WEEK ZERO: WELCOME INTRO

[cluedin]

WELCOME

Even from behind your eyelids, the soft glowing light can be seen as you find yourself awakening. The slow swell of strings begins, and as you struggle to open your eyes, the sound of footsteps pass you by. You soon hear three feminine voices speak in unison.

"Master Blue wishes to welcome you all. We hope you enjoy your stay!"

Light temporarily blinds you as you look around, but the source of the voices has vanished. Whomever has greeted you seems to have disappeared without warning, leaving you all alone.

The music starts up and though no orchestra is present, the song can be heard all throughout the room. Crystal chandeliers hang above your head, and the waxed wooden floor gleams brightly. Floor to ceiling windows cover the back wall and a night sky full of stars twinkle back at you. The wall next to it, however, is covered by a thick crimson curtain. Those who attempt to move it will find they have little luck in their endeavor, but there are more pressing matters at hand.

Looking down you'll come to notice that you're wearing clothes that certainly aren't what you were previously wearing. You, and the guests around you, have been dressed appropriately in formal attire properly fitted for each individual.

Oh. That's right. Didn't we mention the other guests? Seated to your left, right, and across from you at the long banquet table are other people just like you. Perhaps it's a friend you know, though don't be surprised if it's a complete stranger. Each individual holds a blue and silver invitation with their name scrawled upon it, and a message to follow.

"Please respond to Master Blue's invitation at least one week prior to the event to secure your seat and accommodations.

This dinner is guaranteed to be an event to die for."

Strange, isn't it?

But rest assured! Nothing is stopping you from leaving the ballroom and exploring the other rooms of Master Blue's home. After all, you're an honored guest! It's with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that you're welcomed here tonight. Really, what's your hurry? It's not as though the front door will open for you. Don't bother with the windows either. They've all been locked tight to ensure you're all nice and cozy for your stay.

If you look under your seat, you'll find a special gift bag with your name on it. Opening these bags will reveal the following:

-A small spiral notebook
-A crayon in a specific shade of blue
-Three different candles
-A brass key (Design May Vary.)
-This cute toy

A welcome gift from the Master, of course.

Take some time to admire the decor, if you will. The house has been decorated for this special holiday with chains of paper hearts, miniature golden cupid statues, and confetti that rains down from the ceiling on occasion. Perhaps you'll get lucky tonight with love in the air, especially since Cupid's arrow seems to aim for you no matter where you go. For those of you who don't wish to partake in the lavish feast spread out in the ballroom, you're in luck. Boxes of chocolate and bowls of candy hearts can be found for all your snacking needs.

As the unseen orchestra plays on, it seems as though you've no choice but to get to know your fellow guests and make yourselves comfortable. Perhaps if you wait long enough, someone will come to greet you.

---

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Comments

[kazokun]

[ Why is your uncle!!! And you don't have to look that hard for a dog-- ]

Oh, is that- I think I saw her running towards the kitchen.

[ He did not, but get off the ground, you fool. ]

[goldpeony]

What?!

[It works. He leaps up ferociously, but then also

nyooms right by Ayabe in the direction of the kitchen, almost tripping over the God forsaken coat he keeps having to yank up on his shoulders. He looks like a stupid version of a Japanese ghost woman billowing away eerily.]

FAIRY, WAIT!

[kazokun]

[ jfc Ayabe narrowly avoids getting bowled over, and follows behind to the kitchen, where there is no dog there but would be a good place to wait for one to come, considering all the food. Which may or may not be safe for dogs, but that can be found out later. ]

Now that you're here, you might as well wash your hands. [ THE TRUE PLAN ALL ALONG. ] She might avoiding you because you smell like trash.

[goldpeony]

[Jokes on Ayabe, Jin Ling races around the kitchen touching every space somehow as he looks desperately for his dog. Totally unaware of the true nefarious plot of this journey.

He stops to give Ayabe a scandalized look, and then he glances at himself, arms raised. He doesn’t—does he?] Fairy is a trained spiritual dog! She wouldn’t care! [But—

Quickly, he sheds the stupid coat-cloak, dropping it in the floor because it’s awful, and rushes to the... Wait. He stops in the middle of the kitchen in the God forsaken 1001 Arabian Nights crop-top, with his arms still up.]

There’s no water!

[kazokun]

[ TRAINED SPIRITUAL DOG this is worse than demons, everybody here is out of their mind

Ayabe stares at Jin Ling like he has fifty heads, and then goes to the counter sink to turn on the faucet. Pwsssssssssssssshhhhh-- water for your desert, while Ayabe stoops to pick up the clothes and fold them back up, because Jin Ling is awful. ]

[goldpeony]

[Listen, ancient China does not have running indoor plumbing. He's losing his mind here.] Haah!! It's like a fountain inside! [Jin Ling rushes over to the sink to watch it for a second or two while trying to pull the silken sleeves up.

