Week Five

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, you had your very first minor body pileup! Granted, the Balladeer's death was entirely unrelated to anything, but at least he died as he lived - getting completely fucked up in some kind of carnival-themed hellscape. Only two days later, another terrible accident took Rina and Varian both from you. It's just been one of those weeks, huh? At least you got to add both of their corpses to your weird growing collection!

Again, you'll wake up this morning with another new snippet of memory. You'll also find that the stairs in the lobby are no longer blocked. You can only access one part of the second floor, but it seems like there's some neat stuff up there!

Outside, a few things seem to have changed. For one, the weather has turned - it'll be overcast this week, with periodic rain and even scattered thunderstorms. For another, the bushes around that rock out by the football field have bloomed. That's nice.

Get to it, friends! I'm sure everything will be fine this week!]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regain and your AC for this week! As always, Hester's office hours and the merch booth remain available. ))

Comments

TUESDAY

[stagemanagers]

MOTIVE: I'm Not Afraid of Anything

[tailor_made]

[Tuesday again?

…

Oh boy.

Like clockwork the doors to the cafeteria click shut at 11:30 am on the dot. The 30 minutes between that and Hester’s announcement crawl by, accented by the occasional flickering of the electricity all over the school and outside a lightning and thunder storm rages outside. It does stay on long enough for the PA system to flicker in, with some crackling feedback. Hester sounds more audibly tired in her announcement than she has before, for reasons at least one person in the group knows.]

Please report to the cafeteria for a special announcement.

[The cafeteria doors unlock and gently swing open as the lights continue to flicker. The cafeteria is drowning in darkness between the storm outside and the power surging. This time Hester can be heard before she’s seen in the dark.]

Elle is afraid of water
I mean she swims so well, but still
She's afraid of water
And so she won't go near the sea
Not me

[When the lights flicker back on she’s in her usual spot, dressed in a simple white dress decorated with a delicate floral design. She's holding a brass candlestick holder in one hand and, as a precaution, lights the single white candle in it.]

Spongebob's afraid of darkness
I mean he sleeps and all, but still
He's afraid of darkness
So when the lights are out he has to hold a hand
I don't understand

The Wizard has your new motive ready.

[The mannequins are back. They're posed all around the cafeteria, in their street clothes and their casual body language, with envelopes in held between their fingers. Each of the current survivors' names are clearly visible on one envelope each.]

I'm not afraid of anything
Be it mountains, water, cars, dark or sky
I'm not afraid of anything
Tell me where's the challenge if you never try
I want to fly
I'm not afraid

In each envelope there's a photo of… [She sighs softly and lifts the candle closer to her face, casting a soft yellow light on just as the lightning crashes outside and the lights fully go out.] What you’re afraid of.

Floral's afraid of bones
I mean she got them too, but now
She's afraid of bones
Guess she's scared of where they'll go
Not me

[A brisk wind cuts through the cafeteria, extinguishing Hester’s candle and leaving the room in pitch blackness. It’s hard to tell if that was meant to happen or not but Hester’s voice can still be heard ringing through the dark.]

I'm not afraid of anything
Be it growing old or going out of style
I'm not afraid of anything
Who would give up what they want without a trial
Another mile
I'm not afraid

[Lightning flashes outside the windows again and the lights flicker back on. Hester is gone, the mannequins are still here and you have your motive.]

[ooc: a quick explanation for this motive! The envelopes have pictures of what the characters fear most. They can be as realistic or as far fetched and absurd as you like!]

[mayavericks]

[Okay, so, after the ghost stories of the previous night? Maya doesn't like any of this. She's already on edge, and already pressing closer to whoever is nearest to her. Thought she moves away when the lights come back on, it's clear she's still a little unnerved. Not by the motive itself, just the ambiance.

She's expecting the same photo as before -- the picture of her apparent loss. Yet when she opens it and pulls the photo out, that isn't what she finds. It's worse far worse than any of that.

