Beginning

[thecastle]

One moment you were elsewhere, surely speaking to your friends, fighting in a battle of your life, dying, or even in a state of non-existence in its entirety. It doesn't matter now, since when you open your eyes it’s become clear that not only is everything around you foreign and unfamiliar, so is everyone. And there seems to be a fair lot of you, at that.

It's easy to discern a few things upon a cursory glance, once you pick yourself up from the field of grass you're resting on. The place you've awoken in seems to be fairly tranquil, for the first few moments at least, and the view of a newly budded sakura tree is among the first that will greet you. In the distance, is a towering castle that manages to look all at once both imposing and welcoming at the same time. There's also an odd pendant around your neck, which you'll find won't come off despite your best attempts. In your pocket you'll find a room key, engraved with a number.

The weather is currently cool, with the sun brightly shining in the sky, though there are a few too many clouds to make it a completely clear day. While most of them appear rather normal, every so often you might spot one that looks just a bit off— like a storm cloud that's completely lost it's way. Lucky for you, it doesn't seem like you're going to have to worry about any inclement weather anytime soon, as they'll vanish from your vision as quickly as they came.

A large stone wall surrounds the entirety of the castle, though it's anyone guess why that is— maybe it's for your safety, maybe it's to keep you trapped, or maybe it's for another reason entirely. The only breach in the wall is a single gate that looks like it certainly led to the outside at one point, but that too has been cordoned off by solid stone.

Fortunately, there's nothing to stop you from entering the castle itself, where you'll find it's pretty grand all things considered. The lighting inside is provided not by electricity, but by magical flame that adjusts to the time of day or night. Actually, if you're looking for anything electronic anywhere, or even a simple power outlet, you'll be sorely out of luck.

For now, it might be best to explore and make some sense of where you are and why you're here— maybe one of your fellow travelers might know something? There are some plaques in the Great Hall that might catch your interest given their focus, in addition to one ridiculously large golden one that seems to bear rules.

Welcome, fellow warriors, to your very long stay.

Comments

[gyakusatsu]

A. Wishing Pond
[In the midst of making her way up to the castle to investigate what on earth is happening, the sign "Offerings Accepted" catches her attention. Offerings to who?, she frowns and approaches. There's unfortunately not a whole lot to go on here though, and as she watches the koi swimming around, she mutters frustratedly:]

Just as I decided to return to the bureau, huh... Great.

B. By the plaques:
[Misora is reading the plaques with a bit of a stern look on her face. That's an awful lot of information that's been gathered here, and the longer she spends reading each one the more her expression turns to incredulity. Some of the ages don't make sense, there aren't any obvious common traits between those who've been brought here -- if these plaques can be fully trusted to be accurate. As people pass by, she'll turn to ask:]

Excuse me. Would you mind verifying for me whether or not this information here is true and whether or not you recall ever giving anyone this data?

C. Wildcard!
[Naomi will be exploring the castle and the grounds quite carefully. If you'd like to bump into her, go for it.]

[coinflipped]

I can confirm it's true. However, unless someone knew me personally, they should not have this information.

[A good question to ask considering he never really questioned it at all. Just stuff he knew was correct about him. He'll need to confirm things with his sister because she's a thousand or so years older than she should be...]

I'd like to know what's going on, but I'm assuming we're all just the same level of confused.

[gyakusatsu]

[....Ah. Speaking of people whose ages don't seem right.]

All of it? [SHe represses the urge to look back at Eizen's plaque here, frowning instead.]

This "sage" or whoever it is that's responsible for bringing us here... they must have been keeping tabs on all of us for a while then. I don't understand it myself, but.. [A beat.]

The rules seem to imply we're here for bloodsport.

B.

[professionality]

[ She blinks in confusion at being approached from the side, herself lost in musings about all the strange people assorted here, but then she nods. ]

Yes, it's all accurate and none of it is a secret, though... [ a huff as she crosses her arms. ] those questions marks are most rude.

[gyakusatsu]

[Interesting priorities..... Rhoda gets a nod though.]

An unpleasant sense of humor all around, that's for sure, Miss Teneiro.

[A beat.[

Just to be certain... that pendant... was that yours?

b;

[originallutece]

It is. And no, I don't, but . . . none of it is information that would be difficult to obtain, I suppose.

[Most of it, anyway. She can't recall telling anyone but Robert that she likes dancing, but it's not such a wild assumption. Rosalind glances over at Misora's face, skims the plaques, and eventually finds hers.]

And your own?

[gyakusatsu]

[A confirmatory nod.]

It's accurate, yes. I suppose, what's rather confusing to me is that I don't see a clear selection criteria.

