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June Event
hello
You open your eyes.
And you scream.
Four long gashes tear your sleeve to ribbons and arm to searing pain, something sharp clamps down on your ankle and sinks into flesh and bone, down the hall another student dangles half a foot off the ground with their hair slowly separating from their scalp, and littered across the floor are bodies pooling blood and occasionally twitching— not in a last bid for life, but in the way strips of skin and muscle and fabric pull away from a person's limbs when several dozen invisible hungry imps have decided they don't want to be banished and would rather feast on the blood of their enemies if that's what it takes to survive.
For every instance of blood that touches the floor, the school pitches and transforms into a dilapidated version of itself, what npcs that were in the hall with you turning into shadow versions of themselves and taking hold of the fallen bodies to drag them to the auditorium. There, the empty room is pitch black. There, the threshold at the doorway crumbles and expands with each shadow that stands and feeds the void another sacrifice. In this school, in its darkness and its silence and its faceless students that cannot be touched, you may at least find some reprieve from the imps that do not exist, find fresh water flowing from the bathroom sinks, and scenes of normal school life playing out in the cracked mirrors that if you break even further you find that you return.
You open your eyes, and no time has passed. Something invisible tears open a student's throat, so close you can see their vocal cords bright white and vibrating as they scream. Blood splatters on the ground, and the school pitches and turns once again.
And you scream.
Four long gashes tear your sleeve to ribbons and arm to searing pain, something sharp clamps down on your ankle and sinks into flesh and bone, down the hall another student dangles half a foot off the ground with their hair slowly separating from their scalp, and littered across the floor are bodies pooling blood and occasionally twitching— not in a last bid for life, but in the way strips of skin and muscle and fabric pull away from a person's limbs when several dozen invisible hungry imps have decided they don't want to be banished and would rather feast on the blood of their enemies if that's what it takes to survive.
For every instance of blood that touches the floor, the school pitches and transforms into a dilapidated version of itself, what npcs that were in the hall with you turning into shadow versions of themselves and taking hold of the fallen bodies to drag them to the auditorium. There, the empty room is pitch black. There, the threshold at the doorway crumbles and expands with each shadow that stands and feeds the void another sacrifice. In this school, in its darkness and its silence and its faceless students that cannot be touched, you may at least find some reprieve from the imps that do not exist, find fresh water flowing from the bathroom sinks, and scenes of normal school life playing out in the cracked mirrors that if you break even further you find that you return.
You open your eyes, and no time has passed. Something invisible tears open a student's throat, so close you can see their vocal cords bright white and vibrating as they scream. Blood splatters on the ground, and the school pitches and turns once again.
hi
For each fallen student, a new one transfers in to replace them. Between the student council election and the imp infestation, more and more you seem to be surrounded by unfamiliar faces. The contrast is stark between those veteran students with bandaged arms and a limp to their stride and long sleeves and pants despite the growing heat, and those students with bright and smiling faces, the ones who coo over the cats and share their lunches with anybody who looks hungry and sit in small groups outside by the wisteria tree to chat during breaks, ignorant of what keeps it fed.
With all the new transfer students, many teachers have decided to assign group projects for their classes: poster presentations on their favorite myth or legend, short skits portraying famous historical scenes, and, everybody say thank you Cain and Kelly, taking care of flour sack babies. Projects are by homeroom and can be done in groups of 2-4, because sometimes a family is a dad and a dad and a wine aunt and a dog. The projects are all due at the end of the month, and if you're able to keep your flour sack baby from being turned into a cake or torn apart by imps, you may notice that they start to feel... warm... after one week. At the end of the second week, they begin to make short, quiet noises— a gurgle, a breath, a whine. At the end of the third week, while you're cradling the sack in your arms, you swear it moves. At the end of the fourth week, well. The project is over. Maybe it'll hatch? Let me know if you make it.
With all the new transfer students, many teachers have decided to assign group projects for their classes: poster presentations on their favorite myth or legend, short skits portraying famous historical scenes, and, everybody say thank you Cain and Kelly, taking care of flour sack babies. Projects are by homeroom and can be done in groups of 2-4, because sometimes a family is a dad and a dad and a wine aunt and a dog. The projects are all due at the end of the month, and if you're able to keep your flour sack baby from being turned into a cake or torn apart by imps, you may notice that they start to feel... warm... after one week. At the end of the second week, they begin to make short, quiet noises— a gurgle, a breath, a whine. At the end of the third week, while you're cradling the sack in your arms, you swear it moves. At the end of the fourth week, well. The project is over. Maybe it'll hatch? Let me know if you make it.
can you hear me?
