In the Shadows of Greatness: Persona M&M IC

[Hammerpriest]

OOC Thread.

For the students of the Prestigious Preston Academy:

Spoiler

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*Ding Dong* "Attention all students. The first day of class begins at seven AM, beginning with the opening ceremony and then proceeding into the standard class schedule. As always, tardiness will not be accepted." The sound of the PA system blazes through the hallways of the Graham building, the smallest of the four different boarding houses on the campus. Perhaps because of this, no one seemed to notice that the air conditioning had seemed to fail sometime well before you got here, or maybe it never existed at all. You can hear the sounds of students moving throughout the hallways, and you're reminded that the opening ceremony will be occurring in the courtyard of main building. If you're awake, that is.

For the staff of Preston Academy:

Spoiler

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As you arrive at the academy at your appointed time, you see a familiar old face to greet you. His face is weathered and creased with age, and his hair is bleached to match. He reaches into his jacket picket and procures from it a disturbingly large key ring with a suitable number of keys to match. The murmurs of other faculty begin to fill the hot August air as the man struggles to find the right key to unlock the gate to the academy. It's a strange sight, but one you've grown accustomed to since you started working here. The groundskeeper has always been a forgetful man, or at least he has been for as long as you've known him for. After messing about with the keys for a good 10 minutes, he finally finds the right key and let's out a sigh of relief. A smile crosses his face as he pushes open the gates to signal the start of the new school year, well, for the faculty at least. Despite the students already having moved into various dormitories littering the campus, the first real day of classes begins today after the opening ceremony. Inside the courtyard stands Headmaster Doug Preston, his stern presence guiding the various teachers to their proper positions for the ceremony. You take your place next to Lloyd Baxter, a man whom you have been working with closely. He hands you sheet of paper and whispers to you to pen it after the ceremony has concluded.

In any event, there's a good hour and a half before the ceremony begins. Only at Preston would the order come through to wake everyone up so early in the morning have come through, but most students and faculty seem not to mind too much. What do you do?

[Cogsrow]

Daniel sat at his desk looking at photos from one of his parent's expeditions, particularly the information they found on a certain god. He didn't hear the announcements as he had headphones blasting meteora into his ears. he knew what time he had to be at the ceremony, it was the same every year. After putting the photos and notes in the secret compartment in a drawer he gets dressed. He looked every bit like he didn't sleep last night hair a mess, bags under the eyes, and slight shadow on his face. He reluctantly threw his uniform on but it was not neat, the shirt untucked and the coat unwashed from orientation. He steps out into the hall only carrying a laptop bag, he didn't need books he'd already read them all and he walked towards the ceremony yawning still listening to his music.

[Kymme]

Matt was in the middle of getting dressed when the PA sounded. He slipped on his jacket, leaving it open in the front. He turned and regarded himself in the a mirror placed on his desk. The particular shade of crimson the Academy had chosen for their uniforms matched his hair perfectly, and, satisfied with his appearance, Matthias slipped on his aviators and stepped out into the hall. He made straight for the campus cafeteria, his stomach rumbling.

[wqsaey]

Aster was packing her notebooks into her backpack when the announcement blared out. She had been so nervous for the first day of class that she unintentionally woke up two hours earlier and couldn't get back to sleep. At least she made the most of it by taking a shower, getting dressed, and doing other normal morning routines.

Brushing her hand through her pixie-cut hair, Aster looks at herself in a small wall mirror she brought from home. It wouldn't do to make a bad first impression on her classmates. She takes a few moments to adjust her stiff shirt collar, brush off her black pleated skirt, and fix the gold pin onto her uniform jacket.

Finally, after 10 minutes, Aster feels ready to head to breakfast and then class. She swipes her cell phone from the desk, places it in her right jacket pocket, and grabs her backpack from her made bed. Tapping her new black loafers against the hard tile floor, she exits her dorm room and sets off for the cafeteria. If she remembers where it is, that is.

