[ Someone has been hitting the eggnog pretty hard. In her defense, she didn't realize there was rum in it and... still doesn't if the cup she's carrying around (dribbling around) is any indication.

If you thought she was a little bit of a pest on a regular day... She's a very friendly drunk now. Pink-cheeked and loud, she will be trawling the Gardens for people to pester (for attention.)]


[[ooc; Open for mistletoe shenanigans too, she's likely to try kissing someone regardless. I am also a super duper slowbro, so backtagging is a thing.]

I heard something. Something very special! So I'm going to need someone to explain it to me.

Mostly I want to know how I can get free presents this month. Someone was saying something about it but I really didn't understand. But it'd really be nice if I could get some presents from other people. [HINT HINT] I could probably come up with things to give in return too.

I've got some magical equipment laying around that I could still give away. [Does that even count as a present?] It'll be a fair trade!

[And, as always, if anyone in the mansion wants mistletoe hijinks or just messing around in person, Kris can always be found still working on that pile of cake she got a long time ago. Thank god for magical preservation. IT'S STILL FRESH.]

[The Vine shows Akiha in her sitting room, a steaming cup of tea before her.]

As our gracious host has been so kind as to give us all more sugar than any of us need and a distinctive lack of most other forms of real sustenance, I would like to take the time to provide everyone with a proper gourmet meal.

As I understand, in America, tomorrow would mark a holiday to give thanks with an extravagant feast. So, for dinner tomorrow, I am inviting all of you to the Tohno Mansion for such a meal. As I am not American, I cannot claim it will be a Thanksgiving feast as per preset standards, but I assure you, it will be an excellent meal with plenty of meat and other culinary dishes we've been unable to have at our leisure as of late.

Dinner will be served at five o'clock sharp. I ask that, as I'm inviting all of you - even those of you I do not get along with - that you be on your best behavior. If you wish to partake in alcohol, I suggest you bring it along with you that I am not keen on sharing.

Please, accept my generosity and join me for the evening.

[Akiha bows her head slightly before picking up her tea to sip.]

[ooc: If there is enough interest, I can put an open log up for this otherwise handwave it.]

[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.

[ Why is Subaru on the mirror right now? ] Um... hello? [ For that matter, why is she wearing Vivio's clothes? They shouldn't fit her; not by a long shot. Everything about the scene is wrong, from the way she's looking around rather dazed and confused at the inside of the inn's many empty rooms, the fact she's not wearing her familiar necklace, and down to the way she just appears... smaller in every manageable way.

Also, the confusion in her voice that shouldn't be there is a dead giveaway that things are very, very off. ] Is anyone else here?

[ The vine followed her ever since she stepped out of the back room where she found those clothes, and now it watches on as the girl cautious moves from doorway to doorway, looking for someone. Anyone. ] Dad? Gin? Are you here?

[ Panning from the sight, the mirror shows the familiar sight of a teal gem — Mach Caliber's storage unit — floating in the air along with her cord. She is the one that called for the vine; not the little girl. ] «Assistance request. Unknown effect in place.»

[ It's then that "Subaru" turns quickly in the direction of the voice and sees both the flashing gem and the mirror. ] W-what's that? Who's there...?

((ooc: Subaru has been de-aged both physically and mentally. This is basically what she looks like (without the dirt). Open to action at the inn/onsen, but she'll also be wandering around outside once she's done searching the building!))

[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]

[The image of a rather unhappy Sayaka fills the mirror. Some people have left, but one of those that managed to leave has left Sayaka in a bout of denial, with a rather easy idea to latch onto, even if it is false.]

Hey, something happened again and I missed it, right? Another mass abduction, or a note showing the way to some sort of treasure that went up when I was asleep? Or a multi day sleepover? Anything?

[Of course, nothing of the sort has actually happened. It's just that someone she had grown fond of is no longer there.

She's still handling it better than the last time part of her life went bad.]

[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.)]

[Having regained her own body, Kuja feels--not content, but herself again. For good or ill. Part of her loathes herself, but she is an egotist at heart. A self-hating narcissist.

