Here is some WORLDBUILDING! (All extra stuff that's not mandatory to read)
Spoiler
To the Parent or Guardian of [Recipient’s Full Name],
It is with measured consideration that we inform you: your child has been selected for admittance into Crista’s Institute for Unruly Youth, an elite and privately-funded educational institution specializing in the reform and refinement of individuals demonstrating unusual behavioral, emotional, or intellectual difficulties.
Your child’s name was brought to our attention through undisclosed means. While we do not accept applications, we observe carefully and extend our invitations to those most in need of our services.
We are pleased to offer:
Full room and board
Tailored education in the arts, sciences, and moral structure
A clean slate
Tuition is fully covered by anonymous benefactors. There are no fees, no hidden costs, and no further paperwork required.
Please note: attendance is mandatory upon acceptance of this letter. Withdrawal following arrival is not permitted.
Your child’s passage has already been arranged. A private ferry will collect them at precisely midnight, three days from the receipt of this notice. They are advised to bring only essential belongings. Luggage exceeding one trunk will be discarded.
Please do not attempt to follow.
Do not attempt to contact the school directly.
Further communication will be unnecessary.
We understand that parenting a difficult child can be a burden. Let us relieve you of it.
Warmest regards,
Headmistress Crista
Crista’s Institute for Unruly Youth
It is with measured consideration that we inform you: your child has been selected for admittance into Crista’s Institute for Unruly Youth, an elite and privately-funded educational institution specializing in the reform and refinement of individuals demonstrating unusual behavioral, emotional, or intellectual difficulties.
Your child’s name was brought to our attention through undisclosed means. While we do not accept applications, we observe carefully and extend our invitations to those most in need of our services.
We are pleased to offer:
Full room and board
Tailored education in the arts, sciences, and moral structure
A clean slate
Tuition is fully covered by anonymous benefactors. There are no fees, no hidden costs, and no further paperwork required.
Please note: attendance is mandatory upon acceptance of this letter. Withdrawal following arrival is not permitted.
Your child’s passage has already been arranged. A private ferry will collect them at precisely midnight, three days from the receipt of this notice. They are advised to bring only essential belongings. Luggage exceeding one trunk will be discarded.
Please do not attempt to follow.
Do not attempt to contact the school directly.
Further communication will be unnecessary.
We understand that parenting a difficult child can be a burden. Let us relieve you of it.
Warmest regards,
Headmistress Crista
Crista’s Institute for Unruly Youth
Spoiler
DORMS:
Students are housed in three towering dormitory halls, each older than the last. The buildings appear cobbled together from several centuries’ worth of stonework and salvaged shipwood, with rusted sconces lining the halls and creaking staircases that groan at night. No two rooms are the same size. Some have fireplaces that light themselves. Others have windows that never open, and some that never close.
The dormitory wings are sorted not by age or class, but by something more… elusive. The administration never clarifies the reasoning, and any attempt to move rooms is quietly denied. It’s long been rumored that the dorms themselves decide who belongs where.
Each dormitory hall contains twelve separate dorm rooms, each housing six students. No matter which dormitory hall your room is in, they all have the same identical, three wooden bunk-beds.
Dorm Names:
Ashmoor Hall: The largest, oldest, and coldest. Said to have been part of an abbey before the rest was swallowed by the sea.
Fenlight House: Faces the marshy inner island. Students here often report sleepwalking, cryptic dreams, or waking with damp footprints on their floors.
Crickhollow: A newer wing with ivy-covered walls and leaky roofs. Somehow always smells of candle wax and old parchment.
OTHER PARTS OF THE SCHOOL:
The Halls:
Corridors are narrow, lined with oil portraits whose eyes follow you. The walls are cold stone or wood, sometimes both. Candles light themselves when students pass but blow out for those who break rules. Whispers drift down the corridors from unseen mouths. Some doors lead to broom closets. Others lead to staircases that weren’t there yesterday.
The Cafeteria (officially “The Great Hall of Sustenance”):
A cavernous room filled with long, uneven tables and flickering chandeliers. Food appears promptly, always warm—though some students claim to have found things moving under the gravy. Meals are mandatory. Sitting alone is discouraged.
