[IC] Château de La Lune

[Kirah]

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4:00 PM - Thursday, July 17th, 2025 - Château de La Lune, France

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@PatientBean@TheMaster99@KazAlkemi@Morose@Nallore@Trainerblue192@kittyluna45@KTostada

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On Tuesday, July 1st, 2025, you went to check the mail. A fancy, thick envelope was among the other pieces of mail. Upon opening it, you found a letter, round-trip tickets to France, and a Visa card. If you had tested the card with the pin given, it worked.

You had been overwhelmed and stressed. Honestly, you had been in dire need of a vacation. Even if it was only for a couple of days, getting out of town had been necessary. You had taken the few days off you needed.

When you arrived at the airport, you realized the flight was private. You weren’t even flying with other people. A steward made sure you had food and drink as you desired. You could sleep or watch T.V. It had easily been the best flight of your life.

Upon landing in France, a limo waited for you. The driver, Armel, loaded your luggage into the trunk. There were a few other people in the limo with you. Some light conversation had been had before you arrived at the dock. From there, you took a small yacht from the mainland of France to an island off the coast.

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Ralph

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A

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Stepping off the boat Ralph glanced at his phone. It was purely a habit. He frowned a little as he realized his signal was barely there. Hopefully, the house had wifi that he could connect to. Sure, this trip was to disconnect, but no cell or wifi for most of three days seemed unrealistic. He hadn’t even told his mom where he was going. His boss, Ralph had just told him he needed a couple of days. Not that his job required a lot of clocking in.

Another man, Wadsworth, had driven Ralph and the others from the boat up a hill and to the Chateau. It had been almost a mile from the dock to the house, though “house” had probably been an understatement. It had been crafted of old stone and seen a lot of weather. Like now, it was unseasonably cool. At least to Ralph’s California sensibilities. It was mid-July, and he was used to 100-degree weather. France was farther north than where he was from. He wondered briefly if it was just normally colder in France than in California. Being on an island probably didn’t help the chill in the air.

Ralph fought off a yawn. He had slept on the plane. There was no way he could fly that far without at least some sleep. There had also been a short layover for a refuel. He had slept through most of that. But his circadian rhythm was messed up anyway.

The building was large and a little off-putting. He had already felt uncomfortable being with strangers in the limo and boat. Something about being stuck on an island with a bunch of strangers hadn’t helped make him any less nervous.

To the East of the house had been the vineyards they had been driving through, heavy with grapes. If harvest had been anything like home, they would have been collecting around September. Ralph had known that because it had been the same season as tomatoes, and the roads between the fields and factories had become slick with juice runoff. That first rain had always been the worst for the roads.

To the West, a garden had sprawled. The entrance were several arches of carefully grown rose plants. Paths quickly disappeared into the well-tended but overgrown plants. He smelled the heavy scent of green and flowers from the steps leading to the main entrance of the Chateau.

“Please head in. Your belongings will be taken to your rooms shortly,” Wadsworth told them. He paused in removing luggage from the car and had been setting the bags on the steps. “Make yourselves comfortable,” he encouraged.

Inside the Chateau, standing in the center of a large foyer, an elegant elderly woman—Ralph guessed she was in her seventies—had smiled and greeted the group.

“Hello, I am Elenore La Lune. It is a pleasure to have you all here. You are all exciting nominees for the Vorace Award of Achievement,” she spoke clearly, though an edge of tiredness was in the back of her voice. Her accent was a thick French accent, however, she spoke English clearly enough there was no issue understanding her.

“Your room assignments are as you can see here,” she gestured to two large boards on A-frames. A photo of each of the nominees as well as their names and professions had been listed. Under that information had been a color.

“If you would like, you may head up the stairs and to the right,” she had pointed up to the second-floor balcony that had wrapped around the foyer. “There is the hall that will lead you to your rooms. Dinner will be served at 5 pm, and after that, we will have drinks in the Rec room.” As she had said “dinner,” she had lowered her hand and pointed to a door to her left; as she had said “Rec room,” she had pointed to the door on her right. The nominee’s opposites.

“See you in an hour. For now, please take your time to wipe the travel dust off yourselves.” She gave a slight bow to the gathered group and had left via doors behind her. A glimpse of the room beyond showed that it had likely been a ballroom.

One of the women, maybe thirty, her name as she had introduced herself was Renee, stepped up to the board. She had found her name and followed the column down. “Ah, I am in Plum, exciting,” she said. Renee’s accent was soft British and educated, but not the high Queen’s English. “I like Plums. Ralph, you’re in Heliotrope.” She started up the stairs, taking two at a time.

