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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.
also Intriguing (a moment of silence for the screen...)
It's familiar, not quite a memory. If he didn't recognize the room, and much more, it could have been a drab hotel suite, its three occupants merely passing the time with a harmless game.
But that's not right — Reko was bait, so nothing he sees can be trusted. The pair seated on the floor before him, as if they all decided to meet up for a sleepover, all of them alive and well, of course they aren't truly there. Something will trigger a change, just as it did with that screen.
He's staring openly in turn, eyes flicking from Shin's features to Kanna's, studying the both of them too intently before his gaze wanders to the cards and tokens arranged in the middle. His turn, but if he acts...
Keys, skulls, books. Those cards alone fill him with dread. ]
...And then? What happens after that? You'll both become sticky as well?
rest in piece...
The two of them exchange a look, a brief communications roughly along the lines of 'sticky???' 'kanna doesn't know!'. They speak, and overlap a little in cross-talk.]
Err... I know we haven't had much chance to bathe but...
It's okay, Kanna couldn't keep track of all the rules either...
[I went to so many sites looking up What Poker Is and by god they make it more complicated than it has to be, which is fitting. Shin sighs and lowers his cards on his crossed legs face down, head tipping back against the bed.]
Let's play something else then... Hate this game anyway.
[That last one is a mutter clearly not meant to be heard. Kanna claps her hands together in pre-emptive delight, eyes shining, the cards left splayed in front of her.]
Oh! Kanna knows! We could play truth or dare!
[Shin doesn't even groan or go 'noooo', he's just wordlessly turning and lifting up the covers to the way-too-large bed and crawling in from the side, to Kanna's scandalised look.]
Wow, look at the time... Goodnight you two.
Sou!!
[It's... nice. Despite the collars around their necks, it's like the shadow of the death game doesn't hang over anything in here at all; they might as well be some fashion trend they're all in on. Like the game itself really is just a card game, reduced to toothlessness. There's no oppressive undercurrent to the way the two interact with each other, or with him... Kanna seems free of her burdens, and Shin doesn't look like he's living on a knife edge. It's almost like they're siblings.
It's the closest thing he has to a good memory of her, with her, and it isn't even real. Just something like a crystal shard of slivers glued with tweezer and loupe, stitched together from small fleeting moments where things could be forgotten, with the clinging realities carefully brushed away and relegated to the hard-to-reach corners.
But... why not pretend? Just for a while? Can you blame him?]
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(But then, they were remarkable allies for a while, weren't they, and Kanna Kizuchi chose to approach him of her own will.)
Though he's no less braced for something to happen, tense with it, he doesn't know what to make of this — it's what should have been. There were tiny glimpses of it, despite the circumstances back then, but they were so brief, little moments of brightness extinguished too quickly. He wonders what movie they all might have watched, if Kanna Kizuchi could have had her way.
This isn't real, but even so, he can't bring himself to trample all over the illusion of normalcy, to turn over that hidden card and rummage around in search of answers. He doesn't have the heart to deny these figments what Kanna Kizuchi and even Shin Tsukimi himself should have been free to experience, he finds.
He'll pretend, for now. Here, Kanna Kizuchi still draws breath; her body isn't made into a grisly substitute trellis of some sort. At least while it lasts, it seems as harmless as playing a card game should be, too. ]
...I shall play with you, Kanna Kizuchi. [ Uttering a quiet hmph to get back into character, Alice sets his cards down. ] I'm not afraid of your proposed activity, so do your worst and request the full truth as your first move...! We won't have any katsudon for a proper interrogation, but our questions and challenges will be equally merciless!! And for the record, I don't mean that I'm sticky...
[ Figments or otherwise, they shouldn't misunderstand and think of him as disgustingly sweaty! After a moment's pause, he casts the oversized bed a glance, where Shin Tsukimi (Sou Hiyori, Alice tells himself) has all but disappeared between the sheets. ]
...Didn't you say that we should play a different game? Kanna Kizuchi's suggestion is the only new option, thus far.
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Now that you mention it... I could go for some food. [He's fishing in his pocket and pulling out a phone, harmlessly familiar like the rest, a scarf end falling out to dangle just above the floor.] Katsudon, you said? I'll have curry, then... What do you want, Kanna?
Kanna wants katsudon too now... [For the interrogation mood!] And also for you to play, Sou! It's not as fun with two people...!
[Shin glances up at her, face lit up from below, somehow managing to keep typing with two thumbs at the same time before looking back at the screen.]
Sorry Kanna, I'm busy ordering... maybe one or two rounds after dinner. That good with you?
[Addressed to Alice... looks like there's no other ideas for a different game coming from this direction. Knowing him, he's probably hoping they'll have forgotten by the time food arrives... Kanna's gaze returns to Alice as well, responding to the dramatic mood in turn, fingers tapping together.]
Mmhm. Kanna won't hold back! She wants to know... who your type is.
