1106/English Mahou Shoujos, Do You Speak It

English Mahou Shoujos, Do You Speak It
Date of Scene:	11 February 2024
Location:	Club Building
Synopsis:	The weekly meeting of the English club welcomes several new members (that is, if Ren has anything to do with it). Bonus: most of them already speak English!
Cast of Characters:	Ren Morimoto, Amanda Faust, Hinoiri Kirara, Jadeite, Ivy Henlein, Adrien Agreste

---

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The English club is lucky enough to have its own club room, where the walls are decorated with posters from Hollywood films and there are bookshelves stacked full of various American media: books, comics, DVDs and even some old VHS tapes, as well as a small selection of imported snacks. There are cushions on the floor for sitting on, as the table is wedged into a corner and out of the way. And there's even a bean bag! It seems like it's a hot commodity though, as it's usually the first seat taken when the club gathers.

    No different today, as one of the younger club members is curled up in it, their winter coat laid across them like a blanket while their eyes are glued to the television. Currently they're watching an episode of King of the Hill, the finale of the third season, which sees Hank and Peggy celebrating their 20th anniversary with a party. The room isn't completely full but there is definitely a solid group in place, most of them quiet as they watch, engrossed.

    Ren's the only one who isn't, at the moment. He's seated in a chair by the door in case anyone new drops by, and he's reading a book, which is propped against his leg where he has it crossed over his knee. It's an old, dog-eared paperback, its spine long since broken.

    Over in the corner where everyone's school bags are gathered, poking out of Ren's is a ginger cat plushie, perfectly posed so that it has a clear view of the tv. Umeboshi's titters and giggles occasionally join with the laughter that spills out through the cracks in the door, though no one has noticed their secret guest so far.

    Ren flips to the next page and shifts slightly in his seat, glancing up towards the television screen for a moment before his gaze drops back down to his reading.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    There's an English *club*? Amy stops and doubletakes as she walks by the door. Okay, she has to see what they do in English club.

    She opens the door curiously, and sees Ren, opening her mouth to start a greeting--

    But then the glowing, animated rectangle in the dark room draws her eye, and whatever she expected to see, it wasn't *that*. Are they watching... King of the Hill?

    ...It's just *such an unexpected sight* here. Like she expected maybe new or classic movies or something.

    So yeah she's standing there for a moment, just... surprised.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was doing her yearbook thing, taking pictures, getting club photos. Today the english club was watching something about Rome, at least she assumed so. King of the Hill? Palatine hill, most likely. That's right. She did some study on great empires in the past. Supposedly it was a very american show, even animated. Who knew if it was good or not? She didn't.

Namely because she rarely had time to watch television as it was, let alone american ones. But here she was, with the school's trusty camera, flash off, quiet as could be, making her way towards it and...

"You know, doorways are called that because you go through them, not because you try to get in the way by being a lousy door," Hinoiri said, a bit meanly, to Amy. Before giving her a light push into the room. She'd then step inside and close the door, quietly as she could.

Room was kept dark for a reason. If anyone looked towards her, she'd hold up her 'Yearbook Club' badge, but not call out. Why? Because it was a watching event. You didn't interrupt those by calling out loud... or holding the door open.

She then moved over by the bags... unwittingly riiiiiiiight in front of the plush, blocking its view... and started quietly taking a few pictures. The camera, at least, was almost silent. The school paid for a nice one, it seemed.

Jadeite has posed:
    Go out and meet people, Jadeite.

    You have to go learn to be human again, Jadeite.

    Try socializing a bit more, Jadeite.

    Why don't you pick up a hobby, Jadeite.

    These, and other things, are being muttered under the breath of one Jason Dite, repeating the advice he has been given by various and sundry individuals. Apparently the 'reading quietly by himself' club isn't acceptable, so he's looking for something quick and simple so he can ease back into normal human interactions at his own pace.

    He's a native English speaker, being vaguely European and all, so English Club should be simple enough, right? Spotting someone ahead of him already poking their head into the club room, and a second person standing behind them, Jason pauses once he is behind Hinoiri, mildly annoyed that the doorway is being obstructed and mildly relieved that he can put off entering the room a bit longer.

