[everything around them is silent. almost as if the area itself is mourning kanae's loss, reflective of shinobu's grief as it begins to settle into her heart. the purple light glows brighter, forming a shape that looks similar to a flower as it opens what appears to be another portal. that same swirling sort of galaxy can be seen from the inside, along with the red and the white ring.
they can go when they're ready, and decide what ring to pick.]
[ah, lup doesn't know what to do. she knows what she wants to do, but she doesn't want to make it worse, either. a hug or reassuring words from someone who took a friend from you is probably the last thing that'd work.
it's why she startles slightly, when yjh moves to dress her arm. sort of dumbly:]
Uh - thanks. [she's too sad to really argue or be mean about it. she just lets him do it, gaze flicking between him and shinobu. she lets the silence hang for a couple more moments, because - it feels unfair to not give it that weight. it feels wrong to just immediately brush past it. something that heavy, that devastating, with an audience, feels nasty in a way that sticks to her lungs.
but yjh is right. they can't stay.]
We can't. [she agrees, soft, finally letting her hand fall away from shinobu.] I...
[she starts, but she doesn't know how to end the sentence. so instead, she stumbles over to the staff, and picks it up to lean against it. she's tired, worn from the spellcasting, but she can keep going.]
... You want to flip a coin for the next one, bud, or do you care? [to yjh, just to. give shinobu a second.]
[ it is easier to register the two of them, as they give her that second. as she thinks about that hand that reached out to her, that face she loved, the butterfly clip that she could recognize on sight—
...
could she?
she trembles a little, as she tries to focus, on remembering. ]
We can go.
[ she sounds empty, but she isn't going to fight the next choice. she takes a couple stumbling steps towards the light, away from her past, away from her memories. ]
[ Lup is trying so hard while Joonghyuk only offers Shinobu emotional space. ]
What matters is that we get this over with.
[ So, no, he doesn’t care. If she wants to flip the coin, she can.
And oocly cause we said it, rng has chosen the red ring. ]
After a ten minute rest, we can head in.
[ And they can have their ten minutes to get themselves together and recover. Shinobu, however, I guess will continue to lose memories while these two will continue to not realize the extent of devastation.
[they take their ten minutes of rest, regrouping and regaining their bearings. they enter the galactic space and float for a bit, swimming toward the red ring.
as the three of them enter the red ring, it's a swirl of reds, oranges and yellow immediately twirling like a whirlwind around them as they dive down toward the ground. the ring closes behind them, gravity still escaping them and their movements fluid. clusters of stars and smaller red rings appear around them that they may attempt to dive through, appearing in various places as the wind rushes past them and they drop.
below them, they will see what looks like a fancy academic building, all prestigious columns and stairs and marble architecture. a sprawling courtyard connects it to other buildings, and there's a chatter of laughter and talking all around them. the voices are inaudible, but there's a sense of camaraderie, of people letting off steam and having fun.
however, as they go, they will soon find themselves swarmed by large, old tomes. the book covers are wide open, allowing the monsters to catch some air and dart and swing right at the group. they won't give papercuts or anything if they get too close, but they will leave some nasty bruises. and if that weren't enough?
around you, several billboards advertising different variety shows, parties and alcohol can be seen. if you don't dodge, you'll likely plow right through them and splinter the wood on your way out.]
[it is maybe a bit of an awkward ten minutes, but it's something.
lup is much more prepared for what's going to happen this time - she knows they have to go through the rings, so she's going to try that. however, the books are... here. and she's absolutely distracted by the buildings, by the courtyard - by a place that feels familiar. she's not sure, yet, but she has an idea of what this might be, and the apprehension makes her feel a little sick. that has to be pushed aside, though. they've got to get through this and she has to keep her head straight.
so - going through the rings, dodging the books, and the billboards. she doesn't shoot the books this time yet - she wants to see if she can get away from them first, without wasting spells.]
[ the silence is not awkward for shinobu because all she can is angst as she tries to be anything less than hollow, anything less than something horrible.
As her memory of her sister fades, her movements become less unstable, more like her usual grace, but it takes time to adjust to not having something you always knew.
She's silent as they fall, aiming for the rings now that she knows they're the goal. She makes effort to dodge the billboards she's nit familiar with but none to get away from the books, vestiges of why she's so emo still lingering.
She is sure lup or yjh will note anything important. ]
[ Yeah, Shinobu, sasuke through it. Joonghyuk would be quiet the whole time, maybe meditating like the nerd he is.