The veteran students don't seem very keen on working with transfer students who make excuses about not wanting to work outside of school, but newer students are more willing, eager to meet people and get to know them and learn about the school. They gravitate towards the bulletin board to check out the class ranks, new clubs, a new section on the board with several dozen slips of colored paper tacked onto it and a little container below containing blank slips and a pen so you can add your own wishes:
That's certainly the thought as the month goes on and there are more and more wishes for the construction in the clock tower stairwell to hurry up and finish already, as the entire month of June, from 6AM to 6PM, six days a week, the sounds of drilling and hammering and screaming and sawing can be heard in the stairwell despite no construction workers being seen entering or exiting the school. The clock tower itself is inaccessible while the stairs are being taken down and replaced with a brand new elevator— veteran students are particularly grateful, because it's hard to climb stairs and go to class when your shin is splintered and a thin layer of bandage is the only thing keeping your guts from spilling out onto the floor.
In the evening after the npcs leave, characters are able to open the doors on the second and fourth floors to find... that nothing looks any different. On the first floor, however, a set of elevator doors has been installed right by the front doors, and while the button to open the doors don't work, they can be wrenched apart and entered, revealing a barren space with metal walls, a clock hung on the back wall that ticks backwards, and too many buttons on the panel by the double doors. Most buttons are white, numbered -6 to 27 though out of order and not all the numbers are there. Some are black, one is red, neither colors having symbols etched into them. None of the buttons work when pressed.
Not yet.
Wishes are meant to be granted, but... Some of the newer students make an attempt at being a little more realistic and add things like "I want the answers to next week's math exam" and "I want a pony" and do check the board occasionally, so it never hurts to leave a wish of your own.
"I want to be normal. --XX, 1-A"
"I want to live. --XX, 2-B"
"I want my friends back. --XX, 3-D"
"I want life to go back to normal. --XX, 2-A"
"I want my brother back. --XX, 2-A"
"I want more power. --XX, 1-A"
"I want to be loved. --XX, 1-B"
"I want to fix the past. --XX, 2-A"
"I want to find my family. --XX, 3-B"
"I want to be loved. --XX, 2-A"
"I want a normal life. --XX, 1-A"
"I want my brother back. --XX, 2-B""I want to see my family. --XX, 1-C"
"I want to die. --XX, 2-D"
"I want my friends back. --XX, 2-D"
"I want to fix the past. --XX, 3-D"
"I want freedom. --XX, 1-D"
"I want to live. --XX, 1-C"
"LUNCH DATE WITH IZUMI SENA!!! --XX, 1-A"
"I want to be strong. --XX, 2-E"
"I want freedom. --XX, 3-E"
"I want to live. --XX, 2-E"
"I want to die. --XX, 3-E"
"I want to remember. --XX, 3-C"
That's certainly the thought as the month goes on and there are more and more wishes for the construction in the clock tower stairwell to hurry up and finish already, as the entire month of June, from 6AM to 6PM, six days a week, the sounds of drilling and hammering and screaming and sawing can be heard in the stairwell despite no construction workers being seen entering or exiting the school. The clock tower itself is inaccessible while the stairs are being taken down and replaced with a brand new elevator— veteran students are particularly grateful, because it's hard to climb stairs and go to class when your shin is splintered and a thin layer of bandage is the only thing keeping your guts from spilling out onto the floor.
In the evening after the npcs leave, characters are able to open the doors on the second and fourth floors to find... that nothing looks any different. On the first floor, however, a set of elevator doors has been installed right by the front doors, and while the button to open the doors don't work, they can be wrenched apart and entered, revealing a barren space with metal walls, a clock hung on the back wall that ticks backwards, and too many buttons on the panel by the double doors. Most buttons are white, numbered -6 to 27 though out of order and not all the numbers are there. Some are black, one is red, neither colors having symbols etched into them. None of the buttons work when pressed.
