AU: Welcome to Hammel! [Players Come To Hammel!, Open]

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

{Okay, so simply put, you're putting yourself into Hammel. Do it anyway you want, but it's just for fun so ^-^ if you need me, I'll be fangirling at all my characters ;P enjoy!}

That was… interesting. This was definitely not her small, stuffy, disorganized room in England. No posters, no paintings, drawings, random decorations… had she been kidnapped? Where the hell was she? Apple sat up and stretched, standing up with the careful steps she’d usually use to manoeuvre around all of the dangerously painful objects that would be lying on the floor. She was still in her onesie… maybe she should get changed before exploring this place anymore. The ginger girl pulled her hair out of the messy bun it was in and shook it out, found her glasses and put them on, and approached the wardrobe. Thankfully, the clothing in there was a lot better than the clothing she’d usually have, and quickly picked out some stuff before departing from the bland room.

She didn’t recognize anything… or anyone… where… what… maybe, maybe if she kept walking around, something would become familiar. Because screw logic, that was obviously the best way of solving this dilemma. She climbed some stairs and passed a girl wearing a… a hat, and she… no, no fucking way. The rosy cheeked girl bounded after who she assumed was - “George?”

The other British girl came to a halt and swivelled, scanning Apple up and down. “That’s my name… do I know you?” There was a hint of recognition somewhere in her mind for this girl… but she could swear on her hats that she’d never met her before. Strange.

As for Apple? She was freaking out. Completely. In a good way, of course, but… it was really George. In the flesh. That was… holy shit. “You… you don’t.” But I know you more than you’d care to understand. Okay, slightly creepy. She just stared at the slightly shorter girl, before beaming uncontrollably. George… couldn’t help but smile back. And then something came into Apple’s mind, “Just… excuse me for asking, I’m being a numpty, but where in Hammel are we?” Because this had to be Hammel.

“Um… co-ed dorms? Like, mine’s just down there…” 212, Apple knew which room was George’s. Oooo! That meant…!

She looked behind her, at the stairs, and then shot an awkward smile back at her… creation. “Thanks!” And then she was running. George was left… minorly dumbfounded, but it was alright. That ginger girl seemed strange, but then again, so was she.

Apple went up a few floors. She knew, yes, that girl’s weren’t technically allowed on the boy’s floor, but George had been there before, and it was still daylight hours, of course. Apparently, she’d woken up mid-afternoon, so it was alright. She located Room 506 - she couldn’t help it, her curiosity was too strong. She let herself in and went to the door nearest on the left and knocked a few times, lightly, a nervous tension in her stomach, twisting knots and making her extremely shy. The girl was suddenly aware of Kodi… she’d keep an eye out. She squealed a little as she heard footsteps, just at the fact that she did have to keep an eye out.

She saw the door handle turn and realized... she had no good reason to be talking to Gryphon. Well, none that would make sane sense to him. Uh, uh, uh... she could improvise.

The tall dancer had to look down to look at the ginger girl. She was about the same height as Kodi, possibly a bit shorter. But he didn't know her. "Hello...?"

Right, Apple, here we go, this is what you took Drama for, "Yeah, uh, hi. You're... you're Gryph, right?"

The winged boy tilted his head curiously and leaned on his doorframe, "I am."

Apple had to suppress the grin from growing on her mouth, "I just... Phoenix."

Phoenix? Really? Was that... ugh, stupid Apple...

"Phen?"

"Yeah, I'm, uh... friends with him. He... he said you were nice too so... thought I'd say hi." Apple said sheepishly, arms crossed tightly in front of her. She looked up at him and gave a short wave,

"Hi."

[Deleted]

Ugh... Morning, go away... Sleepy...

Apollo yawned and squinted her eyes open, taking a moment to realize this wasn't her bed, or her room, and the sunlight outside seemed brighter than the foggy mornings in Eugene. She glanced over at the clock (that was actually plugged in, unlike in her room) to see that, well, it was a lot later in the day than she normally woke up to. She leapt out of bed with a sudden burst of energy, eyes wide with shock as she gazed around the room. It looked like... A dorm.

No... No way... She must have been dreaming, and this was the coolest dream ever. How often had she wanted this to happen?

