bellelurette | WEEK ONE

WEEK ONE

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Maybe being swept away to a fancy castle isn't what you wanted (Hickey aside), but the fact of the matter is that you're stuck here, at least for now. Thankfully there's enough food even if hot chocolate for breakfast might be a bit rich for some palates. There's at least a stock of raw food in the kitchens, but your hapless kidnapper is a Witch, not a chef, so you'll have to perform your own, manual kitchen magic if the provided meals aren't to your liking.

Just try not to burn the place down before you get the chance to take your host at his word (that you'll be leaving in a week's time, certainly, trust).

If you do get the cabin fever immediately, the grounds are a beautiful reprieve from the great indoors -- and if nothing else, perhaps you can find time to get to know your fellow guests. The weather is gorgeous all week, cheerfully sunny, which lends something to the mood.

WEEKLY EFFECT

This week, characters will feel heightened emotions periodically. If they're very happy about something, it'll feel like the best thing in the world! If they'd usually brush off something mildly annoying, suddenly it'll grate on their nerves. This effect will last throughout the week until investigation and is completely optional.

[OOC: Welcome to Week 1! Despite the lack of any threatened murder (except in Witch's direction), there will be a case this week. We'll have a small optional event on Wednesday at 1PM EDT/10AM PDT, but it won't require real time threading and can be done over the course of the week. ]

MONDAY • TUESDAY • WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY

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[ Clover is so quiet for most of this that people might forget she's even here.

It might've been better if she wasn't present at all, actually.

After watching everyone like a hawk, she eventually grabs a single ruby and walks over the scale. Might as well get this over with so she can actually try something else productive. ~~Don't think of the days of searching the castle, of pushing and pulling at anything loose, of trying to move away as far as she can. There has to be something.~~ ]

...Pretending none of you are about to stab me in the back is tiring. I want to believe in some of you, but I'm getting exhausted.

[ Her words are devoid of any energy whatsoever. ]

And I was the one who painted "NERD" at the grotto.

[ She unceremoniously throws in the ruby, her face cold and flat. ]

[ ...ah. under all of that cheer, she seems like a pretty normal girl.

he has a history of never saying the right thing or being able to console anyone, so unfortunately he doesn't have anything to offer her right now. only his perpetually blank expression, softer but only slightly.

maybe he'll go find her a stick later so she beat someone up if they come at her. ]

[ that would actually cheer her up! that aside, while she's clamming up now, she does appreciate that he didn't say anything. sometimes there doesn't need to be words. ]

[ mood on the first one. ]

Was the graffiti something you actually feel guilty about?

[ right? ]

...My brother would've scolded me for it.

Oh.

[ she nods, even though she doesn't really understand. ]

He's important to you?

Yes.

[ her answer is immediate. ]

We look after each other. He's calmer than me though.

I… don’t think it’s that odd to feel emotional while all of this is happening.

[ her own emotions have been somewhat on the fritz all week, though she doesn’t think about relating it to anything magical. her own guilt already weighs down on her chest all on its own. ]

Yeah. Just...I feel like I'm losing reason without him around. I shouldn't even have said all this.

[ she's been pushing and pushing because she was rewarded for it, shown how it works. but she can't be sure now without an end in sight. ]

It's hard, but...I think you're doing better than me.

Edited 2025-03-13 04:52 (UTC)

You're joking. I'm barely hanging on myself.

[ she says this without any bite in her voice. if anything it's just proof of how frail her state of mind is. ]

If anything, it's probably because Sa...Richard, I mean, is here with me. It'd be embarrassing if I broke down in front of him again.

[ she shakes her head no. it's a statement, not a joke. but there's some envy mixed in there. ]

There's nothing wrong with that...? I don't think he'd mind. You're in his likes section.

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simulacres - 2025-03-14 02:58 (UTC) - Expand

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fourtuity - 2025-03-14 03:47 (UTC) - Expand

Why should you trust anybody? He only told us to get along with one another... I don't think that would be enough for almost anyone.

[Nobility doesn't ever trust their neighbors. In some ways, Andrew might say that kind of suspicious paranoia is baked into her blood. Her father certainly never trusted anyone.]

...I don't think I have to. But being paranoid wouldn't help either. So I was trying.

[ She looks down, staring at her wrists. ]

[Her eyes flick, following the path of Clover's gaze, but when (if) Clover looks up again, Andrew will be making unflinching green eye contact.]

Were you also thinking you might have to stab someone else in the back? Or was your worry without reciprocation?

[ That question just brings so many things bubbling over that she doesn't even think before responding. She doesn't look up. ]

I thought I'd have to. I had to avenge him, even if it killed me.

[She can, perhaps, get the sense that this was an overflow of emotions the likes of which have made her say things that she would not be caught dead uttering in front of people she's never seen (and, God willing, will never see again once this week is out).

It does not stop her from asking.]

Are you talking about your brother?

[ She keeps answering as if this was all in the same breath. ]

Yeah. I knew I was next in line to die. But I found him actually alive before I had to.

[Does she always talk about traumatic things without breathing like that, dumping them out like it'll vent the pain?

...No, this other girl must be like a dam breaking.]

Slow down so I can keep up. I haven't been in a similar situation. It would be a good thing to find your brother and not have to die, typically. Is he the one who betrayed you? ...Were you not angry that he was alive all along? [She can't quite wrap her mind around that bit.]

[ And just as suddenly, she stops with a jolt. ]

...

[ The silence doesn't end for a while, with her standing as still as a statue. Yet eventually she does open her mouth again. ]

...Yeah, it's hard to understand without the full context. But I shouldn't have said that in the first place.

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distain - 2025-03-15 04:25 (UTC) - Expand

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fourtuity - 2025-03-15 05:17 (UTC) - Expand

[Shiv can’t help but feel an uncharacteristic bit of sympathy for Clover. Maybe because they’re a bit similar in that regard.]

That just makes you smart, kid. They call it Stranger Danger for a damn good reason.

Oh...yeah, I know about that. But um...

[ She fiddles with the pom-poms on her coat. ]

We should cooperate, so feeling like that doesn't help, right...?

Well, I cooperate with people I don't fully trust all the time back home. It's part of my job.

We're in the same boat of "get me the fuck out of this pocket dimension," but we don't know if anybody's a secret war criminal or planning to turn on us for ransom money soon as we find a way out. So it's normal to only half-trust people you just met a few days ago.

[ Considering all of that takes her more than a moment. ]

...Right. I guess I just feel guilty about it, because it feels like I'm breaking a promise. I wish I could break it down the way you can.

Have you been hurt like that before?

( about the backstabbing thing... )

[ The way he phrases it gives her pause. ]

...Yeah, but, um...does it also count if it's someone you care about who got hurt?

[ More so than the kidnapping...more so than the realization of their identities... ]

That's...that's the part that really stung.

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