[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.]

[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.

[Vanille is smiling at the screen, greeting anyone watching with a wave.] Hello, Gardens!

Uhhh, I just have a question. Did anyone... hm. [She purses her lips, giving herself a minute to figure out how she is going to ask this. It is quite random, after all.]

Well... did any of you ladies have, say, a power of some sort before you got here that you no longer have now or has changed a bit?

[ 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.

[Wearing a cute, pink dress that flows above her knees, Vanille feels her mood is good tonight. She hasn't allowed herself to show any signs of it, but she's been down ever since she woke up here. She misses Fang, a dear friend of hers whom she has parted from once before, but this wishing idea puts a smile on her face. She definitely knows what she'll wish for. Or who, rather.

Tilting her head back and facing up at the sky, Vanille closes her eyes...]

I wish for Oerba Yun Fang. Bring Fang back to me, okay?

[Suddenly, the noise of a hard landing sounds itself nearby, and Vanille quickly opens her eyes to spot a capsule. Excited, she hurries toward it and opens it with haste, only to find... a familiar-looking blue earring--just one--in the shape of a fang. She sighs, but still manages to wear a small smile.]

Well... at least it's something.

[ action ]

[It's almost normal through the day, with the sun shining merrily away in a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. But as the sun sinks down to the horizon, the light doesn't go out. Instead, new light starts to shine in, and by the time the sun has slipped over the edge of the world (which may actually be true here), the sea of stars is back, glittering ceaselessly.]

[ video ]

Well, now!

[Tonight's subject is a young woman. The background is a bit vague, but it seems to be a round, white stone room, with a window looking out into the sea of stars.]

It's only good manners to introduce myself, isn't it? I am the Damsel, and tonight, we're going to start taking care of a little problem together! Only you shouldn't think of it as a problem at all; think of it as a Chanukah opportunity!

[She pronounces the Ch in Chanukah like the ch in church.]

Although I suppose not all of you even know what that holiday is, being from different worlds and all that, but learning is fun, don't you think? It's a holiday about light! Every night, you light more candles. So we're going to have a reverse Chanukah. Every night, there will be fewer stars! How will we do this, my friends? Why, we're going to wish on the stars!

Make wishes! Make all the wishes you like! With every one, a star will fall. Who knows? Perhaps your wishes will come true. Wouldn't that be romantic? Now let's get to our wishing-work!

[She starts to reach over to turn off the Vine, but then stops.]

One more thing! The Queen means well, but she can be a bit easily distracted, and I notice she forgot to provide you all with clothes other than what you woke up in and what you came here in...well, I've fixed that! Take a look in the necessities sometime. I hope you like my choices!

[And indeed, the necessities now have various sorts of closets and wardrobes containing clothes of exactly the size whoever opens them needs. Unfortunately, they're all a very specific style: flowing dresses and skirts, lacy blouses, flowery things. Except for a few items, slipped in amongst the others, that are distinctly racy in nature, from slinky little dresses to shimmery lingerie.]

Um... hello everyone! I hope today finds you all well. I'm doing very good myself.

Oh, but I should introduce myself properly. [she does a quick bow.] My name is Himeko Kurusu. It's been nice meeting new people here, so I hoped I might meet some more like this.

I'd also like to say that um... well, my older sister Chikane is here too. She's a bit strange at times, but she's a nice person so please try to get along with her if you can. If she does anything too strange, please let me know and I'll try to do something about it. [cough cough]

Also, I've talked about it with some other people but... does anyone have any idea why there are no boys here?

[A curious redhead appears on screen with widened eyes and an expression with confusion and intrigue written all over it.]

Wow... That's sure different from what I'm used to.

[She gives herself a minute to absorb all of what she's unfamiliar with, which is of course everything.]

Um. Ha. [A smile comes naturally.] Hello! My name is Vanille. [And then a weak little wave that lacks confidence.]