April event

[adsum]

full navigation

04/04, 23:56

M.Arisu

hey... anybody who's awake to see this. hope you're not having too much trouble sleeping.
get rest when you can. work together when you can.
all we can do is keep trying, but i'm hopeful for this year.
feels weird to say... but it's all going to be gone soon, so...
anyways.
see you at school tomorrow.

Any replies on the forum go unresponded, and at the stroke of midnight, the past year's worth of messages are completely gone from the PDA forum, including any sent over spring break. Hope you have a good memory if you were in the middle of a conversation! Though you should really be in ...whatever you've managed to make your bed... because tomorrow is a big day.

04/05, 06:00

The silence continues until six in the morning with the toll of the clock tower bells, and anybody near the locker area will hear two women in mid-conversation as they phase through the front doors, heels clicking on the ground: "-—didn't even have the decency to finish the job! And now I have to— oh, stop crying, for goodness' sake! I swear—" It's a one sided conversation, mostly, and one that stops short the moment the women spot the students lingering around. While the younger woman, recognizable as the assistant principal, hurriedly scrubs at her face with her sleeves, the unfamiliar older woman with the oddly dissonant voice scowls intensely. "I don't need this on the first day of school! Students trespassing over break! I can't believe it! I don't have time for this—" she huffs, shaking her head and stomping down the hall towards the faculty office. "Miss Nene, I expected better of you! And you! Miss Ritsuka— the two of you shall report to the faculty office after the entrance ceremony. I expect a full report of everybody involved. Now behave yourselves and go to the auditorium."

Goodbye...

The assistant principal is left behind and looks confused and distraught. She sniffles and ducks her head a little, draws a shaking breath and stands a little taller. "I'm so sorry. I'll hear you all out after- after this is done. Alright?" She too heads towards the faculty office, trying her best to smile at those she passes by. While they may be followed, they seem to phase through the faculty office doors which remain closed and locked, and cannot be interacted with until after the ceremony.

Until then, other students start to filter through the front door, seeking out friends and chatting about their breaks, remembering about homework and asking if anybody actually did it so they can copy off them before classes start, laughing at any mention of being locked inside the school all break because what?? that's silly. A handful of students wear yellow armbands on the left sleeve of their uniform, marking them as members of the student council, and these student council members go around finally removing the gorinto from the window sills, tossing the rocks into a bag without any apparent ill effects, and collecting the snacks in a separate bag— though they'll offer the food to anybody they pass who looks hungry enough. Which is a lot of you. One or two might give a short lecture about the importance of eating breakfast to start the day off right. Other student council members busy themselves in the locker area, posting the new homeroom assignments and updating the school calendar to reflect exam dates and breaks for the coming year, or help setting chairs out in neat rows in the auditorium in preparation for the entrance ceremony.

04/05, 08:00

The opening ceremony starts at 8, with students and staff moving to the auditorium to sit with their homeroom class, calling characters out by name and dragging them over to their seat— physically if need be, and they're much stronger than they look. Unlike the graduation ceremony, characters are not forced to come to the entrance ceremony, but the moment they take a seat, they find that they can neither speak nor get up again until the ceremony is over.

The assistant principal stands behind the podium on stage, looking rather nervous as she glances down at the watch on her wrist for it to be time, and clears her throat before addressing the room. "Yogen High welcomes you, all our new students," she pauses, beaming at the row of first year classes before her gaze sweeps over the rest of the student body, "our transfer students, our returning students, our... repeat students..." Looking at you, Norton, Gawain, Abel... "I, um. You may have noticed that I am standing in for our principal today, who is currently... unavailable... and didn't exactly leave any notes to go off of..." She wilts a little, but trucks on nonetheless and continues the address, promising that the teachers will pass along any important announcements, expressing her belief in the potential of young minds, and wishing everybody a fulfilling school year. The ceremony concludes in a little under an hour, and the spell binding the students to their seats is broken, allowing everybody to rise and leave.

School lets out for the rest of the day with classes starting the next morning, and while many students take the opportunity to leave, some linger around the school. Gossip is flying already with news of the transfer students caught breaking into the school over break and what punishments they might get, rumors of what happened to the principal ranging from a family emergency to hospitalization to death, complaints about the water pipes not getting fixed over break, and general excitement over upcoming events listed on the bulletin board by the lockers, in particular new club advertisements, fortune telling ads, and a Charity Auction to be hosted the Monday after Golden Week next month.

