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Entry tags:
july event
06/01 - 06/30
Memories
Toward the end of June and throughout early July, rumors will begin to diminish as students move on from the excitement of the new school year and the rapid changes seen within the school, events ending, and teachers starting to shut them down, but there will be lingering effects. In particular, memories, mirrors, and the stairs seems to be points of interest. Students remain fearful of the forest as well, speaking of how those who enter it never return.
The sense of deja vu will considerably worsen as the month goes on. The more one thinks, the more they'll find themselves wondering if they're not forgetting something important. By the middle of the month, they'll be certain that they've done certain actions or had conversations before. It's like pulling at a thread and unraveling as an entire sweater as reminders of the past begin to flood them.
Sometimes it's their school memories that they arrived, with, but it's often different versions of their present situation. It might be as simple as a conversation over tea going differently, or as dramatic as murdering one's friend. Perhaps they'll even remember their own deaths. They might remember characters harboring different behaviors, perhaps being more distant and gruff, or perhaps more hopeful and friendly. Whatever they might be, they're memories that characters could easily see as an alternative to their present selves. That is, they're always true to the core of the character.
Incidentally, throughout their scattered memories those with multiple tallies will find that the number of tallies on their wrist changes as they pass through different memories with different versions of themselves. For those who see dates in their memories, they will find that the year often varies. Those with few tallies tend to have the least variation, while those with the fewest tend to see the least.
Unfortunately, these memories have physical side effects. Characters will find that they come with headaches, nausea, vertigo, and other forms of sickness. Those who remember strong pains or emotions will find that those feelings linger for a time after the memory passes. Those who go through an exceptional heartbreak might find themselves sobbing their eyes out, while those who suffer a stab wound might have lingering ghost pains.
The sense of deja vu will considerably worsen as the month goes on. The more one thinks, the more they'll find themselves wondering if they're not forgetting something important. By the middle of the month, they'll be certain that they've done certain actions or had conversations before. It's like pulling at a thread and unraveling as an entire sweater as reminders of the past begin to flood them.
Sometimes it's their school memories that they arrived, with, but it's often different versions of their present situation. It might be as simple as a conversation over tea going differently, or as dramatic as murdering one's friend. Perhaps they'll even remember their own deaths. They might remember characters harboring different behaviors, perhaps being more distant and gruff, or perhaps more hopeful and friendly. Whatever they might be, they're memories that characters could easily see as an alternative to their present selves. That is, they're always true to the core of the character.
Incidentally, throughout their scattered memories those with multiple tallies will find that the number of tallies on their wrist changes as they pass through different memories with different versions of themselves. For those who see dates in their memories, they will find that the year often varies. Those with few tallies tend to have the least variation, while those with the fewest tend to see the least.
Unfortunately, these memories have physical side effects. Characters will find that they come with headaches, nausea, vertigo, and other forms of sickness. Those who remember strong pains or emotions will find that those feelings linger for a time after the memory passes. Those who go through an exceptional heartbreak might find themselves sobbing their eyes out, while those who suffer a stab wound might have lingering ghost pains.
Mini Event: Despair Diseases
"A reaaaally annoying disease where you get a high fever, along with various other symptoms that are full of despair!"
On July 10th, Nagito Komaeda's bad luck will proc and he will set lose a bottle full of tiny insects that carry diseases. They scatter about and disappear before promptly disappearing, only to reappear later to bite people and infect them. Whoops!
Those bitten once will be infected. Those who are bitten twice will be cured. Those who aren't bitten a second time will just have to wait it out. The symptoms take about a week to recover from. For the most part, the symptoms are similar to those of the flu. Characters will find themselves with a high fever, weakness, nausea, amongst other symptoms... More problematic, however, is the way that it tends to effect their personality.
The diseases can cause anything from character to character, but they tend to be related to a character's personality in some way. For example, a confident character might suddenly be cowardly, or a truthful character might only be able to tell lies. Other examples include a character suddenly becoming gullible, and they can even cause a character to be consumed by despair itself. Please feel free to use any of the above examples or make up your own.
