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MARCH EVENT LOG
At midnight on March 1st, a rolling lightning storm hits Yogen. Thunder crackles, and strikes of Anvil Crawler lighting can be seen lighting up the sky; anyone paying attention to the courtyard may see the explosive strike of lightning hitting the wisteria tree. Petals scatter throughout the air and are carried off in every direction by the wind...
As the month goes on the school will start to look even more barren. As the month goes on, several students start to disappear, with rumors spreading here and there about students disappearing after entering the forest. Those rumors twist and warp, and within just a few days there are rumors of a witch in the forest. But it's not a witch, nor a ghost, or anything else, but a dream, and those who enter will find themselves reminded of such by a soothing voice, the voice of a person they're familiar with, speaking gently in their ears:
"You are dreaming... They have always led and will always lead you here... Remind yourself, this is a dream..."
The world shifts subtly. There are gravestones marking the pathway now, and before long the forest is replaced by a completely new scene. A voice reminds you once more that this is a dream, and that you have always been here. You have always been led to this place. But where is this place? It's the world of a player character. It's nothing more than a snapshot in time. It might be one that they wish to escape, or perhaps a warm memory of a time that they wish to return to, but it is always an important memory to the character.
Whichever it is, the only way is to move forward. As characters move through the memory, characters will soon notice a snake and holly tattoo that spreads over their body will be. It starts small, a clump on one's back, but will spread across all parts of a character's body. It will reach the neck and face last, killing them upon reaching the eyes. As the curse spreads, they will notice changes in the dream including hallucinations, hearing lullabies, and shades that pursue them. They will also notice increased exhaustion and lethargy.
Upon reaching the end of the memory, they will find a glowing ball of light representative of a lost student's soul. Finding the soul will lead to both characters awakening at the edge of the forest, and the character who had been dreaming will be covered with the tattoo for a brief moment before it disappears.
Those who entered the dream may hear that same voice from before that tugs at their mind as the dream fades away:
"Remind yourself, this is a dream, and soon you will awaken. But you are here, as you always have been, and as you always will be... Soon, you will wonder where you were, and each moment after, will bring you here..."
The world shifts subtly. There are gravestones marking the pathway now, and before long the forest is replaced by a completely new scene. A voice reminds you once more that this is a dream, and that you have always been here. You have always been led to this place. But where is this place? It's the world of a player character. It's nothing more than a snapshot in time. It might be one that they wish to escape, or perhaps a warm memory of a time that they wish to return to, but it is always an important memory to the character.
Whichever it is, the only way is to move forward. As characters move through the memory, characters will soon notice a snake and holly tattoo that spreads over their body will be. It starts small, a clump on one's back, but will spread across all parts of a character's body. It will reach the neck and face last, killing them upon reaching the eyes. As the curse spreads, they will notice changes in the dream including hallucinations, hearing lullabies, and shades that pursue them. They will also notice increased exhaustion and lethargy.
Upon reaching the end of the memory, they will find a glowing ball of light representative of a lost student's soul. Finding the soul will lead to both characters awakening at the edge of the forest, and the character who had been dreaming will be covered with the tattoo for a brief moment before it disappears.
Those who entered the dream may hear that same voice from before that tugs at their mind as the dream fades away:
✽ Dreams may be whoelsale memories, or they may be more akin to dreamscapes based on a person's memories or mental state.
✽ The holly pattern represents the pain of love and aches of the heart, while the snake represents the yearning for the dead that consume a person.
✽ The tattoos will be blue or red.
✽ Characters may be drawn into the forest more than once, or require multiple memories to be gone through before reappearing. In those cases, the character who had gone through the initial memory will simply wake up in the forest alone.
✽ Characters who hear the voice upon leaving the dream will be more susceptible to entering and being lost in the forest.
✽ Anyone who is not rescued by the end of the month will be found at the edge of the forest. The tattoo will cover their body and stop just short of their eyes. It will disappear within an hour, but they will be exhausted for the rest of the day.
✽ The holly pattern represents the pain of love and aches of the heart, while the snake represents the yearning for the dead that consume a person.
