open • a catchall

[coolerjunpei]

Who: Junpei and ✨You✨
Where: Obon and also anywhere you want.
What: Junpei Goes to the Festival / Junpei Gets Glitched
Warnings: just his usual cringe

see below. feel free to fling your own starter or hmu to ask for one!

Comments

cool guy has chill day (obon)

[coolerjunpei]

I. daytime

[Junpei is more excited about the festival than he intends to be, you know, because he's definitely too aloof and cynical for this kind of thing. Except that he's easily convinced to put on yukata (and new sneakers, he can't be stopped from this combo) and to wander around playing games and Having Fun.

Like, ironically, definitely. He's actually on the lookout for this festival to turn awful and violent, now that the Gnosia incident has permnanently colored his opinion of the whole place. He's totally remaining vigilant, and not enthusiastically cheering for competitive lawn games.

At coin dropping and ring toss, he's doing... okay. He's got like a 40% accuracy rate, so every time he actually makes the target, he does a dweeby little fist pump and exclaims:]

Hell yeah! Did you see that? That's advanced technique.

[cool and cynical]

--

[At shooting, he holds up the toy gun in a way that suggests not that he knows how to shoot, but actually that he has a very action movie idea of how to shoot, and thinks he looks super cool in his dork-ass pose.]

Watch this, [he says to his fellow competitors and/or spectators, pointing at his intended target to call the shot. Here he goes. Ready, aim—

yeah he fucking misses, like, bad. oops!!!]

Shit.

II. lanterns

[Decorating a lantern... Unlike the simple distraction of the games, this is where Junpei actually feels more cynical and broody. He has plenty of people whose names he could put on this thing, but it feels... weird.

After several actual, real minutes, he draws a squat little dog on the side of the lantern. It's not a good drawing by any means, it's very "jelly bean with a head and legs" kind of dog art and he's grimacing at it like it owes him money. And yet this is all he's managed this whole time. Yay, festival activities...]

daytime / ring toss

[jaganshi]

[ Hiei has, by now, been to quite a few festivals. Usually at the behest of his teammates, and usually trumping along like he isn't enjoying the sights every single time. He wasn't actually miserable, particularly not with food in hand, but he has a look to maintain, and can't possibly let on to anyone that he is having a fun time.

... Unless they're passing him a squid skewer or something of course.

At any rate, the little demon is watching Junpei at ring toss, for the moment not snacking, simply watching others play intently. Until he says advanced technique, and then of course he scoffs. ]

With how little you actually land on your target that's a laughable term.

[coolerjunpei]

[Luckily this successful toss gives Junpei enough confidence in his athletic mastery to ride that high for, like, a few minutes at least? So he scoffs right back, gesturing at the expertly tossed ring like this guy hasn't definitely been watching him beef it this whole time.

Look, it's there. It's on. He's an athlete.]

I like to call it things looking up. You're not even playing— You've got to win a round, then you're allowed to heckle. That's the rule.

[jaganshi]

If I win too many too quickly they stop giving tickets. [ Said as a demon who's definitely been at this for a good few hours, getting at many free food tickets as is possible before stall owners have enough of his shit and shuffle him along. It stops nothing other than Hiei moving on to the next stall, though, as he is a vile glutton for grilled squid or, honestly, any matsuri foods.

Anyway, being on his grift has only paid off a little.

His arms stay folded, clearly debating what he wants to show, if anything. ]

If there is no kakigori or dango I don't see much point.

[ Sweet tooth coming through. ]

[coolerjunpei]

I'll believe that when I see it!

[Anyone can go around saying they've just won sooo much, after all. He thinks, anyway - who would bother to stop them? But even besides that: no heckling without putting your money where your mouth is.

He has a few rings left in the round he's got, and he tosses one up in the air to do a really cool thing where he catches it over his wrist and looks so talented, which of course means he butterfingers it completely and has to stoop to snatch it before it hits the ground for real.

Athleticism. Help him.]

—If you play I'll get you a dango.

[jaganshi]

Hn. [ Well, he supposes he can't fault Junpei for that. Hiei would say the same if met with that kind of criticism, though perhaps with less joking behind it. This is Hiei, after all.

Red eyes watch the fumble with a raised brow of mild amusement, mostly because he somewhat reminds him of Kuwabara in the moment. Attempting to show off and fumbling it heavily is the teen's specialty, after all. It takes Hiei only a moment to decide, but he pretends to think a little longer anyway before nodding.

... What? A man can't play ring toss for a sweet treat? ]

Fine. [ Hiei extends a hand for the remaining rings Junpei has, assuming that's what he means, quietly confident in his ability. ] Give them to me and you owe me a dango.

[coolerjunpei]

[Ohoho! This may be a deal in which Junpei technically loses no matter what, but he's choosing to think of getting this guy some dango as... creative victory. Why not— it's not like getting a dango is the end of the world. And he'll lose this ring toss either way, so it's probably worth it to lose competitively instead of by himself.]

