- Location
- Leeds
I did.
...
Or did you think I just selectively coloured the bits of text that are red?
The Perfectly Normal High School: A Slice of Life Quest! (Defunct)
- Thread starter LuciDreamer
- Start date
- Original
...
Or did you think I just selectively coloured the bits of text that are red?
Week 2 Part 1.5: Introspection Time!
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
A/N: Sorry if this vote is a bit underwhelming. I'd planned to make this a full update, but I felt a bit burned out today... so anyway, we're now entering the midturn!
Silas had the distinct feeling that he was being watched.
Not by Big Sister, no. Well, by her, too, but he was always being watched by Big Sister, and that never felt strange at all. But today, he felt someone... else was watching him. Someone just out of sight. And that bothered him.
He suspected it might be Maeda. In fact, all day she'd been casting nervous, worried-looking glances in his direction. Was she still angry at him? It was hard to tell with her. She seemed to bottle up her emotions a lot, he had noticed. All week she hadn't even made a single reference to her outburst on Saturday, as if she were trying to forget it had even happened. Maybe she was ashamed that she had blown up at him like that? Or maybe she just didn't want to talk about it? Maybe she legitimately felt like it wasn't something important to bring up?
The more and more Silas tried to mull it over in his head, however, the more he felt like it would be rude to analyze her like that. She was a person with secrets, after all; and everyone had secrets. That's just a fact of life, right? But, inevitably, Silas was curious. The people around him were interesting, and he wanted to know anything and everything about them, their interests and hobbies, their personalities, their relationships... but would that be considered crossing a social line somewhere? Would Matsuoka or Hanamura think of him differently if they knew he was analyzing them like that?
SILAS IS DEVELOPING A TRAIT
Choose one of the following:
[] Gain "Extrospective" (+CHAR, +INT, Increased chance of learning traits and personalities, ???)
[] Gain "Inquisitive" (+2 INT, Add more precise information to Character Sheet, new actions?, ???)
[] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
People were inherently interesting, he had decided long ago. They had so many dimensions and social paradigms... but he had also thought long ago that for those very reasons he had wanted nothing to do with them. People were strange, and judgmental, and weird, and complex. They were better off being observed from behind a screen and within the sanctity of Big Sister's watchful gaze. He'd gotten a lot better, of course, but coming into the school year he realized just how difficult social interaction was, no matter how friendly he wanted to be.
Silas didn't want to be a loner... he wanted friends. Lots of them! But the very act of socializing was so daunting that he found it difficult to even talk to his classmates about trivial things, like the weather or grades. Maybe he ought to start small...
NEW QUEST!
Silas wants to have 2 Friends (REL >= 20) by the beginning of week 7.
Success: "Loner" Stat evolves
Failure: Temporary CHAR loss, ???
Silas felt a tap at his shoulder. He blanched, thinking Dorima had come to harass him again - but to his surprise, it was Maeda behind him trying to get his attention.
She looked very pale.
"Err... Yamigawa-kun," she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper above the class's cacophony. "I need to talk to you."
"Um - "
"It won't be long. Can you just please... ah... what was I...? Oh, right. Dammit. Please. Can you... hurry? I need to do this before I... before I forget." Maeda said. Tentatively, SIlas noticed she was crossing her eyes and constantly tapping Dorima's desk. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Why?"
"Listen, I don't have time for questions. I'm gonna forget if I don't... I mean... you need to hurry, it's urgent," Maeda said. There was an edge to her voice. "Can you come to the empty classroom across the hall real quick? It'll only be a second, I promise."
Maeda didn't want to tell him something. That much was obvious. And this nervousness... he'd never seen her express that emotion before. He felt that he had better go along with whatever Maeda was asking. Either something really bad had happened just recently, or she was about to confess to him.
And as much as Silas thought that would be awesome, he doubted the latter would be the case.
MAEDA IS ASKING SOMETHING OF SILAS (This is neither a [TALK] nor an [ATONE] action, but still requires an action slot.)
Choose a response:
[] "...sure?"
[] "Sorry, but no."
If yes, choose a [TALK] or [ATONE] action to cancel:
[] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
[] [CANCEL] Shinohara Hana
Silas had the distinct feeling that he was being watched.
Not by Big Sister, no. Well, by her, too, but he was always being watched by Big Sister, and that never felt strange at all. But today, he felt someone... else was watching him. Someone just out of sight. And that bothered him.
He suspected it might be Maeda. In fact, all day she'd been casting nervous, worried-looking glances in his direction. Was she still angry at him? It was hard to tell with her. She seemed to bottle up her emotions a lot, he had noticed. All week she hadn't even made a single reference to her outburst on Saturday, as if she were trying to forget it had even happened. Maybe she was ashamed that she had blown up at him like that? Or maybe she just didn't want to talk about it? Maybe she legitimately felt like it wasn't something important to bring up?
The more and more Silas tried to mull it over in his head, however, the more he felt like it would be rude to analyze her like that. She was a person with secrets, after all; and everyone had secrets. That's just a fact of life, right? But, inevitably, Silas was curious. The people around him were interesting, and he wanted to know anything and everything about them, their interests and hobbies, their personalities, their relationships... but would that be considered crossing a social line somewhere? Would Matsuoka or Hanamura think of him differently if they knew he was analyzing them like that?
SILAS IS DEVELOPING A TRAIT
Choose one of the following:
[] Gain "Extrospective" (+CHAR, +INT, Increased chance of learning traits and personalities, ???)
[] Gain "Inquisitive" (+2 INT, Add more precise information to Character Sheet, new actions?, ???)
[] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
People were inherently interesting, he had decided long ago. They had so many dimensions and social paradigms... but he had also thought long ago that for those very reasons he had wanted nothing to do with them. People were strange, and judgmental, and weird, and complex. They were better off being observed from behind a screen and within the sanctity of Big Sister's watchful gaze. He'd gotten a lot better, of course, but coming into the school year he realized just how difficult social interaction was, no matter how friendly he wanted to be.
Silas didn't want to be a loner... he wanted friends. Lots of them! But the very act of socializing was so daunting that he found it difficult to even talk to his classmates about trivial things, like the weather or grades. Maybe he ought to start small...
NEW QUEST!
Silas wants to have 2 Friends (REL >= 20) by the beginning of week 7.
Success: "Loner" Stat evolves
Failure: Temporary CHAR loss, ???
Silas felt a tap at his shoulder. He blanched, thinking Dorima had come to harass him again - but to his surprise, it was Maeda behind him trying to get his attention.
She looked very pale.
"Err... Yamigawa-kun," she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper above the class's cacophony. "I need to talk to you."
"Um - "
"It won't be long. Can you just please... ah... what was I...? Oh, right. Dammit. Please. Can you... hurry? I need to do this before I... before I forget." Maeda said. Tentatively, SIlas noticed she was crossing her eyes and constantly tapping Dorima's desk. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Why?"
"Listen, I don't have time for questions. I'm gonna forget if I don't... I mean... you need to hurry, it's urgent," Maeda said. There was an edge to her voice. "Can you come to the empty classroom across the hall real quick? It'll only be a second, I promise."
Maeda didn't want to tell him something. That much was obvious. And this nervousness... he'd never seen her express that emotion before. He felt that he had better go along with whatever Maeda was asking. Either something really bad had happened just recently, or she was about to confess to him.
And as much as Silas thought that would be awesome, he doubted the latter would be the case.
MAEDA IS ASKING SOMETHING OF SILAS (This is neither a [TALK] nor an [ATONE] action, but still requires an action slot.)
Choose a response:
[] "...sure?"
[] "Sorry, but no."
If yes, choose a [TALK] or [ATONE] action to cancel:
[] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
[] [CANCEL] Shinohara Hana
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Altharis
Tovarisch Volksdeutsch, Professional Crucifier
- Location
- Poland
On one hand I want the Charisma plus better rolls to social, on the other new actions and upgrading a stat we're good at... Oh well, the latter it is.
[X] Gain "Inquisitive" (+2 INT, Add more precise information to Character Sheet, new actions?, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[X] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
[X] Gain "Inquisitive" (+2 INT, Add more precise information to Character Sheet, new actions?, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[X] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
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Jhin Lemon
Lawful Cute
- Location
- Trapped in the interwebs, please send help
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[X] [CANCEL] Shinohara Hana
Let's grind some relationships!
[X] "...sure?"
[X] [CANCEL] Shinohara Hana
Let's grind some relationships!
