entrancelogs | + Your Princess Is in another...Palace +

+ Your Princess Is in another...Palace +

Who: Everyone!
Where: All over Wonderland
When: Friday, 8/24 - Monday, 8/27
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Palaces! This log is for Palace Rulers to post descriptions of their palaces, and for unaffected characters to wander in and out of them.
The Story:

Palace rulers: These are the characters who experience the bout of lightheadedness and spontaneously manifest a Palace starting at noon on 8/24. As soon as the palace forms, the character is essentially sucked into their Palace and made to play the part of the ruler.

These characters will forget they were ever in Wonderland or indeed had any other life outside of their Palace. If Character A's Palace took the form of her living her dream as a world-famous surfer where the oceans are made of cotton candy, she would always believe she'd been a surfer and that oceans have always been made of cotton candy. Any characters who entered her Palace would merely seem like visitors or intruders to the beach. Maybe they're surf fans, too?

It is possible to "wake" a Person from their Palace if one were to kill them (easy mode... if a bit violent) or make them see it's merely a mental construct (hard mode). If a person were to die inside their Palace, however, it would count as a mansion death. There are no real ways to "unmake" these Palaces other than to snap the person out of it or wait for them to run their course.

Palaces are tied to locations that characters frequent or find special meaning in. They do not outwardly change the appearance of the mansion--the clinic will still look like the clinic on the outside, but crossing inside takes you into the mental landscape of that affected character, and it may look however that player chooses it to.

Unaffected characters: Congratulations, you get to explore other characters’ inner world by visiting their Palaces! There is also a chance of danger should a character enter into a Palace whose ruler is likely to see them as a threat. Should Character A as described above not want a person there, sharks on legs might rise from the ocean and attempt to chase them off. (Sorry about that.)

However, there will always be a way to escape a Palace should you need to. There will always be a door leading back to the normal mansion, though no one else in the Palace will be able to see it aside from the unaffected character. If you entered the clinic and it's a barren hellscape, the clinic door will take you back out. Yay!

It is also possible for characters to see cognitive clones of themselves inside someone else's Palace if that person has a mental image of them. How these cognitive versions behave is, however, entirely up to the Palace ruler, whether realistic or not.

See the Bulletin Board for details on the event. You can also go to the plotting post to see what everyone else is doing!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ One of Monika's eyebrows goes up at his bouncy leg. She really didn't want to strap him down, but it seemed like it might be inevitable. That was strictly a last resort, though! Once he was less distracted, she'd find a way to help him relax in a less extreme manner.

For now, however, she reaches out and places her hand on his cheek to gently return his gaze to her. Pay no attention to the dead bodies behind the curtain, Jean. ]

Don't you think if this were a torture chamber or dungeon or whatever, that I'd have, you know, torture devices? And cells? [ Giggling, she clasps her hands together and rests them on the desk. ] That all seems kind of inhumane!

Besides. We should be focusing on each other. [ She hums, leaning close. ] Nothing else in here matters as much as you do.

[Normally, Jean would be all about a beautiful girl's undivided attention. It was pretty much all he ever wanted when he was younger. But this was just too wrong. Her fingertips were strange, cold, and not quite soft as skin. Their touch was like someone who had never really touched another human being was guessing at what it should be like, and was only halfway succeeding. It sent a shiver down his spine.]

That's not really comforting. [He felt like he was a frog caught in the gaze of a green eyed snake.] Am I supposed to be your next victim?

[ Monika places a hand on her chest and gasps. ] I would never hurt you! I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I did.

[ It's quite the proclamation to make, but she means it. She worships anyone that makes it through that door. They're her world, her reason to live.

Unless they cross her.

But he wouldn't do that, would he? Of course not! ]

Come on. At least let me make you comfortable. [ She smiles softly, this time placing an index finger under his chin affectionately. ] And tell me your name.

[He had given her a chance there, however small, to tell him he was wrong, and that she wasn't responsible for what happened to those caged girls. She didn't take it. She said that she would "never forgive herself" if he were hurt, but he got the feeling she'd get over it eventually.]

[His throat bobbed as she tilted his chin up.]

It's Jean. We've met, but I'm getting the feeling you don't remember.

[ His words make her finger drop. She frowns, brow tight with frustration. ] People keep saying that. It's kinda bothering me.

[ She puts on a smile, shaking off the uncomfortable feeling as much as she can. They were all probably being metaphorical, appealing to her love of literature. What else could it be, other than being thoughtful?

Still, the subject seems to be having an unconscious effect on her. She fully returns to her side of the desk, crossing her arms. ]

You...like literature, right?

I've never been interested. [He replied simply, not realizing that these answers might be digging his grave.] There's not much in the way of books and poetry back home. It's all too highfalutin' for me.

