Luceti Land!!

[lucetimods]

Who: luceti
What: Amusement Parking!
When: Today til the end of the month
Where: A veritable pleasure island, east of the Beach Fort.
Summary: An amusement park has popped up in Luceti. It's all over here.
Rating: F is for friends who do stuff together!

Just some notes here not in the mod post -
1) The weather will be bright and partly cloudy for the rest of the month on the beach side of things. A nice cool sea breeze will keep people from melting out there.
2) All the old Luceti Land rides are still available. However, feel free to make up your own attractions and rides as well.
3) Since this is around for two weeks, we may put up another mass log if this one gets too full. So keep an eye on that!
4) Don't forget to tag your character's name on to the log! If you don't have one yet, just let us know and we'll get you hooked up.

As way of explanation for all this, Bil will have written a message on the first page of the journals. It cannot be replied to, it simply states:

"My condolences for all the trouble. You were due for an experiment today, but I thought you might enjoy an amusement park instead. It seemed like the sort of thing the Great One would do."

Comments

[lostinmyway]

[The contact and direct question are enough to bring Grune the rest of the way back. When she squeezes his hand in return, the motion isn't automatic.]

Hmm.... Why don't we keep going? Maybe we can meet Rupert and Ginia again.

[shadedsunlight]

[Ginia stays where she is, her mirror absent of a reflection, as she waits for Grune and Giles, offering a smile to the both of them.]

/My reflection is avoiding me./

[A joke, but it takes a few more mirrors before Ginia can find 'herself' again. This time the age and appearance is right, but the outfit is different. Her reflection is dressed in a light blue ballet tutu, the fabric delicate and light. She stands gracefully en pointe, one arm arched gracefully above her head with the other down low.]

[consultmybooks]

[Giles' reflection doesn't avoid him - on the contrary, the wild, rough young man with far too many piercings and tattoos seems to have been waiting for him to pass by. Arms folded, he leans against the frame, staring insolently at any of the three who pass by him before smiling unpleasantly at the sight of Giles.

Giles scowls back, unconsciously shifting into a fighting stance before he remembers that this is a reflection.]

And now it's my turn to head off to bed. G'night all--this has been a blast!

[lostinmyway]

[Grune walks up to greet Ginia's persona, since she came here first, but she gives Giles' persona a little wave to let him know she hasn't forgotten him, either.

She smiles at the Ginia in the mirror and says:] Hello! Are you a dancer?

[When she moves past a mirror, Giles and Ginia should be able to catch a view of Grune as she is now, fast asleep...in a casket in the middle of an ornate ruin.]

Good night and sleep well! <333333

[shadedsunlight]

[Ginia's persona gives a graceful arabesque with a warm smile before straightening back up. Her signs are just as graceful, the voice translating warm and the Italian accent much more mature and pronounced.]

/I am. Three years with the La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan now./

[She smiles, giving Ginia a knowing look.]

/Could have been four, but you spent a year in New York. Or rather, I did./

[consultmybooks]

Did you? Well, everyone should have the chance to travel once in a while.

[Giles is glad for the distraction from Ripper, hurrying over to join the other two and speak with Ginia the dancer.

Ripper is less pleased about the distraction from Giles - he shoots a decidedly rude hand gesture at the ex-Watcher's retreating back.] Oy! Don't ignore me, you ponce!

[Giles does notice Grune in the casket - he goes still, frowning in mingled concern and...outright horror. But then he remembers Moses' words, back when they first met. It's sad, but...she's hardly the only one.

It's an effort to look away from that, and back to Ginia.]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune murmurs an impressed "Oh, my," at the elegant movement made by Ginia's persona. But then she hears the young man's words.] I'm sorry--just one moment.

[She steps over to the next mirror.] Don't worry. We're not ignoring you. We just need to talk to Ginia for one minute, and then we'll come visit you, too.

[...She wonders what a "ponce" is. Oh well.

The real Grune isn't the only to be interrupted by the young man's words. The Grune in the casket sits up, yawns, and says:] Oh, my, that was a nice little nap.

And FYI, Ginia's persona is a what-if, namely one where she leads a normal life.

[shadedsunlight]

/I do agree, traveling is wonderful. New York had plenty of opportunities, but you can't pass up Milan when you get the offer./

[Ginia's expression is nostalgic as she looks at her dancer counterpart, trying to make sense of her words. Certainly not the past, unlikely the future. An alternate? What could have been?

