Writer's Block [Plot Bunnies Win]

[Starlequin]

The night had not been kind to poor Starlequin. He'd spent much of the evening from midnight till the wee hours scribbling aimlessly in his room, and by the time his head hit the pillow he'd felt physically ill from reading his own words. Ragged plots, sloppy dialogue, and descriptive prose that Stephanie Meyer would have been proud of -- it was enough to make him want to jab the pen up his nose and see if the words would come through better if he dug a hole in his brain! A restless night saw him tossing and turning fitfully beneath the lush blankets, and he'd never been so happy to see the horrible day star as morning broke.

He shuffled lazily downstairs to breakfast and nodded sleepily to the others already assembled, and snored through the room as his nose led him inexorably toward the coffeepot. "*Mrph, rvrvhdh," (*Translation: "Morning, everybody,") he mumbled as his hands worked on autopilot to pour a cup of sacred java. Just as the brew touched his lips, however, he heard the news of poor Ryven's condition, and...well. It was a good thing there was no one in front of him.

"Wha-wha-what?!" The now fully-awake Starlequin managed to gasp as the last drops of his spluttered coffee dripped down the wall where he'd spat it in shock. "Ryven...got took to the boobie hatch?" Star leaned back against the counter and stared down at his coffee, watching the fading steam rise from the cup's rim. "I knew it, I just knew this retreat thing was gonna be a bad idea; it reminds me of a train ride I went on once," he said. Star looked carefully around at the other writers and squinted thoughtfully. Who to trust? Or more importantly, who to distrust?

"Hey...where is Aiden, anyway? Sleeping in after a long night of psychologically torturing his fellow scribes, no doubt!"

[Autumn Sativus]

Votes for Removal

• [3]fancyfictions - James Moriarty, Beguile's Mistress, Aiden
• [2]Beguile's Mistress - Izu, Valerian
• [2]Aiden - Remiel, Starlequin
• [1]James Moriarty - Kendra
• [1]Remiel - fancyfictions

[Aiden]

A clearly sleep deprived Aiden walks in with his laptop under one arm, a game controller under his chin and a 2-liter of mountain dew in the other hand. "Ohh man...I fell asleep..." He comes in grumbling, the imprint of his keyboard decorating the right side of his face before he settles in and shuts off to the world as he loads up Saints Row. Still dressed down in his sweats and his keyboard he pays partial attention of his surroundings and realized he is in hot water. "So what happened to Ryven? Ohh man...that sounds horrible." He uninterestedly sympathizes while he plays video games and completely ignores his writing.

"I might have killed Ryven online once or twice in league of legends, but would not kill him...ohh he went insane, that sucks, He'll be fine. Maybe Fancyfictions has something to do with it, I was playing last night." He says before putting on his headphones and playing without interruption.

[Autumn Sativus]

And so the day ended, and fancyfictions packed up her things and was escorted to a waiting car by the guide. She returned after saying goodbye and thanking fancy for what little participation she had been able to offer. "It has come to my attention, now, that fancyfictions was naught but an author. The risk remains this night, please be careful, everyone. I hope tomorrow we may have better luck."

With that, she left the guests to themselves again, and to their writing, and hoped that the next day may bring better news.

Players

• Aiden
• Beguile's Mistress
• Izu
• James Moriarty
• Kendra
• Remiel
• Starlequin
• Valerian

Roles

• Authors [2-3]
• Journalist [1]
• Poet [1]
• Mary Sue [1]
• Plot Bunny [1-2]
• Albino [1]

[Autumn Sativus]

In the morning, the sad news hits again, that another Author, Kendra fell to the insanity of the evil at work within the house. "She has joined Ryven at the infirmary of the Stronghold. We must find those responsible before we all become doomed to this madness." She left the manuscript on the table again, if anyone should care to read it. "Who do you feel is responsible?"

Players

• Aiden
• Beguile's Mistress
• Izu
• James Moriarty
• Remiel
• Starlequin
• Valerian

Roles

• Authors [1-2]
• Journalist [1]
• Poet [1]
• Mary Sue [1]
• Plot Bunny [1-2]
• Albino [1]

[Aiden]

The following morning a grumbling Aiden stepped in to discover the note written by Kendra. "Holy shit!" He said before picking up her manuscript and began to read it while the others woke up and made their way to the common area.