Joonghyuk also focuses on getting to the ground, but will knock out the books if they come close with a swing of his sword of a kick. Fortunately, swords don't have limited uses. They are technically infinite "ammo." With the billboards coming forward, he will do his best to avoid them. If impossible, he will try to cut through them and yeet pieces at the books.
Stay back, academia? Though he had an awful experience with the rings, getting to the floor with only some bruises is better than staying in the air with flying threats. He heads to one, too. ]
[it's a dizzying feeling for all of them, the bright pulsing lights almost like a nightclub the further they go down. the books swipe, attempting to knock them off-course into these boards. they aim for the rings, falling through them. shinobu takes a bit of damage from the books due to lack of dodging, the weight of them smashing into her and knocking her closer to the others.
they manage to dive through rings, joonghyuk cuts through billboards and books as the girls dodge. they fall, and now that they're aware of what to do they all seem to be having a better time.]
280/500
[and then the giant stone chunks of the building fly up. it's uneven, jagged, and heavy. they splinter off, and little bat-like creatures shaped like umbrellas fly out the glass windows to swarm all three of them and stop their attempts from getting to the ground. they bite, screaming in their ears and bringing in reinforcements.
but they're getting closer to the ground with each movement.]
[the pulsing lights throw her off a bit - she is still going for the rings, but the second the bat-creatures come out, she loses focus entirely. nope! absolutely not! she will not let those things get close to her, and she maybe panics a little as she kicks away from the stone chunks. maybe she hits a billboard or a book, because she's not thinking clearly.
the books didn't get this treatment but the bats absolutely do - she immediately calls for fire, as much as she can manage, spraying it in the direction of the creatures with a little yelp. stay back, demons.
it's probably going to wear her out, but she's not remembering this. girl has an aversion to umbrellas.]
[ shinobu brings a hand up....? A hand down, if they're diving, to shield her eyes from the pulsing lights. She grunts like Sasuke i guess when the books ram into her.
She notices that these umbrella bats are eliciting a different kind of reaction from lup. In concern, she buffs (defense and attack) both lup and yjh. The sooner they can get away and land, the better she thinks. ]
[ Shinobu... Joonghyuk tries to cover for the girls from the books, but he can't do much about the debris ascending. He only has so much control in the air, so he will get dented with book spines and corners here and there, maybe a billboard piece, but when the stone pieces come he tries to land on one that hasn't splintered yet. He just wants foundation under his feet, for a single moment.
There are umbrella bats and he has no idea what is going on? Is this a wizard thing? But he sees that Lup is having a moment. ]
Focus and don't overextend yourselves.
[ He tries to stay away from the fire spray and cuts down some of the wayward umbrellas that may have escaped Lup's fury. A part of him wants to go ahead down another ring, but doesn't. Not until he's sure Lup doesn't exhaust herself completely just from the drop. ]
[billboard pieces splinter around lup, but as she calls for fire (and the last use of her magic for the time being) she's able to fry the umbrellats to a crisp as they dissipate into black stardust and float on. little stars appear and she absorbs them as she falls. shinobu's buff helps both her and joonghyuk and it gives him enough strength to land on one of the pieces of the building without shattering his legs from a hard landing or anything.
all three of them are getting knicked with wooden splinters as the bats swirl, but joonghyuk's able to avoid the flames and swipe at the bats with his sword.
the three of them fall through a ring and they speed up, plunging straight down into a heart-stopping drop before they all tumble out onto a grassy lawn.]
459/500
[as they work to regain their bearings, they will find there are buildings all around them. large, sprawling lawns are sprinkled with sidewalks and pathways leading from building to building, all made of marble and shining glass and standing several stories high. all around them is the chatter of people walking to and fro, a busy common area in the center.
judging by the advertisements for organizations, information and landmarks, along with the number of buildings, they may recognize it as...a school campus?
[i'm sorry to say, yjh, that she ignores you completely. the umbrellats are given no mercy. and then all three of them eat it on the grass and she doesn't really have time to acknowledge that she absorbed stars. hope that's not bad later.
she just lays on the floor for a second.] Hhgh. Oh, hey. Our score was better this time.
[she says this idly as she stares at the campus around them. slowly, she pulls herself to sit, holding her staff, and then:]
... This is my school. By the way. I went here. [she hasn't seen it in... a century? maybe more. she hoists herself to her feet.]
