WEEK ONE: MINGLE

[cluedin]

WEEK ONE

OCCUPANCY: 34

Rise and shine, little monsters. A new week is waiting just for you. The events of yesterday may have been hard to stomach, but time heals all wounds, after all. The damages the house has incurred over the last week have been reverted and the staff is hard at work fulfilling their roles in this mansion. A piping hot breakfast is served in the dining room promptly at 7am, every square inch of floor and furniture has been cleaned spotless, and...the sound of birds chirping fills the hallway. The sun's shining brightly through the glass windows, and the curtain has been drawn back from the doors in the ballroom. The barriers blocking off the stairs down to the basement and to the balconies have been removed, and all guests may now explore these areas.

For anyone who ventures into the ballroom, a new change may become apparent. Should you choose to look at the plaques long enough, two images will flicker and change sporadically. While Haruka's portrait remains the same, on occasion it will change to an image of a pale, scratched up woman with yellow foam dripping from the corner of her lips. Likewise, Nikki's portrait looks just like herself, though if you blink you may miss it changing into the image of a large, rabid rat. There is no rhyme and reason for the change...though perhaps it serves as a reminder to those who remain.

Additionally, the house rules have been moved from the ballroom and back into the hallway, mounted in the entryway as they were.

But with this new bit of freedom comes another strange set of circumstances, you see. Starting today you'll find that the urge to give in to some nasty little traits has grown stronger. Greed, Pride, Jealousy....any of those seven deadly feelings will begin to bubble up inside you. Can you remain calm under the weight of your sins?

Perhaps so. Perhaps you're the type who's capable of ignoring these feelings even in your worst moments. You may be a beacon of hope for those who struggle with their emotions, but something else seems amiss. Even if you've managed to avoid those prickly feelings, some of you may experience a brain fog, making your thoughts hazy and hard to focus. Others may find themselves with a constant craving for sustenance, an insatiable hunger...though it may not be for food alone. And others still...it is a bit alarming for your arm to detach itself from your body, isn't it? Why would your feet run away without you? Best take stock of all of your limbs now because for the next week they may be just a bit too easy to remove. Don't lose your head over it though. They'll reattach easily enough.

You may experience only some of these events. Then again, maybe you're unlucky and you're experiencing all of these events at different points in time. Time is of the essence, however, and come Monday at noon a rustling crackle of static can be heard from overhead. Try as you might, you won't be able to find the speakers but a message will play loud and clear for all.

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Comments

[goldpeony]

[Rather than start crying or the like, he puffs up.]

How am I going to protect myself against something so stupid if I don't even know how it works?! What if someone else uses it?

["I don't know what tf a gun is, but I'm too prideful to say it."]

[voidbreaker]

[ actual image of jinling ]

Don't look it in the business end. If someone else uses it, then you'll either get lucky and avoid it or you won't. These things don't fuck around.

[ It's not like you can just equip dodge gun and stroll on through. ]

'Course, checking whether the majority of these guns actually have bullets in them is a good starting point.

[goldpeony]

[CHICKLING.]

And how do you do that?

[Wow, he does not like the sound of guns at all.] Why...?! Why can't people just use swords and their cultivation?! [He doesn't understand.

who needs guns]

[voidbreaker]

[ make it a gun and it's relevant. ]

'Cause the world marches on. I know people who do fight with swords on a day to day basis, but if you're in a gun fight or a Soldat fight then running at them with a sword is just gonna get you crushed under a giant metal foot.

[ still. he flips the gun around and motions to the barrel of it -- ] If these are empty, it's not loaded. If there's something in there, then be careful as hell handling it.

[goldpeony]

[He doesn't know half of what the hell Ash is talking about, but at least Ash would likely feel the same when he starts going on about cultivation and shit.]

If I could use my qi, I could dodge it.

[He says this matter-of-factly despite not knowing how a gun works. He peers at the gun, brows knotting.]

This is stupid. Just use a bow and some arrows.

[voidbreaker]

[ there's a pause, before he laughs. ]

Yeah. I know someone who uses those. But it's still boosted with Orbal technology and Arts. I wouldn't put a training bow against a gun.

