[ ryouma holds the remaining pizza crust in his teeth while he reaches over the bar to grab another couple of shot glasses. he fills them up before sliding one over to sage. switching gears to the rum, he keeps the other for himself. ]
C'mon! It's a party! Live in the moment!
...
Besides, you're the key to everything, right?
[ it's funny! only it's not? there's that feeling again. frustrating. ryouma solves puzzles and fixes things and sets timelines right and this all feels wrong so there must be something needing to be fixed! it's only logical based on his experience! everything wouldn't be converging on this party and sage in the middle of everything if she wasn't important... ]
[Oh, are they not hitting the karaoke. Damn. He was kind of looking forward to seeing more of that crazy business -- but maybe it's better to get a sense of what Ryouma's calling the key of the... something or other? Why are they looking for a key again when he's already found the key to life--
Wait, that's probably his anti-Ryouma bias speaking again? Anti-Ryouma character bias?? This really would be easier if they had proper character names to go with their confusing character arcs -- he finally swallows his mouthful of pizza, pointing at Sage the whole time.]
So that's Sage. You know, from the pictures. [just in case we were in doubt] So this is a pizza party, not a karaoke party?
[ Bennett was also kind of looking forward to karaoke, but the pizza is really good. And Tanamori even passed him something to drink! And yeah, even just thinking about Tanamori makes him feel kind of strange right now, especially now that Sage has emerged from the karaoke room to join them. He offers her a wave but says nothing, already bitterly wondering if she'll even notice him.
He shakes the thought off, telling himself that isn't fair before he offers a followup to Ryouma's comment. ]
[ Sorry, Ace, the bartender looks like he has no interest in having fun right now. He texts the swim team, though, and gets, like. A few responses. ]
PIZZA PIZZA??? yo dude i'm there!! been a rough day for some reason Sick.
[ And so on so forth.
Sage only gives Bennett a glance (sorry, Bennett) and looks over at Ryouma with a confused look in the midst of taking a shot. She sort of almost-slams the glass onto the table. ]
What? "The key to everything?" You feelin' alright?
[ And then to Tamamori, she snarls a bit: ]
Yeah, it was supposed to be karaoke, but you guys decided to hang out here instead. There's a screen up here I guess that we can use, but, then what was the point of me getting a room –
[ She's working herself into a tizzy. The bartender ends up just sitting on a stool behind the counter, a little slumped over. ]
[ ryouma forgets what he was going to say when bennett agrees with him. that's what he meant, right? ]
Yeah. Hah, of course, that's what I meant. You invited all of us!
[ he's not being weird about this at all! ]
Who cares where we are? Isn't it better that we're having a good time? You shouldn't be so picky!
[ ordinarily, ryouma doesn't argue. or fuss. right now? it's hard to keep fighting against that frustrated feeling, so he gets some of it out the only way he can at the moment. ]
Ehh, don't look at me? These guys started drinking a while ago, just think of 'em as a bunch of drunks getting lost on their way to the room!
[Tamamori more or less deadpans this with his hands held up in a mock-peacekeeping gesture. He is not keeping the peace. He is almost definitely trying to provoke one or both of the fired up rum people; is this a stupid idea? Of course. Does he have any other sort of idea? Dream-him sure doesn't.
He's also, by this point, surreptitiously gathered at least two boxes of pizza for himself; will he finish it all??? He's a skinny little bastard, but you never know -- this could be his Milan origin story. He could also just be getting ready to dine and dash given the atmosphere in the place, but for now he's still comfortably installed with his hoard.]
And we've got so much food having an extra room couldn't hurt -- like if we had a karaoke pizza concert.
[Is that even a thing, either way he's just here saying words and phrases.]
[ why did he do this? start the party out here when he knew about the reservation. he shakes his head. to hell with that, he's not the type to care about the location. even if he has some doubts, for some odd reason. ]
It doesn't matter what happened. We're having fun.