She swallows hard as she tucks it away. She crosses the room to find either Janis or Peregrine (or both!) and holds her blade all the tighter.]

[mcfife]

[Angus slowly takes his envelope and holds it in his hands, staring at the sealed photo. He can't ignore it. He has to know, just for evidence's sake. He must.

He pulls it out in one quick movement, and sees himself. It's the same face he's always witnessed in the mirror, but it has a different look to it. More hollow. More detached. Armor that befits the likes of Zargothrax more than a prince.

The photo is immediately crumpled in his hands as he runs off to the Ambassador dorm.]

[comeandfindme]

[ From the moment they’re in the cafeteria, Peregrine tries to get Hester’s attention, before she can even see her. That seems to be what she’s focused on, not quite listening to the song, until—

What they’re afraid of?

She pales. And yes, she’ll take her envelope but oh no, there is no way that Peregrine is opening it. ]

What’s this? Another threat? [ Though she tries to sound tough she certainly doesn’t feel it. ]

[sugarlumps]

Oh, so I don't get a verse? Not cool Hester! Hester! STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR FEELINGS, HESTER!

[LSP has her envelope. She's not opening it. Yet.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ The temptation is strong, to pull Eurydice aside somewhere and open their envelopes or decide against it with some privacy. But after his talks with Peregrine, about supporting each other and keeping the Wizard from using these motives to divide them, he knows he can't. Taking a deep breath, Orpheus flips open his envelope and looks at the photo, trying to brace himself for whatever he might see.

For a moment, he just looks confused. It's him, looking as he does now, but dressed all in black. But then the details start to click together. He's in front of a mausoleum wall, the kind with inset shelves for funerary urns. The inscriptions below them are small, in the photo, but as he squints at them he finds they're just barely legible. Eurydice. Jason. Calais. Zetes. Heracles. Castor. Pollux. Laertes. On and on, and the dates below them range from a few months to many, many decades in the future.

And there he is, in front of them. Looking the same as ever. He doesn't understand it, even then, but then he remembers -

"Do you have a longer lifespan or...?"

- and it all falls into place. He nearly collapses on the spot, letting out a choked noise as he claps a hand over his mouth. No, no. The Wizard can't do this. Of everything he could do, not this. ]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra accepts her envelope with rigid silence and holds it in her hands, staring down at the paper as though she can already see the photo inside.

After a moment she shakes her head. There's no tearing it open, not even a peek. And, as though she can't bear to look at it a second longer, she turns her eyes away and pockets the envelope.]

I don't need to see it.

[She already knows what's inside.]

[fourbutts]

[ Janis is, she admits, a little perplexed what hers could actually be. Not that she's not afraid of anything, but... unless the Wizard is going to change the lore of It Follows pretty drastically, specifics don't really come to mind.

Until she opens it, and freezes up.

Simple, but effective.

Janis swallows, and tucks the photo away into her jacket pocket. ]

Already done that twice, asshole.

[ But the retort lacks... conviction. ]

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah is not as strong as those who don’t open their envelopes. Though she does whisper—]

You’re full of shit, H. You’re scared of a lot.

[She tears the envelope open, and stares at it. She doesn’t understand—- Oh.

No. She gets it.]

It’s not real. It’s not. It’s bullshit.

[barberic]

[Benjamin takes his envelope, but he doesn't open it. Not yet. He's haunted enough, without knowing which of his demons has come to haunt him.

Besides. There are people here he can look after and protect.

And when the whole affair is done, Benjamin wordlessly leaves the cafeteria.]

[disharmonizes]

[Discord rolls his eyes at the whole song, the whole spooky affair. Honestly. He just grabs his envelope, idly looking at it.]

Oh, back to this again, how fun. [He tears it open, pulling out the photo.] As if anything--

[And as he actually glances down and looks at the picture, he visibly jolts, dropping it abruptly and scrambling to grab it again.

Oh.

Oh, he really hates that.]

[whatyouwant]

[Elle's isn't so much a picture as it is an actual letter.

