bluesclues | WEEK FIVE: MINGLE

WEEK FIVE: MINGLE

WEEK FIVE

OCCUPANCY: 23

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 Pumpkin is...probably around tending to the animals outside. As you exit your rooms on this lovely morning, guests will find that the barrier leading upstairs has diminished, and a new floor has been opened to explore.

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 Phoenix's portrait remains the same, on occasion it will change to an unrecognizable figure, flames surrounding the charred flesh. Likewise, Four's portrait looks just like herself, though if you blink you may miss the sharp knives protruding through her chest, rivers of blood dripping down her front. 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.

You know what to expect by now. Once a week, one of your own transforms into someone unrecognizable. But it's hard to empathize with someone without experiencing the hardship for yourself, isn't it? Worry not. Starting today, from the moment you wake, you will find that you yourself have changed into something unrecognizable. Claws, fangs, fur, scales, extra limbs, extra mouths...the changes are numerous as your monster form takes a hold of you. Oh but it's alright! It's just the physical appearance, after all. You're still yourself inside...but it may be hard to believe that as the week goes on.

Some of you may be able to brush these strange changes aside. Others of you may find yourself struggling to understand who you really are. And others of you will find even more problems on hand. Is it your imagination, or did the mansion grow several degrees colder? You just can't quite to seem to warm up. While you may normally be comfortable sharing blankets with your fellow guests, you now find yourself feeling a bit greedy and unwilling to share...well, anything, really. The insatiable greed requires you to take and take and take, no matter if you require the necessities you're taking. And yet even as you take, and especially as you consume, you find that you're never quite satisfied, belly never quite full regardless of how much you eat. That's troubling, isn't it?

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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It has nothing to do with being helpless... Have you seen Toi? Nie Huaisang? You could be running around on all fours and still be normal compared to some of the people here.

[ He means them in their monster forms but also sort of in general too, puppy Ken is tame compared to some of the people here no matter what the day. ]

I think people care more about your comfort than their sense of normalcy.

[ a kappa and a slime monster. yeah, both of those things are far worse off than ken but at the same time, isn't that what he was referring to exactly. rather, he could be doing his part. ]

I meant in general but...

[ wait. ]

My comfort? [ hm. ] Well, I don't think that should the forefront of people's minds right now with all things considered.

Should be, or isn't? Because it is; that's how people are, when they see somebody who is upset or in trouble.

[ The goodness of people or whatever, he can still believe in that. But either way, comfort isn't something to brush off, especially not in trying times. ]

It's not as though I'm the first person who has lost anyone here.

[ if that's what they're going to talk about but either way, ken is going to want to side step that conversation. funny how ken and ayabe have not spoken about that, huh?

time to make sure that keeps happening ]

...and you know, when you say that, it's what's happening here between us. About people caring when there's someone who is upset.

[ They are never going to talk about anything important, yeah. ]

I know. That's why I asked you about the bandanna.

[ .............is Ayabe upset?? is this what this is. No, he's just out here on a camping trip and doesn't need to be comforted about anything. ]

[ they can talk about important things!!!! except maybe that important thing.

also aggressively closes eyes. his tail stops wagging and his ears lower slightly. ]

And...I'm worried about you being out here.

[ look, if ayabe's gonna be like this then i guess ken needs to keep taking pages out of his senpai's book. he also remembers that other conversation they had!!!! ]

[ Where is Ken's senpai to tell him that punching isn't the way to do things???? Then I remember his protag is Minako and she would support this. ]

It's not like I'm avoiding people...

[ He is totally avoiding people. He doesn't even look at Ken while he busies himself straightening this stick that doesn't need to be straightened. ]

I won't be cold, and I'll still have my meals. That should be fine, right?

[ yea. don't forget that akihiko may or may not approve of ken's methods as well. sometime you just gotta...punch. ]

I think being out here counts as avoiding people. [ look. he smacked you once ayabe, he'll smack you again. or bite him...he has doggie teef now. ] ...and I don't think I need to tell you that it's less about that than it is about why you felt like you needed to be out here in the first place.

[ emotional health?? that's a thing?? not that ken is wise enough to understand what the fuck to do to make it better. ]

But I'm not going to drag you back if you don't want to come back.

[ thus why he's sitting on the ground right here staring at him fixing a stick that is perfectly fine, and all of the offers he made earlier. ]

[ Akihiko teaching Ken how to punch, Minako cheering in the background... Also don't bite him, human mouths have so much more bacteria than doggy ones and are much more serious bites. ]

It's the house too. I don't want to stay in a place that's just there to mess with me.

[ the real reason why i took him from p3p. shenanigans. and ken will nto bite him as long as he doesn't give ken any reason to bite him. :T ]

But we at least know what we have to do with the house now. [ besides— ] It can mess with you out here, too, you know. I got scratches on my body when I slept out in the graveyard a few weeks ago.

[ did he mention this to ayabe previously? who knows. it's knowledge again if anything. ]

I mean, we all woke up with changes.

[ ayabe being a ghost-man, ken a shiba inu... ]

[ What do we have to do with the house, besides "STOP" ]

That's not until later in the week, though. [ He does cringe when he hears about the scratches, though. It was zombie week and he remembers hearing that Nic had woken up feeling that too, which is creepy and also why was Ken sleeping in the graveyard ]

I know I can't get away from these changes and those effects. But at the very least, I don't want to be around somewhere that'll remind me of terrible things.