April

School is school... The first thing teachers ask at homeroom Tuesday morning is for students to hand in their spring break homework. Didn't do it? You're on their shit list now. Characters are not forced to attend class, but patrolling faculty and student council members will heckle any truant students into going and can be a pain to deal with. Classes aren't taught terribly, though. The second year math teacher has a knack for easily digestible explanations, even if she writes and erases the board a bit too quickly to copy. The third year literature teacher combines weekly analytical essays with film studies, and is showing Child's Play, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Silence of the Lambs, and Where the Red Fern Grows this month. The first year biology teacher brings eyeballs and frogs and rats for dissection during anatomy lessons, and if you have a special request for a specific eye color, give him a day or two and he can deliver. 2-A's homeroom teacher can be seen stealing chalk from each of the second year classroom she rotates through and is offering extra credit to any students who sneak her chalk without asking questions.

New students will quickly learn that merit points are awarded for a full day's attendance, turning in homework, participating in class and clubs, scoring 80% or higher on quizzes and exams, etc. Less predictably, the PDA may sometimes ping for a single merit point when hanging out with a friend or arguing with a classmate, with stronger emotions (positive or negative) when interacting with somebody else more likely to trigger a point, and if students are abusing this system, it's kept out of the faculty's eyes. As the month goes on, sometimes a student comes to class with a cut eyelid, or a busted lip, or bandages wrapped thick around a wrist, but they always deny anything more than clumsiness or an accident or having pets who very aggressively show their love. Sometimes it's harder to hide, when a bloody nose drips onto the ground or bleeding knuckles brush against the wall, and those near enough to see blood touch the building will find that everything sort of... shifts... Just for a second. The feeling of vertigo that stops almost as soon as it begins, the world tilting without slotting back into alignment. You feel a bit nauseous. Just a little.

You go to the bathroom to splash water on your face and the pink looks a little darker, a little more solid. On the fourth floor, the water has stopped running in the bathroom sinks altogether, and students are told to go downstairs to do their business so that they may wash up after. With more students milling around the bathrooms, it's much easier to notice that people's reflections in the mirrors are just a bit off, lagging that split second long enough to be impossible to ignore once aware.

Every day you have homework. A new essay for something or other is assigned each week. Nobody wants to do group projects with a slacker who can't promise to meet up after school to get it done. Like clockwork, the school empties out at 6 PM each school day, leaving those behind to their own devices. There is no school on Sundays. Golden Week marks the end of the month, and guess who's going to be stuck at school for an entire week with only vending machine junk food to live off of if they aren't able to make progress concerning their living situation? Yeah.

Charity Auction

At least students have the charity auction to look forward to and work towards. Information about the auction set on May 10 can be found on the bulletin board, and appears to be put together by the student council as an annual event and an incentive for students to start the year off strong in earning merit points. Both students and staff are encouraged to donate to the auction, with the items collected and put on display in the auditorium behind locked glass cases. On May 10, students will be able to bid on items using their merit points, those who donate will receive 10% of the winning bid towards their item, and the school will match donations 100 to 1 point with proceeds going towards the "Save A Brain Foundation."

Throughout the month, glass cases lining the walls of the auditorium start to fill up with donations. The most popular donations seem to be physical items: possessions such as jewelry or gaming consoles, or artistic creations such as hand sewn clothing or paintings. There are placeholders for things that can't be put on display all month, such as placards with a picture or description of homemade food that won't be prepared until the auction date, or the promise of fishing lessons with the guidance counselor or a dinner date with the school principal (pending availability). At the back of the room stands the largest case, with the skinny black cat often found lying on top of it as if guarding it, although it will run away when approached.

Inside the case is a body.

OOC

✽ Refer to the npc contact page for which students and faculty are currently available for interaction. The assistance principal will do what she can to accommodate the characters stuck inside the school, but the extent of her help will depend on what is asked of her and how interactions with her go.

✽ The body does not seem to change or rot inside the case, and most npc students will unconvincingly express their belief that it's just a very life-like doll. Closer investigation of the body will not be available until next month, if a character manages the winning bid. Merit points earned are handwaved at player discretion, within reason.

✽ The plot will only move forward as things are discussed and acted upon, and clues distributed during app acceptances are meant to be shared and connected, so don't be afraid to ask questions and dig into things! I am here to enable.

Comments

[stopit]

[ "stuck at school except kouji club" except not, and he doesn't seem too convinced over how fun such a club would be— he can't voice that right away, though, because he absolutely pops the whole slice into his mouth at the risk of choking on it, because sometimes you bite at a slice and juice squirts out everywhere? messy. ]

...That's stupid. I'm not going to join a club just to skip it all the time. If I'm joining, I'm joining to hang out with you.

[ You join clubs you like and go every day they're held and that's how it's supposed to be? None of this Persona protag nonsense where you join 23048904 and go to them never. ]

[findout]

[KOUJIKUUUUUN if anything bad happens to him i personally will hunt you down. know this and watch yourself.

It makes White smile a bit fondly and he resists the urge to ruffle the others' hair like a CHAMP--

except he leans up on the desk to do that anyway, ooooh you're such a good child.]