I don't know where we're supposed to be going, though. [are people saying anything that she can make out as they pass by?]
[ maybe absorbing stars is good in this star themed game?
anyway, shinobu hasn't really overextended herself in acknowledgment to joonghyuk's words, but she isn't focusing too much when they plummet onto the university lawn. splinters are.... whatever. it's fine. she's slowly reverting back to potato from being mashed potato.
she slowly gets to her feet. the only school campus she's been to that's anything similar is wiwaldi. ]
Does getting a good score matter for what we need to do?
[ she has no idea. ]
Go wherever you want.
[ she's still at least half a mashed potato, so any ideas aren't really coming to the forefront. ]
[they're in a quad sort of area. it's grassy, there's nice flowers and trees around and there are benches and water fountains and the like in the distance. as they get to their feet, they can start to hear that all of the disembodied voices of other students are talking about the spell games, a time-honored tradition.
whatever the hell those are. there's buzzing excitement about teams, and pre-game qualifiers, and something about a grand prize intermingled with usual discussion about classes, parties and homework.
there is always something to look at, but maybe they'd like to try to find more information somewhere?]
I mean, my dorm, maybe? The uh, the main building is on the way to the dorms. We can poke in to see if anything is going on there, and if it isn't we can just check out my room. The trouble is probably going to come to us one way or another.
[she makes a face, picking splinters out of her finger.]
... Come on, let's go, I guess. [and she'll start walking! they can... go find information. she will go ask the front desk if necessary.]
[ shinobu will defer and follow, looking around, taking everything in, just absorbing the environment and looking out for random blood splatters like what happened in her ring. ]
[ Shinobu basically asked the question he wanted to ask, so he stays quiet, taking in the sights as he follows along with them with sword sheathed.
Joonghyuk never had the opportunity to go to university or any kind of school, so it's somewhat interesting to him. Only a bit. Otherwise, he tries to find any... yeah. Blood.
[they can start walking! as they make their way toward the dorms, they'll find there are all sorts of advertisements for things like potions, books, drinks and more. various signs are stuck in the lawn for different team names (nothing familiar, which is odd) and colored streamers and balloons are strewn about on light poles, buildings and more.
it's essentially what you would see in-line with a university's spirit week. as they walk, however, they begin to see...people?
yeah. people. not blood. there are people of all shapes and sizes and races mingling around campus, around the main building and rotating in and out of the dorms. some of them are in clusters, laughing and joking around. others appear to be enjoying some alone time on a quiet patch of grass. it's as if they've crossed through some threshold because the university is suddenly buzzing with life.]
Not, uh, entirely sure. It's been like a century or two since I've been here.
[she answers shinobu, with a little shrug.] It's probably some bonding activity.
[which seems to be right as they come around to what looks like a spirit week set up. are these like, shadow people? or real people, with visible faces? because if it's the latter, she's going to start trying to see if she knows anybody in the area. does anybody look familiar?]
[they're real people! with visible faces? none of them immediately look like they're recognizable at the moment. they also don't appear threatening? this actually looks relatively safe, what the fuck.
in fact, when joonghyuk approaches someone to ask, they seem to grin in excitement.]
The Spell Games, my dude! Where have you been? It's not too late to sign up if you're interested. Prelims start tonight! [and they reach into their bag, pulling out a slightly crumpled flyer before slapping him on the back companionably and darting off to catch up with a friend.
they are now in possession of a flyer! it's the same bright colors.]
THE SPELL GAMES Charm your way to the top and show us what you've got. Final sign-ups TODAY. Teams of three only. Grand Prize: Guaranteed Graduation.
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guestservices) wrote2022-07-17 07:06 pm
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they can go when they're ready, and decide what ring to pick.]
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it's why she startles slightly, when yjh moves to dress her arm. sort of dumbly:]
Uh - thanks. [she's too sad to really argue or be mean about it. she just lets him do it, gaze flicking between him and shinobu. she lets the silence hang for a couple more moments, because - it feels unfair to not give it that weight. it feels wrong to just immediately brush past it. something that heavy, that devastating, with an audience, feels nasty in a way that sticks to her lungs.
but yjh is right. they can't stay.]
We can't. [she agrees, soft, finally letting her hand fall away from shinobu.] I...
[she starts, but she doesn't know how to end the sentence. so instead, she stumbles over to the staff, and picks it up to lean against it. she's tired, worn from the spellcasting, but she can keep going.]
