_{[Nausicaä adjusts her flying cap on her head as the mirror forms an image of her. Her mask is dangling in her other hand.]}

I think I'm going to make a trip to the edges of the Garden, just to see for myself.

Would anyone like to come?

_{[[EDIT: Log is up here.]]}

[The mirror pops into view, flickers a few times, then reveals the Queen of Hearts once again, still against a dark background. This time, there's a holly wreath perched atop her hair.]

I'm sorry I haven't had the time to listen to all your helpful suggestions, darlings! It turns out creating a world is hard work...ahahaha, who knew?

Besides, I'm feeling a bit...

[She trails off, looking absently to the side, then quickly readjusts her wreath and continues.]

Anyway! One of my less tame incarna has shown her face, has she? I may not like her attitude, but I think she had a good idea this time. There are so many ways to enjoy this season, but this might be the best!

Now, I have work to do. At this rate, the whole place will fall down around my ears while I'm working on opening the dungeons...ah, it's enough to drive a girl crazy!

[And the mirror shrivels back up. But the mistletoe, that remains, wherever you are...]

[OOC: The Queen won't be replying to comments directed at her (she is, like she said, busy), but this post is free to be used for general mistletoe antics and mingling so that everyone who wants to make use of the mistletoe doesn't have to make a whole post.]

[A new face has shown up on the vine tonight! It must be; how many people here are decked out in one of those especially revealing Santa costumes? In any case, she's smiling very tersely indeed, leaning down for a rather nice view of the... ornaments.]

Ladies, ladies, ladies! I am most disappointed.

I've been keeping a list and checking it twice, but there's not enough naughty and far too much nice. Means you wouldn't know how to take advantage of wishes if they were tied to a chair in tinsel and pretty lights, for those who can't keep up.

Where's your holiday spirit? 'Tis the season to be giving! If you're into receiving, that's fine too. Her royal bustiness told us you'd be encouraged in no time, honestly.

It's high time I take matters into my own hands, don't you think? Yes? Glad we agree!

[That's that, apparently. It takes nothing more than a teasing flick of the wrist to prompt some alarmingly quick plant growth in the background. Maybe you've encountered these before. Then have a kiss blown at the mirror, as if to demonstrate:]

Now pucker up, girls. You'll thank me later.

[OOC: You heard the, um, lady. Mistletoe now decorates the Gardens, and any two people caught beneath it will be compelled to kiss. For child and pre-teen characters, this does not have to be a kiss on the mouth. The mistletoe will last through Saturday the 18th, after which point it can be assumed that the Vamp got bored of putting it back up after its victims tore it down or set it on fire.]

[When night falls on the Gardens tonight, something different happens: instead of the bright-as-daylight sea of stars, a more normal sky eventually fades into existance. Stars can still be seen, though they're nowhere near as bright as the wishing stars.]

[Video]

[And then, not long after night fully envelops the Gardens, the Vine's mirror unfurls, revealing a rather serious-looking woman.]

I hope you all learned something from this. Simply wishing for something isn't going to make it happen; wishing for things from home, wishing to bring the excess stars down... you put no effort into this.

Contrary to what most people may think, this holiday is not some festival celebrating light; it's a celebration of a military victory against overwhelming odds.

As a final note: Damsel, you pronounce Chanukah wrong.

[ Apparently, Revan has just finished changing out of the white shift she arrived in; she's found her Jedi robes, and the video feed catches her fastening her belt and checking the various attached pouches, then pinning her hair up out of her face. The flash of the mirror seems to catch her eye, though, and she looks up, blinking at it. ]

Well, this is— [ She walks over to it, studies it. ] Different. A communications device of some kind? Can anyone see me, or hear me?

[ Her lips part as if she's about to say more, but her attention is abruptly arrested away from the mirror — one of the rabbits is gnawing on the hem of her cloak. ]

Hey, that's— [ She laughs. ] You'll get indigestion, bunny. Go on. [ Shooing it away, she picks up her cloak from the grass, shrugs it on. ]

I should take a look around, see what's here. Maybe find another of those cats; the first one was helpful at least. Though I can't say I've ever heard of using cats to carry information.