The Library:
Endless, silent, and somehow cold despite its many fireplaces. Books shelve themselves. The Restricted Wing is never locked—but entering it feels like walking into someone’s lungs. Students who check out certain titles are quietly watched by faculty for weeks afterward.
UNIFORMS:
Students at the Island Institute are required to wear uniforms that feel like a blend of Victorian formality and ceremonial garb. Stark, somber, and oddly heavy, they’re said to be woven from material that repels seawater—and absorbs secrets. Whether that’s metaphorical or not is debated.
Uniform Details:
Colors: Primarily black and grey, accented with deep burgundy or forest green sashes depending on one’s dorm.
Standard: High-collared shirts, wool coats, long skirts or trousers, leather boots. Capes are issued for bad weather (which is always).
Emblems: Each student's lapel bears a stitched crest of the Institute: a compass laid in front of a steering wheel.
Students are housed in three towering dormitory halls, each older than the last. The buildings appear cobbled together from several centuries’ worth of stonework and salvaged shipwood, with rusted sconces lining the halls and creaking staircases that groan at night. No two rooms are the same size. Some have fireplaces that light themselves. Others have windows that never open, and some that never close.
The dormitory wings are sorted not by age or class, but by something more… elusive. The administration never clarifies the reasoning, and any attempt to move rooms is quietly denied. It’s long been rumored that the dorms themselves decide who belongs where.
Each dormitory hall contains twelve separate dorm rooms, each housing six students. No matter which dormitory hall your room is in, they all have the same identical, three wooden bunk-beds.
Dorm Names:
Ashmoor Hall: The largest, oldest, and coldest. Said to have been part of an abbey before the rest was swallowed by the sea.
Fenlight House: Faces the marshy inner island. Students here often report sleepwalking, cryptic dreams, or waking with damp footprints on their floors.
Crickhollow: A newer wing with ivy-covered walls and leaky roofs. Somehow always smells of candle wax and old parchment.
OTHER PARTS OF THE SCHOOL:
The Halls:
Corridors are narrow, lined with oil portraits whose eyes follow you. The walls are cold stone or wood, sometimes both. Candles light themselves when students pass but blow out for those who break rules. Whispers drift down the corridors from unseen mouths. Some doors lead to broom closets. Others lead to staircases that weren’t there yesterday.
The Cafeteria (officially “The Great Hall of Sustenance”):
A cavernous room filled with long, uneven tables and flickering chandeliers. Food appears promptly, always warm—though some students claim to have found things moving under the gravy. Meals are mandatory. Sitting alone is discouraged.
The Library:
Endless, silent, and somehow cold despite its many fireplaces. Books shelve themselves. The Restricted Wing is never locked—but entering it feels like walking into someone’s lungs. Students who check out certain titles are quietly watched by faculty for weeks afterward.
UNIFORMS:
Students at the Island Institute are required to wear uniforms that feel like a blend of Victorian formality and ceremonial garb. Stark, somber, and oddly heavy, they’re said to be woven from material that repels seawater—and absorbs secrets. Whether that’s metaphorical or not is debated.
Uniform Details:
Colors: Primarily black and grey, accented with deep burgundy or forest green sashes depending on one’s dorm.
Standard: High-collared shirts, wool coats, long skirts or trousers, leather boots. Capes are issued for bad weather (which is always).
Emblems: Each student's lapel bears a stitched crest of the Institute: a compass laid in front of a steering wheel.
Spoiler
- All the characters no matter gender will share a dormitory
- Not all kids have to be unruly, they could be sent simply because their parents don't have the means to provide for them
- I know I have a lot of characters, but they're all important to the plot
- There are plot hints that will be hidden all over
- We will try to get a post out every 2 weeks
- Pad party schedules will be posted
- There is no minimum amount of words for a post
- Not all kids have to be unruly, they could be sent simply because their parents don't have the means to provide for them
- I know I have a lot of characters, but they're all important to the plot
- There are plot hints that will be hidden all over
- We will try to get a post out every 2 weeks
- Pad party schedules will be posted
- There is no minimum amount of words for a post
Spoiler
Siren by Kaylee Morgue
Siren sounds by Tate McRae
The water is fine (Crimson version) by Chloe Amment
Siren sounds by Tate McRae
The water is fine (Crimson version) by Chloe Amment
Here is the pad!
