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Old March 2nd, 2009, 12:53 PM
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JX Valentine JX Valentine is offline
Your aquatic overlord
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Harassing Bill
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Nature: Bold
Posts: 3,281
Author's Note: Gasp! Off of a nearly year-long hiatus?

Also, random capitalization and errors in the previous chapters will be worked on. Sorry, folks.


Intermission Two: Recap

Dear reader,

Hi. It's me. Viola. It's been over a year since we all told you part of our story, hasn't it? Or almost one, anyway. In any case, you're probably wondering what's exactly going on, so in case you've forgotten (which is really likely), I was asked to tell you as much as I know.

So, let's start from the beginning. My name is Viola DiAngelo, and I live in a city surrounded by a desert – Verona City. You've probably never heard of it; it's somewhere between Celadon City and Saffron City, except imagine that it's enough years from when you're probably alive to now. So, Celadon doesn't exactly exist anymore. I could go into why, but that story's longer than you really care to know. Trust me on this.

Anyway, my father and I were originally from Saffron City, but he came here when I was a baby to set up a toy shop called Allegro Dolls. He died when I was twelve. That's okay, though, because I've got all his pokémon taking care of me, especially Haunter. Meanwhile, I've been making dolls the way he taught me, and I sell them to support myself.

A lot of people in Wisteria District – that's the part of Verona where I live – stopped noticing me after awhile because I'm quiet and, well, Haunter doesn't like strangers. So, for a long time, they left me alone. It's Sebastian they interact with more anyway.

Oh, Sebastian? He's my business partner and best friend. I gave him a place to stay when he ran away from home (and that's a long story I'd rather he told himself), and he's been with me ever since. It's because of him that I've been doing better at business. Well, at least, I'm not impoverished anymore. He also looks after me and worries all the time about my well being. I find it annoying, but Haunter? He thinks Sebastian likes me. Right.

Now that you know a bit about us (or, well, me), let me tell you about the Game. Its full name is the Midsummer Game, and it was organized by… well, I really don't know. In any case, it's a game that's been taking place across Verona City. Think of it like a cross between a scavenger hunt and a free-for-all battle. The rules are pretty simple. First, you have to get a key called the Midsummer Key. Then, survive long enough to take it to the Dumont Mansion in the middle of the city to get it registered. By then, you'll be known as a Midsummer Knight, what we call the players. After that, you're given missions – anything from solve a puzzle to fight someone to deliver a package – to complete, but the trick is to survive whatever they tell you to do.

I keep saying "survive," but really, I'm not exaggerating. People are crazy in this game. It has something to do with the prize, an object called the Midsummer Treasure, which has the ability to grant a man's every wish. In any case, everyone involved in the game is most likely out to kill you. So far, I've nearly been blown up and poisoned, and my friends have been stabbed and maimed by pokémon.

There are, of course, people who aren't quite as crazy. Sebastian's a Midsummer Knight with me (although he's none too pleased that I'm playing), and I've met a lot of great people along the way. For starters, there's Imogen, a cook and possibly the friendliest player in the game. I'm not sure how she managed to last this long, but then again, she seems to get all the easy missions. For another, there's Romeo Montague, Mercury Prince, and the others, all of whom are high-ranked members or friends of the Montague House. Well, at least, they're not crazy in the homicidal sense, anyway.

That's another thing to keep in mind in this city. In Verona, there's two major political parties: the Montague House and the Capulet House. I don't know the difference myself, but I know that they hate each other to such an extreme level that the high ranks constantly try to sabotage each other while the low ranks participate in pretty violent street fights. It's something that's always on the news. You don't go out at night by yourself because of this sort of thing.

There's more parties than that, of course. Recently, I've learned about the Prospero House, a party that intended on overthrowing the two-party system in order to forge peace in the city. It was disbanded over twenty years ago after the Capulets and the Montagues banded together for once to kill off most of the party and chase its leaders out of the city. It figures that the only time those two can have peace is if someone else threatens to end their rivalry themselves.

A few members of the Prospero House are still in the city, though, most of whom are now underground. For one, there's the Trio, a group that I thought were assassins who were out to get me (thanks to a Knight I met earlier in the game, apparently). It turns out that they're actually on my side – or, at least, following someone else who wants me alive. Cesario, a member of the Trio, tried to explain the party and what happened to it twenty years ago, but frankly, I still don't understand what I have to do with all of this.

Maybe I'll find out soon enough.

Anyway, that's where we are now. To put it in short, there's a war between two political parties, a game that's taking place all over the city, and me, who's caught up in both because I had nothing better to do. Things are about to get interesting, so I hope to see you around.


Need some light reading?
Anima Ex Machina (Chapter 20 now available)
The Leaf Green Incident (SWC 2012 winner)
Braid (Creepypasta apparently)
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