WEE͠K ̸́4͝

[strangerpeople]

W҉͘E͜͠͝E̕K̡̛͡ ̡͟4̸

[The blight is all-consuming.

Within days dozens are confirmed infected, and you and your unexpected new scientist friend find yourselves trying to work on a cure. If not a cure, a stopgap of some kind. Anything to prevent this thing from destroying everything. It's hard work. It's not going very well. Really, it feels like with every step forward, you're taking ten steps back. Discouraging is an understatement, to say the least.

A week passes, and the death toll rises. It's really starting to look bleak. You constantly second-guess yourself, and even get into a fistfight with your new ally one night. It's getting to the point where you are working on fumes.

Then, unexpectedly, you get a phone call. It's been a long night, and the sun is beginning to rise above the mountains, when it happens.

You and the scientist are not the only ones looking for a cure. In fact, there are at least a dozen others-and they think they may be close to a breakthrough.

But-and you can't believe you're hearing this, after all of the failure you'd experienced throughout this blight-they need your help.]


---


[To say that the end of last week sucked would be an understatement. To say that no one knows what this week will bring is not even in question. Yet even as you wake, you feel a cloud lift from your mind, as one of the truths you've been living with since the beginning has suddenly changed.]




[But is it possible to abide by this new truth? The Hosts, and IT beyond, seem intent on making that impossible. And the rat...well. Obviously the rat's not an ally. Let's not kid ourselves.

There's only one way to find out if more deaths can truly be prevented-and that's to keep going, and hoping that the new floor that has opened up will offer something in the way of an opportunity.

In the meantime.


There are 11 strangers left in this place.]

Comments

MONDAY

[strangerpeople]

INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

Winery

[otherworldlyking]

[ ...About time there was something in here that had all the drinks.

Except he's not too into the milky thing, but it's whatever. Was there anything off about this room in particular, and would it be immediately noticeable upon him stepping in? ]

[strangerpeople]

[There's a small chalkboard stuffed between one of the wine shelves.]

MEATBALL... BUFFET.............

[poorlovefool]

[This place reminds him of a certain skeleton.... the meaty chaos laid upon the table is beckoning him, somehow. He knows better than to eat it, and yet.

Well, maybe the dog will like it. He'll bring Gab there and start taking apart meat just to be sure which ones are safe for dogs. There aren't any clues in the meatballs are there.]

Re: MEATBALL... BUFFET.............

[strangerpeople]

[...funny you should ask.

There seems to be something sticking out of the octopus sushi meatballs.]

ARCADE

[relieable]

[so we're here, finally! Osomatsu has been interested in the arcade since it opened up. it reminds him a little of his memories of Japan...

anyway, he's going to start up that unmarked game in the corner. because why not? he wasn't terrorized enough in the cigar room, apparently]

[strangerpeople]

[Well, it's no longer unmarked when Osomatsu approaches it! It lights up, displaying its title screen, and even helpfully updates to say CREDITS: 1 once Osomatsu is within reaching distance of the controls!

Seems like it wants him to play. So, shall he?]

Pool

[comesaround]

[ Someone had to do it, so of course he figures this was a good way to get him out and about to keep his mind busy. He's here and going to try and keep an eye out for anything that might look out of the ordinary, since there was no way there was absolutely nothing here, after all. ]

Re: Pool

[strangerpeople]

[He will find something sticking out from beneath the towels.]

[necroyalty]

[ Well it certainly seems like something's snapped in Ambro's mind today, because before she can do anything else, she makes her way to the classroom to scrawl a large "YOU ALL FAIL" on the board.

Yeah. Right...

When not in the library or disgracing the classroom, she's fiddling about in the dressing room during much of the afternoon, assembling outfits of varying levels of gothiness and/or sexiness with an empty, sort of frustrated look on her face.

Around nighttime, she's also in the theater, with a bottle of sand-tasting brandy and...a vampire movie? What? ]

Dressing Room!

