SPRINGLE - WEEK 4

[dormheads]

common room.

In the common room, the walls have been painted with photo-like pictures of forests and lakes, and spread across the ceiling is a depiction of the night sky. One wall is lined with bookcases, the books ranging from fiction to non-fiction as well used course textbooks. More bookcases have been used to section off one corner for a study area, with a desk and chair provided.

Elsewhere, there are a few couches (one looks as though it doesn't quite belong) and chairs, most seated around a coffee table and with throw blankets tossed over them if you need the extra warmth. On the table is a bowl of healthy and semi-healthy snacks, regularly stocked. (Nearby is a garbage can.)

This week, there's something.

specialty room.

Past an entrance in the common room, a mini coffeehouse has been set up, with express machines for those who just want their coffee now and slightly more advanced equipment for aficionados. It offers a variety of strength levels and flavors to accommodate tastes all across the spectrum, along with a teapot and packets of caffeinated and non-caffeinated tea for those who prefer a different drink. There's a sink if you want to use your own mug, but otherwise, disposable cups are provided for you to use.

Pasted on the wall by the coffee machines is a detailed but clear handwritten guide on how to use said machines, complete with illustrations. There are also cute little doodles of Spring Dorm residents using the machines and drinking coffee, though they look as though they were done by someone else.

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Please use this as an open post for members of Spring 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

[overlimit]

I know we've all had the weekend from hell... but we should talk.

We're not doing enough.

The other dorms... they're openly sharing resources and information. They're making plans together. And we look like a bunch of idiots who can't even communicate properly.

So let's talk. If you've got theories, share 'em. If you've got info, share it. I think I heard Lucretia was looking for one of two scripts that got handed out last week... I've got 'em both here, so whatever. You all can look.

[she'll just slam these two things on a coffee table.]

We should talk about extra credit, too. From what I've heard, we need to keep doing it in order to get more information from our dorm heads. If you need help, ask. I'll help, even if it's stupid. So there's no excuse for slacking!

[feytality]

[ .... maya feels such fondness for rita that the entire dorm can feel it ]

You guys can count on me for extra credit help, too! The one I have now is pretty tough, but.... I think I can figure it out.

[ maya nods at the scripts. she has seen at least one of them but i am slow and backtagging so ]

I do have a few theories... but I don't know how good they are. Just, um, kind of my experience.

[branches]

Can I ask you what it is? Your extra credit, I mean.

[feytality]

I can't tell you that! C'mon.

It's nothing crazy, though. Just something I don't have a lot of experience with.

[branches]

... Are we not supposed to tell people our extra credit?

[overlimit]

[GOD rita wishes she wasn't perceiving that now and she's just kind of embarrassed]

I-I said it before, but I can always... [help...]

... What kind of theories? No harm in getting them out there.

[feytality]

[ that makes maya more fond im sorry she's a gremlin ]

I know, Rita! I'll definitely call on you if I need to.

[ ... ]

Well, you know how you and I couldn't contact Mr. Sieghart? And well... I couldn't get my powers back. Plus, what we learned from Hugo yesterday about the dead being in daycare.... I think they're still alive, somehow.

The other thing, is, um, the last place I was at... was inside of a book, basically? It was weird. But, uhm, there was this mysterious creep who everyone worshipped... he wrote "the story", and everything he wrote came true, basically.

Soo... I kinda wonder if this is a situation like that....

[overlimit]

I-if they're alive, then shouldn't the communication coupon have worked?

[not meeting eyes with anyone, please don't perceive how rita "ghosts don't real" mordio attempted to contact the dead.]

By the last place you were at, you mean... that stuff you told me when we'd all just got here?

[branches]

Well this situation is actually a lot like where me and Shinonome are from?

[TSUYUKUSA WHERE WAS THIS LAST WEEK?]

[overlimit]

[!?]

Like... how?

[branches]

Like with people being overwritten. Given new roles. There was a point where Shinonome put one of the NPCs in his body to pretend to be him while he did other stuff. Or rather he "overwrote" that guy Kosen to be Kon.

[overlimit]

NPC... Kosen? What?