Indoor plumbing... wrow.

Skeptically, he sticks his hands under the water and then yanks them out. Oh, it's fine. He sticks them back under again to wash them.]

[kazokun]

[ Jin Ling is worse than a trained spiritual dog. It's day two and this is his ranking so far. ]

Like a fountain... Make sure to use soap, too. Don't forget to wash in between your fingers.

[ Is there soap in ancient China??? This is like me trying to figure out 1920's mafia again except I'm too tired to Google anything, Jin Ling's just going to have to accept this goopy dishwashing liquid soap. It's blue. ]

[goldpeony]

[Jin Ling knows............a weird kind of soap maybe, but definitely not this blue dishwashing stuff. He doesn't look like he's having any of it, face scowling.]

...Why does it look like that?

[kazokun]

Marketing reasons. Blue gives off a sense of cleanliness.

[ Stop complaining and wash your hands. ]

[goldpeony]

You sound like a GusuLan.

[Skeptically, he picks it up to, like, sniff the opening. But squeezing the bottle while lifting it makes one or two tiny bubbles shoot out, and he recoils.]

Aa-aHhHh!

[He twists his upper half to try to dodge the bubbles without being forced to run away from the sink.]

[kazokun]

You're such a pain. Hold still.

[ Ayabe takes the bottle and squeezes the soap on Jin Ling's hand. A little penny sized drop, despite really wanting to pour globs of the stuff on his hand, because a little bit of soap goes a long way. ]

[goldpeony]

You're a pain.

[He's still leaned away at the torso, but freezes long enough for Ayabe to give him some of that good grease-buster. Reluctantly, he starts rubbing his hands together when he straightens up.

He feels stupid when it turns out to not be so bad. But at least he finds he likes indoor plumbing?]

[kazokun]

[ They're both pains, but Jin Ling is the worse one. Maybe it's arguable, idk. Ayabe does that thing where he counts to 20 and if Jin Ling tries to rinse his hands before then, Ayabe's going to stop him and making him keep lathering until the 20 seconds are up. ]

[goldpeony]

[As expected, Jin Ling keeps trying to stick his hands under the water every five seconds.

Once he’s FINALLY allowed to rinse them, he cuts a sour look at Ayabe, and then

raises his hands to flick water on the other boy.]

I’m not a baby.

[kazokun]

Then stop acting like one.

[ He grabs the nearest towel and lightly smacks Jin Ling on the face with it, and then wipes off Jin Ling's hands himself, because this boy is a baby and cannot be trusted not to wipe his hands dry on the sides of his robes. ]

[goldpeony]

I’m no—ack!

[His shoulders hunch, and he grabs the towel to try to start yanking it, but Ayabe has already rushed to dry his hands.

?!

He tries to fussily get his hands back.] Stop, I can do it myself! I said I wasn’t a baby! [He’ll dry them in his stupid outfit.]

[kazokun]

If you act like a baby, I will treat you like one. Go on and prove yourself.

[ Dry your hands with the towel. Don't make him force Jin Ling through the hand washing routine a second time. ]

[goldpeony]

I will then!

[He snatches the towel and.....dries his hands off with it. See? And then he throws it back at Ayabe’s face for the earlier hit.]

[kazokun]

[ He just gave Ayabe the weapon back to smack him lightly across the face with the towel again. ]

That is how a child behaves. Where are your manners? Did you leave them behind in that trash can?

[goldpeony]

[This time, he grabs a handful of it and yanks toward himself. The words smart even if they don’t sting quite as bad as a certain addition to them he usually gets.]

Shut up! You don’t know me. You’re the one who had the problem.

[kazokun]

[ Ayabe lets go of the towel when it's yanked, and crosses his arms in front of him. ]

There's no reason to misbehave just because you're around strangers.

[goldpeony]

You’re not my uncle. And I’m not misbehaving. You’re just weird.

[He wants to throw the towel again but instead drops it on the counter before turning to—shit, his outfit!!

He wheels on Ayabe to try to root for that stupid coat-cloak he had.]

[kazokun]

[ The outfit is folded over his arm, so when Jin Ling goes for it, Ayabe just clutches it closer to him and takes a huge step back. ]

Hey!

[ Like he's being attacked??? Boy. ]

[goldpeony]

Give it back! [He tried to wrestle it from Ayabe, but not, like, super roughly.] I don’t want to be in this stupid outfit! It doesn’t belong to me!

[His mid-drift is fucking showing and it’s awful.]

[kazokun]

[ Who here has the worst outfit, it's probably Jin Ling. But if the clothes is all he's worried about, Ayabe shoves it back into his arms. ]

Wear it or don't wear it, but don't throw it on the ground next time. There's no other clothes here, so if it's hard to wear, I might be able to fix it for you.