INTRO MINGLE

[whimsicalism]

WELCOME IN

ORIENTATION DAY

(CW: Slight undertones of experiences of unreality.)

It’s a bright Monday afternoon at the Academy. If the sun happened to be visible, it would certainly be shining. The new semester that everyone has been waiting for is about to begin!

All students wake up at exactly the same time–not that you’re aware of this. Even those who don’t normally sleep must have given into slumber at some point; they, too, will jolt awake with the strangest sensation that someone was just whispering in their ears. The beds that you’ll find yourself in are small and unfamiliar, and you wake up wearing a uniform that you don’t recognize even though it fits you like a glove. A red book with black cardstock lining the inner cover sits on each dorm nightstand. Opening the book reveals a strange code of conduct. The following pages list, in alphabetical order, all of the students.

Beyond the handbook and a change of familiar clothes in the closet, there’s little personalization to the rooms, and they lack most homey comforts. As unusual as these surroundings may seem, it’s impossible to shake the subtle, lingering excitement: It’s the first day of school! What a delightful occasion. Shouldn’t everyone want to make the most of the year? The subtle, unshakeable desire to achieve sits in the back of every mind like the story of a happy dream. Perhaps you brush your hair or wash your teeth before going on with your splendid day. Your reflection in your bathroom mirror looks a little off, did you forget to cut your hair before the big day? Perhaps you realize that your nails or claws have been trimmed recently. A little odd but you must have been excited for a brand new school year.

The world outside the dorm room holds a few more answers, but most things are still shrouded in mystery. Today, it seems that some rooms are still locked up tight from summer vacation. Beside the dormitory and hallways, only the cafeteria, kitchen, gym, playground, school store, and A/V room are accessible. Outside the cafeteria, a digital sign titled DAILY SCHEDULE offers little structure, save for one afternoon event: 5PM - PREFECT’S ORIENTATION - AUDITORIUM. There’s a lot of business to take care of on the first day of school, after all. No one can just be expected to start learning without the proper preparation.

With some time to kill before the promised orientation takes place–and, according to that rulebook, everyone is expected to attend–students have only each other and the various robot sheep for company. With such a small class, perhaps working together will bring you newfound and long-lasting partnerships. The robotic staff seem polite, at least, if a bit confused at the sudden flurry of non-scheduled activities.

How will you spend your first day before classes begin?

OOC NOTES

Welcome to the IC intro mingle for Round 2! Your characters have the afternoon to meet one another, get lunch at the school cafeteria, review their student handbooks, harass the Little Brother robots, and prepare for the upcoming school semester in this post. As promised, the Prefect will meet everyone in the auditorium at 5pm and will post their own introductory comment at that time (Eastern).

While we're sure that some people are dying to get a head start on investigating all of the mysteries of the school (we're excited to reveal them), please hold your investigation comment ideas until the weekly post goes up tomorrow. As all ground floor locations should be open for exploration at that time, we invite everyone to scratch all of your investigation itches on tomorrow's post at noon (also Eastern)! In lieu of investigation threads today, characters may speak to/question/accost the Little Brothers, who have an NPC thread down below.

Thank you, and have fun!

Comments

Little Brothers

[whimsicalism]

[The sheep robots are everywhere on the ground floor. About three feet tall, the small robots are covered in synthetic wool and their default expression is a slight smile. They may be cleaning spots in the dorm's hallway or rearranging kick-knacks in the classroom. One is even settling in as the cook in the kitchen!

They seem to be engrossed in their work but if you call out to them, they'll respond.]

[canreallymove]

[Well here's someone who's got some questions for these things.]

YO! SHEEP DUDES!!

WHAT GIVES!?

[whimsicalism]

[One of the sheep turns around and... blinks as best as it can.]

Sonic? What seems to be the matter?

[canreallymove]

Oh great, it knows my name-

[His foot starts tapping impatiently on the floor.]

Hey! Pretty sure there's a mistake about me bein' here! I don't do uniforms. Or school. I'm supposed to be out in the great wide world, you get my drift? You know, what my speed, the wind in my spikes and all?