Even if it was a dream, Apollo was going to take full advantage of it. She quickly got dressed, brushed out her hair (which took ages, ugh, long hair was such a pain sometimes especially when one was in a hurry) and ran out into, yep, the common room of her dorm. It was empty, so she ran into the hallway and checked the room number. 222. Co-ed dorms. She knew that.

"Holy shiiit," she breathed, trying not to seem like a complete loon as someone who looked mildly familiar passed by. What was his name? Brendan? Whatever, Apollo knew where she wanted to go. She ran up the stairs to the boys dorms, making a beeline for what she knew to be Gryphon's dorm, and noticed someone else was already there. Unabashed, she ran up and, without hesitation, flung herself against the winged man. "Hi sorry I've always wanted to do that, also you and Kodi are adorable and I love you, you guys should make babies okay byeee~!" Before she could make an even bigger idiot out of herself, she turned and ran off only to collide into a familiar blonde.

"OhmyGod Kodi!" she gasped, grinning as he snarled at her. Oh, that was so like him, wasn't it? "Ahhh you're such an asshole!" she trilled happily. Again, before the feral boy could react, she was gone, zipping around in hopes that she would find more people to glomp onto.

Kodi, in the meanwhile, huffed and stalked up to Gryphon and... Whoever this ginger chick was. "Oy, this's mine, getcher own," he growled, wrapping a possessive arm around Gryphon and glaring at the girl. Kodi didn't like the way he was gawking at him. So he bared his fangs. That would show her.

Of course, Apollo had to go visit Oriel and Phoenix. But first, she once again nearly ran into someone - or, in this case, two someones.  "RIVLEIGH!" she exclaimed happily, running up behind them and squishing them together with a grin.  "I ship you guys so much! You guys should make adorable babies tooo~!"  River gave her a look of utter bewilderment but barely got out a stammer before the blonde girl was running away again.

She ran back down to the co-eds, nearly tripping on the way, and darted to their dorm, making sure to knock instead of just burst in, in case they were doing... Something. It took a few moments before a sleepy-looking Asian boy peeked out, making Apollo start to squeal before she forced herself to be quiet and not scare him.

"Um, hi, Phoenix?" she giggled. He blinked at her in confusion.

"Do I know you?" he asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yes, I mean, no, I mean... Well, not yet," Apollo replied, grinning widely. "Is Oriel there?" Holy shit, she was really going to lose it if he was.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Debora was not ready to wake up. Then again, when was she ever? She pulled the blanket over her head with a groan, clearly in denial about the sunlight streaming into her room. After a few minutes of internally debating with herself, Debora shoved the blanket off of her and sat upright, frowning as she took in the site of her room. What? This definitely wasn't her bedroom in Vancouver...

The sunlight should have been the first indication. It was Spring, and that meant it should be raining. And it wasn't.

"Damn, I really need some coffee." She ran a hand through her tangled, cherry red hair. Maybe she was still dreaming? Debora had no idea.

After pulling together a random outfit, she threw hair unbrushed hair up into a messy bun (really, messy buns are God of the hairstyle world) and exited her room. Which had a number on it. 409. She frowned, scratching her head in confusion. What the hell was going on? Finally, everything clicked when a couple of familiar looking people walked by. Only, Debora wasn't use to it from this perspective...

"Holy shit!" She mumbled to herself, grinning. "I'm at Hammel!" Then, a dark haired boy and girl gave her a strange look. Debora opened her mouth to say something, until she realized it was Oliver and AJ. "Oh my goodness! Oliver and AJ!" She squealed, clapping her hands together. "It's great to see you guys together and talking... are you together yet? You totally should."

Oliver gave the odd redhead a curious look. Who was she and why was she freaking out over himself and AJ? "Uhm... no." He answered slowly, running a hand through his hair. He gave a bewildered look at AJ.

"Just... just trust me. Get together, alright? Promise?" Debora didn't want for an answer as she skipped down the hallway, bursting with excitement. This was a dream come true!

As Deb bounded down the hallway, she came across another another pairing and another blonde girl who was running away, with what she assumed was excitement. Maybe everyone was here! Deb made a quick mental note to meet everyone after the character... er, not so characters. She came closer to the pair, grinning. "Rivleigh!"

Carleigh was recovering from the other blonde squishing her face and River's together, rubbing her cheek. Who were these two girls and why were they screaming about Rivleigh? She looked at River, seeing he was as equally confused as she was. The comment about babies made her blush, though. "Well, alrighty then..." Carleigh said.

