State your buisness ,s'il vous plaît.

Nahoko Konishi, SHSL Linguist. Do you require my assistance? If not, kindly leave. I have work to do. [Closed RP Blog for Tripoli Express!] [Status: Alive.]

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Family Values ⚜Nahoko ⚜ Re: Motive ⚜ OPEN

[velvetusagichan]

Echo was taken by surprised at the sudden bluntness of the stranger’s words, making her flinch slightly. When getting urged to speak her mind, Echo quickly blurted out the first thing she could think of.

“I-I was just wondering how you were doing m-miss!”

A distressed expression crossed her face before she shook her head and continued.

“Ah…well I was just thinking that…I don’t think the motive will actually happen…? I mean…Monoshi-san does know a lot about us, but part of me believes that maybe he won’t actually do it?”

Echo trailed off, playing with the stuffed white rabbit’s ears as she gazed to the side where Monoshi was. She then looked up at Nahoko.

“We’ve never met before, have we? I’m Echo Nikos! I’m the Super High School Level Plush Maker. It’s nice to meet you, miss.”

As per usual to with new people, Echo did a small curtsey after her introduction.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Well clearly, not everyone was really thinking about the motive-or it wasn’t on their minds at the exact moment she had chosen to speak with them. As evidenced by the small girl who happened to have been the one who received the most of her ire. Just wondering how she was doing, was it? Was it not clear and plain as day on her expression how she was doing? Her classmates were clearly more than a little...dull. Ah well. Anyway, she might as well respond-she wasn’t so rude as to just ignore her and it was a valid concern after being given such “shocking” news. She was polite as well, which was good.

“I see. Well, aside from being obviously irate with this whole thing, I’m not injured on any spectrum, so I’m fine thank you.”

The tiny girl had continued on, answering her question with the most naive of answers. Was she expecting something else? Not really, but she didn’t exactly expect sometime as innocent as “he wouldn’t really do it, right?” for a response. She raised an eyebrow, clearly disagreeing with her statement before responding in kind.

“I wouldn’t put it past le petit belette [the little weasel] to do it. Whether he is successful in carrying out is a complete other matter entirely and a risky one at that. What would he tell me? That my parents are having a good time living without me? I don’t need to kill anybody to know this. Periculum Maius Praemium [the risk is greater than the reward] and so on and so forth. Of course, he doesn’t need to actually do anything to them. The seed has been planted, and what matters now is that people will think something bad has happened or will happen to their families. It’s only a matter of time before someone follows in Fujimaru-shi’s footsteps.”

She finished her lengthy rebuttal with a shrug and an adjustment of glasses. What else was there to say? She could stand here preaching all day like a misguided priest or she could beging to plan out a survival strategy-just in case. Ah, she hadn’t introduced herself to-who was this? Oh, she was introducting herself for her. A curtsey and another use of the word “miss”. She was raised well. She bowed back to her, her tone less irratable and slightly more warm. Just slighty-she’s still mad, make no mistake.

“We have not met formally, no. I’m sure I’ve seen you around, and we did briefly meet for Momotani-shi’s trial. However, I return your greeting likewise. My name is Konishi Nahoko, Super High School Level Linguist. Again, a pleasure.”

She straightened back up and resumed looking slightly grumpy.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Ch2 thread tracker

Public:

Sumire

Iwane

???

Private:

none yet but I can take as many as I’m given!

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

HIT ME UP DUDES

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Family Values ⚜Nahoko ⚜ Re: Motive ⚜ OPEN

Peace had fallen upon the train after the execution of Endo Fujimaru and though she should have found this a nice reprieve from the tense atmosphere that had befallen then when the first motive had been revealed, she knew this was not the end of their troubles. On her end, she’d tried to find a way out, tried and failed to find people willing to help her, and ultimately she’d given up on the idea of getting everyone out.

Monoshi’s announcement didn’t help her already sour mood. Of course he was back-with the success of a murder and execution, why wouldn’t he be back? She sighed, heading to the karaoke room to see what he wanted. Knowing him, he was going to scare everyone with a motive and then sit back and wait for one of them to crumble and murder again.

Unfortunately-but obviously-,her deduction was right; under a pretense of calm, he’d dangled the possibility of hearing from or about family in front of them and then added a threatening undertone to it to add in that fear factor.

Pathetic.

