The clock strikes twelve. The gong of the grandfather clock in the foyer tolls out the time in slightly unnecessarily obnoxious loud noises. The ambiance of this old mansion demands respect, care, awe --
Okay, no, wait, why are you even in this stupid dusty house?
No reasons are forthcoming, because everyone knows that people just end up in places like this sometimes. That's just how the narrative device works. The hows and the whys don't matter -- all that matters is that you're all here, so you'd better get cracking and start exploring, because it's not like you can leave yet.
Or ever, maybe.
 Good day, sirs and madams. Might I interest you in a nice glass of blood...y mary?
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PHASE I [ 02 15 ] All you see is white. The crash of thunder hits your ears next, punctuated by the piercing pitch of white noise in the background. After a few blinks, your vision comes back to you. Oh good, glad that you’ve joined us in the land of the living. Unlike the nondescript corpse at your feet – it looks like… a butler? Oh dear. You’ve already killed Murder Suspect Number One in most situations. How terribly ironic.
After all, who could’ve killed him but you? You might not remember, but there is definitely a murder weapon in your hand. It’s probably a knife or a poisoned glass of wine or-
Wait, is that a toaster? A full on toaster? Or maybe it’s a taser. Maybe you bludgeoned this poor guy with an entire encyclopedia. Either way, it looks like your murder weapon is a little unconventional, whether it’s a stranger’s pair of underwear or a hair curler. Are you really supposed to believe you committed a murder with these? (Yes.)
That said in the next second the double doors will be opening up. It’s pretty clear you’re not alone. Think quick!
PHASE II [ 0600 ] Exploring more around the compound, you’ll find plenty of those tall, oil portraits of people hung around the walls. When you start walking, they’re all strangers. However by the time that you feel like you’re wandering around for an hour, two hours, they might start looking a little bit more… familiar? Mom? Is that you?
You don’t have time to think about that, though. You were clearly framed! You don't’ have a motive for killing some random NPC –
“Or do you?” a portrait will ask.
Oh. Holy shit. Well it’d just be rude to leave, right? Whether you stick around for conversation or not, you’ll find that was just the beginning. The portraits are going to start grilling you. Welcome to CERES Central’s Roast of You. What was your motive? Don’t you know you should respect the servants? How would you feel if you were caught like that? Careful turning your back on them though, because if you ignore them for too long, the subjects in the portraits may just reach out and snatch you to join them in their portrait world.
At that point, the only way to get out is to swap places with some other poor, unsuspecting soul wandering around.
PHASE III [ 1045 ] You know what makes me hungry? Murder.
What’s the point of making a mansion this big anyway? Who’s even here? Either way, whether you’re looking for the kitchen to make a fine post-homicide sandwich or just trying to escape, you’ll eventually make it to a stairwell. The most finicky stairwell ever. Is that a trail of bloody footprints leading up the steps? What? No. Stop it, just climb.
Or well – don’t climb too quickly now. The staircases apparently have a mind of their own, swapping from one doorway to another. You definitely haven’t seen this before. It would seem that these stairs might even be interested in keeping you in a circle forever, no concern for whether or not you’re hungry or, god forbid, need to use the restroom.
However the portraits in the stairwell will provide a little tip: “The stairs are gossips, you know. Why don’t you tell us a little something about yourself? Make it good!”
Weirdly enough, sound advice – that is, if you’re interested in shouting out your most embarrassing secrets into the void so a mansion can keep talking shit about you. Oh well. Your alternative is just being a stair golem. There are worse fates.
PHASE IV [ 1430 ] This hall is oddly quiet.
Well, until you hear it – the soft sniffles coming from down the hall, the broken sobs. It sounds like someone’s crying. For one reason or another, your footsteps take you forward – there’s really no point in going back now after all, right? Yet as you continue to walk… walk… walk… the crying becomes louder and louder. More desperate, more despaired. In time, it’s clear that this person is wailing, screaming, “How could this happen?!”
Within the span of a breath, all the lights in the hallway go out, leaving you in pitch black.
It occurs to you then that you hear a second set of steps. When did you stop walking? A cold chill runs down your spine and you find yourself running then, despite the fact that it feels like this pitch black hallway goes on forever. The other footsteps pick up, remind you that you’re not alone. No, certainly not.
Best hope that you find some assistance soon – otherwise it looks like the Butler Association is going to ignite some righteous vigilante justice on your ass.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] You’re in the grand ballroom now, ready to present your case. Armed with a cob pipe (don’t smoke inside, it’s rude), a detective hat, and a single spotlight aimed right at you, you now have to explain how you came to the conclusion about the True Killer that is Obviously Not You. Rather, it’ll just be the character of whoever tags into this prompt – yes, you are suddenly so very sure that they’re the ones who are the ultimate mastermind of this entire game and… you’re just going to have to bullshit the reason why even if you know virtually nothing about them. It’s a dog eat dog world out there, you know?
Sorry about that.