"Oh my goodness, you guys are even cuter in person. Seriously, date already. Really. How adorable are you two? I just want to pinch your guys' cheeks!" Deb fangirled, nearly dying on the spot. "Love you two! I'll check up on you later."

Deb left the flustered pair, a sudden idea popping into her head. If there was one pair she had to see....

"Zackai!" Debora began running down the hall, leaving the dorm building to head downtown to find her favourite pair.

[Deleted]

Where was she where was she where was she?

Ophelia cowered in her bed soon after waking, the comforter wrapped around her shoulders as she waited for…something to happen. Was she kidnapped? Was she drugged and molested? Was it going to happen again?

Her heart was thumping in her chest as she tried not to go into a panic attack.

The chubby brunette looked at her iphone, wondering if there were any messages there that could explain the situation. At least….she could deduce that a kidnapper probably wouldn't leave her a phone where she could call the authorities and escape. And they probably would have stashed her in a more dank place, not in what looked like a dorm room.

Ophelia gathered the courage to go to the closet and pick out some appropriate clothes(really, how'd this kidnapper know her size? how embarrassing!) and slipped into them before trying the door. It was unlocked. Whoever this kidnapper was, they weren't very good at her job. Unless this was a slave farm and she was just stuck in the "stables". They'd put her into slave labor the second she made herself known, just like on that one Law and Order episode she just watched…only they'd probably have woken her up at dawn so that couldn't be right either.

She stepped out of the room and crossed the main area, not finding anyone who was there familiar, tying her long hair back into a messy pony-bun. The strangest thing wa….Ophelia felt like she knew this place. It seemed very familiar, only she knew she'd never seen it before, at least not with her own eyes. It was exactly how she imagined the dorm room layout at Hammel, the role-play that she frequented on the internet…..which if it was, then this was the coolest thing ever because that meant she secretly had superpowers! Also bad, because she still had no memory of how she got there which would make her a little bit more than panicked.

First stop though….fuck, what was his room number again? Ophelia didn't bother memorizing the room numbers of her favorite people but…she remembered it was a low number on the second floor. 205….6? Whatever, she'd just walk until she found it….and then stand creepily outside the room until she gained the courage to knock and make a fool of herself.

Luckily, Ophelia didn't have to try too hard because apparently the door was open and Phoenix was standing right there talking to some….skinny girl who looked vaguely familiar.

And of course, the object of her affections soon stepped up from behind Phoenix as soon as he heard his name spoken. "Whaaaaat?" he drawled out in a clearly annoyed voice, draping his himself over the shorter asian boy. "The fuck're you?" he snarled, looking down at the short girl.

Meanwhile, Ophelia just stood there, watching silently, with a face that….was quite dumbfounded. "Uh…."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

"Hi." Gryph said back, with a small smile. If Phen liked her, then he did.

Apple grinned, this was going surprisingly well... until some girl she didn't recognize ran up to him and practically tackled him. She practically jumped back and watched as the blonde girl rambled on to him, practically oblivious of her presence. What... that sounded familiar. Was that-?

And then she was running away again, alright. And- OH SHIT KODI. Apple just gawped at all of everything. Her mind was racing with constant obscenities as... okay, no sane human being would insult Kodi to his face. That had to be Pollo. She was almost tempted to run after her, but... she was stuck on the spot. She turned and looked at Gryph and Kodi and... she was holding back squeals, she couldn't help it. "I... know very well, heh, that he's..."

Gryph looked at the curious girl and then at his boyfriend. "She wasn't doin' any harm, Kodi."

"Yeah, I..." Apple was suppressing her fangirling strongly. She began giggling and then remembered, there were so many people to see. She could always come back to then later. Besides, she didn't know how long this would last. She quickly looked between them for another moment, then began to leave, "I'll let you guys... yeah." She darted out of the room and, halfway down the hall, turned back and shouted through the doorway, "Gryphiak forever!" And she hit the ground running again.

Gryph looked at Kodi, "Gryphiak...?" What was that?

Who else, who else... Phoenix! She had mentioned him after all, why not pay a visit. And she stalked Phenriel threads all the time... ahem. Which room, which room... 20...4, right? Whatever, it would have to do.

She practically leapt down the stairs, avoiding anyone and everyone she saw, even though she occassionally recognized people and squeaked almost everytime. She got to the co-eds and went into the right room where... it was her, again!

