INTRO LOG

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[[Exactly what it says on the tin! This is just an initial log to sort of get things started and is largely freeform, open to (but not limited to):

-Meetings before classes start
-First day business
-Dorm shenanigans meetings
-First classes in progress
-or whatever the heck else you want to do for beginning-of-term things!

There's a CR meme up now for some initial planning if you like, or feel free to just hop in here.]]

Comments

[ex_outofcontrol435]

That works too. [He levels a glare at the boy, then lies back down. The message is pretty clear: he just wanted the music to shut up.]

[poweryetunknown]

Tch.

What, you're not a fan of the happy family hour either?

[It's a guess, but it seems the likely option. Carefully, he feels out to see if he can pick up on some surface thoughts.]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[Did he give any indication that he wanted to talk? There's mostly annoyance, a lot of it at Neku but some at the scene happening out front as well. Wait 'til they find out the real gift that got their babies sent here.]

I could make that shitshow a blast, if anyone around here knew how to have fun. [He opens his eyes again, shading them against the sun, but doesn't look over this time.] Freaking out the newbies is just detention, but freaking out the parents - almost worth the crap I get, but not quite.

[poweryetunknown]

Yeah, I'm... not sure how many of them know. And I'm not sure how many of them that know are actually willing to take them back. Maybe they're hoping this place cures them of being 'freaks'. At least some of them are in that camp, I'm guessing.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Don't say "freaks." [It's a hard, cold warning, and now his head's rolled over to look at Neku.] I don't give a shit how you mean it. Don't say it.

[And he's back to looking at the sky.]

They can't even put "mutants" in the school's name. There's a reason for that.

[poweryetunknown]

Yeah, I know. They're... tch. I don't get how they can be like that. And I don't get why it's such a big deal. Some parents can accept some things but not others.

... Some can't accept anything they didn't plan for at all, though.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[He laughs, but it's not at all friendly or amused.]

Ever heard of preaching to the choir?

[poweryetunknown]

... Got it.

[He does... slip the headphones down a little. Slightly.]

You been here long?

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Going into my third year. Last year before they start nagging about the X-Men.

[If Neku's been told that much about the X-Men, he'll know that means John is seventeen, since training usually begins at eighteen. If not, either his surface thoughts or the scathing tone in his voice will tell Neku everything he needs to know about John's opinions on the X-Men.]

[poweryetunknown]

What's that?

[Yeah he doesn't... even need to poke for feelings on that one.]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Dude, did you get any of the info when they picked you up? You even gotten the tour?

[Not that he's offering. He's just incredulous that someone doesn't know about the actual reason for the school - other than glorified orphanage.]

[poweryetunknown]

Yeah, kind of. They didn't exactly mention this X-Men thing, though. They pushed it as a 'safe haven' and 'college prep' thing.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[He sits up, hands folded in his lap, like he's about to do a very important recitation in English class. His voice is thick with derision, though.]

The X-Men are the ones who keep it safe. They're the peacekeeping force who are gonna make human-mutant relations friendly and productive through education, knowledge and pacifism.

[And he rolls his eyes hugely. Bullshit, comes a crystal-clear thought.]

[poweryetunknown]

Yeah no. It doesn't work that way. Not always, at least, and not with so many people so hostile.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Congrats. You just figured out the whole lie this place was built on in the time it took the teachers here to sign their names to it. [He smirks coolly.] Sorry to burst your bubble.

[No he's not.]

[poweryetunknown]

Uh-huh. I just want to get in and out of here with my degree done so I can go to college. And hopefully not get into so many fights that people start complaining to staff about.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Good luck with that. You get a reputation around here and eyes start coming out of the walls. And your own head, considering the Professor.

[And for the first time, he actually grins.]

I don't let it stop me from having fun, though.

[poweryetunknown]

Good. You shouldn't.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Nothing keeps me from having fun.

[He leans back on his elbows, giving the kid a considering look.]

John Allerdyce. Enjoy your first warning, the one about talking to me.

[poweryetunknown]

Neku Sakuraba. And don't worry, there's probably going to do one about me too.

[He rolls his eyes. He doesn't intend on getting in trouble, but he always just... does.]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Neku? What kind of name is that?

[Cultural sensitivity 101.]

[poweryetunknown]

It's Japanese. They used kanji with a weird reading - basically the characters that make up my name aren't usually pronounced 'Neku'.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Wh -

[Never mind.]

They didn't get you all the way from Japan, did they?

[poweryetunknown]

Japanese names get confusing - the short version is that just because you know how someone's name is spelled and what it means doesn't mean you can pronounce it, and just because you can pronounce it doesn't mean you can spell it or know what it means.

And no, but my parents are immigrants, so they're still traditional.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Don't give me the long version. I'll just stick with Neku.

[His gaze slides off to the side at the mention of immigrants. He doesn't want to talk about his family, ever, but -]

Yeah. Australia here, on one side, so there was just the slang to figure out. [Neku might notice that he manages to say it without ever verbalizing ownership of his family. He could be talking about anyone without context.]