    Then he hears distinctly American-accented voices emanating from the television.

    Oh, Metallia, give him strength. So this is American English, not proper English. Great. It's fine. It's all... Fine. One thing at a time. Maybe he'll stop itching to mind wipe everyone nearby if he just learns to tolerate them. It's not like he has telepathy anymore anyway, so he can't do that even if he tried. He sticks his foot in the door when it's closed in front of him, preventing it from closing fully.

    "So," Jason intones ominously, while giving Hinoiri a poisonous look as he opens the door fully and enters the room. "What's all this then, hm?" he asks.

    Yes, he even has the British accent, no, he's not being ironic.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Someone is speaking behind her. Amanda doesn't immediately process it as a threat she needs to pay attention to -- her bullies, a long time ago, were mostly boys -- and she doesn't realize what was said until she's being shoved, which is also weird.

    She's been bumped into, since the change, which is different enough when you're suddenly usually the lighter party, but being shoved is a bit more extreme. Hinoiri wasn't trying to hurt her but the smaller redhead stumbles forward and tips over, reflexes a little too late to keep her upright. For a split second she moves her arm towards position to rocket-jump out of it, then the next reflex that kicks in is lowering her center of gravity while she still has control over it. 36 isn't old old, but falling over is still much worse than it happening to a kid. She winces at the expected pain of impact--

    Everyone else sees Hinoiri shove, Amy stumble, tip over, drop to her knees, fall forward onto her hands and knees with a wince, in the space of like a second.

    Oh, right. Lighter, younger body. Not much hurt. Amy processes Hinoiri's words. "Sorry." she stands up, frowning. "But you shouldn't shove people! Geeze, girl."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    A couple of the club members turn their heads to look towards the door when it opens, maybe a bit peeved by the noise, but too polite not to complain. Most don't even react, though, because apparently this show is Very Good.

    Ren, though, of course he notices. He's purposefully sat there to notice. So he sets his book aside, revealing it to be a work by Isaac Asimov, and twists in his chair so that he can stand and greet the newcomers. "Hey there," he says, voice low so he doesn't interrupt the show. "Sorry, we got started early today, we're nearly at the end of this season. Welcome in!"

    Hinoiri definitely gets a curious head-tilt from Ren, his eyebrows pulled inwards in concern at her pushing Amy in, which leads to her stumbling and landing on her hands and knees. Immediately he's moving forward to offer a hand up, if she needs it. "You okay?"

    Then he reaches over to the nearby wall to flip on the lights, much to the consternation (and grumbling) of the club. "Ren-san!" someone says, aggrieved.

    "Naomi-chan, hit pause for me."

    More complaining occurs, but one of the girls does dutifully lift the remote and do so.

    Then Ren looks over the newly assembled group at the door, at Hinoiri's camera and Yearbook Club badge, and at Amy and Jason. "Come on in, we're the English Club," he continues, now talking at a normal level. "We're almost done with this episode. Do you all want to join?" To Jason, he gestures towards the tv. "It's an American show called King of the Hill. But we're going to watch a movie after, if you want to join in the vote."

Ivy Henlein has posed:
Ivy, baseball fan that she is, grew up playing the game as well. So it is that she's decided to try and find the baseball club, once she learned of its existance, which led her to the club building. She found the baseball club, but learned that there were no activities planned for the day. It was suggested to her, so that she'd not have her afternoon be a waste, that she visit the English club for the day, being as she's a native speaker of the language in question.

Having gotten directions to the English club's room, Ivy makes her way around the building and to the right room. She sees someone else enter the room ahead of herself, so she makes her way to the doorway, where she tap-tap-taps on the door frame. "Hello?", she asks, in Japanese... with her accent, even with her saying so little, making it obvious she's not native to the language.

Then, as she looks into the room, her eyes fall on the television -- and she seems surprised at what's on.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara stared, her mouth falling open slightly. She'd expected the girl to go forward a few feet, maybe get flustered. She hadn't expected her to topple over like a drunk gazelle tripping over a low fence. "Are you okay? Geez. You need some balance," Hinoiri said. What? She didn't shove her THAT hard. "Sorry, didn't realize you were so... that," she said, motioning towards the girl with a hand. "Don't block the doorways, though. It's dangerous."

