Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 1:34:43 GMT -5
"There must be some mistake..."
For a moment, in the midst of his frustration, James completely forgot that he was trying to be invisible. Studying wasn't on his very short list of strong suits, though to his credit he was giving it an honest attempt. He had found a quiet corner in the back of the library, abandoned his music so that he could completely concentrate on the words he was supposed to be reading, and he had even worn his glasses. (With the idea firmly planted in his mind that no one would possibly find him.) But three hours of reading up on the history of Shibusen and a guide to Soul Perception later and he was still just as lost as when he started. He was actually starting to think that his mom and dad had been lying to him all this time and that he wasn't really a Meister and that he was right when he first told them that he didn't belong here.
With a heavy sigh, he let his head fall onto the top of his table. "Maybe I'm just stupid," he grumbled into the wooden surface. Though, he'd rather think that he was just a normal person who had been sent off to this school. At least then he could justify not understanding any of the words laid out before him. But if he admitted that he was actually stupid, then there was no hope for him after all.
He sat up again, glaring at the heavy book he had spent the last hour and a half on and slamming it shut. It was then shoved away, as though it had personally offended him. He needed a nap, it was finally decided, though James couldn't be sure that he'd actually get any rest. His eyes hurt, and begged him for sleep. But his mind kept racing, trying to fill in the gaps his parents had left when teaching him about his new identity. Finally he gave up on both plights, and instead decided to stuff his face in gummy bears.
The world kept turning and things always seemed to change, but gummy bears at least always stayed the same.
...he literally just thought that. He forced a laugh, to try and convince himself that this was all a joke.
His fingers pushed past his glasses to rub at his eye, a quiet yawn slipping from his mouth. He really hadn't been sleeping well lately, he idly mused. Probably because his activity level had gone down considerably. Perhaps he should consider jogging, or something.
...nah.
|
|
|
Post by Jin-Eun Song on Aug 21, 2014 15:52:30 GMT -5
Studying was what Jin-Eun was supposed to be doing. As a NOT student he needed to learn, and as a NOT student with zero fighting capability outside of being fast with quick reflexes, he definitely needed to get a handle on things. There was so much for him to learn he was uncertain as to where he should even start. Should he start with looking up fighting style? Should he ask another student or maybe a teacher to maybe instruct him? Should he read up on Weapons and try to work on his partial so he had something other than a peg leg to fight with? Granted he didn’t mind the peg leg, but pirate references weren’t exactly helpful in combat. In the end Jin-Eun had trailed through the rows of shelves full of books of just about anything from strategy to combat to Weapon history to resonance pointers, the latter being a topic he was so far away from he didn’t dare glance further than the title. He was thinking too much again. When he thought too much he became indecisive, and it wasn’t helping him in his goals of reading up on topics to help him progress in the slightest. He would move up from the NOT class one day, hopefully, and he needed to be ready for when that happened. But that apparently wasn’t going to happen today as Jin-Eun had let himself be dragged away from anything remotely related to schoolwork and into the section of the library filled to the brim with horror novels just begging to be read. When in doubt, procrastinate, even if Jin-Eun knew full well that it was a terrible habit he needed to shake himself out of. He’d grown terrible about it during his year off before he started attending the school while he adjusted after the move. The only area he was always caught up in was when he was working with his father in the family mortuary. Or the funeral home. Or the morgue. Anything to do with being trained to take on the family business as a mortician and medical examiner one day, he never put off. Whether it was the fact that he couldn’t decide where to start studying or that he was just discouraged by his own current ineptitude at anything relating to what he would need to be capable of in the future he didn’t know. What Jin-Eun did know was that the book he’d picked up was definitely coming home with him. A timeline of a serial killer that included the development of modern forensics just to catch him? He had to read it. The compulsion was too great, but as he turned to continue browsing the other shelves for more blood and mystery, the sound of a book being slammed shut caught his attention. Or maybe someone had dropped it. Jin-Eun was curious enough to seek out the source. Jin-Eun stepped quietly out of the rows and glanced around. Hazel eyes landed on another student, two books of substantial size laid out in front of him, though both were closed. Jin-Eun wasn’t close enough to spot the titles. Judging by the look on the boy’s face that was seated at the table, the words were getting to him. The poor thing looked awfully tired. Jin-Eun could relate in a way. While he didn’t approach him, he did move to where he would be visible as not to startle him. He freely let concern appear in his features as well as in how softly he usually spoke. “Are you alright?” He was an older brother. Worrying came naturally, even over strangers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 10:18:02 GMT -5
It was soft, but there was a voice and the very first thing James did was rip his glasses off his face, wincing only slightly at the actually rather painful way they cut across his nose. It was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he looked up at the person who had approached, vaguely wondering how long he had been there. The boy, presumably another student, looked extremely concerned and James felt a knot form in his stomach. Had he bothered him? The poor guy was probably just trying to study, and he was being loud. "I'm o-okay, s-sorry!" he put the words out a little too quickly, stumbling over them. The last thing he expected today was a social confrontation.
