MINGLE | WEEK TWO

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MINGLE LOG | WEEK 2
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Greetings, house guests. Surely you're getting into the swing of things, by now? Though, a friendly reminder: there is no escape.


Sunday is, once again, a quiet and likely somber day. At least, until there's one hopefully welcome surprise: belongings from back home that you may have missed will be delivered to your rooms today, if you did not come in with them. (Note: these should be the personal items from your applications, if your characters don't already have them on hand. The dead's personal items WILL NOT be appearing.)

Iris, Shauna, and anyone else in the house who might be considered a mother will also find a red carnation in a small vase by their bedsides. Enjoy these small creature comforts. You have earned them.

(Don't forget to check out the post-trial afterparty!)

Come Monday, everyone will once again wake up to a most unpleasant surprise: their motive for the week. This one is more immediately apparent than the last; the house's hunger has not been sated.

Pratibha is, once again, nowhere to be found, but this time, she's absent every day this week. What's up with that? (Should you feel strongly about this, you may attempt to find her.)

Bucking tradition, this week's first puzzle also arrives on Monday; it unlocks, of all things, a huge wardrobe full of fancy clothes. What could all this be for?

On Tuesday, the second puzzle appears; and it unlocks, this time, a grand ballroom.

On Wednesday, it will become clear what this week's locations are for. Because the ballroom doors open by themselves at 6 PM sharp, and reveal:

A ball. Splendid and scintillating, this gracefully lit space is warmed by the sound of distant music that has no apparent source. There are tables for food and drink, and more tables besides at which to sit. The star, however, is the dance floor; are you feeling brave enough to step out there? More importantly: with whom as your partner?

The windows display only endless green forest before night falls. Twilight and rising darkness paint the ballroom in shadows and shades of gold. All of it is enchanting and lovely to behold. The ballroom even sports numerous little nooks for ... privacy.

Remember, above all, rule 5: Get to know each other. Become friends. Become more. Who cares. Just do it.

Thursday brings calm after the busy storm of the ball. Rest, recuperate, and reflect; you all know what tomorrow brings.

Friday is investigation time once again. The investigation post will go live at 3 PM EST, 5/16.

Saturday is the day of your second real ritual. You may find the ritual post here at 12 PM EST, 5/17.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[richesse]

[ the tone of his voice actually gets a laugh out of her. the hollow smile persists as she directs it down at the weapon in her arms. ]

It was Ranma’s. We found it near her body.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

I see. Probably a good idea for one of us to hang on to it for now, then.

[ Looks pretty dangerous, but he can't really talk as the guy who's been walking around with a tactical knife in his pocket since day one. He settles down across from Lortel, frowning. ]

So you saw what happened, huh? Was... was that you I heard screaming, earlier?

[richesse]

… mm. Yuri, too.

[ … ]

Ranma was my friend.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Right, I noticed.

[ He looks away, staring off to the side. ]

We're all starting to get pretty close here, huh. You'd think this would stop happening, now that we're not strangers to each other.

[richesse]

You’d think. [ … ]

Then again, the very first one was an accident. Maybe we won’t be allowed to stop.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Yeah. I guess there’s ways to arrange these things so they aren’t - you know, purely selfishly motivated, but still count for the ritual.

[ He sags slightly, letting his exhaustion creep through his mask in a way he wouldn’t normally. ]

Can’t decide if it would be better or worse if we were all at each other’s throats, in a way.

[richesse]

Worse, [ she immediately says. ] I know it means the house is taking people who didn’t mean to do what they did… but it would be worse. That much malice and strife. Can you imagine trying to survive in an environment like that?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Mm. You’re right. [ Leon agrees, after a brief moment’s thought. ] Even the worst times and places I’ve been, when people were at their most afraid, there’s always been a handful of people doing their best for each other.

[ Lieutenant Branagh. Officer Edward. The man in the gun store, with his daughter.

Luis. ]

Don’t think I can imagine if we were all out for blood. I don’t think most people work that way.

[richesse]

[ softly ]

No one can be bloodthirsty all the time. Don’t you think that would be exhausting…?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

It would be. But...

[ He struggles to put his next thought into words. To figure out the point he's trying to make, sitting inarticulate on the tip of his tongue. ]

The house, though. Sometimes it feels like it has some kind of mind to it, but... d'you think it's an exception? Something that can be bloodthirsty all the time, and nothing but that.

[richesse]

... I suppose that depends on whether or not we define the house as a person, or human. Does it even have feelings?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Seems like it does, at least sometimes. I talked to Pratibha about it and - I know she’s not exactly unbiased, being stuck putting up with it’s bullshit even longer than us - but she definitely talks about it like it has a mind of its own. A sadistic, murderous mind, but…

[richesse]

I think I’d be more surprised if we could easily understand what was going on. Why should we understand how it “thinks”?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Yeah. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to make sense of it. Could be whatever the house is is just evil, or doesn't think of us as people. Just prey.

[ Can a cow understand the slaughterhouse? ]

[richesse]

Its consciousness could be totally alien to anything we understand. Maybe it’s sentient, but not sapient, and runs on very base emotions hate and fear. We could easily speculate forever.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Mm. I just keep thinking - if we could understand where it's coming from, maybe we could find loopholes in its rules or outsmart it or something.

[ He sighs. ]

Probably too big an 'if' though.

[richesse]

Wouldn’t Pratibha be your best bet for that? She understands the house better than any of us ever could.

[ a pause. ]

Then again, if a loophole existed, I’m sure she would have thought of it by now. There can’t be no way at all, can there…?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

She seems to have a lot figured out that we don't know yet, but not everything. It's just hard to tell where that line is when she can't tell us half of what she does know. I don't envy her, being stuck between us and the house like this.

[richesse]

Messengers are never treated kindly, [ she murmurs, lost in thought. ]

Discarded by those who send them and reviled by those who receive them. I agree. I don’t envy her at all.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Mm, [ he half-hums, half-grunts in agreement, leaning back and breathing out slowly. ]

There has to be some kind of way out. Some angle that none of us are looking at right. Pratibha probably can't save us by herself, but if we can find out enough about how this place works something's gotta click into place, right?

[richesse]

… right, [ she agrees, smiling, wondering at their fates. ]