[ Everywhere he looks in that house is just blood and death. Out in the forest, it's trees and sky and he can pretend he's not here. ]

[ destroy the source... also maybe ayabe could ask ken why he was sleeping in the graveyard. if he wants to know that answer.

but what ayabe says next makes plenty of sense to him. the reminder is everywhere in his opinion but if this makes things easier for ayabe, then he's fine with that, too. ]

I understand. Does that mean you'll be here for Thursday night as well?

[ if that's a yes then we know where ken is going to be staying. something something friendship now you're stuck with him. and ken "hachiko" amada. ]

[ But what is the source... Can they try burning the house down again ]

Thursday... probably. It'll be out of the way, in any case. Everything tends to stay inside, or doesn't come as far as the forest.

[ No monster would come out here unless it's specifically to kill him, which in that case he thinks maybe he deserves it, so either way, it's all good. ]

[ how about they don't do that... ]

Okay, I'll stay here with you then.

[ yep. that's it. that's the whole thing. ]

Just on the off chance that something does come this way, I want to be here too.

What? Why-

[ That's not going to accomplish anything besides make Ayabe worry about Ken being out here with him, but even as he asks why, he already thinks he knows the answer. It's because Ken wants to, and Ken is hella stubborn. ]

...You need to help me make the tent bigger, then.

[ ayabe...learns. ]

Alright. I can do that.

[ but when ayabe doesn't push him away, he'll wag his tail happily. they're friends now ayabe. glad that he's finally starting to...understand what that means for him. ]

We'll need to get more things for the tent, right? [ hmmm... ] I've never gone camping like this before—this should be fun.

[ Ayabe... can learn.

Ken continues to surprise him every day, but it's always because of the fact that he can smile and be excited about things despite everything going on, whereas Ayabe's never been able to do that since... idk, probably when he was one or two years old, living the blessed life of a single child. ]

...Yeah. We don't have to worry about rain, so it's just keeping things together. The thinner sheets should be enough for the tent, and then we need binder clips and paper weights from the study.

[ ken is also an orphan so let's not be to quick on the blessed life of an only child. but it comes in the territory of knowing that things suck so either you can let them continue to drag on you for sucking or move forward with that pain. ]

It sounds like you've done something like this before.

[ looking at their new "living situation". ken has no grounds of offering any critique about what ayabe's telling him, however— ]

But wouldn't weights from the gym be better? They're sturdier and more reliable to stay in place. [ hmm. ] Should I bring back anything from the room so we can have it out here with us?

[ The gym is on the upper stories which Ayabe's not going to be able to get up there without huffing and puffing the entire time, so it made more sense to him, if he were working alone, to use what weights he can find from the study on the first floor. ]

Will you be able to carry back the weights? I'll be counting on you. The small five pound ones should be fine.

[ They add up quick, so hopefully Ken won't push himself and try to haul twenty of them back in one trip. ]

In the room... there are some things. But I'll get them later, after we have everything for the tent.

I won't be able to do it all in one trip, but I'll come back with what I can each time. I'll be sure to not hurt myself by pushing myself too far.

[ especially with the way that ken is going to be coming back with arms full of pillows and blankets stolen from the astrology tower later. if they're gonna be camping, then might as well do it right? if he was a bigger kid, he'd just outright steal the mattress.

...maybe he could ask beau :thinking: ]

What kind of things are you thinking of? I can at least get it ready.

[ Ken out here with a slashed neck doing all the legwork... But it's good to hear him pacing himself and knowing his limitations, although if he plans to bring a whole mattress here he's going to have to tell Ayabe so they can account for that. And also make the tent big enough to fit them and Beau too. ]

It's... well. My guitar case, and the stuffed toy dog on the bed. It's nothing you need to prepare, I just didn't want to leave them outside while I'm not there.

[ slashed neck and arm wounds... but it's been a couple (2) weeks and he's a tenacious boy. the mattress is a pipe dream besides it's more fun if they don't use a mattress, right? though if anyone questions why they're camping out in the backyard then that's...

something to consider. ]

Okay, I'll get those things after I get everything else.

[ he nods. he'll totally come back with sheets (and laundry clips!!) first followed by pillows and blankets then weights last. several trips will be made and chuuya can be confessing his love for ayabe during these many trips. nods. ]

I don't think there's been anything that I would want to bring. [ well, the items that he has won aside, of course. ] Maybe just my notebook and something to write with.

Edited 2020-03-24 04:11 (UTC)

[ I hate that Ken is out there doing all this work while Ayabe receives a love confession, this isn't fair ]

You're not staying the entire time, right? It's not like you have to move your whole life here. I'm not.

[ Like. He's not bringing all his clothes and everything and he'll still go back and shower and whatever, he is not prepared to live his entire life in the woods, just when convenient. ]

[ GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER AYABE. ]

No, we're just going to sleep out here, right?

[ he just. doesn't have a lot of things. what are material things when you're an eleven year old boy?? ]

Technically real camping would involve us needing to cook outside here as well, but Peach is so nice to make meals for us everyday, it would be rude to ignore them.

[ never mind that's sort of what he did the first and second day..... ]

[ Ayabe used to have SIX lives in order and now he can't even handle his own smh ]

It's convenient, so I eat her meals too.

[ But he cooks for other people if they want, because otherwise people live off pickles and cockroaches. ]

That doesn't mean we can't cook outside though, if we can manage to get a fire going. We can roast sweet potatoes.

[ Because that is camping food.......... yeah. What does Ayabe know about camping. ]

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