[ his voice sounds a little irritated, though. even if he's trying to make peace and get everyone on the same page.
but now that he knows that more guys are coming to devour pizza, he's going to stuff more food in his mouth. he's bringing his own competition, but he wanted it as a distraction from whatever this feeling is. it's the right way to do it... right?
either way, he grabs five (yes, five) pizzas and a couple bags of breadsticks to squirrel behind the bar. since the bartender isn't kicking him out and seems to be in a depressed funk, he might as well become the bartender and use it for squirreling away what he wants. no big. ]
But if you're going to keep complaining about the kind of party it is, go to the room and spend some alone time with Sage doing whatever.
[ this is pointedly directed at tamamori. go away. shoo. ]
[ Frustration might not be Bennett's Designated Negative Emotion for this weird dream-test thing, but even so that's what edges the feeling of isolation and discontent that settles over him. No surprise he's being ignored again, but it sure does feel just as bad!
He doesn't like the idea of the group splitting up, though. ]
We may as well stay out here. It's raining so hard I doubt anyone else wants to come.
Who's the one that planned this shit?! I did, you're using my card for all these pizzas --
[ SPEAKING OF PIZZAS, here comes the swim team. They're all in speedos because it's raining and most of them just burst through the door excitedly. There's a lot of them. Tons of dudes. Ace's friends.
They're making a mad dash for the pizza, and when they get their hands on a box, they're snagging it away from the group.
The bartender doesn't make any attempt to stop this and Sage just looks personally offended. ]
[ for a few moments ryouma just takes all this in — the complaining back and forth, sage's attitude, people claiming pizzas for themselves — and it doesn't sit any better than anything else. and now it's raining? that figures! ]
What's the rain gotta do with it? Watch the power go out anyway because that would figure. [ because he's only been awake in this place a short time but this day already sucks??? ] What is your problem? Are we having fun? Huh? Are we really? Because all he's done is complain the entire time! [ where is the lie, tamamori? ] Shut up and eat your pizza!
[ he takes some of that out on eating his own pizza (aggressively) but again that also makes him wonder what the hell that was. he'd apologise but it!! really is annoying!!
and that's before the swim team shows up. he has a box of pizza that hasn't had anyone's wet speedo-clad hands on it yet and would like to keep it that way. he doesn't ask for much!! just his pizza and his booze. ]
Can you just try not to curse us for five seconds? Can you all not--
[Tamamori slams his hands indignantly on the table (unlike earlier, when he probably slammed them on the table in excitement for all the food, or the Calspi, or just the general festive atmosphere that has soured so rapidly they might be able to turn it into like 30 bunches of grapes) and tries to grumble at Ryouma first of all, the others second -- the talk of rain is putting him on edge, along with the possibility that he'll have to abscond out into said rain growing by the second. It's not the same, but right now everyone's complaining at him and he for one doesn't think he should have to put up with that.
But then the rain comes to them.
Or more accurately speaking, a large amount of very athletic people in speedos who look like they've been swimming through it interrupt him handily. Tamamori yelps a little in the deluge and tries to flatten himself against a wall so that: A. They won't run over him, B. They won't try to go for the two boxes of pizza he's stuffed into his shirt or the third he's just swiped out of spite OR his drink, C. He'll hopefully have a clearer route if he really does need to run into the rain like a maniac to avoid things going weirder than they already are.]
Huh?! Was this actually the red light district and nobody told me??
[ ace gives tamamori a look at that, but quickly ignores him as his bros come barging in. should he have done this? no. but they're family. they should make him feel more comfortable.
but also, this was sage's party... it is on her tab. maybe he shouldn't have done this.
no. no, this is what he wanted. friends, enjoyment, everything. at least the "insult" seemed pretty tame from tamamori. or he didn't really get it. either way. he's handing out some fives at his friend and getting them drinks to up the mood. ]
I'd worry about you guys getting too wet, but it looks like you're dressed for the weather!
Which is to say that Bennett is pretty overwhelmed by the dudes in speedos, especially the ferocity with which they descend upon the pizza. He manages to just barely snatch his own plate out of the way before the box he was eating from is yanked away, and he can barely even hear Ryouma and Tamamori yelling over the clamor for pizza. In fact, he's just gonna shift around here and...
