how have we not had a proper meeting since OCTOBER

[subtract]

Who: Everyone
When: January 10th, after 6PM
What: it's finally time for another FAMILY MEETING aka info sharing and yelling at eachother session, come and discuss recent discoveries & upcoming plots
Warnings: if there isn't at least ONE attempted murder, is it really a fam meet?

[It's the first day of the last semester, and sometime around lunch a note is slipped into everyone's lockers, as well as posted up in various common areas of the dormitories. In neat, printer-perfect text:]

Transfer Student Meeting
Dormitory Common Room @ 6:15 PM
Don't be late.
[... and that's all anyone gets until the agreed upon time, unless anyone wants to show up early and help Add set up.

Add himself is looking tall & fragment-y today, and by 6:15 PM exactly the whiteboard (that we stole and I assume never gave back because fuck the rules) is at the front of the room with a list of topics to cover. There's extra space left at the bottom for more to be added. His two dynamos are hovering at around shoulder-level by the main entrance, offering a friendly beep! to everyone who enters while they take attendance.

There is also the science room's Add's anatomical model standing next to the whiteboard. It's just standing there and looking creepy... it's fine, don't worry about it.

Once everyone arrives, Add goes over the rules—which are pretty simple, because Add doesn't give a shit.]

Let's try to keep this concise and tolerable. Stay on topic, and speak up if you have something useful to contribute. Take your fights outside if you want to kill someone. Failure to abide by these terms will result in removal from the room.

Like it or not... information is key to surviving this place, so working together as a group is the optimal strategy. Some of you will be "graduating" soon, and we still barely know what that entails. I'm not interested in letting this school dictate my future and neither should any of you, and I don't care if you want to find your own method of escape, but pooling our information will prevent wasted time and effort on dead-ends. If you don't agree with that, you can leave and figure it out by yourself.

We've made it this far, starting from practically nothing. Life or death, return or reincarnation... none of that matters because nothing is an impossibility. What matters is that we leave on our terms. Don't settle for less because you think it's too difficult. We will find a way out of this school.




((~FAMILY MEETING OOC RULES~
- this is a mingle!! feel free to start your own toplevels and threadjack into any ongoing discussions.
- off topic threads (like characters just chatting or bringing snacks or whatever) is allowed, but try to keep it contained. this is for sharing info both IC and OOC, so try to think of future-us sometimes and don't leave 38473645 unnecessary shitpost toplevels people will have to scroll past to find the one bit of plot info they needed or w/e
- if you're starting a new discussion topic, please put something in the subject line to make it easier to find! you can also ping/PM me to have it added/linked in the Official™ topic list below.
- if a new discussion topic comes up in the middle of an existing discussion, please consider giving it a fresh toplevel so it's easier to find!
- IC chaos/disruptions are allowed, but expect appropriate IC consequences. Add is a shitty meeting host and has not banned hangman or murders but like, he can manipulate gravity to throw someone out a window, this is exactly what will happen if anyone starts to annoy him.
- priority to sharing plot info should go to whoever discovered it, so please be considerate of others and ask before sharing something another character has been investigating!))

Comments

i haven't contributed a single thing and neither has noah

[silentabyss]

[Raises his hand politely like a nice young man]

The forest outside goes on infinitely. I might have... wandered it for almost a week. It just goes on and on. When I tried to go back out there recently, though, uh... once I passed the treeline, I passed out. I'm not really sure why.

...

Oh, but the water is drinkable and doesn't have blood in it. You still have to boil it, though.

[heroicpolonaise]

[oh what a polite young man]

Well, that's a relief... If we're forced out for some reason, we'll at least be able to survive with that much.

[like

two weeks]

Thank you for your bravery, Ebalon-kun! I'm sure it wasn't easy going off on your own someplace entirely new, with no idea the dangers that might've lurked right around the corner... I'm glad you're safe now, too.

[silentabyss]

It's... it's not a big deal. I used to do that sort of thing back home all the time. Th-thanks, though. Um... oh, there's also nothing living out there other than trees. I forgot to mention that. But... infinite firewood... I-I guess.

[It's really not dangerous. The danger is starving to death.]

[heroicpolonaise]

[aw... he's so cute.]

It'd be nicer if we could've gotten to it before the cold set in, but beggars can't be choosers... And I'd say it's pretty weird that there's nothing out there but trees, but we are where we are.

[in the afterlife. all dogs go to heaven, but shouldn't there be something out there. the birds kamo-kun had were cute.]

[silentabyss]

I thought it was odd too. Even in the most barren of areas where I'm from, there's always something, even if it's horribly mutated beyond recognition...

[That is not a sentence that bodes well, and Noah only registers after he's said that, that he might've just implied there's some mutated beast living out in the woods.]

There's not even any edible foliage. I mean... pine needles, I guess, but there are no mushrooms or berries or even any herbs that we can pick.

[commences]

That's strange, perhaps the counselor didn't want you to leave yet.

( with a shake of his head, he'll pat noah's head gently. )

We'll get you out there so you can tell us what's waiting for everyone.

