[In the late evening, the video suddenly turns on as there's a loud thump and a splatter, like something wet just hit the ground next to the vine. At the first, the picture is dark and its hard to make out the shape there. A trembling silhouette, hunched over as it rises unsteadily off the ground - the form seems small and thin, but draped in lengthy darkness - hair? - but also the limbs seems somehow... too long. Claws?

What little light there is reflects off the eyes of the cats coming to greet the new arrival, but as they draw closer, they hiss and their hair stands on end before they turn and run. The figure in the dark collapses back onto the ground again, curling up, shrinking in on itself.

For a moment, all is still. Then there's a soft, muffled noise as that huddled figure trembles. Sobbing. The vine finally sheds some light on the situation, illuminating the curled, dripping wet form of Kazumi, curled up in a glen on the grassy floor, clutching herself and sobbing quietly. It's a few moments before she opens her eyes, looking around, noticing the vine for the first time. She looks helpless, lost, but her first question isn't "Where am I?"]

Who am I? What am I?

[text]
Since the Powers That Be have decided that they want to give us all cavities and diabetes, I am keeping a big pot of stew going at Beaumont for anyone who needs emergency food that is not candy. If I am not there, Bulbasaur or one of the robots will be in charge of it. Do not worry, they are all sanitary. It is free to use so do not avoid it if you do not have food. There are severe health consequences to eating only sugar, which I guess the people in charge do not care about.

-----

Also if there is anybody that needs a place to stay, Beaumont has a lot of rooms open. It is by the lake on the northwest side, and is pretty convenient as far as being close to places. There are some robots here that do the housekeeping stuff. Also you will get a lot of free snacks because I bake a lot. I guess that is not much of a benefit right now but there you go. Pets are OK.

[action/video]

[Hi, Ladygarden residents. Do you like your reality TV to have normally linefaced girls curled up on the ground and crying in the middle of nowhere? Because the Vine has decided that is the hot new thing in entertainment. (The more perceptive viewers might notice she seems less opaque around the edges than usual.)

[After a moment, she notices the mirror broadcasting her. She makes a few awkward attempts to turn it off, then lets her arm flop to the ground.]

Fine. I give up.

[S'up, Ladygardens. Yumeko is currently inside the Spaceship — somewhere in the kitchen, most likely, from the looks of the background. On top of the counter she is standing behind, a number of sugar skulls are lined up. She glares at them. The names written on them don't bother her, but—]

"Excuse me," I begin, sounding irritated. [No, that isn't a sudden switch to first person prose. She's just...narrating her actions. For some reason.] "But could someone explain to me what the meaning of this is? I don't know how I'm expected to make adequate meals for Lady Shinki when all that's available to me are...these." I gesture toward the skulls. [And she does, fairly aggressively.]

I set my hands on my hips and sigh. [siiigh] "There's hardly any food to be seen, no matter how far out I go. And to make matters worse, after going too far, I wound up like this," I explain, placing a hand to my chest to indicate myself. I mean the fact that I can't seem to stop narrating my actions, of course. "Does anyone know what to do? It's not as though I don't have any food stored up, but I'd rather not be stingy..."

[Eiko doesn't look all that great as she frowns into the vine.  She went a little overboard after discovering sugar skulls with Shiiko's name on them and finding out she could relive some of their childhood memories through them.  Almost a dozen skulls later and...]

Is there a doctor of some kind in the Garden?

[Jessica sits in the orchard, a sugar skull in hand. She glares at the mirror.]

OK, this? Isn't funny. For a lot of reasons.

This is a new low for whoever is in charge. Consider this an official complaint.

[A few deep breaths before she actually speaks. She sounds kind of off, like she's not as energetic.]

...For those who don't know... It would appear Xion's gone home.

[It takes all of Sora's strength to not let her voice crack. She'll be fine. She has to be.]

I'm... Sure she'll be happy, wherever she is. With memories of here.

[And that's all Sora can bring herself to say before leaving the vine and going to the kitchen to clean and maybe make lunch. The treehouse feels empty without Xion, and she's not sure what she wants to do in that respect. Maybe she'll go stay somewhere else for a little while.]

[It is a cold morning, and most people would be bundled up. One girl is not though. Kanako is walking through the gardens in just her summer uniform, which is all wrinkled and doesn't look washed. She herself looks like she has not eaten in days, and is going on auto pilot.

When she reaches a lake she stops, and stares at the anyone that is walking by. For a moment a smile appears on her face... but it is quickly replaced by one of fear and self disgust. She grabs a rock on the ground and starts to hit herself on the head. Blood starts to roll down her face as she starts to scream.]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD! YOU PERVERTED THOUGHTS!! GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!