Ralph followed up the stairs and found the room. There was a hand-carved plaque on the door that told him it was Heliotrope. Had that room been picked for him because its name sounded like it was related to a plane?

Entering the room he saw that it was primarily colored in purples. Interesting, considering Plum was also a purple, as was Lavender farther down the hall. Maybe the room designers really liked purple or ran out of other colors to use.

[PatientBean]

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Millicent

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A

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Millicent sat on her couch with the letter opened in front of her. She eyed it like she was eyeing a street magician performing for pennies on a Santa Monica street; with a watchful eye for the obvious tricks of the trade.

It wasn't that she was in disbelief. She had honors before. Awards. Performances in her honor. This was..something else though. The letter itself gave off a certain vibe. It was as if the letter itself was a person who was doing their best to give compliment after compliment to bring her up to a false sense of pride before crashing it all down. Even in her field there were others who would rather see her dead on the street than up on the stage.

Millicent pondered the situation. She had been under a certain amount of stress as of late. Stress that was impacting her personal life as well as her professional one. Surely some time off was warranted. Not only that, the trip was free. Plane ride there and a generous stipend for the time she would be away. And she was in a nice position to be able to take some time off.

What drove her the most was the prize. $1,000,000 was nothing to sneeze at. Even if she didn't win it, she would enjoy the break.

She decided. She could do with a small vacation. What's the worst that could happen?

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The trip there was unlike anything she had experienced before. She never had a plane ride to herself and waited on the entire time. That in itself was worth the time away she took. The flight was long but she had gotten so relaxed it passed by like nothing. She hadn't had a restful nights sleep ever since...

Well that didn't matter now did it?

Upon arriving in France she met up with the limo driver and was sped away. She was almost hopeful it would be a singular journey there like the plane ride, but no such luck. She was with a few others who made light conversation. She joined in to an extent. Name given. Oh that joke was funny I should laugh at it. Things like that. But in a sense the others there were competition and competition brought out the worst in people. It would not serve her well to dish out all of her secrets.

It was a beautiful sight. Millicent had always wanted to come to France, though she heard things like how French people hated Americans or how dirty the country actually was. And while all of that might be true, in this instance she was met with grandeur and wonder. Millicent took a moment outside to take it all in. She needed this.

Millicent followed some of the others inside but she made a beeline for the notice board. It held her information as well as what her room would be. Turkish Rose. A quaint name. Millicent glanced around and decided she would find her room and scope it out before leaving and checking out the place itself.

Mllicent followed a rather handsome man upstairs but he made his own way to the room assigned to him, so Millicent foudn hers. Inside she noted the dated decor. That wasn't terrible. After all she was here for free. The painting depicted a desert that gave off some comfort. What impressed her was access to a balcony with some seats. She could take the morning air aftwer waking up. The room did nicely.

She further checked out the bathroom and noticed it was a shared one with someone in the adjoining bedroom. That was...less nice. Millicent liked her own space. Preferred it really. But again, she was here for free for a time. She would make the most of it. Perhaps the other person would be friendly and clean. And even if they weren't they would likely not interact too much during this.

Overall, she was impressed. Impressed and wary. The wariness had lingered ever since she got the note. It still sat with her. Had she ever heard of the La Lune family? In a sense, yes. They were important enough to be the topic of rumors abound, but what did they know of her?

Perhaps a tour of the place was in order. Once she was settled Millicent opened her bedroom door and made her way into the hallway.

[Nallore]

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills:N/A

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Elise had gotten home one day from working out at the gym she parked her car in the driveway of her mother's home she hadn't moved out just yet really and was in the process of moving out soon. She got out of her car and made her way over to the mailbox to checkout the mail, bills in her name as well as her mother's but then a letter that was addressed to her got her interest. Elise entered the house putting her mother's mail on the dining room table before heading over to her room.

Elise' eyes went over the letter, she recently did win the US national Taekwondo tournament which was something she was really proud of doing, but she didn't think she would actually catch the attention of anyone major. She noticed the Visa Card in the letter as well and looked it over as well as the roundtrip tickets to France. And seeing the 1,000,000 prize that really caught her attention and decided to go to the ceremony.