And Phen, oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! And another girl woman person... Jesus Christ, she was turning into George. "You!" Apple pointed at who she had sussed was Apollo. She vaguely recognized the other person and smiled at her, "Hellooooo!" She waved at the Asian boy who was edged around the door, "Hi Phen!" Her attention turned back to the blonde girl, "But you! If you're not Apollo, I'm stupid. If you are, I love you." That was casual, but Apple was minorly completely fucking hyper over the fact that OMG she could actually talk to everyone at Hammel!

But 204, this was Oriel's dorm, not Phen's. So that probably meant that, "Please tell me Oriel's there, please please please." She half-muttered.

And he was, this was brilliant. Apple took a huge gasping breath, this was beyond awesome.

[Deleted]

"Crazy bitch..." Kodi mumbled as the red-haired girl ran away. "The fuck is Gryphiak?" he mumbled, flopping his head against Gryph's shoulder. "I think Phen's been dustin' people up or somethin'," he determined. Yeah, that was it, these people were high. "C'mon, let's go scope it out."

He was curious to see what else might be going on. Ehehee.

Meanwhile, River was absolutely bewildered by these two girls screaming Rivleigh at him and Carleigh - Oooooooh, River+Carleigh = Rivleigh? But... What? Dating? His cheeks were flushed and he was still stammering by the time the second girl was running off again. "... I think someone must be pulling a prank..." he mumbled, glancing at the blonde with wide eyes. "Why else would...?" This was so weird!

As for Apollo, well, it took only one drawn-out word from the person she was hoping to see to make her cover her mouth with both hands to hide a squeal. Ohmygod ohmygod it's him it's Oriel it's-! He was so beautiful, she wanted to scritch his hair and feed him danishes and and and...!

"Hi! I'm, uh, Lacey," she changed her name at the last moment, realizing calling herself "Apollo" might come across even stranger than she was already. Awww, look at that adorable snarling face! Apollo just wanted to squeeze him. And Phoenix. Because holy shit, the cute between those two was even better than she had ever imagined. Oh, crap, she needed an excuse, uhhhh.... "I'm visiting from a different meta school and going around finding people I've heard about," she rambled on the spot. Not the best lie, but it would do. "And I have heard all about you two!" she gushed.

Phoenix just stared at her, totally confused. "Uh... Okay...." He looked at Oriel with a 'what should I do?' expression.

Unable to contain herself anymore, Apollo leapt at the two of them, wrapping them in a hug and giving each a big kiss. Oops.... So much for not being a weirdo. Phoenix was too stunned to do anything, and Apollo was distracted by-

"OHMYGOD Apple!?" she exclaimed, gawking at her friend. She caught a glimpse of another familiar face behind her. "And Pheli! Holy shit, this is...!" Was everyone here? She turned around and beamed back at the adorable couple. "These're some of my friends. We uh, we've all heard about you guys."

"Why would you hear about us...?" Before Phoenix could react, Apollo leaped at Oriel again, clinging on like a koala. She just couldn't help it. "You guys this is amazing!!!!"

[Deleted]

Okay so this made sense. Because obviously everything about this situation made sense. But yeah, it wasn't hard to figure out that she and a handful(or all?) of the other players from her game had suddenly fallen into a dimensional portal overnight and woken up in the exact universe that they'd created. That wasn't strange at all.

The squealing was irritating but….she could understand the sentiment because Ophelia was surely doing that silently in her head as she watched Oriel hang all over his boyfriend.

"Lacey….really," Ophelia sent Pollo an incredulous look. Really? Lacey was the best name she could come up with? Ophelia lightly facepalmed, knowing exactly where Pollo had gotten the name. At least her "explanation" was somewhat feasible.

Oriel stared down at the girl, obviously confused. "Uh-huh…." He smirked. "So….I'm famous even at other schools, huh?" And thus his already gigantic ego grew. "Hope you only heard good things." Though with his reputation, Oriel wouldn't be surprised if they knew he was a fucking asshole who would just at likely to yell at them as he was to hit on them. But these chicks were amusing. Especially the red-haired chick who just walked up. He flashed them all a wolf-like smile.

