It's been nearly two weeks, now. Really- I've tried to be understanding. Crime must meet punishment for the functioning of society, as weak as this punishment truly is. Corrective containment without the reinforcement is all you need in a bubble full of petty thieves and murderers wet behind the ears.

It was quite cute, nearly charming for oh, say, the first few days. I laughed because jokes are meant to be funny, and I certainly didn't want to offend. That would be rude, and a princess minds her manners.

However.

Surely the Almighty would find its time better spent dealing with crimes of a higher caliber.

I tire of all this camaraderie, this friendship that spoils even the bloodiest of hands. Punishment is most effective under fear, power, and brutal authority. You crush until the prisoners can no longer crawl on their own. How I hate to see all this opportunity wasted.

Take pleasure in the relationships you have established here, my fellow criminals! Enjoy this peace- for it is only the eye of the storm! People are nothing more than pawns, and without the proper measure, even pawns will turn and strike.

Speak to me of kindness and of love if you so desire. Soon you will understand how worthless it is in the end- how easily loyalty can be tossed aside by fools!

It is nothing- do you hear me? Nothing!

[ooc | Azula is going off the deep-end. I apologize to everyone I didn't tag in my last post- but I'm getting out of that RP slump, now and I'm back with some fresh crazy :)]

Good morning, Marina! [Have a very smiley pink haired girl on your video feed!] For anyone I haven’t met, I’m Lacus Clyne and I’m very glad to meet you.

It seems as though we’re all going to be in the shelter today, so we should make the best of things. I was thinking that we should get together and have a big winter banquet! Anyone who wants to help cook should please feel free to come to the kitchens and assist, and if not you should still come and enjoy the food with us.

Dinner will be served at 5 in the main cafeteria, and after that maybe we could have fun playing games and watching movies together. I hope everyone has a good day, and I hope to see everyone at the feast!

[A few minutes later]

I just learned that today is also Ritsuka’s birthday! To celebrate there will be a cake and some special desserts and decorations. [as many decorations as they can find without access to the store.] Everyone please, stop by to wish him a happy birthday!

***
((OOC Notes: Mingle post, open to all! Reply to Lacus by [video] or there are several action options: [cooking] any time before 5pm ICly, [dinner] a huge buffet of almost anything you could want, or [after dinner] for card games, board games, and movies throughout the cafeteria and nearby common rooms! Your character is in no way obligated to be at all of these, but they could be if you want~

Also! A link to Ritsuka’s birthday party will be added once it goes up. There will be cake and lots of special desserts and pretty decorations in one area of the cafeteria.

If anyone wants to intentionally or unintentionally sabotage the food, please contact me OOCly before you do so. Thanks and ENJOY!))

[The smell of burning food quickly permeates the already stale air within the shelter. Zero is moving as quickly as he can through the hall back toward the kitchen on his floor, his ferret, Chanel, quickly chasing after him. His senses are much stronger than a typical human, allowing him to realize within moments that the food he'd expertly prepared was quickly being destroyed by the very amateur hands he'd left it in.]

[Stepping through the doorway, he beelines to the stove and reaches over the much smaller girl standing in front of the dish he'd prepared. Flipping the heat on the burner into the 'off' position, he gives the brunette a dark look of annoyance before taking the spatula from her hand.]

Step away from the food.

[Seriously, she did this every single time he handed over the reigns of the cooking to her for any amount of time. It didn't matter how simple the instructions, it happened without fail.]

I left you with two instructions. 'Don't touch anything. Just stir the meat every thirty seconds.' I don't know if I can salvage this, Yuuki.

[ooc: Come chat with either Yuuki or Zero and/or both of them.]

[Naoya sighs, looking a little uncomfortable with his knees pulled up to his chest. He looks into the camera and raises an eyebrow. He's been thinking about it again for a while… and he's curious what others think.]

They say blood is thicker than water, but is it too thick to kill? Brothers, sisters… even parents. When is it acceptable to kill those who are these kinds of relations?

[Should someone want to confront him about this directly, Naoya can be found in one of the lounges, sitting on the couch.]