[Somehow, nothing about Shin's position or expression or tapping changes, and yet an aura of 'knew it' surrounds him. You're on your own, Alice.]
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Alice is too aware of the weight of the collar around his neck, though he can breathe, but here, where Shin Tsukimi uses his phone freely, they could absurdly be mere matching accessories. For the moment, the most frightening thing appears to be nothing but Kanna Kizuchi's curiosity... Why, Shin Tsukimi fled to hide beneath the covers for that reason alone, didn't he? And he's doing everything he can to find an escape route for himself!
It's almost impressive that he's able to withstand Kanna Kizuchi's pleading, unmoved... But what could he be so unwilling to admit? That his answer would be something embarrassing — virtual avatars, for example? Robots?
Truthfully, the chosen request makes Alice himself somewhat self-conscious. There are common assumptions, but he can't discern what Kanna Kizuchi expects to hear, or hopes to receive in answer as a worthwhile revelation. Still, he shrugs for Shin's question first. ]
I have nothing to hide...! My type, hmm?
[ The truth would disappoint her, even here, he's sure of it! She must be imagining something wild and scandalous, considering his status as a criminal, so a normal answer would be boring! ]
My type... is...
[ Is it enough to laugh to himself as though there is a great secret for Kanna Kizuchi to bring to light? ]
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[Kanna is leaning forward, her fingers laced, fully attentive and with wide green eyes. The Kanna beams are at full force; no wonder Shin's fled, Alice might be able to but there's no way he could have withstood this. Instead, he's tucking the phone into his scarf and letting his arms dangle as he waits in this surprisingly cozy position. Kanna tilts her head, eyes closing.]
Ehe, Kanna understands if you're shy! She can change her question a little! Do you like kind people or confident people...?
[She's being wholly genuine about it; she's highly curious, but not cruel... although she is kind of determinedly circling around in looking.
A knock resounds at the door, once-twice. There's... the sudden sensation of a draft, hard to place at first, but leaking out from under the gap in wisps. Shin's head lifts.]
Huh, that was quick... I'll go get it.
[He slithers out onto the floor, pushing up with his hands and getting to his feet, tossing the wayward end of his scarf over his shoulder. It's unknown if Alice can see the door from where he is but when Shin opens it there's nothing outside but pure darkness, and it feels like he's opened the door to a freezer.
Neither Shin nor Kanna react as if this is out of the ordinary, although Shin himself is shivering as he mutters something under his breath and holds out a hand, receiving an answer that's only identifiable as sound because that's what it's a placeholder for. Whatever it was, it's something Shin's clearly unhappy with, and a little scared of, because he hurriedly and stiffly slams the door shut and starts walking to the bed in a manner better described as 'pacing', face and hand buried in scarf as he puts the ordinary bags of food on the covers, the brand on them being a certain innocently familiar Asunaro logo. When he looks over at the two, it's with his customary smile plastered on, drawn in a way it hasn't been so far...]
Ahaha, some people... this is for you. And... this is for you. Ah, don't worry about paying...
[He's a good older brother slash sort-of host, he's supposed to pay for the food! He'll just... not eat the rest of the month, it's fine. He sits on the bed, and pulls out his own onto his lap. There's something strange about the containers, almost like the meals inside started chill and warmed up to freshly steaming hot just by being inside the room.
It's Kanna's turn to exchange a 'is he okay' look with Alice, fiddling with her bucket strap as she pulls her food and it's utensils towards her.]
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Then again, if Kanna Kizuchi isn't hoping to hear a shocking tale, why shouldn't he answer honestly? It's only odd to contrast kindness with confidence, in his view. People could easily possess both traits, and both are usually positive qualities! It depends on the context, Alice decides.
Kind people... He could name several whose lives were cut short — that list has grown since his arrival in Yogen, even. ]
Well, I don't dislike kindness or confidence, but—
[ A knock. A strange chill. Shin Tsukimi is right — their order has arrived astoundingly quickly, likely because this place follows its own logic. It's a diversion of sorts, at any rate, while everyone's attention is on the door and the unseen delivery person in the cold darkness outside the room, and if the minutes of innocuous conversation coaxed Alice into lowering his guard, these moments of one disconcerting thing after another are fresh reminders that nothing here is normal.
No intelligible words are exchanged, yet Shin Tsukimi returns as if he received a threat instead of food. He looks like a harried customer service worker subjected to complaints, in urgent need of a heater on top of that, but the logo decorating the dubious delivery bags he hands over goes without comment. Kanna Kizuchi's concerned glance is the only thing that makes sense!
Brow furrowing, Alice matches the look. No, Shin Tsukimi doesn't seem okay, and they probably shouldn't touch anything in these weird containers! ]
"Some people"...? Who was that out there?
[ Rising to his feet with a frown for that damn logo, Alice doesn't wait for an answer. No more traps and surprises! He strides over to the door, throwing it back open to peer into what should be a hallway. ]