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APRIL EVENT LOG/TDM
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. Much like 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.
A teacher stands behind the podium on stage. Characters may recognize pieces of the speech from the previous year. He takes the time to welcome Yogen High's new students first, followed by acknowledging the transfer, returning, and repeat students. As he goes on, the teacher encourages students to instead focus on their own personal growth, and developing strong bonds that will allow them to reach their goals. He sighs as he explains that the Principal and Vice Principal are currently not available before he reminds students that violence is strictly prohibited and that there will be strict consequences for anyone who is caught engaging in misconduct.
The teacher concludes by noting that teachers will inform them of any important announcements. He wishes everybody a fulfilling school year, and reminds them that they have the power to shape the future. 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.
A teacher stands behind the podium on stage. Characters may recognize pieces of the speech from the previous year. He takes the time to welcome Yogen High's new students first, followed by acknowledging the transfer, returning, and repeat students. As he goes on, the teacher encourages students to instead focus on their own personal growth, and developing strong bonds that will allow them to reach their goals. He sighs as he explains that the Principal and Vice Principal are currently not available before he reminds students that violence is strictly prohibited and that there will be strict consequences for anyone who is caught engaging in misconduct.
The teacher concludes by noting that teachers will inform them of any important announcements. He wishes everybody a fulfilling school year, and reminds them that they have the power to shape the future. 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.
Classes resume as usual, and it's the same old routine, with gossip and rumors spreading about, and students growing excited over new club advertisements, and fortune telling ads in addition to upcoming events. In an effort to encourage students to form lasting relationships, the school has set up events for the first week with plans for smaller events throughout the month. The PDA logs have been wiped clean with the start of the year, and all messages from before 04/05 are gone.
✽ Tuesday, 04/06 will be a simple Welcome Back. The day will be dedicated to giving important announcements, including the events for the rest of the week, introducing students to clubs, etc. There will be a potluck with various sweets and snack items, along with time dedicated to getting-to-know you style games and other such activities.
✽ Wednesday, 04/07 will feature the beginning of a Team Building Scavenger Hunt! There are no items to be found, but instead students are given a list of tasks to complete and turn into their homeroom teacher. Examples include introducing yourself to a new student, doing something nice for another student, being asked to identify a specific student who fits a certain criteria, anything that can be used to encourage interactions.
✽ Thursday, 04/08 will feature karaoke night in the music room. There is a karaoke machine set up along with a screen set up, along with some CDs with all the greatest hits of the 90ws. There is a decorative backdrop set up along with party decorations. There are inflatable music notes, cut out notes, microphones, record albums, and instruments taped along the wall, and a box full of props for students to use if they so choose.
✽ Friday, 04/09 will feature a game night held in class 1-B. Desks have been pushed together to form tables and covered in cloths, and various board and card games have been set out for students. There is a TV with an N64 and Playstation set out along with various games.
Outside of classes, the days wear on, and students come in with bruises and scraped knees and elbows and bloody noses. They smear blood on the walls and drip it onto the floor, splatter it onto the mirror without meaning to, bringing along with it a sense of vertigo. Characters looking in the mirror may find that they catch sight of something. It's there reflected in the mirror, a shadowy and dark figure in the edge of their vision, but it the moment they look away it disappears, leaving behind only a chill in the air. The mirror room is almost unbearably cold.
✽ Tuesday, 04/06 will be a simple Welcome Back. The day will be dedicated to giving important announcements, including the events for the rest of the week, introducing students to clubs, etc. There will be a potluck with various sweets and snack items, along with time dedicated to getting-to-know you style games and other such activities.
✽ Wednesday, 04/07 will feature the beginning of a Team Building Scavenger Hunt! There are no items to be found, but instead students are given a list of tasks to complete and turn into their homeroom teacher. Examples include introducing yourself to a new student, doing something nice for another student, being asked to identify a specific student who fits a certain criteria, anything that can be used to encourage interactions.
✽ Thursday, 04/08 will feature karaoke night in the music room. There is a karaoke machine set up along with a screen set up, along with some CDs with all the greatest hits of the 90ws. There is a decorative backdrop set up along with party decorations. There are inflatable music notes, cut out notes, microphones, record albums, and instruments taped along the wall, and a box full of props for students to use if they so choose.
