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

study

[chainbroke]

[ She doesn't really do much on Sunday, but Monday... ]

What are you writing, Mr. Pines?

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford glances up from his notebook, which he's filled out with a hand-drawn chart, each space labeled in his own elegant hand, and is in the middle of filling in. He splits into a weary smile at the sight of Naminé.]

Oh, hello there. I was actually just filling out a character sheet for my favorite game. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons. Wander pulled my Dungeon Master's Guide from the slot machine.

[chainbroke]

I've never heard of it.

[ She takes a seat next to him. ]

What is it about? How do you play?

[sixfingeredstan]

Oh! Well, it's very fun. Here, let me explain the rules to you. It's a game based on fantasy adventure, but with the added thrill of complex mathematical equations and strategy elements!

[He launches into a very long-winded and detailed explanation of the mechanics of the game. Naminé can feel free to tune him out any time now.]

[chainbroke]

[ Surprisingly, she listens attentively! There are a lot of things he talks about that she isn't sure about, but she's not rude enough to interrupt him. ]

It sounds very interesting. I don't think I'd be very good at playing, though... I don't know very much about math.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford is so exceptionally pleased that she actually listens to him—yes, he can tell when people zone him out—that he's not even that disappointed by her response. He gives her an indulgent smile.]

That's alright. If you'd like, you can watch me play if I manage to find someone to play with me.

[chainbroke]

[ Hey, she actually looks pretty interested! ]

I wouldn't mind watching at all. You create your own character? What is your character like?

[sixfingeredstan]

[Bless her little heart. Ford knew he liked her for a reason.]

Really? That's wonderful! That's right, each player creates their own character. Mine is a level 73 drow mage named Armarius. He has a tragic, hidden past but is eternally optimistic despite that. Here, I've made a few sketches of him.

[He shows her. They're really detailed and surprisingly good.]

[chainbroke]

Oh, wow...

[ She looks over the drawings, and to be honest, she's surprised. ]

You have an incredible talent, Mr. Pines. They're so well-drawn! And Armarius sounds very strong.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Look at this nerdy old man. He's so tickled by Naminé's reaction.]

Well, thank you, dear. I've practiced a very long time. And he is! He's worked very hard to be that way, too. He started out a skinny, scared weakling, and I trained and leveled him rigorously. That's called character development.

[chainbroke]

I draw, too, but nothing so wonderful as this.

[ Her eyes widen, eyebrows raised. ]

Oh, wow... It must have taken a lot of training! What sort of training was it?

[sixfingeredstan]

I'm sure that's not true!

[Ford makes a note to ask to see her drawings sometime.]

Oh, nothing formal. Just lots of practice, drawing from life. I always was handy at it, but as I began researching the unknown, it became essential to be able to record what I saw out in the world as well!

[chainbroke]

[ She nods, still looking over his drawings. ]

What kinds of things have you seen?

[sixfingeredstan]

Oh, all sorts. Monsters, aliens, celestial beings...cryptids...ghosts...demons...

[He could go on.]

[chainbroke]

Cryptids...?

[sixfingeredstan]

Mm. Cryptids. Creatures that most folks think exist only as legends made up to scare people. Monsters that hide in the forests or underwater and rarely reveal themselves to mankind.

[chainbroke]

Oh... wow, you must be very good at what you do if you've seen some of them!

[sixfingeredstan]

I'm the best at what I do. [he assures her with a wink.] That's my whole life's work: tracking them down and studying. We have a lot to learn from these secretive creatures!

[chainbroke]

[ She's so interested in everything he's saying, bless her. ]

Really? What have you learned from them?

[sixfingeredstan]

[This is why she is now his granddaughter.]

Well, lots of things! Cryptids such as the Mothman or the Sasquatch are highly intelligent, but widely misunderstood as demons or bloodthirsty beasts. Really, they're peaceful. They just want a little solitude. And they're exceptionally good at finding it.

[chainbroke]

So they look scary, but they're actually kind...

[ She pauses. ]

Do you have drawings of them? I've never seen a Mothman or a Sasquatch before, but they sound like they might be very interesting.

[sixfingeredstan]

For the most part, yes! Once you get to know them, they're not all that different from you or I.

[Ford's face lights up, and he pulls a book out from near his feet. It's a very old journal, leatherbound with a six-fingered hand and a large '3' drawn on the front. He just acquired it in the wee hours of the morning, and he's more than thrilled to have it back.

Ford begins to flip through it, tongue between his teeth, fingers wiggling when he finds the correct pages.]

Behold: the Mothman.

[It's a very detailed drawing. A lovingly detailed drawing.]