WINTER COMMON ROOM - WEEK 3

[dormheads]

common room.

Similar to the rest of the architecture, the common room in the Winter Dorm is almost more reminiscent of a tea room or parlor that you would find in a manor. A chandelier hangs above, everything in the room glistening in the light that is both welcoming and just a tinge cold. Seating is available for a number of people to gather, adjusting each week to seemingly accommodate a little bit over the number of people assigned to the dorm. A piano doesn't sit too far, and sometimes when the room isn't too full, it's almost like a beautiful classical melody will begin to play itself to make up for the empty space.

Or... is that a showtune...?

Who can say?

This week, we're getting into the holiday spirit! So pop some bubbly, be a little sweet - it's that time of year.

specialty room.

However on the first floor, there's an oddity amidst the serene architecture. One of the rooms opens to a Gaming Lounge, complete with screens that stretch across the entirety of one wall length-wise. Incredible comfortable chairs and couches sit opposite the screen, comfortable enough to steal you away from the outside world for hours upon hours. A series of gaming systems are hooked up to the screens, and a small tower of handhelds sit on a bookcase nearby. Every game you can think of is downloaded and programmed onto each device, though every time you start one up it seems to immediately pull up an otome game or farming simulator. The lighting system changes between a rainbow of colors, and one wall is lined with snacks that are a little less decadent but still just as delicious. The room will adjust based on the needs of the game you play, a wall spinning out to roll out DDR dance pads, virtual reality goggles, or whatever you could need for the ultimate gaming experience.

No, it isn't incredibly reminiscent of Dude Perfect's Game Time Lounge. You're imagining it. (But really, click the link for a better idea of what the room looks like.)

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Please use this as an open post for members of Winter Dorm. You may post top-levels whenever you'd like and go wild. A new post will go up at the start of each week.

Comments

[commandertoolbelt]

[ leo nods and reads from the list: ]

Vi's name is Iris Lana Armelia, Chad's is Hugo, Luke's is Riku, and Sally's is Annie Sawyer.

[disreguarded]

Oh, shit.

-- Hey, be careful about just dropping those names on them, actually, let's try to not uh, fuck their brains up.

[steelo]

Yeah. Let's try and keep those low key for now.

[ ... ] Has anybody tried talking to Vi-chan and like... broken through, again? Like Kon did.

[commandertoolbelt]

No, she just looked confused when I asked her about it. So, yeah, I think we should stick with their role names, for now.

[steelo]

Agreed. Let's just make sure we don't forgot those names no matter what, yeah? We gotta hold onto them for them until they can have 'em back.

[ names are important!!! ]

Think it all definitely ties in to people being made to follow the script. I wonder if that means if those students who host our extracurriculars had another names, too...

[ melvin who ]

[commandertoolbelt]

I agree. I'm going to keep these papers, but yeah. We should all know, just in case.

And they did. But we haven't seen them since, so... [ he shrugs. ] Do you want to know those, too?

[steelo]

If you think it's important, then yeah.

[commandertoolbelt]

Well, like I said, we haven't seen them since, but... their names are Mineo Enomoto, Takeru Sasazuka, Helios, and Chibiusa Tsukino.

[ we could fourth wall this so bad but i'll leave that to the actual weeb in this thread. ]

It's probably the same deal as with the dorm heads, though. If there's twelve of them, though, and we've gotten two each week so far - that must mean they've planned this out for at least four more weeks, Right?

And the other thing is that even with this first draft, there were always eleven Winter and Summer students, but ten each of Fall and Spring. So... they must have really planned this out, to make us even after the first week.

[ that's got bad implications for summer though, yikes. ]

[steelo]

[ those names sound weirdly familiar...? ichiro can't place why, though... ]

Huh. Good to know. [ :thinking: ] Yeah, makes sense. I think we guessed eight weeks total, right? And we didn't have any extracurriculars the first week.

[ and the stuff about summer... whew. ichiro's deepens a little further. ]

... I guess that stuff about us being a last minute makes more and more sense, huh. [ shitty. terrible! kaoruko and hiyori, pouring one out for you. ] There's no mention of "editors" or whatever on this one, right?