That, however, is not as important as what she's been busy doing. While kidnapped by the pirates, Kuja had found an egg on board their ship. A familiar egg. The egg of a Silver Dragon, from her world. Since her discovery, she has been largely keeping to herself and keeping the egg warm, and her constant companion Tropius has taken over the duties whenever she is otherwise occupied.

Now, Kuja is out and about. She feels a sense of excitement. She can sense the egg will be hatching soon. Her egg. Her dragon.

She floats from place to place, accompanied by Tropius and the egg: she sits for a while outside her miniature replica Iifa Treehouse near the lake, then makes an appearance in the Orchard and at her own personal library. She's usually not so prone to make "public appearances", but she's in a good mood, for once. Sometimes the egg rests in her lap; sometimes it's cradled with care by Tropius, and sometimes it floats beside her, levitated by her magic. Wherever it is, it sparkles with blue light, warmed by Kuja's magic. She sings softly to the egg at times, and at times she reads it poetry, or excerpts from her favorite plays.

Kuja keeps an ear out for stirring inside, or the cracking of the shell. For once, preoccupied, she's not as likely to notice someone else's approach.]

{ vine }
Good afternoon, everyone! I'm really sorry to bother you all... I guess it's a bit weird to announce this? Today is my birthday! I'm turning fifteen! [ Sorta. ] And thinking about it, I realized that I don't know everyone else's birthdays yet... It's kind of a shame not to celebrate them, you know? So I guess what I'm asking is... well, would anyone mind telling me their birthday so I can make a list?

O-oh and... does anyone know where I could find some mint tea? And maybe... [ There's a bit of hesitance now. Madoka is embarrassed as she continues. ] A simple recipe that might be good for a date night..?

{ action ~ Homura & Madoka's apartment }
[ Birthdays felt strange when you were coming from post-death. Madoka's melancholy was short lived, however, in favor of cheerful baking. She had noticed Homura seemed to be up to something but did not voice her suspicions. Two and two had added up and Madoka realized that Homura was probably planning some sort of party... and she decided to play along with it. Maybe bake some cookies as well, to thank everyone for being so kind.

Which is what she is just finishing up now. With the cookies moved to a cooling rake, Madoka settles down to make some tea and... sit around anxiously. Not sure what to do. This whole suspecting a party thing is new to Madoka. Should she sit here? Maybe she should stop suspecting. That's rude. Her mother would scold her. Aah, what if she's ruining a sequence of events that everyone expects by sitting here making assumptions?

Madoka gets up a few times and wanders in circles around the room. ]

[Lambda has remained just how she should be, so the issue of people finding themselves in the wrong body had gone largely without thought from her. Nonetheless, her gaze falls upon the leaves drifting above her when she ventures outside, one in particular drawing her eye. There's no reason it should demand her attention above any of the others, as it looks just the same, and yet... Unthinkingly, she reaches up to catch it as it wafts toward her.]

—ah—

( cut for themes of human experimentation and torture )

—ahh...!

[When she surfaces again, she's on her knees. She doesn't move even then, though, staring with wide eyes at her hands where they dig into the ground in front of her.]

...?

[...Why is she...crying...?]


[ ooc: I didn't write this with anything other than a Miscellaneous Outside Place in mind for her location, so, you know, find her wherever. ]

[ It's the afternoon when Subaru appears on the vine. She is seated on the edge of an open door facing outside the background obviously a traditional Japanese style building that long-term residents will recognize. The young woman is wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts, though she looks like she's been rolling around in the dirt. Her gaze is far away, like she didn't notice the mirror creeping up on her. Truth is, she just forgot about it in the brief few moments it took to coax it into unfurling for her. ]

...ah! Hi there. [ A smile. ] It's Subaru. I've been sort of keeping to myself lately since the incident with the sky pirates so I wanted to apologize to everyone, and see how you're all doing. [ It feels to her like she knows most of the Gardens by now, or has at least casually spoken with them all once or twice. That's almost as good as becoming her friend, in most cases. ]

I wanted to report on what I've been busy with! The roof of the inn is completely restored, now, so no more weird leaks or sudden noise from the wind. I'm also almost done building the swimming pool out back, but I'm still working on a pump and filter so that it won't end up looking like a murky pond after a few weeks, eheh...

