come_sailaway | Welcome To The Village

Who: Everyone who was signed-up for the excursion
What: The Village December Excursion
When: Dec 1st - Dec 23rd
Where: The Village
Warnings: Involuntary capture and confinement including immobilization and restraints, violence, injury, maiming, possibility of death, torture, coercion, gaslighting, mind control, drugging, scientific experiments, and extremely inaccurate depictions of mental health facilities/hospitals, among other potentially triggering themes. Please mark all threads appropriately.

"Good morning, good morning, good morning!" A voice that sounds very similar to Friday's chirps over a loudspeaker outside your character's home. Yes, their home.

Overnight, all the passengers who signed up for this excursion have been transported to their very own personal cottages. They will awake in a bed that is familiar to them. While this home of theirs does not necessarily have to resemble the place they were born or raised, it will be a perfect replica of a place they truly thought of as their home, down to the most minute details.

The cottages are self-contained, the size of a large studio apartment so, in some cases, they may only resemble the bedroom and living room of a person's home with a shrunken-down kitchenette and bathroom adjoined. But the heirlooms of their past are here. A favorite doll? A treasured family portrait? Trinkets you have long forgotten about? All of them will be here, somehow. (All except for weapons, that is.) They are indistinguishable from the real item, down to the molecule.

After that wake-up call, the voice continues on to express that the weather will be warm and sunny, with no rain forecasted. A brass band concert is announced, to start at noon on the lawn next to the living chess set. And once that bit of news is wrapped up, lively marching band music will begin to play. And it will continue to play. All day. From every speaker...including the ones hidden in their home.

Welcome to Your Village

It only gets stranger from here. Characters may be dismayed to find that they are without any of their original clothes or belongings. They awake in conservative button-up pajamas. The closet in their home is full of the latest Village Fashion to choose from. Everything is The Village label brand, including the tin cans of food that stock the kitchen and any of the groceries you could get at the General Store.

Your ship phone rings. When you answer it, you will be greeted, once again, by the voice of Friday. "Your number, please? Of course, you have a number. Look at your badge." If they look down at their chest, they will discover a small round number badge has been pinned to their pajamas. Was that there before? It bears the symbol of a Penny-farthing Bicycle, with a number in the spokes. This is their number.

"No names here," the voice of Friday chides, "Only numbers. Number 2 would like a word with you at the Green Dome. He requests you come for breakfast. Thank you!" Before they can protest further, the line goes dead.

Some Notes:

No matter how many times your character tries to take off and disregard their number badge, they will always find it re-attached to their clothes again the moment they look away and look back.

Your characters still have their phones but now they can only make calls instead of sending texts. They also do not take or store photographs anymore.

If your character destroys or damages anything in their home, or in The Village it will instantly repair the way things used to on the Serena Eterna.

The noise from the speakers can be muffled by covering it with pillows or other creative items, but cannot be stopped entirely. (Sorry Phil)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"So far? It's trying to seem benign, but I know better than to overlook the mind games being played."

The replicas of their homes tells her they already know far too much.

"But I'm not sure what to expect next."

A nod, glad Valdis is already well aware of dangers lurking beneath the quaint charm. Good luck to anyone trying to break her... "Did you receive a breakfast invitation?"

"I did. I will be going, if only to see what this place has planned for us. I assume you did too?"

They did technically come to suffer after all.

"I'm not a fan of mind games unless I'm the one playing them, so we'll see how it goes."

"Guess it wasn't an exclusive back stage VIP meet and greet package," Ava expresses. Uncertain if she's relieved by that, or slightly offended that she isn't getting special recognition after all. She suspects Number 2 must know who she is. What she intends to do.

"But if he wants an audience for his humiliation, so be it."

"If who wants an audience for his humiliation?"

Ava seems to have a better idea of what is going on than she does.

"The one running this realm, Number 2. Whichever one it is. Doesn't matter."

Valdis tips her head, putting things together.

"Peter."

He had been Number 6. Hated the name. Tiamat had called him that to upset him.

"Peter knows about this place, which means you do. Which means we have an advantage."

"Yes," Ava confirms unhappily. "That's why we're here." Despite how she rather him not go through this again, she's hopeful that confronting his past together will help him overcome what he endured. That he never managed to escape despite every effort.

And if she can warn others of what to expect... "Hopefully that prevents any success or satisfaction that Number 2 might derive from this." She wants him to have a miserable time, to regret whatever he did to earn this realm.

"It will give me great pleasure to be a thorn in his side."

Nevermind that they came here to suffer, it seems far more fun to make this Number 2 suffer with them.

"I'll admit I don't know who all signed up, does anyone else know?"

"Good. Give him Hell," she grins. She's sure no matter which Number 2 it is, they all must have something in common. And that's a sense of superiority, of being in charge. Clearly they're threatened by the use of powers in order to maintain that control. But they have the advantage of numbers, even as they're reduced to just numbers.

But no, she's not aware of who all signed up for this one, and shakes her head.

"I don't like men who think they are better or more powerful than I am, especially if they act like it."

Valdis takes a breath.

"That's ok, knowing this bunch we will all give him hell."

"Possibility it's one of the women that's taken the role," Ava recognizes. She doesn't know the exact ratio, but it doesn't seem as statistically likely. "Either way, I'm not particularly fond of abusive authority figures. Especially ones that have messed with my husband."

She crosses her arms, still worried. "I don't doubt it. But let's not underestimate him either."

Valdis takes a patient breath, annoyed that people seem to think she's proud enough to ignore the potential dangers of people in power.

"I know better than to underestimate someone who has been placed in charge of a realm. So don't worry. We are here to struggle and suffer, I have no doubt that will be accomplished."

She catches the annoyance, bites the inside of her cheek hard, looks away.

"I don't want to give him the satisfaction." It's far too personal.

"He will get no satisfaction from me, and you're too strong to let him get the better of you either."

She really does believe that.

"You put your hands on the throat of a Goddess and came out on top, I think you can face the master of this place without wavering."

Welcome To The Village

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