ORIENTATION

[allforevil]

[When you start to stir from your slumber, you awaken to the smell of dust and rotted wood. Your bed is far from comfortable -- lumps in the mattress, a tattered blanket that barely keeps you warm and a pillow almost as hard as a rock-- and you'll immediately see there are others in your room with you.

All of you are confused, surely. "Where am I?" "What place is this?" Questions like that stir through your mind while you take in your surroundings. Something might catch your eye before anything else, though. A coloured chest tied with a bow, a large gift tag is attached to it with your name on it. There's one for everyone in each dorm, and if you open it you'll find:

An old, worn school uniform.
A colourful costume.
And a pamphlet with information about you, about your stay in this Academy, and a map of the layout of the school and the training grounds outside. The descriptions are vague, leaving out important details about your new super powers called "Quirks", a bland description about how you were selected to join the Academy called "VA" (no explanation what it means), and even the map has lame descriptions of locations that don't really give you a good idea of where you're staying.

Before you can start exploring, or chatting away with your neighbors, a voice rings over old intercoms. It sounds low and comforting, like a long lost friend. But there's something about that that feels.. unsettling. A feeling in your gut that this voice was anything but friendly.

"Welcome, students. You must be very confused, but I assure you I'll be able to answer all the questions you have in just a few minutes.

For now, relax, explore, and meet your new classmates who will be staying with you during this semester.

Oh, but..... whatever you do, don't enter the dining room."

The intercom cuts off, leaving you with a cryptic message to think about on top of.. everything else you're dealing with right now.]

Comments

[notbymyside]

I have some guesses, but beyond the obvious "we have been kidnapped" there is not enough information to call them theories yet.

[He reaches up and adjusts his glasses before speaking further.]

Regardless, my name is Ango Sakaguchi. Since it seems like many of the people here are teenagers, I will do my best to keep our information organized and look for a possible escape route.

[astroscopy]

[Diana is a bit at a loss, since she usually knows what is happening. but right now, it seems she will have to take a step back and observe]

Diana Cavendish. I will try to be of assistance, if I can, even though my magic seems to have been taken away.

[notbymyside]

[Which is honestly the best thing to do, since they can't really do much until their captor shows themself.]

Magic?

[astroscopy]

[ah...]

Yes. I use magic, though all my powers and my wand have been stolen.

[and even if her wand hadn't been, she would still be out of luck without the Stone to power it. but that is not important right now.

she puts a hand to her chest, looking dignified and proud]

I attend a school for young witches in training. I have been studying magic all my life.

[notbymyside]

I can imagine it is disorienting to be here then, if you have no access to that which you normally defend yourself with. Your calm in this situation is commendable.

[He means it too, he was expecting more of the people here to freak out.]

Unfortunately, I do not know why your magic is gone. I suspect it has something to do with why we are here in the first place, though.

[astroscopy]

[she drops her hand, feeling more at ease now that she's introduced herself. Diana has a good poker face, though she does feel lost without her magic. she hopes that more things will be explained as quickly as possible]

You're probably right. Though, I am worried. If the person who kidnapped us was able to remove everyone's powers, [and replace them with new ones?] they must be extremely powerful, themselves.

[notbymyside]

It tends to be that those who create situations like this are powerful. As long as this doesn't turn into 'the most dangerous game', then we can work with this person. They must have demands of some kind.

[astroscopy]

...What are you implying by, "the most dangerous game?"

[she thinks she knows, but she just wants to make sure]

[notbymyside]

It is a reference to a piece of literature in which the antagonist was a hunter and grew tired of hunting animals, and decided to try the challenge of hunting a human.

[astroscopy]

.........

[that was what she feared. her eyes are a little wider]

I did not want to even consider that possibility, but I suppose we can't rule anything out.

[notbymyside]

It is a very unlikely one. If someone were interested in 'hunting' humans, they wouldn't have brought so many to one location. All of us combined could overwhelm one person, if sufficiently motivated. That person would have picked, at a maximum, 5 or so.

[astroscopy]

It depends on how many kidnappers there are. We don't even know if we're dealing with a single person, or a group of them.

[notbymyside]

That is a fair point too. Without knowing the numbers, we cannot prepare a counterattack.

[astroscopy]

Everyone seems to be off doing their own thing. It's too bad. If we stayed as a group, maybe we could put our heads together and figure out what is going on. Otherwise, we're just waiting here.

[notbymyside]

Going off on our own at the start is a good way to collect information. Then we can regroup and make a plan.

[astroscopy]

[hm]

It’s also dangerous.

[notbymyside]

It would be dangerous if there were a small group of us. There are over two-dozen people here.

[astroscopy]

[listen, she just doesn’t want people going off on their own, trying to play hero. that could be bad]

...Well, whatever happens, I think it’s best to keep a cool head. [she pauses to look at the door she just came out of. for some reason, she’s got a bad feeling being out here] I’m going to see what else I can find.

[notbymyside]

I'll keep looking as well. Let me know what you find, and I will share as well.

[astroscopy]

[ah... that earns a small nod of her head. someone she can share notes with. good. Diana is pleased, even though she doesn’t outwardly show it]

Please, take care.

[as in, don’t stay out here on your own for too long, even if you are an adult! she’ll turn and head back inside for now]