Welcome.

[trustfellows]

Rise and shine. There are a few things that matter right now - the fact that you're waking up in an unfamiliar but decently comfortable bed, the fact that you don't recognize the room you're in, the fact that you seem to have some sort of headache... Nothing severe, mind. Just the sort of odd, heavy fuzziness that comes with having slept far too long. You don't really remember where you were immediately before this, not upon waking. Something will come to you eventually if you think long enough, however - a couple of seconds of consideration will bring to mind a place, a memory, a recollection of where you were and what you were doing. It probably wasn't anything that would result in you being here, though. Welcome to Graceside Preparatory Academy. You may want to pick up the key to your room before you leave the room, but don't worry too much - your door won't lock automatically, so you won't be locked out if you've forgotten to pick it up. It seems you're not alone, either; the hallway outside your room is most likely full of other confused people by now, and should you turn around to look at the door of the room you just left, you'll find a nameplate with your name printed on it. There's a single word underneath it with no explanation. This is your title, but don't worry about that right now. Depending on when you left your room there may be a clock chiming in the foyer up ahead. It seems like it's seven, though it's difficult to tell if it's seven in the morning or seven at night. There aren't any windows, after all. Should you venture into the room with the clock, you'll find that the only exit is closed - there's absolutely no way to break down that steel bulkhead. It looks like you're not getting out of here anytime soon. The foyer also holds some very interesting information. There's a bulletin board with thirty-five pictures on it. Beside each picture is some very specific and very familiar information. Feel free to examine it. The bulletin board is large enough for plenty of you to gather around and gawk. Don't try to get at it though, that glass in front of it is very thick. If you try to break it, you'll find out the hard way that it's shatterproof. Sorry about that. Perhaps even more of a concern than the glass is the list beside the profiles. It looks like a set of rules. You might want to examine those, though they're not providing much of an explanation for why you're here or how you got here. So relax and get to know your fellow Participants. You might be stuck here for awhile.

Comments

[gorira]

[ Really, now? She's kind of got that punk look about her, though... ]

And here I thought you looked the type who could throw a pretty mean hook. Don't get me wrong, that way's smarter...definitely lower risk, that's for sure.

[ Thinking about it logically, it's a situation where the probability of a loss and the gravity of the loss way outweigh the potential benefit. In other words, absolutely not worth it.

But that's logic, and temper's a different damn beast, especially in the heat of a stressful situation. And something she's been attempting to keep in check. Punching the showrunner right out of the gate isn't exactly going to do anything other than her pride any favors. She knows that.

Doesn't mean she doesn't still want to slam her fist into someone's nose, over the whole thing. She always was a "punch first, ask later" kind of girl, even if she's been aiming to put more of a lid on that. Old habits die hard, though. ]

Maybe you can bug them into getting permission to engage, and then I'll swing. Y'know, tag team.

[ Is she joking-- ]

[sleepytimegal]

[ Joking or not, Alex can't stop the bite of laughter, almost instinctual. This girl doesn't look it, but she's hot-tempered for sure. ]

Just 'cause I can hit someone, doesn't mean I will, you know? But fine, if that pops up, you'll be the one I slap in.

[ Honestly... She has more things to worry about. Punching first probably isn't going to help her find her friends...or her new brother. ]

[gorira]

So you're saying you can hit someone, then.

[ She can't help but smirk a little, at that. In her experience, blue hair is kind of like a stop sign. "Don't cross me," something about it says. ]

You can count on me, though. While I've got a few choice complaints for those creeps, their choice in title for me isn't exactly one of them. Can't exactly rag on 'em for a compliment to my dexterity.

[sleepytimegal]

[ Ah... ]

Well...good to know one of us has a swell one. Mine's a bit- weird. Can't say I really get it.

[ ...like there are connections to be made to it but- ]

[gorira]

Yeah, I've noticed a couple of oddball ones, in particular. Evolutionary, Aqueous, Edifying, Meteoric, Crystalline...

[ Those...don't exactly seem like adjectives you'd use to describe people. ]

I can't say I exactly get the thought process behind Dexterous 100 percent, either, even if it is a statement of fact. If I was thinking of words that described myself, that one wouldn't be the highest on my list. But I guess you have to imagine they chose the word they did for a reason. Maybe it's some kind of hint, or a code, or some shit.

[sleepytimegal]

[ ...if it's a code, she doesn't want to figure it out. ]

Maybe...I'll make the Coordinators or whatever tell me, when I bug them into explaining something.

[gorira]

It can't hurt to ask, at least. I mean, to hoist a title on you and not explain why they call you it just seems like a shitty thing to do, but, then, it isn't as though we didn't have enough proof that they're shitty. At that point, it'd just be icing on the cake. "Welcome to Graceside Academy, here's a title you didn't ask for and an exercise you didn't sign up for, and fuck you if you want any more explanation than that..."

