world's longest announcement

[heyitsnia]

Good morning Gooseberry,

I have a few announcements. First, incidents of hateful or threatening discourse on the anonymous entry last night have been reported to the school staff. I'm disappointed in a lot of what I read, but the push back against intolerance, and the overall outreach during and after the fact, were overwhelming and welcome. I hope, moving forward, we can all try to embrace that mindset - one of love and understanding and openness to our peers. If any of you ever feels threatened by something you see or hear or read, please don't hesitate to reach out. And if you ever feel hopeless or alone, know that you aren't. Talk to your friends, your prefects, your TAs or your club presidents. Just talk. You are loved. All of you.

Next, Brother and Anon are alive and unharmed. I know there were some [...] concerns, but I wanted to reassure those who might be worried that they are well. They're also both extremely busy and ancient magical creatures. Please remember that they are not human. Respect them and they will respect us. Do not seek them out.

Finally [...] and, regretfully, my last announcement is somewhat disturbing. I'm sure many of you are aware that recently there have been reports of students doing strange or unusual things and later denying their involvement in them. And I think we finally have an explanation for at least some of these instances. [...] Our acquaintances in the forest have identified a strange new magical creature living in the woods surrounding our school. They call them Strangers.

These "Strangers" possess the ability to change their shape and their voices and have, to date, assumed the forms of several students. They also [...] almost certainly have some abilities similar to Legilimency - they can and will read your mind. Thus far, we have seen no sign that they are explicitly violent, but those confirmed run-ins we have seen have pointed to a desire to make us doubt ourselves and our friends, to divide us and cut us down. [...] Or to lure students into the forest. I do not say this lightly: I believe them to be malicious.

So, we're reinstating last year's buddy system. If you need to go anywhere, please do so with another person - for everyone's safety. And I strongly advise that you carry your journal with you at all times. If you doubt the identity of a classmate for any reason, verify their identity with your journal - everything we write is signed, and we have no reason to believe that they can circumvent those measures. If a trusted friend is acting strangely or someone is trying to lure you into the forest, disengage immediately and tell a prefect or teacher.

We are still gathering information about these creatures to determine what we can do to discourage them from interacting with us. If you feel that you have had an encounter with one of these creatures, please report it to Ferdie or me. We're dedicated to transparency. We want everyone to understand what they're dealing with.

Guys, this isn't a message handed to me to deliver from on high. This is me, this is Ferdie, this is every single senior prefect concerned with the continued safety and happiness of all of our friends and family. We're going to go hard on the rules. We're going to be strict about curfew. And we're going to do everything in our power to make sure every student feels safe at this school - from weird magic shit and regular bullshit.

With that said, tomorrow morning there'll be a mandatory assembly, during breakfast. And at the very least the content of last night's anonymous entry will be discussed. I have a feeling the school will also be discussing our new neighbors.

[Warded to Student Authority]

Buckle up, all. And let me know if you need help, anywhere, today.

Comments

Student Authority

[readingrainbows]

[ ........ ] Oh boy.

Student Authority

[heyitsnia]

I'm hoping the worst we face is a deluge of "my clone did it!!" excuses for poor behavior.

[ferdie]

This comes co-signed, obviously. I'm going to hang another buddy-seeking sign up sheet in the lodge, but if you ever find yourself stranded without one, I'm personally a very good walker, and I'll deliver you to your doorstep from anywhere, any time of day. Without wanting to volunteer your prefects too much, I'm sure if you ward them, they'd figure out someone too.

It's the easiest way of having your [...] identity protected at all times.
I'm open for questions too.
Thanks, Nia, for this.

[heyitsnia]

Right. You all can call on either of us, any time, day or night. No questions asked.

Ferdie

[cecaelian]

The public reaction seems surprisingly tempered.

How's the premature gray hair count? Youthful admirers flocking to be your new walking buddy?

[Student Authority]

[colitaderana]

So it's been confir

We know for sure

Anon and Brother really sa

Got it.

[Student Authority]

[heyitsnia]

You've got this. I know you and Zion have your hands full, but you're good. Let me know if you need anyone tall to come and stand behind you making stern faces. I know a few guys.

Student Authority

[casperkim]

Thank you, Nia. This needed to be said, regardless of the fallout.

Should we discuss schedules to ensure there are always prefects available to escort the other students as needed? Mine is tight but I can make adjustments.

[Nia]

[...] How much do you think they were involved in last night?