[The-Mage-King]

Giving a brief nod to Professor Baxter to affirm hearing him, Edwin slips the paper into his shirt pocket, next to the card he's kept with him since that day, and takes his place in waiting for the ceremony to begin. Wouldn't want to mess up on the job, after all.

[Cogsrow]

Daniel sat in the quietest corner of the cafeteria, as far away from everyone else as he could, he opened up his laptop and continued his search for information regarding ancient gods. all he had was an orange to eat as his eyes stayed glued to his laptop.

[Ionbound]

Hikari wakes up during the announcement, prepares for the opening ceremony, and strolls out of her dorm onto the morning dew smiling faintly.

[Amaril]

Lachlan started immediately wide awake at the sound of his alarm clock. Shaking the remaining dust of sleep from his head as he groped in the momentary darkness for the off button and the lightswitch, he struggled to remember the dream he'd just been having. It had been a strange one--he had a feeling it had involved monsters, but hadn't been exactly a nightmare.
He showered and dressed quickly, pulling on his clean school uniform and packing up his laptop, textbooks, and assorted other supplies. Stepping out into the hallway, he watched the other teenagers milling past for a moment, scanning for any of his friends and trying to commit as many new faces to memory as possible. He checked his watch--ten after six. Plenty of time for breakfast. With that in mind, he set off for the cafeteria. Hopefully he'd meet his friends there.

[Kymme]

Matt places himself at the largest table, fitting in seamlessly with his new found friends. Matt was in the middle of regaling his table-mates with the story of his train ride from Maine to DC when Hikari entered the cafeteria, a faint smile on her lips.

Matt's eyes widened beneath his shades, and he turned to a First-Year on his left. The freshman, a soccer prodigy named of Thornhill, followed Matt's gaze. Matthias whispered to him:

"Hey, Thornhill. What's that girl's name?"

[Hammerpriest]

One of the few positive qualities of the Graham Center was perhaps the fact that it housed the school's main cafeteria. As such, for those unlucky enough to live there, they always had the chance to begin and end their days with proper meals, or at least, they lacked one less excuse to not eat that the rest of the student body shared. Regardless, the cafeteria is abuzz with life on this fine morning. Returning students sit with their cliques, almost completely unchanged in the three month break, while new faces awkwardly lined the walls, their faces pleading for acceptance and, barring that, hopefully a place to sit. The food, was about what you'd expect from a high end private institution. It was catered in directly from a company who had been partners with the Preston family for generations, and while it wasn't the best you've had, it's pretty good.

At a table where the athletes and other tended to gather, soccer players in particular for this table though there were a few non-athletes among them, the new year brought new opportunities to gossip and spread stories. Freshman Lucien Thornhill was asorbing the info, hoping for his chance to counter some of the older student's tales with some of his own. He had accepted to Preston Academ on a scholarship for his excellent skills with a soccer ball, and if these people around him were to be potential friends, he'd like to at least leave a good first impression. "Hey, Thornhill. What's that girl's name?"

Lucien shrugs. "Why you asking me? I'm just a new guy."

"I hear she's the new transfer student from Japan. Boy would I love to show her the sights." Another kid adds.

Lucien pokes the boy who had introduced himself to him as Matt."Five bucks says you can't get get her to sit with us."

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Meanwhile in another section of the room, a few students produce portfolios from their bags. They compare their annual summer artistic endeavors with each other to see who had gotten closer to the source of true artistic achievement. Some shared grandiose designs, others their complicated models, a few paintings here and there, but mostly short stories and essays that the various students had written in response to the changing world around them. One of the students catches a familiar face and shouts to him in the distance. "Yo! Lachlan! Come here! I wanna see if I managed to outdo you this time. I got a paper that's just dying to be read, and I think you're the guy to do it!"