Not yet.
it'll be alright
Until then, the clock tower can be reached as normal up several flights of stairs, the room at the very top bright and sunny with clock faces in the glass on all four sides, floorboards stained copper red and the air thick and difficult to breathe. For some, it's still worth it for the view of the wisteria tree in perpetual bloom in the courtyard below, especially as the heat and humidity of summer approaches and with it comes clouds of gnats that have taken up residence in the courtyard, hovering over puddles of light pink water left over from watering the courtyard overnight. Classes are no longer held outdoors, as teachers find it impossible to speak without gnats entering their mouths at any given opportunity, and the heat inside the school becomes near unbearable towards the latter half of the month as there is no air conditioning and teachers hesitate to open their windows. The homeroom teachers in 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C made that mistake once, opening the windows facing the courtyard and the gnats had gotten in, little homing missiles to their favorite food: blood, sweat, and tears. But if you don't cry, sweat, or bleed and aren't afraid of the gnats squeezing their way through the mesh screen in the windows, it can be nice to sit by the window and hope a breeze comes your way.
Those in classes 3-A, 3-B, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, and all of the first year classes can find that they're able to open the windows in classrooms 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C to enjoy the breeze, but find an invisible barrier blocking their way and preventing any part of them from reaching out into the open space. 3-A, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, 1-B, 1-D, and 1-E are able to remove the screen and exit through those windows facing the courtyard, keeping in mind it is the 3rd and 4th floors and they will have to climb back up to reenter the school. 2-C, 1-B, and 1-D can go a step further and find that the front door to the school opens for them, except when they try to leave, they run into an invisible barrier, unable to take another step out the door. But they can stand there and take in the sight of the school gates in the near distance, of the forest just beyond, of the npc students slipping past them on their way to and from home. At this threshold it is chilly despite the heat that smothers the school in waves, the air is fresh, invigorating, and when the sun passes overhead you swear you can feel it staring.
Those in classes 3-A, 3-B, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, and all of the first year classes can find that they're able to open the windows in classrooms 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C to enjoy the breeze, but find an invisible barrier blocking their way and preventing any part of them from reaching out into the open space. 3-A, 2-C, 2-D, 2-E, 1-B, 1-D, and 1-E are able to remove the screen and exit through those windows facing the courtyard, keeping in mind it is the 3rd and 4th floors and they will have to climb back up to reenter the school. 2-C, 1-B, and 1-D can go a step further and find that the front door to the school opens for them, except when they try to leave, they run into an invisible barrier, unable to take another step out the door. But they can stand there and take in the sight of the school gates in the near distance, of the forest just beyond, of the npc students slipping past them on their way to and from home. At this threshold it is chilly despite the heat that smothers the school in waves, the air is fresh, invigorating, and when the sun passes overhead you swear you can feel it staring.
OOC
✽ Sometimes you summon murder imps and you gotta get rid of them yourselves. The imps are invisible unless supernatural sight (eg Nene, Clamor) or form (eg Moriarty, Sherlock) is regained, or are seen through an adder stone (possessed by Arthur, Gundham), but can still be fought either way through physical or magical means, or banished with the proper materials. They will NOT be rampaging and attacking everybody all the time, so this prompt is avoidable if you'd rather not, but they will gravitate towards 1) students who are alone, and 2) areas where there is already bloodshed happening.
✽ For the flour sack group project, groups are by homeroom and can number between 2-4 students. You may also assume npc students are part of your group if you wish.
✽ Characters may notice that physically, an elevator can't make sense without demolishing the first floor locker area, and they will have to accept the fact that not everything will make sense, and that sometimes, Ori just does not want to redraw floorplans. The elevator will be functional starting next month, maybe.
✽ Only windows in classrooms 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C can be opened by characters in classes that have gained at least one class rank to date. Those classes that gained at least one class rank last month are able to exit out the windows facing the courtyard only. Those classes with 30 or more ranks are able to open the front door to the school but not exit through it. To anybody else watching them open the door, they will see that character turn into a shadow and go through the motions of opening the door without exiting, exactly how npc students appear when they enter and exit the school.
✽ For the flour sack group project, groups are by homeroom and can number between 2-4 students. You may also assume npc students are part of your group if you wish.
