WEEK ONE

[slowpokey]

Welcome to your new home!

"...Sweet Home: Strangers Strike Back. Airing this Sunday on Lulu."

That's how the video ends. That's how the entire presentation ends, the one that you've been given with a breakdown of what you're doing here, how to earn your wishes, and most importantly, how to use your phone. They promise you that you will go home in four weeks, and hopefully, you won't go home empty-handed, and that your hard work will pay off. Either way, your actions will undoubtedly make for a satisfying finale, and wonderful ratings week after week!

The price in exchange is, well, your privacy. Cameras will not be monitoring you 24/7 (they can't air super inappropriate content, after all!!!), but enough to capture what could potentially be your best and worst moments on the show. Maybe if you plead hard enough, the producers will be merciful and edit out some of your shame, but for the most part, it's best to be ready for anything.

Which includes your introductory day! How exciting. You arrive at the house on a bright and beautiful Sunday morning, and your arrival happens by waking up in a twin-sized bed. Those phones that you were told about are either right next to you or in your pocket; it buzzes with a very interesting song that's certainly telling you to wake up. It will not stop playing until you are awake.

With the alarm, though, is a notification on the screen: "TOUCH TO OPEN!" Tapping the screen as instructed will give you a set of instructions - though, if you don't open it yourself, it will do it for you after a minute. Those instructions are:

HELLO! WELCOME TO SWEET HOME DAY ONE! :)
PLEASE PROCEED TO THE KITCHEN! FUN REFRESHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES ARE WAITING FOR YOU ALL! YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE WILL COME TOMORROW. FOR TODAY, HAVE FUN AND GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER! <3333

The kitchen is filled with various snacks. Chips, cookies, cake, blood for vampires – you name it. It's there. It's entirely possible they went a little overboard…but there's something interesting about the snacks. Everything is in a locked transparent case, enticing you to unlock it by how tasty it all looks. How do you unlock it? It's simple, according to the little notes left on the cases. "TO OPEN, INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO SOMEONE IN FRONT OF ME!" The cases are indestructible and will not open until you do this simple task.

Board games are present with some classics like Never Have I Ever prompts, Monopoly, Candyland, you name it!

There's also some music playing in the background on a set of speakers. This is free for you to mess with and shuffle through the modern-day playlist. In fact, pretty much everything in the house is free to tamper with.

Anyone who partakes in at least 2 joint activities with different people (board games, snacking, fighting, dancing, getting up to no good...anything, really) will be rewarded with a complimentary bath bomb on their bed on Monday morning!

Take a look around the house, get to know your housemates (and roommates), and relax on this fine and wonderful Sunday!

OOC Note: The bath bomb reward is not going to be mod-sanctioned, go ahead and just assume your character received one if they interacted with 2 or more people on Sunday ICly.

Also, characters will receive a weekly stipend with enough money for groceries and a few luxury items. You can choose to do whatever you want with this cash, though.

Weekly Challenge

Come Sunday evening, though…that's when the Challenge is issued.

A notification appears on your phone that says "CHALLENGE!! OPEN ME." Doing so will reveal the following instructions:

Did we mention that we forgot to get commercials? Oops! For those who don't know, commercials are advertisements for viewers to try and scam people into buying things they don't need. This time, however, you're going to scam people into buying things that they probably need, for the entirely wrong reason!

Your task this week is to film a commercial with at least one other person. You are to take one of the household objects in this house and give it new meaning. That hairbrush over there? Use it, and it'll turn your hair any color, style, and texture that you want it to! Ooh, how about that washcloth? Wiping your face with it will apply makeup to perfectly suit the occasion! Y'know, stuff like that. It's not actually real, but we think it'd be funny, so work with someone and get it done! Remember, your wishes are your rewards, along with some other fun little prizes! :)

Commercials will all be played on everyone's phones AND the big screen TV next week Sunday! Get excited!

You can film your commercials using your phones, as they are state-of-the-art technology. There are phone stands/tripods/etc. that can be found in your bedroom closets for you to use. Go wild, go ham, be entertaining and have fun!

OOC NOTES: The challenge thread must have a minimum of three comments per character, though I encourage threading beyond that for the sake of cr. I will accept in-progress threads as a completed challenge turn-in. There will be a top level next week for reactions to all the commercials as they play on screen for the characters, but you're free to also thread out reactions if characters stumble into the filming in-person, etc.

The Rest of the Week

The rest of the week will have a fun little treat for the guests: Cats! That's right, cats will show up to the home periodically every day, asking for food. Feed the cats on demand and they will be satisfied. If you don't and they sense that you are walking away, you will have one unlucky event happen to you at some point during the week. What that is can be something as mundane as spilling coffee on your shirt, to having an accident so bad that you need to go to the clinic. The choice is yours.

...

