04 - week four

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[unsinksyourship]

[This fine morning, those with eagle eyes or good timing may find that they have a brand-new method of transportation out of the lower campus! This is one of those old-timey streetcars, but with less old: the outside is shinier than you'd expect, and while it trundles along noisily it's not the creaking of age.

The streetcar seems to run principally to the museum district, where a light rain mists over everything and a very peculiar edifice has made its appearance nearby; the doors are thrown wide, allowing you to see the enticing selection of old books, most of it in Japanese. The interior is beautiful and full of colors and the smell of old books -- you could browse for a while, or you could even explore. There's also a very large stack of books on the floor in front of the counter, for some reason.

Notably, if you're here particularly early, the patched shoji screen door at the back of the shop is slightly ajar -- investigating it will bring you to the shop's back rooms, which seem to have been... ransacked? Or someone just went through knocking things askew and rummaging around the tatami, kicking the teakettle to one side like some kind of barbarian. There isn't even all that much here to mess up, just all of that and Tamamori, sitting at the low table in the middle staring sort of blankly at the opposite wall with his mouth slightly ajar.

He's never up this early, so maybe the silly expression is lack of sleep; it seems irritated somehow, but low-key irritation is one of his staples anyway.]

Hmph. This place could have had the decency to have some real secrets.

[Somehow, though... someone answers him. From above:]

Tamamori-saan... I don't think the Boss is here! I haven't seen anybody in here at all, not even Haruhiko-san or any of the others! So, can I read now? Can I?!

[If you happen to look up at this point... you will see a strangely humanoid frog clinging to the ceiling -- he's about the size of a watermelon at the moment -- looking down with pleading eyes that would be more fitting on a puppy dog than an amphibian. When he realizes you've seen him, Frog Man screams and falls off the ceiling.

........ Later on! Tamamori may also be found in the messy and somewhat dusty room on the second floor, cooing at the small goldfish in its bowl. Saying things like, Goldfish! I didn't think I'd see you again! I was thinking of naming you if you lived more than two days this time. or occasionally clumsily pointing a polaroid camera at it.



Later still, when Umebachidou loses what charm it had or Tamamori gets tired of dealing with it, you might run into him in the streetcar itself reading on the way somewhere, rain nearly always hitting the windows like stormclouds following the tracks; or you could stumble upon the other new attraction on its route, the beautiful and colorful Café Éclair. Here, you'll see Tamamori messing around in the kitchen trying to make coffee (presumably) or poking at the gramophone with careful movements...]

Mm, it's just the same, it's almost disappointing! If this were really a dream or a vision, I'd be able to read these discs or the coffee would be brought out by a cute waitress.

But this will have to do. Frog Man!

[... Frog Man walks out of the back at some point in a waitress costume. Don't ask.]

[OOC: ALMOST FORGOT TO NOTE but here's some more detailed/supplemental info on Tamamori's dreamscape stuff!!]

Cafe eclair

[selfconcept]

[ Hien got out of the tent in the courtyard to take a walk. Fresh air. At some point, he ends up near Cafe Eclair and then spots the Frog Man in a waitress costume. He squints.

... ... ...

??????? ]

The fuck is this.

[unsinksyourship]

Hawawa-- Ah-- A-A-A customer!!!

[It's almost a shriek, but in that weird high school girl register with a hint of croak(???); Frog Man attempts to shrink reflexively, gets lost in the folds of the costume and ends up just kind of looking like a smaller frog in a waitress costume.


He rolls sideways a bit sadly, all tangled.]

Tamamori-san... This really is a little embarrassing... [Tamamori looks over with his eyebrows raised, spots the frog and the interloper both looking like somebody just died and/or paraded a frog out in pleats, and snickers slightly] Well, you're just going to have to get used to people seeing you any which way. If you're not embarrassed about being naked, you shouldn't be embarrassed in any costume!

[...... He's apparently just going to treat this like a normal occurrence.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien squints at Tamamori, then at the Frog Man... then back at Tamamori. He has... well, he would have a lot of questions if his head was clearer, but he doesn't. Instead, he walks over to the Frog Man and tries to pick him up like he's picking up a longcat nya. ]

Is this your pet, Tamatama?

[unsinksyourship]

[The tiniest Thank yoouuu, Hien-san! comes from somewhere in all the fabric and apron; so at least it seems to be a rather polite longfrog of some sort. Frog Man grows a little bigger, though not big enough again to make him hard to carry, and peeks out at him with shy huge frog eyes.

His frog skin is all cool and shiny, like a mushroom.]

I don't have such weird taste in pets, you know! [Tamamori replies immediately, at the same time that Frog Man opens his mouth and attempts to introduce himself, so they end up talking over each other--] I'm not a pet! I'm Frog Man, and I was born from Tamamori-san's stories!! It's nice to serve you!

[selfconcept]

[ Hien tries to fix up Frog Man's waitress outfit back on him and looks over to Tamamori while doing so. ]

You're a creator?? You?

[unsinksyourship]

H-Hien-san, that tickles...!