He stood up clumsily, though he wasn't really sure why he did so. He just felt kind of awkward, sitting down while the other was standing. "Did I bother you?" This sentence flowed a bit more smoothly, and he could even bring himself to add on a much lighter-toned "Aah, these books were really kicking my ass." And while that was true, he didn't know why he felt the need to try and justify his loud behavior and thus felt a little embarrassed.
Even though James insisted that this stranger was bothered by what he had done, the boy didn't actually look angry or anything. In fact, it was more like he was genuinely worried about James himself, and that was a weird thing to think about. He wasn't used to being on this end of the worry; normally, he was too busy worrying over everyone else. It was a nice little wake-up call, though. He must have been so bad off that even a stranger noticed, so he needed to try and get his life together.
After a brief pause, James found himself sitting down once more and he could actually feel the awkward clouding up the room. In an attempt to be proactive in the art of communicating with people, he moved the heavy books from their spots on the table and stacked them neatly beside him, glancing toward the empty chair across the table in an uncharacteristic and probably very poorly executed invitation to the kind looking boy.
|
|
|
Post by Jin-Eun Song on Aug 25, 2014 15:50:13 GMT -5
Jin-Eun hadn’t expected such a dramatic reaction. The boy whipped off his glasses like they burned him almost. A small dash of confusion mixed in with the concern present in the look he gave the boy. Of course he heard the other’s answer, but with a display like that Jin-Eun was hardly convinced. “I see,” he said with a bit of doubt in his voice. Nevertheless, he adopted the serene smile he usually wore and held up a hand in response to the apology. “No need to apologize. If anything I should say sorry for startling you. I didn’t intend to do so.”
And still continuing to appear anything but okay, or at least as far as Jin-Eun could tell. The other boy truly seemed uncertain as to just what he was doing. Jin-Eun felt sorry for him. Did I really startle him that much? Oh, but perhaps that was it. He was worried if he’d bother him somehow. Jin-Eun shook his head gently. “Not at all. I wasn’t really in a state where I could be disturbed. I merely heard a book slam shut and wondered if something unfortunate had happened.” And he was glad nothing had actually happened. To be completely honest he was worried maybe a book had slam on its way down to falling on someone. Thankfully it seemed to just be another frustrated student, or maybe nervous was a better word.
Glancing between the heavy books and the boy at the table, he said something that clarified the situation. He’d been studying. Exactly what Jin-Eun was supposed to be doing. A small seed of guilt rooted itself in his stomach, but it didn’t last long. Yes, he hadn’t gotten anything done, but he had found another book that seemed like it would be well worth his time. The draw of horror would always be greater than the draw of sitting and reading book after book, not that Jin-Eun wouldn’t have to find a way to balance the two at some point. At this rate, he would never get anywhere.
In the small bit of silence that feel over them, Jin-Eun chanced moving closer if only in hoping that maybe having him not be so far away would bring some sort of comfort. He noted the other boy’s glance but whether it was an invitation or just a way of avoiding eye contact was unknown to him. Taking the seat opposite him, Jin-Eun offered another smile, though this one proved more sympathetic, small though the gesture was. “I can definitely understand that,” he offered in a comforting tone, “I came here to get some studying in myself but I couldn’t decide where to start so…” He appeared a bit bashful as he set the book he’d been holding on the table, granted he placed it face down with the spine facing towards him. With a title like The Killer of Little Shepherds, one could never be too sure how people would react.
“Well, I got distracted and ended up searching for new books to take home instead,” he finally finished after a moment. Turning his attention back to the boy in front of him for a moment, he then looked to the tome-like books now neatly stacked one on top of the other, tilting his head very slightly. “May I ask what you were studying?”
|
|
|
Post by Sebastian Clarke on Aug 25, 2014 19:50:07 GMT -5
Another day, another boring one at that, at least that's how Sebastian felt since nothing really excited him at Shibusen, nothing really jumped out to grab his attention. Sebastian felt like most of the basic classes were beneath him, after all he excelled in learning and reading, not to mention being surrounded by young meisters and weapons all day, "enemies to the witches" something his mother taught him. Yet he had no real quarrel with any of them, as long as they don't mess with or Niina, ESPECIALLY Niina he'd couldn't care less that he was near them. But out of all of that there was one place that you could almost always find Sebastian, the library.
