OC POST

[formidable]

MUSELIST Photo Credit: nameless-table This a post where it's mainly my OCs and there are various scenarios, mostly having to do with the Midnight Grind Cafe, owned by Iona Jacqueline Oakes and her mysterious handsome golem man, Oren. Their cafe connects to almost every universe so a lot of silly stuff can happen. I'll write some prompts for my OCs or we can plot together and go in another direction. You can contact me at maiscribbles or my Discord (Fujinon#6780). Have at it! ➢ Cool Mood Music No. 1 ➤ Cool Mood Music No. 2

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[newmodel]

Then the most logical — or at least the most straightforward explanation — is that they’re not deceased. Missing, maybe, but not for much longer if we can figure out just what’s really happening in this complex.

[He’s done his research, of course. Done cross-references, finding nothing substantial that would guide them elsewhere, other than some good ol’ fashioned sleuthing by foot.

Down the alleyway they go, darkened in shadow. As expected, a fire escape hangs above their heads a few yards down, rusted and questionably stable. Nines stands beneath it, craning his neck up, noticing the ladder currently out of reach.]

Here. I’ll lift you up.

[Neither of them are tall enough to manage it on their own.]

[psychometer]

[Lien could make a smart remark about how their persons of interests being deceased is not out of the question (as a smart man once said, there was a difference between mostly dead and all dead), but she wisely decides not to split hairs about it, not until this case was resolved anyway.

Lien wrinkles her nose at the ladder that's out of reach, but at Nines' statement she looks over at him and immediately understands what he's getting at.]

Ah, good idea. Let me just...

[Lien readjusts her gloves and then stands beneath where the ladder is, gauging the distance needed to pull it down.]

Luckily for you, I'm not heavy. Whenever you're ready.

[newmodel]

Lucky for you, I think you mean, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to enter at all. Consider that for a moment.

[Nines, the EAGER TO CORRECT android. Must be an integral part of that advanced programming.

Still, he crouches down, lacing his fingers together, palm outwards, to act as a foothold for her to step up. When she does, he pushes her weight upwards so that she can grab the ladder above.]

Unlatch it and kick it down.

[psychometer]

Hey, if it was just me I would have figured something out eventually. It's different when there's a partner to bounce ideas off of.

[His eagerness to correct may be part of his program, but Lien can't help, but sarcastically think to herself that he sounds like he just wants to one-up her.

With little difficulty, she uses his hands as a foothold and once she's pushed up, the ladder is unlatched and then kicked down.]

Alright, we got our backdoor entrance. I'll go in first too.

[And up the ladder she goes.]

Don't let me slow you down or anything.

[newmodel]

[When the ladder drops down, Nines begins his climb with an ease trademark of an android. No sign of exertion, no stalling in his ascent — where physical activity is concerned, this is very easy, and it doesn’t take long for him to catch up to Lien, having to slow his movements so that he doesn’t bump up against her.]

Physically impossible when you’re in front of me like this.

[But he’ll follow, steadily, until their feet find purchase on the metal flooring of the fire escape.]

Do you have any working theories regarding what we might find inside?

[psychometer]

Well...

[She makes another ascension to the floor above them, gauging the window. Lights inside are off and the air is still enough for her to deduce from the silence alone that there's no one inside. She touches the window to "read" it. Locked. Moving upwards again, she deals out her theories to Nines.]

The reported deceased, we have nothing to worry about. Those bodies have been or are in the process of being verified, including the reported murder victim. It's the reported "missing" that gives me pause... Especially since there have been sightings of those people around and they were never officially recorded as missing, to begin with.

Like, they were around, but no one noticed something was off until they realized that this apartment building was the link among those people.

So, I suspect, we'll find those particular individuals, but beyond that...

[A pause and she looks at Nines.]

What do you think? There doesn't seem to be a lot to work with, but you might have more solid theories too. I'd like to hear them.

[newmodel]

[He follows, pausing where she pauses, sending out his own scans to judge the state of the building. It’s possible, of course, the break the windows and reach inside to unlatch the lock, but he’ll save that suggestion as a last resort.]

Given that the link existing between the deceased and the missing is this apartment building, I don’t suspect anything good. The degree of how bad remains to be seen, but I think it’s obvious with the frequent arrivals and departures — as reported by witnesses, at least — that there’s something in this complex worth hiding. Why else would anyone operate out of a place so rundown? Something was taking place here before it was in this state, I'm approximately ninety percent certain.

