[Game Opening, Part 1 - What Souls Here May Bring]

[stringmods]

The drawstrings cut,
my hollow ebony stained wood plomps to the floor—
THUD

Eyes open, souls recollect.
The new me, erect.

I make my own decisions, have my own priorities,
have my own thoughts.

No external force taps into me—
Freedom.
- Jana Bielecki
Who: (Everyone OPEN LOG)
Where: (City Hall)
Summary: (You've just arrived in the city. Welcome.)
Warnings: (Intro logs are pretty warnable.)
Style: (The text is in prose, but feel free to write back in action tags if you feel more comfortable.)

They always say the first day on a new job is always the hardest.

But tell me...did those tasks include being taken from your own homeworld, dumped into a city you didn't recognize, meeting a man dressed in the purest of whites with a butterfly mask, to be bestowed the power of Persona, and then having some Men in Black lead you to the city hall saying you were expected?

...

...at least your things are apparently safe in your new apartments?

...

...looks like you might be here for a while.


What a way to start the first of September...

As they usher the last of you in, you realize that they've been preparing this for quite a while. There is a small table with food on the right, mixed cuisine (although the main theme seems to be Japanese dishes). Some strange computer program appears next to you and seems to be translating what you are saying so those before you understand. Language barriers? Don't be silly!

Most of the men ignore you after that. You are expected to mingle amongst yourselves a bit before the main 'show' starts, it seems....

Comments

Akihiko Sanada | Persona 3

[risetocaesar]

[A tall, slender young man with silver hair can be seen keeping to himself by the food, occasionally sampling the dishes that have been left out, taking care to try the unfamiliar ones. He shifts in place as he watches the crowd, his mouth a thin, serious line. He doesn't care much for being uprooted, and cares even less for having to wait for answers. Still, he's making every effort to be patient, waiting for some sign of something more to come.

Or perhaps that's just what he's telling himself to excuse being a stubborn wallflower.]

Re: Akihiko Sanada | Persona 3

[zero_to_herooo]

"What's wrong? You don't have a stomachache, do you?" Eiji was busily munching his way through a bag of shrimp chips, awwww yeah. Whatever was bothering Akihiko was obviously not bothering him.

"I can look for a doctor if you're not feeling well."

[risetocaesar]

Akihiko looked momentarily perplexed, but responded by shaking his head a second later, a brief chuckle escaping him. "No, I feel fine, thanks. I'm just hoping we get to hear some details sooner rather than later. I don't like being left in the dark."

[zero_to_herooo]

At that, Eiji gave Akihiko a ridiculously sunny smile. "Well, they're bound to let us know what's up. I mean, that's why they gathered us here, right? So relax and look around! I'm sure everything will work out."

[risetocaesar]

That brand of optimism felt vaguely familiar, and Aki couldn't help smiling to himself as he lowered his head just a bit, conceding. He had always been in the habit of worrying too much -- but if he didn't, who else would? He offered the stranger a smirk in reply.

"I just hope they don't plan on making us wait around all night." Regardless of the advice he'd been given, relaxing when his mind was elsewhere was always difficult. "You're not concerned at all?"

[deathboss]

Suddenly, 6'3" of Visual Kei right in front of his face. Eikichi had always been the go-guy to reach out for the newcomers in Cuss High and old habits died real hard.

"Yo! You okay?"

asdgafsdg

[risetocaesar]

For some reason, Akihiko couldn't help but feel vaguely assaulted. He made what he felt was a valiant effort not to raise an eyebrow at this guy's makeup. Seriously, wasn't that going a little overboard.

"I'm fine." Why did people keep asking him that? Well, he felt anxious. Concerned. Impatient. Nothing he particularly wanted to voice, but...

"There has to be more to this than just the food. I'm waiting to see exactly what."

he just wants to help

[deathboss]

Oh yeah, that. He could understand that, and let out an annoyed sigh (also excuse YOU, but his makeup was totally fabulous and amazing).

"Considering Philemon's involved? I don't like the sound of it at all."

[risetocaesar]

"You know him?" The name commanded attention; he'd never heard it before coming to this place, but this guy seemed pretty familiar with him already, at least by his tone.

[greatseal]

[Minako has spent time meandering around the room, meeting people, comparing notes and testing the snack table. She has no real plan - that is, until she spots the guy at the far end of the refreshment table. There's no mistaking that red sweater vest.

First comes a surge of happiness. Finally, someone she really knows and trusts... And then there's the uncertainty. The last thing she remembered-

...No. Act cool, Minako. Act like you didn't just expire as he was running up the stairs. With luck, he didn't get time to realize that.]

Akihiko-senpai!

[sup Aki here's a strange girl in a Gekkoukan uniform running up while waving and beaming at you.]

