babermetrics | IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

Ah, yeah . . . I get what you mean.

[In a sense he's not surprised; enough weirdness has happened here. They've been jerked around already, right? What are these guys gonna care if they lose people? He's not even entirely sure yet who "these guys" are, but he knows he doesn't trust them.

On the other hand, the more he lets it sink in, the more it bothers him, and his expression sharpens, mouth twisting in irritation.]

--I don't get it, didn't they go to all kinds o' trouble to bring us here, assumin' all that's even real? So why do they jerk us around so much? Why would they let people die from all this stuff? That'd just be a waste o' their time!

[Oh. Okay, this sounds like a story, and one just as crazy as all the stuff he's heard about Cerealia.]

So you dressed up as a chick, huh . . . I guess that's pretty smart. Good thing they had a guy like you along, right? What if it'd been three guys like me? You'd be pretty screwed. So, what, you really had to get into that party that bad? Somehow you didn't strike me as that kinda guy, ha ha!

[He knows it's probably got nothing to do with wanting to check out a kegger or whatever, but he can't help but make the joke.]

[--'No offense', huh... I know it myself, so it's not like I'm going to get offended, but it kinda gives me mixed feelings...]

Oof. [That was a thwack, all right. Thankfully not like Nidai-level.] Hinata Hajime.

It was probably going to get even messier than that, so. [...] It'd probably go right back to messy too if they spot us again.

Yeah . . .

[He scans the room quickly. They haven't been noticed specifically yet, but there's a general increase in activity in this area, and a lot of people blocking the path to the door . . . ]

We probably can't get away with just posin' for 'em this time until they go away, huh?

[Larry laughs sheepishly at the suggestion, but there's definitely a hint of worry there. What if that is what happened? He'd be the worst model ever!

It's a good thing he didn't sign up for this, but still.]

Hopefully that wasn't it! I've had a couple model girlfriends and they never mentioned anything like this happening before...

[He's pretty sure their photoshoots weren't ever this weird, either...what's going on here, anyway?]

Maybe I'm just not feeling so hot right now. Something I ate making me woozy, I dunno. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again, though.

[Leon finally gets to his feet; it at least doesn't look like this guy's going to pass out again anytime soon. It's a good thing, because he doesn't know what he'd do if he got stuck with someone who was seriously sick. Does 119 work here? He really doubts it.]

You eat any o' the food earlier? I mean, I totally chowed down 'cuz it was free so why not, and I'm doin' fine, but 's not like I tried everything they put out. Buffet style's always, like, questionable, right? You never know what's been goin' on with that food!

[And as an afterthought, he offers Larry a hand up. Even though this guy's bigger than he is . . . well, not by that much, it should be fine.]

[ He actually gets the other's frustration, really. Even though Leon is a little more rough around the edges about it, it's Heung Soo's exact sentiment. Nothing about this scenario has made sense ever since the first day they arrived - if anything, it's only started making less sense. ]

Like you said. "Assuming all that is even real." [ He sighs, frowning to himself. It's mostly out of worry, but there's definitely some annoyance towards this place in there too. ] They're probably lying to us, considering they never brought up the whole 'save your worlds' thing ever again.

[Hinata looks narrowly toward the door, lips pursed. MAKING A BREAK FOR IT... probably won't work.]

Probably not... It doesn't seem like they'd be satisfied with that.

Ah, shit, uh . . .

[Leon's not the guy who comes up with plans. Who comes up with plans? People with that kind of personality, not him! He can't read yet if Hinata's a plans kind of dude, but they seem to be equally at a loss here.]

. . . What if, like, we pretended you got hurt or somethin'? --Hey, that's pretty good, right? I totally came up with that spur of the moment, that was cool!

[did you notice how cool]

Yeah, a little bit. Like you said, why turn down free food? But if it was the food, you'd be sick too, huh? Man, this is so weird...

