Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.


It's another dark, dreary morning at Whitewillow; with fresh coats of graffiti on the dull concrete buildings, a new broken window in the main school building, and the old, weathered flag that should be at the front gates has gone missing. Again. It's coming close to the start of the school day, in a chaotic routine some of you might even have gotten used to by now. In bits and pieces, everyone who doesn't want to be singled out for 'special' classes arrives for Homeroom, with the cliques staying in the back corners of the class, and everyone else taking whichever spots they want as they wait for whichever teacher's been saddled with Homeroom today to show up.

Everyone: What do you normally do, in this time before the first teacher arrives? Have you deviated from your schedule today? If so, why?

Alister: One girl sat at the front, Tanya, keeps glancing at you nervously when you arrive. What did you to do her, or for her?

Nyx: Russel, a scrawny kid sitting near the door, has been a nice supply for 'real' drugs at any and all parties, but you can taste his fear. What's he so scared of, and why has it been getting worse, recently?

Anna: Colin, sitting by an unbroken window, has been catching a quick nap on his desk since before you got here - what does Hugo tell you has been keeping him up at night? Do you care?

Alex: Harriet, sitting near to you, has been acting weirdly the past couple of days, and just a few minutes ago she asked you something surprising. What was it? How did you answer?

Nathan: Franklin is the biggest bully in the class; what do you know about his secret nature that nobody else does? Does he know you know?

Jess: Jasmine's tried to be your friend lately - do you think she's for real, or does she want something from you? What would she want?

Sarah: What was it RUL commanded you to do last night? Did he offer you a reward for it, or not? Do you plan to do it, or rebel?

Max: Susan is here, and she recognizes you. How has she tried to get back at you for what you did for Janice?

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Max: She sneers as you falter, and goes further this time, not just with the usual insults, but a capital-T Threat. "I promise, I'm going to do to you what you did to me. I'm going to wait until you find someone you love, until you're happier than you've ever been, and I'm going to ruin your life. Then we'll be even." There's a commotion in class, and Jess runs out, crying. Do you follow her, or see what the hell's going on inside?

Jess: You can feel everyone watching you as you flee, but nobody stops you; not the arguing students in the corridor, not the people lingering outside the main building, none of the teachers. When you get to the park, it's quiet, and empty. Why did you choose here? What do you do while you're here?

Anna: You can see where Jess is headed, both literally - down the winding trail behind school, to that old park; and metaphorically - straight off a cliff, down a yawning abyss, where the sunlight never reaches. She needs a lifeline, a friend more than anything else; she's certainly not going to save herself on her own, but... is it worth it? Or will she drag you down, too, down a path you can't come back from?

Nathan: Franklin's big, but he's taken by surprise as you grab him, and his immediate, vulgar response is cut off as he recognizes what kind of threat you're making. He just falls silent, but you can see very clearly the desire for vengeance in his eyes, that he doesn't think this is over; that it can't be over like this, not if he wants to keep the reputation he has. Some of his friends, not knowing why he's backing down, start to rise out of their seats to challenge you, but then...

Class in general: The class erupts in hooting laughter, catcalls and/or jeers at Nyx's predicament, and it's enough to give a chance to defuse any tensions that were going on already. The teacher's late, again, giving people a chance to slip out of class if they want.

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Sarah: Nothing's ever a freebie with RUL, He'll take his pound of flesh as payment, sooner or later, but for now he obliges, and as your vision clouds over, you see Nyx, bloodied and bandaged and in obvious bliss, not a care in the world; not a care for anyone but herself. The world's laid out before her, ready for her to do with as she pleases, and only you stand in her way... Now, where would someone be 'bloodied and bandaged'? What do you do?

Nyx: It's always tricky, when someone born to the Winter Court tries to feel out the happiness of others. It starts from the wrong side, finding the people who are the most unhappy, and eliminating them one at a time, until you're left with the person who's the least happy. In a place like this, there's a lot of unhappiness; whether from people who are jealous, or scared, or furious; victims of abuse or desperate addicts, those who loathe themselves... Finally, you center on the least unhappy person in this school - aside from yourself - and it seems to be Sarah! Does that surprise you, or not? What do you do?

Alex: You run, and as you get out of the classroom, and turn a corner, you run through the floor, through a few literally breathless moments, and then out of a wall a floor down, into a cubicle in the smoke-stenched girl's bathroom - hitting the closed stall door with a solid THUD. You also seem to have left something behind in your spectral journey, what was it? As you collect your thoughts, someone nervously says "...Hello? Who's there?" What do you do?

