Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous

[lesmodsalouette]

Bievenue

You're wrapped in a soothing, all-encompassing darkness.

Well, perhaps not perfectly all-encompassing -- you can see some slivers of light here and there, just enough to realize that your current space is literally wrapped in something, and that you are a highly customized burrito at the mercy of an entirely too fluffy bed and set of blankets. Moreover: you are definitely not alone.

Depending upon the contents of your bed (two of you, waking up dressed exactly in what you wore last you remember back where each of you came from, in the exact same state as those last moments no matter how illogical or disjointed), it may not be comfortable or feasible to stay cocooned up for much longer. There's a low, muted GONG, GONGG coming from not far away, your bed creaks like a beleaguered ship in an unannounced storm, and it is joined by even more noises of movement beyond the bed canopy as you try to take stock of where you are.

Eventually, you either fall out of bed or drag yourself into this world: your new and strangely crowded personal rooms, the clock insistently sounding out the hour, and the halls and heraldry of the venerable Château Ambregris -- a lavishly decorated and fully furnished version of a more-or-less authentic French castle (assuming you know what France or a castle are).

Left to your own devices for the moment, you may find it helpful to explore the castle for your own purposes, check out the suspicious statues and personalized plaques in the Promenade of Reflexion, or perhaps to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and frankly alarming amount of bread piled up in front of the place settings in the Banquet Hall. (Were you thinking of escaping? Any attempts to leave the property will be met with no forward progress at all, treadmill style). There's just about every kind of loaf, roll, boule, baguette, croissant or even animal-shaped bread you can think of stacked in baskets. There's absolutely nothing else save for plain bread, but at least you won't starve.

[OOC: Welcome to Château Ambregris, a perfectly normal castle receiving perfectly normal guests. Feel free to ask any questions in discord! The NPC Meet & Greet will be later today, March 8 at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.]

Locations Villa Main Nav

Comments

[arbalestrier]

i. begonia suite

[Sousuke was never a particularly heavy sleeper, so the moment he senses the presence of a stranger lying next to him, his body's already moving long before his mind has any say in the matter. Quickly shedding the blanket, his freed arm gropes the surface of the bed for a suitable weapon while he keeps his eyes on the person sharing his bed. Not finding anything but a pillow, Sousuke makes an attempt to straddle them instead. Roommates are going great!]

ii. mars room

[After that particularly rude awakening (that is to say, he was the one being very rude), Sousuke leaves the villa and starts exploring, trying to stay out of as many peoples' line of sight as humanly possible. He eventually finds himself in the Mars Room, checking out one of the firearms. But if anyone comes in while he's there, he'll abruptly turn, pointing a flintlock pistol at them.]

Who's there?

i. begonia suite

[dumbface]

[ roommates are going great!

except, not really. chu wenshan is in the middle of a nice dream about eating a juicy bowl of noodles when suddenly, he's not! and instead sheets are rustling, a body is looming ominously over him, and he's on what is probably the softest pile of plush he's ever felt in his life. this is the kind of bed that feels like it'd probably belong to mr. ou. however, that is definitely not mr. ou.

for one, they're nowhere near refined enough. for two, his hair is the color of noodles.

so he does the only reasonable thing a person can do in this situation, he grabs the nearest thing (a pillow, the weapon sousuke cruelly rejected a second ago) and swings it as hard as he can at the weirdo's head. ]

That's rude. You didn't even wait for me to wake up first.

[arbalestrier]

[It's super effective...?? Sousuke grunts as he eats the hit from the pillow, although he doesn't quite topple over. He's had worse things swung at him, even if it did catch him off guard for that moment. As he shifts a little to regain his position, he makes an attempt at restraining Chu Wenshan's hands so it's harder to pillow fight (alas).]

Shut up! Answer my questions--where is this? Who are you?

[dumbface]

[ wow, this guy is pretty strong?? or maybe he's just heavy.

the very heavy (see: average heft) man on top of him reaches for his hands, and he tries to thwap him again with the pillow to fend him off. progress??? ]

This is a bed, even I know that. [ see?? the canopy?? the mattress pad?? the pillows??

listen it may be ultra elaborate or whatever but a bed is a bed, it can't be mistaken for anything else!! ] And I'm Chu Wenshan, or so I'm told.

[arbalestrier]

[On the plus side, he anticipated getting attacked this time?? He uses one of his arms to block the pillow before grabbing it in the hopes of keeping it from being swung at him again. While they're in this dumb deadlock, Sousuke keeps talking.]

Don't play dumb! I'm asking where this facility is located.

begonia

[smdr]

[ sure is!

because jinx is absolutely not going to ask questions about whatever the fuck is happening here, yet. consciousness is snapping into place, the classic fight-or-flight is kicking in, and she's gonna shoot someone.


except there's no gun, so she's left with the good ol' struggling and trying to kick a guy in the stomach.

or between the legs, she's not beyond that. ]

[arbalestrier]

[He'd been hoping to pin her down quickly so he could start interrogating, but it seems that plan had been doomed from the start. Still, he's taller and (presumably) outweighs her, so he figures he has the advantage... Even so, when there's a kick coming in his direction, Sousuke instinctively moves to avoid it by rolling to the side, which means he's no longer up in Jinx's face.]