Should you actually provide enough of a compelling case or they take pity on you, having a villainous breakdown for the sake of the plot, you’ll be awarded with a coupon that’ll give you three free scoops at your local ice cream parlor! (Note: you must buy the first two scoops in order to qualify.) Of course, if you’re not able to nail them down as the killer, you are obviously the killer yourself (citation needed).
From there, you’ll be dragged off to face your punishment: for six grueling hours you will be tickled mercilessly.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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no subject
That would seem to the the case from what I've seen so far.. [ Not that it wasn't something she was used to, anymore. After all, this was essentially what Romdeau had been like the last time she was inside of the dome - though the killers had been made of metal and a little harder to take down than their flesh and blood counter parts. ]
Oh? I haven't heard that before. [ And that wasn't sarcastic - not from a girl who's probably only ever heard accolades to do with her connections in life. 'His excellency's granddaughter' was her most hated title, so to be tied to anything other than Donov Mayer was something new to her. New - but certainly not unwelcome. She does seem mildly amused at the connection between her father and 'background in law' - ]
What, you've learned what you need to in order to get out of certain situations? [ Oh, Re-L - ]
No, they aren't. But considering all that seems to eb going on in this place there might not be much to do other than to try and frame people and see how they react..
no subject
No? You're practically a detective! That's really cool! [ Considering just how intuitive Re-L seems, she almost wishes that she'd been on a few investigations with them last year. Heck, even this year, before the whole Ruby City thing. She'd probably have had things solved a lot faster than they did.
...That last bit has her tipping her head in thought. ]
Yeah! I guess you could say that-- wait, no! Not... not situations like this! Probably! Besides, I'm also a magician! So... it would have been easier for me to make the body disappear if I'd had done it!
[ Stuffing a dead body into her magic panties doesn't sound appealing, though... ]
Yeah, that sounds spot on, really! Maybe they think it's funny? They must be very bored... whoever they are.
no subject
Because sometimes people with that amount of power and influence get too bored for our good or their own, either. [ She'd seen a few examples of that, from time to time. The own lax nature of what power she'd held in her own home world was only something she'd recently come to know from a view point outside of her own talking to Vincent - well, and in every time she'd been shown just how little power she'd had when someone had wanted to withhold from her. That, however, was a story for another day. ]
No, not before today, at least. [ But, again, not a bad thing. She can't help her amusement, thought as she says she's a magician. That's apparently a real thing? ]
So you practice slight of hand. [ Simple as that, right? Sounds like child's play to her, and maybe something she'll have to shove Pino at her to distract the little autoreiv for long enough to get her brains back about her. ]
You'd be surprised how twisted people can be, when they want to be.. Either way, staying in this one stop only does whoever is doing the killing an advantage.
no subject
Huh... well, I think you're definitely detective material! You're really smart and intuitive! [ She smiles at Re-L, before blinking... hey, not everything is just the slight of hand! She doesn't answer though, she just smiles because a magician doesn't give away her secrets, or any clue to them, and she moves onto the next subject instead. ]
True. We should probably move on and try to investigate further!
no subject
Fortunate for you I've dealt with it before fairly extensively. [ When your entire life is like a fairly complicated game of chess to determine who was going to be the golden fellow-citizen of the moment, playing at her strengths wasn't something Re-L was unaccustomed to. She may not have had to do it for a few months, now, but it was a lot like riding a bike - Remembering all she'd been created for and made to be, much less playing the game to get the details that she needed.
It's a familiar route to say the least. At the comment about smart and intuitive, though, she has to give one of those little, almost toneless laughs. ]
I was made to be that way. [ Literally. Re-L nods at the agreement to move, turning to exit through the doorway, looking to either side of herself before continuing. ]
Finding anyone else that we may be able to team up with may be a viable option. Depending on if they're.. friendly or not.
no subject
Agreed. Something tells me we're not going to run into a lot of friendly faces here, so we should probably be on guard. I'm uh, not sure if we should bring a weapon with us or not. If we can find one that wasn't used for a murder, that is.
[ She doesn't really want to kill anyone, per say, she just wants to make sure no one actually tries to attack them. This is unfamiliar ground, and when dead people start popping up and a killer is still at large? It's probably best to be prepared. ]
no subject
[ Not a robot - but close enough. If she's cut, she'll bleed, but the reaction might not be what other people might consider normal. At the mention of weapons Re-L gives Trucy another once over, coming what she can see of her for any indications of weapons, and when she sees none... There's a little exasperation in her expression, but she reaches toward her back, drawing out from under her 'overcoat' or cape, whatever you wanted to call that bit of fabric - a small pistol. Taking it by the barrel, she offers it to the other girl, not about to give over the large rifle strapped to her thigh. ]
Take this. It hasn't been fired since I had a little target practice back in my world, so it shouldn't be linked to anything here. And I have this, if need be. [ Taps the larger shotgun - if anything was their almost guarantee that they'd be left largely alone, it was probably that. ]
If you're not familiar with guns at all I can keep it - it might be best for the health of everyone around that way.