[tap tap tap tap tap]

So how about you just let me out before I get real mad, yeah?

[temmapathy]

[Emma finds a Little Brother that doesn't seem to be engaged in a particularly important task and taps it on the shoulder. Once it turns around, she holds up a notebook with a question written in it.]

Where is this place? Where's my brother?

[whimsicalism]

[The sheep smiles slightly more. How it manages to sign anything is a mystery but it does:]

Ira Academy, of course! Your brother isn't here he's not a student, after all.

[temmapathy]

[Oh, huh, can they understand sign language? She tries signing briefly.]

Why just me? We were both on SIX before this! [And that academy name doesn't seem right either...]

Re: Little Brothers

[lets_dewey_it]

_{[Well, these sheep were about as tall as Dewey was, so no reason to mess with them, but they were robots... Maybe he could rattle off some stock sci-fi lines against them.]}

Take me to your leader! _{[He pointed at one of the sheep, striking some kind of actiony-pose to assert dominance.]}

[whimsicalism]

[The sheep looks very confused.]

While I'm sure Lady Prefect will be very glad to hear you calling that, I can't currently take you to see her. She's very busy.

[lets_dewey_it]

Eh, well, I tried. _{[Shrug shrug. But at least he has a name now. "Lady Perfect".]}

[spychic]

[Anya looks over one of the sheep robots, frowning to herself gently before she speaks up.]

...What is going on, sheepies?

Anya's...confused...

[whimsicalism]

Hello, Anya!

[The sheep bows it's head slightly in greeting.]

It's the first day of the semester, of course. [Though, the Little Brother pauses.] It seems that a lot of the students seem to have forgotten that, though. It's very odd.

[spychic]

Hello, Sheepy.

[Anya looks curious, before she shakes her head.]

Is this part of Eden Academy? Anya studies there. Is this, um...um...a...friend school? [She means 'sister school'.]

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[Never has Dylan wanted to befriend something more than these things. Robots! They're advanced robots! And they do the cleaning! That is really cool and one of his brothers would be so jealous if he could see this!

But the thought of that brother makes him remember exactly why he's approaching the thing.]

Uh, hi, Mr. or Miss Sheep...things. Question, is my family okay? And, follow up up question, are they still at home, or are they somewhere else?

[whimsicalism]

Either are fine with me!

[The sheep tilts it's head then:]

They should be, yes. Your admission was taken care of by the Principal himself.

CW: Vague 101 Dalmatian Street Spoilers

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

Okay, that's at least one thing not to worry about...

[But there's another thing now, so this questioning is not over yet.]

So does that mean that that...Cruella lady is still...you know...outside my house?

[keyringwitness]

Um...

[At the end of the day, there was only one reason why Yasu of all people was enrolled in such a prestigious academy. It was the only thing that made sense.]

Excuse me, Sheep-san? Where's my shift schedule?

[whimsicalism]

Shift? You mean the class schedule, right? That should be in the Student Handbook.

[copycut]

[ ...Yeah so refer back to this thread. Kuro is berating the Little Brother over the cooking equipment in the kitchen. What does it have to say for itself, ]

[whimsicalism]

[It's very sorry, Kuro!! It doesn't know what it did wrong.]

Re: Little Brothers

[cellpreservation]

[What if he just pokes at one instead of calling out. Poke poke.]

[whimsicalism]

[The wool is soft, like a stuffed animal's. The sheep seems surprised and turns towards him.]

Hello! Remember, saying 'excuse me' is better than physical prodding when dealing with someone in your way.

[Yes, the robotic voice is very chipper as the sheep says that.]

[weirdlymagical]

[She tries stop one in the hallway. Oooohhh on any other day, Luz might have found these little guys endlessly adorable. And she still kinda does, but.]

H-heeeey, little guy? [Girl? Other? Oh boy.] You, uh... work around here?

[whimsicalism]

[It seems to respond to that, at least. The sheep nods.]

Hello, Luz! The Brother Units make sure the Academy runs smoothly.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[This might be cause for concern.]