[Snow is cold, which means its time to bundle up. Yuta's at the clothing store in Sector Five, wearing a winter hat and scanning shelves and aisles for gloves and scarves too. Hopefully he could keep warm to avoid freezing his fingers. He switches on the video feed and blinks curiously before speaking.]

I was wondering, who's the youngest in Marina? I want to play in the snow but I don't think the adults will want to.

Pardon me. Is this device functional? [Tap tap tap. Then, a little louder:] Pardon me!

[At first it's only voice, but after a bit of fiddling the video function comes on. Enjoy your view of the bridge of Nia's nose, Marina. It pans back after another moment, leaving her whole face in view. Absurdly bright eyes, unfaltering smile... check, check.]

Ah... hello, Marina of Prison fellow people! My name is Nia. It is lovely to meet you. I will be residing here as of now, so I hope we can all be good friends.

[Beat, then she adds:]

Oh, yes. Thank you for the time you spent listening. [♥]

Houheo taralna, rondero tarel!

[ four days really isn't that long, it isn't even a week. to be fair, it hasn't even been a full four days, but even a day is enough time. enough time to feel stretched out and much too, painfully long. it's amplified by the knowledge that he and claude faustus are not only kilometers apart, but thousands and thousands of leagues. then, kilometers and maybe even much further because he doubts he's even on earth anymore. (that, in itself, is still a thought he has trouble settling into the idea of.) ]

Houheo taralna, rondero tarel! Houheo taralna, rondero tarel! [ 'houheo taralna, rondero tarel'—it's an incantation. fairies' spell. it sounds a lot like latin, but it's just gibberish. even so, it's the 'spell' that brought alois trancy a demon, a demon called claude faustus, and it's the incantation that works like a heavy-handed signature on their contract. whenever alois desperately wants something done, he chants this. whenever he wants claude, he chants this. claude isn't allowed to refuse it; he should come to it beck and call again and again and again, no matter how many times its said.

and in marina asylum, specifically, it's been called out well over hundreds of times. ]
( the rest cut, because apparently i don't know how not to teal deer, but aight. :/ )




(ooc: *s- so, bearing in mind that kindly mister Flynn Scifo will be the one to calm him down before he gets too out of hand [he's already pretty much there, given that he's only a human kid], i'd be happy to have anyone else interact with him while he's like this. just ... be prepared for a lot of getting-no-where. he's feeling very desperate and passionate and hopeless.

also! it isn't just silly convenience store plates. he's gone through some of the clothes at the clothing store and ripped buttons off things or shirt sleeves off the arms and he's ruined library books. back home, claude would have taken care of it by now, but he's really, really pissed off today, so. yep. anywho, if you want to interact with him in the clothing store/library instead, go for it. like i said, he's really pissed off, so if you are okay with him lashing out at your character let me know. he won't do much worse than hitting, and bruising would be up to you. he projects a lot, so even if he doesn't have a personal issue with them, he could be provoked depending on how the conversation goes.

TL;DR: he's having a fucking tantrum, omg. all dis drama.)

Wait tomorrow's Halloween? Already?! Geez, I will never get used to how holidays fly by around here. If Halloween's coming up then that means - [LONG PAUSE]

...That means I'm nineteen now! [and instead of the happy face of a birthday girl, she looks mostly horrified.] I aged in prison! All this time's gone by and I didn't even notice...! How did I not notice my own birthday?!

[hands on her head] I can't believe I've been here for this long...

[ finally, he's free of that ball and chain. another day and he might've seriously hurt himself trying to get the thing off. he stretches, relishing in the feel of not being weighed down by that damned thing. ]

That's more like it. Which way's the fridge?

[Hello, Marina. Bad Haro is staring at you.]

Dumbass! Dumbass!

[Guy makes a move to swat the thing away, very gently. His voice is tinny and faraway from the communicator.] Hey, don’t be like that -

Guy angry! Guy angry! Abuse! Abuse!

[A hand reaches over and wrenches the communicator away, and it’s Guy, making an appropriately put upon expression. But he regards the dark haro, formerly Nena’s, instead of the device and whoever might be watching the feed.]