Throughout the week, the following individuals will experience strange phenomena…

– On Monday, Luocha will have the misfortune of encountering a cat that really has decided it doesn't like him. It will try to bother him in various ways, whether it be attempting to scratch him, pee on him, nibble on his shoes…it will do this every hour for 4 hours today, starting at any given time of the day. It will leave Luocha alone afterwards, though it may still stare him from time to time…like a normal cat would. Maybe he can even try to befriend it…

– On Tuesday, Sakura will have a very specific struggle. The first electric or battery-powered appliance she tries to use simply will not work no matter how hard she tries. Even if she charges the appliance, it will not work. The one way to get it to power on is to ask it nicely. Insulting it will get it to actually move and smack her. Whoops! Time to throw down with some electronics?!

– On Wednesday, Jeanne will wake up to something very strange. There will be vines, leaves, and flowers that have grown all around her bed. It's rather unruly, actually, and inhaling the pollen for too long will make her a little loopy. Drunk, essentially, minus the alcohol. It is possible to get a hangover from this and nursing it will be done the same way it normally would be if alcohol were involved. The greenery will go away by Thursday midnight, but she can also make it go away earlier if she rips them out of the roots. (Which are in the floor. Don't worry about it)

– On Thursday, Avery will find a book on his bed when he wakes up. The book says My Diary. He can write whatever he wants in it, but if he writes something about any of the other residents, the book will drag him to wherever said resident is – in the house OR the town – and read his writings about them outloud, right where the resident can hear it all! Sadly, there is no way to test this out beforehand, as any thoughts that are unrelated to the other residents will be kept confidential. The diary will disappear on Friday at midnight.

– On Friday, Hakuya will gain a voucher, good for one day, for free candy at Sweet-E's! He can get a max of two full bags of whatever candy he wants. The bags are freezer bag-sized. The candy itself looks normal, but eating it will cause something interesting to happen. Hakuya will 1) gain a pair of shades that, if removed, will make another pair of shades to go on his face; 2) his top will turn into the equivalent of a disco ball shirt; and 3) party music will follow him around wherever he goes for the next 2 hours. Congrats, you're the coolest kid on the block!!!

OOC Notes

Welcome to the Week One log of Sweet Home Round 2! I had a lot of fun with this and hope you guys enjoy the game. Some important notes:

• Please do not literally burn down any buildings or property in this game. ICly, if a character tries, the house will immediately put it out via temperature regulation and built-in sprinkler systems. If your character has fire-based powers, they can affect people and objects but will not cause great damage to the overall building. Do not mess with the built-in safety precautions, please. There is an OOC reason for this that I will not disclose and please do not ask me for it; I am serious about shutting down anything that involves this at any point in the game. You will only get a slap on the wrist if it happens after being warned.
  
• Challenges are due at the end of the week, along with AC! See the AC + Rewards page for more information.
  
• Gossip Board submissions are essentially a way for your characters to get exposed ICly on any shenanigans they've gotten up to. This is purely on a voluntary basis OOCly. A link to submissions can be found below.
  
• OOC Plotting for Week One can be. found here! Feel free to reply to that top level with anything you're looking for.
  
• Feel free to ask any questions in the #mod-questions Discord channel! And please don't hesitate to ping me too so I don't miss it. Thanks!
  

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Comments

[dogmetaphors]

[It’s obvious that Mo Ran is completely out of his depth almost immediately. For one thing, he’s dressed in white robes like he’s step out of a martial arts movie. His Castle Room roommates will get the strange experience of him being fully awake before their alarms go off, so his… actually doesn’t need to go off! Weird.

Anyway, it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t understand the phones at all, but does keep his with him if only because he was told they’re important.

Later in the morning, he can be found in the kitchen looking incredibly overwhelmed. He’ll flag down anyone who looks comfortable in it.]

Can I ask you some questions about the things in here?

[He starts by pointing to the microwave.]

What’s that?

[Later, he can be found strolling in the garden. Not doing anything in particular, just watching some pigeons roosting nearby. Anyone who approaches will be acknowledged by him without him even turning to look right away.]

This place is very different from what I’m used to.

garden

[skyaflame]

[ He's also taking a stroll to survey the area. He's not particularly looking for conversation, but he's not one to just ignore. ]

That's the same for me. This place is... very strange, to put it mildly.

[dogmetaphors]

[Mo Ran nods.]

All of the strange things in the kitchen...

[He pulls out the phone from one of the pockets in his robes.]

I don't know what this is. Everything about this place is unfamiliar.

[He doesn't regret agreeing, but it is... overwhelming, honestly.]

[skyaflame]

[ He's made himself somewhat familiar with the phone at least, but he's no where close to understanding. ]

I believe it's some sort of... book? It contains a lot of knowledge, but I'm dubious about all of it's authenticity. But even if I read up on things, there is another hundred questions about what I've read.

[dogmetaphors]

Some sort of book...

