S'il vous plaît nous divertir

[stringmods]

Who: Those involved in the kidnapping plot
Where: The Underground
Summary: Mingle log for those who signed up to be kidnapped
Warnings: PG-13 to be safe


Wherever you might have been last night... well, you certainly aren't there anymore.

Upon waking up, you'll find yourself in completely different clothes than you were in before, consisting of an elegant toga and a crown made of flowers of various sizes, types, and colors; surprisingly, whatever equipment you usually use in fights is still on you as well. Many other Visitors are awake or rousing around you, and you all seem to be contained within a rather large cage. The design is very reminiscent of Greek architecture, decorated with flowers, colorful tapestries, and embedded with seashells in the floor and walls. Any powers you may have to easily get you out of here... well, they don't seem to be working as they should be right now. Beyond the cage you can make out two demonic looking figures standing guard by a door leading outside of the room, but they don't seem particularly interested in what's going on in the cage.

Whether you like it or not, there doesn't seem to be any escape for the time being. Perhaps you should talk to your fellow captives and see if anyone has any idea of what's going on, or maybe yell out at the guards? Come to think of it, there seems to be two people mingling in the cage that you may not recognize as Visitors such as yourself...

[OOC Note: It's time to mingle! See what your fellow captives are up to (as well as some NPCs later). Will there be a way to escape? Will you be rescued? Or will you have to endure whatever is waiting for you? Try not to panic!]

Comments

[bondsofsuffering]

[Here's one of those new faces. His eyes go briefly to the two stuffed bears, but he won't look for long since that would be awkward and rude.]

Well, we're probably safe for the moment, so I'm trying to save the panic for when I need it.

[His body language is very open and friendly. It's hard to say if he's just joking to lighten the mood or being serious.]

How are you holding up?

[hinoto_npcs]

Ahaha, yeah...I guess that's smart. Saving your terror for fuel later.

[From the girl's sudden pout, she at least chose to take it as an attempt to lighten the mood. Not that it worked, but hey! A for effort.]

I'm, holding my bears. And I'm standing up, so. [Her own attempt was even weaker, but hey, She Tried.] I wouldn't be doing either if they hadn't given me G and G actually, but if they think that means I'll actually fight, then they're still out of their gourd!

[Seems someone knew something about their situation...]

[bondsofsuffering]

[There were two very interesting things said there, but he'll make note of one for later and focus on the important bit for now.]

Fight? Ahh, I suppose that's why we were left with weapons.

[hinoto_npcs]

We try not to involve the Visitors in these sorts of things- [Her face soured, and she looked down at her lack-of-shoes.] Sorry, no offense meant! But, um...people get impatient waiting for the Prix, so things like this pop up, you know? Tournaments, fights, shady stuff. My stupid neighbor's really in to this scene.

[A pause, and she fidgeted with the flower crown sitting on her bear's head.] ...I thought all the fighting rings got stamped out, though. I guess it's impossible to get them all.

[bondsofsuffering]

None taken!

[He keeps his tone light, despite the topic and general situation.]

So this is a well-known thing with normal residents? I guess Visitors are probably too unpredictable to be much fun in a fight.

Though... is it normal for demons to be involved in this kind of thing, too?

[He casts a glance at their guards.]

[hinoto_npcs]

It's sorta normal? The demons especially, whatever keeps them from eating people is fine by me. But nobody's really proud of this stuff, I guess? It gets downplayed by the media, especially the media you guys usually get access to. And the Government doesn't...

[She pursed her lips, looking to the side like she was telling a large secret.]

...all of us Hinoto-rians don't want you Visitors to think we're useless, or helpless.

[bondsofsuffering]

...Well, I'm not going to lie to you and say that all of us Visitors think you're all fine people who can handle everything by yourselves.

[Since that's clearly not the case in multiple ways.]

But... As for me, you guys obviously make up a pretty good force of your own. It was your own people who were able to protect the Mayor during the Prix - we did what we could to help, but in the end it came down to native Hinoto-rians.

