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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on May 19, 2013 18:34:23 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. It had taken a good chunk of his childhood, but by the time Keijiro had reached his teens, he'd grown to accept that Japanese shopkeepers were always, always going to assume he was some gaijin tourist who didn't know any Japanese. It didn't matter how many years he lived in Japan--when he first walked in to any new store, they would assume he was ignorant and oblivious. It was only when he spoke, far more fluent then any tourist could ever be, that they would settle down. Even then there was a certain amount of hostility--that he was some kind of foreigner, imposing himself on others and imitating something he shouldn't. Only after multiple visits would a shop owner realize that no, he wasn't a foreigner--that he'd been raised in Japan just as much as any pure Japanese.
Even if he'd gotten used to it, it never made it more comfortable. There was always that initial judgement that left him off kilter, and even a thousand miles away he found the same thing happening. The shopkeeper was Japanese. He looked white. There was that initial pause, and then the man was right into look-it's-a-tourist mode.
But it was necessary, wasn't it? Of course it was--he needed a secondary plectrum for his shamisen, and there was no way he'd be able to get something for such a highly specialized instrument anywhere else. It was, realistically speaking, Little Tokyo or bust. So he found himself in the music shop, picking through the aisles and staring at Koto music. His hood was pulled up, covering most of his face, and it kept him from getting too many looks. That was for the best, after all. It would only be awkward another way. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on May 27, 2013 21:42:49 GMT -8
 It wasn't everyday Leon went to Little Tokyo. It was just for some reason he was feeling a little homesick, and the somewhat Japanese atmosphere was enough for him to feel a little better. He really hadn't even been here for a long time, and he was missing home. Well, Leon was just walking the streets for the time being, window shopping. He brought some pocket money, but he didn't feel like bogging himself down with a lot of stuff to carry before he was ready to go (though maybe that was defeating the purpose of shopping, even then, that wasn't necessarily the point of this whole trip). He just wanted to walk around the place.
Maybe he'd buy something out of a whim. Leon hadn't exactly found something that piqued his interest, though he's probably pick something up if he passed, say, a store full of hair products. Though, no such luck on this block either. He turned the corner again. Although it was still early in the day, he was considering going back to the hotel and maybe watching some TV. Or taking a nap. Or maybe both. Maybe he'll coerce one of the band members into playing a game with him - there was this one board game in the back of his suitcase that he brought along with him. He hadn't played it before, and no one wanted to play with him on the way to LA so it had remained, sadly, unopened.
He looked into the window of a particular shop. There were some instruments he recognized, but most of them were completely foreign to him. But they were interesting, so in he went. "Hello!" Leon waved towards the shopkeeper and happily went on his way looking at the obscure instruments he didn't know the names of. The shop wasn't crowded at the very least. There was this other person too. The silence in his general vicinity was a little suffocating, so he resolved to talking. "Hi! Nice instruments, right?" Even though their back was to them, surely they could hear him, right? |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on May 30, 2013 12:08:56 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. It took Keijiro a bit to realize he was being spoken to. He hadn't expected anyone to pay any real attention to him. Well, maybe the store owner checking in, seeing if he needed anything. He certainly didn't think any customers would be talking to him, and yet one was. He actually gave a quick, furtive glance around, checking to see if there was anyone else. But there wasn't--the shop was empty save for him, the speaker, and the store owner.
He reached up, lightly tugging the front of his hoodie. It wasn't even something he chose to do, just a subconscious reaction to the fact that he was going to talk to someone. Tugging it kept it in place, made sure it didn't slip off as he turned. Meant that the hood would keep right on covering most of his face, making the scar look less blindingly obvious.
It was still there though, still visible when he looked up, sizing the speaker up. Not that there was much height to it--the boy was about his age, but three or so inches smaller then him.
More important, he was Asian. Keijiro would have guessed Japanese, but it was hard to tell, and he didn't look pure Japanese. He looked mixed, which was still way the hell more Japanese-looking then Keijiro himself.