Almost as soon as he’d stopped talking and gone back to that stupid karaoke machine did she speak, the disgust apparent on her face and in her tone of voice as she spoke to nobody in particular.

“What, that’s all? How cliche. If someone falls for this one, then you may color me surprised and irritated.”

Apparently her words had caught someone’s attention, as her eyes met with those of another. She raised an eyebrow at them, daring them to speak. When they did not speak up fast enough she did it for them. Honestly, was everyoneso slow on the uptake?

“Is there something you need from me? Or perhaps you were unsatisfied with my words just now? Please, do tell. It would do to hear the opinion of a peer now and again-perhaps you may change my way of thinking. So? What’s on your mind?”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Execution ⚜ OPEN ⚜

[bottledferns-deactivated2019010]

Sumire had found herself having little reaction to the events that had occurred at the trial. She found that the execution was just enough, it being the consequence of an unnecessary action that someone had taken. It had been fate, and it’s strings had woven that particular fate for the student that Sumire could hardly remember. Even their face and name escaped her, though she didn’t care enough to even bother to try to remember any details of note. 

If anything like that had happened to her, Sumire supposed that she would be able to shrug it off. It wasn’t like she was personally affected by anything that was happening. The current events remained far away from herself and from her children, and she found that watching everyone else’s reactions to the current events was much more entertaining than reacting by herself. 

Deciding to occupy her time away from other students, and to make good use of it at the same time, Sumire decided to explore the new train rooms. Though she found herself making no use of them, Sumire decided to head to the infirmary for a while. 

After departing from the infirmary, a new book in hand thanks to an unexpected encounter with Masae, Sumire found herself heading to her favorite place within the train: The study. Sumire had always found that studying was always a surefire way for her to find out new information on topics that she had wanted to know more of, and language was no exception. Sumire was no polyglot, but foreign words could be looked up in a dictionary easily enough. 

While entering the study, Sumire closed the door behind her before her eyes scanned the room. It had remained nearly unoccupied, and Sumire found herself quite pleased by that development. If she had to face some sort of a sobbing mess of a student, Sumire found that she would have to grit her teeth and bare whatever she had to listen to with a smile. But, she didn’t at the time, so she found herself searching for books on foreign and dead languages. 

After finding what she had desired, Sumire sat down at a somewhat isolated table, setting out what she had as if she were going to work, but a sound disrupted her work. And it wasn’t just one sound. It was the sound of writing, and the scratching of graphite on paper had begun to bother her. The repetition of the scratching had made her want to deck whoever was writing with a book, though she paused for a moment, before approaching the person who was writing.

“Konishi-san. I observed you were writing? And your topic is…?” 

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Oh great, who was it...? If it was someone trying to find a shoulder to cry on, she would have to find a way to gently but sternly tell them to please calm down and focus on a way out. And by this, she meant she would have to try really hard not to tell them to get off of them and go cry elsewhere because she was obviously busy and honestly had better things to do than deal with teenage hysterics, seriously who-

“Oh. Hello again, Meiji-shi.”

Just Sumire. The tall girl who she had played Cluedo with a while back. She wasn’t much of a conversationalist; spoke when she felt she needed to, and had brought up decent points at the trial. Basically, she was tolerable. And here she was asking her what she was writing about. She ceased writing, but didn’t look up from notes, opting to review them to ensure every last detail was written down. 

“Yes, I was. My topic is of our situation, what has transpired thus far and how to best try to search for a way out. It’s going as well as expected, I suppose. I have many notes but they all may as well be addendum from a journal than a concrete plan of escape. Ah well. Rome was not built in a day, and much like Rome, escaping from this place will not occur within the day. But you aren’t here to listen to this drivel. What of you? Surely you didn’t come here to make idle conversation with whoever happened to be in here.”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Chaotic action is preferable to orderly inaction ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Escaping ⚜ Attn: Otsuka-shi

Inaction kills.

Though many would say otherwise and point out the fates of Nanami and Endo as evidence, she had her own counter-argument: namely, that if they had had simply banded together to at least try and stop this train from running, then perhaps Endou wouldn’t have felt like murder was the only option. Inaction on their part lead to action of a fatal degree and she wasn’t going to allow such an action to occur again.

As they say, if one does not learn from history, then one is doomed to repeat it.