[ Then her eyes are downcast, which does not go with her otherwise enthusiastic expression. ] I also... wanted to make a note that all the other rooms here are free, now, except my own. [ She pauses, looking over her shoulder into the building. ] I've been meaning to say something about it, but Vivio has been gone for some time. [ There is a sad smile there for that, but it's hard to tell with her turned away like that. ] I'm sure she's back at home, now, with her two mamas. ... I can't say I know what Suruga Kanbaru has gone home to, but I think it's the same for her. Her room was empty this morning except for the same kind of flower petals I swept away when Vivio disappeared.

[ After another pause, she turns back to the mirror, smiling a little easier even if it is a strain on her. ] So please, feel free to come visit at any time. You won't be a bother to me at all, and you can use any of the facilities here at your convenience. The onsen, the training mats in the corner rooms, the futons... even the kitchen and the ice cream maker! [ A wave. ] I think I'm going to go enjoy a cold treat right now, so I'll see you all later!


((ooc: Action available for anyone who wants to stop in at the inn! Whether it's while she's in the kitchen, out back working, or relaxing in the baths. o/))

[It looks like even Lambda is curious about the cafe. Or, at least, one has to assume that's the reason she can be found there today, her armor politely folded into its strange idle form behind her. Is that polite? She assumes it must be, since Urd called her armored appearance "intimidating." She watches the little robots roam here and there from her seat as she waits for her chosen treat to be brought to her. Again, it only seems polite to participate in the shop's intended purpose.]

[It isn't long before one of them sets a cupcake in front of her. It looks like...a snickerdoodle one? Who knows how she came to the decision to have that one above all the others, since it's not like she knows much about eating for taste.] ...Thank you, [she says before the robot takes its leave again, and then she stares at the cupcake in front of her. It's unfortunate that her visor isn't in place, since she can't analyze its content without it, so when she lifts it up to nibble it, holding it gently between the tips of her fingers, she does so cautiously.]

[Is it...good? She doesn't dislike it.]


[ ooc: Threads can take place either at the cafe or afterwards. Lambda can be found around the Gardens (where her armor will be equipped) or at the Tohno Mansion. ]

[So! Lambda has been thinking over her plan to socialize with others for a while now. And in the absence of more gatherings along the lines of the beach party that happened a while back, she has had to determine the best way to initiate such contact herself. Now, after so much pondering, what has she decided on?]

[She has decided she is going to approach people at random and try to hold conversations with them.]

[It doesn't matter where you are, what you are doing, or whether or not she knows you. Today... Today, you are going to be approached by a robot. A socially awkward one.]

...Hello.

[You cannot escape.]

Vine ||

[ Madoka is situated somewhere in the gardens, having just spent her afternoon tending to her own flowers and searching for others to help her garden. She usually keeps oddly busy, still in a happy daze after being plucked from her unhappy timeline, that this thought hadn't occurred to her before... She's been here for months and there are still so many people she doesn't know very well, if at all.  When it crosses her mind that she's been a bit neglectful, she's quick to tap a Vine. ]

Hello, everyone! Sorry, I hope it's not too early to use the vine? I didn't wake anyone up, did I? [ Her smile is a bit soft, dampened by thoughtfulness and a tinge of worry. ]

This is probably really sudden and kind of weird and random, but I've been thinking lately that I don't know everyone's names! I don't even know what kinds of foods everyone likes or what hobbies they have... I think it would be neat to see what we have in common and talk about things like that, or maybe try new things we never thought we'd try, you know? [ She giggles lightly, perhaps losing confidence in these random thoughts. ]

So... I'll start? I like gardening and crafts! And eating! And I guess I can play the recorder too, if that counts. Oh, and my name is Madoka Kaname! um... what about everyone else? I mean, um well, disregard this if you're too busy but I really am curious!  I really would like to become better friends with everyone...

[Forward-dated to after dark.]

