WEEK 3

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Karolina and Mulan are dead. The first, and hopefully the last, deaths of your stay here. Hopefully their deaths won't be in vain. Your third week here starts on a solemn note, and the mood here has taken on a significant downward spiral. If it's any consolation (it isn't), you'll find that you have two new floors to explore...even if one of those floors has about twenty STAY OUT signs nailed to it.

23 guests remain.]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

{ooc: Don't forget to turn in your week 2 AC! As we're now officially in full murdergame mode, AC from here on out is extended till Thursday.}

Comments

TUESDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

MOTIVE: Take Your Loved Ones By The Hand, Please

[yourghosthost]

[Once again, The Ghost Host appears with another box of envelopes in his hands. This is the same deal as last week, with each including the name and picture of each competitor on it.

He is, once again, displeased. For a man who participated in that sham of a trial, he does seem incredibly annoyed about all of these.]

My employer was greatly pleased by the results of the last motive. As a result, they have decided to raise the stakes.

[He pauses, torn.]

Just...open your envelope. You'll see what I mean.

[He vanishes, once again leaving the box for each competitor.

Every envelope contains a covertly-taken polaroid photograph of a character's loved one(s). What exactly that means is left open to interpretation.]

[folkscallmewander]

[Everyone is a loved one to Wander Screwball Jones may be an exception what is this.

He's not sure what to make of the envelope at first. Another secret? Something worse? As he opens it, he finds not an incriminating photo, but rather a picture of a menacing skeleton man in a dark bedroom, taken from some hole in the ceiling.]

Why'd you take a picture of him?

[Like. Anyone can sneak onto Lord Hater's ship if they're careful. Wander and Sylvia do it all the time if they need a place to sleep.

...Wander has an idea what they're implying but. He looks over at the others, concerned that their pictures might not be of well-known people, too.]

[capulion]

[There's a soft growl in the back of Kiara's throat as she approaches the box. Last time was uncomfortable and stupid, and her expectations aren't good here.

She rifles around with her nose until she finds a little lion drawing, pulls it out somewhat delicately, and manages to slash the envelope open with her claws. It still damages the note and the photo a little, but not as bad as last time.

Which is good, because her reaction is entirely different.

The image is of her father, standing in the rain, some of the lionesses of her pride visible behind him. She knows in her heart that he's facing down Zira.

She chokes on her gasp, and covers the photograph with her paws, and presses her face against them, shaking a little.]

[nobodyperfect]

[Lea looks... unwilling to open his envelope after last week, but eventually does. Inside, is another picture, of course.

This one's unusual. It's a picture of his mom and Isa, talking. They look a little worried.]

What... This is... Is this current?

[Is time passing where he's supposed to be? Are they worried about him? This is enough to make his heart ache and set his mind abuzz. What could this mean? Hopefully not the obvious implication...]

[whistlenotchirp]

[He isn't sure what to expect this time and he isn't looking forward to it. But he has to be an image of respectability, showing these kids and scoundrels how to handle these machinations in a calm collected manner. So he confidently steps up to his envelope and opens it with style and class.

Jiminy is many things and many of those things are flaws. But for those flaws, there is one thing that has generally kept his moralizing from getting out of hand.

He can't crumble the photo at his size, but he suddenly kicks it, eyes darting for the Ghost Host again, extremely pale.] You-you stay away from him! Understand, me?! He's-he's been through enough!

[He knows he's probably feeding the sick pleasure of these wackos, but he doesn't care. Not Pinoc. Anyone but Pinoc.]

[thetimebomb]

[Sylvia couldn't help but grow nervous as she opens her envelope . Last week's motive still didn't settle well with her and she can only imagine what this envelope has in store for her.

She opens it and... looks very unimpressed. apparently her most "loved one" beyond Wander is someone who looks like a jerk.]

Is the motive that you'll dump them in here if no one dies this week? Cause that's enough to get me to kill someone.

[That is clearly sarcasm.]

[ilovepuppies]

[If looks could kill, well, the ghost host is already dead, but Star is glaring daggers at him anyway. He can blame his ~employer~ all he wants, but as far as she's concerned, he's the source of all the misery they've had to put up with. She wordlessly snatches her envelope from the box and opens it....

And her tough facade breaks a little when she sees Marco smiling back up at her. Suddenly all she can picture is him within Toffee's indestructible magic field as it slowly shrinks.

She promised him she'd be more careful, that she wouldn't be so recklessly anymore. That she wouldn't put him in danger anymore. She promised.

Star is uncharacteristically quiet as she stares at her picture, gripping it so hard that it starts to crumple.]

