WEEK 2

[whimsicalism]

WEEK TWO

Two weeks is plenty of time to get used to a new school, but the horrors of Ira Academy are likely to require much more acclimation than that. The lesson learned this weekend may be more important than anything else taught thus far: Regardless of motivation, regardless of friendliness, regardless of heroism, any member of the student body could turn out to be a killer.

Starting this week, the immovable, impenetrable glass wall blocking the staircase by the first aid station has receded. Students are free to go up the stairs beyond that wall and leave the ground floor of the school for the first time.

The new area that opens up in the Academy couldn't come at a better time. Past the landing, where a new ascending flight of stairs now waits behind another thick impenetrable wall of glass, the second floor greets students with muted, calming colors. The rooms in this area of the school house activities targeted at calming, freeing, or emptying the mind. After witnessing such terrible things on Saturday, it would be lovely to clear such thoughts away entirely, wouldn't it?

On Monday, classes will resume as normal, as if the student body had not undergone recent and horrific attrition. At least there are a fair few more places to hide now that the next floor has opened up, and it might be easier to avoid the Little Brothers trying to herd you into the classroom every now and then. It would be easy to let unease and paranoia reign over everyone. Perhaps, come Tuesday again, there will be another announcement from the Principal, holding another threat over everyone's head until the right person snaps and attempts the optional capstone project. There may be another mysterious phenomenon to follow through the school, seeking a hint of meaning or answers. Of course, you could all give up and choose re-education.

How will you move on?

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

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Week 2. The Prefect has been removed from play until further notice and will no longer be able to be contacted. Mod Shay will continue to work for the game on an administrative level. ICly, the Principal will mention vaguely that the Prefect has been removed from her duties for the foreseeable future. The IC rules will be updated to reflect this and that's how the characters will find out. The sheep will take up her work monitoring the school and have their own contact post, and the A/V room is still locked. While you're free to question this ICly, please be mindful of others and try not to push the issue either ICly or OOCly. This isn't related to the plot and shouldn't be treated as such.

As a reminder, AC runs Sunday to Sunday concurrent with these posts and is collected based on the prior week; this means you have a whole week to get in AC for the week prior. AC for week 1 should be submitted no later than this coming Sunday. Remember to submit your regains! Also, if you want to investigate put INVESTIGATE on your subject line, please!

Comments

[temmapathy]

Wig hair? What does that have to do with blood?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[A shrug]

Don't know. Just did.

[temmapathy]

That sounds really scary. [A pause, before she signs a bit more.]

Do you want a hug?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...

He nods.]

[temmapathy]

[She sits down on the ground, before bending to scoop him up into her arms/lap, holding him tight while rubbing circles on his back. After a bit, Polly runs up after her, squealing and snuggling her way into Emma's arms as well.]

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[Dylan doesn't fight it, just hugging back. Even when the pig joins, it's odd considering what he's used to, but he doesn't acknowledge it.]

I never saw anything like it before. And I...I don't even know what to think...about anything.

[temmapathy]

[Well, when she feels the vibration that means he's talking, that does mean she needs to unwrap one arm from around him. She uses one hand to sign, making sure he's looking at it.]

It's all so strange, right? Everyone's found SOMETHING new here.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...right, he forgot for a second...

He nods, making sure his head is positioned so she can feel it. But...the specifics...

Once Emma finishes signing, Dylan can only think to take her hand, writing out letters with a single digit, in the palm of her hand.]

W-O-R-L-D-F-E-E-L-S-W-R-O-N-G

[temmapathy]

[...she's really not qualified to handle this. She tries desperately to think of random videos she's watched that have talked about this as she traces her own letters on his paw.]

W-A-N-T-F-O-O-D-?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...you know what.

Dylan nods.]

I-W-I-L-L-H-E-L-P

[temmapathy]

D-O-N-T-H-A-V-E-T-O

[Then again, if that helps him get more settled...]

I-C-A-R-R-Y-Y-O-U-?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[A brow furrowing.]

S-T-I-L-L-S-H-O-U-L-D

[Then, after a second.]

C-A-N-W-A-L-K

[temmapathy]

O-K

[After a bit of shuffling around, she sets both him and Polly back on the floor, before heading towards the kitchen.]

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...turns his head towards the pig.]

Uh...hi.

[He does not wait for a response before following Emma into the kitchen, getting ahead, but only so he can turn around and walk backwards, that way Emma can actually read his lips.]

Was she here before, or...?

[A head nudge Polly's way.]

[temmapathy]

Sonic got her out of the vending machine and gave her back to me. But I let her run around here as she likes, so we're not always together.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

...they put a PIG in the VENDING MACHINE?!

[okay, FORGET the crisis he was having, this is sociopathic, as far as he's concerned.]

[temmapathy]

Yeah, she wasn't even with me! I left her on Earth with Michael!

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

It-it's like...you think the Principal couldn't sink lower than he already has, and then it turns out he brought a shovel...

[...wait-]

Have you been in space too? How many people here have been to space?

[AND HOW COME NONE OF THEM ARE HIM-]

[temmapathy]

Does it count if I just got directly teleported to that other planet?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

Uh, yeah, because that is still incredibly cool.

[Like??? Why can't that me him????? HE WANTS TO GO TO SPACE SO BAD]

[temmapathy]

It would have been cooler if we could actually go home. And if we hadn't been forced to go there because both our parents got kidnapped there first.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

...okay, that is...significantly less cool.

Were they abducted by aliens? Or something more normal?

[He can't believe he get's to ask this question and NOT immediately expect a sarcastic answer. As terrible as this entire situation is, at least there's that very, very small plus.]

[temmapathy]

Definitely not aliens. My dad's company wanted him to make the teleportation technology for them only, so they faked my mom's death and abducted her first, then they abducted him too when they thought he wasn't doing it fast enough.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

...huh.

[Well that's...slightly disappointing. But hey, this isn't about him-]

Wait, why would they do all the kidnapping at all? If he's working on it in the first place, that should be good enough. And why would they want to rush things-have they never seen any piece of science fiction where a teleportation device has a problem?

[If the look on his face mean anything, he's starting to think the criminals are also idiots.]

cw: body horror mention

[temmapathy]

It worked fine for objects, but living things could only go through once. If you get teleported twice, your body gets really messed up and twisted. And if you go through it again...your body gets too messed up to live.

[She's been signing slower and slower, and lifts a hand to wipe away a tear.]

I know because I met a guy who that happened to. He dressed up as our grandpa so that he could sneak us onto the next trip over. They were tricking people by saying they were just going to a different city or something instead of a whole other plane they still can't leave.