- Location
- St. Petersburg
It'll be fiiiine. Just stay off their search history, and you'll be good.
Just a heads up - this is probably best asked before you've made the roll for the action. Since OOC we know we sorta failed the roll for Yumika and succeeded with Shinohara.
Our current relationships:
Which makes Hanamura, Shinohara and Maeda the only three candidates besides Matsuoka. I think 20 REL is a bit much to ask of him by Week 7, what with our rolls that give +4 on success and detract far more on failure (not something we control), but even with that in mind it is safer to dismiss the talk with Matsuoka and begin grinding Shinohara's link.
Why do people dismiss the other one instead? Matsuoka alone won't give you the completed quest, and we have the Drama Club to interact with her besides school. You need to start working on another person ASAP.
[x] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
The ++CHAR trait is way more useful than others with requirements being too tight. Our success threshold is so low, we have more chances to spoil the relationship by acting than by staying silent.
So I am going to do a protest vote on the trait, just because.
[x] Gain "Extrospective" (+CHAR, +INT, Increased chance of learning traits and personalities, ???)
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- Location
- Leeds
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
- Location
- Canada
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
Sensitive will help us fix the inevitable mistakes
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
Sensitive will help us fix the inevitable mistakes
ConfusedPotato
Unverified Verifier
- Location
- Australia
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Doo dee doo~
Vote locked, writing now:
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
Vote locked, writing now:
[X] Gain "Sensitive" (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions, ???)
[X] "...sure?"
[x] [CANCEL] Matsuoka Yumika
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So! Explanation time.
When I made the Club vote, it wasn't until deep into last weekend that I realized that I was going to have to create more than a few unique characters to populate the club that won. This is mostly for the purpose of realism; I can't have all the Drama Club members come from 4-1! That would be stupidly serendipitous, and lazy! Also, because I'm sticking to the theme of "no-one-in-this-god-damned-school-is-even-remotely-normal," I couldn't just make up a name and come up with a personality later.
In short, this Quest is !!FUN!!
Did I mention that I rediscovered Mount and Blade: Warband over the weekend? Because I did. And that didn't help.
Barring my untimely homicide, the update should be ready by tomorrow evening. Sorry for the wait! Hopefully this is the last time I shirk one of my own deadlines-oh who am I kidding there's gonna be plenty of times after this.
When I made the Club vote, it wasn't until deep into last weekend that I realized that I was going to have to create more than a few unique characters to populate the club that won. This is mostly for the purpose of realism; I can't have all the Drama Club members come from 4-1! That would be stupidly serendipitous, and lazy! Also, because I'm sticking to the theme of "no-one-in-this-god-damned-school-is-even-remotely-normal," I couldn't just make up a name and come up with a personality later.
In short, this Quest is !!FUN!!
Did I mention that I rediscovered Mount and Blade: Warband over the weekend? Because I did. And that didn't help.
Barring my untimely homicide, the update should be ready by tomorrow evening. Sorry for the wait! Hopefully this is the last time I shirk one of my own deadlines-oh who am I kidding there's gonna be plenty of times after this.
- Location
- Leeds
Channel it.
The Drama club is searching for new members because most serious ones left after a bunch got addicted to a video game.
- Location
- Canada
I'm sold. It sounds like real life so it works
Altharis
Tovarisch Volksdeutsch, Professional Crucifier
- Location
- Poland
What's above, and you could also make someone who's really into history and/or reenactment; it would fit.
Warband... that's a game I haven't played in a long time. As much as I love it, I still think it sucks tho, the vanilla at least.
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Those... sound like briliant ideas, actually. Thanks!
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Far as I remember other quests that aren't centered on club activities, clubs are presented as a one-person affair - in that you go to the club to interact with that one person that interests you, and the rest may well be walk-ons. They are there, but aren't important, much like our other classmates besides the seven or so we came to know.
Your approach sounds more fun, but also work-intensive. Will club activities become as prominent as the rest of our school life?
- Location
- Leeds
Thank you. I am due one good idea a month.
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's the plan. [CLUB] Actions are going to start appearing, and they'll eat at least one action per turn minimum, even on weekends. Mechanically, the actions will be a way for Silas to passively increase his REL with club members, and maybe gain temporary boosts to stats. Also, there's going to be an overarching project the club has to work on: their contribution to the Winter Cultural Festival (Squee!)! Time is about to start becoming a bit constricted for poor Silas...
Oh and I edited some of the base stats. You might want to check out the character sheet.
Week 2 Part 2: Welcome to the Club!
LuciDreamer
Maliciously Incompetent
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
A/N: As usual, this was fun to format. I'll be updating the Character Sheet tomorrow.
[] "...sure?"
It was a shame that he'd be losing an entire lunch bell of socializing - he was even planning on talking with Matsuoka again, too, and she was always fun to be around! But it was obvious that whatever Maeda needed from him had been gnawing at her conscience. Something about the expression on her face and her body posture. Knowing that, how could he turn her down?
"Thanks, Yamigawa-kun. Can you… hurry? I'll be at 4-2."
Maeda slipped away before Silas could get a word in edgewise. It was a few moments before he could catch up to her. It was lunchtime everywhere in the school, so the hallway was a bit busy, with throngs of people buzzing about on their free time. 4-2, by contrast, was eerily quiet once he slipped the sliding door shut. There was nobody in the room but Maeda and him.
"Right, right…" Maeda shook her head a bit. "...Take a seat, err… right here, please."
"No problem?" Silas replied. "What's this all about?"
"Err…" Maeda scratched her head and scrunched up her eyebrows. "Just sit down."
"Um… kay…" Silas took a seat next to a desk. Facing opposite from him was another desk, with a vacant seat. Shyly, Nanami waved her hand hello, knowing full well that Silas was staring at the empty air directly behind her.
Maeda got out a notepad and scribbled something down. "What do you see directly in front of you?"
"A… window," Silas answered, truthfully. It was a pretty nice one. Shiny, with a good view of the outside. A delivery drone was buzzing by.
"Okay… anything else? Describe everything in your field of view right now."
"Well, there's the rest of the wall. And… some bookshelves?" Silas looked around the room some more. He realized some of the computers were flashing slightly - a sign to show him that someone was there. "...Some computers, a newsreel monitor, a TV Set, Big Sister…"
"Who?" Maeda perked up at this, staring at Silas intently.
"Gah, um… nothing. No one. I see no one in front of me right now," Silas said quickly.
"Are you sure?" Maeda prodded.
"Yes, I'm sure. Certain. There is no… there is no physical human besides you in my field of view right now," Silas said, confident that his choice of words didn't constitute a real lie. Big Sister didn't have a physical presence, after all! Not that he knew, at least. And Nanami had to try really hard to stifle a sniffle.
"And your big sister?" Maeda asked. "Try to think really, really hard."
"I don't have a big sister," Silas said. Again, technically, he was being truthful. So it was okay!
Maeda let out a groan. Disappointment? Worry? "Hmm... " she grumbled. "Let's try this." She nodded discreetly in Nanami's direction. The girl, eyes pointed away from Maeda, pulled a tiny bread roll from within her jacket, and reached out to Silas. She held his hand with one arm, and placed the loaf on him with the other.
Silas blinked. There was a weird, tingly feeling in his fingers, and he was now folding a piece of bread.
"How'd you get that, Yamigawa-kun?"
"Hmm?" Silas asked.
"Who gave the bread to you?"
"You did, of course," Silas responded, mostly confused. "You walked over and handed it to me."
"I handed it to you from behind this column of desks?" Maeda asked. Her glasses seemed to shimmer. She was scribbling more in her notepad.
"Um… yeah. You… uh… scooted them around a bit. And then you moved them back in place," Silas said. Why was his head hurting all of a sudden? "How else did you give it to me?"
"I didn't give it to you."
"Of course you did!" Silas couldn't help but chuckle. "It's ridiculous to think that you didn't!"
"I swear I didn't."
"If you say so," Silas shrugged. Is this some sort of psychological test? He wondered. Punishment for wasting her time, now she's wasting my time? No, no… Maeda isn't like that. Then what could she…? No. No, I shouldn't pry.
Out of frustration and sadness, Nanami slammed her hands against her desk. "Silas…" she whimpered.
Silas heard a crash, and jumped in his seat. "Maeda? Did you just fall?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Oh… kay…"
This is getting weirder and weirder by the moment… Silas thought. "Um… are we done here?"
