WEEK 5

[whimsicalism]

Five deaths in one week. With the end of the last trial, you've lost eleven people in total. There's only ten people in the twisted wonderland of the Castle. Even if the new area is cheerful something seems just a little bit off. The arcade has gained a new arcade machine and the ghosts in the graveyard seem to have returned to their mechanical routines. Your powers, too, seem to be gone once more. It seems Halloween has ended for good now as your fifth week in this strange building continues.

Just when will this game end...?

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Welcome to Week 5! Don't forget to submit your memory losses and your weekly AC here. The Alices can be found in their audience hall. However, the Queen can be found roaming the castle this week! Just put 'Alice' in the headline and she might pay your character a visit. As always, don't forget to turn in threads for fabulous prizes.]

Comments

[prescience]

Of course. That would have been Kirika.

[xxxx_me]

She was very focused on you.

[prescience]

[That is the understatement of the year, but Oriko doesn't seem particularly phased by it.]

We're partners. Doesn't that make sense.

It might have been harder to fool her with an illusion, the way her mind works.

[Worked, Oriko's brain reminds herself, and she stops talking.]

[xxxx_me]

...? The way her mind works?

[prescience]

I don't think anyone knows me as well as she did.

[The switch to past tense does not feel good.]

That may have made it easier to look past the trick.

[xxxx_me]

Oh... so she would have known right away it wasn't you.

[prescience]

I like to think so. I knew it was really her as soon as we found her handwriting, as impossible as it seemed.

[She shifts her weight slightly, turning so they can look at the rest of the papers.]

So... shapeshifting and impersonation. Was it done for intimidation, or for some other reason?

[xxxx_me]

Maybe the Storyteller just looks different to everyone who sees them? Like a spell to make you see what you want instead.

[strictura]

It definitely does sound like they appeared differently to everyone, but I'm not sure that seeing what you want to makes sense, since it sounds like there were some mismatches between appearances and voices.

[ Points to Esther's page, then Simba's. ]

This one says she heard her father's voice but saw someone she didn't recognize, and that what he said didn't make sense to her... Same with this one.

[ Which is weird, unless somehow the memories that were taken had gotten mixed up. ]

Would there be a reason to mix them up on purpose?

[xxxx_me]

That's true...

[Maybe it's not like Cheshire after all.]

I wonder if everyone saw them at the same time, or if they visited all of them separately.

[prescience]

No, I'm beginning to suspect they can do it on purpose.

Do you remember what happened last week?

[xxxx_me]

...Which thing?

[Lots happens every week, he's having trouble narrowing it down between their eventful murder lives and the holes getting poked into his memories every Saturday night.]

[prescience]

[Honestly, fair.

As Oriko explains, she lifts a finger, as if she herself is telling a story.]

Last week, after the motive was revealed...the Cat put on quite a show, didn't she?

[xxxx_me]

Oh... Yeah, that's true.

[Nodding in agreement.]

[strictura]

[ Ah... Is that the person whose picture she wanted to see in her envelope? ]

[prescience]

[Oriko glances over at him silently, taking notice of the curiosity.]

Do you have something to add, Shingetsu-san?

[strictura]

[ HE'S PRETTY SURE SHE KNOWS WHAT HE'S THINKING ]

No, not really.