week 1

[stagemanagers]

[Well, all escape attempts have failed thus far. None of you have seen the Phantom since his brief appearance on Sunday, or heard from him at all. It looks like, for the time being, you’re all going to be stuck here.

You're free to continue exploring your surroundings to your hearts' content. The only real restriction on your movements is that the kitchen is closed between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am. Better make sure to grab any midnight snacks you may want ahead of time. Also, remember to label any investigation toplevels!

The Merchandise Booth is now open for business as well! The Phantom hasn't deigned to explain how it works, but...well, some of you will start to find mysterious coins in your rooms, and the Booth's got a place to put coins. You'll figure it out.

Should you wish to engage more with your host, you're welcome to drop letters in the box office slot. There's no set way to converse verbally with him, and he's certainly not guaranteed to respond if you just yell at the walls - but that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't listening. Just something to keep in mind.

Enjoy your first week, everyone.]

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday

(( OOC: This will be the last mod post for this week! Feel free to start submitting regains for any threads that aren't with the Phantom. Remember, song threads mean an extra coin! This is a peace week, so get all that CR while you can! ))

Comments

[reassuranceandrevolution]

[She doesn't entirely look like she believes him.]

Is it a different pH, or a different type of acid all togehter?

[revelfree]

[Ariel reads the list over. Twice. There's a lot he doesn't understand but...]

Do you think he may have deliberately picked you for your lack of ability to escape? [A beat] No, because then he would not have picked Angus, would he?

[likemypicture]

Profession: Former Queen Consort of England --- retired
Talents: Singing, Cooking, Needlework,
Strengths: Patience, Social Standing, Wealth
Weaknesses: My meager looks cost me the crown! :( [Yes. She's drawn a little frowny-anne, complete with crown crossed out]
Enemies: I am sure I have many, but they are not worth my time, and I am no longer worth theirs. I suppose you could count the five other wives.
Important Connections (Societal, Political, etc): Daughter of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. Our lineage traces into the royal family trees of England, and France-- my mother in particular from a long line of German princesses. Older sister to William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and his beloved wife Maria of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. My elder sister Sibylle of Cleves was electress consort of Saxony, married to Electoral Prince John Frederick of Saxony (Elector after his father's death) -- involved with a great deal of drama around Martin Luther. My younger sister Amalia of Cleves had no connections of love and society, but was a lover of songs and a poet, a devoted protestant and caretaker to our nieces.

I myself served as Queen Consort to King Henry the VIII of England for six months, after which our marriage was annulled, and I took the title as The King's Beloved Sister. While I did not have the pleasure of knowing my stepdaughters during the marriage, I had the great joy of befriending both the young princesses Mary and Elizabeth Tudor-- when Mary was coronated, I was present in the ceremony, directly behind her and beside Elizabeth.
Missing any Memories?: My memory is quite good-- though it is slightly confusing. I could have sworn I was just starting a performance before I awoke here. I was mid-note!
Secrets?: None-- though there are some scandalous rumors!
What do you feel makes you useful: Nothing makes me feel useful. I simply am, because I was. I was a wealthy, independent young woman, who was handed terrible circumstances, and enjoyed my life to the fullest, during a time when other women of my station were slaving away in unhappy marriages, getting their heads chopped off, or idk-- the plague?

[Anne's paper has gone from one to three, the entire thing written in rather extravagant penmanship. She's here to give it to Ariel-- an open history book!]

I have to apologize-- I got a little carried away!

[37773972]

[Thank you for not immediately launching in to the whole future-message thing. But Stephen considers, rubbing his mouth briefly]

There's a mix here. He could have picked all fighters, all civilians- instead, there's a mix. It could be that some of us are meant to be...targets of the others.

[He speaks slowly, uncertain.]

[isawallflower]

Uh, oh. ...Cheerleading. But, sort of not really anything.

[revelfree]

Famous. [His definition of famous involves scholars and philosophers. He doesn't know that Santana fits into that picture, but he's curious all the same.]

For what?

[revelfree]

A different acid meant for a different type of metal. We used Aqua Regia previously -- good for noble metals. This... [He taps on one of the containers] Will do well for copper.

