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

[seventhlittlemonster]

1. Lion Cove

[Where the water met the ground, Seven clutched a glass bottle to his chest as he whispered to himself, too quiet for any passerby to hear. In the bottle, it had a rolled-up piece of paper and it was sealed with a cork.

Crouching onto the ground, he placed the bottle in the tide so it would float away to the beyond that no one here could reach.]

2. Build-a-Friend

[He had never explored the city section before, but he seemed to be attached to the place where all the stuffed animals were.

It made him forget what was going to happen to his family's memory, but not for long...

He looked down at Mr. Stripey-Pants and began expositing his woes.]

What do I do...? Oh, what do I do at a time like this? The Storyteller couldn't possibly be bluffing, could they...? [He hugged Mr. Stripey-Pants tightly, trying not to cry.]

3. Zoo

[This new area was so strange... He looked over at all the stuffed animals just moving on their own, free and reveling as babes.

To no one in particular, he spoke aloud,] I wonder if Mr. Stripey-Pants can come alive here. Hmm...

4. Library

[At the end of the day, he retreated to the library with Mr. Stripey-Pants and opened up a book he had been afraid to tackle for its sheer volume in size. The Divine Comedy. He's read only some of Inferno, but never Purgatorio or Paradiso.]

O-Oh good gosh- [He looked away at one of the passages, squinting hard to try to get whatever mental image was implanted in there.]

build-a-friend

[octopups]

[For all the time Amdi has spent in the mirror hall chatting with Molly, he hasn't really ventured into the rest of this floor much yet. So, sometime before (or after!) the meeting, Amdi wanders around a bit and ends up in the Build-A-Friend.

... And comes through the door right as Seven is talking to his Mr. Stripey-Pants. Amdi stops, looks around shyly, trying to decide if he should go up to Seven or let him be alone.]

Re: build-a-friend

[seventhlittlemonster]

Oh? [He turned around, almost surprised.] It's... good to see you all again.

[octopups]

[Well, Seven seems okay with him being here, so Amdi's gonna trot in and nuzzle a couple of little heads against his big legs.]

Hi, Seven. Are you feeling any better?

[seventhlittlemonster]

... [He shook his head.] I don't want my family to forget me. I can't just eat a cassette tape like a letter. I can't ignore what the Storyteller is going to do. It's just hopeless for me now...

[octopups]

[Amdi's tympana buzz a warbling high chord just at the edge of hearing, and he presses himself closer. He's been trying not to think about that.]

E-Even if she can do what she says she can...

I... [A long pause.] I think... the people who love you, if they met you again for the first time... I think they'd love you again.

[That's what he hopes for himself, at least.]

[seventhlittlemonster]

[He wanted to agree with that statement, but that only served to bring a few tears to his eyes.]

[octopups]

[Amdi's holding back a little wetness himself, at this point. He keeps a few of himself cuddling Seven but the rest peel off to look around the Build-A-Friend store.]

S-so, um, what's this place?

[seventhlittlemonster]

It's for making your own stuffed animals. There're skins that you bring to this machine, and you fill it up with stuffing. [Hm...] Maybe I could make you a few?

[octopups]

Stuffed... animals...?

[Amdi seems kind of alarmed by this for a sec. He's seen hunting trophies and he's heard of weirdos who taxidermy their own previous members when they die, so his first word-association on "get a skin, fill it with stuffing" is probably not what Seven intended.]

[But then he looks at Mr. Stripey and the other plush toys around the room and he remembers, ohhh right, that's what humans call those cute squishy simulacra things they make, and he quickly relaxes.]

Um, sure!

[seventhlittlemonster]

Go pick something out, they've got something for everyone.

[octopups]

Okay!

[Amdi trots apart and props a couple of himself up on his own shoulders to examine several of the nearby displays simultaneously, looking at all the different options. He actually seems pretty into it for a minute.]

[Then he sees that one of the options is an adorable little black-and-white Tine puppy, and he... pauses, turning all his heads to stare at it thoughtfully.]

[seventhlittlemonster]

Is that the one you want? [He seemed perfectly willing to do it for them.]

Library

[xxxx_me]

[Hello fellow library fren, you look kind of freaked out?]

Are you alright?

[He's got a storybook in his lap.]

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

This book is scary, that's- that's all I wanna say. Though, I assume you're more predisposed to disturbing imagery than I am... You wouldn't mind reading it with me, would you? [Everything was less scary with friends,,]

Re: Library

[xxxx_me]

Um...

[Is he more used to it, now? Huh.]

...Sure. I don't mind reading it with you. [It's a book! Therefore it is time to read.]

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

[The part of Inferno he reeled from was in Canto XX. As is described in the book, fortune tellers and diviners end up in hell with their heads forever facing backward as a sort of twisted irony. They can never face forward as they always have again.

...no wonder Seven seems particularly sore about reading this part of the book.]

Re: Library

[xxxx_me]

[Ohhhh.

Spooky.]

So this is what he thinks hell is like?

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

Part of it... There's much more but I don't know how much I can take in one setting. I had scared myself as a kid when I accidentally opened the book to the last circle, Treachery.

Re: Library

[xxxx_me]

What was it like?

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

[He slowly inhales.]

The briefest I can describe it is everyone there is frozen up to the neck by the wind blown from Lucifer's flapping wings. They can only bow their heads.

...Analyzing this book, no matter how lovely the poetry is, it's simply a way for Dante to laugh at people he didn't like. I wouldn't let it affect your worldview if I were you. [He flipped to a different page.]

Re: Library

[xxxx_me]

[Pat pat.]

That's not what happens to your soul when you die, anyway.

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

...Are you already dead as well or do you just... know? [excuse me what the fuck]

Re: Library

[xxxx_me]

No, but I met a girl who lost most of her soul in the Dream.

[Y'know.

As you do.]

Re: Library

[seventhlittlemonster]

O-Oh. Oh... [He drummed his fingers on the book.] I see. I... don't think I want to be in this dream.