That's what I thought. Here!

[One ring at a time, buddy— He tosses the first one over and then steps back with an exaggerated flourish, to make room.]

[jaganshi]

[ Hiei watches the dramatics with one of those dry expressions that says he deals with this on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps not with the same flare, but Yusuke and Kuwabara do happen to be a bit... theatric from time to time, and oftentimes not even to their own advantage.

Junpei may not know it but he's entrusted a perfectionist with this game of ring toss.

The demon looks at the ring for a moment before, seeing if it's at all deformed or may need to be compensated for before red eyes peruse the bottles he has close by at his disposal. There isn't really a ton of choice, they're all tiled this way or that, that kind of thing, but Hiei makes his choice and lobs a ring with a very careful amount of force -

The ring flies, wobbles for a moment... and then settles on the neck of a bottle.

Hiei turns to Junpei with a hand extended, brow raised as if asking if he'd really doubted him in the first place. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[—Oh, okay. Junpei doesn't necessarily think everyone here is on his own skill level - that is to say, extremely confident and also terrible at games - but he still doesn't actually expect a perfect toss on the first try. Okay then...]

Okay... lucky throw. Second dango says you can't make them all in a row.

[As he hands over another ring, he hastily adds another stipulation,]

On that same bottle. I'll go up to three dango.

i!

[unprimed]

[Oh, wow. Even from a distance, Tendi can tell that Junpei's stance at the shooting game is...bad. Like, really really bad. She-- she doesn't say anything, though, in part because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings and...in part because she's curious about whether he has some secret technique.

Well. Okay, so that last part turns out to be totally untrue.

She offers a sympathetic smile, kind of covering a reflexive cringe with the expression.] Hey! That was a great try! But-- maybe you should see if it feels better to hold it like this? [She tries to mime it without grabbing the gun, but-- nope, that doesn't work. So she picks up the other toy gun and holds it in the way she's trying to show him.] Like this, I mean.

[coolerjunpei]

[In Junpei's defense, he's... having fun? That has to count for something, right— Skill and fun aren't necessarily related, so it's fine like this!!

He's having a decent enough time that her overt not-technically-critique doesn't even make him abandon the game out of sheer embarrassment, so credit to that.]

What, like left-handed or something? I thought I was doing it okay enough...

[Left-handed. He has no idea how guns work. He squints a little at how she's holding the other gun, trying to shift his grip around to be the same, and speaking of handedness: he's reversed it somehow.]

Like that?

the old man and the 10yo (glitching)

[coolerjunpei]

old man hours

[When the glitches finally catch up to Junpei, he doesn't exactly notice - because it's a much older man who wakes up in Junpei's room at the inn this morning, and the relative messy cocktail of this place and the consequences of messing with timelines and a whole 45 years in between does something scrambly to his memories. It takes him a while to remember, and so he's grouching his way down the street when he stops suddenly and looks around, like, oh! This place!

What he has to say to that is:] Huh.

[And then,] Dollars to donuts you could've convinced me that was a dream...

[But that's not important. What's important is his kid is fucking missing, so after he's done talking to himself, he turns sharply to whoever's nearest and demands:]

Hey! Have you seen a lost kid around here? It's urgent!

you can pick old man or regular style junpei for this, pls lmk

[He's found the kid. Or he's found a glitch masquerading as the kid, but that's still close enough that he's keeping the kid around to look after him.

The kid is pleasant as glitched out NPCs go, mostly content to sit with Junpei and drink a soda with a crazy straw. He's ten years old (technically), he's totally good to have a little treat and watch people go by.

If you've encountered elder Junpei (Tenmyouji), the old man leans over to say something to Quark and chuckle, and the kid immediately says out loud for everyone on this whole block to hear:]

What do you mean, Gramps? What clowns?

[To which the man himself hastily says,] That's not what I said!

[If you've encountered regular style Junpei, he looks a little more confused by this kid following him around, but he kind of understands the situation enough to be... attentive, at least. He's never met Quark until this facsimile of him now, but like, and? This is his kid now, he supposes.

And yet:] So, like, what do kids do? You want to go find a hill to roll down or something?

[that's what he would do if he were still ten.......]

old man hours

[incorrigibles]

[ it's not exactly uncommon for charles to not really watch where he's going, mostly by virtue of, you know, the habit of keeping himself not-quite-tangible when he's out and about, after decades of making sure people walk right through him on the streets. which is why he visibly startles when someone's suddenly asking him about a lost child — ]

What, me? No, I don't think — [ he blinks, then, staring at the old man like something's not quite right, or maybe something's not arranging itself right in his brain, and he can't bloody put his finger on what that something is.

blinking again, he shakes his head as if to shake his mind back into the moment, ] Right, sorry. What?

[coolerjunpei]

[There's a messy complication when it comes to messing with the many, many timelines for people who can do it: with enough repetition, similar timelines start to smear together in the memory. It's been 45 years since, well, the memories of this place - but Tenmyouji is pretty sure he, personally might not have been here. It doesn't completely make sense.