[This is going to be awesome because he has no. Idea. Who she is. I am excite.]

[risetocaesar]

Hm?

[He turns his attention towards the voice, tilting his head curiously as a girl in a Gekkoukan uniform approaches him enthusiastically. He wonders, for a moment, if she's one of those girls who used to follow him around campus, but she doesn't look familiar... not that he'd ever really gotten acquainted with any of them, but he had learned to recognize most of them on sight.

So he could, you know. Hide.

Still, she clearly knows who he is, and there are plenty of students at Gekkoukan that he's never talked to personally, so he offers her a smile regardless. No reason not to be polite!]

Hello. Glad to see I'm not the only one representing Gekkoukan here.

[He silently hopes she keeps the small-talk brief. He's not sure how much he has in him, really. Girls are much harder to converse with than guys.]

[she is NOT excite but I definitely am too 8)]

[greatseal]

[If she were a little less excited to see him, she might have noticed something off about the way he addressed her. Not using her name, or even "Leader..." But he doesn't seem to be upset, which is what she was focusing on.]

It does seem to be a pretty varied crowd! But it's good to see you, Senpai. I guess that means you haven't seen any of the others, though...?

[After all, if he's here, the rest of SEES logically might be as well.]

[They will just have to form a new Social Link, okay. :D]

[risetocaesar]

The others?

[Of course, he's already spoken to Minato, and the two of them have both been on the lookout for any of their fellow SEES members, but in this particular context, 'others' doesn't mean much at all. They couldn't have been in a club together, he'd only ever participated in boxing. Who exactly did she mean?

He looks more than a little sheepish as he goes on, not exactly wanting to admit that he didn't remember her, but she's already very obviously unlike those fangirls that had always been intruding on his privacy. He didn't want to just ignore the question.]

I-- I'm sorry. Have we met before?

[hetried]

You don't look like you're having too much fun. [Said with a hint of a chuckle and a teasing tone, as he approaches Akihiko to finally get out of the crowd.]

Not the party type?

[risetocaesar]

[He's not the first person to approach Akihiko about being a wallflower! Aki offers him a reserved smile in reply.]

Crowds have never really been my thing. I'm anxious to hear what whoever's in charge has to say to us.

[hetried]

Heh, I know what you mean. It's been a long time since I've been in a room with so many people. [Not that he was anxious, but it was still kind of weird.]

You'd think they'd tell us what was going on before the buffet...

[risetocaesar]

Maybe they're hoping we'll be too distracted by the food to be upset about whatever it is they have to say.

[He's only half-joking, really. Aki definitely has his Srs Face on. Also known as Normal Face.]

[oathofdevotion]

[Lizzie walks towards him, sneezing delicately before drawing up her coat closer to her soaked and chilled body. Being taken from a sinking ship is quickly proving to be very uncomfortable. She only hopes that she can go to her room soon so she can change into drier clothes.]

I'm even soaked down to my corset...and I really liked this one too.

[She pauses when she spots Akihiko, curtsying a little.]

Um, excuse me, sir, do you know where the lady's room is?

[risetocaesar]

[Oh man. He never knows just what to do with strange girls. He glances past her, craning his neck to look out over the crowd, his nervousness peeking through just the tiniest bit.]

I think it's along the far wall there. Hard to tell from here, but... are you alright?

[oathofdevotion]

Thank you very much, I'll just-- [A sneeze.] --pop over and look.

[She gives him a small, uncertain smile.]

I'm afraid I'm coming down with a cold...arriving from a sinking ship isn't very good for one's health, unfortunately.

[risetocaesar]

A sinking ship?

[Well, that sounds inconvenient.]

If that's the case, it sounds like they brought you here just in time.

[chainofmemories]

[The petite, pale girl had had the same basic idea as Akihiko, and was standing off to the corner by the food table, nibbling on a small finger sandwich and trying to stay out of the way.
She can't help but look at the older boy curiously, however. He didn't seem like the type to stay quiet and out of the way, but here he was. Naminé debates inwardly for a long moment before deciding to speak up, voice coming out like a soft whisper.]

Hello.

[risetocaesar]

[He's so focused on observing the crowd that the girl actually manages to startle him, if only a little, and he quickly makes an effort to cover it. He offers a reserved smile as he looks over to her.]

Hello. Quite a crowd, isn't it?

[chainofmemories]

Yes. It's rather overwhelming, to be honest.

[She offers a small smile in return, clasping her hands in front of her.]

I'm not quite used to crowds. Not to mention being swept away from my home world...

[risetocaesar]

[He lowers his voice, almost conspiratorially.]

I'm a little overwhelmed by it, too. I've never liked them much. Being taken from our homes is definitely hard to swallow, though. Seems like everyone here comes from all kinds of places.