The Great Group Project Caper! (Aya, Ellie)

Julia twirled a pen around in her fingers.  She was a bit idle at the moment, but that was something that would be remedied soon enough.  This was not to be a regular lunch period for the pink haired girl.  She had not one, but two partners from her writing class that would be joining her soon enough.  Fate had seen to it that Julia would be working with quite a few partners.  The academy certainly had a way of emphasizing teamwork, even on endeavors that could be as solitary as writing.

This didn't bother the mystery enthusiast at all.  She had sought out a few collaborations on her own and some very interesting projects lined up for the future.  Today, however, would be devoted to a class assignment.  Working in a small group to come up with an idea for a story and to execute that idea.  It was no small task, that was for certain.  And she was quite interested to see what those other two would have in mind.

Not only were such projects an interesting creative challenge, but Julia also looked forward to seeing how others worked and developed their ideas.  Especially in the early stages.  There had been ample opportunity to observe these things in class, sure...but a project like this would certainly offer a deeper insight.  Perhaps a bit more intimate look.  She smirked to herself and flipped through her notepad.  It had accumulated quite the assortment of notes, since she had started attending class.  And not all of those ideas would see the light of day, right away.  Perhaps she could find a good jumping off point and see where her partners take things from there.

(Tag: Ayaka Inada and Ellie-Rose )

Not far away, another pink haired girl was excitedly making her way towards the cafeteria. By 'making her way,' that was to say that the small girl was weaving her way between her peers far faster than anyone should have a right to be able to in a crowded school hallway, notebook and pencil bag clutched tightly to her. Ayaka had her own notes and ideas for the project in her notebook, in her typical messy, speedily written scrawl that could be barely legible at times.

She'd never had a chance to work on a story with others before, and the partner work in class could hardly count, they weren't much more than brainstorming sessions or critiques, but this project was a real chance to write with someone than on her own. It was just about everything she could have wanted when coming to this school - potential friends and people who she'd be able to share her passion and work with! Wild grin on her face, Aya darted into the cafeteria and ducked into the slowly growing line.

'How should I start this? We each just pitch our ideas at each other? No, that won't work, I haven't had a chance to see any of their work yet, I need to know what they generally write first,' she thought as she made her way through the line, thoughtful frown forming on her face. 'What would a Captain do... Ah! Figure out what they want out of this project first, then start pitching ideas to match!'

Smile back on her face and her tray filled, the small girl made her way through the cafeteria looking for one or both of her partners. It didn't take long to find one of them, already with a place. Aya was even more delighted to see that her first partner was already working on something. "Hi Julia!" she announce her presence, sliding into the seat across from the other girl. "I haven't seen Eleanor here yet, but if you want to get started, I've got some notes and ideas from class ready!"

It didn't take very long for one of her partners to arrive.  A rather short girl with pink hair a shade or two lighter than her own arrived.  This would be Ayaka and she appeared to be quite peppy.  Julia smirked and gave a nod of her head, "It looks like we're the early ones." she said as she gestured to the empty seats at her table, "And you've arrived with some initiative."

She seemed to be plenty eager to get started and it was hard to argue with that sort of enthusiasm.  Eleanor would be along shortly and this had the added benefit of Julia being able to study her new partner a little bit, first.  A slight shame, then, that she wouldn't get this sort of time with the older student of their group...but, this was only the beginning of their project.  Surely, there would be more time further down the road for that.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to keep up." Julia winked at the other pink haired girl.

Ellie chats with a group of girls as she exits the food line. She's caught up in listening to a funny story as she carries her tray with her. When the friend comes to her punch line, a loud and cheerful laugh bursts out of her. The whole group is laughing as they move away, but Ellie shakes her head and gives a negatory gesture. She has other plans, after all. Looking around her, she quickly spots Ayaka and Julia sitting down at a table not too far from her. She bids the other girls farewell and then heads towards her classmates.

Group projects are something Ellie's always been skeptical about. Her past experiences with them haven't always been the best. But she's going into this one with an optimistic mindset. A school like Fukui Academy has students that are motivated. At least, as far as she's seen up to this point. So hopefully her classmates will be more willing to work than the ones of her past.

Sliding into a seat, she sets her food tray down. Sliding her backpack off of her shoulders, she sets it down near her chair. In good spirits, she throws a cheerful grin at her two table mates. Her pale green eyes are bright, filled with the warmth of good humor.

"Hey y'all! Sorry for being a bit late. The line's longer than usual today!"

