cancry | Superbia Intro Log

1. HELLO NURSE!

[ in the pattern the Executors have established thus far, they don't always stick together as a group when they descend to a new Layer. they wander off on their own to investigate and run into each other and split up again until it comes time to reconvene for a discussion. but Mona finds it more than a little alarming to have the option to stay together taken away so quickly — the younger Executors dragged away by Specters scolding them for being late to class, the adults flagged down by conversations as if they were supposed to be here all along.

for her own part, Mona is quickly ushered into the sickbay, and it's there that she spends most of her time during school hours. she's found that she gets routed back there by the "teacher" Specters if she tries to leave; the sickbay needs a nurse at all times, after all, in case she's needed.

it's not so bad, she supposes. at least she doesn't have to teach. she doesn't have any memories of school, or even a general knowledge of what it entails beyond the most obvious basics, so she supposes she's never been. girls didn't often attend school in her time, she knows that much. Lupin and the others taught her everything she needs to know, and she's not sure any of it would have helped here.

either way, if anyone drops by the sickbay, there Mona is, trying to find things to do with her time. mostly inspecting all the medicines and chemicals. ]

2. SCHOOL'S IN FOREVER

[ at the end of the first day in Superbia, Mona decides it's time to go home, and hopefully the others will head back up too. there's a lot to discuss and it'll be easier to do so when they don't have Specters corralling them back into their proper places.

except, as she soon finds, there is no way out.

if anyone else is wandering the grounds after classes, they might find Mona pacing at the front gates looking... well, anxious, which is approaching panicked, on Mona's face. ]

3. ROLL CALL

We're trapped in this layer, everyone.
I tried to go back home to Limbo, but I can't even get through to the Avaritia Underside.
We should probably be careful about provoking the Authority here when we can't escape...

Also, it seems like we're all being integrated into the school.
So... Just so we all know how to find each other, what positions were we all given?
I'm the school nurse...
The good news is that if any of us who are "students" want a reason to be out of class, I might be able to make an excuse for you at least. (/ω＼*)

I know we're in Purgatory, but this is new.

[She clenches a fist at her side and scowls.]

Of course there'd be a downside to a more tolerable layer.

[ Mona can't muster any irritation about it like Wolfsbane can, but she has "troubled" covered for both of them. she's upset they're cut off from the house, for one thing. that had, she can admit, been her first concern. she likes that house. she likes living with friends. and then the more she thinks about not being able to go back— ]

I really just wanted to go home, but this... seems like it could be dangerous. We can't go up for supplies, and once the Authority notices us, there's nowhere to go... This layer isn't very big, either.

Which means we ought to deal with them quickly. At least there won't be much to investigate when we're confined to one space.

...

[ she sighs — not exasperated, but sad. everyone already knows how she feels about confronting the Authority, though, so she holds her tongue. it's only annoying the others, if she keeps saying it. and it's not like she's managed to succeed with any kind of alternative, or do anything that matters, for all that she argued for it back in Invidia.

instead: ]

Do you have any ideas about what kind of person it might be, Wolfsbane...? I don't think I've ever attended a school, so I don't know anything about the kinds of positions an Authority might hold here.

Well, it would be someone who matches the sin, right? And if this is supposed to be Pride, I suspect a star student or athlete -- the kind of person the school likes to show off. There are also positions of authority, like the headmaster or perhaps the student council.

Mm... [ that makes sense, and seems like a good place to start. although: ] If it's about Pride, I'm surprised they're not more like... Esme.

[ the centre of the universe, shining a spotlight on themselves. they hadn't even needed to look for Esme. but she hasn't heard about anyone like that yet, or noticed any signs of there being a central pillar in the school. ]

Someone who wants to show off... would be obvious, wouldn't they?

I suppose. But Esme was somebody everyone else envied, on top of feeling envy herself. Perhaps we ought to ask from that angle. Who makes everyone else look better?

[Well, the good(?) news is that Mona isn't the only Executor in here.]

[By which I mean that Medic shows up, visibly bleeding from a large cut on the back of one hand and looking like a kid in a candy store.]

[She smiles happily at Mona and gives her a little wave. ...With the injured hand.] Oh wow, do you get to work here all day? Lucky!

[Apparently totally unconcerned about... literally everything going on right now, which is a lot, she breezes right into the clinic's supply closet and starts looking around.]

I missed having actual supplies so much!

[She's been having to jury-rig medical supplies out of weird shit she found at the mall and backroom chemistry experiments for three layers now, Mona. This is quite possibly the happiest you will ever see another person be about finding an Epi-Pen.]

