The sky shines differently today than it did yesterday

[employeeoftheyear]

[Perhaps to the surprise of no one, there is no after party after that trial. Two children were dead. Two children were dead over a simple accident and the Wizard cared more about himself than anyone else. But they won't give up, they can't give up. They had to keep fighting until everything's been set right.

At the Lobby ofrenda later that night, there are six origami pieces accoupling the other memorials. A penguin, a rose, an octopus man, computer, a music note, and the last one are of a boy and girl holding hands. Along with that there is a plate of strawberry cupcakes with blueberry icing and a note that reads:]

There is still hope and love in the world

Never let The Wizard make you think otherwise 💗

Comments

[employeeoftheyear]

[Spongebob, despite the offerings, is not seen around the school at all after trial and it seems like both him and Gary completely vanished.

If anyone were to come out to the Courtyard, they’ll hear quiet, sad ukulele music, but it’s not immediately obvious where it’s coming from.]

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah doesn’t attend any group activities. All of her energy is completely drained from trying to protect Varian—- and her head still spins and her stomach churns from the flask of tequila that she emptied into her body before the execution. She looks, quite frankly, like shit. The colors drained from her face, and she looks like she could fall down any minute.

When she arrives in Broadhurst, she hesitates—- eying Varian’s bunk, then ending up sprawling on the floor. If anyone tries talking to her, she’s not likely to respond. She just lays there, and wishes it were her that had died instead. Sometimes, she even watches the video of her fall, again and again and again and again——

A few hours after this, she can be found in the Girl’s Dressing Room, the only place where she can duck out of any parental figures. She takes advantage of this by busting a bottle of wine out of her locker, and standing in the showers wearing all her clothes, drinking shower wine straight from the bottle, and wailing in anguish like she’s dying.

After that, later still, once the booze has worn off, she can be found in the library. She’s got the Balladeer’s jacket draped around the shoulders, and she lays on the floor with books surrounding her. Here she rips pages out of books one by one. Mostly, it’s crummy books she’s decimating—- but she’s also ripping out any pages about Mozart that she comes along.]

[mayavericks]

[Maya's mostly... wandering idly. The sound of music draws her attention, and so she starts to follow it. Maybe she wants to avoid talking but... listening? That's alright.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus makes it his mission to check on absolutely everybody, after what they witnessed today. He starts by heading to the kitchen, where he grabs a bottle of Persephone's wine and a stack of cups, a bottle of water, and one of the many large bags of dried apple chips he prepared earlier in the week. It's not much, but it's the best he can do on the short notice.

Then it's off to search for people. Whoever he runs into, however fleetingly, wherever he finds them, he will try to talk to them. It'd be easy enough to wave him off with enough persistence, should one really not want to, but he's trying his best. ]

[mcfife]

[Early in the afterparty, Angus is always by Elle's side, watching the others from their seats with a barely restrained look on his face. He's angry. All of this, and everything hat happened earlier, he hates it. And he can't even fight the Wizard.

The lizard terrarium isn't here this week. He doesn't want to think about them for too long.

Eventually, the two make their separate ways, with Angus roaming into the kitchen looking for some place to direct his rage.]

What can I do to help?

[After the ordeal woth Rina's body, he's found at the side of the building with the gapping hook Varian built for him earlier in the week. He swings it up high, but misses the right stable spot. He then throws it up again, pulling on it tightly, and sighs.]

Library

[employeeoftheyear]

[While Farrah is ripping through the books, she might paper slide under the doorway.]

[mayavericks]

[You know what's better than therapy? Going to get changed and preparing for a long practice session. Maya heads into the girl's dressing room and -- ]

Oh. My apologies.

[Just kidding she'll find a corner to change in, bye.]

[fourbutts]

[ Janis... isn't doing her usual rounds, after all of that is over. Not really. She wanders a little, probably into a couple other toplevels, but mostly she actually. Hangs out under the bleachers at the football field, of all places. Looks like she's... well she has a notebook and a pen, and she looks like she's trying to figure out something to sketch, but... she also looks like she's busy crying. So there's that.

And through her tears, which are not as strong as they could be but also not nothing, she's singing. ]

Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
Do every stupid thing to try to drive the dark away
Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
Climb limits past the limits
Jump in front of trains all day
And stay alive

Just stay alive

[ ... It's been one hell of a week. ]

[employeeoftheyear]

[The music flows softly through the air. If Maya listens close enough, she will hear singing]

Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
As it glided through the trees
Still following ever the bud
The ʻāhihi lehua of the vale

[brokeforgood]

[Really, Maya? Are you able to ignore the heart wrenching wails she’s making, or the fact that she’s just standing completely visibly in the open shower with all her clothes on like some kind of hot mess?

She hasn’t even noticed Maya yet.]

[comeandfindme]

[ There's one place to go first. For the first time all week, Peregrine enters the woods without hesitation. She walks over underbrush, taking an apple from her pocket. ]

Ruddiger! Ruddiger, here boy! [ How does one call a raccoon? She doesn't care. She's not leaving until she finds him. It may take awhile. It may take all night. But she doesn't care.

