Another Day on the Assembly Line

Batty · Mar 9, 2016

While eerie, Pluto kept his 1000 yard stare on Takashi for the majority of the meet up so far. His overly active brain honestly struggled in deciphering this strange yet powerful man. Pluto could pick up on the little things- like the fact that the meal they were just served wasn't very much like the dish he had grown to love- but overarching conclusions had the young man at a loss. Was this guy pulling something so genius that Pluto couldn't fathom it?

Well, judging by the response to the question he previously proposed, that would be a no-go.

”More along the lines of a year and a half. But... Close enough.” Pluto muttered as he kept staring at Takashi, still blindly stabbing the hell at the food he was given. In his mind, practically all the information on this dish was begging him to eat it. It was so complicated, so strong in scent... He couldn't imagine the migraine he'd get for trying to eat it. But of course, he was a captive audience, and he didn't want to be rude. So, here went nothing. Pluto grabbed his plasticware and slowly stabbed an already scrambled piece. He gulped softly, and raised it to his mouth at near tortoise speed. Slowly, he took a bite. And lo and behold, his suspicions on his reaction was right. Except now he could taste the bacteria on it from the lunch lady who refused to wash her hands. Now he could dissect each ingredient in a matter of seconds, a list that began to cycle in his head at the same time. He could grasp the temperature, grade of the meat, and the process in which it was cooked. It was too much. This is why Pluto didn't usually venture outside his comfort zone. It was always the same thing, and he was tired of it.

Quickly he swallowed and moved on to chug from his water. Trying to wash out the taste from his mouth before his head began to pound from it. His back shuddered, though he didn't want to show this. To make the other think that he was insulting him. Pluto shifted his attention on the statement Takashi made in the meantime of his struggle. Trying to find out what to say in order to get his mind off of everything else.
”Well... It's good that you are enjoying yourself.” Pluto said, before picking up his fork again to subconsciously stab the dish a bit more forcibly than before. What stopped him though was the statement he said next. Partially because.. Well, the same thing applied to Pluto. ”I can't say I don't know how that feels. It's a culture shock to see that the creatures and people seen in fairy tales and comic books are actually real.” He took another sip of his water. ”It must be difficult for most newcomers. Especially if they've grown up thinking they're some sort of special exception to the bland cesspool that's humanity. They come here, thinking 'Oh great, there's others out there like me'. But then they realize that they're not all that special. That when everyone is gifted...” He set down his glass, to cross his legs and fold his hands over his knees.

”Nobody is.”

He shrugged. ”At least that's what confuses me. You'll get used to it, after awhile. And soon enough this world will feel just like the outside one. There isn't much of a fundamental difference between us, when I get down to it. Too bad the outside world doesn't like to see us as anything less than freaks.” He chuckled. Well, not really a chuckle. More like a sharp exhale of air from his nose than anything, without the slightest resemblance of a smile to accompany it. He blinked once more. ”Sorry if I rambled. What do you find most confusing here?”

Zell · Mar 11, 2016

Takashi was too focused on his food to noticed Pluto's dilemma. With the bowl tilted towards his mouth, making the process of sliding the food into his mouth with chopsticks easier, he couldn't really see Pluto. And even when he tilted the bowl down to chew, he was moving so slowly that it was hard to register him as moving at all. The man chewed on the beef and rice and seasonings, watching as his fish-eyed friend seemed to have trouble with the one bite (had he taken a bite, or did he just not like the smell?) that he'd taken, immediately washing it down with water. He tilted his head. It wasn't a common dish here, as he knew, but he didn't think it'd be enough to make someone actually sick.

He would have to keep that in mind if they went out for food together again. Maybe a bowl of normal, white rice would be better for Pluto. He seemed like one of those people that had really sensitive palettes, like the girls his closest friend used to go on and on about. Guys, he said, were allowed to have intense, almost pungent flavors in their food. But a proper lady is supposed to have a sensitive palette, which harsh flavors being almost painful to them.

Watching him as he spoke, he went back to eating. He got the feeling that he was saying something really profound as he talked about people realizing how normal they were when exposed to people who weren't. Seeing people who were special just like them felt good in the beginning, but the realization that you arent special, that you're just one of over one thousand people who are special.... that was what confused Pluto.

To be honest, Takashi didn't really get it.

