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[ you wake up.
your back feels achey and your neck feels stiff, probably because you’ve been laying your head in your arms on a table for some time. you lift your head. whether or not you remember falling asleep here, the location is familiar to you – you are in the cafeteria. the sun is shining through the windows, meaning that it’s currently daytime. a closed textbook is on the table, right next to you. it is written in estelline’s native language, but this time, you can recognize it. the subject, if you are familiar with that, is math. there’s a bag of cookies with you, too, but otherwise, there’s not much else to note about this place…
….other than it actually being populated with people. students going in and out of the building, lining up for lunches, sitting with each other at the tables.
either way, no one is really paying you much regard or saying anything to you. they’re just letting you chill at your table in peace, it seems.
suddenly, something buzzes in your pocket.
what would you like to do? ]
[ you wake up.
it’s a nice awakening, because you feel as though you’ve had a good night’s worth of rest. you feel refreshed and as you blink awake, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the wall clock hanging on the wall directly in front of your bed. the time appears to be 2:30pm. surveying the rest of your surroundings will show you that you are in one of the dorm rooms. this one, however, most likely won’t seem familiar to you due to how it looks incredibly lived in – posters on the walls, a few pieces of clothing that may or may not be in your size scattered about on the floor, a backpack that certainly isn’t yours leaning up against one of the dressers. also, kawase is nowhere to be seen (probably for the best, given that it’s not super tidy in here) and the stuff on what would be his half of the room doesn’t appear to be his.
you are also surrounded on your bed: an open textbook in estelline’s native language that you actually recognize, the subject appears to be something about finance; an open notebook with handwriting that is not yours; a pen; a pencil; highlighters. so on and so forth.
before you can properly get out of bed, however, there’s something that buzzes right next to your pillow. it makes a weird noise and looks something like this. it lights up and some kind of alert appears on this strange, tablet-like device. you have several alerts, actually.
what would you like to do? ]
Edited 2022-05-30 21:39 (UTC)
[ you wake up.
your neck is a little sore, given that you apparently fell asleep sitting up with your chin tucked against your neck. the air is cool, and you are surrounded by the sounds of papers and books shuffling. you blink and where you are is apparent – the lecture hall. and there are a ton of people in here, sitting in chairs next to and around you. strange. you don’t remember there being so many people before. glancing at what people are doing gives you an idea that people are putting things into their bags, packing up, but nobody actually looks like they’re leaving.
there appears to be someone standing in front of the classroom: a tall, distinguished, older man. he has a very stoic expression on his face and a stack of papers in his hands. there’s something written on the whiteboard behind him in estelline’s language, that you now recognize:
CALCULUS FINAL: 3:00PM
the wall clock mounted directly above the whiteboard does, indeed, read 3:00pm.
if you happen to look down at the bag resting near your feet, you may be able to catch a glimpse of something lighting up in the (open) front pocket.
what would you like to do? ]
Edited 2022-05-30 21:35 (UTC)
[ you wake up.
how you wake up, though, is a little bizarre. you are sitting inside of a room with lockers lining the walls. there are a few other dudes in here with you, none of whom you recognize; some of them are taking out or stuffing things into their lockers, others are slipping into shirts, some are exiting the room. you are already dressed and ready to go, and there’s some kind of duffel bag next to you on the bench you’re sitting on. you also smell kind of…like the pool? like
there is no clock in here, nor are there any windows, so you can’t quite figure out what time of day it is. it might not be at the forefront of your thoughts right now, though, given that you’re in a room full of people you don’t recognize and sabo is nowhere to be seen.
someone suddenly claps you on the shoulder from behind; and then something in your bag buzzes immediately after you feel their hand land on your shoulder.
what would you like to do? ]
[ this is ??? well it's confusing, that's what. ryouma has a lot of questions as he notices one thing after another and this feels vaguely familiar.
in any case, whatever that thing is in his bag draws his attention, lighting up like it does. so he'll just check that out... ]
in any case, whatever that thing is in his bag draws his attention, lighting up like it does. so he'll just check that out... ]
[ ryouma reaches into the bag to check out what's lighting up and...
...it's a cellphone! a super cute one, actually. the screen is facing him so he'll be able to see the notification on his phone. ... though he may not be familiar with what clelphones are, all he needs to know for now is that there's a notification that says: ]
Sage - Text Message
[ the man at the front is starting to pass out the papers to the students in the front row. (ryouma is currently in the third row.) ]
...it's a cellphone! a super cute one, actually. the screen is facing him so he'll be able to see the notification on his phone. ... though he may not be familiar with what clelphones are, all he needs to know for now is that there's a notification that says: ]
Sage - Text Message
[ the man at the front is starting to pass out the papers to the students in the front row. (ryouma is currently in the third row.) ]
[OKAY WELL FIRST OF ALL
1. That sounds like something out of a horror movie, Tamamori is only used to Extreme Default Ringtones on account of being from the Stone Age (or just the Taisho era, leave him alone) and while he doesn't mind small children HE DOES NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH WEIRD SMALL CHILDREN-SOUNDING NOISES THANKS -- that device is getting yeeted onto the floor. Goodbye!!!!!!!!
