02.50 - week two, saturday

[afflictionmods]

W2 SATURDAY

Like last Saturday, everyone will get an announcement on their tablets; this time, the announcement is preceded with a bell of some sort before Lorelei appears on the screen again.

"Good morning, everyone. This is an announcement to let you know that today's lesson will take place starting at 8:15 tonight. Again, today's lesson will be starting at 8:15. Please meet at the lower campus exit near the lecture by 8:00pm; Florence will be waiting for you there.

If you have a bag for some snacks and, perhaps, an item you can use for self-defense in the case of an emergency, please arrive with those things on you. We will provide you with an overview of what to expect when you arrive at 8pm.

Thank you."

The alert ends.

You have the day to prepare, ask each other what the hell is happening -- Florence and Lorelei do not seem to be available, strangely enough. There's a lot to take in with the information you have now. But before you know it... night falls.

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[ignihidden]

[Idia's many things but he's not a steady hand right now. Hien's able to smack it and the shard of glass goes skidding off against the floor.]

[Eh, huh, this sort of thing was a memorable event, wasn't it? Shouldn't he be happy, to put a memorable event in Hien's mind? So that he's not just another world and just another person? Why does he immediately feel so ashamed? Why does it feel like something that can't be building inside him right now rapidly is? It's all quickly overwhelming and Idia curls more tightly into himself, choking back something like a sob.]

[pr159]

[ oh that's terrible. ]

...I don't like acknowledging that possibility, but I suppose you could be right.

[ignihidden]

[Idia takes the picture and holds it over his chest and under his tablet.]

... eh, the other ones... [he looks over them, and none really make him feel as vulnerable, but-]

... that one.

[he points at the one featuring him and Cater]

And I don't need it so you can just tear it to shreds or something.

[cheerfuldays]

Why wouldn't I remember the faces of those who support me?

( shizuku shakes her head, speaking softly. )

You're not someone I could forget easily.

[tosa]

Looks like someone thinks everyone here is important.

(A beat. Wait. He realizes how that sounds and he tries to explain!!)

Not that we aren't! Everyone here's real precious! But I'm just saying... things're usually in museums for a reason!

[vivens]

[ sadly, sabo will not pay too much attention to how flat has his other hand in his hoodie pocket. he seems to be happy enough that flat is next to him. ]

The museum seems to have its focus on us but... It seems to lack something truly created by us. Whoever here seems to want to immortalize us without properly doing it.

[ don't mind the grip tightening on flat's wrist. it won't be too uncomfortable. ]

[ignihidden]

[he seems to understand(?) a little]

So, rather than being a place to store information on us, it's a place shaped by information of us?

[The difference is small but it means a lot. It gives a very different impression than the idea they were being stalked and documented the whole time.]

L- Like... some kind of localized metaphysical space...

[selfconcept]

[ He doesn't know if doing that got the ghost out of Idia, but seeing him like this makes him put a hand to his shoulder. ]

I won't hate you, but I'll remember you.

[ There are very little reasons to hate Idia for Hien, but he can't be bothered to hate people in the first place. ]

There will be other things you can make memories with, like the time when you drew a character that was based on me. Remember that? I thought that was pretty cool.

[cheerfuldays]

No. Never.

( the answer is immediate and warm, practically radiating love for the other girls. )

With them... we can all shine and grow. They mean the world to me, you know? ... But it wasn't all that long ago. I'll be okay, I have amazing, wonderful people supporting me. They'll help me keep my path clear this time.

[fabulation]

[ Xingqiu will note the distance, not sure if that will come in handy later or not.

But, he's going to do the following, then:

He will back up, then dash forward, and deliver a powerful kick at the spot where he chipped the wall. Then, thrust the screwdriver into the wall as hard as he can...more than a couple times. Up into about ten times.

For good measure, Xingqiu will toss the wooden pin at the spot of that wall pretty hard as well. Just to see if it will break against it or something else entirely. ]

[cheerfuldays]

Perhaps both? I just... don't understand how these could have been taken.

( she's going to have a lingering paranoia forever now, thanks. )

[imitationsoul]

[ Isn't it. ]

Maybe Flat's suggestion of all of this being a simulation while our real bodies are sleeping in a pod somewhere does carry some merit.

I actually would prefer that to magical meddling with my mind.

[ Technology she can study, find some way to rip out of herself. ]

[unsinksyourship]

I-I-I'm warning you, I'm no good to eat, I'm all skin and bones, and you don't want to possess me because-- look, you just don't. You better not! You'll regret iiiiiiit!!!!!

[Tamamori is, uh, running away from ghouls at top speed, honestly. He really regrets foreshadowing ghosts and also the museum locking them in and also everything about horror stories because what does he have right now? NOT GHOST FIGHTING STUFF. He is not an exorcist, thank you very much.

Instead, he's forced to improvise. So like, any ghoul OR possessed coming near him is getting the flashlight app shined in their face, and if that doesn't work he will........ start throwing snacks at them. Attempts are being made. Do you want chips?? Chocolate?? Candy????? Beef jerky, I don't fucking know. His pockets are deep and his arms are noodly but he might as well be a ghoul vending machine.

