monthly mingle: FEAST OF THE DYING

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: feast of the dying + agricultural emergency
when: the month of october
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

monthly mingle: october

During the month of October, a particular natural phenomenon on the moon weakens the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead, allowing for the crossover of those dead into the world of the living, with ghosts from the pasts of both the residents and the Quarantine itself to take corporeal form. This has given rise to an array of celebrations and traditions surrounding the transition from life to death, encouraging residents not to fear death, but to embrace it.

Things aren't all spooky celebrations this month, though. There's also a serious emergency happening in the agricultural district, where a herd of vengeful and intelligent hog-like creatures has decided to mount an attack on the city, with a large measure of success. Between September 20th and September 25th, they rammed the fences near the agriculture district where most of the farms providing livestock and produce for the city are located, succeeding in breaking through the fence on the 25th. Drastic action needs to be taken in order to protect the city's ability to feed itself throughout the upcoming months.

feast of the dying: a celebration of the transition between life and death

In the days leading up to October 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: the Feast of the Dying. There is an old, widely-known, and widely-believed superstition or proverb in Riverview Quarantine: 'The greater your fear of death, the easier it is for death to find you.' This is a cornerstone belief of a lot of the residents of the Quarantine, most of whom have survived intensely difficult and violent pasts on their own worlds and who are still willing and eager to throw themselves into exploring and settling new worlds, starting their lives fresh. To honor this spirit, the Feast of the Dying is a celebration of the transition between life and death, an opportunity to face death both figuratively and literally, and come out on top.

The festivities during this time feature tests of courage in highly haunted places, escape rooms both virtual and physical with varying levels of danger, and the week-long Feast of the Dying itself, between October 1st and 8th this year.

i. feast of the dying traditions

Much like any culture, there are a few traditions and events that happen every year in the Quarantine, to celebrate the Feast of the Dying. In-depth information on these traditions and events can be found on last year's Feast of the Dying post, and include:

● Ghosts From the Past: Characters will see ghosts of the deceased in various places around the Quarantine, with some areas, where the boundaries between the living and dead are weakest, being heavily infested with these ghosts, while other areas are nearly ghost-free. These ghosts can be from characters' canons (with limitations - see last year's post for OOC guidelines) or from the Quarantine itself.
● Escape Rooms: Horror-themed escape rooms pop up all over the city, augmented with tech or magic to make them seem more menacing. The difficulty levels and scares range from easy to incredibly difficult, and they feature themes from Zombie Attack to Prison to Torture Traps to Mad Science Experiments, and just about anything else you can think of.
● Tests of Courage: In various places around the city, there are establishments where the boundaries between the living and dead are so fragile as to be barely there - hospitals that treated the ill during the Pandemic, insane asylums or prisons where inmates were mistreated, homes where terrible murders happened, places exposed to dark magic, and other similar places. During October, these places are shut down except to those who wish to stay the night as a test of courage. Characters who stay the night will encounter hordes of ghosts and experience extremely realistic hallucinations that may result in injury (which is up to player discretion) in the name of proving their courage.
● Doom Dates: This year, with the amusement park open for business, there is an event called Doom Date, a spooky themed night at the fair featuring haunted houses, costumed actors, and free rides with the price of admission. More information on this prompt can be found on the September Test Drive Meme.
● Feast of the Dying: A week-long masquerade-style party that is open from sundown October 1st until sunrise on October 9th. Sort of like a formal ball inside an incredibly realistic haunted house, the Feast of the Dying is the tradition that the holiday is named after, and features dancing, party events, plenty of food and drink for everyone, and private rooms for resting or engaging in...private activities with close friends.

ii. creepy chaos

This year, there's something a little different going around the Quarantine. The influx of refugees, the Frysh, that recently arrived, have brought a few new spooky traditions with them - while their celebration of horror usually happens in the dead of winter, they've shared the custom for the Feast of the Dying. And what is that custom? Dressing up as monsters, ghosts, demons, and other terrifying creatures! Considering how many other worlds and universes have similar traditions, it's caught on quickly, with costumes incredibly varied in subject matter and level of intricacy, from standard run-of-the-mill costumes pieces purchased from the local costume shop to intricately detailed costumes featuring holographic accents - and, of course, the 'sexy' version of everything. The culmination of the Frysh tradition is the tenth day of the month, where everyone dresses as something or someone scary, and brings treats (handmade or purchased) to give to family, lovers, friends, coworkers, classmates, or anyone else. It fits with the Feast of the Dying theme quite smoothly, reminding residents that joy and togetherness can come even from frightening situations.