Which is how she came to storm about the train looking for one Iwane Otsuka, SHSL Locomotive Engineer. He was the only one with an advantage going into this, having knowledge of trains that nobody else did. He would have been very helpful in the sadly hypothetical escape from the train. Sadly, he appeared to be one who didn’t help unless asked-why else would he, being someone put in such a tenuous situation, not gladly take it upon himself to free himself from this moving prison?-so that’s what she aimed to do. Although…it was less likeasking and more like demanding.

Compartment after compartment and still no sign of him. Curse him, wherewas he? Irritation rising, she finally opened the door to the kitchen and spotted the starry-themed (and apparently not starry-eyed) conductor. Letting out a huff mixed with relief and exasperation she went right up to him and started right in.

“Hello? You’re Otsuka-shi, correct? I don’t believe we’ve formally met-Konishi Nahoko is my name and my talent is that of the Super High School Level Linguist. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She paused to bow cordially. When she straightened back up, she fixed him with an unamused expression and her words, though polite, were said coolly.

“Might I ask an inquiry? You are the Super High School Level Locomotive Engineer, yes? Pray tell, why have you not made any attempt to override the train and stop it from taking us to wherever Monoshi-shi is making it take us? I would think someone in your position with the knowledge you possess wouldn’t stay in the company of inaction and would have made a move already.”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜...Tekitou janee ka?⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Roommates, Monoka, and their situation ⚜ Attn: Natsuno

This was stupid. So incredibly stupid. 

Did this Monoka woman really expect everyone to be okay with this explanation of how they came to wake up with no recollection of boarding a train, no memory of this field trip, or even the name or a destination?

…Apparently so, as nobody seemed to really oppose her, going off to search the cabins and compartments of the train. Monoka herself seemed to busy herself with other tasks, vanishing as soon as she had appeared.

Good heavens. Well then, perhaps she should occupy herself and do some sleuthing. And by this, she really means doing what everyone else was doing, and exploring every place she could. So off she went.

…And what a weird train it was. No way to tell what company it belonged to, nor a way to even communicate with the outside world. Her phone had gone missing, which bothered her greatly, and it seemed as if there wasn’t a way recover it. After some time, she finished her exploration and returned to her cabin. There was much to write down, and a lot more to try to remember. Opening her notebook she climbed up the bunk bed ladder, effectively claiming it as her own, and started to write down what Monoka had told her, as well as a list of questions to ask her when she crossed paths with her again. She could always call her on the I.D. Card as well. 

The door opened and she looked up to see the girl who had woken up in the same room as her. She must be her roommate…what was her name? Checking the roster on her I.D. Card confirmed it to be Natsuno Okubo, the SHSL…Love Interest. She wasn’t really sure she understood or really cared for her profession, but if she was going to spend the rest of her stay with her, she may as well be polite.

“Hello. You’re Okubo-shi, yes? It’s nice to properly talk to you; our first meeting wasn’t really a meeting at all, was it? More like a quick glimpse and then nothing. Well, we can fix that now. My name is Konishi Nahoko and I suppose I’m your roommate now. I hope we will get along amicably.”

She paused. Was there anything else to say?

“Ah, right. Bed assignment. Did you prefer the top bunk? I merely chose it on a whim-if you desire it, I can move to the lower bunk.”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Execution ⚜ OPEN ⚜

As Endo’s head and body fell to the floor, Nahoko Konishi blinked.

Then blinked again.

Then finally, she looked away from the scene as the tv screen went dark. She had just watched her fellow student get killed in front of her eyes. Not to mention that they were still stuck on this train and anyone could be the next to succumb to paranoia or fear. If she was feeling any sense of it, she managed to hide the majority of it behind looking very annoyed and not saying anything. Not that she’d said anything at the trial anyway; with nothing to contribute, she’d felt it best to keep silent and observe the proceedings in case another incident like this was to occur.

Of course, she was as fearful as the others; after all, death leaves quite an impression on one’s psyche and two deaths in one day leaves an even bigger mark. But she had to strong; crying and being scared wouldn’t help anyone, much less herself. And besides, there had to be someone who would keep their head on during these times, and it didn’t look like many of them would SO she’d gladly be the one to do it. It was with this mindset that she walked back to the elevator and back to her room looking irked and only slightly shocked by everything.