[poorlovefool]

[ The gothest things in this dressing room are probably a couple of gothic lolita dresses, knowing the mall. Eric's in there deciding on his weirdest outfit so far, the leather jacket layered on top of a psychedelic green dress that's hanging over his bellbottoms from before, but... it's a little unnerving coming across someone in this foul of a mood even before the motive. ]

Uh... what'cha got there, Ambrosine?

Re: Dressing Room!

[necroyalty]

Hard to say. I'm not used to procuring garments in such a manner.

[ hard to be when you're from a world where mass-produced clothing isn't really a thing ]

Classroom

[katzenpfote]

[He pauses as he enters the classroom to see Ambrosine writing on the chalkboard.]

Is... this a bad time?

Re: Classroom

[necroyalty]

Not at all.

[ She puts the marker down. ]

How can I be of assistance?

[katzenpfote]

[Caleb spends some of the afternoon in the theater, watching the 'round' tapes over and over and trying to figure out a pattern, a clue, something more...]

[It might be good to snap him out of it.]

[However, late in the evening when people have probably eaten and returned home, Caleb can be found in the swimming pool. It took a bit to figure out how the swimsuit was supposed to go, but he got it in the end.]

[He's taken the bandages off his arm, though his scars are hard to see from far away. For now, he's just floating on his back and staring at the ceiling.]

Pool

[unwittingking]

[Again, King was mainly here at first to look around, maybe go for a swim if he felt like it (as the swimsuit he's wearing suggests), but...now he can't help but ask.]

You doing okay?

[katzenpfote]

[He startles and splashes, dropping below the water before bobbing up again, hair sticking all over his face.]

S... sorry, I did not notice you come in. I'm all right. Just... thinking.

theater;

[otherworldlyking]

[ He'll yawn loudly, probably disturbing the concentration. He heard someone watching something and stepped in. It helped the Gym was right across the place. ]

...How long are you going to keep watching that?

Re: theater;

[katzenpfote]

[He looks up at McBurn and sighs.]

There has to be more here. I'm just not seeing it... there has to be more clues, more of a pattern...

[unwittingking]

[Tomorrow is going to be terrible, as usual, so King's just going to go out and do some things before the next motive comes up.

First he'll be in the dining room, some new-ish stuff, though the vials were left in his room. Lisa sits in his lap as he eats the fried...something. Look, it was the main thing that might not kill him if he eats it, so why not? Everyone is free to grab anything of theirs.

Later, he'll be found in the toy store, messing around with a deck of cards. Not Cards Against Humanity this time-actual playing cards. There's a lot more cards than the usual card pack-apparently he got two out and decided to play a matching game. Lisa's napping next to him as he tries to find a match, only to find the two don't match.

Finally, closer to night time (or what he assumes is night time), he's at the pool. Lisa isn't there with him this time-with how cats usually are with water. And he's...not doing much this time. Just sitting on the edge of the pool with his feet and part of his legs in the water.

He's taking it easy today, and no one's going to stop him.]

Pool

[comesaround]

Looks like I wasn't the only one with the idea to come here around this time.

[ Karma couldn't help saying something even as he entered the room, not wanting any surprises. He looked a lot better than he had on Saturday, though there was a subtle weariness to his eyes that probably wouldn't go away until this whole mess was over. ]

If you want someone to talk to at all, I'm game. Least I could offer after last time we spoke.

[unwittingking]

[He turns and gives Karma a small smile.]

Yeah. Thought it would be a good idea to get some time here before tomorrow, and this time just seemed a bit more right.

Why not? It’d be nice to have someone to talk to.

[He pats the area next to him, offering for Karma to sit there.]

[katzenpfote]

[Caleb eyes the pornography book up and chuckles.]

I suspect I'm not going to get some fun historical facts out of that one.

dining room;

[otherworldlyking]

[ Oh hey, among the new stuff he spotted something else.

A familiar-looking necklace. ]

Looks like you have something of mine.

[ He'll just yoink that, thanks. ]