WEEK 6

[whimsicalism]

Only one of your group died last week but the castle feels empty somehow. Whatever your thoughts on Alice were she did seem to curb the Cat's--no, the Storyteller's--impulses somewhat. Even if the Storyteller gave an end date for the game there seems to be a sinister air around the castle now. There's an area for the adventurous, at least?

Still, it likely won't help heal the wounds from last week... though, apparently, the Storyteller has decided to refill the library.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Hello to week six, the last normal week before endgame! Don't forget to lose a memory. There's no AC this week! You can find the Storyteller at the audience chamber if you really want. As always you can turn in your threads for fabulous prizes!]

Comments

[battlestations]

[thanks for getting that out of the way. But the binder looks interesting. Even if he doesn't know where Apple Court is or why it has monsters.

Let's just sit on some furniture with this and flip through it. What've we got?]

[whimsicalism]

[While there's some interesting stuff, there's an intro page that's stuck to the profiles in the beginning of the binder that probably needs to be read first.

We don't know why Closetland is growing or why monsters are starting to effect teenagers now, too. That's why we've decided to start writing this guide for any poor kid finding themselves there. We're a group of kids from Apple Court, a suburb in [this part is blacked out]. Maybe like you we've seen our fair share of monsters like any kid has.

Bad people are different than monsters. A bully or a bad parent doesn't have to be a monster. I don't like saying that but it's true. A bully that suddenly can throw a car at you might be possessed and the creepy uncle that suddenly is spending a lot of time in the graveyard might be a wizard trying to make zombies but being creepy or mean doesn't make someone or something a monster.

Things that are supernatural aren't always monsters, either. The ghost of your grandmother might only help you but that doesn't mean she's going to start attacking someone else.

Monsters, though, are different. They live off fear. Monsters are always things that you're afraid of even if not everything you're afraid of is a monster. Even things that shouldn't be scary can be a monster if something has changed. Your friendly dog might become a rabid hellhound if the jerk down the road started spreading a rumor that Speckles attacked them in the middle of the night.

That doesn't mean monsters can't return to normal. We'll talk about that, later, though. For now this binder is just to help you to identify monsters.]

[battlestations]

[Now this is some juicy stuff! Information about Closetland has been hard to come by. He's curious what kind of monster this is supposed to be that's affecting teenagers and adults somehow. Even dogs, huh? That's no good!

Let's keep going then!]

[whimsicalism]

[There's another short note before it gets into deets about individual monsters:

What We Know About Closetland and Monsters

1. All monsters are born out of fear.

2-A. All monsters have something they want. Some kids call it a wish or a need. Most monsters will leave you alone if they get what they want or become harmless. If that mean junkyard dog gets a steak he'll probably turn back to normal. If you fix the gravestones in the graveyard the zombies will probably go back to their graves.

2-B. Obviously that want could be something that's very bad. It might even make the monster more powerful but normally that's not the case.

3. All monsters have weaknesses. They might not be the same for each one, though. A vampire might die in the sunlight but a plant monster won't.

4. All monsters hate

The page is torn off here. It seems that the introductory stuff is done, though. Want to dive into some monster lore?]

[battlestations]

[well that was rude of whoever tore that page! At the risk of sounding like Rhyme, this book killer is a jerk!

But yeah, never hurts to be prepared. What's the lore, librarian?]

[whimsicalism]

[There are a lot of different types of monsters. It looks like the kids from Apple Court pooled their knowledge (and probably that of their classmates or friends, judging by the sheer amount of different handwriting here) of all sorts of things. From stuff like monsters under the bed, to a new babysitter that was actually a mantis monster in disguise, to a whole bunch of gremlins that attacked Apple Court one hot summer day. Most of the monsters probably seem normal enough to a person like Nigel, though.

They all follow the same format: a picture (be it a drawing or a photo), a name, a list of qualities, some weaknesses, a guess at what it wanted, and also what the kid did to get rid of it.

Yet near the end there's a change. A page declares Monsters that started attacking teens. While the others seem like normal things a monster fighting child might find... these ones seem off as if the children were more frightened of them.

A good example is called Bloody Mary the Prom Queen. Do you want to hear a monster story, Nigel?]

[battlestations]

[yep, this all seems right in his wheelhouse. Prom Queens sound insidious too, so of course he wants to know!]