Settling into her seat at the table, Ayaka flipped her notebook open to the page she had filled with notes about the directions and early, nebulous ideas for stories. She giggled at Julia's comments, but waved them away in between bites of her lunch. "Nah, I just don't want to disappoint either of you." She was very proud of herself for actually keeping up with the work for this project, usually at this point, the same day it was assigned, she wouldn't be doing anything about it, and probably wouldn't touch it for another week or so. It was mostly the excitement of writing in a group that had her so eager to start on it.

At that moment, the third seat at the table was filled by the third member of their group, who Aya was even less familiar with than she was with Julia. She would have smiled had her mouth not been full, so she settled for an excited wave as she swallowed. "Hey! Don't worry, you weren't late, I only just got here a minute ago, so if you're late, so was I!" Enthusiasm high as ever, Ayaka glanced back and forth between her partners, grinning.

"So, how do you want to start? I mean, I'm not super familiar with either of your writing, or what you generally like to write about so maybe we should discuss that first?" She said all that in about half the time it would have taken a normal person to get it out, words almost running together a few times.

No sooner than they had started up a conversation then someone else had joined them at the table.  That person being none other than the third member of their project, Ellie-Rose.  She looked over to the newcomer and offered up a smile to the older student.  She also had a rather cheery disposition and quite the accent.  She was an American, if her memory served her right.  Still, the way she spoke Japanese fascinated Julia.

"As she said, we've only just arrived." Julia said, "And we seem to have plenty of time."

Ayaka, in her rather excited state, quickly posed a question to the group.  Or rather, several questions all lumped into one.  She was a fast talker.  The dynamics of their group was already proving interesting.  No real conflicts seemed to be on the horizon, as both of the other girls seemed friendly enough.  Julia figured it should be smooth sailing.

"You read my mind, doll." she said, slipping into her English as she set her notebook aside, for the time being.  "I suppose I can start.  Getting to know each other a bit, is a logical first step.  I'm rather fond of mystery, myself although I do dip into a bit of history from time to time.  It's quite the useful subject, a good place to find some ideas to work with.  How about yourselves?"

Ellie can't help the quiet laugh that escapes her at the excited waving that Ayaka directs her way. Relief flits across her face at the words from both of the girls.

"Oh good! I was worried that I was running behind. Making y'all wait on me wasn't a first impression I wanted to make." She smiles her relief as well.

Glancing at the other girls, she notices how both of them have their notebooks out.

"Oh yeah," she murmurs softly to her self.

Leaning over, she unzips her backpack. Rifling around in it for a moment, she pulls out her own notebook and a small pencil case. Setting them to the side, she returns her attention to her companions. Just in time to hear Ayaka blurt out a string of questions that she mostly misses. Blinking in bewilderment, she frowns, brow slightly furrowed in concentration, as she attempts to translate the quick speech tossed her way.

Unfortunately, she'd only caught pieces of it. About to ask for a repeat, at a slower pace, suddenly Julia says something in English! She can't help the surprised look she throws at the other girl. But Julia switches back to Japanese right after.

She has a less difficult time understanding Julia, for she speaks at a slower pace. It's still a bit of a struggle, though. But she still gets the gist of Julia's reply to Ayaka's slew of questions.

Feeling embarrassed, a faint blush brushes her cheeks. Ellie's not one to hide her faults, and clear communication is key to working together in a group. So she pushes past her embarrassment, and weathers forward.

"I'm sorry," she says, her gaze drifting uneasily between the two girls, "I'm still getting the hang of listening and speaking Japanese. If you could slow down, just a little bit, I'd be really grateful."

Her expression is a bashful one, her right hand having risen to nervously twirl at her hair.

Eyes darting between her partners, Aya had missed the confusion on Eleanor's face solely as a matter of luck and laser focus on Julia the second the latter girl had started speaking. Ayaka's English wasn't that good, but was able to parse the sentence with a moment of thought before putting the language aside to pay attention to what was now being said in her native language.

Julia's tastes in reading and/or writing were rather different than Ayaka's own, but she couldn't deny that the girl had a point about history. It was truly an excellent place to begin looking for ideas or to help firm up ideas. She would have said as much had their third partner not spoken up at that moment. The admission of confusion was enough to bring a bit of a blush to Aya's face, and an awkward, embarrassed chuckle as well. "Ehehehe... sorry about that, I know I tend to babble a bit when I'm excited about something..." She trailed off, just as embarrassed as the partner she had left in the dust. 'So much for getting off to a good start... But this can still work!' She thought, which let her embarrassment fade a bit.

"What I said was that we should probably explain what we usually tend to write and our general styles, stuff like that, so we can get a baseline of what we have to work with." Consciously slowing her speech beyond what a regular person would consider normal pace took a bit of effort for Ayaka, with the end result being that it came across a little stilted and awkward. But Aya was just hoping that she'd got her message across clearly.