[Due to his current (somewhat awkward) size, it probably feels a little like he's dressing up a weird frog doll. The dress is still way too big, though. Frog Man extends his arms out like noodles, and they grow like noodles, too. Now he's a frog coat hanger(??) this is going great.

He's helping!!

Tamamori, meanwhile, has bristled instantly like a cat meeting aluminum foil, which might be what Hien sounds like.]

W-What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm a creator! I've always been a creator!! I even bothered to contribute to the newspaper for this week, busy as I am...

[selfconcept]

Just bear with it a little more.

[ Frog coat hanger... cute. Hien still tries to help Frog Man with the outfit and when he thinks he's done, he gently sets him down on the ground. ]

Oh, right. You wrote those, huh? What are you busy with anyway?

[ ... ]

So it wasn't you who wrote the story with me and Idia, huh.

[unsinksyourship]

[Once he's set down, Frog Man cheerfully but carefully grows back to his original humanoid size, so all the fixing means he looks like a proper waitress now. He does a little bow that's supposed to be cute but looks very silly paired with his frog self and the waitress ruffles.]

Thank you!! Hien-san!! I'm supposed to be helping with the coffee today, so if there's anything you wanted...!

Oi, Frog Man! When did I say you were going to be serving anybody else? It's nice to meet you for him. Maybe. [Tamamori is still huffy about before, or maybe Hien just raises his hackles in general, is it really surprising; the aroma of coffee is starting to waft from over there, though] I'm very busy figuring out how everything works, obviously, and dealing with hauntings! And doppelgangers!! And you people!! They keep adding new things... and even more things this week... and now this guy won't stop being a pain in the neck.

Ehhh, but I'm just doing what you said, and I'm being nice to the guests...

[Well, now you have a blubbering Frog Man on your hands.....]

[unsinksyourship]

Neither of us even work here... And why would I write a story about you and Idia?? Not to mention, that thing was total nonsense?

[He sounds vaguely insulted on top of his already-insulted. If Hien wasn't getting coffee before he definitely isn't getting coffee now.]

[selfconcept]

You make it sound like it's personally your problem.

[ Hien seems lax about it and gently pats Frog Man's head. ]

Can you get me a cup of coffee? Black, please.

you know where

[teidaisei]

[ Before the appearance of Frog Man proper, or rather when he's not within immediate sight (because if Kawase walked into the cafe and immediately saw frog man in a waitress costume this thread would get more derailed than when the Giant of Umebachidou pushed it off the tracks), Kawase enters much like he usually does, probably close to the time he usually does between classes. He does a quick cursory look around just to see if the cafe looks to be empty, and then sits down at their usual booth, looking over to wherever Tamamori is. ]

If you're the one making coffee, I'd rather drink the water from the puddles.

[unsinksyourship]

[There is no Frog Man in a waitress costume (for now), but be assured he's doing his best somewhere in the background of this thread. Luckily, the mellow tones of French jazz cover up whatever is happening in the kitchen as Tamamori mumbles and grumbles and tries to work the coffee grinder or whatever.

He does glance up when Kawase traipses in like they're still back in Kandagawa; but there's no one else here. The sole customer gets treated to a glower.]

What was that?? Are you saying you want to man the kitchen??

[teidaisei]

[ He rummages in his pocket for a cigarette, striking a match in short order to take a long drag. An exhale later, this scenery really is like home, smoke and all. ]

You're the only one who eats here. But I'll treat your cooking the same as your writing. If you make something edible, I'll eat it. If you don't, it can still be fertilizer.

[unsinksyourship]

How did this go from coffee to me cooking?!

[It really is like home, complete with the sounds of Tamamori screeching ineffectually in the background -- the one thing that might be unusual is that it's noisier in the kitchen... but that might be down to his inexperience with this sort of place. It's certainly five times fancier than anything he's ever worked with.

... Honestly, it's kind of interesting, in the same way that all of the appliances and thingamajigs in the cafeteria have been intriguing even if he only bothers to make anything when he doesn't feel like trying some of the bizarre instant foods or the ready-made things or mooching off of someone else.]

... I'd only cook for myself. If you beg, I might let you have a bite or two!! That way no food gets wasted, either.

[It's foolproof....]

[teidaisei]

[ That's his line, Tamamori. ]

It's too bad Minakami isn't here, he would eat glue if you told him you made it. Then you wouldn't need to worry about waste. [ He refuses to beg, of course. He's perfectly content with living off of cigarettes and the coffee he makes himself, considering he doesn't have access to his own kitchen.

Healthy diets are for people who want to live long. ]

[unsinksyourship]

[Two can play at this game of whatever the hell they're playing.

Tamamori bristles up like a hedgehog that's just had all its spines brushed in the wrong direction. The kitchen gets even noisier, because he's slamming stuff around now; but it sounds like he's still working, possibly now out of spite.]

M-Minakami wouldn't eat glue! And I would never feed anybody anything less than edible, you're just pickier than at least 99% of all people on earth!!

