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Post by NAOS DIA on Apr 7, 2013 7:56:26 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 525 | Four months was just not enough time to fully explore a city like Los Angeles. Shortly after he had first arrived in the States, one of the first things that Naos did was compile a list of everything he had to see and do to make the most of his indefinite stay. It would've been a shame to stay there only a year and then miss out on something the city had to offer, so he knew he had to have a game plan. Naos had spent every free Saturday trying to go through this list one by one. However, after all the time he had put into it, he was hardly even close to the halfway point. Knowing that some people managed to whip through the whole city in a week or less, he had to wonder what he was doing wrong.
It was likely an issue with how overly thorough he was being. His study habits were getting the better of him, even as a tourist. As it happened, it was his third weekend in a row at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For most sightseers there really wasn't that much to do there. You go, take some pictures, get excited for your favorite stars' names as if liking them makes you better through the association, and then you move on with your life. That's what Naos decided as he occasionally glanced up at the others around him.
However, he was taking a slightly different approach to the coral tourist-bait tiles. After scanning over the entire street for an hour on the first day, he thoughtfully decided on where the ends were and mapped out a trail for himself to follow. Then, he began the longest media research project he had for awhile. He started at the beginning of his trail, sat down at the first star with his laptop and began researching each performer one star at a time. Every now and then he even downloaded a few movies the performer of the moment was in and watched the whole thing. Even if was still a form studying, it was his idea of a great evening and the odd looks from the more casual out-of-towners wasn't enough to deter him.
This particular Saturday, Naos had started early and managed to get through an impressive amount of stars. By two o'clock in the afternoon he found himself parked in front of Lucille Ball's name, watching the second half of The Long, Long Trailer. It was charming to say the least, but he did take a moment to pause the video. There was something different about living in Southern California that he wasn't used to yet. The heat. Coming from a cold winter in Oslo to a such a warm climate left him always a bit too warm and parched. Maybe he could get someone to watch his computer for him instead of packing up the whole thing and running to the convenience store... Looking around the area, he tapped on the leg of the closest person walking by.
"Excuse me," he began, standing up himself. "Have you heard of the actress Lucille Ball?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jul 29, 2013 17:22:14 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 28th, 2pm. notes: none. Keijiro had been out of Japan for twenty eight days, and every day he tried to convince himself things would get easier. At the moment, they simply hadn't. If anything, things had gotten harder. For him it wasn't the heat or the crowding--he was used to both--but instead the sheer isolation. In Japan he'd known people, been able to call them up and get them over to chat. In Japan, people were polite. There was a large emphasis on formality and politeness, and if he ever caught anyone staring, there were plenty of apologies thrown around. It was rude to stare, and while people did, they always felt bad about it.
In Japan, people stared because he was white. Few seemed to particularly care for his scar, recognizing it was the last thing anyone would want stared at. In America, people only stared at his scar. They stared all the time, no matter where he went, and he'd never been so conscious of it. With a hoodie pulled up despite the heat and long bangs, he manages to hide portions of it, but even still it ran down the entire left side of his face from his hairline to where it disappeared into his clothes. Anyone with experience in scars would know it was a burn, but to the average person, it was just a particularly massive and horrifying one.
When he'd first arrived, he'd thought all the focus would be on his scar, and his ethnicity would get a free pass. Instead, he'd learned it only passed until he opened his mouth. His English was stiff and formal, using slightly outdated terms, and his accent was an extremely heavy Japanese one.
To say the least, a heavy Japanese accent coming out of a Caucasian boy with blond hair and blue eyes raised some eyebrows, and when he'd found Little Tokyo he'd earned at least one reproach from a man who erroneously believed he was putting it on. At the very least the man had apologized profusely--and offered Keijiro a hefty discount to make up for his assumption.
He'd spent much of the previous week in Little Tokyo, but for the Saturday he'd forced himself to extend his boundaries. A tourist location with his hood up kept him from appearing too obvious, and he drew minimal stares. He really didn't know much of the significance of the area, beyond that it was a tourist draw and that it had something to do with actors.
He really wasn't expecting anyone to speak to him or acknowledge him in any way, so when someone did, tapping at his leg, he jumped a bit, spinning around. Tapping someone on the shoulder--let alone the leg--wasn't exactly something commonly done in polite society as far as he was concerned.