It would stand to reason that someone new to the language would have trouble with Ayaka's rather...excited pace.  Being a native speaker of the language, herself, Julia hadn't had that problem.  Meanwhile, their American compatriot seemed to struggle with keeping up and that appeared to embarrass the bubbly pink haired girl.  A slight smirk appeared on her face as she Ayaka re-explained herself.  It was a rather amusing scene and possibly a good source of a little comic relief.

"Yes, my apologies as well." she addressed the other girl, "As Ayaka-san said, we are attempting to learn more about each other.  Our process.  Make sure we got an understandin', get me?"

Once more she slipped into a bit of English at the end.  It seemed like that had certainly pleased the American, when she heard the familiar tongue of her homeland.  And any chance to speak English with an actual native speaker would be some rather nice experience as well.  But, Julia was getting ahead of herself.  And perhaps it would be best not to leave Ayaka behind if she was less comfortable with English language.

"So, Ellie-san, what kinds of stories do you like?"

Still a bit embarrassed by her need to request a repeat, a feeling of relief fills Ellie when Ayaka does so. She's been met with irritation and hostility in the past, but thankfully this time neither of those emotions seem to surface in the other girl. Directing a grateful smile Ayaka's way, she shakes her head at the apology.

"No need to apologize. I can speak and understand quite a bit of Japanese, but I'm still learning. That's not something you'd know without asking." Her smile turns wry. "And apparently the Japanese I use is a bit... different from what most folks around here seem to use." It had been one of the first things she'd noticed when arriving at the school. "So, I'm still getting used to that, as well."

Releasing her hair from her nervous habit, she reaches forward to snag a few of the grapes sitting on her tray. Popping one into her mouth, she chews it as she listens to Ayaka's explanation. It comes across as a bit wooden, but she's able to understand it without any problems this time around. Nodding in understanding, she swallows the grape. Opening her mouth, she's about to answer some of the questions, when Julia also gives an apology. But more surprising, she once again throws in some English!

Frowning in confusion, for she doesn't quite know why Julia is adding in random English to her conversation, Ellie is about to ask about it, when Julia asks a question of her own. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she lightly taps a finger against her notebook as she thinks.

"Well, I mostly like fantasy stories. Magic and adventure are exciting, of course. But it's the world building that really draws me in!" The pale green of her eyes sparkles with her enthusiasm. She's leaned forward, her gaze shifting between the two other girls. Her hair, currently unbound, drapes over her shoulders in a butterscotch wave. Loose strands drift in front of her face, which she absently brushes aside.

Despite her obvious "foreigner" accent, and the odd syntax of the Kansai-ben dialect, her Japanese flows fairly smoothly.

"What do the two of you like, story-wise?", she asks, popping another grape into her mouth. Lunch period is thankfully rather long at this school, but she wants to make sure that she eats all her food before the next class starts. Being hungry in class is never a particularly pleasant experience. And it's one she wishes to avoid.

It was going to be difficult for Aya to keep her voice at a relatively slow speed, mostly because her normal pace was very fast by most people's standards. Active, conscious effort was required for Ayaka to not speed talk. But it would be worth it, and it was what a Starfleet Officer would do! So she would do it. It did make her feel a bit better that it wasn't just her rapid-fire speech that tripped their foreign partner up though, and it felt a bit like fair play that Julia's English tripped Aya up in return.

It turned out Ellie's choices in reading and writing weren't exactly in line with her own - despite many laypeople's insistence on lumping the two together, fantasy and science fiction were far from the same material. Ellie was tapping into something important though, world-building was a key element, whatever they ended up doing. But first, her turn to explain her preferences.

"Well, I'm with Ellie on a well built world, buuuut I prefer science fiction." Well, that was the basics of it. "I've written a fair amount of original science fiction stuff, but more of my work is actually fan fiction than original," she admitted, blushing a bit again. Here was hoping neither of her partners looked down on her for having written a lot of fan fiction. "Pretty much all of it is Star Trek fic, and honestly most of my original work is thematically along similar lines to Trek. Just the idea that we should go out there and explore the universe to understand other life in the universe and that humans are capable of so much!" Her speech became increasingly rapid as she went along with that description and explanation of theme, eyes sparkling, before she caught herself and glanced guiltily over at Ellie.

"Ah, sorry if that was too fast, I can repeat it if you need." This was going to be harder than she thought. But that aside, she flipped open her notebook to her page of ideas to see if she could narrow down to any ideas that tied their interests together while Julia re-explained her interest in mystery.