[Remiel]

"Beguile's Mistress," said Remiel.  "Without a doubt." He, too, peeked at Kendra's manuscript, wondering if it would say something like

all work and no play makes Kendra a dull girl

repeated ad infinitum.

[Autumn Sativus]

I guess we're not giving anyone the boot today? :P

[Aiden]

"Bemi?" He glanced over towards Remiel curiously. "Are you sure? How?" Aiden asked, unsure how to blame. "Well...if I based it on what goes through my mind at what she wears maybe...but I am more suspicious of James Moriarty"

[Autumn Sativus]

Votes for Removal

• [1]BeMi - Remiel
• [1]James Moariarty - Aiden
• [1]Remiel - BeMi

Yet to Vote:
Izu, James Moriarty, Starlequin, Valerian

[Beguile's Mistress]

"Some might say that turn about is fair play," Beguiles said as she entered the hall cradling her laptop to her chest.  She was dressed for a day of writing in close fitting black jeans, a long sleeved white man's shirt with the collar turned up and a leather belt cinched tight around her waist.  Saucy red-framed glasses perched on the tip of her nose so she could look over Kendra's manuscript.  Little ballet slippers in red matched her glasses.

"Remiel, I'm not sure why you think I would want to drive anyone mad," she scoffed.  "A man who wears bunny slippers is highly suspect in my book."  She turned and looked for coffee, giggling at her pun.

[Izu]

It most definitely was not very nice to wake up to the news of yet another author having gone crazy. Izu shook his head when he was told about it, sighing as he moved to pour himself a mug of coffee in the dining-room, accusations already flying around. He was not so sure why anyone would want to hurt Kendra, but he guessed that his suspicions from the previous day remained. BeMi could have wanted one of the other women gone - wanting all the men for herself? Or just getting rid of the competition...

[James Moriarty]

"I cannot believe it!  Kendra..." he mumbled, sitting at the table, hunched over his notebook.  He adjusted his ill-fitting collar and pulled a pencil from behind his ear.  Shaking his head and counting on his fingers, he suddenly looked up.

"She must have confided in a dangerous element," he surmised, looking around the room.  "And those bunnies do have alarmingly sharp teeth, Remiel!"  Some combination of imagining the bite of those sharp, little teeth and exhaustion from a failed early morning excursion had given his face a deathly pallor.

[Autumn Sativus]

Votes for Removal

• [4]BeMi - Remiel, Izu, Val, Starlequin
• [2]Remiel - BeMi, JM
• [1]James Moariarty - Aiden

[Valerian]

Val hesitated painfully before voting -- after all, voting had not gone so well thus far, for any of them -- but if they did not at least try to remove the guilty parties, they would all share the same terrible fate as Ryven and Kendra.  Consulting a page in her notebook where she had recorded the previous votes, and adding the votes cast just now, she looked for patterns for the thousandth time, and still found none.  So she sighed, looked around at the rapidly-shrinking group, and decided to trust her vague hunch from earlier once again.  Perhaps Beguile's really did know more than she cared to let on about all of these terrible events.

[Starlequin]

Starlequin slumped in his chair, back against the wall, and rested his head in his hands. When he got home -- if he got home! -- he was going to give every last person who'd insisted he join this whacky wordsmithery such a whoopin'! From between clasped fingers he peeked out at the others, certain that no matter what he did, he'd pick wrong again. And then what? Another night, another game of Russian Roulette with his sanity as the prize! A whimper escaped him as he considered his options.

James Moriarty? Nah...a villain as crafty as this one wouldn't have such an obviously sinister moniker.

Remiel? Star glanced down at the man's fluffy bunny slippers and shook his head; he had a pair just like them at home, they were practically brothers!

BeMi? It just wasn't conceivable that a woman who looked that good in glasses could be so evil!

"Aw, hell, I don't know who to vote for? I mean against! I mean...oh, you know what I mean!" Star said mournfully.

