02 - week two

[afflictionmods]

WEEK TWO

When the glitter settles and everyone returns to their dorms - or wherever they intend to sleep for the night, if you’re planning on sleeping at all - your first week of school officially ends. Perhaps it was better than you expected, perhaps it was worse.

Hopefully you learned a bit more about teamwork and school spirit.

Still, this course is going to run for longer than a full week, and come Sunday morning you’re still exactly as you were when you settled down for the night. Still in Estelline, still with that mark on your wrist, still connected to your partner. There are some changes, though. The bookstore has received quite a few books, and those of you who added to the bulletin board and pep rally tasks in the first week will find an envelope taped to their dorm door (or themselves, if they spent the night elsewhere). Inside of the envelope is some kind of voucher! Furthermore, the common area is covered in a bunch of glitter.

Also, there are a ton of eggs in the kitchen – at least 10 dozens.

Florence or Lorelei are still available, should you wish to speak to them.

Finally, you've got some new locations to explore.


SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

TASK LIST

CLUMSINESS AFFECT DETAILS (BEGINS TUESDAY ICLY)

W2 CYOA SIGNUPS
CYOA Signups for Week 2 close Sunday, May 29th at 6pm EST.

THREAD SURVEY
Google form for partner threads, due by Friday, June 3rd at 6pm EST. Optional.

W3 CYOA SIGNUPS
CYOA Signups for Week 3 close Friday, June 3rd at 6pm EST.

OOC NOTE

OOC: Anyone who performed in the Pep Rally (Sabo, Madara, Riku, Shizuku, Herlock, Idia, Flat, Miach) task will be able to redeem a voucher for a prize with one of the NPCs. This can be handwaved, and the prize selection is below.

-Single-serve coffee machine wither a selection of creamer. Comes with packs of coffee beans.
-Popcorn maker and kernels.
-High-quality tea kettle with a selection of just as high-quality tea.
-Carbonation machine (think Sodastream, etc) with flavored syrup.

Any coffee, tea, popcorn, etc. will last characters up to two weeks.

Anyone who participated in the Bulletin Board task will receive a voucher for your choice of two pairs colorful socks with cute animal designs. (Worry frog design available.)

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[vivens]

[ well given that the door starts to budge and then sabo outright makes a mess of things (it's fine) as he makes a way in for the two of them, he's going to help himself right inside trusting that shizuku will shine the light where he needs to take a peek at.

which is definitely to see why there are just so many bedframes here?? anything more than one is questionable for a room that's not for selling furniture?? he's going to keep pushing and moving the other bedframe around to see if there's more to see in the room than what has fallen.

also how about that chair(?) that got smooshed? ]

[afflictionmods]

[ The chair actually looks like a chair from the dorms. As in your dorm rooms. There's also another one beside it, pressed up against the other bedframe.

There are a few things in this room other than that, though, such as a corner where a bunch of the snacks, presumably from the vending machine, have been placed; a mattress with a pillow and some blankets in the middle of the floor; a large bucket with some toiletries next to it. Basically, it looks like this room's being pretty lived in, but no one seems to be here at the moment. ]

[cheerfuldays]

( UH????

okay. okay okay okay. let's take a look around. there is currently no one here. but someone was here and HOO BOY THE THEORIES.

let's start with some hopefully obvious questions:

1. how low on snacks is the stash?

2. is there any journal or paper anywhere?

3. is there signs of a struggle or anything? )

[vivens]

[ this sure is something that they found... love what the implications of all of this means AND HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER.

so while shizuku has peeked at a lot of things, sabo will want to see exactly how much/many toiletries are in the bucket and exactly how recently does it seemed to have been used.

actually how recent does everything look like it has been used in general? also regarding the bedframes and the chair... did it seem like they were positioned in a way where they were trying to barricade the door? ]

[afflictionmods]

[ 1. The stash is low given the size of the vending machine, but there are also a few packaged pastries that look like they've been snagged from the bakery.

2. There's a composition book, if Shizuku wants to look inside.

3. No signs of a struggle.

For Sabo:

1. There's maybe enough toiletries to last a month, though they seem to be running a bit low.

2. The bucket is a little wet, so yeah, they've all been used pretty recently.

3. Yes, it seems like they could've been barricading the door. ]

[cheerfuldays]

( okay, with everything she's see already... is there another door or room? anything to hide in? because otherwise MMMMMMMM DO NOT LIKE THIS. )

[vivens]

[ well.

if shizuku isn't going to look at the composite book, sabo is definitely going to take a look at that, especially since everything looks somewhat recently used. like hello? who are you mystery person... why are you barricading yourself in this room?

also are there spare clothes anywhere? like dirty laundry or that? ALSO IS THERE A LIGHT ANYWHERE? like a string to pull on to activate a ceiling light or...?? ]

[afflictionmods]

[ There is another door in the back left corner.

There are spare clothes, yes - some are wet and laid out like they're meant to be drying, others are neatly folded but wrinkled.

