GRAVEYARD.

[guestservices]

GRAVEYARD

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...

...to be super dead. No, did you think you were getting a funeral? Sorry.

When you wake up, no matter how you died, you'll find yourself all in one piece, inside of a fairly large box that upon further inspection may in fact be a coffin. However, throwing the lid off isn't too difficult, and as you step out of your own grave, you'll find yourself standing in a cemetery behind a large mansion, where an iron gate stands between you and the entrance. Thankfully, the moment you approach, dirty and tired as you are, the gate swings open, and you're allowed immediate entrance into the mansion.

The mansion itself is a little dusty, and the furnishings are vintage at best, but... hey, it's home. Why don't you explore a little?

★

FIRST FLOOR.

★ On the first floor is a parlor and sitting area. On one of the tables is a phone, which as of Week 3, Saturday has a dial tone and can be used to contact hotel staff. In addition to that is a kitchen stocked with food - not to mention a large wine cellar full to the bursting with every kind of wine you could imagine. Vintage!

★ Walking down a long hallway, you'll find a laundry room with a washbin and a washboard, a few closets full of dusty old clothes, a large library, and an ornate dining room with a crystal chandelier.

Of note, the dining room in particular has a very tall wall of what look like portraits to one side. If you walk closer, however, you may notice that the portraits are moving - and appear to actually be holding black and white images of your friends (and enemies?) back in the hotel, so you can monitor their activities. That's nice!

★ At the very end of the first floor hallway is another door - this one is locked with a padlock. It has a message painted on the door.... Don't dead? Anyway, it seems you can't check just stroll in there! From the looks of it it would be ill-advised to attempt to break in. Occasionally there are muffled shrieks coming from beyond the door. Hmm!


1, 2, 3

★

SECOND FLOOR.

★ On the second floor of the mansion is a series of bedrooms. Just like the hotel, you'll find a room already booked with your name on a nameplate on the door - and a portrait of yourself, as well as your hostage, hanging just above the nameplate. The inside of the rooms are simple - a bed with red covers, a desk with a typewriter, and a small bathroom with a toilet and a clawfoot tub. Provided that you didn't give your belongings away, you'll find all of them on your bed, waiting for you upon your arrival.

★ A dumbwaiter sits at the end of the hallway of bedrooms. Inside of it is a typewriter, and a golden bell labeled as Virgo's. A small sign above the dumbwaiter says: PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT STAFF BY LEAVING A MESSAGE. VIRGO MAY ALSO BE SENT A TIP AND RUNG. PULL THE LEVER TO PRESS SEND. - STAFF

It seems you can reach out to the hotel staff by leaving a message or ringing the bell, though your options are limited for the latter. Sure enough, a lever in the wall next to the dumbwaiter is currently set to the "down" position. Push it to "up" and watch your message disappear.

★ Beside the dumbwaiter is one last bedroom. This room is marked with a plaque that says "Dream Suite", and has several familiar constellations decorating the door. Occasionally, when you ring the bell by the dumbwaiter while thinking of a member of Hotel Staff on the living side, the corresponding constellation on the door will light up, and you'll feel as though you should walk in. Inside, there is a line of comfortable beds. Lie down in one, and you'll have a dreamlike "in person" audience with the NPC you had attempted to contact.

★

OUTDOORS.

★ Outside of the mansion is a small garage. The ground here is worn down and thin, and you can almost make out what look like railroad tracks embedded in the dirt. Inside of the garage is a rattly old car that moves along those little railroad tracks, from the garage to the mansion front, and then back all the way around to the cemetery.

★ The cemetery where you first awaken is a direct copy of the cemetery outside of the hotel - right down to the placement of statues, mausoleums, and the creepy atmosphere. Your grave remains after you wake up in it, in case you want to take a dirt nap.

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N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

[illomened]

[FLAYN WHERE ARE YOU...]

Virgo-san can be pretty grouchy, but they should have a better answer than I do. [Which is no answer at all, amen. ANYWAY!!]

Ahaha - sorry about the surprise! I'm a little surprised to be here, myself. I was asleep for some time and only just woke up here on the day Flayn-san's body was found...

[Whack. ANYWAY. He'll slide what's in the pan onto a plate - it looks like some sort of omelette - and then gesture to some of the others. It's all pretty simplistic Japanese food: grilled onigiri, some sort of soup, roasted vegetables.]

