Grey Garden's Opening Ceremony [Event]

[Bryce Wright]

It was time to reign in yet another year for Bryce. Student's had come from all across the world to learn how to become better trainers before heading off on his or her journey. His head felt more and more inflated the more he thought of it, so he just tried his best shutting the thought from his mind. "Alright, time to get to work." he declared, going through his morning rituals and quickly heading off to his academy fit with his bowler hat and a cherry sucker in his mouth. After unlocking the door to his cave and settling down he realized that he still had a bit of time as the digital clock only read '6:00 AM' in bright red letters. So he spent a good amount of time to write up a small speech.

Around 9:00 he decided it was time to make his announcement on the PA system. "Attention all students and staff, please head to the Auditorium located in the Commons for the Headmaster's announcement." He repeated the line a couple more times for good measure, and began heading down to the auditorium himself, popping yet another sucker in his mouth. 

He headed onto the stage of the auditorium, placing his rough drafted speech on the podium in front of him. He tested the mic to make sure it worked and discarded the lollipop stick from his mouth. Moments later everyone became to come in droves, he was surprised about the number of units this year, it wasn't his largest but if these students applied themselves it would surely be a ear to remember. So, he started.

"Welcome, everyone to a new year at Grey Garden Academy. As you all know this is an academy whose main purpose is dedicated to teaching you young, aspiring trainers to be the best that you can be. I won't bore you with histories, or dramatic stories because that isn't what you are here for is it? All you need to know is that this academy, for as long as I've been its head, will do its best to help you on your goal, but what must be known is that the majority of the work that you will be going through is something neither I, nor the rest of the staff can do for you. You have all chosen starter Pokemon, and received your staring items to catch other Pokemon, and it should come to no surprise that this is work that is left up to you and only you. This doesn't mean we are throwing you out there on your own, after all that isn't what this school was founded on. We are here, to mentor you, teach you, and help you along the way so that when you graduate you will be fully prepared to take on whatever challenge faces you." 


He then signaled for a staff member to pass along his gifts. "These are presents from the school, hopefully they will help you while you train. When you've received your present, you may freely leave and go along with your business. Other than that, take this as a chance to get to know one another, or one of the staff members. With that said, please, enjoy your time at Grey Garden."

(Each present contains two rare candies and 500 credits, you must post to recieve your present.)

This event has officially been closed. Thank you for participating!

[Tristan Carter]

Tristan had been wondering when there would be a big opening speech. He was surprised to find that the headmaster didn't go into some long spiel about how great the academy is and its long history and other such junk that did nothing but distract from the point. Truth be told, he was pretty glad that the headmaster didn't do this. He was surprised, though, to find tht yet another thing was being handed to him. First some pokemon and items, then money, and now more?

The boy took a good look around as the gifts were being passed out. So many other students, and the headmaster suggested to get to know some of the other students. So, after receiving the gift of money and Rare Candies, Tristan walked up to a random student. He extended his hand and introduced himself. "Uh, hey. My name's Tristan of the Mana Dorm. What's your name?"

[Adolfina von Brauer]

Adolfina was not too surprised when a school, a boarding school at that, like the Gray Garden seemed to have some sort of ceremony to ring in the new year. A place that was large and had a name for itself would have had some sort of customs, after all. Customs, especially with large foundations, needed to be adhered to to instill a degree of order on the lesser beings. It was, in a way, how the hierarchy was set in stone, and how respect was impressed on those in the lower rungs. A supervisor or manager had to command respect and obedience from employees. A headmaster or principal had to do the same with teachers and staff, and they down to the students. The blonde understood the concepts, even if her mental monologue didn't quite sound as simple or refined as that.

That was why the girl had absolutely no issues attending the ceremony, though. It was custom, and, for the time being, she was certainly a being that existed within that “lower rung”. Emphasis should have been placed on the “for the time being” bit, though. She was a hatchling, but the chicks often grew stronger than the parents. She had every intention of growing and flapping some especially powerful wings, soaring above the heights that even her predecessors had set for her. With high thoughts and haughtier plans, the girl arrived and plopped her rear down in a chair, waiting for the speeches and what all to be given and done with.

And she was not entirely sure how she felt after everything was said and done. On the one hand, it was a pleasant surprise that the speech was so short, and that the event even included “presents”. On the other hand, the fact that they were all gathered for such a brief speech, and then given the go to leave at will, left her feeling somewhat. . . annoyed? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Whatever the case, the girl remained seated for a time. She was conflicted. Even after receiving the gift box, she remained seated. Then, slowly, she shook her head, sighing a bit. Had she gotten too excited to see what sort of grand event it was going to be? Or what? Whatever the case, while other students got up, mingled, or left, she just remained there, eyebrows furrowed.

