FEBRUARY EVENT LOG/TDM

[adsum]

full navigation

02/07 - 02/11 School Trip

✽ At 8AM sharp on Monday the 7th, all students are asked to gather in the auditorium to go over the school trip to Tokyo DisneySea; those who decide to stay at school, however, are instructed to attend school as normal and use their days as a study hall or free period. Those grades won't keep themselves up, after all.
✽ Those who are going on the field trip will be given the rundown: they'll be staying at DisneySea for five days and four nights, at the Hotel MiraCosta located inside the park. They'll be lead in lines to the front gate of the school, consciousness wavering as they pass through the open gates, and they open their eyes to find themselves in the parking lot of Tokyo DisneySea, sluggish and drowsy, as if they'd dozed off and had just awoken from a very, very long drive. Characters will have to wait in line for quite some time, with the rate of it moving at an achingly slow 0.00000005 miles per hour (or so it feels) before they're able to get their tickets to the park, a knife, and their complimentary map to guide the way.

✽ Welcome to Disney! DisneySea, to be precise! Made up of seven different port areas, it's a treat for those who enjoy the water—and one for those who don't as well, considering its expansive amount of land-locked attractions. The world is your oyster after you enter the Mediterranean Harbor with its Venetian gondolas and southern European charm, with the American Waterfront to your left and the Mysterious Island straight ahead. Past those are Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon, and the Arabian Coast—it's probably not doable in a day, so isn't it lucky you get to spend the a whole five days here instead? Characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Donald Duck, and so on and so forth can be found wandering the areas, with Ariel found specifically in the Mermaid Lagoon; the Genie, Aladdin, Jafar, and Jasmine in the Arabian Coast; and Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Geppetto, and the Fox in the American Waterfront. Get a picture and make some memories, because day light is burning, and it'll be closing time before you know it!
✽ Things take on a little bit of a twist when night falls; attractions refuse to work the right way, shadows seem to follow you wherever you go, and the cast members walking around seem a little more sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued than usual. The food tastes worse, as if it's spoiled rotten, and the water beneath the ports churns unsettlingly. All guests are ushered either out or to the hotel as the clock ticks closer to 9PM each day, with forcefully cheerful goodbyes and perhaps a little more pushing than necessary.
✽ Hotel MiraCosta is a gorgeous experience that's hauntingly devoid of people aside from those coming from Yogen, and even it isn't immune from the chilly atmosphere that sinks in around DisneySea when night falls: you might see glimpses of your home world but empty in the mirrors, or a shadowy figure with a knife poised ready to stab you in the back— and if you don't turn quick enough, that might just become your reality. In other reflective surfaces, like the shine of the floors or the water of a fountain gone still after hours, characters will find their worst fears on full display and reaching out to grab them; falling prey to this will put them temporarily in a fit, as if they're trapped in a nightmare. Other characters can wake them up, but if they're alone... Well, you better hope someone finds you soon: spending too long in the nightmare will have you seeing ghosts of those you miss and those you've wronged before. One will tempt you into going with them to the other side, while the other will make an attempt on your life. The pool isn't safe either: anyone swimming in the dark will find themselves at risk of drowning, feeling as if their feet have been caught by something or someone. Of course, the hotel is perfectly safe and ordinary in the day time, so you have nothing to worry about then! Night-time is just a different matter.
✽ For those who decide to investigate the park after hours will find the cast members remain long after the guests have left, and they make a sport of those who either stay past closing or who trespass on park grounds. Take care out there in DisneySea's version of The Most Dangerous Game— Mickey's got a gun, and he's not afraid to use it. Not every cast member will be out to get you though: the Genie, Donald and Daisy Duck, and the Fox will all help characters who need it... for a price. These can range from the absurd to the impossible to the cruel, though the Ducks tend to be nicer in their requests than the other two.
✽ And those shadows from before, attraction mishaps, and more? They'll still happen, and as the week's nights go on, it gets harder and harder to survive the park. Saw this and laughed, but good news, guys! The staff is here to help you out this time.

✽ Had enough of Disney? You can beg Add to take you to Russia instead.