[ The effect's immediate. Her smile disappears, her arms crossing just a bit tighter. ]

Ahaha, well. Your vocabulary seems pretty good for someone who doesn't read.

[ There's a quiet sigh and she glances away. Part of her is now much more bothered about the "we've met" situation. The disappointment of knowing he's not into literature is stronger, though.

Then she reasons it'd be wrong of her to judge someone so perfect. How dare she! Her head lowers as the shame washes over her. She seems strangely demure for someone who was just forcing herself on him. ]

I-It's okay, really! It's not for everyone. It's just, you know, kind of my passion, so I figured, um...

[ When she raises her head back up, she laughs and waves dismissively, pushing at her crown before it can slip off. ] If you don't like that, then what do you like?

[Jean noticed the sudden change in Monika's demeanor over such a simple question. He knew it was something she really liked-- he read her first poem when she arrived here, after all, and it was good enough that even he could understand the sort of message it was conveying-- but he didn't know it was that important.]

[At least she wasn't getting murderous over it. She just looked disappointed.]

I like the outdoors. It's what I'm used to. [Stuck in this chair, and without a clue about how one gets out of a Palace, it was all he could do to reply truthfully and hope for the best.] Horseback riding. The beach. My roommate's taught me how to play video games...

[Maybe it'd please her if he was as sincere as possible.]

I don't tell this to just anyone, but... I really like sketching with charcoal.

[ His hunch is right. Her demeanor softens and warms. She's learning about him, things he said he wouldn't tell anyone else! To feel that connection with someone is filling a hole in her heart that never seemed like it'd disappear. Just barely, though. But with time and effort, she knew eventually she'd be whole. Her object of worship was here to solve all her problems, and her belief in that shows on her face.

She'd eventually have to tell him she has a Thing about video games, however. Another time.

Monika unexpectedly lifts her hands, then a simple sketchbook and a set of drawing charcoals appear in them. Smiling hopefully, she places them in front of him. Any pressure from her control disappears from him so that he's free to move as he pleases. ]

Would you be willing to draw me? I'd love to know how you see me through your eyes.

[Jean made a disconcerted sound. It certainly wasn't the torture he was expecting, and he'd much rather do this than have his neck snapped, but... Well, why not? He could feel her release him from the chair, which meant whatever he was doing, it was going in the right direction. That was encouraging.]

[He sighed, gave in, and took the materials from her. He was used to this sort of medium, since it was almost exactly what the mansion tended to give him when he asked for it.]

Do you want a full body sketch, or a portrait? [He opened the sketchbook and started to unwrap the charcoal.] Just letting you know, I'm not a professional.

Ohh, don't be so humble~ I'll be happy with whatever you come up with!

[ Feeling so much better, she stands and takes off her crown, smoothing down some stray hairs. Wouldn't want those getting into the picture!

Humming to herself, she trots over to her steps and perches on the middle one daintily, crossing her legs. He might see something far too naughty if she sat higher, after all~

Monika simpers, clasping her hands over her knee. This should be the right amount of pretty with the tiniest hint of sexy. Just because she wouldn't want him to see up her skirt doesn't mean he shouldn't get to appreciate her in other ways! ]

Full body, please~ If you want me to change my pose, let me know. And take your time, ahaha!

[Wow. She was just sitting on her cages, right on top of the creepy pink-haired one, without so much as a glance back or a how-do-you-do. And with her pose, so obviously solicitous... Jean made a face of disgust at how awfully the images of her and the dead bodies clashed, but swallowed his distaste for the time being. At least he didn't have to draw what was under the stairs.]

[He sketched wordlessly. Monika might be surprised by the results. She lived in a world of bobbled headed, bubble eyed anime girls, and that may be how she perceived herself, but that wasn't how Jean perceived her. He saw a girl of regular proportions, beautiful, but not with huge glossy eyes and clothes that perfectly fit her too-shapely body. To him, she looked, well, human.]

This really isn't that great. [He muttered as he tried to get the lighting in his hellroom right.] There's a lot of distractions.

[ She gives him a look akin to one a mother would give their child for doing something cute and silly. ] Well, why didn't you say so sooner?

[ Monika raises her hands and the room shifts. Everything's gone but him sitting at the desk and her sitting in a simple wooden chair. If anything, the increased sense of emptiness probably makes it eerier, especially with the vast darkness that's still floating by the windows. She's a generous host, though! To help that, she replaces the music with the soft trickling of a piano, something that's noticeable but not so obvious it distracts him.

Pleased, she places her hands back on her knees after pulling one of her thigh-highs up a tad. ]

I hope that's better?

[He doesn't like her attitude, but...]

Yeah, actually. [The lighting is still awful and along with that piano he's starting to hear this weird droning silence behind it all, but at least he doesn't have to look at those poor girls anymore. He can concentrate much better. He turns a page in the sketchbook and starts over. Maybe if he does a good job she'll let him go? He was really playing this by ear.]