✽ Characters may notice that physically, an elevator can't make sense without demolishing the first floor locker area, and they will have to accept the fact that not everything will make sense, and that sometimes, Ori just does not want to redraw floorplans. The elevator will be functional starting next month, maybe.
✽ Only windows in classrooms 1-B, 1-D, and 2-C can be opened by characters in classes that have gained at least one class rank to date. Those classes that gained at least one class rank last month are able to exit out the windows facing the courtyard only. Those classes with 30 or more ranks are able to open the front door to the school but not exit through it. To anybody else watching them open the door, they will see that character turn into a shadow and go through the motions of opening the door without exiting, exactly how npc students appear when they enter and exit the school.
no subject
[ There isn’t much in life that bothers Mikey. But the sight of seeing students torn apart before his eyes, by some invisible force… well, it doesn’t bother him as much as it should, maybe, but that’s not to say he isn’t shaken. Mikey’s known for a while that something about this school was wrong. But… seeing is believing, and actually experiencing the supernatural horror of Yogen for the first time? That’s something else entirely.
Mikey’s no stranger to fighting, but it’s difficult to fight an enemy you can’t see. So it’s no surprise when all of a sudden, he can’t help but cry out in pain as he feels something sharp tear through his flesh. Clenching his teeth doesn’t help to stop the sudden agony – instinctively, he sends a kick in the direction of where he thinks the attack came from, and he feels his foot collide with something solid, but whether it’s hurt, he has no idea.
Shit. There’s blood oozing out from a gash on his side, spreading fast and staining his clothes red. It’s not a lethal injury, but it’s not something he can ignore, either… that’s what he thinks, but even then, it’s hard to tell with the way he suddenly feels dizzy… and then, something even stranger happens.
The transformation of the school has his eyes widening in surprise, as he whips his head around, alert to any signs of danger. But all that rings out is silence. Of course, he doesn’t know that the imps are gone, so he starts backing up against a wall to protect himself better, getting ready to strike again… but a moment passes - two moments, three, and there's no sign of any kind of attack. It takes him a good minute before he can properly breathe, and take in what the hell just happened for the first time.
What was that? And… what now?
He hasn't noticed your presence yet, but he's there's a serious look on his face as he tries to process it all... and he might need some medical attention, too. ]
can you hear me?
[ It's funny, writing down wishes in a place like this. Part of Mikey almost feels like if he makes his own wish, it really might come true - after all, nothing seems to be impossible here at this school. But a much larger part of him feels the opposite way - that taking part in an activity like this is dangerous, and a bad idea. Whoever runs this school clearly doesn't have the student's best interests in mind, and he doesn't want to give them a peek into his heart like that... even the idea of writing down something he wants feels somehow like making a trade with the devil.
Still. That doesn't stop him from staring at it, almost wistfully. Maybe there's someone's wish up there that he can grant, if he tries hard enough.
When he notices you, he turns, and gives you a casual smile. ]
Have you written anything? Any wishes, I mean.
WILDCARD
[ Feel free to throw anything at Mikey here! My plurk is
hello
She takes note of another transfer student. Looking over to them, recalling having crossed paths with them before. She adjusts holding her side as she was bleeding from a flesh wound. ]
This way, before it gets to be too much.
no subject
He still doesn't know anything about her... but his intuition is telling him he should trust her, at least for now. She seems like she's genuinely trying to help, and that she knows a hell of a lot more about this place than he does. As long as he stays on his guard, it should be fine, right?
Mikey takes one more look around the transformed school before turning back to her. It's... a lot to take in, all of this. ]
Alright. Where are we going?
no subject
Have nothing but flat conscious, of pushing forward. Nanami was just that, and seeing Mikey just a bit lost. Gave her the extra push to keep moving forward. Had he not been there, perhaps she would have waited. Watched with questionable eyes to make sure she understood excatly what was going on. However the saftey of others mattered to her more, and she takes him into the bathroom. Rushing toward the room, with her hand pressing at her side and having a small limp. When the turn into the bathroom, shes points at the mirror. ]
We need to break those, and then we will go right back... Do you see?
[ On the other side of the Mirror, it looked as where they were before. "Normal." IN a sense of the word, how normal in the school were for them. ]
no subject
For now, he seems to be safe, but...