She snaps out of her thoughts enough to look at the other personas in the mirror, quirking a small smile at Ripper. There's something she wouldn't have imagined, though maybe some bad boys turn out to be relatively good boys in the end.

At Grune laying in the casket, her expression freezes, trying to make sense of it all again.

In the mirror, Ginia smiles and nods her head at Giles, though she turns to look off at Ripper with a small frown.]

/Watch yourself, Ripper, be nice to our company. There are also sl-- Oh, never mind./

[As Grune wakes up, Ginia smiles and bows her head.]

/Good afternoon, Grune./

And Giles', naturally, is his "bad magic hates the world ticking time bomb guy" age 23 self

[consultmybooks]

Tch. 'Bout time you woke up. [Ripper sighs in frustration as Grune finally stirs.] I thought you really had gone and died that time around. And I'll be "nice" to our company when company doesn't consist of a twig in a blue frock an' Sleeping Beauty.

[Reasonably polite, if only because Giles at that age had a much better sense of who was or wasn't more powerful than he was. Giles, for his part, has his head in his hands from the sheer, gut wrenching shame of being at all associated with this person.]

I showed you your place once. Just because you're on the other side of a mirror doesn't mean I couldn't do so again.

[Again with the rude hand gesture.] Stuff it, four eyes.

[Determinedly ignoring himself, Giles looks back at Grune's persona.]

I'm glad you slept well, Grune. But that is a bit of an odd place for a rest, isn't it?

Grune's is taken from her very first meeting with the party, so she's very much a blank slate now.

[lostinmyway]

[Grune's persona looks at Giles without recognition.] Oh, do you think so? It was very cosy.

[Grune, on the other hand, gives Ginia's persona an apologetic look before speaking a little more firmly to Giles'.] That's not a very nice thing to say. You're going to hurt his feelings.

[shadedsunlight]

[Ginia's persona gives Ripper a hard glare, but shrugs it off. She's heard worse and she is a twig in a blue frock. She leans over to look at Grune's coffin, lips pursing together.]

/It looks soft enough, but it's still a bit odd I have to admit. But was it a nice nap?/

[Ginia herself gives Ripper some attention because, hey, someone has to. It's really almost quite amusing to see the difference, terribly embarrassing as it is to Giles.

...Sorry, Giles, but Ginia likes information.]

/What's your name?/

[consultmybooks]

[Embarrassing, hell. Try humiliating, shameful, and stomach churning. Giles used to be this - this disgusting waste of space, this idiot who played with forces far beyond any mortal's comprehension, this monster who got all of his friends killed, this thing he's spent every subsequent year trying not to be...

Ripper is entirely oblivious to Giles' discomfort, although his hackles settle very slightly when Grune addresses him.] Relax. Takes a lot more than me to hurt his feelings. Believe me, he comes up with worse to do to himself just fine.

[He taps his left arm and Giles can't help but wince. And ignore him, to address Grune's persona.]

I suppose it does look rather, um, cosy. But...Grune, how long were you asleep for?

They call me Ripper, by the way. In case you really were curious. Most everyone seems to be.

[lostinmyway]

Hmm. I wonder. [Here should be some pretty familiar confusion.

Grune looks to Giles for a moment, trying to see if the persona is right. Just in case he isn't and Giles' feelings are hurt, she lays a hand on his shoulder for a moment before moving over to the Ginia in the mirror, so she won't be lonely.]

It sounds like you've been to so many wonderful places.

[shadedsunlight]

/Ripper. Interesting. Good to know./

[Even with the flippancy in her words, she spares Giles a glance, apologetic and understanding. She's the one with Alice running around and there's something she can't fix entirely.

Ginia's persona smiles and gives a small nod.]

/Dancing does that, touring companies and all. It's a lovely way to see the world./

[consultmybooks]

[Here is some very familiar confusion, and Giles can't help but smile at it. Grune...actual Grune...seems very resistant to changing.

And the reassurance is appreciated, because while Ripper's words can't exactly hurt his feelings, his mere existence is doing a very good job of it. Giles nods at Grune when he feels her hand on his shoulder - "I'm okay."

Then, to Ginia:] You never mentioned touring companies.

[Not accusatory. Just curious.]

[lostinmyway]

You must meet all kinds of interesting people. [It sounds as though the Ginia in the mirror has a very fun life!