[After about a half hour of hemming and hawing, turning his book around, sketching and smudging and erasing, Jean thought he had something halfway decent to show.]

Here. This is about as best I can do.

Aww, you're finished already?

[ She was getting to really enjoy watching him work! But it'd be okay in the long run. They'd get to do this forever, anyway!

Monika pops up out of the chair, automatically smoothing out her uniform, then walks over to see the finished product. On her way to standing behind him, she gives his cheek a playful poke. ]

I told you to stop being so humble, though! I'll like--

[ The words die in her throat. She'd just looked over his shoulder at the sketch.

One of her hands comes up to her mouth as she takes a shaky breath. She can hardly believe what she's seeing. ]

This--this is how you see me?

[Jean leaned away from her touch like a sullen cat. He had no idea where that finger had been. She might've just used that hand to twist that girl's neck.]

...Yeah?

[He looked over his shoulder at Monika, who seemed absolutely shocked by his sketch. He then glanced back to his picture, and then back to her. Had he really fucked it up or something? He thought he had done pretty well.]

[Since the concept of anime, visual novels and such didn't exist in his world, he didn't really see the peculiarities of that kind of art style when he looked at Monika. So he drew her like she was a real girl, even if she didn't quite appear that way.]

Is there something wrong with it?

[ He needn't worry. This was more than she expected. It was more than she could have ever dreamed of.

She looked human.

It's impossible to speak. The words are inescapably stuck in her throat. Even so, would she even be able to find words to describe how amazing it was? How touched she was? To think, she wasn't some image on a screen. She was real to him.

Monika places a hand on her chest, her eyes shining with happy tears. ]

It's perfect. I couldn't ask for anything more.

[Jean had never met Monika during any of the times she had been granted a human body, but even though he had only seen her over the communicator, he didn't have any reason to think she wasn't real. There were tons of people in the Mansion that he never saw except through a screen.]

[Despite the horrifying surroundings, the look on Monika's face made Jean feel a little better about all this. Finally, some real, sincere emotion.]

Well, if you like it, it's all yours.

[He pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket, and carefully cut the drawing out of the sketchbook so he could give it to her.]

Does this earn me a clue on the way out of here?

[ One second, she's on cloud nine. The next, he's slammed her back to earth. Monika frowns at the drawing, then turns her gaze to him, the frown deepening. Her hand drops to her side, making no move to take the drawing from him.

Was this all some ruse?

The warmth is gone from her voice. This time around, words are getting stuck in her throat from the ball of anger they can't get around. ]

Why are you trying to leave?

[Jean sensed her aggression, as it was barely concealed. The sketchbook was set down on desk, and he kept his knife in hand. She may or may not have done anything to those girls in those cages, but he wasn't about to take his chances.]

You can't stay anywhere forever. [Jean tried to keep his reply as calm as possible.] I stumbled in here on accident. It's not where I meant to go.

[ Monika narrows her eyes at the knife, then at him. That might be an issue. ]

I think you're mistaken.

[ She twists around him and places her palms on the desk, one of them directly on top of the drawing, leaning in to settle her glare on him. ] You might think you weren't meant to be here. You might even think you weren't meant to stay.

[ A slow smirk spreads across her lips. ] But I don't really think you have a choice.

I know that I'm not meant to be here. [He decided to meet aggression with aggression. Backing down from a challenge would rarely end in favorable results.] You're not the one that gets to decide that. I've got my free will.

[Unless, you know, she pulls that stuck-in-the-chair move again. There wasn't a whole lot he could do about that.]

Hmm. [ Her eyes roll up to the ceiling for a moment as she pretends to think. Then she giggles. ] I think I do~

[ Monika snaps a hand around his wrist, just in case he gets any funny ideas when it comes to that knife. ]

I don't want to hurt you, okay? Besides! You still have your freedom. [ Another giggle. ] It's just in here with me!

[Normally, a girl Monika's size, with no training, wouldn't be able to seize Jean so easily. He had plenty of experience with hand-to-hand combat. But she had control over this area, and it looked like it was effecting her actual strength as well. He couldn't lift his weapon.]

I've got plenty of experience with cages. [His words were low and rumbling with anger and irritation.] Don't insult me by telling me I have my freedom here.

[ She goes quiet, simply eyeing him. Then, without warning, she lifts her hand from his wrist and takes a few steps back.

While she still looks calm, almost playful, her eyes tell a different story. They're hard, cold, clashing with her smile.

Monika gestures for him to stand before placing her hand on her hip. ]

Then be free. Do what you want. I don't want you to feel like a pet!

+ Your Princess Is in another...Palace +

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my tenses are everywhere ;;

IT'S OKAY i didn't even notice

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