More importantly, he had the telltale accent, even if it was a bit distorted, not as strong as Keijiros own.
"Yes." He responded briefly, glancing at the instruments. They were alright, he supposed, but he was used to higher quality--to antiques. "They're nice. Do you play then?" Maybe. But somehow he doubted it--even very few Japanese people played them anymore. Few people even knew the names, and after a moment he reached out, lightly plucking the strings. Soft blues ran across his vision, the sound low and mellow. Badly tuned--it should have been a green. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Jun 1, 2013 21:10:01 GMT -8
Leon had just expected a nice little conversation with a nice little regular looking person. He then proceeded to attempt to discreetly stare. But he was really horrible about being discreet about anything. Maybe he was being rude, but he couldn't help himself. So he tore his eyes away from the guy and his interesting looking injury of sorts, and onto the instrument. It was the topic of conversation, so may as well. And try as he might, Leon had no idea what this instrument was. There were strings on it, which signaled to him that this was definitely not in his range of skill.
And his mind literally reeled back when he heard the guy speak. That accent - but wasn't he white? And his accent was so strong. Well, must have some sort of reason. Maybe he knew of Japan? Oh, Leon hadn't spoken a lot of Japanese outside of the penthouse, maybe he knew Japanese? Oh great, he could speak Japanese with him! But maybe he was being a little too hopeful - to just spring out in a completely different language out of the blue might be too forward to a stranger.
"Uh, no I don't play. I actually... have no idea what they're called, either." Insert awkwardness. "But they are nice, though. I'd totally learn if I had the chance!" And fail, so Leon probably wouldn't try, either way. He wasn't exactly sure if he had the time to, anyways. He had planned to go to Disneyland pretty much every week starting next month. Because during vacation he was supposed to have fun, right? "Oh, I'm Leon, by the way!" What's your name?" Another big smile appeared on his face again. Maybe he would make a new friend! Oh, better yet, a new friend who could play music and speak Japanese! This was great! |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jun 6, 2013 18:38:45 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. He was used to staring. He even told himself that staring was fine, that it was a normal enough reaction to a scar like his. People could be expected to stare, to gawk openly at the damage to so much of his face. Almost everyone did the first time they saw him. Some still did it after many meetings. Some were more blatant about it, and some tried to hide it. It was extraordinarily rare to meet someone who didn't look at all.
As much as he tried to tell himself that it shouldn't bother him, it still did. It was just another way he was different, and for all the talk of differences being important, he really didn't feel like they were. He'd have rather fit in. The nail that was stuck out would be hammered down, after all.
He didn't know what they were called? Keijiro was vaguely surprised at that, but he supposed he shouldn't have been. Few people had any real interest in the old traditional instruments, and he drew his hand back from it, the last of the sound fading out.
"It's a koto, but not a particularly good one. A training model, really. A good one is much larger, and the materials are better." This one was plastic strings, meant to be durable and hardy, not to sound particularly good.
He gave him a brief glance before his eyes slid back to the instruments, reaching back out to pluck a few strings--a quick little melody, but not immediately recognizable. Just something he'd learned a long time ago, even if the colors were all wrong on the mistuned instrument. "You can find plenty of tutors in Japan, but there aren't really any in America." Another slight pause. "I'm Keijiro." Leon. Was that actually his name, or was it--dammit, what was the term? His English name, chosen for ease of pronunciation. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Jun 25, 2013 4:34:21 GMT -8
Leon listened in fascination as his new potential friend explained that this instrument was a koto. From that point in, he realized he was quite uneducated in the wonders of Japanese music, despite being in the industry. The instrument looked perfectly fine, but he was obvious in the presence of an expert, so he wasn't able to judge. If this was just a training koto, then what did a real one look like? He didn't suppose there was another one on the shop. He'd probably overlook it if that were the case anyways.
