( MINGLE - WEEK 2 )

[abhoth]

SURVIVORS: 40 The sun is shining, the air conditioner units hum as they always do, and a gentle morning breeze blows against the windows. The scent of pine cones and evergreen follow you wherever you go in the motel, save for the parking lot and outdoor pool. It seems like someone was very generous with the detergent while moping the floors. The two grandfather clocks (one on each floor) will ring with each passing hour, indicating the time of day without fail. With this knowledge — they'll note the motel will continue to be surrounded by fog until 8:00 AM on the dot. It is at that hour that the fog will begin to recede. Not enough to reveal the whole city, but enough to allow residents to explore some of the buildings surrounding the motel. And speaking of the motel, it seems like the Storage room has unlocked itself overnight. How quaint. Welcome to Week 2's mingle, everyone! As of this week, we are now accepting murder proposals. If you're interested in having your character murder someone this week, please send in your proposal before Tuesday, 9:00 PM EST. We'll be contacting you on plurk over the week to finalize the details, or ask for rescheduling if necessary. As always, feel free to PM us or send us a PP over plurk if you have any questions! ( quick navigation ) ic rulebook | locations | statuses | room assignments private conversations | ic profiles | graveyard | full navigation

Comments

[vitamin_a]

[Well that was...a traumatizing experience. If it wasn't because Apollo had his share of awful experiences he'd be worse than he is right now. The thought of being whispered his regrets during the week is not going to be nice, that's for sure.

Monday

The storage is open, and Apollo barges in to investigate everything with INTENSITY. And such investigation yields nothing. Not that he's going to give up easily, though. When you enter you're going to find him surrounded by some of those old mannequin torsos, examining them with appraising expression]

I know the faceless people are alive, but what if these torsos are meant to be like...backups for them? What if they're like mannequins with spells in them?

[Yeah, he's still trying to get the whole magic thing through his head.

Tuesday - Gas Station

The events of Hana's executions were horrible, and as such it was likely to leave an impression in everyone's mind, Apollo included. Trying to ignore the whispers, Apollo goes towards the place where he remembered seeing the name of the lake before. If you enter you'll find him there, rubbing his temple with a hand and holding a brochure about Lake Crotin activities]

Do you think Craftly would let us go to the lake by ourselves anytime soon?

[Us as in everyone, he means, not you and him. Apollo wants to investigate the lake and its surroundings, but he doesn't like the idea of going alone. Going with someone would be better.

Wednesday - City Hall

You may hear a frustrated yell coming from near the city hall. If you approach, you'll find Apollo with a mannequin torso from the storage, throwing it onto one of the windows for the locked rooms. It's not going very well, the glass doesn't show any signs of damage. "Since when is glass so hard to break...?" he thinks to himself.]

wednesday

[thawedheart]

[well. uh.

she was going to just walk by, but... that yell is attention-getting, and what the heck is he doing with that torso]

...Justice-san...?

[vitamin_a]

[The torso flies to the first-floor window, making the glass shake but it's still intact. Instead of going to pick it up again Justice turns around, calming down when he sees it's Yukina. Don't worry, he hasn't lost his mind]

Hello. I'm sorry for the noise, I'm trying to break the window to get inside this locked room. It's also a way to calm down, I guess.

[He does look stressed, and judging by the bags under his eyes he didn't have a good night]

[thawedheart]

[Therapeutic property damage... right.]

...that... looks sturdy.

[By "that," she means the mannequin torso; her eyes are on it, after all. It's just lying there where Apollo abandoned it. After she's sure it won't do something creepy like start moving on its own, she looks back to him.]

It's a shame it didn't work. [Her brows furrow.] ...you haven't been able to get much sleep either, have you...

[vitamin_a]

[Don't be so sure of it, Apollo is still kinda convinced those mannequins are backups for the faceless people]

No. I don't think any of my roommates did either. Haven't you been hearing like someone is whispering to you lately? Like something is echoing in your head sometimes?

[thawedheart]

...yes.

[She can't claim to be surprised, either, after the note that Craftly had left for everyone.]

It's... like last week. Do you think it will also stop, when... [When someone dies. Ugh, she doesn't want to say it out loud.]

[vitamin_a]

It will. This is bad enough for someone to do anything to try to shut them up.

[As much as he hates to admit it. It's one thing to be itchy, it's an entirely different thing to have your regrets shouting inside your head]

If something could be done to protect people...but I can't think of anything. The roles are too much of a mystery to plan properly against them.

[thawedheart]

...Craftly-san said that the teacher's role had something to do with people's chances of survival when I asked...

[She bites her lip and looks down at her feet.]

But how would the Teacher know who to protect? There are so many of us... to guess at random would need an incredible amount of luck to get it right. [She sighs heavily.] ...I just want everyone to be safe...

[vitamin_a]

We all want that. If only there were a way to find out who is more vulnerable than the rest...

[Bang, the mannequin hits the window again. Nothing happens. Better stop this, Apollo has been doing the same thing for twenty minutes already]

[thawedheart]

[That poor, battered mannequin. It's getting tossed around with nothing to show for it.]

There's... probably going to be a pattern of some kind, but...

