Week 5

[grimgrinningghosts]

[...So that was a mess. All of it was a mess, and things don't look to be improving any time soon. With tensions at an all-time high and conditions worsened, it seems pretty safe to say that this whole week promises a great deal of foreboding atmosphere.

But, hey, things aren't entirely bad. Just as Randall promised, you're now able to leave the Manor! 

Just don't stay out there for too long. There's still a lot of you, and you just can't afford to lose numbers.

24 guests remain]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

[OOC: and don't forget to fill out this week's activity check!]

Comments

[bestchefinparis]

[Randall had said they could go outside. Rémy never believed not even for a moment that Randy would free them, but he did want some fresh air, even if it was in the yard of the manor.

He didn't expect a big, cold void. He barely stepped outside before deciding to not risk anything. Back inside! And try to ignore the fact they're completely trapped in some kind of eldritch dimension!

Rémy never checked the artist's studio for long, mainly because pretty much everything there is too large for him to use. Now that there's no useful new locations, he has to look for something to do. He has grabbed a crayon and drawn some shapes on a canvas. It...doesn't seem to be anything recognizable. Yeah, he can't draw well without seeing how someone else draws exactly what he wants to draw]

Maybe this'd go better if I used paint.

[He looks around, a bit helpless. There's paint over there, and a brush, but he's not sure if this'll work...it'll be messy if he does anything, right?

He also hangs out in the billiards room, having managed to take a few billiards ball to the table and rolling them around. Billiards is supposed to be played with a billiards cue, but yeah, he can't use those due to his size. So all there's right now is a rat running on the table, pushing the balls as strongly as he can and trying to get them into the pockets.

He's far from being a good pool player, but at least this is a way to exercise]

billiards room

[bayoublues]

[Louis has sort of been wandering aimlessly around after he found out that the 'outside' Randall had promised was really just an endless void of darkness and cold. As he passes through the billiards room, he catches sight of the balls rolling by themselves and stops.

Oh, it's just Remy. He walks up to the table, curious.]

I take it rats don't play billiards much.

[bestchefinparis]

We don't! I think we do know what billiards are like, but it's not like we can cram a table in our nest.

[Theeeere, another ball moving, missing the pocket and bouncing on the side]

Besides, those cues are much longer than us. I don't think I can even walk while holding one!

[Despite everything that has happened, Rémy sound relatively cheerful. Things must be going well]

[bayoublues]

Fair, fair. I can see how that'd be a problem. Maybe they ought to make miniature pool tables for rodents.

[He picks up the cue chalk and pokes his finger in it. Look, ma, blue fingers!]

You sound like someone's given you a million bucks. What's up?

[bestchefinparis]

Someone should! I know some rats in the nest I lived in made their own musical instruments, but a table may be a bit too tall of an order even for them.

[Rémy's ears stand on end for a moment. Hm. Maybe he should have been a bit more careful...but this is Louis. He can trust Louis, he believes. He rolls a ball around, as if what he's saying is no big deal]

I'm just glad the duck isn't going to get in the way for a while.

[And indeed, Negaduck seems to have been absent today]

[bayoublues]

Oooh. A rat band. Now that's somethin' I'd like to see someday--

[He pauses, squinting at Remy when he says that. He's not a very smart gator, but he can draw one single conclusion from that sentence.]

...You did somethin' to him, didn't ya? Smart. Um, don't tell me he's dead or anything. As much as I dislike him, um....

[bestchefinparis]

[Rémy's eyes widen]

Of course he isn't dead!

[He even sounds slightly offended by that]

[bayoublues]

I-I'm sorry! [He winces a little.] S'just...after yesterday and the trial....

W...What did you do to him?

[bestchefinparis]

[Rémy looks around. It doesn't seem like anyone's nearby, or someone is listening. But still...]

I...I'm not sure if I should say it. I doubt Randall doesn't know, but in the very unlikely chance he doesn't I think I shouldn't say it.

Just trust me on this one, okay? He's okay and unharmed and I'm personally making sure he'll continue being okay.

[bayoublues]

...Alright. I trust you.

[But what can one single rat do to a duck? Given, he's three feet tall, which is shorter than the average human, but that's still too tall for a rat.

Whatever. He's going to attempt to change the subject.]

So...billiards. Know the rules of the game? If not, I can probably teach ya.

['probably' because he's only ever watched other people play]

[bestchefinparis]

I don't know the rules that well...so go ahead!