[He perks up when he realizes Leon's holding out a hand, and accepts it. It's just the right amount of support he needs to hoist himself up and regain his footing. He brushes off his blazer and pants for extra measure.]

Well, I guess it's just gonna be a mystery for now.

[He's praying it doesn't happen again to warrant further investigation. So instead of worrying too much about that, he smiles at Leon.]

So hey, thanks for helping me out. [This time he offers a hand, but in this case it's for a handshake.] I'm Larry, by the way.

What would they be lyin' to us about?

[Uh, besides everything. He makes a face and glares in the direction of one of the photographers again. They're being left alone for the moment, but that's only a small comfort; it doesn't make any of this less surreal and doesn't raise any fewer questions.]

Maybe I oughta say, why would they lie . . . ah, whatever, I know 's not like you know either. It's like, I'm pretty new, and I keep waitin' for someone to just explain all this to me, but no one can. At least I don't feel so dumb when no one else friggin' knows either.

[He takes Larry's hand to shake it. This guy's American or somethin' . . . how do they shake hands? He tries for something sort of inoffensively middling, grinning back.]

Yeah, nice to meet you! I'm Leon Kuwata! I ain't gonna leave a guy on the floor, man, that'd be askin' for it in a place like this. It makes me paranoid just thinkin' about it!

[In fact, let's not too much; if it really is the food, Leon might be next, and that's not something he wants to dwell on. What do you even do about that besides get weirded out?

And, because he can't resist:]

Model girlfriends, huh? Anyone here? I actually work as a model, so maybe I've seen 'em around!

Do you think they'll buy that...?

[HE JUST IMAGINES them spiriting him off to some medical tent here within the building. It'd totally be That kind of thing.

Sorry to buzzkill your awesome plan, though, Leon...]

We could always try distracting them somehow, too.

Yes, it was something that had to be done. [For the greater good and all that, but he'd rather not talk about that anymore. It's bad enough he had to keep telling people he's a boy when he was younger...]

[Nods.] We had to get in to save a friend of ours. [And he doesn't get what Leon seems to be trying to imply.] ...what 'kind of guy'?

[He's as American as he is Japanese.

...he's Japanifornian.

Either way, he doesn't seen to find anything wrong with the handshake.]

Nice to meetcha too, Leon!

[FINALLY, A NAME HE CAN ACTUALLY EASILY REMEMBER. He's been making friends with a lot of uniquely-named people lately. Such a simple mind, this one.]

Y-Yeeeahh...I definitely don't wanna be left around for the cleaning robots to find me or something.

[If Leon hasn't learned to fear robots already, it's only a matter of time.

But right, enough about the horrors of this place for now. Girlfriends are a way more important conversation topic.]

Nah, no one here. I haven't really been here long enough to score a quality date. I'm working on it though! [But since Leon brought it up...may as well not-so subtly work on it right now.] So you run into any single ladies at work?

It's hard to explain anything when they won't tell us a thing. [ Since the two of them are left alone for a moment, Heung Soo can finally properly turn to Leon without some photographer yelling at him to show his good side again. Ugh, so embarrassing.. thankfully they're at least getting a break from it for a few moments. ]

I just think it's a good thing to be wary of them. Considering their track record with the stuff they do to us, they'd need to do something really big to make up for all that at this point.

The party kinda guy . . . but if you were goin' in for somethin' like that, I guess that explains it.

["We had to sneak in in drag to save a friend and some guys were after us" is definitely not the same thing as being a party guy. He shrugs, hands in his pockets, and trails off into as much thoughtfulness as he ever manages:]

I wonder if everyone here had some crazy kinda life before they showed up.

That was what I was suggestin' . . .

[Okay, he has to admit his was a little more specific and prone to failure. He can't even be mad, though he huffs juuuust a little over it.]

But yeah, like that, that kinda thing. What else would we do, though? Cause some kinda big commotion?

