THE MOCK WEEK

[grimgrinningghosts]

[You find yourself waking in a large dressing room, incredibly spacious, but in intense disarray. The bed is comfortable enough, and each room seems to be equipped with a working bathroom and shower, so it's at least livable. But aesthetically, the place has hit the floor.

The horrifying clock mounted on the wall reads 9 am. After enough searching, you'll find a large tourist-y map of the studio on one of the dressers. An ominous note attached to the map with a paperclip reads "12PM WAITING AREA". It's not like you have any choice in the matter, seeing as there doesn't seem to be any way out.

Upon exiting the dressing room, you note a crooked star attached to the door bearing your name. There are 24 others like this, bearing names that you may or may not recognize. A quick tour around the studio reveals it to be in a similar state of disrepair, but something doesn't sit...right with you. Though the place is certainly creepy, you get strange vibes as you explore the building. As you move about the dust-filled halls of the abandoned building, you may spot movement out of the corner of your eye, or hear strange noises from behind you. It's nothing to be worried about, though...right?

At the very least, you'll find some comfort. The projection room and attached theater still seem to be in working order, though you'll have to manually grab one of the reels off the wall and start the thing yourself. In addition, the waiting area and lounge are both filled with reading materials, and the later features a large stage and a microphone. The commissary seems to replenish itself with food whenever you take your eyes off of it, ensuring that we won't be going hungry anytime soon. There are also cabinets full of ingredients and a small kitchen should you not trust whatever your benefactor is placing out for you.

Fortunately for them, the smaller individuals amongst your party won't find a great deal of difficulty moving around. Though their beds remain oversized, there seem to be appropriately-sized staircases and escalators placed about in appropriate spots, so as to make their lives easier. After all, they can't just keep relying on the others to get up to the cabinets and such, can they?

While you're waiting to find out what the deal here is, you might as well come out and socialize.]

(ooc: Welcome to the Foolish Mortals Mock Week! Please follow us on Plurk at foolishmortals for updates, and if you're so inclined, please feel free to join your Discord-inept head moderator as he struggles to set up a Discord chat up for everyone.)

Comments

[pardonmylanguage]

Rita? Not the Grand High Boov?

[pinkflip]

[She shakes her head.] Rita Repulsa, and her partner-in-crime Lord Zedd. You've...never heard of them?

[pardonmylanguage]

Um...no? Those don't really sound like names the Boov would pick, even.

[pinkflip]

And...I've never heard of the Boov.

[...]

What planet are you from?

[pardonmylanguage]

...Earth? How about you? [Seriously, if she's an alien, why does she look so human? J. Lo's never mentioned any aliens that look like them before. (Star Trek lied to her.)]

[pinkflip]

...Earth. [yikes] This is...mega-weird.

[pardonmylanguage]

...okay, yeah, it is. What do these Rita and Zedd aliens look like? [A pause] Oh...oh god. What year is it where you're from?

[pinkflip]

They- ohhh no, not time travel. [...Once time travel happens, "secret identity rules" sort of go out the window.] It's 1995. Almost 1996. Please tell me that's the same for you? Please?

[pardonmylanguage]

...oh yeahhhhh...it's way past that for me. We just left 2012. Sorry.

[pinkflip]

The future?! [That... Oh. That's new.] Oh... Uh... Well, I guess I should be happy you don't know of Rita and Zedd, then. Whoa.

[She might need to sit down for this.]

[pardonmylanguage]

Well, now I'm just bothered by the fact that I don't know anything about them. I'm pretty sure an alien invasion would have made the news. You do have television news back in your time, right?

[pinkflip]

Yes! [She doesn't mean to sound so offended, honestly it's mostly a little bit horrified. How much has technology advanced if she thinks they didn't have TV in the 90's?] They're mostly focused on one town, 'cause of...the heroes who stop 'em, that's where they live. That's probably why you've never heard of them.

[pardonmylanguage]

[She figures they had TVs, okay? She's just not sure what kind of stuff those TVs would show!]

...just a few people holding back an entire alien invasion? [She sounds...both disbelieving and jealous.] How'd they manage that?

[pinkflip]

'Cause they were chosen for it. [She holds back the pride swelling within her.] The Power Rangers are a group of six people with weapons and vehicles and...powers, designed to fight evil. They protect the city from the monsters Rita and Zedd send down. No matter how tough it gets, they're there, and they win.

[pardonmylanguage]

[Okay, that really sounds like something out of a comic book.] So they just send monsters as soldiers to do their dirty work instead of coming down themselves? Sounds a lot like the alien leader I know.

[pinkflip]

Yeah, though they've got all this magic. Sometimes they put spells on the town or, uh, kidnap people to their dark dimensions.

[pardonmylanguage]

...so they're still doing alien abductions then. Do they actually need those people for anything?

[pinkflip]

Hostages? [She...kind of shrugs, though she looks pretty sure.] Or using magic to try and get them to submit. It's usually part of a plan to trap the Power Rangers.

[pardonmylanguage]

Oh. [She looks irritated at that.] Typical evil invader behavior, then. [A pause] Is it worse or better if they actually understand the concept of human empathy and aren't just grabbing people randomly and then wondering why their families get mad? [She sounds like she has personal experience with that last part.]

[pinkflip]

[...This poor kid. Kim puts a gentle hand on Tip's shoulder, and she gives a sad but encouraging smile.]

I think both of 'em sound pretty bad, in their own ways. If this is one of those, an alien abduction? We've gotta make sure to give 'em a piece of our minds.

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip does appreciate the encouragement, really. She gives a determined nod.] Yeah, we will. I've dealt with this kind of sh-stuff once already. I'm not going to let it go on longer than it has to.

[pinkflip]

[Her own determination rising, Kim grins.] That makes two of us. 'til then, we'll stick together.

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip manages the first smile she's had since they got here.] Sounds like a plan. I don't think I got your name, actually. Mine's Tip.

[pinkflip]

Oh my gosh, really?! [Her grin turns sheepish and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.] Sorry 'bout that, I'm Kimberly.

[pardonmylanguage]

It's...nice to meet you, I guess. As nice as it can be under these circumstances. [she waves a hand at the walls.]