On the platform: Meet the new characters!

[utopiamods]

As you all crowd onto the platform and peer through the thick fog that chills the air, you are met by four girls and five boys. One of the girls is a somewhat humanoid grey-skinned, finned alien, but the rest all seem human. All nine are in uniforms that would match if not for the colour differences - skirts and trousers, waistcoats, and light summer shirts that seem totally inappropriate for the dense fog. They're all sodden and cold, and most are irritable. Each has a beret with a crest pinned to the front - three depicting a shield on green, the other six a sword on red.

At the first lull in the chatter, one sickly-pale, shield-crested girl speaks up, cutting through your conversations with her cold, soft voice.

"Attention, please."

She explains that the nine of them are the current prefects of Rakuen, representing the two schools on the island. Nanami, she points to herself, Yuri and Lelouch of Fortitude; and Santana, Flynn, Feferi, Gino, Nephenee and Kevin of Conquest. She doesn't care to explain why the prefects in red and white outnumber those in green and black two to one.

Santana interrupts, "Yeah, yeah. Look, come over when your name is called so we can all get inside." They all move to stand in two groups some distance away from each other, and the two that spoke read off names from their clipboards.

Comments

Open! New people eeee!

[knightime]

[Dave wasn't a prefect, but he was actually here this time to meet up and see all the new arrivals.

There...was quite a few of them actually. What the hell. Okay.

He shoves his hands in his pockets, shivering slightly. Who hates this weather? Dave hates this weather. He frowns a bit as he scans the crowd, considering just absconding within the next five to ten minutes.]

[mamarosa]

Hello Dave, how are you doing today?

RU YOU'RE NOT A NEW PERSON.

[knightime]

[Dave gives her a thumbs up. Aside from the usual sleep troubles a 13 year old playing a crappy session would get, he's actually got stuff to do today.

He hasn't even considered his roommates hating his guts when he starts playing music at odd hours of the night. Nope.]

SCREW YOU I SO AM

[mamarosa]

[she smiles at him]

I'm glad you are doing well. Your new PDA is working alright?

OMG YOURE SUCH A LIAR

[knightime]

[The PDA he pulls out looks far too worn to be a new one.]

harley found my pda apparently
...
i dont know what to do with the other one now

AM NOT

[mamarosa]

It never hurts to have a back up, besides if you ever need the extra Raks you can sell it back to Recette. [she knows you're a big customer there!]

oh ok totes believing you

[knightime]

i guess i can hold onto it
until another kid hits the platform
seeing as multiple us is a fad

[Well, there's only been an extra John for now, but he's expecting more kids to show up eventually. It's only a matter of time.]

raks isnt really a problem for me
im just full of it
i seem to just keep getting it
on the account that i apparently end up with all the
weapons
...

[He almost typed bitches. But for some reason, that just seemed really awkward to type of Dolorosa. It's like telling your mom you were covered in bitches. It just doesn't really fly...]

as you should

[mamarosa]

You seem rather unphased by the prospect of multiples, most people are not as open to the idea.

[she laughs]

You just seem to be a Player all the time, that must help in collecting Raks.

[I don't think Dolorosa would really understand waking up covered in bitches. Even if she was that 'bitch' at one point in her life... maybe it's a good thing Mindfang isn't here]

of course

[knightime]

well to me
it isnt that big of a deal
ive seen like sixteen of myselves
myselfs
myself...?
selves

[Wow the English language can go fuck itself.]

in like one place
i mean it was technically all me
im going to stop talking about this now because it probably sounds weird
and makes no sense
but yeah
being a player is convenient
i can buy shit on my own
without having to harass people about it

[Dave feels all grown up being able to purchase stuff on his own. Aww yeah.]

[knifehands]

[ she glanced over at him from across the room, then decided to approach him.


belarus didn't mind the chilly weather, she liked it actually ]

Are you from Fortitude?

[knightime]

[Dave is too used to the lovely weathers of Texas or the heat of LOHAC. This is neither. Five weeks, and he still can't stand it.

Dave tilts his head to the side, eyebrows barely visible behind his shades. One is lifted slightly though.

He does nod though.]

[knifehands]

[ the impression she got from him was unfriendly

after all, he didn't talk back to her. of course, that didn't bother her. belarus wasn't welcoming either ]

As am I.

[knightime]

[He extracted his PDA from his pocket, typing into it lazily before showing the screen to her. If he was giving off unfriendly, then she was probably right.]

uhh
good for you i guess
welcome to fortitude
the headmistress
isnt a crazy bitch
unfortunately
apparently the head prefect is

[knifehands]

[ she learned there was a lot of mutes in this school ]

How so?

[knightime]

find out yourself
sheesh
she just is
actually
dont find out
just dont piss her off
i mean
not pissing people off usually is good advice
but whatever

[Technically, Conquest has the other mute. But John rarely spoke if at all. So, yeah. A surprising amount of kids here seem to rely on other things that isn't normal talking.]

[knifehands]

[ she frowned ]

It's too easy to piss people off, especially if you're somewhere you don't want to be.