On July 10th, Nagito Komaeda's bad luck will proc and he will set lose a bottle full of tiny insects that carry diseases. They scatter about and disappear before promptly disappearing, only to reappear later to bite people and infect them. Whoops!
Those bitten once will be infected. Those who are bitten twice will be cured. Those who aren't bitten a second time will just have to wait it out. The symptoms take about a week to recover from. For the most part, the symptoms are similar to those of the flu. Characters will find themselves with a high fever, weakness, nausea, amongst other symptoms... More problematic, however, is the way that it tends to effect their personality.
The diseases can cause anything from character to character, but they tend to be related to a character's personality in some way. For example, a confident character might suddenly be cowardly, or a truthful character might only be able to tell lies. Other examples include a character suddenly becoming gullible, and they can even cause a character to be consumed by despair itself. Please feel free to use any of the above examples or make up your own.
Student Council & Faculty
The new student council members will be given a warm welcome at the beginning of the month as they are accepted into the student council. Perhaps it's because transfer students have gone out of their way to assist this newest set of students, but while some of them still look coldly at the transfer students, they seem more welcoming than before. They're happy to work with them, even, and will happily discuss ideas and how to best implement them.
Ishimaru will receive a delivery shortly after, specifically a small key with no label on it. The student who delivers it will explain that it was intended to be given to the new student council president once they had enough members, and with their new recruits they have just enough. If experiment with it, they'll find that it opens the cabinets in the room.
The cabinets contain records of the past years dating all the way back to when the new building was created. They'll be able to find student records, though none of them have names of past, present or future player characters, which contain information such as tuition, the date of their arrival, graduation dates, and so on and so forth. The dates range from months to hundreds of years. They reports maintain a record of their wishes and desire listed, and common ones are to satisfy their regrets, to undo errors, second chances, and for moments and relationships to last forever. There's also a page for the first student council president. It seems that they were a transfer student who wanted to lead others to graduation. It's also the only one with a picture, but whether or not it's real is anyone's guess.
There are also contracts and graduations. There are many gaps in these, and the majority have been torn out, but the remainder is enough to show that graduation requirements vary, with some being bloodier than others, and as with everything else in the school they become harsher and bloodier in the years after the fire. The contracts vary as well, from Aiko's tying her fate to the school to Maya's similar yet less risky all students can graduate if she lives until the end of the year, a desire to end the school if they survive, and other contracts along those lines. They all seem to be aimed at changing the school or effecting graduation in some way.
Incidentally, faculty members will find that they have access to the same student records via the principal's computer. It seems that it had once been in his office, but was removed shortly before the events that led to his freezing. While there is no access to information about contracts, they will find intermediate progress reports that seem to span their entire time in Yogen, measuring how much progress they've made every year or so. Some grow, some backslide, and it doesn't seem to take into account memory loss or death.
Ishimaru will receive a delivery shortly after, specifically a small key with no label on it. The student who delivers it will explain that it was intended to be given to the new student council president once they had enough members, and with their new recruits they have just enough. If experiment with it, they'll find that it opens the cabinets in the room.
The cabinets contain records of the past years dating all the way back to when the new building was created. They'll be able to find student records, though none of them have names of past, present or future player characters, which contain information such as tuition, the date of their arrival, graduation dates, and so on and so forth. The dates range from months to hundreds of years. They reports maintain a record of their wishes and desire listed, and common ones are to satisfy their regrets, to undo errors, second chances, and for moments and relationships to last forever. There's also a page for the first student council president. It seems that they were a transfer student who wanted to lead others to graduation. It's also the only one with a picture, but whether or not it's real is anyone's guess.
