WEEK 4

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 4

[To say that the mood of the remaining Strangers is...low...is an understatement. The revelations about Eric, and the death of the innocent Zelda, no doubt weighs on everyone's minds, now. It's a terrible blow, and deep down, those who are left probably know it.

That won't be the only thing come morning, however. When everyone wakes up, they will find that their memories have changed once more, as have the rules. More than that, a new floor has opened up-and something is wrong.

Of course something is wrong. Everything is wrong. Everything and everyone is wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. What can you do? Is there anything that can be done? And-will vengeance be taken for Zelda? Eric is now a free kill, after all. Then again, what's to stop Eric from killing again? He's no longer bound to the rules of the murder, after all...

Is there any hope left? Or is it only a matter of time before everyone well and truly snaps?


There are ten strangers left in this place.]

Comments

CURRENT NIGHTMARE LEVELS

[strangerpeople]

[As of Sunday, the following characters have the following levels of Nightmares:


Level 1
Bangladesh
Ambrosine

Level 2
Krone

Level 3
Emma
Osomatsu
Thanatos

Level 4
Arthur

Level 6
Harriet

Level 7
Eric
Jun]

SUNDAY

[strangerpeople]

INVESTIGATION/ENCOUNTER THREAD

[strangerpeople]

???

[strangerpeople]

[There is a strange skittering noise around the bedrooms.]

[notadinosnack]

[So later in the day after Thanatos' dignity has recovered a tiny bit and he's feeling a bit more like himself after eating some more of that fruit he got he wants to go ahead and check something out. Namely the tunnel in the music room.

First, he wants to see if anything has changed since the murder. Then he does recall that he was stopped from going up further and wants to see if that also has changed. They got a new floor opened up last week, wouldn't it be the same this week?

Before coming in though, he's going to make himself a torch to carry in there and leave a bucket of water to douse it in later. He definitely prefers the good old fashioned way of lighting a dark tunnel over his power.]

[incendiarize]

[He isn't good for much around here, it seems, but Arthur has one thing he can do. Something he should have done, should have thought of before.

So he goes to sit in the bouncy castle, closes his eyes, and focuses. His power. Past or future, he doesn't care, he's looking for the stewards. He'll focus on the younger one first.]

[yonosoymaria]

["Seeking your death? You aren't allowed that freedom."

Alucard had been absent, last night. Eric had begun to hope he'd stay away. Unfortunately, he's surprised by that familiar voice just outside the laboratory. He freezes.]

If you want to be useful, just take the spear and the whip and go, old man.

[He is not carrying either of those right now, and steps into the lab as would a sullen teenager escaping his disappointed parents.

That it's a brilliant yet hideously twisted mind's workspace is obvious enough - but what the hell is that skeleton?!]

[relieable]

[so, Osomatsu does go up to look at the new floor, and finds that the stairways are blocked off. ...yeah, he's in no mood to deal with whatever this is today, so he just goes back down the stairs.

for the rest of the morning, he's in the garden, wondering if people are going to get together and discuss what happened. he's tired, and hungry, and he doesn't know what to do with himself. all he can think of is that note Franciscus left, that Eric had. but the more he thinks about Franciscus, the worse he feels. he thought he'd be used to this game by now. but... no one ever could get used to it, right? certainly not him.

he spends the rest of the day looking for Hydrangea, and then he goes to the tavern to drink a bit. he wants to get drunk, but he doesn't think that's a good idea, with the way these nightmares are happening more frequently, so he just drinks one beer slowly. out of the corner of his eye, he thinks he can see Franciscus enjoying wine, but when he looks in that direction, he sees nothing. he's so alone.

ugh]

[icanhearscreams]

[Jun... is not in a good state. However, he seems to have at least gotten a change of clothes - the outer layer, at least. The uniform is in his room, but his stomach no longer is exposed through tatters in his clothes. So that's good, one supposes.]

[After seeing what happened to Bang, he wanders towards the tavern and stares into it for a long few minutes. It's not tempting. It shouldn't tempt him. Really, he wants to destroy this whole place. It's not what he wants... but it is. This isn't his world.]

[He turns away from it after a while, poking his head into the library and looking through books. Not really absorbing it... but looking through it. It's interesting, but a lot of old sorts of writing... there's some kanji there he can't figure out and has no reference books for.]

[Finally he heads to the arena, where he deposits a bowl of butter, a lime green hoodie, and two candles from his 'winnings' in the catsle entrance and moves away from it so he can start practicing stabbing a dummy with a very sharp knife. ... It's clear he's not very good at it.]

MONDAY

[strangerpeople]

INVESTIGATION/ENCOUNTER THREAD

[strangerpeople]

[yonosoymaria]

[Eric can be heard, if not immediately seen, just outside the Armory. He's arguing with someone who isn't here, seemingly about the Spear leaning against the wall just to one side of the open door.

Of course, as far as he's concerned, there is someone standing just inside the door, staring coldly at him. "The only 'factor to consider' is that you are no longer worthy to wield it."]

You think I don't know that, by now? If I lose it in here, then the whip is -

["Graves the elder and the younger managed without it. Before them, just after Richter, there was - "]

Shut up, damn it, you can't be serious in telling me this is a good idea!

SOMEONE'S CRANKY

[15unknowns]

[Hey strangers! ....There's yelling coming from the cobwebs. The younger steward is raising his voice from every spiderweb in the mansion, and boy, is he pissed. There's a growl in his voice almost like an engine as he snarls each furious word.]