Of course that didn't stop him from apologizing, beginning in Japanese before he caught himself. "Sumi-" He halted, restarting in the proper language. "I apologize, I did not see you there." He paused once again, wracking his memory and coming up absolutely short. "I cannot say that I am familiar with that name." |
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Post by NAOS DIA on Aug 19, 2013 7:24:18 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 489 | Although absolutely thrilled with the unthreatening response he received from the stranger he had nudged in the leg, something seemed off. Mainly, when he looked up at the man in question, the accent and the appearance just weren't matching. Admittedly a little bit puzzled, Naos found his head tilting to the side as he studied the face of the man in question. It may have been rude to stare, but that didn't ever hold him back. Why should he feel bad about getting a better look at someone?
There was the scar, yes, but he had seen scars before. They weren't scars nearly as large or apparent as the one that marked the man's face, but it registered to him as just a scar nonetheless. He could make guesses over how that happened after he got to the bottom of the first puzzle. Blue eyes, blonde hair… and an accent that Naos recognized as being more present in the Asian population than anything European or otherwise. A caucasian with an Asian accent. Assuming that the man wasn't just being an over the top fan of another country, it was an unusual mesh. The boy took a moment to walk a full circle around the other, much like one dog meeting another. After a moment's pause, all he could do was let out an interested 'hm' when he met Keijiro's face again.
"You don't make sense," Naos finally spoke up quite frankly, not showing any hesitation despite the lack of proper social queues in the statement. However, a grin widened on his face after that. "I like that! You're very easy to remember. I'm guessing you're not from Europe. It's diverse, I know, but your accent is too weird to be European. I'm from Norway, which is where my accent comes from, but you can hardly tell, right? You're too pale to be anything too far south, but that's just an unfair assumption for the most part. You sound Asian to me, but you don't look Asian. So, I have to wonder why you were in Asia long enough to sound like that. But that's none of my business!"
The teenager gave a shrug of his shoulders, stopping his rambling before it got further than it needed to. He liked voicing his thought processes as it did get him answers from others more often than not. However, he was aware that he was talking to a stranger who could be perceiving him as rude. He didn't care, but still. This was about Lucille Ball and obtaining ice cream, not about debating accents. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you. Call me Nils. Lucille Ball was a great entertainer with a career so broad that she has even been credited with making sure that shows like Star Trek made it to television. I need to fact check that. However, she was best known for her work in comedy. Do you like comedies?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Aug 19, 2013 11:43:38 GMT -8
tagged: naos. time: april 28th, 2pm. notes: none. When people met each other, they generally smiled and exchanged greetings. They generally did not circle around the other like they were inspecting them, and Keijiro found himself straightening up nervously despite himself. The boy was at least a year younger (probably two or three from Keijiro's guess) and absolutely had zero control over Keijiro's life, but he still found himself awkward when being inspected by anyone. At the very least he wasn't staring explicitly at his scar, which was always annoying, but instead sort of... looking him over in general.
Keijiro was pretty new to the country, but he was fairly sure that it wasn't normal behavior for Americans. His best guess was that the boy wasn't American, simply because he had some sort of accent that Keijiro would have guessed was 'European'. While someone from there might have been able to place it more accurately, Keijiro couldn't begin to guess where it was from. His knowledge of the accents in English was absolutely terrible.
He didn't have long to wait to find out where the boy was from. After his less then eloquent outburst, Keijiro could only stand there in shock. Had someone just explicitly told him that he didn't make sense? What the hell was he supposed to say to that? 'Sorry'? Maybe the boy was crazy. Maybe he was just misunderstanding what he was saying. In fact, he was pretty sure it was all just a misunderstanding when the boy continued, more or less confirming that it wasn't.
"It's Japanese." He blurted out, wanting to at least clarify that. He wasn't nearly forward enough to blurt out the true explanation--that his parents moved for work and he was raised there--but explaining that the accent was Japanese would hopefully get the kid off his proverbial back. He was struggling to keep up with how fast the boy was talking, trying to connect it all as he mentally translated it all back to Japanese. English was a struggle for him in any setting other then 'business', because that was the sort of English he'd mostly been taught. It had been years since he'd spoken to anyone in English for any reason other than school.