Do you mind helping me carry these to the dining area?

[ercnerd]

[He does mind, actually. Chores are a pain. However, being the only two individuals present, he has no choice but to take them, so he grabs a plate in each hand.

Friday, then.]

What were you doing before you went to sleep?

[illomened]

[Sieghart... He's doing his questionable best. TO THE DINING AREA!! Souji's balancing the rest of the plates like someone who probably used to be a page or general help around the house and/or has a lot of training in things that require Balance, and the pig trots along after him merrily, careful not to get underfoot.

He contemplates the question while laying the plates out.]

Dying, probably. [HE SAYS VERY CASUALLY and then sweatily moves along with:] But I don't recall much of it, so...! I don't know that I'd be able to answer any questions well.

[ercnerd]

[Why isn't the pig helping out? This is unfair.

At any rate, to Sieghart, who dies on the regular, the answer of dying can mean a great many thing.]

It's fine if you can't. [As long as Souji makes an effort, Sieghart appreciates him.] Are you saying that all of what's going on now has happened here before, and that you were a part of it?

[illomened]

[DON'T EXPECT THINGS OF A PIG THAT'S HALF THE SIZE OF A VOLLEYBALL.]

I wouldn't know about that either, I'm afraid... Though I've gathered we all at least arrived with a contract and a hostage, my memories are a bit jumbled after that. I don't recall being in the hotel for very long at all - it feels like I caught barely a glimpse.

[There's a moment there where his expression and voice both sharpen just a fraction as he speaks of the hostages, but in the next second he's moving to pull back a chair for sweet Sieghart and gesturing.]

Please, have a seat! That, ah... Well. That didn't look like a very pleasant death.

[ercnerd]

[Oh, what wonderful etiquette. Sieghart slides into the seat without delay while his mind processes the vague truths. The ignomity of his death doesn't carry much weight there and is barely given consideration. Once he's situated, he lifts his gaze to Souji's face.]

I wonder . . . were you supposed to be my suitemate?

[illomened]

[Meanwhile the good etiquette continues as Souji helpfully crafts a little plate of food for Sieghart and places it in front of him before taking a seat for himself nearby. Saizo jumps into his lap, clearly a lap piggy, and Souji gives him another pat.]

Oh... That's right - you were the room on its own, weren't you? [He gestures briefly over toward the moving black and white pictures showcasing various scenes back in the hotel.] It's a little hard to keep track of things here. In any case, I have no idea! But I suppose we'll be suitemates now anyway, more or less.

[The only two deadzos until the next weekend...]

I hope we'll be able to get along, Si-san. If there's anything I can help with, please let me know right away!

[ercnerd]

[One grilled onigiri in hand, he looks over at the moving pictures in question. That explains how Souji has been watching them. His shameful exploit must have been broadcast all over these portraits. Ugh.

Si-san again. . . Ah, whatever. Sieghart simply nods. The kid's clearly starved for human interaction.]

What else can you tell me about this place?

[illomened]

[YEAH HE WATCHED THAT FAILED MURDER BONANZA IN REALTIME. Big oof...

He's always starved for human interaction too, help. It's fine. Sieghart seems like the kind of person that can deal with overly-chatty souls! Souji laces his fingers together, recounting the layout he's already become very familiar with.]

Ah - let's see... It's all very straightforward so far, fortunately! On this floor, outside of here and the kitchen and the parlor, there's a laundry room. Upstairs, there are the bedrooms - you'll likely find your things there. You can use the bell up there to call for Virgo-san, and there's a typewriter! The dream suite is under renovations right now though, apparently... And there's a strange room at the end of this hall, too. It's locked and you can hear screaming from the other side. I was thinking about trying to take a peek later.

[ercnerd]

[Sieghart makes a face.]

Screaming? That sounds . . . Wait.

[While he's trying to take things one at a time, he has a lot on his mind. A stray thought catches up to him in the process of mapping out the mansion, widening his eyes.]

You saw me die?

[illomened]

[It sounds WHAT, SIEG!! Souji looks a little surprised at the sudden question, head canting a little to the side.]

Mm? I saw the screen that showed that "film". No more or less than what those in your more direct audience saw, I'd assume. Is that surprising...?