[Or come from the same universe, at that.]

It all seems incredibly arbitrary.

B

[fedorascout]

[Give Kizakura a moment to read his plaque...]

My, my, it's accurate indeed! The person who engraved this all made their research quite well. Interesting, right?

[gyakusatsu]

Mm. Interesting... and a bit creepy, yes.

[She purses her lips briefly.

If I may ask, what is the Future Foundation, Kizakura-san?

B

[godinsolitude]

It's accurate.... and I can't say it's a secret, at least among some people I know.

[His expression falls into a grimace, as if he's thinking about something unpleasant. The boy in front of her can't be more than high school age, but the traits listed....]

What about you, Special Agent Misora?

[He'd noticed her own plaque.]

[gyakusatsu]

[Of course, she can't expect other people not to have read her own plaque and yet seeing her "skills" listed out that way seems rather needlessly arrogant. Misora nods in response to his question and is quick to move the subject along.]

Even if it isn't necessarily a secret, spying on high scholers is... outright distasteful.

b.

[toubib]

No, it's a complete lie written up by someone who's creepy enough to imagine all kinds of unfortunate things about me. Including my weight! [ said in the cheerful, pleasant tones of someone who is completely bullshitting, who knows he's completely bullshitting, who knows that you know that he's completely bullshitting but is going forth with it anyway because it's fun.

his voice dips behind a cover hand, conspiratorial: ] For the record, I weigh 54kg.

[gyakusatsu]

[...Just give her a second to stop flashbacking to dealing with Rue Ryuzaki aaaaand aneurysm diverted.]

What a travesty.

[She manages to avoid sounding overtly sarcastic, but like Vanitas it's really not convincing anybody.]

Perhaps you should correct the record for all of us. There has to be a pen or something around, right?

[...yes, she's being a little mean spirited here. She did read the rules against doing that.]

b!

[deontological]

Hm? Oh, certainly. The information on my plaque is true...

[As far as giving that data out goes, though... She can't help but sigh.]

I've never deliberately given it out, but it was known by a handful of others that I interacted with by virtue of our respective positions. I find it difficult to believe that they would have provided it to anyone else in turn, however, as it would also have meant outing themselves.

[gyakusatsu]

It appears that's been true of everyone I've asked so far.

[A beat. Well, apparently not Vanitas, but she's just going to disregard that exchange because sanity.]

I suppose it's possible that they were able to manipulate us into giving them the information somehow and we simply don't remember any of that, but... it's probably best not to speculate too much about it.

B

[miirai]

Mii... mine isn't right at all.

[ And here's one of the people whose age is listed as older as they look, an embarrassed expression on her face as she forms a rather small pout. ]

[gyakusatsu]

[One look at Rika and Misora is inclined to believe her. But then again, Eizen confirmed that his age was accurate and clearly nothing here really makes all that much sense to begin with. If anything, she's beginning to feel a bit of a headache coming on.]

Really? All of it or just parts of it?

B

[divertimento]

[Misora has successfully momentarily distracted Elliot from his quest to find his yelly friend.]

Oh, ah... on mine? Yeah, it's pretty much accurate. [Still a little concerned about the eggs though.] I definitely don't remember telling anyone anything, though.

...Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[gyakusatsu]

No need to apologize, that's already very helpful.

[She smiles, but it's a little forced. Frankly she feels bad for these sixteen year old kids who somehow got dragged into this mess alongside everyone else.]

Are you looking for something in particular?

b.

[browbeater]

It looks true. But I don't recall giving it to anyone.

[He stares at the plaques, and it's... pretty easy to identify names, since the pictures are so helpful. He doesn't even remember taking that picture, which is kind of creepy.]

How did they get these pictures?

[gyakusatsu]

Right, that seems to be the trend at the moment.

[But the question about photographs gets her to pause.]

It's ... strange. It hadn't occurred to me to question that as I'd assumed these pictures had been found on the internet or something along those lines, but now that you mention it.... I don't ever recall ever posing in front of a red background. I suppose it could have been edited that way, but...

[Ugh. She trails off.]

Given the state of technology here, that seems less and less likely, huh.

B

[2zero1]

[ ...ignoring the first part, apparently. ]

I never give anyone data about me.

B

[pseudoregelia]

Well... Some of it's available on my school ID, but others...

[She's pouting.]

It seems like a rude prank, if I'll be honest.

[Her? A stalker? Not a chance.]

B

[notimmortal]

I definitely wouldn't have told anyone I do stupid things. [Even if it's totally 100% true, that's definitely how another person would describe him.]

[art_appreciation]

Uh... what information?

[ You'll have to pardon this one, he's just now getting here. He, uh, he slept in. ]