2. Wait, he has no idea how it's already 2:30 PM. Has his amazing internal alarm clock failed him -- it's not unusual for him to sleep in, even with Kawase being a stupid early bird at all times, but 2:30 PM really is late even for him most of the time, and especially here. Hm. Squint.]
Oh? Ohh? I see! This must be a dream about waking up, inside a dream! That would be why I'm dreaming about being in the same university, in the same situation, but with a more cluttered room than usual. [yes, he's fucking narrating, what about it] Now. Let's see... This better be a dream where I don't have to go to class, I haven't even been to real class here yet...
[He's pretty sure their Weird Saturday Activity was not. Traditional class. That said, Tamamori isn't traditional for anything, so at the moment he's going to half fall out of bed and then go to poke at the posters on the walls. Does dream him have Taste, inquiring minds need to know.]
1. That sounds like something out of a horror movie, Tamamori is only used to Extreme Default Ringtones on account of being from the Stone Age (or just the Taisho era, leave him alone) and while he doesn't mind small children HE DOES NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH WEIRD SMALL CHILDREN-SOUNDING NOISES THANKS -- that device is getting yeeted onto the floor. Goodbye!!!!!!!!
2. Wait, he has no idea how it's already 2:30 PM. Has his amazing internal alarm clock failed him -- it's not unusual for him to sleep in, even with Kawase being a stupid early bird at all times, but 2:30 PM really is late even for him most of the time, and especially here. Hm. Squint.]
Oh? Ohh? I see! This must be a dream about waking up, inside a dream! That would be why I'm dreaming about being in the same university, in the same situation, but with a more cluttered room than usual. [yes, he's fucking narrating, what about it] Now. Let's see... This better be a dream where I don't have to go to class, I haven't even been to real class here yet...
[He's pretty sure their Weird Saturday Activity was not. Traditional class. That said, Tamamori isn't traditional for anything, so at the moment he's going to half fall out of bed and then go to poke at the posters on the walls. Does dream him have Taste, inquiring minds need to know.]
Edited 2022-05-30 21:49 (UTC)
[ whatever that buzzing can wait because he's going to look at whoever is touching him. this is more immediate, considering he doesn't know anyone here.
so, he looks over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised. he is a little more tense and on guard. ]
Hey?
so, he looks over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised. he is a little more tense and on guard. ]
Hey?
[ the device gets yeeted onto the floor. it's not broken by any means, but it's still lit up. rip phone.
dream tamamori has...some sort of taste, alright! good taste if i say so myself, but he may disagree. there are posters that look like they came from video games and action movies, and also the estelline university's flag. there are a polaroids taped to the wall, too. ]
dream tamamori has...some sort of taste, alright! good taste if i say so myself, but he may disagree. there are posters that look like they came from video games and action movies, and also the estelline university's flag. there are a polaroids taped to the wall, too. ]
[ ryouma has fortunately been exposed to things like smartphones in chaldea (he has ritsuka to thank for this) so that's not all that strange. he's been exposed to waking up in weird places like this too so rather than dwell on the weirdness of the who and why he focuses on what's happening right now.
he probably doesn't want the teacher to see what he's doing so he reaches down to try and open the message without pulling the phone out. that'd be too obvious, probably. ]
he probably doesn't want the teacher to see what he's doing so he reaches down to try and open the message without pulling the phone out. that'd be too obvious, probably. ]
[ ace will be met with a tall man wearing a kind smile on his face. there's a look of familiarity from this guy, somehow, and he speaks: ]
Hey, you did well at practice today. Got one of the fastest times on the team, actually – I still don't know how you do it!
[ something about this leaves you feeling unsatisfied somehow; even if ace wanted to take it fully as a compliment despite not knowing what's happening, something about it seems to not quite stick with him, like he can't really accept it.
either way, the guy will continue: ]
Can't believe the school year's pretty much over, but I'm gonna see you this summer for practice, right?
Hey, you did well at practice today. Got one of the fastest times on the team, actually – I still don't know how you do it!
[ something about this leaves you feeling unsatisfied somehow; even if ace wanted to take it fully as a compliment despite not knowing what's happening, something about it seems to not quite stick with him, like he can't really accept it.
either way, the guy will continue: ]
Can't believe the school year's pretty much over, but I'm gonna see you this summer for practice, right?
[ Well this is... new?
Bennett goggles at the unusual swarm of people filling the cafeteria, certain for a moment that he must be hallucinating. This is easily two or three times the number of people that are here normally, right? Surely--
The buzzing makes him jump, and he fumbles for whatever the source is in his pocket. He already has a bad track record with strange devices, so he'd rather nip this in the bud while he can. ]
Bennett goggles at the unusual swarm of people filling the cafeteria, certain for a moment that he must be hallucinating. This is easily two or three times the number of people that are here normally, right? Surely--
The buzzing makes him jump, and he fumbles for whatever the source is in his pocket. He already has a bad track record with strange devices, so he'd rather nip this in the bud while he can. ]
[ the teacher seems preoccupied at the moment, so ryouma's good to take a look at the message from this "sage" person.
it reads: ]
HEEEEY ████████ ! don't forget, party after you're done with your finals 🥳😁👍
lmk when you're done and i'll come find you!
it reads: ]
HEEEEY ████████ ! don't forget, party after you're done with your finals 🥳😁👍
lmk when you're done and i'll come find you!