[ normally, Mona does alright with Medic's... force of nature personality. she'd find it hard to keep up with her if she had to try, but there's no need to; Medic is happy to talk, and Mona is happy to listen. it reminds her a little of Fran's lectures, sometimes. and most of Medic's oddities don't bother her, or even register at all, except for— ]

Um, yes, I was going to tell you about— but— what happened? Your hand—

[ she follows Medic around helplessly, fretting, while the supplies are ransacked. as soon as she has a clear shot, she grabs for Medic's wrist to stop her — not to keep her out of the cupboards, but to get a better look at her injured hand. ]

Oh, right! [Medic pauses a moment, heals her injured hand, and rummages in one pocket until she finds a tissue to wipe off the pneuma with. Can't just leave that there, it's unsanitary.]

I wanted an excuse to go investigate the nurse's office, so I stabbed myself with a pencil when no one was looking!

[Oh, well that's fine- WAIT NO IT'S NOT????]

[ she knows what Medic is like, but boy is it a struggle to react calmly to that—

Mona takes a breath, lets it out slowly, and then clasps Medic's now-healed hand between both of her own gloved hands. there's not a lot of difference between them in terms of height, but she ducks her head just a little anyway, to meet Medic's eye level. with a very solemn tone and a faintly sad expression: ]

Next time, [ because there will be a next time ] you can just say that you have a very bad headache, and you need to go to the nurse's office. Please don't hurt yourself for something so small.

[Medic blinks, looking confused. It's not that she doesn't enjoy holding hands with Mona or anything, but this got really solemn all of a sudden and she's entirely clueless as to why.] ...Okay, I guess I could do that? A provably visible injury seemed faster, though.

Besides, it's not like I was actually hurt- nothing can hurt me if I don't let it!

[She tilts her hand to show the perfectly whole, uninjured skin where the cut was, smiling brightly.]

See? I'm fine now!

[ Medic's cavalier attitude doesn't get a bad reaction out of Mona, but it doesn't have any impact on her own sadness. she persists: ]

I know. I know you'll heal, but... [ she squeezes Medic's hand. ] It should still matter. It matters to me if you get hurt, even if you heal it right away. If someone else hurt you, I would be angry with them, because they wanted to hurt you.

[ her nerves seem to finally get the better of her; although she doesn't let go yet, she eases off a little, starting to look uncertain, wondering if she's overstepped. ] Does that... make sense? It's not about the outcome... It's that you're more important than that.

[Medic is still confused, but also kind of touched.] ...Sort of?

I can understand not wanting someone to try and hurt other people, in case they actually succeed- but it doesn't bother me when I get injured, because I know it can't really hurt me. It's... a little like reading a scary book, maybe? The monsters on the page aren't real, so it's not very frightening.

...I think I'd be upset if something bad happened to you, though. I can understand that.

I'm a student.

[ THANKS MONARCH ]

On the soccer team. It's possible I remembered that I play for a reason.

[ ....That doesn't feel like enough, does it? And they're a team. Monarch has to get better at being in a team, especially if this is going to be his new investigative tack. ]

My teammates and I are in your care, Mona-san.

[ nailed it ]

[ he did nail it!!! she thinks that's very sweet of him to say. ]

I'll do my best to look after you all. (❁´◡`❁)
Even though it's not an ideal situation, I hope you at least get to enjoy playing soccer properly, Monarch.

Thanks. Everyone's been welcoming.

I'm not sure who we'll play....

[ If this is...the only school....in this Layer......not that he minds scrimmages but....

.....Huh. A team with no one to play. And the Specters don't notice? What does that imply?

Monarch does not yet have enough information to know. ]

Oh.
I hadn't thought about that...
The other layers are big enough that they don't need contact with anyone else, but it's strange for a school to be this isolated.
Nobody can move on, either. So the students must have been here for a while...

[ IN HINDSIGHT IT SHOULD'VE BEEN OBVIOUS HUH... ]

Something must keep them from realizing this. It could be just that they're Specters, but...

Edited 2021-08-11 16:47 (UTC)

It's hard to say... They do just seem to accept things as they are, sometimes.
Maybe we can ask around about it? Anything odd might be worth investigating.

(no subject)

ourtomorrow - 2021-08-16 11:11 (UTC) - Expand

I am somehow a teacher's assistant rather than a student 😕❓❔❓❔

Maybe you and I were too young to be teachers...
In my time, I think it would have been fine, but it might be different for the kind of school this is supposed to be.
Do you know what subject you're assisting with?

They said I'm something called a "guidance counsellor"
I am familiar with giving counsel, but not necessarily the expectations of a role like this. Is it like a royal advisor? '_'

I don't think they have any royalty for you to advise...
I'm not too familiar with all of this either, but since it's a school, I suppose you're guiding... the students? If they're having problems, maybe?

Superbia Intro Log

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