MarinaNova Asylum

( The face that appears is familiar... And very confused. )

I thought I was done. I served a sentence, I did my time. So tell me, why is it that I'm back home for less than two hours before I wind up here again? Seriously. Two hours. That's all I get? After everything I've -- ( she heaves a sigh. ) Forget it. At least tell me that in those two hours, you've cleaned my room or something. Does the AI do that? Housekeeping deportation? That'd be great, because I swear, the last time I cleaned was only to find something, and it's not like I have much anyway but -- it was definitely what you'd call organized chaos.

Anyway.

( she lifts a hand and waves, her confusion wiping away for a slight smile, though it's still laced with irritation. )

What'd I miss?

It’s funny, the eggs the other day were a little early for Easter by my count, but not too much. I know there’s not a real calendar here, but I’ve been keeping track, since I know what day it was when we got here. In the City, there was usually some kind of curse around holidays, so it almost made me feel at home.

[He smiles; it’s a bit of a joke at his own expense. Being homesick has worn him down, but it’s hard to get over.]

Last year we had eggs, too-- popping up all over the place, all different colors. I thought this might be the same, but they just had candy and things inside of them.

[And now Neil holds up his prize, still amused.]

Last year’s hatched into dragons, which... well, there were a lot of them. It wasn’t so bad at first but they grew up very quickly, and that got out of hand pretty quickly.

We kept one, though-- our friend Rosella found a spell to shrink them down, and once they were little again they weren’t really dangerous. She fought with the cat, though, so she lived in the bookshop. Annabel Lee, I mean, the little dragon. We let her go before we left-- it seemed like it’d be safer than taking her through the Door, since we weren’t sure where we’d end up.

I hope she’s doing all right on her own...

[It's been a while since Neil addressed the Network, but here he is, folks, wide-eyed and eager.]

Is this a Visitors' Day? I thought it might be, because there are so many new people, and they haven't said anything about new inmates. I wasn't really sure if you had them here.

If there's anyone here from the City-- or anyone who visited the City, too, or from home, if anyone's come that far-- I'd like to say hello. My name is Neil, I used to run the bookshop called Bilton and Scaggs and I put on plays, from time to time.

[He grins.]

Or if you're new, and you'd like to say hello, that's great too! I hope you enjoy your visit. I know it's an odd place, but it's nice. And if it's anything like this used to be in the City, it shouldn't be long.

[ A punishment doesn't always have to be a terrible thing and Aidan is actually pretty excited about this potluck — not counting a small break for baseball, he's spent most of the day setting up and with a little help from his friends, the beach is looking pretty great. There are tables set up for the food, legs buried deep in the sand for stability and plenty of blankets and beach towels to hang out on. Candles are shoved down into the sand, ready to be lit as the sun sets and he's already got a good fire going in the fire pit, ready for barbeque.

With the waves lapping at the sand, the breeze in the palm trees and the slowly sinking sun, it really couldn't be a more perfect time for a casual party at the beach. Come one, come all, mingle away! ]

[ It is a sheepish looking Aidan that turns on the video feed this fine day. He diddly-done fucked up and now he has to do something he really enjoys to pay for it. His life is hard. The hardest. ]

Hey, uhm... so a while back I kinda got m'self in trouble, an' th' Wardens want me to throw a party or somethin' for y'all to make up for it. [ Such punishment. Very unfair. ]

I was thinkin' maybe a barbeque or a potluck or somethin' at th' beach? Everyone brings whatever they wanna drink an' maybe something else to eat like salad or if you want vegetarian. I can bring th' meat an' uh... I guess I could make some punch or lemonade or somethin'. [ Hmn. ] We can play games an' roast marshmallows. Stuff like that, nothin' fancy. Just... hang out, I guess.

Sounds good? Kinda thinkin' 'bout 278, so in two days time? Is that enough for everyone to prepare?

Day 275? Oh, my...

[So she too had succumbed to the disappearances that plague the dome. Her first thought, quickly dampened, is for Kira. She won't give up hope, yet it seems doubtful that he would have arrived again in her absence, being only a very seldom addition to her life here. As for her second thought, no doubt she'll have confirmation either way very shortly.]

[Woozy from the strange, yet not entirely unfamiliar sensation of her memories of home overlaying her last memories of the dome, Lacus applies her extraordinary focus and steadies herself. The still-fragile peace back home will have to be entrusted to others, for now, and she must come to accept being imprisoned yet again... or still, depending on which memories she favors. Yet more to sort out once she has a moment.]

[In the meantime, she smiles into the video feed, easy and sanguine.] It would seem I've been gone a number of weeks; I should think I've missed quite a lot. Perhaps someone could fill me in?

And, hello to anyone I've not met. My name is Lacus Clyne, and I'm glad to meet you in spite of the circumstances.

[The day that Michiru had been planning for for some time was now here! It was the music recital for the academy's music class. She was excited for this and she hoped that her students were as well.

