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

[kazokun]

It's a better idea if it works, but unless you can procure an axe from somewhere, this is the best we can do.

[ He personally will have a conniption if Ash axes the desk, so they just have to tilt it around and listen for clues. ]

[voidbreaker]

If they didn’t take all our shit I’d be able to take you up on that one.

[ what ]

[kazokun]

Were you just... carrying an axe? Are you a lumberjack?

[ It's one thing to own an axe hanging around in a shed somewhere, but to have one on your while you were kidnapped? Ayabe needs to go back to the profiles list because he somehow missed lumberjack. ]

[voidbreaker]

No, it's a weapon. If I'm out in the field, I'd be carrying it.

[ There's a short, thoughtful pause. ]

Although if it's what's on you at the exact point you got taken, maybe not. [ ... ]

[kazokun]

[ So he's some sort of... hunter. Ayabe's going to need to reread profiles again, maybe jot things down in his notebook to have. ]

If you had that sort of weapon with you, you would have been hard to take. Do you remember what was going on when you were last home? Where you were, and what you had on you?

[voidbreaker]

[ Cheerfully: ]

None of your business.

[kazokun]

[ ...Yeah it's none of his business, but!! ]

I won't pry, but can you at least tell me it doesn't factor into our situation at all?

[ Ash can have his privacy, he doesn't care, as long as it's not important. But when they don't know anything about anything, every little connecting detail seems like it would be important. ]

[voidbreaker]

I wouldn't need a weapon on me to make it damn difficult to take me out, so it's sort of a moot point.

Hope whoever did capture me is nursing a black eye.

[ It's not related. he knows that much. ]

[kazokun]

I wonder if you'd even have the chance. Most likely, it was done from a distance to avoid those black eyes.

[ If he were to give in and use movie references, it'd be something like a tranquilizer dart. Specific enough to get somebody without hitting anybody else along the way, and no need to get up close and personal and duke it out.

It really doesn't matter, and he moves away from the desk. He couldn't hear anything inside it anyways. ]

This isn't working.

[voidbreaker]

Must've been a good sniper to pull of something like that.

[ No elaboration though. After a moment though, he lowers the desk down with a slightly annoyed huff. ]

Wonder if the locks can be picked. Someone here must be able do it.

[kazokun]

Dazai or Beau, probably. Both asked me for hairpins to pick the locks when we first met, but we weren't able to find anything to substitute for the pins.

[ The go-to was knives, but all they had were their giftbag toy knives, and trying to open anything just gets them bombarded with confetti so Ayabe jumped ship quickly. ]

[voidbreaker]

Paperclips? This guy has a whole office, if there are gonna be paperclips anywhere it'd be here.

[ Knives would be good too, but... they don't get any of the fun stuff here, huh? ]

[kazokun]

[ Paperclips would be best, so he nods and looks around the room at wherever office supplies are kept. In storage boxes on the shelves???? Wherever they are, he takes a handful and starts linking them together in a chain. ]

Do you want to pass these along?

[ The other half of the offer is "or should I?" but he doesn't want to so he doesn't say it. ]

[voidbreaker]

To who? You've got the names of people who can pick locks.

[ But he takes some. And pockets one paperclip for himself. ]

[kazokun]

[ Yeah, but Ash is supposed to know who they are--

fine. FINE Ayabe will just have to suck it up and talk to people then, it's fine. ]

I'll let them know. Is there any other place besides this room you know has something to unlock?

[voidbreaker]

You mean other than the main door, the back doors, and all of the windows?

[ ... ]

Nope. Nothin'.

[kazokun]

[ ... ]

Right. I'll get them working on that, then.

[ tfw you're so caught up in trying to find blueprints you forget about escaping the house ]

[voidbreaker]

[ yeah that's what he thought. ]

Shout if your little lock picking buddies crack a lock with those things.

[ ash is gonna go try and pick a lock and try to rip the shutters off the windows. let's see if they can't end the whole game in week zero.

(spoilers: they won't) ]