There are also contracts and graduations. There are many gaps in these, and the majority have been torn out, but the remainder is enough to show that graduation requirements vary, with some being bloodier than others, and as with everything else in the school they become harsher and bloodier in the years after the fire. The contracts vary as well, from Aiko's tying her fate to the school to Maya's similar yet less risky all students can graduate if she lives until the end of the year, a desire to end the school if they survive, and other contracts along those lines. They all seem to be aimed at changing the school or effecting graduation in some way.
Incidentally, faculty members will find that they have access to the same student records via the principal's computer. It seems that it had once been in his office, but was removed shortly before the events that led to his freezing. While there is no access to information about contracts, they will find intermediate progress reports that seem to span their entire time in Yogen, measuring how much progress they've made every year or so. Some grow, some backslide, and it doesn't seem to take into account memory loss or death.
The Forest
As a result of player exploration, more of the forest is available. The deeper one goes into the forest, the more dangerous and stranger it gets. The staircases in the deeper portions will return one to the mirror room. However, as they go along they'll be able to find various personal belongings - everything from scraps of cloth to game counsels to notebooks. The papers are yellows, and all of the times seem to be weather worn and damaged. One can assume that they've been there for quite some time.
The more they move in, the closer they get to their goal. There's a place that always seems to be on the horizon, the feeling that they're close to some threshold, but they're never quite able to reach it... But they know that they should know what they're searching for, and if they could just determine what it is, then they would be able to find it... After all, there must be something at play for students to so often fail to return, right?
The more they move in, the closer they get to their goal. There's a place that always seems to be on the horizon, the feeling that they're close to some threshold, but they're never quite able to reach it... But they know that they should know what they're searching for, and if they could just determine what it is, then they would be able to find it... After all, there must be something at play for students to so often fail to return, right?
ooc
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There will be a comment below for characters to receive plot-relevant memories. Please comment in the appropriate subthread. One memory per character please.
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For those who would try to investigate the mystery of the forest or the door in the room behind the mirror room, either throughout the school or within the forest itself, please comment in the investigation thread below.
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Aside from this month's updates and event, those who need a starting point might consider the January and February events to assist.
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That aside, if your character would spent at least three weeks moving deeper into the forest, please let me know below. This is flexible on when it started and can expand into the next month and may be retroactive (i.e. there could be two weeks in July and one in August, or if a character spent the last week or two of June moving deeper in.)
investigation
Character(s):
Location/body:
Action: what specifically are they looking for/doing
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Location/body: Mirror room
Action: So far, digging around in the belongings to see if he can find anything super specific to any one character (doesn't have to be himself!). He'll probably check out the door later ?! lmao
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What's the state of the furniture? Is it also slightly degraded? Is the layout of the area sort of like a room in a house or is it just a hoarder's nightmare?
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Noah digs through the writing desk. Are there any cool and/or interesting notes in there? Any fun notebooks full of secrets?
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There's a couple notebooks and misc paperwork. It's a mix of normal school notes, and then a couple journals. They're mostly mundane, but they likewise seem to be written by former graduates and students considering it; from reading them, the general idea seems to be that there should be other ways to "graduate" than the graduation ceremony performed by the school (and presumably the counselor,) and that there were points where the process was more staggered.than it is now.
If there's any other specifics he'd be looking for, please let me know!
(no subject)
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Re: investigation
Location/body: Forest
Action: Starting around July 20th, she'll be entering the forest and with that feeling that there's something in there that she absolutely has to have, won't be back out until after those three weeks are up. It's annoying her that there's something just out of reach, and she'll keep heading deeper in until she hits whatever stopping point is there.
Also she'll be pocketing some of those pieces of paper. What've we got there?
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The papers vary! None of them seem to have been left intentionally, but it seems safe to say that the owners didn't mind losing them. There are some that she'll recognize as being schoolwork and notes from different years, but a few are more akin to diaries. Most are relatively mundane and covering school life, school events and crushes and murders and the like, but a few will cover rumors. At points in time, it was said that one could graduate by reaching the end of the forest, and several students seem to have come in looking for it - there's a veritable paradise awaiting them behind it, one in which they could live in forever.