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To many of the freshmen, it must be a real surprise that the line for food is almost nonexistent. It would seem that most students eat light in the morning, or at least, maybe the anxiety and nervousness of a new year cut their appetites. At least, that's the consensus the newly formed archery club has reached. Consisting of only freshmen scouted for their talent, apparently Preston Academy had decided that it would another sport to its list of trophy earners. They had even spent one whole day together at orientation in an attempt to "build cohesive team spirit," although the success of that seems to be mixed. But in spite of the middling results, most of the members of the archery club have gathered to share their first breakfast together. Some make various attempts at small talk, while others eat silently.

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Some of the faculty members begin conversing among themselves while they wait for the ceremony to start. Some had always thought it weird that they had to be ready and lined up so early in the morning, but it was not something that was spoken aloud. The headmaster had always done it this way, and maybe he had his reasons.

The old history professor turned to look at his student teacher. The young man was certainly dedicated, and in his prior year of service had more than earned the professor's respect. "Well Edwin, how did you use your break from the job? I'd guess someone as motivated as yourself spent the entire summer with his nose buried in ancient tomes, but it never hurts to ask."

[The-Mage-King]

Adjusting his tie slightly, Edwin turns to his mentor.

"Well... That mostly, but I did keep up with my fitness regimen." He says, a small smile forming. "How did you spend yours? Any interesting vacation stories you'd care to tell?"

"Oh, and what is that paper for, by the way? Agreeing to my lesson-plan, or something similar?"

[Cogsrow]

"Daniel realizes he forgot his charger for his laptop and packs up grabbing an apple and taking a bite. As he's walking to leave he's tripped by one of the students, getting a good laugh from everyone, one of the students then poured their milk on his head. Daniel just got up and walked out used to such treatments. The only sign he even noticed what happened was he took his headphones off to check if they were wet and then put them right back on"

[Hammerpriest]

"I visited an old colleague who I had not see since my youth to cash in on an equally old gentleman's agreement. The trip itself wasn't too extraordinary, but I did enjoy the fact that I was able to get him to finally relinquish his end of the bargain. I even got him to pay for my airfare!" The old professor lets out a small chuckle."Oh I'd assume it's something like that. The headmaster told to me deliver it to you personally. Told me that you'd understand what it said. Not really sure what he was getting at. but I'm not one to question the boss." The man let's out another chuckle, apparently finding his own statement amusing.

[wqsaey]

Aster arrives at the cafeteria with no incident, a feat considering how directionally-challenged she is. She grabs an omelette, a pear, and an apple from the line and considers sitting down with the other archery club members.

She remembers the odd and awkward situation during orientation. Whoever thought that archery was a team sport must not understand it very well. Nevertheless, these are the people she has met and whom she will be seeing for a long while. She goes over to the end of one of the tables the club members are sitting at with her tray.

Aster wonders if anyone has figured out yet where the shooting range is. They had tried to find it during orientation, but no one could find it. Eventually, she and a few others gave up and returned to their respective dorms. The ones who kept searching might have found it afterwards, though.

She scans the tables for someone she recognizes from orientation who stayed with the group with no avail. She speaks up with a hint of hesitance. "Hey, so... did you guys ever find the range?"

[Amaril]

"Oh, is that so, Ackerman?" Lachlan replied as he headed towards his familiar table, carefully balancing a plate packed with just about every food item available. "Well toss it 'round and let's just see just what fresh mutilation you've managed to inflict on the English language this time!" His grin widened at seeing his best friend again after three months. He hadn't realized just how much he missed having someone to talk to.
He'd just set his heaping plate down on the table and dropped his backpack by his seat when the sound of some commotion reached him from over by the door. Turning to see, Lachlan was just in time to watch one of the students at another table pour out his carton of milk over the head of some poor sod who was getting up off the floor. The unfortunate student just stood back up and kept walking, never making any complaint or giving any sign that anything had happened. Lachlan felt something familiar stir as the scene unfolded--the urge to do something uncharacteristically stupid.
"Sorry chums, I'll just be a moment" he said to the table over his shoulder. "But I've just spotted one villain who needs a lesson in decency." Rolling his shoulders, he strode purposefully towards the unknown student's table.