To him, he liked finding people like this. People who were stronger than him and better than him. It was his favorite part of coming to the Academy, no questions asked. Because being here meant there were so many other people he could fight. He was only human, that was true. And that came with a caveat that there was a limit to his abilities. Realistically, he couldn't hope to stack up against people who were gods in their own right.

But he didn't care. He would fight those little gods. He'd punch them in their little-god faces. Because that was what he did. He punched things. And if they happened to be a lot stronger than him, then he punched them even harder.

"Ah, well," He rubbed the back of his head. "My problem is that I have.... uh... what was it... 'insufficient academic progress for my grade'? Is what the counselor said, but it all sounded Greek to me."

He laughed good-naturedly and finished off his food, siting the bowl down with his chopsticks resting across the top.

"Izzat how you feel going here? Like all your specialness or whatever has drained out?"

Batty · Mar 26, 2016

Pluto moved to fold his hands in his lap.Waiting for some sort of reaction, or a disapproving comment. But, it appeared Takashi was too engrossed in his meal, the same dish that completely overwhelmed Pluto. Which was fine, because Pluto managed to sneak a plain white bread roll next to his bowl. So after his spiel, Pluto unwrapped the bread roll from the plastic wrap and proceeded to nibble on its crust. Already, he could get a feel on how Takashi was processing everything.
Which, as Pluto could tell, wasn’t saying much.

Admittedly, Pluto was a bit on the pessimistic side, while Takashi appeared to look at the pitcher as half-full. Which, in a sense, was bittersweet. While hopeful optimism made him reflect on the things he knew that they didn’t, it also allowed Pluto to attempt to lean back and reflect on what was important. Coincidentally, that wasn’t much for Pluto. What was he living for, anyway?

Ahh, he didn’t want to think of that now. Not with his new… Acquaintance. He blinked when Takashi mentioned that he wasn’t doing well academically, which was beyond Pluto. School came as second nature, but that was for him. He had to constantly remind himself that people were different. That people could have talents and passions, and Takashi’s so happened to be strength training. He had strengths and weaknesses. He was only human, after all. And the fact that he utilized his weaknesses to become stronger..

Well, Pluto had to admit he admired that. Not verbally, of course.

”Your counselor just means that you’re probably close to failing.” Pluto then shrugged. ”But I wouldn’t worry too much about it. A grade is just a letter. What you get from school itself is more important.” He assured in almost a chilling monotonous voice. And, in the heat of the moment, Pluto said something he truly didn’t think through. ”I could help you, if you need it.”

Quickly after that though, Pluto changed the subject once he was asked the responding question. ”No, even here I feel a bit different than other people.” He said almost immediately. Feeling as though he was being too confusing, he continued. ”There’s nothing wrong with everyone being the same in their uniqueness. Because after awhile, everything begins to meld together. I thought the same would happen to me, that I’d be just another normal face among many. But nope. Turns out that even magical people tend to stay away from the excessively weird. Citizens here tend to opt to turn their backs on those that they could potentially bond with. It’s no different than the outside world. It seems you could be a God here and still be fundamentally human.” Pluto really didn’t like to talk about himself so much, or at least in terms of his upbringing. So by being vague, he hoped he still managed to get his point across. But did he, though? ”Does that make sense?”

Zell · Jul 13, 2016

World's Strongest Takashi Takeo knew better than anyone that he wasn't smart. It wasn't exactly something that he was sensitive about, but rather something that he knew, almost as if it was an immutable fact about how he was as a person. He'd always been a meat head, thinking with his muscles rather than his head. Sometimes he missed his home in the mountains where his lack of mentail fortitude was not seen as a weakness, as long as his body was strong enough and his heart earnest enough to do the work that the fields required.

Here, though, it seemed his earnest heart and strong body made him a target for ridicule. At every turn people saw his less than friendly looking face, and heard his lack of education on a multitude of matters, and thought of him as annoying or even somehow dangerous. He looked at his calloused hands, worn from fighting and training and hundreds upon thousands upon millions of bench presses and sighed.

Warriors commune through fighting. Fighting is how he made friends. But he would make no friends with fighting here--that much was clear.

"Haha, yeah, probably." He said, stretching his arms out and resting his hands on the top of his head, pressing down his impressive mop of brown hair. "I've never been to school except for now. I'm starting at the bottom and seeing how far I have to go is kind of intimidating."