Nils? And after that long ramble, he was right back to Lucille Ball--whoever that was. He even ended with yet another confusing question, and Keijiro remained still for a moment. "Not... really? I like musicals." Which pretty much went without saying for someone as musically focused as him.
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Post by NAOS DIA on Aug 24, 2013 8:15:34 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 357 | An answer on both fronts! One, the man had a Japanese accent, which was indeed Asian. One point for his listening skills! Two, the man did not like comedies. While it was explained that he liked musicals instead, the teenager didn't really find either answer totally sufficient. He almost let a pouty look fall on his face, but instead he looked puzzled again. He shook his head. "What about comedic musicals? I think a great deal of modern musicals are comedic to some extent. Though, I haven't really watched many musicals myself. I did watch one when I was back on Judy Garland's star called Meet Me in St. Louis, and that was sort of disappointing." It was likely that musicals just weren't his thing, and researching their backgrounds didn't really help. He had briefly looked into the city of St. Louis afterward only to be a little let down. Time could really change the ideal image of a city.
In fact, time could change a lot of things, including opinions. Rather than just simply ask the Japanese-but-not man if he could watch his computer for him while he ran to get ice cream, Naos was taking it upon himself to convince him that Lucille Ball was worth watching first. At the point they were at in their conversation it would have been less time consuming to have shut the laptop, packed it away, and went to get ice cream by himself. However, he was oddly determined to work around what he had started. He wracked his brain for some ideas, but it wasn't going to be an easy task. The actress he was learning about and someone who claimed they didn't care for comedies just wouldn't click without effort.
"Hmmm, I've just been watching The Long, Long Trailer. Ball was in a musical or two on her filmography list if I remember correctly, but I haven't bothered looking it up yet. I don't think her voice is really suited for singing. It's a little rough, but that's just my opinion on the matter," he laughed with a shrug. "Do you want to look it up together?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Aug 24, 2013 20:29:52 GMT -8
tagged: naos. time: april 28th, 2pm. notes: none. Comedic musicals? He wracked his brains, trying to come up with anything that related to that for him. After a moment he finally offered one. "The..." He struggled to find a proper translation. "Katakuri's Happiness? I'm sorry, I don't know the English title." It was the only one he could think of, it hadn't even been on stage, and it was more a horror-comedy then a musical comedy. "It's called 'Katakuri-ke no kōfuku' in Japanese. I don't know if it was even translated, but I know that the director is popular in America." Or he'd heard that the director was popular in America, but he had no way to check. "Miike Takahashi. He directed Audition and Ichi the killer." Neither of which he particularly liked, but he knew they were at least popular outside of Japan.
Keijiro's first thought was no, no he did not want to look it up together with a strange boy he'd just met. He didn't like comedies, and wasn't that enough? Apparently not. Only it would be terribly, horribly rude to just say no, so he opted to casually change the subject and try and get out of it that way.
"Is that what you're doing? Watching the... the movies of the people who have names on the stars?" His English was failing him and he knew it, but hell, he was giving it a good solid try. |
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Post by NAOS DIA on Aug 28, 2013 11:58:10 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 274 | "You know, I don't really know anything about Japanese musicals," he admitted, though that caused a curious look to form on his face. It wasn't a bad thing to not know something, that just meant he had another thing to at least briefly look into when he got the chance. This was a time to make a mental note to learn more, because why not. In fact, perhaps he could take advantage of what the stranger knew to save himself some time. It had to have been interesting to be liked by someone who apparently didn't like comedies otherwise.
He would get there in the conversation. Eventually. First though, he nodded excitedly in response to Keijiro's question. The lack of a reply to his own hadn't gone unnoticed, but Naos decided to let it slide for the time being. "I've been in Los Angeles since the beginning of the year, but I haven't really been able to travel before this." It was true, if not an understatement. However, he didn't think it needed elaborating, as he was already excessively explaining himself. He looked back down at his computer. "I decided to learn as much as I can about this city while I'm living here. The tourist traps seemed like a great place to start, but this is taking me a bit longer than I thought it would. I considered moving on to the next sight and then coming back to the stars, but I'm so close to being halfway through at this point. And it's useful knowing more about American culture."