The composition book has no name or clear identifier but the entries - there are maybe two or three of them - talk about how the writer has been getting a strong sense of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted for the past few weeks. Finals were supposed to be a fun time for everyone, and they planned to have a good time with friends after, but things just started going wrong. It's a lot of venting. There's also talk about how they got stuck in this mall because of the weird fog.

There's a light switch on the wall next to the other mystery door in the corner. ]

[cheerfuldays]

( oh since shizuku's going to the door, let her get the lights. and before she does anything else, she's going to press her ear against the door- can she hear anything? )

[vivens]

[ wow. amazing. just wow!!!

sabo loves what he's reading and this sure doesn't make things any less concerning or settle his mind any. imagine if poor shizuku did this alone, but...uh. he's going to pocket that composition book and then look at the clothes. compared to him, how big/small are the clothes?

and while there are no signs of a struggle, are their any indications that whoever was in here might have left abruptly? like things hastily moved..? also patiently waits for when the lights turns on and hopes that there isn't writing on the walls ala the secret room in portal. ]

[afflictionmods]

[ Shizuku can probably hear a bit of shuffling before it gets quiet again. No weird writing on the walls at least, but everything is pretty clear now!

Compared to Sabo, the clothes are smaller. And yes, there are signs that someone might have left abruptly with the way the composition book was left open; a pencil was probably left haphazardly next to it; the blankets are also messily on the mattress though that could've just been laziness. ]

[cheerfuldays]

( if shizuku squeaks, no she didn't. in a whisper- )

Sabo! I heard something!

[vivens]

[ it's okay shizuku...

but hmm given how she's whispering, sabo will be careful as he makes his way over towards her making sure that he's light on his feet. though on his way over, aside from the furniture, snacks, and etc that they saw earlier, are there new items that they suddenly can be aware of?

also in a hushed voice: ]

What did you hear?

[ they can talk about the writing later. ]

cw minor mentions of alcohol

[afflictionmods]

[ There's a pair of sunglasses on top of the clothing.

There's also a water flask, a few water bottles and a bottle of booze.

There's suddenly a voice from behind the door: ]

What do you want?

[vivens]

[ oh. well. i guess a voice speaking back to them works too??

also drinking alone in a dark room with the doors barricaded is a choice that says a lot about a person. which also makes sense given what was written in the composition book. either way, sabo will very carefully but in a casual and friendly voice reply. ]

Nothing! Or, well, perhaps a little chat. I'm Sabo.

[ he'll gesture for shizuku to introduce herself. ]

[cheerfuldays]

( ?!?!?!?!

but also. a living person is so much better than the other opportunities that definitely did not come to mind because amity binge reread school-live last week, nope. shizuku takes a second to compose herself and then speaks. )

My name is Shizuku. We were brought to this town a few days ago.

[afflictionmods]

I-I don't care who you are! You're -- you're not welcome here.

[ She sounds more scared than anything, but her tone is unpleasant nevertheless. ]

If you want my stuff, just fuckin' take it. I'm not gonna fight you over that.

[vivens]

[ he'll give a slight thumbs up to shizuku for getting over her nerves. as for our scared npc friend who clearly wants them gone... ]

No, I imagine that we're not, and we don't want your stuff. [ we're ignoring how sabo already pocketed the composition book. ] But maybe there's something we can do for you. Something that we can do to help each other out.

You've been in here a while, right? —ah. I'm sorry about going through your things. If I had known you were here, I would have asked.

[cheerfuldays]

... We don't want to hurt you. I'm sure that sounds hard to believe, with what you must have gone through. But we truly mean you no harm.

( she doesn't even have to try to sound soothing and sympathetic- she already is! )

[afflictionmods]

[ ... ]

Help each other out, huh. What do you want and what are you giving me in exchange?

[vivens]

[ bless this progress. ]

I'd like to get to know you better and perhaps compare our stories. You're trapped in the mall because of the fog, right? Shizuku and I don't have the same limitation. We're able to leave the mall and can bring you supplies.

[ hmm... what to barter.... ]

Like freshly prepared meals to eat.

[cheerfuldays]

Or fresh clothes, perhaps?

( she noticed a distinct lack of clothing stores at this mall (sideeyes mall quality tbh) after all! and wearing the same thing day in and out is... hmmmm. how do you say.... fucking crusty. )

[afflictionmods]

[ There's a pause as she considers this. ]

...Fine. If I tell you one small thing, bring me something small from somewhere that isn't this mall. A shirt or something. Deal?

[vivens]

Deal. I'm sure Shizuku can find something nice for you to wear.

[ since sabo has his very obvious style of dress and he's certainly no idol. as for the question to ask.....

god that's so many that are worth asking, sadly he doesn't have the knowledge about the spheres from shizuku's newspaper but maybe npc-chan will be kind enough to allow a gentle two-part question?? ]

Now then, I hope that you could tell us a bit about why you've barricaded yourself in this room. Is there something out there we should be aware of?

[cheerfuldays]

( shizuku looks up at sabo as he speaks and then gasps- )

Those spheres mentioned in the newspaper...?

( ...less an intentional two-parter, honestly. )