First Phase of the Moon

[lunaclaymore]

[ Action 1 | 845 Goldberg Street ]

[Woken up by the loud alarm, at first glance Saïx has no idea where he is.

At second glance, he has even less idea. A normal bed, in a normal-seeming house, and certainly nowhere he's been before.

Saïx stands, intending to find the answers to two questions - one, where is he? And two, what is that sound? He's stopped by a strange feeling - at once familiar and completely unfamiliar. His hand goes to his chest, feeling something there that he's searched for for ages.]

What...?

[ Phone call ]

[Some time later, after Saïx has gotten his bearings. His voice is cool and collected, if somewhat curt.]

Any information on the changes this place enacts upon us would be appreciated.

[ Action 2 | Library ]

[Saïx can be found in the closest thing the library has to a section for medical and psychological books, an expression of irritation painting his features as he picks up book after book and finds absolutely nothing useful.]

Shaving? Who would need a book on that?

Comments

Action 1 HELLO MYSTERY WIFE

[lunaclaymore]

[It takes him a moment before he answers. Waking up in a place like this isn't really what he's used to at all, much less the presence of a heart - and the presence of someone strange in the room with him.]

[But Saïx isn't the type to flip out over these kinds of things.]

Perhaps there's an emergency going on. Do you know where we are?

[dreamofspice]

There could be! Though this is the first time I've heard the sirens before, so I don't know what it could be.

And yes! Welcome to Mayfield. I'm afraid you're stuck here, like the rest of us. I'm Paprika, by the way. I should warn you, the town's going to try to tell you we're married.

[lunaclaymore]

Stuck here? So you aren't a resident of this place. [Strangely, that's something of a relief.]

My name is Saïx. Why would the town say we're married?

[dreamofspice]

Well it depends on your definition of "resident," I suppose.

It's a bit of an explanation, but you'll need to hear it from somebody. Basically the town is set up as what people in 1950s America thought was a dream town. Pretty houses, picket fences, happy cheerful neighbors who all know your name... but the problem is that many of the people here were brought here unwillingly, like you and me. The town sets the whole thing up as if we've lived here our whole lives, fitting us into what it sees as a perfect life by setting up houses full of happy families with appropriate jobs and lifestyles. Now, we know this isn't true, but there's a fair number of what we like to call drones, who are kind of the cookie-cutter image of what this town thinks is an ideal resident. They'll treat you like you've lived here your whole life and get confused if you try to tell them otherwise. They're a little... two-dimensional. They don't have a lot of personality aside from what the town assigns to them. But they're kind of a key component to maintaining the illusion.

[lunaclaymore]

[He doesn't really get the '1950s America' part, but the rest of it makes some sense. Well - that's not quite true. It really doesn't make any sense at all, but he understands what she's saying, at least.]

What an odd world. So we are forced into these families with people we've never met before, and if we don't play along with it, the town will get confused?

[Saïx supposes he won't lose anything by playing along, but it's still an odd thought. He hasn't had a family in years.]

I assume that must be why it changes us physically, too.

[dreamofspice]

Not just confused. I haven't witnessed it myself, but I've heard that people actually get punished for not playing by the rules.

Though the town itself tends to break the rules. It's kind of a catch 22 in that sense. Mostly, though, people play along. It's easier that way, when things are quiet.

[At the second statement, Paprika nods.]

It does! When we arrive, we're completely stripped of everything that makes us who we are back home. Unique traits, powers, deformities, even scars are completely taken away. We're left without any of our clothes or belongings from home, as well. However, over time, the town does give us these things back in the form of packages in the mail. For instance, I just recently got my clothes back, as well as a certain ability I had back home! But it might be quite some time before I get anything else back.

I'm sorry, this is kind of a lot of information all at once, isn't it.

[lunaclaymore]

Punished? How so?

[He sees no reason to not play along with it for now, but it's best to know what the consequences will be if he doesn't.]

It is quite a bit to take it, but I think I understand. Certainly I've seen the physical changes myself. I used to have a scar - and I used to lack a heart. Both of those things have changed.

How long have you lived here?

[dreamofspice]

From what I hear, the town drones you... that is, takes away your personality and makes you act like one of the drones for a day. It's not the worst it can do, though, but the really bad stuff seems to happen to most of the town all at once, not just individual people.

[The "used to lack a heart" comment surprises her.]

You didn't have a heart? Well that's not something you hear every day. [She smiles.] But then again most people don't usually exist only in dreams.

Honestly I've only been here about a month and a half, maybe two months.

[lunaclaymore]

Hmm.

[He'll remember that. He doesn't particularly like the idea of being turned into a mindless drone, even for a short time.]

In my world, there are some being that don't have hearts. We were called Nobodies. But I suppose I'm not one anymore.

You... existed only in dreams? How was that possible?

[dreamofspice]

[She nods.]

Well in my universe, there was a new invention called the DC Mini. It allowed people to share each others' dreams. Psychologists were using it as a way to do a sort of hands-on dream therapy, to help their patients better. I was one of those people.

[lunaclaymore]

I see. What an interesting-sounding invention. You were a psychologist, then?

[He looks her over for a moment. It makes sense. She does have a rather calming presence.]

[dreamofspice]

Not officially, but that's pretty accurate.

[She smiles and looks out the window again. Still looks normal, it's just the sirens that are unusual. She looks around the room briefly and her gaze falls on the calendar.]

Well that's strange.

[lunaclaymore]

[He follows her gaze, but whatever it is she's noticed is a mystery to him.]

What's strange?

[dreamofspice]

The calendar. [She points at it.] When I went to bed it said it was the thirteenth. Now it's the sixteenth.

[lunaclaymore]

[His eyes narrow a little.]

You lost a few days. I gather that doesn't normally happen here?

[dreamofspice]

Well I can't say that for sure, I've only been here a couple of months. But no one has talked about losing a few days before, unless they were droned... but with the sirens going off I suspect something bigger might be going on.

[lunaclaymore]

Do you have any idea what that might be? What sort of things have happened here before?

If something big is going on, we ought to be sure we're prepared.

[dreamofspice]

All sorts of things have happened here before, and from what I've heard, none of them were good. I think probably the best thing to do is just stay on our toes.

[lunaclaymore]

Mm. Yes, you're probably right. [Of course, Saïx has been on his guard since he woke up here. That won't change.]

I'll have to learn what I can about this place.

[dreamofspice]

It'll certainly help! They do say luck favors the prepared.

[lunaclaymore]

I try not to rely on luck.

[dreamofspice]

Fair enough! Everyone has their own way of doing things.