Upon returning to her room, she checked the I.D. Card’s update-nothing stood out as something to investigate, and there was no point in staying in her room so back to the Study she went. Once there, she went right to work. Pulling out her notebook and pencil once more, she sat at the desk provided and began to write. Writing down what had occurred in the past few hours, and including all the recent events that had occurred since Monoshi’s ill-fated arrival. Theories, Clues, the puzzles…anything she’d encountered, heard of from others was written down. The pages stated filling up, the pencil never stopping, the hand never tiring.

So engrossed in her incessant note-taking was she that once again, she failed to notice the presence of another student entering the study.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Ch2 thread tracker

Public:

Sumire

Iwane

Private:

none yet but I can take as many as I’m given!

meme me up fuckers

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Of Riddles, Rhymes and Mind Games⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Monoshi, Monoshi’s Game, Yelena’s Injury ⚜ Closed Reaction⚜

This whole train business was honestly a huge mess. She hadn’t done much in the way of interaction half because she assumed she’d have time to do that when she reached her destination and half because she had no desire to talk to anyone. Her roommate was an odd girl, who believed in the silly notion of fate, so talking to her wasn’t ideal in the slightest.

So when the next announcement came up, she was all too glad to head to the front. Surely that Monoka woman was going to be telling them that they had arrived or would be arriving soon. Of course, she needed to ask her about her missing luggage as well so this was an optimal time.

 She entered and crossed her arms, waiting for her to start talking. 

Monoshi’s entrance wasn’t entirely unexpected as she’d assumed there must be a conductor controlling the train and he must be the conductor. Obviously.So she merely listened…and then he brought up the topic of killing and she immediately felt herself bristle. What kind of terrible joke was he playing at? Monoka also seemed to disagree, but Monoshi had apparently been able to oust her and her authority. What the hell?

One of the girls had brazenly stepped up to defy Monoshi, who was not having it and pushed her down. Another girl defended her and yelled at him and then he’d just…broken her wrist. Just like that. She felt her eyes grow wide and instinctively she moved a little bit away from the scene. What the…

The commotion was over as soon as it started. She stood there in shock, not even trying to go after either Monoshi or Monoka. After a moment, however, she regained herself and frowned at the people remaining. When she spoke, it was completely to herself.

“This is completely illegal. What kind of stupid mind game is he playing at, anyway? Gott, let’s just pray nobody here does anything stupid.”

And with that, she turned heel and left. Thank you for that useless mumbling, Nahoko.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

⚜ chapter 1 thread tracker ⚜

Public:

Private:

none yet!

Sup my dudes, my open will be up tomorrow sorry for that. but if you want to thread smash that mother fcking like 

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Orientation...? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Monoka ⚜ OPEN⚜

[shslharbormaster]

Even if she didn’t think he had been rambling, it was rambling. Nevertheless, it was interesting that she was keeping a record of what Monoka had told them earlier. He simply nodded when she said that all knowledge is important in one way or another. True enough.

However, he found himself a little annoyed that she proceeded to repeat most of what he had just said to her. Of course, she repeated it using more pedantic diction and added an “I was aware” at the beginning. It probably wasn’t what she actually meant, but Tarou interpreted it to mean, “I didn’t know that and I’m going to pretend I did using inflated language to make myself seem smart.” Whatever. She could do that if she wanted to, he really didn’t care.

He was glad that Nahoko had changed the subject, though, because he didn’t want to go on and on about himself. Tarou could tell that she was far from thrilled about their situation, which was entirely understandable. He fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve while he talked.

“It’s inconvenient, to say the least. I had to leave Yokohama to attend Hope’s Peak, but now it seems the start of the school year is being postponed. That means more time away, which means more time I have to spend staying informed through email instead of simply being there. To make matters worse, it seems I’ve misplaced my laptop, though I’m not entirely sure Monoka has anything to do with that.”

“I guess it’s not all bad, though. Looking on the bright side, we’re all going to get to know each other somewhere that isn’t a school. I’m think I once read a study or something that showed kids are happier, or at least more friendly, if they meet for the first time outside of school. That sounds like something the Hope’s Peak higher-ups might invest in a train trip for.”

“Still, don’t see why they couldn’t have just told us beforehand instead of just going, ‘Surprise! You’re on a train, NO QUESTIONS!’”