[goldpeony]

[He's still ??? about whatever the hell Ash is talking about.]

Not a training bow. A real bow! [GOD.] What even is "Orbal technology" and "Arts"?! Like--spiritual energy? Cultivation?

[voidbreaker]

[ ash mimes a half arsed draw back of a bow ]

Yeah. Made of wood, snaps if you breathe on it too hard? Nah. Orbal bows are made of sterner stuff.

[ ...... ]

The heck is cultivation? Like... farming? [ DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT AGGRESSIVELY FARM A FIELD TO GENERATE MAGICAL POWER JINGLYLINGLY ]

[goldpeony]

Why does everyone keep saying that?! It isn't farming! Spiritual cultivation. You know, harnessing your qi, forming a golden core, becoming Immortal...?!

[PLEASE tell him you know what he's talking about here. He's begging.]

[voidbreaker]

[ RIP jingle. ]

Never heard of it. The only way someone becomes Immortal is if they're messing with things they shouldn't be.

[goldpeony]

That isn't true! [He sounds offended. When doesn't he?] Every cultivator aspires to be an Immortal. Your spiritual power will be so strong you can heal, and you won't age or die.

You'll be amazing!

[voidbreaker]

Like I said-- I've never heard of a Cultivator in the way you seem to see it. You can't just become Immortal by wishing it really hard.

Isn't there a saying about this kind of thing? Like who wants to live forever?

[goldpeony]

Wishing?! [He puffs up.] How dare you! It's not wishing. You work hard to become an Immortal! You have to cultivate your spiritual energy until it's strong, and your core has to be strong, too! You don't just have it handed to you!

Only great cultivators have what it takes to become Immortal.

The longer you live, the stronger you are! And wiser! The more of the world you get to see. You can protect it, and you can train others. You'd be able to go on so many Night Hunts!

[voidbreaker]

So when are you gonna ask the obvious question and consider maybe our worlds are pretty different?

[ He raises a hand and checks off on his fingers: ]

No cultivation in the way you're talking about; no cores; no Night Hunts....

[goldpeony]

...What? There's only one world, don't be stupid.

[:')]

[voidbreaker]

[ side note: i hate that ash's canon is genuinely looking into alternate world theories and confirming them this is terrible. ]

You don't seriously think we're all from the same place. None of you know what Orbal tech is and that's like a mainstay of life. You're not from Zemuria.

[goldpeony]

No, I just think you're all lunatics who don't know what you're talking about.

[There is only China. There is barely anything else but China!]

[voidbreaker]

Don't devalue my life and my home because you can't get past your attitude problem.

[goldpeony]

[Of course he makes a face at getting scolded. This is something he would agree with about himself, but the shoe is on the other foot!]

I don't have an attitude problem!

[voidbreaker]

[ Hilarious. ]

Yeah you do. Or you're too stubborn for your own good. Potato, po-tahto.

[goldpeony]

You don't even know me.

[So there. Don't make him point the gun back at your head.]

[voidbreaker]

And you don't know me, so where do you get off telling me what's real and what isn't?

[ DO NOT POINT A GUN AT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD JINGLE SINGLE MINGLE WHAT THE HELL ]

[goldpeony]

[HE'S GOING TO POINT IT BETWEEN HIS EYES.]

There's no such thing as other worlds. Unless you're talking about... ascending to Heaven like a god or something. Or going to the Yellow Spring, the Underworld.

[voidbreaker]

[ IF HE'S POINTING IT BETWEEN HIS EYES, ASH IS JUST GONNA GRAB HIS WRIST AND YANK IT UP AGAIN?? ]

See, now we're just going in circles. You can be ignorant if you want, it's no big deal to me.

[goldpeony]

[No, it's fine. He's being a good boy. It was just hypothetically. If Ash keeps bullying.]

I've never seen it, so why should it be real? I don't know you, so why should I believe you? Besides, how am I supposed to know when you don't tell me anything about it except weird words because you're too lazy to explain.