She then glanced towards Jason and... held up her camera. "Just here for the yearbook club, catching everyone's memories and all that. Think they're watching a movie." Alas, she missed the english accent that could have been a joke in and of its own...

She then glanced to Ren and smiled. "Sorry, just here to take pictures. Hinoiri Kirara, from the yearbook club. Pretend I'm not here. It shouldn't take long."

Moving to her position, accidentally blocking the stuffy while she took pictures. Oh well. It wasn't like stuffies needed to watch TV, right?

Adrien Agreste has posed:
English Club? It had been awhile since Adrien had a chance to brush up on his English. French? Check. Japanese? Doing it. English... Well it'd been awhile since he last visited England so it wouldn't hurt to catch up a bit. Running later than the rest due to a quick after-school shoot he'd had to attend he comes dashing down the hall trying not to look out of place in the suit jacket he still had on while tugging the stupid cravat loose so that it looks more like a scarf. Who the hell wore cravats anymore? Ugh.

His steps slow as he comes to the door and stops at the apparent kerfluffle going on just inside past Ivy. He tips up onto his toes and asks in his slightly British accented English, "Everything all right here?"

Only to switch back to Japanese when he spots a familiar face. "Hinoiri? How are you--Oh sorry I should wait till club is over," he mumbles to himself, and then nods apologetically toward Ivy for speaking kind of over her shoulder. "Hi!"

Jadeite has posed:
    The red-head goes flying practically. Is Hinoiri that strong? Suspicious.

    As more people join the queue behind him, Jason, being the tallest present no doubt, sighs and enters the room as well so that he's not a hypocrite blocking the door. He definitely looks foreign, that's for sure. Blonde hair, very light blue eyes, light skinned, tall at 5'8" (and still only 16)... If ever there was someone who belonged in an English Club, Jason is... Probably not it. But that's no reason he can't be here.

    He puts on a polite face and smiles apologetically as he says, "Sorry to interrupt your..." He looks at the screen. "...That." Jason looks over his shoulder at the girl and boy who are also clearly foreigners. "For a given value of 'alright'." he answers glibly. How can anyone be alright watching American television? Honestly.

    Jason moves aside so that anyone and everyone and their mother's brother's cousins' room mate's dog can enter this parade of weirdos. "I thought I would investigate this club. Perhaps I might be of use as someone to practice speaking English with, if anyone cares to. Otherwise, I am perfectly content to read a book quietly in the corner."

Ivy Henlein has posed:
Ivy steps just a little to the side and turns herself sideway, so as to not be blocking the door from Adrien. "Hi... and I don't have a clue what's going on in there, really...", she replies, all of this in English (which marks her, clearly, as an American by how she speaks). "...I just got here, myself", she concludes, looking back into the room in question.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Back to the Future."

    The words are out of Amy's mouth as soon as Ren mentions there will be a vote.

    Hinoiri is apologizing. All that put sin Amy's mind is stopping anyone from digging too much into why her reflexes were off. "It's fine. Y-yeah. I was just... Like I thought they'd be watching classic movies or something. But I guess this *is* a show a lot of Americans would be familiar with."

    To Adrien's question she answers, "[Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.]" in American English.

    As she turns around she sees Ivy there with surprise on her face as well. She holds out her arms to indicate Ivy as proof that Amy's own reaction was normal. "It's surprising, right?! See? See?!"

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The appearance of another new arrival -- no, two new arrivals! -- has Ren practically beaming, his grin stretched wide and his eyes lit up with joy at Ivy and then Adrien. This is clearly a passion project of his, if his enthusiasm is anything to go by. His head bobs up and down as he waves people in, and then his hand changes direction to start pointing out available seats. Yes, on the floor, generally, but there are a few chairs at the table if that's asking too much.

    "Welcome!" he repeats. Ren then makes note of Ivy's accent, his mouth opening, only for other folks to speak first. "Ah, yes, of course, please feel free to take as many pictures as you need," is his answer to Hinoiri, his tone going a bit more stilted than it was before. But then he nods. "I'm Ren Morimoto."

