WEEK 3

[whimsicalism]

WEEK THREE

Two weeks, two trials, four deaths.

One thing is certain: The monster in charge of this place knows enough about everyone here that he also knows what can drive some of them desperate enough to kill. He is powerful, and he has access, and he despises the whole student body. The face of the class' captor has been revealed now, in a sense, and the flames of his hatred for children have turned out to be very real.

At least, for now, the students of Ira Academy have one another to lean on. Some might have found the post-trial camaraderie a comfort. At least everyone hasn't given up hope. At least many students are still finding their anger and their will to fight back.

There are fewer pretenses this coming week. Classes proceed as normal; the school day still functions as normal, but the further everyone comes from that first fateful meeting with the man in charge of this school, the further away and more incomprehensible the thought that there was ever really a chance of going along with the original plan, completing reeducation, and staying safe.


...Of course, you could still try. There'd be nothing stopping you.

But you won't, will you? That's just how the students of Ira Academy are. You'll visit the third floor of the Academy, ascending the newly opened flight of stairs. Maybe you'll investigate one of the new rooms, dwarfed by the echoes that bounce of the uninvitingly tall ceilings. There's probably still something in this place on your side.

Will you work together, or will you grow further apart?

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

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Week 3! New locations have been added and the third floor is now open for exploration. The library is a very large space and more than one person can investigate it throughout the week if you'd like. If you want to investigate one of the Floor 3 rooms, please hit the mods with a ping in Discord and put INVESTIGATE in your subject line.

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 2 should be submitted no later than this coming Sunday. Remember to submit your regains, and sign up for a spot exploring this week's mystery if you want to!

Comments

SUNDAY

[whimsicalism]

CHURCH...?

[holyironmade]

playground

Peace be with you...!

[There is a combination of dampness and dryness about Jeanne that suggests she has barely slept, Friday night or Saturday. She glides out in her Sunday best skirts. If her body will not let her fall down, perhaps her friends will hold us up? She got all two-dozen hula hoop seats this time for some reason... More pieces of paper than last time, too...]

Let us begin with the liturgy of the word and of the eucharist. Then I would like to do something a little different.

[She reads from the Bible in one hand and passes out Ritz crackers with the other, trying to get it done before Carrie reaches the end of her assigned tune on the glockenspiel. It's as if she thinks some latecomers might join them in time to not have to see this part.]

Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. [...] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

[So what now...? What is she doing after the box of crackers has been put away...?]

Thomasin had a hard life as a Puritan. Having more freedom here in some ways, she came to think that only God knew our fates, so brothers and sisters of any creed might go to heaven or to hell. In light of this... I would like us... to at least remember everyone.

[That means it is time for song.]

El Señor es mi luz ⋅ If The Path I Travel ⋅ Be Thou My Vision ⋅ On Eagle's Wings

[She is completely exhausted by the time this is over, trying to disguise the crumpling of her legs as a humble bow. Murmured to herself:] I do not have anything to drink... but perhaps that is for the best in this place...

[violence_ensues]

[Adorabat... doesn't quite understand. Believing in God's son grants the ability to live forever...? How does that even work? Is it that doing good and not being evil in order to be seen by God that has something to do with it?

Whatever the case, Adorabat doesn't have much time to think when she sees Jeanne a little shaky.]

You don't have to stand if you don't want to. Sit down and talk to us!

[holyironmade]

I wish... that I could fly like you...

[She lets her legs fold into the hula hoop all at once. This causes her little friend Shamash to come hurtling into view high above her head.]

[temmapathy]

[Emma can appreciate Jeanne's intentions with the music, even if she can't quite experience it the same way. But it's obviously exhausting, and she's looking worried as it ends. As Jeanne is about to collapse, Emma hurries to support her.]

Sit and rest! Everyone else can handle cleaning up!

[holyironmade]

[smiling thinly. She wishes they had an organ... If the guests would sway against each other and Emma, that would have made her happy...]

It's really not that much... It is not too much trouble to leave the items here a little longer...

[copycut]

[ Kuro doesn't take a seat in the hula hoops arranged for Jeanne's congregation. Rather, she loiters a distance away from this makeshift church. Still, that's different than most Sunday mornings; typically, Kuro would be nowhere to be seen until the hours after lunch.

It's only once Jeanne finishes her recitation that Kuro approaches. She stands from her own makeshift seat—one of the swings, which has remained politely still this entire time—and walks to where Jeanne has buckled to the ground. Kuro sits with her, flopping down on the blacktop at her side. ]

Is this how your sermons usually end?

[ She won't patronize Jeanne by telling her not to push herself. ]

[holyironmade]

Even this silhouette is unfamiliar...

[From Jeanne's point of view this is one of those "hey are you okay" CGs in visual novels. She's really felt a rush of relief the instant she gets horizontal, though, the way even her scalp feels more relaxed with her hair fanned out on the ground.]

They aren't sermons. That would be heresy. ...I ended up with a more challenging idea for the event because I have begun to run out of first and second readings that I remember.

[britbrat]

[ Excitingly, Valmont's a little more awake this week! Partially because he's getting used to waking up early on Sundays, and also partially because he slept for as much of yesterday as he could get away with. So while he does end up yawning intermittently as the service progresses, he hardly nods off at all. Just once or twice, really. It's a start!

