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

Investigation! (read: attempted vandalism)

[barberic]

[The motive and the meeting yesterday seems to have rallied Benjamin, somewhat. At least, his moping around seems more intentional, compared to Monday when it almost seemed like his feet were just carrying the rest of his body wherever they pleased.

The first thing he does is try and follow through on the plan that Salieri gave him at the meeting. To that end, he goes first to the scene shop - luckily everyone was at the meeting, or else him lifting the heavy tools and giving wide practice swings would look pretty suspicious. He stops when he notices if he has company, but it's possible someone might walk in to see him hauling off and slamming holes in a prop door with a hammer, or a crowbar, or a 4x4 beam, the same kind he kneecapped Bigfoot with.

Once he's chosen his first weapon - the crowbar - he goes to the mystery door. Unfortunately for the door, his muscles now remember years and years of hard labor. One locky boy vs one jacked dad - fight!

After he's either forced to admit defeat, or done investigating, he goes outside, taking a seat in the courtyard, where he just. Sits. For a long while.]

Scene Shop

[alchemistake]

[Varian didn't stick around as long as some of the others at the meeting. It's less that he's uninterested in helping, and more that being with everyone at once right now is a touch more overwhelming after the motive than it had been Sunday, to say the least. The scene shop is one of his usual haunts even though he mentioned investigating the auto shop above all else, so he decides to go there first today.

He isn't expecting to see it already occupied though, and he ends up stopping and pulling back before he walks in and shows himself. He heard about what happened with Benjamin from Rina, so it's good to see him up and about...not so good to see him making practice swings with the various tools in there. Tools that could easily become weapons in the right hands.

He should probably just leave...but instead, he'll eventually announce his presence once Benjamin has stopped to look for a different tool.]

S...sir...? Is everything alright?

[barberic]

[Benjamin grunts as he pulls the crowbar out of the hole that it's punched in the prop door. Before he can take another practice swing, he looks up at the sound of the young man's voice.]

...Yes, lad, everything's fine.

[He sets down the crowbar on one of the prop tables, and wipes his hair off his forehead with the back of his wrist.]

I'm going to try and break into that locked room. We may only get one chance to get in there, so I plan to make it count.

[alchemistake]

[Varian can understand his conviction. He'd be a hypocrite to say he hadn't tried a million and one ways to break through the front doors, after all, so...

He'll step a little further into view, now.]

Well...do you want some help? I wasn't able to get the doors open, but...I might be able to do something more with this one.

[barberic]

It would be appreciated. If brawn can't do the trick, perhaps some brains can manage to make headway.

What were you thinking?

[alchemistake]

Well...that depends. I haven't actually seen the door myself yet.

What does it look like? Is it bolted shut, or have any kind of grips or handles on it?

[barberic]

It looks like the rest of them. Just... wooden, with one of those little narrow windows.

Pushing or pulling alone won't so much as rattle it. Whatever's in there is shut up tight.

[alchemistake]

Hmm...well, my first thought is to try to uncrew the hinges or break the window, but I've never had any luck doing either of those things on any of the other doors.

[Varian eyes the tools that Benjamin had been hefting before.]

So you might actually have the right idea, there.

[barberic]

Well, I'll try the window first.

[He turns the crowbar over in his hands, thoughtfully.]

Maybe if unscrewing the hinges won't work, this will.

[alchemistake]

Yeah...where do you think that door even leads, though?

[Cause it leading outside isn't going to matter to them anymore, right?]

Courtyard

[whatyouwant]

[Elle sits next to Benjamin. There are a few moments of silence before she says anything.]

Penny for your thoughts?

[barberic]

Not worth the tuppence, honestly.

I was just feeling sorry for myself, I suppose. Thought there might be one thing here I could do to help, but it didn't go anywhere.

[whatyouwant]

[Elle gives him a sad smile.]

I take it your investigation didn't turn up much?

[barberic]

No matter how hard I hit it, I couldn't so much as leave a scratch.

That's something learned in its own way, I suppose.

[whatyouwant]

We wouldn't have known unless someone tried. It's always something we can try to work out more later with the others.

All we found was a roof garden. Hopefully the others turned up something more useful.

[barberic]

[Benjamin looks at her, then.]

Another garden? That's...interesting.

[whatyouwant]

Yeah, apparently the homicidal weirdo keeping us here really likes plants. You can only get to it by climbing the side of the school right now, though.

[barberic]

I wonder if the plan was to unlock it later.

[After all, they've gotten new areas after every...]

Mystery Door!

[stagemanagers]

[Unfortunately, this door seems impenetrable! You can't so much as leave a scratch on it - you can't even smudge the glass on the windows.]

[barberic]

[What kind of sound does it make when he hits it?]

[stagemanagers]

[Door...noises...thunk thunk]

[barberic]

[Yeah okay but like, metal? Wood? Is it like there's some kind of force field around it, or is it just a weirdly strong door?]

[stagemanagers]

[Seems like just a weirdly strong door! It's made of wood, and resembles the others in the school in basically every way other than - presumably? - its durability.]

scene shop

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[That is the same kind of 4x4 that crippled Bigfoot. Cass remembers. It's kind of hard to forget. But Benjamin isn't attacking a bigfoot. Just a door. For... whatever reason.]

What are... you doing?

[barberic]

[Benjamin's swing connects, leaving an indent in the door. He lets the attacking end of the beam drop to the floor, and wipes sweat from his forehead, slightly winded.]

Testing what the best method would be, to try and get past that locked door. Don't think I'll be using this.

[He leans it back up against a pile of similar beams.]