ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE...

[pleasureislanders]

The first thing you notice upon gaining consciousness is the smell. The air smells musty and woody, like the back corner of some forgotten tourist trap. As you stir yourself awake, you find yourself in a wicker bed with a soft sheet draped over you. The room’s walls are wood-paneled, and a nearby desk displays a digital clock reading “9 AM”. A singular potted plant provides the barest amount of decoration--though, the exact plant species differs between rooms. A note written in flowing cursive has been taped to your door.

MEETING IN THE LOBBY AT NOON
- G ♥
As you make your way out of your room, you’ll find yourself on a balcony overlooking a octagonal lobby below. Various artifacts and trophies decorate the club from top to bottom, cluttering the walls and any available surface. From here, you can clearly see that the marble floor of the lobby is decorated to look like a compass. Descending the stairs will reveal that, in addition to the artifacts mounted on the walls, several plaques have been put up detailing the lives of those trapped here--including you.

If you peer out the windows, you’ll see a tropical island sprawled out before you, overgrown with palm trees and shrubs. If you peer far enough above the treeline, you might even be able to see the ocean. No matter how hard you try, the front door is sealed shut and the windows seem impossible to break.

You've got until noon 'til the meeting happens. For now...enjoy the club, if you can.

[ OOC: Welcome to the Adventurers Club! We're so excited to have you here. This is the intro log--feel free to mingle on this post to your hearts content. At 6 PM EST, we'll be introducing the host! If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the mods. ]

[ LOCATIONS | REGAINS | BIOS ]

Comments

[prodigalhairess]

[That musty sort of smell doesn't really hit Rapunzel right away as she drifts into consciousness. The castle had been under heavy construction lately, after all; between Cassandra's takeover and Zhan Tiri's rampage, there was a lot of rubble to be moved, and a lot of new building material being hauled in at all hours of the day. Her room had been a mess as the masons tried patching up the gigantic hole in her wall as best they could, but it was a process. So... the smell doesn't bother her.

What does make her mind register that something is wrong is the feeling of the bed. Too thin, to small... in a flurry of movement, Rapuzel is up, head whipping this way and that; this definitely isn't her room, or any of the rooms in the castle. Just what's going on...?]

Pascal?

[Her best and oldest friend is always the one that she'll call out to first. But there's no squeak of reply, and that alone makes Rapunzel's stomach turn. This isn't some sort of dream, or some kind of trick, something is seriously wrong; she runs out onto the balcony in a hurry, looking this way and that.]

Pascal?? Eugene??? Where- is anyone here????


[Later, after calming down, Rapunzel finds her way down to the lobby. It's time to explore to get a feel of her surroundings, and explore she does! Until she gets sidetracked by the profiles, that is. She's pressing the buttons to play music on each one, looking giddier and giddier with each song.]

This is amazing! These don't sound like music boxes, and I don't see any gears... how do they play like this???

Balcony

[goldiloxy]

Are your friends missing too? [This fox in a blond wig comes trotting up behind Rapunzel. There's a lot more humans here than she expected, really.] I haven't seen anyone I know here so far...and I called for them really loud too!

[prodigalhairess]

[... Rapunzel has seen a lot of strange things on her journey to follow the black rocks. Talking leaf people, a monkey with the soul of the world's greatest inventor sealed within it, that time Shorty laid an egg as a bird.... a talking fox in itself isn't strange. The... the wig and the dress, though? That gets her to double-take.]

Um... yeah! [Be polite, Raps!] Well, I don't know if they're missing or if I'm missing. Either way, this definitely isn't where I was last asleep.

[goldiloxy]

Oh, same here! An island vacation is romantic, but not if I don't have my actual boyfriend with me! [She lets out a little giggle at the word "boyfriend."]

[prodigalhairess]

[... Something seems off here, and Rapunzel isn't sure what it is. F-For now, she'll just go along with it!]

I dunno... I had my boyfriend with me when we got stranded on an island once, and it was super weird. Fun, yeah! But some really crazy things happened, too.

