[closed-ish] Signs of love overshadowed by dreams

[pseudonyms]

Who: Everyone who signed up for speed-dating/speed-friending! (and maybe some people who just wander in?)
When: IC Date: 6/9
Where: A large booth at the CERES Academy cultural festival
What: Rise's holding a special event to help bring people together at the cultural festival! This may be chaotic
Rating/Warning: N/A thus far! Rise with a megaphone might be a warning though...


[The cultural festival at the school has been in full-on planning mode for a few weeks. Rise is no exception to the planning and included in the flyers that have gone up is a notice printed on bright pink paper and bold lettering for a very special event.

The booth itself has been set up with a small cluster of tables to accommodate for the amount of people who have been signed up and even for a few last-minute sign-ups. The tables themselves have been decorated with special candles and a tray containing two bowls, two spoons, and a a tray with all the ingredients needed for an ice cream sundae.

At the front of the booth is a collection of heart-shaped name tags with all of the names of each individual whose signed up, along with a number attached. Rise will smile at each person, handing both the name tag and a small envelope to them with instructions not to open it until she says so.

It’s only when everyone has arrived and is crowded inside the booth that she pulls out a megaphone (and really, who gave her that?) and she turns it on.]

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Cerealia School Speed-Matching event! Meeting people can be really hard here, but don’t worry, we’re making it easy! You’ll see that the tables all have numbers assigned to them. On my count, open your envelopes and see who you’re starting with. When the bell rings, switch partners! Seems pretty simple, huh?

[Nobody gets to get a say in this apparently, but they may see one Yu Narukami who’s sitting on the table behind Rise just watching everyone casual as can be. Why is he wearing glasses? Who knows.]

Okie dokie! Let’s get this show on the road! On your mark…get set…open!

[Hope you’re ready, colonists. Inside each envelope is a starter number for the first match, and also a list of starter questions for asking people about themselves. Some people have lists corresponding with the speed dating route, while others are for the “friends only” route. But wait…what’s that? Some of those lists are crosswired? Your character would try to mingle with everybody and flirt anyway? Well hey. At least people will be talking and mingling.

Oh, and don’t mind the people who may wander in and out of the event. Rise will try to moderator the event to her best ability but hey, she’s pretty social herself. Some people are bound to slip in and out under her watch. Have fun! And remember, beware of the bell! (Or Rise announcing "SWITCH" in a loud voice via megaphone, same thing.)]

[ooc: Hello everyone, welcome to the speed-friending/dating event! Thank you to everyone who signed up; above you’ll see a list of people and numbers for you to pick from! Pick your number and your friend/date by visiting the number generator to randomly pick a number to match your character with! Feel free to post top-levels inviting others to just tag in or tag around, too, without using the RNG. Any questions, please hit me via PM or on plurk at alternatively]

Comments

[jinko]

[ 'Not very reckless', he thinks that that's a perfectly good thing not to be— but that last bit prompts a bit of a curious tilt of the head. ]

Leave your home alone...? Ah, did you live in a dangerous part of your city?

[ If she considers that reckless, it must have been a pretty bad neighborhood, huh. ]

[bloodbiter]

[she shakes her head. honestly, she wishes it had been that simple a trip.]

Quite the opposite, actually. That is, my home was located in the safest part of my country. I left it because I had to travel to places that were much more dangerous, and I unfortunately couldn't bring a companion.

[she's still not certain it counts as reckless, given that she had no other option, but it's the best example she has.]

[jinko]

So... you left your home and went right into danger on your own...?!

[ It's amazing that she sounds so matter-of-fact about this, because Atsushi is of the opinion that this sort of thing would warrant a designation that's a little more than just 'reckless'. ]

I wouldn't really call that reckless... you must be really brave, Adelina-san.

[bloodbiter]

[she dips her head modestly, but gives a grateful smile all the same.]

It isn't as impressive as it seems. It was simply something that had to be done.

That's enough about me, though. Hmm... What is your most prized possession?

[jinko]

[ For a moment, it looks like Atsushi wants to object— "not as impressive as it seems?!"— but she's moved on so smoothly, he can't get another word in.

Maybe it's something she doesn't want to talk about... in that case, better to move on. ]

Huh? Oh, my prized possession... I think it'd have to be the clothes I came here in, actually. [ He scratches his cheek, expression set in a "yeah, I know it's weird" half-smile. ] The people who found me gave them to me, so— I've been trying to keep them in good condition, ever since I've gotten here.

How about you...?

[bloodbiter]

That's a lovely reason to hold something dear. [then she starts to realize something, eyes widening.] Oh, oh! I work as a seamstress. If they ever become worn out, I can repair them.

[at his question, she reaches to the collar of her dress, tugging out a glass vial attached to a golden chain that hangs around her neck. inside the vial are two intertwined strands of hair, one her shade of brown and the other a darker color, strikingly black. she leans forward so he can see, her expression one of fondness as she looks at the necklace.]

My wedding charm.