[ She looks around again, thoughtfully. ]

Huh. This place reminds me of Dantooine in the spring — only with more flowers.

We're certainly getting a lot of newcomers, aren't we? And still no answers.

...from what I've learned, going to the edges of the garden and returning with the soil allows you to create things. Houses, items, whatever you'd like.

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a dream.

[ Aribeth seems quite unaware she is being recorded by the Vine; there's a kind of awe in her voice as she takes in her surroundings. ]

Am I— Have I died? Is this Tyr's realm? But I had not thought... Surely I cannot have atoned, there's not been time—

[ Her voice catches; quite suddenly, she's nearly in tears. But her tone steadies as she continues to speak; she's beginning to realize something is off. ]

But there is my armor, and... [ The ringing sound of a bladed weapon being drawn. ] My sword. What manner of place—

[ She pauses abruptly. ] —A cat? [ A sound of rustling paper as she unrolls the scroll the cat has brought her, and a longer pause as she reads through it. And then she seems to notice the Vine. ]

Some sort of... communication device? [ She's quiet for a moment, feeling faintly ridiculous, before she speaks. ] Ah, hello? Can anyone hear me? My name is... Aribeth de Tylmarande, and I would greatly appreciate it if anyone might be able to tell me what's going on. I fear I may be a bit lost. This... isn't Faerûn, is it?

—Whatever it may be, it's... beautiful. I haven't seen a garden like this since... since I was a girl.

[Minako has discovered the arcade. Her natural habitat. In fits of joy, she has sprinted around trying out all the games, before finally settling down into a steady Sushi Cat addiction. Damn it, Heavy Cat, why can't you get that last little pieceeeeee.]

Alright! Come on! One to-- no, no, noooooo, don't die, kitty! Darn it! Alright, one more time!

[She's not exactly being subtle. Or quiet. Will you tell her to shut up? Or challenge her to a game?]

[She pauses to talk to the Vine, though:]

==♡ VIDEO ♡==

Hey, your Maj, I love the games, and seriously, you're soooooo awesome for not making us pay for them, but… why no Sailor V Game, huh? I'm only saying it's the best arcade game ever. Everyone can agree that we could use a little more Sailor V, right?

[She seems to have forgiven, at least temporarily, all the kidnapping and stuff. Fickle girl.]

[ video ; Giselle is sitting cross-legged on the ground, with birds roosting on her head, one of the cats lazing in her lap. She is wearing a dress that is neither the default white one nor her regular pink; instead, it looks suspiciously like it was made from a pair of mismatched curtains. But in a good way! She beams at the mirror, one hand idly scratching behind the cat's ears. ]

Well! Now that we have all gotten a bit more settled into this charming place, I think we should perhaps get to know each other a little better! When you are away from home, nothing is nicer to have than a true friend, don't you think? So I asked the Vine if I could perhaps talk to everyone at once and, well, it didn't say anything because it is a plant and does not have lips, the poor dear, but I got the impression that it was saying yes! It gave me a mirror, at any rate. So!

In the interest of Forming a Common Bond and Getting to Know Each Other, I thought we could play a nice little game! Why don't we all tell each other our names, perhaps where we are from, and one or two interesting facts about ourselves? I will go first, to get everything off to a nice, happy start!

My name is Giselle! I am from Andalasia, and I ♪ looove to siiiiiing! ♫ I have not yet found my One True Love, but I am working on it! Also, my favorite thing in all the world -- except for singing, of course! -- is to make new friends! I do so hope we can all be the very best!

Now it's your turn!

