Methinks that's my cue.

Hello hello, well met, here's your friendly (usually) local farm maid with many dreams and markedly fewer scruples. Extremely pleased to be here, thank you all for having me :)

I feel completely out of my depth expressing an opinion on the adequacy of bringing in a seventh player since I haven't quite become the sixth yet, but I will say this: Janet being a PC rather than an NPC is bound to make Kitty much nicer to her, so at least in that respect it's a positive thing.

Good thought. I definitely vote yes.


It would be fab to have another player, especially one centered on Fox Hall. Will gladly do all I can to ease your load.

In reply to Christine Chantry (msg # 872):

Welcome aboard, Kitty!

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned...

More seriously, I appreciate that a great deal. I think I can just about swing it, with Maggie and Martin fairly (well, more than fairly) bonded, Cecil likely to become part of their starting plotline, and the two new players coming in together, but it'd take buy in from Tom (whom I can't check with right now, he's away for a bit) and Sam, too.

In reply to Christine Chantry (msg # 872):

Welcome!

The one caveat: I'd worry about Janet and Kitty making each other redundant, since we're very similar lasses of similar age and social extraction, in the same place. I'm guessing there is going to be considerable skill overlap too, but I should probably take off my gm hat now ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Sun 14 Jan.

Ha! No, I can assure you there is definitely no problem with them filling the same role - they may not be different D&D classes...actually, forget that, I have no idea what D&D class Janet would be, but it's probably not Rogue...they may be different D&D classes, but their access to social classes is also different. Janet won't get any servant gossip Kitty doesn't feed her, and (much as she might like to) Kitty won't get private access to Nathan Fox in the way Janet does, or be automatically included with his contemporaries. If that's the word I mean. I am very hungry.

edit: Public part of S1 Clues Thread updated, setting threads unpinned and notupdated, but booped because otherwise they seem to stick randomly partway up some way back. No edits to the RTJ/Content Guidelines, I just like those being on top. Will go get food now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:22, Sun 14 Jan.

Is this a challenge? ;P

You court you own trouble there, buddy.

Update: extra player had second thoughts and won't be joining us after all (though extra effort towards cohesion is still appreciated!); I will re-re-arrange what I was about and get on with things ASAP.

Ooof, sorry to hear that, Keeper. I've been there and it doesn't feel nice. Thank you for all that extra effort! I'll do my best to play ball :)

EDIT: While we're at it: any of you fellow players would be the type to spend a lot of time in the inn or at Fox Hall?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:48, Wed 17 Jan.

Ach, it was a tall order to fill - whilst I'd sincerely love a mature and responsible player to take charge of Janet and give her more of a voice/solid presence in a story that in some key ways revolves around her, and that player seemed made for this game in terms of interests, style and general willing, it's still going "here, 21st century person with trustworthy morals, take charge of this married child in a horror game", which is a lot to ask.

I do wish I'd been informed a bit earlier, but if someone's gut feeling about a prospect overcomes an infatuating rush of enthusiasm, then it's the most sensible and honourable thing to do to quit at that point. I'm disappointed, naturally, and hope we meet again (if they don't think I'm a paedo), but it's infinitely better than simply vanishing without a word at starting or some later point.

I guess the silver lining is now I can be cattier to Janet... *evil grin*

UPDATED: Oh the poor little thing... Forget that, she needs a clittersome big sis on her side.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:39, Fri 19 Jan.

Oh, I'm glad you've decided not to swipe at her too hard - kid needs a friend, and society ladies aren't going to be so generous.

Update to say that I may be busier than I thought tomorrow, but have been messing with the Cast List (don't panic if you can't see beloved rarely-used NPCs or those unlikely to show up much in S2, I've just swept them under the Hidden tag so as not to lose SAN to all the scrolling) tonight and hope to finally get this (next) thing rolling next week if not before. Polzeath has a portrait now! it's an awkwardly coloured-in sketch of him looking ruffled and woebegone, because that's the nearest likeness I got. Turns out I find feeple hard to draw.

edit: I am going to bed, but I was reading old-timey horror comics online and felt everyone needed to see the top right panel here: https://rb.gy/jiztjy ("what's a hare?" "I dunno, bud, just draw a rabbit but, like, bigger.")

edit II: idiocy
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:53, Sun 21 Jan.

Anything y'all want on the new Clues Thread that I've forgotten, let me know.

New OOC incoming when this one is at some more satisfying number or when I have new thread posts finished in the unlikely event that's sooner (I have had an interupted weekend and am not very intelligent at present). May mess about with the Cast List some more, it nags at me when it's biased male (by 2, or 4 counting PCs) but it also sparks joy to have Bart & Arnie sat up there at the top. Hmm.

For the sake of potential interest, we've had ~45 pertinent-as-possible folk songs alongside chapter headings so far, and I've started a spreadsheet to avoid repeats. So I can also tell you we have a ballad body count of a mere 27 (including animals, excluding ambiguity and metaphors thinner than fig leaves, adding .5 for pregnant women). We're all fertility and flowers around here, my chickens.

Happy 3,100th post! ^_^

I can't leave my apartment building because there are police and a dead body in the lobby blocking the elevator. Fun day thus far... O.O

Uh. Gosh. I thought I was having a monumentally stressful day, but that takes the cake and the biscuit. Do you know what the body died of, or whose it was? I hope they get out of the way soon, that's rubbish.

Ooof, that's awful, Reverend. Once a few years ago we had our street cordoned off by police because someone had been stabbed, and I had to answer a lot of questions just to go get the food from the Deliveroo driver next street (it was a drug thing, apparently, and to make it worse the victim was a teenager; we don't live there any more, thankfully), but like The Keeper said, that takes the cake. Stay safe!

In reply to The Keeper (msg # 888):

Mmm, biscuits. I'll take a dozen packages of milk-chocolate Hobnobs, please. No news re: the body, I've been turtling with a migraine.

Alas, I can only give you the idea of hobnobs, they don't go through the screen well. ;[(((((()())))];

May your nerve endings and police presence resolve themselves soon. I will see if I can find you an internet folk cure (humourous image of a cat) in the meantime, but also need to go to bed soonish.

edit: all right, these aren't quite kittens, but maybe they'll help?
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:46, Mon 22 Jan.

Bittern almost rhymes with kitten. >_>

https://images.app.goo.gl/Wrn4bZSymZ8Wma479 closer?

All right, surely this one.

Really have to sleep now, have to climb down a tomb tomorrow.

Follow-up on Monday's events: The deceased was in fact a neighbor from the floor below mine who I chatted with when I first moved in. She was on supplemental oxygen for emphysema, and her lungs just finally gave out. She’d felt poorly earlier that morning. Apparently the police were there just as standard operating procedure, the deceased called 911 for an ambulance and came down to wait in the lobby but died before they arrived.

Alas! Everyone did all they knew to do there, I feel. Can you escape now, and is your nervous system leaving you alone?

I am gradually worming my way through post prep, but need to go to bed at once, despite very noisy rain and some species of stomachache.

Escape was possible by early afternoon yesterday. Building management had a team sanitize the lobby. My nervous system remains janky as usual. Sleep well.