[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

Chie Satonaka

[feminine_carnivore]

[ How did she end up here?! Seriously, the tag team of Yu and Rise is impossible to say no too. Hell, she's even in a cute dress, something more feminine than her usual get-up (but thankfully less embarrassing than the prince outfit she had on in ViViD when she arrived) sitting awkwardly at a table with her hands clasped together under the table.

With a little barrette in her short hair, she feels like she's out of place... almost desperately wishing someone to save her from this embarrassment.

At the first appearance of a partner she sits up a little straight, putting on an awkward smile. ]

A-ah, hey, I guess you're here for this too, huh?

Hello!

[moribound]

[Minato's dressed casually in comparison, a green ribbon the only fancy complement to his otherwise simple white shirt and black pants.

He's seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere as he takes his seat with hands still tucked into his pockets, giving Chie a lingering and appraising look before reaching out to open the envelope.]

Yeah. Kujikawa-san signed me up and I didn't think it'd be good to refuse. [...Um. Are these really things people ask on a date or to make friends? Minato can't help but wonder if they're effective at all as he looks up again after looking through all of the suggested starters, but if he had to pick a question it'd be:

> What is your favorite takeaway meal?
> What's your best joke?
> If you have friends coming for supper what would you cook?]

So we should be doing an icebreaker, huh. What's your favorite takeaway meal? [Two of the three questions are about food...]

Heeey!

[feminine_carnivore]

[ How fancy! Though Chie obviously doesn't recognize him, not yet anyway, simply giving a weak little nod as he ends up sitting across from her. She hadn't thought to actually look at the questions, and is more than willing to let him take the initiative here for the moment.

At least she can laugh at his observation! Weakly anyway. ]Yeah.. Rise-chan is pretty hard to say no to even though I'm supposed to be the senpai here.

[ Clearly the way she mentions Rise proves how close Chie is to Rise. And luckily. He picks one of the questions that Chie can go on forever about!! ]

Oh, that's easy! [ She loosens up a little; there's a fire in her eyes.

She slams the table. ] Steak!

[moribound]

[It'd be impossible for him not to notice considering how Yu had also called Yosuke by his full name before this, and Chie's familiarity with Rise means that they had to have been friends in their world.

Now that they're properly seated and talking he's quietly taking in details such as her nametag, raising an eyebrow right as Chie slams her hands on the table. Chie Satonaka...Yu had told him about her before this, but for Chie herself it'd be pretty hard to tell what is he reacting to.]

She can be pretty persuasive. [Or demanding. Whatever.] You must really like steak to say it like that...Mmm, I like ramen but I prefer to eat it in the restaurant.

[feminine_carnivore]

[ Oh right, nametag. Chie forgot about that. She actually finally looked down to read his, trying to remember it.. and then forgot it again moments later.

But food! She could talk about food all day, and it keeps her positive despite the awkward smalltalk aspect of speed dating, which she is so very bad at. ]

Yeah, I guess you must know her too? I'm actually her senpai, we go to school together! [ She is happy to have such a successful kouhai! ]

I mean, eating steak in the restaurant is good too! Aiya has a Meat Bowl challenge sometimes, and it's basically impossible to finish, but it's still so good! [ She's talking way louder than everyone else... ]

[moribound]

Yeah, we know each other. [That's about as sincere as Minato can be, considering they weren't exactly friends and not hostile to each other either.

With that being said Minato's not smiling awkwardly because of the tenuous nature of his relationship with Rise because of Yu. It's more that people are turning around to look at them and he's never much enjoyed being the center of attention, voice lowered to distract Chie.]

I'd love to try out that Aiya Meat Bowl challenge too, but you're a bit too loud...everyone's looking at us.

[feminine_carnivore]

That's pretty cool. I mean, I only know Rise-chan and Narukami-kun here really, but I guess they've been here for a while.

[ Well, it certainly doesn't sounds like they are friends, but it's cool that he knows her at all! Although, a part of her has to feel like she might be kinda disappointing to other people when they meet Rise first. Chie's just a small town girl after all and Rise is... Well, Rise.

She can't help but look around quickly, the embarrassment growing on her face as she realizes just how loud she was being. Oops. ]

A-ah... s-sorry. I get a little excited when it comes to meat I guess... [ She GUESSES. ]

[moribound]

Yu-san's been here for a while, but Kujikawa-san's only been here for about a month. [He doesn't think to mention they arrived at around the same time, blinking as he watches Chie looking around and getting embarrassed about how loud she was being.