[knightime]

join the club
most of us
have shit to do
places to be
so just deal
there isnt really any way to escape
but youre free to try anyways

[Dave is the most unsympathetic thirteen year old.]

[inamber]

[ And this particular Dave is floating this other one's way. Fuck the name calling or whatever, he's going for the first familiar face. He raises a hand in greeting. ]

Sup.

[knightime]

[Oh, it's feathery asshole him. He was about to start signing....

holy shit. Feathery asshole him just said something. Holy crap. Is that...how he sounds?

Wow, he's just going to be completely shocked and stare at the other stupidly.]

[inamber]

[ Dave stares at his other self, eyebrows raised. ]

What? Do I have spinach in my teeth?

[knightime]

[Wow, that was super uncool. He's just going to fumble with his PDA...]

you can talk

[No shit, Sherlock. Way to make yourself seem even dumber. You are just made of good ideas today, Dave. Please just go back to your room and hide under your blankets wondering who let you get up in the morning.]

[inamber]

[ He glances over and responds exactly how Dave expected himself to respond: ]

No shit I can. And you can't for some reason, which is just as fucking duh.

[ It's not too hard to take a guess at that much. He knows himself and he knows that he wouldn't type shit out on a PDA unless he had a good goddamn reason. Maybe this is another doomed Dave who somehow got his vocal chords damaged?? But that doesn't explain his reaction. Fuck if he knows. ]

You wanna share what the hell is going on here?

[knightime]

[Resists urge to smack himself in the face. Wow, didn't even know making a fool of yourself in front of...well yourself was possible. Fuck his life.]

it was like god
wanted to try punishing me by taking away my sweet voice
it was a travesty to everyone though
i could never talk
it was never a thing for me
but everyone kind of keeps expecting me to be able to
so apparently me talking is more normal then me not talking???

[That awkward feeling where you're acutely aware that everyone is expecting you to talk, but you can't. It's kind of unsettling. All these people he recognizes and knows, but it's not actually them exactly.]

yeah i can fill you in
this is rakuen
we fight and shit via pulling weapons out of other peoples chests
seriously shit is so bizarre here sometimes
fortitude is full of psychos
conquest is full of assholes
schools fight each other
shit happens
its actually not too bad
everyone is popping up like crazy
rose is blind for some reason
john is deaf
other john is normal surprisingly enough
sis is here
theres a shitton of trolls popping up like weeds
...
oh
uhm
jade is here too
like as in
jade
from your timeline
that jade

[He doesn't mention Dirk though. He doesn't know how to feel about that guy yet.]

[inamber]

[ He peers over at the PDA, reading quickly and the impossible becomes cold hard reality: Dave's eyebrows raise even higher. ]

You could always talk. Shit before we even started with this time travel shit you could goddamn well talk someone's ear off so I don't know what the fuck you're on about. But alright. You can't talk. That's cool.

[ He talks as Dave types. ]

So this is all a sticky convoluted mess of timeline silly string with a side of "what the fuck that makes no goddamn sense also why am I in school again, I thought I got out of that when I became feathery and lost my legs". Alright. I can roll with that.

And bizarre, yep, just a little.

[ A pause, reading. ]

Why is Rose blind and why is John deaf.

And are you saying-- typing, whatever-- that there are two Johns. There should only be one at a goddamn time. John overload. My fan is broken because some asshole blew at it with the compressed air and my motherboard is frying in the face of so much potential genuine bad taste.

[ Sis, what the fuck. Dave is about to ask about that, but then... Dave stiffens. His Jade? She is someone he never thought he'd have to face. She is someone who should be dead. His hesitation lasts only a split second, and he swallows. ]

Jade's here. What is she, a zombie? A crispy, burnt meteor impacted zombie.

[knightime]

what the fuck
no
i could never talk
it was never a thing i could do
i had immersed myself in the art of
flailing my arms like an idiot in interpretive dance and pattern
im so pro at it
no one knows what the fuck im saying
because no one knows what asl is
for all they know
im asking for their age sex and location
and its actually kind of creepy
to hear me
you
talk
because this is the first time ive ever heard myself
you
oh my fucking shit i swear this is getting dumber by the minute
all my shit is being flipped off the proverbial handle
harder then a ballerina doing fucking pirouettes.

[Dave doesn't like the implication that he should be able to talk. Because...he can't.]

welcome to rakuen
if you were expecting for things to make sense
then you were hoping way too much
and rose is blind because she forgot how to see
oh right
so memories
you lost some
we all lost some
and its kind of retarded
its so fucktarded that it made rose forget how to see
i dont even know how thats even possible but it is
john is deaf because
well he is
welcome to the pocket universe full of alternate universes
we have two johns
and two karkats
oh dear god we have two karkats
its like the world is trying to make us suffer
i can deal with two derps
but dear lord being assaulted by angry grey capslock by two different sources
i swear i was going to lose it

[Oh he saw that bro. Totally saw that.]

naw
she was pretty skinny though
like
give her ten fucking sandwiches and a full course buffet skinny
but shes gotten better
and she isnt pissed angry or anything
that was like weeks ago
so your welcome
i took the heat

[It was like the worst few days of his life. You don't even know.]