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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[Nic only has to spare a single glance over at Dazai and Ayabe. Sure, the thought occurs to him. But he doesn't believe Ayabe would let Dazai pick betray. And he certainly doesn't want to doom them. You could say he trusts them to stay silent. If you want.

To be honest, he's mostly just ignoring these weird telepathic whispers of temptation. Nic is the type to act first and ruminate on it later. So he just looks at Chuuya and again, jerks his head up. Let's go, bitch.]

Still owes me a fight.
[Chuuya will regret saying that.]

[Chuuya will not regret saying that, he regrets nothing.

But he nods to Nic, and he goes right for the climbing. No betray here, he'd never dream of betraying either of those two.]

[The walls immediately shatter and those hands have an advantage. The barrier between Chuuya and Nic versus Dazai and Ayabe grows opaque, each team on their own again. They'll have to book it fast because the claws of each creature swipes to strike, slashing across whoever is closest to the edge.

The ledge is easy to climb up though. They'll just have to continue, and fight off some sheep in their way that are more aggressively pushing them into the path of the monsters following them.]

[ Time to SWITCH!

He's jerking Ayabe inside as he leaps over the handy claw. Pulling his own arm out of his grip, then pulling out a keyblade. ]

Keep climbing, sweetheart.

[ He'll cover for him to let him go up before following after. He can cover for him the next level of blocks they can climb. ]

[ Would Chuuya be mad if he """accidentally""" lets Dazai fall to his death here

But fine, alright, up he goes. Dazai will have to keep the giant hand away as best he can, while Ayabe starts up first and tries to bulldoze his way up, clearing what sheep's in the way while he ascends. He will use his binding rod to just whack them out of the way, begone, demons. ]

[Yeah, he's making sure Chuuya's getting up there first. He'll take a swing at the wolf monster with his sword if he has to, but he's not wasting any time clambering up after him.

Like, he's feral and ready for a fight, but even he knows he can't fight that thing. Not on this terrain anyway. Hopefully he's fast enough to get away from the thing after Chuuya, but you know, that arms still acting up a bit.]

[Chuuya might be going first, but he's also going to make it an easier climb for Nic too. Namely by yeeting the sheep off the tower and clearing a path for Nic to climb up. If Nic's distracting the hand, then he can at least get a quick path up when he decides to finally start climbing.

He's not taking out all the sheep, though. Just the ones in the way. Stay out of the way and he won't end them.]

[Seeing how both Dazai and Nic are actively attacking these creatures, sharp claws scratch over both of them, their arms taking the brunt of the damage. Sheep are falling out of the way as Ayabe and Chuuya yeet them out of the way, except...hm? For every sheep that's being thrown from Ayabe and Dazai's tower, one appears in Chuuya and Nic's way and vice versa. The wall between them shimmers to give them a quick glance, and their necklaces have faded back to their original blue color.

Boxes shatter under their feet, ice causes them to slip and slide, and as they climb the boxes themselves seem to rotate. If they aren't watching, they'll trip off of the edge. There are moments they will have to backtrack to find a new path and the gaps are far more significant now. It's building time, y'all. How quickly can you find a solution?]

[ Time to pretend like hes not scratched up and bleeding then. It's actually a good distraction from any of the other feelings he's having.

He notices the wall between them is giving sneak peeks, but he can't afford to look this time. When a box shatters, he's leaping across, making sure Ayabe is either ahead or keeping up with him. ]

[ Sorry about the extra sheep, Chuuya, Nic, but you two can handle that sort of thing better than Ayabe can. So while he doesn't go out of his way to yeet every single sheep he comes across, he also does not spare any he thinks will cause trouble. ]

Hey!

[ Is he yelling at the sheep? Yes. ]

Stop getting in the way or you'll fall! [ fall, be whacked by his rod, the warning and the threat are the same thing ] Can't you help us out? We can stop that thing!

[ He points to the skeleton creature? How big is this thing and can't they just get rid of it first, this seems to be more danger to him than a collapsing tower, because it would only expedite that collapse. ]

[THIS IS FINE!! This is good and normal and if anything the injury seems to motivate Nic to move faster. To reach the top where he can fight this thing on even footing. He’ll just bleed a little on everything in the interim. He glances at the walk when it goes transparent again, just to see how far up the other two are. With the boxes getting more precarious, he can’t afford to focus on anything but climbing.