✽ Friday, 04/09 will feature a game night held in class 1-B. Desks have been pushed together to form tables and covered in cloths, and various board and card games have been set out for students. There is a TV with an N64 and Playstation set out along with various games.
Outside of classes, the days wear on, and students come in with bruises and scraped knees and elbows and bloody noses. They smear blood on the walls and drip it onto the floor, splatter it onto the mirror without meaning to, bringing along with it a sense of vertigo. Characters looking in the mirror may find that they catch sight of something. It's there reflected in the mirror, a shadowy and dark figure in the edge of their vision, but it the moment they look away it disappears, leaving behind only a chill in the air. The mirror room is almost unbearably cold.
Characters who look in mirrors will see the shadowy figure reflected in it growing closer to them. It's an odd sight to be sure, and the cold air it brings with clings to the skin, but even as they draw close they seem to do no harm. It's only once they're right behind a character that they'll begin to notice it - the cold that clings to them no matter how warm the room, the faint tingling of their skin, the sleepiness that settles in, and the whispers in their ear.
It's faint at first, barely noticeable if not for its persistence, but over time those whispers will grow louder; the coolness on their skin will turn into a cold that chills them down to the bone, and the unrested feeling becomes a constant fatigue and lethargy. The words and tone vary, as do the voices, but each and every one eats into the character. They might speak of a character's insecurities or guilt, or they might leave them with a sinking loneliness, or perhaps they promise the warmth and companionship that a character desires, or any other number of matters that so often tug at the mind.
The figures can be viewed through mirrors. Those with supernatural sight or an adderstone will similarly be able to see them following characters, latching onto them. Items that ward off the supernatural may help, but the only way to truly ward them off is with bonds formed in the school. The figures seem to be warded off by the presence of another person. The cold disappears with the slightest touch, the whispering stops during conversation, and for that time they're given a brief reprieve. But they often seem to come back the moment a person passes by a mirror once more.
It's faint at first, barely noticeable if not for its persistence, but over time those whispers will grow louder; the coolness on their skin will turn into a cold that chills them down to the bone, and the unrested feeling becomes a constant fatigue and lethargy. The words and tone vary, as do the voices, but each and every one eats into the character. They might speak of a character's insecurities or guilt, or they might leave them with a sinking loneliness, or perhaps they promise the warmth and companionship that a character desires, or any other number of matters that so often tug at the mind.
The figures can be viewed through mirrors. Those with supernatural sight or an adderstone will similarly be able to see them following characters, latching onto them. Items that ward off the supernatural may help, but the only way to truly ward them off is with bonds formed in the school. The figures seem to be warded off by the presence of another person. The cold disappears with the slightest touch, the whispering stops during conversation, and for that time they're given a brief reprieve. But they often seem to come back the moment a person passes by a mirror once more.
✽ The school will be hosting various smaller team building exercise throughout the month which can range from exercises to group projects. There are examples here, so feel free to pick what works best for your goals.
✽ The shadowy figures will appear more frequently where there is blood, fresh or otherwise.
✽ Characters who are isolated will find that they are more susceptible to being followed by the figures, and it may take longer interactions to dispel them completely.
✽ Items from the student shop that ward off supernatural creatures will aide in keeping the shadows from getting too close at first, but their effectiveness will wear off the longer a character is followed. They seem to be most effective when used in conjunction with interactions with others, and especially others who have similar items (i.e. a character with a silver cross and a character with a gold chain.)
✽ The shadowy figures will appear more frequently where there is blood, fresh or otherwise.
✽ Characters who are isolated will find that they are more susceptible to being followed by the figures, and it may take longer interactions to dispel them completely.
✽ Items from the student shop that ward off supernatural creatures will aide in keeping the shadows from getting too close at first, but their effectiveness will wear off the longer a character is followed. They seem to be most effective when used in conjunction with interactions with others, and especially others who have similar items (i.e. a character with a silver cross and a character with a gold chain.)
c! but Ranger can tick off someone having a birthday in april if he wants : D
But it does mean he's in a position to hear a one-sided conversation as he does so, in amongst his own whispers, a couple of books tucked under his arm and in the process of being slipped into the satchel looped over a shoulder.]
...Didn't see you there Ranger, ahaha...
