(closed)

[rebelia]

Who: rebelia & scenting
When: 10 February/26 July
Where: CERES Food Stop
What: IV and Malia eat together.
Rating/Warning: None

---

[ later that day at an odd hour, iv drops by one of the stalls resembling the yatai. he brushes the banner aside and slides onto the bench devoid of consumers, which he suspects will fill up within the hour. at this moment, he's priority, and as such it isn't long before he has his helping of yakitori.

he picks the skewer up and takes a bite, his eyes roaming the stall oversaturated with bright colors. despite the loud design, he realizes that the colony has calmed considerably since the second ViViD incident – quite par for the course, as the natives are incapable of reading the mood. ]

Comments

stumbles in here hours later /o/

[scenting]

[ malia's determined that if she doesn't do anything else during her time in cerealia, she's going to try out as many different foods as she can. there's all these different food stalls at the food stop full of bright colors and nice smelling things that she's always spoiled for choice. she usually swings by after her shift, having grown tired with... customer service that the stalls are always refreshing. sometimes they're manned by colonists, sometimes robots, but they're always really nice and like to listen to you complain. malia likes complaining.

today she just picks one at random and dips under the banner to take a seat at random. she doesn't really pay attention to who she's sitting next to, just sniffing at the foods and smiling to herself. she points eagerly at also the yakitori, taking the small plate she's handed and picking up a skewer. that's when she notices iv. ]

You!

\o\

[rebelia]

[ having been looking in the opposite direction, iv turns and only then notices malia when he hears her familiar voice. with a wry smile, he lowers the skewer onto his plate. ]

Ah, it's you. Looks like you found your way back, after all.

[scenting]

I don't get lost.

[ when her plate it set in front of her, she tears off a piece from the skewer and eats it, looking down in surprise at the chicken. ]

Oh, hey. That's really good.

[ yeah she's distracted by the food now ]

[rebelia]

[ figures. iv quirks an eyebrow. ]

You mean you ordered it without knowing? Have you never tried yakitori?

[scenting]

I haven't tried most of the foods here. Most of the time I hunted for it back home.

[ she would've felt a bit awkward about that, maybe pausing first but well, iv kind of gets it now, doesn't he? so she doesn't bother justifying it. ]

[rebelia]

Is that right? [ the question is rhetorical, of course. iv picks his skewer up again with the intention of taking a bite once he finishes talking. ] That makes sense.

What else have you tried here, then?

[scenting]

[ suddenly talking to iv is so much easier now that she doesn't have to correct herself all the time. which is a little odd too since it's iv and she's not sure what he's always smiling at. weirdo. ]

I don't really know the names for everything. Mostly I just go somewhere and pick whatever smells good. Figure while I'm here I might as well try whatever I can, right?

[ she holds up her skewer ]

This is... yakitori? I thought it was just chicken.

[rebelia]

[ smell, huh. actually, that makes a whole lot of sense. in between malia's explanation, iv takes a bite and chews. there's a few seconds of delay in his response after she finishes while he swallows. ]

It is. "Yakitori" just means it's been skewered. Do you know what Japan is? That's where it comes from.

[scenting]

Yeah, I know what Japan is. I'm not completely uncivilized.

[ she's bffs with a kitsune! ]

But that... makes sense. It doesn't look really American but I don't know enough about other places to guess. Is all the food here Japanese?

[ she gestures to the rest of yatai, curious. ]

[rebelia]

[ he doesn't think of her as so barbaric. that being said, there seems to be some geographical variations between people depending on their historical point. well, japan's a pretty difficult nation to miss.

iv follows malia's gesturing to the yatai's surroundings. ]

Probably. This joint is modeled after a Japanese food stall. It doesn't do to have too many themes in one establishment.

[scenting]

[ she listens to him and nods, chewing thoughtfully at a piece of her chicken before asking -- ]

So, are you from Japan?

[ and then she pauses, realizing. ]

Wait, I don't actually know that much about you.

[rebelia]

[ he chuckles at the realization. ]

I'm fluent in Japanese, but I'm from Europe. What else do you want to know?

[scenting]

Where do you live when you're home? And are you really a celebrity?

[ a pause ]

And what do you recommend here that has meat?

[rebelia]

If you want something besides chicken, try butabara. Almost everything here is meat-based.

[ he shrugs. but he hasn't had the opportunity to sample all of them. ]

Didn't I tell you I am? I'm famous in the dueling arena – and by dueling, I mean the card game.

[scenting]

Sounds like a fungus.

[ but she raises a hand to order some anyway and then goes back to reply to his... occupation, with a bit of an odd look. ]

I didn't know the card game part. You're... famous because, what? You play poker really well?