✽ The tattoos will be blue or red.
✽ Characters may be drawn into the forest more than once, or require multiple memories to be gone through before reappearing. In those cases, the character who had gone through the initial memory will simply wake up in the forest alone.
✽ Characters who hear the voice upon leaving the dream will be more susceptible to entering and being lost in the forest.
✽ Anyone who is not rescued by the end of the month will be found at the edge of the forest. The tattoo will cover their body and stop just short of their eyes. It will disappear within an hour, but they will be exhausted for the rest of the day.
2 (3/11 evening)
Unfortunately, his timing is not the best, it seems.
Was Shin Tsukimi asleep?! The realization keeps Alice near the door, staring. ]
...Well, the topic to discuss isn't anything terribly urgent. Shall I seek you out somewhere else, earlier in the day?
no subject
I'm already awake... what was it?
[He does the small motion of jaw of someone suppressing a yawn. The sleep clearing from his eyes leaves them with the small sharp cautious spark of curiosity.]
Might as well say it now... it's not very busy at the moment.
[I.e. the chances of being eavesdropped on are much lower than during the day; the slowness of night shift lets Shin catch up on homework and the day's PDA logs and personal projects. It's also dangerous... and after Sara and Rantaro he's naturally even more on edge than he otherwise might be. But the fact that he has a new defense now, magic like others have here, is bolstering his confidence just enough.
It's also a little extra pay, which is security in it's own right.]
no subject
You recall this, yes?
[ Honestly, he wouldn't blame Shin Tsukimi if the man were to recoil upon seeing the coordinates again, and doubt that any of it should be trusted... ]
I... spoke with the school counselor today, and discovered that he was the one to give this note to me. I don't remember why, or why I would have visited him at all back then... but supposedly there is something to find at that location. It's merely a matter of enough digging...
[ Which would take as long as examining every tree, so it's not especially encouraging news, and it's not as if they can make any trips as they please. Gaze dropping to rest on the note, Alice frowns at it. ]
Of course, I don't know whether any of it is true, but I thought I would mention it.
no subject
He doesn't quite recoil... but his movements stiffen and take on the slowness of someone acting as if they've just had a live snake placed in front of them the moment he recognizes the coordinates.]
Ahaha... it's a bit hard to forget...
[It was Memorable, to say the least. Speaking of forgetting...]
Not surprised... there's rumors the Counselor can erase our memories, after all. Kind of terrifying, isn't it? Especially since he controls the barriers too.
[He's never met the man as far as he recalls... as he recalls. But that's deliberate; everything he's heard about him has screamed 'bad news' to Shin's senses. Finding out the co-ordinates are from him in the first place is definitely flagging up alarm bells in his mind; it makes sense to Shin now for it to have been a trap, even if it sort of wasn't. It's something vital for Alice to know, Alice who's sure to get the implications, and Shin deftly avoids thinking about Rantaro as the source of the information.
Digging... he feels so stupid, in hindsight. It's not like things aren't buried in Yogen. He must have been expecting something like Saransk, where Luka turned out to be waiting there to meet them... He looks up from his ruminating, because... it hits that Alice actually is keeping him up to date and in the loop and some part of him wasn't actually expecting that.]
Right... it's good to know. Good work, Alice.
...
You aren't planning on going back there, are you...?
[To the Counselor, but also Shin doesn't actually know what happened after they got separated. For all he knows, all three of them died... although knowing Add's power, and his own luck...]
no subject
Wha— He made it sound like I did it to myself...! [ Memories that his mind doesn't want to face — he can't deny that it's possible. ] That... that cracker-distributing rascal! I even accepted his crackers to be polite, but I only ate them because of your naaaaame!!
[ Were they unsafe after all? And now they're a time bomb, waiting to erase more memories when it detonates, so to speak?! Alice glances down at himself, one hand pressed against his stomach. He doesn't feel different in any way, but that means nothing when he has no recollection of his previous visit — or more than one? — to the counselor's office, and the only proof comes in the form of an increasingly dubious note and the word of that note's equally dubious author. ]
...If only I had that strange lantern!