The persona of Grune divides her attention between the other personas and the real people, smiling in faint confusion.]

[shadedsunlight]

/That's because I was never in any touring companies. Aside from competitions, I never performed outside of Davenport./

[Her current persona isn't as troubling or traumatic as Giles', but it represents the possibility of something Ginia doesn't want to think about. It's the what-ifs that have always haunted her and seeing one now, in the flesh shakes her down to her core.

But she needs confirmation.]

/Who are you?/

[The persona smiles sadly, a quiet pity that cuts into Ginia.]

/I'm what you could have been if your family hadn't been murdered./

[consultmybooks]

You'll get a lot of that in here...well, you two will. [Ripper indicates Giles and Ginia.] Her, not so much. [He indicates Grune.] What you could have been if life hadn't kicked you quite so much in the teeth...or, hell, if it had kicked even harder.

[Giles, for his part, visibly flinches at this pronouncement from Ginia's persona. He tries not to look at Ginia herself, but can't stop his gaze from ticking over to her.]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune blinks. And then, like it or not, Ginia is getting a hug.

The persona Grune is now staring into space. With no one talking to her, she went off in her own head and had missed the persona Ginia's words entirely.]

[shadedsunlight]

[Her persona's words hurt. Ripper's words hurt. Even the looks Giles is giving her and the hug Grune offers hurt. But Ginia shows no reaction, just the slight tightening of her lips and tension in her body before she hides it all behind a smile and puts all her walls back up.

She looks over at Grune and returns the hug slightly - it really is appreciated - before she gently pulls away under the guise of freeing up her hands.]

/What did I go on to do?/ [She asks, fake cheer and all with a dash of masochism. It's required if she wants to hear about the life that had been robbed from her.

The persona's sad smile remains, but she dutifully shares, lightly dancing around the space with grace and poise.]

/I moved to Boston and began dancing there professionally around 23. Bartended on the side, sometimes times were hard, but I made it work. Dated a French businessman for almost a year, we broke up, got back together a few months later, he proposed, I said yes.

By the way, your sister eventually moved to Paris and has since rolled out her own line of clothing and owns a botique. Very nice, quite fashionable.

Your brother didn't quite make Broadway, but he had success off it and eventually began doing TV and film./

[Never has a happy ending felt so damning.]

[consultmybooks]

[Ripper shrinks back when Ginia dances, a scowl on his face that is the mark of a boy who never had the chance to move past "girls have cooties."] For God's sake, Tinkerbell, would you quit it?!

If you don't stay quiet right now...

[Never has Giles wanted so much to pity one of his friends.]

[lostinmyway]

[After the hug is finished, Grune will hold Ginia's hand, if she lets her.

She can't even imagine what it would be like to lose your family. Her family means everything to her. For them to go away forever....]

[shadedsunlight]

[The contact is appreciated. Ginia maintains a light hold on Grune's hand as she maintains a very happy poker face, refusing to let anything show. It's life, you take the cards you're dealt, and you work through the bad hands. But it doesn't stop it all from hurting.

For her part, Ginia's persona still maintains that air of mischief around her. She tip toes over to Ripper, then drapes herself onto his back. Aren't you just a cute little bad boy. After a few seconds of that, she'll release him and go right back to addressing everyone.]

/I eventually got a break in Broadway and did a few big shows, enough to get noticed. You know how it goes, it's all about who you impress and who you know. Did a few tours, eventually got invited to Italy, worked my ass off and eventually got in with La Scala./

/Looks like you got the good life then. I'm happy for you./

[consultmybooks]

[In response, Ripper produces a large knife from his belt and wordlessly threatens Ginia with it. Unhand him or lose the hand in question, Tinkerbell. In disgust, after that, he stalks out of the frame.]

I suppose alternate lives can't all be terrible.

[lostinmyway]

[At his departure, Grune's persona at last wakes from her daze.] Oh, are we going somewhere?

No, I think Ripper just wanted to go home. [It was too bad. Even if he wasn't being very nice, she'd still wanted to talk to him when she'd finished saying hello to the dancer. Maybe she could have made him understand why it wasn't good to make other people sad.]

Oh. All right. [The persona of Grune looks out at Ginia and Giles.] Are these your friends?

[And Grune beams.] Yes, this is Ginia, and this is Giles.

[The Grune in the mirror smiles, but her expression is more vague.] I'm pleased to meet you, Ginia and Giles.