[It's not like Rémy will know if you're wrong about a rule, pal, hah!]

[bayoublues]

Okay...I'm pretty sure it's like...you use the white ball to hit the other balls, and--y'see how they're striped or solid colors? You're supposed to hit them into the pockets depending on what pattern you pick. I think. Or something, I'm not actually sure how they decide on that. And you ain't supposed to pocket the eight-ball 'till the very end, when you got all your balls in the pockets.

[He scratches his head, thinking.]

I dunno much 'bout the rules. I don't think you're supposed to hit the balls that aren't your pattern. Oh--Oh, and if you get one of your balls in, you can go again.

[bestchefinparis]

That's a bit more complicated than I expected. [Hm. But it sounds playable!] Do you want to give it a try? I doubt I'll be able to play too well, but it's worth a try.

[bayoublues]

Sure! I mean...I've never really played a real game of pool, so....

[He goes to pick the balls out of the pockets and starts putting them in an (approximate) triangle. What the heck is a pool rack]

Mind helpin' me out?

art room

[upgradeit]

Hey, Remy. [He came in here to grab something, but it looks like Remy's having trouble so he pauses and walks over.] Whatcha up to?

[bestchefinparis]

I'm trying to do something for fun now that the only new place is... [A big void of nightmares. Not the best place to explore] ...so I thought about painting.

But I think I bit more than I can chew.

[There he goes, grabbing a paintbrush without paint yet, and moving it on the canvas, just to test it. It's so difficult to move it, it'd all end in smears on the canvas instead of something recognizable]

There has to be an easier way to use any of this stuff!

[upgradeit]

If you don't mind getting a little dirty, you could always use your hands.

[But not everyone likes doing that, so he scans through the brushes before he finds a smaller one, the kind people normally use for detail work, and sets it down next to Remy.]

But try this one first. It's smaller and lighter.

[bestchefinparis]

[And risk filling everyone's food with paint? Apparently the mere thought of that is enough to make Rémy pretty much pounce on that brush]

Yes, this'll work! Brilliant! This should do the trick!

[It moves easily, and the size fits him better. He's satisfied!]

You know, I have no idea how you humans manage to paint something recognizable. I can't even begin to imagine how it's possible!

[upgradeit]

You just have to think about things in a slightly different way. [Hiro grabs a pencil and sketches out a circle, adds some guidelines, and then quickly starts turning it into Marco.] I'm not really a painter, but when you're drawing you have to stop thinking of things as a whole and start thinking of them as individual shapes that make up a whole.

[It's not a very clean sketch, but it's pretty recognizably Marco.]

Does that kind of make sense?

[bestchefinparis]

...I think it does...in some weird way. [It sounds logical, it sounds understandable, yet somehow it went right over Rémy's head. Maybe you need some sort of natural inclination for art.

Still...worth a try. It'd be easier to do with a reference. He thinks for a moment to copy Marco's face, but decides to go for something he can picture relatively easily without a reference. Himself, yep. Just his head.

Once the brush has paint, he manages to draw a shaky circle, and makes the mistake of adding the guidelines with paint. Well that's not going to be of help]

[upgradeit]

[Ah. Hm. Should've explained what he was doing better. It's kind of autopilot to him at this point, so he totally didn't think to explain what the guidelines were for.]

Shoot, maybe I should've told you to start with a sketch and then color it.

[bestchefinparis]

...oh.

[Well it's a good thing he has only used a small part of the canvas. Rémy goes for a pencil and does the shaky circle again, with the guidelines]

This art thing is more complicated than I thought.

[upgradeit]

Sorry, that's on me - I'm not really an art teacher. See, the lines that go across are to show you where the parts of the face are.

[He points at his drawing and shows how he set the eyes on either side of the line and the nose in the center.]

See? Eyes on either side and nose kind of in the center.

[bestchefinparis]

Right, I see.

[Hm...well maybe that works on your human faces, he supposes. It's going to be a bit harder to do the same for his own. Not that he's not going to try, just to see the results.

It looks more akin to a strange Mickey Mouse than to himself. He hasn't seen Mickey Mouse ever before]

In theory the logic is sound, in practice not so much.

[Not that he's not thankful! This is useful]

[upgradeit]

It might be easier if you draw yourself from the side? Perspective is weird, if you want to draw your nose straight-on.

[He pauses for a sec and then sketches out a vaguely rat-like side profile.]

Kinda like this? I'm not really used to drawing animals.