WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[You now know why you're here, Titled. The question now is, is there a way to get out of here without invoking the rules? What will those who brought you here do to get you to kill?

Time will tell.

There are fifteen strangers in this place.]

Comments

[byanyother_name]

Nor have I. There are quite a few of them.

[Kurama looks a little amused as he leans down to touch it himself. His fingers linger as they brush across the grass, almost wistful for a moment.]

No, all the plants, potted and otherwise, that I've found in here are real and alive. I'm good at telling the difference.

[notgentle]

[He works a little harder to force an amicable smile. Apparently, Dio is not good at that for whatever reason.]

Oh, "likes, plants", huh.

[He's the first to stand.] Welp! You think there's Tapioca in here?

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama will kindly refrain from comment on how bad at it he is.]

No, they weren't at all incorrect there. I do like them. They have quite a few uses as long as you know the right ones.

[And he straightens when Dio asks about Tapioca, holding up a finger before poking around in a small bag and pulling out a mostly empty cup. It used to be full of bubble tea, but now there is just a carefully saved layer of tapioca bubbles in the bottom.]

I'd appreciate it if you traded your birthday or star sign for it. It seems fair as they're worth the same amount.

[notgentle]

It's a type of cup? Huh.

[Dio looks quite nervous about this for some reason.]

Uhhhhhhh... I was born in the year of the... goat.

[byanyother_name]

No, the substance in the cup. It's a type of food.

[Kurama looks curious about that nervousness but he doesn't press, just shrugs lightly. The Chinese zodiac has no goat, but if Dio isn't lying, it might be a universe thing. If it counts, it counts. If it doesn't, it doesn't. The scavenger hunt is only money, after all, and he's gotten more than enough so far to keep himself fed and clothed.]

I hope that doesn't mean you'll eat anything. [It's teasing without being mocking, though the quirk to Kurama's lips hints that he's mostly just assuring Dio that he really doesn't care.]

[notgentle]

[He leans down and peers into the cup closer.] Oh! Looks like someone already ate that... [He leans back up to face Shuuichi.] Hahaha. Hell no, this body is a temple. [Is he intensely relieved that Kurama isn't pressing the issue, or is he just that amused at his own joke? Who knows.]

[byanyother_name]

I really just left enough to count for the scavenger hunt. I happen to like it.

[Kurama's lips quirk a little. He shouldn't. He really shouldn't and he knows he shouldn't. But he says it anyway.] Should I ask what form of worship happens?

[notgentle]

[Without missing a beat, smiling wolfishly:]

Absolutely not.

[Dio puts a hand on the back of his neck and cricks it.]

Man, I know there's probably plenty more servings of that tapioca to go around, but I don't know how more than one person is supposed to get the high score on an arcade game. It's called the high score.

[byanyother_name]

Somehow I thought as much. [But there's mischief to the brief glint in Kurama's eyes, his smile almost vulpine.

It fades into a more innocent amusement as Dio goes on.] Really? I can think of several. We're receiving our money as soon as we achieve the goal, for one thing. So if you make a high score and receive the prize, you won't lose the money if someone else comes afterward and beats it.

For another, I think the Barcade has enough machines that we could all play a different one.

[notgentle]

I'll grant you that it would work to take turns, but shit isn't quite that simple.

[He heaves a pretty big sigh, because this doesn't make him look very cool, but. Dio waves his arm at a nearby rifle game, nudging a button without putting any type of token inside. The autoplay footage stops and returns to the starting screen, saying "please insert coin".

The first five ranks are already filled in with three letter taglines that don't evoke any of the fifteen strangers. The sixth, seventh, and eighth scores are "DIO".]

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama looks at the screens, and it really seems like he's fighting a smile very hard. He's trying, Dio. He is.]

...have you considered that perhaps this particular game just isn't for you?