All well and good, but someone has other ideas - enter Phineas, a rather notorious mage who's just recently gotten out of a year-long stint in prison. Elderly, a bit of a codger, more than a bit eccentric, and extremely powerful, Phineas has decided to put his own spin on this particular spooky tradition by casting a powerful citywide spell. On October 10, anyone who puts on a costume to participate in this particular celebration will find themselves turning into their costume for the evening. Dressed up as a werewolf? Prepare to howl at the moon! Dressed as a vampire? Be prepared to get a serious taste for blood. The possibilities are endless...

OOC Note: Please remember that Riverview does not allow non-consensual sex, and that game mechanics are not put in place to encourage sexual assault, or to 'trick' characters into having sex that they would not normally have. If your character's costume is the 'sexy' version of anything, feel free to play with aphrodisiac effects or lowered inhibitions, but keep this rule in mind.

emergency in the agricultural district!

iii. hog wild

Residents of the city may or may not remember a particular patch of fertile ground that was scouted over a year ago, and the highly-intelligent and territorial alien hogs that were protecting it because the soil's fertility stems from it being a alien hog graveyard. After that revelation, the city had abandoned the project for the foreseeable future, as digging up an intelligent species' graveyard is more than a little beyond the pale.

That would've been all well and good, had the alien hogs stayed in their territory. However, after being disrupted by two teams over the course of a few months, the hogs (who have an excellent memory for this kind of thing) have started to get a little restless. It's not enough to be left alone - they want revenge. And with the summer winding down into harvest season, they've figured out how to get that revenge. As September winds down and October starts to dawn, the powerful and intimidating hogs have started on stage one of enacting that revenge - they've been making concentrated runs at the fences closest to their territory, hitting it in the same spot over and over again, herd mentality at its strongest, trying to make a dent. And they're succeeding.

The big problem here is that, on the inside of that fence, is the bulk of the Quarantine's agriculture sector. Fields full of livestock and crops that are meant to make up the majority of the winter's food supply are in danger of being wiped out if that fence falls, and if that happens, it's going to be a cold, hungry winter, no matter how many supplies the Capital World manages to send up to the moon.

Since September 20th, residents have been being called into service whenever they were willing to, at first to try to repair the damage to the wall and keep the hogs from bursting through, and after September 25th, to help stem the damage being done by the rampaging hogs. As September ends and October begins, the fight is still underway, and residents haven't managed to do much to stop the creatures encroaching on the agricultural district, so more help is always welcome.

A full write-up of this situation can be found on September's Test Drive Meme.

iv. drift compatible

As October continues on, the situation with the invasion of hogs and all the other creatures that are coming through the massive breach in the outer wall of the Inhabited City is starting to get really dire. As a last-ditch effort, the government is pulling what remains of their fleet of three-story-tall mech suits out of storage. Longer-term residents may remember these mechs from last January, when a herd of behemoth monsters was attacking the city. Since then, the five remaining mechs were taken over by a private tech company, improved upon to some extent, and then sold back to the government, where they were reverse engineered into something new and a little different, and more were manufactured.

As of now, the government is holding on to a fleet of around 40 smaller, more maneuverable mechs that are still quite powerful, but most importantly which still need to be piloted by two people. Considering the emergency the city is facing, the government has released the fleet of mechs to the Perimeter Guard, and is calling for anyone with piloting experience, or even people willing to take a quick course in it, to help man the fleet and head out into the battle, backing up fighters on the ground to try to push back the tide of creatures flooding into the vulnerable and very important agricultural district.

Mechs are piloted by two people working together - while it's not exactly drift compatibility, the two characters need to act together, with one directing where the mech goes and keeping an eye on the terrain, and the other one manning the guns and keeping an eye on the mech's defenses and energy and ammunition levels. This takes a lot of concentration and cooperation, and this day is bound to forge a lot of new friendships....and probably a few mortal enemies. On top of the difficulty of working with someone who may be a total stranger, don't forget this new fleet of mechs are in beta-testing and are only being used as a last resort, which means they have a bad tendency to break down in unexpected ways.