"Well now...isn't this interesting." Julia said, after they all had a chance to speak about their favored genres.  And, in a sense, their comfort zones.  Clearly, there was a certain passion to each girl's favored style.  As one would expect.  The pink haired girl smirked to herself and tapped a finger on the table.  "Fantasy and science fiction can have some overlapping themes.  I suppose mystery, too.  After all, it is a genre that can blend in while to either environment."

Ellie's accent had proven to be the most fascinating thing she had heard all day.  Although she was still American and only recently picking up Japanese as a second language, it was most interesting to note the dialect she was using.  That was far from the standard way of learning the language.  It would be like learning English through old recordings of radio serials.  She chuckled to herself.

"I think we can find a happy medium, here.  Fitting these elements together won't be an easy task, but I'm reasonably confident in our abilities.  It'll be like a neat cocktail.  Mixed together all nice and made real smooth." she winked at her partners and raised the can of soda she had purchased with her lunch.  "Here's mud in your eye, eh?"

So, science fiction and mystery. Two story genres that aren't always easy to mix with fantasy. At least, not all three at the same time. This is goin' ta be interestin'... Ellie muses, her gaze drifting between the two girls sitting before her. At Ayaka's apology, she smiles and shakes her head.

"Oh, no need to repeat anything. I was able to understand you. So don't worry." She nods quietly at Ayaka, her expression turning grateful. "Thank you for slowing down a bit. I'm sure I'll get used to the way y'all talk soon. Then y'all won't have to worry about it so much." She still feels a bit embarrassed, though. And a little guilty. She rubs the back of her head, her eyes dropping down to her platter of food.

But her attention is grabbed by Julia when she begins to speak. Snagging a few more grapes, she eats those as she listens and nods to what the other girl is saying. She raises an eyebrow at the cocktail analogy, but it's the English phrase that has her once again blinking in surprise. She swallows the grape she'd been chewing on, her eyes locked onto Julia.

Suddenly, she lets out a loud laugh. A grin stretches her mouth wide, her teeth bright and pale eyes dancing with her amusement. Her shoulders tremble and her long hair bounces as she shakes her head.

Switching to English, she says "<I ain't heard that sayin' in ages! Not many folks use it, ya know.>" Still shaking her head, she continues, "<The only folks I know who use it are from my grandparent's generation! Where'd ya learn it from? And on that note, ain't ya too young for cocktails?>"

It turned out none of the ideas she had quite meshed the three preferred styles. This was certainly going to be interesting. Difficult, but interesting. In another positive turn of events, neither partner had commented on her admitting that she wrote a lot of fan fiction. Not necessarily an absolute sign that they didn't care, but at least they weren't vocal about fan fiction being 'lesser' writing as some other people she'd encountered had.

The other positive thing was that her speech hadn't gotten too fast either - though she did make a mental note to work on slowing it down, confusing foreign students with her rambling was not something she wanted to be in the business of. "It certainly will be an interesting mix. Though I will say I'm not going to force either of you to write any science fiction stuff, if our best idea doesn't include it, that'll be okay with me." Just because she liked writing it and she was good at it that it was the only thing she could write.

Of course, when English started being slung around the table, she got a bit lost. It wasn't that Aya couldn't understand English, just that she wasn't particularly good at it. So while she understood the general gist of what her partners were saying, she wasn't picking up everything. "Heh.. I know this is probably a bit of a bad look given I was just confusing people by talking but... My English isn't the best. Could we stick to Japanese if possible? Sorry about this."

The American responded to her phrase in a rather distinctive accent.  Admittedly, her experience with this form of the English language was limited to imitations that tended to be done for a rather...comedic effect.  It certainly didn't sound like any of the performances she had heard before, but the pink haired girl was just fine with that.  She chuckled a bit and gave a shrug of her shoulders.  "Well, you have a point." she said, "And yes...I did learn my English from some older sources.  They have such colorful expressions, it's hard not to use!"

Unfortunately, it seemed that the third member of their group was not quite as well versed in the language.  Or, at least, she was struggling with how the other two were speaking.  Which was understandable, given how specific their forms of communication tended to be.  Ellie, having her accent and regional dialect and Julia's speech patterns coming from...well, not the way the language is quite used today.  Julia was used to some confusion from her peers.

"Nonsense, you have nothing to worry about at all." she addressed Ayaka's concerns, "I'll do my best, but if I let a few things slip, you have my apologies in advance."

