week 4

[airlockedmods]

Week 4

[Four weeks in and almost half the Champions' original numbers are gone. Eight people in the span of a month and, even with the Overseers seeming increase in empathy for the remaining Champions, there is no end in sight for the Champion Excellence Program.

And again at 7 am on Sunday the mechanical woman's voice chimes to awaken the remaining champions on Sunday morning. After the initial wake-up call the message tacked on:]

Congratulations, Champions! By surviving your third trial, you have unlocked the fourth floor of the ship. A new mini map has been added to your P.I.P.! To access the fourth floor please stand on the teleporter and select the floor you wish to be teleported to.

[And again the Champions are awakened they have regained one new memory from the ones they've lost. Starting again on Sunday, as well, Jamie and Bolton will be back to their usual office hours in their usual locations.]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday


[ooc: welcome to week 4, everyone! Check-in has begun and don't forget to submit your memory regains!]

Comments

TUESDAY

[airlockedmods]

MOTIVE: UH.....IDK HOW ABOUT THIS?

[theoverseers]

[Today, something keeps Bolton in the library for longer than his usual office hours. The hours themselves are the same as always, but for an extra hour or so the room is locked and his is the PIP that locked it.

The neutral computer voice announces through the PIPs for everyone to gather in the cafeteria around midday, but neither Jamie nor Bolton appear on time. It's finally Bolton who comes running in from the hallway, wearing the same plaid shirt and red tie that he'd been wearing for his office hours that morning, both sleeves rolled up to his elbows and carrying a book, which he sets down next to the espresso machine.]

Sorry I'm late-

[He doesn't comment on Jamie's absence, but it's noticeable.]

For this week's motive, uh...hm... How about an old classic? If there's no murder by the end of the week, then all of your homes will be destroyed. Sound good? Great.

[And then he's off, before anyone can stop him, picking up his book and slipping through the door to his and Jamie's side of the station.]


((OOC: In addition to this quickie motive, Jamie still has a surprise planned for later this afternoon, so while you're free to react to the motive we recommend that you wait until Jamie's post later to put up top-levels.))

[ratherdoweddings]

[...blink]

What was that about?

[cyan_maid]

Hey, wait-

[THERE'S A CAKE ON THE TABLE SHE WAS JUST ABOUT TO GET IT FOR YOU...

Whether or not Bolton even turns around to acknowledge being spoken to, judging by the raised eyebrow and confused grimace...yeah, Jane doesn't exactly take this motive to heart.]

So does anyone find that...an incredibly half-hearted motive? I mean...he even called it an 'old classic' and just...ran out? And Mister Jamie isn't even here? Is he just...what?

[Yeah she's much more caught up on the delivery than the "threat". If you're just brushing it off, there's no way it can be made good on. It's just stupid to assume as much.]

[curdle]

[ WELL, THAT'S NOT KEEPING TO THE SWITCH-OFF EACH WEEK PATTERN AT ALL, BUT LIKE
OKAY?? ]

... Did any see the title?

[ Even if the motive had included it, she's not good at reading on the fly. ]

[voltrounds]

[Blinkblink. Blink.]

I'm not sure I have a home.

[stitch_in_time]

[Joke's on you Bugs, the Doctor already destroyed his own home, HA! Unless they mean Earth or the TARDIS, that would be very bad.]

....well that's not good. But they're breakin' the pattern, we should've been gettin' another dodgeball game or something.

[bylight]

[Despite whatever that was... Lightning doesn't look too bothered by the motive.]

Does this have to do with the art room being closed last night?

[imnotfat]

You're two or three years too late for that, Overseers.

[According to his profile, at least]

[refusedtoleave]

[Natsuhi doesn't turn up time but she has left her room for the first time since Sunday morning.

...

...They had her come here for this? There's a grumpy snarl from her.]

What was the point of that?

Incentive: Paint Party

[theoverseers]

[About a half an hour after Bolton's questionable motive announcement, there's a new announcement through their PIPs, this time not from the computer voice]

Attention, Champions! [It's Jamie! He sounds like he's in a good mood but in a way that's barely hiding a deep well of stress.] Please ignore everything Bolton told you earlier and report to the art room.

[The art room has finally been unlocked and inside twelve easels have been set up with stools, canvases and other painting supplies in four neat rows of three. With the other easels not in use seven are neatly folded and propped up against a far wall and one is haphazardly shoved off to the opposite side of the room. Jamie, dressed in his paint-splattered jeans and light blue button-down, is waiting for the Champions and radiating stressed, slightly manic energy. His hair is messily pulled back and the dark circles under his eyes are more prominent than usual.]

Today we're going to have a nice time and just do some painting. [He claps his hands, flashing a slightly strained smile at the group.] I have a project in mind that I'm going to teach you guys how to do and you all have everything you need at your stations to do it but if you have something else you- [The art room door slides open again and Bolton sheepishly slinks in with his book. Jamie stops mid-sentence and stares at him with a scowl while he makes his way to the exiled stool in the corner and sits there like a scolded dog. Jamie swiftly turns his attention back to the Champions, pointedly not acknowledging his fellow Overseer any further.]