Dear Miss Woods,

We regret to inform you that due to poor academic performance, your enrollment in Harvard University Law School has been terminated.

Elle shoves it back in the envelope and tries to put on a smile.]

There are other schools.

[employeeoftheyear]

Why'd you have to tell everyone I'm afraid of the dark, Hester!

[He genuinely sounds betrayed.

He does pick up his envelope, but Spongebob hesitates. He wants to believe these are real. There's no reason to believe they are real. But... he's scared of the small chance that it is real.

Eventually, he opens the envelope and read what's inside.

His face pales.]

N-no... This can't be...!

[mayavericks]

[Maya is clearly shaken by this whole thing but... Definitely not to the degree of the week previous. It's merely a reminder of a reality she has been prepared for. The only thing left to do is to be vigilant, the same as before. Or... maybe a little more vigilant, considering the fact that people are still dead.

Look, point is, it's fine. Maya goes about her routine as normal, visiting the dance studio after the motives are handed out. There's a little more aggression in her moves today, and she definitely goes at it longer than necessary but... she doesn't stay there all day, either.

In fact, afterward she makes a trip up to the pool, sort of. She flips the switch inside once she's certain no one is in there, and then heads back downstairs. After changing into something a little warmer, Maya stops by the vending machine and, well...

What's one more pitstop? She might look a little weird, sneaking into and out of Rodgers dorm with something large tucked behind her back, but. It's probably fine? She doesn't linger, and once she's done... whatever she's doing, she heads back up to the skating rink.

Her movements aren't quite as fluid here as they are on a stage but... she's clearly no beginner, either. And the more she works, the more comfortable she gets, the more steady the movements become.]

[whatyouwant]

[Elle, clad in a sweater and warm leggings, steps out on to the ice. She isn't as good as Maya, but she does manage to not fall!]

Mind if I share the rink?

Rodgers Dorm

[fourbutts]

[ Janis, for her part, is sitting on her bed, motive photo in hand. Though it doesn't stay out of her pocket for long when she sees Maya enter. ]

Oh hey, babe. What's up?

skating rink

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine's on her way to develop some pictures when she passes the skating rink. She can just feel the cooler air from it without even looking. She knows someone's got it switched over and— that's their right, it's fine.

However, when she takes a peek in, curiosity overwhelming her, her jaw tightens. ]

Maya?

investigation-ish

[comeandfindme]

[ After last night, despite almost getting struck by vengeful lightning, Peregrine is in high spirits. No, not even the motive can change that. She, for one, has decided to return to return to her dorm, tuck that envelope away, and not think about it.

The rest of her day is going to be spent... Well. In the woods.

She goes out there, not too far, with one of the cameras from the library. And then, she proceeds to take pictures. It's nothing distinct, just whatever's around. Of the trees, the fake birds, the undergrowth. The area around the garden.

Toward evening, she calls it a day and goes to develop those in the Darkroom, looking for anything that could be...off about those pictures. A shadowy figure that wasn't there in the day, a blurred silhouette. Hell, she'll take a fucking glowing orb. Anything.

She's been out of her dorm all day and she's pretty exhausted when she goes back to it. That's probably why she just throws off the blankets and almost crashes into bed, without even changing clothes or checking to see that it's already occupied by a prop deer with a bow on its head and‐

Peregrine stares at the deer in her bed. In an exasperated tone: ]

Am I a fucking joke to you people.

investigation!

[stagemanagers]

[Peregrine's trip to the woods was, on the surface, uneventful. She was able to take pictures in peace aside from the threat of rain hanging overhead.

But the photos are a different stort. As they develop, they don't show the trees or the birds or the undergrowth. They show blacktop pavement and hubcaps and even whole cars.]

[barberic]

[Benjamin is still in a vaguely manic state of energy. In fact, whatever is carrying him forward, seems to be getting a little frustrated with his lack of progress. He hasn't slept more than a couple of hours total, this week, his expression pale and eyes haunted, almost bruise-black, so Ambassador won't see him in the morning. He can be found in the cafeteria, though, very early in the morning, turning in some coins to the vending machine.