[Like a magical idol nearly tearing their group apart. Fun times.]

lobby

[doofenshmirtz]

Weeeeell, if I put this together--which I didn't, by the way--I would make a series of Musicinators to play appropriately annoying music when the button was pushed.

[Who's this ugly pharmacist standing next to Rapunzel? Doof rubs his chin, squinting at the plaques.]

...Or, you know, just set up a multi-speaker system, but where's the fun in that? Besides, making an -inator is much more efficient.

[prodigalhairess]

Multi-speaker system...

[Rapunzel is from a time where hot running water was brought to the people just, like. A month ago. So the terms she's hearing kind of blow over her head. But she kind of gets it, too! Speakers are what project music from phonographs for people to hear, so...]

Oh wow, you can play one piece of music from multiple speakers??? That's amazing!

[But... doesn't quite answer what she was wondering!]

But how does the music even play? Is there a box behind all these plaques? It's so clear, too! Like someone's playing it right in this room...

[doofenshmirtz]

[Huh. This girl kind of reminds him of when Vanessa was younger. He frowns, rubbing the back of his head.]

Ehhh...it's got something to do with audio acoustics. You just probably have to upload an MP3 to a computer and then play it from there. Apparently, MP4s are more clear than MP3, but I can't really tell the difference.

[He pauses for a moment.]

Waaaaait, you're-- [He glances towards the plaque.] --Rapunzel?

[prodigalhairess]

MP... huh???

[What are these terms coming out of your mouth, sir!!!]

Oh- yes! Yes I am! You're, uh... [She too takes a quick glance at the plaque.] Doctor Doofenshmirtz! It's very nice to meet you!

Lobby

[dannydorito]

In my expert opinion?

[He might just be here spamming his own- what might charitably be called music, maybe.]

The trapped souls of damned musicians. Very tricky to pull off, but it really gets you that high-fidelity sound.

[prodigalhairess]

[Well the music is.... something! It's fine! Everyone has their own tastes, and Rapunzel can't judge people for liking things that may seem a little... different from what she likes. That would just be rude!]

If that were the case, these things would have a way creepier feel to them.

[She's had experience with cursed objects before, okay! She totally knows when something is bad!]

Besides, if that was true, why put them with pictures of us? And not the people trapped inside?

[dannydorito]

[No, really, she can totally judge this one person in particular, and probably should.]

That's how they get your guard down! Cursed stuff isn't very good at cursing people if they know it's gonna curse them, right?

[prodigalhairess]

[Rapunzel's just that much of a good person, okay. Unless your name is Zhan Tiri or maybe Calliope, she won't want to punt you on sight.]

Even if it's not obvious that they're cursed, there's still something weird about that kind of stuff! [Look, she's not gunna forget the idol incident!] These things just feel... normal. I just don't know how they work yet.

[Varian would probably have it all sorted out by now....]

balcony here we gooo

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[She knows that voice. She's heard it every day, she's heard it in her dreams.]

Raps?

[Pinch her, she must be dreaming now.]

look out belooooow

[prodigalhairess]

......... Cass?

[That voice.

If Rapunzel hadn't been so sure she was awake, she'd be convinced this was a dream. She, too, had been hearing her best friend's voice in her dreams; once the angry, bitter words Cass spit at her while under Zhan Tiri's thumb, more often than not, she now hears the softer, happier words from their last talk before Cass set out on her journey.

But this wasn't a dream! it felt way too real to be one! SO when Rapunzel turns and sees her, she cna't help but let out a happy squeal, charging forward and immediately throwing her arms around the other woman.]

Cass! Ohmigosh, I can't believe it! [For the moment, all of her panic and worry is gone. She's just... so happy!] Is this where you've been this entire time??? How did you get wher? Where are Owl and Fidella??

oh lord she coming

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[It's her. No mistaking that brown bob now, or that sparkle in those deep, emerald green eyes.