Ophelia turned her focus to the red-head who just arrived. "Ka--Apple?" Shit, she almost used her real name. Funny how that happened when she wasn't just staring at an avatar and screenname anymore. But seeing Pollo's excitement had the brunette smiling and giggling softly. "Oh my god, you gaiz're adorable!" She crossed her arms over her torso and covered her mouth to hold back her exploding mirth.

She was about to go and greet her friends when…oh, Pollo….

Ophelia yelped(at the same time as Oriel btw) when she saw Pollo launch herself into Oriel's arms. Oriel took a step back, completely taken by surprise and…..shit! He knew he was hot, but not to the point where girls were literally throwing themselves at him. "Pollo!" Ophelia cried out, completely forgetting Pollo's real "name" she'd given the pair of boys. She outstretched her arms to start to pull the overexcited girl off of the boy who looked like he was about to throw her off himself.

"Gettoffame! Whatthefuckisyourproblembitch!?" Oriel was not pleased to be so suddenly crowded by a bunch of squealing girls who were now throwing themselves at him.

"Sorry! We'll just um…" Ophelia started, not exactly sure what there were going to "just um…". With a mighty tug she pulled Pollo from the boy's arms and picked her up, dashing down the hallway with the skinny girl over her shoulder. "Sorry!" she called again.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon still tried to suss it out... Gryphiak? He obviously recognized the Gryph part... but -iak? Wait... Kodiak? Was it some weird nickname? Whatever, "Fuck if I know." If it was, it wasn't a term he was about to use. It sounded weird and mushy.

Gryph rolled his eyes at the dusting comment, but he was intrigued too. Something was just... too odd about the girls they'd been talked to by. "Alright then." He agreed, walking out of the dorms and in the direction that both of them had run. They'd find out what was going on, one way or another.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Apple, and it felt like five million things were going on at once. There was Pheli, who she knew was Pheli now, thanks to Apollo, who's identification of her had made something slot into place. It was so hard to believe, and there was just... it was so fast. Apple was practically having a giggling fit though, seeing actual Phen and actual Oriel was pretty awesome.

And now actual Oriel was being actually being tackled by actual Apollo. On what planet was that a good idea? She face-palmed and kept out of the way, laughing at Pollo's complete and utter insanity. Pheli picked her up and... well, they were gone. Apple looked from the bewildered pair to the escaping one and awkwardly swayed on her feet for a moment. "Well... this was fun. Bye!" She ran after the other two, ginger curls flying about behind her.

"Pollo, do you have to hug everyone you recognize?" She asked cheekily, sending the 'kidnapped' girl a smile. And then a familiar face, or two, came around the corner. Both Gryph and Kodi had been curious, and whilst Gryphon wasn't about to force the girls he'd seen (and probably also the new one who he didn't recall at all) to do anything, he really wanted answers. As soon as he realized that these girls were those that they had been looking for, he held out a hand, "Hey!" He said, to get their attention. They seemed alright... besides, they probably weren't high like Kodi thought. They were mostly likely really friendly.

Except the blonde one. She scared him a bit.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Cold, So Freaking cold

Lux was shifting in her bed, which seemed to be much colder than it had been when she had fallen asleep. The sheets felt paper thin, and as she shifted once again, the girl let out a strangled gasp, her body hitting a floor with a loud thud.

"What the hell?!" Lux shot up, her curled mess of brunette falling in her face, obscuring her view of the room around her. What did I leave the thermostat on? It was never this cold in her house. But upon inspection, this was not her room, nor was it her bed. Her bed was a queen, and this was a twin sized. What the?

She scanned the room, finding that her clothes were tucked neatly in the drawers, and outside of the door was a common room with a kitchenette, couch, and television. This was a dorm... where WAS she?

Lux quickly put on a pair of jeans, her black 'I used to be schizophrenic, but we're okay now' tee, and a pair of black shoes. Of course, this was her comfortable attire, but in the cold (What was it, like 60 degrees in here?), the green-eyed brunette opted for a jacket, too.

Brushing her hair in a half-assed manner, leaving the curls that formed from her falling asleep with her hair wet intact and simply brushing the top, The brunette took cautious steps out of the room and common area, out to the hallways where she quickly turned to look at the room number. 409. Why did that almost seem like a familiar number...? 404 was Adaryn's and Ivy's room in Hammel, right?

Wait. HAMMEL.

The minute Lux had the realization, she stopped a girl in the hallway. "Uhm, excuse me, but where are we?" The blonde seemed genuinely concerned by this question, but luckily she answered for her.

