from Monika with her skirts and her hair ribbons... part of her usual ensemble that he notices is conspicuously more grunge casual today. His hands find renewed purpose taking her by the shoulders and leaning back to get a clear look.

The mask... the machete...]</sub>

Are you...? Did you kinda dress up like the movie?

_{[Is her phantom thief alter ego a serial killer? Still a less terrible costume than Akechi's.]}

[255000255000255]

[ She looks at the machete then lets out a sheepish laugh. ] Nooot really, no! But I figure if I swing it around enough, it'll hit something eventually. It's big enough and all!

[ How hard could this all be? Haha. Hahaha...

God, she was so stupid.

But before she can continue sinking into a pit of feeling like the dumbest thing that ever dumbed, she gasps softly at his question. He noticed!

Monika dips her head, giving the mask an unconscious readjustment as she steps backward to get some space. She feels warmer all of a sudden. Maybe it was the sun that was beating down on them already?

With a titter, she nods. ]

Well, yeah. Not looking to kill any innocent virgins, though. Promise.

[nomorules]

Glad to hear I'm not on the kill list. Today's already weird enough--

<sub>[Wait, no, they're not talking about his virgin status. He runs a hand through his hair and blows out a breath.

There are more important things to worry about. Like Monika being in danger.]</sub>

F-forget that. Look, this whole thing is totally bogus--whatever this thing is. _{[His gaze sweeps over the chess board, brow furrowed.]} No way am I lettin' these self-absorbed bitches drag you into their pissing match. It's too dangerous. What were you even doin' on the Red Queen's list? Don't tell me you volunteered?

[255000255000255]

Guess I'd have to kill myself, too, if that were the case...

[ Wait. Whoa. Did she say that? Oh, God.

She stares down at the ground for a moment with wide eyes. That was something she'd so rarely thought about, being a virgin. Had to get past being stuck in a device to worry about that, didn't she?

That thought's going to get tucked back away into a deep recess of her mind.

Monika awkwardly tugs at one of her jacket sleeves. There's a lot of discomfort to deal with right now, especially with his question. ]

Will it make you feel better if I say I didn't volunteer? Because I can say that if you want.

[nomorules]

_{[Oh....... wow, haha, this day is already going places, huh. There's just too much going on for his brain's processing power to make sense of, and the 's' word or the mutual lack of the 's' word? (Sex. No. He'll die right here long before the match starts if he says it, even to himself.) He reddens up the neck and across his cheeks, gaze skittering away out of embarrassment.]}

We ain't got time to be thinkin' about that sort of thing! This is important!

<sub>[He practically bellows it at himself just as much as he says it for her to hear, his voice cracking at a pitch higher than normal. He's going to die. He's going to die.

Focus, Sakamoto!]</sub>

I was hopin' you'd come back with you didn't know what you were sayin', or the queens tricked you, but-- _{[But since she's already clearly stated she'd signed on to bolster her courage and look badass, clearly his hopes to pin the blame on the Red Queen are in vain. It's not even blame; he's worried, and it settles into a frown and a spasmodic clench of the fist.]} Look, it doesn't matter. You don't gotta do this. Eff them if they think anybody's gonna play their sick game.

_{[A glare at her armband, sporting an image of her chess piece.]}

[255000255000255]

R-Right! Yeah! Important!

[ The bellowing hardly fazes her. She's too busy wishing she could hack herself a hole in the ground with the machete. It'd be easier being down there than discussing her virginity status with him. Curse you, Voorhees, for leading them down this path!

When she's remembered how to breathe--haha, what a weird sensation, forgetting how to breathe--she brushes imaginary dust off her jacket and clears her throat.

Oh, right. They were talking about, like...dying. Monika presses her lips together, looking away. His glare's a little intimidating. ]

Ahaha, you sound like Souji. He knew I was a lost cause, too. [ A sigh. ] I don't really have much of a choice now, though. At best, I'll forfeit and be okay, maybe? At worst, I won't be able to in time and die. No big deal!

[ She glances back, giving him a hesitant smile. ] At least if I know you're out there watching, it won't be so bad.

[nomorules]

_{[A Jason-style murder spree would certainly save them from this conversation; fortunately the queens of Wonderland are doing them a solid with death by chess in that regard.]}

I didn't say that. It just ain't your job to sort out their squabbles.

<sub>[... At least he's 99% sure he didn't say anything quite that harsh. He's well-aware he has the bad combination of a big mouth and a quicksilver temper sometimes, and it's worse when he's flustered. Between the hug and floating the 'v' word around, he's definitely flustered.

But no--no amount of foot-in-mouth syndrome would ever make him call Monika a lost cause.]</sub>

What are you sayin'? That's a big effin' deal! _{[Don't joke about that, you're making his voice to rise to the level of pre-puberty squeaks and nobody wants that. He takes her by the shoulders again (after all, they've already popped the personal bubble once, what's a little more).]} Just don't go out. Forget it. The Red Queen's part of the problem--you don't owe her nothin'.

[255000255000255]

[ Monika stares at him, wide-eyed. Eventually, she drops her eyes to the ground, eyelashes fluttering wildly. At this point, her heart's beating so rapidly she's afraid it'll fall into pieces any minute.

Does Ryuji...care? ]

U-Um, well, once you've died the first time, the mystery's kind of taken away. So the second time's probably not so bad...

[ What was she saying? Why was she saying that? She was used to being dismissive about that sort of thing, considering some of the things she'd dealt with in her miserable life, but something about his reaction filled her with uncertainty.

But also warmth.

Monika slowly raises her head. One of her hands slides up to touch his and grasp it gently, her cheeks burning hot as she smiles hopefully. ]

Maybe you're right, though. Maybe I could, um...just spend some time with you today instead. I'd probably just be a liability out there, anyway.

[nomorules]

_{[Did she just--? She did. She did say that.]}

Have you lost one of your lives already!? That's so--that's so totally not okay!

<sub>[What is with people and this kanyeshrugging about dying!

If it gets her name off the roster and that machete out of her hand, he's willing to volunteer his time for almost anything. Being the uncomfortable recipient of romantic poetry. Writing romantic poetry. As he'd learned from a wise young Romeo with an afro and glasses, some battles can be won with a gentle touch to a hand as well as a fist.]</sub>

Yeah. Yeah! Let's do that. _{[The impending threat of the match keeps his colossal embarrassment over how they must look to others at bay. His hand! It's being held by another hand!]} Whaddya say?

[255000255000255]

[ She smiles sheepishly and shakes her head. ] It's fine, it's fine! I'm totally over it!

[ Mostly. Somewhat. Not really. ]

Let's...just stop being morbid, okay? Even if, er, it'll probably be a little morbid on the field? Ahaha! [ She shrugs, then squeezes his hand. ] I'm sure we'll make the best of it.

[ With a giggle, she steps away to grab her machete, just for funsies. May as well keep looking the part, even if she wasn't going to need it anymore. Then she cozies right back up to Ryuji and takes his hand again. It still feels so warm and so right. She gives him a warm smile to match. ]

Let's go.

[ Unfortunately, the choice of what she'd do with her day is not in her proverbial hands. Before they can start walking, 10 AM comes.

She and the moment are gone. ]