[Kyrie Vyler]

But of course. Big fancy school, lots of free stuff - it was no wonder that there was going to be an assembly. It was no wonder but Kyrie still didn't want to go. She wouldn't have gone either, probably would've snuck off somewhere shady and secluded if it weren't for the fact that a teacher seemed to pop out of nowhere every single time she tried. Like, every-single-time. It was like a horror game. And Kyrie doesn't like horror games, especially not the jump scare ones.

With a heavy sigh and sluggish feet, the girl managed to drag herself into the crowd to attend. She could already feel all the blood drain from her features just from the thoughts of having to sit through one of those unnecessarily long speeches surrounded by people. Being breathed on by people. Being stared at by people. Okay, maybe they wouldn't stare at her but it didn't change the fact that there would be people. In close range. Like right next to her.

Yet surprisingly, when the girl didn't manage to find her seat and stop from fidgeting around insanely, the thing was already over. that was... incredibly short! Kyrie may have not heard a single word of it and looked at people like they were insane when they gave her more free stuff but it was ecstatic time. Ecstatic as in run for the doors faster than-

"Uh, hey there. My name's Tristan of the Mana Dorm. What's your name?"

Those words were not for her. Nope. She was out of there or so she kept trying to mentally tell her legs that froze in place. She looked about seeing the one who had spoke most likely. Then at everyone else who was following his lead into the social games. Them and their games of subtle hints and overly complicated communications. She would've ignored him. Oh how she wanted to but her good manners got the better of her. Avoiding direct eye contact the girl managed a short, "Hi... Kyrie Vyer. Mana Dorm."

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

Young Sonia was munching on some snacks when she heard the announcement ushering all of the students over to the auditorium. With a mouthful of snacks, the girl trod over to the auditorium to find it filling up rather quickly. Swallowing everything down and tossing her garbage in the trash, the girl scooted through the various crowds of people to find a seat. A lot of the students were much taller than her, but it didn't stop her from making an easy path through all of them.

Finally passing through all of the students and staff, the girl found a vacant seat and plopped herself down. Looking around, she saw a great deal of students. These would be her classmates, her piers, and most of all her rivals. Students were able to sign up at any age between ten and sixteen, making her the youngest of the crop. This meant that not only would she be against people who have been here longer, but the people who started at the same time as her would be older. She was certainly the underdog in this situation. And frankly? That was of no concern to her. All the girl saw were "other students." She didn't see "upperclassmen" or "older students." In her mind, she knew she could match and surpass each and every one of them should she give it her all. It was that mindset that gave her parents the idea to come here in the first place.

After everyone was seated, she noted a small blonde girl sitting next to her. Though she looked like she could have been younger, Sonia knew that she must have been at least her own age. Though, Sonia's attention was brought to the front when the Headmaster showed up. He made a short speech that was more like a greeting than anything. To Sonia, this probably wasn't so much a ceremony, but a way for the Headmaster to get to see all of his students for the year. The headmaster seemed like that kind of guy to her. Otherwise, there would have been little point in having all these students come here. Well, unless he planned on the students taking the chance to mingle like a lot of them decided to.

Either way, Sonia wasn't one to complain. She got to see all the other students; her competition, the staff, and even the headmaster. To top it all off she got some more stuff for her Pokemon. It was definitely worth it. But now the announcement was over, and all Sonia could see were other students from various dorms mingling amongst each other. She wasn't about to push her way through the crowds again. It was much better to wait until the commotion died down. So instead, she waited. But again, her eyes were drawn over to the girl next to her. She seemed to be thinking about something, or so Sonia thought going off of her facial expression. And so Sonia just remained there, eyebrows furrowed.

[Oleg Kirrlov]

Oleg sat his arse down in the auditorium, tapping his chin in thought on what this was all about. He then listened to the speech, nodding his head to himself in silence at the speech. Professional, and rather short. The style that he could get behind in a way. He then noticed gifts getting passed, nodding his head into a respectful manner as the gift was passed to him, taking it as he then opened it. Some credits, and two rare candies. He could already see Walter and Lancel fighting for the delicious pieces of sweet, sweet candy. He smirked to himself, continuing to sit down as he waited for the majority of the masses to leave before he would bother himself with trying to push trough the crowd.

[Astrid Sherinian]

Astrid didn't really like the idea of a big opening speech, but she could understand the need for one. Still, she noted as she walked into the auditorium, it felt weird to be on this side of the stage looking up at it, rather than on it and in front of everyone. It wasn't a bad feeling, though. Nice and anonymous. Maybe she'd do this more often. She wasn't immediately being recognized by everyone who passed, too, which was good. So she took a seat on the aisle, fairly close to the back of the room (it had already filled up quite a bit by the time she got there), and waited for the Headmaster to deliver his opening speech.