[The-Mage-King]

"Oh? What was this agreement on? Or would that be prying too much?" Edwin asks, his smile turning into something of a grin. "At any rate, I'll most certainly take a look at this afterwards. If the headmaster sent it to me, it's bound to be important."

[Hammerpriest]

"Daniel realizes he forgot his charger for his laptop and packs up grabbing an apple and taking a bite. As he's walking to leave he's tripped by one of the students, getting a good laugh from everyone, one of the students then poured their milk on his head. Daniel just got up and walked out used to such treatments. The only sign he even noticed what happened was he took his headphones off to check if they were wet and then put them right back on"

The senior scowled as his mark walked away, seemingly unfazed by his excellent prank. The laughter of his peers meant very little to him; they simply did not see the absolute malicious intent lingering in the young man's expression. He needed a reaction, anything, from his target. His morning would simply not be complete without it. ""Yo', Phones! Next time bring an umbrella! Weather forecast indicates chocolate rain in the afternoon!"

"Hey, so... did you guys ever find the range?"

All of the students at the table immediately stop what they were doing and look around at each other. It is certainly true that during orientation, there was absolutely no mention made of an archery range, and that all of their investigations proved fruitless when none of the buildings or maps seemed to contain one. Some of them scratch their heads quizzically, while others look down at their trays in a dejected manner. After what seemed like an eternity one of the boys at the table stands. ""Well, we could always ask the Headmaster. I mean, he would have to know, right? IHe was the one who invited all of us to attend Preston to practice archery. I mean, it's not a bad idea right?" The other students all nod in agreement. "Okay then. So which one us is going?" In what takes but a second, almost all of the hands of the students point towards the boy standing up. Looking almost stricken with terror he proceeds to sit down.
"Looks like the mystery of the lost archery range is doomed to continue." The boy sighs before returning to the meal in front of him.

"Oh? What was this agreement on? Or would that be prying too much?" "At any rate, I'll most certainly take a look at this afterwards. If the headmaster sent it to me, it's bound to be important."

"We made a bet to see who would be more successful in life. Me and him were real competitive in our younger days. Everything one of us did, the other had to try and do better. Athletics, relationships, academics you name it. However, both of us were heading off to different universities in different countries and so we made one last competition out of it. The one who could be more successful would get the privilege of hearing the other finally admit it to their faces that they were better. And so, he went off and became a grammar school teacher and I went and became a professor. Granted, it took a while to argue that I had won, but he eventually relented before we went out for some drinks. On his tab of course!" The old man chuckles again, happy to recount the tale for others.

[Cogsrow]

"Daniel doesn't turn around to acknowledge the yelling. He really can't hear anything but the fast beat of bleed it out. He keeps walking humming along with the song"

[Kymme]

"I hear she's the new transfer student from Japan. Boy would I love to show her the sights." Another kid adds.

"Easy there, tiger." Matt grins at his companion's enthusiasm, though secretly envious of his bravado.

Lucien pokes the boy who had introduced himself to him as Matt."Five bucks says you can't get get her to sit with us."

"You're on." Matt stands up, taking a few steps towards Hikari. He hesitates, however, when he sees an upperclassman doused in milk by one of his peers. He grimaces, first at the thought of getting milk out of a sports jacket, and then at the senior's hasty taunt.

Chocolate rain. Seriously? He shakes his head, turning his attention back to the exchange student. He removes his aviators, clenching them tightly to stifle the shaking in his left hand.

"H-Hey! Hikari, was it? I couldn't help but notice you standing. We've got an open seat at our table." He gestures to his table with an open hand, before flicking open his shades and putting them back on.

"Care to join us?"

[Hammerpriest]

Frank Durnstrund's taunt had no effect on the student whom he had just tripped. It seemed to be just as ineffectual as his first attempt to elicit a response from the guy. He quickly stood up and advanced towards the young man. Placing on hand tightly on his shoulder, he shouts at the top of his lungs, clearly creating a scene. "Yo', Phones! You hear me? I'm talking to you goddammit!"