[Another floor up, and a window that’s opened by half an inch greets them. Nines stops at it, then reaches out to slide his fingers into the open space, then push upwards.]

Try here.

[psychometer]

Don't mind if I do.

[Lien reaches inside the gap, groping for the latch to unlock the window. She's successful and pushes the window up further and then swings a leg and then both inside.]

... All clear. There's no one inside, but you can double-check for any heat signals in the immediate vicinity to clear any concerns.

[newmodel]

[He follows after, all long limbs as he climbs over the window and into the apartment proper. He’s already doing what she’s suggested before she even has to say as much — a scan of the floor they’re on, reaching out as far as his sensors will allow, to confirm that there’s no one here.]

Confirming that there are no immediate heat signatures worthy of note, beyond your own.

[His don’t count, the inner workings of an android body giving off minimal energy/heat readings, compared to that of a human form.

He steps forward, taking in state of the apartment room they’ve found themselves in.]

We’re free to investigate without interruption for now.

[psychometer]

Work it is then! I'll see what I can compile at an initial glance.

[First off... The room is furnished and it looks like it belongs to a preteen. Already, there is a strangeness and unease that Lien is perceiving because the bedroom looks neat and tidy; not unusual in itself if the child was a tidy person or whoever lived in this apartment room had some help. She looks up at the posters decorating the all of some boy bands and some classic fantasy films.

Since Lien is wearing gloves, she traces some objects and the edge of the bed with her fingers and then picks up a clock, frowning. The time blinks 12:00 AM.

The last she checked, the time was approximately 11 PM. Someone had reset the clock deliberately. She's not completely reading it, but if her suspicions are correct, someone has been arranging things in this room so that they're in the exact same spots.]

Hey... Nines?

Have you ever been in an escape room before? Or you understand the basic concept of one?

[newmodel]

An escape room.

[He stops mid-step, then turns to look at her, arms clasped behind his back.]

An puzzle adventure game where various individuals confined in a single room attempt to find a way to leave, or “escape”, with the clues and objects provided to them within. No, I haven’t, but I’m familiar with the concept.

[Already, though, his gaze pulls towards the side; the oddity of this room, the clock set to the wrong hour, pieces seemingly arranged. A neat and tidy state; unusual for something so abandoned.]

Are you equating our surroundings to something similar? That would imply an expectation that there would be someone here to solve the presented puzzle.

[psychometer]

The room we have here isn't a puzzle itself... Although that can change. What I'm saying is that this room has been reset. It's different from cleaning up because there's a degree of flexibility most people have when it comes to tidying their living space.

[Lien puts down the clock and immediately scans the room for any obvious cameras.]

When you reset an escape room or any game room, you need to put the clues and objects of relevance in the same locations. A well designed room makes it so that as the game progresses, your experience and unveiling of clues isn't entirely linear.

So, that's just my long winded train of thought about how it feels like someone's been playing house. We'll have to look around the rest of the other rooms to confirm my theory...

[She sports it, a small dull dot of light on the mirror.]

And we definitely have cameras all around. I think you'll be better at rooting those out and messing with those if you can so we can cover our tracks cause that's the only one I could spot so far.

[newmodel]

[A reset. Given the state of the room, it can’t be denied, though neither can it be verified with what’s observable thus far.

If it weren’t for the spotted camera, at least, its lens glinting in the light from its nestled spot in the mirror.]

Hm.

[Nothing else, just another scan of the room, tweaked to unearth anything similar.]

I count five. The one you’ve found, one in the ceiling fan, another in the bookshelf, and two more on the rim of the above light fixtures. [He gestures at each one while he points them out, LED blinking.] Which lends credence to your theory, despite how strange it might sound. We’re missing the reasoning why, however, and how it connects to the relevant names on our list of missing persons.

Who would be watching? Can you use your abilities on the cameras and locate the origin point of our observer?

[psychometer]

[Lien purses her lips at his question, but she nods albeit uncertainly. ]

To a certain degree... I don't want to knock myself out trying to get a crystal clear replay of events, but I'll read where the cameras lead and who was in here last.

[ Lien checks the time on her phone again (issued by the DPD, how kind of them).

11:25 PM.

She puts the phone away.]

Give me five minutes. I'll see if I can figure out why midnight is a relevant time too.