[silentabyss]

It's not like I'd be able to go far. [Pouts... headpats from hyung are good, though.] ...if I could get out of here, though, I'm probably one of the better-equipped people here to deal with the journey.

[Since he... you know, comes from the sort of world where getting lost in the woods for an entire month is normal.]

[commences]

You'd be best for the trip, I wonder if there's some way to have you venture out... but are you sure you'd be safe alone? Perhaps Add-kun...

( he recalls how he's breaking apart, shaking his head after. )

Do you think the counselor will free you? He's why we can't go far...

[subtract]

[hey now]

Dynamo has safely passed the forest boundary before... even if I can't go there myself, establishing long-distance communication is crucial for a scouting trip. Information that travels too slowly risks interception.

Scouting is one of my specialties. If it's someone competent like Noah, I'll lend my assistance.

[silentabyss]

[Oh no the compliment gets him in the heart but he knows Add doesn't want to hear Noah's abject shock at the declaration, so he shakes off the wide-eyed stupor.]

If I can get past the forest boundary, I'd really appreciate Dynamo's help. And your help, obviously. I don't know if the PDAs would be reliable if I get too far from the school.

[subtract]

[i know it's a big deal coming from add but still kinda funny how noah hears "he's competent" and is shocked by such a high compliment]

PDAs are public, so I'd prefer not to use them regardless... Dynamo's reception gets poor the further out it goes, but I was able to maintain a connection last time despite the issues. It's better than trying to use primitive techniques like flares or smoke signals.

[silentabyss]

Maybe. I could ask... I've spoken to the counselor before. I think it was a good discussion, even if I don't really agree with his methods.

[Remembering the lore that Noah is literally the only person who takes the counselor seriously all of a sudden]

He's... is he back now?

[commences]

...He would never leave this school, I believe.

( he laughs, thinking about how his bad end was the school with no snacks. pretty pathetic, just like all aratas, but it's something to work with. )

I can give you what I know about him, but... I doubt knowing his cat preferences will help.

[silentabyss]

Well... anything helps, really. What do you know?

[dereban]

Passing out isn't a good thing, but having another source of drinkable water is good at least...

[Because lord if the pipes get fucked again it would absolutely suck.]

[silentabyss]

I don't know why I did. It's not like I went unprepared... I've gotten pretty good at remembering to sleep.

[REMEMBERING to sleep, he says.]

I have a feeling it's something to do with the school's effects in general.

[dereban]

[......]

[She has no room to judge but she sure is picking up on what he's putting down, so to speak.]

Mmmmaybe? I can't say that I'd be able to know either way, though.

[silentabyss]

Yeah... I don't know. It's just weird. Well — it's like how before, if you went out too far to the pool house, you'd collapse. I think something is gradually expanding our range of movement in this place, but I don't know what.

[dereban]

If they're expanding it, then that makes it more... planned. Feels like a person than a thing in that case, really. Unless it's set up like that...?

[silentabyss]

It definitely feels like a person. But the question is who.

[Kazuki? The staff members? The other students, like maybe Maya (may she rest in peace)?]

I wish we had something more to go off of here. I feel like we know about as much now as we did in April of last year...

[decrypter]

...There may be something hidden in the forest as well. Perhaps it's only on this side, since I'm not sure what direction you went, but a while before exams, I heard talk of a shrine in the forest, hosting a god that could be prayed to for your wishes. Though I also heard that the god was terribly unfair, and may have left anyway.

[and with that inescapable barrier up, that's going to be hard to confirm or deny.]

Of course, going to look for it and see if the rumors are true has been difficult, since we can't exit the front gates. And I tried to ask Mr. Kazuki, who'd know the forest far better, but he denies any shrine's existence. I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or lying, but I'd like to think he believes his words.

[silentabyss]

...oh. I didn't see anything like that out there, but if I can get out there again, I'd be willing to journey for longer to try and find it. [There's a small pause, and then,] If I could get my PDA fixed, I could keep in contact with everyone, including you. I-it has a voice feature on it, doesn't it?

[Voice-to-text is what he means, but he doesn't know the specific words.]

[decrypter]

Mine does, at least. Senku was kind enough to make it for me. If you'd like, I'm sure we could make something for you as well, if you'd prefer.

[turning to her bag, she removes her PDA, and the little device that she always has connected to it. like this, is what she's trying to say.]

The students I heard said it was in the direction of the front exit, but...if you're going out there, Mr. Ebalon, please do be careful. It's not the safest place to be roaming around.

[silentabyss]

[He nods. Maybe he'll ask Senku for help with that later; Senku's his roommate after all, therefore he can't say no.]

I promise I'll be careful. I used to make journeys that were long and dangerous like that all the time back home, so I'm experienced. So far, from what I saw, there's not anything living out there. I think the real danger is the potential for starvation or dehydration...

[decrypter]

Then will you set a time limit for yourself? So that way you can come back before your supplies empty, and I don't have to worry about you starving or dying of thirst out there. And we'll know exactly when to welcome you back.

[a thought comes to mind, and she frowns.]

Because it's winter, the bears may be asleep...