"Ah, well I guess I missed the chance to get tutored back in Japan. Oh well, I probably wouldn't have had time to learn it either way." Yeah... his band members would probably have gotten on his case. 'Why are you learning another instrument when you need to practice on the keyboard?!' or 'Focus on your keyboard, not the koto!' would probably be something he'd have to put up with. And Leon probably wouldn't be able to take much of that.
His name only provided the shorter boy with more happiness. It was Japanese! Japanese! He must be able to speak in Japanese, or at least understand it. Maybe he could practice it with him! "Hey, Keijiro, can you speak Japanese?" Of course, he was practically a stranger, but when had Leon cared about that fact. "I really need to practice, I've been neglecting my Japanese since coming here." And hopefully carrying out a conversation with Keijiro didn't last just one conversation. He could have asked someone in the band, but no, chatting with someone he positively *didn't* know seemed like a much better idea. |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jul 5, 2013 17:39:04 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. Japanese music had fallen by the wayside after the war. People wanted to be modern, to be American. They'd pushed aside the old ways and charged headfirst to meet the world, and so much of Japanese Culture had been supplanted. Studious young Japanese students learned to play the piano and the violin, not the koto or the shamisen. They learned English in school, and English in business. They had abandoned the things that had once made them good, and that had always made Keijiro's father a tad bitter.
In a way, it had been a strange twist of fate that the only Caucasian in the family was the one who'd followed the old ways closest. Even if he didn't follow Shinto as his parents did, he still knew how it all worked, still went through the motions. Traditional instruments had a strong place in worship, after all.
He was still putting together the pieces of who Leon was. Japanese, obviously. Perhaps a tourist, but 'since coming here' told Keijiro something else. Maybe a student come abroad, or perhaps he'd simply moved with his parents. There was a faint sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen his face before, but he brushed it aside--he was just feeling the familiarity of getting to talk to someone who was actually from Japan. He'd chatted to a few immigrants, but that had been a different sort of feeling.
"Yes." He answered, dropping into fluent Japanese. He'd grown up speaking it, and his Japanese was far better then his English, without the heavy accent. "It's my first language." |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Jul 10, 2013 3:41:51 GMT -8
As much as he hated to admit it, Leon's worst language was Japanese. Or at least, the worst language out of the three that he actually knew. It wasn't to say he was horrible at it, he just... wasn't as good at it than perhaps, well, English or German. But having someone to talk to outside of the band in Japanese would certainly help him improve. It would be exciting and cool! He couldn't wait to tell the rest of them - he found a Japanese person in Los Angeles!
Well, that was a little ridiculous to be happy over. There were plenty of Japanese people in LA, especially with the existence of Little Tokyo. The best response he'd get out of them was an 'Okay, have fun', which was no fun at all. Being with him for such a long time and putting up with his stupidity had probably taught them that just waving him off and not responding would eventually end up with him leaving because he was bored. Which was a fairly accurate description.
"Really? That's amazing!" Leon beamed at Keijiro. "Forgive me if I'm a bit rusty, I've been so used to using English here that Japanese has kinda slipped my mind." Already as he thought through the words he was having a bit of difficulty. But still, even if it was a challenge he wouldn't give up. Keijiro would probably laugh at him for his little grammar mistakes here and there, but the languages were formatted differently so stringing sentences here and there with his current knowledge... At least it was understandable, right? "I'm so happy I can talk to someone in Japanese besides the people I live with, they're sometimes really boring."
Well, it was true! Sure it had only been, what, a couple of weeks (or was it a month, or maybe less? The days were hard to keep track of during vacation) since they've arrived, but they were already being such boring people. He needed to plan some trips for them, obviously they could go sightseeing one day or an amusement park the other. Or something. "Oh! I assume you came from Japan too. What brings you to LA? Uhh... if I'm wrong, sorry about that..." |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jul 10, 2013 18:51:23 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. Keijiro only knew two languages, and as far as he was concerned, he spoke both pretty well. To a natural English speaker though, his English would come off as archaic and stiff. While he'd grown up speaking normal English, the kind taught in schools--and the kind that tended to be spoken in Japan--was for business. It was full of pleasantries and politeness, and slang was safely ignored in almost every case. He was picking a bit up over time, but it was by no means coming to him quickly. He'd have picked Japanese as a conversational language any day of the week.