[The Vine opens up to reveal the inside of Utena's dormitory, the Tower Room in particular. It's spacious and lacking in decoration and furniture, except for a strangely shaped bed that Anthy is sitting on, her legs together and her hands in her lap as she faces the screen with a serene smile. She'd like to address the residents of the Gardens for the first time, formally.]

Hello. [For the most part she's been keeping to herself. A hideous spattering of nightmares and the strange incidents of the past month have kept her from revealing herself too soon. Among other reasons. It hasn't been a pleasant arrival for her, but she doesn't appear disturbed or distressed in the least.] Ah, how to begin? I'm quite new, you see, so you may not recognize me.

Then again. [Her voice switches key, imperceptibly. Lower, a bit darker.] This room here is a place I do recognize. [Anthy brightens up her tone and her smile before she speaks again.] I was wondering...

If anybody knew the person who used to live here?

[OOC: first post ahhhh she's trying to find out more about Utena obviously but please feel free to bug this antisocial loser so she can maybe make some friends god.]

[When the Vine opens up, there's no one to be seen on screen. Instead, it simply displays what has probably by now become a familiar landmark in the Gardens — Jessica's fortress. Just when you might think this is an accidental video of some kind, Nue speaks. Her voice seems to come from somewhere directly below the recording mirror. The truth of the matter is that she's sitting with her back against whatever the Vine happens to be perched on on her end. This is the first anyone will have heard from her in the days since her death at the hands of the woman in the well, Nue having been staying out of sight and sleeping in public places rather than returning to what had been her home.]

Hey. This place is empty, right? I looked around inside, and all I could find were robots. [Though said robots seem to have been doing a good job of keeping the place clean. Not a lot of dust to be found, which just makes staying there all the more appealing to her.] Because... I don't think I'm going to stay at the shrine anymore. So if no one is using in this place, I think I'll just live here from now on.

[She goes quiet for a few seconds, the image on screen unchanging. Then, eventually, she says,] That's all I have to say. I just— I wanted to make sure it was empty, and I thought I should say something in case anyone actually cares where I am.

( Voice - Private to Yuyuko )

( Text - Private to Kariya & Reimu )


[ ooc: The public portion is also open to action. ]

At the Tohno Mansion
[A certain someone had returned home, looking a little disoriented and a bit confused. After experiencing her first death in the gardens, she had admittedly stayed away for a short while, still a bit confused about the whole thing. That and she had to sort out her own feelings on certain things. Hopefully Akiha wouldn't mind too much that she was gone for a couple of days?

Whatever it was, she walked into the front door a little dirty but nothing worse than that. Maybe she could sneak in without being noticed.]


Video
...did I miss something? I feel like something important happened and I wasn't there for it. Or maybe I was...

I don't really know.

[She tilts her head, as if trying to recall something, probably something she had attempted to forget, but lingered there with a sense of detachment. Suddenly, excitement pops back into her eyes.]

Aside from that, I'm feeling like something big! A big cake...the biggest one here. How do I get someone to make that?

[Kazumi's expression is worried; not surprising after how the last few weeks have been. She wasn't really affected much, but she saw people who were...]

Is everyone alright now? Back to normal...?

[She sighs, looking a bit forlorn.]

Things making people act unlike themselves... what's "like yourself" though, other than how you acted before? I mean... what makes up a person? Our bodies? Our actions? Our memories?

[Memories...]

...hey, what do memories mean to you? How important are your memories? If you had something painful in your past... do you think it'd be better not to remember it?

[She's taking the video just outside the apartment complex, so anyone is free to run into her there or respond over the vine]

Hello.

[Her voice is faint, whispering and hoarse, but it is usually that way, just not always quite so soft. Zinc, pale-skinned and dark-haired, is sitting on the front porch of her little house, one robot cat curled against her side, and a robot bug in her lap.

She's watching the birds in her courtyard wistfully.]

It has been... difficult again. I heard screaming. Sometimes, I wonder... why the Queen lets us be hurt, if she says she loves us. [Large brown eyes blink, the way someone would if they were pushing back tears, but Zinc can't cry.] She can't stop it. Love hurts. It will always hurt.

[That's cheerful, Zinc. She's quiet for a long moment, watching birds peck peanut butter and seeds off the pine cones she prepared.]

I hope everyone is... doing better, today.

[She rests her cheek against the Cait's head sadly and doesn't say anything else.]

[Sora is... tired. Nightmares, lately. But she won't let that get her down, not when it's close to one of her two favorite times of the year. So here she is, Vine, tired smile and all.]

