[. . . july showers bring august ghosts]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: EVERYONE
When: August 3, wobbly hands
Where: Around the school!
What: some things happened. the school is suddenly a lot more crowded
Warnings: references to blood and bite injuries, but otherwise, non! unless you bring something to the party yourself

[August 3 stars off. . . weird.]

[The morning bell chimes at 6 a.m., as it usually does! But there appears to be a very thin layer of fog settled against the ground outside. Some of it seeps into the school's hallways, before dissipating in a few wisps of haze. Weird??]

[As the day goes on, you feel like you can hear strange whispers echoing in the air-- a voice, hissing the word miiiiiiiine over and over again. Also weird!]

[And by the time the afternoon hits, you may find yourself running into some very unwanted guests. You've been here two weeks, and this is the first time you're seeing these guys?? Where have they been??]

[By the way, the nurse's office is unlocked!]

Comments

[ratiocinations]

Absolutely insidious. So they plumb our hearts and minds in order to find ways to break and trick us. I am sorry, dear fellow.

[reapoman]

It's okay.

[ He knew that voice couldn't be her. There's no way she'd call him that, knowing what he'd done. ]

We really are just scratching the surface of this place.

[ratiocinations]

[No doubt. It’s an awful mess, even if… Even if his mind throws out a question amid it all: what sort of person would this place show a reaper, of all people, to unnerve?]

I imagine these little tricks did not have the intended effect on you, at least.

[reapoman]

[ The slight way he pauses is probably quite telling on its own, then, ]

I won't pretend I was totally unbothered.

[ratiocinations]

Is that so? Even for a man already so versed in death?

[reapoman]

I was human once. I had people I cared about. Being versed in death doesn't make that any easier.

[ratiocinations]

[And how does one go from being human to an agent of death itself?

...Perhaps now is not the time for those questions.]

...In that case, no, I imagine it stings a bit more. [To have it unearthed after (what he can only presume is) a very long time.]

[reapoman]

Hah. The kids almost had to hold me back.

[ratiocinations]

Hm. [Would he have had that same reaction? He tries not to let emotion overcome him to that degree, and generally he thinks he achieves it quite well, but... Well, it's ultimately hard to say.] May I ask... whose voice did you hear?

[reapoman]

[ Another pause, this one going almost a moment too long, like he might not actually answer. But, this place already knows what to use against him, already dug centuries into his past, so what else does he really have to lose? ]

My wife's.

[ratiocinations]

[Ah. No, he cannot relate.

But he can sympathize, in the same way he has with his own clients in the past.]

I see. That is particularly cruel, then, to use love against us, weaponizing it against our hearts.

[reapoman]

It just goes to show, no matter how long something has been buried, this place will find a way to dig it up. Be careful out there.

[ratiocinations]

Mm. I shall save my proper interrogations for those who are not freshly bleeding out, but for information's sake, will you at least tell me how far back in your past that resides?

[reapoman]

... About six hundred years.

[ratiocinations]

[Six hundred years...]

Digging deep, indeed.

[reapoman]

Just a bit. I'm not sure if we have any other immortals among us, so I'd consider myself the litmus test for most of these things.

[ratiocinations]

[Eyes his bloodied middle.]

I think we may safely refrain from testing your immortality, however, for a while yet.

[reapoman]

Oh, I'm certain that I can be killed as long as I'm here, though it's not my aim to fully test that either.

Normally, I'd have healed from all this in a matter of seconds.

[ratiocinations]

Seconds? And what other useful traits have been stolen from you?

[reapoman]

A whole list of stuff, really. The only thing I can do right now is summon my weapon. It's probably the only reason we made it through all that mostly unscathed.

[ Guy who is currently the only fighter on Anzen, down for the count. :') ]

[ratiocinations]

And that is indicative of a greater problem many of us possess. We face these horrors without a way to fight back — especially those of us with no such weapons or magic to be gained again.

[normies. Like him]

And we cannot rely on those better equipped forever.

[reapoman]

[ i have some questions about what's happening in that icon ]

The ofuda... the talismans that some people found in the dorms seem pretty effective, but those are finite as well.

Honestly, I think those of us who are equipped need to start teaching those who aren't.

[ratiocinations]

[what you mean you don't investigate murders like that too]

Ah, so. Mr Puck answered that question for us.

[What question? Well, he and Adair had talked about the ofuda, wondering if a single use would be a waste just to test it — seems so! He'll have to follow up with him on that later.]

Training sessions, you mean?

[reapoman]

[ He can kind of figure what "question" Adair is referring to. ]

Mr. Puck was out cold at the time. Bombon had to use it in his stead. It still worked, though. It only lasted for a short time, but it was enough.

[ratiocinations]

Good to know. But... now your classmates are very pointedly down an ofuda, with no way of knowing how to earn more. [if 'earn' is even the word to use here]