... climb on top of the bar, pizza still in hand. There, now no one should knock him over. From his vantage point. He notes that Ace is the only one that doesn't seem surprised all this, and he asks: ]
[ this guy... is really getting on his nerves??? ryouma has only ever felt like that about one person but he might just make an exception here with the way things are going right now. ]
What do you mean curse you? [ why is he taking this so personally? it's so hard to tell that that frustration doesn't truly belong to him anymore. ] Everything I've ever done is to try and help people! Wouldn't expect you to appreciate that though! All ya do is sit around an' judge people. If all this skin and drinkin' scares ya, you'd hate it where I come from.
[ this unusual surge of anger and frustration keeps messing with his ability to maintain his accent. the well-spoken textbook japanese sounds a lot different than his native tosaben. ]
Maybe if y' quit stickin' yer nose in everybody else's business you'd be able t' get yours together.
[ it's a mean thing to say and it comes out of a place that... isn't real? because it can't be? ryouma doesn't really know this person. but this dream-ryouma or whoever he is here apparently knows something? however long he's had to live with his messy roommate. and speaking of— ]
I caught you diggin' around in my stuff too, remember?
[ stuff he cared about not at all about a half an hour ago. ]
I'm saying at this point your very person is a curse upon me! You're like a terrible youkai that only knows how to spit curses and terrible words, so you'll forgive me if I don't believe you for a minute. Faker. Posturer.
[Nyahaha, he laughs a ridiculous laugh, plastering on a shit-eating grin from behind the wall of muscle and speedos that separates them -- the cause of his bravado, really, but it may not be the whole reason he just sounds like his bratty pompous usual self in a lot of ways. Somehow he's just like this, even with emotions that aren't his swirling around and around.
It's a little familiar, just like playing a role in a drama -- an actor dropped onto stage in media res, without any sort of preparation and forced to improvise. He's never backed down from such a thing, even when he really should, and even when the other two in the background are providing more contextual information.
No, he has a nemesis in this arc now and he'll see it through to the end.]
And the proof is in the accent! And your poor excuses for past-times. Really now: there's nothing worse than a man with no real hobbies; and anyone would think they'd walked into the red light district when suddenly confronted with all the mostly-very-nude bodies in the world at a completely illogical gathering like this.
You're just a petty fellow who likes finding fault with others at the end of the day, and I'm immune to such things!
[ ace doesn't really care about the squabbling between ryouma and tamamori, they can duke it out. sometimes it's best to work things out with a punch or two if it comes to that point.
besides, his attention is drawn to bennett, since he was called out for all his friends. ]
Can't invite one without inviting them all. That's how a team goes.
[ he seems proud of his buddies. but this wasn't really his choice of who to invite, was it? would sage really be upset after this? like, really, really upset. friendship breaking upset? that worries him and he falters a second before stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ ryouma holds the remaining pizza crust in his teeth while he reaches over the bar to grab another couple of shot glasses. he fills them up before sliding one over to sage. switching gears to the rum, he keeps the other for himself. ]
C'mon! It's a party! Live in the moment!
...
Besides, you're the key to everything, right?
[ it's funny! only it's not? there's that feeling again. frustrating. ryouma solves puzzles and fixes things and sets timelines right and this all feels wrong so there must be something needing to be fixed! it's only logical based on his experience! everything wouldn't be converging on this party and sage in the middle of everything if she wasn't important... ]
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[Oh, are they not hitting the karaoke. Damn. He was kind of looking forward to seeing more of that crazy business -- but maybe it's better to get a sense of what Ryouma's calling the key of the... something or other? Why are they looking for a key again when he's already found the key to life--
Wait, that's probably his anti-Ryouma bias speaking again? Anti-Ryouma character bias?? This really would be easier if they had proper character names to go with their confusing character arcs -- he finally swallows his mouthful of pizza, pointing at Sage the whole time.]
So that's Sage. You know, from the pictures. [just in case we were in doubt] So this is a pizza party, not a karaoke party?
