what's happening here (mostly open)

[churchbelle]

Who: Hazel and Keito, Hazel and Pals (you)
What: pal stuff, yahoo answers
When: April 29 and/or later, I'm not picky
Where: around....
Warnings: well, the links contain questionably nsfw text, and the Jae-Ha thread contains definitely nsfw text, oops

APRIL 29.... hello Keito
[It's real nice of that Keito kid to have made all of these worksheets for Japanese study, really. Hazel was surprised the other day, when Jae-Ha suddenly delivered them to him with his usual Jae-Ha flourishing, but he's kind of touched by it too... Hooter Kid isn't so bad.

The problem with having a magical spoken understanding of a language but only a very basic written understanding of it is this: he still can't read some of this. How does he do practice worksheets if he can't read them??

He decides he might as well call Keito, because why not call someone he's only ever spoken to on the internet. That's fine. Ring ring, nerd.]


A. YahooAnswersTXT
[So, as a (false) god with a domain of great things like love and youth and poetic inspiration, the prayers Hazel gets custom-tailored to himself sure are... as interesting as one would expect. Since he's been thinking for a few days now about what he should actually do as a (totally fake) god, taking into account his misgivings about the whole thing but still wanting to help normal people— well, he's decided to check Aengus' shrine every so often to see what he can do.

For the people. The people who really, desperately need help with love and youth, at least... The prayers manifest as plaques and handwritten tags hung on the shrine, so that anyone walking by can see exactly what he's dealing with, generally speaking.

Is this worth it... he doesn't even get paid, technically... He gingerly picks one up by its corner, not actually daring to pull it off the shrine in case that means he has to commit to it or something.]

Just one...? Mercy, I don't know what I did to deserve this.

[please..... this is harassment] The poor souls sure are in need...


B. hazel joins a gang
[Or: if you catch him in a variety of stores, he may be:

1. wearing a leather jacket, and shopping for more leather jackets
2. staring at a snack food and commenting that they Sure Are Tasteless Around Here
or
3. something else!! WILDCARD

He sure is out and about...]

Comments

[churchbelle]

[Yes it took ages... But ah, Jae-Ha just has to start in with the sad facts. He has considered this, actually, but...]

Ya do remember my last partner wasn't exactly a livin' man, either?

[He says this, casually taking a bite of pancake... annnd choking, wait—] I wasn't— carryin' on with Gat, but it's the same basic understandin'.

[razzledazzles]

[Okay, he was about to ask, so that clarification is nice... But still.]

Is it? And what happens when you're done "filling in" for Aengus, then? [He doesn't want to bring all of this depressing stuff up, he just... Doesn't want to end up another bad thing in Hazel's life. It's only fair to bring it up first.]

Well, ultimately... It's entirely your choice to make. I'd be willing regardless, but I wouldn't feel right if I hadn't asked this first.

[churchbelle]

[Don't worry, Jae-Ha, you aren't a rebound. Be flattered.]

Ya sure know how to take the wind outta someone's sails. [These serious questions... He doesn't know what he'll do if it's suddenly decided that he's done here. It's been too short a time to make that kind of decision - could he take Jae-Ha with him, if he wanted? Outside of this place, his ability still works... but a shinki isn't the same as what Gat is, so—

Well, breakfast is complicated now. He pokes at a remaining corner of his pancakes, frowning down at it.]

Like I told ya when ya got sent here, I'm not the best of men. I'm selfish and I wanna get what I want without worryin' over a maybe.

[So can they talk about this some other time???] That alright?

[razzledazzles]

I didn't mean to spoil breakfast.

[Which, hopefully he hasn't. It's just his way of apologizing to say that, watching Hazel for a quiet moment. He didn't want this to go unmentioned for so long that it only came up when he had to leave, if he had to leave. If he wants to put off deciding on something like that... Well, Jae-Ha has nothing else to do. Ultimately, what he wants is this. So he can't bring himself to say no at all.]

It's alright. Like I said, I won't be going anywhere. If this is what both of us want, then the freedom-loving part of me says that's all there is to it. We'll figure the rest out later.

