estoria | [open] rude awakenings

Entry tags:

[open] rude awakenings

Who: Leia Rolando, anyone (OPEN)
When: After this (an ongoing thread)
Where: Various (gym → the streets → the entertainment district/game center)
What: A day in the life of a would-be journalist.
Warnings: None!

a.) it's more comfortable than a barrel

[Anyone who frequents the gym--more specifically the pool--may find a teenage girl asleep on one of the poolside chairs this fine morning, clad in her pink swimsuit with a towel draped over her like a blanket. A girl who may have gone a bit overboard with the laps, and who never seems to get enough sleep. Her hair is still damp...

Wake her up?

Even if your character doesn't, someone else will. She starts to stir to the sound of teasing laughter--and the feeling of cold pool water being splashed on her face.]

...H...Huh? [immediately, she shakes her head, wiping at her face, and--] Whoa!

[Suddenly there are people, and she's not alone like she was when she dozed off...]

(( ooc: feel free to have your character be the cuplrit behind the splashing! ))

b.) the 90s anime aesthetic

[Later, after she realizes how soon her shift at the arcade starts, you might catch Leia booking it with a bag in hand containing her costume. If she seems a bit rushed, it's because she is; and honestly, the only thing missing is the toast in her mouth.

It's only when she nearly bowls someone over that she slows down. Stumbling after bumping into them, she struggles to regain her balance.]

S-Sorry about that! [If it's someone she knows, she may regard them with some familiarity here; otherwise:] You okay?

c.) 100 cats weren't enough

[Leia makes it ontime, but only barely. She looks relieved anyway, though, after changing, and she takes up her post at the front of the arcade as usual. Anyone passing by will see her in a large cat costume, even if it isn't immediate obvious that it's her.]

Don't be shy! Stop on by!

[They will also be handed a flier of the hottest arcade games available, as well as new missions in ViViD and more!

Get swept in by the excitement... or blow her off. She's pretty much used to either by now.]

(( edit: fixed the link to her arcade costume, sorry 'bout that! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ YEAH, OKAY, he's not even going to attempt to conceal that he was swindled in here by the enticement of the cat mascot costume. He (technically) passed by the arcade from the other side of the street the first time under the innocuous excuse of glancing at the hubbub and essentially convinced himself they were selling cat effects (blame the tacky, overwrought promotional notices). The second time around, he's determined to go in, guns blazing, and buy as much kitschy stuff as his wallet could handle. So when he finally makes it to the front, he's just a little crestfallen to clearly glimpse neon-bright gaming consoles and ViViD interface platforms behind the overlay of poster-plastered windows instead of a bunch of unrepentant feline merchandise.

Makoto makes a halfhearted attempt to scald his face clean of disappointment when he takes the proffered flyer in hand, but the downturned brows and blotchy inflection reveal what he can't quite bring himself to disclose. ]

Um, what games would you personally recommend?

[ As always, Leia's a bit surprised when she's addressed. She... doesn't even really notice his disappointment at first; not many people opt to strike up conversations with promotional mascots. But she turns to him, smiling beneath the costume as if he could see her face.

(He can't, really...) ]

Oh! Well, ViVid's always really popular, of course, and we have a lot of fun fighting games you can play with your friends... but it really depends on your taste.

If you're looking for something less violent, you should check out our second floor!

[ don't worry, makoto's got enough empathetic tactility to realize that she's doing him a favor going out of her way when she could just feasibly leave him to his own devices, lost and confused in front of an arcade masquerading as a cat paraphernalia superstore. seriously, what a martyr to the cause. ]

Thanks. Looking at titles alone, I wasn't sure what to choose — none of them sound like the ones at home, so I was thrown through a bit of a loop.

What sort of games can you find on the second floor?

[ Leia works inside the arcade as much as out, so she's learned a bit about how the games are organized. Not that she gets the time to play them much, but she does plenty of watching! ]

Oh, things like puzzle games, brain teasers and stuff.

If you keep going up, we've got rhythm games and adventure games, too. We like to think there's a little something for everyone.

