Academy Club Drive [Open]

It was getting just a touch too cold outside to hold a major event outdoors. But that would hardly put a damper on today's major event. Today the school Club Drive would simply be held indoors in the expansive "front" area of the school, which could be described as a foyer. It was a large empty space that was used for any number of things. Normally it was simply the general hang out and lounge-around area for the students. When events came along, they set up tables and chairs and little stages and made room for people to try and fish attention of the students. Today those tables would be populated by the many clubs the school offered, student-run organizations dedicated to any number of things so long as they had enough members and followed the club rules.

The Club Drive was a chance to draw-in new members or just show off what a club had to offer. The tables were colorful and creative, designed to catch the eye and explain what the club was about. The current members were meeting and greeting, or dressed up and demonstrating. There were little games to be played and prizes to be won, sometimes they offered free food or candy because students always flocked to free stuff.

Today, one of the largest clubs in the Academy was joining-in as always. The Anime Club had been a staple of the Academy for the longest time, and it was not tough discerning why. What had started as a club about its namesake had gradually become the general nerd interest club, encompassing anime, video games, card and board games, or whatever nerds were into. It was a nice smattering of student types too, as it attracted just about anyone with a passing nerd fancy.

In a fortunate turn of events, one of the hot new animes of the season featured a character perfectly suited for the bustling, table-filled environment of the Club Drive. One of the club members, a tall lanky young man with black-dyed hair was cosplaying Nyarlasa, a popular character from the anime Love of the Craft. For the uninitiated, it was about the Elder Eldritch Gods finally coming to Earth to feast on humanity's sanity, only to find that the internet had already inured everyone to their eldritch forms. Now the Elder Gods, Cthulun, Nyarlasa, Aza-kun, and Shub-Sama, travel the convention circuit trying to discern what drives people crazy nowadays.

"Come join the cult~ I'll be sure to use my nicest form~"

The Nyarlasa cosplayer was doing his best to stay in character, as the suave Nyarlasa that enticed humans to joining their cult with his promise of assuming a pleasing, tentacle-y alternate form.

((OOC: I totally encourage players to make-up whatever they want for this. Improvise. Go nuts.))

"Love of the Craft" had gained a good amount of popularity with the usual anime fans. Taking a page from some of its contemporaries LotC was more or less a slice-of-life anime starring pretty anime boys as they went about their lives on the convention circuit and getting into all sorts of bishounen hijinks. One of the primary criticisms of the show, however, beyond the usual criticisms of mainstream anime, came from the Lovecraft fans of the nerd population. They took issue with the "pretty-fication" of their favorite cosmic horrors.

For example, Nyarlathotep, or Nyarlasa, is generally depicted as tall, dark-skinned man of Egyptian descent. The cosplayer for the Anime Club nails the show's depiction, completely with flowing black hair and an impeccable suit. The cosplayer even managed to style his hair so that it subtly resembled tendrils like in the show. However, in actual Lovecraftian lore, Nyarlathotep is formless and ever-changing, taking many forms so as to both entice and terrify humans. There is a reason it was referred to as "The Crawling Chaos".

Before Euna approached, Nyarlasa was busy playing cool, aloof anime archetype while posing for pictures. He pretended to huff at the fans and shun them as "below him" while also saying that he would pay attention if they signed their souls to him. It was all very fun and in-character until Euna came along and grabbed him.

"Wh-What the? Who are--?"

Nyarlasa was broken out of character while the others laughed and snapped pictures.

"I--You--*ahem*"

It took a second but he got back into character and stood up straight again. He plucked Euna's hands from his shoulders like he was picking a bug off of him, then brushed himself while looking down his nose at her.

"Are you sure, pitiful human? How do I know you are worthy of the Anime Club, and my attention?"

Even in a place as strange, and occasionally otherwordly, as Manta Carlos, it was prudent to consider that most of the people there still lived mostly normal lives, or attempt to anyway. So when a ghost girl was floating above the heads of students, and was the only thing doing so, a few heads were bound to turn. Most of the heads turning and photo-snapping was being done by freshmen though, as most of the upperclassmen had grown familiar with all the weird things that went on in and around the Academy. For the most part, however, Kaiasu was left to her own devices and not bothered by too much.

As for Euna, she was testing the composure of the Nyarlasa cosplayer. Euna was such a bundle of energy, ready with a reply and words, that Nyaralasa had to take a moment to figure out his reply.

"It would seem you have the necessary... enthusiasm. Perhaps the I and my club will accept you..."

Despite his in-character reply, Nyarlasa was caught off guard by the actual presentation of CardWitch cards. He quirked an eyebrow at the three cards, looking between them and Euna with indecision in his eyes. However, when it seemed that he was at a loss for words, someone else stepped-in.

"Perhaps you should face me then!"

From the table, another student jumped up to meet Euna. Wearing a hat lined with pins and buttons of all sorts of video games and comics, the student reached for a small box on his belt. From the box, he produced a fanned hand of CardWitch cards in their own collector's sleeves.

"I'm the head of the Card Games division, and we could always use more players."

Someone at the table, shouted "NEEERRRD" in a playful and endearing kind of way, eliciting a chuckle from the student himself as he awaited Euna's reply.

Freed from Euna's attention for the moment, Nyaralasa could turn to other students, and spotted Kaiasu right away.

"Ah~ Perhaps you'd make a nice addition to the fold, Floating One. What is your name?"

Nyarlasa was intrigued by the floating girl's preferred method of communication. When she first pulled out her phone, he had initially thought that she was going out of his way to ignore him like so many other teens with smart phones. He was just about ready to start charming other students when she extended her phone out again, presenting written text and introducing herself as Kaiasu. Reading text as a form a of face-to-face communication was odd, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility considering the Academy, so he smiled and retrained his attention on her.

"Well then, Miss Kaiasu, I would be more than happy to fill you in. If you just float on down here~"

Reaching out with a single hand and finger, Nyarlasa beckoned Kaiasu with a dangerously sultry 'come hither' motion. The cosplayer must have been a veteran of the hobby. His confidence and willingness to play the character among a crowd showed experience in the field.

"I can introduce you my flock: the Anime Club. Tell me do you have any particular interest in anime and all things that are so-called... 'nerdy'?"

At the table, the head of the Card Games division was happily setting out the duel space for himself and Euna. The young man seemed as versed in the field of CardWtiches as the cosplayer did in his own respective hobby. His deck was set to one side, his hand was already dealt, and he dancing his fingers over his cards as he planned his moves.

"I'm Jarv and, like I said, I'm head of the Card Games division of the Anime Club. And the duel has already begun!"

He slapped down his first set of cards in an aggressive stance.

"We here at the Anime Club take pride in all things geeky, nerdy, and pop culture-y. We invite all types who are looking to have fun. Got any questions?"