bluesclues | WEEK SIX: MINGLE

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!mingle

WEEK SIX: MINGLE

WEEK SIX

OCCUPANCY: . . .

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...

...a silence lays over the house.

For anyone who ventures into the ballroom, a new change may become apparent. Should you choose to look at the plaques, those of the dead have gone blank. The images that were once there have been covered, though the information is still there.

Additionally, the house rules have been removed.

Odd, isn't it? Where are those strange effects you've grown accustom to over the last several weeks in this house? Your body is as it should be (except for those of you who have lost limbs...you know who you are...), your mind is sound and stable, and there are no strange urges or instincts arising within you.

The mansion is in prime condition. All of the rooms (except for Master Blue's and the servants' quarters) are unlocked, and nothing seems out of place. Perhaps you'll have a chance to relax this morning?

Well, it was nice while it lasted anyway. 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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[ Anya is the only smart bitch in this group, and she may notice that part of the grass in the middle of the clearing is a shade darker than the rest...? Unfortunately, since JL was first in line in a power stride, she won't have time to stop him from stepping straight on it.

Vines burst out from everywhere in the ground, immediately trying to grab at whatever limb might be closest. The rest might have a chance at dodging, especially if Anya got to warn them, but one will grab jin ling's leg right where he stepped on whatever it is that's attacking them. To make things worse, the skittering in the forest gets louder, as if dozens of cute spiders are coming over to have a chat.

The good news is, JL got close enough to see that the crack in the wall is because it's a very old, mossy door! Yay! ]

[Asch, from the back, doesn't even bother to suppress his groan. why bother. jin ling has already done the Stupid Thing.

grabbing Anya in his free arm, he loops the sash of the scarf-come-bandolier around Zenitsu's torso, effectively pinning him to Asch, and spins around. Still holding on to them both, he slashes at any vines that come near. absolutely all vines are fair game, and he's just going at each one with pinpoint precision, zipping neatly through them with the lightsaber. if he can do it, he's gonna cut Jin Ling free as well!!

and now that he's close enough, he can also see that it's a! door! damn this place to hell!!!

circling the plant or whatever that has Jin Ling caught, he tries to move with Zenitsu and Anya towards the stupid mossdoor. IF he can get them close enough, he'll guard them while they work on it!]

Get that thing open! Who knows how much that stupid moon's fallen!

Edited 2020-04-02 11:36 (UTC)

[welp

The vines that burst out startle him, but he doesn't scream. The Master Sword is a little heavier than the sword he's use to wielding even if it doesn't hinder him from spinning it around and hacking one of the nyooming vines off at the first quarter. He ducks the next one, stumbling from the yank of the one entangled around his leg. It squeezes, and he gasps.

The rules of Magic the Gathering say this vine has Reach and therefore despite attempting to hoist himself in the air with his wings, it still has a firm grip on him until Asch swings in with the lightsaber. He follows up with a swing of his own.]

Go! The door! [He ducks another vine and glances over his shoulder at the sound of skittering.] The spiders are coming! I'm fine! Use a mask if you have to, idiot!

[she's grabbed!

but the thing is that even though running was harder than it usually is, given her injury, it at least didn't apply direct pressure to her ribs. this does. so it's why, finally, anya's eyes go wide and even though she absolutely tries to tamp down on it, there's a very soft, but very pained noise that comes from her. when she's released, she gasps and automatically presses on the door for balance as she tries to regain her bearings and - right. okay. no time for pain.

just bc it's magic doesn't mean they have to be rude - so she knocks on it first, just in case anything is inside] Pardon us!

[and then she'll try the doorknob? is there a doorknob? though if that doesn't work, she'll turn to zenitsu - ] Меч. Sword please.

[The spiders are coming. The spiders are coming. The spiders are coming.

No vines snatch this one; however, Zenitsu gives a choked yelp when Asch catches him with the scarf and hauls him over to the door. He cries out in fear (as usual).]

S-should we be putting on more than one mask at a time?

[His left hand reflexively coils around the hilt of his sword at Anya's request. Then, gulping, he steps up and unsheathes the blade to work on the door.]