[ Giselle gives the mirror a smile almost maniacal in its warmth and sincerity. If she had an acoustic guitar, she probably would pull it out now; instead she just begins to sing softly as she waits for replies, still stroking the cat in her lap. (The cat is largely unimpressed, but will put up with a lot for a good ear-scritching.) A few of the birds tweet along as background music. ]

♪ Getting to knoooow you!
Getting to know all about you;
Getting to liiiike you!
Getting to hope you like me... ♫

_{[Nausicaä stands atop one of the taller pieces of ruins, one leg up as she peers away from the mirror. A breeze whips at her flying jacket, the dark blue cloth rippling around her legs. She finally turns back to the mirror, looking thoughtful.]}

These ruins... they remind me of some of the ones back home; the cities and towns that were swallowed by the Sea of Corruption. Except here there's no miasma. No spores. I wonder what happened...?

_{[She pauses and shrugs.]}

At least we're not going to starve to death anytime soon. But still....

_{[Feel free to come upon her. Or just talk.]}

[When she sees the mirror appear, she smiles warmly at it.]... Nice to see that this Vine appreciates my charms, too...

[Lou has altered her plain white dress to be much more revealing than it used to be. She's also been experimenting with some of the berries she's found in the orchard since she's gotten here, and painted with them across her chest in big, block letters: 'For Rent.']

Hope no one minds that in light of some of the Queen's having some younger guests, I'll have to use a few euphemisms for this.

It occurs to me that some of you ladies here might be ...in need of some special attention while we're here. I have to imagine that at least some of you enjoy the more ...risque activities. If you're hormones levels are climbing anyplace near mine, well, I'm happy to offer my services.

I am Louisa Dem Five of New Hong Kong, owner and proprietor of both franchises of the Velvet Fist, and a fully licensed sex professional.

And I'm here for you for as long as you need me, ladies. Or even if you just want me. [Wink.]

I know a lot of people with special talents but it seems like it all ends right there. Almost all of them would be better suited to being here than myself. At least they could help out others or at least do something. I always thought that being able to fly in the sea of stars would help everyone. Everyone on Earth could work together to discover new planets and plan to send even more people out into space.

But how is that any help? I'm only a pilot. Not a survivor or fighter. Maybe...maybe with a ship or even the Astelion, I could fly out of here but what good am I without that?

I need to find something that I can do.

[Suddenly, there's video on the vines of a nervous looking red-haired young fawn-ish looking woman, blushing and stammering all over herself, and having a little bit of trouble with the mirror, considering she keeps trying to turn it and it keeps shaking all over the place]

Ooooh…How does this even...L-listen, has anyone seen a-a guitar anywhere? I...I found most of my stuff but I think one of the animals ran off with my…

[The video swivels over to an empty guitar stand] my guitar and… [it turns back]

Well, I just really need to find it and I’ve never been here before and I have no idea where to look...

Um...Or maybe you've seen the rest of my b-band anywhere? Maybe you've seen us? M-milkcan if that sounds like anything. O-or have you seen a blond cat or a short woman with some dynamite in her head?

[The mirror drops suddenly and starts to lift up again before she grabs it and points it at herself]

Keele? Galenos? ...Quicke? Is Meredy the only one here?

[She pouts a bit, looking around again before she looks back at the mirror in front of her. It's really pretty, but she's never seen technology work like this. But she'd seen a lady in it just earlier, so it had to be for communication. Like Elara phone, except more primitive. There's a pause before she speaks again, and she seems to be concentrating to try something.]

Baiba! Elara is... not working! No one here is... Celestian?

[Nausicaä looks rather serious, although there's a bit of a smile on her lips - she seems friendly, at ease. She's used to talking to large groups of people, apparently. She's used to leading.]

I should introduce myself first - I am Nausicaä, Daughter of Jihil, Chieftain of the Valley of the Wind.

I realize we've all just arrived her and we're all very confused, but I think it's vital that we take stock of the situation as quickly as we can and then try to do our best to survive together. Right now we don't know how we're going to get home, how we got here in the first place. We've been promised and shelter, but even so, we need to make sure there's enough for everyone.

