week 0 - day 1

[productions]

murder manor week zero



saturday

[Saturday begins much like Friday, with no further answers provided, and no means of escape. However, at 3 PM on Saturday, the old grandfather clock in the foyer begins to chime. From the foyer, the ballroom doors stand open, and the room is bright with sunshine. Soft, dreamy music plays from a radio inside.

Inside the ballroom, what seems to be a magnificent party is laid out. There is a buffet table laden with finger foods - vegetables and dips, finger sandwiches, pastries, fruit, and cheeses. Next to the table are glasses filled with wine, champagne, or juice. Most of the room is empty, with room to stand and talk, although towards the windows looking out on the courtyard are six tables with five place settings each, set for a larger meal.

And then there's a seventh table, at the back of the room, on which are thirty small notebooks. Inside, the notebooks appear to be some sort of album, with each page containing a picture of and information about your fellow guests.

After everyone has filed in, the doors shut and lock behind the final guest; the doors to the courtyard close as well. You'll have some time to talk amongst yourself, for it will be another hour of dining before anyone else appears]

This is an open mingle log for the welcome feast. Please tag one another. There will be NPC interaction in the post later in the day.

Setting
Information Cards

Comments

5 PM

[productions]

[Once her toast has finished, the Hostess will slip out the interior doors. The doors will lock behind her for 15 minutes, and then they will creak open, allowing everyone to leave if they wish, or stay and finish eating - a dinner has now been set out for everyone, though whoever delivered it is unseen.

The Hostess is nowhere to be seen.]

[detectus]

So.

Is this real or are we just on the set of a really ridiculous reality TV show that we all forgot we signed up for? Not quite sure where I stand yet.

[humanic]

I know I can do some real impulsive things in the heat of the moment, but I think even I'd remember signing up for a crazy murder reality show. And the whole fence being electrocuted thing makes me think they're pretty serious about this.

Has anyone had any luck in bypassing it yet or finding another way out? I've been trying to look for a fusebox, but I haven't found anything yet.

[detectus]

I haven't seen a fusebox. Which means they've set this place up so that we can't interfere with the plan.

[throe]

[ Susan's assessments are most likely right, because Rapture hasn't said a word since the announcement. She doesn't seem the least bit upset either as she eats her dinner and enjoys her wine and the times where she isn't using her mouth to eat, she's using it for a tight-lipped smile.

Mystery and intrigue, oh this will be the most fun she's had in a long time. ]

[roadroller]

[Rin wants to make friends with Rapture after earlier, but watching her reaction is definitely something. The Vocaloid herself is not sure how to act at all in this situation. A scenario where she has to kill others is understandably not something she's been programmed to deal with - desire for popularity is hard wired in, so she wants to make a good impression on the viewers, but it hardly seems appropriate to try for that now. So she'll awkwardly ask,]

Hey, are you really ok with this? ♪

[throe]

[ She shrugs, gracefully cutting into the meat of her dinner. ]

It's fun and it gets good publicity. I know she said that they're real murders, but why would they want to admit it's staged from the beginning? It's like going to a concert and knowing what the entire set list is beforehand. It doesn't hold the same excitement when the audience knows everything.

Re: 5 PM

[teenspirit]

I-it's too terrible...! There's no way it can be true...!

[ Sonia stands near the wall, away from the food, weeping. ]

[reunified]

[ Altman doesn't deal well with crying anyone, let along young women, but talking to someone will hopefully distract him long enough to stave off a panic attack. ]

Ah... Sonia..? Are you okay?

[ Dumb question. Call it reflex. ]

[teenspirit]

It's like a terrible nightmare, isn't it!

[godwhisperer]

[Gundam is keeping to himself, staying away from all the pandemonium, completely unreadable. But he will chime in, even if it's not comforting.]

True or not does not matter. All that matters is which among us will allow ourselves to be made into pieces. But you claimed to be no peon, or am I mistaken?

[deflower]

[ Minatsuki is Not Doing Well. ]

Bullshit! I'm not doing this again!

[pasodoble]

( Again? )

So you believe everything?

[pandacea]

[Yeah, May doesn't look too happy about this.]

As if anyone here would participate in such a horrible game! The only person who will die is you and the other wretched fiends who came up with such a terrible idea!

[souredsweet]

Chang-san... [Kaoru actually looks a little nauseous after that short talk with the strange woman, though it's clear the unhappy sentiments are shared.]

[godwhisperer]

Well said, young one.

[Gundam has been staying to himself while all this has been happening, not particularly reacting to any of it.]

These insolent ones believe we are so simple as to become tools in a game we have no stakes in.

[reunified]

I'm guessing by everyone's reactions that most--or maybe all--of the information on those cards is correct.

[ He sounds pretty numb. In shock, probably. He just stares at his champagne glass as he speaks. ]

Robots and aliens and magic. Is any of that true?

[aozaki]

[oh. well, it's a different reaction from all (most) of the freaking out...]

With all the hectic news given already, would you really like another surprise to top it off?

[roadroller]

[Rin's been nervous about those info cards, remembering how explicitly they detailed how to victimize her. Having it brought up again after the true purpose was revealed... it puts her on edge.]

Umm, I'm the robot, but I'd REALLY appreciate it if that information wasn't used to kill me. I didn't get a complicated writeup of your body anatomy, so it hardly seems fair! ♪

[balzams]

[With all the people crowding round Latvia hadn't gotten the opportunity to speak to the hostess, not that it would do much good. He wouldn't be able to ask enough questions to make any sense of the situation.

With the reveal he'd lost his appetite and he just sits there staring at his food and mumbling to himself]

It's just a joke... right? Did she really say 'murder mystery'?

It's not like it would be real murders...

But the poison...

[speakveryclearly]

[Gosh, this kid doesn't look like he's taking the situation well.]

The knives look fairly dangerous too. You'd be best off not touching them.

[motheringnation]

[She'll sit down next to him.]

I don't know. Maybe we'll find out more tomorrow.

[pasodoble]

Either way, there's no good in worrying on an empty stomach.

( Personally, he doesn't believe it. What sort of insane person would think this was a good idea? )

[mostlymarried]

[Belarus has stayed stoically silent throughout the Hostess' appearance, watching her play off everyone else. Whilst she did have questions... this didn't seem a person worth asking.

As for the rest of the discussion...]

I have tried to dig under the fence already by the pond. I met solid rock shortly after six feet. The fence extended down to it; still electrified. I do not know how that works, if it can be bypassed that way. Anyone working to escape, I will help.

As for the murder, it must be real. I found three items in my room that are not mine. A knife, [she takes the letter opener out from inside her coat and places it on the table] whatever this is [the (unopened) pen-knife follows] and this. [the labelled bottle of chloroform, that she holds up for everyone to see.]

I assume it is poison; it doesn't smell of anything I recognise.

[she leaves that next to the rest of the items laid out on the table]

Whether you play her game is up to you. I will be leaving.

[throe]

Woah. [ She tentatively touches the top of the chloroform bottle, leaning it back ever so slightly to read the labeling. She sounds more amazed than terrified, but she knows freaking out isn't going to help... though she supposes with an audience watching them, it does add a sense of danger. ] I've never actually seen chloroform before!

Wait... how come they were all in your room? Seems a bit early to start framing you, don't you think?