❝ this side of paradise ❞ ░▒▓ video.

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[ The vine slowly slithers in the grass, slowly following it's prey who walks upon the Garden. It's trail lays behind―far enough that it will not be caught, but close enough to keep watch

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You don't know the half of it.

Congratulations, you're fucked.

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[ Juri pauses at hearing the sudden words coming from the vine itself. It slips from her hand but it does not slither away. ] What―

[ A glimpse of light shining off a surface catches her attention. Her head snaps upward, orange curls bouncing along with it―there's a face reflected in it. Whatever this place is, it's far more... outgoing than Ohtori. ] Who are you?! Where am I?

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Name's Reno.

This's the Gardens. Doesn't have another name. Some crazy Queen kidnapped a bunch of girls, wants to mess with their heads and watch them make out. [She shrugs.]

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You must think I'm a fool to believe something like that.

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Not gonna lie, that's what I think. But I think everybody's a fool till they prove they're not, which hardly anybody ever does.

Hey, I don't blame you, it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Believe it or not, that's all I got for ya.

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I'm sure this is just some elaborate joke. [ A very well put-together one, at that. Perhaps the drama club is setting up for their new play? ] A story about a kidnapping Queen, how unbelievable.

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[Reno's not big on explaining the Gardens. She usually only responds to new people when bored, or if someone manages to interest her. In this case, it's the former.]

Yeah, it is. Don't believe it, then. I don't care. Eventually some helpful bitches are gonna come along and convince you, and you'll look back and realize Reno was right.

You're stuck here, maybe for months, so I hope you weren't in the middle of anything important. [She says this even though she knows people are usually returned to the exact time they were taken from.]

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[ Really, how real it feels should convince her enough, but it's still too weird―even for her. There are no such things as fairy tales, as talking cats, or Prince Charming. Perhaps it's some sort of a dream, filled with unfamiliar faces. ]

Being stuck here really isn't my intention. If I was kidnapped, I would have at least remembered there were missing hours, wouldn't I? [ After all, she had just been walking back to her place from school. She remembers the orange glow of the sunset, the leather briefcase in her hands. She's fairly sure that she didn't even fall asleep, but for all she knows she could have dozed off―to her, being kidnapped is an impossible theory. ]

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Most people don't wanna be here, especially not me.

[She laughs.] Not necessarily. Depends on who's doing the kidnapping. [As a former professional kidnapper, she feels she should point that out.] But the Queen kinda--teleports people in. [She shakes her head with a wry smirk.] And you don't have to tell me that sounds unbelievable, too. I already got the picture.

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[ She almost says it is unbelievable, but Reno's already expressed it enough for her. ]

Where is this so-called Queen?

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Dunno. Nobody does. Sometimes she shows up on this Vine thing, but then she disappears again.

Believe me, it's better when she doesn't show up. She likes startin' shit.

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[ That certainly sounds a lot like the End of the World. Of course, Juri was chosen as a duelist, but she does not correlate that with being chosen to be ripped out of her surroundings and thrown into a fairy tale. ]

Then we just sit here and give her the validation that she wants? I don't see how that's in any way helpful.

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You can do whatever you want.

But nobody's found a way to get rid of her yet--and we've got super soldiers, magicians, geniuses, highly trained government operatives [By this, she means herself, of course.] and who knows what else here.

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There doesn't seem much here to do in the first place. I've heard about the magic dirt―do people use that for entertainment? I can't begin imagine how dirt would be entertaining in the first place.

So, we're powerless against her, then. [ Of course, she's powerless against End of the World. Powerless against demons of her past. Powerless against a Queen. ]

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Yeah, not much to do. But you can make anything you want, outside of people, with the dirt. It's all fake, but you can make stuff that makes it more fun here. [She shrugs.] That's not saying much.

Guess so. [If Sephiroth is powerless, Reno assumes everyone is. She doesn't think there's anyone in the Gardens as powerful or more powerful than Sephiroth, though she's wrong about that. She considers.] How old are you?

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I guess I will have to make do with this... magic dirt, then. Until I can find a way out of here, that is.

It's none of your business how old I am―why should you even care?