Ka-wa-se-san. [comes a small, but oddly assured voice he's never heard before; there's now a frog peeking out from behind the gramophone, its noodly arms folded on the counter] He would make it, you know! If you asked nicely! Tamamori-san is lazy, but he's always answered-- BFWAH.

[Tamamori mutters something about meddlesome frogs and their big frog mouths as he concentrates on squashing Frog Man behind the counter, to high-pitched protests and an odd noise like a leaky balloon.]

umebachidou, early morning

[undertakings]

[Considering he's probably read a good number of the texts that were already available at the school bookstore, it's probably only natural for him to wander into Umebachidou at some point (while it exists, anyway) to browse through the shelves. And while he'll still pick at some of the works in Japanese, he'll gravitate towards any books that seem to be written in English.

But at some point, he will draw close to the backroom once he hears whatever rustling and noise is going on in there, only to see the rather absurd sight of Frog Man hanging out on the ceiling. The whole comical display is enough to make him raise an eyebrow as he tries to figure out... what exactly is going on here.]

What is that?

[A pointed glance at Frog Man which is probably rude but whatever!!]

[unsinksyourship]

[Ah, Tamamori thinks vaguely, of course Umebachidou is open today -- it's raining, after all.

And then he realizes that's completely absurd because it's not like it's raining anywhere else (except possibly where the streetcar is, which is also absurd); but for a moment despite everything he had completely forgotten how much things had changed -- the more things change, the more they stay the same, the more he forgets how the days have passed (or not passed).]

Mm? Do you see something besides how unhelpful these back rooms are...? [he starts, but Frog Man finishes from his splat position on the tatami:] T-Tamamori-san!! I feel like he can see me, he can definitely see me!

... Don't be ridiculous, why would anyone be able to see you??

[undertakings]

I can hear it talking as well.

[Just in case Tamamori truly needed that confirmation!! And if Frog Man needed it, maybe.]

Is it a spirit?

[As if on cue, the hollow ghoul that’s still chilling with him clips through Shin from behind to peek at Frog Man. Look, Fido can’t fit in the bookstore so this will have to do.]

[unsinksyourship]

[... Well, Frog Man gives an even louder shriek at the sight of the ghoul, rolling in a terrified tizzy all the way across the room and right behind Tamamori like a very strange, very hollow drum. There he shrinks down small enough to fit into the palm of one's hand, that is he just shrinks down out of sight.

There's a tiny yelling now:]

I'm not a spirit! I'm not one of those scary things either!! [so, confirmation he's not a ghoul, at least..... Tamamori looks between the frog and the ghoul kind of dead-eyed like: really?] I mean, I knew all the exorcisms didn't go so smoothly, but why are you still lugging that around?! No wonder you can see hallucinations, too.

By the way-- [in a slightly less dead voice, because there is Some Concern here] --that's not going to come after us, is it?

bookstore...

[vivens]

[ sure, sabo could do some further exploration of the newly formed environment to get a better understanding of what is going on but that's absolutely not what happens. he sees books and that's it for him...especially given that these are books that he can somewhat make heads or tails of. it's not perfect science but a hell of a lot better than reading the language here.

or otherwise, presenting to you one sabo lastname who is part taking in one of his better favorite past times: being a nerd aka reading. ]

[unsinksyourship]

[Perhaps this will be the true formation of the book club........ Tamamori has absolutely no intention of establishing a group, especially at Umebachidou, but people starting to congregate here is perhaps inevitable.

There's a quietness that seems to soak into the building like the raindrops, an excellent atmosphere for reading -- and possibly for jumpscares. Eventually Sabo will sense some kind of presence over his shoulder; if he were to look over, there would be a frog the size of a smaller human(????) paused in the midst of browsing the next bookshelf looking at him with wide eyes. Even if he doesn't, the frog will hiss to someone not currently visible:]

T-T-Tamamori-san!! We have a customer! We have so many customers today...! [it seems like Tamamori might be on the other other side, since his voice filters through the books, slightly hushed in the library-like atmosphere but not by much] It's not customers, Frog Man, I don't work here anymore, and you never worked here in the first place!

But... I was born here?

[The frog seemingly gets absorbed in the conversation, forgetting to keep its high-pitched froggy voice down. Maybe the name or the mannerisms are familiar to Sabo, who knows!]

frog...man...book store

[goodfaiths]

[ Naturally, Riku would find himself wandering into this strange little book shop that's appeared in the museum district. It's reminiscent of home, in a way; certainly old-fashioned, but it's interesting, so he decides to check it out.

While walking around the store, he catches a glimpse of Tamamori in the back. He grins and greets him: ]

Tamamori-san! Hello-

[ But the presence of another voice, another being startles him. That is...that is a frog on the ceiling. Oh my god. ]

...Huh?!

[herlocksholmes]

.......

[Sholmes was curious about what was going on. He was exploring this new café, entering to take a nice and long look, and instead he finds Tamamori cooking, and a frog with a waitress costume. It's a ridiculous enough scenario for Sholmes to wonder what he just walked into.

Wow]

Now what's this nonsense I'm witnessing, Mr. Tamamori? Who is the frog fellow?