Of course, they still needed to get into the meat of the issue.  That being the direction they were to take their project.  Ayaka seemed perfectly willing to concede on her part.  While that would make things easier, Julia was still fascinated by the challenge of bringing these different elements together.  "No need to be so hasty." she said, "We are in a very interesting position.  At this moment, I think we should keep all possibilities on the table.  First, let's take a more broad look at what we want to accomplish.  What are some general themes we want to explore and all that."

Still amused by Julia's rather odd way of speaking English, Ellie directs her smile at the other girl. "<Well, the way you're talkin' sure is interestin'! I’d like to see those sources, sometime.>" She says this with a teasing smile. “<If’n you don’t mind, that is.>”

At Ayaka’s request for them to stick to Japanese, embarrassment spikes through Ellie. She’d not meant to exclude the third member of their group. And here she’d been, asking for the other girl to slow her speech down so that the foreigner could understand her!

So she switches back to Japanese. With an apologetic smile and a light blush, she replies to the Ayaka’s request. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to…” she pauses briefly, trying to search for the descriptor she wants. Thinking she’s found it, she continues, “... throw you off. I’ll try my best to stick to Japanese. But I might not know some words, so I might need to ask y’all at some points.”

Her attention is once again grabbed by Julia bringing them back on task. Popping the last of the grapes into her mouth, she chews thoughtfully on it as she listens to Julia’s words. She nods at the sentiment of being too hasty. They are just starting the project, after all, and still have plenty of time before it's due. When Julia finishes talking, Ellie speaks up.

"Well, I think it'd be super interesting if we could try and get all three genre's in our story. Granted, it's a short story, so that might be a little difficult."

Pondering the last few questions, she adds, "Transformation stories are super interesting, I think. Be it physical, mental, or both."

She glances between the two girls, her expression expectant and a touch eager.

"How about y'all?"

Aya was glad to have landed a group that seemed to already work well together. "Thanks guys. And don't hesitate to ask! Though Julia seems to know English better than me so sleigh might be more help."

That being said, Aya wasn't quite sure how they'd be able to blend all three preferred genres of the writers together, but Julia did have a point - better to keep options open for now, at least. They could always throw things out if they turned out not to work, and they did have plenty of time. Flipping her notebook back open, she scanned through some of the ideas she'd jotted down to consider themes.

"Transformation can certainly be very interesting. It also would work quite well with a mystery story," she added, considering ideas. "Could go a couple different ways... trying to figure out why a transformation occurred, uncovering the mystery causes a transformation of some kind. Could be very interesting. We'd have to narrow down what the transformation is first, though."

Here she paused and took a drink of her chocolate milk, still considering. Following the milk with a quick bite of her sandwich, Aya wiped the milk mustache away and continued. "Could also lend itself well to one of my favorite ideas to explore: What makes someone or something human? Or better put: What defines humanity?" Another broad idea, true, but no less broad than transformation.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind in the slightest." returning Ellie's teasing smile with a wink and coy smirk.  There were other things they had on their plate, but Julia was more than happy to set up something for a future date.  Back to the matter at hand, it seemed that Ellie had a rather intriguing suggestion and one that Ayaka also seemed enthusiastic about.

Julia waited and thought a moment as Aya chimed in with her own input.  "Quite interesting, indeed." she said.  "The ideas, as you said, could lead to some very interesting things to explore from a narrative standpoint.   It also provides a very fantastical element that may provide an excellent bridge between the fantastical and science-fiction, depending on our setting and the methods we choose to use."

She picked away at her own meal, noting how Ayaka herself seemed to energetically go through her lunch.  Torn between the need to eat and her desire to participate in the collaborative process.  "It could also provide us with ways to explore other matters of identity.  Depending on what our main character turns into...and how they go about fixing it."

Ellie eats her own meal at a reasonable pace, as she listens to Ayaka and Julia speak. Nodding her head and giving soft hums here and there, she chews her food thoroughly as she ponders what their story could be about. Her mind has focused on the transformation theme. But it's the addition of that mystery element Ayaka mentions that sparks her story telling gears into motion.

Swallowing the bite of her blt sandwich that she'd just taken, she hastily drinks down some of her apple juice to clear her mouth out completely.

"What if it's a transformation mystery?" she asks excitedly. She leans forward, her pale green eyes bright with her enthusiasm.

"And that mystery is the fact that the protagonist doesn't even realize they'd been transformed in the first place? They just know that something is missing from their memories. Or they sense something isn't right with their current situation. But they're not sure what or why. And that leads the reader down the rabbit hole!"

Grinning, Ellie leans back in her chair, an air of anticipation surrounding her. If her idea gets shot down, she won't be hurt about it. There's plenty of things that can be written about, after all. But she at least does want to hear what her writing partners think about her proposal.