[ It's uncomfortable, too close to Midori's meddling. Alice's shirt scrunches together between his fingers. He thinks it again, with a fresh surge of frustration: he should have sought answers much sooner. ]
But I have no choice, right? The counselor refuses to give me proper explanations, so apart from going back, there's no other option. Surely it's not as bad as the worm-filled mud pool! All the same, I don't expect you to come this time, obviously...
no subject
[A scrap of paper... well it's a bad memory for Shin in particular, now, but it's unlikely to have been one that bad for Alice... unless the Counselor made it such. Which would just be the same thing with extra steps.]
Err... my name?
[He's completely not privy to the chain of logic going on here, so Alice's reactions are a bit off-guardingly strange. Does he think he's been poisoned? Has he been poisoned? He's not liking the idea his name has anything to do with this.
His expression shifts into a pensive and ever so slightly sour neutrality when Alice mentions the lantern. There's that part of his brain plugging into his unhappiness with Sara's theft and his old unease that suggests trying to get something out of it, a trade... he's getting in an internal slapfight with it while Alice continues to speak. Worm-filled mud pool? What? Even when he's doing things himself and not resting, he keeps missing out on goings-on...]
There's nothing forcing anyone to go... [No collars around their necks.] The entire thing could be just a run around, ahaha. Still... if there's genuinely useful information to be gotten... even if it won't be anything we're not 'allowed' to know... it's tricky, isn't it?
[You can see why it makes such good bait... The source is untrustworthy but also seems like the kind of person to be amused by this sort of thing... so it's like a gacha pull or one of Komaeda's puzzles. He looks up, opens his mouth, closes it and looks away and down.]
...Have you made any plans on how you're even going to get there?
[A great way to stall having to make a decision on something, focusing on the details instead.]
no subject
There's no reason to choose him as "someone capable" over others, he knows. What he needs to ascertain is why he might have approached the counselor in the first place, and what could have caused the man to take away his memories of that meeting. Did he request it...? ]
...I would require Add's abilities again. However, I haven't spoken with him yet... Besides, I suspect that he wouldn't appreciate being reminded of his roommates.
[ The scrap of paper sits there on the counter, its meaning no clearer. Shifting his weight on the spot, Alice reaches for it. ]
Damn that man...! I really don't remember anything, even though he claimed that I would soon enough! He asked me what we hoped to find... whether I believe that it's worthwhile. He knew that Shin Tsukimi and Sou Hiyori are two different people, so he said that both of you "have strengths" that could be of use... Needless to say, I want nothing to do with Midori!
[ His outstretched hand seizes the note between index finger and thumb as though it might burst into flames. ]
Confiding in you seemed reasonable, on the other hand. You're familiar with this place, and if you were willing to investigate unexplained coordinates, then they could be part of a puzzle to solve. But... [ Alice looks at Shin now, fingers curling around the note. ] Well, I dislike what transpired.
[ No one else is obligated to return to that location, but it doesn't feel right for Alice himself to leave it alone. ]
no subject
[It's a murmur of thought into his scarf. He'd assumed it was something about the field trip that was letting Add's power piggyback off it, and maybe that's still the case... but if it had just been a matter of convincing Add to get them all out the whole time, Shin'll be kicking himself. Even if dying anywhere means coming back... he pulls the mug towards him, holding it between his hands and looking down into it.]
Strengths... ahaha. [What strengths does Shin even have, in comparison? People keep thinking he has them... enough to keep him alive apparently.] You blurted it out again, didn't you? You really need to stop running your mouth...
[Or what? There's nothing he can really do other than be upset about it... why is he clinging to it so much still, when he knows about balancing, and it's original owner has come back to claim it? The sky hasn't fallen... but it still doesn't feel great. It makes sense the Counselor would already know... but it's getting worrying now this has happened twice. He pushes down on the tiny thought going 'maybe more'.
It does mean something, that Midori isn't even in the running. It makes sense. Familiar... well, the most familiar that is. How helpful that is... he can't say, when he never so much as found a clue the entire time he was wandering around half-delirious. Dislike it...]