You know -

[Again, it interrupts:] Stuck your hand in me! Hand in me!

[The feed cuts abruptly.]

[it’s hard to acquaint one’s self with new technology when you don’t even know how to turn it on properly. truth be told, Herbert wouldn’t be surprised in the least if it turned out that this was just a very elaborate toy or if it didn’t work at all. this might be a lucid dream but he's not even gonna wonder where the logic in this particular one is or what kind of awful, nasty things his brain is trying to tell him by picking out such a - colorful locale.

imagine his surprise when it turns out that the thing does work. the video feed opens to him primly sitting on his knees, neat as can be even with the ugly cuff wrapped around his right foot. he shifts a few times, causing the chain to rattle gently, before dipping one hand out of frame to where the welcome basket is beside him. seconds later, he comes up with a bag of pretzels. whether or not he’s bothered that the clothing he’s wearing is covered in copious amounts of dried blood and viscera or if it even registers properly remains to be seen. If he is aware, he doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it.

after a few minutes of crunching away, he swallows and wipes a few crumbs off his lips.]

I don’t like salted pretzels. [he says this nonchalantly but in a tone that suggests everyone with half a brain should know this incredibly vital bit of trivia.] More importantly, I don’t like the ocean. I was under the impression that near-death experiences cause your life to flash before your eyes, but considering that I haven’t been to a beach since the age of five, it would seem that I’ll have to reevaluate my assessment.

[he pops another pretzel into his mouth, and this time his expression becomes very…unamused.]

Dream, then. Is this the part where I’m supposed to learn something enlightening about myself, or the part where manifestations of my psyche come to ridicule me? Either way, I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible, if you please. [CRUNCH.] I have something that needs to be taken care of back in Arkham. A way to remove this - [again, the chain rattles.] - would be ideal as well. If I’m going to be traipsing about here for God knows how long, I would like to do it in relative comfort.

HELLO, MARINA. I'M R2-D2.

THE INCLUSION OF DROIDS HERE SEEMS TO INDICATE A LACK OF AN APPROPRIATE ALGORITHM FOR DETERMINING THE SEVERITY OF CRIMES AND APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENTS. BASED ON AVAILABLE DATA, THERE IS A 64% CHANCE THAT I AM HERE MERELY BECAUSE THE WARDEN IS LONELY.

HE'S CUTE, BUT MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION IS THAT HE'LL PROBABLY PLAY HARD TO GET.

( [private -- voice] )

[video -- public]

[The video shows a confused looking Japanese man in his mid-twenties, blinking at the screen from behind large glasses. He beams as he realises he's managed to get the device to work, speaking cheerfully.]

Ah! I was beginning to think this wasn't working. Perhaps it would be useful to provide clear instructions to make it easier for us to work these? After all, an old man such as myself struggles to understand all this modern technology. I'm afraid I've fallen too far behind the times.

On geography, too, it would seem. I've never heard of the Eloquois Ocean before. I wonder whereabouts it's located? It seems rather an odd place for a prison. Although perhaps you are used to it here.

[ooc: Action is also available for those I've talked about it with.]

-- thing on? [There’s a boy on the screen, both confused and very annoyed. Must be a new guy.] Pretty nice for a prison if they’re giving away free, weird toys to their prisoners.

Hey! Anyone listening? How can I get in touch with the guy in charge about my place here? Not that I’m surprised to find myself in prison, but they could’ve at least put me inside the right one.

[...Okay, now that's new. If not, then something other inmates haven't heard in a while.]

Unless his royal highness did something... [Muttering to himself before it turns into grumbles.] …even if I doubt that.

Hey, anyone seen a girl with short red hair and a big, round guy that answers to Faylen and Faylon? If you two are here, you guys better let me know! [A bit of concern can be heard and seen from him. That first, dealing with this stupid chain and ball later.]

[Hear that sound? It's the sound of a foot hitting a wall, repeatedly. A girl's gotta work her aggression out somehow, you know? Not like the wall's going to feel anything, anyhow. ENJOY THE SHOW MARINA.