[...He says, as if he helped at all during that incident, but he won't mention that.]

[hinoto_npcs]

...I feel sort of bad, now. [She gave a sad sort of laugh, looking up at Hizumi properly, cheeks a little red.] I was always worried we'd end up seeing all the Visitors as a crutch, or a band-aid over the problem. But...I was being stubborn. I'm glad I was wrong, for the most part.

[Or the least part. Really, any part- she'll take what she can get. TL;DR SHES GLAD THAT THE VISITORS DONT THINK THE CITIZENS ARE HELPLESS BABBIES OK THANK.]

Oh! I'm Shui, Shui Nagase. The most useless Support user this side of Aquarius!

[The little salute she gave was pretty self-depreciating.]

[bondsofsuffering]

[He gives a salute as well, although there's a bit more flourish to it than Shui's.]

Hizumi Mizushiro, Visitor and Persona-user! Although not really by choice, I'm afraid. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but given the circumstances, that's probably not exactly appropriate.

[hinoto_npcs]

We can nicely meet when we're out of here. Assuming we survive.

[A pause, and a nervous laugh.] Assuming I do, more likely. I've never been in a fight in my life! If I make it out of this, though, I am totally trying out for the Prix next year.

[Aaaah, back to sarcasm, much more comfortable than political feelings or togas.]

[bondsofsuffering]

Just think of it as gaining experience! You know, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and all of that.

[hinoto_npcs]

That's hardly fair, giving debuffs to people who don't rez.

[omf shui stop thinking backwards-]

...do I even have any healing spells, actually? It woulda been nice if they had let us take out new Personas before we got kidnapped.

[bondsofsuffering]

Right? I chose my Velvet Room Persona for fun, so it might be difficult to fight seriously with him...

[hinoto_npcs]

I guess I could "purify water" someone to death- they might consider that cheating, though. Honestly, I'll be better off with just G and G.

[bondsofsuffering]

G and G? Are those your teddy bears?

[hinoto_npcs]

Gris gris, yep!

[With a snap of her fingers, the two pseudo-bears perked up in her arms, looking around like they'd come out of a daze.]

Shit, don't snap so loud...
Oh! Green too!!

[For the most part, Shui just smiled and shifted the demon(s?) in her arm.]

Since my Persona is support-focused, my brother found me a demon that was willing to watch out for me. They've already saved me from two muggings and one incident with a trash bin, so I really owe them!

[bondsofsuffering]

Heeeh, that was nice of him!

[He bends over a little, hands on his knees, so his face is level with the demons... Although he's also cautious enough to leave some space between them and himself.]

Do you have to give them something in return for all of this?

[hinoto_npcs]

Booze. Whiskey, sometimes vodka.

[Shui gave a nod of confirmation, not even batting an eyelash otherwise.]

They love sake the most. Have you ever seen a demon drink four liters of alcohol in one sitting? Horrific.

[bondsofsuffering]

[Given that they're demons, this is not exactly surprising.]

I can only imagine. It must have been a traumatizing sight!

[hinoto_npcs]

My wallet cried for weeks! It took a lot of therapy to recover from that. And two paychecks. Two overtime paychecks.

[bondsofsuffering]

You poor, poor girl. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that...!

[hinoto_npcs]

If nothing else, hardship breeds future strength!

[Shui seemed to pause and take in the current banter, easing in to a simple, honest smile.]

...I guess your 'collected' quality is contagious.

[bondsofsuffering]

Well, I figure it's better this way than to just let everyone stew in their panic, right?

[hinoto_npcs]

An admirable quality, for sure. Maybe when we're out of here, you can teach me to do that.

...again, assuming we get out of here, but I'm somewhat more optimistic now.

[bondsofsuffering]

[He scratches at his face sheepishly.] I'm not sure if it's something so easily taught, but...

If we do make it out, hunt me down and we'll see!