WEEK 5

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Wander and Sylvia are dead, the Ghost Host was snuffed out like a light, and Tarzan is nowhere to be seen. It seems like in an instant everything is changed, not just the circumstances, but the mansion itself. It feels like it's gotten significantly colder in the mansion, and you might also start seeing bugs out of the corner of you eyes, darting away into darkness the moment you try to focus on them.

And, starting this week, any and all ghosts are eerily absent but at the same time, no matter where you go, you feel like you're being watched by something. To make matters worse, the attic doors have been nailed open. 

But there are some bright spots in this week. When you wake up on Sunday, you'll find that you have a brand new tuxedo hanging up on your bedroom door, in your exact size. Later, if you're curious enough to try going from the second floor to the attic, you'll find that there's a whole new floor to explore, but this time it's just comprised of two rooms: a smallish but serviceable laundry room and an expansive casino with an attached bar.

Don't tell Jiminy about this he will have a heart attack.

Feel free to explore, but maybe you want to keep away from the Stretching Room for awhile. Somebody cut the noose on the hanging corpse.

17 guests remain.]

[ SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY ]

{OOC: Don't forget to fill our your Week 4 Activity Check!}

Comments

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford drops a wink and sets about making another Old Pal for his...buddy.]

Anything for you.

[And hey, this isn't a bad way to while away the afternoon.]

[ilovepuppies]

[And she jumps like three feet into the air.]

WHA. I mean. No! I mean yes! Everything's fine.

[defyingfrigidity]

[... Ah, so they're getting right to it, then. Well hey, at least they have matching raccoon eyes by now!]

I wouldn't say so. You... you saw it all, didn't you? I almost killed my sister - twice. I didn't keep an eye on her closely enough, and she did die here. All those other things...

[She just shakes her head, unable to meet his shaky smile. If it was possible for her shoulders to sag even more, they absolutely would be now.]

I admit, I... didn't stay to see everyone's. I don't know what they showed for you... but I can't agree with you that it's alright.

[amadeusrockette]

Strange. But you can talk to other insects normally, right?

[She's just sort of accepted "talking animals" but also has very little idea how the rules for that go.]

[terribibble]

Yes it is!

[Nice try, Mike, but you just said literally all the wrong things. It's all empty pleasantries to him when he knows exactly what his future will be, when he's had it confirmed by two other people. It's all nice-sounding bullshit.]

That's how timelines work! I sure as hell am not goin' to kill anyone over it but don't you dare tell me I shouldn't be upset I'm resignin' myself to -- to that!

[defyingfrigidity]

Lucy? I'll be sure to remember that.

My mother's name was Idunn. She was named after a goddess in old myths and legends from the people that lived in Arendelle a very long time ago.

[terribibble]

Oh, s-sure, not that bad now that everyone knows.

[If she's going in for a hug he sure isn't going to make any effort to meet her halfway.]

[aboyandhiscar]

[b u d d y]

Uh. You sure? You were kinda zoned out.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Okay yeah, Elsa looks horrified. Not... because of anything he's talking about doing, but the bit about getting his heart stolen... she's seen what happens to people whose hearts are messed with by magic, she can still vividly remember clinging to the icy form of her sister out on the fjord that cold summer day... god, but living with that kind of pain? She can't even imagine it.]

That's horrible....

[Amid the horror, there's... sympathy, on her face? He doesn't seem like that bad of a guy, so she can only feel for him, going through something traumatic like that.]

I... I can't really judge if what you did was right or wrong, but I understand very well what it's like to do things you might question later out of desperation.

[terribibble]

Here. Here. Siddown.

[He pats a patch of the crunchy half-dead grass next to him. This movement too is a little shaky, a little over-exuberant, but he's trying. He's trying and he doesn't want to be alone, not right now.]

Y'wanna know what they showed about me?

[aboyandhiscar]

I'm not telling you to not be upset, dude. Just telling you not to let it eat at you.

[He lets out a frustrated huff, blowing at his bangs.]

Look man--you, Pops, and a bunch of other folks here, you're the brainiacs, I'm not. And futures, timelines, magic, I get that even less. But you're gonna tell me that you, someone like you, who has the this stuff laid out in front of him and haven't given in yet no matter how freaked out he gets, you're gonna tell me you just accept it all, just like that? C'mon dude.

[kindaruledatit]

I mean... [Everyone already knew back home?? At least the important people, like her.]

But it's okay! You're okay now!

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip notes the "was" and winces a bit. She should have noticed from how Elsa was a queen already.] Are...are you and Anna's names from a myth too?

[terribibble]

[Is Ford offering to hug him? A weight drops from his shoulders. Not all of the weight he's carrying now, no, but just a little bit. Just enough that he downs a good long swig of whiskey and then scoots across the floor behind the bar to let himself fold into Ford's arms. He needs this right now. If someone sees... if someone sees they'll deal with it. He needs this.]

For-- for you. For me it's all...

[He closes his eyes.]

It's all in there and it's all jumbled up and even gettin' things back like I've been I can tell they're not in the right place, some of them. Half the stuff on that screen I didn't remember until I saw it and now it's like lookin' at it through a real old window.