Heh. Cute. But what meets the eye whenever she looks back will be the sight of Minato glancing at the available ingredients at the table.]

It's not meat, but we should be able to make a good sundae with the ingredients here. How about it? [Minato, quietly giving the both of them an exit from awkward small talk by snacking on ice-cream instead? Perish the thought!]

[feminine_carnivore]

[ Chie just laughs a little. Is that a thing to laugh at? Who knows. ]

Obviously you must know Narukami-kun too, since you know Rise-chan! He's.. a pretty dependable guy! [ She smiles, talking about her friends makes her all too proud. The things they did together, even though things had gotten tough. They are still super important to her! Only, she has no idea just how much Minato already knows about Yu!! ]

Oh yeah! I was looking at that, but I thought it would look pretty dumb if I got chocolate syrup on my dress or something before I even talked to anyone... [ Basically, she's been waiting for an excuse to go get some! Another thought comes to mind though: ]

Wait, you haven't seen Yukiko around have you?! Yukiko Amagi, she's our age, suuuuuper pretty with long black hair a-and she giggles a lot! [ Wow Chie did you need to stress how pretty she is? And of course, she's already asked Yu and Rise about her, but might as well ask someone else, just in case! ]

[moribound]

Yeah, he's really reliable. [? Minato doesn't understand why wouldn't Chie have asked Yu about Yukiko if she's around, but he'll humor her regardless.]

I haven't seen anyone like that around here but you can always check the CereVice too. [And he also has no comment on the super pretty thing, since it's not like he's looking for a date.] So you two are good friends then?

[feminine_carnivore]

Definitely. I've never met anyone who's better at making friends. [ She's proud to call herself one of them. After everything that happened, Narukami is pretty much the best guy alive in her book.

And of course she asked Yu about Yukiko. Rise too. But since neither had seen her, Chie can't help but ask... well everyone. Gotta make sure she doesn't miss a thing! Anyone would do the same for their best friend, right? ]

Ah, that's okay... I'm sure she'll come here soon. [ She says almost more to convince herself than anything else. Being without Yukiko is hard. Right now though, Chie's just going to look for a flavor she wants after grabbing a bowl. ]

Yeah! She's my number one best friend!! We've known each other since we were kids. Her family runs this super old traditional Japanese Inn back in Inaba and she's gonna run it! [ God she could talk about Yukiko all day! ]

[moribound]

[Minato's absently picking out some flavors himself while listening to Chie. He's not sure what to make of it considering she's talking more about Yukiko than herself...it's nice, but ultimately they're here to make friends with each other.]

I see. So she's been trained to run it since she was young too...how did the two of you become friends? [It's something he's genuinely curious about at least, since he doesn't have any childhood friends to speak of.]

[feminine_carnivore]

[ Chie's just. Really really bad at this. The idea of a normal date with a boy, much less of the blind variety is really weird for her. She had nearly backed out like ten times before she actually made it here. And even then she was constantly pulling down on her dress, feeling like people were looking at her weird.

But talking about Yukiko makes everything so much easier. ]

Yeah, it's awesome! If you're ever in Inaba make sure you stay there! They call it "the treasure of Yasoinaba". [ Laughing, Chie picks up the chocolate syrup. And goes a little nuts with it. ]

She found this stray dog and ended up running away from home, because her parents wouldn't let her keep him. I just saw her on the side of the road one day crying... [ Chie squeezes the bottle a little, luckily nothing spills out, but she's clearly missing Yukiko... ] I just wanted to do everything I could to protect her. So we became friends, and I took Muku home with me! And we've been inseparable since.

[ Oh wow that got serious!! Oops. ] Ahaha, s-sorry. You probably didn't want to know the whole thing! You're like, an easy guy to talk to I guess!

[theshiningone]

[Ah, she looked shy... That raised her appeal more! Well, Hiro considered himself lucky as he just casually flopped himself into the chair. It was almost like he's done something like this before...]

Sure am! I'm a lean mean speed dating machine! ♪

[Questions? Who needed questions when you already had good enough social skills! He'll flash her a wink... Hopefully to try and make things a little less awkward.]

Sooooo... What's your name, cutie? Come 'round here often?

[feminine_carnivore]

[ She's shy, but only when she's not sure what to do. She's never been on a date before, at least ones without monsters involved! And not counting all the times she and Yukiko hung out together because that's...

Anyways! She's a little happy, you can see it in her eyes for just a moment, when someone comes to talk to her, which makes it easier than sitting alone with her thoughts waiting for this all to end.

