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

school store

[spychic]

[Anya's peering around the school store when she hears a yelp, and a flashlight clatters onto the ground.]

Hua? Are you okay??

[curdle]

[ There's a low mutter that follows the sound of the clatter. ]

Devil take this thing— [ AND THEN SHE SEES A CHILD, in front of whom she just swore! ] —Oh!

[ wait, what did she just ask, what is oh kay, and also what is that accent ]

... What say you?

[ She's surprised enough not to dip into the usual second-person pronouns for people younger than her, which is a true blessing, since then she'd have asked "What sayest thou?" or some shit and we'd really be off to the races. ]

[spychic]

[Oh, wow. She speaks in a really unique way. Anya's brows arch.]

Art...thou...well?

[That's how to talk like a princess, isn't it? Is this girl a princess? She grabs the flashlight. She clicks it on, then clicks it off, pointing it at the floor.]

It makes light. That's all.

[curdle]

[ Now that she's not being blinded or muttering curses about being blinded, Thomasin can recognize just how little this girl is. She is is a child younger than even Jonas and Mercy. Were she a boy, she would likely still be in skirts, not yet having reached the age of breeching. And no matter how fractious her relationship with her younger siblings may have become, recently, she is still a big sister. She knows how to make herself seem stronger and more capable than she actually is, to comfort the little ones. So when Anya switches up her inquiry to the tune Thomasin would expect, her expression softens, and she looks down and nods. ]

Aye. I am well enough, 'tis just... my mind is distracted.

[ And if she understood a little better how basic a flashlight is, she'd be embarrassed to have been educated on the subject by one so young, but as it is this just a very strange wonder that she's happy to have explained to her! ]

... Like as to a lantern, [ she says, thinking that she's Got It. ] But I felt no fire before. How is that possible?

[spychic]

[Anya nods in return.]

Anya has a lot of thoughts, too. This is a scary time.

[As for how the flashlight works...]

Yes! It is like a lantern! It does not need fire. It runs on science!

[She opens up the flashlight, and takes the batteries out.]

These! Batteries. [She flicks the flashlight without the batteries inside. It doesn't turn on. She puts them in, and...it turns on once more!] Anya learned how to use these at the orphanage.

[She had to, to go to the bathroom at night. The dark is scary.]

[curdle]

[ The actual word "orphanage" might not be in use in Thomasin's day and age, except in the sense where it means "the state of being an orphan", but orphan is! She thinks she can understand a little more of how this small child could calmly explain these cold lanterns to a stranger. ]

Batteries... [ while she can grasp what Anya's actually indicating with her demonstration, there's truly zero comprehension of the word itself here! she's just repeating to get the pronunciation right ] ... and science. I thank thee, Anya. 'Tis a wondrous device.