The red-haired boy gave an indecisive hum. "Do you live in Los Angeles?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Aug 28, 2013 13:18:59 GMT -8
tagged: naos. time: same. notes: none. Keijiro really hadn't expected him too. Plenty of countries were pushing into the international scene, while a lot of Japanese movies were... well, not. Really, the only ones he could think of being super popular were anime. Ghibli films were apparently popular anywhere. Japanese musicals were an even even more specific niche, and he really doubted that any of them had gotten popular. After all, Japanese films were difficult enough to translate for a foreign audience without taking into account singing, which would just make the translation even more difficult.
And speaking of difficult translations, Naos had just thrown one at Keijiro. His brow furrowed, trying to mentally translate. Tourist trap? It took him a long moment to make the connection, the phrase being used a whole lot less in Japan--or at least his mental translation of it being used a whole lot less. "Oh. You're doing it for your education then." That was an understandable (and generally positive) motive as far as Keijiro was concerned. If he was doing it to learn more about the culture and history of LA (and America in general), then he supposed it made sense if he joined him... even if just for one movie.
He nodded in response to Nils' question. "For now. I'm an exchange student, here for university. But I live here for now, yes." |
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Post by NAOS DIA on Sept 5, 2013 9:15:47 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 328 | An exchange student from Japan who was very not Japanese, but also was. Naos nodded in understanding, but his head was still tilted in an odd fascination with the other male. "That makes sense then," he said, though he was still thinking quite the opposite. The universities of Los Angeles did attract plenty of foreigners. In fact, the area did as a whole it seemed. That's how he managed to blend in so well in America. He had worried about that detail when he had first moved to the city, but it had never been a problem for him.
This information about the man also gave him a better hint as to his age range. Though the Norwegian boy had assumed as much, he was older. Naos had just the slightest bit of envy toward university students, as he imagined the academics being just a bit more interesting than anything he was re-studying in high school. Sure, he could study on his own, but the professors and resources in a more fitting higher learning environment must've been nice. Surely the other wasn't taking that for granted.
"You should do it for your education, too, then! How long will you be here? It'd be good to learn more about where you live and the people you go to school with, yeah?" Naos took another glance back to his laptop on the sidewalk. It had already fallen asleep. He sighed, knowing still that shoving it back into his bag and really even recharging it somewhere would have been for the best at this point. It was time to finally reveal his intentions as he probably should have just done from the start. He looked back to the boy with a rather hopeful expression. "I was going to ask someone to watch my computer while I went to get something cold to eat or drink, but I'll just take it with me. Would you like to come along and talk more?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Sept 5, 2013 12:27:49 GMT -8
tagged: naos. time: same. notes: none. It was almost painful to think about how long he was going to be there. He'd only been there a short while and he already missed Japan. He wanted to go back, to see the familiar sights and speak with people who actually spoke a language he was good at. One of the few consolations of his situation was that music was a universal language. Even if he fumbled with English itself, his playing would shine through just the same. Many of the terms were identical through languages, or at least recognizable. He could fumble through the rest of his time in America, and at the very least he'd still enjoy his education.
"I'll be here for a few years. My program lasts four, so probably that many." Or maybe more, or maybe less. It was hard to predict what he'd be doing in four years. Maybe his stay would be extended by work. Maybe he'd stay even longer after. Maybe he'd go home early or take a year off, desperate for the sights and sounds of Japan. Maybe he'd spend the summers back at home with his family.
"I wouldn't mind, I don't think." Doing it for his education--learning about America, a bit of knowledge that seemed infinitely desirable. Everyone wanted to know more about America, and it'd be disappointing if he returned home without having really learned anything. "I could watch it if you'd like -- or I could come along." It was a strange time to be eating, neither lunch nor dinner, but if Nils wanted to eat, he'd be alright with that. Of course, if he wanted him to stay and watch his computer, he supposed that would be fine too. But why bother leaving his stuff behind with someone he just met when he could take it with him?
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Post by NAOS DIA on Sept 10, 2013 8:21:15 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 295 | Aha! He succeeded! Okay, well, he sort of succeeded at something. It just wasn't what he had first hoped to succeed in. Naos knew that his original goal had been to find someone to watch his computer while he ran to the convenience store. However, he saw no problems in changing his mission now that he had met such an interesting person. One couldn't always predict the outcome of a conversation, and he was rather happy with the way things were going now. "Four years? Well, that's not too bad. It's not too long or too short. I'm sure you can learn a lot if you get out enough." The other male was out and about in a tourist area now, so he was going to assume that he did just that. "I hear university is an interesting experience itself, though."