Sebastian had some downtime as he waited for Niina to finish whatever it is she was off doing so they could go home, so he figured he would go read yet another book. The library was like a paradise to all those who loved to read, and this was one place where Sebastian would almost feel real joy just by being there. He could spends hours, and I mean HOURS just reading all the book. It was the perfect place for someone like him, being left alone without having to do much interaction with anyone, he can be his real self.
On this particular day in the library, instead of grabbing some random book he was set on a certain book. A book about some of the witches that Shibusen knows about and some that were defeated. He was more interested in the ones that were known, curious to see if his own mother was in it, after all Shibusen classes talk about how witches are evil and could destroy the world, so he wanted to see how his own mother was viewed by the school. After a few minutes he finally found the book he was looking for. He flipped through the pages hoping to get a glimpse of his mother, but there was nothing.
Looking at one of the pages about a witch he read up all the things she did, plus how powerful she was and how a team from Shibusen took her down. "Really now?" he said to himself quietly. He looked around the room at the some the students there, and his attention was drawn to one in particular, a boy with glasses sitting at a table what looked like he was trying to study but was failing at. "Someone like him is going to take a down a witch?" he whispered to himself.
He looked back at his book and closed it, "that's simple absurd" he continued to whisper to himself.
As he held the book to the side of him, he looked back at the boy trying to study, now there was another with him, the two looked as if they were having a conversation with each other. Sebastian was at a distance where he wasn't able to hear them well. After all it was a library so almost all talking was super low. For some odd reason his curious mind pushed him to find out what they were saying. With his book in hand he began to walk over in hopes to catch a glimpse of the conversation without drawing attention to himself.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2014 13:31:47 GMT -5
A bumbling Joanna was walking through the library. She was carrying a heavy-looking stack of hardcover books with ease. She was actually here to study today, partly because there was an exam next week and mostly because she wanted to find the tools which would help her unlock another valuable fighting skill. As her eyes were searching for the perfect spot, they distracted her by fixating themselves upon a half-eaten bag of gummy bears. "I wonder if he'll share the rest," she looked up to the bag's owner. A tired looking kid with black hair and glasses, or was it the one standing up in front of him? She couldn't tell who the owner of the gummy bears was, but they both looked nice enough to share with her. Besides they seemed like they we're doing more talking then studying, which is exactly how Jo liked her studying.
She closed her eyes and smiled for the briefest second, "I hope he has some green ones left, the green ones are my fa-" but it was long enough for her to bump into somebody. She basically walked straight into this kid's shoulder, and the surprise collision left her pile of books scattered on the floor. "I'm so sorry!" She was blushing from embarrassment. She looked up, and met a pair of grey eyes with unkempt blonde hair, but she knew his tricks. He forgot to brush his hair on purpose, the bedhead look. Joanna already mastered that one. "Your hair needs some work, or not-work...," she was quite vibrant now. "Hi, I'm Joanna! I'm sorry I walked into your upper arm," Jo outstretched a finger and poked his muscles. "Did you drop any books? I'll pick them up!" She jolted to the floor and began stacking books into her arms. She looked back up to him again, "What's your name?" He seemed flustered. She went back to the books. "Maybe it's the fact you rammed yourself into him," she was talking to herself. "Oops," upon noticing she was thinking aloud, she sprung up.
"Here," she was holding her stack of books in her left arm, and her right arm was holding a lone book in hand, which she was directing at the boy. "This one wasn't mine, it must of been yours. I'm sorry again, it's just..." she halted for a moment to look at see if the boys were still at the table. They we're, "score! They have gummy bears. I wanted to go sit with them so I could eat some." Joanna was looking at the boy, but smiling because of the thought of gummy bears, waiting for him to retrieve the book out of her hand so she could continue making her way over to the table. Hopefully, her introduction to them would be a bit more... not weird.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2014 23:05:10 GMT -5
Well, the other kid thinking that he had been startled was better than him realizing that James was just socially stupid. Well, maybe there was a dash of startled in there as well, but it wasn't like James had any plans on revealing that information. "No, no...it's all good," he managed to get out, hoping he didn't sound half as embarrassed as he truly was. The kid was just worried because he heard a book slam, and James was suddenly considering bashing his own brains in with the heavy volume. That'd be a better use for the book than what he was trying to get out of it.
The struggle over studying was something that all students could relate to, he decided, and he was a little relieved to hear of the other's failed attempts as well. Though, he was almost positive that this one's problem was probably getting focused, and that if he actually read these books then he'd understand them fairly well. But he didn't dwell on that thought and put on an easy-going smile, feeling much more at ease now that the other boy was sitting. "I feel ya..." he muttered, more out of understanding than actually sharing that he had the same problem. He had no problem finding where to start. He just got lost along the way. He was a little curious about the book that the boy had put down, though he didn't ask. If anything, he knew how to spot when someone was trying to hide something. And he wasn't one to pry.