[revelfree]

[Ariel is both surprised and delighted by the massive work-up Anne seems to have put together. He skims it briefly before lifting his head and flashing a grateful smile toward the woman.]

There will be no apologies, milady. Doubtless, there will be much to go off of here. I am grateful for your efforts.

[He bows. Because... that makes sense, right?]

[revelfree]

If that is true, then both you and I would fall onto that list.

[He draws a slow breath. He seems uncomfortable with the very thought.]

I will not let that happen. Not to you, nor to anyone this place has deemed a "Victim."

[37773972]

I'm not planning on letting it happen, either. [But he does appreciate the comment. Nice to know someone'll have his back and all that.] The problem is you or I could easily be overwhelmed by Angus or Sigyn - and if we all start carrying weapons, that's just asking for trouble.

I think...we need to work on finding reasons to trust on one another. [He hesitates, than continues;] Some of the classes where I taught did icebreakers before putting the students in to groups. Maybe we can do that, build some more reasons for us to work together.

[Including that Weird Immortal Pirate Guy.]

[revelfree]

It's not a bad idea at all. We need reasons to believe in one another. Perhaps a dinner on the morrow, or a few days into the week. We can propose everyone bring their own dish, even a story to tell...

[He ponders the idea, tapping his chin as he does.]

Is that what you had in mind?

[37773972]

Something like that. I'm not sure they have 'two truths and a lie' where you come from, but it's a kind of game- taking turns trying to figure out the lie. I'm an only child, I went to Stanford, I can juggle - harmless stuff like that.

[He absolutely cannot juggle, for the record.]

Get us comfortable talking with one another, sharing thing things- so we can rely on each other when the going gets rough. We can play that over dinner.

[mcfife]

[He makes one small crack on the egg. Angus strikes it again, causing it to grow in length. With his thumbs, he clumsily opens it up and lefts the yolk, whites, and a few shards of the shell fall.]

Some of the shell fell in.

[reassuranceandrevolution]

Nitric acid, then?

[reassuranceandrevolution]

Is it something from your home?

[etincelledefierte]

I'd thought that if I narrowed down the question to just the time difference, I'd get something of an answer, but it was all "it's because of your individual circumstances". That's just about as much of a non-answer as you can give someone.

[etincelledefierte]

Thank you, Nana. I appreciate it.

[She'll set the letter down for a minute so she can take the muffin, then take a bite of it.]

...so I got a reply to that letter I said I was going to write at the meeting. It's just about as much of a non-answer as someone could give.

[etincelledefierte]

It's weird to think of anyone being able to actually cross spacetime, but I suppose if someone could rewind or fast-forward it...though that's the same as crossing it in a way, I suppose.

[She hums.]

I can't think of a specific reason why it would be the two of us, though. I mean, we're classmates, and we both had some shared experiences, but there were nine of us that went through the same things. I'd think that if it was something we had in common, all nine of us would be here.

[reassuranceandrevolution]

Use another piece of shell to fish it out.

[Another pancake slides out of the skillet.]

[garbageface]

For acting and singing. Being beautiful and glamorous. I mean, what else is there?

[ being a philosopher sounds just plain boring! ]

[mcfife]

[Surprisingly, it is easy to pick it up with the broken bowl of a shell. Angus tosses it into the bin and picks up another egg.]

Have you heard anything from the Phantom since we last saw him?

[madgiganticfeelings]

O-Oh!

[She is blushing, whoops.]

Sorry! I totally wasn't thinking. I'll get out of your hair! No more talking with me until you're clean.

[She offers an awkward wave as she starts moonwalking out of the room. At least she is back to her weird self?]

[madgiganticfeelings]

It's totally fine! We can start with a physical warm up if you want. I usually just do some jumping jacks or burpies, something to get me moving!

[She is already doing some jumping jacks, counting them aloud enthusiastically.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

[She cheerfully plucks a flower barette from her hair and bends down to fiddle with the lock. She's not sure if the pin is thin enough, but this seems like an old lock... can't be that hard!]

[madgiganticfeelings]

Usually he plans ahead a lot more than this! He's very methodical. I don't think he'd leave a secret passageway up to just moving fast enough. He's smarter than that!