[So Yu knows where the trapdoor is, thanks to Guy. When he pulls the rug back, it's still there, and it's still locked tightly shut - the crystal ball on the nearby table sits there, shimmering faintly, and incense wafts through the air.
[ He did think about bringing someone with him this time as last time. But after what happened with Indulgence, the thought of taking another risk and having his partner hurt by his actions--
Well, he's here alone, and that's that.
Time to start the usual "how does this thing work" process. He'll carefully feel around the trap door, though he doesn't expect to find the mechanism there -- it's still better to be thorough. After that, he'll stand and head for the crystal ball, gently lifting it off the table and turning it over in his hands, wondering if he might be so lucky as to find the trick on the crystal ball itself. ]
And then, after he says "open the trapdoor" while holding it in his hands, there's the sound of a lock unlatching. Good going, Yu. You found the command phrase.]
[wow you know what would be helpful? is if i actually h it send when i finished writing a tag.
anyway.
the trapdoor opens up, and a rope ladder descends into a cozy-looking room. the scent of incense is stronger here - in fact, there's an incense burner sitting on the table, perpetually burning sticks with a vanilla scent. It's warm and cozy and comfortable in here.
Down he goes. It's certainly nice in here, even if all the throw pillows rather unfortunately remind him of the last time he was around a lot of throw pillows. It's probably fine.
No shock that it's empty, and he thinks this time he probably needn't worry about being discovered. It's a sobering thought.
With the crime scenes all cleaned up and the trial over, their leads are all but gone, excepting the horrifying graffiti on Ai's arm. The only place he can think of that might still hold any clues is here.
So -- after a short bow to the space, out of respect for the dead -- he'll start a careful inspection of the room. He's looking, mostly, for offerings -- gifts or presents that might have been sent to her, since her killer sent her an offering, too. Anything worth looking at on an initial inspection? ]
[On the bed, there's a large teddy bear - the kind winnable at the carnival from last week - among the pillows, and at the foot of the bed there's a wooden chest. It looks almost like a treasure chest...? Hmm.]
[ Man, it feels crazy disrespectful to go through her things like this. But he does it anyway -- if there's even the slightest possible chance of a clue, it will be worth it.
The teddie bear gets picked up, but without real intent of thinking it might be a clue. It just fucking breaks his heart to pieces to see it, and he'll stand there for a long moment.
He keeps it tucked under his arm as he keeps looking. What's up with that chest! This sure is familiar, he's seen chests like this before. He'll kneel in front of it and rap his knuckles on the lid, testing to see if it's locked. ]
Inside, he will find some colorful flowers pressed between the pages of a book, more flowers in the pages of another book, a scrap of paper, a face-down tarot card, an origami fortune teller, a koi brooch, and a glittering purple crystal.]
[ This is killing him. These must be her offerings... the wonderful things everyone made for her. All left behind.
The books he passes over for now. Yu sets the teddy bear on the floor and reaches into the chest. The first two things he'll check are the scrap of paper, and then the tarot card. What's up with these? ]
The note doesn't necessarily mean anything sinister -- it could definitely just be a totally mundane offering from someone who wanted to talk. But he'll sit it on the floor beside the teddy bear.
The tarot card is the real mystery. The World? That's an arcana that was never associated with any of his social links... this, too, he sets down beside the teddy bear.
Next up! Let's go ahead and inspect the other three small items. He'll turn the koi brooch and the purple crystal over in his fingers. These are probably normal offerings... he'll still look over them carefully, but if he finds nothing, he'll simply proceed.
The origami fortune teller gets the barest wisp of a smile, and he'll pick it up in one hand, using his fingers to open and close it like a pair of jaws, because who HASN'T done that with one of those origami fortune teller things? But after this brief moment of fun, he'll just kind of go ahead and unfold the thing to see what's written on it. ]
[The brooch and the crystal look normal enough - no matter how much he examines them, they don't reveal any secrets.
The fortune-teller, once he unfolds it, mainly contains a bunch of positive messages such as "you'll have a good day" and "you're going to make a difference," but one of the flaps reads "nice to meet you!"]
[ "Nice to meet you!"? Isn't that kind of a strange phrase for one of these things?
The crystal and the brooch he returns to the chest, but he sets aside the fortune teller.
Onto the books! He's especially careful with these, very gently setting the flowers off to one side (in neatly organized little bundles) so he can flip through the books themselves. He's not even too sure what he's looking for, here. A dedication? Notes in the margins? What are these books about, anyway? ]
[The books are about alchemy! Or rather... Alchemy, with a capital "A". They talk about the theory of how the elements can and were used in the world's ancient past to create wondrous things, but how the power was sealed away.
This would have been a more interesting thing to find before Fortune's identity came out.]
[ yeah it sure is a shame that someone mURDERED HER FIRST
though Yu is trying not to get caught up in dwelling on that at the moment.