[He's not making eye contact, not that he habitually does, but there is the sense he's trying to think of how to put something, or if he should say something at all. It's the assessing uncertainty of trying to feel out where they currently stand by vibes alone, with Shin knowing his receiver isn't great.]
So... did you have a phone installed recently?
[There's a light tone to it, because there wouldn't be a need for Ranger to speak aloud if he had; it's Shin's attempted oblique reference to the talking to thin air, a measure of clumsy offered deniability despite knowing it's been going around.]
STOP let him have a nice birthday - sanity roll: 2
[ It's a quiet, distracted voice that comes in response to the first statement, the kind that one gives when they're focusing intensely on something. For all intents and purposes, it looks like he's just staring an empty chair in front of him. It's where Komaeda would sit, and they'd pass the time along with this and that. He reads faster, so he always has to wait for others to catch up with him. He was listening to a story. What was it about? He thinks it was a story about an Ink Princess.
He was listening to that story, but he was talking about how he wanted to find a four leaf clover, because he lost the other three. It's truly unlucky, but as long as he keeps searching eventually he'll be able to find it, and then maybe he'll have a stroke of luck and he'll wake up. But he's awake, right there, as casual as always, slipping out of his chair before he can object for the sake of seeing another conversation blossom. Leaving him alone like always.
What was the ending to that story? He knows, but his mind rejects it, over and over hoping for a different ending, for a stroke of luck that will change everything, but he's too unlucky for that.
Such are the thoughts that drag through his mind as he shakes his head, blinking a few times. Komaeda is standing by the shelves, a bloody mark on the back of his head and oozing from his chest where he drew scratches along it. There's blood dripping down on him from somewhere up above, hitting his face and staining his hair and the floor. He should fix it, and he slides his chair back a little to do so, and then it's gone. It was never there, and so he doesn't need to question it. Komaeda had gotten up to get something, and Shin had come in.
There's a little delay in the rest, like a computer lagging and freezing before responding once more, before he shakes his head again and looks over to him properly. That's right, he was looking for the butterflies - the ones that are supposed to go to the forever land, to the place at the end of the trail through purgatory.
He sees one fluttering by, then another, and then they're both gone. ]
No, it's nothing like that. I was talking to someone... Hey, where did the butterflies go? They were just here, so it can't have gone far... Where are they...?
[ Nonsensical ramblings, but he does pay a quick glance around the room. Maybe he'll find him them in the clover field, of white hidden amongst the green. ]
it turned out nice in the end :' )
He knows he's bad with people but he's not... stupid, either. It doesn't take a genius to know Ranger and Komaeda have some kind of strong bond or alliance, in the ways they act around each other; Shin can't help but think of them both getting him to make soup at the Culture Festival for reasons he doesn't even know. Something about the empty chair in front of Ranger makes it very stark.]
Err, I can't see any, sorry...
[As hallucinations go, it's a bit of a surprise. Shin's been seeing shadows again, one in the corner of his eye disappearing into the stacks as he approached... so other people are seeing other things this time?
Not for the first time, Shin has to wonder how much the intent to make Ranger as human as possible meant giving him human flaws, not just in personality but in the way brain and body break down specifically, as opposed to more conventional glitches and seizing of mechanism. It seems a little cruel if so - Shin knows he'd have words with whoever was responsible for his own health if there was such a development team. Then again, how much of it is just a side product of that level of detail...? The little dream-program he'd been kicking around wouldn't work at all without that.
Or is it just that Ranger has a soul like all of them, equally as vulnerable to the effects of this place? Is it all just mixed together? It's hard to say. That slowness, that delay... is the first sure hint of a deeper problem than that, an added weight on the scales, dipping down with it as he looks down into his scarf in thought before looking back up.]
Hey Ranger... when was your last checkup?
[There's plenty of tech-savvy people here... but Shin already has that rock hard suspicion shading to knowledge of who, exactly, Ranger would go to for such. It's a though that has it's own bitter taste of gall.]
good, he deserves that | roll: 17
He really is just like a human.
He feels heavy. There's a weight, like a ball and chain attached, and he keeps repeating the same actions and conversations over and over in hopes of picking the lock. But the opportunity has passed for now, and he seems to accept both the answer and the query with a nod. They're gone, and even if he were to find them there should only be one, but he can handle that later. He searches his memory for the relevant information. ]
Last maintenance performed by Sou Hiyori on April 5th, 2000...