When they reach the mirror, and he's told that he needs to break the mirror to go back to the normal school... somehow, it makes sense. It shouldn't, but the explanation feels right, somehow. Yet, he can't help but hesitate. ]
If we go back, won't those things still be there? Whatever it was that was attacking us.
[ Maybe it's not such a good idea to go back? Then again, this place isn't looking particularly safe, either... ]
no subject
[ Nanami is thinking about the placement of where she were, and how this would all work out. She had attempted to escape, and were alarmed by the imps quick works in attacking her. They had also caught wiff of her hand and reopened the stiches, causing her to bleed quite a lot. She were inherently dejected a bit, but more moved to help alleviate the situation. ]
When you do... You'll end up at the last place you were before coming here... I wont see you for a bit - I was upstairs when I came here.
[ Was her attempt at trying to make aware of what was going. ]
no subject
He's still bleeding, of course. While he's been trying to keep pressure on the wound the whole time, he hasn't wrapped it up or anything... ]
One second. [ And then he takes off his blazer, wincing a bit as he does, and haphazardly wraps it around the wound as best he can. It's not exactly doing a great job, but what else is he supposed to do? ]
Are you gonna be okay? Those things are real nasty, you know.
no subject
[ Nanami looked over to the mirrors and promptly pushed her hands against it very harshly. With her body leaning into, she caused pressure and the glass broke. Immediately she phases out of existence and will wake up the moment where she were. Attempting to kick her way through the hoard of imps and panic that seemed to erupt through some of the students.
She tries to maneuver around the area, moving through the halls. Then down the stairs, eyes veering about searching for Mikey who they saw before.]
can you hear me?
[ He looks a little startled to be spoken to -- though not abruptly. More like someone who's just been spacing out for a while, now forced to process the present again by that prompt. He almost does the thing where he looks behind him first, just to check that there's no one else (or maybe he's having trouble looking at a stranger out of nowhere), but somehow he catches himself midway and then studies the person before him a little.
Like he thought... that's a face he doesn't remember from before. Not that it's not a common occurrence these days, but Shuichi wonders what kind of "transfer" exactly he is. Will it be someone stuck in the school with them, or one of the students who are able to leave? ]
No... sorry. I was just... wondering what everyone might be thinking when they do.
[ ... ]
Were you... looking to add some?
no subject
[ It seems they were both thinking to themselves a little. Mikey's still getting to know the students of this school, even though they all feel familiar, like he's known them for years - it's a strange dissonance that's hard to put into words. ]
Are you a "transfer student", too? [ He's not sure how exactly to ask if he's like him, but Amami had told him that anyone called a transfer student was in the same situation as him, so he figures it's the right way to ask. ]
no subject
...Right. Most likely... the precise kind you mean.
[ It's okay, luckily for Mikey, it's sort of Shuichi's job to be perceptive so this question is already enough for him to pick up on things. He pauses for a second, this time not to check if Mikey might not be talking to someone else, but to verify no one's listening in on them. They're still surrounded by random students around the board though, so... ]
You must have, ah... transferred pretty recently, right?
no subject
[ Or at least that's when he "woke up." Mikey, too, is a little wary of the students around them, so he doesn't want to talk about things that are too suspicious... but then again, what counts as too suspicious, anyway? He suspects that they probably know everything already. Even so... maybe a safer conversation topic would be wise. ]
I'm Manjiro Sano. You can call me Mikey. It's nice to meet you!
no subject
[ That's friendlier than he expected. It shouldn't surprise him -- and probably... were this somebody else in Shuichi's place, it wouldn't have either. This is normally how interactions between people are supposed to go, he thinks. But he's never been as good at it as other, more confident types, and maybe... this school has been getting to him more than he realizes, to the point where it takes someone new to put that into perspective.
The moment of skittish pause it gives him feels a bit embarrassing -- and it's probably also weird, so he has to address it. ]
S-Sorry... I didn't mean to space out. I just thought... it's a little impressive you're able to take everything so in stride. But... I'm Shuichi Saihara.
can you hear me?
"I want to see my family." 1-C. he's thought that word for word for years since entering the manor, and since escaping. but it was always a private, impossible wish. he doesn't like that it's right there for everyone to read. )
Not actively. But apparently this place has it's ways of finding them anyways. ... You?