With the same careful motions as before, Yu will put the flowers back where he found them, and return both books to the chest. It will get one more cursory look over, and he'll run his hands over the chest inside and out for the remote chance of a secret compartment. If nothing turns up, he'll gather his spoils and stand, moving to set it all on the bed.
With only some trepidation he'll search the bed next, in case anything might be tucked under pillows or sheets or even the mattress itself. Anything else in here worth taking a look at? ]
[No secret compartments within the chest. Yu is able to move his spoils without any issue.
There isn't anything tucked under the pillows or sheets, and nothing tucked beneath the mattress and the bedframe. However, when he lifts the mattress to check, he'll catch a glimpse of something metallic under the entire bed.]
That's promising, and not ominous at all. Then again, the last time he thought he saw something ominous in a god's room, it turned out to be a sentient speedo. Anything is possible.
So here he goes, getting down on hands and knees to fish out whatever the heck that is. ]
On his hands and knees and staring directly under the bed like this, he'll be able to see that there are actually two things down there. The first one - the one responsible for the glint of metal - seems to be a mace, once he pulls it out. The second is a staff.
Also, he'll see a pair of glowing blue eyes in the far back corner under the bed, but it's hard to make out exactly what they belong to since it's, like, dark under the mattress.
Yu will pull these out carefully, staring at them. It's the mace that surprises him more than the staff. Why did Fortune have weapons? Were they just personal effects, or had she intended to use them at some point? Hadn't they established in the trial that the gods couldn't interfere if followers wanted to kill them? Given that, well, they're here, and weren't found at the scene of her death, she certainly didn't attempt to use either the night she died.
Talk about questions. But first: there is still something under there and it has eyes. He sets aside the weapons to examine more closely later.
With slower, more careful movements now, he'll lean back down to try and get a look at ... whatever that thing is. ]
Hey, it's alright, [ he'll murmur, wondering if he might be able to soothe it. ] You alright back there? It's okay, you can come out. Nothing is going to hurt you.
[ None of this really said because he assumes whatever it is can understand him. He wants to get whatever this is used to him, show he's not a threat. Gently he'll stretch out a hand. ]
In his usual way, he doesn't really react too much. His eyebrows fly into his hair, but that's about it. He's definitely seen weirder, though he certainly wasn't expecting something like this here. ]
Yeah? Alright, hang on. I'll make sure they're far away.
[ He does just that, moving slowly and deliberately to pick up the weapons and place them several feet away from the bed. Only then does he return. ]
[The Djinni watches Yu move the weapons, following his movements with those eerily glowing eyes before finally deigning to come out from under the bed. It's a small creature - small enough that it could probably fit in the palm of his hand or easily perch on his shoulder if it wanted to.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
WEEK 4
What does he do first?]
no subject
Well, he's here alone, and that's that.
Time to start the usual "how does this thing work" process. He'll carefully feel around the trap door, though he doesn't expect to find the mechanism there -- it's still better to be thorough. After that, he'll stand and head for the crystal ball, gently lifting it off the table and turning it over in his hands, wondering if he might be so lucky as to find the trick on the crystal ball itself. ]
no subject
It's waiting.]
no subject
A crystal ball... ]
Hiding something? [ he'll murmur, passing his fingers over the glass. ] Can you tell me how to open the trapdoor?
[ That's what crystal balls are for, right?
Divining answers? ]
no subject
On the word "open," the crystal ball brightens.
And then, after he says "open the trapdoor" while holding it in his hands, there's the sound of a lock unlatching. Good going, Yu. You found the command phrase.]
no subject
That was easy.
Yu will look a little surprised, blink down at the crystal ball, and set it back where he found it. .... then he'll give it a light, fond pat. ]
Thanks.
[ ANYWAY,
sure is time to pull open this trapdoor and see what lies beneath!! ]
no subject
anyway.
the trapdoor opens up, and a rope ladder descends into a cozy-looking room. the scent of incense is stronger here - in fact, there's an incense burner sitting on the table, perpetually burning sticks with a vanilla scent. It's warm and cozy and comfortable in here.
Also, it's empty. That's not surprising, though.]
no subject
Down he goes. It's certainly nice in here, even if all the throw pillows rather unfortunately remind him of the last time he was around a lot of throw pillows. It's probably fine.
No shock that it's empty, and he thinks this time he probably needn't worry about being discovered. It's a sobering thought.
With the crime scenes all cleaned up and the trial over, their leads are all but gone, excepting the horrifying graffiti on Ai's arm. The only place he can think of that might still hold any clues is here.
So -- after a short bow to the space, out of respect for the dead -- he'll start a careful inspection of the room. He's looking, mostly, for offerings -- gifts or presents that might have been sent to her, since her killer sent her an offering, too. Anything worth looking at on an initial inspection? ]
no subject
no subject
The teddie bear gets picked up, but without real intent of thinking it might be a clue. It just fucking breaks his heart to pieces to see it, and he'll stand there for a long moment.