    Official Club Business handled, he turns to consider the apparent native English-speakers now in residence, his mouth pursed in thought. But then he smiles again, all worries evaporating. "I think we might have that one on VHS!" is said to Amy. And then, "We can always use more people to chat with!" All of that in what is rather decently accent-less English (though actually, was that a bit of a Californian accent maybe?). "I guess I won't ask you to come up with English names, then, since you probably already have them."

    So it's only for the general club members' benefits that he switches back to Japanese to say, "We'll turn the show back on in a second! But we have new members, who we should let introduce themselves first, don't you think?" He laughs, and rubs the back of his head when Jason mentions reading. "Sure, we have some books in English if you'd like to read. Most of them aren't super complex, since they're to help learn the language, but we have a few novels."

    Something seems to catch his notice then, movement out of the corner of his eye, and he hustles over to the corner with the bags. "Sorry I just need my, my... uh," he's stammering as he picks up his backpack and starts rifling through it... which is just an excuse for him to pull the first thing out that he can, past Umeboshi's plushie body. "My pencil case!"

    Why does he need his pencil case? "Uh... so we can exchange phone numbers, if you want to join the group chat!" Yeah, that will work. The end goal is the same anyway: when he sets his bag back down, Umeboshi once again has an unobstructed view of the television. Crisis averted. Hopefully no one saw his spirit guide starting to get a little... wiggly.

    "Anyway, um, please introduce yourselves!"

Ivy Henlein has posed:
Voting for a movie has been mentioned, and someone's called out the name of a movie. "How about 'Lost Boys'...?", Ivy suggests, in English. Then, Ren's talking about new members. From where she's still standing at the doorway, she lifts a hand and says, this time in her 'AMERICAN!'-accented Japanese, "Uhm... I'm actually joining the baseball club, but they didn't have anything happening today and suggested I drop by here, being as I'm a native English speaker...".

The then lowers her hand and gives a kind of half-bow, while still standing in the doorway, though she's turned to face into the room. "I'm Ivy Henlein, and I just transferred here from Texas",s he says, still semi-torturing the Japanese language; she speaks it well, and clearly, but it's obvious she learned it from another American and just hasn't, at least until very recently, been around native speakers of the language.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced towards Adrien and smiled. Hey, her lackey. "Just taking pictures for the yearbook club. Seeing everyone having fun, gathering together, gathering memories to last a lifetime, all of that stuff," she said with a shrug. "Nothing major."

She then glanced to Amy and.... "Really not a good idea to freeze like that in doorways, please be more careful. You could get hurt." Not that she cared... much. But she didn't want to accidentally really hurt somebody.

She then glanced back to Ren and.... "No thanks. I try to limit who I give my number to." She uhhhh... at least people no longer confused her texting for her having a seizure. So she was improved! A lot!

Jadeite has posed:
    Jason makes to plant himself in a corner with one of the novels Ren mentioned (providing a nod of acknowledgement and thanks to him for that information), but now they're introducing themselves. That... Is what a normal person does, isn't it? He has erased the British accent from his Japanese with practiced ease, sounding just like any other native speaker now, as he says, "Jason Dee-tay. I am not new to Radiant Heart Academy. I have been here for several years now, but I was previously occupied with non-academic responsibilities. I'm now branching out, so to speak, and widening my horizons. Also, 'The Maltese Falcon'." He and Zoisite are Humphrey Bogart nerds, deal with it.

    "I would like to observe for a session before deciding if I am joining, if that is acceptable?" he inquires, adjusting his glasses and looking around the room at everyone.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Amanda Faust, Amy for short. I'm from America too!" She curtseys towards the group of folks that were watching the show, then turns back to Ivy. Lost Boys? "[What's that one about?]"

    She glances at Hinoiri. She's still on that? "I was startled. I don't make a habit of it."

    She shrugs at Jason's question. She's not a member, she doesn't know.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste flashes a grin as everyone starts to step inside and it seems everything is all right. Just a bunch of newbies at once. He could understand that. At the very least it made him stand out a little less than he usually did being the new guy. Almost as tall as Jason he was easily able to see over the heads of others, too, and lifts his hand to give a little wave of greeting.

