the mark of those who cannot be saved

[stagemanagers]

[You remember dying. Maybe the memory is clear and bright and your body still aches from the cause. Maybe it was fast enough that you didn't feel it and don't remember what you went through. But no matter how you went out, that's no excuse for truancy! Which is to say: you are still in the school.

For those executed, you will wake up in your beds. The dormitories look exactly as they did when you first arrived, without any of the changes or personal effects you and your dormmates might have made. The only real difference is that the little cot in Ambassador isn't there.

For those who were victims, you will wake where your body was discovered. All of your injuries are gone, and you feel fine. It's almost like you're still alive - but you remember what happened to you. It couldn't have just been a dream, could it?

The school looks much as you remember it, save perhaps for a few key differences. For one, there's no groundhog murals anywhere. Where things were green on the other side, like banners or paint, you'll find that here they're blood red.

The doors, for the moment, are still locked. Looks like even death couldn't free you.]

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

(( ooc: Welcome to deadland, everyone! It mostly resembles the school here, and new floors will be revealed after new people die. For example, the second area will unlock after the week 3 dead arrive, and so on. Also, all dead characters will wake up at their actual canonpoint, with all lost memories restored. Have fun being dead! ))

Comments

[disharmonizes]

...Fine, if you're that sure of it, I suppose we really don't have a better use of our time than trying this.

But I'm not going to play nice.

[violentenvies]

[that makes him chuckle]

I wouldn't expect so, no. We do need to get work done but outside of that, well...I'll make popcorn.

[disharmonizes]

...Yes, snacks are probably a good idea, aren't they?

[oh no that's his plotting voice]

Fine, then. I'll help out, for your sake, and we'll see if I can't liven up this project, hm?

[violentenvies]

I would expect nothing less, mon amour.

[dryly but certainly with amusement because he knows that tone of voice. But like he said, one may not be able to stop a natural disaster, but one can certainly prepare for it.]

[disharmonizes]

Well, then. I have some preparations to finish, but I'll come meet you soon then?

[violentenvies]

Very well.

[he starts to turn away, but pauses before he can take a step, turning back]

However, before you go...

[disharmonizes]

[Discord pauses at that himself.]

Hm?

[violentenvies]

[He'll just step in close, reaching out to rest a hand on Discord's arm for balance as Salieri pushes up onto his toes, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, before moving to sink back down]

Thank you.

[disharmonizes]

[hjdfgjhdfg SIR--]

...yes, well. [Just. clears his throat.] You're very welcome, of course.

[violentenvies]

[ugh please could you not look so cute and flustered it just makes him want to kiss you again.

But instead Salieri just...squeezes Discord's wrist gently, before stepping back]

I'll see you soon?

[disharmonizes]

Very soon. Don't get too excited, now, this isn't going to be easy for you.

[Dealing with Discord and the SQUIP in the same room? Good fucking luck bud.]

[violentenvies]

Oh, I'm well aware, believe me. [SO DRY but with amusement, and he'll turn on his heel and head down the hall back towards the SQUIP's classroom, humming the chorus to something that seems almost upbeat.]

[voicerights]

[When Salieri arrives, the classroom is further tidied. That is to say, the SQUIP has kept the wall-whiteboards as they are, but the portable ones? All but one have been erased. Cleaned. Blank canvases for...whatever this is going to be.

The SQUIP itself is sitting on one of the desks - literally on, its feet on one of the chairs. It's staring at the final whiteboard that isn't cleaned, which appears to have a form of psuedocode written on to it; closer examination might show that certain parts of it are written on dry-erase magnets for easy manipulation.

Look, it's Trying, all right. Though it's certainly not happy about this. It sips at the water bottle it's opened, scowling at the preparation it's completed. It doesn't even look up when it hears Salieri enter, willing to trust, if only for the moment, that he knows it hasn't been a half hour.]

[violentenvies]

[Salieri will pause in the doorway, folding his arms, leaning his shoulder against the frame and taking in the newly tidied room]

One whiteboard left standing. [mildly]

[voicerights]

I decided to give him as few targets as possible.

[S i p.]

Not that it would stop him, but at least the more complex work is stored away.

[violentenvies]

Wise choice. [The SQUIP is right, of course. Having fewer targets absolutely would not stop Discord and it is only years of practice that keep the amusement off Salieri's face.]

And what have you left, then?

[voicerights]

Building blocks.

[It reaches up to rub the bridge of its nose]

Introducing chaos in to this will necessitate a full-rewrite. I am not expecting to keep much of what I already had done, so I have stripped it down to what each portion is meant to achieve. I am also not expecting that to last very long.

[Bitter? Maybe a little. More frustrated than anything else that it knows it doesn't have a grasp on this and doesn't know how to prepare properly, and, under its breath;]

Mauntende~yū ga areba īnoni.

[violentenvies]

[Well, Salieri definitely doesn't catch what it says under its breath, but the frustration is clear]

...I'm afraid that sometimes scrapping everything and restarting is an affliction that everyone creating something must face at some point.

[voicerights]

[Yeah, well. This sort of creation is new to it as well. It continues scowling for a few moments before it glances towards Salieri, forcing its expression to relax]

How have you dealt with it in the past?

[violentenvies]

[Salieri is not at all bothered by the scowl because lol he actually gets it lmao] I got annoyed. Angry, even. Set it aside and walked away. [granted, that was BEFORE he met Mozart, but all of that business is another matter altogether]

Then, when I came back, figured out what I could salvage. Maybe it was just small parts of it that needed changing, or maybe I could only really use a few bars out of the whole piece. It depended on what I was working on.

[voicerights]

[More or less what it's already done. It nods slightly, then looks back forwards, then starts to climb off the desk]

I am going to trust you to at least keep him tolerable, but I am still grasping at the emotions of this form. As such, I will also trust your judgement in intervening if I myself rise to him.

[It! Does not! Like this! But! Its processor is prodding that if it has a tool at its disposal to use it. And informing Salieri of this at least should make him aware that the SQUIP will listen to him, at least in this matter.]

[violentenvies]

I will do my utmost.

However...[Salieri arches an eyebrow] You know he's going to come in with something horrible and aimed specifically at you, correct? At least, at first.

[voicerights]

I only needed fifteen minutes to clean up.

[What do you think the other fifteen minutes are for.]

[violentenvies]

[That will...actually earn a little bit of an amused chuckle out of Salieri]

Just endure it? He needs to get the worst of it out of his system first, and then he can probably be convinced to work. [yeah maybe he sounds incredibly fond when talking about how mean Discord is going to be but he's a sap, sue him]

[voicerights]

[It wasn't a bond that the SQUIP saw coming, but. Whatever. #humansandchaosentities

It nods in agreement nonetheless, moving over to the whiteboard]

Considering his prior jabs were about emotions and imperfection, he will need to come up with something new. [Which. Probably won't be that hard, for a being of chaos? Kind Of Their Thing.] But I am well aware of his distaste, as well as your own. However, [and it glances back towards Salieri] you have far more experience in not letting such keep you from accomplishing what you find important.