[There's going to have to be a lot more deaths before they'll be able to figure out what it is.]

I mean, something had to make Jason-san and Hana-san stand out to the killer, right...?

[vitamin_a]

[Alas, the plot says this room is completely indestructible right now]

They may have been convenient targets, there may not be another reason other than that. Their profiles do hint they both were athletic in some way, but that can't be why the killer picked them...

[...right? It'd be kind of a strange way to choose who to kill]

[thawedheart]

Whether it was convenient for them or not... there's something I don't understand. If you're going to kill someone, why pick Hana-san, out of everyone here? She wasn't much taller than I am...

[Just a couple of inches taller, actually.]

She was so small. So why choose her to possess, unless you knew she had a weapon? But she said she didn't tell anyone about it.

wednesday

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . this sure is a thing]

Venting out some frustrations?

[he has a book tucked under his arm, the title clearly visible should Apollo care to investigate]

[vitamin_a]

[Apollo passes his hands through his hair, sighing. Once another attempt to break the window failed]

Yes, that's it. I'm trying to break this window, but somehow it's almost calming.

[And he does look like he needs it, he definitely hasn't slept well these two days. Hey, what's that book]

The Necronomicon...wait, is that the book Lovecraft wrote?

[nowyouseeit]

[rocks back on his heels, a nervous, fidgety motion. nevertheless, he manages an amused smile]

I'd think actually succeeding in breaking the glass would be more calming than tryin' over and over again only to fail.

[his gaze flickers down to the book, then up again]

Actually, it's a fictional text Lovecraft referenced in several of his works. Didn't think I'd actually get a copy when I asked for it. [ha]

This version's not very helpful.

[vitamin_a]

[Don't worry, Kaito, Apollo isn't going to try to knock you out with the mannequin torso. He hasn't lost his marbles, thankfully, hahaha]

Really? What's wrong with that...I see now. It's for children. [It'd make sense for a version for children to not have the worst details] Omega seems to know a lot about Lovecraft and his work, she's the one who told me Innsmouth is from one of his stories. You should talk to her if you want more details.

[Apollo nudges the mannequin torso]

Do you want to give this a try? My arms are tired, I have been doing this for a while.

[nowyouseeit]

[yet, anyway]

[he holds the book up, pops it open, and flips to a random page. it has pictures on it, but no actual explanations. no wonder it's the Necronomicon for Kids]

Dave knows a lot, too. But I thought asking for this world's version of the grimmoire would be helpful. So much for that plan.

[a sigh, and he snaps the book shut]

And-- sure, why not? Who'd pass up the chance to break stuff for no reason whatsoever?

[vitamin_a]

Those are some creepy images...I thought yokai were bad enough but those pictures are in an entirely different category.

[Why couldn't this town's eldritch undertones be fake too]

Go ahead. I'll be surprised if you do manage to break that window, though.

[nowyouseeit]

Welcome to Lovecraft! Craftly hates it when you make references to the guy, by the way.

[his head twitches, gaze flicking to the left, like he's reacting to some sort of invisible stimuli. he shakes his head and addresses Apollo again]

How long have you been trying?

[hands Apollo the Necronomicon as he goes to pick up a mannequin torso]

[vitamin_a]

[Apollo browses through the tome, telling himself to never mention that author. Better not to piss off the guy in charge of the motel. Don't mess with kidnappers for no reason, that's common sense]

Half an hour. I had to keep myself busy, and doing that is good enough. Besides I still want to get in there, it makes sense that room would have answers as to what happened to this town.

[nowyouseeit]

[as Kaito said, it's mostly useless. it's really more of a picture book than an actual tome]

I'd suggest you try picking the locks instead, but. ..

[THAT WAS A PRETTY FRUITLESS ENDEAVOR ON KAITO'S PART. he shrugs, picks up the mannequin torso, and immediately throws it at the glass as hard as he can]

[which isn't that hard, because he's a rogue-class thief. his focus is dexterity, not strength]

[vitamin_a]

[Yeah, but there's something strangely enticing about the pictures, like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Besides maybe it'll help to know what these things look like once these creatures start springing out from under the bed or something]

I tried already, with Akira. It's harder than I thought it'd be, how do people manage to pick the locks?

[Trucy made it look so easy]

[nowyouseeit]

[SOUNDS ABOUT PAR FOR THE COURSE FOR LOVECRAFT, REALLY]

S'actually pretty easy when there isn't some kind of weird force preventing you from poking at the tumblers inside of 'em.

[sighs when the mannequin torso bounces off the window harmlessly. he moves to pick it up again]

I could teach you, if ya want. But I'd have to get a lock I can actually pick.

[vitamin_a]

[Sheesh, Kaito, smash that window already, where's your youthful vigor]

I'd like that. It's not like Craftly would have any reason not to give us a padlock.

[Say, now that he thinks about asking Craftly for stuff...]

Did you manage to find that deck of cards you were looking for?

[nowyouseeit]

[apparently his youthful vigor is outmatched by a window]

Yep.

[THROWS THE MANNEQUIN AGAIN, and as last time, nothing happens]

Is that you asking me for a quick show?