If she continues going deeper for a full three weeks or more, she will come to a staircase leading up far above the trees and into the skyline. It goes on in an endless loop, and she'll have the distinct sense that something - or someone - is blocking her for finding it. There's also the distinct sense that if she were to reach the top of the staircase she would not be able to return.
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Location/body: Student Council Room
Action: just to make it easier, oops! At this moment, they're looking through the cabinets. Miyuki's sifting through what files he can find for the 1800s. Any funny lookin' folders or out of place documents for that time period?
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For some other things that might come up, this was more recent but they'll know that there was a student (Nao) who had damage to her soul and was missing a piece of it, which was placed in an object, so souls can be split and stored or bound to items, and given the blue flames, used as a sort of power source. With that in mind, going through all the files they might also note that there's a large amount of students who are missing, rather than graduated, dead, etc.
He would be able to find the names! They are all listed as deceased. The dates vary, but they all precede Inaba's prior drop date. Aside from that, there doesn't seem to be much connecting them - the names, ages, classes, etc, all vary.
So those are some basic things that might come up, but was there anything in particular they're looking for over the years?
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He. May also be half sifting through to verify that there are no other names he recognizes. None that came from Shuchiin Academy, or, in particular since it's the only one he knows in full: "Nagase Iori".
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There won't be any names he recognizes!
(no subject)
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trees trees trees trees trees trees trees trees
Location: The wisteria — visiting with Kazuki too!
Action: So! The gang is coming to question Kazuki about how they can go about getting cuttings from the wisteria tree and planting them to make NEW wisteria trees. This way the one wisteria tree isn't bearing the entire burden of everyone's souls alone. Don't you think this is so cute and symbolic of us? We want to get our cuttings and take care of them until they're ready to be planted like saplings for now, and maybe find an area near the school that we can set aside to plant them in. You know my Vision.
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The reason the wisteria tree makes students sleepy is twofold. The first one is that it's a bit of a survival mechanism which allows the wisteria tree to draw in the souls and give them a place of refuge (albeit a badly maintained one right now) but also to discourage anyone from bringing harm to it, much like how a rose bush's thorns both helps a rose grow in the direction of sunshine while discouraging predators. The other half is Kazuki himself who, in addition to chopping the head off of anyone who tries to harm it, intensifies that effect. Why? Because he loves this bunch of idiots but not enough to trust them not to burn it down.
We've already discussed this briefly, so after hearing them out and their plans, he'll decide to pass the torch so to speak. He'll want to make sure they're as committed to taking care of it as he has been given how much love he holds for this place, but I think this group has more than proven themselves through everything they've built up over the last year and some odd months (they did more than some ppl did in 600 years, but let's not name names here,) - there's missions, one of their own becoming a student council president, exploring the forest and meeting god, and more that he's noticed, and the nurse trusted them enough to pass on to her position to do so, so he will too, and that'll come as a relief to him... Think like a proud parent seeing their kids come into their own.
So that half is out of the way, and he'll be able to instruct them on care for the wisteria tree. It's a lot like caring for a normal tree, you just have to be much more aware of the weight of the life you're taking care of... Then of course, He'll be able to show them the right way to take the cuttings and help them through the process, show them how to search for the branches that don't currently have petals on them, etc, anything they might need... They'll just need to be careful so that they don't pass out because somebody decided to stick their face in the petals or something (as an aside, the more comfortable they get with handling it and the more confidence they develop, the less symptoms they'll have around it, so it is possible to not be effected by it in the long term.)
With all that said, he will offer the gentler reminder that if Yogen were built up in such a way that it had space for all of the souls, there wouldn't be so many who need to rest within it. But I think that's in line with this group's goals too so it's just a bit of agreement and reaffirmation.
