WEEK FIVE

[whimsicalism]

WEEK FIVE

There's one thing that belongs in Closetland: Monsters.

It was a monster that brought the students here to begin with, and it's a monster who controls their lives now. By now, some have even accused their classmates of turning into--or always being--monsters themselves.

The academy is just as cold as it was last week, autumn air seeping in through the unfriendly architecture and the artificial light seeming darker than before. The occasionally cloud of purple fog snakes through the hallways at ground level, a constant reminder of the new presence haunting the school and her role in the past five weeks of torment. Now that Kakuya is back in a body of her own making, the music room is silent, though the rooms and halls of the Academy themselves occasionally fill with a low, haunting flute melody. With the school's new overlord already wishing her ill, Nanami's already deflating power and free roam capabilities are more or less completely limited as well: She's just one more toy in the box.

The stairwell has opened into another new floor. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be the uppermost one. This is the top of Ira Academy, and while it likely bears some new answers and some new locations to try and find a solution to your plight, is there anything that can heal some of the rifts that formed from the accusations thrown at the last trial? Still, if you don't find answers, then you'll be here playing this eternal deadly game.

Is the devil you know better than the devil you don't?

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Regains | AC | IC Profiles | Locations | Mystery Information | Sheep Contact | Nanami Contact | Kakuya Contact

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Week 4! Nanami has joined the party! She no longer has office hours but still be contacted privately, as can Kakuya, who is no longer stuck in the music room. New locations are now open, and some minor adjustments have been made to the IC profiles and rules. Please hit the mods with a ping in Discord and put INVESTIGATE in your subject line if you're interested in exploring a new location. The SHEEP are still taggable, though you may find them in a...different mood.

You now have a week to make sure your AC in for last week and to start collecting AC for this week. Remember to submit your regains, and sign up for a spot exploring this week's mystery if you want to!

Comments

[copycut]

Well, for one thing, the monster that attacked Valmont and me and everyone a few weeks ago is still in the washing machine. [ She says this in a tone of voice that is... fairly peppy? ] This time, though, Emma and I were able to talk to it.

It mentioned that Kakuya released it from its container. It also said that it feels most suited to living in the pipes. Given what we discovered from this week's mystery game... Well, I think it's safe to say Yasu's theory was correct. Kakuriyo and water are linked. And, with that in mind...

The real Ao seems to have been taken to Kakuriyo through a bathtub. This monster must have exited its cage through the same system of water pipes. If I had to guess, I would say the pipes being flooded with water while a monster passed through them must have made it easier for objects in Kakuriyo to float into Utsushiyo alongside it. That's how Nanami wound up there without Kakuya meaning it, and why we found her inside a washing machine of all places.

But... The problem with that theory is that even if I'm right, I'm not sure we would be able to recreate the phenomenon. Either we'd have to convince the monster to go back, or... We would have to wait for Kakuya to release another monster that creates the same conditions. And... More than that, we would have to somehow communicate with the people in Kakuriyo to be on the look out... I guess we could try a seance? Hm...

[ She trails off at this point, mulling the thought over. ]

[keyringwitness]

We already know of one very large monster that fits the bill, likely large enough to create a portal of equivalent scale.

It would just be a matter of misdirection from there. Kakuya likes playing her game, and that means that we have to be alive to play it once we win a round. If we're bold enough to take advantage of that, then we have many avenues open to us.

[Yasu, for one, already has a wonderful idea.]

Does anyone here have a talent for gadgetry? I could read up on the topic and give it a spin myself, but for this plan I'd like more than an amateur's eye to make it go right.

If it works, we have an opportunity to capture the piece that I think Kakuya considers her "king," along with bringing everyone else back. It's risky, but that might be a way to win the game.

[copycut]

What kind of gadgetry do you have in mind, Yasu-chan?

[keyringwitness]

The kind that would release a large portion of the monsters in the containment cells when activated. That's all~

[copycut]

Well, I'm not about to rule it out, but you're right about it being a risky idea. They'll be ravenous when we let them out... If this fails, do you have any ideas for how to keep them at bay until they calm down?

[keyringwitness]

Kakuya will get bored if we all die in one fell swoop, which is what will happen if we unleash all the monsters at once. So, if we do that, she'll be forced to at least put us somewhere out of direct reach of the monsters while she deals with containing them.

Then again, she might decide watching us getting hunted down one by one is just as fun as our detective game, but that still gives us time to move freely while she's distracted.

CORRECTION

[copycut]

[ Apparently, one of the sheep put Nanami into the washing machine! Weird how this apparently happened without either Father or Kakuya knowing about it(?), so What Is The Truth.

Additionally, she would have mentioned this exchange, suggesting that some monsters are being made to behave more dangerously than they would under normal circumstances. ]

[violence_ensues]

Oh, you talked to the angry washing machine? Um... I went back to the science lab and found Slimy. It was the blood creature.

...

I... I think we're friends now.

[copycut]

Not the washing machine — a sludge spirit that lives in the pipes attached to it. It...

[ ... ]

So the one you talked to seemed pretty agreeable, too?

[violence_ensues]

Uh, yeah. It said it had a friend but lost them because they couldn't see Slimy anymore. It's in my room, I can go get it.

[copycut]

Actually, that might help. The sludge spirit — Lucky, it told me that it used to live in a laundromat. The laundromat closed down, and after that, Father told it that it could come here.

The most interesting part, though, is that Lucky didn't originally feed on fear. It hasn't attacked anyone else because it's been eating dirty water instead. Whatever caused it to change wore off once Kakuya's game ended... It sounds like Slimy is probably in the same situation, if you were able to talk peacefully this time.

[violence_ensues]

Right, I'll go get it!

[And Adorabat flies off! Soon enough Adorabat returns with a sentient glob of blood, landing and putting the slime on the ground.]

Everyone, this is Slimy! Slimy, these are my classmates. They want to ask you some questions, is that okay?

MODS

[copycut]

I see. Hey, I know this might sound a little strange, but— What is it that you normally like to eat?

[whimsicalism]

[The little piece of slime waves and then writes:

used to eat the mice in the basement of Friend’s house! bugs too. found some frogs on the lab and was eating those.

Someone tell Slimy not to eat the dissection animals…]

[violence_ensues]

Oh, you eat bugs, too? Aren't they really tasty!?

[...Wait, how is Adorabat relating to a monster!?]

[whimsicalism]

[tasty tasty :)]

[violence_ensues]

[Bat pets?]

[whimsicalism]

[Slimy gives gives that weird slime purr.]

[canreallymove]

I'll, uh, make some food for Slimy after we're done here.

[...You know what? If Tails can find a dinosaur, Adorabat can find a slime cat thing.]

[copycut]

[ Meanwhile, Kuro snaps her fingers. ]

See? Those cells Father is keeping them in — they're doing something to change the monsters inside. They haven't been attacking us out of malice — they're just hungry!

[temmapathy]

So if we figure out what they're supposed to eat normally, we can calm them down too? I wonder if that affected Kakuya in any way...

[copycut]

I'm not sure about that. Lucky said that dirt didn't satisfy it while it was like that... We might not have any option but to let them out of their cells and wait until the effect wears off on its own.

[ Which obviously presents its own set of dangers. ]

[temmapathy]

...also, what if some of them are supposed to eat things like human flesh or hearts? Then it's actually worse to let them out.

[copycut]

[ Kuro sighs out a sharp little noise. ]

It's probably a moot point, anyway. We have to win the game first. If it's possible to help the rest of them, we can figure it out afterwards.

[temmapathy]

Yeah. Still...at least we can try and get the ones who did come out on our side.