And here Cass was, a much better surprise than that day she turned up in the throne room, unannounced and prepared to threaten the whole of Corona if she didn't get what she wanted. Her ranger clothes were still on point, hair still that distinct grey and black, her lips curled upward.

She's ready for Rapunzel and holds her arms open wide to catch her. The force of her favorite princess ramming into her pushes her back a footstep, but Cass has wrapped her arms around her, burying herself in Rapunzel's shoulder. Just for a second.]

It's been a while, Raps. [She looks up, all smiles. Until the facts hit her.] But, unfortunately... I don't know how I got here. I was going to ask you the same thing.

[prodigalhairess]

[It's fine. It's absolutely fine. Just the feeling of Cass's arms around her, pressed in close and real and here is enough to bring a few tears stinging to the corner of Rapunzel's eyes. It's comforting, and that thread of panic lancing through her lessens just a little, now that she has her dearest friend by her side.]

Too long. I feel like I haven't gotten a letter in weeks!

[Cass you've caused the mail carrier nothing but grief while you were gone. Poor guy gets accosted by Raps the minute he crosses the archway into castle grounds.]

Really? That's weird. [Hm.....] Do you think... something bad's about to happen?

[It can't be Zhan Tiri - they made sure she was never coming back. But someone else...?

Lobby

[saurasaland]

[Daisy: I can't trust anyone here
Also Daisy: ... But she looks too sweet and overeager to be evil or a kidnapper.

She cautiously approaches Rapunzel and stands besides her, looking at the profiles and checking out Rapunzel from the corner of her eye.]

I'm guessing it's like a jukebox? That's what it looks like to me, at least.

[prodigalhairess]

[Even without her long blond hair, Rapunzel is the very definition of a ray of sunshine. Though she's clearly confused over how the music works, there's a bright, wondrous look in her eyes, like she's truly enjoying this little concert.]

Jukebox? What's that?

[... Hm. Perhaps that medieval-style dress the young woman is wearing isn't just some fashion statement.]

balcony

[crudeforaguylikeyou]

Unfortunately, yes.

[What a friendly face you've stumbled upon, Rapunzel.]

If Eugene and Pascal are lucky, they're far away from this - [hellhole] - establishment.

[He sniffs.]

By the way - does this place smell like mold to you? Or would you say it's a slight damp?

[prodigalhairess]

[When your best friend is someone like Cass, it's hard to be fazed by blunt attitudes like that. And he does have a point; if there's some kind of weird magic stuff going on, it's probably good that her friends aren't here. She just hopes they're safe.]

You know, I'm not sure. Maybe a bit of both? [Her nose wrinkles.] Either way, that can't be good. We should probably find a way out of here, fast.

[... It makes sense in her head, okay. If this place is rotting inside, then they're probably pretty far from civilization. They need to get out fast if they want to get back before whoever kidnapped them discovers they're missing and tracks them down.]

[crudeforaguylikeyou]

Yes, it really does a number on the lungs.

[Definitely on the same page here.]

Do you think that, perchance, they've been kind enough to leave us with some access to dynamite? We could blow a great big hole in the wall and make our dashing escape.

lobby

[bornforit]

You must be from a really under-developed planet. It's all electronic.

[Leia's gazing sidelong at Rapunzel from where she stands in front of her own portrait, still grumbling about inaccuracies. She cringes, and adds, after a moment:]

You're going to give someone a headache.

[prodigalhairess]

[The bad thing about having a friend that's a never-ending well of snark is that it really starts to slide off of you after a while. Leia's complaint, while registered, doesn't seem to phase Rapunzel at all. At least she stops pressing one song after the other once the latest loop finishes!]

I'm from Earth. Isn't that the only planet people can live on? [Oh, honey...] And I think it's pretty developed! My kingdom even has hot running water now!

[OH HONEY....]

[bornforit]

Earth? [She says it like she might say the word "dung." Such an inelegant name for a planet, but she doesn't say that.]

I've never heard of it. If you think hot running water is an innovation, it must truly be undiscovered.