WEEK ZERO: MINGLE

[cluedin]

WEEK ZERO

OCCUPANCY: 36

For those of you counting along, you'll find that it's been three days since you've arrived at Master Blue's mansion. On this lovely Monday morning, the weak winter sun shines in through the spotless windows. The curtains in the ballroom have been drawn closed and cannot be moved away from the back wall during the daylight hours. The scent of a hot and delicious breakfast wafts from the direction of the dining hall at 7am, and small creaks and groans in the house urge you to awaken.

Perhaps you're a late riser though. No matter! There's still plenty of food you can make for yourself and ways for you to amuse yourself. Though the decor's been taken down, leftover Valentine's candy remains abundant, and a chilly breeze drifts through the halls. Best of all, all damage inflicted on the house has been repaired. In addition, a new placard has been mounted in the entryway.

As you carry on with your day in the mansion and explore the rooms provided, you may come to find that starting today it will appear as though you've all lost the use of one of your senses. Your vision may have grown dim, or maybe you really can't smell the enticing treats in the dining hall after all. How unfortunate.

Then again, something doesn't seem quite right. Walking through the halls, nothing seems terribly out of place. However, turning the corner or entering a room you will find someone who looks a little too much like yourself behaving in a fairly inappropriate manner. You would never read something so lewd. Who would ever think that you would wear something so pink? These mannerisms may seem innocent to others, but you can't help but disapprove.

Too bad no one else can see them.

Come Monday at noon, you will also find a new surprise. The wooden box with your name on it can now be opened, and a rustling crackle of static can be heard from overhead. Try as you might, you won't be able to find the speakers but this message will play loud and clear for all.

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Comments

stairs, monday

[kazokun]

[ It's a new week and everybody is suddenly drunk.

At least Ayabe appreciates people having no indoor voice now that he's hard of hearing, standing at the bottom of the steps and staring up at Jin Ling. ]

What? No, I'm not going away. I need to get upstairs.

[goldpeony]

No, I'm coming down!

[Without stopping, Jin Ling barrels down the stairs and right into Ayabe, unable to make much out of where the wall and stairs end and where Ayabe begins.

For a moment, he latches to Ayabe's shoulders, jerking his head around to look back up the stairs, eyes squinted heavily. Nothing there...?! But he just saw...!]

You think I'd fall for that prank?! You were just on the stairs!

[kazokun]

What? Are you blind?

[ Granted, he was on the first step on his way up, but had stepped back down onto the ground level once he realizes Jin Ling isn't going to stop until he's bodily throw Ayabe halfway across the hall away from the stairs for whatever inane reason he needs Ayabe to be away from them. ]

What prank? Let go of me!

[goldpeony]

What are you, deaf?! Stop yelling so loud!

[They're both yelling. It's fine.

Quickly, he lets Ayabe go and stumbles back a step or two.] The prank of you standing on the stairs and pretending like you were going up! I saw you! [Both hands come up, and he rubs the heels of them over his eye sockets.]

[kazokun]

Are you stupid? I said, I was trying to go up, but then you started yelling so I couldn't!

[ And now they're here! yelling!

This isn't even a prank, this is a normal person just trying to get up the stairs. ]

Why are you so worked up about that? People can up upstairs as they please.

[goldpeony]

Because I--!

[He glares! Except, like, his eyes don't seem to be glaring at anything in particular in the way people do when they see, when they focus on someone's eyes or face.] I saw something on the stairs... [It sounds accusing, but also kind of worriedly confused now.]

Don't play stupid...

[kazokun]

Something... There was nobody else here besides me and you. Come down, we'll go to the kitchen and get you a glass of water. Your eyes play tricks on you when you're tired.

[ Take a nap, Jin Ling. ]

[goldpeony]

I'm not tired!

[He's sort of tired. He slept in a leather chair.] This place... Something is going on! [Again, he angrily scrubs his eyes with his hands.]

When I find out who cursed me...!

[kazokun]

[ I can't believe he lost the battle for his room ]

Right, right, we'll find them. But after you get something warm to drink and a nap.

[goldpeony]

[look, sometimes there are adults who scare you with stuff]

I don't need a nap. [For a moment, he looks wildly around, eyes squinted, and then he focuses on... like the blob that is Ayabe.] I need my eyesight back!

Where did those girls from the other day go?! I bet they had something to do with this...

[kazokun]

Are you having trouble seeing? Eyesight's not really something people can take away...

[ With all the yelling and fretting Jin Ling does, it's probably like high blood pressure causing blurry vision, another good reason to take naps. ]

How bad is it? How many fingers am I holding up?