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Tarou seemed a little more positive about the situation than she did, talking about how even though the situation was inconvenient, at least they might be happier and friendlier. Which was all well and good, but she wasn’t really enrolled in this school to make friends. She was here to ensure her future and further her knowledge; making friends weren’t really on the forefront of her “things to do at this new school” list.

Still, if she was given the chance to do it, she wasn’t really going to say no...and it seemed like she had no other choice in the matter what with this train keeping her from doing much else. So she nodded at his comments, agreeing, even if barely.

“Misplaced your laptop? That’s unfortunate. I don’t think it’s a chance accident however-it seems my cell phone has also vanished and although I have yet to open my luggage, I would presume my own laptop would not be there either. In fact, I would hazard a guess that nobody has a phone or any means to contact anybody other than the people on this train. I could be overthinking it, but you don’t seem the type to lose something like that so casually and neither am I so the theory at least warrants some credibility.”

Way to be positive.

“Hm. You may have a point. It’s not exactly an activity I would willingly participate in, but if someone else benefits from it, then I can’t exactly put it down. Still, it seems to defeat the purpose of this attempt to create happiness amongst the student body if you don’t tell them anything and simply let them be. I’ve seen more confusion than anything positive going around.”

[tripoli-express-blog]

Conludium∫∫ Sumire Meji ∫∫ RE: Start ∫∫ Closed: Nahoko Konishi

[bottledferns-deactivated2019010]

Sumire gave only the smallest, most patient smile that she could muster. In all actuality, she had no idea why she had even bothered to ask the stranger to play with her. She wasn’t good at games at all. She had no idea how to play this…cluedo game, but she had supposed that it was only a  logical puzzle. There were a set amount of suspects, clues, and rooms to do things in, and eventually, she would muster the correct answer to every single one of the questions. 

“Ah, that makes two of us, then? The game did look rather interesting, and you seem like the ah….logical type, no? Thus…it would be logical to want to participate in a game involving logic.” Giving the smallest bow at her own logical speak, and to the stranger, Sumire nodded her head as she continued to hold the box in her hands. Following suit, she followed the stranger to the table, setting down the box.

“Sumire Meji. I’m a biologist, rather, a botanist…more specifically, I’m the Super Highschool Level Terrarium Artisan, but that’s such a verbose and silly sounding talent. I would rather keep it as botanist. I ah, have brought my children with me, but they remain in my room for the moment. And of you?” Sumire, if you keep calling your plants your children, people are going to get the wrong impression. 

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

She seemed nice. And polite as well, if her tone indicated anything. Smart as well, since she’d correctly insinuated that she, being the logical type, would want to play a game including logistics. Which was true.

“That is correct, yes. A game of logistics is essentially more appealing than a game of, say, luck. The chances to succeed are higher, and you rely on your own knowledge.”

The girl set down the box, and Nahoko began to set up the board and sort the pieces. She’d said she didn’t really know how to play, so she wouldn’t know how to set it up correctly. That was fine, not everyone had the time for such trivialities such as board games anyway.

In the meantime, she kept talking, giving her her name and profession...and did she say children? She must be one of the people who refer to loved pets and objects and such as their own. Nahoko herself couldn’t understand it, but she wasn’t going to judge how some people coped.

“ It is nice to meet you, Meiji-shi. My name is Konishi Nahoko and I am the Super High School Linguist. I’ve seen your works quite a lot-they show up in many of the museums I frequent. It’s nice to meet the person behind them.”

She finished shuffling all the sets of cards and then went to examine the pieces. My, but there were a lot...there seemed to be about 27 pieces. It was a bit excessive....or were Cluedo sets always this extensive? Anyway, she rummaged through them to pick the piece that would serve as her knight and champion in this game of logistics. After rejecting and subsequently flicking away the cyan, azure and brunette pieces, she smiled and settle for a pretty peach colored one. 

“The board is set up now, Meiji-shi. You may pick the piece you mean to represent yourself as. Each piece has it’s own little...backstory and character, though it really doesn’t have anything to do with the game or plot; I think it’s there for exposition and worldbuilding. For example, I’ve gone with Ms. Peach. She’s sort of a lucky charm of mine. I doubt my superstitions will affect your choice, of course.”

She smiled and placed the piece-Ms, Peach-onto the start section of the game board. Game on, Meiji-shi.

