(no subject)

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 2

[The unfortunate death, and subsequent execution, has no doubt weighed on everyone's minds since. The dam has burst, and now, the idea that someone may kill another in this place is not just a possibility anymore. It is reality, and a very terrifying reality at that.

Yet, there is a strange side effect to the murder's aftermath. When the Titled go to sleep on Saturday evening, they will dream, even if they don't normally do so. When they wake up, their dream stays with them, and a thought comes to everyone. A realization.

Their dream had been a memory they lost. Now, they have it back, as if they had never lost it.

Nor is that the only change. They also feel just a little more confident in their power. Confident enough that they find that their ability has evolved to become stronger. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, well...

Soon enough, too, the Titled's phones start pinging, and when they open up their LIME app, they receive a simple message:]

Your Mall Map has been updated!

[And indeed, those who go to check the Food Court will find an elevator on the eastern end which leads to a brand new wing that had previously been obscured by the barrier.

Dio and Wake's information is also slightly different from before on the LIME app, but...maybe it's best not to think about it. Last week had been...disheartening.

Hopefully, this week will be better, right? Surely, this week, temptation won't win out again....right?

Well.

There's only one way to find out.


Welcome to Week 2, Titled.

There are thirteen strangers in this place.

This week's crab is Dungeness.]

Comments

[steelmagnolias]

[ Ren spends most of the morning exploring the new wing, before taking a shower at the gym. He's just so very relieved to finally have a place where he can bathe and feel like a human being again.

When he's through with exploring, he takes some colored pencils and a sketchbook from Colourmen and Sons.


After that's done, he comes back to the first wing where he makes a few stops at both Death Crime Beast Rage and Black Rose Witches, where he's... looking at the various clothes in both stores, but very pointedly not buying any.

Then he buys one of those Weekly Crab Special buckets before taking his supplies and food to the Cat Cafe. Yes, he's taking all of the shell bits and other nasty crud off before feeding a good portion of those crab legs to the cats.

There's a bunch of different sketches he's doing here - an assortment of random Pokemon, flowers, cityscapes... but out of his human drawings, he seems most occupied with a woman wearing black lipstick, drawn in various states of dress and undress.

In the sketches where she's wearing clothes, she seems to be dressed in outfits that look like they belong in the two stores he looked through for inspiration earlier. ]

Colourmen and Sons

[strangerpeople]

[While Ren is buying his art supplies, he may notice some of the stock art pieces on one of the walls. They seem...most interesting.

>Examine?]

Re: Colourmen and Sons

[steelmagnolias]

[-Examine.]

[strangerpeople]

[There are a few large pictures, all of them stunning. The clear masterpiece of the bunch, however, is the landscape In the center, so detailed and rich that you feel like could step into the painting. It’s obvious which one the owners were most proud of to have, what with the place of pride it holds in the center of the store walls.

As Ren looks at it, a thought comes to mind. A worry, a lingering fear. He knows this place is scary, and that there is a risk of death. Worse yet is the understanding, the realization, that such thought brings:

At some point, soon, things will come to a head, and when they do, he will have to make a choice as to what he will have to do.

And...he knows what he would choose when push came to shove with these people.

Don’t you, Ren?]

[steelmagnolias]

[The thought grips him for a while, and he stands there for a moment before letting it fully permeate his entire being.

Oh, he knows, alright.]

[strangerpeople]

[Indeed. The thought is quite strong, and seems to linger more the longer he looks at the picture.]

[steelmagnolias]

[It's enough, after about a minute, to make him want to scream. To turn away, just pay for his fucking art supplies and go.

He averts his gaze.

Okay, any other art pieces he. needs to look at?]

[strangerpeople]

[Turning to his left, he will find himself looking at a beautiful starry sky. However, the thought that comes to Ren's head is one of longing. Loneliness.

Things that he misses, and things that will never be. He has seen and known too much, now, to go back to the way things were before.]

[steelmagnolias]

[ wow you just had to fuckin rub it in didn't you guys

He's... going to spend a bit more time looking at this one. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Sorry, Ren.

The longer he looks at it, the more he feels it. It's not nearly as strong as the previous, but...yeah.]

[steelmagnolias]

[ He's... quite depressed enough, now.

Okay, anything else or can he leave this cursed place? ]

[strangerpeople]

[There is...one more picture.

It's the smallest of the three prominent ones, and clearly the least detailed and most stark. Yet there is something about this picture that makes a thought pop up into Ren's head.

Determination.

Somehow, you will find a way. You can do it. You can. Your suffering right now won't be in vain.]

Cat Cafe

[foolishjustice]

[Akechi doesn't really come to the cat cafe for the menu - it's best for its drinks, and he can make all of those himself anyway - but rather for the cats. Which...mostly seem to be swarming Ren today, huh. Out of curiosity, he wanders over to take a look at what they're after, and...that kind of drawing is not what he expected to see. Don't mind him turning red as he takes out his phone to send a text, since he's not sure Ren will see him trying to talk while he's sketching.]

Don't you think that sort of drawing exercise is best kept somewhere less public?

[steelmagnolias]

If it bothers you that much, I can move, but have you never taken an art class?

[ Most of the nudity in these sketches is, admittedly, pretty tame. A single exposed tiddy while the rest of her is clad in a dress that makes her look like some sort of sick as hell sorceress queen of the night, if you will. ]

[foolishjustice]

Only basic high school courses, that certainly do not involve nude models. And you don't see people hanging portraits of such in public spaces outside of art exhibits.

[steelmagnolias]

Alright, alright.

[ He proceeds to draw a tiny censor bar over the nipple. ]

That better?

[foolishjustice]

[He's just. Pinching the bridge of his nose as he types.]

You're deliberately being difficult at this point, aren't you?

[steelmagnolias]

Only a little. But honestly, I'll make it up to you.

[He turns over to a blank page.]

Anything you want to see?

[foolishjustice]

Most of the sights I miss are a little visually complex. Unless you could draw a person from a description...

[steelmagnolias]

I haven't done that in a while, but it's a good exercise.

[foolishjustice]

There is someone I miss seeing. She's a coworker of mine, a young prosecutor who I work quite closely with. If I describe her for you, could you try to draw her?

[steelmagnolias]

[Does he smell a crush]

I'd be happy to.

[foolishjustice]

[No! Maybe? Yes...but shut up. He just looks fond as he's typing for...reasons.]

She's a young woman in her mid-twenties, with long hair that she ordinarily keeps pulled back on one side with a large hair clip of crossed wires. She has elegant features and carries herself with dignity, but her expressions often hold a stern sense of determination, perhaps even harshness, that manage to maintain a sense of beauty in their contrast.

[steelmagnolias]

[He takes all this in... and the end result is a lot more stylized, a lot less realistic than he normally goes for. But it still looks like her, at least a little. ]

I'm not as good at drawing people, but hopefully this works.


[All of his drawings have hands behind their back or otherwise obscured.]

[foolishjustice]

There's enough of a resemblance. I do hope she isn't taking on too much of an extra work load in my absence.

[His expression has definitely taken on a bit of a wistful look. He really does miss her.]