Really, he didn't mind the guy's language issues all that much. His grasp of Japanese seemed a bit clunky, but Keijiro was fairly sure his Japanese would suffer just as much when he got into the habit of speaking English all the time. They were just so different, completely alien to each other in almost every way.
"It's fine. You have better Japanese then most Americans." Which wasn't saying much. For that matter he wasn't even sure if he was American. He said he'd came from Japan at one point, but that didn't mean he wasn't American. Maybe he was the reverse of Keijiro--born in Japan, raised in America.
He shook his head to the answer, well used to people apologizing for literally zero reason. It was expected, after all. "I only arrived a little while ago. I'm coming here for university." He paused for a moment, uncertain. "Or College. I can't tell the difference here." |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Jul 14, 2013 13:47:41 GMT -8
This was fun! Really, really fun! Even if Leon didn't know anything about the guy, aside from his name and the fact that he spoke Japanese, he really, really wanted to be friends with him! Forever and ever. Thought maybe that was pushing things along too fast. No, he should probably get to know the guy a little better before becoming best friends with him, because he was just sure that it would happen. It was just meant to be. How, Leon wasn't sure, but he was determined to make Keijiro be his buddy. Compliments were the way to this paths - well, at least, compliments to him. Of which Keijiro had just delivered. Definitely best friend material.
"Really, I'm better than most Americans?" That was great! Even if... most Americans didn't speak Japanese. But Leon was sure it was a great compliment, coming from someone who knew lots of Japanese. "Yay! Even if I'm not American I can still tell them I'm better than them." Which was sort of arrogant of him, but he didn't care.
"College? University? Hmmm, I don't know what it goes by here." Welp, that reminded him how he had dropped out. Not that he regretted it, not that he was famous. But that also begged the question - if he was going to college, was he younger than Leon? "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jul 15, 2013 20:55:53 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. The guy seemed... nice. Perhaps a bit hyperactive, but Keijiro could work with that. It wasn't as if he was going to bolt at the sight of some energy, even if Leon seemed to have an excess of it. If anything, he could use that energy. He'd been lethargic and cut off from almost all of his friends. Even those that checked their email regularly were never on at the same times. Timezones made everything difficult to manage. He couldn't just pick up the phone and talk to someone--he'd have to plan when to call, dialing early in the morning or some pre-chosen time. Even to talk to his parents was difficult, and it had left him feeling isolated.
All things considered, he was a tad confused about where Leon was from. Was he Japanese, but had lived in America a long while? The questions winged around his brain before he finally opted to just ask, responding to Leon's question with one of his own.
"I'm nineteen." Which was a little bit old to just start college, but that was what having a birthday did to you. "Are you from Japan then? Or America?" He was genuinely interested to know, even if he wasn't sure he was going to get a straight answer.
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Jul 16, 2013 2:58:25 GMT -8
Leon liked being right. Even if it didn't quite serve his interests, he liked the triumph that usually came after getting a question correct or an assumption confirmed. Knowing that Keijiro was younger than him was perfectly fine for him - even if he was much better than Leon in speaking. "Nineteen, huh? That's a nice age to be. I'm twenty one. I don't get what's so good about being an adult, though, people seem to assume that you want less presents the older you get." Then again, the gifts he did get were... well, they were nice too, there just wasn't a lot. Sure, he could drink now, but what was the use? Screw alcohol if he couldn't get gifts! Honestly, what was the point of the beverage if he got less gifts? Sure, fans gave him gifts but it was different when it came to the band and family.
Also, those responsibilities. Leon would much rather be a kid. But there were also so many rules-- It was difficult, really, to decide. Freedom versus free stuff. He really liked both. But the great thing was, he was on vacation now with all the freedom in the world. Well, within reason, that is. And it was really nice, not having to do anything but do what people on vacation did.