It's almost Halloween. I think I'm going to make a few pumpkin things and maybe, if there are people who want it, have a costume party. Something simple and fun on the thirty-first.

( Private to Roommates )
__________________________

[Great, now that she's given them at least some kind of heads up, the next step was to go ahead and find as remote a spot as she could and just try to figure out what was going on. She could tell there was something wrong with her, and she needed to make it stop.

But until then, Raven wasn't really willing to take the chance. She didn't want to hurt anybody.

She's walking through the Gardens now, this time actually forcing herself not to show any outward emotion, as opposed to just doing it naturally. It shouldn't be hard to notice that something is bothering her. But what could it be?

How badly do you want to find out?]

[It's Holiday! And she's walking around with two Halloween cupcakes in her hands. No, she wasn't going to eat both of them.]

Hey, everyone. I just wanted to let you ladies know that Alessa and me are moving into the clinic. And don't worry about it, I'm going to make half of it nice and homey, so it'll be fine. No one's going to go crazy staring at white walls all day.

[Her cupcake is moving.]

Sorry for such short notice to Jessica and Gal, though. I really appreciate you opening up your home to me, but I've been planning on moving into the clinic full-time anyway. Feel free to stop by and visit whenever. And that goes for all of-

OH MY GOD WHAT!

[She finally noticed the spider trying to crawl up her arm. Now cupcakes are flying everywhere and she's stomping around. The Vine seems to get tired of this and stops the video.]

[Well, this is... weird. Having a head that isn't squishy and skull-shaped and covered in hair is bad enough, but the light source inside feels strangely warm. Possibly the heat from the pumpkin hot chocolate is sticking around, which is at least convenient with the cooling weather. Still, annoying.

[But Jessica isn't one to let the Gardens' embarrassing cosmetic bullshit get in her way, so she's resolutely keeping to her routine. It has to wear off eventually, right?

[(Definitely lodging a complaint with the management of the cafe, though.)]

[Today, we see Raven sitting in the shade somewhere outside, doing some morning meditation. Eyes closed, legs crossed, arms to her sides and... levitating. In any case, she keeps repeating the same words over and over again:

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos"

The mantra continues to be recited without interruption until some visitors make their way to her.

Opening her eyes, she now notices that she's literally surrounded by Bellosom. While the creatures are certainly happy to see her, Raven doesn't seem to be nearly as excited.]

... Go away.

[Not excited in the slightest as she attempts to go back to her meditation. However, the Bellosom have other plans as several of them begin to chant their own name, much to Raven's growing irritation.]

Bellosom! Bellosom! Bellosom!

I said-

[Nope, sorry Raven, the Bellosom are currently busy dancing and trying to bring some cheer into your life! To which she responds with being visibly angry and...

... Is that a black aura surrounding her entire body? Sure does look like it.]

[Someone has been playing around in the mud, it seems. Behind Holiday sits a brand new building pretty close to the Necessities and the residential part of the Gardens.]

Hi, everyone. I know this is pretty soon after I offered my doctoring services, but after hearing about that... magic dirt stuff, I decided to try it out on something that I think is well needed for now.

I guess you can say that I've opened a clinic. It's near the Necessities and it's easy to find with these little red cross symbols decorating the outside. [She wanted to make sure it screamed "DOCTOR" and "HEALING" place, just in case.]

To start things off with it, I was thinking that I might have a blood drive. If you don't know what that is, it's a time when people can donate their blood to a hospital or doctor's office. If someone is hurt, proper medical attention and an extra pint of blood can mean the difference between life and death. I have heard that death isn't permanent here, but... well, I wouldn't think it's a favorite past time, either.

Also, the procedure is completely voluntary and I'm accepting anyone who is willing. Even if you're the only one of species here, you might need blood some day, too.

Thanks for hearing me out.

[Locked to Gal and Jessica]

I just wanted to let you know that I'll probably be staying over here a good bit, so please don't get worried if I don't make it back on some nights.

[Locked to Akiha Tohno]

Alright. If this goes well, we should be getting some blood in. Hopefully, it'll be a good bit. I wasn't lying when I said what blood is used for, but we'll make sure that you'll be okay.

[Locked to Kariya]

I'm still working on equipment and medicines, but I think I have some stuff that could help you out now.

[Look, a new person! Lizzie's figured out the vine pretty quickly, with the instructions, and she gives the screen a little smile once she figures out that this thing is indeed on.]

Ah, hello! This isn't too hard, now is it?

I understand there are others in this place? It's a sight better than the afterlife, I think, though the name 'Queen of Hearts' is rather unsettling. And familiar. Does anyone here know exactly who she is?

[That's right, Lizzie, don't worry about lodgings or food or anything.]