WEEK 1

[whimsicalism]

WEEK ONE

This week, students at Ira Academy must return to class with their memories of the weekend hanging over them. The Principal is watching now, and he dislikes children even more than his initial draconian idea of education led everyone to believe. The rules revision is probably at the forefront of most people’s minds, along with the sinking paranoia of being monitored much more closely and more severely reprimanded for stepping out of line. This very empty academy building suddenly feels all the more claustrophobic. All students now have the option to commit murder and be freed from this school. Less than a week ago, you were teaching yourself to be friends with some of your fellow classmates. Will things remain that way, or will someone reveal themselves to be willing to take a life to escape?

But just because murder’s on the table doesn’t mean that your studies are off of it, and the Little Brothers are still here to helpfully encourage all students to complete their coursework. Despite being shepherded away at the end of the school dance announcement last night, this week the Prefect will be back for her office hours and, thankfully, less fixated on pulling off a successful weekend spelling bee and social event. Less thankfully, it seems she believes that completing your re-education as originally planned is the correct course of action. You’d do well to remember, perhaps, that right now your success reflects ultimately on her. Students who prefer to see how their fellow school denizen and prisoner-in-spirit can also sneak into the music room whenever it’s unoccupied to converse with A.

To that end, it also looks like someone’s posted a “Tutors and Study Groups” sign-up sheet on the hallway walls outside the A/V room. There are illustrated descriptions next to it, so even someone who doesn’t understand the writing should be able to glean its purpose. This seems like a good way for people who are interested in working together or helping one another with anything involved in school life. Students may make use of this resource as they will.

Finally, at the end of the hallway near the music room, a sliding wall has receded as if it was never there in the first place, revealing an unexplored area on this floor.. Hmm, what could be up there?


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Regains | AC | IC Profiles | Locations | Mystery Information | Prefect Contact | A Contact

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Week 1! As with last week, if you have anything you’d like to investigate, you can bring mod responses in by pinging (INVESTIGATION) in your subject line. (SHEEP) for the Little Brothers. Unlike last week, Nanami can also be invited to participate in your threads with a (PREFECT) call-out. This is an option for anyone who wants non-private/event convos with her, if for some reason anyone wants to spend MORE time with her. If you are looking for information about the school’s mysteries, it's highly recommended you bring in the sheep or the mod journal instead!

Don’t forget your regains, and please submit your AC for week 0!

Comments

Mystery 2 | Call of the Deep

[whimsicalism]

[It’s been a long day, hasn’t it? For a small group of students, they feel particularly tired when they enter their rooms on Monday night. The siren call of bedtime pulls them to their beds quickly despite any resistance they give. Soon, though, their dreams become very nasty. Some of the worst nightmares they’ve had, some that aren’t even about the Academy, drift through their minds. The majority of them seem to be about their lives before the Academy, actually. Good memories turned bad, old landscapes turned frightening, loved ones turning their backs on you… When you finally wake up it’s only 11:59 PM.

Something seems amiss in your dark room, however. Something is glowing softly in your bedroom. It’s as if someone put on a nightlight in your room. You can’t quite find the source until you look up. Near the ceiling next to the door is… something? A glowing ball of light, long tentacles draping themselves down to the floor, shimmers in and out of your sight before vanishing through the door.

As you follow it, some of your fellow students also open their doors following similar objects. The glowing creatures seem to be drifting away from your group. A sudden idea comes to mind: if you don’t follow them now you might not get the chance to do so later. The creatures are leaving the dorm quickly, are you ready to follow?

[OOC: Only those that are investigating this particular mystery are affected by these strange creatures. The contents of your nightmares are up to you, of course. Since this is a closed investigation, if your character tries to wake up the other students they get a sense that they just don’t have time to do that, even if they leave someone behind to do that. Don't worry about it. ]

[spychic]

[Papa and Mama are leaving Anya behind. They learned about her ability -- they learned that she knew what they were, what they did, they learned everything and they were scared. Scared and disgusted and...gone. Forever. Anya wakes up with a start, a few tears rolling down her soft cheeks.

That's when she looks at the clock. 11:59 PM. And then she sees the...glowing thing. Next to the door, it's glowing. And then it vanishes.

Anya pauses only for a half-second, and then she follows it, opening her door. She doesn't stop to check who's following alongside her.

She just has to follow along.]

[whimsicalism]

[The creature is heading through the reception area now. Tentacles dragging against the table with the Zoobooks, glowing faint and then bright again every time Anya blinks. It doesn't turn towards the cafeteria. Instead it heads north, towards the new area.]

[spychic]

[Anya looks at the Zoobooks for a fleeting few seconds before following after the glowing creature. Onwards. North is where it's going, so North is where Anya will go, too.]

[canreallymove]

[Well, as she's following that, it looks like someone else is also following their own...ball of tentacled light.]

Kid? Anya, that you?

[spychic]

Sonic?

[Anya looks over, then points.]

Anya was following a light! A lighty ball. With tentacles! Did Sonic see the tentaclelight too????