Lucky he can leave a lot of the puzzle solving to Chuuya up in front... And you know, if he keeps just icong the sheep with his sword instead of kicking them off, that sorta solves a problem doesn’t it?]

[Hm. He doesn't like those sneak peeks. Stop getting hurt, Dazai.

Actually, he's going to grab the necklace to yell at it.]

Oi! Stop getting hurt, Dazai!

[But yes, he can solve the puzzles! The ice they'll have to be careful of, but Chuuya is changing his sheep-tactic to shove the sheep into the gaps they need to cross in the puzzle. Look, now they can walk across the gaps on the backs of the sheep, and they aren't causing more problems for Dazai and Ayabe! Backtracking is still a pain, but it's easier to do without the gaps.]

[That. That sure does work. Chuuya and Nic are able to move a little more quickly now that this is their solution. The sheep will fall once they've been stepped on but it's helpful enough. On occasion, the robot arm malfunctions with a swing but it's strong and good for punching, at least.

On the other side of things, the sheep look at Ayabe and shake their head.]

"There's no stopping once it comes for you!" [The sheep are selfish and will even try to step on Ayabe's hands as he climbs. Dazai seems to be having luck finding a path at least. The hands are...sizeable. Big enough to wrap around the width of the building if it wants, with a face even bigger than that. This is not great.

The platform lies ahead, another twenty or so stories up. More boxes become weaker and weaker, solid stone replaced for flimsy wood and ice. A hand smashes into the side of each tower, knocking them all off-course. But the end is in sight even as the guilt is now paired with an underlying sense of hopelessness and despair.]

[ There's a loud sigh as he looks back at Ayabe. ]

Don't waste time talking to them-

[ Then he hears Chuuya yelling at him though the necklace. There's a pause, before that devilish grin appears on his face. Focusing on sending a response as he continues to keep going. ]

Are you disappointed that it's not you, Chibi? There's quite a bit of cuts on my arm. I wonder if I'll be able to make it up.

[ The last two are loud enough for Ayabe as a way to nudge his ass move faster.

The tower gets rocked, and he stumbles forward, but keeps himself from teetering on the ledge. When he spots a sheep trying to stomp on Ayabe, he knocks it off the edge. Are we wooly going there, sheeps?

Once they get to the flimsy wood, he's going to grab Ayabe's arm. ]

Let's run. Now!

[ Time to run. He knows hopelessness and despair since that was his every day until ~~he met Chuuya~~ his first job for the mafia. ]

[ Fuck these sheep. No sheep get shown mercy anymore, they all get tossed overboard to rain down on the other side, maybe they can use them to fill the gaps.

Unfortunately for him, hopelessness and despair are things that can get to him- he's somebody who runs away from his problems, who gives up easily, who is faithless. It's very easy to just stop here— but then Dazai takes his arm and he's bleeding everywhere and the despair is edged out by the need to be fussy over this fool who got hurt because he's got to cover for Ayabe too. ]

No need to tell me twice.

[ He is great at running away from his problems. If they book it fast enough, maybe it'll be like those videogames where the pathway crumples behind you but it's okay! because it's behind you! just don't look back! ]

[Listen, robot arm. You’re Nic’s right arm now and he’s left handed. You may still have a backwards left hand but he doesn’t NEED you to waste sheep!! He can do it just fine with the sword in his meat hand if you’re gonna be difficult!!

Anyway. Nic feels that new wave of emotions. Almost dizzying, it slows him down for maybe two seconds but again, he’s USED to this. Did you even READ his plaque, house? Hopelessness is his day to day. Being here has almost been nice for how he’s been treated. For people saying it doesn’t have to be that way. But either he’s going to die here, or they win and he goes home and dies there, soon enough. So what? He’s accepted that a long time ago.

He’ll continue to nudge Chuuya along if the bad feels slow him down. Pushing him out of the way if any blocks break. His priorities are Chuuya first, then himself. Then fighting sheep in a close third.]

[The path definitely crumbles as they run, but it's okay, it's behind them! Guilt, despair, hopelessness and even a tinge of desire and anger starts to filter in as they scale the rest of the tower toward the second and last platform. The sheep are aggressive now, purposefully running to ram into them and knock them onto the ice or through gaps, but their teamwork seems to be getting through to them.

