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

[cheerfuldays]

I know who I am. It just doesn't mean anything.

( an idol... someone to spread hope. joy. bring smiles.

what a waste of time, honestly. nothing lasts forever.

and the alarms are sounding, certainly. unfortunately, shizuku doesn't really care. )

Will it now... I don't really care what you do.

( 'so do as you wish'. )

[exofractured]

[If Phantom could actually throw a punch, he'd certainly be trying right now. The smirk gets a little scowl, which is very deserved.]

Ah, yes. Because they've shown themselves to be so trustworthy.

[Marcus is being so reassuring.]

Is there a particular reason for that insipid grin, or are you just enjoying anything that inconveniences me?

[ignihidden]

[also RIP to Riku considering that hoodie probably hasn't been washed in two weeks]

That's right-! [putting his head down and whispering more,]

There are mob enemies everywhere and the door is locked... s- so it's stealth time...

[undertakings]

[Okay, you know what. If there's some shattered glass lying around from some of the broken cases, he'll take that and just yeet it out into the void first.

Can't believe more void experiments are happening in another game.]

[catarou]

[ ......

Gentaro lets out a deep, bone-tired sigh. ]

It is unwise to declare a near-stranger your friend, especially in a place such as this. Stressful situations bond people together quickly, but that makes those bonds easier to break.

[cheerfuldays]

Of course I will.

( in her mind and in her heart- he's a friend now. no matter what, as far as she's concerned, there will always be a connection, in this life, in this world, and the next. after a moment, she digs into her pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. )

Here, dry your eyes. I have some water too.

[cloudalike]

Yes - [ If by speak, you mean whack them with his umbrella or slapping talismans all over their faces. ] - I have some questions for them, if... they're real I suppose?

[partymagician]

[ He hates this, mostly because he has struggled with those same things and often still feels them.

It's strange having to talk to someone else with those same feelings. He's been turned on so many times in his life, all for a variety of reasons. And even though he thinks most of those reasons were his fault... ]

Doesn't loneliness only magnify the pain you've experienced from others?

[herlocksholmes]

...now what is this? What do you intend to write on the wall at a time like this?

[Yeah, this seems...this doesn't seem right. It's abnormal enough to get Sholmes to stop and approach]

[partymagician]

[ Fai just barely dodges that and he takes an opportunity to try and sweep at Hien's feet to knock him down. ]

You didn't answer my question.

[selfconcept]

[ Shizuku has several factors that are working in her (survival) favor:

1. Hien is desperate to have things be fine.
2. Injuring Shizuku would contradict having those things be Fine.
3. She's a child in his eyes.
4. That hollowness she exhibits gives him a lot of conflicted emotions. ]

Not even if I stab your face?

[ Absolutely a bluff. ]

[partymagician]

It does matter. You're a sweet girl that should be checking in on everyone right now.

[ He doesn't know what to say to everything going away... it's unsettling. ]

[ignihidden]

... honestly...

[his tone is shifting to something more spiteful but it loses a lot of its impact when it's said through a runny nose and tears]

... he played his cards too early, that he had something to hide, it's not even like I've figured it out...

[he grumbles, bitterly]

Whatever he cares about, it's clearly not me.

[vivens]

[ ... ]

But I did. [ he'll snap back instantly and his grip will become vice-like. ] I couldn't remember anything about you until it was too late. I forgot all about us. Never again though. I won't ever forget.

[ more distantly and he looks back to the wall. ]

It's why I don't want to be forgotten. I can't just be something lost. A fuzzy picture—a feeling that was just out of reach...

[escardos]

[ well that's a whole lot of self-deprecation that flat doesn't really know what to do with or really care about.

anyways-- ]

So you're trying to dig a hole through the wall because you're sad that eventually nobody will remember you? [ again, just a really pitying smile. ] Then maybe you should have become an actor instead, Mister-Sabo-that's-totally-not-possessed-by-a-ghost.

[exofractured]

[Phantom eyes Xingqiu for one more moment. But he doesn't see how this could be a prank setup, so he does lean in to take a look.

You know what? He's not even surprised. It's that kind of night.]

The missing locals, or a previous class just like ours, I wonder.

ghoul lint is real...... the real menace

[unsinksyourship]

[At least corner trap crystal fiend isn't dropping all of its crystals everywhere, unlike SOME litterers we could name -- that said, Tamamori has never been particularly lucky a day in his life... so it stands to reason that Tamamori(?) is now experiencing the same thing. Boy, Tamamori(??) is experiencing so many things right now.

Which is why it takes him several moments even to react to the other ghoul accosting him, eyes narrowed in suspicion as he whirls around, yet never even beginning to step off his trail. He's dedicated. He's committed. He's a lieutenant ghoul general of duty and discipline. Anyway:]

I've never heard of you! GRIMNIIIIR!! And I bet you can't control the tempest, the cyclone, or the war now, can you?

I may not be an exorcist, and I may not be a fighter, and I may not even be able to lift a sack of rice without spending an hour limbering up first. But! I can assure you that there is no ghost nor ghoul nor fiend nor demon that can out-talk me. They don't call me Tamamori-sama the Talk of the Town for nothing!!

[cheerfuldays]

( he can hold it out, but she doesn't take it. she stands there listlessly, watching... or maybe simply looking in his direction. )

... That's not in me anymore. It sounds bothersome and draining. I'm empty enough.

( at least she's admitting it, instead of simply not caring to say anything. )

B-2

[herlocksholmes]

[Suddenly, a hand grips Idia's wrist with the shard, and squeezes hard. Sholmes appears out of nowhere]

Enough of this, Mr. Shroud.

[Carefully but firmly, he attempts to move that hand away from the arm]

[imitationsoul]

[ "Miach" stops in her spinning when approached by Flat, smiling a hard-to-read sort of smile. ]

How to stop having my head invaded by the people running this place, naturally.

[ She seems rather satisfied with that, but it's not joy. Just a cold smugness. ]

[afflictionmods]

[ He'll essentially see what Shin sees here and feel a more toned down version of the bad vibes, since the hole is much smaller than the doorway.

Seems like this is what's waiting for them beyond this particular museum. ]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien was just so angry and seething at what Fai said that he's distracted enough to be knocked down. ]

I don't want to hear anything else. It hurts. It hurts me. It'll be fine if I try again and you just try to strike me down?

[ He grabs the knife again and tries to stab Fai wherever he can reach. ]

[mirrite]

[Here he just shrugs a little, as if Hien is talking about something utterly inconsequential to him.]

We're here to help deal with whatever's going on. That's the priority right now. Then again, it might be fun to let loose a little...

[fabulation]

...Yes. It was difficult to maintain my usual self in the midst of all that, but your words acted like a bridge to allow me to pull my punches, so to speak.

[ Xingqiu fixes Chongyun a smile of his own, sitting up, though his gaze does linger, as he watches him check for bruising. When there's no hint or expression of pain, he relaxes a bit. ]

Thanks to you, of course.

It's good to be back.

[selfconcept]

Is him caring about you more important than how the rest of us care about you?

[ It's not said in an accusatory tone, but he wonders if this is what Idia wants. ]