Answer me! Where is this place?

[smdr]

[ sousuke's on the begonia shitlist. jinx is making sure his pillows are always warm before he goes to bed.

but, yes, he definitely has the advantage. she recognizes that too — feeling, not feeling, that familiar unfamiliar crawl in her veins — and she draws back to put space between them the moment he rolls away. ]

It's in Fuckoffland, population: you.

[ ... ]

Ugh. Sucks. [ even for her. ] How's about you answer that one, since you're the one giving the wake up calls?

[arbalestrier]

[joke's on her, he'd sleep under the bed anyway!! because he's a weirdo...

When she distances herself, Sousuke doesn't pursue. He remains ever vigilant though, watching her every movement closely as he sits up on the bed. There's no reaction to the sarcasm either; it's just him staring her down with his typical frown.]

I wouldn't be asking if I knew. I didn't come here of my own volition.

mars room

[allrounder]

[ Oh!! He wasn't expecting to have a gun pulled on him immediately upon entering, but that's fine— ]

G'raha Tia.

[ He holds his hands up in front of him. ]

Pray lower your gun, I mean no harm.

[arbalestrier]

[Even after G'raha does his introduction, Sousuke keeps the gun trained on the other man for a little longer before lowering it.]

Why did you come here?

[Somehow it's now an impromptu interrogation...]

[allrounder]

[ Ah and now he's being interrogated... this is fine, surely.

What matters is that the gun is lowered, so his shoulders relax. ]

To get my bearings. I presume that is the reason you're here as well.

[arbalestrier]

[Touché... He'll concede the point.]

Affirmative. I was also looking for information regarding our current location, but I found this room instead.

[You win some, you lose some...??]

mars room;

[baebladie]

Why should I tell you?

[ Blade steps into the room proper, now. Honestly, he isn't too fussed about introductions...

But, a pistol being pointed at him doesn't bother him, apparently, and he is curious what it would take for him to try to fire it. Go ahead, give it your best shot, Sousuke. ]

[arbalestrier]

[The pistol is still pointing at Blade, but he doesn't pull the trigger, even if his finger is hovering over it.]

You don't value your life?

[baebladie]

[ Blade wanders around in the general area, even moving to turn his back to the other man to examine the ornamental weapons, whether they be blades or not, to inspect their craftsmanship.

There's an easy answer to the question, but Blade figures there's a higher chance of provocation if he responses in a particular manner. ]

Why should I be concerned?

You won't go through with it. Or do you want to prove me wrong?

[arbalestrier]

[As Blade moves around the room, Sousuke automatically moves so he can keep the other man in his line of sight and to ensure there's sufficient distance between them. Despite the caution, his face is as blank as ever, even with the apparent taunt. However, he eventually lowers it enough that the muzzle points to the ground a short distance in front of Blade.]

No, that won't be necessary. Shooting you would only waste a bullet.

mars room

[littlegentleman]

[Junior creeps in quietly, though not necessarily with the purpose of catching anyone off guard. He doesn't seem at all put off by having a gun pointed at him--doesn't flinch as he stares down the barrel of the pistol. The boy's eyes take in the weapon before they move upward to meet the gaze of the wielder. The reaction time, the stance, the clear comfort in which he held the weapon despite it being an antique...was this someone in the military?

For a very tense moment, he says nothing.]

I'm unarmed.

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke knows better than to take that sort of statement at face value, but given the lack of immediate hostility, he slowly lowers the gun after taking a minute to appraise Junior.]

Who are you?

[littlegentleman]

My name is Junior.

[There wasn't too much point in being cagey about that much, knowing that their names were on display elsewhere in the manor.]

Are you going to take that gun with you?

[arbalestrier]

[Not a name he knows, because guess who hasn't hit up the profile room yet!]

Affirmative. Even an old model like this has their uses.

[Like pointing it into people's faces...]

mars

[coldseep]

( The wages of wandering around aimlessly with such little caution...

Having a gun pointed at him surprises him - but then, weirdly, seems to make him a little happy? )

A friend, if you'll let it be mutual.

[arbalestrier]

[That response puts the slightest of wrinkles in Sousuke's brow, although his gaze remains intense and focused on Hwylryn.]

What are you talking about?

[He leaves the 'and why are you happy about this' unsaid.]

[coldseep]

You seem like a fun person. I love making friends with fun people.

( He glances at the gun with some intrigue... He's seen those things around, but he never paid them much mind before, back home. He has no clue how badly they injure someone of his current power and size. )

Would that hurt a lot if you used it on me?

[arbalestrier]

[When was the last time someone called him fun? It's always 'downer', or 'gloomy idiot' or something along those lines. A bead of sweat appears on his brow, although his voice is as even as ever.]

Yes. It would be extremely painful, unless you died instantly. Even if the wound isn't fatal, it could lead to permanent damage or infection.