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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.
adventure! adventure!
Ah...Don't hang me by my ankles! All my blood would rush up into my face because I'd be upside down and I really couldn't deal with going gray like that! [Despite the cringing complaint, they do actually accept his hand with only mild hesitation. Nice to meet you, sir. Crona is just like this. ]
Has this void always been here?
VOIDTIME
[No, no, Crona, not you! Others, though...]
Not to worry. Unless for some reason you're responsible for this, which I doubt you are, I won't harm you. And... as far as I'm aware, it hasn't been. My memory of this place doesn't go that far back, but I believe this is a... [Lucifer makes a face, disgruntled,] ...new feature to our lovely school.
[Crona takes Lucifer's hand and Lucifer goes a step further, pulling on it and then scooping Crona into a bridal carry, which is probably the safest way for them both to get through the void in one piece. This kid weighs literally nothing, damn.
It's difficult but not impossible to get up off the ground when he's indoors, and it takes a solid minute of Lucifer beating his wings until they're airborne and shooting off into the depths of the void-torium, which...]
Ah. Those must be the infamous shadow-people everyone kept going on about.
[Is it him, or is the auditorium, er, also falling apart? That bodes well. The shadows are shuffling about below them, but Lucifer doesn't exactly go down there, not yet.]
From what I recall, not only does time slow down within this space, but the shadows shouldn't attack us as long as we don't try attacking them and as long as we aren't severely injured.
no subject
[They let out a bit of a yelp with Lucifer grabs them but at least they don't wiggle enough to get dropped into the void. ] Shadow people? H-huh? [ They peak over his shoulder. ] Wah...
If only I had my blood...I could hit them from up here and then we wouldn't have to deal with it. [ They cock their head downward, gripping Lucifers shoulder with a single white knuckled hand. ] Do they do anything? When we aren't here?
no subject
The shadows are apparently those of students who go to school here. That seems to be the working theory, anyway. [Beat.] According to Moriarty, attacking them gets one in trouble, so you using your... blood magic, I presume, would only get us killed. Best not to disturb them. He had mentioned last month that leaving the shadows alone means they'll leave us alone in kind.
[But there's also the small issue of...]
There was an argument at the time of the meeting, [Lucifer keeps descending lower, finding nothing but empty void as he talks,] and the discussion at hand was about how the shadows come after people who are near death. So, to reiterate... don't fight them, and don't find yourself dying within this space.
[And maybe don't come in here without someone to fly you around. Lucifer is now searching for a wall within this space, but he can't even find the floor even though he's descended long past where the auditorium floor should be. It would be trivial to throw someone into this space and have them fall for eternity, dying slowly of dehydration...
Crona doesn't seem like a killer, but Lucifer still doesn't share that. No one needs any ideas.]
no subject
[The flying is going on so long, Crona's stopped being freaked out as much and started getting bored. They keep peeking over Lucifers wings. ]
The school doesn't go this deep, hm hm. So weird haha. Do you think it goes down forever? Forever is kind of hard to deal with.
no subject
[Which is to say, "forever is hard to deal with" is not something Lucifer necessarily agrees with, partly because he's been alive too long to care. Demons have lifespans, of course, it's just that they're obnoxiously long. Lucifer likes to think that his grey hairs aren't a result of age and are actually just because he's constantly stressed.]
...you're right when you say this school doesn't go down this deep. I can't speak for how deep we are, but surely there's an end to this somewhere.
[Because logically, there's an end to all things. Nothing is infinite. Not the lifespan of demons nor angels, not the known universe, not time as philosophical concepts know it, and certainly not this void. But the deeper they go, the more Lucifer starts to feel like maybe some things are truly infinite. It's quiet. Silent. Silent like the library is at all hours of the day, silent like how he would expect the vacuum of space would be. Eerily fucking quiet.]
We're going to go back up. [He decides in a voice just above a murmur.] Hold on tight.
no subject
Or maybe we aren't in the school anymore? [ They tap his wing. Ooh, feathers. ] Maybe we're somewhere else, like magic. Just a place the other school leads to. Maybe this is what's outside the school. Nothing forever.
[ Its unclear if they're right or wrong. As they go deeper...nothing continues to happen. ] I can't deal if you drop me! So....don't!
no subject
"Nothing's forever" indeed, but...
[But he's not sure how safe it is to keep flying into eternity, or theoretical eternity, so a few beats of his wings have the two shooting back up to the exit. Once they're out of the auditorium proper, they won't have exited the void
if I am remembering Ori's lore rightbut they'll be able to walk through the rest of the void school, find a mirror, and get out. Or so Lucifer's heard, anyway. This is his first visit.Lucifer makes a point in not dropping Crona, though. They're safe with him. They weigh like nothing, and so long as they're not tickling his wings, they're not in any danger. After what feels like another eternity, Lucifer sees the auditorium doors approach and flies back through them.
Void school is void school. Dark and decrepit and filled with shadowy people, but once he can land on the floor, he does so, setting Crona down gently.]
Now, according to other students who have visited this place, all we need to do is find a mirror — perhaps one of the bathrooms — and break it to leave. From what I was also understanding about the shadow people, [who are leaving them alone, thanks to no one being grievously injured,] if you walk through them, they make you feel as though you're dying slowly. I believe it was Clamor's... son? who said that.
[
haha wolfie makes fun of their own characters]no subject
They plop onto the ground with a small yelp, no matter how gently Lucifer tries to let them down. Crona is very well acquainted with being tossed around floors. Gravity is never their friend. They look up at lucifer, rubbing their head a bit with wide eyes. ]
Dying? I don't want to die, even if its slow! My blood is black, you know? Bleeding out is really cold and horrible and I don't have Ragnorok here to yell at me to get up, so I wouldn't make it.
no subject
Two questions. [he'll help Crona up after they plop, because he's a polite old man at least, and once Crona is up they can go wander through the darkness (oh boy!) in search of a mirror.] Firstly, why is your blood black? Secondly, who is Ragnorok? A friend of yours, perhaps?
[Teeeechnically that's three questions, Luci.]
no subject
My blood is black because Lady Medusa did something to me! It's something she made, she's a scientist, I guess? It's supposed to make me strong and give me access to madness. [ They trot along after him in the darkness, the sound of their shoes echoing down the shadowy halls. ] Ragnorok is also in my blood! He's my weapon partner. I think he used to be a person once...? Lady Medusa never really explained. He's really mean...but he's not here right now so I can't summon him or control my blood.