+1

[secondwitch]

Who: Zrael and their newbie
Where: Zrael dorm
When: 524


[good morning, Zrael. the doors, etc, are locked.

your newbie, a boy dressed in a plain nightgown, can be found at the television, reading something on his cellphone while inputting his position color.]

Comments

[sangreine]

[ Aliza had been playing her violin in the common room and pauses when the stranger comes out. She'd been about to say something, but then he watched him start setting up to put in his position. Someone used to tech, then. ]

[ Still carrying her violin, she wanders over. ]

Seems like you've got step one handled.

[secondwitch]

[he's definitely operating the cell phone like he's used to it. the television not quite so used to it.]

I'll be done soon. [pleasant but cool.]

[sangreine]

[ hmm ]

You don't have any questions? I'll help you however I can. That's what we're here for.

[secondwitch]

I've read what's on here. [holds up phone that has...several windows open in split-screen.] It seems...incomplete?

[sangreine]

Yeah, they do that.

I'm Alizarin. Call me Aliza. Do you remember your name or do you need something to be called? Once we get that settled, if you tell me what you've found out I can fill in the blanks.

spoilers for g-witch 5-6

[secondwitch]

[it's a long moment before he answers. but before he does, he starts glowing faintly, fainter than in the icon, and in the nightgown it's visible like so except that instead of the red, it's a grayish yellow-green.]

...I remember. But I have no name of my own.

[sangreine]

[ Noting that, but she doesn't react. So many pieces of her glow, and this isn't the first person she's met with a sense of self that is -- odd. ]

We can go with whatever people called you, or whatever you called yourself. Or we can come up with something new. It's really whatever you're most comfortable with.

I didn't remember my name, so I was named Alizarin because of my red eyes. For example.

[secondwitch]

[gradually, the glow fades entirely. he doesn't say anything, considering.]

...Something else. Something new.

[sangreine]

[ People who don't talk much are hard mode for her but she will try her best! ]

Dia usually comes up with the best names, but... let's see. You have green eyes, so there's some options there... Celadon, Oran, Silas, Verte. Malachite, like the mineral, if you want something longer. Or if you tell me what position color you chose, I could try something there.

[ She could ask him for some fact about himself but that seems like it might be pulling teeth ]

I don't know, I'm bad at this. If you hate them, it's fine.

[secondwitch]

[someone with more emotional expression range might have laughed, bitterly, at the names of precious stones being applied to him. he briefly glows that yellow-green again, but it fades pretty quickly.]

Seafoam green was what I chose.

[sangreine]

[ Smiling a bit ] I guess that's not much help, color-wise.

But the sea is my favorite place, so I could try some names related to that, if you like. I'm not much for creativity, but I know a lot about language.

...Or, you could tell me something about yourself.

[secondwitch]

[dark purple and yellow-green glow.] ...there's nothing worth telling.

[another, long moment, before the glow fades.]

[sangreine]

It's all right. My past sucks too. I wish I never bought any of those memories.

-- Anyway. Names of the sea, then. Naia actually means seafoam. Kallan, flowing water. Aerwyn, friend of the sea. Umiko, which means person of the sea, I think? Japanese is newer to me.

Just stop me if these are awful and we can move on to talking about this place, which I'll be much better at. Aradia will give you a much better name, and a good meal if you want it.

[secondwitch]

...tell me about this place.

[sangreine]

[ laughing a bit before she can stop herself ] Sorry, this place isn't funny at all. But that line was.

[ ahem ] You'll have to tell me what you've read so I don't repeat it. I never actually went through what's on the phone.

[secondwitch]

It said we are 'idols'. And mentioned competitions against other 'units.'

[sangreine]

That's right. Idols as in TV stars. [ He can use a smartphone so she's assuming she doesn't have to explain television. ] If you go outside the dorm, cameras record everything. A bunch of demons with really questionable taste watch what we do.

This unit is ​☆ZRAEL. There are eleven others, and we do compete against them. Sometimes they combine us or mix us up, but we always represent our unit. Games earn us points, which are sort of like money. If you didn't have your memories, you could buy them -- you might see other people's memories broadcast publicly, they're cheaper that way. Or you could buy weapons, an upgrade for the dorm, clothes, most everything you could need or want.

