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

[stormsoff]

.... you're pretty clearly getting there, dude. Something's wrong. With both of us. Rrrgh, what's with this place...?!

[kazokun]

It's not this place, it's the people. I bumped my head yesterday, and you might not have realized the same happened to you, if you were fighting.

[ If he won't say who hit him on the head!! But if he thinks about it logically— and he can only think about it logically, with no magic or whatever the hell to draw upon- the most likely thing to mess with one's senses is their own head. ]

[stormsoff]

I mean--I was walking just fine after the ... like, my sense of balance wasn't off or anything. And I was fine all day yesterday. It's just this morning I started having trouble!

[ at the same time... it's ... possible, right? maybe it is just in their heads. still, this feels too weird... ]

[kazokun]

[ Can brain damage come several days after the fact... He thinks so, maybe. Like maybe it sort of bumped around in Isaac's skull while he's walking around and got a little worse over time.

And then the same sort of happened to other people too. ]

I still think you should talk to Luna when you can. As a check up. You don't just go to the doctor's once and call it good.

[stormsoff]

... I talked to her on Saturday, but ... if you really think it's that important, I'll go see her again. ... that said, shouldn't you do the same thing?

[kazokun]

Yeah, I'll talk with her when I see her again. She was insistent on doing her job when we first met, too. We're lucky to have her.

[ He brushed her off when they first met... But if it it's something like this, it doesn't make sense not to see somebody who can help, when there's something wrong. ]

[stormsoff]

[ that line -- "we're lucky to have her" -- seems to sober him, and he'll nod slowly. ]

She's ... really kind. I wish there was something I could ... do for her, you know?

[kazokun]

For somebody who goes out of the way to help people, the best thing you can do is to make sure you stay safe, right? Do your best not to add to her stress and worry.

[ No fights. No dying. He knows Luna would appreciate that. ]

[stormsoff]

[ WAY TO MAKE HIM FEEL EVEN WORSE ABOUT LUNA THAN HE ALREADY DID DUDE

anyway yeah he feels like an asshole and it's pretty clear on his face. ]

... y-yeah. You're right. I guess I'll ... focus on that.

[kazokun]

[ Sometimes you gotta guilt people into being better. It's advice Ayabe has to take too, in any case, to figure something out about the panic attacks so he's not collapsing every time somebody destroys a room in this place— because that's not something he's going to be able to fix. ]

In the meantime, you'd better find something to steady yourself with. What do you think will help? A walker?

[stormsoff]

Ugh, that's humiliating... but, I mean, yeah, I'd take it, if there were something like that. But there's not really anything like that readily available.

[kazokun]

[ Something like a chair...? All the chairs in this place are probably large and heavy, though, not great for sliding around. ]

Maybe a pool cue would help? Anything is better than not being able to get around at all, right?

[stormsoff]

A pool cue...? [ he blinks, and then snaps his fingers ] The billiard room! That's actually a pretty good idea. And you're right, so... it's worth a shot!

[kazokun]

[ It's long and sturdy and should work, unless he manages to fall despite it. And if somebody laughs at him, he'll have something to whack them in the shin. ]

Then let's give it a shot. I want to grab some chalk, so I'll walk you there.

[stormsoff]

Sounds good to me. What's your name, anyway?

[kazokun]

Ayabe. And you're...

[ He gets his notebook out and flips through it- Isaac can see that he's written down people's profiles and just the basic/what he thinks is relevant information like age, occupation, and skills. Between foreign names and ages, Isaac's at least easy to pin down. ]

Isaac, right? I'm still trying to place names and faces.

[ Ideally he can learn who's who without actually going up to them and having to talk, so it's a matter of staring at people's profiles and trying to be familiar with faces he doesn't talk to as much. ]

[stormsoff]

That's me! Hey, that's pretty smart, taking notes. Nice meeting you, Ayabe.

... out of curiosity, why do you need chalk, anyway?

[kazokun]

[ He nods at the greeting but also thinks it's more because he's not smart, that he needs to take notes rather than just hearing somebody's introduction once and knowing them, when he isn't the sort of person who would pay attention from the start. ]

It's close enough to normal chalk and can be used to make things smoother, for sewing, and for cleaning.

[ It's all purpose chalk! Mostly just to have on hand, and since it's right there in the pool room he can grab one instead of asking one of the staff for specifically chalk. ]

[stormsoff]

[ one man's insecure note taking is another man's smart thinking alright dude

somewhat skeptically, somewhat curiously ] Cleaning?

[kazokun]

It can be used to get oil stains out of fabric. Sometimes I cook if there are people missing meals, so even with an apron, oil splatter is inevitable.

[ And there are probably no aprons, so it's even more inevitable. He will hand wash his own laundry instead of letting it pile up until the end of the week for Plum to take care of, and maybe he's the only person in this place that would. ]