[terribibble]

I already know it's real. This isn't... this isn't a trick, at least for me. All of that, it's all true.

[And now everyone knows. Now he knows that even if he lives, that's what he's going back to do. If he survives this hell he's going back to another one. So what's the goddamn point?

He knows in the part of his brain that is more logical than hysterical that things turn out okay. That he regains his memories. That he becomes a hero, for a given value of hero. It doesn't matter. It's still thirty years of suffering to get there. It's still all built on a foundation of horrible mistakes that he can never undo.]

No amount of wantin' to can alter reality.

[terribibble]

[Hghhhh Wendy]

And if I -- if, god willin', I survive this, guess what I'm goin' back to! I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't, there's no -- there's no dang point.

[sixfingeredstan]

[It's a little tense, the pause between when Ford holds out his arms and Fiddleford actually comes over to him. It's a gamble, in public, but the casino is quiet and there's plenty of bar hiding them from view. Ford folds Fiddleford into him, arms wrapping around his skinny shoulders, one hand rubbing gently over his back. He can smell whiskey; he's sure Fiddleford can smell brandy.]

I know. Or, well, I understand. But look—even if it's scary, and it hurts like hell...look at how far you've come. It's going to be okay. I'm here....I've got you. I know it doesn't sound like much, but Fiddleford—

[Ford pulls back to look him in the face.]

I'd do anything to keep you safe in here.

[And coming from a man who implanted a steel plate in his own head, 'anything' is a lot.]

[aboyandhiscar]

[Mike looks at him for a good long moment. . .then shrugs, maybe a little too casually, nudging Fidds again. There's still no smile on his face.]

That's what you think, yeah?

Well, you'd know better than me, I guess.

But the only guy I know is still the one standing right here. I dunno if I'm supposed to be thinking anything differently now. Should I be?

[terribibble]

How... how could you not?

[What the fuck, Mike. That doesn't make any sense.]

[terribibble]

[It's not like half the damn place doesn't already know, or at least suspect. It's fine. They can afford to be a little indiscreet right now when being close matters so much more.]

H-how far I've come just to find out if I survive this place that's what I'm goin' back to.

[He sighs and tries to force the tension from his shoulders. It doesn't really work.]

M'sorry. Thank you. I know you're tryin'.

[Mike and Wendy were too, he knows, but it was too immediate then. He feels kind of bad for how he acted toward them but it's done now, isn't it, just like everything else along his whole miserable timeline.]

Lord knows if I didn't have you I'd be on my second bottle already.

[kindaruledatit]

[She's trying!!! to help!!!]

The point is that no one else gets murdered!

[terribibble]

You -- you think I'd actually --

[His fury drains out of him and he sort of crumples in on himself. God, he's so tired. He's so tired and scared and he needs a drink.]

I know I can't change it. I wouldn't -- I wouldn't kill someone to do it. No point in that either.

[aboyandhiscar]

[Look man, Mike is a simple guy. SO FAR, HE HAS NOT TRIED TO KILL HIM and that's pretty much how low the bar is for Mike. He frowns, looking back to the tv screen, still putting all their lives out there. He waits a bit, waiting for scenes of Fidds to pop up.]

That one--[he points at the scene where he gets temp sucked into the portal]--not sure what in the heck that was, but jeeze the fact you have any wits at all after that is a freaking triumph. But somehow, you're still sounding like a voice of reason.

And there--[The weird. . .gun thing at Ford? Hm.]--gotta admit, that gave me a doubletake. Dunno what you're doing, but.

Doesn't seem like Pops is all that upset about it now. 'Course, I could be wrong. [A half shrug. ]

. . .look man, I get it. You've done some messed up stuff, you've seen some crazy stuff. But to me, to us here? You're still you.

[He looks to the screen again. He's not sure on it, but there's like, no one else here with a nose like Fidds, so the old guy scampering? He has an idea. He frowns again.]

No matter what happens, you're grounded in the present right now. That's gotta count for something.

[sixfingeredstan]

Don't mention it.

[He gives Fiddleford a squeeze, resting his chin on his shoulder. He wishes so badly he had a solution for this. That there was some research he could conduct, some invention he could design, that could make all this go away. But there's not. He's never felt so powerless, not even when he was made of solid gold.

But he could go back...if he could make it so the portal was never created...or so that he never summoned Bill at all...

No. No, this is exactly what they want. This is what they want: another two bodies. Another two deaths, and nobody else would be any better for it. He feels ashamed for even entertaining the thought.]

Well, then I'm glad you have me. We need to pace ourselves in case the bar doesn't restock.

[terribibble]

I don't feel grounded in anythin'.

[His hands slide up into his hair and tangle in tight but he manages not to yank. No. No.

Mike is making sense. He knows that logically. He also knows logically that Mike is trying to help him and his heart aches for how much he appreciates it coming from this boy he's barely known a month. He doesn't deserve it.]

M'sorry. M'sorry I'm just -- can't just shrug this off. Can't just -- can't just breathe it away. But thank you. For tryin'. I just -- I can't.