The stage was set and the chairs had been set up. There were also refreshments. This was the best that she could hope for.

The recital is mainly for her students, but she might play a song or two of her own]

[ooc: Recital time! If your character is in the class, feel free to post a song that they would play for the recital. For those who aren't and even those who are, feel free to mingle around and enjoy!]

[Piper had the cooking lab set up and ready to go. She was nervous as all heck, but she was as ready to do this as she was ever going to be. She found herself questioning why she was doing this, but no point in running that through her head now.]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Cooking Class.

[She gave them all a somewhat nervous smile.]

This is a first for me, so I'm looking for a lot of feedback on this one. What are you interested in learning? What are you current skills? Stuff like that. We can do recipe courses, like what you see on a cooking show, or we can teach specific techniques for people who are looking for something more rudimentary.

[She picked up her apron.]

I have some extra aprons in the back, so grab one if you didn't bring your own. Cooking can get pretty messy, even when you know what you're doing.

[She put the apron on, and, while everyone was getting theirs, handed out a sheet of paper with a recipe on it.]

We're going to start with a simple recipe today so I can figure out where everyone is in their skill level.

{OOC: MINGLE IT UP!! I'll make a comment below so people can thread with Piper specifically. I'm also going to set up a feedback thread so characters can leave feedback. There's also a post on Piper's journal for the class where people can leave recipe requests for future classes, as well as questions for future classes about techniques.}

What makes you decide to get a tattoo?

[Hello, inmates, curious Neil is curious. Feel free to guess where this line of thought is likely to end up.]

I've never thought about it before. What makes you want one? How do you pick? How do you know you won't change your mind in a week, or a month or a year?

Hello, everyone!

[Behold, a wild Neil appears! Looking vaguely bemused, but all in all cheerful.]

It’s been ages since I had to introduce myself like this-- I’m out of practice. My name is Neil. I got here a few days ago, with my friend Todd. We came here from a place called the City, which was a little like this-- most of the people living there came from different worlds, or at least a lot of us did.

[He pauses, all too aware that this sounds a little nuts, but hey. It would've sounded crazier if they'd ended up in a proper self-contained universe, right?]

And things like yesterday-- with all those little furry things-- would happen every couple of days, too. Or other kinds of... Well, we called them curses, though I don't think you have anything exactly like it. But, I guess, we're used to strange things.

[And he smiles brightly.]

Anyway. I was speaking to the-- to one of the Wardens, yesterday morning, and she suggested I ought to get involved in some activities here.

[Because Neil wants his stuff back. His books, how is he supposed to get by without the few ones he packed?]

So I thought I'd introduce myself, and ask for some suggestions. Where should I start?

Good morning, inmates. Today is day [ 266 ] of the first generation. The weather scheduled for today is [ cloudy with scattered showers ].

The unforeseen abundance of [ tribbles ] yesterday has now been cleaned up. Due to the extreme nature of this event, no punishments will be given out at this time. Harming or killing pets in the future will be punishable according to the [ facility rules ], as always.

Neutered and spayed tribbles are now available for adoption in the [ Pet Café ] in Sector 1. We thank you for your patience in regards to this matter.

Request for inmate [ William Pratt ] is now available for pickup at the Kiosk.

Have a nice day.

[ And like always, we end this message with a jaunty tune! You're welcome. ]

(OOC: Kiosk requests will be handled by Conscienti unless otherwise requested! Mail submissions go here! )

[They're soft. They're pleasant. They're...abundant.

As the day goes on the tribbles get more and more plentiful until they are softly, pleasantly everywhere and eating all the food. Feel free to mosey about and interact with them and each other. Maybe you even visit the pet cafe today.]

(OOC: Tribble Info)

Welcome to Day 265, inmates. Your weather will be fair and sunny. You will also have some new company.

For those of you interested in adopting pets and have not yet done so, we will be adding a few additional options. You may want to stop by and see if any of them click with you. After all, pets have many positive influences upon their owners from stress relief to increased responsibility.

(OOC: Details on the Tribble invasion here. Other new animals you'll find include bearbees, turtleducks, hedgehogs and tarantulas)

More often than not, I find myself thinking about my life back home. If things had gone another way if I made a different choice; would it have been better?

[Rose sounds contemplative, if a little morose.]

I guess everyone feels like that at some point in their lives. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud.

[She sighs, before ending the feed there.]

[ An uncertain voice comes on the network; despite his native time period, he's actually dealt with this kind of communication before, but this device is something else entirely. Not at all like what they had in the City. ]

Uh. Hello?

[ Well, that's one place to start. ]

I'm… I'm not exactly sure how I got here, but. Hi. My name is Todd. I, uh... I was just in a place called the City, and I... well, I don't know if the door brought me here, or if I was just taken here, but. Either way, I'm here now.

[ He's nervous, and there's a good reason for it - one he voices after a slight pause. ]

Neil? Are you here?