Speaking of which. Leon practically grinned ear to ear at Keijiro's question. It was the first question that he asked, and the talkative boy was overjoyed to the point that he would willingly spit out all the information he could while staying on topic. "Well, for this trip we came to America from Japan. We've only been here for a bit though, but time goes by fast when you're doing nothing! It's amazing!" It really, truly was. "But if you're asking about where I'm from originally I guess - well, I guess that's Japan too. But, uh, I guess I'm from Germany too! I guess it really depends, Germany's sort of like the place I grew up, but Japan's where I was born and also where I was before coming here to LA!" Too much information? Leon didn't care! "Though I guess I was in Japan for a pretty long time, so that's probably the answer to the question." |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Jul 29, 2013 17:56:06 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. The age of twenty-one held zero significance for Keijiro. In Japan, twenty was the magic age--the age where you became an adult and could drink and do what you pleased. While America might have considered him an adult at nineteen, ready to do what he pleased, as far as he (and the rest of Japan) was concerned, he was still a young adult, not yet a full one. Next year--or really, two months give or take a week--he'd be a full grown adult.
He'd already taken a huge step by moving out to live on his own, and the fact that he'd moved to another country was a whole other step on top of that. He wasn't quite sure if he liked it just yet, but he was willing to give it some time.
Keijiro was expecting a 'yes' or a 'no'. Instead his ear was promptly talked off as Leon explained in an extremely confusing manner that he might be from Japan or he might be from Germany, and there was no way to determine which as far as Keijiro was concerned. Something something spent a long time? He'd only followed half of what Leon had said since he spoke so fast, and Keijiro flushed red, a tad embarrassed. That would explain the name at least, and he did a quick bow.
"I apologize--my English is not that good." And he wasn't keeping up at all. "I just wasn't sure if you were simply an American." He was largely unaware of how most people would take it--he was simply curious, and showing his interest by asking a basic question. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Aug 10, 2013 20:48:05 GMT -8
It was only a little while later that Leon realized he had switched back to English. So he got a little excited that language got a little away from him. Switching back to Japanese, he apologized. "Sorry, sorry. I get excited sometimes, I didn't even notice- I'll try not to let that happen again." He tried to give Keijiro a sort of reassuring smile, but it came out a bit lopsided. Oh well. "I got ahead of myself. I'm from Japan, I think, from what you're asking." There was no need to get over excited for things - much as he wanted to tell his new friend about everything ever in his life, it would be a little overwhelming and to be quite honest, Leon would probably speed through it and confuse the poor guy once more.
So he reminded himself for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past couple of minutes to calm himself and seem like a normal, decent human being. "Enough about me, though. You're from Japan, so I can't ask you what you asked me, buuut I do want to get to know you better! Besides playing instruments, what do you do? Well, like a hobby or something." Though maybe asking that a bit out of the blue was a bit odd.
"I mean, for me, I like to take lots of pictures of things in my free time! I've got lots of free time nowadays." Not today, of course, today was for window shopping and the sort. There was band stuff, and there was photo stuff that he got a profit off of. College deemed his photo taking skills below average, but fans seemed to think it was just fine, so he stuck with it. Plus, it was enjoyable. "I like playing the keyboard too, but I guess that's technically my job so not really a hobby." |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Aug 13, 2013 14:54:56 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: april 29th, 1pm. notes: none. From Japan. That was enough for him, and really all he'd wanted to know. Heck, even most of the Japanese people in San Francisco weren't actually from Japan--they were nisei, the children of people who had originally immigrated. There were certainly commonalities and all, but few of them would be able to talk with him about Japan. They understood the language and some of the culture, but they still weren't true japanese. Elitist as that was, Keijiro was a tiny bit elitist when it came to that.
He supposed that strictly speaking Leon was making smalltalk, and he found himself relaxing slightly. Hobbies, though, was a difficult question. Music was his life, and to him it was a hobby as much as a profession. He considered it for a moment before answering.