"Not quite. I want to keep you for a few more minutes," Maeda said. She was furiously typing into her MiPhone, now. "A few more tests. Need more info."
"About what?"
"About…" Maeda suddenly looked at her phone confusedly. "About… something… important? To be frank, I honestly have no ide - "
"MAEDA!!" Nanami screeched.
Maeda looked as if she'd been hit by something. "Oh! Right! Um… it's something. Definitely something. Can't tell you. It's… uh… Student Council stuff. Confidential. Yeah." Nanami calmed down, looking relieved.
"Confidential?" Silas laughed. "What, is the Student Council some sort of intrigue organization? Do you guys have secret files and and codenames and stuff?
To his surprise, Maeda laughed. "You have no idea…"
"U-Um…" Silas squirmed in his seat uncomfortably.
"Anyway," Maeda snapped her notepad shut. "I… oh dear, is that the time? I think that's it... Hopefully you can get back to class before - "
Suddenly, an electronic bell beeped above them. It was time for third block. "...shoot," Silas said. "I still had a rice taco left."
"Wow, it's already been ten minutes?" Maeda said. "That went by… way too quickly. You ought to get back to class now, Yamigawa-kun."
"Aren't you coming, too?" Silas asked.
"Nah, I have to… do some more things real quick."
Silas rolled his eyes. Again with the ambiguity. "Well, seeya."
"See you," Maeda waved goodbye as Silas slipped the sliding door open. "Wait - Yamigawa-kun, wait up. One more thing."
"Mhmm?" Silas asked.
"You're not… curious? At all?" Maeda said.
"Oh, no no," Silas smiled. "I… uh… I'm pretty sure whatever it is you wanted for me to do is something you don't want me to know the specifics of. It just… it feels rude to be… um… asking too much."
"You know I'm hiding something from you, then."
"Yes."
"But you… don't care?"
Silas shook his head. "If you don't want to tell me, I'm fine with that. I… want to respect your privacy, you know? And… you seem like a good person. So I don't think I have anything to worry… about… woah, I feel chilly all of a sudden."
Nanami had wrapped herself around Silas's waist. She buried her face in his stomach, her body shaking in dry sobs. It was a pitiful noise.
Silas blinked. Maeda was looking at him weirdly… sadness? But what could she possibly be sad about?
Gosh, people were so confusing sometimes.
"...It's nothing, Silas. Probably just the air-conditioning," Maeda said.
"Mmkay," Silas replied nonchalantly. The cold feeling was going away now. "Seeya around, Maeda!"
"See you," Maeda said. When the sliding door slipped shut, Maeda walked towards the door herself, but her fingers stopped just short of the handle. She patted Nanami on the shoulder, a pithy sign of comfort, the only one she dared to give.
"You're gonna be alright, Nanami," she whispered to the space in front of her. "I have friends. We're - we're close. We're smart, too. And we know a thing or two about things that aren't supposed to make sense. And… we're gonna try to get him to see you again. Okay? I promise." Maeda cringed slightly; her smile faded. She hated making promises she might not keep.
Silently, Nanami nodded. "You're not… gonna forget too, right?"
Maeda's smile returned. "I'll… try. If I forget, you have to keep reminding me, okay? I'm better at remembering memetic - err - at remembering things than most. But you have to remind me."
"Okay," Nanami whispered. "I don't want to be forgotten."
"...I know."
Maeda Kirino: +1 REL
Silas has gained a Trait!
Sensitive - Silas is highly attuned to the emotions of the people around him, and is good at detecting when the people he talks to are feeling uncomfortable. This makes him a better communicator, but also means he's a bit oblivious to the things that people want to hide. (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions. Silas detects liked Stats faster.)
One of Maeda's Traits has been partly discovered!
Secretive - Maeda keeps a lot of things bottled up inside of her. Perhaps it's for the better? (???)
[] [CLUB] Drama Club (+0.5 CHAR, +0.25 CRE, +0.25 COUR per week, ???)
"Um… hi."
Silas had no idea what he had been thinking.
It was supposed to be the simplest thing, right? Just walk into the Drama club room and start talking with people. It was just like class! And Matsuoka would be there to help him, and everything would be fine and dandy!
...And now he was standing at the doorway to the Drama club room, with at least seven pairs of eyes trained at his exact spot. They looked like giants; titans, even, and he felt smaller and smaller every passing second he stood there. And amongst those in attendance, there was a distinct lack of Matsuoka, which didn't exactly make things much better!!
"Um… my name is Yamigawa Silas. N-Nice to meet you all?" Silas practically squeaked.
One of the boys spoke up: "...Reizei Renji. Vice President of the Drama Club. Err… do you have the wrong room or something?"
A voice from behind Reizei suddenly barked, "Yeah, and my addendum to that question is as follows: Who exactly the hell are you?!"
"Kuroda-san!" one of the girls whispered fiercely.
"E-Err… I… I sort of... " Silas's knees were rubbing against each other. "I… saw the sign and I… um…"
Stop staring at me, stop staring at me, stop staring at me!!
Was it his imagination, or was an image of Big Sister's facepalming avatar just now disappearing from a nearby screen? That traitor!
"HEEEY FRIIEEEENDS!" Matsuoka's voice suddenly echoed down the hallway as she skidded into the club room, armfulls of sweets in hand. "I BROUGHT THE SNA - oh, Yamigawa-kun? Hey! You wanted to join the Drama Club?"
Matsuoka looked confusedly between herself, the petrified Silas, and the rest of her club. "Why're you all so quiet?"
"...You know Yumika-san?" the Vice President asked.
Silas stuttered a reply: "E-Err… yes. She's in my class 4-1."
"He's the self-introduction kid!" Matsuoka explained. And then the dreadful silence was finally broken.
"Ohhhh…" the Vice President sighed. "Well, a friend of Matsuoka's... Anyway. Sorry, ah… Yamigawa-kun? I thought you were some weirdo or something. We don't get a lot of people who want to join Drama willingly. So, nice to meet you!"
"T-Thanks!" Silas breathed.
"Wait, self-introduction kid?" someone mumbled.
"You know, the one who introduced himself to class by shouting 'SELF INTRODUCTION!' to the first person he met?"
"Oh, yeah!"
"So! Um…" Matsuoka silenced the two with a very subtle glare. "Silas! Welcome to Drama. We make stageplays and watch movies!"
"And we analyze them," the Vice President, Reizei, added.
"Well yeah, that too," Matsuoka said with a wave of her hand. "But that's work. Drama's all about the fun! The thrill! The popcorn!"
"Sheesh, you're selling it hard, aren't you, Kaichou?" Reizei muttered.
"Well, it's true!" Matsuoka replied defensively. She put her hands on her hips. "Besides, it's important that Drama gets new members! We don't want to go the way of the Music Club, isn't that right?
The entire room seemed to gasp, and Reizei, for his part, recoiled a bit. "Sick burn... " someone muttered.
"Well, it isn't like you're doing any better!" Reizei fired back. He was grinning devilishly. "Or do I have to remind you how half of your members ran off with Hanamura after he founded the Computer Club?"
"U-Um…" Silas looked between the two and felt he had to intervene somewhere. "... Club induction ceremony?"
"Oh, right, that," Reizei seemed to suddenly realize that Silas was still standing there. He cooled down a bit. "We… uh… we didn't anticipate anyone would come, so… like, we don't have any freaking confetti or anything…"
"Really? But the recruitment poster looked nice!" Silas said.
"You really think so?" one of the boys perked up. "Oh! Err… Mikado Yoshi. I do most of the promotional materials and presentations. Nice to meet you!"
A boy did the poster? Silas thought to himself. "Nice to meet you, too, Mikado-kun. And yeah, I think it looked alright…"
Matsuoka pulled on Silas's arm. "This is Reizei Renji! He's our Vice President. He's insufferable and kind of a jerk, but other than that he's very boring, and also an idiot!"
"Hey!"
"And over here…" Matsuoka pointed to one of the girls. Bizarrely, her hair was blue. As in, bright teal. "...is Rakuyama Riku. Yeah, I know! Rakuyama Riku, Reizei Renji. They were made for each other!"
"Ugh, no…" Rakuyama rolled her eyes, chuckling. Out of the corner of his eye, noticed Reizei was a tint redder than before. Rakuyama faced Silas and put on a genuine-looking smile. "Nice to meet you, Yamigawa-kun. I was part of the Music Club too, like Renji-kun."