Wow, you're pretty knowledgeable! [ And he fumbles a bit for an appropriate ~~white lie~~ excuse to nullify his backpedaling (of course an arcade staff member would be well-acquainted with the genres on each floor). ]

In that case, I was thinking of buying a game to play with my friends. Do you know any that are good to play with a group? I guess I might need a console too, but I'm not sure if they have any I'm acquainted with here.

[ Wow! It's rare that her conversations ever get this far while she's in this suit--forced or not, and it's actually kind of exciting. Vaguely, she wonders if this is how Alvin feels, every time he's making a sale...

That goof. ]

Even if they don't, that means your friends probably aren't acquainted either. That means you can learn together, right?

[ Another (positive?) upside of talking to Makoto is that he'll potentially burn the candle at both ends for as long as he can. She's quite nice for amiably taking his impromptu conversational thread in stride, anyways. ]

Well, they're probably more familiar with video games than I am? As far as I know, none of us have experienced one that was fully immersive like some of the ones here, but they always bring a bunch of titles over whenever we decided to play together.

Did you have something like ViViD back home?

... Probably.

[ Leia is still smiling, though she seems unsure of her answer. It's the first real indication that she might not know as much as she's letting on... but then again, that's part of the job too, in a way. ]

I guess I don't really know. I did so much traveling around that I never really stopped to play video games or anything. Most of what I learned, I picked up here.

[ Gesturing at the Game Center entrance. ]

I could show you around or something. It's about time for me to make my rounds inside, anyway.

Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume — see, it's all really new to me, so I went and got a little ahead of myself. I'm sorry.

[ Eyebrows momentarily bunching together at the slight he must've caused her, his ensuing reply is a little sheepish, even as his mouth curves into a grin. ]

It must be nice traveling around, though. I've always wanted to go globe-trotting myself, although I never thought it'd happen this way. I guess I should've been more careful with my wishes, huh?

[ A tiny nod. ] Thank you! You must get a lot of patrons like me on a daily basis, but if it doesn't intrude on your time, I really would appreciate a tour.

[ He's a bit rambly and it's kind of endearing. Leia shakes her head to reassure him, because really, it's nothing to apologize for at all. She finally removes the costume's head so that he can see what she looks like.

It seriously gets way too warm in there... ]

It's no trouble at all. Follow me.

[ She leads the way inside, cat-head in hand, and the sound from all the game consoles and machines, people shouting increase by... well, a lot. She raises her voice a bit. ]

They do say to be careful what you wish for, but in this case, I think we'll be alright!

[ A tour is totally manageable. ]

[ It's a gift to talk someone's ears straight off, alright. But Makoto's unequivocally glad to see her in-person, because that makes it feel less like an obligation, although she's definitely doing him a solid playing tour guide through the mob of people crowding around the neon-bright game display screens, their faces lit up in periodic streaks of fluorescence.

Peering around the hordes amassing together to collectively scream and thrash about, he cups a hand around his mouth and raises his voice a few degrees. ]

Is it always this hectic? To be honest, it's a little difficult to read the titles with everyone moving around!

[ Leia, meanwhile, gets the fun of playing crowd control as they navigate to a quieter place. She periodically glances back to make sure she hasn't lost him, and also ushers people out of the pathways and into lines and other areas that aren't so in the way. ]

The first floor has the most popular games, not to mention new releases. [ SO BASICALLY... the answer is yes. ] We just have to make it to the stairs!

[ Good thing he can roll with the best of them, given his FREAKISH ABNORMAL HEIGHT FOR A QUINTESSENTIALLY AVERAGE HIGH-SCHOOLER — even insulated in the mascot suit, it's somewhat difficult to keep up with Leia, who deftly maneuvers through the potpourri of bodies like an experienced bouncer circumnavigating the hottest rave of the year.

When they disentangle from the crowd, Makoto settles back against one hallway wall, laughing partially from exhaustion, partially from utter bewilderment. ] The stairs aren't much farther from here, right? Come to think of it, I don't remember asking you how many floors there are in this place.