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford's hands aren't trembling at all as he pulls the Polaroid out of its envelope, no, not at all. He sees its subjects and immediately his throat goes dry. It's a photo of his brother Stanley, sitting on the roof of the Mystery Shack with Dipper and Mabel, lighting off fireworks and eating popsicles.]

Monsters. [His voice is a low, menacing rumble. He can't handle the thought of anything happening to his family. He just found them again. They can do whatever they please with him, but Stanley? Dipper? Mabel?

Unthinkable. He won't let this happen.]

[toogoodforhim]

[What is a Polaroid

Lefou's getting better at recognizing his own name, so it doesn't take him long to find his envelope this time, shaking out the picture into his hand.

The portrait is of a middle-aged woman with gold makeup creased in the motherly wrinkles on her forehead, bending down to give a little boy a kiss. He recognizes them instantly, and frowns. She had been the one to vouch for his change of heart, he was sure, she'd been the one after the curse was broken to make sure he was okay and to thank him for helping them - for saving her. She was the one who'd served a tea service as impressive as a full meal, to the newly human castle residents and their forgotten families, and she'd kept him next to her to spare him the glances and whispers of "that's Gaston's boy" and "what's he doing here" and "what was his name again?"

The portrait is a sweet one, but he dreads what it means.]

I don't...get it.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa's already nervous when she picks out her envelope. Seeing how the others reacted... it can't be good. So she tries to prepare herself for whatever was in the contents of the envelope...

Except it's hard to bd prepared when she sees her sister's smiling face in the photograph. Which shouldn't make sense! Anna is here with her. She should be safe from the threats of the host's employer! But still... seeing the picture of Anna, knowing its implication... it makes her blood run cold.]

This is ridiculous. You... you said your employer was pleased with what happened. [God even just saying that makes her nauseous...] Why make us do it again if they got what they wanted???

[tadaishi]

['Raise the stakes' he said. Last weeks envelope with the secrets hadn't been that bad, so he wasn't sure if the raised stakes would be that much worse this time around. It's paper again, and he doesn't even have to open it fully to see that it's a photo.

Of his brother, presumably (hopefully) taken by their aunt, working on one of his projects.

Does it imply that if there isn't a murder this week, family members will be brought in?]

You better not touch him.

[trashcubes]

[The picture that WALL-E receives will be familiar to anyone who has looked at his profile here, in that it's of this other robot. Upon seeing what it is, WALL-E makes a soft, sad sound.]

Eeeva...

Re: MOTIVE: Take Your Loved Ones By The Hand, Please

[aboyandhiscar]

They do get that no one went after each other last week, right? Your bosses are full of it.

[There's not much, if anything, about himself Mike would ever hurt someone over, so he's just sort of staring deadeyes at the envelope, wondering if he should even bother opening this one,too.

He shrugs, curiosity getting the best of him, and he casually flips it open. It's a pretty simple photo, 4 teens walking--two boys annoying each other, the tall one looking plain DONE with the shorter one's antics, a girl who seems resigned but fond of the antics, and another, a tall blond lanky guy, who's looking nervous as heck, peeking over his shoulder, even. Did he notice the camera?

Mike spends a long, looooong moment just staring at the photo eyes narrowed, one foot beginning to tap nervously.He seems to space out for a bit.

But then suddenly he's shrugging, crossing his arms.]

This some kinda joke? A threat? Wow, cool, you know where we live. Figures, given you like, kidnapped us and all. You've made it pretty clear this isn't your first crazy rodeo.

[He's playing it cool, but that foot is still a-tapping]

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy's not especially enjoying the idea of another motive, and with everything starting off just as it did before, it did not bode well.]

What, you got another dark secret for all of us? [Wendy grumbled as she stepped forward and took her envelope. She stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out just what it could be before she ultimately rips the top off and takes a look.

She doesn't know what to expect, but a photo of two young kids asleep on a bus would certainly be close. She nearly rips the photo apart right there.]

Oh no. No, no, no, no! [She points at the ghost host.] If you do anything to them...!

[terribibble]

[The fact that what it means is left open to interpretation is deeply distressing. Is it to remind them of what they're trying to get back to, or threaten them with the death of someone they love if they don't comply, or --

No. No, no, no more breaking down. Fiddleford looks down at the photograph in his hands. It's of a little boy with fluffy brown hair, a very familiar nose and a baseball hat pulled so low that between it and his bangs his eyes are completely obscured. He appears to be holding a fish, possibly one he caught himself.

After a long moment he takes out his notebook and slips it inside. If anything happens to his son he is going to raze this whole goddamn house to the ground, and while he doesn't voice that sentiment aloud it may be visible on his face.]