02/12 - end of the month

✽ Wasn't that fun... With everybody reenergized after the school trip, classes continue as usual. Math is tough and philosophy is confusing, but after a gloomy overcast January, the sun is shining this month and it becomes harder and harder to resist just walking out the door and into the woods and never returning.
✽ Those who escape reality by running away from their problems will find that they are able to step past the tree line for the first time this school year, and that they can continue walking without bounds. The forest seems to go on and on and on without end, gradually sloping upwards the further away from the school but never seeming to reach a crest. Eventually, you may come across a river that runs nearby the school, shallow and calm in places and wide and rushing in others, with little piles of rocks along the riverbank as if of somebody trying to stack rocks as high as they can go. Scattered about the forest, characters may also come across much larger rocks, bound with rope and spread just far enough apart that you are able to see the next one when standing by the first, if you know where to look.
✽ Quiet and peaceful, the forest is otherwise full of life if you pay attention: you can hear the chirping of birds, small critters scuttling through the underbrush, the distant howl of wolves. If you're very still and quiet, you may be able to see some of the wildlife, and those that hunt them. When night falls, you may see little pinpoints of light floating around past the trees; they would be easy to mistake for fireflies if they did not glow a faint blue, the same shade as the flowers of the wisteria tree, and upon closer look appear to be butterflies fluttering low to the ground, feeding upon rotting carcasses and pools of blood.
✽ The trees are pine trees.

✽ At the end of the month, even if you've decided to go feral and live in the woods, all characters will be pinged on their PDAs:
     @ everyone
       Thank you. Your tuition has been collected.
followed by a list of names, which includes unlisted npcs but they don't get names so you just have to imagine.

(click to expand list)

Jason Todd Miyuki Shirogane Kaede Akamatsu Rokuro Arata	Rantarou Amami Subaru Akehoshi Yukio Okumura Himeko Inaba	Kouji Seki Hajime Hinata Lucifer Akira Fujioka	Noah Ebalon Rio Ranger Makoto Naegi Narumi Ito	Shin Tsukimi Helena Adams
Add Chiaki Nanami Senku Ishigami	Satou Kuroneko Alice Yabusame Seiya Kaneko	Stephanie Meanswell Dito Natsume Sakasaki	Goro Akechi Kiyotaka Ishimaru Jou Tazuna	Itto Arataki
Meng Yao Akira Kurusu Chiaki Kudo Nene Yashiro	Kobato Kazamatsuri Chiaki Nanami (AI) Hikaru Goto Clamor Ventus	Sidney Wolfe Sara Chidouin Nagito Komaeda Herlock Sholmes	William James Moriarty Childe Baby Bonnie Hood Rika Furude	Nao Sato

OOC

✽ The park and hotel are completely normal during the daytime; it is only when night falls that it becomes a ...twisted wonderland.
✽ All characters will be forced to leave the school trip and return to school by evening of the 11th through a death in some way. Dying early returns you to school early, and if characters do not take care of it themselves, they will be taken out by an adorable Disney mascot or a Russian with a glock.
✽ Everybody participating in the school trip will find +1 tally on their left wrist upon returning to school. Characters who help others return by murdering them will receive +1 tally for each kill; please let the mods know so Alice can update the tally list.
✽ There are a couple of things to find inside the forest, so if your character is doing something or searching in a specific way that isn't blindly wandering, hit up the questions toplevel to see if they come across anything.
✽ Tuition has been collected. Don't worry about it.

Comments

[shimashima]

Hmm? I'm the one who should be saying that...

[ From the apology to asking her the same question, though the answer is obvious, given that nightmares are the product of something wrong, and prying likely isn't welcome. Helena Adams is already out of bed, however, making for Shin Tsukimi's bedside instead, and Alice follows, briefly lifting his hands again before he thinks better of offering assistance that might be insulting. It's clear that Helena Adams can navigate the room... If anything, he can't do it easily without enough light to turn the room's shadows and vague outlines into discernible shapes! ]

At any rate, it was my turn to keep watch, so—

[ Shin Tsukimi's audible distress is more pressing than the rest of that explanation. Reflexively, Alice moves to intervene, only to stop with his hands raised near the edge of the bed as a barrier of sorts to prevent an imminent fall. As before, unexpected contact is sure to make matters worse! It could take a bad dream down even more frightening paths...