Except of course, it only takes about 1 second for this boy to lose all respect she might have given him. ]

...I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Rise-chan told me not to kick anybody, but I'm getting the feeling I'm going to have to apologize to her later.

[ Threats of violence already?! ]

[theshiningone]

What?! You can't just kick people on the first meeting! That's like a gladiator-style hello!

[He thought that he was being friendly, but well... That might have been too forward. He awkwardly clears his throat as he feels beads of sweat crawling down his face. He had to count his blessings that she wasn't a demon or he would've lost his face by now.]

A-Anyway! If this were a battle arena with "Only One Left Standing" as the rule, then violence was be justified! But I'm only here to make friends... We don't have to make out on the first date.

[Get it? Make friends? Make OUT? HA HA HA.]

[feminine_carnivore]

Hey, they didn't put it in the rules anywhere, so I'm definitely allowed to!

[ She just can't stand perverted creeps!! She knew it was going to end up like this, and yet Rise totally brought her here anyways! ]

See! That right there is plenty of reason! You talked about m-making out! [ Is Chie... embarrassed about being hit on?? ]

B-Besides, you're obviously just messing with me, so I'm justified in taking matters into my own hands. [ People don't actually think she's cute after all. ]

[theshiningone]

It was a joke! A JOKE! I'm not seriously gonna make out with a girl I just met!

[He has some standards! I mean, unless he had to kiss her to get that ice cream... Look, he had some priorities and he'd do anything for sweet things.]

Anyway, I don't lie to cute girls. It's kind of my policy. [That he applies whenever it's convenient like right now.]

[feminine_carnivore]

It didn't sound like much of a joke to me!

[ Chie crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair, eyeing the boy dangerously. Like if he made the wrong move she'd overturn the table and destroy his face with a well placed kick.

Or something like that!

Until he calls her cute and her face scrunches up even more, despite the redness spreading. ]

S-See! You're definitely trying to mess with me and make me angry!

[theshiningone]

No, no... If I were messing with you, I'd saying something "What's with the bowlcut? Are you trying to be Bruce Lee or something?"

[He says as an example, but with that cheeky looking side smirk... It can very well translate over to him trolling. You never know where the trolling ends and the truth begins with him.]

Speaking of which! I'm gonna call you Bowlcut! [Since she didn't give him a name yet.]

[feminine_carnivore]

W-W-What?!

[ Her voice cracks, stunned and angry and embarrassed all at once. I mean, sure, she wouldn't mind being compared to Bruce Lee. But she doesn't want to be called "bowlcut" either! And she'd rather be compared to his ass-kicking abilities not his hairstyle!!

So just. Enjoy the redness spreading across her face, and the impending kick to the shin. ]

I-I'm a girl, you know!! I like looking pretty just as much as anyone!! [ She does it. She kicks him. ] AND IT'S SATONAKA!

[theshiningone]

OUCH! What the hell!?

[HIS SEXY SHIN!! Hiro lets out a yelp of pain and he cringes at this crazy chick!! He didn't think that he'd take her that seriously! Why did he sit here again!? He felt like he was going to be hopping on one leg when he left here...

Or crawling away. He could see that as a future possibility too.]

Girls don't go around kicking people randomly! Let alone heroes like me! The Great Hero HIRO!

[He says this like he's important! Okay, well... He was a god and Administrator of the world, so that had to earn him some respect!]

[feminine_carnivore]

I didn't kick you randomly!! And boys don't go around giving terrible nicknames to girls they just meet either!

[ She's not apologizing at all. Because really, when did she ever apologize to Yosuke? She's pretty sure this guy deserves it anyways. So she's just crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him in her seat! ]

Some hero you are!! You can't just call yourself that you know! You actually have to do something heroic!

[theshiningone]

Jeez... You sure like yelling a lot, Bowlcut. You're gonna attract a lot of attention toward us!

[Not that Hiro minded attention... But people were going to get weird ideas about him (or THEM) at this rate. Feeling kind of defeated, he just plants his face into his hands with a irritated noise. This chick was absolutely crazy!]

I'm enduring this torture you're putting me through. That should earn me tons of hero points.

[feminine_carnivore]

CHI-E! CHI-E!! Get in through your head!! That's my name!

[ She is going to kick him again if she-- Oh, people are really looking at them, and all they are likely is seeing Chie yelling at this boy crying in his hands. Even if he's faking it, it really doesn't look good for her, does it? ]

D-Don't make it seem like bullying you!