WEEK 1 - MINGLE

[foundationmods]

WEEK 1

You've found a safe haven from the wind and the snow - yet, perhaps you're not quite out of danger yet. The Resort Staff are odd, but seem harmless - jumping to any whim you might have, if it doesn't make them oddly lock up.

The weather all week is perfect - the perfect temp and snow for plenty of skiing. The firepit in the courtyard is always lit too, with ingredients for smores and hot chocolate always available in the lobby. Though...in the halls, a strange bunch of songs keep playing from the hotel's sound system. Is whoever runs this place a weird cover song enthusiast?

So far, everything seems fine....but there's a weird sense of unease lingering over the Resort as everyone wakes up Monday Morning. Maybe that has something to do with that strange memory that popped in your head when you woke up? Or maybe it's that all of you woke up in the middle of a snowstorm, with no memory of how you got there?

In the end...even though everything should be fine, why does it feel like this is only the prelude to a nightmare...?

PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS | MURDER PROPOSALS/VOLUNTEERING | LOCATIONS

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

Comments

[perfeccion]

That will be all for now. Thank you.

[he goes to set up his microscope in the lobby. TIME TO SEE WHAT ELSE THEY HAVE. He'll also be holding on to the remains of the faux-meat until it... does whatever the Staff member feared it would]

[foundationmods]

[Well...it's just non-descript baloney meat. The odd thing is, it isn't collapsing like they said it would.]

[dolleyed]

Okay, so... do you have a good reason for that just now or are you just a freak?

[perfeccion]

[... curious. Well. He sets it aside for the moment, but doesn't take his eye off it... or if he has to look away, he places his hand on it. As if it might vanish at any moment]

Kohaku. I have determined that the meat they provided is not human. I mentioned before I am not human myself, yes? Well, I am a Hollow. Hollows are corrupted ghosts that eat humans. I have evolved past the need to consume souls, but I still know human when I taste it. This is... like a hot dog. I'm not entirely sure what it is. I will be testing the blood the same way.

[and he does! He makes a few blood smears and sets them aside to dry, then places a drop of blood on his tongue]

[foundationmods]

[






It's fucking chicken blood.]

[perfeccion]

[r u srs right now]

[foundationmods]

[Get dunked on Szayel]

[perfeccion]

[fml.

He double checks the blood under the microscope but... yep. There they are. The oblong, nucleated red cells of a bird.

He sits at the small table he's commandeered, staring ahead]

It's chicken blood. Possibly turkey. Some sort of domestic fowl.

[dolleyed]

Bastards.

[ At least they know now that the staff is not only stupidly obedient but also consciously deceptive?? ]

How great to be back where we started.

[perfeccion]

[well, discoveries out of the way...]

So, children. What have we learned? The meat was fake. The blood I obtained, direct from a venous source, came from a chicken. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are being duped.

[dolleyed]

[ Szayel is quickly rising on the list of most unfortunately uncomfortable people around here, but he's also the most uncomfortably useful person. It really is a pain. ]

That Hollow shit's not contagious, right? You're far more sentient than the zombies in my world, so I'm guessing 'no', but still.

[ Not that Szayel couldn't just lie - Kohaku's definitely going to be wary. ]

[perfeccion]

[well at least he's useful!!]

Aha... no. Outside of very rare instances, one must die and their soul must "rot" to become a Hollow, don't you worry. But... zombies? Your world has zombies? Fascinating! I want to know more! ... Later.

[dolleyed]

Yeah, you do your... whatever thing first.

[ Time to find out the blood is chicken. ]

[perfeccion]

[some time after the discussion about the staff comes to a close--]

Now. Why don't you tell me about your zombies, hm?

[dolleyed]

Not much to say. Living dead. Eat human flesh. A pest.

[ He sighs. It's easy to predict that Szayel is not going to be satisfied with that explanation. ]

It's called Galatea Syndrome. The virus spreads via contact of bodily fluids, primarily blood. Infected humans can keep living normally for a little bit, but sooner or later they become guignols. We call them that because their bodies harden in a way that makes them look like grotesque dolls. They're mostly mindless, but their bodies resonate with music and they can be somewhat controlled by it.

[perfeccion]

[ur right, Kohaku. Szayel leans forward, fingers laced under his chin]

A virus causing undeath and hardening of tissue... but influenced by music? That is absolutely fascinating. ... and I take it, why you have that violin.

[dolleyed]

You're mistaking cause and effect. I'd be playing violin no matter what world or situation.

But yeah, as is, I'm using it to get rid of as many of those monsters as possible.

[perfeccion]

No cure then, hm? Do you know if the host mounts any sort of immune response?

[dolleyed]

[ There's a short pause here, as if the topic hits a nerve, but it's gone soon enough. ]

No cure. Certain melodies can restore consciousness for a limited amount of time, but that's it.

There's some special people who are immune but they're a rare court-bred type. For everyone else, infection means the the end. [ That's mostly true. ]

[perfeccion]

Fascinating... Fascinating!! I've never heard of such an interesting virus. It can't possibly be natural occurring...?

[dolleyed]

It's far less fascinating when you have to deal with it on the daily.

[ Just saying, people are in fact dying. ]

We don't know where it came from. It'd been plaguing us for decades.

[perfeccion]

Ah, right. I apologize for my insensitivity.

[he doesn't]

Well... needless to say, I would love to get my hands on a sample.

[dolleyed]

[ .... ]

What for?

[perfeccion]

To devise a cure, of course!

[of course...]

And study the effects on the host more fully.