And a dream of that place, and everything the memory involves, is unquestionably the worst kind of dream. Kanna Kizuchi's name summons ghosts, too. ]

[decrypter]

[it's a gamble, this, but she knows that name - knows how deep it cuts Shin, and while she wants to reassure Alice, she can't do it right now and simply let Shin suffer in front of her. where he hesitates, Helena moves forward, laying her hand over Shin's when she finds it, trying to inject kindness, the compassion of a friend. it's okay, Shin, she wants to say, but that name is a guarded secret.]

...Come on. You can wake up now.

[louder than her whisper, her normal volume, hopefully loud enough to break through his dreams. he's here, safe, and Kanna...wherever she is, she hopes she's safe too. at least safe enough to reassure for now, instead of chasing an illusion.]

[notsosou]

[He comes up slowly, like the air bubble from a sinking ship, and it's clear he's fighting every step of the way, still trying to complete the dream's impossible task despite it's horror, like when you try to run and it feels like you're moving through treacle.]

Mngh...

[His eyelids flutter, the sound of him shifting and thankfully only nearly falling before his body instinctively jolts and braces, one leg hitting the floor, his gaze being confused and unseeing and still distressed before the room slowly registers and he blinks, turning his head.]

Helena...? You're... already awake?

[He sits up starting from his elbows, runs a hand through hair making it stick up every which way even further, scrubs at his face with his sleeve where tears had beaded. He doesn't move the other hand from under Helena's; instead it's turned and gripped hers tightly (for him).

Then he notices Alice in the dark, who's really close and... crouched by the bed for some reason? His brain's operating at fifty percent capacity and there isn't death game urgency trying to whet it, so he just kind of stares and then looks away, abandoning the thought as the nightmare's grip comes off his bones and heart and his own on Helena loosens without leaving.]

Err... You didn't have to deal with anything trying to get in, did you?

[While they were asleep, he means. It's a genuine concern.]

[shimashima]

[ Thank goodness that Helena Adams was awake, and with perfect timing... The feat she accomplishes would have been entirely impossible for Alice to achieve — at most, he might have been able to nudge Shin Tsukimi away from the edge of the bed, but even that would have run the risk of becoming kindling of some sort to feed a nightmare, far from calming! The situation required a friend's grounding presence, something comforting.

Lowering his arms now, Alice draws back, out of disconcerting invasion of personal space range, knees clasped to his chest. He was holding his breath, he realizes, and so he lets go of it. ]

No... We haven't had any unwanted visitors thus far...

[ But can anyone claim that they're safe even in here? The fact that the door is locked doesn't mean much when phantom visions and whispers are a threat. These nightmares are evidence of precisely that, besides. ]

Rejoice, Shin Tsukimi.

[ Tired, it takes his mind a few moments to catch up with his mouth, and his eyes widen when it does, but it's too late. At least it's not as if anyone can overhear the conversation, and the alternative, that name, would have summoned an unwelcome presence indeed — the true problem is that there's little reason to rejoice.

Kanna Kizuchi suffered no less than Nao Egokoro did. What took place in that dream...? ]

[decrypter]

[her hand holds his back, glad it wasn't the wrong move, but any reply is lost in the shock of hearing that name come out of Alice's mouth. no wonder he seemed so ready to trust him then, why he had been so ready to share space. he knows such a precious truth - it must mean that Shin values him highly, cares for him. the hands are still linked, and she very gently squeezes the other, trying to say it's okay.]

I don't think what's outside is what we need to concern ourselves with.

[gentle, still sleep fogged, but she feels to sit on the edge of the bed.]

...But my apologies, Mr. Yabusame - I went and worried you when you were busy with keeping watch.

[and that is the crux of it - being a bother with these dreams, even if they were frightening, is not acceptable.]

[notsosou]

[Ranger refused to tell Shin how Kanna was slated to die, so it's different every time. Tonight's showing was a pit of spikes, and the timer ticking down Shin's own meagre arm strength.

She hadn't been holding on in turn. Then it all went dark and he was holding Helena's hand. He returns the squeeze, without really thinking about it.]

Alice.

[But it's not a full on frantic hiss, below a sharp look that's probably disappearing in the dark.]

Sheesh... Good thing Helena already knows... Don't just blurt things out.