WHICH ONE OF YOU ASSHOLES DID IT!? Taking shit from Big Sis's room... Bastard! Shithead! Dirty thief! Who said you could go in there and break shit, huh? You got a lot of nerve even touching anything that belongs to her, let alone thinking I won't notice if you mess with her.

So give it back or I'll fucking kill whoever I found out did it. And none of you are getting in her room again!

[From now on, the big golem is on patrol with its saw in its hand, and it will scare away anyone who gets near the bedroom. Unless, of course, they're carrying a certain fan.]

[joinhands]

[Early and not-so-bright in the morning finds Krone in the garden raising her eyes to the garden and calling out to...]

Come forth, Claire!

[Some... thing. Krone hugs it about the—neck? Forehead? It chitters and hurgles at her. They make not-eye contact as she withdraws yet continues to pat the peak of its crescent.]

You've been so, so good and patient! Yes you have!

[Krone goes on to walk the thing all about the mansion, including the workshop where they are looking for potential accessories and toys. "Claire" is only interested by the moment these metallic items are lifted up to glint in some light and otherwise gets bored very quickly.]

TUESDAY

[strangerpeople]

MOTIVE: To Bingen Again

[strangerpeople]

[There is no meeting. No gathering. At about noon, everyone-except, ironically, Eric-suddenly finds themselves plunged back into time within their minds.

It's more than possible to think that what is happening around them is real. After all, it's happened before-what everyone is experiencing is an event from the past that they most regret. Small, big, important, pointless, it doesn't matter. Everyone is forced to relive it, until, without warning, they find themselves back in the Mansion, almost dropped on the floor by the vividness of the vision they had received.

After a few moment, the chuckle of the Elder Steward-and the outright laughter of the Younger Steward-echoes through the webs of the mansion.]

Ah, you all look so flustered-as if you have seen a ghost, hmm?

Damn straight!

As we mentioned before, we know a great deal about you. Your thoughts, your dreams. your regrets. Your many tragedies.

Hahah! You guys sure messed up a lot of lives, didn't ya!?

But we have a solution for you. We can change the past. We can erase your greatest moment of tragedy from existence. It will be like it never happened. This is no simple gift for us to grant!

So you can probably guess what the price is, huh? HA!

Hmmhmmhmm.

Kill someone by the end of the week and get away with it, and the power to change one event from your past is yours.

If you don't take us up on it--TOUGH TITS!! You'll just have to deal with your shitty life on your own!!

The choice is, as always, yours.

Later, losers!

[The chuckling and laughing continued for a moment more, before the webs finally stop emitting the sounds of the Stewards' cruel guffawing.]

[icanhearscreams]

[After all that... mess... Jun decides to try to go about his day. He starts the day off in the library, poking over books and glancing at the magic scrolls a bit reluctantly. It's still bullshit, but...]

[After he's read a little bit, Jun heads over to the servant's quarters and grabs a boom. It's been a bit since he's done a good sweep, and people will find him spending a lot of the rest of the day sweeping through some of the rooms and hallways, just to make sure things are relatively clean. He needs to focus on something else other than what was just presented to them...]

MMMMM MEETING?

[necroyalty]

[ After collecting herself from that nonsense, she goes around the mansion, whispering to anyone who'll listen that she'll be in the tavern for anyone who needs to talk. The people who are inclined to follow her will find her there, drinking some mead with Zelda's egg safely tucked away in a jar. She also has the book from the other day with her. She also has a small assortment of other eggs in a bowl with her, likely taken from the trials. ]

...have a drink.

[ You're really going to need one. Note that she doesn't offer the eggs. ]

What I want to know is whether anyone else has had quite enough of our captors pushing us into corners like this. I have my share of secrets, and though you may ask me what you wish, I don't expect the same of you.

But we must consider ways to prevent more of our number from falling into despair.

WEDNESDAY

[strangerpeople]

INVESTIGATION/ENCOUNTER THREAD

[strangerpeople]

MINI-GAME: PLACE YOUR WEAPONS

[strangerpeople]

THURSDAY

[strangerpeople]

INVESTIGATION/ENCOUNTER THREAD

[strangerpeople]

[notadinosnack]

[Thanatos is out and about doing a few things today. At one point he can be seen returning the whip he took last week to the armory since he got his own back. While the sparkles are a bit over the top to him, his own weapon is far superior to the one he borrowed. He'll also put the sword he found in there so its owner can find it.

At another point he's in the garden trying one of those cigarettes he got. He's familiar with tobacco and its effects, but not modern cigarettes. That much is obvious with the fact that he's trying to light the wrong end.

Later on he can be found in the music room attempting to repair the harp. He doesn't seem to be doing so well at it. After some time he'll give up and leave the strings in the room in case someone else wants to give it a try.]

[icanhearscreams]

[Jun is in the garden in his uniform, planting some... strange looking seeds. Or trying to, at least. The seeds look like... meatballs? He's not sure what to do with them, but they don't seem edible as is, so planting is being attempted.]

[He's then in the arena after a while, attempting to stab more dummies. He's a little dirty, but less than you'd think, since he changed to his regular clothes after gardening. The poor dummy also looks like it's been kicked a few times, and there's some rips in the fabric that look like knife marks.]

[Finally he settles down in the parlor, just sort of staring into space as if he's listening to someone else talk. Maybe he is.]