Maybe. We do have hostages, though. If they can twist our arms for a hotel game of murder, maybe they can twist them more for extra duties. You can't say no, stuff like that.
[He glances at Cloud, pensive and thin-lipped.]
When you went on your field trip, did you find anything... different? Like, related to the hotel? Yoo showed me something from theirs, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense.
[ he does nothing but nod at that himself, a deep frown etched on his face. as for the question... ]
No. Only thing we got out of that was a locket. But... the whole thing was pretty much like the hotel anyway. Brought somewhere to entertain the hosts, and then it turns out their entertainment was watching us kill each other and die.
What, they didn't think you had enough of the murder hotel already?
[He sort of gives that hissed exhale of exasperation through his teeth. He really has to put his forehead in his hand on the counter here.]
Yoo was convinced theirs was... memories of someone here. It sounded wild as hell, and he was already half out of it trying to tell me. Kept zoning in and out. Something about going into a hole.
He had a piece of hotel paper. Some people were playing Hangman, but not sure who. Ten-letter word. R was put in the sixth slot. T, S, M, L, O, D, E had all been tried, I think. The man was pretty much hung. [He closes his eyes like he's thinking.] The writing on the side was... "Give me another guess, you're missing a limb" in thick writing, "lmao" under it in slim writing, then "let the man die with dignity" in thick writing again. I think.
Below that was, "That is not a word!" in thick writing and "How dare you? Apologize to" in the slim writing before the page was ripped.
[ cloud listens to all of that and just downs his drink, because you know what, his head already hurt before, and this did not help. he's not good enough at vocabulary to even begin to try and guess that without a piece of paper himself. for a while he just looks like he's thinking, frowning heavily and tapping the counter with a finger ]
This a hint that Nightman's not playing us alone, you think?
Where is TIM? "Jason can figure out word puzzles." No, he just wants to punch and shoot. Where is Tim? Those are the brains.]
Maybe. I don't know if it's from the staff, or if maybe... I don't know, another round? I did try to ask if this was something the staff had done before, but they dodged. Which... suspicious. I assume they have.
That was when we got here, though. Maybe I can ask again, see if the tune has changed.
Even if they tell you, it's different if they've done this shit in general or if they've done a round at this hotel specifically. But something's off about them for sure.
[ jason wishes for tim and cloud doesn't even have anyone to wish for, he just admits; ]
I'm not a word puzzle guy. [ he's not entirely stupid with puzzles, but vocabulary is a lot different. save him. ] Maybe we can cut a deal to get one of the staff to solve that one for us. [ deadpan. ]
Yeah. I differentiated, but it didn't seem to matter.
[SOMEONE HELP AVALANCHE WHERE IS THE BRAINCELL!!! i believe in tifa it's all i've got. we're sending hope to ff7 land.]
One letter is a little hard to work with. The writing makes me and Yoo think it's maybe a made-up word. Or a word associated with someone, so we might not be able to guess it. I don't know. [He smirks wryly.] You think they'd cut us a better or worse deal if we tried to do it together?
Hey. [He sounds grumpily offended, but not angry.] I'm not the one who got beat to hell, then kicked the bucket, and then sat up on the autopsy table, alright?
If they should be annoyed with anyone, it should be you. [Muttering:] My attitude is fine. [IT'S NOT FINE.] They love me.
[ jason keeps mentioning it so cloud is Starting to wonder... if jason... was upset by his death...? no that's clearly silly. anyway he pats his shoulder ]
They were too busy being annoyed at the guy who tried to stab 'em to be mad at me. Least that means you're probably off the hook, too. [ he thinks jason angrily muttering is kind of funny. sorry about that. but he goes back to being a little more business ] Harrowhark says the tasks can take a while, so trying to split it up between two of us might not be a bad idea if we wanna request something more intense than the room service.
That's true. You think they'd split it, though, or force us to double up? We already don't get paid enough as it is; it's our luck they'd add more weight. But it wouldn't hurt to ask, I guess.
Aquarius said room service is room service and deals are deals. If we make a deal, it has to be related to this place's entertainment. So, like... murder, obviously. You know what you'd have in mind?
We'll see. No one's tried it yet as far as I know, so I guess we'll have to be the guinea pigs.
[ the murder makes cloud frown again ]
Pretty sure I'm all tapped out murder-wise. [ And then, on Sunday, ] I don't know. If the deal is for answers, then it's a matter of finding out how much that'd cost first. Right? There's no saying we have to offer an exchange ourselves. Just see if it's something we're willing to do. Or if it's even worth it.
[Cloud says this and falls right back into murder.]
Yeah. I assume it's a negotiation, and I assume it isn't going to be in our favor. But we'd all have to probably shake on it. When I talked to Aquarius about it, they really seemed like they wanted me to consider it before doing it. So I don't think anything is wrong with talking to whoever of the staff we think would give us a better deal.
Depends on what we want to ask for. And how to relate that to murder, but, like, in our benefit. Good luck to us.
Only ever had to barter for my own paycheck. This sounds like it'll be a lot more complicated. [ but he doesn't sound like he is backing down, leaning his elbow on the table so he can rest his chin in his hand ] Aquarius seems like not a bad one for deals. Some of them are a lot more... intense than others.