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Orientation...? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Monoka ⚜ OPEN⚜

[shslharbormaster]

Her Japanese was every bit as perfect as her French was, so not having to speak in French relaxed Tarou instantly. He reached up to brush some hair out of his face before replying.

“Oh, good. I was worried that French was your native language, because it sounded so perfect and natural when you spoke. Figured it would be better to reply in what very little French I knew in case it was your only language. Guess I just embarrassed myself making an assumption, though.”

Then she introduced herself as Nahoko Konishi, and Tarou shook her hand. Nevertheless, he frowned a bit when she started talking about him. Tarou turned his side to her, looking towards the bookshelf and thinking before he replied.

“So you’ve heard of me, how flattering. Well, you probably know about me in a general sense, since the reporters handled the situation fairly… faithfully, I suppose you could say? I had been working with my father at the harbor for years, and when he died; there was no time to hire a whole new harbormaster before a large number of cargo ships would be coming in, so I stepped up and took his place.”

“The main problem with the reporters stories’ was that they exaggerated and made it out to be a bigger deal than it really was. They all made it sound like a fifteen year old kid was going to be in control of the entire port. That’s not how the harbor works. A harbormaster is just one of many cogs in a machine making the port run smoothly; maybe he’s a slightly more important cog, but he’s not the center of everything.“

“Plus, I had a lot of help in those early days. Almost all the regulars at the port knew my father and I, and when he died, so many of them offered their support. They picked up the slack. I-”

Tarou stopped, then turned back to Nahoko and let out a long sigh.

“Sorry, I may have been rambling there. I didn’t mean to keep you from whatever you were writing.”

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

He relaxed upon hearing her speak and began to explain himself. He’d been considerate of her, despite his little knowledge of it. She supposed it was a nice gesture...even if it had been her fault in the first place. Well, that was behind them now.

“I suppose you did, though the intent behind it was appreciated nevertheless. I’m sorry if I made this first meeting between us less than ideal.”

He shook her hand before frowning at the mention of his reputation. He’d thought for a bit before explaining himself and telling her that the reporters were exaggerating everything. Which is sort of what they tend to do. Nevertheless, she stood to gain new perspective and information about the situation so she listened attentively until he cut himself off and apologized for disturbing her.

“It’s not a problem. I wasn’t writing down anything groundbreaking, anyway. I was merely keeping record of what Monoka-shi was telling us as well as ensuring that I have the necessary information ready to present to the administration of Hope’s Peak Academy for this farce. I don’t think you were...rambling, as you put it. All knowledge is important knowledge one way or another, after all. You’ve shed some more light on that particular matter, and I suppose I must thank you for it. I was aware that the reporters were wrong to claim that an entire harbor was imposed on one so young. Naturally if a child takes over their occupation, they would not be left unaided-especially when said occupation concerns the entire importing and exporting trade of Yokohama.”

Was she the one rambling now? Probably, but she was just making sure she had all the new information tucked away in her mind.

“But surely you have heard this far too many times to count. You don’t need another repetition. So onto other matters...what might you think of this entire situation?” 

[tripoli-express-blog]

Conludium∫∫ Sumire Meji ∫∫ RE: Start ∫∫ Closed: Nahoko Konishi

Sumire wasn’t generally the type of person whom wasted time playing games with whatever freetime she had to use to work. That’s why when she had wandered into the game room of all places, as opposed to the study, where she had actually wanted to go, she had almost returned to where she had come from. However, the presence of another had caused her to stay. Had there been another, she found that she would have been unable to leave because of the awkwardness of stepping into another room to do nothing, and step out again. She had hoped that there wouldn’t have been another person to restrain her, though she had found herself mistaken because she found herself in possibly the most popular room for teenagers.

The game room.

Sumire had taken a few light steps into the room, a scowl drawn onto her face as she surveyed her surroundings. She found little here entertaining for a mind such as her own, that she had trained to be the best with piles of books and various research journals. So, why was she forced to stand in such a…waste of time and space? Eyes drifting across various games to play, or available to play had she the opportunity, Sumire’s eyes landed on a box for the popular game cluedo. Out of all the games here, she found it the most logical, and in turn the most entertaining. Withdrawing the box from the shelve, she addressed the only other person in the room.

“Perdon, would you mind a game with me?” She asked, hoping for an answer, or things would become rather awkward very quickly.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Games, huh?