And this is why you're so well-liked, my dear Kouji. That attitude will get you far in life. [As he has. No doubt told Kouji before. Probably.] Hohoho, I almost feel like letting you get away with the rest of that orange.

[almost. He'll sit back down.]

Nonetheless, you are as kind a young man as ever. Mindful of others, you think of them and their circumstances before yourself, and you are patient with little reason to rush. Your actions are confident rather than arrogant in their deliberate nature, and so you are a born leader through and through -- even when you are not in such a position, you are looked towards by others for reassurance and a helping hand. You take things as they come, trusting others as easily as they trust you; I'm sure you are by no means a fool, dear Kouji, but you must be careful you don't project your good nature too much onto others and assume they hold to the same standards of hard-work and camaraderie as you do.

[He sort of reminds White of Cain, really, which puts him in his extremely good books, because Cain is a very good and right young man.]

Hohoho, quite a bit to be said about someone who doesn't seem to like making a mess, isn't it?

[stopit]

[ Bwahh-- he nearly chokes on his orange slice and despite being a self-proclaimed important basketball club member, does not have the reflex to pull away from the hair ruffle, though he does shake his head like a dog to get his hair to fall back into place.

Not for the first time, talking with White reminds him of talking with his grandmother, and he half expects White to pull one of those strawberry hard candies out of his pocket at any time. It's really a lot, and there's always that gut reaction to reject everything White is saying on sheer embarrassment alone, but he cannot help the little glow of pride in hearing all this too. EMBARRASSING. ]

...ha. I can't believe this is how I'm signing my allegiance to another club.

[ Flattery is a fortune teller's old trick and he knows this, but damn does it work. ]

[findout]

[When you've been alive for 2000~ years and have to deal with three to five children at any time you get used to knowing how to work people. Flattery always works on jocks.]

It pleases me to no end to hear you say so, dear Kouji. Now all I need is an idea for one.

[but like.... what do the Youth do with these clubs. hm. is there a limit on what they can be, and how can they loophole their premise around it.

Oh.

White'll tap near the remainder of the orange too.]

You may have the rest, by the way. I can obtain more if I need.

[stopit]

[ He was going to eat the rest of the orange regardless, because who wants to eat something somebody else has already touched? aka the reason he didn't go for the pre-cut fruit. ]

Aren't you going about this backwards? Most people have an idea for a club first, and then recruit people. You don't need a club to hang out with your friends.

[findout]

[you are so rude. these child hands are pure as driven snow.]

Hmm, you're quite right. In that case, it shall be a Friend Making Club, and I shall kill two birds with one stone.

[He'll have a club, and make friends to recruit to it at the same time. Or he'll recruit people to it and befriend them there. It's all a cover anyway.]

Do you think I would be allowed to use the roof as my meeting space? With such fine weather, it'd be a downright shame not to enjoy it.




[nevermind that they can't access the roof right now. hoping to unlock for a few hours via "this is a necessity" clause. you've found out my secret plan by necessity too hello]

[stopit]

[ He makes a bit of a face, because how desperate is White to make friends... ]

I guess so? Nothing's really keeping you from having club on the roof. You're gonna have to name it something else, though. No high schooler's going to join a club called that.

[ You have to make it sound edgy and pretentious, because nobody in their right mind would admit they're a member of a friend making club, that's so sad.

Anyways yeah you can submit a club application for the roof and I would approve the roof, but everybody gets to pound their fists sadly at the stairwell door that won't let them go any further ): Gotta earn your roof rights. ]

[findout]

[i figure but i'm wounded anyway. we will move from whatever room white decides to the rooftop once accessible so poor kouji isn't wigged by us not being able to.]

In that case, I shall call it the Mixer Club. Those who are curious about it will come, and those who know shall join under whatever pretense they believe is going on.

[since apparently its not just a party to get to know each other from the sage's reactions to the word.]

[stopit]

[ Can you imagine if the club is supposed to be on the roof and Kouji goes up there and nobody's around and he's just ??? thanks for ditching him, guys ):

The new names makes him laugh, though, because the sort of students that club is going to attract? Sleezeballs, all guys and no girls, and Kouji too would be too embarrassed about telling anybody he's a member and maybe also be too embarrassed to show up. ]

Yeah... no. The other one was better. Why do you want to make that club so bad, though? Most of us went to grade school and middle school together, and sort of just stick with the same people we know. Even transfer students from last year and the year before haven't had much trouble making friends, from what I can tell.

1/2 look at u

[findout]

[hnagviesngnsjgnsjk I'M CRYING. DON'T WORRY, KOUJI, YOU WON'T BE DITCHED!!!

At the question, White hums thoughtfully and takes a grape for himself, rolling it in his hand idly.]