[whimsicalism]

[Under the picture of a blonde teenage girl in a bloody gown standing alone in an empty school gym there's a deviance in the profile format. There's a paragraph description before the normal qualities, weakness, or wants.

In curly girlish handwriting the following is written:

This was my older sister. She was so nice and kind before she got really sick one day. She was asleep for two whole days and seemed normal for a while. Then this happened. Me and my friends stopped her but I think my real sister must be stuck in Closetland. She would never do something like this. Not ever.]

[battlestations]

Oh great. They're replacing us with evil clones now?

[it'd explain the GKND trailer admittedly

more to read?]

[whimsicalism]

[There sure is! As in the previous monster profiles it goes something like this:

This is murderous shell of a popular girl. Bloody Mary is really scary when she screams: "Am I pretty enough yet?!"

She wants to be the prom queen and make sure that no one can take it away from her.

She can travel through any shiny surface. She knows when you're lying. She can't leave the high school anymore.

There's a small paragraph next to it, though.

We trapped her in a mirror in the high school bathroom... we couldn't stop her from killing some of her classmates. It's not like any other body snatching monster I've seen! I dunno what happened. My sister is seventeen. She shouldn't be affected by monsters and she can't go to Closetland.

Sent in by S. Rosenthal in [the name of the city is blacked out]

There are other weird profiles. Read on?]

[battlestations]

[No way. Reading about one gross teen monster is enough.

..........well okay, maybe a little more. This is a matter of concern to them as well after all. Especially since it concerns Closetland.]

[whimsicalism]

[The monsters in this section seem to have some similarities to Bloody Mary. That is, they all seem like teens the person who wrote the profile were related to, knew well, or adults they looked up to. They also all seem competitive in some way. Popular older sisters. Brothers who were in bands or athletics teams. Tutors for horseback riding or little league coaches.

This is a stark contrast the monsters in the previous section which were filled with things kids normally are afraid of.

Also they all were sick and sleeping for a couple days before becoming monsters.]

[battlestations]

[Well, adults being monsters seemed to be the norm at first, right? It's the younger ones, the teens, that had surprised the writer... who must have been very naive... but regardless, that was how it was, he thought. He'll at least note that these were SUPPOSED to be ''nice'' adults.

Actually, it reminds him a bit of how adulthood was supposed to be a disease to begin with, according to his higher-ups. But obviously it was never like this. A mutation, perhaps. Fine, he's interested again, what else.]

[whimsicalism]

[That's the thing, isn't it? Monsters are born out of fear. Fear makes monsters. Those cases didn't seem to mention why they suddenly became scary.

There is a final page entitled Helpful Spirits and Closetland.



All these monsters previously listed were encountered in the normal world. Even if you don't know the name, you know what Closetland is. The fear in a dark alley. The monster in your closet or under your bed. The stranger watching you on a train. The dreams that wake you up in a cold sweat.

No one alive knows how Closetland was made. Maybe it always was there since the first child way back when. No adult or teen should be able to go there or even believe it exists.

It's a bad, bad place where monsters and nightmares form without the need for fear. If you're lucky you'll never find yourself there even if you've fought monsters before.

Though, there are some spirits that can help you if you find yourself trapped there.

The Light-Man isn't really made out of light even if it glows. It eats darkness. If it shows up all the monsters that live in dark can be pushed away.

The Blue Angel protects the weak. It won't show up in any every day battle but if there is any large scale battle and you're losing, it may show up to help. It'll have to rest for a while afterwards yet know that it'll there for you when needed.

No one knows who Mother is. I know she's not mine or your mom. She has a house in Closetland, though. She can find paths for you through the worst places.

Nursery Rhyme is a shapeshifting spirit. I've only heard a few people talk about it so it must have showed up in Closetland recently. If you find the book, it'll become a creature that you think up and is strong enough to fight off most monsters. They say it lives in a castle. Though, I don't know how safe it is. I haven't heard about any kids returning from it.

Something is changing and we don't know why yet. We'll make more books when we find out more.]

[battlestations]

[so... is that the end of the book?

He's definitely starting to worry about what happened to these kids.]

[whimsicalism]

[It sure is! You're free to explore your new base in peace, Nigel.]