Each mech is fitted with one large canon-style gun that can be semi-automatic or automatic with a limited amount of ammunition, one plasma sword, and a force shield that can take four serious hits before it is depleted. They have a finite amount of energy storage and are able to be in continuous use for 3 hours maximum before shutting down. Out of the fleet of 40 mechs, the mod expects only about 5 to still be functional at the end of the month, so feel free to destroy or seriously damage them in threads.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the Feast of the Dying, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view; images may contain disturbing themes


Credit: image i: Logan Preshaw; image ii: Alejandro D'Marco; image iii: Jeff Jumper; image iv: Johannes Mücke; image v: Davey Baker; image vi: David Edwards

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Jyushimatsu Matsuno | Osomatsu-san | OTA

[yakyuuman]

i; ghosts from the past

[ Come the sunset, when he's about to finish his swings and head back home for dinner, Jyushimatsu suddenly notices the air changing around him. He stops, baseball bat hung in the air while he looks around. He somehow feels off, like the world changed its axis under his feet and yet no tremor goccurs underneath, and all he hears is the sound of rustling leaves as the breeze of autumn chills his sweaty face. The park is empty of people now, a fact he didn't pay attention to until this stronger sensation struck him out of nowhere.

He's alone, and yet he can distinctly feel a pair of eyes on him. Whoever is spying on him must be a ninja, because everything stays still even as he opens his ears to listen in, hoping the alleged stalker makes a false move. Few minutes pass, and... nothing. Jyushimatsu stiffens, tension pulling at his muscles. He still smiles, but it's formed from habit and no trace of glee.

Then he hears it - the sound of hands clapping, over and over. Someone is applauding him? An old man's laughter resounds in his ears and it's immediately familiar, low, deep, warm, like a father, a certain creator...

He finally catches the source in the corner of his eyes, and he turns with a mix of shock and sadness. The man is smiling in his usual attire and knowing verve, applauding and laughing nonstop. ]

Akatsuka sensei...?

[ Breath caught in his throat, Jyushimatsu steps closer to his creator, tries to reach out, but the man disappears as his hand seems to pass through for a second, and shivers run down his spine. That's a ghost... a ghost?! Really now?! Gasping, he drops the bat and starts flailing around with both hands, desperately clinging onto the hope that the spirit of his creator reappears and talks to him. ]

Akatsuka sensei! Wait! Come back, Akatsuka sensei!!!

[ Anyone passing by the park can witness the sight of a super agitated Jyushimatsu thrashing around and screaming AKATSUKA SENSEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIII to the wind. Feel free to try calming him down or make fun of him. ]

ii; escape room

[ He likes horror theme parks, the ones he went to when he was a kid were a blast. Nowadays it hardly scares him anymore, but for the sake of killing boredom he's going to drag someone into the escape room and see what they can do with their combined smarts. Fun times are ahead of him!

As he drags the unfortunate sap by the arm, he cheerfully regards them with a big, way too big smile. ]

Hey hey, don't be shy, I'm sure we'll survive this and then brag about it later!

iii; tests of courage

[ For this one, Jyushimatsu didn't find a ready volunteer that'd keep him company, so he eventually walked into the abandoned building alone.

Well, that wasn't the best idea ever, and he realizes it as soon as he hears intelligible whispering, cold breathing over his neck, and the distinct feeling that ghosts are trying to touch him. It's uncomfortable, and for every ghastly touch he's going to swat his arm towards where he thinks the ghost is fluttering from, yelling at them to CUT IT OUT or else. Not that he can do a lot, unless there are objects laying around that could chase the fuckers away.

He'll choose to sit in the middle of the dark room, flashlight in hand, illuminating his own face and twisting it in a most ridiculous expression, hoping it'll scare the ghosts off. Any brave soul also wandering the place may look at that and think they're seeing an ugly ghost grinning wide and scary at them, showing all his vaguely sharp teeth? Please don't kill him. ]

iv; feast of the dying

[ Party! Despite the gloomy theme and place, he'll appear dressing nicely although his mask leaves a lot to be desired in terms of detail. He doesn't think he needs to be particularly elegant when his main purpose is to hoard the food area. He thinks he deserves to stuff himself after all the scare and emotional rollercoaster of the past spooky days!