[ The spiders are coming out in troves indeed, moving in sync over the cut off vines as they make their daring escape. The vines that Asch hits with the lightsaber are literally cut off and burnt, and there's a screech of agony from... somewhere in the ground? JL is dealing with the rest of the vines with the Master Sword, though he'll find the more he actually uses it, the more drained he feels. This is probably just because it's heavier than he's used to and no other reason. Similarly, Asch's tingling left hand might be starting to ache a little.

Anya knocks on the door and will find that it's very heavy. Hitting a sword on it mostly cuts away the moss. I will give you guys a break and pretend Anya and Zenitsu both worked together to push the door at least once, because that's what it takes, it's not a puzzle, it's really just a door, and it leads them to crumbling stone steps. It doesn't open fully, but enough that no one in this party should have any trouble getting through. Might want to make sure you're not followed on the way up, though! JL might be taking care of the vines and Asch is there to defend them from the swarming spiders, but there are a lot of spiders.

Like. Hundreds.

This is gross. ]

[what the heckie is in the ground.

well the door is opening, so that's nice. the uh, crumbling stone steps worry her a little bit? but she can imagine there is literally no fucking option but to move forward, so she does. though she will at least answer zenitsu before she goes:]

One mask each person okay!

[and so she'll start to head up the stairs - though she won't go super far in without the rest of the boys. she will, however, try to see what the inside of this thing looks like? she's once again checking above and around so they don't get a repeat of Vine Trap(tm)]

[Thank goodness for teamwork.

Zenitsu jumps. His heart jumps even higher at the underground screech and he almost chokes. Urging Anya to go ahead first, he slides in after her, but pokes his head out the doorway to beckon Asch and Jin Ling inside.]

The door's open! Hurry!

We're coming! Keep going!

[He should have eaten a stamina meal, but it's fine.

Getting tired means he spends more time dodging than he does swinging the sword. The spiders are rushing them, and he flips over one, and pretty much just punts the next one over into the swarm of other. And then he turns to race for the door, barreling right by ghostly Asch.]

Asch!

[He slams roughly into the small opening, squeezing through with a growl, and then waits to make sure Asch can get in. Maybe they both can throw themselves against the backside of the door to shut it again, keeping the damn spiders out.]

[Jin Ling rushes past him, into the door's opening, and Asch nods. He'll stay there until the last second, killing Many Spider, until he's certain Jin Ling is through--

--then he flicks off the lightsaber, and throws himself into the opening, joining Jin Ling on throwing his weight, such as it is, against the door to block the spiders and tendrils and suchnot. Anything that tries to get through is straightup getting booted back out, or outright stepped on.

If they can get the door closed fast enough, he'll take the extra time to have a look around where they are now. What are we looking at, team?]

[ They, fortunately, successfully barrel through the door and close it behind them, stopping whatever vine being was around and any further spiders from coming through. Asch makes short work of the few that did, and so everyone is alright and safe! There's nowhere to go but up those stone steps, and those lead them to ...

sand, followed by a wide expanse of water. It's a beach! There's a few seashells lying around, and a deck leading out into the water... Attached to the deck itself is a small, rickety raft. If "raft" in this case means a bunch of planks loosely tied together with no method of going forward. It has seen better days.

The music, more frantic now, seems to be coming from across the water. ]

[how did they hear this music from the start point, wow. anya will at least be moving up carefully but certainly, taking a second to catch her breath now that there's nothing immediately trying to kill them. she'll walk through the beach and - try not to sound too excited at the prospect of the ocean. but.]

Милая... ["Pretty...." though she will look over at jin ling in all his winged glory before turning to the other two boys - ]

Put on another mask maybe? Blue for ocean...? Might help. [though - ] ... Might hurt... Can do it if you want me to. [though she has a Feeling none of these boys would let her,]

[otherwise anya is going to check out the horizon line?? is there any way to see if there's something in the distance that might give a clue where the music might be coming from. is there anything in the water.... don't say sharks.]