... You want to flip a coin for the next one, bud, or do you care? [to yjh, just to. give shinobu a second.]
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...
could she?
she trembles a little, as she tries to focus, on remembering. ]
We can go.
[ she sounds empty, but she isn't going to fight the next choice. she takes a couple stumbling steps towards the light, away from her past, away from her memories. ]
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What matters is that we get this over with.
[ So, no, he doesn’t care. If she wants to flip the coin, she can.
And oocly cause we said it, rng has chosen the red ring. ]
After a ten minute rest, we can head in.
[ And they can have their ten minutes to get themselves together and recover. Shinobu, however, I guess will continue to lose memories while these two will continue to not realize the extent of devastation.
Red ring! ]
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as the three of them enter the red ring, it's a swirl of reds, oranges and yellow immediately twirling like a whirlwind around them as they dive down toward the ground. the ring closes behind them, gravity still escaping them and their movements fluid. clusters of stars and smaller red rings appear around them that they may attempt to dive through, appearing in various places as the wind rushes past them and they drop.
below them, they will see what looks like a fancy academic building, all prestigious columns and stairs and marble architecture. a sprawling courtyard connects it to other buildings, and there's a chatter of laughter and talking all around them. the voices are inaudible, but there's a sense of camaraderie, of people letting off steam and having fun.
however, as they go, they will soon find themselves swarmed by large, old tomes. the book covers are wide open, allowing the monsters to catch some air and dart and swing right at the group. they won't give papercuts or anything if they get too close, but they will leave some nasty bruises. and if that weren't enough?
around you, several billboards advertising different variety shows, parties and alcohol can be seen. if you don't dodge, you'll likely plow right through them and splinter the wood on your way out.]
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lup is much more prepared for what's going to happen this time - she knows they have to go through the rings, so she's going to try that. however, the books are... here. and she's absolutely distracted by the buildings, by the courtyard - by a place that feels familiar. she's not sure, yet, but she has an idea of what this might be, and the apprehension makes her feel a little sick. that has to be pushed aside, though. they've got to get through this and she has to keep her head straight.
so - going through the rings, dodging the books, and the billboards. she doesn't shoot the books this time yet - she wants to see if she can get away from them first, without wasting spells.]
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As her memory of her sister fades, her movements become less unstable, more like her usual grace, but it takes time to adjust to not having something you always knew.
She's silent as they fall, aiming for the rings now that she knows they're the goal. She makes effort to dodge the billboards she's nit familiar with but none to get away from the books, vestiges of why she's so emo still lingering.
She is sure lup or yjh will note anything important. ]
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Joonghyuk also focuses on getting to the ground, but will knock out the books if they come close with a swing of his sword of a kick. Fortunately, swords don't have limited uses. They are technically infinite "ammo." With the billboards coming forward, he will do his best to avoid them. If impossible, he will try to cut through them and yeet pieces at the books.
Stay back, academia? Though he had an awful experience with the rings, getting to the floor with only some bruises is better than staying in the air with flying threats. He heads to one, too. ]
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they manage to dive through rings, joonghyuk cuts through billboards and books as the girls dodge. they fall, and now that they're aware of what to do they all seem to be having a better time.]
[and then the giant stone chunks of the building fly up. it's uneven, jagged, and heavy. they splinter off, and little bat-like creatures shaped like umbrellas fly out the glass windows to swarm all three of them and stop their attempts from getting to the ground. they bite, screaming in their ears and bringing in reinforcements.
but they're getting closer to the ground with each movement.]
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the books didn't get this treatment but the bats absolutely do - she immediately calls for fire, as much as she can manage, spraying it in the direction of the creatures with a little yelp. stay back, demons.
it's probably going to wear her out, but she's not remembering this. girl has an aversion to umbrellas.]
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She notices that these umbrella bats are eliciting a different kind of reaction from lup. In concern, she buffs (defense and attack) both lup and yjh. The sooner they can get away and land, the better she thinks. ]
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There are umbrella bats and he has no idea what is going on? Is this a wizard thing? But he sees that Lup is having a moment. ]
Focus and don't overextend yourselves.