Cheeks filled up to the brim with food, he'll regard any person he sees with a muffled HELLO and a nod, spitting bits of food as he does so. Always so gross, dude. ]

v; creepy chaos

[ Normally he could have gone with the werewolf option, or zombie. Heck, even vampire sounds really neat if he used keptchup to make people assume he's drinking real blood.

But here's the twist: he's a witch. Even he is not sure the mental gymnastics he went through to convince himself that being a witch was the best decision to take for this year's Halloween... or similar festivity in Riverview. But here he is, dressing as a cute (?) witch and carrying an old broom... which for some reason can legit fly and carry him around?

Honestly... he's not bothered at all. In fact, he's going to enjoy flying around as the whole rest of the city goes crazy.

Next moment you'll see him fly up to you, looking pretty excited and sparkly all over. ]

Need a ride? There's a bit of space for two here! No worries, Jyushirin promises everything's safe!

[ No, it's not. ]

vi; wildcard

[ Hit me up on gaiamemories if you wanna plot things! ]

ii

[otherflash]

[ The unfortunate sap in this equation happens to be Wally West. Really, all he wanted to do was say hi to Jyushimatsu after running into him while he was aimlessly wandering around the area, maybe even engage in a few minutes of small talk since they haven't seen one another in a while. But it seems the other man apparently has something different in mind.

Not that Wally looks too bothered about being dragged in the direction of one of the escape rooms that are currently set up. Doing one with Dick last year had been pretty fun, after all. He will, however, playfully roll his eyes at his friend's words that accompany the dragging. ]

Uh-huh. [ He'll be sure to tell all his friends about their victory. ] And I suppose you're going to make me do this the honest way, too.

[ Dick had made it very clear that using his speedster magic was against the spirit of the experience. He disagreed but whatever. ]

[yakyuuman]

[ Sure it'd been a while since they last talked, and a lot happened in-between the weeks, but Jyushimatsu's features and big smile barely changed since then, it's like they'd just parted ways yesterday. He honestly missed the dude, and dragging him to this horror attraction is pretty much his idea of catching up with an old friend.

He snickers, tugging Wally's arm some more. ]

Yup! There would be no point doing a speedrun of the place! No fun at all, right?

[otherflash]

[ The enthusiastic energy Jyushimatsu almost always seems to bring with him is something Wally can really use right now if he's being honest. Between being frequently visited by ghosts of failures past and Sk — Daisy (he's still trying to get used to that) — gaining new memories from her life back home, the last few weeks have been a bit rough on him.

He just wishes that energy included a little less tugging of his arm because ow. ]

You and I have a different definition of fun. [ He sighs, mostly for show. ] But, fine, we'll try to do this like normal people.

[ Special emphasis on the 'trying' part since he's never been the most patient of people. But for now, he's content to do it Jyushimatsu's way as he takes stock of the decently-sized replication of a 'science lab' (it's the Mad Science Experiments theme) they had been directed to and will be trapped in for the next hour unless they find a way out sooner.

The most noticeable things in the room are the unfinished scientific equations and formulas written across one of the walls, a sturdy bookshelf lined up across another wall, a bunch of test tubes containing different colored liquids inside set up on a nearby table, and a door at the far end of the room that appears to be sealed shut for the time being.

There's also a bunch of other science instruments and notes scattered about, but if and how any of these things will come into play is anyone's guess. The only clue they have to start with is the key (they were given prior to entering) he is currently holding up with his free hand for Jyushimatsu to see. ]

So, I guess our first order of business is to find whatever this opens.

[yakyuuman]

[ Jyushimatsu's eyes shift to odd angles as he studies the entire room. He didn't expect a science room theme for this one, but he will easily roll with it and search for clues, helped by the fact nothing about the place seems so creepy.

Fortunately for Wally, he's going to release his arm and step further inside, after nodding at the man's statement.. He hides his mouth with a curled long sleeve while observing the table, walls, bookshelf and door. ]

Could there be a secret passage behind the bookshelf? I saw that often on TV!

[ He saunters over to said furniture, nudging at it to test how heavy it is. ]

[otherflash]

[ If Wally has to guess, all of the creepiness this place possesses will be hidden behind the door that is currently off-limits until they find out how to open it. That the point of this initial room is to simply lull the participants into a false sense of security before it hits them with the real fun. Things would simply be too easy and disappointing otherwise.