[He already told him, even, jeez... There's that worry that comes from a near miss, of a future hit. Not much to do but burn that bridge when he comes to it... He traces a question mark on Helena's hand with a thumb, because a questioning look isn't going to travel anywhere either. Now that he's awake, he can put together she must have had a nightmare, if she's awake before him and saying that, so... is she okay? That's much more important than bothering Alice or not. He glances around for his notebook, free hand searching the sheets to the side of him before remembering; that's still back in Moon 1, where the ink won't come off.]

[shimashima]

I haven't told anyone, you know...

[ It sounds too defensive, but it's the truth — he's certain that he took care every time before tonight, and he hardly goes around constantly speaking of Shin Tsukimi with others to refer to him to the point that it would be risky! The man merely happens to come up in conversation at times, such as the Fairy Godmother of Hope Komaeda unexpectedly discussing his soup preferences, and he was Sou Hiyori then... No matter how tainted the name may be, it lives on, and it isn't for Alice to disregard Shin Tsukimi's request.

But here, not to mention now, isn't it better to avoid fresh reminders of unpleasant things? Moreover, Helena Adams clearly has Shin Tsukimi's trust — whatever the nature of their bond is, they appear to be comfortable in each other's company. There was no uncertainty in her actions, whether stepping in to free Shin Tsukimi from the clutches of his dream, or taking a seat at his side now.

There was no harm done.

Alice regards the young woman seated on the bed, the shape of her to make out against the darkened room. Helena Adams is right to point out that outside doesn't matter right now — and she's mistaken, if she believes that an apology is in order. ]

...As if anyone purposely decides to have nightmares... Keeping watch isn't restricted to anything on the other side of the door, is it?

[ Alice pauses, trying to smooth the terseness from his tone. It's what remains of a familiar frustrated helplessness, foolish and out of place here. ]

There's no reason to apologize, Helena Adams. We're in a scary situation, yes? It's natural to be afraid, and to sleep badly... And you don't expect Shin Tsukimi there to apologize, either, right? Most people surely don't wish to suffer alone...

[decrypter]

[a gentle tapping twice on Shin's hand, she hopes, will get him to wait - or at least he'll be confused enough to drop it for now. it's not that she doesn't trust him to know the truth, it's only... that said, he knew much already - that her bond with Shin is close, that she has these bad dreams. she can't tell what's enough to say and what's too much.

but if she denies, denies, is that the same as saying that Shin has to apologize, when she doesn't mean that at all?

if she was a different person, she'd shake her head, and say they should have the light on, for their sake.]

...I'm...not accustomed to other people noticing. That's what I mean.

[because in the school, it's silent - no one would hear her. in the manor, she sleeps alone, door locked carefully to protect herself. no one has the ability to notice these things, and so she has to manage on her own.

was that too much to say? too much to hand over to them, to place on their shoulders?]

[notsosou]

Keep it that way... please.

[The trailing off please is added on with the air of someone realizing they're being a bit sharp. Two taps... is it a yes? A no? Something else...? It occurs to him that maybe they should have worked something out ahead of time... he'll just leave it, for now.

The dark, at least, is a friend to Shin for maybe the same reason it is to Helena... it doesn't show what he's thinking. The light doesn't need to be on if he's not going anywhere, and there's enough faint outline of objects to work with... though he'll frantically scramble to get to it if one of those faint outlines suddenly resolves into the silhouette of himself, or worse.]

If it helps... I'd already guessed.

[That tip on nightmares, way back when... it made him suspect.]

Alice is right... it's normal, isn't it? After that sort of thing...

[Sara had her own nightmares, with their own mutual preferences surrounding never talking around them ever... Alice probably has his own as well. It's been a while since Shin was the only person he knew with them like this.]

[shimashima]

[ He's not sure what to make of the remark that Helena Adams offers. It's uncomfortable for her, he suspects, to be caught in less collected a state — and around someone she doesn't know well. It must exacerbate how vulnerable a person feels, startled awake from horrible dreams.

Had it been him, waking up to his temporary roommates standing over him, he would have felt the same discomfort, unaccustomed to the company himself. By some miracle, it hasn't happened yet.

Alice hesitates. He might be a stranger, his exchanges with Helena Adams not quite enough to change that, but she and Shin Tsukimi have had a considerable amount of time to become friends, longer even than the handful of days with Kanna Kizuchi. Yes, few people truly wish to be alone — that doesn't mean that just anyone's company will do, however.

