WEEK 2

[bathymetric]

So far, good news! You've managed to avoid killing! A week has passed in the facility, but how many more are there to go until one of you tries out Rule Seven? I mean.... we know, but.

No new areas just yet, it remains you guys and yours here for now. Well, and Angel, but again - you don't exactly see her unless you want to. It's more than a little lonely... maybe someone ought to shake things up.



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 2, your first case week! Remember to turn in regains here, your AC for last week here, and if you like, come visit Angel's office hours here!

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TUESDAY

[bathymetric]

MOTIVE

[bathymetric]

[ It’s about noon when, from seemingly everywhere in the facility at once on account of the number of apparent speakers, The Professor’s voice chimes in, breaking up whatever it was all the Test Subjects happen to be doing. ]

Not to be too demanding, but if you value your safety and security, I would recommend making your way to the meeting room within the next ten minutes.

[ The sight within the meeting room is familiar, though the same strange spiral remains on the screen from the start of whatever’s going on. Angel is already here, standing in the corner and looking deeply uncomfortable.

Once everyone has gathered and the ten minutes have passed, The Professor clears his throat. ]

Greetings, test subjects. I hope you’ve had a lovely week, scurrying about in your little maze. Or trying to take an axe to its walls, in some cases, very good. I love the... energy.

But the first phase of the experiment, I’m afraid, has come to a close. You see, there are things within my power set forth by the rules that I can do to encourage you all along - and I do plan to. After all, the purpose of this exercise is to bring out a more interesting side of you, and that can’t well happen while you’re all cozying up to each other in there. So, since I am sure you would all agree I am a magnanimous man, I’m going to provide you with what all good murderers need: a push.

[ Angel starts to walk around the room, quietly handing each test subject a small red envelope with their name on it. She makes eye contact with absolutely no one during this time. ]

Inside each of these envelopes my lovely assistant has for you is your deepest, darkest secret - or at least as close as I could get. If you would prefer that this not become common knowledge both here and in your worlds, I would suggest you enact Rule Seven by… oh, Friday ought to give at least one of you enough time, I imagine?

Think on it, won't you?

[ And with that, the screen clicks off. Angel, for her part, has already ducked back into her office, leaving all of you alone with… well, some surprisingly accurate information you probably really hoped your captors didn’t have. ]

[emberserker]

[At the mention of the axe incident, Anna glares around the room at anyone who might say anything about it. She doesn't open her envelope, however.]

It's not as if he doesn't know everything else.

[bolderfell]

[Therion's leaning against the wall by the door. It makes for a quick exit; once he's handed his envelope, he opens it, reads it, pockets it without much change in expression, and lets himself out.]

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose doesn't open her envelope. She just bolts from the room as soon as the screen clicks off, seemingly already on the verge of tears.]

[drladysounds]

[Shelley Winters opens her envelope and reads the content inside. Uuuh...]

Uh, Professor? Mister? Sir? I think you got mine mixed up with someone else's...

[The secret in that envelope doesn't seem familiar to it, but the content is unnerving because of what it says. The screen clicks off without Shelley receiving an answer.

With a very puzzled but nervous expression, Shelley walks away, clutching the secret in one hand]

[hardnosed]

[ Hesitation is weakness. Jasper doesn't waste any time in ripping her envelope open, leaving some shreds of red paper on the floor. She reads the paper, and her lip curls. Still, there's one moment in time where she looks taken off-guard by the contents, just a second where it looks like something might actually have gotten to her.

She rips the paper in half, closes her fist on it, and — okay, and at this point Rose runs out so she doesn't actually say anything confrontational, but the disdainful ch she makes before stomping out, at a regular pace, communicates most of what she was going for anyway. ]

[onefuture]

[Lif's tense the entire time that the envelopes are being passed out; he's got a pretty good idea of some of the things that could be in his, and he's pretty damn quiet the entire time the Professor is talking. There's plenty of remarks he could make about this, and a lot of other things, but...

Lif quietly and calmly dismisses himself after the little show, heading back towards his room.]

[baitless]

[...given the stuff that they already went ahead and put on his profile, Seteth is entirely certain he knows what's in his, but... damn it. Damn it...]

...This...