[Cogsrow]

"he just looks at the guy in the eyes, a bored expression on his face" the fact your asking that question is a sign you must be blind, yet you hold the answer in what you say.

[Ionbound]

Hikari smiles at the other freshman's offer and replies, "Alright. Thank you for inviting me."

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Just letting you know, she is wearing her daisho.

[Amaril]

Lachlan reached the spot where the two students were standing just in time to hear the headphones guy's retort. He looked over at the boy who'd done the tripping--he hadn't realized the guy was a senior. He paused for a moment, swallowing nervously, but he couldn't back off now that he'd resolved to involve himself.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing that you seem to be causing problems for this fellow here" he addressed the older student. "And I don't approve of kicking a man when he's down, as it were. Why don't you have a seat and let him be on his way?"

[Cogsrow]

"someone actually standing up for him got more of a reaction out of Daniel than the taunts and torments did. Not much of a reaction but a raised eyebrow and a look of surprise."

[wqsaey]

Aster munches on her apple in silence after the boy sits back down. Well, that went nowhere. She sets aside the apple for a little while to cut up her omelette. I suppose asking the Headmaster is the best plan, but I have no idea where he is. I guess he must be in the courtyard preparing for the ceremony, or maybe he's just eating breakfast like the rest of us. Wherever he is, he's almost certainly not in here. In an instant, Aster downs the omelette pieces.

She hears a lot of commotion coming from the opposite side of the room, but her view is obscured by all the people coming and going. Suddenly, she hears an angry shout. "Yo', Phones! You hear me? I'm talking to you goddammit!" Aster immediately recognizes the tone. Even coming from a small town, she knows exactly what bullying sounds like, and she wants nothing to do with it.

Grabbing the partially-eaten apple and stuffing the pear into her backpack, Aster starts packing up to leave. It must be getting close to seven, anyways. She tries to justify it to herself. The Headmaster is probably in the courtyard. I'll just go early and ask him about the range. That way, I can tell everyone at lunch and we can actually go practice shooting or something instead of awkwardly try to "bond". She nods and mutters "Excuse me," to the others at the table and gets up. Diverting her eyes from the scene, she walks quickly past and leaves the cafeteria.

[Sairyu]

"... and deadlock, the government and opposition still in disagreement over asylum seekers..."

Ugh.

Bleary eyes blinked once, the chipper voice stabbing into his senses like a viciously pointed knife. Groaning, Keiran rubbed at his eyes, wincing as the sensitive skin there protested his minstrations. His vision tracked towards the small digital clock propped up by his bedside, blankly staring at the blocky numbers as his mind struggled to wake up.

The voice was still droning on, words half floating in and out of his consciousness,

"Urgh... wha...?"

Damn it. He couldn't concentrate like this. Grumbling under his breath, he smashed the snooze button.

"... a government report shows that fifty percent of the country is suffering from..."

"What? No, that's not..."

He hit the button a few more times, blank incomprehension on his face as the red numbers stubbornly continued to tick upwards with no change to the volume or presence of the voice, a '59 transcending into a gorgeous '00. Running a hand through his hair, he brought his attention to the hard-blue glow of his desktop monitor, and its blaring speakers, playing the morning's news.

He groaned. Why had he set up an alarm for... today...

Oh.

He bolted to his feet, nearly tripping over his blankets as they tumbled to the floor about his ankles. Slipping into the red-with-gold-trim jacket he'd picked up on arrival, a fairly classy looking piece he'd have to admit, he took a moment to tuck his crumpled dress-shirt into his pants and close the running file on his computer with a negligent click, finally cutting the infernal sound. Stopping to grab his phone and wallet, he tabbed over to another program, typing out a few short message before running out the door.