The games though. There's three types: social, where we have fun with people or fill out BINGO cards or whatever; puzzle which is probably obvious; and trauma. Torture, forced combat, all that. If we win a game, everyone who played gets extra points. If we lose, we get a punishment. Lose one of your senses, forced honesty, sometimes pain. Once I got poisoned into having reversed morality and hurt a bunch of people.

While I'm on that subject, I'm a vampire. Do you know what that means? [ She could probably assume that he does, but this one she's not taking chances with. ]

[secondwitch]

[he does look faintly confused at the mention of 'TV stars.']

...understood. [he says, once she gets through the rest of the explanation until she brings up that she's a vampire.]

...I've read old Earth books that mention the term.

[sangreine]

[ She looks irritated for the first time ] Vampire books. What a load of crap.

I drink blood to survive, but almost nothing else about those legends is accurate. I'm not bloodthirsty all the time, though I do get weak and pass out if I go too long without. I can't compel you or hypnotize you. I can walk in the sun, garlic is fine, I'm not hurt by wooden stakes or silver bullets any more than a human. I do have a nasty fight reflex that kicks in if I'm threatened enough or after recovering from a death, which sometimes happens during games.

I also don't attack people for blood unless I'm way out of my right mind. The rest of the details I'll get to some other time, but that's the basics. [ She doesn't want to get into her hibernation and amnesia cycle right now, it's exhausting and sad. ]

[secondwitch]

[listening intently.] ...I'll remember.

[sangreine]

[ Huffing away her annoyance, it's not new guy's fault that vampire lore is bullshit ]

Anything else you had questions about?

[secondwitch]

What do these 'competitions' entail?

[sangreine]

The games? Everything from fighting to the death to navigating a frozen wasteland to drinking games. Dia's been here the longest, she'd have the most knowledge.

We don't have any alliances or anything you need to know about, but all of us have friends and partners on other units that we don't like to target if we can help it. My fiancé is on Heart Soldier Senshi, for example. No hard feelings from me either way as long as you don't make it personal. [ She'd say "try not to make enemies though" but given Alch's whole thing intentions don't always matter. ] Taking games as a whole too personally is probably a bad idea, if you ask me. None of us has a choice in this.

They pull you into games from wherever you are, like blink and you're somewhere else. So if there's anything you want to have with you, keep it on you. They don't always let us use our weapons or items but sometimes they do.

The best thing to do is buy your unit abilities as soon as you can. We don't get to use those in games all the time either but when we do, they're really helpful. I'm sure the rest of us can help you out with the points.

[secondwitch]

I have no reason to take anything personally.

[or so he says. admittedly he's alone here, so it seems likely.]

...abilities? [scrolling on his phone to look at...what. just. what?]

[sangreine]

[ Fair reaction tbh ]

I'll bet those look strange even though you just met a creature out of a book.

[secondwitch]

[still with the pleasant-but-cool tone. this is very definitely a boy who earned the nickname of 'Ice Prince'.]

I'll learn quickly.

[sangreine]

[ eh, Haji averaged 3 words and 2 facial expressions per week so she can roll with this ]

Good. But don't worry [ not that he looks worried, or anything else really ] we're here to take care of each other. So whatever you need, just ask.

Except for a name, clearly. But I'm great with martial arts if that's something you have any interest in.

[secondwitch]

...I usually read. [turns sideways in his seat and raises his hand to his mouth.]

[sangreine]

In that case, there's a libra--

You okay?

[secondwitch]

[dark purple and yellow-green glow, both colors tinged by gray.] Nothing can be done for it.

[sangreine]

[ Not really what she asked, but fair enough. She's quiet for a long moment. ]

You don't have to tell someone you just met all about whatever's going on with you. But in a place like this there are options that don't exist anywhere else. I know that better than anyone. Maybe nothing can be done, but you'll never know if you don't look.

That's all.

[glidinglight]

Hey there. You doing okay with that thing?

[ jerks her chin at his phone ]

[secondwitch]

I'll be done soon. [pleasant. cool.]