Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 14, 2014 19:49:27 GMT -5
(Sorry for the lame post in advance, proboards deleted the better version.)
Weaving through the crowds with Tenchi, Seiji leaned over slightly and whispered, "I lied. It rhymes with socks, though." Seiji wouldn't know if Tenchi got the joke or not. The other mutts on the military base always said silly things like that and laughed at one another. It took some time for them all to get the idea through his head, but he eventually came around to finding the joke funny.
Finally making it to the food court, he saw that it was actually less crowded than he thought it'd be. Maybe everyone had decided to spend their day off doing something besides eating multicultural fast food. Tenchi wanted a beef bowl...that thought got better the more he thought about it. His stomach growled at the thought and he looked around for a mini restaurant that would serve what they were looking for. Finally finding it, Seiji said, "A beef bowl? You have good taste." Eventually getting into the food joint, Seiji sat down and ordered something simple and meager. He wasn't usually the kind of person to hog out, but he told Tenchi, "Order what you like, I've got a little money to waste." Sitting the plastic shopping bags down beside him, he observed the other boy. Takeda had given him a little spending money, assuming that a boy in a shopping mall would want to buy something. In a sense, he was buying something, that being an opportunity to make a new friend as they ate.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 14, 2014 21:30:53 GMT -5
Rhymes with socks… ”Uh… box?” Tenchi offered up. Socks and box rhymed though right? He was fairly certain they did. What would he do with a big box anyway? He wasn’t sure but he supposed he could stuff someone into a box and ship them away from the city so he would never have to deal with him. If he was in a particularly fickle mood he might supply an air hole or two for that matter.
When they arrived at the food court, he was content to see that very few people were in the area and there were plenty of places that he would be able to sit down. When they arrived at a station and the shorter male ordered a beef bowl that was tiny in comparison to the thing Tenchi normally ate, it couldn’t go uncommented, ”It’s no wonder ya so small.” was what Tenchi said before turning his attention to the clerk. He ordered a large bowl with extra beef and a side order of rice. When everything was paid for and the two had their own bowls, Tenchi went to the first table that was opened to take a seat and chow down. He hadn’t been hungry when it was suggested to eat but there was something about the aroma of a freshly made beef bowl that always got him hungry.
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 14, 2014 21:55:30 GMT -5
"I don't think that actually rhymes. It's more like...one of those weird words that sounds like it rhymes." Seiji commented after hearing Tenchi attempt to get what he was talking about. It was probably better he didn't given that the innuendo would probably make him uncomfortable if he found out what he was trying to say. Sitting down and listening to Tenchi talk about how scrawny he was made Seiji smirk.
"Eating a lot's also an easy way to get fat if you don't live an active lifestyle." Canned as the response probably seemed, Seiji genuinely believed that. In his pre-adolescence years, he occasionally teetered on the edge of chubbiness but kept himself in check with healthy eating and eventually joining a Kendo team. "You might be right though, I could use some more protein in my diet. You know, we should hang out some more. You can give me life lessons and toughen me up, we'll become a crime fighting superhero duo after tragedy strikes...it'll be great stuff."
And of course, Seiji didn't smile once when he said that. Most people would think he was being entirely serious.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 14, 2014 23:11:36 GMT -5
Tenchi wasn’t sure if the guy was calling him fat or not or if he looked fat… he’s fairly certain that he doesn’t look fat. He was just bulky with… manliness… and muscle… and things that were considered manly. He needed to not think about it otherwise he might just throw a tantrum again. He just gave an affirmative ‘hmm’ in response while he was hovered over his beef bowl and noodles were half hanging out of his mouth before he could slurp them up. The blonde was never one for conversation to begin with, but he talked even less when he was eating. In his mind, lunchtime or breakfast or dinner were reserved for the act of eating, not to hold a conversation. That was before or after the meal. Most other people didn’t seem to get that concept though; but then again, he never really ate with most people either.
"You might be right though, I could use some more protein in my diet. You know, we should hang out some more. You can give me life lessons and toughen me up, we'll become a crime fighting superhero duo after tragedy strikes...it'll be great stuff."
Tenchi stopped eating and gave the guy a look, brows drew together in thought. He wanted to hang out more so Tenchi could teach him life lessons? Lessons? Like… those things in school. ”Uh.. dunno ‘bout you. But I never finished high school. Dun think I’mma be teachin’ much of anythin’ to anyone. Don’t know nothin’.” He straightened up in his chair and took a quick look around before returning to the conversation, ”An’ do I look like a crime fighter? Cops are always on my case. I’m prolly the guy you’d be fightin’ to stop some crime happen.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 15, 2014 0:19:43 GMT -5
He'd taken him totally serious.