[jinko]

[ Ah. Adelina is really too kind— her suggestion brightens his expression, and he nods at her to indicate that he'll definitely use that as an excuse to check up on her, if necessary.

But now with this wedding charm! He leans forward over the table to look at it, and his features soften that much more. ]

Ah... wow, I didn't know you were married. That must be really precious to you...!

[bloodbiter]

[her smile grows a bit; the fondness it holds is joined by a tinge of longing. it's hard to express just how much she's missed him while she's been trapped in this place, but thinking about him does bring her some comfort.

she nods in response to his words.]

I keep thinking I shouldn't wear it out of my apartment. Such unexpected things can happen here, I always worry that it's going to get broken at some point. I suppose that's a bit silly to worry about, though.

[jinko]

[ It does occur to him that if she is married, she must be missing her husband a lot: he misses his own companions as well, and he'd only been their coworkers.

His expression doesn't exactly drop, but he shakes his head insistently at that last comment she's made. ]

It's not silly at all, is it? It's something important to you, of course you don't want anything to happen to it. [ For all his timidness, he's firm on this point. ] But, if it really does break... I'm sure it'd want to break in your hands, not hidden away in your apartment.

[bloodbiter]

...Thank you. That's kind of you to say, and I hadn't thought of it that way before.

[now she's feeling a bit embarrassed, though, so she scans through the card for something else to say.]

What is your passion in life?

I 300% THOUGHT I RESPONDED TO THIS, i'm so sorry this is so late?!

[jinko]

My passion?

[ Ah... he's never thought about things in these terms before, so he takes a moment to actually consider this, with chin to hand and head tipped to the side. ]

I... think I'm still looking for one, maybe. My job back home— I felt really strongly about that, but things are a little different here...

What do you think 'passionate' entails, Adelina-san?

no worries!!

[bloodbiter]

I see. What was your job back home, if I may ask?

[a pause of her own as she thinks of how to answer that.]

I suppose being particularly invested in or enthused about something. That may be too literal, though... What would your answer be?

[jinko]

Oh, uh... [ he thinks of how to phrase this, being that he's not exactly sure what to say— his job was a mystery, even to himself. ] ...I did a lot of errands for a detective agency.

As for being passionate, maybe it's something you don't want to give up on? In that case, I guess there are a lot of things to be passionate about.

S, same question to you, though? What are you passionate about?

[bloodbiter]

A detective agency? [she's only heard about them in her experiences in different worlds - detectives weren't even a topic of fiction in her home. as such, there's a new sort of curiosity in her eyes.] What sort of tasks did that entail?

[she has to pause for a moment to think of what to say.]

More than anything, I suppose... Making the world a more peaceful place. Somewhere safe for everyone.

[jinko]

[ There really does seem to be something about Adelina that's a bit awe-inspiring; it's not every day you hear someone talk about making the world a better place, after all. And with such sincerity and no malice of forethought.

He blinks, a bit surprised, before shaking himself out of it. ]

Oh, uh— well, we were trying to keep the peace. In our city. Helping the police investigate crime...

[ That trails off, because he wants to address the rest. ] ...It's amazing that you can say that so confidently, Adelina-san.

[bloodbiter]

That sounds like a wonderful place to have a career. You must have so many stories about it... Might I hear one?

[police officers and detectives are people she's only heard about, not encountered, so she's curious as to what their work must have entailed, or even working for them.

at his statement, though, she pauses.]

Is it? That is, it's very kind of you to say. I don't want to seem ungrateful, I'd just never thought of it that way before.

[jinko]

No, it's nothing like that— sorry, that must have come out of the blue.

It's just something that's nice to hear, what you just said.

[ A small smile, and he presses on. ]

As for my job, I hadn't really been there for that long. But there was a lot to do, yeah...

...For example, we investigated a murder! Even if all I really did in the end was help the real detective navigate the train lines.

[bloodbiter]

You don't have to apologize. It was a compliment, after all... I appreciate it.

[a small smile in return]

It sounds very impressive to be involved in something like that regardless of your exact role. But... What are train lines?

[jinko]

—Oh! Did you not have trains in your world...? They're...

[ How does one go about explaining this...? He hums softly under his breath, before testing his words. ]

...Like rooms that move on wheels. You ride them from one place to another.

[ How spectacularly underwhelming... ]

[bloodbiter]

We didn't. I apologize, there are many things that a majority of the people here have as a normal part of life that were not present in my world.

[she nods, though.]

So then, train lines would be the trail that the train travels on?

[jinko]

Ah, yeah, that's right. Where I'm from, there are a lot of trains and a lot of different paths they travel in, so it can get a little confusing...

[ He tips his head to the side, somewhat curious. ]

It's kind of amazing, isn't it? That we're able to talk about this kind of thing here, that we're all from such different places.

[bloodbiter]

If it was confusing enough that a detective could not understand it, you must be very bright. Was it very difficult to navigate these paths?

[she nods.]

It is. Everything I've heard from the people here about their lives and their worlds is incredible. I won't say that I'm glad to be here, but I am glad to have the opportunity to learn so much every day.