[ She takes a moment to breathe, taking in his questions, but soon they're swept again as they continue on their way. It's only when they reach the stairs that she stops, leaning against a wall a short distance away as Makoto catches up. ]

Five.

[ She's only mildly out of breath. She looks sweaty, though--ick. ]

But don't worry, there are elevators, too. [ As he's probably noticed. ]

Oh, that's convenient.

[ Once he's properly shaken free of the crowd, he spots the elevators she's indicating — only that they're swarmed en masse by a horde of arcade-goers and staff members alike, which is disheartening in more than one sense of the word. He presently sighs, swiveling his attention to the emergency stairwell before affixing his gaze on her with discernible sheepishness. ]

Should we rush in or try our luck on the stairs?

[ Leia scans the sudden crowd, and her head wanders towards the stairs as well. This kind of timed decision is thrilling in a way, even if it is so minor-- ]

We have about three seconds to decide.

[ ...... finally: ]

Let's go for it!

[ and she rushes for the elevator. ]

I wanna show you the top floor first, anyway. Then we can make our way down--okay?

Got'cha! You're the one helping me out in the first place.

[ He doesn't need to be told twice before he breaks into a run beside her. As silly as it is, he's laughing though, rather breathlessly at that, as he narrowly avoids being clipped by a merchandise cart and stampeded by the newest advent of gamers with flashy goggles and the newest hyperrealistic screens sprawled out in their view screens. By sheer luck, he manages to plant a hand to one elevator, holding it open for his companion (much to the exasperation of the passengers already sequestered within). ]

C'mon, they're just about ready to leave us hanging!

[ She laughs a bit, too. It's contagious--

And soon they're both dashing through the elevator doors heroically as they close behind them. ]

Thank you.

[ It's directed at Makoto. The others are mostly in their own little worlds, and Leia is okay with that. She simply makes sure the number 5 is all lit up like it should be, and bam.

Up they go. ]

[ THE POWER OF DETERMINATION AND POSITIVE THINKING.

anyways, he really does appreciate the operatic melodrama of it all! it's been a pretty long while since he's cast his reservations to the wayside as the elevator conveys them up to the fifth floor. ]

No problem. Thank you, though. Really. It's the first time I didn't felt uneasy since arriving here.

You really mean that?

[ Her expression brightens, and she seems proud. Granted, he probably hasn't been here for long, but it's still an accomplishment in her book! ]

I'm glad I could help! I'm Leia, by the way. I don't even think we got each others' names.

[ Not that she minds, but. ]

I wouldn't say it if I didn't.

[ look, she's just ... really nice?! in contrast to that stranger who was mock-laughing at him on the ferris wheel, like it's not possible for him to form a good impression of anyone when he's cowering by the compartment door like some completely disconcerted rabbit. ]

Oh, really? Pardon me, then. [ a genial smile. ] I'm Makoto. It's nice to meet you, Leia.

Any time. I kind of enjoy being a tour guide.

[ She winks, but otherwise just leans back against the wall. It's... really warm, and a little hard to breathe, so she's glad that the ride doesn't last long.

You can bet she'll be stumbling her way out immediately when the doors open. ]

So, here we are!

This is where everyone comes to take a break, so it's good to know about it. You can get some food, stay hydrated, and there's games and merchandise for sale if you want any of it to take home.

[ well, he can't really blame her, being one misstep from tripping out of the elevator himself. if nothing else, makoto's got his nerves to account for his blithely cheerful nodding as soon as they enter the top floor. ]

Sounds convenient. The arcades back home usually only had a vending machine outside, but places like these could make a lot of money from selling the merchandise indoors ...

[ a pause. ]

... well, I do have some credits on me. Is there anything you'd particularly recommend from the gift shop?

[ The only thing holding it back is the fact that it's so high up and out of the way. It may do a lot better if they moved the store to the first floor, so people can make purchases on the way out or in...

But that's a project for another day.

At his question, Leia will glance over to the gift shop. She can see a good number of people perusing the products, but there isn't a line to get in or anything, so she thinks it looks manageable. ]

Let's have a look! Maybe we can find something for you and your friends.

[open] rude awakenings

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