Much to her surprise, it was already over almost as soon as it started. She had expected some long spiel about the academy's history, trying to engender some appreciation for the school environment beyond the appeal it already had. But no. The Headmaster even stated that he wasn't going to do it, and after a short speech about helping everyone achieve their goals while still giving them the freedom to progress as they chose, he was already done. In fact, it seemed almost like the point of the opening ceremony wasn't the speech at all, but a way to get everyone together where they could (potentially) meet each other.

So, after the gifts were handed out, Astrid decided to stick around for a bit. She stood up, so that she'd be noticeable but not too prominent, and acknowledged people as they passed. Most of them would probably want to leave, but it seemed like some of them were sticking around at least.

[Chris Thyodor]

Chris, having not been to far away at the time in which it was called for the students to gather, he arrived just in time in order to get a seat before the massive crowds began to form. Carefully listening to the speech the headmaster was giving, he was honestly expecting something longer, but in a way this is better, the less time spend here the more time one has to get to work. Merely sitting in silence as the gifts were passed around, he ended up taking it and opening it somewhat carefully in order to see what was concealed within, not that he was expecting it to be anything too large, it wasn't a big surprise for there to only be a little money and some Rare Candies.

Closing the gift, he began to overhear the large amount of conversations that were going on, although his attention went primarily to the one between two fellow members of the Mana dorm, might as well get to know people that he presumed he may be seeing often. Quietly walking over towards the two, which, given all the noise, would make it quite difficult to actually hear me approaching. "So... you two are in Mana as well then? I'm Chris" he spoke calmly to the two.

[Alice Geissler]

There was an event at school and apparently, there were a lot of people there. Everyone was assumed to be at a different dorm than hers though and it wouldn't hurt to at least enjoy the festivities. The headmaster had spoken about some kind of subject for what was expected at the academy and she carefully listened to it intently. The auditorium was full of lively students chatting with one another and there were three students in black, the three of them she assumed were students from her dorm. The gifts at the event were being passed out and she oddly enjoyed the company that the other students at the dorm had given, especially the ones that were new. And that gift was being handed to her in which she thanked whomever was giving out the gifts. She decided not to be sociable however as that temper would've gotten in the way of interacting with others from her dorm.

[Alouette Pendleton]

Alouette looked at her watch before letting out a sigh. The Headmaster was supposed to be here a little bit ago. Did he plan on showing up at the last moment again? Looking at the doors to the auditorium, the young Wave Warden watched the many new students pour into the room and fill up the seats. They range from big and small, to young and old. It was like this every year, really. Alouette even remembered when she was among their crowd as well. A lot of stuff had changed since then, really. A lot of time has passed. But before she could go any further into her old thoughts, the young woman noticed the Headmaster come up to do his speech. Bout damn time. She smirked and she leaned back in her chair. She could relax while the speech was given, for however long that would be.

Naturally, it was a short speech. She had expected as much having seen the Headmaster give several of them already. When it was all done though, the Wave Warden got up from her chair with a large container holding things that would be passed out to the new students. She would be passing out the rare candies and free credits to all the students. Alouette was hoping to get it all taken care of quickly. Bea seemed to need her back at their room in the Wave Dorm. She could pass these out quickly then fly over there with relative ease. One by one, she passed out the gifts to each student. Noticing a Wave Dorm student, the young warden gave a quick remark, followed by a wink. Make sure to show them what the Wave Dorm is made of, alright? A little bit of moral encouragement was good. She had a knack for those kinds of things.

Afterwards, she handed prizes out to a bunch of Mana Dorm students. She noticed them get chummy almost immediately after she left. That was always a good sign. After all, Ally felt that this place is where a lot of important bonds should be made. Finally, she noticed a few of the much younger students. They seemed to barely pass four feet from a quick glance. Ally couldn't help but smile remembering who else started off their journey at such a height. Handing them their prizes, she leaned in before whispering some words that she felt like saying. Show those older kids what's what. I didn't go undefeated by picking fights with the younger kids after all. She honestly didn't know how students so young felt starting off when their classmates were all older and likely much bigger. She had started off at a decent age and had generally grown a bit by that time. (Unfortunately, she didn't grow much after that.) Her words weren't there to reassure them, though. It was more of her acknowledging them of their potential. With a smile and a quiet laugh, the Warden passed out prizes to the remaining students. And then. . . it was time to go. With a nonchalant pace, the girl exited the building before calling out her Hydreigon. Alright bub, you know where to go. With a roar, the aged Dragon Pokemon flew with Alouette back to their home dorm.

[Deleted]

William heaved a sigh as he heard the announcement on the PA system. He wasn't thrilled about there being an assembly. Since almost every other time he's experienced one it's been about something useless. Like small news as to school clubs, or some silly campaign about bullying. For those were topics that simply wasted precious time that could be used for classes. Those classes usually weren't spent wisely at his old schools, but that was beyond the point. Putting aside his opinions about school assemblies Will began to make his way to the auditorium with the rest of the students.

