Dreamland (round 3)

[foundationmods]

[A strange house of some sort sits in the pitch black nothingness that exists around it. For those just now wandering in, they will be drawn to the building, finding it lit up in a way that it should not be. It's as if the whole area- house, yard, fence, and giant sakura tree- all give off their own light, and the newly-arrived are drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

Inside the boundary of the yard, the familiar faces of those who have passed on already will greet them. Depending on who is asked, they might give an accurate explanation. But even if they don't, one thing is clear: you don't want to leave this place. The area outside feels Dangerous, and it is probably best to stay put.

Fortunately, the house is built in an old style, and there are many rooms to explore. One room on the second floor seems locked, but the rest are open to explore as desired. The standard rooms are easy to find: kitchen, a W.C. and a bathroom, a sitting room of some sort, and a couple bedrooms (with plenty of futons for the dead to use). There are also several tatami mat rooms with nothing in them currently, but it seems like there might be some use for those rooms.

Around the house, perches for birds can be found. No birds are on them currently, though.

Sometimes Watanuki can be found in the house, but most of the time the dead will be left to their own devices. The question is, what will they do here?]

Comments

[excavated]

[ Kimihiro, what are you planning with this... Tsubasa clears his throat and nods politely. ] Yes. Of course, it isn't that sort of wish granting shop, though. [ He's very sincere, to say the least. And his politeness seems to seep through as well through his words. ] But if you do want some tea, we should probably go inside. I can hear your concerns then. And I'm willing to explain a little more as well. As much as I can, anyway. [ Besides, going back inside means going back to safety, because it looks like Natsuno isn't going to actually attack him while they're in the store proper. ]

[foundationmods]

Okay! Lead the way, glitter-boy and vampface!

[excavated]

Alright. [ He's been in the shop before, so he's very much aware of where most places are, if Kimihiro's kept things pretty much the same. The plans are to lead him into the sitting area so he can have a seat before telling him to wait here before going into the kitchen to brew some tea for all of them. Yes, even Natsuno's getting a cup, deal with it. And now he'll sit down, straighten himself out and then speak up once again. ] The current owner of the shop is currently unavailable, but... if you don't mind me taking over for him for the time being [ since him and Kimihiro are the same, but not ] I can assist you if I'm able to. Was there anything that you want to ask first? [ Before we get to the potential wish granting part of all of this. Which is kind of ironic given that he's spoken to Kimihiro about. Well. No more wishes. ]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen catches up around now, attracted by the non-sounds of fighting.]

Oh, who's this?

[foundationmods]

[Oh hey, another person! The teen is giving Karen a friendly wave.]

Hi! I guess I'm a visitor here? And I guess that's my question too: what are all of you doing here? Are you workers here?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I suppose you'd say we're visitors as well. We're friends and family of the owner. Not necessarily of each other, sometimes, but it's usually peaceful here.

[excavated]

Yeah, it isn't too bad in this place. And the sakura tree here is gorgeous as well. Although, I probably should introduce myself properly first.

[ takes a sip of his tea ]

I'm Syaoran, and that's Karen-san. And the person I was fighting is Natsuno-san.

[foundationmods]

Usually peaceful, riiiiight. That sparklepire fight I walked in on was just the exception.

[But he nods at the names. ]

Right, got it. I'm on a super-secret mission right now, so I can't give you my real name. Buuuuuuut I guess 'John Doe' will work.

[sotoshini]

[ Snapping from the brooding corner. ]

Don't call me that. [ There are two people who can call him that and neither of them are here. ] Koide.

The sparkling part was the exception. [ He is not done with you Tsubasa but carry on ig. ]

1/2

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen gives Natsuno/Koide/etc. a "suffering babysitter just wants the kids to behave for five seconds" look.]

2/2

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Then she turns back to the newcomer like nothing happened.]

Doe-san it is, then.

