WEEK 7

[grimgrinningghosts]

[You've all been here for well over a month and it's getting harder and harder to keep spirits up. There has been small hope thanks to a mysterious person talking to you through your dreams. A small hope that maybe you'll be able to escape and get your friends back, but you'll have to escape first.

There are no new floors to explore, the outside area remains the same as it's always been. Might as well get comfy here.

11 guests remain.]

[ SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY ]
 

{Don't forget to fill your Week 6 Activity Check!}

Comments

SUNDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Once again, Elsa's first stop when she wakes up this morning is the memorial. There are more deaths, which means more names and more monuments to add to Sophie's list. So she starts with the names first:

Tip
Star Butterfly
Kiara

She just... doesn't feel anything as she writes the names down. Not because she doesn't care, god she can still manage to care even after all of this, but the toll this place has taken on her is just. Immense. She thought what she'd had to deal with for most of her life had been bad, but that was nothing compared to how she's been feeling since waking up in this cursed mansion.

But... well. Conceal, don't feel and all. She has one more thing to do here before she can start wallowing again, and so, she gets to it. The sculptures this week are all pretty simple; a butterfly with tiny star patterns on the wings for Star, a proud roaring lioness for Kiara, and a little statue of Tip, nose buried in a book. When she sets the third one down, she sits back on her heels, examining her work and the statues that have been sitting out for some time now... and she just sighs, a long and heavy sound.]

I wish I didn't have to make these anymore...

[Without any new places to explore, and her paranoia over the new rooms added last week, Elsa has taken to spending time in the bathing room. Sometimes she isn't even really bathing, instead sitting just outside the divide between the men's and women's sides, letting the heat from the baths sink in. It's... comforting, and even if she can't completely relax in this place, it absolutely helps.

Elsa is also disappearing into her room earlier than usual at night. Which... well. She'd actually started to get better over the past week, coming out of her room more and more often, but it's almost immediately after dinner that she'll shut herself away again. This isn't some way of putting a barrier between herself and the others, though; after discussing her dream and the possibility of escaping and helping their friends... Elsa knows that they might need to contact Man again. And since he approached her in a dream... well. She has to start sleeping more to give him a chance to reach out, right?]

[chainbroke]

[ On Sunday morning, Elsa'll get a knock at her door. ]

Elsa? Are you awake?

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford finds Elsa as she's making her usual weekly addition to the memorial. He's brought what's become his own usual offering: a detailed pencil sketch of each of the departed. Tip looks gentle and intelligent, Kiara looks proud and fierce, and Star looks excited and animated. He tacks these up next to the rest of his work and glances over at Elsa with a tired half-smile.]

It's good of you to do this every week. I think it's bolstering to all of us to remember our friends who are gone. Reminds us of what we're fighting for.

bathing room

[kindaruledatit]

[For one particular time that Elsa actually does head in to take a bath, she won't be alone for long. Because Wendy comes in not long after, toweled up, ready for anything. Specifically, bathing.]

...Oh. Hey. [A little wave as she nears the edge of the tub.] Having fun?

[aboyandhiscar]

Well, you don't have to. You're just that nice of a person.

[Mike says, waltzing up to examine the additions to the memorial. He sort of frowns at the list--he really wishes that thing wasn't a self fulfilling prophecy.]

. . .it all looks pretty cool, though.

Sunday Morning

[aboyandhiscar]

[HELLO CHILDREN

WHO'S READY TO EXPLORE. After this little conversation, Mike's more than convinced something's up with the attic. So early Sunday, he's up and at them, pacing a little lightly by the stairs, before resolving to check it out. He'll make this known to anyone who's around. ]

Okay guys--so we know something's up with the attic. Something real bad, but it could help us out if we can figure out what's in there. Not asking everyone to go, but if anyone wants to be back up, I'm heading up now. If something goes wrong. . .well, you'll probably hear a scream.

So.

Ready?

[sixfingeredstan]

[Right. So Ford's not exactly keen to go into the attic, not after the incident with Princess Anna, but...well, if anyone's going to go up there, he's the most qualified person to come along and make sure nobody else loses their head. So it's very grudgingly that he comes to stand next to Mike, his chest puffed up indignantly.]

I don't approve of this, but like hell am I letting you go up there alone, without someone experienced in these matters.

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy definitely hasn't had the experience certain other people have had with ghosts before, but that doesn't mean she won't just sit around and do nothing while others are risking their lives.

This ghost lady has an axe? Wendy's got an axe. She's ready to throw down.]

Totally ready, dude! Like hell you're gonna go in there alone!

[whistlenotchirp]

Michael, for goodness sake. Please don't go into the murder attack.

MONDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

[sixfingeredstan]

[It's been harder and harder to keep morale up, things being as they are, but after their little talk after the trial about the possibility of getting out...well. It gives Ford something to focus on, at the very least. Something to feel proactive about. And goodness knows he needs that, or he'll feel like he's stifling. Decaying.

