15strangers | (no subject)

W̡͜E̶EK ̵̕2̕͠

[The blight would not stop.

The world's leading experts have been trying to find a cure, to no avail. Th blight keeps changing, keeps foiling all attempts at being fully understood. It's almost sentient, or at least more sentient than any disease that's been encountered before. People fear the disease jumping from what's left of the grapes into other plants, into animals, or even humans.

You can only watch as entire economies and ecosystems collapse. You can only bury your head in your hands as your own business comes to its end. The destruction of the clusters of grapes has not simply destroyed the wine industry, either-other businesses are being destroyed by the plague. Food, transport, retail, nothing is untouched.

You look on your own vineyard, its yield almost entirely blackened and dead.

This can't keep going on.

-

A week has passed since everyone's arrival. No one has died, yet. But surely no one is holding their breath to see if they would survive this unscathed. They are veterans of the game, and they must know that whoever it is that is in charge demands their pound of flesh. The question is when it will happen.

It is the second week, after all-and when the second week of the game comes, death is not far behind. Not even when you wake up, feeling something different in your mind as you remember the truths you originally woke up with, deep in your mind. You feel...lighter, somehow, when you realize there is a change.

Even so, there are 15 strangers left in this place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It is on her bed, sleeping peacefully.]

[...

Okay even if it is some kind of soul-ruining monster it looks very cute right now and Lala cannot bring herself to wake it up.

Maybe she'll just. Wait a while?]

[Eventually, the creature wakes up.]

kyuu?

Good morning-lun.

[She gives it a gentle pet.]

If you could talk, would you tell me-lun?

[...of course, if the answer is "no," this won't have any useful effect, but it's worth a try, right?]

[The creature responds by trying to chase its own tail.]

Kyuuuukyuu...

[Hmm.]

I guess that was a silly question-lun.

[And an equally silly "answer" which she watches.]

That's going to make it hard to find out what you were doing in that other house-lun.

[It stops chasing its tail, and tries to rub against Lala's hand.

Pets?]

[Pets!]

I feel ridiculous-lun.

[Maybe... maybe the Kyuubey the others were talking about is just imitating these?]

Kyuu~

[That's right, Lala. This Kyuubey is a good Kyuubey. It would never ever hurt you. It is your friend. It would never steer you wrong.

~~Instead, it will wait for the right moment. Maybe. Who knows?~~]

Edited 2020-02-03 03:39 (UTC)

[Well, either way, she feels a little better now.

Would it like a Cosmo Gummy? It... might taste a little bit like sand. Or exactly like sand.]

[yesplz it hungreeee]

[............huh.]

Did that taste good to you-lun?