"I'm Adrien Agreste. I'm from Paris but my mother was British so I'm fluent in both languages, as well as getting more practice in my Japanese. I apologize for my accent." It's all offered in Japanese and frankly his accent wasn't bad at all. Maybe he'd been here awhile already. Then in English he adds, "I don't get to practice my English much unless my cousin is visiting from England, so I thought the club may help keep me ontop of it."

As for movie recommendations? He pauses at that looking momentarily thoughtful. "If we're looking at classics there's always 'Casablanca.'"

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    "Ah!" Ren exclaims. "Texas!" And then out of nowhere he points at one of the other boys on the ground, who flails his arms a little bit.

    "Uh... uh! The Lone Star State! Capital: Houston!" A girl sitting next to him slaps him on the arm and then corrects him with, "Austin! Is it true they have cowboys there?" And then the entire room seems to erupt into questions about Texas, about cowboys and horses and Tex-mex and someone asks if she's ever seen a rattlesnake, while Ren flaps his arms in the background, an attempt to get them all under control.

    Finally he claps his hands over his head, and that quiets the club down. And then Ren sighs. "I'll just put a sheet of paper next to the sign-in journal in case anyone wants to leave their number," he says, giving Hinoiri an acknowledging nod shen she says she doesn't want to do so herself. Ren doesn't seem to begrudge that of her.

    "Welcome everyone," Ren says, making sure to make eye contact with all the newcomers one by one as they introduce themselves. Adrien's mention of his mother has Ren gleefully stepping forward. He's quite tall himself, but he slouches a lot. It definitely gives off the impression that he's a few inches shorter than he really is. "Do you like British shows? I brought a few back from America but they never win the vote. Most of them are, uh, a little violent anyway."

    The girl who had the remote earlier, Naomi, smiles up at Jason as she joins him in the library corner, though she's browsing the shelves with all the movies. "That's totally okay, we're a pretty casual club. People drop in when they have free time. Um... I can't find anything about Lost Boys, or... a Maltese Falcon?" Her nose wrinkles in confusion. "What's a Casablanca?" But then she lets out a small noise of triumph, and with a dramatic flair, spins around on her heels to lift something above her head. Dun-dun-dun-dunnn!!! It's a VHS copy of Back to the Future. "Ren-san, I'm changing my Remote Vote to this one!"

    For the benefit of the newcomers, Ren explains, "Whoever has the responsibility of the remote gets a weighted vote. So: Remote Vote." He doesn't seem to have an answer to Amy's question, but you know who does? The internet! Which is why he whips out his phone and starts looking it up. "Let's finish up this episode real quick so that people who aren't staying for the movie can leave," he says, and as Naomi drops back onto her cushion, she nods and whips out the remote to hit play. Bobby says something hilarious on screen that will, no doubt, be oft-quoted for the next week at least.

Ivy Henlein has posed:
"It's about vampires", Ivy says (still in Japanese) in reply to Amy's question about 'Lost Boys'.

In response to the question about cowboys, she nods. "Yeah, but there's a lot less of them than people think, because Texas isn't all ranches and cattle-drives. "... there *are* the Dallas Cowboys, but I've never really been a fan of that sport", she adds.

She does finally fully step into the room, too, though she stays near to the door.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste steps over to the sign up sheet that Ren was in charge of apparently quite fine with scribbling his phone number down at least. He had come here for the club after all. "Ah, no 'Casablanca', that's a shame. I can bring over my copy some time if anyone would like. It's a true classic. So is 'The Maltese Falcon' though," he has to admit of Jason's own suggestion with a grin. "I always enjoy romantic movies a bit more. It's the Frenchman in me I'm sure," he jokes a bit. One of Ren's pencils is taken to scrawl down his name, and number, and then he stands straight again holding the pencil back out toward Ren to take back.

"Thanks! I can't say I've watched a lot of British shows to be honest. My father limits my television time so I usually only get to see what's in our movie library. I'm always up for something new, though!"

