05 - week five

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FIVE

Come Sunday morning, the portals around Estelline fade away, but not all of the oddities hanging around disappear so quickly. The recreations of your dreams and memories are still around, ever changing and shifting. Whatever it is that brought these things here hasn’t ended, not yet.

You don’t have time to worry about all of that, though, even if you know you should exercise caution once two of you found yourselves on the bad end of a monster’s claws. The course still isn’t over, though, even if the portals changed lesson plans. Everything continues on, with new places to explore as the fog pushes back once again. This week still feels a little more like what you’re familiar with, though, after Saturday’s lack of lessons.

...For now.


SETTING TRACKER

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Comments

[afflictionmods]

It's not a name I picked for myself?!

[help]

I'm blocked by the fog like everyone else! I-I don't know what's happening, but it's been changing lately... so I was finally able to leave the office and come over here... And that's why I keep my snake in my office! I spend so much time there that keeping her at home would be bad, even though I know she doesn't need to eat very often! And I'm glad I do, because leaving her for a month without feeding her?! Or checking to see how she's doing?! That would make me a monster...!!

[The thunder is getting louder, and the sky is getting darker.]

[fabulation]

[ Hm... he is noticing the sudden change in weather. No comment here, just him noting it. ]

[exofractured]

[Very sorry to Kyle but this is the best test subject Phantom's seen yet! He is back with the Emotion Detector (tm) to see if it can tell him anything that isn't immediately obvious.]

[afflictionmods]

[rude but from one scientist to another he can respect this...

And, well. Unsurprisingly he is incredibly upset right now, and the main emotion seems to be panic.]

[exofractured]

[Thank you Kyle for this very important service. Helpfully:]

You may wish to calm down. I doubt any of them intends you serious harm.

[But if not, hey, that's good science too.]

[afflictionmods]

[somehow that is not very reassuring and he only begins to p a n i k more]

Everyone here seems pretty upset! Y-you tied me up!

[exofractured]

That may be on account of the kidnapping. And people disappearing.

[Helpful survey results for Kyle to take back, right? Goodness those are some panic readings, look at the little guy go.]

Nonetheless, many- [hm,] -some of those here alruists. I'm sure they won't let things escalate too far.

[afflictionmods]

I-I didn't have anything to do with you being brought here! Or anyone disappearing, for that matter, so why am I the target?!

[p a n i k]

[exofractured]

Simple. You're the first person we've seen from your institute. In future experiments, you could likely avoid this by maintaining a presence from the beginning.

[RIP sacrificial Kyle.]

Now, about this connection between emotions and your environment. Considering the emotional range a number of the students here have been through, it would seem that effect only applies to natives of your world?

[afflictionmods]

I-I'm not sure this will happen again, but... noted...

[everyone is so mean 2 him]

That... that seems to be the case, y-yes... If you haven't noticed it happening yourselves than it must not be s-something you're capable of...

[exofractured]

Hm. While I can see why that would make for a safer experiment, don't you think that limits what you could learn? You can hardly hope to apply the findings from this to your own people when you don't know what the repercussions would be on those with that ability.

[Look how nice Phantom is being?? It's like they're friends. Hostage friends.]

[afflictionmods]

There's kind of... limited subjects, though...? I mean, with the way everyone's just been disappearing there's not exactly a lot of volunteers to spare...

[they're basically bffs now except not really because kyle is still terrified]

[exofractured]

I thought perhaps it was just the university where things were so severe. How many people are left at your institute, then?

[unsinksyourship]

Didn't you say you weren't blocked? Which is it?

[Why is questioning people such a pain? Also why is the thunder being loud, how is he supposed to get anything done like this. Tamamori generally keeps an eye on the weather but he's kind of distracted at the moment.]

And are you really living in your office with no extra pay -- even I know that's just bad working conditions! You should file a complaint already! I mean, if you're even a proper organization and not some kind of weird cult or something...? [things he's heard about Camellia: not super reassuring] Besides, never mind your snake, we're the ones who've been shut up in here for a month already, you know.

[afflictionmods]

I'm blocked in that I can't just walk into the fog and get where I want to go?! How is that so hard to understand! But the fog cleared up so I'm not blocked that way!!

[this is it... clown 2 clown communication...]