"And here…" Matsuoka pointed to a tall student in the back. "Is…"
"My name, good sir, is Count Etrosq of the Rhodok Republic, defender of Saren and vassal to the rightful ruler of Calradia, King Graveth!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around in an aggressive manner. "Normally I cut the throats of commoners who barge into my presence unannounced, but I was in a good mood today!"
Silas instantly thought of that boy Allen was arguing with a few classes ago… what was his name again? Taro?
"...His name is Kuroda Harima. He's our best actor!" Matsouka continued, with no change in tone. "And he's an idiot, too, like Renji!"
"Since when did I become part of this?" Reizei snarled.
"And finally…" Matsuoka pointed towards a corner of the roo - wait, Shinohara is here, too? "This is Shinohara Hana! You know her, right?"
"Hey, Silas," she said politely, waving her hand a bit.
The effect was instantaneous. "Wait wait wait wait wait… what?" Mikado said, his jaw dropping. "What?! Yamigawa-kun, you and Shinohara - "
"What's the meaning of this?!" Kuroda shouted.
"Intimacy alert! Intimacy alert!" Rakuyama yelled.
"First names!!" Matsuoka screeched. "You two use first names!! There's a history there! I must know, now!"
"W-Wait, um…" Silas shook his head violently. "I swear, I - "
"I met him when he was talking to Allen. He insisted on first names," Shinohara said quickly. This seemed to pacify the club room, much to Silas's relief.
"Aww…" Rakuyama deflated. "And here I thought we'd be getting some good old-fashioned club drama… why'd you have to ruin the fun?"
"Well anyway!" Matsuoka said, instantly bringing all the attention to herself, and, conveniently, away from SIlas and Shinohara. She did that a lot, Silas was beginning to realize. "That was the Drama Club official induction ceremony!"
"It was?" Reizei blinked. "But isn't there like a formal process - "
"Nope! You're now a member of the club, Yamigawa-kun!" Matsuoka declared.
"Desperate, much?" Reizei mumbled.
"Shut up, Reizei!" Matsuoka said cheerily. "Induction ceremony over! Let's clap!"
The club did a few rounds of polite clapping, with Matsuoka - naturally - leading the charge. It felt… kind of awkward, and a bit patronizing. But it seemed genuine, at least. He smiled wearily in reply. "Now… Yamigawa-kun! Let's eat!"
At that, she dumped the bags she had brought with her - piles upon piles upon piles of sweets, candies, chocolates, and sugar buns toppled onto the center table. Silas gaped.
"DIBS ON THE CHOCO-LEEKS!" Rakuyama screeched.
"Hey - save some for me!" Reizei rushed over.
Silas stood, frozen to the spot. For some reason, it didn't feel right for him to just go to the table and start stuffing his mouth… as much as he really wanted to… I mean, he wasn't really part of these peoples' in-group yet!
"You there!" the boy named Kuroda called out from beneath a barrel of mochi icecream. "The fire is warm; come seat yourself here, and let us enjoy the bounties of the earth together!"
"Yamigawa-kun! Table! Food!" Matsuoka urged. "Work comes later! Right now - FOOD!"
Silas's resistance didn't last long after that. Happily, he sat himself at the table, and started munching along with everyone else. He had a feeling this was going to be a fun year.
Matsuoka Yumika: +3 REL
Silas is now CLOSE ACQUAINTANCES with Matsuoka!
Shinohara Hana, Kuroda Harima, Reizei Renji, Rakuyama Riku, Mikado Yoshi: +5 REL
Silas is now ACQUAINTED with Kuroda, Reizei, Rakuyama, and Mikado.
Silas gained a Trait!
Drama Club Newbie - Silas is a member of the Drama Club! When he spends time with his club, he'll be learning the various nuances of communication and expression, and he'll find it a lot easier to interact with club members. (+0.5 CHAR, +0.25 CRE, +0.25 COUR per week. +5 Success Threshold with all Drama club members. Lost if Silas leaves Drama Club.)
[] [TALK] Shinohara Hana
Success Threshold: 52.5 (Base) + 10 (Big Sister Interference) + 10 (Sensitive) + 5 (Drama Club Newbie) +1.25 (Okay INT) - 10 (???) -20 (Loner) -16.5 (Bad CHAR) - 5 (Former NEET) = 27.25
DICE ROLL: 7
RESULT: Success! Phew!
"So…"
Well, this was a bit awkward.
"...Do you like debating? You hang out with Allen a lot…"
"No."
"Oh."
Silas realized that he actually had absolutely nothing to talk about with Shinohara. Probably because he knew nothing about her… but that wasn't his fault, right?
"Why do you hang out with Furai-ku - err, Allen?" Silas asked.
Shinohara curled her lips into a frown. "Why do you care?"
"I-I don't mean to pry, honest!" Silas said, instantly recognizing the disapproval wrought on Shinohara's face. "I just thought… you know… I was interested."
"Hmm."
Shinohara took a sip from her ramune. Gingerly, Silas took a sip from his rice taco.
"So… uh… movies. You're in Drama too, right? What kind of movies do you like?"
Thankfully, that seemed to pique her interest. "You go first," she said, turning the conversation around.
"Oh! Err…" Silas scratched his head. "I like… fantasy a lot," he admitted.
"High Fantasy or Low Fantasy?"
"What's the difference?"
"High Fantasy is a bit heavy on magic and elves and dwarves and shit," Shinohara explained. "It tends to focus on fantastical stories about epic heroes and Gods. Low Fantasy is more down-to-earth. It's still got elements of fantasy, but it tends to focus on conflict found in the real-world - like war between kingdoms or political intrigue."
"...huh. I guess… I prefer High Fantasy, then?"
Shinohara nodded. "Figures."
"I mean - " Silas continued. "I like Low Fantasy, too. I marathoned Game of the Throne a couple months ago…"
"Oh, you watched that, too?" Shinohara smiled. "That show's thrilling. You've good taste."
"Uh... thanks."
Shinohara leaned in a bit closer. "Hey, between you and me, you should bring that up with Allen next time you talk to him," she said.
"...huh? Why?"
"He doesn't like to admit it, but he's a huge Game of the Throne nerd. I think it's because of its realism and politics… or something. I'm sure if you make a couple of lead-ins to that, he'll open up a lot," Shinohara said.
"Oh. Thanks!" Silas replied. That seemed like something important to store for later…
One of Allen's Traits has been discovered!
History Nerd - Allen loves history, and especially modern media that depicts history in what he sees as a realistic light. (+5 Success Threshold with Allen when this trait is discovered)
"What about Horror movies?" Silas asked. Shinohara's face lit up. Success!
"They're my favorite, actually," Shinohara said. "Did you watch The Square?"
"Ohhh! Yeah!" Silas said enthusiastically. "There was an anime adaptation of it a few months ago!"
"Anime?" Shinohara frowned, but it quickly faded. "So yeah, I loved that one. Remember the part where that girl was dragging the poor student into the TV screen?"
Silas shivered. He was pretty sure that particular scene broke more than a few decency laws, or something... "I kind of wanted to forget about that, actually…"
"It was the best part, though!" Shinohara exclaimed. "The hopelessness on the girl's face - her actor really knows how to do despair! How she tried to cling desperately to the chair, but it was no use; the tendrils of the tentacles were too strong! They dragged her in… sloooowly… and she screamed and screamed but there was nothing she could do!" Shinohara slapped her fingers to her cheeks. Her expression was ecstatic. "'HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME!' Hahaaha, oh god, that was funny! 'GET AWAY FROM ME I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NO, NO NO!!' Hahahhaa… hahah... ahaah… hah… ha…"
Somewhere near the front of the room, Kamasaki-sensei was asking everyone to get ready for third block. But Silas didn't hear her. His face was white.
"Y-You're a bit scary, Shinohara-san…"
"Oh! Sorry, Yamigawa-kun!" Shinohara seemed to be trying to wipe her face of emotion entirely. She was still beet-red, though. "You weren't supposed to… I shouldn't have… I should… yeah."
"Right! I'll… be b-back in my seat n-now!" Silas stuttered, eager to get away. What was wrong with this girl?!
"...Yeah, that would be for the best. Seeya around, Yamigawa-kun," Shinohara replied, keeping her eyes on her food.
Shinohara Hana: +2 REL
One of Shinohara's Trait's has been partially discovered!
Movie Sadist - Shinohara seems to… really enjoy watching movie characters in nightmarish situations. It's kind of creepy. (???)[/b]
[] [EXTRA] Stay after school (May meet classmates there, ???)
