Week 4

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Two more people died this week. Two children. And they died because of a freak accident. Despite all your protests, Randall refused to let Jane get away despite being innocent.

But there is a tiny ray of hope now, which comes in the form of the mirror. Now that the mirror is public information, you can see people you care about, even if they are dead and trapped in hell. Not only that, but you now now that someone is trying to save you all from the predicament that you're in. And this time there's a good chance that he won't turn out to be a heartless mass murderer!

Still, the ideas for the plan are vague and you have no idea when you will actually get out. It's hard to keep up hope when your only chance of living might still end with you horribly killed, isn't it?

At least you have a new floor and the ability to wash your clothes now.

26 guests remain.]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

[Don't forget to fill in this week's activity check!

...There might also be someone new threadjacking some toplevels this week too. If you want to opt out of this, just let us know!\

Comments

making bad decisions 101

[nachosquire]

[After the disaster of a weekend everyone just had, Marco isn't really feeling.. too.. great. He witnessed a child being ground up in a giant fan and learned that his best friend was executed for the same kind of "accident", and honestly... he's kind of scared. Scared of Hades who wants their souls, scared of becoming the next victim or "accident" to get thrown into a meat grinder. But he can't let his fear take over, not when Star needed his help.

So today, Marco is out for blood.


And by that I mean he's using up all of his coins in the slot machine for the first time, just because he has them and it's the principle of the thing. Once he's got all his things in a neat lil row on the floor, he starts just.. wailing on it. Punching it, and kicking it over and over to try and get the damn thing open.]

Why-- won't--- you--- open?!

[He's going to be there literally all day. Until his knuckles bruise and bleed from going at it for so long.]

[pinkflip]

[ From one person who's having a bad day to another...

Kim comes across Marco and doesn't interfere for a minute or so...until she notices he's literally hurting himself. It's later in the day, so he's probably already got quite a few. Then, she doesn't waste another moment, running up and grabbing for his arm, to try and stop an in-progress punch. ]

Marco! Marco, stop!

[nachosquire]

[Kim grabbing his arm like that causes Marco to flinch, and he turns his head towards her with a glare that dissipates almost immediately when he realizes that it's Kim.


He pulls his arm back from her, rubbing at his wrist a little as he looks guiltily towards the machine, like a puppy that was caught chewing on furniture or something.]

I-If I could just find Star's wand, I could get us all out of here.

[pinkflip]

[ The brief glare seizes her up, but...well, she gets it. Especially when it melts into that expression of guilt. Her grip on his arm moves to his shoulder, where it becomes a comforting squeeze. ]

Oh... Marco... I get it. I-I do, but...you're only hurting yourself.

[nachosquire]

B-but.. I mean I have to try.

[The squeeze is a little comforting, but only a little.]

I promised Star I would break us both out of here and-- and look at everyone! We've only been here for, what, three weeks and I've already seen so many people break down a-and I have to do something!

[rech]

...What is something.

[From the darkness, your new best friend appears. What a sight for sore eyes.]

[nachosquire]

[WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS HERE]

Y-you--

[At first, Marco looks scared. Like he's scared that Randall was going to kill him like he did poor, sweet Jane but that fear only lasts a second, before it's replaced with anger.]

You have Star's wand, don't you?

[He pushes past Kim, standing between her and Randall with a stern glare set on his face.]

[rech]

I have things much more powerful than that. I would have no need for a childrens’ toy.

[Unamused. Stoic.]

[pinkflip]

H-hey- [ No, Marco, she is going to just. Try and pull him back. ...Unfortunately she doesn't really do karate, just works her gymnastics into her fighting, so. It probably won't work. ]

Marco, calm down, please.

[nachosquire]

[Normally, Marco might listen. He might have listened if this happened last week, when everything was still pretty okay. He might have listened if he didn't have to watch a child die in such a horrific manner, or if he didn't learn his best friend went through this hell and was punished for nothing. He might have.

But it's a lot more personal, now. And all he wants is to focus on finding a way out of here, one way or another.]

It's not a toy.

[He pries himself out of Kim's grasp, looking back to give her a look that says he can handle this.]

It's a really important heirloom to Star's family, and I've seen it do some amazing and terrifying things! And-- a-and you're gonna tell me where it is, or else I'm gonna bring the pain!

[He poses, arms up in front of him, blood dripping down his hands as he looks at Randall with determination in his eyes.]

[rech]

Did you know that her execution was one of my favorites?

[He speaks, perhaps ignoring what Marco is saying.]

There was some silly song that went along with it. Would you happen to know it off the top of your head?

[pinkflip]

[ Oh she absolutely doesn't think he can handle this- ]

Shut up you dried-up creep, stop it-- Marco, please, don't listen to him--

[ Please. Please, just- ]

[nachosquire]

[HE CAN HANDLE IT]

I'm warning you!

[He doesn't want to hear about her execution. He really, absolutely doesn't want to so he tightens his fists as if he's ready to fight, his heart beating fast in his chest as he really.. genuinely feels fear for this man.

But that isn't going to break his determination to get what he wants, so he says it again:]

Give me Star's wand!

[rech]

Who is the maid with buttercup hair? Who sleeps on moonbeams and something something something?

[He’s really enjoying this, kiddo.]

[nachosquire]

[Alright, that does it.

Just hearing that song, with the context of execution brings frustrated tears to Marco's eyes and he acts before he can think.]

Shut up!