[ he pauses like he's not sure why he censored himself for jason of all people so he clarifies; ]
A lot more batshit. I don't know most of them that well [ because i was so fucking busy this week with a murder and cyoa ], so I can't say for sure who'd be the best. How many have you talked to so far?
[He looks exactly like he's weirded out by Cloud censoring himself, but then laughs when it's corrected.]
You can just say Virgo. [That isn't the only one, but it's the most obvious one.] I think I've talked to all of them at least once, but some not extensively. We'd probably have to figure out what we'd want to try first. If it's something crazy, maybe someone like Virgo would be best. Aquarius said you have to sell it.
If it's batshit enough of an idea, wouldn't the best person to cut a deal with be someone batshit? Aquarius is pretty sensible. Kind of wary, I think. Aquila is a pain in my damn ass, but if you want to make a joke of the deal, they'd be the perfect choice. Orion seems somewhat reasonable. Gemini tried to be sassy but was kind of guarded? They were the one who wouldn't come off any details when I questioned them about this being their first rodeo. But they did offer where to find a library, so they can be nice.
Virgo is hilarious, but completely unhinged, obviously. Easy to bully. Lepus seems like a dangerous asshole. More serious than Gemini and in the "don't bother me" department. Cetus is... Cetus wouldn't be bad. They don't talk a lot, but they seem reasonable? I guess. I only talked to Vulpecula once on the phone. When all of you started coming back from wherever. They seem to always be trying to get Lepus to lighten up, though.
[ honestly it is kind of extremely impressive to hear jason go down that list in his descriptions when cloud has not talked with that much of the staff yet or really analyzed them in any kind of way, because. that is not something he does much. he is so bad at people. he is not a bat. ]
... Sounds like you talked to all of them plenty to me. [ he pauses ] I've talked to Vulpecula a little. They're the ones who handed me my contract and mentioned it was possible to get in the first place when I asked. They seemed... nice?
[ again, the tone of someone who doesn't know shit about analyzing people. vulpecula was nice to him so he's fine with it. i hope they are secretly evil ]
You think it's one of those things were... if you came to them at the right time, they'd mention them? Since other groups had a schedule for these sorts of things, apparently.
[ the realm sort of had a schedule but it was at random and horrible just to make sure you guys suffered ]
Probably? I don't think any of us could remember much about the contract, but they kept saying we'd signed it when we'd ask questions. So naturally, we'd be curious to see it. They were likely banking on that.
...Probably. Didn't you tell me they wouldn't give out hints for free? That just means we have to be annoying by questioning them about literally everything.
I wouldn't count on it. My luck's been too shitty in this place to hope for that much. [ and then sunday it gets worse. it's fine. ] But we've got no choice but to keep annoying them until we get results. Not like we've got any other clue right now.
Hey, I don't know if I would call coming back to life shitty. [Thinks about himself waking up in a coffin. Looks at Cloud.] Actually, nevermind. I can vouch it's shitty.
Now we match. Twinning.
[(cloud voice) joy]
If the staff don't know anything about it, maybe we have to see if the rest of it turns up somewhere.
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[He glances at Cloud, pensive and thin-lipped.]
When you went on your field trip, did you find anything... different? Like, related to the hotel? Yoo showed me something from theirs, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense.
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No. Only thing we got out of that was a locket. But... the whole thing was pretty much like the hotel anyway. Brought somewhere to entertain the hosts, and then it turns out their entertainment was watching us kill each other and die.
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[He sort of gives that hissed exhale of exasperation through his teeth. He really has to put his forehead in his hand on the counter here.]
Yoo was convinced theirs was... memories of someone here. It sounded wild as hell, and he was already half out of it trying to tell me. Kept zoning in and out. Something about going into a hole.
He had a piece of hotel paper. Some people were playing Hangman, but not sure who. Ten-letter word. R was put in the sixth slot. T, S, M, L, O, D, E had all been tried, I think. The man was pretty much hung. [He closes his eyes like he's thinking.] The writing on the side was... "Give me another guess, you're missing a limb" in thick writing, "lmao" under it in slim writing, then "let the man die with dignity" in thick writing again. I think.
Below that was, "That is not a word!" in thick writing and "How dare you? Apologize to" in the slim writing before the page was ripped.
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[ cloud listens to all of that and just downs his drink, because you know what, his head already hurt before, and this did not help. he's not good enough at vocabulary to even begin to try and guess that without a piece of paper himself. for a while he just looks like he's thinking, frowning heavily and tapping the counter with a finger ]
This a hint that Nightman's not playing us alone, you think?
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Where is TIM? "Jason can figure out word puzzles." No, he just wants to punch and shoot. Where is Tim? Those are the brains.]
Maybe. I don't know if it's from the staff, or if maybe... I don't know, another round? I did try to ask if this was something the staff had done before, but they dodged. Which... suspicious. I assume they have.
That was when we got here, though. Maybe I can ask again, see if the tune has changed.