[Unfortunately for Mo Ran, he isn't entirely literate, so he's not sure how much information he can actually glean.]

Some of my roommates' made a strange noise this morning.

[skyaflame]

Ah, I believe that vulgar noise was supposed to wake us. This... item seems to be of multiple uses. There's some kind of... [ He struggles trying to understand, but eventually lands on ] an abacus, I suppose. Among other... tools? Applications, they seem to be called, which doesn't make at all any sense.

[dogmetaphors]

Is a noise really needed to wake someone...?

[Mo Ran doesn't get it.]

A lot about this place doesn't make sense. Though I suppose it is... peaceful.

[It's been a while since he could describe anything in his life that way.]

kitchen

[spored]

[ An Zhe knows some of the appliances, but it might give someone the wrong impression that he knows what he's doing. ]

A metal box with buttons that beep ominously.

[ He's helping... this thread will be wrong answers only. ]

[dogmetaphors]

[...Well. Mo Ran takes this as the guy not having a clue either!]

Yeah. And it has weird symbols on it.

[Arabic numerals are not a thing where he's from.]

[spored]

[ An Zhe zones out for a few moments before speaking up again: ]

They're numbers. [ Then, he leans in to take a better look at the small screen and presses one of the buttons, making a weird symbol (2) appear on it. ] We can put something in here and see what happens.

[ He has some human memories, but accessing most of them is hard right now, so this is his best (???) bet. ]

[dogmetaphors]

They're different from the numbers I know.

[Though he's barely educated, Mo Ran does have extensive experience in the kitchen.]

Maybe it's to measure time?

Garden

[kickdownthatwall]

You are telling me. I am not knowing half of these things.

[...]

I am knowing pigeons, at least.

[dogmetaphors]

Yeah. Same. Pigeons are familiar.

[Sometimes he'd feed the pigeons he saw seed, but he doesn't have anything like that on him.]

[kickdownthatwall]

...

I do not think I see anywhere for them to go, though. Do they belong to anyone...?

[maybe there's a dovecote somewhere.]

[dogmetaphors]

I don't know.

Maybe they belong to the people who own the big house?

[Though they don't really look like messenger pigeons to Mo Ran.]

[kickdownthatwall]

Hm, maybe! I should ask that, along with asking if I can have unbreakable glass case to try and break open.

[dogmetaphors]

[.........]

Why do you need unbreakable glass?

kitchen

[toxicspikes]

...You're not familiar with microwaves?

[Huh! Well, given his unique dress, maybe it's not actually a cosplay or something...]

It's a super easy tool to use that cooks your food for you! Just don't put any metal in it.

[dogmetaphors]

Is that what it's called?

[He genuinely has no idea what most of the things in this kitchen are.]

What do all of those symbols mean?

[He points to the numbers.

This is not him being illiterate for once, Arabic numerals are just not a thing where he's from.]

[toxicspikes]

You... aren't even familiar with the numbers?

[Wow, either this guy's a fantastic actor, or they really dragged some poor dude here from like, the ancient times. Crazy.]

They're numbers for how long to cook something. For example...

[She reaches out and presses a perfectly manicured nail to the one button. The microwave starts cooking, even though there's nothing in it with a beep sound.]

This will cook whatever you put in for one minute. The numbers go in order - one through nine, with zero at the bottom here.

[She points out the zero button, but doesn't touch it. She does click the "STOP" button to make the microwave shut off with another beep.]

Pretty straightforward, yeah?

[dogmetaphors]

I'm familiar with numbers!

[He says defensively.]

That's just... not how they're written, they way I know them.

[He does look over the microwave carefully.]

That other thing is a stove, right? So the thing with the door is a weird hearth.

[He really prefers cooking with things he understands!]

[toxicspikes]

[Teehee. Klara lets it go though, and nods.]

Yep, this is a stove. It works similarly to the microwave, except you can put in the exact temperature with the dial here. Though it does use the same number system, so you might need to ask someone for help getting it set up just right.

[...]

Though maaaaaybe those of us who are familiar with it should hold some cooking lessons or something for those of you who aren't familiar with them! We really don't wanna risk a fire in here.

[Though she does look up and there are sprinklers! So hopefully things would be fine.]

[dogmetaphors]

The one I'm used to is much easier to use. You don't need buttons... you just need to light the fire in the hearth.

[Why is it so complicated??]

I grew up working in kitchens. If I can be shown how to use everything in here, I can cook well.

Castle room

[hollowlove]

Good morning.

[Mere is awake now (after a little while of his phone going off before he figures out just what he's supposed to do in order to get it to stop) and his hair sure is doing something.]

Mere must admit he's never shared a room with anyone before... he apologizes for that noise.

[dogmetaphors]

[He blinks, thrown by the third person way of talking, but seems to shrug it off.]

Oh, don't worry about it. It's just... a weird noise.

[And the lyrics of the song were weird?? He doesn't get it.]