BLKJack: brb
JDoe: kk ping l8r
Holt55: we good for tonight?
BLKJack: y
JDoe: cant believe ur actually in america
JDoe: ttyl
----- BLKJack has left the Room -----

[Kymme]

Matt leads Hikari back to his table, flashing Lucien a look that is equal parts gloating and surprise. As the two of them sit down Matt introduces himself. "Name's Matthias H. Exarch. Pleased to meet you." He lets a few moments pass, taking an errant glance at the confrontation on the other side of the cafeteria. He tries to ignore it, but can't help but notice it's effect on his classmates. A short haired girl actually leaves her table, making a hasty exit. Matt turns back to Hikari. "I'm curious about those swords of yours. Are they real--like, actual samurai weapons?"

[The-Mage-King]

"We made a bet to see who would be more successful in life. Me and him were real competitive in our younger days. Everything one of us did, the other had to try and do better. Athletics, relationships, academics you name it. However, both of us were heading off to different universities in different countries and so we made one last competition out of it. The one who could be more successful would get the privilege of hearing the other finally admit it to their faces that they were better. And so, he went off and became a grammar school teacher and I went and became a professor. Granted, it took a while to argue that I had won, but he eventually relented before we went out for some drinks. On his tab of course!" The old man chuckles again, happy to recount the tale for others.

"Picking on one of the few people who makes less than us high-school teachers? You monster." Edwin jokes, before scratching at his neck.


"...About how much longer until the ceremony starts, do you think?" He asks after a few minutes of awkward silence, glancing at his watch.

[Hammerpriest]

"The fact you're asking that question is a sign you must be blind, yet you hold the answer in what you say."

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing that you seem to be causing problems for this fellow here. And I don't approve of kicking a man when he's down, as it were. Why don't you have a seat and let him be on his way?"

The senior student releases his grip on Daniels shoulder before turning to face the interloper. His presence made him furious. Not because he was angered by Lachlan's attempt at interrupting his fun, but rather he was angered by the fact that he managed to get a reaction out of Phones. Even if it was slight and fleeting, his expression changed from his usual blank expression. Frank, balls up his fist before putting and his hand down and laughing."Me, causing him problems? Hah, believe you me, you have a lot more to learn before coming at me with that sort of accusation. Besides, I don't got the time to deal with you losers right now. Ciao." With that Frank turns around and pushes past Daniel to get the door. He continues laughing all the way out, although no one really can tell just what is so funny.

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The other students all stare blankly at the scene before realizing what exactly the senior meant by saying that he had no more time. The clock reads 6:50, only ten minutes remaining before the opening ceremony. Immediately, the mood of the cafeteria changes. What was just a calm way to start the year, a sort of hurried anxiety settles over the faces of the students. Some rush out the door leaving their tables and seats in a disarray. Others choose to avoid the initial rush by leaving out the side door of the cafeteria, and even fewer students just stay in the cafeteria, shocked that they could be so careless.

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"I'm curious about those swords of yours. Are they real--like, actual samurai weapons?"

Lucien sits there, more shocked of the sight of the sword at Hikari's sword than he is by the announcement that he might be late to the ceremony. He quickly rushes to his feet and takes a step back. "N-n-nah, they can't be real. Right? Anyway, I think we gotta go guys. Although, real or not, you might wanna leave the sword behind. It could scare people." Lucien tries to force an awkward laugh, his fear bubbling to the surface. He quickly rushes to the door, eager to distance himself from Hikari, as well as attempt to make it in time for the ceremony.

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"I'd guess it'd start in about ten minutes, give or take a few. The Headmaster's never been one to wait for people. Hell, I bet he'd hold the ceremony even if no one showed up! Lloyd lets out what might very well be his signature chuckle. When he stops to open his eyes, he lifts is finger to point at the figures in the distance. "Ah, there's the first of them. I'd imagine everyone else is right behind them."

[Cogsrow]

"Daniel watches him leave and he takes his headphones off and looks at the guy that just walked up and stood up for him" umm...hi, thanks I guess "he had no idea what to say or do and he had to stop himself from just putting his headphones back on and walking away' err...probably should get going "He had messy black hair and pale green eyes. He was tall and thin and had a gaunt face as if he wasn't eating well"