Student Authority

[heyitsnia]

Good idea. We can do it on a voluntary basis. Maybe recruit some other students in authority positions to help pad out for nights when prefects are tied up. Suffice it to say, no one should ever have to walk alone on any trails.

[Casper]
More than I am comfortable with.

[cygninae]

Yeah. Same.

If any Coppertales or anyone needs to talk to someone you can talk to me. We'll figure it out.

[Student Authority]
Better this way.

[heyitsnia]

Thank you, Reid. [...] You're a good guy.

[Student Authority]
I just hope I didn't sit on this for too long.

[taxation_is_theft]

Great

[lachlangalbraith]

That's [......] Thank you for telling us. I hope everyone will be careful from now on.

[heyitsnia]

We're going to do everything in our power to keep everyone safe.

[opuntia]

Thanks for sharing all this, Nia.

[...]

[Student Authority]

This is, at the very least, a good first step.

I'm ready to play babysitter minder for any particularly [...] curious students, if need be.

Student Authority

[heyitsnia]

Thanks Phi. I'm sure there'll be some interest, but there's something extra creepy about being impersonated and framed for bad behavior, so I hope any curiosity is squashed out quick.

[lilipad]

This place is wild.

[heyitsnia]

All sorts of unusual things in these woods, I suppose.

But we're in good hands.

[browbeats]

If anyone in any house needs a buddy, I am always available. I stay up late and I wake up early, so don't feel like there's a bad time to ward me and ask for a walk. I'm even kind of nice about it sometimes.

Nia

[addytives]

[........]
Hey there, beautiful.
Are you
QUESTION: has anyone ever NOT said that your announcements are REALLY attractive? Like maybe it's weird, but I'd probably listen to you telling me a bomb is gonna fall in 30 seconds on my VERY HEAD and I'd just like. Nod and smile. If you don't run for like, president of the universe someday, we're all gonna be cheated.

AND ALSO I don't have like ANY buddies. So I might need one, if you know of any.

Niaddy

[heyitsnia]

[...] You have a supernatural knack for making the most unpleasant situations bearable. I [...] thank you. Hopefully I never have to make the giant asteroid announcement, but if I do, I'm bringing you along so I can at least do it with a smile.

Oh, honey, you know, I find myself in need of a buddy, myself.

Student Authority

[peanutbuttercup]

I haven't been reading the anonymous posts but I guess I'll have to start again.

Student Authority

[heyitsnia]

It's a cess pool, still. And not worth policing. But giving it a read [...] isn't a bad idea.

[godzillabutworse]

HEY

wow

f u c k e d u p

[nothalfplaid]

What the actual fuck? Just when you think this place can't find new ways to dick us over.

Thanks for telling us, anyway.

[heyitsnia]

A weird, weird place. For sure.

No problem, honey. If you have any questions, we'll do our best to answer them.

[lilwitchhazel]

Uuuuuuughhhh Thaaaanks for being upfront with us. [...] Do you think they

Do we have, like, a list of all the stuff they've done as [...] us? I'm guessing there's not any sort of clear pattern to like... suggest a more clear motive besides be dicks and mess us all up and... maybe steal us, right?

[heyitsnia]

We can get something together, for sure. I want to consider the privacy of students affected by what's happened, but making a moderated list of occurrences available to students could be helpful.

I'm comfortable saying that I have personally engaged one in highly unpleasant conversation, and witnessed two others pretending to be classmates [...] getting friendly in the woods.

Antonia

[sylla]

Do you think that these things have anything to do with [. . .] the incident with the mirror I told you about?

Sylla/Nia

[heyitsnia]

I think it's possible, definitely. [...] If I run into either of the forest entities, I promise I'll ask them. They might be able to confirm if it was a ghost or one of these new things.

[cmdrchloe]

You may know already, but I think something [...] copied me. And Riley.

[heyitsnia]

I [...] had my suspicions. I'm sorry that that happened to you.

[magitechnically]

Okay.

Essie

[heyitsnia]

You hanging in there, honey? Load of crap you had to deal with, last night.

Nia

[gonnabefamous]

I think I got doppelganged.

[...] You really think they can read minds?

Nia/Cammy

[heyitsnia]

Oh yeah? Can you give the deets?

[...] I know they can. I had a run in with one, with some other students. It pulled stuff out of our heads that no one would've known.

[cecaelian]

[...] Thank you for keeping everyone informed. And yes, of course, I'm always willing to listen and offer a supportive shoulder. Or be a walking buddy. And I'll work with Mr. Hightower to ensure that [...] precautions are taken before the next dance.

[sheepish]

That explains a lot.

Thank you.