Carefully William listened to what the Headmaster has to say. Resisting the urge to make any comments that would bring attention to himself Will kept his trap shut. Although this didn't stop him from commenting in his head about what the Headmaster said. However, even though the blond headed teen commented, in silence, about the speech he respected the Headmaster. For he looked like a pretty decent guy, and hell, he even gave us some small gifts. Graciously accepting his gift Will smiled, before tucking it under his shoulder.

Confident that the gift was secure the blond haired teen made his way for the Auditorium doors. Humming in a quiet tone William smiled, for so far it seemed as if it was going to be a school year. Pushing the door open William left the Auditorium, however he had left with more than a gift. He had left with the Headmaster's gift, and the knowledge that this school year was going to be splendid.

[Seria Floria]

Oh, oh, is this the case? Oh geez, a public announcement! Seria fidgeted to herself, having heard the announcement from the Headmaster via the PA system snapping her out of her stupor as she once again had a brief and transient fantasy about riding on the back of the majestic bird of ice, Articuno. She had enrolled here to Gray Garden Academy on the blessings (albeit feigned) of her parents (she had no clue as to the motivations of their quick acceptance of sending her off) and she sort of had to remind herself to remain resolute and steadfast in her goal. She came here to learn more about what it meant to become a 'trainer,' such that she may some day meet the legendary Pokemon of yore. This reverie, which was broken from the announcement, prompted Seria to quickly make her way to the Auditorium, which, after a few moments of frantic running, she finally did find in the Commons.

She was almost late; but she had for the most part managed to make it to the opening part of the Headmaster's speech. For the time being, Seria remained somewhat uninterested in the particulars of the man's speech, for she had far different interests occupying the deep recesses of her mind. Eventually, it was only a few more minutes before Seria heard the word 'presents.' Oh, so are we receiving presents? I guess they are supposed to be for helping us get started? Eh...? That's all? Seria looked a bit dazed by the end of the speech, suddenly being told to go out there and get 'em, tiger, was not something she was totally expecting.

Still, the gift boxes were there, and Seria did take them with some grace, which probably should have come as a surprise to the person distributing them given Seria's dumbfounded stupor at the time, almost appearing as if she were lost, when in reality she was just thinking too hard about the whole speech. She thanked the person quickly before shaking her head and looking straight ahead, scratching her head. Without moving in place, she eked out a single "Huh."

[Annie Prince]

Annie had never had a strong opinion about announcements one way or another, though she liked the concept of assemblies well enough. After considering the matter, she decided that she had reason enough to attend this one and no reason not to, and so she headed to the Auditorium.

The announcement, such as it was, was short and to the point. Annie listened to the headmaster's brief speech with a look on her face that suggested that she either took it very seriously or was plotting to overthrow him by means of murder. (The truth was the former case.) It seemed to be a fairly reasonable matter which he spoke of, none of it truly news to her except for the handing out of gifts. When a staff member handed her one, Annie offered a polite but perfunctory thanks before taking a place at the edge of the room to simply watch the other students. They had been invited to get to know one another, but Annie would do so only by observing. Interaction did not appeal to her at that moment, though she would be interested to see if anyone approached.

[Cameron Faulkner]

He was late. He knew that, but honestly he could care less right now. He was too tired to care right now. It was like nine a.m. right now. Who's so busy that they would need to go and make an announcement at nine a.m. at a Pokemon boarding school? He yawned, sliding his feet into the auditorium. It seems he missed something because people were up and about talking and leaving the auditorium. Well whatever it was i seemed it wasn't anything to write home about since everyone was talking about what dorm they were in and other stupid stuff. With a yawn he noticed some people passing around boxes, neatly wrapped. There were also a lot of these boxes on the ground and in some of the spare seats. "Waste not, want not." He wasn't sure if that was the right saying but still took one of these neatly packaged parcels as his own and pocketed its contents. Useful items he would no doubt be in need of later on. He then slouched against his seat and tried to take a small nap among all the rabble. 

[Tanya Christianson]

Wondering into the ceremony, Tanya's excitement was mounting. She was nearly jumping in her spot at the thought that she finally made it into the academy. The academy she wanted to get into. How many people can claim that they worked their ass off to get into the school? How many people was she going to meet? What classes was she going to take? All these questions flew through her mind and they weren't gonna stop anytime soon.

When the headmaster spoke, Tanya fell silent, hanging on every word that he had to say. She was glad to find out that the speech wasn't too long and her mouth dropped in surprise when she found out that they were handing out gifts. As soon as the teacher gave her the gift, she opened it up to find credits and two rare candies.

Quickly stating a thank you, Tanya rushed out of the hall in order to explore the campus a little bit more. The time for talk could come later. Right now, she wanted to see where she would be spending her life in.