First thing first, though, they have to figure out how to get there, and despite what TV might have led Jyushimatsu to believe, he doubts there's any answers behind the bookshelf. So after a few seconds of watching his friend try to nudge the piece of furniture without much success with an amused smile gracing his lips he helpfully offers up: ]

I guess this isn't like almost every episode of Scooby-Doo I have ever seen. It was a good idea, though. But what about the books?

[ Despite the size and sturdiness of the bookshelf, there's only about a dozen or so books by his estimate calling it home. It's possible one of them could be some sort of journal or locked with a keyhole which would lead them to their next clue. He'll leave the task of checking them out up to Jyushimatsu while he inspects some papers lying on a nearby table. ]

[yakyuuman]

Scooby Dooby Who?

[ Maybe he heard about it back home, but old american cartoons are not as popular in Japan as one may think. They've got anime and that's enough of a fix for way too many people.

Besides, Jyushimatsu is not at all good with books. Wally's suggestion has him look at the man blankly, as if asking, yeah? so what about the books???... without actually asking. Well, since they're going to stick around for a while, he might just skim through these darn books and try to focus his attention on anything weird he might find.

Therefore he plucks some from the bookshelf and piles them up in one arm, opening the first from the top and quickly flipping pages. He will uncerimoniously toss it behind him if he finds no blatant clues, and the same will happen with the other books should he find nothing at all.

Anything that stands out? ]

iii

[analienprince]

[You'd think Teddy wouldn't be too eager to go back in a place like this, but-- welp. Here he was. Maybe not in any way that Jyushi has seen him before -- he's big and green, a little more scaly than he generally looks.

But he recognizes Jyushi soon enough... well, 'soon'. Walking into a random room and seeing something illuminated has him gasping and jumping at first, but it clicks into place before Teddy either starts swinging or turns to leave.]

Jyushi? What are you even doing here? You nearly gave me a heart attack...

[If he could have a heart attack...]

[yakyuuman]

[ ... Haha, it's Teddy! The big and green Teddy he (kind) of saw after the kidnapping plot. Fortunately he recognized the voice and prevented himself from screeching because, well, that looked like a huge monster coming at him.

Jyushimatsu laughs, trying to sound eerie while at it, and he stretches his smile to scary wide proportions as he stands up and walks closer to his buddy. ]

That's the point, isn't it? Scaring to the point of causing heart attacks!

[ He then relents a little. ]

Glad that didn't happen to you, tho!

[analienprince]

[He lets out a laugh of his own, giving a shake of his head. He's mostly just relieved he's not bumping into any sort of ghost or something.]

Yeah, me too. How long have you been in this place anyway?

[yakyuuman]

No idea! It may have been years and I didn't notice! There's no clock around here... spooky, isn't it?

[ He drops the trick just so he can point the flashlight at various spots in the messy room. ]

I've seen quite a few ghosts tho! Nothing else attacked me yet!

[analienprince]

It hasn't been years.

[He huffs out a laugh.]

What sort of ghosts have you seen so far? Are they the grabby kind?

[yakyuuman]

Uh... they were the screechy and whiny types! Someone must have died a horrible death here!

[ He puts a sleeve on his chin. ]

With these many ghosts... was this place a hospital? So many haunted places are hospitals, that's such a common cliché!

[analienprince]

It could have been, yeah... I mean, I can imagine there's also a lot of unhappy people who've died at a hospital.

[He looks around, frowning slightly.]

Want to hang out for a bit? It's easier to face ghosts when you're not alone...

[yakyuuman]

[ He briefly scans Teddy's big green body and then cackles. ]

Sure we can! With you like this I feel much safer! The ghosts could die again from the big scare they might get!

[analienprince]

Hey, come on... I'm not that scary.

[Okay, so he probably is... and that's sort of the point.]

But don't worry, this isn't my first rodeo. I've dealt with ghosts here and there.

ii.

[jintetsu]

[Jintetsu is already heeeeavily disliking this holiday. Every time he goes outside, the angriest spirits seem drawn specifically to him, for reasons he is keenly aware of. But he's so wrapped up in pretending they don't exist that he fails to notice Jyushimatsu until Jyushimatsu's noticed him, and before he knows it, he's the unfortunate sap being physically dragged into an escape room.]

What? No! Leave me out of this, I'm not interested.