If you have something else you want to make, you're welcome to it. This is just going to be fun and relaxing. [Says the least relaxed person in the room and with this group that is an accomplishment.]

[Who's ready to paint some happy little trees?]

[bylight]

[Lightning at least waits till the explanation is over.]

So what's the motive?

[And why trees? Like hell she'll paint trees. She'll pick something from home.]

[cyan_maid]

[...Does it have to be in the Art Room? Does it have to? The room still makes Jane incredibly not relaxed herself - but she has a mission and by gum she's going to carry it out. Once Jamie finishes his explanation, she steps forward with a modest brown cake. The scent of coffee permeates the air around it, but doesn't overpower the nose.]

Mister Jamie? Before we begin, I wanted to give you and Mister Bolton something. You two missed out on the cake I managed to make last week, and I thought that perhaps...it might be a nice thing to share, right?

[After whatever reaction she gets from the two men, Jane will go over and pick an easel, humming to herself as she paints something more like flowers struggling to burst out of a dark crack in the land. Though...she's really rather poor at it, since the color ends up all muddled at the edges of things.]

[imnotfat]

[Okaaaaaaay...this is weird. Very weird]

What are you trying to accomplish with this?

[Did you snap, Jamie?]

[voltrounds]

[RICKY IS READY TO PAINT SOME HAPPY LITTLE TREES. She is all about trees. She'll just get right to that, in fact. She'll paint the shit out of those happy little trees while humming cheerfully.]

[ratherdoweddings]

[Yurika is painting, but she seems a little distracted... She's stealing glances at Jamie and Bolton's love troubles even as she's painting happy bunnies everywhere.]

[damnfourthemerald]

[Shadow stares at the canvas like it's alien. This is absolutely surreal, but thankfully for everyone around him, he doesn't seem like he's gonna go apeshit. It's just...wow the timing on this. The oddity of everything. The art therapy. Bolton's half-assed motive.]

What happened? [Someone might as well be direct about this.] Have a fight? Benefactors call you up?

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Okay, you know what? She's going to draw a pigeon. Just a large, beautiful pigeon that looks like a five year old drew it.]

[refusedtoleave]

[This is even worse than White's motive earlier...

But she goes along with it and paints a green blob at the top of the canvas. With her leaves finished she dips the brush into the brown paint. And raises her arm-

Then swings it down. Not even aiming at the canvas. Flinging paint everywhere.

She may or may not be having a tantrum. Go petty rebellion!]

[kingshaming]

[... it's becoming very clear that Xander is the only one following the project Jamie set out. He can paint... well enough on his own, but it's clear he does best with instruction.

He does it quietly, occasionally peeking over it to see how the two Overseers are doing- shit he's seen conversations between his father and some of his concubines that had less tension.

Enough so that he waits around after to see if he can catch either one]

[yukionna]

[ As tense as Rukia looks, she's not about to refuse art hour. Even if her preference is pencils.

Weirdly enough, she is much better at drawing trees and grass than she is people, or bunnies. In fact, she seems to be far more skilled at drawing props and scenery in general. Hmm.

...any good effect her painting has, though, is promptly ruined by the fauna she's chosen to draw with it. Cartoon deer and birds against semi-realistic forest scenery is not a good match up. ]

I'll admit, I'm not really used to using paint, but this isn't half bad.

[ Well. She's sketching things out first with a pencil and then painting them in. But still technically painting! ]

[curdle]

[ There is absolutely no way Jamie's getting happy trees out of her. Sad trees, maybe. Malevolent little trees. But instead of trying to paint any landscape, Thomasin starts trying to render the last image she remembers from this week. This means she's daubing the canvas with messy black paint for ages, circling a pair of dark yellow eyes with square, oblong pupils. It hits a beautiful level of artistry where it's both not a great drawing and uncomfortable to look at!

She's kind of humming a song to herself, though it's entirely unconscious and if you point it out she'll be fairly perturbed.

[airlockedmods]

[While everyone is at the art party, another note has appeared in the same spot, in the same handwriting.]

The propensity for cruelty and the potential for kindness constantly war within every human heart, a question of whether it is what you have been taught to be true, or what you know to be true that is the righteous path for you to follow. If seeing is believing, then it's what you see that matters. There will always be someone who will try to make you into their vision, but someone else cannot tell you what you can make of yourself. It is a fundamental right to guarantee a better life for yourself and the future. Always remember that right because if you don't it will be taken away from you. The next generation is watching.

[kingshaming]

[There moment Xander sees the note his mood sours. In fact he stands there reading and re-reading it. Enough so that it might seem the full writing, not the hidden message, is what's bothering him.

He stays there with it until everyone has had a chance at it, then takes it down to vanish away in his sketchbook like the others. Can't have the Overseers find it, can we? The fact that he might have torn it down hard enough to leave a tiny corner behind means nothing.]

[refusedtoleave]

[She stops when she reads the note, squints at it, and read again. Then puts it back.]

A riddle?

[She's not in the mood to deal with such nonsense.]