Whispers of The Dark Group 6

Giving Avery a slight side eye couldn't be helped. But his question spurred her own: was this normal? And in that moment, she felt herself blush ever so slightly, embarrassed, before releasing Lucian's hand.

Swallowing, she brought herself back into herself.

Still, Avery's suggestion was a solid one: they had to get to know everyone. That was the only way they could possibly make sense of what was happening—and what was yet to come. And there were a suspicious number of people who'd barely said anything. Finally, one of them—she looked about her age—introduced herself as Maria, a shopkeeper. Maisie was about to turn her head towards the others when it happened again: everything went black.

This time, it was one of the boys who hadn't said very much but was otherwise known as Tony DeLuca. According to their "police department," it had not yet been determined if these two things were related. But Maisie knew well enough this was a game and they had to be related. Someone in here was lying through their teeth.

No one claimed to know Carlo. It wasn't a stretch to assume no one knew Tony either—or that they would say they didn't know him. As a first year with little to go on other than sheer instinct, there as only one thing she could say: "I really wish we had some Veritaserum." After all, the mixer should have that, right?

In the absence of that, she knew she needed a plan. But there was no oar to grab on to, no door to boldly enter. There were just faces. She'd wait for one of them to break.

Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn), Aurelie Duval (@Ophelia Northwell), @Avery Chen, @Lucian Allum, @Mamori Anezaki, @Yolanda Yates, and @Eonaria Kabukimono

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SMALL HALL
2024-10-19
Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn), Aurelie Duval (@Ophelia Northwell), @Avery Chen,
@Lucian Allum, @Maisie Gemmell, @Yolanda Yates, @Eonaria Kabukimono

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The second blackout ended as abruptly as it began, leaving Mamori with a growing sense of unease. That was fast, he thought, mentally tallying the casualties. Tony DeLuca — one of the boys who'd been quietly next to that girl in the corner, if he wasn't mistaken. And Carlo... well, at least that mystery had sorted itself out during the previous round. Must've been the girl beside Tony, since everyone else who'd spoken up either claimed different identities or denied seeing Carlo recently. The whole next-to-each-other thing was hard to ignore — first death screamed personal drama, but Tony? Just seemed like someone going for the easy target. He was secretly relieved that timid girl had jumped in earlier with the obvious question about Carlo's identity. What he'd meant to ask about was any history with Carlo, not just last night's events, but his roundabout "crossed paths lately" approach hadn't exactly helped clarity. Still, people were finally talking, identities were being revealed, and information was flowing — much better than the awkward silence from before. His fingers drummed against his glass as he processed Avery's — no, Luca's — pointed question about their "mixer." The words echoed in his head: Mysterious, unfazed, unrelenting, and deadly? What the— nononono, he thought, watching Maisie and the tall Hufflepuff holding hands. It was just a joke about spicy drinks! And seriously? You're picking this fight when those two are already starring in their own detective romance? Hard pass on being their prime suspect in a two-versus-one situation. The shopkeeper's theatrical performance wasn't helping matters either. Mamori watched as Maria Romano — or whatever her real name was — practically swooned over Carlo's death with all the subtlety of a Blast-Ended Skrewt in a china shop. Thank Merlin there was someone worse at acting than he was, though her over-the-top display only heightened his suspicions. He'd completely abandoned his attempts at Sofia's feminine lilt by now — the situation called for clarity over character commitment. "If we're talking about mysterious and unfazed and unrelenting and deadly," he said with a pointed look towards Avery, "you're sounding pretty suspicious yourself with those dramatic word choices. Unless you're trying really hard to pin this on our mixer?" Turning to Maria Romano with an amused expression, he continued, "And speaking of drama... that was quite the performance earlier! Though I noticed you were so busy with the theatrical fainting, you never actually mentioned if you'd seen Carlo before?" Mamori cleared his throat before continuing, "Since we're all sharing now — I'm Sofia, the baker, and I haven't had much interaction with either Carlo or Tony recently. Speaking of recent events, I did have this delightful encounter with Giovanni. Called my apple pies 'too sweet,' if you can believe it." He glanced around the room with raised eyebrows. "Anyone here happen to be Giovanni? I'd love to discuss proper sugar measurements."