Perhaps the pair would prefer some privacy, the chance to confide in each other without someone else in the room? The thought of waiting in the hallway is unappealing — absolutely scary, as a matter of fact — but... ]

...Well, shall I stand watch outside for now?

[ Unfolding his arms, Alice climbs to his feet. Almost immediately, his fingers catch in his shirt. After another brief pause, spanning a heartbeat, he adds: ]

Singing can be effective... I've heard...

[decrypter]

[singing? there's something that raises her curiosity, and she shifts in her seat, even as she's still embarrassed by the thought that Shin knows - they were her problem to deal with, and he wasn't supposed to know either. but she can't send Alice outside, not when this is the safe place, and when he eventually will need sleep himself. music, though...she had given up her record player for Kazuki, and since then, her musical perusal has been dependent on other people.]

Do you sing, Mr. Yabusame? If you do...it couldn't hurt, if you were inclined.

[that's an invitation if he ever heard one.]

[notsosou]

H-hold on...! There's still those things outside, aren't there?

[Much as Shin understands deeply the urge to leave when things get awkward, that's a much more pressing concern in his mind. He's already been traumatized twice over in Yogen by someone breaking off from the group and getting murked, and the clinging threads of the nightmare aren't helping. Visions of a dead Alice lying slumped in front of the door are already playing across the forefront of his mind.]

We're all awake right now anyway...

[And unlikely to get back to sleep soon... what time is it? He's fishing in his pocket with his free hand for his phone, squinting at the sudden flare of light from the screen illuminating his face. Shin's caught the shifting and... he can pick up that's his cue to drop the matter, so he will.]

At... 2:40am.

[There's a bit of a sigh on the end, a breath out. He doesn't work night shift any more, there's no reason for his body to keep waking him up like this at all. He turns the phone off and turns his head towards Alice... it's still a way before it's his turn to sleep himself, but... That's right, he was in that band... Shin's heard his humming before when he first arrived here. He's curious himself, leaning forward with elbow onto his thigh a little.]

It's worth a try...

[shimashima]

[ Implicitly, Helena Adams and Shin Tsukimi are both astoundingly quick to decline the offered privacy, and it is a relief to stay on this side of the door. Though Alice doesn't sit back down just yet, he makes no further move to play guard out in the hallway, momentarily rooted to the spot by Helena's question. It takes his suggestion, reshapes it into an invitation.

They could all use the distraction. ]

W-Well, I thought that you and Shin Tsukimi—...

[ Might benefit from that idea? But if Helena Adams is asking him to demonstrate, struggling to answer what should be a straightforward question won't interfere with any demonstration.

The full answer, consisting of yes, but, isn't necessary, anyway — the truth that singing has been a past-tense activity itself for some time. ]

...I merely recalled childhood remedies... My sister and I could rely on singing together, in those days.

[ Not that anyone here is a child! Alice clears his throat. ]

In that case... have you any favorite songs, either of you?

[decrypter]

None that you might know. Whatever you would see fit to grace us with, we'd be honored.

[it's kind of him, deeply so, to even offer. to see them struggling and offer out his solution - really, Helena won't be able to thank him properly other than to keep an eye out for any kindnesses she can do him in the future. that, and trying to see if they can't become more than casual acquaintances - she'd like to be his friend, if it's possible.

one of the boys can turn on the light, if they need. she won't complain.]

[notsosou]

[His sister... Shin's main impression of Reko is her calling him a 'beanie sack of shit', which is the sort of thing that sticks in the memory. Still, she didn't vote for Kanna... and should still be alive with her, at least in his timeline, as far as he knows. That's something to ask about maybe... later, though.]

Were... what?

[??? Suddenly it clicks. He hurriedly takes his hand away as from a hot stove (sorry Helena) and returns it to his scarf which he's also ducking his head into, suddenly very and extremely aware of how that could have come across.]

I-It's not like that...!?

[He coughs a little, and turns his head, latching onto the way out of the question.]

Don't have any favorites, really... [Well, he has whatever Osu song he'd been jamming out to trying to beat... eight months ago. He's not going to ask for a nightcore remix or that'll be the final blow and he'll die on the spot.] Ahaha, I guess it's dealer's choice... Maybe something from your band?