[excavated]

[ Thanks, Karen.... Tsubasa doesn't exactly say anything just yet, but he nods in confirmation. ]

Okay. I won't ask about your super-secret mission, Doe-san, but if you came here, that means that you must have a wish. Right?

[foundationmods]

I guess So! I wouldn't be here otherwise, right? That while 'ooooo you're fated to be hereeeee' thing or whatever.

[He holds up his hands and wiggled his fingers in the 'spooky' gesture. ]

I'm not really supposed to talk about it, Titi told me to keep it a secret. Buuuut if you guys can help, then I guess it's ok!

See, I found out that a trial is gonna happen soon. It's like, a huge deal. And I'm not on trial, so I know I should just keep my head down and not cause trouble. But the guy running the whole thing? He's a huge dillhole and is gonna try and get the people on trial voted guilty. And the jury already thinks they're guilty and is out for blood. But I don't think they're as bad as everyone says! So I want to help them, but I don't know how.

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen shifts uncomfortably.]

[excavated]

[ Tsubasa's gaze shifts worriedly at Karen for a second before he looks back at John Doe, continuing to respond in a calm manner. ]

We'll try to help as much as we possibly can. But can you explain to us what exactly this trial is about? We'll need more information before we can actually figure out how we can help you.

[foundationmods]

Ok, I guess? We all work for the same company, but some of the workers are like...not from around here? And the top boss is ok with them, but some of the other employees aren't, because this one group keeps messing up. And now people are accusing them of murder and stuff, and I'm like "woah there! That's quite the crime!" But they're not listening to me because I'm new to the company.

[excavated]

You mean that they're all foreigners. . . ?

[ He's trying to get a handle of the situation here, humming a little inquisitively. ]

Those are all accusations though, right? Is there any proof that they did the things that they were accused of?

[foundationmods]

Oh no, lots of people actually died. But it wasn't really on purpose, you know? Some of it was accidents, and sometimes people killed in self-defense and stuff. So it doesn't really seem fair to blame them for that, you know? It's not like they wanted to hurt anyone.

[excavated]

[ hm, bad ]

. . . Self-defense? What exactly happened to elicit that?

[ He does agree that self-defense does mean that it isn't entirely fair to blame them for that.

Although since Karen's here, he might as well glance at her to see if she has an Opinion on this. ]

[sotoshini]

Murder is murder. If you want to dress it up to ease the guilt or utilize some rule or law that's up to you.

[ He is here and listening even though his eyes are closed most of the time. ]

Justifications are relative. But if you want help, details matter.

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen is still not sure how much she wants to talk to a stranger about unjust murder accusations, but this has gone in a Direction, and also Natsuno's comment sounds like a good reason to immediately say something else.]

Are any of the other people involved associate with the same company--the victims, the judge...?

[foundationmods]

[Yeah uh. Good idea Karen. ]

Oh! Yeah, it's all in-house. Secret organization and all.

Are those two gonna be ok? Is there some bad blood that's gotta be fought out?

[oceanicbutterfly]

He [gestures to Natsuno] didn't want to be here, and it's his [hi Syaoran] fault they're here anyway.

[Technicalities make the best cover stories.]

So, to summarize, this secret organization has a group in it that's unpopular. Another group is accusing them of being dangerous, and planning to put on a "trial" as an excuse to get rid of them.

[hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm]

[foundationmods]

[He looks to Natsuno. Then to Syaoran. Then back to Natsuno. ]

That's rough, buddy. Guess you're not 'friends or family' then.

[And right back to Karen he goes!]

That's about It! Titi thinks we might have to be sneaky and rescue them, but I think we would be like, a better lawyer for them? Except I'm not really a lawyer. And it sucks! We need a plan, but there's not much time to make one. We only have the time we have now because a bunch of people went AWOL and they're like 'What the fuck we need to find them.'

[excavated]

Wait. [ . . . ] You said 'a bunch of people went AWOL', right? How many?