Truth be told, they didn’t terribly interest her much. She was always busy with something or another so she never had time to just relax and play board games. Besides, when she did have the luxury of freedom, she usually just read in her room while listening to music. It was easy, tranquil...and more importantly, isolated.

That being said, she liked to watch the mechanics of how game were played. After all, once you have the mechanics memorized, then there’s little chance of failure and success is imminent. It’s not very good knowledge for anything in life but no knowledge is useless knowledge after all. That was the only reason she even paid board games the slightest hint of interest.

...And because truth be told, she had a slight competitive streak.

Anyway, she was just checking out all the rooms this train had to offer. Which included this one. Not one she’d visit often. She was thinking over what other locations to check when someone entered the room. Oh, another student. She ignored them; they were most likely doing what she was doing and taking in all the train had to offer. They would either leave, or they would stay and mark her cue to leave. It didn’t bother her one way or another.

That was when the small voice piped up. She turned, eyebrow raised to see a taller girl with a Cluedo box in her hand and a game invitation on her lips. Well then. She must be one of the friendly sorts.She didn’t really have that many rooms left to check and establishing cordial relations with her fellow classmates was always a good idea, so surely she could spare some time.

“I wouldn’t, no. I must admit, I haven’t played Cluedo recently. But I am sure I’ll be able to get the hang of it fairly soon.”

She went to one of the nearby tables and sat down.

“Before we play, I’d like to get to know the name of the person I’m playing against. Pray tell, what is it, and what did you get into Hope’s Peak Academy for?”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Orientation...? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Monoka ⚜ OPEN⚜

[shslharbormaster]

Tarou continued his exploration of the train with a stop at what his ID’s map called the Study. He opened the door quickly and quietly, he didn’t want to make too much noise in a room specifically meant for peace and quiet. He shut the door with equally excessive care, and when he took a look around the room the sheer volume of… well, volumes that coated the bookshelves surprised him.

From its name, Tarou had expected a much smaller room, maybe half this size, with, say… four bookshelves maximum? In other words, something other than a small library. Taking a few steps inside, he noticed one of his classmates, a young girl, seated in one of the chairs and clearly intensely focused on whatever she was writing. Studious type, eh? Guess that’s why she was in the Study, he thought. God Tarou, that wasn’t funny, that’s not even how puns work.

Not wanting to disturb her but at the same time wanting to begin introductions sooner rather than later, he began to comb through the nearest bookshelf, working his way down towards her chair while skimming random books’ spines until he was standing practically right next to her. He continued reading titles when she raised her head, but she said nothing. Quiet stretched on for a slightly longer than it should have when Tarou decided to open his mouth.

“Oh, h-”

The instant Tarou opened his mouth, she spoke, and a torrent of words he failed to follow cut him off. Sounded like.. was that French? Crap. It was, and though Tarou knew some common phrases (and some choice French curses from this one angry yacht owner once) he didn’t catch all of what she had said. He caught “good afternoon,” something about “enter any?,” and “your name.”

Speaking of, was she French? She looked Japanese, but maybe she was raised outside Japan. After a brief pause he made the poor decision to try to respond in French instead of Japanese, just in case, so he spoke with a terribly stilted accent and a pained grimace on his face.

“Um. Bonjour. Mon nom… est Akiyama. Je ne… parle pas francais?” (Hello. My name is Akiyama. I do not speak French?)

That was probably wrong. Oh no, he’s gone and made a fool of himself now, he thought. He then switched back to Japanese:

“Er, do you maybe speak Japanese?”

Points for trying, Tarou.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

It took a moment for her to realize what language she’d replied in, but when it set in, her eyes widened a little in surprise. Oh dear, she was still in the mindset of being in Paris, wasn’t she. After all, she’d just come from a job in Paris transcribing records, so her slip up could be excused. However, she didn’t want to be seen as someone who slipped up or was wrong.

She was about to apologize-in Japanese this time-when the stranger spoke back-and in French. Poorly accented French, mind you, but French all the same. He was clearly making an effort, to which she had to smile a bit. Of course, after his attempt, he switched back to Japanese. She waited until he was done speaking before speaking up herself, thankfully in Japanese this time.

“Yes I do. It’s my native tongue, actually. I’m sorry I didn’t speak it before, I’d been so accustomed to speaking French that I forgot myself. My apologies.”