[heartofold]

[Sophie gently rips open the envelop only to freeze when she sees the photograph inside. There are the people she's missed so much-- Howl, Markl and Calcifer... yet now she would wish anything that she wasn't seeing them right now.]

No...

[Her hands tighten around the photo. It crinkles in her hand.]

This can't be. You're lying. Howl would never be caught so easily.

[So why is she still so scared? Her heart is in the pit of her stomach and it's all messed up. She thought she'd been ready for anything, but... not this.]

[amadeusrockette]

[Julia spends a long time looking at the envelope before opening it. From the comments of everyone else, she's almost more terrified of who's in the envelope than the threat against them.

In the end, she doesn't open it at all, disappearing into her room shortly after the announcement.]

[outsidethecircle]

[It's a very simple picture, in the end. It's of an older woman with a worried look on her face standing at a train station. Anna stares at it before moving it back into the envelope. She's clearly angry but--]

Why?

[chainbroke]

[ She has no idea what to expect from this envelope, but regardless, her hands are shaking when she takes hers. Naminé opens it, and she's unable to stifle the gasp she lets out when she sees who's in the picture.

Somehow, it's Riku and Roxas. She's not sure how that's even possible--didn't Roxas join with Sora when Sora's memories were complete...? In some way, at least. Naminé's so stunned that she doesn't notice anything going on around her. ]

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip opens the envelope...and glares. It's a photo of her mom and J. Lo, apparently making something together in the kitchen. They're staring at each other, and laughing. With a growl, she folds it up and stuffs it into her pocket.]

This-this proves nothing! I bet you'd barely be able to get that photo before your spy got discovered!

[wannagetsmote]

Is this some kind of joke?

[ Maui held the photograph in his hand and, rather than looking the Host in the eye, he stared down at the image. A young girl seemed hard at work, repairing a large tear in a massive piece of fabric. A familiar chicken sat at the edge of the boat they were both on, staring out at the dark, desolate sea. ]

I don't care about her. At all.

[folkscallmewander]

[This morning hasn't been good, but day had already been soured since Wander came to his room last night and found it missing one chicken. He worried that Honey Nut had escaped and wandered off to who knows where, but Sylvia stopped him from searching the mansion this late at night.

Wander had not slept well, and with the new photo, the added anxiety compels him to skip breakfast and spend most of the day running around the mansion opening drawers, looking under furniture, climbing on top of bookcases, all while yelling:]

Honey Nut? Honey Nuuuuut! Where are you, ya little rascal? It's about time you headed back home! [He's trying to be optimistic, that the chicken is safe and just scared and hiding, but as time goes on, his searching grows frantic, even panicked.]

C'mon, Honey Nut, you've got to show up. Don't tell you you've run away from home and gotten yourself stuck somewhere. Just a little cluck? A game of Hot or Cold? [A hah. hahaha. Please don't be dead, therapy chicken. Wander walks up to you when he spots you.] Have you seen Honey Nut around? He's been missin' since last night.

[In the evening, he's found in the kitchen sitting on a stool, watching a pot as he brings it to boil. He has a box of tea bags and sugar next to him for some good old-fashioned Space Georgia iced tea. That'll help everyone feel better.]

IT'S HAUNTED PIANO TIME

[amadeusrockette]

[Julia reappears several hours after the motive, looking slightly adrift. She wanders into the kitchen, mainly to check and see that her sauerkraut is still there. It's coming along, but it's not ready yet, so once Julia's finished checking it she walks aimlessly, ending up in the foyer and staring at her own profile.

She hasn't checked upstairs yet, even though she's seen people successfully climb the stairs now, so she decides that's what she should do instead of just. Being useless. Of course, none of the other rooms matter once she sees the music room. More specifically, once she sees the piano. She immediately sits, running her fingers over the keys but not quite playing anything.]

[lessonsinlove]

[ Around mid-day if anyone comes into the kitchen, they'll be treated to... well. A mess. Inside is the one and only red-haired princess, her sleeves rolled up and a smile on her face despite the rather copious amounts of what looks like flour and other such baking-type items strewn around.

More like on the floor, counter, IN the bowl she'd taken out from the cupboard along with some utensils here and there. You see, she was honestly trying to make some kind of cookies but when you haven't really made them yourself in a kitchen that's very much more advanced than first expecting? This kind of thing happened. Though she doesn't look bothered by it, adding some sugar to the bowl with a soft hum.

If anyone looks closely at one of the cleaner parts of the counter they'll see a photo with a handsome, blond man in it. ]

There--! That should do it!

[ She has no idea what she's doing here. Her dress has white splotches of flour on it along some on her one cheek but that doesn't mean she isn't enjoying at least TRYING to do this.

Maybe someone should actually show her how this is done.. ]