Of course, running around the place improvising countermeasures is all well and good, but not all ghoul problems are visible -- apparently some of these fuckers just leave bits of themselves lying around like the worst shedding snakes in existence, so eventually he steps on ghoul lint or whatever and freezes where he stands like some bizarre encore of Simon Says. Slowly, sloooowly he turns around and follows the ghost lint further down the corridor like a streetcar on its rails, a somewhat manic grin settling on his face and lighting up his eyes. Hmm. Even though he's not moving very fast, and occasionally seems to stutter in his steps like bad film, once he spots someone near him he'll nyoom and try to throw his arm over their shoulder or grab their arms.]

You! Yoooouu! You've been picked by the great Tamamori-sama's Very Special Extra Bonus Favor Gift -- if there's any trouble you've got, any trouble at all, just get down on your knees and beg me to be saved!

Why, I might even take on some of these ghouls for you. I've got at least a few more bags of chips and a bottle of Calspi left in here somewhere. I'm generous, right? I'm generous, aren't I?!

[This is fine. ☆]

[escardos]

[ ........ ]

I've always wanted to try drawing a manga, but that's not something that you put in a museum. What I'd like to put in a museum isn't here.

[ ........ ]

What do you want to put up there?

[imitationsoul]

[ There's a nod, but Miach herself doesn't seem to be put at ease by her own theory. ]

That is one theory. They seem to have picked these objects and pictures based on personal significance to us - it would be easiest to accomplish if it were born straight from our minds, right?

[vivens]

[ what negative emotion? there's nothing wrong here.... ]

Ace!

[ cue sabo immediately leaving the wall and walking closer to him, the broken pen in hand. there's a bright smile on his face. ]

What do you mean, "what happened"? [ ...oh. the wall. ] I just thought if they want to immortalize us, we should be a bit more purposeful with it.

[partymagician]

[ The rolling pin gets knocked out of Fai’s hand, clambering to the floor and rolling a few feet away. Fai just barely manages to avoid getting clipped by the grappling hook. ]

Don’t do something you would regret.

[ Unless Hien actually doesn’t care about Fai getting hurt. Maybe that’s why he’s so reckless.

…

Hm. ]

[ignihidden]

[A soft, emotional conversation in a haunted house.]

... there's always some way to be forgotten.

[he says it with a kind of certainty]

And no one would blame M'lady Shizuku. After all, there are probably ungrateful fans that forget, too. They forget, even though...

... you always remember it, don't you? "That version" of M'lady Shizuku.

[The two-sided statue. She could speak with joy about her current situation but the fact it drew her attention in the first place meant there was a darkness lurking there. And how dare some people just forget something that had caused her pain?]

[vedr]

[ Grimnir nearly collides into Shizuku, not just from avoiding ghouls on his own, but it sounded likes someone's cut-short scream was in this direction? You can't really ignore that! ]

I heard a scream, was that you?

[ Something is off, here. ]

[afflictionmods]

[
Xingqiu right now, holy shit.

Anyway. He successfully manages to create a small hole in the wall, congratulations! He earned it.

What will he do now? ]

[iubar]

[ Well, he'll take it down. But he won't dispose of it for the guy. Instead, he'll hand it over. ]

You can do what you want with it.

[catarou]

[ Gentaro's usually more alert and cautious than this, but it's difficult when he swears he sees someone he recognizes. It isn't possible. It shouldn't be possible. Rationally, Gentaro knows this is a falsehood and something meant to catch him off-guard to do... something. He is aware of this, and yet...

It does catch him off-guard to see that shock of pink hair, lollipop in hand, and Gentaro freezes the moment its gaze falls on him. It draws closer, and by the time he realizes this is not one of the people he cares for most in the world, it's too late. He doesn't even catch on to the other spirit that's been nearby. Intertwined with that deep, powerful resentment toward everyone and everything is something Gentaro feels so very often. He knows and accepts this: The world is a cruel, terrible place; why should he bother trying to connect when it will end terribly for him, like it always does? Now, in this moment, he's never hated it more.

Usually, Gentaro's expressing is calm, almost unreadable for the most part. He's had his moments here, but those are rather out of the ordinary. Anyone who stumbles across him now, though, will be met with a cold, near-hostile look. ]

May I help you? [ he asks, both mocking and indifferent. ]

[ignihidden]

[That smile makes Idia smile in kind. Yes! He feels like he selected the right dialogue option!]

Then, that's what matters now~ viva la MMJ!

[ignihidden]

[Ahh, well, that was too much to hope for. He'll start to pry the photo out of its frame to properly tear it up.]

[... it takes him a moment to realize there's something he should say]

... th- thanks.

[cheerfuldays]

It was, yes. ... There's no reason to be here, though. It's already passed.

( for all that they havent' spoken one on one, grimnir has had to have heard shizuku at least- seen her singing for the pep rally, heard her talking in passing, light and airy and full of whatever she was feeling at the moment.

this is nothing like that. if anything, she barely seems to be speaking above a whisper. )

... Do as you wish, now.