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SMALL HALL
2024-10-19
@Avery Chen, @Yolanda Yates

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Mamori winced internally as Avery's disarming response caught him off guard. Well, this was awkward. Here he was, overthinking and getting defensive, while Avery — no, Luca — actually complimented his humor and clear-headedness. The way Luca bent over Tony's "body" with such theatrical concern only added to Mamori's confusion. Was this enthusiastic friendliness just really good acting, or was Luca genuinely this... earnest? It was impossible to tell if he was watching a masterclass in deception or simply someone having honest fun with the game. The uncertainty made Mamori's head spin. "I... ah..." Mamori rubbed the back of his neck, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "You're right about getting defensive. First time playing something like this, and I might have gotten a bit carried away with the whole investigation thing." Turning to the shopkeeper, his expression apologetic. "Sorry about the dramatic commentary, Maria. And wherever Giovanni is hiding — my bad about the pie thing. Though," he couldn't help adding with a small grin, "I still stand by my sugar measurements." Mamori then fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve while his mind raced. They were stuck in a tricky spot now. Keep pushing the accusations, and they'd probably end up pointing fingers at each other until everyone dropped dead. Play nice, and they'd give the killer exactly what they wanted — a peaceful crowd of victims lined up for the slaughter. Neither option seemed particularly appealing. He let out a frustrated sigh. "You know what's really bothering me?" he said to no one in particular, though his eyes kept drifting back to Luca. "We're all standing here being perfectly pleasant — well, mostly pleasant," he amended with a self-deprecating smile, "while someone's picking us off one by one. And the really clever part? The killer probably wants us to stay this cordial. Every round we spend making nice is another round they don't have to defend themselves." Mamori shifted his weight from one foot to the other, crossing his arms. "And yes, I know what I just said makes me sound incredibly suspicious," he added deliberately. At this point, he might as well sacrifice himself to suspicion if it meant moving the game forward. He exhaled heavily, massaging his temples. "I'm starting to see why auro— eh, I mean police say investigation work gives them headaches."

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While the town grapples with the aftermath of the murdering psychopath , ominous thunderclouds gather, are they perhaps foreshadowing another dark turn in what used to be a peaceful life in the community. With the recent blackout, things are only getting worse as recently, the skies opened up, drenching the streets in a torrent of rain. Things became worse when the terrifying sound of a gunshot pierced the eerie calm the rain had brought with itself, replacing the terrifying night with a potentially even higher body count.

According to some witnesses, Dr. Moretti (@Eonaria Kabukimono), the local Dcotor famous for his skill, was shot near housing block, with a bullet that barely managed to graze him. The panicked residents, already on edge from the previous incidents, immediately suspected some kind of foul play was involved. The situation continued to get increasingly tense as this could've been the third murder of the night and with added rain to worsen the dread.

In these tough times, we hope all the citizens of the town may come together, stay strong and trust our finest to find the culprit as soon as they can. We also ask the citizens to not roam out alone or find themselves in situations that may find them separated.

Information Section: Please Read

Reducio

Information
- Posting DEADLINE: Friday
- Intended Mod Post and Rolls: Saturday
- Post at least ONCE per round
- Murderer must owl me their target by Posting Deadline.
- Detective, Doctor and Citizens, must owl me who they think the Murderer is by Posting Deadline. Please send individual owls with the subject "Group #: Round # Vote"
- If you are eliminated via murder you do not have to post in this thread, you could choose to leave or sit out and watch.

Posting Information
- Please follow site rules and ratings
- Please be registered in the Index to sign up
- 200+ wc minimum
- Deadline to Post: From recent mod post to Friday of that week

Notice
Every mod post, you will notice that the light goes out every time there is a murder. The light stays out for 1 minute to allow the murderer to conceal the weapon in some way and to avoid suspicion. When the light goes out, you'll hear a bang from the nerf gun and if you feel yourself getting shot with a foam bullet, you have been killed. You may lay down on the ground and play dead. You may find a funny pose to be in, whatever. When the light goes back on, a vote will be held to accuse someone of the murder.

I've been accused of a murder! What do I do?
Well dearie, you would've been considered "executed" if the majority votes you as murderer. This means that you are out. The game is over when all of the players are dead except for the detective and murderer, or when the murderer has been accused and executed.

How do I vote?
Every round, you need to send me an owl of who you're voting or accusing. Additionally you MUST post otherwise your vote will be seen as invalid.

I did not post for a round or more, what happens? (if you don't send me your vote but post, it's okay, don't worry about it.)
The murderer will likely kill you the next round.

I'm the murderer! What happens now?
Post each round. Send me your target via owl. In Character, when the lights go out, you can pull out your nerf gun and shoot your target. You will have the rest of the minute to hide the gun or conceal it.