[Probably somewhere out there is a Samurai Yaiba fan who would kill for this. Maybe.]

possible yttd spoilers bc of the linked video

[shimashima]

[ It's not like what...? The entire flustered reaction comes out of nowhere, so Alice thinks, and it brings the musical remedy train of thought to a puzzled halt. Then that clicks, derailing the train for another good minute while Alice's soul shrivels up a little in dismay.

Helena Adams and Shin Tsukimi both took comfort in their physical contact — that was the important thing, whether or not it's like that, and an additional roommate shouldn't impede whatever feels natural! Particularly considering that touch must serve as a form of communication for Helena... Making them feel self-conscious all over again wasn't part of the plan! ]

C-Calm yourself, Shin Tsukimi...

[ Everyone being unable to see each other is a blessing. It's best to leave it at that, moving on to avert any snowballing disaster, and return to the solace of Helena Adams seeming genuinely interested in warding off nightmares with song. Not only that, but she and Shin Tsukimi have specifically requested Alice's 70-point karaoke voice, changing his original plans! Of course, the circumstances call for something gentler... Performing an a cappella rendition of one of Samurai Yaiba's peerless songs here and now wouldn't be especially soothing for anyone's ears or hearts.

Fortunately, while Alice's voice nowadays sounds nothing like that of a cute little boy singing sweetly with his even cuter boisterous sister, and in recent times, Reko was rightly the band's sole vocalist, he can in fact carry a tune with more skill than he possessed whenever he picked up his drumsticks in the glow of Reko's brilliance illuminating every stage. ]

Dealer's choice, hmm... If the two of you happen to change your mind, we could simply take turns once more.

[ What obscure songs does Helena Adams like? It's an intriguing statement. For the time being, Alice falls back on the tried and true: he begins to hum a melody plucked from the past. It sounded better as a duet, long ago. ]

[decrypter]

[Shin's being ridiculous, Helena thinks, because any sensible person could just look at them and know that it certainly was not the case at all. there was a world of difference between things being like that and being friendly, and she knows because of her experience reading and the few relationships she's been secretly observing on campus. but that's all besides the point, she'll save the next bit of prying for closer to Valentine's Day.

but instead, her hands fold on her lap, and she makes herself a little more comfortable where she is to listen. Alice can't really see it, but maybe he can feel the intent, the energy behind an enraptured audience member listening so fervently to something. and maybe he's onto something, because if she thinks about what he's singing, paying attention, Helena thinks less about the dreams that haunt her, less about everyone she loves dying in front of her. there's music, and it soothes, and that can be enough for now.]

[notsosou]

[Crying at Shin being potentially rescued from Valentine's Day prying by Midori. Kanna was bad enough, wanting to know if there was anyone he liked... in the middle of a death game no less.

He finds himself settling as Alice hums. He has to admit it's a soothing song. In the way that part of his brain likes to attribute inherent qualities to things, that sees power in names and torment as mental attacks, it almost feels like a spell cast on them in this effect. That's why as it goes on he starts swaying just a tiny little to it, crosslegged foot tapping in the air silently.

It's small, unconsciously at first, then self-consciously faltering before continuing stronger, a small humming in the dark of the base melody Alice is singing, Shin never having heard this song before and thereby not knowing any of the flourishes of it. His voice is untrained and soft with a slight rasp to it, but not bad at all and keeping up easily with the notes.]

[shimashima]

[ Kanna Kizuchi, a menace... Mercifully, even without Reko, the proposed remedy seems to be working as planned. Helena Adams may be a quiet audience, but there's something peaceful in it, fitting for the context, and Shin Tsukimi evidently isn't against joining in, humming along. Alice's ears pick up the sound before long, the way it begins tentatively, as if testing its footing on unfamiliar ground until it gains the confidence to proceed onward, steadier.

It's unexpected, pleasant. No trained singer himself, and rather out of practice doing it even for enjoyment, Alice nevertheless allows himself to believe that they're doing well. It's a musical chain reaction — perhaps Shin Tsukimi's contribution promises him and Helena Adams the same sense of security found in a close sibling bond.

Listening, Alice reins in the volume of his own voice just slightly. ]