[Autumn Sativus]

Finally it was decided that Beguile's Mistress would leave today and pay for the insanity of Ryven and Kendra. But her dramatics of tears and bursts of frustration at her peers while she packed showed that BeMi was not a plot bunny, but something else. After she had stormed out of the house with her things it settled to become apparent that they had all just witnessed the whirlwind emotions of a Mary Sue. With still no plot bunnies to show for themselves, the Writer's would have to face another night where their sanity hinged on whether they were lucky or not.
Players

• Aiden
• Izu
• James Moriarty
• Remiel
• Starlequin
• Valerian

Roles

• Authors [1-2]
• Journalist [1]
• Poet [1]
• Plot Bunny [1-2]
• Albino [1]

[Autumn Sativus]

The Writer's wake in the morning to find James Moariarty being carried off by the men in white to join Ryven and Kendra at the Stronghold Infirmary. His manuscript, just as the rest, joined the growing pile of papers on the dining table for those who wished to look. Some notes were scribbled in a notebook about each of the others in the house and it became apparent that he must have been the Journalist. With the ultimate fate of those left becoming grim, the guide directs one more opportunity, possibly the very last one to try and take out the evil beings among the house.

Players

• Aiden
• Izu
• Remiel
• Starlequin
• Valerian

Roles

• Authors [1-2]
• Poet [1]
• Plot Bunny [1-2]
• Albino [1]

[Aiden]

Waking up the following morning he was unsure if he should thank or curse his blessing. Trying to find who was responsible for turning his fellow writers insane was plucking at his own strings of sanity. After a shower and change of clothing he made his way downstairs to the common room and seized the whiteboard.

"Izu"
He wrote down before taking a seat and began to flip through the latest work of art.

[Starlequin]

Starlequin shambled down the stairs and crumpled onto the nearest couch, glaring at his fellow writers. If they didn't figure out who was trying to drive them all froot-loopy this time, he was done. His bags were packed and waiting in his room. He didn't care that his ride wasn't coming to pick him up until the full retreat was over; he'd sit out on the curb and sleep at the bus stop until he could escape this madhouse-in-training if that's what it took!

'Look at him, just sitting there without a care in the world. It's like he doesn't even want to be here! Like he's here on sufferance...and boy, are we sufferin'...yeah...I just don't trust that Aiden fellow,' Star thought to himself before writing the name on the opposite end of the board.

[Valerian]

Val huddled miserably in the corner.  As duly-elected publisher, she felt especially responsible -- even though she'd done nothing but vote for the wrong people, just like everyone else had.  At least she hadn't broken a tie in the wrong direction, though that wasn't much comfort now.  One more wrong guess and they'd all be done for, if her math was correct.  She'd never been very good at math, though.

Slowly, she looked around the room at the rest of the little group, then down at her increasingly messy notes.  "Izu," she finally said, slowly and quietly, before relapsing into brooding silence.

[Izu]

"I'm innocent." Izu said with firm tone, looking at Aiden and Val with suspicion. If they were turning against him then maybe one of them was the guilty one? "Aiden."

[Autumn Sativus]

Votes for Removal

• [3]Aiden - Star, Izu, Remiel
• [1]Izu - Val
• [1]Remiel - Aiden

[Remiel]

Remiel was confused. Boy, was he confused.  Ever since he had been proven wrong about Beguile's Mistress, he had suspected Valerian and Izu of working together--after all, they had always voted in tandem before.  And yet, here Valerian was, voting against Izu.  It didn't make sense.

So either he was wrong about Valerian--in which case he was best served by joining her and Aiden in voting for Izu--or he was wrong about Izu--in which case the only thing he could do was to join him and Starlequin in voting for Aiden.

Scratching his head, he said, "I'll go with my initial suspicion and suspect Aiden.  If I'm wrong again, no need for the plot bunnies to get me; I feel like I'm going insane on my own."

[Aiden]

"You son of a bitch! I will kill you!"
Aiden roared before throwing the newest manuscript right at his head! "Remiel is the plot bunny! We had a deal you back stabbing bastard!" He confessed, his face twisting in anger at Remiel's betrayal.