(COUNTS AS [ATONE] Maeda Kirino)
Success Threshold: 57.5 (Base) -20 (Loner) - 16.5 (Low CHAR) - 5 (Former NEET) + 20 (Atonement) + 10 (Big Sister Interference) = 66
DICE ROLL: 68
Result: Autofail
Silas put his hand on the sliding door screen, thinking he was going to be making an attempt to atone to Maeda, again.
When he slid the door open, though, he was greeted by the sight of not one, but at least thirteen people - arguing angrily around desks which had been arranged in a neat little circle. No one seemed to notice him enter.
"...I'm telling you, you're taking this too far!" Maeda was saying. "We can't just leave her out there, we need to - "
"For the last time, Six, we don't have Site-01 operational yet!" one of the boys shot back. Silas recognized him as the Student Council Kaichou. "Until we get basic functionality, we can't enact proper procedures for -"
"Proper procedures?! All we need is a locked office or room or something! She's not Keter, for Christ's sake!"
"How do we know?! We don't take chances with these kind of things! You, of all people, should know that!"
"...Did someone leave the door unlocked?"
All eyes turned to Silas. "Um… hi," he said, lamely.
"THERE'S NO PRIVACY IN THIS SCHOOL, IS THERE?!" the Kaichou yelled exasperatedly. "GODS, I WANT THE OLD OFFICE BACK! SIX! AMNESTICS! NOW!"
"Yamigawa-kun!" Maeda rushed to him before any of the others could react. "Sorry 'bout this…" she said. Silas didn't even have time to think before she jammed something sharp into wrist and -
Silas was walking home, in a bit of a daze. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what exactly went wrong with his attempt to atone to Maeda… but nothing came up. Huh. That's a shame.
(NO EFFECT)
[] [JOB] Look for a part-time online
Success Threshold: 25 (Base) +10 (Big Sister Interference) +1.25 (Okay INT) = 36.25
DICE ROLL: 1
Result: HOLY SHIT
Silas didn't know what it was.
Maybe it was Big Sister's subtle guidance and manipulation of the Web, or maybe he'd just gotten plain lucky. But when he logged on to JuubunNaSokudo.com, literally within seconds he found exactly what he was looking for.
RECRUITING MODERATORS FOR THE AH FORUM
Right, so apparently this subforum's kind of exploding, so I need a few moderators to help me police this shit while I'm busy at work.
Please know that this isn't !!FUN!! work. You're not gonna be paid well, and the odds are pretty high that no matter what you do you're probably gonna end up hated by approximately half of the fuck-munchers on this god-damned subforum (Appreciate ya guys ), since most of us are apparently psychopaths and socially retarded.
Oh, and see the above paragraph? That's the kind of language you're gonna be sifting through and infracting on a regular basis. Just a heads up. That's not an outlier; the people here talk like that. Like, on a regular basis.
We're a fun group.
I need people who are either committed (for some god-awful reason) to keeping this subforum clean, or otherwise are willing to take a lot of heat. Rates start at about 500￥ per hour. Yes, I know it's shitty pay. Don't care. PM me. Thanks, all.
-DreamerLuci
...okay, well not exactly what he was looking for. But it wasn't physical work, it was online and it paid… and it was for being a moderator on a forum! Moderating wasn't that hard, right?!
"I… don't think this is a good idea," Big Sister cautioned from behind the webpage. "Preliminary scans of the "AH Forum" are… oh dear… I did not know that clowns could be sexualized like that."
"I mean, it's something…" Silas argued.
"A true conjecture…" Big Sister replied.
Tentatively, Silas opened a PM box for the user "DreamerLuci."
YamiOtako: I saw your recruitment post. Can I be a mod?
DreamerLuci: Wat so soon?
DreamerLuci: Cmon man I was busy with sumthin
DreamerLuci: Gimme a sec
DreamerLuci: Mmmkay. so you wanna be a moderator?
YamiOtako: Yes.
DreamerLuci: ur account doesn't say that you've frequented this subforum much. Just sayin. not gonna accept just anyone, ya know.
DreamerLuci: hold that thought
DreamerLuci: I'm gonna send you a from with questions on it. easy stuf, yeah? i'll judge your merit based on that. Can you shoot me an email?
YamiOtako: TacoSai@mimail.com
DreamerLuci: ...really, man?
YamiOtako: Sorry. I like tacos a lot.
DreamerLuci: sigh. its all good. The file should be arriving in a few minutes. send it back whenever. appreciate ya.
"She seems nice," Big Sister commented.
"How do you know it's a she?" Silas wondered aloud before coming to the obvious answer. "Oh. Right."
After a few minutes of refreshing his empty mailbox, Silas finally got the form DreamerLuci was talking about. It was… long. Most of the questions seemed kind of vague, like "What is the proper way to address an angry forum-goer?" and "At what point of a heated argument is mod intervention necessary?" The more he looked at it, the more Silas realized that he'd have to set aside an entire evening just to go through it all…
(New Action Available)
WEEK 2 IS NOW ENDING
Please choose, at most, two [TALK] or [ATONE] actions and two [EXTRA] actions. One [CLUB] action is required, for a total of FOUR.
[] [ATONE] (Who?)
[] [TALK] (Who?)
[] [EXTRA] Study (SKL +0.5)
[] [EXTRA] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[] Anime, music, "culture!" (CRE +0.25)
-[] Forum scrolling! (CHAR +0.25)
[] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[] [EXTRA] Walk around the city (May encounter events, random, ???)
[] [EXTRA] Stay after school (May meet classmates there, ???)
[] [EXTRA] Talk with Big Sis (???)
[] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[] [CLUB] Hang out (Random REL Increase with club members)
[] [CLUB] Help the Officers (REL Increase with Matsuoka & Reizei, ???)
[] [CLUB] Work (???)
I'll be updating the Character Sheet tomorrow. [] "...sure?"
It was a shame that he'd be losing an entire lunch bell of socializing - he was even planning on talking with Matsuoka again, too, and she was always fun to be around! But it was obvious that whatever Maeda needed from him had been gnawing at her conscience. Something about the expression on her face and her body posture. Knowing that, how could he turn her down?
"Thanks, Yamigawa-kun. Can you… hurry? I'll be at 4-2."
Maeda slipped away before Silas could get a word in edgewise. It was a few moments before he could catch up to her. It was lunchtime everywhere in the school, so the hallway was a bit busy, with throngs of people buzzing about on their free time. 4-2, by contrast, was eerily quiet once he slipped the sliding door shut. There was nobody in the room but Maeda and him.
"Right, right…" Maeda shook her head a bit. "...Take a seat, err… right here, please."
"No problem?" Silas replied. "What's this all about?"
"Err…" Maeda scratched her head and scrunched up her eyebrows. "Just sit down."
"Um… kay…" Silas took a seat next to a desk. Facing opposite from him was another desk, with a vacant seat. Shyly, Nanami waved her hand hello, knowing full well that Silas was staring at the empty air directly behind her.
Maeda got out a notepad and scribbled something down. "What do you see directly in front of you?"
"A… window," Silas answered, truthfully. It was a pretty nice one. Shiny, with a good view of the outside. A delivery drone was buzzing by.
"Okay… anything else? Describe everything in your field of view right now."
"Well, there's the rest of the wall. And… some bookshelves?" Silas looked around the room some more. He realized some of the computers were flashing slightly - a sign to show him that someone was there. "...Some computers, a newsreel monitor, a TV Set, Big Sister…"
"Who?" Maeda perked up at this, staring at Silas intently.
"Gah, um… nothing. No one. I see no one in front of me right now," Silas said quickly.
"Are you sure?" Maeda prodded.
"Yes, I'm sure. Certain. There is no… there is no physical human besides you in my field of view right now," Silas said, confident that his choice of words didn't constitute a real lie. Big Sister didn't have a physical presence, after all! Not that he knew, at least. And Nanami had to try really hard to stifle a sniffle.
"And your big sister?" Maeda asked. "Try to think really, really hard."
"I don't have a big sister," Silas said. Again, technically, he was being truthful. So it was okay!
Maeda let out a groan. Disappointment? Worry? "Hmm... " she grumbled. "Let's try this." She nodded discreetly in Nanami's direction. The girl, eyes pointed away from Maeda, pulled a tiny bread roll from within her jacket, and reached out to Silas. She held his hand with one arm, and placed the loaf on him with the other.