Alister: You hear 'Heart Shaped Box' playing, as you concentrate, and a young girl murmuring along to the lyrics, and then BANG, a gunshot, right by your ear! When your ears stop ringing, you hear that same murmuring girl whimper - "Janey? Why...?" That name sounds familiar, for some reason. Like you've heard it, or seen it before in this school.

Anna: "U got beef with that bitch 2?" is the reply text. "Wht she do 2 u?" Susan takes a string on you, you've shown that you'll give her what she wants without a price or a fight

AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 21:59 on May 11, 2015

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Nathan: Are you looking to save them, or yourself? That familiar doubting whisper echoes in your mind as you think. What are you really hoping to achieve - helping them, or damning them for your own gratification? The mocking whisper adds that in the end, it doesn't matter; whoever you try to save will fall, just like your greatest failures have. What do you do?

Anna: There is plenty of good you may do for others, Hugo says. Or plenty you may do that pleases others, if you prefer. The boy Nathan can help you with the former. The girl Sarah can with the latter. And after all, as the end approaches, what is good but what those with power define? Whether that helps or not, the touch of his wings to your shoulder seems to draw some of your exhaustion away.

Sarah: There is nothing you need to do. No special tricks or secret ways. Nothing that can be guaranteed. Wait... isn't that unusual? Has RUL ever said 'no' outright before?

AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 00:56 on May 14, 2015

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Scene 2:

At long last, Homeroom comes. Mr. Bradshaw arrives, takes register, and then leaves. And in that short amount of time, Homeroom ends! Those who skipped Homeroom get a text to the effect of 'Please report to school grounds on weekend for community service!', but that's about as much punishment as people get at this school.

Jess&Max: What dreams/nightmares do you have? What finally wakes each of you up? What's the next port of call, once that nap's done with?

Nathan: Mr. Bradshaw doesn't even care that you're on the phone when he arrives, letting you finish your conversation in peace. When that's done, do you stay in class, tending to the problems of people here? (Who has a problem, how do you try to solve it?) Or do you go in search of the wandering lost souls that have left the classroom? (Who do you pursue? Why?)

Alex&Alister: Do you go to Homeroom before Mr. Bradshaw arrives, or write it off and go do something fun somewhere else?

Anna: When you get Sarah's text, Hugo reads it too. Be careful with that one. Keep your wits and will about you if you insist on treating with her. Do you listen to his advice, or brush it off? Do you go to Sarah's place, or not?

Sarah: Erik replies back quickly with a

quote:

sure. wat r we doin??
When you go to RUL's apartment, what do you see that betrays RUL's mood? How does it inform your behaviour? What do you do with Erik when he arrives?

Nyx: When you get home, your mother's already there. What does she have to say about the state you're in? Do you care? What special Fae request does she make of you? Do you plan to do it, or rebel?

AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 04:58 on May 14, 2015

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Alister: Alex takes a string on you. Well, that backfired. If anything, you just made yourself look vulnerable to this girl; she saw through you completely. How does that feel?

Alex: You can see something Jess would like, but what do you see that you would like, for yourself? Do you dare ask about it?

Nathan: Yes, you get XP. Oh boy. When it comes to 'lost souls', this might be the worst you've ever seen. Her apartment is a beacon of nothingness, a lighthouse blaring out absence. It's impossible to miss. Does it sicken you to see that? Or do you not care?

Max: As the water fills you, drowns you, and you thrash, submerged, someone lifts you from underneath, to a space above the water, to a space where you can breathe, and live. Looking at the pool, where a ceiling used to be, you see Alex pull herself out of the pool, too, and she looks beautiful, soaked through but still smiling. Still smiling as she says "Kill me."

Still smiling as she takes your hands, and brings them to her face. Still smiling as she helps you pull it off, easy as peeling skin off fruit. Still smiling, a fleshy skull staring endlessly at you, as she helps you put her face on you, soft and soothing. "Kill me, and take my place. Forever."
Then you wake. What do you feel about that dream? Jess is gone, what do you do?

Sarah: He actually looks a bit disturbed at the thought of it, actually. "It was... kinda bad, Sar. You know everyone's saying that was, y'know, trashy? Like, really not something people do in a class, right? Not that I think that, but..." he shrugs. "People are talking about it, not in the good way, you know?"

