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[cluedin]

Comments

[cluedin]

[There's a grin.]

...I don't mind. It's my job to make sure they're taken care of and they stay on task. One of them is easier than the other.

[soba]

Wow.

I wonder which one that is.

[cluedin]

[She rolls her eyes but it's kind of jokingly.]

It's definitely keeping them on task. You've seen how motivated they both are, haven't you? [...she loves her sisters but also she'll drag the people she loves.]

[soba]

Well, what do you usually do to make them do work?

[cluedin]

Plum is pretty self-motivated by spite, I think. But Pumpkin usually requires a bribe.

[soba]

What works? Video games?

[cluedin]

New games or I'll bake her her favorite dishes and take her side in the fight against flossing. [Plum always wins though.] After thousands of years you know what makes a person tick.

...but that's not why you called me out here, is it?

[soba]

[ ah ]

... no, not really.

Are there any more items like that around? That'll let us keep someone from dying?

[cluedin]

[Hm...]

Just one. It'll be up to you guys if you use it though. Master Blue may not be able to make antidotes fast enough, but this is as best as they can do right now.

[soba]

Right...

The thing about dropping below half... is it that we can't get out once we hit that number, or is it just that it becomes a lot more difficult?

[cluedin]

They sort of tie into the same idea, but it's mostly that everything becomes a lot harder. And when things are harder, people panic, and when people panic...well, you get it, right? It's happened to all of the other groups, but...I hope all of you being here so long has maybe fortified you to be strong when the time comes.

[soba]

Yeah...

Well, people are still stupid, but everyone at least seems to have the same goal. Probably.

[cluedin]

See, it's the probably that concerns me. Do your goals here align with some of the people you've spoken to?

[soba]

I can't say I know what every single person is thinking.

But for the most part, at least, it looks like everyone wants to save the people on the other side, send everyone home, and destroy this house. So, even if I don't personally agree with some of these guys, as long as we manage the same results...

[cluedin]

You're gonna have to be in alignment to get that even if you don't agree with everything. Just...the house also feeds on discontent and troubled emotions. Discord, if you will.

[soba]

[ disorder is here................ ]

... well, that's unfortunate.

[cluedin]

Maybe that's not right either. Negativity can mean so many things. Anger, sadness, loneliness, confusion...there's a reason we said it was all part of the subconscious, too.

[soba]

... well, that does explain a lot about what's happening here.

[ at first he thought it just wanted to mess with them and make them give up and kill but

if it's feeding off their negative emotions, then everything they've been going through makes more sense. ]

[cluedin]

It wasn't something we could tell everyone right away or it'd set off a mass-panic. Not to mention...well. You've seen how the house behaves when we say too much. It's not good.

[soba]

[ he nods his head. yeah, it kind of sucks. ]

I guess we know enough now that you can get away with more?

[cluedin]

It's still a little iffy sometimes, but...I guess we don't really care anymore. It's more important for you guys to know what you can.

[soba]

Well... if we fail, would that make things more difficult for you guys in the future?

[cluedin]

If you truly do fail, we'll do as we've always done. The Master will invite new guests, and we'll begin again. But they really do believe this group will accomplish everything.

[soba]

But would things get harder for you if that happens again? Shit keeps changing based on what the previous groups and the house does, right?

So if we got really close this time, wouldn't the house be even more shitty in the future to stop that from happening?

[cluedin]

Yes, that's right. We're durable enough and the Master is foolhardy, I suppose, in a way that optimism continues driving us all forward. The House would retaliate in a worse way, but the Master would find another way to try and give the guests an advantage.

...let's just call it a science.