I'm the detective! What happens now?
Post each round. Send me your accused victim via owl. You cannot be killed.

I'm a doctor! What happens now?
Post each round. Send me your accused victim via owl. There will be a second blackout in the mod post in where you will have a CHANCE of healing the shot victim.

I was a shot victim! I was healed!
Good for you, you may continue in the game. However, one of your limbs have been ic AMPUTATED so in roleplay, you would not have that limb because the doctor amputated the shot limb.

What if I have to leave Out of Character and I'm the Murderer or a Doctor or a Detective?
That's fine, just please notify us at some point. We will owl another person and give them an additional "title" for their character that they are already playing. For example: Baker is now Murderer but still the same character, you don't gain another. When it comes to a detective and a doctor, unfortunately, we won't pass it on. The game continues until its over.

Please note: We are taking actions via owl so that actions and votes are anonymous to keep the mystery. What you choose to say or do in your post whether ooc or ic can be used against you so do your best to keep your "secret" role anonymous. If you are a detective or a murderer it can be used against you if you say it out loud. We suggest coming up with an undercover job to conceal the fact. Not required, you could be vague, but what you say and do whether oc or ic can be used against you.

Mod Post Content: Mods

Reducio

Order of Mod Post and of What Order it is in:
1. Blackout #1
-> Murderer Shot Accuracy: 1d100 [1-49, miss. 50-100, hit]
-> Murderer Body Part Hit: 1d6 [1 - Left Arm, 2- Left Leg, 3- Right Arm, 4- Right Leg, 5- Torso/Chest, 6- Head]
2. Lights On [this is so that they see that the victim is shot and allows the doctor to see who they're healing if they can.]
3. Blackout #2
-> Doctor Healing: 1d100 [1-49, failed to heal. 50-100, successfully healed but amputated the limb]
--> Additional notice re healing: If the torso or head is shot, the victim cannot be healed. This is simply skipped if the torso or head was shot. If a limb [right leg/arm, left leg/arm] was shot and the doctor successfully healed you, then you are amputated. If they failed to heal you and you were shot anywhere on your body, you are dead.
4. Lights On
5. Accusation/Execution Time
--> Additional notice re Accusation/Execution: If a person is accused via majority, they are eliminated from the game. If there is a TIE, the people accused remain in the game for another round.

Rolls [if any]

Reducio

Murderer Shot Accuracy [1d100]: 1 -> Fail,Still Alive

Members:

Reducio

Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn), Aurelie Duval (@Ophelia Northwell), @Avery Chen, @Lucian Allum, @Mamori Anezaki, @Maisie Gemmell, @Yolanda Yates, @Eonaria Kabukimono

IC Time: October 19th, 2024

XXXEonaria stood off towards the side, observing the ongoing debate. After another blackout where Tony DeLuca 'died,' she decided to remain quiet for now. Sofia, the baker, at least seemed like he was trying to figure this stuff out. After a few jokes from Luca Mariano, Sofia exclaimed that standing around being polite wasn't getting them anywhere. Eonaria agreed with him. After all, these blackouts were happening pretty rapidly, and they were still nowhere close to figuring out who the murderer was.

XXXYolanda- sorry, Maria- performed a particularly theatrical impression of her character before shrieking that she would be the next one to be killed, causing Eonaria to flinch back at the sudden high pitched noise. Whoa. In character, but isn't that a bit too over the top?

XXXShe was about to ask if anyone knew what Tony had been doing at the time of the incident when the room suddenly went dark again. What? Another one?? But then Eonaria felt something graze her arm, causing her to gasp as the lights flickered back on again.

XXXDid she just die? Was she supposed to be on the floor now? But then she realized: the nerf bullet had barely hit her at all. That meant she was still alive- hooray! Phew, that was an incredibly close call- why her?? Was she doing anything that made her stick out, or was the murderer just picking targets at random? Eonaria cleared her throat, steeling her nerves.

XXX"...well! It seems I have luckily managed to survive this encounter! It's truly a shame that Tony and Carlo did not share the same fate, but I believe I do not have any leads." She frowned. Giovanni Moretti, her character, didn't seem to like Carlo very much, and vice versa, but since Carlo was dead, that wasn't very helpful.

.・-: ✧☾♩♪♩♬　. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.　♬♩♪♩☽✧ :-・.