After a few mildly satisfying minutes, Taiga gives up, breathing heavily, face flushed, hair in disarray, hands clenched into fists at her sides.]

A life sentence? You expect me to believe that? You expect me to give in quietly? I refuse.

DO YOU HEAR ME? I. REFUSE.

[No she isn't on the verge of tears what are you talking about.]

[There is no image to accompany the message, but the voice that comes over the communicator is quiet, almost placid in its smooth, monotone delivery. The age of the speaker is difficult to place. The tenor and resonance of the voice are easily those of a young man, but he speaks with such gravity and composure that he could just as easily be much older.]

As interesting as the provided pamphlet was, I would prefer to hear an explanation firsthand. On whose authority does Acumen act? There are matters to which I must attend in my own world, and unless my so-called replacement is willing to fight, then more innocents will fall to a vampire's cruelty, and their deaths will be on the heads of those who prevented me from fullfilling my contract.

It is a peaceful morning in the Shelter. In the dome above, the artificial daylight cycle has not yet begun. The halls echo with the gentle sounds of early morning residents milling around and robots going about their business amidst the even, sterile glow of the artificial lights. Yes, all is quiet and calm...



Some will recognize that it is Sentience's voice -- not Acumen's -- that follows the echoing, whooping alarm that rings out through the halls of the entire Shelter and directs everyone to stay calm:

"Attention. Attention. An emergency has been reported in this building. Please, cease operations and calmly leave the building utilizing the nearest stairwell exit. Do not use the elevators. I repeat. Do not use the elevators!"

This continues on for many minutes, as denizens stir from their slumber or drop their meals and take to the halls. At least... it is expected that everyone follows the evacuation orders and strobe lights as directed. Elevators are non-functional for the duration of the alert. (But you can try to hack or override them if you want -- just expect someone to notice, later.)

As an added bonus: those in the kitchen and dining areas, sprinklers have activated, as that is the source of the disturbance. A perfect way to start your morning, right? (Don't worry -- there is a laundry cart with towels upstairs outside the exits.)

( OOC notes! )

[The dome seems to have settled into a content lull after prom and not even Ryoji is immune - but curled up in the doorway of an empty bedroom, he turns on a feed regardless. He's looking a little more relaxed than normal, but his expression is thoughtful instead of filled with cheer.]

A person told me once - [believable, right?] - about these monsters he used to fight, but he didn't call them monsters. I don't believe he hated them at all, even though he had reason to. He thought was a kindness, to end their lives before they could gain enough self-awareness to realise they've been murdering people.

I never understood why he thought that death was the only right answer.

[There's your daily dose of cryptic, Marina. Complete with a side order of curious lies.

And for those not interested in that, he adds - ]

I hope everyone had fun at the promenade. It's always nice to make happy memories like that.

[He had thought after he went to the hospital that they would just patch him up and let him go. Instead Fuuma had been patched up and pushed along by the bots to a bed, and at that point it wasn't worth coming back and forth to the hospital for how often they wanted to check those burns he got on his arms and hands. So he just stayed the night. It wasn't like he had any very important plans anyways. But today, well, he was a little bit bored. Watching the bots come and go was only so interesting. Hopefully Karen come knocking, considering she was likely to be in the building as well.]

[Digging around in the drawers on the nightstand next to the bed had yielded a deck of cards, but it wasn't like Fuuma knew many single player card games... So the best way to fix this was clearly to ask. The video background is clearly the hospital, for those who know it, but there's nothing visibly wrong with Fuuma, since his hands aren't in view.]

Are there any good single player games you can play with a deck of cards? I'm afraid I don't know any, and it's rather boring just sitting here.


((OOC: Anyone is welcome to bug Fuuma! He's just chilling out at the hospital for the day. You can also come visit him there to make his life less dull as well.))

You know. The longer I'm here the less this place seems like a prison. I mean, they have a party and generally let us do as we please. Isn't a prison a place you go to be punished?

[ She shuffles through some clothes on the rack. She's sorting through some blazers right now, trying to find one that fits. If you are in the same clothing store as her, feel free to come up and talk!]