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He shakes the thought off, telling himself that isn't fair before he offers a followup to Ryouma's comment. ]
Yeah! You're the one that invited all of us!
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PIZZA
PIZZA???
yo dude i'm there!! been a rough day for some reason
Sick.
[ And so on so forth.
Sage only gives Bennett a glance (sorry, Bennett) and looks over at Ryouma with a confused look in the midst of taking a shot. She sort of almost-slams the glass onto the table. ]
What? "The key to everything?" You feelin' alright?
[ And then to Tamamori, she snarls a bit: ]
Yeah, it was supposed to be karaoke, but you guys decided to hang out here instead. There's a screen up here I guess that we can use, but, then what was the point of me getting a room –
[ She's working herself into a tizzy. The bartender ends up just sitting on a stool behind the counter, a little slumped over. ]
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Yeah. Hah, of course, that's what I meant. You invited all of us!
[ he's not being weird about this at all! ]
Who cares where we are? Isn't it better that we're having a good time? You shouldn't be so picky!
[ ordinarily, ryouma doesn't argue. or fuss. right now? it's hard to keep fighting against that frustrated feeling, so he gets some of it out the only way he can at the moment. ]
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[Tamamori more or less deadpans this with his hands held up in a mock-peacekeeping gesture. He is not keeping the peace. He is almost definitely trying to provoke one or both of the fired up rum people; is this a stupid idea? Of course. Does he have any other sort of idea? Dream-him sure doesn't.
He's also, by this point, surreptitiously gathered at least two boxes of pizza for himself; will he finish it all??? He's a skinny little bastard, but you never know -- this could be his Milan origin story. He could also just be getting ready to dine and dash given the atmosphere in the place, but for now he's still comfortably installed with his hoard.]
And we've got so much food having an extra room couldn't hurt -- like if we had a karaoke pizza concert.
[Is that even a thing, either way he's just here saying words and phrases.]
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[ why did he do this? start the party out here when he knew about the reservation. he shakes his head. to hell with that, he's not the type to care about the location. even if he has some doubts, for some odd reason. ]
It doesn't matter what happened. We're having fun.
[ his voice sounds a little irritated, though. even if he's trying to make peace and get everyone on the same page.
but now that he knows that more guys are coming to devour pizza, he's going to stuff more food in his mouth. he's bringing his own competition, but he wanted it as a distraction from whatever this feeling is. it's the right way to do it... right?
either way, he grabs five (yes, five) pizzas and a couple bags of breadsticks to squirrel behind the bar. since the bartender isn't kicking him out and seems to be in a depressed funk, he might as well become the bartender and use it for squirreling away what he wants. no big. ]
But if you're going to keep complaining about the kind of party it is, go to the room and spend some alone time with Sage doing whatever.
[ this is pointedly directed at tamamori. go away. shoo. ]
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He doesn't like the idea of the group splitting up, though. ]
We may as well stay out here. It's raining so hard I doubt anyone else wants to come.
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[ SPEAKING OF PIZZAS, here comes the swim team. They're all in speedos because it's raining and most of them just burst through the door excitedly. There's a lot of them. Tons of dudes. Ace's friends.
They're making a mad dash for the pizza, and when they get their hands on a box, they're snagging it away from the group.
The bartender doesn't make any attempt to stop this and Sage just looks personally offended. ]
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What's the rain gotta do with it? Watch the power go out anyway because that would figure. [ because he's only been awake in this place a short time but this day already sucks??? ] What is your problem? Are we having fun? Huh? Are we really? Because all he's done is complain the entire time! [ where is the lie, tamamori? ] Shut up and eat your pizza!
[ he takes some of that out on eating his own pizza (aggressively) but again that also makes him wonder what the hell that was. he'd apologise but it!! really is annoying!!
and that's before the swim team shows up. he has a box of pizza that hasn't had anyone's wet speedo-clad hands on it yet and would like to keep it that way. he doesn't ask for much!! just his pizza and his booze. ]
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[Tamamori slams his hands indignantly on the table (unlike earlier, when he probably slammed them on the table in excitement for all the food, or the Calspi, or just the general festive atmosphere that has soured so rapidly they might be able to turn it into like 30 bunches of grapes) and tries to grumble at Ryouma first of all, the others second -- the talk of rain is putting him on edge, along with the possibility that he'll have to abscond out into said rain growing by the second. It's not the same, but right now everyone's complaining at him and he for one doesn't think he should have to put up with that.