With the show restarted to finish he tries to keep his voice low so as to not interrupt others. His gaze does stray back over to Hinoiri after a moment with a look of mild concern as if there was more he had been asking earlier than if everyone was okay from the small collision at the doorway.

Jadeite has posed:
    Jason gives an approving nod to Adrien for his choices, and settles in to alternate between reading and watching the movie once the King of the Hill episode is done. He isn't sure if he's joining yet or not, but...

    This is tolerable.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Vampires? Amy shrugs. "Never was a big fan of vampires." Wait, she knows one, that would be super rude if Norie was here, but she's not, phew.

    Ren asks if someone likes British shows. Amy comments, "David Tennant is the best Doctor, and Silence in the Library - Forest of the Dead is... one of my favorite episodes. It's been awhile."

    What's Casablanca?! "Classic movie. About someone trying to escape Nazi-ruled France during World War II."

    Her eyes widen at the reveal of a VHS TAPE OF BACK TO THE FUTURE!

    Even her own copy, gathering dust on a shelf somewhere back in America, was a DVD box set.

    She nods to the explanation of Remote Vote, but... "...Wait, you have a VCR?!" She looks around to see if she can spot it, and maybe feels just a little bit more like she's actually 14 again.

    No Casablanca. 'A shame', says Adrien. "Uhh. If you want a movie, I can get it. Uh, I'm in computer club, if that's a smart TV I can probably set it up to play off a computer, and if not we'll find a way."

    She's a little surprised that 'not having a copy' is an issue for these teenagers. Didn't they grow up in the age of the internet? Do kids see that differently?

    She goes over to the sign-up sheet. "I dunno if I have time for another club full-time..." her own media consumption already has to compete with school, club activities, and saving the day, after all.

    It's almost a shame there aren't clubs for people with super-specific genre interests. ...That actually sounds like it'd be a pretty good slice of life manga. **-bu no Nichijou, huh...? The problem is someone's probably gonna draw that and it's probably gonna suck, for the same reasons she told Klarissa.

    She meant to ask if it was okay if she only came part time but she's lost in her head again.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    At least one of the boys sitting down looks absolutely crestfallen to hear that Texas is not positively resplendent with cowboys. But with the television back on, it seems to have quieted most of them down so they're not so... aggressively curious.

    Ren remains standing, hovering near the door as if he expects, given the sudden influx of new people they just had, that someone else might arrive soon. It doesn't seem to be the case, though, so he steps over to accept the pencil from Adrien. And it seems like a good idea to jot down his own name and number, so he does. "We keep track of everything in the library so that people can make temporary donations from their own collections. Our old club leader set it up, it's really efficient," Ren tells him. "We try to do make-up sessions for some of the more popular movies, since not everyone can be here every meeting."

    And they really were nearly at the end of the episode, because now the credits are rolling. The club members on the ground start to get restless, some stretching their arms, others climbing up onto their feet. A fair few do end up shuffling out of the club room, having apparently just come for a little while; they exchange farewells with Ren at the door before departing, and he lifts a hand to wave them out, calling out, "See you next week!"

    Someone calls out "Vote time!" and Naomi dutifully holds up the VHS tape of Back to the Future. And yes indeed, there is a VCR, in fact it's underneath the DVD player! Both are connected to the tv at once, so that either can be used right away. The collection of movies on the shelves are a definite mix of media types, too.

    "I really liked Christopher Eccleston. Everybody lives, yannow?" Ren smiles. "Maybe we could do a British month before the end of the year." Another of the club members goes up to movie library and picks a Disney film, this one on DVD. One of the newer ones. These two seem to be the ones up for vote, Naomi standing on one side of the tv, the other girl on the other. They call for the vote by show of hands, Disney girl going first.

    Ren doesn't move.

    "We could hook the tv up via HDMI, but I like physical media the best. It's just... better." Does he clarify how it's better? No. No he does not. He just, apparently, thinks it is. Either way, his hand shoots up when Naomi calls out for Back to the Future, and he smiles. "We're happy to have you whenever you do have time, Amy-san!"

    After the vote is concluded, Naomi comes to sit down near Jason. She peers at what he's reading and smiles, but then her attention is on the television, her knees folded beneath her primly.