His own studies were questioned, and James put his hand on the top of his two-book pile. "Just some basic stuff...my parents really suck at explaining things, so I decided to read up on some history." It was actually really interesting, because it was a little different from what he studied at normal school. But it was still history. so he couldn't help but be a little bored with it. "Have you-" he cut himself off at the commotion that was going on nearby, turning his head to see another pair of people.
It seemed a girl had run into another boy, and James had started to move to go help her up. She was quick, though, and had gathered all of her things and even what looked like some belongings of the other boy. He couldn't quite hear everything that she said, but he swore he heard something about gummy bears. He gave a little sigh, silently wishing his favorite snack farewell.
|
|
|
Post by Jin-Eun Song on Sept 2, 2014 1:58:26 GMT -5
Study troubles were nothing new to any student at Shibusen, but it still felt nice to find companionship within such difficulties. It seemed the boy across from him felt about as hopeless as Jin-Eun did. Granted, that hopelessness was also accompanied by muted giddiness. He hadn’t gotten a moment of studying in or even so much as cracked a book related to schoolwork, but at least he’d found a new tale of bloody forensics to read up on. Jin-Eun knew he would be kicking himself later for procrastinating so badly, but he could always study after he’d finished the book.
So he told himself knowing full well it would start snowing before that happened.
Comradery was joined by relief. The boy didn’t seem quite as nervous as he had before, which was nice. Whether it was the closer proximity or the shared struggle of being a student that calmed him, Jin-Eun didn’t know. All he knew that the smile was a welcome site on the boy’s face in comparison to how he’d looked before. He may have considered himself to be biased if it weren’t for how worried he’d actually been. After all, slamming books usually meant something bad. Or frustrating. Or both. He’d heard medical texts and records aggressively shut and even shoved off of desks in exasperation almost daily in the morgue. Experience had made him worry, but thankfully it was unneeded.
And spotty descriptions was what landed the boy in the library apparently. Jin-Eun couldn’t quite wrap his head around how any parent who shared abilities with their child would do a poor job of offering explanations. It grew more difficult when he threw in the fact that said child would technically be fighting monsters as well and that a lack of information would lead to nothing but bad in that category. But he told himself he shouldn’t judge, there had to be a reason. Jin-Eun didn’t really know what to say, but he offered a look of gentle sympathy regardless as he folded his hands atop the table. “I’m sorry to hear that. Have the books helped any, at least?” It was the only thing Jin-Eun could think to ask. In truth, his parents had been vague when he’d first shown his Weapon blood, but that was because he had opted not to attend Shibusen given how busy he’d been at the time. But after all the drama that ended those busy years and the move to Death City they had gone more in depth, both to distract him and to inform him.
Whatever question the boy had for him was put on hold. Jin-Eun’s attention had been focused on the other boy, not that he didn’t recognize the sound of hurried conversation and objects hitting the floor when the other turned his head. Jin-Eun turned as well to catch sight of a girl and another boy; the former appearing to have run into the latter. The other boy made to stand, likely to offer help, but it seemed she was fine. Jin-Eun’s focus really wasn’t on them, though. His concern would have been greater if they didn’t actively seem perfectly fine. Something new and unexpected, but his curiosity as to what was being said lingered. While he was still turned towards the two fumbling around with their books and speaking of gummy bears, Jin-Eun glanced towards the boy across from him. “You were saying?”
|
|
|
Post by Tally Hunter on Nov 14, 2014 21:12:34 GMT -5
A stack of books with legs wandered towards the assembled group, staggering slightly to either side. The sounds of effort could be barely heard from behind the stack and the stack rotated slightly, showing who the legs belonged to. It was a young looking girl, her hazel eyes wide as she pleaded with the books not to fall. She was really short, her frame small to match. The stack in her shaking arms was practically as tall as she was. Her red panda hood was lying around her shoulders, showing off a mess of dark blue hair that was sticking up at odd angles. It was made so messy from being under that hood all day. A thick, felt, red panda tail was sewn to the bottom of her hoodie, which waved side to side as she staggered around with the books. Another factor that didn't help her balance was the black sleeves of her hoodie, so long that they left only her fingers showing. She turned completely to walk backwards towards the group, showing a dark pink heart on the back of her baggy hoodie.
"Whoa, careful, books. Don't fall on me please," she quietly pleaded as her stack threatened to topple any second. Which they did as her foot caught the edge of a bookshelf. "Oof!" She toppled over, her books loudly thumping to the ground. A couple fell open, showing off the pages of content. Some had detailed drawings of, of course, red pandas, while others had pictures of kishin and pure souls. The girl herself lay under the main stack of books, her tail poking out from under a book titled "Know Your Soul". She let out a groan. "I toooold you not to fall on me!"
|
|