Silas blinked. There was a weird, tingly feeling in his fingers, and he was now folding a piece of bread.
"How'd you get that, Yamigawa-kun?"
"Hmm?" Silas asked.
"Who gave the bread to you?"
"You did, of course," Silas responded, mostly confused. "You walked over and handed it to me."
"I handed it to you from behind this column of desks?" Maeda asked. Her glasses seemed to shimmer. She was scribbling more in her notepad.
"Um… yeah. You… uh… scooted them around a bit. And then you moved them back in place," Silas said. Why was his head hurting all of a sudden? "How else did you give it to me?"
"I didn't give it to you."
"Of course you did!" Silas couldn't help but chuckle. "It's ridiculous to think that you didn't!"
"I swear I didn't."
"If you say so," Silas shrugged. Is this some sort of psychological test? He wondered. Punishment for wasting her time, now she's wasting my time? No, no… Maeda isn't like that. Then what could she…? No. No, I shouldn't pry.
Out of frustration and sadness, Nanami slammed her hands against her desk. "Silas…" she whimpered.
Silas heard a crash, and jumped in his seat. "Maeda? Did you just fall?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Oh… kay…"
This is getting weirder and weirder by the moment… Silas thought. "Um… are we done here?"
"Not quite. I want to keep you for a few more minutes," Maeda said. She was furiously typing into her MiPhone, now. "A few more tests. Need more info."
"About what?"
"About…" Maeda suddenly looked at her phone confusedly. "About… something… important? To be frank, I honestly have no ide - "
"MAEDA!!" Nanami screeched.
Maeda looked as if she'd been hit by something. "Oh! Right! Um… it's something. Definitely something. Can't tell you. It's… uh… Student Council stuff. Confidential. Yeah." Nanami calmed down, looking relieved.
"Confidential?" Silas laughed. "What, is the Student Council some sort of intrigue organization? Do you guys have secret files and and codenames and stuff?
To his surprise, Maeda laughed. "You have no idea…"
"U-Um…" Silas squirmed in his seat uncomfortably.
"Anyway," Maeda snapped her notepad shut. "I… oh dear, is that the time? I think that's it... Hopefully you can get back to class before - "
Suddenly, an electronic bell beeped above them. It was time for third block. "...shoot," Silas said. "I still had a rice taco left."
"Wow, it's already been ten minutes?" Maeda said. "That went by… way too quickly. You ought to get back to class now, Yamigawa-kun."
"Aren't you coming, too?" Silas asked.
"Nah, I have to… do some more things real quick."
Silas rolled his eyes. Again with the ambiguity. "Well, seeya."
"See you," Maeda waved goodbye as Silas slipped the sliding door open. "Wait - Yamigawa-kun, wait up. One more thing."
"Mhmm?" Silas asked.
"You're not… curious? At all?" Maeda said.
"Oh, no no," Silas smiled. "I… uh… I'm pretty sure whatever it is you wanted for me to do is something you don't want me to know the specifics of. It just… it feels rude to be… um… asking too much."
"You know I'm hiding something from you, then."
"Yes."
"But you… don't care?"
Silas shook his head. "If you don't want to tell me, I'm fine with that. I… want to respect your privacy, you know? And… you seem like a good person. So I don't think I have anything to worry… about… woah, I feel chilly all of a sudden."
Nanami had wrapped herself around Silas's waist. She buried her face in his stomach, her body shaking in dry sobs. It was a pitiful noise.
Silas blinked. Maeda was looking at him weirdly… sadness? But what could she possibly be sad about?
Gosh, people were so confusing sometimes.
"...It's nothing, Silas. Probably just the air-conditioning," Maeda said.
"Mmkay," Silas replied nonchalantly. The cold feeling was going away now. "Seeya around, Maeda!"
"See you," Maeda said. When the sliding door slipped shut, Maeda walked towards the door herself, but her fingers stopped just short of the handle. She patted Nanami on the shoulder, a pithy sign of comfort, the only one she dared to give.
"You're gonna be alright, Nanami," she whispered to the space in front of her. "I have friends. We're - we're close. We're smart, too. And we know a thing or two about things that aren't supposed to make sense. And… we're gonna try to get him to see you again. Okay? I promise." Maeda cringed slightly; her smile faded. She hated making promises she might not keep.
Silently, Nanami nodded. "You're not… gonna forget too, right?"
Maeda's smile returned. "I'll… try. If I forget, you have to keep reminding me, okay? I'm better at remembering memetic - err - at remembering things than most. But you have to remind me."
"Okay," Nanami whispered. "I don't want to be forgotten."
"...I know."
Maeda Kirino: +1 REL
Silas has gained a Trait!
Sensitive - Silas is highly attuned to the emotions of the people around him, and is good at detecting when the people he talks to are feeling uncomfortable. This makes him a better communicator, but also means he's a bit oblivious to the things that people want to hide. (+2 CHAR, +10 Success Threshold [TALK] actions, +15 Success Threshold to [ATONE] actions. Silas detects liked Stats faster.)
One of Maeda's Traits has been partly discovered!
Secretive - Maeda keeps a lot of things bottled up inside of her. Perhaps it's for the better? (???)
[] [CLUB] Drama Club (+0.5 CHAR, +0.25 CRE, +0.25 COUR per week, ???)
"Um… hi."
Silas had no idea what he had been thinking.
It was supposed to be the simplest thing, right? Just walk into the Drama club room and start talking with people. It was just like class! And Matsuoka would be there to help him, and everything would be fine and dandy!
...And now he was standing at the doorway to the Drama club room, with at least seven pairs of eyes trained at his exact spot. They looked like giants; titans, even, and he felt smaller and smaller every passing second he stood there. And amongst those in attendance, there was a distinct lack of Matsuoka, which didn't exactly make things much better!!
"Um… my name is Yamigawa Silas. N-Nice to meet you all?" Silas practically squeaked.
One of the boys spoke up: "...Reizei Renji. Vice President of the Drama Club. Err… do you have the wrong room or something?"
A voice from behind Reizei suddenly barked, "Yeah, and my addendum to that question is as follows: Who exactly the hell are you?!"
"Kuroda-san!" one of the girls whispered fiercely.
"E-Err… I… I sort of... " Silas's knees were rubbing against each other. "I… saw the sign and I… um…"
Stop staring at me, stop staring at me, stop staring at me!!
Was it his imagination, or was an image of Big Sister's facepalming avatar just now disappearing from a nearby screen? That traitor!
"HEEEY FRIIEEEENDS!" Matsuoka's voice suddenly echoed down the hallway as she skidded into the club room, armfulls of sweets in hand. "I BROUGHT THE SNA - oh, Yamigawa-kun? Hey! You wanted to join the Drama Club?"
Matsuoka looked confusedly between herself, the petrified Silas, and the rest of her club. "Why're you all so quiet?"
"...You know Yumika-san?" the Vice President asked.
Silas stuttered a reply: "E-Err… yes. She's in my class 4-1."
"He's the self-introduction kid!" Matsuoka explained. And then the dreadful silence was finally broken.
"Ohhhh…" the Vice President sighed. "Well, a friend of Matsuoka's... Anyway. Sorry, ah… Yamigawa-kun? I thought you were some weirdo or something. We don't get a lot of people who want to join Drama willingly. So, nice to meet you!"
"T-Thanks!" Silas breathed.
"Wait, self-introduction kid?" someone mumbled.
"You know, the one who introduced himself to class by shouting 'SELF INTRODUCTION!' to the first person he met?"
"Oh, yeah!"
"So! Um…" Matsuoka silenced the two with a very subtle glare. "Silas! Welcome to Drama. We make stageplays and watch movies!"
"And we analyze them," the Vice President, Reizei, added.
"Well yeah, that too," Matsuoka said with a wave of her hand. "But that's work. Drama's all about the fun! The thrill! The popcorn!"
"Sheesh, you're selling it hard, aren't you, Kaichou?" Reizei muttered.
"Well, it's true!" Matsuoka replied defensively. She put her hands on her hips. "Besides, it's important that Drama gets new members! We don't want to go the way of the Music Club, isn't that right?
The entire room seemed to gasp, and Reizei, for his part, recoiled a bit. "Sick burn... " someone muttered.
"Well, it isn't like you're doing any better!" Reizei fired back. He was grinning devilishly. "Or do I have to remind you how half of your members ran off with Hanamura after he founded the Computer Club?"
"U-Um…" Silas looked between the two and felt he had to intervene somewhere. "... Club induction ceremony?"