Well it's not like I could leave when everyone starting disappearing?! I couldn't go back to my department and I have so much work to do anyways, that's why I was staying there so long! There's beds in Camellia, too, so it's not like I was sleeping in a chair!!

[unsinksyourship]

Hmph. Like we'd have any idea how the fog works, other than that it tastes funny and it moves! It's your job to know how the fog works, so you should do a better one!

[..... It really is clown 2 clown communication also it probably isn't his job. But Tamamori is absolutely here for yelling at Random Employee #54 about things he can't control because just being in parallel situations isn't enough to wring sympathy from him! He's not that sympathetic a guy!!]

That's what we call a workaholic, Kyle, and workaholics aren't popular. Besides, what does this project or whatever have to do with people disappearing, anyway? We've even had a few people here disappear, so who's going to take responsibility for that??

[afflictionmods]

You- you ate the fog? Why?!

[what is wrong with you, sir]

Well it's definitely not my responsibility! I just work here and I'm tryin to make sure I have enough money to be comfortable! Do you have a problem with that?! It's not like there's a lot of opportunities for someone who just got out of college so I had to take what I could get...!

[unsinksyourship]

I didn't eat it, you can't eat fog.

[That's not the point. Don't make me list what's wrong with him we'll be here until next summer.]

I have a problem with that! Obviously! You're making money off our backs being experiments or prisoners or who-knows-what, we're getting put through the wringer and almost killed and our brains are getting messed with!! [he's going to reach out and start pulling on the guy's cheeks, stretching them out, rip] You're getting off reeeaally light, I'm telling you.

[... Well, he really isn't intimidating as an interrogator, so I guess he's just here to yell.]

not really here

[teidaisei]

[ Kawase's here, though given the size of this party and his still hearing injuries, he's just been observing. And smoking.

Tamamori stretching out this guy's cheeks gets him to break his easy smile into straight up laughter instead. It's probably mildly painful for Tamamori given his condition but. Oops. ]

definitely here

[unsinksyourship]

[Ow??? Look he doesn’t care if you want to enjoy yourself at the circus but can you do it in a way that’s merciful on his midsection???? ... says Tamamori’s annoyed glance. Also are you even supposed to be smoking, that’s probably too much information to convey at a glance but still.]

[afflictionmods]

Well you know what it tastes like? Why weren't you worried about the repercussions of doing that...! You've seen what it does, right?

[please don't pull his cheeks

not that he can actually do anything to stop Tamamori because looking sad and pathetic probably isn't much of a deterrent]

I'm not making any money off of this? A-and I don't think Camellia is, either? I think funding a project like this is actually really expensive...!!

[He just works here!! And he's not paid enough to be tortured!]

[unsinksyourship]

We've walked in it, so we've breathed it! That should be worse, shouldn't it? And yet we're still here. It's not like the fog does anything besides block things anyway, hmm?

[Now he can look sad and pathetic but stretched out! It's like a funhouse mirror! Will I ever stop making circus jokes. No, they're still clowns. ☆ Tamamori is about as sympathetic as an angry housewife who's just missed the last of the beef on sale at the market. Terrible.]

You're still getting paid by the organization that's messing with us! So what you're getting now is some real fancy, real annoyed lab rats! [streeeetch this isn't as satisfying as bullying Luci on the stretchy front but it could be worse on the schadenfreude front] Mm, but what's the point of spending this much money on us...?

[afflictionmods]

Th-there's still the possibility that prolonged contact could do s-something bad to you?!

[Help. His cheek kind of hurts now? But he can't push Tamamori away so he is truly just Suffering.]

Well... well, there's still the possibility the results could... lead to better understanding and improvements...

[unsinksyourship]

Well, there's not much contact yet, so there's nothing to worry about!!

[Why are they even arguing about this. Tamamori finally seems to get tired of messing around with him and lets him go, though he apparently still isn't delivered from his wrath and harassment attempted interrogation dubiously helpful venting session.]

Hmm? What kind of better understanding and improvements? For who? Surely we won't be here long enough for an entire university to change...

[afflictionmods]

I-I'm very worried about you!

[And also himself?! Will he survive this ordeal...?!]

For... the people who live here... There's more to this world than just the university, you know! A-and... even if a lot of them are gone, if we can figure out a way to - to change everything, it might be safe again!