[churchbelle]

[It's one more thing to think about, on top of the rest. There's a difference, though— that this is something he actually wants, unlike all of his other heavy thoughts, which are just things he can't seem to shake. This is important to him, so he'll figure out what to do. He won't disappoint yet another person, especially over this.

So, it's odd— the thought is already heavy, but he still feels light. Jae-Ha is still here... that's enough for now.]

Breakfast ain't spoiled. [gosh] It's somethin' worth workin' on, I'll give ya that. Let's have ourselves a good day in the meantime.

[razzledazzles]

That doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

[Smiling over to Hazel, he takes another bite of his food. It's nice hearing everything Hazel has said so far. Maybe all of that heart pounding was really worth something, after all. Lightly, he places his hand over his chest again, like it's something subtle.

He's just relieved. There are still plenty of feelings and worries to go along with it, but he's so relieved he can't help the warm smile that takes over again.]

What do you think we should do today? Anything in particular?

[churchbelle]

[That hand motion is silly, but Hazel still smiles at it. Now he's free to be even more brazen about how adorable Jae-Ha is when he does dumb things, great...!

Anyway, he's about two bites away from finishing his breakfast finally, and then there's the rest of the day. What should they do...? He can think of a few things, like what they didn't get around to finishing upstairs. Hmm.

Maybe not right after a heavy conversation, ugh, thanks a lot Jae-Ha.]

Well, I reckon after yesterday we ought to stay in. [No monster attacks, please??] There's gotta be somethin' to do around the house.

[razzledazzles]

[To be honest, Jae-Ha is thinking about upstairs, as well. He's even thinking about tonight, like maybe there's some way he can sneak his way into Hazel's room sometimes. He'll consider it.

For now, though, he finishes his last bite of pancakes with a smile.]

Let's go room to room until we find something. [Shifting, he stands and takes his plate over to the sink.] If there's anything, we'll run across it.

[churchbelle]

[That's a lot of rooms to waste time in, which is great. This is what he thinks as he stands to... pass his plate to Jae-Ha over the counter, hah, take care of this for him.]

That's plenty of ground to cover. I sure hope we don't wind up gettin' lost.

[Lost, with only makeouts for company...]

[razzledazzles]

[He'd normally give him a look for just passing the dishes over wordlessly like that, but he's too busy finding the way he says that endearing. That's right, Jae-Ha loves that shit, he will eat this up.]

My, hopefully not. I can't imagine what we'd do then. [Anyway, he's cleaning these dishes, and the moment he's done, he's drying his hand and then taking Hazel's.]

Let's take that honey tongue of yours and get going.

[He just means to go find out what rooms they've missed, innocently. They'll find something to space out the serious talk just now to when they inevitably kiss more.]

[churchbelle]

[Learned: cute garbage gets Jae-Ha to do even more things for him. Hazel leans his elbows on the counter and watches him do dishes, like a real teenager, and smirks at him for his next line.]

I've gotta keep workin' on it or I'll lose the gift.

[Of persuasion. He shifts his grip in Jae-Ha's hand to lace their fingers together, so they can have the most shoujo walk around the house as possible.]

[razzledazzles]

[What the hell... He's going to lose his mind, even if Hazel's a little brat who doesn't want to do dishes. He squeezes his hand, leading him up the stairs and through a few of the bedrooms they know have absolutely nothing. But eventually, they come across one room he doesn't recognize at all.]

Hmm? What's this one? You must have left it out of that first tour you gave me.

[churchbelle]

[Hazel sticks close to Jae-Ha as they head upstairs, bumping their arms together and every now and then taking up the mantle of stopping him in a doorway to pull him into a short kiss. He wants that light, happy mood back as quickly as possible, so... this!

This mystery room, though... he can't honestly remember it, either. This is how horror movies begin.

Just kidding, it's just a game room. There's even a billiards table that will never be used, oooh.]

I don't rightly know... Looks like it's meant for playin' games. Genuinely, I had no idea this was here.

[razzledazzles]

[The kisses certainly do wonders for bringing the light mood back. Little by little, they play around a little more, and Jae-Ha is increasingly tempted to close one of the doors behind them and see how far he can get. Ah. He's in over his head, like this. He's completely lost...

But now there's this game room to distract him just a bit in this chase. A lot that he doesn't recognize, some that he does, either from just knowing it from various media in Japan or previous memory. It's a mix.