Edited (is that a font for ants?) 2020-04-02 22:37 (UTC)

[Zenitsu sheaths his sword on the way up, because the last thing he wants to do is skewer Anya on the staircase.

The beach is quite impressive, yes. The raft is, on the other hand, not at all! And look, his feet are sinking into the sand. He's wearing socks. This sucks.

He almost jumps out of said socks when Anya proposes putting the blue mask on for herself.]

No, no, no, no! You don't have to do that. Asch will do it! Right?

[He scrambles after Anya, ready to fetch her if he must in the presence of danger, as he shoots Asch a pleading glance.]

[Wow, whew.] There was some great beast beneath the ground. [And spiders. Wonderful. Everything is bad. Terrible.

He straightens with Asch and moves after the other two up the stairs, careful of the sword. He can smell it—brine, salt, even sand. When they’re spit out, he lifts his face to the sky and squints, surprised.

And then he glances at the raft.] Let Asch—unless he’s scared. We don’t have time. The music is faster. [He’s already beelining for the raft. Destiny Island Waker.]

You and Zenitsu get on. I’ll fly overhead and watch from above, but if the blue mask doesn’t help, I’ll use my wings to move us.

[by the time Jin Ling gets around to trying to... bully him? or whatever that just was, Asch has already unslung the makeshift scarf bag from over his shoulder, and fished out the blue mask.]

I'll do it.

[maybe they should've done the green mask in the forest? but whatever. they made it through, didn't they?

he wades into the shallows of the water, keeping an eye on the horizon, their surroundings, with an idea of what might happen, and carefully places the mask-bag to the side on the beach—just in case.]

If it comes up, and I can get this one off, I'll take the red one, too. Before either of you [here, he nods to—frowns at—Anya and Zenitsu, because they are Naughty,] go getting any ideas.

[and without further ado, he fits the blue mask over his face, closing his eyes. if Jin Ling's expression was anything to go by, this was going to hurt like hell.]

[ There doesn't seem to be sharks in the water... on the other hand, Anya can definitely see some shadows moving in the distance under the water. Whether those are sharks or not is harder to say.

Asch is probably used to feeling like his body is being torn apart starting at the molecules while he's in emotional agony, but that still doesn't make his venture with the blue mask pleasant. Jin Ling lucked out that his was mostly humanoid, it turns out; as Asch's skin peels off to make way for scales and his body changes, fins protruding where there were none and the shape of his head completely changing as he grows taller... massive, even.

I hate that Niji absolutely called me out on who they'll be seeing. He's a shark prince now.

Anyway, while Asch is having that fun time, Anya and Zenitsu can notice that on top of having shadows in random spots of the water, there seems to be seagulls flying in a circle in the distance over the water? Wonder what that's about. ]

[well - she sort of understands that they're pressed for time here, so she'll let glance back when asch does his change, cringing a little on his behalf because that absolutely does not look comfortable]

Asch okay...? I can take rest of masks, if you are meant to be in water.

[THEY NEED TO STOP IGNORING THEIR ONE VERY TIRED TEAM MEMBER - but she will take the bag made out of her shawl to wrap it around herself, assuming that it'll also help if someone needs to grab her out of the way. then it's going on the raft carefully, making sure there's room for zenitsu]

There are... shadows in the water in distance. Birds, too. Maybe they are nice like spiders and will not bother us until something happens.... but be careful.

[He also wonders what the seagulls are about—for all of five seconds. He turns around and there goes Asch's skin. The transformation is so deeply horrifying that Zenitsu can't help but stare, gasping.

Before he can freak out, Anya has moved on to the raft and pointed out what he's also seen. But he eyes the raft with growing wariness, and that's not all of which he's wary. He points his shoulders at Asch and the raft, unwilling to put his back on either.]

H-hey, is the raft safe? Doesn't it look like it'll sink if something attacks us?

[Yeah, it fucking hurts. He half-assedly tries to shoo Anya and Zenitsu onto the raft while also gawking at Asch’s transformation.]

What the fuck is that thing?!