I'm not sure where all of you are from or what your homes are like, but I know that my own country is harsh; times are bad. I don't want the same thing to happen here. I want all of us to get home safely as soon as we can. We need to take stock of what we have and what we're going to need and how far this garden extends around us.

I can't force any of you to work with me and I don't plan to. I'm simply going to ask that you think of others as well as yourselves.

That's all I wanted to say - thank you.

[ video ; Giselle is slightly back from the mirror and looks startled, as if she was taken by surprise and jumped back. She recovers quickly and approaches the mirror again. ]

Another one? My, this is curious! Your highness, are you still there? [ evidently, she is unaware that this is being broadcast to more than just the Queen. ] This is a lovely garden, and I would be so pleased to view it sometime soon, but you see I was out collecting wildflowers and I only meant to be a few hours -- perhaps I fell asleep and, er, sleepwalked, I have heard cases of such things -- but it's after dark now and Pip and the animals will be so worried, I really must get home to assure them I haven't fallen into some evil ogre's lair and require a daring rescue mission to be mounted in my name...

Hello? Oh dear, is anyone there?

[Wherever you are, so long as you're here already, a vine unfurls, and unfurls, and unfurls until it's holding a lifesize mirror. For a moment there's only darkness in it, and then someone steps out of the shadows and into view: a woman.]

You're here already! Isn't it wonderful? I hope it's wonderful. You see, I've been working so hard to make things right; there's still work to be done, of course, but I think it's good enough for now, don't you? I'm so happy to see you! All of you. It's been a long time...

Oh, oh, did I forget to introduce myself? I was so excited.

I'm...

[Her gaze goes distant, her expression misty and faraway.]

I am the Queen of Hearts.

You're going to love it here!

[Without further ado, the mirror curls back up.]

[ Someone accidentally started the feed by bumping into one of those green and leafy vines, and through the mirror appears the scrawny, disheveled form of-- is it a boy or a girl?-- who knows what it is. Large, droopy eyes twitch, those dark pupils darting back and forth rapidly, before the timid little voice squeaks out, ]

Why is this little one bringing me stuff? I've never heard of a cat who likes to play fetch, I don't know if I can deal with that...

[ Before this person is one of those helpful little guide cats, offering them up a scroll. ] You don't understand. I have to get back to Lady Medusa or bad things will happen! You should just go away, it's easier to deal with you when you're walking away. . .

[ But the cat shows no signs of retreat, now nudging with the scroll. This person clutches their elbow with the opposite hand and drives their fingernails painfully into the flesh there; Crona shakes violently. ]

You don't understand. The little ones never understand-- a-ah... aaah--

[ A tortured scream tears from Crona's lips suddenly, finally driving the cat away. ]

--a... aaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhh...!

Where's Ragnarok?! Why can't I release him? I don't know how to deal with this!

Personal log of Major Anna Lin, on or about 0030, 11/26/17.

Asking where this place is, let alone what it is, is a berzerk button for that card the Queen. I'm going to assume that finding out is my most important objective while I'm here. So let's see what I know...

I'm fairly sure that this is neither a honeytrap or a Bliss hallucination - it's a lot more lucid than most missions or sleeping dreams, and then of course there's the fact that I can't manifest here and I'm haven't been immediately eaten. That points to this being a physical location in the Wake.

Wherever the hell I am, this is not the base back home: I'm going to assume I was captured by the self-styled 'Queen of Hearts,' who I must presume is hostile. Nor am I alone; there are more than 20 and less than 60 other inhabitants.

All of them are female, which is not making ME feel any better. God knows why it's only girls, if he hasn't Blissed. They haven't taken Merry, Laura or Sara, for which I am VERY thankful, but it's probably only a matter of time. A very selfish part of me wishes that Merry or Laura were here - I could use the compa

[It's at this point that you can start to interrupt. Have fun.]

Addendum: As the information in this log has been compromised, and the only truly personal part of this log was cut off, I'm making this log public. A formality, at this point, but no one who reads this should feel embarrassed to have done so. No harm, no foul.

- Anna Lin