[ He rattles off a few additional details, including the time and duration of maintenance, and that Nagito Komaeda oversaw procedures in a clinical manner. The time spent is roughly in line with one might expect for somebody intimately familiar with similar codes to review every line, change and detail. He looks for him to confirm, but the person in question was never there. He's in the Neo World Program. Ranger put him there to keep him safe. ]
... No anomalies detected at the time... Why?
[ He sounds a little puzzled. There's nothing wrong with him, or at least no more than anyone else at this point in time. It seems there's something going around, but that's normal for this place. ]
ranger deserves this double digit roll
At the time... what about now? Although, you'd already know if you know, wouldn't you...
[Ranger's self-monitoring and self-repair is beyond state of the art, but as the incident in November proves, not completely infallible. ...Nothing is, really. And it'd be easier if you knew exactly how he ticked...]
You just... seem like you're lagging a little, that's all. Ah, there's an easy way to test... hang on.
[He pulls out his pocketwatch from his pocket, unclipping the chain at both ends and putting the watch back before holding it out and dangling. He's a little pleased with himself for thinking of this possibility for elimination.]
These things are pretty useful, huh? It might be hard to tell since we're talking, but if you touch it, and it doesn't go away somewhat... it's probably not what's going on right now.
[That's... a good opening overture, isn't it? It's something like an exchange, or at least something put forward on the table.]
he does, let him be a little lucid | roll: 13
[ He rattles off a couple, and for the most part they do indeed seem to line up with what others have reported: Biting cold, lethargy that he links to lagging, and auditory and visual hallucinations. He can't detect anything that can't be repaired, albeit self-repair has only been marginally effective.
He stares at the chain for a few seconds before the recognition hits him. That's right, the gold chains were rumored to be able to be effective against the supernatural. The chair scrapes against the floor as he pushes it back, standing up properly before he touches the chain, taking it in his fingers and examining it quietly. It shakes off the cold, the dull tug at his mind, but he can still detect anomalies. ]
They're supposed to ward off the supernatural, right? I guess the rumors are true.
[ But there's a little pause. There's something that's not quite right. In the corner of his eye he can still see him. It conflicts with other data. There's a soft, thoughtful sound as he takes his hand away, running a reassessment. It's difficult at present when he doesn't know the full extent of what's normal right now. ]
Has it been keeping you safe?
[ A genuine question. ]
no subject
Would I be carrying it if it wasn't?
[He would still be, honestly... 'Safe' is something Yogen never is, at this point to Shin. There's a part of him that never loosens now, a knot retied since the start of the year. He's gotten good at working around it, has to if he wants to reach out again, but it's always there. He returns the chain to his pocket when Ranger lets go, reclipping it. It doesn't occur to him Ranger's question could be on his behalf rather than about the chain's efficiency at it's task.]
Ah, it's been helping with this, at least... Want one?
[He does sell them... the silver crosses at least. Compsci-chan's taken over Komaeda's day shift while he's been... on extended leave... Shin would probs know her name but I don't rip.]
sanity: 5
He doesn't understand the counter question, but he doesn't quite thing to question it either. Should he buy one? It seems like it might be a useful tool, but the idea of going into the student store sends off alarms in his mind. It's something he dismisses as readily as the vicarious red liquid that pools on the table drop by drop. The first drops of blood had been shed here, and so this seems very natural to him. If the world were painted red, it could become a happy place, a sanctuary for him alone.
It flickers in and out, just as Komaeda does by the shelves, blood running down the front of him and matted in his hair. They're talking about a sales pitch. ]
Hm, I'll have to see about picking one up later... Supposedly they're supposed to be able to ward off the creepy crawlies around here, or at least that's what some of the kids have said.
[ Then again, they're hardly a reliable source of information. ]
ranger: hallucinating wildly and abt to kill, shin: i trust his medical input completely
The creepy-crawlies... he's tentatively intrigued by the possibility it's a defense against more than just what's happening right now. It really is some kind of talisman...]
Ahaha, I'll see if I can swing a discount... [Shin you run the store.] If you've got anything you don't need anymore, I'll take it.