(He's still relieved not to be on percussion duty, though.)

Anyway, as luck would have it, he's both awake enough and paying enough attention to Jeanne that even he notices how shaky her footing is getting by the end. Once the singing's over, he gets to his own feet, ready to loiter like he usually does until Jeanne's done cleaning. But... at this point, it's really not looking like a sure thing that she'll even be able to start. Hhhhhh.

Valmont looks around. Takes a hesitant step toward Jeanne. Clears his throat. He's really not sure what he's doing right now. ]

Shall I... procure you a glass of water, or something?

[holyironmade]

A glass...?

[This is when it sinks in to Jeanne that she really should be embarrassed about how things have gone. If she could have held out even five more minutes to scurry into the cafeteria, perhaps she at least could have disguised the situation as taking her turn to sit down and be brought food.]

For that to be stable, you might need a tray... [This reminds her of something else that makes her wistful.] If only I had brought my water bottle and handkerchief; but that was too hostile...

Investigation & Open To All

[violence_ensues]

Walking Labyrinth

[After returning to Jeanne's weird meetings for the week, Adorabat goes out and explores. And what better place to investigate than this maze? She lands at the entrance to the labyrinth, taking in the sights. It would be easier if she flew, but isn't this place called "Walking"?]

Playground

[Adorabat is perched upon the top of the jungle gym, holding Simon Norwell out beside her. She's staring out into the "abyss" of the outside. When you approach, she'll notice and wiggle Simon a little, speaking in an imitation of a male voice.]

Get lost, Adorabat doesn't want to talk to you!

Simon, shut up! Be nice!

[She then turns to you.]

Hi there, sorry about that. What's up?

Laundry Room

[As you pass by the laundry room, you may be able to smell a strong smell of soap emanating from the room along with a small bit of bubbles poking out from the door. Entering, you see the room is COVERED in soapy bubbles, and a familiar blue bat on the washing machine fiddling with the knobs in a panic. She spots and and immediately rushes over to you, gripping both sides of your face.]

YOU GOTTA HELP ME THE WASHING MACHINE IS ANGRY!

[temmapathy]

[Emma backs away as Adorabat squeezes her face, mostly so she can actually sign.]

How much detergent did you put in there?

[violence_ensues]

I DUNNO, THE WHOLE BOTTLE? Isn't that what you're apposed to do!?

[whimsicalism]

[The path is pretty calming, honestly! Are you looking down, Adorabat?]

[violence_ensues]

[She's looking up, but she does shift her gaze down to the ground. She likes this calming feeling... Does it feel like when she's meditating?]

Playground

[hashtagwoof]

Uh...

[ He's just gonna ignore the doll thing for a second, mostly because he has hardly any room to talk after that incident at the trial, but shrug. ]

Not much, really. You?

[violence_ensues]

We've been waiting for Cynthiphelle to come back! She went over the fence to find out if there's anything out there asides monsters!

See, monsters can't see Cynthiphelle and that's why she's PERFECT for the job!

INVESTIGATION

[cellpreservation]

[Library - Investigation]

[He does have some book smarts, so might as well start here. He'll be looking over the whole room to see if there's anything that sticks out first, checking under pillows and on the shelves because you never know when there's going to be dried blood somewhere.]

[Kitchen]

[After retrieving a cook book, he can be found here flipping through the pages trying to find something nice and simple to start off with.]

It can't be that hard. Wansuke did it all the time.

[Library - non-investigation]

[And after some cooking adventures and/or disasters, he'll head back to the library again, but this time he's picking up some books on anatomy and poring over those.]

Kitchen

[canreallymove]

[Well, here's Sonic coming in and-]

Hey, what're you doing?

[He looks tired. Though Yuta can probably relate.]

Re: Kitchen

[cellpreservation]

[Yuta actually looks like he's more or less fine! As he has been like, this whole time.]

...I'm trying to learn how to cook.

[A little sulkily, like even he can't believe he's doing this.]

[whimsicalism]

[You're never going to let me live that down, are you, Dani?

There's no hidden items in pillows or a pile of child's blood dried on the shelf (rest in Peace Arnold and your vile cousin)... but there is an odd book on a table that the Little Brothers seem to have forgotten to put back.]

[cellpreservation]

[Never.

[Well then! Let's check out that book.]

kitchen

[copycut]

[ hey, who's that sidling up at Yuta's back to peek at the cookbook around his shoulder ]

Hey, hey — whatcha cooking?

Investigation

[temmapathy]

[Emma wishes she wasn't used to new areas opening up like this now. Still, her expression brightens significantly when she reaches the library. She immediately grabs a random fluffy fiction book and plops down on a pillow to read, getting fairly absorbed into the book. It's...nice, to retreat for a moment into a world where the worst thing that can happen is a bully or a fight between friends, and it's always resolved in the end.

However, the detention room is much more worrying. She first goes to investigate the chalkboard with writing on it-does it look like all of these lines were written by the same person?]

[whimsicalism]

[Most of them seem to be, yes! Some of the older lines are in a different handwriting, though.]