"Mostly I play music in my off times--just on instruments different from those I'd normally play." Once upon a time he'd played sports actively, but with his lung capacity damaged, they were largely out of the question. "I do some art, but that's mostly connected to the music." Strictly speaking, the art he did was little different from recording music on a scale to him, but to others, it was completely foreign. No one was going to look at it and assume it was music, but for him it was--each piece of art was simply a distinct way of noting down the colors he saw when he played.
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Aug 28, 2013 1:28:59 GMT -8
Leon couldn't help but wonder just how much more talented his new friend was compared to him. Even if it dealt a serious blow to his own ego, he was very interested in what Keijiro played - well, besides the instruments that he had noticed to be displayed in this shop. Leon could only play the keyboard, and to him that had seemed enough - but to be multi talented in many instruments! Leon could just imagine it, but he could also imagine just how much work would have to be put it and it seemed, honestly, quite exhausting. Not something he was equipped to do at all. But with a slight case of envy came a bit of curiosity. "What other instruments do you play? It seems nice to be able to play more than one!" For him it also meant that Keijiro was a great deal more tenacious than he would ever be, which he assumed was a pretty good thing and probably a useless assumption for the time being. But what caught his attention a little more was the next bit. Art, was it? Music was fairly obvious, seeing as they were in a music store full of instruments, anyways, but art? Well, Keijuro had said that music and art were somehow connected, and suffice to say, Leon wanted to know just how. Because whenever he tried his hand at art, or drawing, or painting, he basically painted a dark, murky blob because he liked mixing all the colors together. Granted, he was probably seven last time he finger painted, and he had gotten it all over himself, and in his hair. He never touched it again. "What kind of art? If you don't mind too terribly, I'm curious as to what it is."
for you REITGERTE |
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Aug 28, 2013 12:58:45 GMT -8
tagged: leon. time: see above. notes: none. Most of the instruments he played would mean nothing to the average American, and Keijiro was fairly confident that the number of people who knew what a yamatogoto was in the city could be counted on one hand. Even in Japan it was one of the rarer instruments.
"I play a bit of piano, but I'm not very good. Mostly I play traditional instruments--the yamatogoto, the koto, the biwa, and the shamisen." Most of which Leon would probably know. While there was some variety between them, they were all stringed--he lacked the lung capacity to play anything else. He'd always wanted to try, and he'd had a list a mile long of all the possible instruments he could have played, but it was simply out of the question. He couldn't do it. No matter how much he'd tried, working for hours to improve his lung capacity, the damage was simply too great.
He was drawn from his moment of self-absorption by another question. What kind of art? He hesitated, struggling to find an answer. His synesthesia had never been something he'd felt particularly embarrassed about, and while he was a relatively private person, it wasn't something that he minded sharing.
"When there's noise--especially if it's music--I can see the music. So mostly I try and draw it out as I see it. I suppose you could compare it to writing music on a sheet, only I'm the only one who can interpret it." It was like his own personal code, whether he wanted to or not. He'd done his research ages ago--most synesthetes didn't have the same connections, so it wouldn't make any more sense to another synaesthete then it did to the average person. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Sept 13, 2013 15:54:53 GMT -8
As Keijiro listed off the instruments, Leon just stared blankly and frankly, a little confused. Sure, they seemed to be a little familiar, but he remembered he had fallen asleep in music history class (or maybe he just didn't take it at all), so these names that were probably instruments that he assumed were Japanese only summoned questions he dared not ask mostly because he didn't want to feel too embarrassed. He should know them, he felt like he should, but whatever memories he could summon up were not helping him in the least.
The koto was the only really exception, but could he really even call it an exception when he just learned of it today? Well, at least the samisen sounded a little more familiar than the others. Even so, it almost completely flew over his head. Traditional music was way out of his league, it wasn't even funny. It was more sad and embarrassing. He should have paid attention, but it wasn't like it was his job to know anything and everything about music, even if it was Japanese music and in hIs roots (sort of, not really, that was bad logic but Leon logic).