...good! That was what Seiji was hoping would happen. Tenchi kind of reminded him of Takeda in that they were rough around the edges. Then again...part of him felt that Tenchi had some actual bark behind his bite while Takeda just talked a lot of smack. Hearing about how Tenchi didn't finish school was kind of sad, but Seiji wasn't one to judge. "You taught me stuff I didn't know back there. I would've never managed to figure out the right stuff to buy since that clerk was so busy spinning game."
Slurping up the last few bites of his beef bowl, he forced it all down with a hearty drink of good old fashioned cola. "Plus, I really don't see you as a bad guy. More like...an anti-hero, maybe. Maybe not even that. All the best superheroes are anti-heroes." He started listing off popular anti-heroes from all sorts of popular media (ones that would get us sued if they were named) before eventually saying, "See, you're an inspiration! An idol!"
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
”That stuff? That stuff was useless crap. Ain’t like it’ll be useful.” He didn’t really teach him anything. All he did was just pick up his shit for him. The guy didn’t know what was what in that store, so he took it upon himself to get him whatever was on the list or better on the list. He had only done what the clerk would have done, had he been doing his god damn job instead of trying to get a good dicking from someone.
When he was told he was some sort of anti-hero, he felt like he should probably correct the guy by punching him. Fortunate for him, he bought Tenchi a beef bowl so he was too occupied with eating to put forth the effort. ”Those don’t sound like me at all.” Honestly he didn’t know much about popular superheroes but he knew that superheroes tended not to be getting in trouble or frightening people all the time.
”’sides, I dun wanna be an idol. Too many people would be bangin’ on my door wantin’ autographs or sumthin. Screw that noise.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 15, 2014 1:01:41 GMT -5
"Huh. A lot of my favorite musicians didn't really wanna be idols, either. Ever listen to Hank Williams?" He kind of knew the answer to that question already. Asia was not a good place to search for fellow fans of country music. His visit to the mall was proving enjoyable though.
A sudden burst of curiosity overtook Seiji. It was a random, spontaneous thing and he hoped it wouldn't come across as prying when he asked. "Say, Tenchi, where're you from? Were you born here, or are you from abroad like a bunch of people in this city seem to be?" He almost muttered myself included under his breath considering that he was a guest of the city as well. Mosaic reminded him of Constantinople in the 16th century if he remembered his history books correctly...albeit with a far cheesier name.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 15, 2014 18:35:00 GMT -5
Uh… who?” Hank Williams? What kind of music was that? Clearly Tenchi had never heard of the musician in his life. He didn’t listen to a wide variety of music and tended to stick with music that was on the heavy side. There was a lot of screaming that the lead singers do and despite how often Tenchi may have listened to a song, he still was never sure what they were screaming. He wasn’t even sure if what they were screaming was actually words or not.
”Born and raised here. Never had a reason to leave. Hell, there’s still places in Mosaic City I haven’t seen.” He generally walks everywhere and that meant he could only go a distance that he could eventually walk himself home as well. He knew the general ten mile radius from his home like the back of his hand because of it. Fortunate for him too because his sense of direction was absolutely horrid. Anyhting outside that ten mile radius he’d likely get lost until he accidentally found his way back home. He wouldn’t ask for help, that much is for certain. [/b]
Last Edit: Jan 15, 2014 18:44:46 GMT -5 by Tenchi Lui
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 16, 2014 20:08:15 GMT -5
Welp, Tenchi didn't know who Hank Williams was. No surprise there considering the only reason he knew about Hank was that his father was from the rural US and kept vintage records around and Seiji acquired a taste for old country. "Hank Williams. I dunno if you'd like him or not. He was a good ole country boy who got famous because he was a good singer. Even though he was famous he was still just...Hank, make sense? He didn't let fame change him." He didn't know why he was even telling Tenchi this, it wasn't like it was relevant to anything. Looking from the remains of his meal to Tenchi's massive bowl of beef, he felt his stomach growl.
Usually, the meager meal he ate would be enough to fill him up and keep him satisfied. Instead, he was looking at the massive helping of beef with a calm face. Money wasn't even what he was concerned about, it was the temptation Tenchi was inducing to eat bigger portions. Seiji found himself making comparisons between himself and Tenchi. Until recently, he'd lived in one area his whole life as well. Here he was now, a fish out of water in unfamiliar territory. "Huh...is there anywhere you wanna go one day?"
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 16, 2014 23:10:51 GMT -5
Tenchi
197 WORDS
No he didn’t get it. He highly doubted that this Hank, if he were as famous as the boy was claiming, was the same as he was. No one gets that amount of fame and retains their previous outlook or image on life. Something changes. There was no fighting it. Whether that change was good or bad was just a matter of opinion. The biggest change that Tenchi would hate would be the popularity or the paparazzi always finding a way to beat down his door and ask for a interview or something. Most irritating. He would be famous for one day and then infamous all over again. It would be a rather big waste of time.