And after that, she...can't really be found anywhere for a long while. Don't worry about it. ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya is... restless. Normally, she might practice but without the sword, it all feels empty. The dance studio feels wrong as well, considering what Rina had been doing there the night prior.

So she just... wanders. She avoids the garden and the corn fields, but... sort of wanders circles around the football field.

Later in the night, she does settle in Broadhurst. She tries to lay down, to get comfortable but --

Nope. Instead she gathers a blanket and a pillow and goes to the gayseball field. It's not too cold out, right?]

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s busy destroying things right now, but at some point she does notice that paper—— and sprints to it. It might be from Rina, or Varian somehow—-]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa's good at holding tears in. In the long, lonely years of her isolation, she learned how to best hide her crying from her parents, and from Anna. But when they all leave the auditorium after that trial... she can't hold it in anymore. She leans against the wall of the Lobby and cries. It's not the loud or especially heaving sort of crying, but it's still a lot, coming from her. Tears stream hot and fast down her cheeks, and she clamps a hand down hard over her mouth to muffle her sobs.

Two more people. Two children. One being a boy who she'd felt responsible for, who felt like a brother to her. A boy who struggled with his sense of goodness in the same way Elsa did, who she tried so hard to assure that he wasn't some terrible, heartless monster...

It's too much. It's all just. Too much...

For most of the day, Elsa can't be found alone. She's nearly plastered herself to Cass's side so wherever Cass goes, she goes. But eventually Cass goes off, insisting she needed to take a long, hot shower after all of that, and Elsa's left on her own. She wanders back into the lobby, in front of the ofrenda. She just... stares at it for a while, then looks down at the origami figures in front of it.]

You know... I was told by an ambassador from the east that making things like this can be a token of good luck. [She crouches down, not to pick one up, but just... to look at them closer.] You have to make a lot of them, though. Maybe...


[And later still, before Elsa goes off to find Cass again, she stops by Broadhurst Dorm. Bruni the fire spirit seems to be leading her there, giving out worried and sad squeaks as he occasionally looks over his shoulder at his friend. He crawls up the desk the terrarium had been set up on, and places one little paw on the glass; Rapunzel and Eugene, the lizards Varian had received through the vending machine, are inside.]

Oh, buddy... [He must have made friends with them, huh...?] Do you want to look after them?

[employeeoftheyear]

[Unfortunately it's not! It's an envelope that's initialed "From SB"

Want to open it?]

Library

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus peers into the library, the bottle of water and apple chips still tucked under his arm, and for a moment he just... watches Farrah, perplexed, before shrugging it off and wandering over to sit down next to her. ]

Hey. [ he says, gently, setting down the bag of dried apples between them and holding out the water bottle to her. He picks up one of the pages she's torn out of an encyclopedia, squinting at it. ] ... Were these all about Mozart?

Courtyard

[fourbutts]

[ Janis sort of... wanders out, almost in a daze, on her way to try to be alone for a while, but. The ukulele gives her pause.

So she'll just sort of. Listen and look to see where it might be coming from. ]

[tailor_made]

[Anyone trying to track down Hester to get into her office immediately post-trail isn't going to have much luck. Her office is locked and she's nowhere to be found. But that doesn't meant she didn't keep her word.

The cart Rina had been laid out on is parked right by the front doors, exactly how they'd left it a few hours earlier with one exception: Rina is not alone. Laid out next to her with a bright yellow sunflower laid across his chest and wrapped in a grey-blue shroud of fabric just like his girlfriend is Varian. There's no signs of blood or physical trauma, just two kids ready to be put to rest in that lovely garden outside.]

gayseball field where else for them

[fourbutts]

[ And, not long after, Janis appears with a blanket and pillow of her own. ]

Not feeling sleeping inside?

[employeeoftheyear]

[No matter where Janis looks around the courtyard for the source, she can't find the culprit. But the music seems to be coming from... above her?

[mayavericks]

[Honestly, in her own feelings as she is, she doesn't necessarily recognize the wailing until

oh.]

Farrah-san?

[Now she's heading in, fully expecting some sort of disaster. Blood everywhere, that kind of thing.]

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah nods, though she ignores the bottle of water and the apples.]

Yeah. I’m erasing his existence from history. I just gotta find a paper shredder.

[Her gaze flickers to the water again.]

Don’t need any of that. Thanks.

[brokeforgood]

[She never thought she’d be this disappointed for a note from Spongebob Squarepants.

Sure; what’s the worst that can happen?]

[fourbutts]

[ Then she'll scan the trees! Where is her boy!? ]

gaysball

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice sees Maya out there, sleeping under the open air...

...and ten minutes later, returns with a large coat from the scene shop. She folds it up and lays it beside her, quietly. ]

Here. I don't think the weather's gonna change, but still. You don't wanna get too cold.