WEEK ZERO: MINGLE

[guestservices]

W̴͍̎E̴̝̊E̸͚͝K̸͕̿ ZERO: MINGLE

(35 ḡ̴̻u̷͌͜ê̴̯s̶̢͑t̵̻͝s̴̡̐ ̴c̴h̴e̶c̴k̷e̶d̸ ̶i̴n̴)

Needless to say, marble isn't exactly the most comfortable surface to sleep on. Do you even remember falling asleep? Maybe not, but the moment your eyes flutter open and the lingering stardust fades, you come into consciousness with the distinct feeling that your dreams were very important.

You vaguely remember a shadowed hand, the pen and the scroll in its grip as the terms and conditions glow softly before you. You can't quite remember the details, the words blurring and fading fasting the longer you try, but you come to a conclusion rather quickly:

-Someone you care about is in trouble and their life is now your responsibility.
-You have signed a contract to provide entertainment to the Host in exchange for their safe return.

Your other memories begin to settle now that you're more awake. You remember that this isn't the first time you've been swept away for a game by someone else's design. You remember what those games entailed, too, but as the pieces click together you get the sense that murdering everyone around you isn't a solution. It won't get your hostage back sooner. It will only end tragically for everyone involved.

So instead, perhaps it's time to take in your surroundings. Where the hell even are you now? The marble floor of the lobby is still cool to the touch, and the front desk is before you with several keys on hooks against the wall. Each of them includes a keychain with two small, clear star-shaped crystals embedded at the bottom. Too bad you can't seem to remove the keys just yet! Guest accommodations aren't quite ready.

Ah, right. About that. You aren't alone! After all, what's the fun in playing a game by yourself? Should one try to actually count the keys hanging on the wall, you'll find there are 35 in total. You can also learn more about them should you look at the leather-bound book bolted to the front desk. Though some of them may look a bit different, seeing how everyone gathered in the lobby is dressed to the nines. What happened to your other clothing? Worry not. You do want to be presentable at the front desk, don't you?

Speaking of the front desk, while you aren't able to retrieve your keys or even leave the ground floor right now, you will find small gift boxes scattered around the desk as a complementary gift for each guest. Inside these boxes, you will find:

-A flask. Those of legal drinking age will find it filled with a sweet wine, and those underage will find juice of some kind.
-A shaving kit
- A single aspirin
-A keychain
-A condolence card
-A sheet of temporary tattoos
-A small bag of jerky
-A compact mirror with a cute pattern on the outer casing

No other items are on your person even if you were holding onto them prior to your arrival. Perhaps the bellhop has already taken your luggage for you?

But despite the front desk hosting a small cluster of bells, ringing them doesn't seem to draw the attention of anyone. The bells cannot be removed from the desk, but the hotel staff appears to be occupied with other tasks.

It looks as though you're on your own for now until maintenance is finished. But it's just like the first time, isn't it? Get to know the other guests, start asking questions, and settle in for your stay.

You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave...

N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

[dms]

Exactly like that!

[battling]

Eh. The constellations are nice enough.

[dms]

Mm, the stars are pretty cool! But they aren't going to perform for anyone, and we came here to provide entertainment, right? So why not a play?

[battling]

I'm gettin' real tired of bein' jerked around like this.

[dms]

And you're probs not the only one. [ ... ] But it could be worse, right? There's a whole hotel, we might get our own rooms, and there aren't any monsters or anything!

[battling]

Hell we're ya? What d'ya mean monsters? You mean there were monsters in one of these and I didn't get to fight 'em?

[dms]

I think the point was not fighting them? They liked it more when we were friendly most of the time.

But there were monsters in the prism, depending on where you looked.

[battling]

Borin'.

What's this prism thing?

[dms]

It's where we were before. Tons of weird stuff happened there, but the color magic was pretty cool when it wasn't making someone refract.

[battling]

Refract? What's that about?

[dms]

It's when someone's colors get all out of balance and starts messing with your head. It's not fun! 0/10, wouldn't recommend. A lot of people died because of it, too.

- Ah, but they got better! Everyone's alive now.

[battling]

Dunno about this color thing, but same thing happened in the school.

Every one managed to come out alive there too. Despite our very long and very boring time in death.

[dms]

Eh? "Our?" Does that mean you were one of the victims, too?

[ yikes! ]

I know they asked for entertainment here, but I really hope that's not the kind of thing they mean again...

[battling]

Yeah, the guys that died were free of the influence entirely. It's over now, so whatever.

[ Looks at Kazu. ]

That's probably what they mean.

[dms]

Influence of what? Was there something like refracting at your school, too?

[ his face falls and he gives a weak laugh. ]

I don't think that's really entertainment, though...

[battling]

More like... Possession? I dunno, I didn't get possessed by an unfinished story trying to get an ending.

Depends on how bad your taste is.

[dms]

A story...? [ ?? ] I guess you could say refracting was kind of like possession, too... It messed with your mind a lot, anyway.

I'm more into comedies, TBH. It's a Summer specialty!

[battling]

[THINKS.... ABOUT SUMMER DORM....]

It is...?

[dms]

You bet! We're known best for bringing the laughs, no matter what happens on stage. Our ad-libs are top notch! And everyone has a blast doing it!

[battling]

We're thinkin' of different things. Summer Dorm had a lotta deaths.

[dms]

Eh? I was talking about Summer Troupe! We have dorms back home, too, but no one's died?!

[battling]

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?

[dms]

Yeah! Mankai has troupes for all of them!

[battling]

Those were our dorms in our thing. [ Murder game. ]

[dms]

Ohhh, I see!

For us, it's all about who does plays together, and what genres they're best at! For Summer, it's comedies. Fall is all about action, Winter's got the drama on lock, and Spring usually does fantasies. And if we die, it's only our characters on the stage!