[sleepytimegal]

Yeah, the title's like the cherry on the piece of crap sundae. [ A strained smile. ] Whatever. It's...yeah, it's whatever. Uh, didn't really memorize people by titles, who're you? Your name, I mean. Mine's Alex.

[gorira]

Chitoge Kirisaki, but you can just call me Chitoge. Don't worry if you don't get the pronunciation right, I've heard 'em all.

[ After you get called Cheetos in elementary school, you'll take pretty much any other butchering you can get. ]

But first-name basis makes me more comfortable, too. Everyone in Japan insists on last names, and it's stuffy as hell. One of the things I miss the most about America, actually.

[sleepytimegal]

Uhhh... I'll get it, it'll be easier than the last name. You...did you live in America for awhile?

[gorira]

Mm, for about ten years. Never one part for too long of a stretch, though. If you were to count it all up and figure out how long we spent in each place, I lived in New York the longest, by far? We moved back there about four or five times, just because it was easiest for my mom. FiDi, Wall Street, all that.

But we were always hopping around. I only moved back to Japan when I started high school, about three years ago.

[sleepytimegal]

That many? Jeebus, that must've been a nightmare. How'd you deal with it, all the moving around?

[gorira]

Honestly, Alex, you'd be kind of surprised. We never really settled down too hard, and we kind of had getting everything packed down to a science.

[ It helped that they had a lot of hands. Lots of people to help with the heavy lifting. Hell, Tsugumi alone could take a ton of it... ]

But every time we came back, it was kind of like coming home, y'know? The worst part for me was all the transferring schools, but even that, I kinda got used to it.

[ It was just rough to make friends, as one could imagine. Between her overprotective family, and the fact that she was never in one place for too long anyway... ]

[sleepytimegal]

[ Funnily enough, the actual moving part she doesn't think would be hard, the physical act. The emotional one... ]

I'm sorry. That sucks, I... I'd hate not being able to set down some roots.

[gorira]

It did make it a little bit difficult to get adjusted to Japan...

[ She stretches a little bit, right arm in the air as she arches her back-- ]

Like I said, I've been there three years now, and I still have trouble thinking of it as, like, home home. But it's the longest I've ever spent in one place in a single stretch, and it's the first place where I was able to make some really stable friends. That was really new.

[sleepytimegal]

Are you gonna stay there? Like- is there a chance it could be permanent?

[ A lack of stable friends really sounds like it sucks, honestly? How can you deal. ]

[gorira]

Well, I'm hoping we can all sort of stick together, once we graduate.

[ Or, at least, as many of them as possible. ...It'll be a lot quieter, without Tachibana. ]

It sort of depends on how things go once our entrance exams are all wrapped up, where everyone decides to go from there. Most of us have family businesses that we're probably going to end up taking over one day. I'm planning on going to college and studying finance, myself. My best friend Kosaki is probably gonna do culinary school.

[ Something about her lights up, when she talks about Kosaki. She can't stay detached, when she's bragging about her friend. ]

Her family runs a pastry shop, and she's a phenomenal decorator. She loves doing it, so I can definitely see her making a career out of it! Not only that, she's, like, a genius taste tester! She has a real talent for being able to pick up on subtle flavors and stuff!

[sleepytimegal]

[ Ohhhhh no talk of future careers, haaaa great Alex's least favorite subject. She swallows and twiddles her thumbs for a moment, keeping a smile on her face, but the moment Chitoge starts getting enthusiastic, it's easier to...well, to focus on that. ]

Seriously? Ohhh that sounds cool! Must be so nice to have this big ol' super-talent, something you love and you're good at. Man... Now I want pastries.

[gorira]

Well, I don't think there's a single person out there who doesn't have an ability, of some kind! And if they don't know what it is, they're bound to find it eventually. It's kind of just a matter of experimenting and seeing what your passion is, y'know? I'm sure she wasn't always great at decorating, but she saw her family do it every day, and she had the resources and the drive...

[ She looks back and forth, though, as if she's about to share a secret. She can't keep the smile off her face. ]

...But we can't all be perfect, after all. Between you and me, as amazing as she makes them look, the taste is a different story entirely. But I'm definitely not one to talk.

I didn't check out the kitchen yet. Do you want me to go exploring for you and see if I can bring you back one?

[sleepytimegal]

[ You know, that kind of awkward confiding really is a little reassuring, even with Alex's hangups on the subject. She flashes a smile and a small wink. ]

That'd be real sweet of ya, Chi- uh, Chitoge. [ Stumbled a little but #nailedit ] Thanks.

[ Bit of a double-meaning that, but well, Alex isn't inclined to elaborate on it. ]