[GAME] The House

[skinstealer]

+MIRROR (Annabelle)
+MINDSCAPE (Simon)
+ROOM DISCOVERY
+MEMORY RECOVERY (Fake Snub)
+NEUTRAL EVENT
+FRACTURE SKILL (Fake Snub, Cinnamon)

Simon's Log

Day 42

I don't know what's going on. Annabelle and I got out of the forest, but now we're in some kind of...factory, or at least a hallway overlooking it. We can't get down to the machines themselves, but they make a lot of noise. It was hard to sleep earlier, but I got a nap in. The weird thing isn't even the factory. It's the dream I had.

I awoke in the dream to the smell of something baking. Something familiar. I rose from my bed and realized I had been sleeping in a blanket made of wax paper. It took me a moment to realize that my body was different. Not too weird for that to happen in dreams. I was taller and made of cinnamon roll pastry, and had a long curly tail. Something told me that I was "chameleon"-like, even if I couldn't see my face. I had a nice suit on, though it was a little ruffled and unkempt. That's what I get for sleeping in it.

I walked around and found out that I was in a complex-scale kitchen. It felt even bigger than usual. Something about it felt rather unnerving, but I knew it to be home as well. Did I come from somewhere like this before coming to the house? Was this another house I remember? I can't tell.

I was startled, though. There was more wax paper rustling behind me, and when I turned, there was a burnt looking sugar cookie type, with a bite taken out of him. He looked at me and I looked at him. He was familiar to me, just as the room was.

I asked him who he was, and he said Simon. I said that's impossible, as that's my name. It didn't seem possible that we could share the same name, even if I know that's silly. He got upset at that, saying that he's the real Simon, and that I was making fun of him. I told him that if I was making fun of him, I would have commented on the bite on his head. This really pissed him off. We argued like that for a bit. Walking around the kitchen, bickering about who's real or not. I think he's a total poser.

When the dream faded, the kitchen remained, in the back of my mind. I could still hear the fake-Simon talking, cussing me out- now saying that I was making a huge mistake. I ignored him and told Annabelle about what had happened. She said that was really weird, but to keep an eye on it. I don't know if she thinks I'm all together, but she's supportive.

Even aside from the dream and. Whatever this kitchen and intrusive thought is. I feel different. It's as if I've opened a door. I just wish there wasn't an angry cookie on the other side.

[King-Clod]

Diary perspective: Fleur
Examine Anxieties
Examine Relationships (Liz, Tinsel)

[skinstealer]

+FRACTURE (x2, Tinsel)
+POSITIVE EVENT
+NEGATIVE EVENT
+MEMORY RECOVERY (Tinsel)
+ROOM DISCOVERY (Meat Circus)
SWITCH TINSEL: SICK EFFECT (AUTHOR-SELECTED)

Fleur's Notes

Day 43

Another day out on the road...Liz seems agitated that we're leaving "security" so soon, but I had to make it clear to him that this place is not safe, even if we really, really want it to be. Such a frustrating situation to be in...

I found the new area first, though. It was a strange door, covered in bloody, pulsating flesh, intricate and "silly" designs carved into the tendons as if they were wood or stone...no one wanted to open it, but I'm not scared of things like that. Still, I held on for a bit as people got their bearings, especially when Tinsel came up to me...

Something about zem was...different. Ze was sniffling and kind of sickly looking, and I worry there might be something going around virus-wise...but ze asked for comfort, which is waaaaay out of character for zem. Still, I sat down with zem and we talked things out a bit, as much as ze'd let me, anyway. Ze said that ze was getting reminded of some things with Jingle's death, and that ze didn't know how to talk about it- and that it was freaking zem out bad. I've never seen zem like this- it was like ze was a whole different person.

...with the unfamiliarity in how ze was acting...I offered to hold zer hand as we went into the door. Ze doesn't usually like my meat hands and I avoid touching zem as much as possible, but ze accepted, and the two of us walked into the room together, the rest of the party following...

....into the bizarre circus we now find ourselves in.

[FiveBalesOfHay]

Perspective shift: Mist
Topic: Meat

[King-Clod]

Perspective shift: Mist
Topic: Hunger. The relentless hunger.

[skinstealer]

Day 44

Mist's Journal

I struggle.

Words don't come easy but I have to write. I've tried throwing the pen far away, but I always find something. I can't lose the journal. I can't stop. Every day I grow hungrier and I am forced to write that hunger here for who, myself? Some unknown reader? Whatever god decided to steal us away and torture us? They surround me with fucking meat and dare me to try some.

Shrump says maybe I should do it. Sate myself now, especially when they see me grow more and more agitated around our new peers. The sight and smell of pulsing meat around me is enough to trigger the worst hunger pangs in my belly, but even from the scraps I've tried-

It's not the same. It drags out the hunger, but isn't what my body craves. I need relief. I need something. I'm desperate for the hunger to stop, I'll do anything.

But I can't eat my friends, either.

Anything but that.