"Oh, right, that," Reizei seemed to suddenly realize that Silas was still standing there. He cooled down a bit. "We… uh… we didn't anticipate anyone would come, so… like, we don't have any freaking confetti or anything…"
"Really? But the recruitment poster looked nice!" Silas said.
"You really think so?" one of the boys perked up. "Oh! Err… Mikado Yoshi. I do most of the promotional materials and presentations. Nice to meet you!"
A boy did the poster? Silas thought to himself. "Nice to meet you, too, Mikado-kun. And yeah, I think it looked alright…"
Matsuoka pulled on Silas's arm. "This is Reizei Renji! He's our Vice President. He's insufferable and kind of a jerk, but other than that he's very boring, and also an idiot!"
"Hey!"
"And over here…" Matsuoka pointed to one of the girls. Bizarrely, her hair was blue. As in, bright teal. "...is Rakuyama Riku. Yeah, I know! Rakuyama Riku, Reizei Renji. They were made for each other!"
"Ugh, no…" Rakuyama rolled her eyes, chuckling. Out of the corner of his eye, noticed Reizei was a tint redder than before. Rakuyama faced Silas and put on a genuine-looking smile. "Nice to meet you, Yamigawa-kun. I was part of the Music Club too, like Renji-kun."
"And here…" Matsuoka pointed to a tall student in the back. "Is…"
"My name, good sir, is Count Etrosq of the Rhodok Republic, defender of Saren and vassal to the rightful ruler of Calradia, King Graveth!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around in an aggressive manner. "Normally I cut the throats of commoners who barge into my presence unannounced, but I was in a good mood today!"
Silas instantly thought of that boy Allen was arguing with a few classes ago… what was his name again? Taro?
"...His name is Kuroda Harima. He's our best actor!" Matsouka continued, with no change in tone. "And he's an idiot, too, like Renji!"
"Since when did I become part of this?" Reizei snarled.
"And finally…" Matsuoka pointed towards a corner of the roo - wait, Shinohara is here, too? "This is Shinohara Hana! You know her, right?"
"Hey, Silas," she said politely, waving her hand a bit.
The effect was instantaneous. "Wait wait wait wait wait… what?" Mikado said, his jaw dropping. "What?! Yamigawa-kun, you and Shinohara - "
"What's the meaning of this?!" Kuroda shouted.
"Intimacy alert! Intimacy alert!" Rakuyama yelled.
"First names!!" Matsuoka screeched. "You two use first names!! There's a history there! I must know, now!"
"W-Wait, um…" Silas shook his head violently. "I swear, I - "
"I met him when he was talking to Allen. He insisted on first names," Shinohara said quickly. This seemed to pacify the club room, much to Silas's relief.
"Aww…" Rakuyama deflated. "And here I thought we'd be getting some good old-fashioned club drama… why'd you have to ruin the fun?"
"Well anyway!" Matsuoka said, instantly bringing all the attention to herself, and, conveniently, away from SIlas and Shinohara. She did that a lot, Silas was beginning to realize. "That was the Drama Club official induction ceremony!"
"It was?" Reizei blinked. "But isn't there like a formal process - "
"Nope! You're now a member of the club, Yamigawa-kun!" Matsuoka declared.
"Desperate, much?" Reizei mumbled.
"Shut up, Reizei!" Matsuoka said cheerily. "Induction ceremony over! Let's clap!"
The club did a few rounds of polite clapping, with Matsuoka - naturally - leading the charge. It felt… kind of awkward, and a bit patronizing. But it seemed genuine, at least. He smiled wearily in reply. "Now… Yamigawa-kun! Let's eat!"
At that, she dumped the bags she had brought with her - piles upon piles upon piles of sweets, candies, chocolates, and sugar buns toppled onto the center table. Silas gaped.
"DIBS ON THE CHOCO-LEEKS!" Rakuyama screeched.
"Hey - save some for me!" Reizei rushed over.
Silas stood, frozen to the spot. For some reason, it didn't feel right for him to just go to the table and start stuffing his mouth… as much as he really wanted to… I mean, he wasn't really part of these peoples' in-group yet!
"You there!" the boy named Kuroda called out from beneath a barrel of mochi icecream. "The fire is warm; come seat yourself here, and let us enjoy the bounties of the earth together!"
"Yamigawa-kun! Table! Food!" Matsuoka urged. "Work comes later! Right now - FOOD!"
Silas's resistance didn't last long after that. Happily, he sat himself at the table, and started munching along with everyone else. He had a feeling this was going to be a fun year.
Matsuoka Yumika: +3 REL
Silas is now CLOSE ACQUAINTANCES with Matsuoka!
Shinohara Hana, Kuroda Harima, Reizei Renji, Rakuyama Riku, Mikado Yoshi: +5 REL
Silas is now ACQUAINTED with Kuroda, Reizei, Rakuyama, and Mikado.
Silas gained a Trait!
Drama Club Newbie - Silas is a member of the Drama Club! When he spends time with his club, he'll be learning the various nuances of communication and expression, and he'll find it a lot easier to interact with club members. (+0.5 CHAR, +0.25 CRE, +0.25 COUR per week. +5 Success Threshold with all Drama club members. Lost if Silas leaves Drama Club.)
[] [TALK] Shinohara Hana
Success Threshold: 52.5 (Base) + 10 (Big Sister Interference) + 10 (Sensitive) + 5 (Drama Club Newbie) +1.25 (Okay INT) - 10 (???) -20 (Loner) -16.5 (Bad CHAR) - 5 (Former NEET) = 27.25
DICE ROLL: 7
RESULT: Success! Phew!
"So…"
Well, this was a bit awkward.
"...Do you like debating? You hang out with Allen a lot…"
"No."
"Oh."
Silas realized that he actually had absolutely nothing to talk about with Shinohara. Probably because he knew nothing about her… but that wasn't his fault, right?
"Why do you hang out with Furai-ku - err, Allen?" Silas asked.
Shinohara curled her lips into a frown. "Why do you care?"
"I-I don't mean to pry, honest!" Silas said, instantly recognizing the disapproval wrought on Shinohara's face. "I just thought… you know… I was interested."
"Hmm."
Shinohara took a sip from her ramune. Gingerly, Silas took a sip from his rice taco.
"So… uh… movies. You're in Drama too, right? What kind of movies do you like?"
Thankfully, that seemed to pique her interest. "You go first," she said, turning the conversation around.
"Oh! Err…" Silas scratched his head. "I like… fantasy a lot," he admitted.
"High Fantasy or Low Fantasy?"
"What's the difference?"
"High Fantasy is a bit heavy on magic and elves and dwarves and shit," Shinohara explained. "It tends to focus on fantastical stories about epic heroes and Gods. Low Fantasy is more down-to-earth. It's still got elements of fantasy, but it tends to focus on conflict found in the real-world - like war between kingdoms or political intrigue."
"...huh. I guess… I prefer High Fantasy, then?"
Shinohara nodded. "Figures."
"I mean - " Silas continued. "I like Low Fantasy, too. I marathoned Game of the Throne a couple months ago…"
"Oh, you watched that, too?" Shinohara smiled. "That show's thrilling. You've good taste."
"Uh... thanks."
Shinohara leaned in a bit closer. "Hey, between you and me, you should bring that up with Allen next time you talk to him," she said.
"...huh? Why?"
"He doesn't like to admit it, but he's a huge Game of the Throne nerd. I think it's because of its realism and politics… or something. I'm sure if you make a couple of lead-ins to that, he'll open up a lot," Shinohara said.
"Oh. Thanks!" Silas replied. That seemed like something important to store for later…
One of Allen's Traits has been discovered!
History Nerd - Allen loves history, and especially modern media that depicts history in what he sees as a realistic light. (+5 Success Threshold with Allen when this trait is discovered)
"What about Horror movies?" Silas asked. Shinohara's face lit up. Success!
"They're my favorite, actually," Shinohara said. "Did you watch The Square?"
"Ohhh! Yeah!" Silas said enthusiastically. "There was an anime adaptation of it a few months ago!"
"Anime?" Shinohara frowned, but it quickly faded. "So yeah, I loved that one. Remember the part where that girl was dragging the poor student into the TV screen?"
