Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Huffs!!!

That's what she thought, giant talking head.]

[brokeforgood]

[She hesitates. She doesn’t want to leave them. But she also has the uncontrollable desire to listen to Salieri, and make him happy by being a good girl.

She takes a steadying breath, then—- nods. She releases them both, squeezing Salieri’s hand, and giving him an oddly determined sort of look.]

I love you.

[And then she looks to Benji—- reaches for his hand, to squeeze it too, and look directly at him.]

I love you. [And then she turns swiftly on her heel, to go find where Varian and Rina are. Salieri’s right, and they probably need her. She can be a good girl, and listen, and to straight for them.

But before she leaves, she does pause in the doorway. She doesn’t look at the rubble. But she does look back, at Salieri.]

[comeandfindme]

[ The almost relaxed atmosphere fades. ]

...They're... [ Another really big sigh. ] ...I'm not doing too hot.

[employeeoftheyear]

[Like the after party last week, Spongebob is not really seen much outside of the Rodgers Dorm. Instead, people will see his snail inching around the building. Mainly he's going to the library to grab some comic books, before going to the kitchen to-

... Is... is he cooking? He's sitting on a stool in front of a stove with a little spatula and a pan of pancakes frying, so this certainly does look like cooking.]

cooking

[comeandfindme]

[ Throughout the day, Peregrine is practically glued to Janis' side, except for when she goes to get things from the vending machine and continue working her deerskin leather...and get some food for her and Maya. This is how she comes across the cooking snail. ]

...Gary? [ no, she hasn't actually addressed the snail yet before now, but yes she did watch an amount of Spongebob Squarepants as a child, so. ] How can you... You don't have arms!

[barberic]

[Benjamin is with it enough to notice when Farrah and Antonio recover, slowly. He keeps his arms around them for as long as he can, but eventually lets them go, ignoring the way it leaves him feeling cold and empty and lost.

When Farrah takes his hand, tells him she loves him, his breath hitches, and his expression crumples. Before she pulls away from him he squeezes her hand, brings it up to his lips and kisses her knuckles.

I love you too.]

[employeeoftheyear]

[Gary lowers his eyelids and meows at her. Per gets the feeling that he's telling her that he doesn't need arms for this, miss judgey.]

[stagemanagers]

I remove them. They don't exist anymore.

[also sorry but did you think the school had cremation facilities?]

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine gasps. Huh, that sucks!! ]

That's... That's horrible...

[employeeoftheyear]

[He looks up at the crowd, to the Wizard mocking them, to everyone's horror.]

I'm just a simple sponge...

[He stills, mind swirling with thoughts.]

... Ok, I guess I'll let the others work.

[stagemanagers]

...why? You can't keep them here.

[comeandfindme]

O- okay, okay, you're a super snail or something.

[ She is not getting into an argument with a snail. ]

...Where's Spongebob? Doesn't he usually cook?

[comeandfindme]

Because— how do you not understand that people need to say goodbye to the people they love?! What about their families? Or— or their friends? You just made them not exist, that's sick! That's fucked up!

[fourbutts]

[ Janis... isn't outside, after Wednesday night, not really. But at some point there's a couple papers left up in the restrooms: ]

- Bunch of mannequin parts backstage
- Also weird little dioramas of the executions
- And more carvings asking for help
- And the costumes for the executions
- The second execution stuff was still up and laid out with stage tape, he plans them it's not just magic
- Bad vibes. Really fucking bad vibes.
- That fucker really does care about Hester
- Shit might be repeating and breaking down I have no idea
- No manual controls in the bubble obviously
- No way in or out of that head he's somewhere else
- Fucker's a Marina fan

[ For any other inquiries, or just to check on The State Of Janis... well, she's currently in Broadhurst. Maya and Peregrine are never too far away, but like... it's not like Janis is catatonic, she's able to talk to anyone who wants to talk to her. ]

[violentenvies]

[Despite himself, Salieri feels his throat go tight when Farrah tells him she loves him, and then further when she says it to Benjamin. His fingers curl in the back of Benjamin's shirt where he's still holding on to him]

I love you, too. [it's hoarse, and he presses himself against Benjamin's side as Farrah leaves, watching her go, using the other man as a grounding presence to keep from going after her, from following and making sure she won't disappear.