[The real miracle is that he remembers not to fall on it when he yeets out of bed after it. Or step on it. Tamamori regards it suspiciously, but he does move it to the side with one foot. He'll deal with it later...
The posters are intriguing. Some, like the movie posters, he can at least guess at what they're all about -- it's a strange feeling -- others, like the video game posters, he just mistakes for movie posters. It's fine. Tamamori will check the polaroids.
Is his dream self there, or is he now just a ghost in the background of some dramatic tale of student woe?]
Mm, isn't a week a bit short for this sort of dream...
The posters are intriguing. Some, like the movie posters, he can at least guess at what they're all about -- it's a strange feeling -- others, like the video game posters, he just mistakes for movie posters. It's fine. Tamamori will check the polaroids.
Is his dream self there, or is he now just a ghost in the background of some dramatic tale of student woe?]
Mm, isn't a week a bit short for this sort of dream...
[ congrats bennett! you have acquired a phone. he may not know how to operate it, but luckily for him, he can at least see the words on its screen (along with a preview of the message): ]
Sage - Text Message
hey ████████. sorry i left you last night. hope you're not still mad at me, i
...
[ the preview ends there.
bennett may feel...strange if he reads this, like he's hurt by it somehow? weird. ]
Sage - Text Message
hey ████████. sorry i left you last night. hope you're not still mad at me, i
...
[ the preview ends there.
bennett may feel...strange if he reads this, like he's hurt by it somehow? weird. ]
[ weird. unhelpful!! he's not sure what he was expecting. he takes another look around the room for any other hints. a way out? something he was missing before? that familiar feeling from before creeps back in and he recognises some of it as dread. if he's supposed to take a test he's gonna have a bad time. ]
[ his dream self is sure in one of the polaroids, smiling pretty brightly, though tamamori's cameo is kind of strange. it's a little wavy, quite literally, like his portrait is infused in water or something with the way it ripples.
the other person in that particular polaroid seems happy to be there, too, at least. ]
the other person in that particular polaroid seems happy to be there, too, at least. ]
[ wildcats.
no, i'm kidding, he answers back after a moment of being confused: ]
The swim team?
[ g, ace. ]
no, i'm kidding, he answers back after a moment of being confused: ]
The swim team?
[ g, ace. ]
[ well, there are doors in the back of the room, just like how you remember them from saturday's activities. ryouma is situated maybe 4-5 seats from the aisle, too, if he wants to try to get out of dodge.
the man is going to the second row, now.
ryouma will start to feel more anxious as the man gets closer, and that feeling of unpreparedness is really starting to sink in. ]
the man is going to the second row, now.
ryouma will start to feel more anxious as the man gets closer, and that feeling of unpreparedness is really starting to sink in. ]
Uh...what? Dude, you're literally the best person on the team.
[ he says this 100% seriously, like ace should just know who he is as a person. ]
You feeling alright?
[ he says this 100% seriously, like ace should just know who he is as a person. ]
You feeling alright?
[ Fortunately, Bennett has mastered the tablet so he has an idea of how this works.
The message is a little worrying, though, and the way it squeezes his heart when he reads it is...
Bennett unlocks the phone, then goes to open the message so he can read the whole thing - assuming there's not a password, at least. ]
The message is a little worrying, though, and the way it squeezes his heart when he reads it is...
Bennett unlocks the phone, then goes to open the message so he can read the whole thing - assuming there's not a password, at least. ]
............ I see. It's certainly not Meiko, so my imagination must have made up a girl acquaintance. You know, this is what happens when you provoke a fellow's imagination and then don't give him just desserts for his efforts.
[Tamamori tells this to the Polaroids, though it's more of an aside and he isn't particularly serious about it -- even he can tell that there's a lot of things here he might want to pay attention to, and while he's used to wandering alien landscapes of his own making (and sometimes those of others), this isn't any story he's familiar with at all.
He's going to retrieve the thingamajigger on the floor, haphazardly poking at it without any real idea of how to open it or find more information on it.
He's also going to retrieve the notebook, reflexively, because written information is generally more reliable to him than visual or even auditory information. Which of these things in his hands is easier to process first?]
[Tamamori tells this to the Polaroids, though it's more of an aside and he isn't particularly serious about it -- even he can tell that there's a lot of things here he might want to pay attention to, and while he's used to wandering alien landscapes of his own making (and sometimes those of others), this isn't any story he's familiar with at all.
He's going to retrieve the thingamajigger on the floor, haphazardly poking at it without any real idea of how to open it or find more information on it.
He's also going to retrieve the notebook, reflexively, because written information is generally more reliable to him than visual or even auditory information. Which of these things in his hands is easier to process first?]
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