”Huh… is there anywhere you wanna go one day?”
That was an odd question. ”No.. Fine where I am.” He had no care for what laid beyond the city limits. The world was all the same in his mind: full of assholes. ”Why? Should I? People I know never cared about what they found outside the city.” Which was pretty wild of a statement since Tenchi didn’t know anybody. So he was technically referring to himself for the most part.
Last Edit: Jan 16, 2014 23:15:51 GMT -5 by Tenchi Lui
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 17, 2014 11:22:39 GMT -5
"I dunno," Seiji replied as he tugged on his chin, "a lot of people just want to go somewhere besides where they are. The grass is always greener on the other side and all that." He didn't quite know where he fell in alignment with what he just said. "Or you could just be like a weirdo like me and be cool with whatever, no strong feelings one way or the other." There were places he wanted to visit of course, like his dad's hometown, the statue of liberty, the pyramids, the tokyo tower, stonehenge...but it wasn't like he could just up and go to those places whenever he wanted.
He was stuck here and he didn't even feel resentful about that. There was a pretty good balance of purpose and normalcy and it wasn't like he could leave if he wanted to. Curious, he looked at Tenchi in a different light, like he was sizing him up in a subtle way. He was suddenly regretting his actions considering Tenchi would probably take it as an aggressive sign, and it wasn't like every person he met was going to be a Persona user. That'd just be silly.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 18, 2014 20:19:25 GMT -5
Tenchi
197 WORDS
”Not hard to believe. There ain’t much grass ‘round the city where I live.” He replied as he completely misunderstood the saying. He didn’t know a whole lot of sayings and as such, doesn’t really get them when used in conversations. The whole lack of socializing with the human world tended to make him inept at such things. The most sayings he’s learned were bad fortune cookies.
The guy across from him started to look him over and Tenchi quirked a brow in response. Did he have something on his face or something? ”People are assholes here or out there. I got ‘nough jerkoffs to beat to oblivion here so I ain’t got any desire to fill up my schedule with other places.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 19, 2014 0:41:52 GMT -5
"Well, there's not much grass where I live, either. If you ever come through Mimoza Corner, stop by Manga-Max if you haven't already. My brother works there and we both live on the second floor. It's...kinda bootleg, our apartment I mean. I could slip you a manga volume or a video game though. Maybe a cheat sheet to make a really good fighter in Goblins n' Grottos would be more your tastes? No matter what, you'll find it all at Manga-Max." By the last sentence, he'd fallen into a dull monotone often used by people reading out lines for a commercial as they tried desperately to sound enthusiastic. Finally smirking for once at how over the top his mannerisms were, Seiji slid back from the table.
"I'll tell you one good thing about the quarantine that has to do with the ass-kicking quota. Most of the gangs in the city were outside the quarantine zone. Who knows, maybe they've mutated and are living out some weird lord of the flies fantasy out there." Of course he knew that wasn't really what went down outside the inner circle. It was far more...destructive than that. A few of the shadows he'd seen looked like mutated gang members if he squinted his eyes enough.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Tenchi Lui on Jan 19, 2014 14:43:03 GMT -5
Tenchi
197 WORDS
Insert product placement here. That’s what Tenchi thought as he got the whole rundown of Manga-Max. Fortunately Tenchi was never interested in manga and or video games. He never had time for that kind of stuff. He was too busy roaming around and minding his own business. He never did find a manga that was to his interest and video games he simply never understood the concept behind them. Why would you want to play games on a television when you could just go outside and entertain yourself in a similar fashion… and it was more healthy for that matter. Not that Tenchi would know really.
”Sounds gross. I wouldn’t wanna be mutated. I’d rather the cops do their jobs an’ just lock the assholes up.” People getting mutated and acting like psychos wasn’t a really cool punishment. That wasn’t justice either. No… he would rather them actually get locked up and punished according to the way the law was supposed to work. If the police force took their thumbs out of their asses then gangs never would be an issue and he wouldn’t be knocking heads together.
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 19, 2014 22:08:37 GMT -5
"You're a good guy." Seiji said simply after hearing Tenchi's response. There weren't many people that would talk like that. Seiji had to say he respected the guy. That answer was pretty darn mature. "Seriously though, if you ever wanna come around and chill, I wouldn't mind at all. Hanging out with you would be fun."
The blank tone Seiji usually used was replaced by a warm, friendly, and most of all, sincere tone. He wanted to be Tenchi's friend and that was that. Now he just had to get the guy to agree to come around some time. Something told him that Tenchi looking through all the awful manga his brother was forced to sell would be great.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”