[supercatty]

[. . .]

I-- actually, I have an idea. About that.

[steelo]

[ O: immediately turning to her! ]

What's up, Catra?

[supercatty]

[she has her phone out and is holding it close to her chest, gaze flickering around the dorm to take in every person present. after a moment where she seems to come to some kind of conclusion. . .]

I talked to Yamato last week about the dorm heads having their memories tampered with. Ever since then, I've been wondering--

[and she holds out her phone to show the mini-event coupon! one basic mind altering spell, unused]

What if I used this to try and recover them?

[steelo]

[ okay i'm not gonna lie to you he's a little touched that she's showing them all her power. wow. we are gaining trust levels here.

... thankfully that doesn't show on ichiro's face. instead, he raises his eyebrows, surprised. ]

... Kind of like how Dimitri was able to use it on Sunday, you think? Since it looks like he broke out of whatever that place wanted him to do.

[ thinking.... ] It's only basic, so it probably wouldn't last long, right? Maybe we need to have a question ready, or something.

[commandertoolbelt]

Manwol said during the trial that it would only last for two days. But it might be worth trying.

[refate]

... if we test this out, and it works, then that opens up potential to something that I can do. Powers I have that I'm working on getting back. I've been thinking about it, but both of the ones that would be viable here would cost 8 vouchers without discount, and the price might raise to 10 in the case of the mind altering given the nature of it.

But Viola herself told me that if you add specifications, it might not work. So you need to be conscious of how you're intending to use it in more ways than one.

[steelo]

I am definitely down with donating a voucher or two if you need it. [ because that sounds really, really useful to all of them... and to their overall cause. ]

I was wondering if maybe the communication power could be used too, to talk to "Iris" instead of "Viola". [ ... ] But I actually think it'd be better used to talk to the people in the 'daycare'.

[repress]

[ dimitri is actually here for this conversation, weird. he looks uncertain at this. ]

It sounds plausible. Though I do not want to give any of you the wrong impression—I was not actually able to negate the force controlling us.

[ so... hard to say if it'd actually work now, though he doesn't sound discouraging. ]

I think I was able to manipulate myself enough for a better outcome, but whether this is possible, or if it may have consequences, remains to be seen.

[supercatty]

[YEAH CONGRATS ON YOUR TRUST WINTER!! Catra draws her phone back, slipping it into her pocket as she responds]

I don't know how it works. I guess I could trade the coupon in, and see if it's given any restrictions when I do.

But I don't want to use it without talking to Viola first.

[because obvs she'd use it on Viola]

[refate]

[ turning something over in his hand, quiet, but eventually piping up from listening: ]

Yeah, let's not do that. Considering Luke passed out when Lalli said something that he reacted badly to, I don't really want to risk that happening to her, since she only slipped in and out with me.

[disreguarded]

I'd wondered. I heard Chad passed out entirely when Caleb talked to him about something, so - I'm guessing all four of them have stumbled at some point.

[refate]

She got a little faint and unfocused. I told her about what happened to us on the field trip, first, and we were talking about it.

She slipped out of Viola and into - [ gestures, fingers curling around his trinket, indicating the name ] - That's not correct. I'm not Viola. She's not exactly me. She said I was on the right track, and she basically confirmed that the dorm heads are fully overwritten for their roles. She was angry. Asked how long she'd be made a puppet.

Then she got faint and unsteady again, and slipped back into Viola. Didn't remember a thing she said.

[chevaliered]

She's mad as hell about it. She had a dizzy spell again the other day, but Iris knew who I was... so I wonder if she's not somewhat aware of what's happening around her.

... She said she's going to give "them" hell.

[refate]

You're with me this time. [ mmmmm. ] She's definitely in there, she just doesn't have control. Like she's an outside observer to her own body and actions.

... but she has better recall than Viola, if she's remembering every time she gets out.

[commandertoolbelt]

If she doesn't have control, then we'll just have to give them hell for her until she gets it back.

[chevaliered]

... I... oh I get it now.