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Elise couldn't help but be excited to be on this little trip, Elise wasn't expecting a private jet or anything at all either and enjoyed the food and drink on the flight over. She looked over at the others, Elise didn't know them all really as she looked at the others and made some small talk on the limo ride over to the dock, as well as the ferry ride to the private island. Once they got to the house proper Elise was amazed at the size of the building itself. "Thank you." Elise said to Wadsworth as she followed everyone else into the Chateau seeing Eleanor greeting them, she looked over at the board that was set up with everyone's name and their assigned room.

She approached it seeing that she was in the Terracotta room, Elise followed shortly behind Millicent and Ralph up to the second floor and down the hallway, she looked around until she spotted her room and opened the door. It was definitely heavily inspired by a western theme as well as a few ghost town paintings. "Well this is really nice." Elise said to herself as she made her way over to the bed, sitting down on it to test how comfortable it was which was really comfy to her as she got up. They had an hour before dinner and Elise wanted to explore as well to so she decided to head out and check out the lounge.

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Location: Tony's Residence, Miami, FL
Skills: N/A

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Sipping on his coffee, Tony watched the sun rising over the ocean. Although there was a lot of things he missed from New York, this perk of living in Miami never got old. Closing his eyes, Tony listened to the waves crashing against the beach as he thought again of the letter he'd received yesterday, congratulating him on his nomination for the Vorace La Lune Award of Achievement. It was about time Tony received some recognition, he thought, even if it's an award he'd never heard of until now. The million dollar prize would be a welcome bonus too, putting him way ahead on his mortgage. Yes, he would definitely be accepting the invitation. Even if he loses to a more experienced surgeon, the vacation would be a nice change of pace. I just hope this goes nothing like the last awards ceremony I attended, he thought darkly as he went back inside.

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer

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Sitting down inside the limo, Tony got his first look at the other nominees. He was a bit surprised; he did not recognize any of them, and none of them seemed to act like any of the doctors he'd met. Maybe they were Europeans? He decided to focus on listening to try to solve the mystery, only speaking himself when directly addressed, but he wasn't able to gather much from the trip's small talk.

The private jet had been quite nice, at least. Way more spacious than even first class, and much better meal options. The limo and ferry rides were pretty comfortable in their own rights, and before long they arrived at the chateau. The estate was undeniably impressive and as they entered, Tony observed that the foyer was equally so. After listening to Elenore's short speech, he followed a few of the other nominees to the notice board, began skimming through the room assignments, and... Tony scowled. Ghost hunter? Preschool teacher? Drag queen? These are the people I'm competing against? How the hell could this award possibly be so prestigious if these are their idea of ideal candidates?

After a few moments of further consideration, Tony composed himself, smirking. Well, at least it's a foregone conclusion that I'll be the winner, he thought, pleased. Finding his name on the list, he saw that he'd been assigned the Lavender Room. Following some of the other nominees, he headed upstairs to find his room. He had to walk all the way to the end of the hallway, but eventually he found his room and stepped inside. Looking around, he scowled once again. If he was asked to design his ideal bedroom, the result would be just about the exact opposite of what he saw in front of him. Is this whole thing some elaborate prank meant to embarrass me? Tony wondered incredulously. Well, if it is, then they expect a reaction out of me, but I'm sure as hell not going to give them what they want, he decided. Sighing, he flopped onto the bed, staring at the ridiculous lavender ceiling. At least the bed is comfortable.

"This is going to be a long vacation."

[Trainerblue192]

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A

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A shudder escaped Sam's lips as he sat, his back pressed against the cold porcelain of his tub. His knees pulled up to his chest, another shaky breath trying to escape as he attempted to calm himself down. A long, slow breath in as he held it for a moment before letting it out with just as much time. He had been like this for a while now, finally deciding to stand up as he used the rim of the tub to prop himself up. His legs on pins and needles from how little he'd moved during that time. Sam made his way over to the sink, hands gripping each side of it as he looked at the mirror; only to see a red face staring back at him as translucent streams marked where tears had previously fallen. He turned on the cold tap, cupping his hands beneath it before splashing his face in an attempt to hide from the truth. From his emotional state.

Grabbing the hand towel, Sam finally made his way out of the restroom, legs shaky as he patted his face dry and now stood before the edge of his bed where a pile of letters were. Junk, junk, bill, and finally an odd one he was almost dismissive of at first. The envelope was thick, elegant, a bit too nice to be a scam or another pre-approval card. The return address was what truly caught his attention though. He'd heard stories about the estate, rumors amongst various things but overall that the building itself was haunted. But why would they be reaching out to him? Sam thought as his thumb slid underneath the fold of the envelope and pried it open. Inside was a letter, tickets, and a Visa card. The letter alone looked expensive, but as Sam skimmed the wording he realized this was exactly what he needed at this time.