She closed her notebook and placed it on her lap before extending a hand out to Tarou. She didn’t make a move to get up, however. She assumed he wanted to introduce himself and then move on with other business, and if he was going to do that, then she saw no need to needlessly get up.

“My name is Konishi Nahoko. It’s nice to meet you, Akiyama-shi. I have heard a fair bit about your exploits in Yokoyama, though I admit I only know what the reporters have said, so if anything is inaccurate then please feel free to correct me.”

[tripoli-express-blog]

⚜ Orientation...? ⚜ Nahoko ⚜ Re: Monoka ⚜ OPEN⚜

As far as orientations went, this one was perhaps the most annoying. Sure, she’d been through worse ones-one involved an obstacle course, scavenger hunt in a dark and damp dungeon and no less than three encrypted riddles to be solved-but at least she’d been aware of how she’d gotten to it.

Rising to her feet, her head ached like the devil. What was going on? She rarely got headaches and she most certainly did not remember having one when she’d gone through the gates of Hope’s Peak Academy. Actually…that was all she remembered. And that was troubling; she had a rather impressive memory, if she was allowed to toot her own horn and to not be able to recall anything between going through the gates and waking up here was…well, close to impossible. She decided to put the matter of her lost memory behind her for the time being and find out where she was.

It only took a second to recognize the compartment of a train. Wonderful. And it was moving as well. She was being taken somewhere without her knowledge or consent. What on earth was Hope’s Peak Academy even thinking? She huffed a little, clearly annoyed with this entire situation.

Turning to further take in her surroundings, she was startled to see another girl. She seemed to be asleep, much like how Nahoko herself must have been only mere seconds ago. She raised an eyebrow. Who was this…?

Her musings stopped as soon as the loud thumps were heard. What on earth was happening? Who-or what-was that? The blare of static, along with the timid voice that followed seemed to answer her, telling her to head for some room down the hallway. The other girl had been woken up by the static, so Nahoko wasted no time in leaving the room and heading for her destination. 

It wasn’t long until she and countless other students-some she recognized as being on the roster for this year’s class-were all crammed into the designated room and listening to the pinkhaired girl speak. Monoka, she’d said her name was. Nahoko didn’t see her name in any records or forums at all…was she new? She must be. Only a new employee would have thought placing an entire class in a train without telling them was a good idea. She frowned. She would have some harsh words for whomever trained her when they returned.

For now though, she listened intently to what she was saying. A trip? On the first day of school? Hope’s Peak Academy must be rather relaxed if they think that they could afford a field trip on the first day of school…or perhaps it was an orientation trip? That would be more satisfactory of an explanation, and it would surely be educational as well. She would have to take this Monoka’s word for it. For now, anyway. Speaking of, she was handing something out to everyone. A…card?

Monoka explained it was an I.D. Card and that it had a roster list, a small map of the train, and a communication system. Excellent. This would surely come in handy. It seems Hope’s Peak Academy wasn’t completely without good things to come after all. She smiled thinly, before leaving the room. As much as she wanted to question Monoka, the sole authority figure here, she had disappeared without a trace. She did say she could be contacted from the I.D. Card, so she could question her at a later date. For now, she should get to know her surroundings better.

After making a quick trip throughout all the cabins and seeing all the amenities the train had to offer, she decided to go to the study cabin and review everything she had learnt so far. Off she went, stride never faltering or slowing down. As she entered the cabin, she went to the nearest chair, rummaged around in her bag, brought out her trusty notebook and a pencil and began writing down what Monoka had told them, where she was and who she was with. Occasionally, she used to I.D. Card to write down the rules as well as write down the names and talents of the students, who she had now determined as her fellow classmates.

So engrossed in her meticulous note-taking was she, that she failed to hear another person entering the cabin. It was only until they approached her that she heard their footsteps, and raised her head. She spent a brief moment appraising them, going over what she knew about them in her mind. When she finally spoke, it was with a calm demeanor and voice.

“Bonne après-midi. Je suis désolé de ne pas entendu entrer tout à l'heure. Puis-je vous demander votre nom? (Good afternoon. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you come in just now. Might I ask you for your name?)”

…And a different language.

[ultimatelinguist-blog]

Thread Tracker for Prologue!

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I’m pretty open, so hmu or like this post and let’s start getting to know e/o before the bodies hit the F L O O R