You may not understand this, dear Kouji, but I feel as if I am missing a part of myself. [because he is. he is, and while he's dropped hints no one knows just how deep that feeling goes. god, white would do anything to have his brother at his side right now.] So by having a club in which one becomes friends with another, in which we can grow to have bonds that last past the years we have left, perhaps that feeling of mine can lessen. Appearances can be deceiving, so I would like to have a place where others may lessen that feeling as well, even if they may claim they don't feel it at all.

[findout]

[And he's popping the grape into his mouth like he hadn't spilled a little bit of his heart out to his Friend.]

It would also be nice to test the limits of what this "budget" may include in its billings, hohoho!

[stopit]

[ ...WOW. And here he was about to feel sad about the admission that White's not feeling like he's making real friends, but he at least recognizes that, the way people sometimes make jokes to distract and shift the conversation, a subtle suggestion not to talk about it anymore but one that just makes it more obvious.

He can take a hint, though. ]

In that case, you're gonna want to think hard about how you present the club application to the student council. Think double hard about the name. The budget's going to depend on what the club needs, and how well the club does— the science club's got all sorts of fancy expensive things, but the basketball club just gets new balls once a year. That said—

[ and he reaches over and twists one of White's grapes off the bunch to bring his attention to him. ]

Us in the basketball club's are better friends with one another than the science club is, because we have a common goal. Give your club members something to fight together for. Making friends isn't a goal, it's part of the process.

[findout]

[Ah, even now he's learning such obvious things from humans. White giggles, marveling to himself that this is how humanity thrives with itself -- and also how it can tear itself apart, by having common and dissimilar goals. Perhaps he'll make a club in earnest and not simply because people made the mistake of giving him their names (trickster that he is). They must all have a common goal being stuck in the school, yes? But a way to include dear Kouji in that, who is able to come and go as he pleases...

... Hmm!]

I do believe I've just the thing then, dear Kouji! Do you think the student council would approve of a club for sightseeing and the like? Getting out of the area to see what lies around us, be they the most obvious of treasures or hidden gems? It may take away from your basketball a bit, but I do hope that should we be able to do so you will join us for a bit of a walkabout.

[Like... if he was Knowledgeable about the area... he could pinpoint things like shrines and historical sites to stay in... But he isn't anywhere close to this world, which is so much more like the Sage's than his own. He'd like to see this world, though. He'd like to know the sort of place his Sage may have lived, without magic and with so many other wondrous things in its place.]

The newer transfer students may appreciate the club as well, if they don't know the area as much as others.

[stopit]

Uh...

[ To be honest... and while he generally is honest, he tends to sugarcoat... this sounds like a "going home" club who wants money to go around and play. ]

Don't tell them it's for sightseeing. Say it's for... I dunno, cultural research? They might ask you to turn in essays as proof of club activity, though.

[findout]

[PLEASE DON'T CALL ME OUT LIKE THAT. IT REALLY IS. BUT IT'S FANCY.]

A bit of writing never hurt anyone, hohoho.

[people gonna be very against having to HOMEWORK for their CLUB white]

May I still count on you to join it despite that?

[stopit]

[ Don't tell them about the homework until they've already been roped into joining the fancy going home club. ]

Uh.

[ He doesn't want to do extra homework. There's really nothing to think about, but he tosses the grape in his mouth and eats it as if he needs the time to deliberate. ]

...Yeah. [ Begrudgingly, but, yeah. ] I promised you I would. The town's not very interesting, but there's plenty of fun spots to see and hang out, so it could be fun.

[findout]

[Thank god other people can make promises. White, and other Wizards, are pretty damn allergic to it since they lose their magic if they break one.]

I'll try and lessen their demands to something a little more fun instead. Photography, perhaps?

[stopit]

Ha. Now that's an idea. Promise a photo album [ of all the places you guys can't see because nobody else can leave the school ] at the end of the year and head 'em off before they assign essays.

[findout]

[just you wait. one day we'll at least have campus shots and it'll be a beautiful end of the year scrapbook. maybe by the end of year two we'll have the neighborhood surrounding, or whatever it is beyond those gates.]

I'm certain that'll draw interested crowds by the droves. Who doesn't like the thought of taking pictures?

[At least, it sounds fun. The West is full of interesting things like that, though for Wizards it's as easy as transporting imagery into a glass.]

Thank you, dear Kouji. While I may have been in clubs before [he hasn't.] I've never done one myself, so you've truly been a help.

[stopit]

[ For now they can all crowd inside the clock tower and play pretend that they're outside, I hope you guys unlock the outdoors someday. ]

It's not like I did much. And if you don't think you're up to it, you'd better get somebody to lead it too, or at least somebody to keep it organized and reach out to members or whatever. Somebody with good naming sense.

[ Which the club desperately needs and also he cannot contribute, holding his hands up in front of his chest to physically refuse being anything more than a plain old club member. ]

I gotta go back to class, but come find me once your club's set up.