WEEK 5 MINGLE

[foundationmods]

WEEK 5

They said it was a break week, but two of your number were lost anyway last week. While you're all tired and still recovering, the speakers crackle to life with the voice of The Lady.

"Attention, Guests. The game is back on. Break week is now over. Happy Holidays."

The Staff are still like they were last week - only this time, the orders almost always go wrong, if they even manage to go through - the Staff are vanishing constantly. Meals are also getting affected - they're still perfectly edible, but they're not as delicious as they once were, with seasoning and other things occasionally being off. The Sign warning people to not take knives is still on the kitchen door, but The Chef seems incredibly tired, often resting on a chair in the corner.

The Resort is still furnished with Holiday items - but after Medic's christmas protest, there are more items related to other holidays up, and it's much more balanced - objects and colors of multiple holidays side by side in harmony, with the mistletoe still up for any needed smooching. There are, however, more wriggling...things, and there's even an entire 'tree' made of eldritch tentacles with glowing balls of light on them that wink in an oddly hypnotic fashion.

The weather is still nothing, but the courtyard seems to have switched to a much warmer clime, which while still a little cool is pleasant enough to sit outside in. Finally, the music this week seems... almost ominous...?

On Monday morning, another memory is returned to everyone, one more traumatic this time instead of gentle like the others have been. Yet, you feel as if you know a little more about your time in this world, now. Not everything, but...enough.

Enough to see this game through to the end, at least.


PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | MURDER PROPOSALS/VOLUNTEERING | LOCATIONS | APPRENTICE PC POST | OUTSIDER PC POST

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

Comments

[latebluemer]

[Her voice is a little hoarse and she’s kind of pale, but not noticeably more sleep-deprived than she has been the past week. It’s a moderately low bar??]

... Troit-san and I talked to the cookie gojira last week.

We learned that this mafia thing is new, and they don’t understand it. They think it might be part of what feeds this Resort, which they say is positive energy and emotions, which... is obviously not the case. This is the Resort’s stomach, where it takes the energy from guests as payment, but the Resort itself is capable of expansion and restructuring according to the needs of its guests, which is probably why Nanashi called it and maybe its staff infinity.

And, um, apparently the rats are a multiplanar entity that may or may not be married to the Resort? That’s why we need to communicate with them. Troit-san... How are you with understanding rats?

[duskhound]

I'm afraid I can't understand rats any more than any other person, but if it's a multiplanar entity, there might be other methods of communication. I would guess that Morse is probably our best bet, since it doesn't require human vocal cords.

[latebluemer]

Hmm. It's not a bad idea to try Morse or even other methods.

[Like even more charades, though it would be ideal if they could actually form complex sentences and concepts when they communicate and all.]

I wonder why most of the guests here seem to be multiplanar except for us...

[duskhound]

Well I mean, the cookie gojira did say that "they don't serve single-dimension people here". It's likely that the people the Foundation sent before they decided to send Ichigo and the Outsider didn't even make it to the stomach.

[...Consider for a moment, that we are considered less expendable agents than people from their own world.]

...Essentially, it's likely that multiplanar beings are the primary demographic this place is appealing to, and we... just barely make the cut on the basis of being from another dimension.

[maskarang]

Hmph. Positive energy and emotions don't fit into what we've experienced. There could be a reason things are different now—something that changed and made this game necessary. Did your source say anything else?

[latebluemer]

We know that something changed when the Outsider and Kurosaki-san came here, and then Kurosaki-san was killed by the Outsider. From what I understand... that was probably when everything started. I wonder...

[A long moment’s thought.]

I think it was Kurosaki-san who told me that they used to have a rule against guests hurting each other. So if something as terrible as his death happened here, it could have done something to the Resort’s systems. If it’s only equipped to handle positive energy, what happens if it gets a sudden blast of negative energy?

[maskarang]

... Someone else mentioned the resort might have "food poisoning." That could have been caused by the negative energy. It may have started small but slowly gotten worse after our arrival.

Let's assume your theory is true. The obvious question is: how can we create enough positive energy to counter the negative? [ Especially this week. ] And a second question. There was a mention of a staff member behaving strangely. When did they appear? Their arrival could be connected to the resort's decline.

[dolleyed]

The rats are married?

[ That gets a weak chuckle.]

Good that if nothing else, the resort is at least funny.

[latebluemer]

... Yeah. I really didn’t expect that, but I guess that explains why the rats seem to be everywhere all the time.

[...]

It also explains why they clean up after the game.

[A wonderful symbiotic relationship of some kind. Maybe.]

[dolleyed]

How does this even work... how do they kiss....

[ The people demand to know?]

[whirlingmace]

Do you think it's possible that what the Outsider did made the Resort feed on negative emotions instead?

[resortghosts]

If it's feeding on negative emotions, does that mean this place is having a really bad case of food poisoning?

[whirlingmace]

Maybe that's why the game and why the Staff are acting really odd?

[latebluemer]

[She’s already gone through some of the reasoning here but let’s consolidate.]

That’s a good way of putting it. I was wondering if Kurosaki-san’s death as a guest might have twisted or broken something in the Resort. If it’s used to feeding on positive things, that murder... would have been really terrible for it.

[rosebridled]

Ah... congratulations to the Resort on its relationship, then.

[ congRATulations

Anyway, she's not saying it with much humor. She doesn't know what she's supposed to say to any of that. ]

[latebluemer]

[CongRATulations indeed. Isn’t it rude when some bozo with a shotgun comes along to ruin your honeymoon or whatever.

Aoi definitely feels the lack of humor and the uncertainty, though. It would have been funny under different circumstances.]

I’m not really sure how it works. But it sounds like the rats may have been here the longest and may understand the Resort best. The cookie gojira made them sound like someone helpful, so...

[Fingers crossed...?]

[resortghosts]

Positive emotions? So, like, hugging and being friendly with each other?

[latebluemer]

That probably falls under it, yeah... Just, probably the opposite of everything we’ve been experiencing.

[Which ghost is she talking to.]

[13thpromise]

...Something obviously changed. I wonder if it's connected to there being no humans here anymore too.

[ Since they're all considered "SCPs", and they wouldn't fit under the normal humans category, but there were once regular humans here. ]

[latebluemer]

I’m... not sure, it might be. I’m not sure normal humans were ever actually guests here. The cookie gojira didn’t seem to like “single universe beings” very much.

[She wrinkles her nose a little as she says it. Kind of unsure still if she should be offended, honestly.]

[13thpromise]

Well, no they really weren't...since they were just trapped here. And the Resort only thinks of SCPS as guests.

[ ...also he blinks at that terminology. Rude, much? ]

The cookie guy just called normal humans 'single universe beings'?

[resortghosts]

Oh, yeah, speaking of that: I should mention that our supposed boss approved of "canoodling", so there's also that which is related to the whole 'positive energy and emotions' thing.

[latebluemer]

I don’t think just, um, canoodling is going to counteract whatever happened here. But I guess it can’t hurt?

[She’s just going to be over here being vaguely supportive and wondering if it’s normal for Foundation superiors to get into the canoodling affairs of everyone including ghosts.]

[enter_the_darkness]

...

[ He's listening to each of her conversations quietly, though his gaze keeps flickering to her face as he does. ]

[latebluemer]

[Since he's observing, he can probably tell that she's just a little louder in contrast to the grim silence most other people are observing. Her eyes are kind of red, though it's offset by what is probably makeup. Other than that, she catches his gaze a couple of times, inquiringly, but doesn't seem inclined to question it.

He'll probably have to be the one to initiate if there's anything he wants to discuss.]