[He yells that at Randall, and drives a fist right towards him with all the force he can muster.]

[rech]

[Randall is not expecting the hit, despite the egging on, and takes the full brunt of it.

The first thing Marco will notice is that it...doesn't feel like he's hitting a person. It feels like he's hitting an airbag. It knocks Randall backwards, and causes him to stumble backwards. In the process, both his very dumb glasses fall off of his face, and what appears to be a plastic card falls out of his pockets. He breathes heavily, it's been a long time since he's been hit, and his head tilts towards the ground. From what it looks it, Randall can't take a punch.

But the area where Marco impacted seems to be...shrinking. Somehow. Like a balloon deflating, and a similar sound emits from Randall. He breathes, clutching his knees, and he turns his head back up to Marco.

His eyes aren't human. They have no pupils and are in the shape of triangles, and are completely stark yellow. He looks back at Marco, and even with the lack of expression, one can just imagine the hatred going through his eyes.

Randall sticks a thumb to his mouth, and he exhales, as though he were inflating a balloon. Almost comically, his stomach inflates back to it's regular shape. filling out the rest of his suit versus having it simply hang off of him. He chuckles at this, lightly, before speaking in a voice that sounds both like his and gradually unhinged.]

Excellent shot.

[A rare smirk crosses his face. It's unsettling when paired with his eyes.]

My turn. I'm rather fond of games, you know. So we'll play one.

[He sticks his hand into his coat pocket, before his arm reemerges. What's at the end of his arm is not a hand. Rather, it is an absolutely massive cartoon mallet, already dripping blood, and far too big to be contained within his pocket. He spins the limb around, in a manner that's definitely human, before raising the mallet-arm high above his head.]

Th̴i͏s̢ ͠ o̢n҉́͝e͢'s͟͞ C̵À̵̡Ĺ̵̷̛L͟͢͠E̵̸͜͟͏D̴̛̕͘ W̸̕͜H̴͏̷̢͏A̷̷͝͠Ć̵̕͘͏Ḱ̸̶̕͏-̨̢̛͝Ą̡̡-̨̢́͜͡M̀́͠͞A̸͟͝͏R̷̨̀͝Ç̴̢̛͡Ó̧͘̕!̷҉́̀͏

[Run.]

[pinkflip]

[ Well. This is sure happening.

Kim couldn't keep Marco from punching Randall, but she sure as hell can grab him by the arm and just hightail it out of the casino, heading for the library. ]

[nachosquire]

[Yeah uh.

Maybe.

Maybe that was a mistake.

Marco might be pissed and hurt beyond repair (no hell be fine when he eats some nachos later) but he's not stupid enough to try and fight a guy with a giant mallet and a demonic.... everything.

So he follows right after Kim, sparing one glance towards Randall behind him.]

[rech]

[There's a whirring sound behind them.

Have you guys ever seen those old Wile E. Coyote cartoons? Or played a Sonic game? You know the thing that happens with cartoon running, where their legs move so fast they turn into swirls?

...All I'm saying is don't look back, and don't stop.]

[pinkflip]

[ No looking back! No stopping! Got it!! ]

C-come on, we just gotta find a way to lose him!

[ She...hopes, at least. How can they, when this is his-- No, no way. She is not going to lose another one. It's time to play hide and seek through the library, a firm grasp on Marco's arm as she runs. ]

[nachosquire]

Right, yeah!

[Marco looks back forward, feeling sweat drip down his forehead as he runs with her into the library.]

We have to-- we gotta find somewhere to hide.

[It's too bad Randall knows this place like the back of his hand.]

[rech]

[Is that a...boxing glove shooting by them as they run into the library? It looks like it.

Either way, it seems like they've got a few seconds to hide before he catches up. Choose wisely.]

[pinkflip]

[ Kim lets out a small shriek as the glove whizzes by, and she yanks Marco...to the right, as soon as their in the library. Out of sight, into the book shelves, quickly as possible.

If they can just sneak through the library, down to the wax museum, maybe there's a shot of him getting bored and leaving them alone? ]

[nachosquire]

[Marco lets out a small noise when he's tugged, and he looks behind him at the glove that just whizzed by them like nothing.

He follows Kim into the library, behind a bookshelf and presses his back to it, covering his mouth with one of his hands to try and muffle his breathing while he pants from running so hard.


Meanwhile, a look into Marco's mind: I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this---]

[rech]

P̴҉̀a̷͜͠g̕̕è͡-̷̡͠t̕͝͡u̷͟͟r̨͏̸͟ń̨͞͡e̷͏̡͟r̴̕s͏́̕̕͞!͜ ̷͞Ì͡ ̛́͡͠l̷҉̀o͜͜͡v̵̵̛è̛͘͠ ̷̵̢͟i̵̢̛̕͝t̢́̕!̵͘͡

[Randall? Get bored? Of murder?

HA.

He's officially in the library, and he's very content just looking around. If you don't peek out to look at him, you'll just hear the sound of footsteps, and the occasional bookshelf being knocked over.]

C̛͢o̴͘͡͠҉m̶̧͘͢͞e̴͞ ̶̛́͞͠o̴͟͟͡͡u̴͞͝t̛͝,̷̛͟͝ ̶̶̀͘͘ḉ̧̧o̸̵͘ḿ̵e̵̢͟͢ ͏̵ò̷̡u̴͜͜t̷͜͠͠~̀̀͟͢