But then the rain comes to them.
Or more accurately speaking, a large amount of very athletic people in speedos who look like they've been swimming through it interrupt him handily. Tamamori yelps a little in the deluge and tries to flatten himself against a wall so that: A. They won't run over him, B. They won't try to go for the two boxes of pizza he's stuffed into his shirt or the third he's just swiped out of spite OR his drink, C. He'll hopefully have a clearer route if he really does need to run into the rain like a maniac to avoid things going weirder than they already are.]
Huh?! Was this actually the red light district and nobody told me??
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but also, this was sage's party... it is on her tab. maybe he shouldn't have done this.
no. no, this is what he wanted. friends, enjoyment, everything. at least the "insult" seemed pretty tame from tamamori. or he didn't really get it. either way. he's handing out some fives at his friend and getting them drinks to up the mood. ]
I'd worry about you guys getting too wet, but it looks like you're dressed for the weather!
[ absolutely not. ]
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Which is to say that Bennett is pretty overwhelmed by the dudes in speedos, especially the ferocity with which they descend upon the pizza. He manages to just barely snatch his own plate out of the way before the box he was eating from is yanked away, and he can barely even hear Ryouma and Tamamori yelling over the clamor for pizza. In fact, he's just gonna shift around here and...
... climb on top of the bar, pizza still in hand. There, now no one should knock him over. From his vantage point. He notes that Ace is the only one that doesn't seem surprised all this, and he asks: ]
Did you really invite all of them?
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What do you mean curse you? [ why is he taking this so personally? it's so hard to tell that that frustration doesn't truly belong to him anymore. ] Everything I've ever done is to try and help people! Wouldn't expect you to appreciate that though! All ya do is sit around an' judge people. If all this skin and drinkin' scares ya, you'd hate it where I come from.
[ this unusual surge of anger and frustration keeps messing with his ability to maintain his accent. the well-spoken textbook japanese sounds a lot different than his native tosaben. ]
Maybe if y' quit stickin' yer nose in everybody else's business you'd be able t' get yours together.
[ it's a mean thing to say and it comes out of a place that... isn't real? because it can't be? ryouma doesn't really know this person. but this dream-ryouma or whoever he is here apparently knows something? however long he's had to live with his messy roommate. and speaking of— ]
I caught you diggin' around in my stuff too, remember?
[ stuff he cared about not at all about a half an hour ago. ]
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[Nyahaha, he laughs a ridiculous laugh, plastering on a shit-eating grin from behind the wall of muscle and speedos that separates them -- the cause of his bravado, really, but it may not be the whole reason he just sounds like his bratty pompous usual self in a lot of ways. Somehow he's just like this, even with emotions that aren't his swirling around and around.
It's a little familiar, just like playing a role in a drama -- an actor dropped onto stage in media res, without any sort of preparation and forced to improvise. He's never backed down from such a thing, even when he really should, and even when the other two in the background are providing more contextual information.
No, he has a nemesis in this arc now and he'll see it through to the end.]
And the proof is in the accent! And your poor excuses for past-times. Really now: there's nothing worse than a man with no real hobbies; and anyone would think they'd walked into the red light district when suddenly confronted with all the mostly-very-nude bodies in the world at a completely illogical gathering like this.
You're just a petty fellow who likes finding fault with others at the end of the day, and I'm immune to such things!
no subject
besides, his attention is drawn to bennett, since he was called out for all his friends. ]
Can't invite one without inviting them all. That's how a team goes.
[ he seems proud of his buddies. but this wasn't really his choice of who to invite, was it? would sage really be upset after this? like, really, really upset. friendship breaking upset? that worries him and he falters a second before stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth. ]