...no, I'm sure he doesn't care what would happen, does he.

[JUST DESTABILIZE AN ENTIRE NATION THAT IS ALREADY AT WAR WHY DON'T YOU]

[thieviusraccoonus]

[Sly accepts the envelope from Angel with a small nod, turning it over between two fingers. But it's not what's most on his mind right now, no, he's looking at everyone else. Gauging their reactions. Once the screen turns off, he pockets the unopened motive and makes his quiet exit.

So much for things staying relatively peaceful.]

[archboxer]

[Knowing what Seteth has on his profile she can guess what's in her's but... She takes a look and.]

So this is the sort of person our host is. I see.

[She leaves quickly but there is a very distinct growl to her voice.]

[blackmass]

[Kirei opened his envelope...then sighed, rolled his eyes, and pocketed the enclosed letter.]

[Really, now.]

[valentinus]

...Hmph.

[ He'll tear his up, no thanks. ]

[bogwife]

[Zerinda's jaw visibly clenches the moment she's handed her envelope. She opens it carefully, reads the note and then crumples the paper in her hands before shoving it into the pocket of her skirt and hurrying back to her room.]

MEETING

[fivestagegod]

[...Okay, so the Professor is a dick, which we all expected, we just didn't expect him to lean into it quite this hard somehow. That's...fine, Birkin supposes. At least he hadn't gone weird and rigid again while being addressed this time, he'd just taken the envelope, looked at it and...there had been a definite sign of something in his expression, somewhere between angry and upset, that he'd quickly stamped out. He's been feeling twitchy ever since, but he gives people a couple hours to calm down before going back into the lounge, as he'd said he would.

He doesn't know if anyone will show up, after that, but in the event that anyone does...]

Hey. I figure it's important to get everyone in the same room, for a reason that isn't…related directly to the Professor, I guess. We ought to share any information or anything else we've found, and just make sure everyone's okay.

[Some people were obviously not okay. Rose, for example, was super not okay. But still, he figures it's worth doing for the time being.]

[OOC: You do not have to engage with him directly; feel free to threadjack/do as you like! I am just here to host. o/ ]

[philoxenia]

[ Well... she sure is here, with dog in tow! Daisy has learned by now that she should not go up to people she doesn't know, so she's sitting in Mira's lap. Daisy looks very happy to be here, but Mira? Does not.

.... we're ignoring that though!! ]

I... mostly looked around in the library. Um, the crime section had some how-tos, but nothing about murder. [ Luckily! ] There was information on other sorts of crime, though... and examples that are very real in my world.

[bolderfell]

[Surprisingly, Therion is here! He's hanging out at the edges of the gathering, of course, but he's here. And he's volunteering information.]

I've found a couple things. One's a possible entrance to whatever's between the room with the vending machine and the locked space on the other side. The rest... are just some observations.

[baitless]

[Seteth is clearly a little, uh... hm. Well, it's probably best to focus on... the situation at hand... instead of the implications of all that...]

I was able to learn a bit more about the operations of this facility from the cooking staff, if nothing else. There's a "cleaning crew," apparently, and food is transported in overnight via submarine.

...He also seems satisfied with his working arrangement, so I doubt he could be swayed into cooperating with us.

[hardnosed]

[ Jasper shows up almost entirely because she wants to see if Rose shows up! Whether that is, or isn't, the case, she chooses to linger in the lounge for her own mysterious reasons, leaning against a far wall rather than sitting in the one room where a chair (okay, a sofa) might actually be able to accommodate her. She doesn't look happy, but when has she ever? ]

I've already talked about the windows. [ to like two people ] But it looks like they're the only things he bothered to protect with that specific technology — out of what we can access, at any rate. Everywhere else is fair game.

[ Can you believe it... all this time she was punching things to field test whether or not they have a forcefield on them... this was clearly always her intent! ]

[fivestagegod]

For what it's worth, I've found a couple of things.

[So there's that.]

One was a key that was behind one of the paintings in the art room. I was concerned I would have to set the thing on fire to get at the key itself, but it came out of the experience unscathed. [birkin why would you- ...okay.] It's a standard key, not a card key, so I'm not sure where it goes yet.