[ercnerd]

[It's a good thing he hasn't started eating, or he'd be choking on the rice now. This is horrifying news.]

A film? I thought it was just me and Sheila!

[illomened]

Oh, dear...

[SWEET SIEGHART. Souji gives him a mildly empathetic look, reaching out to gently and briefly place a hand on his arm.]

No, it was shown as a film - the entirety of it. [SAD EYES OF PITY.] Subtitled as well, so the things you were both saying were... there.

[So many things

just out there.

Just out there.]

[ercnerd]

E . . . everything? You're saying everything was there?

[Story about Julia aside, even the stupid failed attempts at killing him? Flayn's friends saw that? Those kids had to endure the incompetence of the environment? Is this what he's hearing?]

[illomened]

Shiela-san's... attempts at dispatching you, yes...

[Souji sitting here making snacks while Virgo kicked his chair, quietly wondering why there wasn't any with-your-bare-hands murdering action going on.]

...Your, ah, corpse came out at the end and did a bow, too.

[RIP to the audience and also Sieg's crunchy body.]

[ercnerd]

[That's not good!]

Huh? My corpse did what?

[illomened]

[GESTURES... VAGUELY.]

After the film finished, the curtains moved and your body and Shiela were both there. Then shadows burst out of you and your body did a little bow, like you'd expect at the end of some sort of performance, and walked away after that.

[WHERE DID IT GO.]

[ercnerd]

[He looks down at himself. It came here, apparently. The body walked away and lay down in a coffin. Is he understanding this right?]

. . . I should've known.

[illomened]

[SHIELA LOSING HER -SAN sorry shiela i have to readjust to playing a polite character and not kashuu]

It was, ah, what's the saying... "salt on the wound"? No one was happy to see it, anyway.

[INCLUDING HIMSELF. It was sad, honestly... And also unnerving. Corpses should stay deaded, thanks.]

Um... Though - I have a question or two of my own, if you wouldn't mind me asking them? You don't have to answer, of course. I'm just a little curious.

[ercnerd]

[Of course no one was happy to see it. Worse, they'd be outraged to see Sieghart and Souji at the dining table now without Flayn. Where did she go? Sieghart is going to burst.

Right now, though, he's mostly mortified.]

What do you want to know?

[illomened]

[Speaking of their missing third would-be member:]

I just wanted to know why you killed, and why you chose Flayn-san.

[There's no judgment in his tone, even preemptively. Though he does sound solemn, it really does just appear to be a question of curiosity.

He has no room nor desire to judge anyone who would take a life, after all.]

[ercnerd]

[Sieghart's features straighten out. It occurs to him that the portraits must not reveal certain interactions, just as observation was limited at the daycare. Souji's tone means nothing to him: Judgment is what he deserves, but whether or not it's rendered is up to the other party.

All he can do is give answers to those in want of them.]

I didn't choose her. She was there, so I made a run for her. It could've been anyone.

As for why I did it, I have no excuse. The shadow wore down my restraint, and I acted purely on impulse.

[illomened]

[There's a flicker of something - surprise, maybe, but he nods.]

So it's something more like that, then... [Observation is limited, but Souji's capable and observant and has been through and heard enough to understand some General Truths of places like this.]

Something you wouldn't quite call "possession", but you weren't exactly in your right mind? I wonder if that was tied to the shadows that left your body.

[ercnerd]

Maybe. But possession is possession. Although it wasn't to the extent you'd usually see from demons, the shadow still exerted a certain influence on me, so it should count.

Of course, I'm not saying that to avoid responsibility. As you've said, I wasn't exactly in my right mind . . . but it was still my mind in the end. Half the reason I snapped her neck was because I wanted to end it quickly.

[In other words, he wasn't completely gone. He didn't want to make her suffer more than she had to—not that it changes the fact that he killed her in cold blood while she struggled against his hold. Sieghart swallows at the memory.]

[illomened]

If that's what it was like, then I would count it - though we don't exactly have anything like this where I'm from.

[So his opinion is that of someone who's just been introduced to the concept of this nonsense through the Various Murdergame Experiences he's had and heard of. God. EXHAUSTING.]

What a horrible thing... There was a mention at the end of your execution that if one were to take another life outside of "filming", it would guarantee the safety of their hostage, too. Already two things that might ensure blood will be shed, then.