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

[inaudibly]

[The crypt is just creepy!! The gun room is ominous because someone is absolutely gonna die because of it.

Nic takes the paper, and picks up the scissors.... they really aren’t designed for his hands. He isn’t even a large man why are his hands so big?? He cuts a few strips before giving up and simply opting to rip jagged strips off which is surely what Stefano wants.]

[photorealism]

[ that's actually totally fine. That's artistic as hell. Stefano actually nods approvingly and starts doing the same thing to the red paper. ]

I would like for this to be done quickly. But still, my pride demands that I put some thought into this, [ he continues. ] I want to hang these from the ceiling. The streamers, too. It will be a celebration of violence.

[inaudibly]

[Nic has no response to that frankly weird thing to say because he is too busy ripping up all the paper he was given to even think to look up and see Stefano was talking some wild shit!!

A fact underscored by the fact that once he’s ripped it all up, he swaps it for his notebook;]

What are you gonna do with all this?

[photorealism]

[ he looks offended that Nic didn't "hear" what he said... but he just sighs, holding out a hand to take the strips from him. ]

I said that I'm putting them on the ceiling. You take those streamers and hang them as you please. But only use warm colors. You do know warm and cool colors, don't you?

[inaudibly]

[Nic considers saying that no he doesn’t but decides he doesn’t care so instead he just grabs a bunch of them without any rhyme or reason along with a roll of tape. Most are definitely warm colors but a bunch sure aren’t.

Turns out Nic is a terrible art assistant!!]

[photorealism]

[ UNACCEPTABLE!! Stefano is like, climbing up some shelves to reach the ceiling so he can stick his strips of paper into the ceiling with thumbtacks when he notices what Nic is doing. ]

Warm colors! No blue or green.

[inaudibly]

[It’s unclear if Nic is intentionally ignoring him or not but he’s definitely not stopping what he’s doing, nor is he spreading the streamers out in a visually appealing way.

He just stuck like three green streamers in one spot. Why, Nicolas.]

[photorealism]

[ anger bubbles up inside him at being ignored... but he takes a deep breath and does his best to ignore it. This is a stupid child's errand, anyway. ]

Neophyte...

[ he grumbles. Whatever!! He can't reach very much of the ceiling from just the area by the shelves, but he does his best - although he does ask, after a moment: ]

How tall are you?

[inaudibly]

[Stefano my dude you continue to not learn from your mistakes and continue to talk to a deaf man who is concentrating on something not in your direction. You gotta get his attention before saying things. He thinks this navy blue streamer looks good next to these two orange ones.

He doesn’t answer but he’s not especially tall, one might visually estimate he’s somewhere around 5’5”-5’7”]

[photorealism]

[ damn it

stefano throws a thumbtack at his head to try and get his attention. ]

[inaudibly]

[OH MY GOD

Well it does get Nic’s attention, but he looks annoyed at having a thumbtack thrown at him. He makes some hand gestures that, based on his expression, probably are sign language for;]

What the fuck was that for?

[photorealism]

How tall are you?

[ ignoring the angry hand gestures... two can play at this game. ]

I can't reach towards the middle. You look like the... lanky sort. Is that the word?

[inaudibly]

[That’s fine. He’s gonna make more of them!! He holds up fingers; 1, 6, 9

Probably that means he’s 169cm tall. Not especially impressive. But he has an idea. Writing it down;]

I could pick you up.

[photorealism]

What? No. This silly errand isn't worth humiliating myself over.

[ he sighs. the middle of the ceiling will just have to be bare of random construction paper strips dangling down. Very sad. Carefully, he starts climbing down from the shelves, trying not to step on any assorted rifles. As he does, he continues, looking pointedly at the other man so he can read his lips. ]

Why have you put so many green streamers up? It looks ugly.

[inaudibly]

[Nic looks from Stefano, to the streamers, back to Stefano. Then he has the audacity to simply shrug. It’s almost as if he isn’t taking art seriously.]

What else did you want to do?

[photorealism]

[ hopping down onto the floor and dusting his suit off, then shaking his head at Nic - before proceeding to walk over and tear the green streamers down. ]

I said warm colors. Must I do everything myself?

[inaudibly]

[All his hard work for naught!! He doesn’t actually seem that bothered, but;]

I figured we’d done quicker if I just used all the colors