As they reach the top of the platform, they'll find there are a few sheep waiting for them, along with a large table of items out in the open that will be very, very hard for them to resist. There are stairs leading up to a large church bell in the center of each tower...and as they rest the towers shake, the wall between their realities crumbling as the two platforms soon become one. All four are together now....

...so what will they do first? The stairway is just a little out of reach, and the tables are before the stairs. Why is this platform so stable and quiet? Hm.]

[ He's just going to step on the sheep as they to shove them at the ice. Eat floor, you little sheeps.

Finally they are at the platform, his attention moves past the table and towards the other two soon joining them. ]

This is the perfect set-up for a trap. We should ignore them.

[ He starts to head towards the stairs, but he can't help but look over at the tables as he moves past them. What do they have there anyways? ]

[ "We should ignore them" but Ayabe peers over at what's on the table anyways. Fujishima-san? Or maybe Shinomiya-san? There's very few items that would be very very hard for him to resist without some magical compulsion playing tricks on them again. ]

I'd ask if you guys are okay, but it looks like you're faring better than Dazai, here...

[ Mister Bleeding Out Everywhere. Rewrap your bandages and put them to use.

Anyways, Ayabe peels away from the group to approach the sheep, because he hasn't learned his lesson about futile interrogation. Maybe he's just itching to punch something, idk, that tinge of anger's got to go somewhere. ]

Hey! I want to talk to you.

[Nic is bleeding too, but luckily he is 1) Used to it and 2) Only bleeding from one arm since y’know, metal robot arm. And he’s gonna follow after Ayabe mostly to stand behind him threateningly to maybe encourage the sheep to humor the kid. He’s trying to avoid looking at the table because he agrees with Dazai, but it was hard not to glance at it when they first climbed up here.]

[The items on the table are absolutely items that are hard to resist for all of them. The things they would have claimed from those blocks are now free from stone, laying out on the table just for them to take. In addition, there are a few other gifts that would appeal to each of them.

As for the sheep, Ayabe approaches and the sheep looks thoroughly exhausted.]

"What do you want, kid?"

[It's very faint, too, but they will feel tremors in the ground as if the building is still shifting...]

[ The subtle shifting under their feet isn't a good sign. They are almost there...

Seeing the gun and then the cleaning cloth that Ayabe has named also doesn't bode well. Add on that both him and Ayabe are still ghosts, which means Chuuya and Nic can't actually grab them. Sighing loudly again, and letting the anger fuel him as he moves to hook his bleeding arm around Ayabe. There's even blood on his side that the other might be able to feel. ]

You're the only one that can help me up, Onii-chan. We can ask for it back after we're done with this game.

[ The sheep are assholes anyways. ]

[ He opens his mouth to say something to the sheep, but then Dazai is there. It's unfair, the way the dead can still bleed hot blood that makes Ayabe freeze, and then the "Onii-chan" that he can't tell whether he's being teased or if Dazai is being serious. Either way, it doesn't matter, because while the house knows exactly how to sway him, Dazai does too- indisputable truths like the fact that he's the only one who can help Dazai, and vice versa. ]

...I'm not going to ask for it back, [ he says, quietly under his breath, looking over his shoulder at Nic and then at Chuuya. It'll be fine, he tells himself. Just get to the staircase and it'll be done. ] After we're done with all this bullshit, I'm taking back what's mine.

[ Stop holding his things hostage to get him to be smart in trials or play stupid games like this, house!! ]

[That's the spirit, Ayabe.

It's actually a good thing Dazai spoke up, because Chuuya was totally about to grab something off the table. But he stops and peers over at Dazai and the sheep he's talking to. ]

You guys were waiting, right? Is this some kinda 'team up and escape thing?

[That's said to the sheep. ]

[Yeah. The table is a distraction at best, as much as Nic would really like to shore up on Celebre before whatever terrible thing awaits them. Speaking of distraction, though, he really doesn't think much of the sheep. They strike him as just another obstacle, so he's really unsure what Chuuya is trying to say!!]

They've been getting in our way this entire time, why do you think they'd change their tune now?

WEEK SIX: MINGLE

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i hope this works

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