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

[mayavericks]

[Today was business as usual. Workout, eat food, despair at their circumstances. Really, this shouldn't come as a surprise to Maya anymore. She'd been strong for three weeks, had promised to keep their friends united in the face of these motives. They were looking to her for support.

But then, so was Nana, wasn't she?

As it is, Maya only stops in to the meeting briefly, or as brief as she can depending on who tries to stop her. She has information to pass along, important for everyone else. And then she's gone.

It shouldn't be hard to find her, of course. Maya's always in the dance studio, after all. This time, there's a new mannequin to be found, while the other is shredded in the corner. The new mannequin looks like it's on the verge of meeting the same fate, slashed and damaged as it is.

Eventually she does leave. She ducks into the concession stand, digging around until she has a bottle of water. She seems to consider eating for a moment, before deciding against it.

For the rest of the night, she'll be outside. Maybe she's tucked onto the gayseball field, or maybe she's settled on Mumble's bench in the Garden. Either way, she's staring up at the stars.

Maybe you'll even catch her singing]

Oh, bird that signals the break of dawn,
Please stop the clock in this moment
Shooting star that gently goes through the morning, please fall down here
oh, fly me to the star

Hey Mods

[mayavericks]

[Since we're here and looking at the stars, though... uh.

Are they as nonsensical as the Opera House, or...]

[stagemanagers]

[They are, in fact! Beautiful to look at but deeply baffling and rage-inducing if you actually know stars.]

The Garden

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus wanders out late in the night, carrying what looks like a plate of ashes and burnt fish bones along with a pair of tap shoes. He makes a beeline for the garden, but stops at the entrance when he hears Maya singing. For a moment he considers turning back, but what was it he said to Peregrine? They needed to be there for each other. No matter what.

He steps in, raising the hand holding the shoes in greeting. He'll wait until she's done with her song, before saying, ]

Evening, Maya. Are you, um. Are you doing all right?

[mayavericks]

[Late as it is, Maya hadn't expected visitors. She isn't surprised, but... She also doesn't look like her usual, presentable self.]

It's been a long day. That's all.

[themuseabandonsyou]

It has.

[ Orpheus starts to scatter the fine little fish bones and ashes around Mumble's bench. He's quiet for a moment as he does so, before speaking up again. ]

I'm sorry. About your friend. Daiba Nana, right? It must be hard, hearing she's been through this too and not knowing where she went.

[mayavericks]

[Maya sits up, following the motion of his hands. Aha, a distraction. She will... politely ignore his question in favor of taking an interest in his own efforts.]

What is all of that?

[themuseabandonsyou]

It's an offering. [ says Orpheus, continuing to circle the bench. ] I don't... know if penguins have gods? I never really talked to Mumble about it. But I thought it couldn't hurt, to try to do something to ease his passage. Even if I'm a little late.

[ He sets the tap shoes down on the bench, on the other side from where Maya is sitting. ]

And those are for Mumble. I got them out of the machine. I was going to give them to him? But...

[mayavericks]

He'd love them.

[Maya doesn't know much about the ritual. Most of what she does know are from the old Greek plays she's been apart of. But she can respect the thought that's gone into it, at least.

The tap shoes, however, she does understand. She stares at them as they're set down. Even as he continues speaking, her gaze remains locked there.]

He would have loved them. [A beat.] The first time we danced together, it was a tap routine.

dance studio

[disharmonizes]

[Discord glances at the shredded mannequin in the corner as he walks in, before looking at the one currently being assaulted. He sort of figured this is where she'd be.]

If you're hoping to bend the rules by killing a mannequin, I don't think that'll fly.

[mayavericks]

[She spares him one glance before running the mannequin through.]

I am not in the mood, Discord-san.

[disharmonizes]

I gathered as much. That is quite the mood you were in earlier and it looks like it's stuck around.

[Walks over to the already slain mannequin and idly gives it a kick.]

Talk about being on edge.

[mayavericks]

What do you want?

[She has to take a moment to free her sword from the damn mannequin. Bastard.]

1/2

[disharmonizes]

Oh, I'm just here to be an absolute pain and make your life more difficult, at a time when you could really use it. For entertainment's sake, of course.

2/2

[disharmonizes]

[...]

That was a joke, for the record.

I'm just here to make sure you're not plummeting down.

garden

[howtheworldwas]

[ Lately, Eurydice's been trying to spend as much time outside as she can. Usually, people don't come this far out here this late, and she's surprised Maya has beat her to it.

She'll sit across from her, on Connor's bench. ]

Beautiful, aren't they?

[mayavericks]

You could say that.

[She's two parts distracted and one part sintrigued by the random array of it all.]

Do they look familiar to you?

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice stares for a while, brow furrowed. ]

...no, actually. A few of these I would use to navigate by, but they're all in the wrong place. We must be in a different part of the world.

[mayavericks]

I don't think that's quite right.

[She points up at one constellation, then another.]

I don't know much about the stars but... You never see these two in the sky at the same time. It does not coincide with Earth's orbit.

[howtheworldwas]

[ squints ]

...I think you're right. What do you think that means?

gayseball field

[tellthestory]

Isn't it pretty?

[Head empty, no experience with having seen stars before! The Balladeer was honestly just kinda wandering, but he approaches Maya when he sees her. Company is always good, isn't it?]

i'm sad how dare you

[mayavericks]

It is, yes.

[She holds her hand up, mirroring an attempt at catching one.]

If you gather a small star,
You will seize a small amount of happiness.
If you gather a large star,
You will seize a large amount of wealth.

If you gather them both,
You will seize an eternal wish.

[She scoffs.]

What a cruel joke.

[tellthestory]

...yeah.

[He hadn't been thinking of the motive, but...yeah. That's a pretty common metaphor. The Balladeer sits down on the grass nearby, watching Maya now.]

At least it wasn't a threat, this time? I'm not sure which one is worse.

[mayavericks]

I don't know. [Her eyes narrow.]

A wish is a chance to grab for power. To change us from this helpless state. On the other hand... Most people will be more inspired to act when something they care about is on the line.

[tellthestory]

There's nothing to be afraid of, if you let something like this pass. Right? It's just a missed opportunity, if anything.

[But then, what does he know? He's seized at opportunity when it was presented to him, but he also felt like it was the only possible thing to do at the time. And it's happened so rarely.]

I don't think the Wizard would accept a wish like..."I wish none of this had ever happened." [...] I wish all of us were still alive. It's almost the same as...traveling back in time to the start of this.

[Which we evidently aren't allowed to do for some reason.]