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[ jason wishes for tim and cloud doesn't even have anyone to wish for, he just admits; ]
I'm not a word puzzle guy. [ he's not entirely stupid with puzzles, but vocabulary is a lot different. save him. ] Maybe we can cut a deal to get one of the staff to solve that one for us. [ deadpan. ]
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[SOMEONE HELP AVALANCHE WHERE IS THE BRAINCELL!!! i believe in tifa it's all i've got. we're sending hope to ff7 land.]
One letter is a little hard to work with. The writing makes me and Yoo think it's maybe a made-up word. Or a word associated with someone, so we might not be able to guess it. I don't know. [He smirks wryly.] You think they'd cut us a better or worse deal if we tried to do it together?
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Depends. How annoyed are they with you right now? Might give us a worse deal just for your attitude.
[ the joke is cloud also has a bad attitude. it's fine. ]
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If they should be annoyed with anyone, it should be you. [Muttering:] My attitude is fine. [IT'S NOT FINE.] They love me.
[They do not.]
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They were too busy being annoyed at the guy who tried to stab 'em to be mad at me. Least that means you're probably off the hook, too. [ he thinks jason angrily muttering is kind of funny. sorry about that. but he goes back to being a little more business ] Harrowhark says the tasks can take a while, so trying to split it up between two of us might not be a bad idea if we wanna request something more intense than the room service.
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That's true. You think they'd split it, though, or force us to double up? We already don't get paid enough as it is; it's our luck they'd add more weight. But it wouldn't hurt to ask, I guess.
Aquarius said room service is room service and deals are deals. If we make a deal, it has to be related to this place's entertainment. So, like... murder, obviously. You know what you'd have in mind?
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[ the murder makes cloud frown again ]
Pretty sure I'm all tapped out murder-wise. [ And then, on Sunday, ] I don't know. If the deal is for answers, then it's a matter of finding out how much that'd cost first. Right? There's no saying we have to offer an exchange ourselves. Just see if it's something we're willing to do. Or if it's even worth it.
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[Cloud says this and falls right back into murder.]
Yeah. I assume it's a negotiation, and I assume it isn't going to be in our favor. But we'd all have to probably shake on it. When I talked to Aquarius about it, they really seemed like they wanted me to consider it before doing it. So I don't think anything is wrong with talking to whoever of the staff we think would give us a better deal.
Depends on what we want to ask for. And how to relate that to murder, but, like, in our benefit. Good luck to us.
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[ he pauses like he's not sure why he censored himself for jason of all people so he clarifies; ]
A lot more batshit. I don't know most of them that well [ because i was so fucking busy this week with a murder and cyoa ], so I can't say for sure who'd be the best. How many have you talked to so far?
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You can just say Virgo. [That isn't the only one, but it's the most obvious one.] I think I've talked to all of them at least once, but some not extensively. We'd probably have to figure out what we'd want to try first. If it's something crazy, maybe someone like Virgo would be best. Aquarius said you have to sell it.
If it's batshit enough of an idea, wouldn't the best person to cut a deal with be someone batshit? Aquarius is pretty sensible. Kind of wary, I think. Aquila is a pain in my damn ass, but if you want to make a joke of the deal, they'd be the perfect choice. Orion seems somewhat reasonable. Gemini tried to be sassy but was kind of guarded? They were the one who wouldn't come off any details when I questioned them about this being their first rodeo. But they did offer where to find a library, so they can be nice.
Virgo is hilarious, but completely unhinged, obviously. Easy to bully. Lepus seems like a dangerous asshole. More serious than Gemini and in the "don't bother me" department. Cetus is... Cetus wouldn't be bad. They don't talk a lot, but they seem reasonable? I guess. I only talked to Vulpecula once on the phone. When all of you started coming back from wherever. They seem to always be trying to get Lepus to lighten up, though.
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... Sounds like you talked to all of them plenty to me. [ he pauses ] I've talked to Vulpecula a little. They're the ones who handed me my contract and mentioned it was possible to get in the first place when I asked. They seemed... nice?
[ again, the tone of someone who doesn't know shit about analyzing people. vulpecula was nice to him so he's fine with it. i hope they are secretly evil ]
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I got mine from Cetus. They're very to the point. They're the ones who mentioned the contract to me.
[Jason looks, like, humorously skeptical? I hope they are evil also.]
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[ the realm sort of had a schedule but it was at random and horrible just to make sure you guys suffered ]
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Probably? I don't think any of us could remember much about the contract, but they kept saying we'd signed it when we'd ask questions. So naturally, we'd be curious to see it. They were likely banking on that.
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[He sighs.]
Maybe they won't be so vague now.
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[ a beat ]
I'm not counting that hangman.
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Now we match. Twinning.
[(cloud voice) joy]
If the staff don't know anything about it, maybe we have to see if the rest of it turns up somewhere.
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[ but he's clearly joking. also anna. go to bed. ]
If the rest of it turns up anywhere, it'll be on another one of those deadly excursions next week. So let's hope some of the staff knows.
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Hey. [He does not sound riled up.] Don’t blame me.
[Blame him, he has middle child syndrome.]
Let’s hope, but I’m the pessimist here, so I’m going to say that we’ll probably get more answers going on some kind of adventure.
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