[ He holds three up in front of his face. ]

[goldpeony]

I said I couldn't see, you idiot! How am I going to know?!

[He takes a swat at Ayabe's hand, but misses completely because there is really no depth perception with wholesome blobs of color and stuff.]

I woke up like this! Sect Leader Nie can't see either! Something's happened!

[kazokun]

You said you say somebody, so you can see something.

[ Jin Ling can be huffy all he wants, Ayabe's going to place a hand on his back and steer him towards the kitchen. ]

Luna is a doctor. We'll go find her and she can give you a checkup and determine what's wrong.

[ Luna is..... in the kitchen, probably! Just like Fairy and whoever needs to conveniently be in the kitchen, let's go to the kitchen. ]

[goldpeony]

I can barely see anything! [He can't liquify like a cat when he can't see, so unfortunately, it's easy for Ayabe to wrangle him in the direction of the kitchen... even if he kind of shuffles his feet stubbornly at first.] No! I don't want a physician.

Don't you need the physician? Everyone was yelling about you yesterday.

[Not the kitchen, nooooo. Why is it always the kitchen?!]

[kazokun]

[ The kitchen is versatile. There's food and water- Ayabe pours half a glass of cold water for Jin Ling and there's probably carrots in the fridge for him to gnaw on to help fix his eyes. ]

She already saw me yesterday, I'm fine now. Why don't you want a physician? Are you scared of needles? She doesn't have any.

[ Ayabe does. Not the same kind, but still good for stabbing although he promised he wouldn't stab with them. ]

[goldpeony]

[He maybe sort of takes a sip of the water, but that's IT. He'll kick Ayabe's ass.]

I'm not afraid of acupuncture! [That's what he meant, right.] I don't trust her. I don't trust anyone, not even you. I don't know any of you here except for Sect Leader Nie! I don't want her to touch me.

[kazokun]

[ He sure can try to kick Ayabe's ass, nobody here is stopping him. ]

Would you let Sect Leader Nie stab you with a needle?

[ How much trust is there. ]

[goldpeony]

[His face drops immediately.]

No, Sect Leader Nie can't do anything except wave a fan around. But that isn't the point!

[kazokun]

[ Be kind to Sect Leader Nie!! Though Ayabe has yet to be proven otherwise. ]

If you need help, who would you turn to? You don't need to trust anybody. Just go to the person you distrust the least.

[ Low bars, Jin Ling. No need for friendship or anything like that, just stick with whoever pisses you off the least. Go to the dog. ]

[goldpeony]

[yeah, see]

That's—it’s just stupid. [He will go to the dog because his uncle isn’t here. 😔] I’m not going to need help anyway.

[A right ol’ do it on my own boy.]

[kazokun]

[ Sect Leader can wave his hands around uselessly. It's something. ]

Don't be so stubborn. You can't see properly, right? What would you do if you got lost, or something dangerous is happening and you won't let anybody guide you?

[ What if— and I was tempted to write this as a tag, because any other one of my characters would do this but not Ayabe— somebody took Jin Ling by the shoulders and spun him around and now he's disoriented and can't get anywhere he needs to go without reaching his arms out to feel for the wall like a zombie. He's going to bang his shins into so many corners. ]

[goldpeony]

[WOW thank god for small blessings like card not playing a being made of chaos.]

I don't... [He grinds his teeth a bit.] I won't get lost. I can still fight even if I can't see well. [Maybe.] Don't underestimate me!

I can figure out what to do then on my own. This can't be permanent! I have to find out how to... break the curse, or take something that will cure it.

[kazokun]

[ Every day I have to be write somebody being good and kind, I suffer. ]

Nobody is expecting you to fight. But you seem like the sort of person who's experienced with curses. [ He would curse Jin Ling all the time if he were living in that world? Any other character would be "YEAH" ]

Do you know what would normally cure it? Purifying water or salt or rice?

[ All kitchen ingredients, more of a reason to be in here, drink some water and have a snack. ]

[goldpeony]

[It's because Ayabe is a GusuLan who would put the silencing curse on Jin Ling every time it wears off.]

I--be quiet! Just give me time to think about it!

[Not being able to see strangely makes it more difficult to chill out enough to consider all of his rolodex of information.]

If it's not poisoned, we don't need rice to soak up the toxins. An elixir might work, but... I would need the ingredients. I... a seal might work, but I would need to be able to see to get the brush strokes correct! Ugh!

[kazokun]

[ If Ayabe could use a silencing curse, he would curse every single person in this place. ]

Is a seal something I could write?

[ Or does it have to be in ancient Chinese and not modern Japanese with a fountain pen in a paw print notebook ]