But this? Trying to build something, anything? That he can do. He hauls all the various items he's been able to scavenge from around the house and from its other inhabitants into the study and spread them out, sorted into piles according to object type and usefulness. He's also pilfered some basic tools—wrench, hammer, screwdriver, pliers—and set them on a side table for easy reach. There's also a bucket full of various types of household cleaners, because, well. He's always been a sort of a mad scientist, and he figures if nothing else he can probably hack together a pipe bomb if he needs to. Feel free to bother him while he works, just don't be upset if he accidentally blows something up while you're there.

Later on in the evening, he makes a pit stop in the kitchen before seeking out Lefou. When he finds the younger man, he leans in conspiratorially.]

Have you got a moment? I've got something for you.

[wannagetsmote]

[Monday morning brings a noticeable absence of the demi-god, and those who might have gotten up in the middle of the night might have noticed why. After a late night of patrolling the mansion, Maui collapsed into his shared room with Lefou.

Once he's roused, though, Maui ambles into the kitchen, starting in on what has, perhaps, become a routine. Plates of food pile up and are carried out -- fish, chicken, even a slightly better looking salad than before.

After finishing up his cooking and eating his fair share, Maui headed up to the bathing room. Having nothing adequate to bathe in, and not being the type to be modest, Maui's tuxedo pants were ditched in favor of bathing and relaxing in the nude.

After catching up on a little bit more sleep, though, Maui was back out on duty. As the evening wore on, Maui remained vigilant, moving up and down the building as quickly as possible, keeping an eye out for anything that might be suspicious. It was a big building, of course, and despite his claims to the contrary, Maui wasn't perfect...]

if the spirit is willing

[kindaruledatit]

[Despite the events in the trial last week, Wendy is feeling pretty good. Her morale was on the rise, plans of escape working their way in, even at night. She knew they needed to try this week, if not for themselves, then for everyone else. And for Star.

But what is it? Well, thinking about what they discussed in the afterparty, she sent out notes under everyone's doors (who's still alive of course).

Trying a seance around 12. Going to try and contact friends.
Come if you want to help. The more the merrier.
-Wendy

And like the note said, she's in the seance room. It looks like she's already seated at the table with the crystal ball before her. She waves everyone in; sit or stand, it's all fine with her.]

Alright, we ready for this?

TUESDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

MOTIVE: Happy Birthday

[splitaseam]

[Today, there is a cake in the casino. It reads "HAPPY BIRTHDAY OOGIE" and has eight lit candles. There are an appropriate amount of plastic forks and paper plates, as well as four tubs of vanilla ice cream + spoons.

There is a note on the table that reads in childlike scrawl: "OUT AT CLUB. BACK AT SEVEN. THERE'LL BE A PARTY THEN AND YOU HAVE TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME OR ELSE I'LL COVER YOU IN BIRTHDAY CAKE AND HAVE MY BUGS EAT YOU ALIVE. - <3 OB"]

[terribibble]

[Okay. The whole cake thing was... weird. But deep down Fiddleford is almost glad that that's all it was, even if he's keeping a rather close eye on the available clocks because he's still kind of worried about what might happen when they hit seven. Maybe nothing. Probably something. Thank god he knows the words to Happy Birthday.

After the whole... cake thing... he can be found in the kitchen, drinking his third cup of coffee today and putting his final batch of moonshine into jars. Those jars in turn go under the kitchen sink (kids totally won't go looking under there, right, it's fine). Once that's done he sets to work breaking apart the still. It was nice to have one of his comfort vices to indulge in but if they need this metal to... to get to hell, or whatever, well then it's his duty to give it up to the cause.

Later still he specifically seeks out Julia -- he has a sticker to return, one of the few parts of her keyboard that's still whole. The rest of it's been thoroughly gutted now and with a big chunk cut out of the top part of the casing it's more than likely going to be used as part of whatever monstrosity they wind up building to get out of here.]

Told you I'd get it back to you.

Birthday Party

[splitaseam]

[So, the casino is decorated! There are a lot more bugs around than usual, somehow, and green and purple streamers hang from the ceiling. There are small pamphlets scattered about with the lyrics to 'Happy Birthday' on them, for those who don't know the lyrics, and orange party hats scattered about.

Of course, all the TVs also have what appears to be live footage of some familiar-looking apeman chained up in a dark prison cell. He's looking pretty scraggly. Festive!

Eventually, Oogie shows up with a tophat and a large bib reading "BIRTHDAY BOY". He looks very impatient.]

Well, get on with it!

WEDNESDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

[whistlenotchirp]

[Well with that complete lack of anything yesterday, Jiminy's moved on to some cleaning duty. Too much shit has piled up in his room, and its making him claustrophobic. It takes him a while to drag the slot machine items into the hallway, but he's leaving them there for whoever wants them. Except the infinity gauntlet. Karolina told him to keep that under wraps and by god he's keeping it under wraps.

Later, he stops by the kitchen for a meal and spends too long straightening his jacket in the mirror. Stumbling backward at the surprise of ending up in the study, he trips right into a spiderweb.]

...Oh no no no no no. [Tugging frantically at the web, hoping to escape.] Uh, anybody there?! I... Help?

[Otherwise, most of his day is spent in the graveyard. Crickets weren't meant to be in such enclosed spaces for long and, while still an enclosed space, the outdoors at least has some fresh air. He can be found chirping and strolling about aimlessly, trying to remember some old childhood songs.]

Mods? Maybe?

[toogoodforhim]

[In the morning, when Maui came back in from his patrol, Lefou slipped out after getting in a couple hours of cuddling. He went to room 116 and took about twenty of the gold coins from the large sack of them that he'd gotten out of the slot machine, wrapping them in a piece of cloth and holding them in two neat stacks of ten as he carefully approached the attic. Before going in, he held out the bundle before him and called out.]

If you can hear me, I want to... Um. I brought an offering to. Thank you for not coming out of there or attacking anyone else. I'm going to just...leave it here, I guess. If- if you would be willing to talk to us - just talk, um, no attacking - then... then when you take it, please leave something so that I know that you can hear me. Okay thank you enjoy have a good day!

[He left the coins in a pile just across the threshold to the attic, and ran back downstairs, heart pounding with nerves, without waiting for a response.

Once downstairs, he manically set about to cooking breakfast, returning to the classic fruit fritters that he'd made so many weeks ago, peach slices, apple slices, and strawberry slices all being gently battered and fried. He also fried bacon halfway, cut it up into tiny slices while he was cooking sliced potatoes in the fat from the bacon, and then put the bacon back in to cook the rest of the way. He fried up thick slices of ham, deglazed the pan with red cooking wine, and then sauteed some vegetables in the savory deliciousness that remained. All in all, the spread laid out (along with two full loaves of bread, sliced with jam next to it, and a full pot of coffee in the coffee maker) was enough to feed an army.

After taking his partner a huge helping of breakfast in bed, Lefou went to the lounge, poring over the cookbook that he'd been using to practice reading, taking a pen and carefully tracing the letters as he sounded them out.

In the early evening, he made a quick stop in the attic to check on the gift that he'd left before, to see if the coins were gone and if anything was left in their place.

Then he stayed in the foyer for a while, dancing along to some of the songs from the profiles.]

[amadeusrockette]

[Julia can be found for most of the morning in the conservatory methodically ripping her bedclothes into strips and then braiding the strips together to make some kind of rope. Later, she can be found in the graveyard slinging said rope onto the roof and trying to get it to catch onto something. Why is this so hard!!! It's not like she's trying to use a grappling hook when she can't even climb into a window without falling into a trashcan!!!!!!

Still later she can be found, significantly dirtier and more rumpled, practicing her banjo in the lounge. She's not good, exactly, but she does seem to at least be on the level of the guitar guy at the party. You know. That guy. She's playing what sounds like bits of different people's songs. Sort of. It's a little hard to tell if it actually is or if she just happens to be stringing a bunch of random chords together for practice.]

THURSDAY

[grimgrinningghosts]

[kindaruledatit]

[Despite a concentrated effort on their part, multiple times, in fact... the ghosts didn't answer. They never found their friends. Their attempts failed.

Wendy, for the most part, didn't do much after that. The week was coming and going, and everything felt a bit more... empty, all of a sudden. She can be found earlier in the day in the study sitting at the huge desk, feet propped up on the table as she plays with her phone.

her eyes run over old text messages, pictures with her friends back in Gravity falls, and then it suddenly changes to pictures of her in here, with her new friends, people that are alive and dead.

And then, the unthinkable happens. Her phone dies.]

...[She gives a rough sigh, letting it drop out of her hands onto the floor.] Perfect.

[Later, she's gone for a change of scenery, now outside in the graveyard, busy sharpening her axe with a rock as she sits against a gravestone. She's not doing great, but the fresh air is a bit helpful.]

Lounge!

[aboyandhiscar]

[Sometime Thursday, Mike is running around and herding as many people to the lounge as possible. There are snacks!! And drinks pilfered from the casino. Some Mike may have made (thanks Ford!!). There's also normal soda. Once he's gotten enough people, he excitedly makes a suggestion.]

Okay, I know everyone's been working real hard, but we gotta keep our spirits lifted too, you know? So let's play I Never.

--if you don't know what that is, all you do is say something you've never done. Like--I've never rode a horse. If someone HAS done that? They take a drink.

Just something light and fun, yeah? Then we can all get back to work. So let's go!