Hearing Pluto's offer, he almost surged up from his seat and grasped the other man's hands in his own, but he resisted that urge. Control yourself, he thought--his earnestness was a drawback in this strange, cold place. "Really?!" He looks so unguardedly happy, like a puppy almost. If he had a tail it would most certainly be wagging. "Would you really be able to help a dunce like me?"

He almost wanted to cry, he was so happy. Getting something from school would be so much easier with someone like Pluto helping him. Someone smart and a little strange, but still nice and patient. He liked Pluto, he decided.

And since he decided he liked Pluto, he couldn't keep a look of displeasure off his face when Pluto admitted to people turning away from him.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. But I think it doesn't have to be that way." His hand extended. "Let's be buddies! You and me, two atypical guys."

Batty · Jul 14, 2016

He could feel it. The proud man’s cloud of doubt beginning to form. At least that’s something they had in common- that they were outcasts here. Maybe not so much Takashi, but he was going to be knocked down a few notches- for better or worse. Just like how Pluto had a glimmer of hope for once in his life upon learning he was going to go to an academy filled with people like him. He was going to make friends, be accepted, and not have to worry about peers thinking he as a freak.

Lies, lies, lies.

But whatever. It wasn’t such a big deal now. He felt somewhat… Comfortable around Takashi. At least that’s the only way he could describe the neutral sensation, and for him being on the neutral side was a big deal. Still, he was waiting for that aura of doubt or disgust. The first glimpse that a possible
acquaintanceship wouldn’t work out.

So far, so good.

”It can be intimidating, yes.” Pluto croaked out blandly. ”But maybe this sort of challenge is good for someone like you. A sound mind and body can come together in a balanced union.” He wasn’t one to speak on the latter, as even his baggy clothes couldn’t guise the scrawny young man underneath. He did hope that the words would give him some motivation, but it seemed that his oddly generous offer carried even more of an impact. He blinked. Did he really offer to teach him?

”Well...” He trailed off his words in consideration. It didn’t look like he was thinking though. It looked like he was staring into the void. After ten or so seconds of silence, he made a very faint nodding gesture of his head once. ”Yes. I don’t have much else to do, so I suppose I could try to pass on what I know.”

Who knew such a simple offer could mean so much?

A sense of warmth seemed to graze his brain, which momentarily ceased the thousands of blurred thoughts buzzing around in it. He actually liked him. He felt that he did. In turn a faint shiver went down his spine to warm the rest of his tiny body up. What a peculiar feeling.

”...Buddies?” He mumbled as his wide icy grey eyes looked down at Takashi’s extended hand. He was silent- Partially because he was shocked by the proclamation, and partially because the other could use some hand sanitizer. Once again, Pluto tried his best to hush those voices. No information, just… Feeling.

Looking back yup, Pluto carried the same bland facial expression as usual. But instead this time, his cold hand reached back. Just to grasp the others to awkwardly shake. ”Yea. Let’s be buddies.”

He let go of his hand shortly after, almost throwing it down. The thoughts and information were returning. And this time, it was mostly Takashi’s.

Zell · Jul 15, 2016

Takashi was so happy. It had been exceedingly difficult to make new friends over his time at the academy. He'd thought that it would be easier, but he just kept screwing it up somehow. But still, he was glad that he was able to find someone that he connected with, even if their experiences were incredibly different.

You can find friends anywhere if you're willing to look hard enough.

And not just any friend, but someone who was by far the smartest person he'd met since entering the school. Someone who thought a lot of complicated thoughts and seemed to do so well in school that it was practically a nonissue.

But most importantly he didn't seem condescending, which was the worst thing someone could be. World's Strongest could handle mean. He couldn't handle condescension.

Pluto's mind was filled with facts about Takashi. How much he could conceivably bench press, how fast he could run a mile, his average intelligence in a variety of subjects (in general, very sub-par unless it was related to physical exertion in some way), exact hue of his hair and eyes, the last time he took a shower (this morning, thank god), and other simple, almost pointless facts.

But they were entirely Takashi. Entirely simple, and earnest, just like him.

This would be a good friendship.

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Another Day on the Assembly Line

Batty

The artist formerly known as porky

Zell

Well-Known Member

Batty

The artist formerly known as porky

Zell

Well-Known Member

Batty

The artist formerly known as porky

Zell

Well-Known Member