Week 2

[airlockedmods]

Week 2

[The Champions have now been here for one week, and while the dud of a first incentive didn't tempt anybody, the fact remains obvious: a lack of murder isn't going to be the thing that gets you out of here.

Blaze Dudely and Rox have not made a reappearance since Tuesday, leaving you to your own devices for the moment. That door they entered and exited through remains locked, and there is no new area to access this week. Are you sure they're even still back there? Despite their absence, you all wake up on Sunday morning from strange dreams. What to make of it?

You can only hope it's not a bad omen for the rest of the week.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Don't forget to turn in your AC for Week 1, submit your memory regain, and turn in your Benefactor threads! ))

Comments

[le_mat]

Okay. But if you call bullshit I'm pretending this conversation never happened.

I met him in another world, the world in the hearts of humans. It's called the Metaverse.

[stillstands]

[She learned some worlds have legit magic, and that some worlds have monsters called Grimm last week. Time to listen.

...

... huh.]

The... Metaverse?

I've heard of people's hearts being complicated, but spawning worlds...?

[le_mat]

Sounds insane, right? But it's true. Not just one world, but a web of connected worlds.

It's based on how the person views the world around him. The first one I saw belonged to a teacher at my school. He was abusing students and acting like he owned the place. So it looked like a castle that he ruled... And the students were his slaves.

[stillstands]

[Hearing about a teacher like that is uncomfortable enough - when she thinks of the stories she's heard of Sakura-sensei from the other members of the club, they've been positive and tinged with sorrow. She sounded like she'd been an ideal teacher: desperate to protect the children in her care and teach them so they could live the best life possible.

Teachers that aren't like that are terrifying enough.]

So... [She thinks about it, really thinks about it.] Do you think this is a palace...? Someone sees us as playthings to mess with as they want, and they create a place we can't escape from to facilitate their perceptions...

[Oh.]

But if it's a personal thing, how would all of us be in the same place? Wouldn't our own thoughts and views influence this place....?

[le_mat]

I thought that at first- it's why I didn't talk to anyone right away. I thought you might all be projections of people in a Palace- That's what we call them- so, you know, not real.

Usually the person who's heart made the palace can't show up in it in person, just a projected version of them. But outsiders in them don't affect the make up of it much. Me and my team could go in and out without our own issues warping things.

[you know, outside their Awakenings. But he didn't want to complicate it more]

So if this WAS a Palace, I don't think it's any of ours.

... If it was anyone's it'd be Petuu's and I don't even wanna think of what might be in her heart.

[stillstands]

[Suddenly, things make a bit more sense.]

Is that why you were hovering around eavesdropping on people's conversations when we first got here?

[Like a creeper.]

... [She shudders slightly.] I hate the idea of this being that woman's heart. [But is IS cold and clinical. So it'd fit.]

If... this was her palace, would we be projections too? It all feels very real, but how would we know either way...

[le_mat]

The projections aren't really smart. They are just parts of the Palace- like cogs in a machine or npcs in a game. If you have to ask, that's already all the proof you need that you're you.

[stillstands]

[Thinking and questioning is proof that... she's real? ... That feels like a relief.

... She's also noting you didn't answer the question of why you were skulking around but ok.]

So you, and your Mona were able to explore these worlds as individuals? Not as cogs in the machine, so to speak. And that meant you were able to influence these worlds...?

[le_mat]

[he nods]

Most people don't have Palaces. They grow out of distorted desires. So we go in and, well... we steal them.

And when someone loses their twisted desires, they see their crimes for what they really are.

[stillstands]

[Steal.

Thieves...

Oh!]

Like the name in your profile? The... Phantom one?

[... Y i k e s.]

And then they... what, repent? If they do, that sounds like a very powerful trump card to play in a time of need.

[le_mat]

[fingergun wink]

Got it in one. The Phantom Thieves steal the the hearts of the corrupt that the law can't, or won't, touch.

[stillstands]

[Oh, there he goes again.]

Like a supernatural vigilante justice system...

[Not bad.]

And by using that palace system, you can go right for a person's weaknpoint. [Their very heart itself. That's...] That's a lot of power for one group to possess.