He took a pause to bend down and gather his things. "You should just come along with me. That would be easier now, I think." While he closed the laptop and stuffed it away with a few other cords, he hummed happily to himself. The question was where were they going to go now then… He still wanted to find some kind of cold treat that he could enjoy. Ice cream was always an option, but if they were on a mission to learn more about the culture of the United States then perhaps they needed something more fitting. Like a classic milkshake?
"Have you ever been to a Johnny Rockets? You're not lactose intolerant, are you? That's probably important." One of his favorite Los Angeles discoveries was the restaurant he suggested. Although Naos wasn't interesting in eating a burger this visit, a milkshake did sound fantastic if his current companion could handle it. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Sept 11, 2013 14:18:34 GMT -8
tagged: character. time: date & time. notes: none. Was university an interesting experience? He hesitated, taking his time and thinking it out. In the end he decided it was difficult, if not impossible for him to judge. After a while, he simply shrugged, deciding it was pointless to try and say either way. He hadn't really experienced. He was going to attend university, but considering that the school year wouldn't start for several months, he'd yet to experience what it was actually like firsthand.
Coming along with him was fine, and he gave a little nod. He hadn't actually had any plans in mind--he'd just been exploring for the sake of it, and it would be nice to hang out with someone. Nils seemed pleasant enough, and Keijiro had very few people he could count as 'friends' in America. There was no reason to turn down what might very well be a potential friendship.
"No, I have never been." He hadn't heard of one either. What was a 'Johnny Rockets'? From the context of what Nils had been saying, he was assuming it was a place with food, but the name was confusing and unfamiliar to him. He really hadn't gone to most places in America. He'd only visited an American McDonalds (not entirely unfamiliar) on his third week in the country, and he'd found himself horribly disappointed. There was no shrimp fillet, no croquette burger... the whole thing had been terribly disappointing. He'd found he preferred eating his own food, slowly teaching himself to cook, and fastfood simply hadn't been on the menu, so to speak.
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Post by NAOS DIA on Sept 17, 2013 8:07:26 GMT -8
There's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin.
April 28th
tag | Keijiro
words | 288 | Naos had always been the opposite of disappointed with the horrible junk food that filled restaurants in America. Having not really eaten a 'real' greasy, bad for you, and ultimately delicious kind of hamburger before his time in Los Angeles, he found Johnny Rockets to always be on his list of places to eat since he arrived. That along with any sort of burger place, really. Pizza or tacos were never far behind. Had his parents known what kind of junk he was eating now after so many years of a strict diet, they would've likely thrown a fit at him. However, it fell into the category of what they didn't know wouldn't hurt anyone. He was young, so what could he say?
The other male had claimed to have never been there while saying absolutely nothing about being lactose intolerant. So, Naos took this as a good sign. Now he just had to figure out if he wanted a strawberry or chocolate milkshake for the afternoon, hmmm… He finished slipping the last of his items into his bag before tossing it over his shoulder and standing back up to lead the way.
"Good! We're going for milkshakes then," he insisted, though he assumed that Keijiro had already agreed to go there between the lines. He was going to assume that the other boy wouldn't be disappointed, and if he was then… they could always bounce around locations until they found something that worked? Naos had the whole day and he decided that he didn't mind wasting it. It would be nice to have another foreigner to talk about American culture with. "It's close to here, so we don't have to do a lot of walking. Let's go!" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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TERRESA
UNKNOWN ENTITY
RESIDENT UNICORN
小書瑀
Posts: 105
MINI INFO - GENDER: Female
MINI INFO - D.O.B.: HOW DARE YOU ASK A WOMAN HER AGE?
MINI INFO - OCCUPATION: Guardian Kirin of the White Rice Paddies
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Post by TERRESA on Sept 20, 2013 18:03:04 GMT -8
| | | Finished Thread
You have been rewarded with ONE RESIDUE as this thread is now complete. It has been placed in the archives under the 'finished' sub-board. You are more than welcome to PM fate if this thread is not finished or if you are unhappy/unsatisfied with the amount of residue that has been rewarded. Keep up the great work and keep posting with other members.
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