The second thing I found is a clipboard behind one of the machines in the laundry room. It had a sheet in it that says...well, all sorts of wonderful things.

[He's actually got that with him, in case anyone wants to take a look. Knock yourselves out.]

[shieldsister]

[Well, that motive sure was a thing, wasn't it. For the first time since arriving, Aela remains holed up in room 18 after the motive, and she doesn't leave until the meeting. She seems perfectly fine during that, but given how scarce she is throughout the rest of the day, that's probably telling.

In the evening, Aela can be found getting some more stuff out of the vending machine. She seems particularly interested in one item.]

Why was this brought here?

[Oh well, more junk to lug back to her room and more seawater to leave on the floor without cleaning it up, because this is just her life now she supposes.

At night, you can find her in the north tunnel staring out at the fish. She looks like she's lost in thought. You might come across her absently reaching toward her pocket for that red envelope, or maybe she's playing with one of those knives from the vending machine. Either way, she'll glance over as soon as she hears you (and her hearing is really good).]

A bit dangerous to be out so late, isn't it?

[It sounds almost like a joke, but is now really the time to joke about this sort of thing??]

[onefuture]

[Well, this is certainly one way to start a Tuesday, now isn't it.

Lif's usually content to stay in the library at most hours to try and stave off boredom with the sizable amount of books he doesn't recognize, but after today, he needs something else to try and get his mind off of everything, and so, he's in the Fitness Room after the meeting today. He's taken at least one side of the room and seems to be running through sword drills; he has Sökkvabekkr out and is just kind of working out all of the tense energy he can from this. He's not going to falter; not even for a moment. He can't afford to.

He wouldn't be opposed to any company, though, if anyone wishes to spar. He just seems very focused on what he's doing.

In the evening, though, he'll be throwing another round of coins in the vending machine; the interesting items that pop out this time are certainly something else, but what gets his attention, weirdly enough, are the withered flowers. He handles them with care, even if he doesn't recognize them...]

...Hm. It seems even this machine can't keep everything alive.

[Of course, he'll also be looking at the Malort, tentatively sniffing and--oh my god that's foul, and he recoils. People drink this kind of stuff?

...He's tempted towards it, but honestly, he's just gonna refrain.

At night, though, Lif can be found in his usual haunt of the library with a small, organized pile of items next to him. If anyone happens to look at them, he'll tip his head up.]

Feel free to take whatever you want. I have no need of it.

[baitless]

[Wow, thanks, Professor! He hates this! Immediately after the motive, he heads for the door to the dining area, where he just... okay. He describes a specific food from home, suggests some substitutions, the means of preparation, and... okay. Okay.

A few minutes later, you can find him sitting at one of the tables eating something that looks very suspiciously like a Double Down. It doesn't seem like it helps, given his dour expression, but... you know, that's how depression meals are. You just kind of eat something that seems kind of awful and makes you look like you've given up on life, and you're entirely aware of that.

After the meeting, he decides to go check out the art gallery, which... hm. He hasn't really checked it out before given how much time he's been spending in the library, but he might as well check this out, right? ...he's pretty clearly weirded out by any religious stuff he finds. Man, just wait until he gets a Bible+ outta the vending machine.

Eventually, he just... heads for Room 16... TIME TO RUMINATE, HE GUESSES, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS DAY...]

[archboxer]

[Today, Rhea seems... agitated, to say the least. She doesn't go the gym instead heading towards the library. One of the psychology books is spread out in front of her. Ocassionally she turns the page as if she's reading. If you look closely, though? Her eyes rarely are on the words. She also seems to have picked a spot to read that's close to a corner....

Actually? She seems to have made it a rule that there's always a wall to her back when sits down. Later in the cafeteria she has a simple sandwich as she sits in the farthest corner.

Though, it's quite after the meeting that her agitation really starts to show when she wanders into the laundry. She doesn't bring any clothes and seems to just be praying in a quiet place, hands folded. She's silent this time only mouthing the words. If you're good at lipreading one word will stand out by it's incredible frequency: mother.]

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose is just gonna be hiding out in Room 20 for the rest of the day after the motive! She's not...

She's fine. She's fine. She has to be fine. She just needs a little bit of time to be fine.]