"Girls Dorms at Hammel... Are you--"

The Light-eyed brunette wasted no time in running over to the Room 404. She knocked three times, and waited impatiently for the door to be opened. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be. Who opened the door caused the air to fly from her lungs. "Uh, Yeah?" Ivy Rose said, her brow raised curiously.

"Ivy?" Lux said incredulously, blinking several times at the girl standing in front of her.

"Uh, yeah. Do I know you?" Her features displayed confusion clear as day, and probably was creeped out more than anything. Lux didn't blame her, she'd feel the same way. Of course, Ivy got that from her.

"Oh no, I mean, sort of." Lux stumbled over her words. "We, uh, we went to Elementary School together back in Cutler Ridge I think. I remember your face because you were the only set of twins in the school." Which wasn't true, at all, but in the world of Hammel, it sure as hell was. And she could NOT believe that she was in that world. But if she was in this world, there were other girls she wanted to meet, though one in particular.

"Have you seen Adaryn?" Lux inquired, giving Ivy a hopeful smile.

Ivy, still creeped out, nodded her head. "That's great, I guess. I don't really remember you, but you look a little older. Anyway, I think Adaryn left a while ago with her sketch book. We don't talk much, so I don't know where she is at."

Oh Ivy, but I do.

"Thank you, I'll see you around?" Lux said hopefully. The girl would probably agree just to get Lux away from her, but that was alright. Ivy simply nodded and closed the door.

And to that, Lux went running. She didn't know her way around, so she had to ask a few recognizable students on her way there. AJ being one, but she was going to stop in for a chat with her a little while later. Right now, she needed to find the girl that lived and breathed in her mind and in her words. Adaryn Breslin.

When she made her way to the Pond, she could see a familiar shape of a small brunette with a Cardigan, drawing innocently in that large sketchbook of hers. Cautiously, though it was incredibly hard to contain her excitement, Lux stepped forward.

"Addie?" She said, and the brunette turned her head at the sound of her name being spoken. It was pointless in hiding her excitement, Addie could see it due to her power. A buzzing, neon green. Lux recollected.

"Do... I know you?" Her voice was low, but it was a lot more confident than she had expected. Lux smiled, shaking her head. "No, you don't. But uh, we had English together last year. Do you mind if I sit?"

Lux gestured to the ground beside Addie, though she held her place until Addie gave her the okay. "Yeah," Adaryn said, giving a quick nod. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you," Lux tried her hardest not to squeal. "By the way, I love your cardigan..."

She could see the smile on Adaryn's face then, and knew exactly what she was thinking. Well, she seems nice.

[Nora Marie "Nory" Gwinn]

It was like a dream. Floating thoughts, darkness. Except it also hurt. Vague pain pulled Ellie up through the goopy layers of consciousness, and she began to realize that yes, that actually did hurt quite a lot. Her head, specifically. Also she was sitting upright, and, she realized as she tried to lift a hand to her throbbing temple, unable to move.

She opened her eyes. Darkness. And the smell of whiteboard markers, Chinese food and...scented candles?

A light snapped on in her face, and Ellie jumped back to see two furrowed, large blue eyes about three inches away from hers. Nory's round, pockmarked face was leaning over her with both hands braced on the arms of Ellie's chair, excitement and fury etched in every tendon of her weedy little body. Ellie leaned back as far as the bindings on the chair would let her and laughed nervously. "Aw, hey Nory!"

"Hey Nory? Is that all you have to say to me?" The young woman's shriek nearly punctured Ellie's eardrums. "After all we've--how dare you--I'm going to take this flashlight and make--!"

"Nory, shut up. You're doing this all wrong!" Ellie jerked her eyes towards the new voice, an exasperated hiss that embodied many of her traits that she preferred not be animated into a self-sufficient avatar. "You're not just supposed to start threatening--damn it, just give me the flashlight."

There was a brief scuffle that Ellie didn't see and during which she was intensely grateful that she had stripped Nory of the most potent of her powers, and then Adam's very handsome, appropriately scruffy and brunette visage appeared. He was standing further back and obscured by shadows, but the threatening effect was largely ruined by the fact that he had a struggling teenage girl pinned to his side with one arm. His voice was low, menacing and victorious. "I imagine you're wondering where you--"

"Not really. Hammel. Nory's room." Ellie couldn't help a grin. "You look great! Just like I imagined! The contrast of your appearance and personality, and of course you weren't good looking until after--"

"Shut up!" Adam grunted as his pinned sister gave another flail. "The tables have turned," he snarled. "You're in our power now, and we're going to make you pay for all the shit you've put us through."