He keeps it tucked under his arm as he keeps looking. What's up with that chest! This sure is familiar, he's seen chests like this before. He'll kneel in front of it and rap his knuckles on the lid, testing to see if it's locked. ]
no subject
Inside, he will find some colorful flowers pressed between the pages of a book, more flowers in the pages of another book, a scrap of paper, a face-down tarot card, an origami fortune teller, a koi brooch, and a glittering purple crystal.]
no subject
[ This is killing him. These must be her offerings... the wonderful things everyone made for her. All left behind.
The books he passes over for now. Yu sets the teddy bear on the floor and reaches into the chest. The first two things he'll check are the scrap of paper, and then the tarot card. What's up with these? ]
no subject
no subject
The note doesn't necessarily mean anything sinister -- it could definitely just be a totally mundane offering from someone who wanted to talk. But he'll sit it on the floor beside the teddy bear.
The tarot card is the real mystery. The World? That's an arcana that was never associated with any of his social links... this, too, he sets down beside the teddy bear.
Next up! Let's go ahead and inspect the other three small items. He'll turn the koi brooch and the purple crystal over in his fingers. These are probably normal offerings... he'll still look over them carefully, but if he finds nothing, he'll simply proceed.
The origami fortune teller gets the barest wisp of a smile, and he'll pick it up in one hand, using his fingers to open and close it like a pair of jaws, because who HASN'T done that with one of those origami fortune teller things? But after this brief moment of fun, he'll just kind of go ahead and unfold the thing to see what's written on it. ]
no subject
The fortune-teller, once he unfolds it, mainly contains a bunch of positive messages such as "you'll have a good day" and "you're going to make a difference," but one of the flaps reads "nice to meet you!"]
no subject
The crystal and the brooch he returns to the chest, but he sets aside the fortune teller.
Onto the books! He's especially careful with these, very gently setting the flowers off to one side (in neatly organized little bundles) so he can flip through the books themselves. He's not even too sure what he's looking for, here. A dedication? Notes in the margins? What are these books about, anyway? ]
no subject
This would have been a more interesting thing to find before Fortune's identity came out.]
no subject
though Yu is trying not to get caught up in dwelling on that at the moment.
With the same careful motions as before, Yu will put the flowers back where he found them, and return both books to the chest. It will get one more cursory look over, and he'll run his hands over the chest inside and out for the remote chance of a secret compartment. If nothing turns up, he'll gather his spoils and stand, moving to set it all on the bed.
With only some trepidation he'll search the bed next, in case anything might be tucked under pillows or sheets or even the mattress itself. Anything else in here worth taking a look at? ]
no subject
There isn't anything tucked under the pillows or sheets, and nothing tucked beneath the mattress and the bedframe. However, when he lifts the mattress to check, he'll catch a glimpse of something metallic under the entire bed.]
no subject
hm.
That's promising, and not ominous at all. Then again, the last time he thought he saw something ominous in a god's room, it turned out to be a sentient speedo. Anything is possible.
So here he goes, getting down on hands and knees to fish out whatever the heck that is. ]
no subject
On his hands and knees and staring directly under the bed like this, he'll be able to see that there are actually two things down there. The first one - the one responsible for the glint of metal - seems to be a mace, once he pulls it out. The second is a staff.
Also, he'll see a pair of glowing blue eyes in the far back corner under the bed, but it's hard to make out exactly what they belong to since it's, like, dark under the mattress.
Hm!]
no subject
Yu will pull these out carefully, staring at them. It's the mace that surprises him more than the staff. Why did Fortune have weapons? Were they just personal effects, or had she intended to use them at some point? Hadn't they established in the trial that the gods couldn't interfere if followers wanted to kill them? Given that, well, they're here, and weren't found at the scene of her death, she certainly didn't attempt to use either the night she died.
Talk about questions. But first: there is still something under there and it has eyes. He sets aside the weapons to examine more closely later.
With slower, more careful movements now, he'll lean back down to try and get a look at ... whatever that thing is. ]
Hey, it's alright, [ he'll murmur, wondering if he might be able to soothe it. ] You alright back there? It's okay, you can come out. Nothing is going to hurt you.
[ None of this really said because he assumes whatever it is can understand him. He wants to get whatever this is used to him, show he's not a threat. Gently he'll stretch out a hand. ]
no subject
[i hate everything about the fact that djinn can talk in canon.]
no subject
[ hOLY SHIT IT TALKS.
play it cool narukami.
In his usual way, he doesn't really react too much. His eyebrows fly into his hair, but that's about it. He's definitely seen weirder, though he certainly wasn't expecting something like this here. ]
Yeah? Alright, hang on. I'll make sure they're far away.
[ He does just that, moving slowly and deliberately to pick up the weapons and place them several feet away from the bed. Only then does he return. ]
See? There's nothing to be scared of.
no subject
It doesn't seem to want to.]
Who's scared? I'm just waiting.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
oh holy shit i lost track of this SORRY BRITT
(no subject)