[skinstealer]

+MIRROR: MIST
+MINDSCAPE: MIST
+FRACTURE (x2): MIST
+MIRROR: GEORGE
+MIRROR: BUNNY

Day 45

Mist's Journal

I had to pull away from the group today. Hunger kept chewing at me. Shrump wanted to follow, but I wouldn't let them.

In hindsight, I'm glad. 

I got myself lost. Couldn't find my way back. Ended up stumbling into this cavity, and it was a cavity, like something used to be there and was yanked out. Most of the environment at least tries to pretend and be circus-y, but this was just a fucking hole. I panicked at first, before realizing two things:

This would be a good place for me to gather myself, and that the room was not empty. 

A giant, pulsating heart laid enmeshed in the wall, a funhouse mirror embedded into it. I've never seen something like that in my life, but for some reason, it didn't bother me much. Maybe it was the hunger clouding my mind, but I didn't fear its presence, or my reflection. 

I looked in the mirror and felt me crack, into two, and then three. It was almost a relief- like finally, I could break open, and something else, something better than me, could come out.

I sat there in a haze.
I don't know for how long. But my hunger sated, and I found my way back.

Shrump was panicked. They thought they lost me, and I didn't know how to tell them what happened. The others seemed scared as well- I guess I really am the main muscle outside of Fleur and Bunny, after all. 

But that wasn't all. Bunny and George said that they discovered funhouse mirrors while wandering, and Shrump confessed that they had seen one a bit ago as well. Liz didn't say anything, and Fleur just felt confused. 

I admitted that I had seen one, but....
I feel a weird disquiet about the whole thing. My cracks might run deeper, or at least, feel different, than the others. 

Shrump and Liz noticed, and remained quiet as well.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

[knux400]

Perspective Switch- Hen
Diary Topic- bro hows ur face doing
+MIRROR (Hen)
+FRACTURE (Hen)

[aeshihowl]

Hen diary topic: altercation with annabelle, current memories of mist

[skinstealer]

+MIRROR (Hen)
+FRACTURE (Hen)

Day 46

Hen's Notes

My eye hurts. That little prick Simon-
Defending Annabelle, and for what? Does she really think he has such "nice intentions"? He had a completely different attitude before he decided to play good boy. He DEFINITELY knows her fucking wife, and for all Annabelle knows, he could be after the obvious. Guys like him, they're all the same. 

And when it comes down to it, they can't even get the job done right. You sweet talk somebody like that and they get too comfortable, and soon it'll be take take take. Made that mistake plenty. Not making it again, and I'm not letting Mist forget it. 

I know she's out there. I can feel it in every part of me, and the mirror told me so. Searching on my own is a pain, but she can't run forever, not without paying for what she owes. I hear a voice telling me all I need to do, promising me a way to make it just the way it needs to be. 

Maybe I'm not so alone after all. A little helpful voice...if it means all I have to do is rely on myself, that might not be so bad....

[aeshihowl]

Perspective: Simon
Topic: Hen, alcohol

[King-Clod]

Switch Fracture: Hen
Diary Topic: Flavors of tea
Examine Anxieties

[skinstealer]

+ROOM DISCOVERY (Sock Puppet Tea House)
SWITCH HEN: LAST CHORD

(A fracture has occured in Hen that i forgot to add to last post. This fracture's callname is "Last Chord", and can be selected for free at any point, as well as reverting back to Hen.)

Simon's Log

Day 46

I'm not doing so well...this whole fire thing going on doesn't feel right at all, and me and Annabelle had to take a pit stop today. She seems real worried about me, which feels kind of nice. Says she's seen symptoms like this before, but seems a bit cagey about elaborating. I don't really get it...we were talking so well earlier. 

...We're both worried about Hen, though. The guy's a loose cannon, and I hate when people like him get grabby. You just can't trust that kind of man to handle things when shit gets bad- and for all we know, shit is very bad! There's still no way out of here in sight, and









Passed out for a bit. It still just feels way, way too hot, and my head is killing me...

Anna asked me if I've been eating okay. Which, I mean, I haven't since I met her. Food's hard to come by and it's not like I need it all that much right now. Besides, I'd want it to go to to her anyway. Somehow this just made her more stressed, and then asked about drinking-

Well, if I had seen any soda laying around, sure! But I hadn't there either, so, no. You'd think the clarification would have helped her feel a little more stable, but that just made the look on her face WORSE! I have no idea what's up, but it's not like I can do much in this state....

[aeshihowl]

Perspective: Fleur
Topic: thoughts on new acquaintances
> examine anxieties

[King-Clod]

Perspective: Last Chord (Hen)
Diary Topic: Agency and Control (you're surrounded by puppets, so...)

[skinstealer]

Day 48

Hen's Notes

my new friends have given me lots of advice
i have a lot of thinking to do. about mist.
i have made some mistakes, i think. many many mistakes.
she is here, apparently. but how can i find her again?
the friends, they tell me they can help. i enjoy them very much, but my journey lies in finding my wife.
i need to make things right