[whimsicalism]

[The shifting glow of the creature starts to seem more familiar, more dreamlike the closer Anya gets. The fluorescent lights that normally are on during the day are off yet the entire hallway seems to be softly lit. When Sonic approaches, the creature he follows bobs right beside the one Anya's following.

Yet, that's not where the light is coming from.]

[canreallymove]

Yeah, I did-

[He blinks.]

Huh? The light...?

[spychic]

....Where is it coming from....?

[Anya steps forward. She looks around carefully.

Is there any sign of where it IS coming from?]

[whimsicalism]

[It seems that more jellyfish seem to be floating down through the ceiling. They congregate near the entrance to the lounge. No images are hidden in their moving bodies yet they seem to be waiting. They circle each other, tentacles furling and unfurling silently as the creatures you've been following float towards them.]

[canreallymove]

. . .

Well, kid, looks like we're going that way.

You should probably get behind me, just in case.

[Clenching his fists.]

[spychic]

Jellies...

[Anya nods, stepping behind Sonic.]

Okay. Be careful! Anya is with you!

[canreallymove]

[A firm nod!]

All right, jellyfishes. Let's see what you got!

[He steps forward...]

[whimsicalism]

[A tentacle nearly touches him as he moves closer. The shifting glow changes in the body of one of jellyfish. A large, round-ish man appears in the soft glow.

It's Robotnik.]

[canreallymove]

[!

Sonic's demeanor immediately changes. He's ready to throw down, because of course he's there, of course he's somehow involved even though they beat him, they destroyed the machine-]

ANYA! GET BACK!

[He may not be as fast as he should be, but he's still quick footed, and he's about to charge.]

No way I'm lettin' you hurt anyone here, you tub o' lard tyrant!

[Charge-!]

[spychic]

Shock--!!!

[Anya freezes up, looking around.]

Who--?! Who's that?!

Who....?!?!

[whimsicalism]

[Do you want to touch a jellyfish, Anya?]

[spychic]

[Y....Yes...?]

[whimsicalism]

[Your fingers reach out and... there's two people that seem to be standing in the glowing mass of jellyfish. Their sad faces don't mask their identities. A tall, blond man and a dark haired woman.

It's Loid and Yor Forger. Not that Anya has much time to react to this since Sonic punches them. Your parents are now fleeing into the lounge.]

[whimsicalism]

[For Anya, this scene looks a little different. Since none of the jellyfish are near her the glow is just there. There's no image among the mass for her. So it looks as if Sonic is just yelling at a bunch of jellyfish. If she does get near, though... Well. Things might change.

For Sonic, however? Robotnik's image flickers among the mass. Seeming to taunt him with his presence. They seem either unaware of the prepared charge or simply don't care. It's hard to tell with jellyfish.]

[canreallymove]

[And he's going to attempt to do the obvious and punch the eggman.

Because jellyfish lay eggs.]

KYAH-!

[whimsicalism]

[His fist hits something that's obviously not a doctor or an egg.

It's something squishier. The jellyfish seem startled by this sudden violence and retreat further into the lounge.]

1/2 [cw: free will being sapped]

[canreallymove]

[This is the worst nightmare Sonic's ever had.

He thought the one about Sally was bad. But no. This one's worse. Sonic and Sally both have been captured inside the heart of the Doomsday Machine, and the Power Stones are both in Robotnik's hands. He smiles evilly as he fiddles with the two, tossing them in each hand.

"What a lovely present you've given me, Princess Sally. The Power Stones...and the rodent."

Sonic's frantically looking for a Power Ring. He has none to spare. He can only pound furiously on the glass of the roboticizer pod as two SWATBots begin to pull Sally into another pod. It's not use trying to Sonic Spin out. The glass for the Doomsday Machine's roboticizer's been tempered to prevent him from escaping that way.

"I'll be generous this time, and I'll let you lovebirds decide ehich one of you gets to be roboticized first." He can only glare. "Don't be shy now. Talk amongst yourselves." The madman lets out an excited breath as puts the Power Stones in his pocket. "You have ten seconds. One...two...ten!"

The switch is thrown.

"Whoopsies...butterfingers."

The light turns on.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Sonic sees the beam cascade through his pod and down onto him. He lets out a scream as he feels himself cede control, while an increasingly distant call from Sally is replaced by ringing in his ears, and one simple word.

Obey.

Obey.

O B E Y -]

2/2

[canreallymove]

NO!

...

Wh-

[What. The. What is happening. This isn't the Doomsday Machine. That was gone. Robotnik was gone. They were gone-




...Oh, right. The stupid school. He finds himself staring at the ceiling.

And at whatever that thing is floating there.]

Uh, A? That you, dudette?

[And then it starts moving. Sonic is immediately out of bed.]

Woah, wait-!

Just gonna follow this...thing then-where is it going?]

[whimsicalism]

[There is no answer. Since he stares at it a little longer, there might be some familiar imagery in the faint glow before it dips into the hall. It seems to be heading towards the new area?

You seem to have company as well.]