[At least it looks aquatic. Even if the transformation is awful. He feels that.] Water beasts maybe. Or sharks. Or even fierce ghosts who haunt the water. [He practically hefts Zenitsu up to get him on the damn raft. And then he—unties it?? And pushes it off into the water while hopping on.]

Asch! Lead the boat!

[Raft whatever. He’ll give him the tie off so they can be pulled.]

[it is excruciatingly painful.

it is every particle of his body, ripped asunder and rearranged into a different shape, a different species. it's his fonons separating all over again, but over, and over, and over, an extended attack. it's death, and it's rebirth, only to suffer again. his skin peels off, and for a moment he can feel every nerve ending screaming, as he's suddenly flayed alive. his height shoots up, and the sudden change in perspective and center of gravity, combined with the mind-numbing pain, causes him to stumble, struggle to regain his footing, and drop to one knee in the shallows.

to his credit(?), there is no screaming. just occasional grunts of pain—and when the transformation finishes, heavy breathing.]

Okay.

[for a second, he sways again—shakes his head, as if clearing it--

--and dives into the deeper water with nearly no splash.

when he pops up again, he nods to Anya, sash-bag wrapped around her.]

Take care of those. I trust you.

[and with that, he takes up the tie, and starts swimming as quickly—and safely—as he can, keeping an eye on the raft's two riders and their incredibly flimsy ride.]

Point me around the birds. It means they're feeding on something in the water—usually it's sharks or monsters beneath.

[ The raft, despite all appearances, holds with the weight of the other three. It helps that they're either tiny or half-CLAMP noodle characters that are probably flying above it right now. They point Asch away from the seagulls, which does mean making a rather wide berk in the ocean... The inside ocean. The inside ocean in a clocktower. This is normal.

Some of the shadows in the water do turn out to be sharks, though. They don't attack and give Asch a wide berth, seemingly intimidated. Sometimes the masks really are cheating. They do come across one creature that's not so easily intimidated. It's far ahead of the group when it starts shooting rocks directly for the raft. Better be careful! It probably won't be able to handle a single hit with how fragile it is.

At the same time, in the distance, they'll be able to spot a large, stone tower. ]

[wow that's terrible.

she aims crescent rose in its gun form, aiming for the rocks so that they don't actually get around to hitting the raft?

so yeah, anya's going to shoot them. her aim is pretty excellent. that said, she doesn't really want to actually shoot the creature just yet because what if it's just scared??]

Stop throwing! Not nice! Pass by soon.

[one of the other boys is going to have to actually kill it if that's what they want to do, because she won't shoot it right away. though if it doesn't behave, she will probably aim to shoot one of the tentacles that's throwing shit around]

[Jin Ling waits just long enough for them to get a bit out to sea, and then he takes off to fly a little overhead. His attention is mostly on the gulls, and he directs Asch around them even if it's irritating how much time they have to waste to do it. Thank God that Asch is the bigger shark, though.]

Be careful! They're spitting them!

[If he had more arrows besides one, he thinks he could make quick work of them. Instead, he swoops down on them to see if he can scare them back into the water long enough for the raft to get around and out of range, and then he quickly rejoins them.]

There's a... tower!

[NYOOM

the more comfortable he gets with the pace at which the raft can go without damage and disrupting its riders, the faster he goes. being a shark is weird. weirder than the cat thing? but also considerably stronger and cooler, so, there's that? on the other hand, the only transformations in auldrant that he witnessed was a mean priest into a horrifying disgrace to the natural order thanks to his weird religious zealotry, so if pain was really the only downside to this whole transformation, then it was basically nothing.

he steers them out of the way of the octorock, and towards the tower that Jin Ling is energetically pointing out, in any case. if the octorock doesn't get the hint, he'll just reach out one of his huge meaty shark fists and hit the dumb thing's rock back at it. :/

what is this tower, anyway? he's taking a real good look at it. what are they gonna have to do now...]

[Mammon called him an electric eel, but Zenitsu doesn't actually have much to offer in the middle of the inside ocean. He's a short-ranged fighter with no ability to walk on water. So he does what he does best: cringe at every incoming rock, hide behind his arms, and be generally useless.]

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