[yakyuuman]

[ If Jyushimatsu wasn't so deaf sometimes, he would have let go. But because he's specifically Jyushimatsu, no common sense is going to be applied here. Sorry Jintetsu, you're stuck with him. ]

It's gonna be super fun tho! Have you ever been in an escape room before? We're gonna get locked inside a room and we've gotta figure out how to get out of it using our intelligence and the hints we've got!

[jintetsu]

[Locked.
in a room.
with Jyushimatsu Matsuno.




Or he could just die? Yeah. Yeah, that sounds more fun.

Jintetsu tries to wriggle away, but this kid's got a vise grip on his arm. There's no escape! ("Kid"? He's older than you, dude.) Finally, he kind of grudgingly has to accept that this is a thing that's happening. So that's it, huh? This is Hell. He's finally died and gone to Hell, that is the only possible explanation for this chain of events.]

Why would anyone want to do that?!

[yakyuuman]

Because it's fun! Jeez, don't make me repeat myself!

[ Jyushi died and went to Hell once. It's nothing like being in a room with him, but it may as well be if he starts being weird all over. Either way, he victoriously drags Jintetsu through the door, not even jumping in surprise as it automatically slams behind their backs, locking them up.

The room in question is... a classroom. A pretty abandoned one, with desks and chairs haphazardly thrown everywhere. It's hard to step through the mess. There are also blood splatters covering the floor, walls, and even ceiling. The windows had been tightly sealed, and the two doors at the side are also not budging if they were to try and kick them. There's a scent of death in the air. It looks like something straight from a zombie movie.

On the chalkboard, there's a weird series of lines written up intermittently with white chalk.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Jyushimatsu looks around, marveled and not at all terrified by the display. ]

Looks like one helluva school! I'd even say it brings back memories!

[jintetsu]

... Memories, huh? Just what kind of school did you go to?

[Rhetorical question, incidentally.

Jintetsu didn't really know what to expect in here, but he certainly wasn't expecting a bloodbath. Not to say it bothers him, per se - he's caused scenes like this too often to count. But if this is supposed to be a game, it's kind of over the top, isn't it? Even the smell's a little too convincing. Did they actually kill someone in here? Part of him briefly wonders if this whole thing isn't some kind of elaborate setup, but...

Nah. Jyushimatsu's not that subtle.

He gradually makes his way around the perimeter of the room, in the general direction of the chalkboard, stepping over the desks as best he can. Stupid desks.]

I'm guessing you've got some idea what we're supposed to do here.

[yakyuuman]

Somewhere with less blood! But the desks and arrangement are the exact same! I guess this is a japanese school!

[ In harmony with his lack of subtleness, Jyushimatsu strolls through the pile of desks and chairs by kicking them aside, sending them flying to the walls and windows. After making so much unnecessary noise, he stops in front of the chalkboard, sleeves on his hips. ]

I have no idea!

[ He starts, totally confident. ]

But those lines maaaaybe want something to fill them up! Like letters? Numbers?

[jintetsu]

[A Japanese school...? Obviously it doesn't look like any school Jintetsu's ever seen. Granted, that's not exactly a wide pool - dude has like a third-grade education at most - but still.

But then again, time travel. The idea is still bizarre to him, but alongside everything else he's witnessed here, it's not that farfetched. And... he actually finds it kind of morbidly interesting? Like, he assumes 2018 is in the future, but how far in the future? And Jyushimatsu mentioned something about having technology similar to the Quarantine's, right? A Japan like that would have to be totally unrecognizable... much like this Japanese schoolroom.

Ahh, but that's a pretty useless train of thought right now, isn't it? He glances around for a piece of chalk, but doesn't see any because of course they hid it.]

How's that help us unlock the door?

[yakyuuman]

You know how safe boxes work? They won't open until you input a specific stream of numbers! Maybe it works the same?

[ Mentally patting himself on the back for such a wise explanation, Jyushimatsu knocks at the chalkboard once. Nothing happens, of course. The floor seems to vibrate under their feet for an instant, but he ignores it. ]

But how do we even guess that without hints? This room is a mess!

[jintetsu]

[To be fair, combination locks haven't been invented yet for him. But even so, a chalkboard wouldn't work as a lock! This puzzle makes no sense.

... What was that vibration just now, though ... Maybe he just imagined it.

Haganemaru, meanwhile, is starting to put real thought into this. He can do exactly three things - think, speak, and be a sword - but the first is where his true power lies! Or that's what he'd tell you, anyway.]

What kind of things count as hints?