Luckily nothing that comes out to day seems to be acutely traumatic, like last time, although he spends some time standing there with the flannel held in his hands, staring at the shirt like it's an accusation.

By the time that night time hours are ended, he's deposited most of his items where he thinks they'll get more use, between the costume room and the scene shop, and moved on to the weight room, where he's squared up with a punching bag and spends a while raining down absolutely punishing blows onto it, until his shirt is soaked about halfway down his back, and the thick leather has burned the bare skin on his knuckles until they've begun to crack and bleed.

He takes a shower in the boys' locker room, just standing under scalding water hot as an exorcism for a few minutes before he begins to scrub himself clean. Aside from the copious amount of steam, anybody who comes in may catch a glimpse of the old, thick scars that stripe viciously across his back.

After he showers, he slips into a t-shirt that's just barely looser than skintight, and contemplates in the locker room for a long moment before he decides to slip into the red flannel. It fits him like a glove, and he stares at his reflection with an unreadable expression as he rolls up the sleeves to his elbows, baring his forearms.

After the motive, he goes to the library, looking through the music books for something. When he finds what he's looking for, he goes to the music room, where he wordlessly picks up one of the guitars that the Balladeer had tuned, weeks ago, and starts at the beginning of the book, practicing the first two basic chords, over and over again with a grim determination.

When his fingers won't play anymore, he puts away the guitar and takes the book back to his room to leave it in his trunk. Then he goes on a walk through the grounds, despite the threat of rain overhead. His walk takes him pretty much everywhere, but he ends up nonetheless in the garden, where he stops to rest on the edge of the pond, basking in the stillness and the growing pressure that promises rain soon.]

There's a grief that can't be spoken,
There's a pain goes on and on...

weight room

[violentenvies]

[Salieri doesn't normally go around the gym or the weight room. But he's heading towards the boys locker room this morning when he hears the sounds of movement, and goes to investigate.

He can't say he's surprised, exactly, to find Benjamin there. Salieri does pause in the door frame, debating on whether to interrupt him, when he notices the glint of red on his friend's knuckles amid the sweat of exertion]

--Benjamin? [he steps into the room, then, concern furrowing his brow]

garden

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine's been out in the woods all day, with a camera. It's only natural that she stop by the garden before heading back in.

She doesn't mean to catch Benjamin in mourning, and she starts to back away, but a stray twig announces her presence anyway. ]

Shoot— sorry.

joins the late tuesday train

[disharmonizes]

[After the motive announcement, Discord is... not really around a whole lot? If anyone's looking for him, good luck with that. It's more likely to stumble onto him by accident, in the the woods of all places. He's just, you know, vibing? Taking a walk? For fun??

Well, doing his best to get himself calm down and he's expecting to be mostly left alone here. Can't have a total meltdown if he's too busy... appreciating nature or whatever it is that people do outside, who knows. Not him.

Later, though, he can be found in the kitchen, with some matches and-- yeah that's his envelope, alright. Though he's not actually lighting it yet. Oh, the match is lit and he's holding it by the envelope, but he seems to be waiting. Stalling, more likely.

And very, very late in the evening, he's in the library, set up at a table, reading... science books? This is the right account but are we like sure this is Discord?]

Investigation

[violentenvies]

[post-motive and checking on a couple people, Salieri is going to go first to the Band Room, at which point he'll check to see if there's any new messages there in response to the ones he left on the underside of the piano bench. He's planing to then go to the Choir Room to check the back side of the whiteboard and see if there's a response to the message he left there as well.

After that, he'll return to the Band Room (part 2) where he'll settle down at the piano to do some composing. If there's anyone who's witnessed him in his more manic states of composing the past couple weeks, they might be relieved to see that that energy seems to have dissipated some, instead leaving room for something more focused and calm]