There's one table in particular that he moves over to, with a deck of cards neatly in its box on top of the table. There are little stools, and a dealer's chair... What a nice gaming room this is.]

It sounds as if we should be doing little checks like this more regularly. Perhaps we can have a map drawn.

[Teasing, he reaches to pick up a box of cards with his free hand, flipping it around to see both sides.] Oh! I've seen these in pictures before. They're playing cards, aren't they?

[churchbelle]

[A map... Why didn't this temple come with a floor plan? Honestly a good question. More importantly, Hazel follows him over to the card table, for Educating.]

That they are. Wanna learn a game or two? I'm powerfully good with a hand of cards, myself.

[razzledazzles]

[ this sounds much better than googling for his night out... ] Would you show me? I don't know a single one, so start with your favorite.

[ he's already moving to sit in a stool!! Show him, teacher. ]

me screaming i don't know how to play poker

[churchbelle]

[shit, he's cute... Okay, Hazel takes a seat across from him and slides the deck of cards out of their box, peering at a few before starting to shuffle them. He can't shuffle like a pro, but be amazed at this anyway.]

Poker it is. The point's real simple— all ya have to do is end the game with a set of cards better than the other fellas at the table. I'll teach ya the type for beginners for now.

LMAO vague fudge it!!!

[razzledazzles]

[ how exciting!! It's exciting, okay. He can impress everyone if someone good at cards teaches him right? Leaning over the table, he watches the cards as they're shuffled. ]

Poker? What a strange name. Let's see if I can understand it enough to beat even you. [ his end goal... ] You played it often?

furiously reads wikipedia about a card game

[churchbelle]

[Hah... that's funny, beating him at poker. He chuckles, dealing out the cards.]

Speakin' humbly, I win often, too. [humbly.] Now, the point's to play with a group makin' bets, but this'll do just fine to learn. Show me what cards y'have.

this sounds fair

[razzledazzles]

Oh, there are letters.

[A, he knows what A is! But well, this hand that he shows is an Ace of spades, Jack of diamonds, 8 of clubs, 10 of hearts and 3 of clubs.]

The ones with the hearts are my favorite, I've decided. They're elegant, like me. Or these things here, they're a bit like my throwing knives... [He's pointing out the spades, is he really taking this seriously... He's going to listen, really.]

[churchbelle]

[What a moderately okay set of cards. Hazel ignores pretty much everything about the card suits' elegance other than another light laugh, since it's cute...]

That's real nice. Now listen, the goal is to get the better hand, so let me tell ya what the best hands look like... [HE DOES THAT.......... HERE!!! POKER: DECLASSIFIED, featuring rules about betting and folding and all of that fun stuff. Poker. Mysteries explained!!]

Got all that?

[razzledazzles]

[To be honest, during a good majority of that explanation, Jae-Ha was admiring Hazel. He's cute when he teaches, it's nice listening to his accent for long stretches of time, and he keeps getting distracted by his hands as he's handling the cards.

That said, he does also hear what Hazel is explaining, thankfully. He can multitask that well.]

It doesn't sound too complicated. So it's a mixture of luck and lying? It's no wonder you win.

[churchbelle]

[Jae-Ha's cute and charming status is revoked yet again, that was nice while it lasted. Hazel is taken aback that that's his only question ("question"), and moves to collect the cards he'd laid out during this explanation and shuffle them back into the main deck.]

Bluffin' and lyin' ain't exactly the same thing. [jerk] But what can I say? If the table's playin' poorly as a consequence of my distractin' good looks, 'course I'll win.

[razzledazzles]

I'm only an honest man, so I wouldn't know a thing about that.

[Or in other words, he was just teasing. He's already distracted by Hazel, so he can't even make a witty remark against it. Instead, after a lot of watching of that shuffling, he lays out both of his hands palm up.]

I learn best through trying, so why don't we play a couple of mock rounds? Will it work with just the two of us?

[churchbelle]

[Uh huh, sure!! Hazel also definitely isn't a liar. That's fine, he's already dealing out a new hand. Ready to lose, Jae-Ha???]

It'll show ya the ropes well enough, but the real fun's in puttin' up the bets.