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Max: When you look into the mirror... sometimes the reflection looks back at you. Makes expressions that aren't yours, looks at you with eyes that aren't yours; tells you that not even this body is truly yours. You're just pretending to be Max, like you pretend to be other people. Your reflection smiles at you, and tells you to run. Where do you run to?

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Sarah/Nathan/Anna:
Erik hasn't said much since Nathan arrived, but now he stands up, shaking his head. "Dude, you're on a bad trip or something. Just lie down, and chill out. There's no 'evil presence' here, nothing dangerous..." he punctuates his speech with a chuckle. "Just relax."

Anna, Hugo doesn't reply, and you can soon see why, when you go to the kitchen. Something has the raven by the neck, something terrifying; a shadowy figure, dark and insubstantial, with the horns of a bull and piercing eyes. He towers over you, looking to be almost nine feet tall. Well... you wanted to know what had Nathan so spooked, even if it seems he doesn't see it the way you just did. Maybe that's one of the benefits of whatever the hell destiny Hugo keeps telling you you have.

The creature 'speaks', but it's without sound, just like... the knowledge of what it wants just appears in your brain, unbidden. "You will tell nobody of this. You will return here the next time my servant asks. You will bring her something of value. Do you understand?" What in the hell do you do?

Alex/Alister/Max:
Max takes a string on Alex and Alister for their failed Turn Ons

Alister, when you think of what Max could be telling Alex, the answer's clear - it has to be about you, right? She's figured out something about you, and she's telling one of the people you actually give a drat about, to try and scare her away from you. Either that, or it's about Alex, and she knows something she wants to use to blackmail her, without you being around to defend her! Which of those two do you think is right? What do you do?

Nyx/Jess:
So, Alister just rolled up nice and conveniently close to you two, and is totally pretending to be on his phone. He's not close enough to be included in any conversation, but close enough to eavesdrop and generally be a creeper. What do you do about that?

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Anna: While it's fun enough here, encounter with RUL aside, you get a funny feeling - not from Hugo, not from RUL but elsewhere... and it whispers to you, with an accent you can't quite place: "They must not spend the night together. They must not..." What do you do?

Nathan: "Er, no, not that long, just a couple months." He still looks a little unsure about you, but isn't rude enough to voice any concerns, just chatting normally. What do you learn about his character that he doesn't say outright? How do you react to the news that Nyx and Jess are coming?

Sarah: So, RUL wants you to break Jess's heart, but Nyx doesn't. Who do you plan to follow, tonight? Does Nathan and Erik being here change anything?

Nyx&Jess: The trip to Sarah's passes easily, and Nyx gets a delightful shiver as she feels all the complex tinges of emotion emanating from Sarah's apartment. Jess, how do you really feel about Sarah right now? Nyx, what's the worst thing that could happen to ruin today?

Alex/Alister/Max: Alister and Max take a string each on Alex for the failed Turn Ons. There's soon a banging at the door, and the lone barista angrily asking "What are you doing in there?" What do you do?

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

AdjectiveNoun
Oct 11, 2012

Everything. Is. Fine.
Nathan: He shakes his head and chuckles. "Does anyone not know them? But yeah, I've been to some of Nyx's raves, and, uh... I mean I never thought I'd see her act like that in class, but when you're in that kind of place with her, high off your mind..." he shakes his head again. "It's something special, man, out of this world. What about you, do you, uh... get involved in that stuff?"

Alister: The Barista is knocked off his feet, and your plan works, he's too busy trying to chase after you to notice the girls heading out the back. He's also too damned slow to catch you, but as you pass through the alleys, you run into something far worse. Whitewillow has too many teachers at any one time in any case, and they sometimes send them wandering out to try and corral some of the many truants and bring them back to classes, and you just ran into the worst of them: Mr Langdon, the P.E. Teacher. With a Penn State T-shirt that barely fits over his steroid-aided muscles, he advances and grabs ahold of your wrist. People say he got kicked off his football team in high school because of all his doping. He's big, strong, fast, and has a mean streak as long as a football field. "Hey there, buddy!" He says, all falsely gleeful. "You lost? School's /that/ way, and I bet your teacher misses you." He's going to quite firmly drag you back to Whitewillow if you can't think of something! What do you do?

Max&Alex: Thanks to Alister's distraction, it's easy to get out the back, though you don't see what happens to Alister after you've left. Still, it's raining outside, pouring buckets. What do you do, now that you're out here?

AdjectiveNoun fucked around with this message at 03:15 on May 22, 2015

  • Locked thread