Please let me know if you need any more details on any of this, or if you have any questions, but that's the general idea.
no subject
I'm going to keep chewing on tree things, but while he's hanging out with Kazuki he's going to ask for some storytimes. Because he knows the school was different before and that Kazuki was there, Amami's gonna ask a little bit about the process of how they changed to a graduation system compared to letting people choose when they were ready to move on. People feeling trapped here might be a contributor to why they act the way they do, like cornered animals, y'know? If they can give that option back, maybe it can be a little less paranoia-inducing to be here.
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It's one of many things that changed over time as it became more of a norm and then the option was cut off entirely. It became more controlled and organized. You could make the argument that (at the time) it was the difference between constantly having people trickle in and out as they do now, often without you even knowing they were leaving, versus being able to send them off. That's the basic history as to how the change occurred.
For how it was actually handled before, he would be able to confirm a few things. The first is that there was a way for students to exit; it has a "lock" on it that was created by the residents of Yogen themselves in that if they're not ready and still have anchors in Yogen, they wouldn't be able to go through it. For example, Amami's promise and desire to see Yogen be better might be the "lock" on the door and resolving that would be the key to it... I'll also take a moment to note that while there's no way to verify this, the original trio had come to the conclusion that those who had strong anchors in their original world (i.e. a strong desire to go back) should be able to do so, as they're drawn to this place in a similar way. There is also a place for graduates who are ready to move on yet wish to stay that was formed by a mix of staff and student efforts.
This is an OOC aside that I couldn't find a way to work in, so for the sake of transparency I'll say that the void is a similar idea where you could push yourself through that metaphorical "door" to what's beyond Yogen (reincarnation or returning,) but... It could take seconds or hundreds of years for that to actually occur due to them still being "stuck," so it's not something I would have recommended.
counselor coordinates part 2
Location/body: The counselor's mystery coordinates... where Shin's Disney field trip skeleton rests?!
Action: Looking into trying to access and investigate this location again, properly prepared this time.
(I figured it would be easiest to submit Alice's plot clue investigation requests like this at this stage, and then share the outcome summary, but please let me know if I should go about it a different way!)
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Alice will find the coordinates to be a small clearing. There is a large patch of earth that's still barren, with patches of grass and flowers just starting to fill it in, as though something had been placed atop it at one time, but has since been torn down and removed. Looking around the area, he'll eventually find a large weeping cherry tree. It's easily spotted amongst all the greenery that dots the surrounding area. It's an old tree, no doubt hundreds of years based on its size, and there are three initials carved on it: A, M, K. Beneath the letters, toward the bottom of the trunk, are works scratched roughly: DON'T FORGET.
If he investigates further, he'll find a small patch of dirt that looks as though it's been recently disturbed, as though something were buried beneath it. I'm assuming somebody will brave the task of unearthing what's beneath it, and will be rewarded by finding it's a rather shallow hole with a simple cherrywood box holding a few miscellaneous objects: A cherry notebook, a cute tea cup with a bag of tea sitting in it, pressed flowers, a mask, a pair of collars, and a wallet.
The journal is the object of the most interest here, it seems to be a diary. There are several entries in it:
star 4 ghost
Location/body: Star 4, if/when Add is around to let visitors in for a look at the room with an adderstone (Enh kindly offered Amami's a while back).
Action: Looking through an adderstone and touching the floor...
no subject
The floorboards feel perfectly smooth, as do the walls, and any damage done would be from those who have been living in there, but looking through the adderstone will reveal that the floorboards are torn up and the ground beneath it visible. They're badly splintered and damage, but it seems to be from direct damage rather than age. There's always a flicker of something in the very edges of one's vision while looking through the adderstone, but it can never quite be seen... It can't be seen, but there's the sensation of being watched. It normally hits at noon, a vague sensation, but it's almost overpowering now, and with it brings a headache and an overwhelming exhaustion.
Maybe a nap is in order?
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Location/body: generator room & field and courts
Action: there's four generators, so he's going to try to figure out which one is connected to the outside fences! sorry to anyone who loses power during this time. anyway, he wants to shut them off and see if he can find the mechanism that controls them, a wire, etc - anything that would allow them to be disabled.
no subject