WEEK 3

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 3



[The week begins as last week began. But there's is a great difference-murder. It has happened. Blood has been drawn; it cannot be undone. The Game has made itself known. The Game is paramount. The Game simply is.

As morning dawns, those who were not present with the DEAD lock will find that the doors that were locked are now gone-and a whole new area has finally opened up to them. They will also find that they remember something they had not been able to recall beforehand. The question is, was it worth it?

And-is it you, or is the ship getting...colder as the hours go by? No, it's not just you. By the end of Sunday, the ship has started to dip into freezing temperatures. It might be difficult for people to bundle up-unless you're Brain, who will find his closet inundated with winter clothing that fit him perfectly.

Yup. This is going to be a long week, as if last week wasn't bad enough.



There are currently 16 strangers in this place.]

Comments

[yesorwoof]

[When Makima first takes her doll, she runs her fingertips over the chest of a young man who has some kind of pull-cord, like for a chainsaw, embedded in his sternum.]

Just so you know, I don't plan on losing.

[She sets off at a brisk pace. Within ten minutes, Makima has set up a little camp by taking a table from the tea room out into the C Deck hallway and sitting underneath it. Because otherwise Grimace shakes might fall down onto her head. She has a bowl of water, a dish of crackers split into quarters, and a washcloth from the spa. "Chainsaw Man" is now decked out in a large red piece over the head, a pair of chainsaw sleeves, and the public safety uniform. She has a second outfit of a T-shirt and jeans on the side. That's also pretty similar to the clothes Makima wore during her recovery from the first minigame, now that she thinks about it.]

It's kind of like a blanket fort, isn't it?

[unpossibilities]

[Well. This is...an odd scenario. But hey, Makima's here. Maybe she'll work with this.]

Hey, Makima. Wanna, uh... [he holds up his little Maki doll, who is dressed in Maki's usual clothes] ...play, I guess...???

[He's not sure what to do with it, but...]

[yesorwoof]

Oh, Momota-kun. If that's alright with you, I'd be happy to do so.

[Makima holds out the Chainsaw Man doll with its rolled up sleeves and pushes its right arm up and left down arm, like it's flexing basically.]

Nice to meet you, Missy! Chainsaw Man's my name and murderizing devils is my game! I'll save you any time!

[unpossibilities]

[Kaito clears his throat, then holds out the Maki doll. He makes her head look to the side.]

Harukawa Maki. There's...no such thing. I can take care of myself, anyway.

[He's not the best at imitating her voice, but the mannerisms are surprisingly spot on.]

[yesorwoof]

Harukawa Maki?

[MAKI ROLL is thinking some thoughts. The cadence of the doll seems so realistic too, even if the pitch is a little harder for him. Makima's doll jumps in place with a whiny growl that's easy for her.]

Well, too bad, Maki-chan! Because we're supposed to go on a date!

No, Chainsaw Man. Settle down. It's a playdate.

Awwwwwwwwwwww. Yes, Makima-san.

[unpossibilities]

She was...a classmate of mine. I forgot her, somehow, until the motive. [He takes the picture out of one of his pockets, showing it to her.] I don't know how.

[But he quite easily jumps back in.]

Do you want to die?

...Maki, hey.

...Sorry. I don't like going on dates, though. Playdates are--playdates are fine, I guess. [The doll rubs under one of her eyes tiredly.] I'm the Ultimate Child Caregiver, so I'm used to it.

[voidseeing]

[That... sure is a doll, all right, and Gai is going to just sort of stare at it for a moment.]

... tell me you're planning on playing zombie apocalypse with this.

[yesorwoof]

[Matter of factly:]

It's Chainsaw Man. As for zombies... How odd. I can't remember.

[With a little bit more of a shadow falling over her eyes.]

Did you bring yours, or should I get back to a solo doll activity?

[voidseeing]

Chainsaw Man.

[He says that as though that somehow explains everything. Sure, why not, let's go with that.]

Sorry, but I don't know how well mine is going to get along with yours. She may try to kill him straight off.

[A bit of an odd thing to say when he holds up his own doll, who hardly looks like the sort of person to be going around killing people.]

[yesorwoof]

Ahem.

[Makima clears her throat and gets into the whiny growl, waving Chainsaw Man as he talks.]

Aw, that's no fair! I'm a hero! Hey, are you one of those devils that looks cute at first just to lure ya in?

[voidseeing]

[In contrast, the voice Gai makes is very level, almost emotionless.]

I'm not a devil. I'm Inori.

[The "lure ya in" part, though, ouch. Gai feels the tiniest twinge of guilt for that one.]

