Walkabout: [Shortly after their arrival]

[professorwolf]

Randolph Lyall here. Anybody else dropped into the noisy arcade? Or were most of us lucky enough to wind up in a hotel room or a lobby? Can we have a check-in?

Also, anybody else stuck with animal ears and a tail, or aged up or down? I've heard about a Jaunt much like this place, a while back, though I wasn't here for it: a school for anime magic, basically. Sparkles and animal ears and flowers coming out of nowhere. All the symptoms I'm seeing seem to be lining up for that world.

I'm still working out what's going on. It seems like some kind of multiple-school event, from the signs and the brochure handily in my pocket. I'm even wearing a badge for one of them, so I suppose I'm some kind of representative. The aging up doesn't go all the way up to adults, and I haven't changed any.

Comments

[littleladyluck]

I'm here as a student! Seemingly not aged down, and feeling a bit insulted because of it. I mean, good, my skin is fantastic, but still! The height hels, I suppose.

I was here the first time. I think. Unless this is the third. Keep an eye and an ear out for Lovers, and maybe, perhaps, compliment my Hosts? They need more compliments, the poor darlings. I'll explain later.

[professorwolf]

Hosts? What do you mean by hosts?

[That would be one aspect of anime he's never actually learned about, there, and nobody filled him in on the host club for the last Jaunt.]

[littleladyluck]

Amusing people entertaining bored classmates for fun and incredibly minor profit. Most of it went towards fundraisers and back into the club because we provided snacks and such. It's all very sweet and innocent compared to some of the ones I've heard of outside of schools.

It was started by an overlay of Alcuin's, actually. He's seemingly transferred out of the school, so Alcuin isn't in this Jaunt.

[professorwolf]

[That sounds kind of... ridiculous and exploitative and uncomfortable, to him, but if it's a culture thing... and Gen thinks it's all right... well.]

I, er, suppose I can offer a compliment or two? Are they not particularly confident right now?

[littleladyluck]

[well, she figured that it was partly to keep an eye on certain important people and a place for people to vent about their day. She's certainly seen and lived worse.]

They're new to being prominent, it seems. They were used to blending in, now they're standing out. A few have doubts about the change and being "worthy," so if you find a reason to call them worthy competition, it'd do their little hearts a world of good!

[professorwolf]

Are they all part of the competition, then? Are they the "home team" as it were, or are we all someplace unfamiliar? I mean, all the schools, not just us as Travelers.

[littleladyluck]

From what I can tell, no one is really the home team? I could be wrong, but this place seems like neutral territory for a regionals or nationals sort of event.

[professorwolf]

Then I suppose the goal here would be to see which team is supposed to win, and facilitate that somehow. Or else simply the goal is to keep the competition civil, and it doesn't matter much who wins.

[That's the goal he'd prefer, himself.]

[littleladyluck]

I'm definitely making a effort towards the latter. If anyone knows how to calm the rapidly climbing flames of intense rivalry, it's me. When your brother and guardian is France and your top tourist is England, you learn.