peckenpaugh | THE UPPER LEVELS

up into the balconies

you climb The breathing boughs of that nightmare tree crowd into the upper balconies of the ruined auditorium. You have to duck and bend to get by them in places, sometimes through spaces that seem to grow smaller as you press through. These branches are warm to the touch, some of them uncomfortably so, pulsing with something that isn't quite life.

You've climbed these stairs more than once in your time here; to take your place after your sorting, to watch new students find their House, or perhaps just for an assembly. This building always seemed so sturdy, so safe. It was a place to go for shows, for celebrations, and hell, to just get out of class. Now, the floorboards creek precariously, split and splintering where vines have crept through. Benches are broken, overturned and tossed aside to make room for the auditorium's new king: the malignant maple. Up here, the glowing blue seeds hanging from branches are close enough to pluck. Those that have ripened litter the floor and railings, filling the balconies with an eerie blue twinkle.

The air is muggy, clogged by falling ash. It stinks of coal and sulfer. But you keep moving, anyway. Keep opening portals and pushing on. Just a little bit higher, and then maybe you'll be able to plunge into the depths.

and you fight By now there's a plan, and with it, a slowly growing brigade of people, of beings, of bugs, who are gathering to push back against inevitability.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The cackling only becomes more apparent. Jonathan absolutely got what was coming to him. She smirks and, turning over a few very large papers, decides that it's best to get going.

"No, I'll be up in a minute. I want this pen."

Maybe she should learn, someday, that you're not able to take large items with you out of memories. But it's a cute pen, and she grabs it, only to find that it comes up to her waist, at least. "...I might have to pass this to you."

Tell her to leave it, Eddy.

Eddy absolutely does not tell her to leave it, because who is he to deny Chanel a novelty pen that doesn't fit her aesthetic at all? The mechanics of memories and souvenirs isn't one he's encountered yet either, so this seems as plausible to him as yeeting a portal-in-a-folder off the side of a desk.

Within moments, he's hopped back down the side of the desk with ease and hangs off the drawer handle like he's King Kong on the Empire State Building, other arm outstretched to take the yard-stick sized pen from her. "Oh. Hey." is all he says when he notices the pen's started glowing, but he trusts Chanel to guess the meaning of this particular variation of "Oh. Hey."

Edited (spoilers) 2020-06-07 23:53 (UTC)

"Oh hey. We're great at this."

Chanel beams with all the confidence of a fool who has found two whole linchpins now without even trying. What were the others even complaining about, she could do this all day. (These are, inevitably, famous last words, and she doesn't know climbing's gonna hurt a whole lot more soon. But ignorance, as always, is bliss. And for now she is fine.)

She passes the huge pen, heavier than it should be, to the dangling Eddy, and then reaches for a handle as well, pausing because she only wants to scurry up once he's on the desk proper. Safety first.

"Always make a good team," Eddy agrees, beaming back at her with a shared confidence he rarely feels. (And also some lingering relief that they've been able to save a former public official without having to become intimately familiar with the taste of Fancy Feast.) He takes a few moments to become comfortable with the weight of the pen and then launches it onto the desk like a javelin before hoisting himself back up as well.

Then he peers back down over the side at Chanel. "Need a hand?"

Edited (my icons expired time for repeats) 2020-06-08 01:17 (UTC)

Chanel scoffs. Of course she doesn't need help. It's good natured, though, no real offense taken. "I've got it." She assures, though she doubtlessly looks comical as she climbs, clutching one shoe (blessedly small sized since it was on her foot the whole time.) She's whistling Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer during the climb, likely only because she's aware Eddy doesn't know the reference.

She lands with a little flourish and grabs back her pen. "...But you can borrow it sometimes." She assures, stepping toward the portal.

Edited 2020-06-08 01:27 (UTC)

Eddy takes a step back to clear room for her landing, and whatever that tune is, he's glad to hear it. "Be honored," he says, and follows after her.

Chanel and Eddy completed the memory "Cat Mayor"!

Upon emerging from the memory out into the auditorium, the portal snapped shut behind them.

Elsewhere in the auditorium, Ex-Mayor T-Bone and dewdrops, a magimagicicada were freed.

Eddy and Chanel each earned 5 Tokens for completing the memory!

They earned an additional 1 Token for locating the linchpin and an additional 2 Tokens for replying beyond the minimum!

You can check your token totals in Pouch's shop here, and maybe see if there's anything worth grabbing while you're there!

Edited 2020-06-08 02:48 (UTC)

THE UPPER LEVELS

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor

MEMORY: Cat Mayor - COMPLETE & TOKENS!