[ He tries to stay away from the fire spray and cuts down some of the wayward umbrellas that may have escaped Lup's fury. A part of him wants to go ahead down another ring, but doesn't. Not until he's sure Lup doesn't exhaust herself completely just from the drop. ]
BELATEDLY...PART TWO
all three of them are getting knicked with wooden splinters as the bats swirl, but joonghyuk's able to avoid the flames and swipe at the bats with his sword.
the three of them fall through a ring and they speed up, plunging straight down into a heart-stopping drop before they all tumble out onto a grassy lawn.]
[as they work to regain their bearings, they will find there are buildings all around them. large, sprawling lawns are sprinkled with sidewalks and pathways leading from building to building, all made of marble and shining glass and standing several stories high. all around them is the chatter of people walking to and fro, a busy common area in the center.
judging by the advertisements for organizations, information and landmarks, along with the number of buildings, they may recognize it as...a school campus?
perhaps they would like to look around.]
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she just lays on the floor for a second.] Hhgh. Oh, hey. Our score was better this time.
[she says this idly as she stares at the campus around them. slowly, she pulls herself to sit, holding her staff, and then:]
... This is my school. By the way. I went here. [she hasn't seen it in... a century? maybe more. she hoists herself to her feet.]
I don't know where we're supposed to be going, though. [are people saying anything that she can make out as they pass by?]
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anyway, shinobu hasn't really overextended herself in acknowledgment to joonghyuk's words, but she isn't focusing too much when they plummet onto the university lawn. splinters are.... whatever. it's fine. she's slowly reverting back to potato from being mashed potato.
she slowly gets to her feet. the only school campus she's been to that's anything similar is wiwaldi. ]
Does getting a good score matter for what we need to do?
[ she has no idea. ]
Go wherever you want.
[ she's still at least half a mashed potato, so any ideas aren't really coming to the forefront. ]
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It could be a dictation of how well we will land.
[ It is a guess. He tries to find anything that seems distinct, but this place is really... A lot? It's a lot. There's always something to look at. ]
Is there no area you have a strong connection to?
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whatever the hell those are. there's buzzing excitement about teams, and pre-game qualifiers, and something about a grand prize intermingled with usual discussion about classes, parties and homework.
there is always something to look at, but maybe they'd like to try to find more information somewhere?]
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[she glances at the two of them.]
I mean, my dorm, maybe? The uh, the main building is on the way to the dorms. We can poke in to see if anything is going on there, and if it isn't we can just check out my room. The trouble is probably going to come to us one way or another.
[she makes a face, picking splinters out of her finger.]
... Come on, let's go, I guess. [and she'll start walking! they can... go find information. she will go ask the front desk if necessary.]
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[ shinobu will defer and follow, looking around, taking everything in, just absorbing the environment and looking out for random blood splatters like what happened in her ring. ]
What are the spell games?
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Joonghyuk never had the opportunity to go to university or any kind of school, so it's somewhat interesting to him. Only a bit. Otherwise, he tries to find any... yeah. Blood.
He squints every once in a while cause wizards. ]
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it's essentially what you would see in-line with a university's spirit week. as they walk, however, they begin to see...people?
yeah. people. not blood. there are people of all shapes and sizes and races mingling around campus, around the main building and rotating in and out of the dorms. some of them are in clusters, laughing and joking around. others appear to be enjoying some alone time on a quiet patch of grass. it's as if they've crossed through some threshold because the university is suddenly buzzing with life.]
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[she answers shinobu, with a little shrug.] It's probably some bonding activity.
[which seems to be right as they come around to what looks like a spirit week set up. are these like, shadow people? or real people, with visible faces? because if it's the latter, she's going to start trying to see if she knows anybody in the area. does anybody look familiar?]
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she hopes this crowd doesn't turn on them. she follows lup and doesn't care to approach any of these new people.
she's very cautious, paranoid. ]
... I wonder if that has anything to do with what we'll have to do.
[ bonding gone bad. ]
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You. [ Joonghyuk has chosen some rando. ] Tell us what’s happening on the campus in detail.
[ Now. ]
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in fact, when joonghyuk approaches someone to ask, they seem to grin in excitement.]
The Spell Games, my dude! Where have you been? It's not too late to sign up if you're interested. Prelims start tonight! [and they reach into their bag, pulling out a slightly crumpled flyer before slapping him on the back companionably and darting off to catch up with a friend.
they are now in possession of a flyer! it's the same bright colors.]
Charm your way to the top and show us what you've got.
Final sign-ups TODAY.
Teams of three only.
Grand Prize: Guaranteed Graduation.
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cw: suicide attempt
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