W̧E̷E̡̕K ͡3̴

[strangerpeople]

W̛E̷͞E̶̵K͏͘͠ 3̸̡

[You got a phone call that morning. It wasn't the realtor for the vineyard, like you had thought. Instead, it was a scientist.

She offered you something you hadn't ever expected: hope.

"I think I've pinpointed where this blight has come from, and how it became so virulent. You were among the first whose crop was infected-I wish to speak to you personally about it."

You meet in a car, and drive to an isolated road. She will not take any chance to speak publicly about it-not yet. She doesn't want to release the information until she is certain. But she felt honor-bound to explain to you, given your own importance in her research. You hadn't known she had sampled your dead and dying grapes, but she did.

"This blight..." She opens a folder, showing you the photos. "Started with a gopher, several years ago. I know, it sounds insane. This disease should only affect certain animal species. But one day, it jumped into vines...the original gopher died a long time ago. But not before it had eaten an entire cluster of grapes in one swallow. It ended up scratching itself on the trellis of the grapevine as it choked to death. Its blood, its body decayed, and helped to water and fertilize that strain of grapes the next year or so, and...well, the seeds from those buds that resulted were sent out to every farm in the area. Then, to every farm in the country, different regions..."

That sounded insane. This woman's theory sounded utterly bonkers. But you can't dismiss it out of hand-you have no better answer.

Before you can say anything more, the woman's phone rings. She answers, and you see her face turn white. You don't have to guess why.

Before, the theoretical gopher had infected the grapes with the blight.

Now, the blight had claimed its first human victim.


-


[The morning hurts. It hurts to know that, even dead, there was that final, terrible moment for the Embarrassing and the Nagging. It must hurt more to know that this will continue, and that there is something out there that is invested in ensuring each and every last one of the Strangers are, if not dead, than broken.

And then, there is IT. IT is the enemy, it seems. But...what is IT? Is IT the one truly responsible? How?

As you try to think on it, you remember your truths, and suddenly, you realize, another has changed:




[That you would. Can you? You know that, whatever your answer, you must find a way to the truth. The alternative is too horrible to even contemplate-if it is even possible to be comprehended. After all-if what you saw is what happens to the dead and condemned, what will become of the living at the hands of the terrible, unknown IT who is your jailer?

Hope that you do not have to find out. Hope there is an answer in the new floor that has opened up in the Building. Otherwise...otherwise you really are doomed.


There are 13 strangers in this place.]

Comments

[katzenpfote]

... What the fuck am I watching?

[incendiarize]

Nonsense. They tried the carrot last week, so now they're trying the stick. But...they're either not really threatening our worlds, or they're not gonna stop - just put a prettier word on it.

[He won't listen to them. He refuses. Charles warned him.]

[poorlovefool]

S-So it's a fake out? Great!!!

[he sounds a little relieved, if manic]

[incendiarize]

Probably? D'you really think they'd keep their promises? We can't listen to anything they tell us about IT.

[unwittingking]

[He’s not sure either, and though King is worried...he brought his Lite Brite again, so...]

KISS MY ASS PENNYWISE

[Why? Because even if this motive is real, he still has these sentiments towards the Hosts. Also, PENNYWISE is the only IT he can think of.]

[incendiarize]

....what's a Pennywise?

[unwittingking]

[Good thing he didn’t throw away his notepad and pen! (Yet, at least.)]

Creature from a book that’s more or less a god that eats fear. It’s usually called It, but It likes to appear as a clown called Pennywise.

Hopefully It is completely fictional.

[For the love of everything, please don’t let It be real...]

[incendiarize]

[The notebook is new. Huh.]

I already killed fear. If that's what we're up against, it'll be a piece of cake.

[unwittingking]

[holy shit dude

He’s kind of...frozen, for a second, before he’s able to write again.]

That sounds extremely impressive and I’d appreciate it if we could talk later.

[About fear killing and other things, since...you know...]

[incendiarize]

I got a statue and everything.

[Good feelings! Except for the part where he couldn't save Emma.]

Sure. We can talk whenever.

[unwittingking]

Correction, incredibly impressive.

Maybe near the houses if you’d prefer? Or in one of them?

[He’s open for the location, just wants to chat with Arthur.]

[incendiarize]

Depends how private you want? No one's got much reason to go to House 2 anymore, I haven't been staying there in a while.

[He had something he wanted to talk to King about anyway.]

[unwittingking]

Maybe a little private? I just want to talk with you here. I’d prefer no interruptions.

[No one to just jump in commenting on how horrible King is or anything.]

[incendiarize]

[Nagging thought that this is a trap be damned, he's aggressively trusting everyone here specifically to spite that.]

Alright, let's go.