Need to be more prepared, this time... actually bring supplies. Food, water... some way of navigating. The Survival Club might know more...
[Once again steadfastly not thinking of Rantaro. They say insanity is making the same mistake twice, but if Alice is going there again anyway, though... Actually, that makes something kick the back of his brain.]
Wait, hang on...
[He pushes up from the desk and goes over to the shelf behind it, pulling down a box and carrying it over with a little noise of exertion. Technically, these aren't 'his' stock to sell at this time, agreed on when he was splitting things up with Komaeda, but showing them to Alice isn't selling them... also technically. He spins it around and then opens it so that it's facing Alice... revealing gold pocketwatches, nestled on dark cloth.]
This might help. These things don't actually tell time, ahaha. They're compasses, though I can't say if they're actually pointing north...
[He'll take one out with both hands, set it carefully on the counter, clicking it open and rotating it with a finger to demonstrate. It stays diligently pointing towards the clocktower.]
I've been saving up for one for a while now... Kinda like having all my bones intact.
[The curse is the stuff of school legend. Not even a shopkeep can steal from the store. (Which now that I think about it, means Komaeda and Shin can buy things off each other as needed.)]
no subject
[ It's ridiculous. It shouldn't be so difficult to comply with Shin Tsukimi's request — as disconcerting as using that name was before the truth was revealed, he did it the entire time! It's as if knowing the truth has made it impossible to switch off thinking of the man as Shin Tsukimi, and his mind struggles to jump back and forth smoothly between the truth and a lie.
Sou Hiyori was a dead man's name; it was a baffling puzzle, for a while. No amount of observing "Sou Hiyori" brought Alice any closer to solving it, and now, he can't forget Midori's words when that incident at the cafe took place.
Should he avoid both names altogether? Refer to Shin Tsukimi by a nickname of some sort, the way Gin Ibushi does? It's a shame, when Shin Tsukimi is in fact a rather cool name to have, but its owner understandably has a complicated relationship with it, much like his chosen alias.
Alice quiets as Shin continues despite chiding him. Even now, the coordinates aren't something to discard? He peeks through his fingers at first, astonished to hear Shin's list of suggestions, before he lowers his hands, leaning over the counter for a better look at the compass. ]
...Ohh! How much do they cost? 100,000 yen?
[ Like that worry stone, after a so-called new customer discount... Or even more? ]
no subject
It's me, Shin, the broke freelancer that lives in your brain, charge him 100,000 yen, we need it. He's never actually got to set the price in-store before... it's very tempting.]
Well, it's gold-plated, so it's not cheap... Probably looking at 150,000 yen at least.
[Why is this the same flavour of wild high as facing down Sara's gun or a main game. Why is he like this. He has to remember that he's not actually the one selling these, again.]
But... [He folds his arms on the counter, propping his head up with one.] We do take things other than money.
no subject
[ At least. So it could be 200,000 yen or more! Jerking back from the counter, Alice eyes the compass as though he expects a sudden explosion, but he makes an effort to compose himself and resume the conversation. ]
Very well... What other things would qualify? I mean, you're saying that you've been saving up for a while, and you still don't have it, so it's going to take months! Should I simply contribute to your fund? After all, I wouldn't have any reason to use a compass myself every day...
[ But does he need to prove that he has no ulterior motive, planted in his head by the counselor, unbeknownst to him? Without a doubt, trusting anyone's intentions must be another complicated matter for Shin Tsukimi, and the possibility that he thinks he's callously being used for his strengths leaves a bad taste, somehow. It is a complicated matter, tangled together with the Death Game's shadow.
In his pocket, Alice runs his thumb along the sides of the rock there until he pulls it out, setting it down beside the compass, within Shin's reach. Withdrawing his hand reveals the rock's painted surface — a full moon against the night sky. ]
...By the way, have you any use for this? It's not attempted bribery...! If I must, I shall swear on it that I'll never utter your name again. Though it happens to be a good stripey name... [ In addition to its sound and meaning, the obvious, has Shin Tsukimi himself never basked in the immense satisfaction of knowing that each character of his name could be said to contain several stripes? ] In any case, your decision is your decision.