MINGLE | WEEK THREE

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MINGLE LOG | WEEK 3
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Another week gone, and with it, two of your number. Nine of you--or ten, depending on whom you count as yours--are dead. And still, there is no escape.


Pratibha won't turn up on her own this week, but you may be able to reach her if you try. For some reason, she seems particularly scarce every day but Thursday.


Sunday arrives this time with no mysteriously provided gifts, but if you gather together anyway, perhaps you'll find your spirits lifted by a sense of presence?

[cw: hallucinations]
On Monday morning, the house's next attempt to force you all to murder is not necessarily immediately apparent. As the day creeps on, you might catch a flicker of something from the corner of your eye, or hear a murmur when you're sure you're alone. Maybe Anemone was right to worry about losing your minds.

((Mod note: If you don't want to play with this particular motive, let us know! Like Week 1's blot motive, we've provided temporary IC outs in the motive announcement under Monday's header, and you should ALWAYS choose OOCly not to engage with something that isn't right for you, for whatever reason.))

Whatever your mental state, the house's dread ritual continues on. Those solving Tuesday's puzzle will actually find they have a couple days to complete it; once they find all the clues, they're welcome to ask their fellow living housemates for help actually making use of them. Solving the puzzle completely earns you the key to an indoor pool, though the stiff cover over the jacuzzi remains locked tight.

Pool party on Wednesday, anyone? No? It's fine; the day is yours to do with what you will.

Starting Thursday's puzzle requires that all parts of Tuesday's be completed, and once you're done, you can have yourselves a cozy, lovely dinner party. If you're up to it, anyway. If not, you'll also have the key to that jacuzzi, so soak those troubles away with hot water and jets.

Friday is investigation time once again. The investigation post will go live at 3 PM EST, 5/23.

Saturday is the day of your third real ritual. You may find the ritual post here at 12 PM EST, 5/24.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

[ Leon just nods, distracted but doing his best to pay attention. Distant, heavy footfalls still pound in his ears, deliberate and determined. ]

...Yeah. Unless the house started bringing in new people this week and they're all hiding from us for some reason, or we're both cracking under pressure in the same way at the same time? It's... probably just some kind of trick.

[doctopoda]

Right. Right, of course. This is the next logical step from just affecting our emotions - it's getting our perceptions now.

[A dangerous escalation, but what can they do about it?]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Seems like it. Not sure what's worse. [ They're both pretty fucking awful, honestly. ] I guess we just try to ride it out. Hopefully it doesn't get much worse than this.

[ Hearing things and seeing people he can definitely tell himself aren't here just out of the corner of his eye, he can deal with, but if it gets more severe there's no telling what he or anyone else might do. ]

[doctopoda]

Maybe we should all pair up. We aren't likely to have the same hallucinations, we can keep each other grounded.

[Or, you know, maybe someone will freak out and attack...but even so, if a person's partner turns up dead then you've got some immediate leads.]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

...That's a good plan. [ Seems kind of obvious now that he thinks about it. Damn. ] Buddy system it is, then. I guess it's worth asking now - you haven't been hearing someone really big stomping around the halls this week, have you? As in, probably heavier than both of us put together, judging by the sound.

[ And by Leon's memories of the Tyrant, though those aren't exactly the most reliable and he's happy to admit it. Hard to judge a giant monster's exact size when it's your first time ever seeing anything of the sort and you're just trying not to give up and die on the spot from the fear alone. ]

[doctopoda]

...I haven't, no.

[That is particularly concerning given Otto's part of the comparison here! In fact - he lifts an actuator and brings it down against the floor, at roughly his normal running/fighting force.]

Louder than that?

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Bit louder, less metallic.

[ Otto's clattering around is pretty distinctive. The Tyrant's footfalls were equally so, in a different direction. ]

It's probably just me. Been having nightmares about that sound for years now, so as far as ways to torment me go it's pretty predictable.

[doctopoda]

...what was it? If you don't mind my asking.

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

... It sounds really stupid now that I have to describe it, but the short version? A really, really big zombie. They called them Tyrants. They were the worst, and it's a really good thing only a few people ever turned into them.

[doctopoda]

You've got zombies?

[how has THAT not come up before?]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

We've got zombies, [ Leon confirms, a wry not-really-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. ]

Some of the viruses Luis and I talked about early on do - something fucked up to the body's functioning, even after death. Not really sure how it works. People who know what they're talking about have tried to explain it to me a whole bunch of times, but it never really sticks.

[doctopoda]

Ugh. I feel better about the literal superheroes and villains now.

[hey at least no one is zombies. except like, maybe him and the others, sorta.]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

[ Not in any of the dimensions this Otto's seen, anyway. Leon nods, pulling a face. ]

First time I ran into one, I thought I'd fallen asleep after watching too many horror movies. Still think about trying to wake up, occasionally. But you're not kidding about the superhero stuff, huh? Like actual people in masks doing backflips on the roof?

[ He's gonna be real (at least with himself), that sounds almost more inexplicable than the zombies. ]

[doctopoda]

Just the one, so far. But that universe I got dragged into - there was a variant of him, there, and a number of other superheroes besides. So who knows? Maybe we're just getting started.

[He wouldn't disagree that it's inexplicable, even from the perspective of someone who knows a bit more about Spider-Man than the general public. But he's also had several years to get used to his existence, if not the details.]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Wow. Guess if I wound up with superpowers and didn't have my bosses breathing down my neck all the time, there wouldn't be a lot stopping me from trying to go that route. Except the fact that I don't look good in tights.

[ Says the man who's wearing a shirt that's basically vacuum sealed onto him. He's already got the backflips down, too. ]

[doctopoda]

[Otto laughs.]

He really does do that. I'm not entirely sure why.

[Not sure why the hell Norman got that whole Goblin look together either. Why is he the only normal one here?]

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Read too many comic books growing up?

[ For his part, Leon’s only half as Like This as he is because he imprinted on the big buff action men in his favorite movies growing up like a socially awkward duckling. He knows how it goes. ]

Or maybe he just has unlimited access to a sewing machine and wanted to show off.

[doctopoda]

He really must have been young when he started.

[It's phrased a little obliquely, but Otto's one of few who knows for a fact that this is true. It's disturbing, in retrospect. But it's also an observation he made quite some time ago, so he keeps his feelings neatly to himself.]