HAWKS PALACE

[doublefried]

The process of entering the palace is... smooth. Painless.


You are falling, but it's not scary at the speed you're going. You drop through the pre-dawn sky like a feather, light and easy on a breeze, descending towards a bright and multicolored island in a sea of dark trees.

When you land, you are somewhere new.

Comments

BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

You find yourself in an area that's clearly not meant for guest access. The tunnels start bright white and utilitarian, but clearly haven't been maintained very well; in several places what appeared to be solid cinderblock walls appears to... peel away?

In the spots where it's peeled, it appears to have revealed bars, perhaps for structural reinforcement, placed in such tight proximity to one another that they form a sort of cage around the whole area, closed so firmly that no light gets through, that no air flows even when the cinderblock wall facing has peeled entirely away.

The doors along the sides of the hall appear to be prison cells - modern ones, with heavy thick solid doors with tiny viewing windows.

It branches off in two directions:

<---- EXIT
EXIT ---->




But both of those exits appear to lead into solid cage walls?

Re: BACKSTAGE

[featherbeaned]

[ oooh that's unpleasant, THIS IS SOMEHOW UNPLEASANT ]

[ peers through one of the tiny cell windows;;;; ]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

There's

a lil guy in there sitting on a prison cot.

Re: BACKSTAGE

[featherbeaned]

Hi?

Re: BACKSTAGE

[beeknighted]

There's the horrors lurking beneath the surface I was expecting.

[there's gonna be something behind the walls isn't there. shoving his metal hand into one of the peeled away holes on the <---- EXIT wall and tries to wrench the hole bigger to look in.]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

Beyond the bars of the cage are more bars of a cage. Beyond that are more bars of a cage. It's just cages on cages on cages.

The feathers he has with him sort of hum with key item energy.

Re: BACKSTAGE

[beeknighted]

[but how do i use the key item. applies the feather on the keychain to the bars??]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[rugpull]

[time to look into the secret places jiiiiiiiiii]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

Every little door is just... filled with stuffed toys? Like there's a single, different, distinct Hawks plush in every cell, except for the last one, where there's a woman.

Re: BACKSTAGE

[rugpull]

Were ya so hot they locked ya away? Rough.

Re: BACKSTAGE

[truthliesinspace]

[WELL THIS IS SUPER NORMAL. peering thru the viewing windows as they walk]

Uuuuh. . .so make sure you stay on my shoulders okay? I bet we're safe, but not sure why there would be a prison in a park. . .

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

"It's for bad people," says little Keigo encouragingly.

A lot of the cells are filled with little plush Hawks toys?

Re: BACKSTAGE

[truthliesinspace]

. . .that so?

[checks one of the doors. CAN HE GET INTO ANY OF THEM?]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[unfinishedsymphony]

It's okay. It's okay. Strength is over-rated. That's what steel is for. Steel and an iron will, steel and gunpowder. Steel and strategy, ruthlessness.

[ Just normal things to tell a kid

Hm these both lead to the exit

Might as well try to ask for directions. Are any of these cells occupied? He's going to check. ]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

"Huh..."

Most of the cells are empty except for more stuffed animals of Hawks. The one closest to the EXIT dead ends is occupied by a woman!

Re: BACKSTAGE

[unfinishedsymphony]

[ that's creepy. the stuffed animal thing is creepy.

Stopping by the woman's cell ]

Hey. You know your way around here?

[survivaltricks]

[his expression darkens]

. . . I don't like it here. . .

[can he. . . approach one of the doors and open it?]

[doublefried]

The closest one to him is not locked! The only thing inside is a stuffed animal that looks like Hawks.

When he touches the door he gets a memory.

He (Hawks) is being ordered by his employers to remove an obstruction. There's a small-time villain who's been amassing power. His quirk is 'Influence' - he can change the minds of others and warp them into his service. This quirk only needs to be used once, and they have yet to discover a way to reverse it.

He has to go--

-- the memory fast-forwards to later, the target in question dead on the ground, Hawks holding a primary flight feather like a sword, blood splattered across his visor. He doesn't feel satisfied or proud. He just feels numb.




The stuffed animal is cute.

[survivaltricks]

[jerks back from the door when the memory ends, letting out a sharp exhale]

Jesus--

[. . . what if he reaches up to touch one of his emotional support peeps :(]

[rootsforyou]

ah.

[IT'S ACTUALLY JAIL...........

peers into one of the little cell windows, checking to see if Hawks is stuck in there]

[doublefried]

There's a stuffed animal shaped like him sitting on the cot, but it doesn't seem like the real one is in here!

[rootsforyou]

[is the door unlocked to the cell? SHE WOULD LIKE TO GO GET THE STUFFED VERSION OF HIM OUT OF THERE...]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[tothosewhobait]

[Well shit]

Re: BACKSTAGE

[doublefried]

Your baby companion squeezes your hand firmly, like. He's here! To protecc!

Re: BACKSTAGE

[tothosewhobait]

[Gives his hand a little squeeze in return before moving to peer through one of the windows]