[rebelia]

[ a fungus, she says, when it's pork. iv's smirk twitches from the faint urge to laugh. ]

I play Duel Monsters. About a year ago, I started competing in tournaments. [ he waves the almost empty skewer. ] It's more exciting than poker.

[scenting]

[ she could have called it much worse so be grateful. ]

Most things are exciting than poker. What's Duel Monsters about?

[ the butabara is set in front of her then and she sniffs it before picking it up to take a bite. that's... actually really good. ]

[rebelia]

[ judging from the lack of spitting, iv assumes malia doesn't mind what she just put in her mouth. he sets his skewer down and rests a hand over one of his pant pockets, debating on whether he should pull out a card as an example. ]

It's a game of strategy where two or more duelists summon monsters and utilize spell or trap cards to win. The name speaks for itself, doesn't it?

[scenting]

[ see but she's still thinking it's a normal card game. no actual monsters or anything. she chews thoughtfully on her meat as she considers this, trying to picture it in her head. ]

There's gotta be a catch, right? That doesn't sound exciting at all.

[ gj, malia. just go ahead and insult him, no big. ]

[rebelia]

[ girl. girl. ]

It only sounds that way, because you haven't seen it in action. We duelists are always putting on a show for the audience.

[ leaning an elbow on the counter, he flicks his wrist. it's something of a signal for a shift in the same subject. ]

Where I come from, we use augmented reality to project the duel for spectators. It's possible to even feel the shock waves from battling.

[scenting]

[ super boring, ok!! but she holds up a finger to iv for a moment, turning to the server and -- ]

Can I have some of those? Pork, I guess.

[ she points to the gyoza already cooking away on the grill. then she goes back to iv. right. augmented reality. uh. ]

I don't know what that is.

[rebelia]

[ did she do that? did she just hold up a finger to him?

but this is malia, who's quite the unusual one. iv waits without making a fuss as he rests his chin on his knuckles. ]

What, AR? Basically, we use technology to have our monsters interact with a carbon copy of the environment. It's more realistic that way.

[ and hurts a lot if one gets blown away and lands on one's neck. which is exactly what happened to him. ]

[scenting]

[ she sure did, iv! she honestly doesn't see it as rude either, just is what it is. she takes another bite of the butabara as she thinks about it. ]

Like ViViD? I still don't really get it.

[ she shrugs, a touch sheepish but at least honest about it. also, are you actually dead then, iv? how rude. ]

[rebelia]

[ it's hard being famous in a colony that doesn't recognize him. the downtime can be nice at times, though, because he isn't obligated to put on an act. there's no need to try impressing malia, is there? ]

There are some differences. Imagine if you were to bring back pieces of ViViD to the real world. [ ar shouldn't be confused with virtual reality, but he supposes that's the easiest way to describe its basic purpose. ] If you're curious, one of the kids with a duel disk can show you.

[scenting]

[ there really isn't. if he attempted to, she might even ask what was wrong with him. at least this casual chat and eat works out for the both of them. ]

I might be, but I guess it's just that you can see it? So, if you summon a monster or whatever, people can see the monster. Then they can see the monster hit another monster, right? Like, in the game.

[ she's usually okay at understanding things when given the right pieces, at least. ]

[rebelia]

[ there they go. she's starting to catch on and iv nods. ]

It's a little more immersive in that you can feel the impact. There's also field magic to change the environment – sometimes, it can even affect the audience.

[ because everybody wants to become a cheerleader in a soccer field, right? not that iv was around to see it. he shrugs. he really needs to invest in a duel disk once he's got enough points. ]

Duel Monsters is definitely something that looks better than words describe.

[scenting]

[ she considers this for a moment before nodding, feeling like she understands it. she points to the fire under the grill when she clarifies. ]

So, if you summon a fire breathing monster, you can feel the fire? Can people get hurt?

[ then that would make things much worse, wouldn't it? ]

I want to see it, if you get a chance.

[rebelia]

Of course people can get hurt. But you'd only feel the force of the attack, not the fire; that's where AR differs from true reality.

[ unless the card has been tampered with by an outside force, there's no way the fire will be real. iv scrutinizes the fire under the grill. ]

Like I said, there are others with a duel disk who can show you. I don't have my duel disk with me, so I can't demonstrate until I've purchased one from ViViD. The kids from Maiami City . . . their technology is a little different from ours.

[scenting]

I don't get it. What's the difference? Isn't the attack... fire?

[ now she's a bit confused about the specifics again! but look, she's at least willing to understand it.

but right, oh. ]

It still works the same though, right? So, I can see?

[rebelia]

[ it isn't a difference so much as it is an exclusion of a certain tactile feeling, though iv misses his opportunity to say as much. he shrugs with a mild wave, affirmatively. ]

The visuals are the same. Do you want their names?