But I'll fight you if that's what you want. Prepare yourself.

before she sets off

[onychomance]

Going for the gold this time, are you?

[Kira is once again questioning if Chainsaw Man is her Stand. But that couldn't be it. If Stands were eligible hostages he'd definitely have Killer Queen here instead.

He'll just be here picking out clothes for the wife. Most of the ones in her size have the polka dots she seems to like a lot.]

[yesorwoof]

[Makima glances down at the rigid little doll. There's no ring on its hand, but that is far from certain indication in Japan. She goes back to gathering her own doll and clothes into a little pile, almost ready to scoop it all up.]

In the previous games, there were problems with playing too much, but not this time. Since we know now that the prizes are valuable information to be shared and not just weapons for an advantage, I figured it might be my turn to score well.

[She is about to actually scoop up all her stuff, then hesitates over the bare chested doll and gives the cord a hard tug. No sound emerges. She scowls.]

Vroooooooom.

[onychomance]

? [If she is trying to get him to supply the engine noises, she'll be disappointed. He doubts that would count as a voice, so he can't score any points by doing that for her. Kira just chuckles placidly.]

True enough. I was going to try my hand at it myself, now that the game is a little less barbaric. It's easier than turning the place inside out, or even waiting to be cursed with visions. I can show my little lady a good time before the final curtain.

[spoken with the humor of someone who 100% assumes a murder will take place, when even the cheeseburger had a legitimate taker. And maybe this pantomime is close enough to his fantasies about Shinobu, even if it is missing, shall we say, his usual panache.]

[yesorwoof]

[His ability probably did help the idea come to mind, but whatever it was supposed to be, Makima doesn't dwell on it. She scoops all the stuff into her coat pocket and begins to turn away.]

He is diverting us from investigating whatever he's set up on that stage, but it can't be helped. I think I'll be setting up camp on C Deck. Good for snacks and baths. It's like Zero planned this out down to the last detail...

[lovedthemost]

[Brain blinks at the table in the C-Deck hallway, and he kind of bends down to peer under it. blinking]

...what is a blanket fort?

[he's got a doll of his own cradled in his hands, the red of a very distinctive, fur-collared coat peeking out between the green of his gloves]

[yesorwoof]

[Makima peers at the gloves. There's a faint redness to her bare hands from all these little parts pressing against her fingertips during the cold.]

It's like a little hideaway for children. You might drape the blankets over chairs or something to quickly make a contained place where the adults can't see you. Children can't exactly construct a playhouse with a hammer and nails.

1/2

[lovedthemost]

I will take your word for it.

[he looks at the table, frowning a little, before--]

One moment.

[and he's going to straighten, strides taking him down the hall and down the stairs towards the other deck.]

2/2

[lovedthemost]

[several minutes later he's going to return, probably best signalled by his approaching footfalls and his legs--and as soon as he gets to the table, Makima will hear the sound of fabric being unfurled, and the table will soon after be covered by a bedsheet from Brain's bed.

He'll squat down, then, lifting the edge and peering under it at Makima]

Is it a blanket fort now?

1/2

[yesorwoof]

Oh...

[At first Makima blinks, rather disappointed that her friend just showed up only to ditch her the next second. When he gets within that distance, he might notice that she's stopped facing the outside and is bent in full grim concentration over the doll. It's now in the T-shirt and jeans, and going by the wet washcloth, evidently received a bath.]

2/2

[yesorwoof]

[Makima's eyes light up at the actual blanket, eagerly batting at it in return (placing both their eyes and their fingertips rather close).]

This is smooth and yet lets in lots of light. It's perfect.

[She uses her telekinesis for Chainsaw Man this time so that the doll hops up onto her shoulder.]

Even on my day off, guess I'm Chainsaw Man! Oh, you're that Heart dude! You're the man! Are we gonna fight for fun, or go looking for a bad guy together?

[valkavian]

What, you afraid of a milkshake?

[ Said in a sing-songy, joking taunting kinda way. ]

[yesorwoof]

I figure it would make the bath more difficult.

[Who knows if Makima is joking.]

Scared of the shadows down here? Don't want to come and play?

[valkavian]

[ She considers, for a bit, then holds up the doll and

Oh god

that voice. ]

I'm not scared of nothin'!

[ Yeah she's gonna crouch down to crawl in ]

[yesorwoof]

Good.

[Makima holds up Chainsaw Man, who has a whiny growling voice.]

That makes two a us! Even if those big cups did get us down here, I'd just deflect em with my chainsaws!