"But you're interesting!" Ellie cried. "Come on, you can't have a good story without a little bit of trauma." She paused, and her voice suddenly became nervous. "Wait, Rhea isn't here is she?"

A knuckle to the kidney finally freed Nory, and she lunged forward and all but climbed on top of Ellie's chair. "Nope, because she would've just beat the shit out of you and thrown you in jail." The girl shoved her face into Ellie's with a ferocious grin. "We wanted to make you pay."

Ellie wriggled furtively against her bindings again. Why had she made Nory so damn reactive? And resourceful? Those knots were tight. "And how are you going to do that?"

"I've studied the character profiles of both of us and compiled them against what we know about Rhea," Adam said triumphantly. "Based on our arcs, likes, dislikes, comparisons with similar stereotypes, self-insert traits and inconsistencies, I have determined which qualities of writing you hate more than anything else." There was the click of a projector screen in the dark room. "We're going to read you poorly-characterized Harry Potter fanfiction for the next seventeen hours."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ellie flailed wildly against her bindings. "No no no! Please, can't you just get Rhea to knock a few of my teeth out?"

"Chapter One," Nory began cheerfully. "Harry stood nervously outside Professor Trelawny's office, waiting for advice on how he should ask Hermione out to the Yule Ball..."

"HELP! HEEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPP!!!"

[Carleigh Davidson]

Debora was sure that her running across campus only made her look like a looney. She was vaguely aware of the other students giving her weird looks as she struggled to make her way off of campus. She had made a few wrong turns here and there, unfamiliar with the layout. Maybe soon she would find the others who were use to being on the other side. There were so many things that Deb wanted to do and so little time!

Finally, the Canadian found her way off campus. It took a fair bit of time since she was walking, but Deb vaguely recognized downtown Pilot Ridge. She didn't recognize any faces... yet, but was hoping to find a certain Zach and Kai. Even if it was still afternoon, (she didn't know. In her mind, Deb still thought it was late morning.) she figured that she would find the pair out at some fancy restaurant or bar.

Snapping her fingers, Debora made her way towards one of the nicer bars in town, the Rochester Inn. She remembered once that Zach had brought Kai here and he had approved, and figured it was a safe bet. Deb eyed her outfit a little nervously, as it wasn't the nicest she had thrown together. Oh well. It was just for a quick moment. Debora hovered by the door, groaning as a brickhouse of bouncer emerged from the doorframe. Dammit! Even in Canada, she wasn't legal, let alone in the states. Would she be arrested?

Eh, worth it. Debora observed, waiting for the bouncer to step outside and round the corner for a smoke break. His carelessness was an advantage. She quickly jogged inside the building, heading straight for the fairly well lit bar. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on an awkward looking man and a tall asian.

"Zack! Kai!" Deb squealed as she ran over, probably causing a scene in the bar. "I can't believe you two would actually be here! How well do I know everyone?" She mused out loud to herself, practically giggling with delight. Approaching the pair, Deb was overcome with sudden, overwhelming emotions. God, the feels these two put her through. Without thinking twice, she reached out and slapped Kai. "That's for being stupid, by the way. All of these feelings you two create for me, ugh."

[Joshua Bernstein]

Panic had been Dryope's first response upon waking up in an unfamiliar room. Iris was with her; probably transported because they still coslept. They must have arrived here before Alan went to bed, a thought that only occurred to her once she saw the Hammel 2013 school play poster on the wall.

This did nothing to ease her panic. She had a husband and a toddler at home. What would they think happened to her? She'd suffered from depressive bouts before, and her husband had expressed concern about her judgment when she was in one. What if he spent the rest of his life thinking she'd done something horrible to herself and Iris? What if she never saw her oldest daughter again? What would Alan tell her, if she asked for her mommy?

She didn't know how to get back home, because she didn't know how she came to be here in the first place.

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She was trapped in a strange place with no way home, and with no baby supplies. And now Iris was stirring and she would need a diaper change and...