He resolved to smiling and nodding, because that was the only thing he could really do. Couldn't really offer anything but a 'that is so cool'.
And what else was cool? The next course of conversation was cool. In fact, this thing that Keijiro was describing seemed surreal and perhaps a little like magic. And he couldn't help but be mystified like that ten year old that looked in awe as a magician pulled a rabbit out of his or her hat. "That is really interesting! Even if I can't possibly interpret it, I kind of want to see it. Seeing music in art form, that's all kinds of cool! I mean, it just sounds cool when you say it, I just can't help but wonder." Leon was that kid. The little kid in the candy store. "Only if you let me, though. I don't know you too well yet, though." But his eyes, he was pleading very very hard with his eyes.
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Post by KEIJIRO WATANABE on Sept 14, 2013 17:15:52 GMT -8
tagged: character. time: date & time. notes: none. Keijiro had a slow, sneaking suspicion that most of what he was saying was going over Leon's head. Even if Leon was Japanese, most people weren't aware of the intricate details of ancient Japanese instruments, the majority of which were only brought out in a historical music lesson, or for those with a specific focus on traditional instruments. It was a bit over most people's heads, and he cleared his throat at the end of his explanation. The boy seemed to be particularly excited, and he gave Leon a little smile at the end of it. He wanted to see? Well, he wasn't quite sure about that. His stuff was all at home, and he'd really only just met him.
Maybe it was time for a new topic of conversation. He held his smile, focusing on Leon rather then the instruments for the moment. "It's been rude of me. I've just been talking about myself, but I don't know much about you. You're here for a trip? Vacation?" If so, it meant that Leon was probably fairly well off, to just go to America for a vacation without a tour group or anything. At the very least he was certainly independant to do so all alone. Keijiro had barely managed his first few days in Little Tokyo, and he was expected to do more then just tour around. He was supposed to live there of all things, a prospect that had seemed increasingly daunting the more time he'd spent in California. |
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Post by LEONARD KOBAYASHI on Sept 14, 2013 21:47:42 GMT -8
Leon had thought he was being very courteous. For the most part, he had let Keijiro take over the conversation and had gotten to know him, instead of the other way around. It was usually the other way around, though. In fact, Leon was quite surprised he hadn't gotten bored with all this talk about Keijiro, but he had to admit, it was very interesting. Especially that last bit. Music in colors was very interesting, and of course, Leon did want to see it, despite the fact that it probably wouldn't be possible. Because, well, they had literally just met. Maybe he should have thought a little bit more about it before actually commenting that he wanted to see it. Although, he understood not being able to see it. So of course he was willing to wait until Keijiro was his bestest friend! Actually, that would be a win-win situation! He just hoped that Keijiro didn't find him too overbearing or too forward.
Nah, he definitely had nothing to worry about. After all, they were such good friends now, as good as friends could be or having known each other for a few minutes. If they continued that this pace, well, they'll be great friends in the long run! Only his bond with his band mates would ever rival it - in all actuality that would probably be a lot stronger. Speaking of them, Leon was just asked a question that he really really liked.
And it turned the tables. A lot. A bunch. A significant amount.
"No, it's alright, I don't mind it at all. It's been very interesting. But if you insist - yeah!" Leon was absolutely thrilled to talk about himself. He was waiting for it. To cram all the information that he could inside his new friend's head. "Vacation, actually! I hope it's a long vacation. I really like it here. Though I guess technically it's not really much different, save for the actual working part. I mean, my brothers are here with me, my friends are here with me, so they are just an endless, endless supply of fun and laughter, most of the time." If only they weren't doing their own thing all the time, maybe he'd finally be able to take them to Disney, or somewhere else. Maybe he'd take Keijiro to on his great LA adventure, because his goal is to go to every fun, entertaining, and awesome place that existed in LA, and it just wasn't fun if he did it all by himself.
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