“It’ll be me next!” a fellow young student yelled. And suddenly, that felt very appropriate as everything once again fell into darkness. In the seconds during which she couldn't see, Mamori/Sofia's words stuck in her mind: maybe they were all being too nice? It was a game, but it was a game in which the stakes were plenty high.

And as the lights returned, it became clear that this time, they'd been lucky—very lucky. The attempted victim had been Eonaria/The Physician, but she'd managed to survive. She seemed quite pleased with herself and surprisingly ok with the fact that she had, as she put it, "no leads." Maisie frowned for a moment—no leads was not good. And it was somewhat unsettling that the doctor, who was arguably the single most important person in their little fictitious town, seemed so unfazed by it. Despite this, Maisie struck her off her suspect list—they needed her alive.

"Let's work on that then," she suggested, "leads." She took a turn of their circle as she mentally tried to retrace everything that had just happened. It had been the quiet ones who'd gone first. Did the killer think they just wouldn't be missed? Suddenly, she was very protective of the nod of extraversion she had. For a brief moment, her eyes passed over to Lucian, trying to see if he had any better read of the situation as it stood.

Maisie didn't particularly feel like accusing anyone, but she did notice that not everyone was acting the same and there were a lot more questions than answers. "Why do you think you'll be next?" she asked Yolanda/Maria because that question stood out to her. Anyone could be next. Why was she so paranoid? So protective of herself? Others were asking broader questions.

Peter Smith (@Brookline Quinn), Aurelie Duval (@Ophelia Northwell), @Avery Chen, @Lucian Allum, @Mamori Anezaki, @Yolanda Yates, and @Eonaria Kabukimono

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SMALL HALL
2024-10-19
Peter Smith (Brookline Quinn), Aurelie Duval (Ophelia Northwell), @Avery Chen,
@Lucian Allum, @Maisie Gemmell, @Yolanda Yates, @Eonaria Kabukimono

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The third blackout lifted, leaving Mamori in a metaphorical pool of cold sweat. Oh. OH. So the timid girl was Giovanni? He almost laughed at himself — should've been obvious, really. Process of elimination and all that; besides her and the tall Hufflepuff, everyone else's identities were already known. Thank Merlin it wasn't the Hufflepuff. And he'd just spent the last round dramatically complaining about her criticizing his pies, only for her to immediately become the killer's target. Was this deliberate timing, or just cosmic coincidence? If it was intentional, that was just plain rude. Mamori's eyes narrowed as he studied Dr. Moretti. On one hand, getting shot at probably cleared her from the suspect list. On the other hand... what better way to appear innocent than to stage your own attempted murder? Though looking at her timid demeanor, he seriously doubted she had the acting chops for such elaborate deception. But why hadn't she spoken up any of the times he'd mentioned Giovanni earlier? And how was she so eerily calm after nearly getting murdered? Something wasn't adding up here... Merlin's beard, at this rate he was going to end up suspecting even his own shadow. His attention shifted to the ongoing drama between Maria and Vito. Well, well, look who's finally taking charge. Mamori had to bite back a grin — watching Maisie step up made him want to break into imaginary applause. The question might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but honestly? At this point he'd take what he could get. And hey, at least she wasn't fixating on him as her prime suspect. Watching Maria's performance, Mamori found himself softening just a bit. Merlin knew he also spent every blackout convinced he'd be next. Maybe her dramatics weren't an act at all — just genuine terror with questionable delivery. There was always Kim Sato's drama club for that particular problem. "Maria, darling," he called out, unable to keep the slight sass from his voice, "deflecting questions with more questions isn't exactly helping your case. Maybe try expressing your actual concerns? Like, 'I'm genuinely terrified' would work better than..." he waved his hand vaguely at her defensive posturing. "Whatever this is. Pretty sure Vito here is just trying to establish alibis — we could clear you and move on to the next suspect." Speaking of which, she still hadn't answered his question about Carlo from earlier. Convenient how she kept finding ways to avoid that particular topic. He straightened his jacket and cast a pointed look around the room. "That goes for everyone, by the way. Unless any of you have something to hide, maybe we could all try being a bit more direct with each other?" Annnd... if he was going to be suspicious of everything that moved (and probably some things that didn't), he might as well get some answers. He then made his way over to Giovanni, channeling his inner detective. "You know, for someone who just had a near-death experience, you're remarkably composed, Doc. Is that the medical training talking, or...?" He tilted his head, studying her with newfound curiosity. "Also, couldn't help but notice you stayed awfully quiet in the previous round when I was throwing your name around. Care to explain why?"

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