Silas shivered. He was pretty sure that particular scene broke more than a few decency laws, or something... "I kind of wanted to forget about that, actually…"
"It was the best part, though!" Shinohara exclaimed. "The hopelessness on the girl's face - her actor really knows how to do despair! How she tried to cling desperately to the chair, but it was no use; the tendrils of the tentacles were too strong! They dragged her in… sloooowly… and she screamed and screamed but there was nothing she could do!" Shinohara slapped her fingers to her cheeks. Her expression was ecstatic. "'HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME!' Hahaaha, oh god, that was funny! 'GET AWAY FROM ME I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NO, NO NO!!' Hahahhaa… hahah... ahaah… hah… ha…"
Somewhere near the front of the room, Kamasaki-sensei was asking everyone to get ready for third block. But Silas didn't hear her. His face was white.
"Y-You're a bit scary, Shinohara-san…"
"Oh! Sorry, Yamigawa-kun!" Shinohara seemed to be trying to wipe her face of emotion entirely. She was still beet-red, though. "You weren't supposed to… I shouldn't have… I should… yeah."
"Right! I'll… be b-back in my seat n-now!" Silas stuttered, eager to get away. What was wrong with this girl?!
"...Yeah, that would be for the best. Seeya around, Yamigawa-kun," Shinohara replied, keeping her eyes on her food.
Shinohara Hana: +2 REL
One of Shinohara's Trait's has been partially discovered!
Movie Sadist - Shinohara seems to… really enjoy watching movie characters in nightmarish situations. It's kind of creepy. (???)[/b]
[] [EXTRA] Stay after school (May meet classmates there, ???)
(COUNTS AS [ATONE] Maeda Kirino)
Success Threshold: 57.5 (Base) -20 (Loner) - 16.5 (Low CHAR) - 5 (Former NEET) + 20 (Atonement) + 10 (Big Sister Interference) = 66
DICE ROLL: 68
Result: Autofail
Silas put his hand on the sliding door screen, thinking he was going to be making an attempt to atone to Maeda, again.
When he slid the door open, though, he was greeted by the sight of not one, but at least thirteen people - arguing angrily around desks which had been arranged in a neat little circle. No one seemed to notice him enter.
"...I'm telling you, you're taking this too far!" Maeda was saying. "We can't just leave her out there, we need to - "
"For the last time, Six, we don't have Site-01 operational yet!" one of the boys shot back. Silas recognized him as the Student Council Kaichou. "Until we get basic functionality, we can't enact proper procedures for -"
"Proper procedures?! All we need is a locked office or room or something! She's not Keter, for Christ's sake!"
"How do we know?! We don't take chances with these kind of things! You, of all people, should know that!"
"...Did someone leave the door unlocked?"
All eyes turned to Silas. "Um… hi," he said, lamely.
"THERE'S NO PRIVACY IN THIS SCHOOL, IS THERE?!" the Kaichou yelled exasperatedly. "GODS, I WANT THE OLD OFFICE BACK! SIX! AMNESTICS! NOW!"
"Yamigawa-kun!" Maeda rushed to him before any of the others could react. "Sorry 'bout this…" she said. Silas didn't even have time to think before she jammed something sharp into wrist and -
Silas was walking home, in a bit of a daze. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what exactly went wrong with his attempt to atone to Maeda… but nothing came up. Huh. That's a shame.
(NO EFFECT)
[] [JOB] Look for a part-time online
Success Threshold: 25 (Base) +10 (Big Sister Interference) +1.25 (Okay INT) = 36.25
DICE ROLL: 1
Result: HOLY SHIT
Silas didn't know what it was.
Maybe it was Big Sister's subtle guidance and manipulation of the Web, or maybe he'd just gotten plain lucky. But when he logged on to JuubunNaSokudo.com, literally within seconds he found exactly what he was looking for.
RECRUITING MODERATORS FOR THE AH FORUM
Right, so apparently this subforum's kind of exploding, so I need a few moderators to help me police this shit while I'm busy at work.
Please know that this isn't !!FUN!! work. You're not gonna be paid well, and the odds are pretty high that no matter what you do you're probably gonna end up hated by approximately half of the fuck-munchers on this god-damned subforum (Appreciate ya guys
), since most of us are apparently psychopaths and socially retarded.Oh, and see the above paragraph? That's the kind of language you're gonna be sifting through and infracting on a regular basis. Just a heads up. That's not an outlier; the people here talk like that. Like, on a regular basis.
We're a fun group.
I need people who are either committed (for some god-awful reason) to keeping this subforum clean, or otherwise are willing to take a lot of heat. Rates start at about 500￥ per hour. Yes, I know it's shitty pay. Don't care. PM me. Thanks, all.
-DreamerLuci
...okay, well not exactly what he was looking for. But it wasn't physical work, it was online and it paid… and it was for being a moderator on a forum! Moderating wasn't that hard, right?!
"I… don't think this is a good idea," Big Sister cautioned from behind the webpage. "Preliminary scans of the "AH Forum" are… oh dear… I did not know that clowns could be sexualized like that."
"I mean, it's something…" Silas argued.
"A true conjecture…" Big Sister replied.
Tentatively, Silas opened a PM box for the user "DreamerLuci."
YamiOtako: I saw your recruitment post. Can I be a mod?
DreamerLuci: Wat so soon?
DreamerLuci: Cmon man I was busy with sumthin
DreamerLuci: Gimme a sec
DreamerLuci: Mmmkay. so you wanna be a moderator?
YamiOtako: Yes.
DreamerLuci: ur account doesn't say that you've frequented this subforum much. Just sayin. not gonna accept just anyone, ya know.
DreamerLuci: hold that thought
DreamerLuci: I'm gonna send you a from with questions on it. easy stuf, yeah? i'll judge your merit based on that. Can you shoot me an email?
YamiOtako: TacoSai@mimail.com
DreamerLuci: ...really, man?
YamiOtako: Sorry. I like tacos a lot.
DreamerLuci: sigh. its all good. The file should be arriving in a few minutes. send it back whenever. appreciate ya.
"She seems nice," Big Sister commented.
"How do you know it's a she?" Silas wondered aloud before coming to the obvious answer. "Oh. Right."
After a few minutes of refreshing his empty mailbox, Silas finally got the form DreamerLuci was talking about. It was… long. Most of the questions seemed kind of vague, like "What is the proper way to address an angry forum-goer?" and "At what point of a heated argument is mod intervention necessary?" The more he looked at it, the more Silas realized that he'd have to set aside an entire evening just to go through it all…
(New Action Available)
WEEK 2 IS NOW ENDING
Please choose, at most, two [TALK] or [ATONE] actions and two [EXTRA] actions. One [CLUB] action is required, for a total of FOUR.
[] [ATONE] (Who?)
[] [TALK] (Who?)
[] [EXTRA] Study (SKL +0.5)
[] [EXTRA] (Special) Otaku stuff!
-[] Grand Strategy games! (INT +0.25)
-[] Anime, music, "culture!" (CRE +0.25)
-[] Forum scrolling! (CHAR +0.25)
[] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[] [EXTRA] Walk around the city (May encounter events, random, ???)
[] [EXTRA] Stay after school (May meet classmates there, ???)
[] [EXTRA] Talk with Big Sis (???)
[] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[] [CLUB] Hang out (Random REL Increase with club members)
[] [CLUB] Help the Officers (REL Increase with Matsuoka & Reizei, ???)
[] [CLUB] Work (???)
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- Location
- Space~
[X] [CLUB] Work (???)
[X] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[X] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
Oh, so Maeda is a part of a Foundation?
Neat.
[X] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[X] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
Oh, so Maeda is a part of a Foundation?
Neat.
Jhin Lemon
Lawful Cute
- Location
- Trapped in the interwebs, please send help
[X] [CLUB] Work (???)
[X] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[X] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
[X] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[X] [EXTRA] Exercise… yay? (+0.25 PHYS)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
- Location
- Leeds
For the others.
I hate him already. Rhodok worst faction.
Nothing for sensitive? Or does that drop into Atonement?
It doesn't quite work that way round.
This is not too short you stupid warning thing you.
Erithemaeus
GWS Recipient
- Location
- Around Dover Street
[x] [EXTRA] [JOB] Fill out the Moderator Application
[x] [EXTRA] Walk around the city (May encounter events, random, ???)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
[x] [CLUB] Help the Officers (REL Increase with Matsuoka & Reizei, ???)
[x] [EXTRA] Walk around the city (May encounter events, random, ???)
[X] [ATONE] Maeda Kirino
[X] [TALK] Allen
[x] [CLUB] Help the Officers (REL Increase with Matsuoka & Reizei, ???)