[He draws the line at this being a way to blatantly foist tons of garbage on him, but... there's something to it, finding a new place for things that don't fit where they were, that can't do what they were doing anymore.]
...
Or... this is embarrassing to ask but... I could use a checkup myself. Maple sure hits hard, doesn't she? I can throw in one on my part too, even... it's been a while, so it'd be good to see how the new code's holding up.
[He feels so clever about this. Don't ask why he's not just asking or more accurately letting Midori do this... he knows Ranger should know, but then given his actions, maybe he doesn't.]
HELP it's fine as long as he rolls well | roll: 20
Nagito has cash, so I could probably take some of his.
[ Ranger has that himself as well, but that is steadily coming to be the funding for those of ASUNARO, and so in turn Ranger has decided that he'll share an account with Komaeda. This strikes him as perfectly fair. As for the rest, it's not surprising that he's struggling to find anyone. Hiyori would be out of the question, and the few others who could practice medicine seem to have disappeared. It's just the two of them now. It would be nice if they could find a couple more.
As it is, he rolls his shoulders, seeming unbothered by the request. Aside from assisting the nurse, he spends enough time picking and choosing his battles with his partner over what injuries get taken care of that it's almost started to come naturally. ]
Hiyori checked my code earlier and couldn't find any errors, so it should be fine. I don't mind looking you over though. Maple was designed to be able to kill a Floormaster, so she can do a lot of damage when she's having one of her moments.
[ Perhaps unsurprisingly, he doesn't seem bothered by this in the least despite. She was specifically made with killing the Floormaster of the fourth and fifth floors in mind, but she should be able to take down any one of them if it proved necessary. ]
dice really did say he gets to live... for now
[And to him the nurse's office is out of the question. We can say this is happening after mostly everyone else has already headed home, for the sake of conveniently not having to move locations. Shin exhales, in the manner of someone forcing themselves bit by bit into arctic-cold water, head turning to make sure they're not going to be interrupted... he can't hear anyone moving about, at least. Then he slowly peels up his shirt, mostly at the back since that's where most of the bruising is.]
...
[Kill a Floormaster... that's the thing that tips off a Rube-Goldberg chain of thought. With that in mind, Maple's closeness to Midori... well he always was good at winning hearts, wasn't he? Not to mention the code...
Ranger's code now, too. Does that mean he sees Ranger as a threat like that as well? But also it's Shin's worst fears confirmed, as far as he's concerned; one thing to wish someone ill in the heat of the moment and another to see it actually happen. More keenly than ever, he's feeling his own lack of this terrifying skill. He couldn't even keep Kanna away from Sara... Not really. This would be exponentially harder...
He remembers his own thinking. If I can't get her, then at least I can get... her closest ally...
He remembers Ranger's own reluctance, the way he asked when he was on the verge of shutting down, clearly left to when there was no longer any choice.]
...You really trust him that much, huh?
[He'd say that he can't say he understands, but he can. That's the whole problem, really. He understands more than he'd like, and he can't help but hate it.]
for now... it's fine he can be insane once he's done with the hard part | roll: 18
They would struggle with internal strife, dislike each other and backstab, but at the end of the day they had a place and goals that bound them together. In this place, a more peaceful world for all of its troubles, they have only the latter. Here in this place, they're the only two people who can truly understand how that world is, and what it means to suddenly be separated from it. It's like losing everything, it's like being lost in a strange place, and it's like releasing a breath you didn't know you were holding.
He pulls his gloves off and sets them on the table along with his face cards, replacing him with a pair of latex gloves from the first aid kit he carries and a cat face mask. ]
He's authorized to perform maintenance in the absence of the remaining three.
[ It's no small matter to be trusted by ASUNARO. He stands up to examine Shin, regarding him with the same clinical interest that any doctor might a patient. Once he's looked the area over, he'll move onto palpation if allowed. It's more difficult than simply looking, as he's not any more a fan of touching other than being touched, but it's fairly important during these inspections. By the end of both, he should have a decent enough idea of the damage.
It's only once he's finished that he'll ask, ]
Lemme guess, you think he's manipulating me or something?
[ It's a neutral question, unconcerned with what the answer might be. They're afraid of him, so it's to be expected. But there's no point in beating around the bush, so he might as well be direct about it. ]