WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[You now know why you're here, Titled. The question now is, is there a way to get out of here without invoking the rules? What will those who brought you here do to get you to kill?

Time will tell.

There are fifteen strangers in this place.]

Comments

[incrediblystressedout]

[There are a lot of Japanese guys here, now that Joey thinks of it. She returns the bow instinctively in an awkward, American way, smiling a bit as a sort of apology for her form.]

Yeah, there's no room for ballet, and I don't even know how you'd control something that relies on foot position like that. Fortunately, I've got ballet and rhythm dancing both down pretty well...

[katsufemmefatale]

[Suddenly Yuuri's expression brightens a bit. You pinged something good, Joey!]

You know ballet? I saw on your profile that you like to dance, but it wasn't specific. I've taken ballet since I was really little, it helps a lot with figure skating.

[incrediblystressedout]

Ballet and tap are both my specialty! I'm gonna be a famous dancer like my mom. Or a veterinarian. Or both. I've got some time to think about it.

[She'd do a random pirouette, but she doesn't have the right shoes, so she just winks.]

You figure skate, though? That's so cool! You're right, it's like really cold ballet.

[katsufemmefatale]

So you love dance and animals.

[Joey, you have earned yourself a Sweet Cinnamon Roll Smile.]

I love animals, especially dogs. I... had a toy poodle until recently.

[And the smile falters a little, turns sad.]

And I've been skating since I was younger than you. I'm not amazing at it, not like my idol, but I love to skate more than anything. I wish we had a rink here, I'd show you.

[incrediblystressedout]

[Oh dear. That's a familiar turn of phrase to an animal-loving teenager, and one she's not going to press on.]

My dog's a big mutt, but she's a good girl. I hope she's taking care of Jude alright while I'm gone...

[And that her babysitter ever got back with those groceries. Man. That's going to require a lot of explaining. Good thing Jude's there to do it.]

I've been learning to dance since I was really little. I knew as soon as I was old enough to understand that that's what my mom did that I wanted to be a dancer, at least as a hobby. I might be able to improvise something here, but I lost my shoes...

[katsufemmefatale]

If we can find leather-soled shoes, we might be able to do some ballet or at least ballroom dancing. If there's a style you don't know but I do, I could teach you?

[She's so young and sweet, he almost feels a big brother protectiveness toward her. She doesn't deserve this place. She should be home, dancing with her dog.]

[incrediblystressedout]

[That possibility was never on the table, but then, Yuuri wouldn't know that.]

Yeah. It just feels weird without my own, you know? I hope the jerks who brought us here are keeping our stuff safe. I had someone really important to Jude with me, and I think he counts as "stuff", technically.

[katsufemmefatale]

I can't imagine what they might have of mine. Especially when they left me this.

[He holds out his right hand to show her the ring.]

I still don't know how I got this or who gave it to me.

[incrediblystressedout]

Huh!

[She leans in toward it, in that way girls are taught to from puberty onward.]

That's a beautiful ring, though. Real gold?

[katsufemmefatale]

I... I don't know. I think so, it's definitely not plastic or cheap metal.

[For the first time since he woke up in the Mall, Yuuri takes off the ring and squints at the inside. He sees a tiny 750 stamped inside it, but on the opposite side of the inner surface....]

What is that? It's tiny... a half-sunburst? Or maybe... a half-snowflake?

[incrediblystressedout]

If it was mine, I'd say a definite starburst, but I'm nowhere near old enough to get a ring like that. It looks like it's either a wedding band, or my babysitter's latest drunken rant about Lord of the Rings being a true story was correct.

[katsufemmefatale]

[Yuuri definitely flails a little at the "wedding band" remark, his face turning pretty red.]

N-- no way it's either of those! It's not magic, but it's definitely not a w-- w-- we--

[He can't even choke the word out so he shakes his head fiercely.]

I haven't even dated anyone!

[incrediblystressedout]

You're from Japan, right?

[Like most of the rest of the guys here, for whatever reason.]

Maybe plain gold bands mean something different over there. Or maybe it belongs to someone else.

Oh, or it could be an heirloom, but you'd remember where it came from then, wouldn't you?

[katsufemmefatale]

Yeah, I'm from a town in Kyushu. And this... it's definitely not an heirloom, it's new. And I think this number means it's eighteen-karat gold made in Europe....

[What he's afraid to tell her, something he can't believe, is that in Japan you often wear engagement rings on the right ring finger, switching them to the left when you marry.

Is he really engaged to someone?]

[incrediblystressedout]

[That would explain a few of the more badly-edited frames of Princess Shika and Baroness Kitsune in Magical Animal Companion Heal Rescue, but Joey's not especially concerned with her favorite Japanimation right now.]

Well, whoever gave it to you, they were a big fan.

[katsufemmefatale]

[Yuuri thinks of who could possibly be that big a fan of him and comes up blank. Victor is enthusiastic and affectionate, but it's all playful flirting that he probably does with everyone. There's no way the man who's wanted by the whole world would be interested in Yuuri that way.]

I still think it's just the people running this thing messing with me. I'm....

[Weak? Plain? Nothing special? Dime a dozen? He offers her an empty smile, one that doesn't reach his eyes this time.]

... just Yuuri Katsuki, nothing more.

[incrediblystressedout]

And what's wrong with being "just Yuuri Katsuki"? You seem like a pretty okay guy to me, and you must be pretty talented to figure skate professionally.

Besides, plenty of people get rings like that just for being themselves to the right person every day.

[katsufemmefatale]

[Yuuri shrugs at the whole "talented" thing.]

It's not like I can show you my skating here so you could judge for yourself. I miss it, even if I'm just average at it. Victor's amazing, and the Junior World champion is only fifteen and he's almost as good as Victor. Somebody like me doesn't stand out with people like them around.

[He glances down at the ring again, slipping it back on his finger.]

And I'm not the kind of person who wears jewelry, especially just for myself. Maybe I just... need to not think about it anymore.

[Then why did you put it back on, Yuuri? Maybe because not wearing it feels weird and wrong somehow?]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Joey understands that. Sometimes thinking about something you can't do anything about is more of a problem than a solution.]

Well, even if you can't skate, I'd love to do some ballet with you if we can find a space for it. Can't let ourselves get out of practice, right?