--kidding? It's been a year and that woman--

[There's a seething hiss then, the Vine opening the mirror after the sun has set, and the profile of a familiar young woman with long dark hair can been seen in the shadows, the moonlight reflecting off of the white shift she's wearing.

Akiha tilts her head back, turning it up toward the sky, and closes her eyes. She counts to ten, calming her temper. Reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear, a gold bangle on her wrist, she lets out a slow breath before looking around for her clothes. A cat skitters away as Akiha turns from the mirror muttering.]

Bring me back-- Don't even know if that idiot and brute are still here-- Ridiculous.

If the mansion isn't still here, I'm going to...

[Her voice trails off as she finds her clothes and walks out of view of the Vine, not even realizing it had been on. The Vine and Akiha still don't get along.]


[Eventually, Akiha finds the mansion, glad to see it's intact. She heads inside and immediately goes upstairs to her bedroom. Better catch her before the door is closed or she won't be seen until morning.]

[ooc: Akiha is back from her canon update.]

[there's a very tired-looking face half-obscured by a gloved hand tapping the mirror. When it draws back, Gal is fully dressed, her new arrival gown in a heap on the grass next to her.]

Oh...hey. I remembered how to work it. But man, this place...

[she leans back, scratching the back of her neck and looking around for a moment.]

It still feels like some kind of weird dream. Okay, who's still here? Jessica? ....Akiha? Kris?

Is Martha okay?


[ooc: feel free to action if you want!]

[ No preamble, no explanation. Subaru appears on the Vine and immediately bows to the mirror. ] I am extremely sorry! I want to apologize for my behavior this past week. I... can't really excuse any of it, even though I know the cause. I should have taken better care to not hurt anyone's feelings during that time.

[ Just as she has straightened up, she feels another wave of guilt and lowers her face. ] So, please, anyone who I spoke to or... had a fight with. Please, forgive me!

[ And with that, she's gone. People can call her back, or come find her at the inn, making repairs on the roof from when she and Reimu fought. This time it's without the aid of sand, and her fairy is nowhere to be found for the time being. ]

...Akiha-sama.

[That's the first thing Lambda says when she appears on the Vine. Which, despite her broadcast clearly being addressed to one person, has not filtered the message in anyway. If possible, Lambda looks even more unamused than normal, and a peek at the background of the video reveals she appears to be standing in the interior of...]

[...A luxury spa? Since when did the Gardens have one of those? As if to clear up the confusion on that very subject, she continues:]

I have detected another anomaly within the mansion.

[She finds walking into one of the wings only to find it has been replaced with something completely foreign to be rather troublesome, it seems.]

[The Vine turns on to show an interesting scene: Akiha in is the hallway of her mansion, back partially to the mirror, a fairy with blonde hair sitting on her shoulder, as she talks heatedly to someone.

The vermilion hair probably catches everyone's attention first as it flows down Akiha's back, moving slightly as if there was a breeze even though she was inside. The next thing would be that the person Akiha is arguing with is a man. Older... he even looks a lot like Akiha.

And then he flickers, his form wavering, and then it becomes clear that this is an apparition, a ghost, despite his stern expression.]

...not yours. You're dead. Leave this place. I am the Head of the family now.

[Akiha's words invoke a response from the man. The ghost's lips move, but only Akiha seems to be able to hear what the ghost says, sparking her anger even more. She slashes her fingers through the ghost, like she has claws, and it disappears... for the moment.

The fairy looks over at the Vine, its blue eyes piercing and reminiscent of Akiha's, as it gives the viewers a cheerful smile and a wave, before turning back to pat Akiha comfortingly on the top of her head.]

[ooc: Due to the effects of the fairy dust, the Tohno Mansion anywhere around Akiha is haunted by the horrors of the past that she can't help but remember in those halls. Visitors may see glimpses of the following Tsukihime canon characters: Makihisa Tohno (Akiha's father), Shiki Tohno, SHIKI Tohno (Akiha's biological brother), Kohaku and Hisui. The latter four could appear at any age though except for the two maids, Akiha will be the only one that can hear their words.]