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The entire trip felt surreal. A flight on a private plane that he could never consider to afford, waited on as needed for the flight. Though with it being roughly fourteen hours of air time, Sam took to sleeping a portion of the way. As extravagant as the ride was, he wasn't the biggest fan of flying so he slept for long periods waking up enough to eat or use the facilities before passing out once more. Upon landing he was met with a Limo, this time with others present as well. There was room enough for them all sure, but Sam found himself a bit distracted as they drove on by. Focusing more on the scenery outside than what was being said within, unless of course he was addressed directly in which he would reply in kind before looking back out the window. Before long they were on a yacht, French ocean breeze blowing through Sam's hair as he put on a pair of sunglasses and leaned off against the side of the boat.

The closer they got to their destination, the more Sam began to wonder why he had come at all. He knew what his reasoning was but…from all he'd heard about this family perhaps now wasn't the best time to be joining in awards. Though had he turned it down he likely wouldn't get the chance to do so again. His chest tightened as several thoughts raced through his head before he tried to shake them all out. Moving back towards the drink station to try and put his mind around ease. Before long they had docked and gotten towards the estate. It was as breathtaking as it was anxiety inducing. Surrounded by several beautiful people as well as some names he'd heard of or seen from times past.

As soon as introductions were given to everyone, it appeared it was a mad dash to the two A frames that held everyone's rooming assignments. It reminded him of when a new play would post the cast list, everyone running to see who got the lead in the play. It never mattered to him, he was simply lighting. Which of course meant everything was his fault at times. Sam took stock of everyone's names, trying his best to put faces to each as he looked at their professions too. He doubted he'd actually recall any of it, so he eventually gave up and went to his own square in which he appeared to be in the Tradewind room. A woman stopped just short of him, some form of a performer if he recalled, but beyond that he knew nothing more. He made his way past her into his room, a cute seaside themed area, balcony access, and a portrait of a boat in a storm. Was this meant to mean something? Sam tried not to dwell on it. Instead deciding to go forth and investigate the room further, opening it into a bathroom with a door at the other end. A closet? After trying the handle he noticed it was unlocked. Opening it to reveal a pinkish room within the frame, Sam wondered if perhaps he should close the door. He was used to leaving bathroom doors open but he'd never seen a bathroom like this, but…he did wish to “remove the travel dust”.

Sam scoffed at himself as closed the door and tossed his clothes. Shirt thrown over the sink counter as his pants and boxers were kicked off in a general direction on the floor just away from the shower itself. Running the hot water just before jumping into the shower himself. ”Building this old and dated…it must be haunted. Especially if anything I've heard is to be believed.”

[KazAlkemi]

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Rihannon Linx

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer ---> Gold Room
Skills: N/A

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Bullshit. The single word of profanity had been repeating in Rihannon’s head since they received the letter in the mail. Bullshit when they decided they would go, claiming they needed a sabbatical before the tour. Bullshit, when they arrived at the airport and boarded a private plane… The voice in Ri’s head did seem to calm down when they drank their weight in champagne, but it came right back when they climbed into a limo with other people.

Rihannon had no clue who anyone else was in the car. They sat in the corner, their lower half twisted away from everyone to create some space, but Rihannon’s dark brown eyes continuously scanned everyone while small talk occurred.

Who were these people, and how much of a challenge were they going to be?

Bullshit. Ri wasn’t going to get this award. They’ve been second best since childhood. But what if? What if this was it? What if it was the first step to getting everything Rihannon had ever dreamed of?

And that’s why after Rihannon got out of the limo, climbed the steps of the Château, walked into the grand foyer, listened to the ancient woman with excellent skin talk, Rihannon decided to change the word from ‘bullshit’ to ‘of course.’

Of course, they had been called. Of course, they were in line for this prestigious award. Of course, someone had recognized their skill. Of course, they were climbing the left staircase to the second floor, scanning the doors until they found the Gold Room. Of course, they had a room with a private balcony.

Rihannon tossed their carry-on bag onto the bed before opening the doors to the balcony. The damp air swept into the overly yellow room, causing Rih to shiver pleasantly. Growing up in Canada, Rih had grown accustomed to the various climates. However, they always preferred the temperature to be on the colder side.

After taking in the view, Rihannon walked back into the room and flopped onto the wide-backed chair. They sighed, stretched their legs out, and hung their arms over the sides.

Why yellow? Purple was a much better colour. Rihannon wondered if they would be able to switch rooms.