Salieri swallows, and as she looks back in the doorway, he can't help but feel a painful throb of fond exasperation--of course she looked back. It's Farrah. He meets her gaze and manages a small smile, despite the way his heart squeezes in his chest]

[employeeoftheyear]

[He cries more, holding onto her for dear life.]

I just... I just don't know if the Wizard will stop until we're all... we're all...

["dead"]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

You can't just make us suffer like this and then make it like nothing even happened!

[employeeoftheyear]

[He looks away from her for a moment, clearly worried, and meows. Obviously that incident the previous night affected Spongebob really badly. Honestly more badly than the previous weeks somehow.]

Vending Machine

[alchemistake]

[Varian's only had one experience with open flames here so far and it was uhh bad considering the fact he and Orpheus almost burned down the kitchen, so he's not interested in seeing a repeat of that. So when he happens to be nearby as the fire just jettisons from the vending machine, he's understandably...a little shocked.]

Ah, oh geeze-!

[Before he knows it, Elsa is running after the flames and for a moment he wonders if she's planning on trying to put it out with her magic...only to realize, no...that's a creature she's holding.]

Elsa...what is that?

[alchemistake]

[Fortunately for Rina, Varian doesn't make it that far. He got stopped in one of the hallways leading back to the dorms, because he realized he would probably start running into people if he went that way, so the best thing for him to do had been just...

Pace in a tight circle, gripping his head- almost pulling at his hair- before turning and slamming both fists against the wall, hard. It's a brief outburst that doesn't last more than a second before the wind leaves Varian's sails, his expression screwing up as he lifts both hands to cover his face, turning around with his back to the wall.

From there, he slides down until he's in a hard sit on the hallway floor, moving to bury his face into his knees.]

[whatyouwant]

Excuse me? Now you care about property laws?

[Elle is yelling from where she's holding Spongebob.]

After you kidnap us, steal our stuff to put in that weird machine, and force us to kill each other?

[whatyouwant]

[Elle pauses for a moment to do some yelling of her own before pulling Spongebob out of the room with her.]

Come on, lets go get some snacks ready. I'm sure the others will want to meet after this.

[alchemistake]

[It feels so uncomfortably hollow, how they're all expected to just go back to living normally after the death of a friend. It's fucked up how Varian has come to almost expect the routine- the death, the investigation, the trial- so to completely bypass that makes it feel like there's still more yet to come. The other shoe hasn't dropped despite the Balladeer no longer being with them. What he'd heard the Wizard say about him still echoes in the back of his mind.

Varian won't be very easily found on Thursday, mostly because- like many others- he's seeking to be alone. He will be in the Cafeteria briefly to find something to eat- a snack from concessions and a soda, definitely...nothing constituting a real meal, which might ring as a concern- before disappearing again.

Where he's actually going is the Scene Shop. He hasn't been there in a while due to his working on the car, but...he's here most of the early day, sitting among the parts and tools on an overturned box with a little chunk of wood he'd cut in his hand. He's not wearing gloves since what he's doing is more delicate work, the healing scar on his left hand visible when he turns it over to get the chisel he's scraping across the wood into the right place.

It looks like he's carving something, but it's in the early stages. Too difficult to make out what it might be just yet.]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ Rina follows him but stops when she sees him pacing and slamming his fists.

She doesn't really know what to do... even once he's on the ground. ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya turns her head, but only a little. Really, other than that, the only acknowledgement of his presence is a short, clipped sort of nod. Probably not encouraging his help, especially since after a few moments of silence, she turns to face him fully.]

Did you say something?