[shaft]

I think we're on the same page about this being some sort of... staged show, given all the information regarding scripts and the dorm heads' real identities that we've received. Last week, I received something from Chad that listed out the cast list for this "show".

What I'm wondering is why there are things set in place to chip away at the mechanics of this set up, i.e. the voucher system steadily helping Chad and the others break free of whatever spell they're under.

[ He looks thoughtful, though there's a distinct sense of distaste and frustration coming off him. ]

It makes me wonder if the murders aren't a similar set up. That there's something people need to be sent to do in the daycare and accomplish for the progress of this "story".

[ambiography]

Sieghart told me he had a theory like that about the places several of us have disappeared to on Thursdays, too.

[and now you all get to feel sad over sieghart again, you're welcome.]

He believed that, despite what they did to people-- because useful information came out of them, they were somehow intended to help us out.

[shaft]

[ More sadness and frustration from him. ]

He could be right. It might be cruel and unusual but... I don't know. If this is a show, aren't we the protagonists? But honestly, both the Thursday disappearances and the reasons behind the murders is a mystery to me still.

[feytality]

[ hi im sad over sieghart ]

Right... people keep finding evidence... You just... have to go through a lot before you can find it..

[overlimit]

Something they need to do on the other side...

It... maybe... [dang she sure is grappling with a lot right now, enjoy this jumble of emotions radiating right now.]

It would fit in with... I mean, I'd been starting to think that maybe the people who kill in pairs aren't brainwashed, like people keep saying. They have a reason that they can't tell anyone about.

[shaft]

I've been hearing that as well. That Rupert and Byleth aren't the same as Caiman, who had his mental state altered.

At the very least, if he's not being controlled, I don't think that Rupert would be acting maliciously. It might be naïve to think that he has a valid reason for behaving the way he does, but it seems like most of the suffering around here is designed to give us something in return.

[feytality]

The story....

[ maya seems thoughtful, though she has complicated feelings. this, in particular, is familiar in a bad way ]

Well.... we do know that we have two sets of killers, one pair and one acting independently... I found a note in my locker saying that the solo killer has their mind altered..... but, the duo.... we don't know what their reason is...

Can you show me the cast list, Claude?

[shaft]

Exactly. It might be optimistic, but who knows.

[ He shakes his head. ]

I can't. I tried showing it to Lucretia, but it appeared blank to her. I can only summarize the contents.

[modissty]

Most of you were there when I bought the information from Hugo last week. [But he will recap for anyone who missed it.]

As far as theories go, the basic idea of following a script is pretty thoroughly covered... It's my personal belief based on what I've heard from Byleth-dono and Rupert that they are not under a form of compulsion in the same way those involved in expulsion are, nor are they acting under threat, such as a hostage situation. It's possible that they're working off of information the rest of us do not have access to yet, though I could only begin to guess at what it is or what they think is worth killing for. I believe Sieghart-dono and Mollymauk-san's deaths were unrelated to that group, as well.

It also seems as though some people will eventually reach a point in which they are no longer willing or able to complete their own extra credit assignments. I'm sure most of you have heard that Caiman-san's last one was "frame someone for murder", still incomplete... That makes it all the more important to help those who have more manageable tasks to accomplish them, since our pool will likely continue to narrow.

[overlimit]

[listening to all of this with a contemplative look and the occasional flash of anger or frustration...]

Regarding the way those extra credit tasks escalate... I was thinking there could be ways around that.

So if any of you get something like that, let me know so we can figure something out. It's better than just letting it sit, or like, actually attempting something stupidly dangerous.

[modissty]

[Oh mood, Sakyou's vibes are pretty matchies. There's a little surprise at that, though - but he nods.]

...Alright. Ah- [Then, to both Rita and the group at large:] If anyone else needs help with theirs as well, please don't hesitate to discuss it with me, too.

[ambiography]

When I spoke with Byleth, she said she didn't think it was a good idea to focus on her reasons for doing it, which leads me to believe that either they aren't her reasons and thus we shouldn't think about why she, personally, would have murdered them, or-- it's something we just can't quite get at ourselves. Potentially, it means it could be dangerous to try to.

[modissty]

I'm under a similar impression... Though if it's dangerous, that's concerning for other reasons.