[That comment about the robots is briefly distracting. What's wrong with cleaning robots? That sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Maybe he can get one and never have to clean his place again . . . but Larry hadn't sounded like it was that sweet a deal at all . . .

But seriously, with a choice of topics between housecleaning and girls, what self-respecting man would pick the first one? Unfortunately, Leon can't contribute nearly as much to it as he'd like, or could have back home. He's in much the same position himself.]

Nah, not yet. For one thing, they got me modelin' sports gear, but I'm tryin' to break outta that! Come on, what a waste! You've got a guy who looks as cool as I do and you're shovin' him in that boring-ass stuff . . . they don't know what they're doin'. And there definitely ain't as many, y'know, supermodel types on that scene. But I'm working on it! I asked out one girl I met, but she's a lawyer, not a model.

[He lowers his voice a little:]

Dude, how'm I supposed to afford dinner for a lawyer? I just got here too! I don't have that much saved up!

It ain't like I know about most o' what you mean. But yeah, I already got the point--they're definitely screwin' with us. I just didn't know it was that bad . . .

[But he's not really surprised, either. He leans up against the wall, arms crossed defensively. To Heung Soo himself, though, he at least seems to have opened up somewhat, because that's the power of mutual complaint . . . or maybe just of people stuck in a shitty situation together.]

You worried about me? Heh.

Edited (why do I only notice typos half a second after I hit submit) 2015-06-14 00:27 (UTC)

Yeah, something like that. Like... knock down one of those...

[He gestures toward one of the booths that's set up all around the room.]

That should be distracting enough.

Oh, yeah! Heh, great idea! That's easy! Once people come over to see what the big deal is we just slip out the back and book it!

[Hey, this guy's pretty smart after all! Leon lights right up at the thought of getting the hell out of this place. Seriously, the walking around trying to act casual is starting to get to him; who would have thought just leisurely strolling around could make a guy feel so paranoid? The sooner he's not looking over his shoulder every two seconds the better!

There's just one more thing. He glances across the room in the direction of the buffet, which by now is pretty deserted, but not entirely packed up yet--then he turns back to Hinata.]

Kinda wanna steal some food first . . . it's free anyway, and they totally owe us for all this bullshit! If they ain't gonna pay me for my time, they can at least, like, feed me for the next couple days. Sooo, wanna loot it? Maybe we could just knock that over instead when we're done!

Oh, I see... [And he kind of misinterprets 'party' since he's never ever been to the kind Leon is probably thinking off...] Well, I don't mind balls and dancing but we don't really have much of those at the Church. We do have birthday parties and celebrations at different festivals but that's about it.

Some crazy kind of life? What was your life like being you came here, Kuwata?

[Larry raises his eyebrows at the mention of Leon being a sports model. Apparently he doesn't get it either.]

I would've never guessed sports model just from looking at you. You'd think they'd make you one of those edgy, hip-hop punk kinda models. Here's hoping they get their act together!

[Now he just has to hope that's what Leon had in mind too, otherwise he just accidentally offended his new bud. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened though...

However, it's the next bit that really gets his attention. Conversation about dating is one thing, but dating a lawyer? Well, Larry knows a thing or two about lawyers.]

I dunno, it really depends on the lawyer. Take my two best friends for example, who are both lawyers: one of them is super cheap and would totally just go out for a burger and beer, and the other is as fancy-schmancy as you can get- you'd never impress that one unless you had a ton of cash.

[Phoenix and Edgeworth would kill him if they heard that.]

Did you get any of those kinda vibes from her? Or something totally different?

...

[Steal some food first he says so casually... and then they're going to try to knock over one of the stands... Thinking about it...

I'm starting to feel like a delinquent.

But, well, can it not be helped? Hinata wants to get out of here too. He's investigated enough here for the day, most likely, and getting out before it gets even worse seems like the best course of action.]

I've got plenty of food at home, but... I'll come with you while you get some?

IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

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re: last comment, I totally know how that is

here's hoping this week is better!

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fo' sho'!

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