That was what determined her next course of action. She had no clothes, having been transported in her sleep. She couldn't very well go out of this room wearing only a nightgown, and what was worse have to interact with Hammel characters. Misanthropic hostility might occasionally be interesting to read but she didn't want to interact with it in her real life. And some of the student body seemed unable to speak without misogynistic slurs. She was a thirty year old mother, no longer with the figure of her youth. She didn't expect respect from students who couldn't even be halfway decent to Hammel faculty.

But there was one character she thought could help. He wouldn't know how to get her home, but at least he could help her with baby supplies and clothes. He would understand anxiety and panic attacks, both because of his job and because he dealt with them regularly thanks to how she had written his partner.

She was a little intimidated by him, because they didn't see eye to eye on everything and even though she knew he was friends with other people who didn't agree with him she was still nervous about it.

But she didn't feel she had a choice. She had no money, no ID. if something happened while she was here she had no proof of insurance. She didn't even know if she existed here; having her social security memorized might be useless. Well, it was anyway since she had no proof of her identity.

She didn't know how to think loudly so she thought like she was praying and hoped that God would forgive her, because she didn't know how else to get Sean's attention.

Dr. Neville if you hear this I need help. And diapers, size 3. And wipes.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

A thick mess of brown hair was the only thing seen above the sheets as Sydnee shifted in her bed, rolling over and unable to understand why she hadn't run into the sleeping form of her boyfriend who always slept with his arm over his face, elbow portruding out. On more than one occassion she'd rolled over to run her face into his elbow. But there was nothing. Empty space and not enough mattress...

Upon almost rolling off of the twin bed she wasn't used to, she opened her eyes and clutched the mattress, a gasp escaping her lips as she tried to figure out what was going on. Her surroundings looked to be a dorm room. What was going on? The young girl was in college and recruited from her apartment. She didn't live in a dorm.

She got up slowly, padding to the door and cracked it open just enough to see teenagers roaming down the halls having conversations. She shut it quickly and leaned against it, trying to understand what was happening before dressing quickly and brushing out her mess of hair so she could explore, even if she'd rather stay inside the room in this unfamiliar environment.

The awkward young woman slipped outside her door and began down the hallway nervously.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean Neville woke with a strange sense of foreboding.

He had experienced this before, always unspecific. Were it not for the telepathy, he would consider it illness or coincidence, but his powers made him alert in ways that he couldn’t always articulate or process consciously. Sean had no ability to predict the future, not in a meta-human way. However, he couldn’t shake the impression that something had occurred, was in the midst of occurring, or was about to occur.

Then he found a penguin in his bathtub.

That was certainly unexpected.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Sean the Penguin promised, before he drew the curtain around the tub so to hide his bathing form from telepathic eyes. Fortunately for the penguin, he was as patient and unflappable (no pun intended) as the character he had created. That prevented panic.

At least until the telepath’s partner woke, but they would reassure Josh if and when they needed to do so.

“Dare I ask?” The psychiatrist queried over his shoulder, in the direction of the curtain and bathtub.

“I wouldn’t know how to answer if you did,” the penguin replied. After another couple of minutes, he emerged from the bathtub with a towel wrapped around his waist. “But I need to get to Hammel in a bit, and so do you?”

“Why me?”

Then the telepath heard it.

Dr. Neville if you hear this I need help. And diapers, size 3. And wipes.

“I can drive if you don’t mind a detour,” he offered.

“That’d be fine,” the penguin answered before he slipped out to don his tuxedo.

[Joshua Bernstein]

She didn't hear any response.

Oh.

She had fallen asleep over the weekend, so it must be the weekend here as well. She sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her sleeping baby and considering how she could leave the room without anyone seeing her.

Maybe she could tie a sheet around herself for modesty. Although this was the same school that had seen Vincent Verax and Emma Cousins, she wasn't a student or alumni. She was a stranger and an adult and a baseline human. She didn't belong here.

Iris began to stir in her arms, rooting and grunting. Feeding her baby would give her time to think of what to do, since her first attempt at solving her problem hadn't immediately shown results. She would have to find diapers eventually. She couldn't remember how old Kateri's baby was. Maybe she wore the same size.

Meanwhile, Joshua rubbed his eyes sleepily. He thought he'd heard voices from the bathroom, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Sean?" He yawned, reaching for his glasses. "Whose on the phone at this hour?"

He hoped that there wasn't an emergency.