But he remembers it even so, in a weird sense of deja vu; he remembers that street corner, he remembers that shopkeeper who always sweeps out front in the morning. A vague sense of familiarity that he can't quite shake.

It's there too when he looks at this... guy, this maybe-not-a-stranger, but it's been 45 years and he has to find Quark before he can think about anything else. So:]

A kid, have you seen a lost kid anywhere? He's ten, he's got this big hat— [a gesture around his own head, The Hat Is Massive] I can't lose him.

[incorrigibles]

Right, [ says charles, assessing the situation: someone who's new, looking for someone important — much like he himself had been when arriving here, so he feels a wave of sympathy; it's definitely scary and disorienting, and he knows better than most what it feels like, to know you've left someone behind you'd promised to always be there for.

he lets his face adopt the expression he uses with panicked clients, soft and calm and reassuring. ]

Hey, it's okay. Best case scenario, the kid you're looking for is still back in your home world, and doing just fine. [ he really, really hopes that's it, because someone that young, here? fuck no. a kid has done nothing to get sentenced here. ]

But just in case he's not, I'll help you look for him, yeah? So don't worry.

[coolerjunpei]

[Well, point of contention, gruff and immediate:] He's ten.

[And "back in your home world" is either surrounded by people who don't give a shit about what happens to him, in Tenmyouji's incredibly unbiased and understanding opinion, or in a wasteland picking up garbage, so. He's not feeling optimistic. And in true grouchy old man fashion he's not explaining any of that or taking it well that this guy is using some kind of overt Helpful Customer Service Voice at him, since - well he's just not!!

He sighs and drags a hand through his hair, rough and frustrated, but he nods. Okay. Okay, fine.]

He couldn't have gone that far, [hopefully, ideally,] Let's check each of these stores. You take the left side, and I'll take the right.

[He's not waiting for confirmation, he's just going, please meet him back here shortly.]

[incorrigibles]

[ mmmaybe he should have started with "and you will be back home too while you're also here", but, in his defense, people usually don't take that as well as he did when told the same. at least charles is used to dealing with people who are difficult — people grouching at him slides off his back the same water would off a duck's, the same as insults or annoyance or any negative emotions expressed at him do.

so he says, at the old man's back, ] Yeah, sure! [ still with the same, calm tone.

and he does as instructed, starting with one store and then just phasing through the walls to pass to the next, and the next, and the next. only his search comes up empty, and he has to admit defeat, returning back to the street, the line of his shoulders just a little bit tighter. because... well, if the kid is really here, charles can't help but be a bit worried, too. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[The rest of the shops come up empty, too, but more than that there's a moment, while Tenmyouji is storming out of one door and stomping along to the next, that he notices through a storefront window that his helpful new friend seems to be walking face-first into a wall, which—

Which rearranges itself into perfect clarity a moment later, oh, he remembers that; he knows this guy. Knew. Kind of? Imagine if time and space followed clear rules, that would just be a miracle. But still: oh, it's him.

—And the problem of Quark being missing remains unresolved, which is clear enough from the lack of kid when he comes back to the street. The city is big, Quark could still be somewhere else, but the vague sense of dread and defeat creeps in quick; he already looks more defeated than before.]

Didn't find him, huh... Thanks for trying. Don't feel like you have to scour the whole place with me.

[incorrigibles]

Sorry, [ charles says, genuinely apologetic as his expression twists into a frown. and sure, maybe this old man isn't really a client — doesn't stop him from treating him like one, though. doesn't stop the instinct to help, just like him and edwin help those who come to them, back home.

and then he sighs. ] Look, I should've started with this, but — if he's home, he won't even know you're missing. Because you're still there. Or, a version of you is, anyway. Dunno how that works, this one guy told me this might all be a simulation, so we're not actually real.

[ he says all of this with the tone of someone who fully expects to be not believed and possibly yelled at. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[A version of you, he says, and boy if that doesn't make Tenmyouji feel—not great, certainly. Did the version of him 45 years ago know that? He doesn't think so—he wonders if it would make a difference.

In any case. His instinct is, in fact, to yell, and his expression darkens in a way that suggests he just might—it's only his swimmy, vague memories of Charles that stop him from completely flipping his lid about that last part. He still frowns, like, who the fuck says something like that, honestly.]

And? Don't you feel real?

[Not to get existential or anything.]

Isn't that the part that matters?

Tenmyouji!!!! - but alas, regularly Jumpy despite my love for gramps

[valiantarms]

[It was a good job Sora was a cheerful girl who didn't have any complexes. Because she wasn't much taller than the ten-year-old.

She also tended to play with the kids that lived nearby when she could.

The question still makes her blink. Staring blankly for a good, solid moment.]

Um... The kids near me like to play with kendama and play heroes?

[Helpful?]

[coolerjunpei]

[(Regular) Junpei turns to look at her, as does little Quark - but Junpei makes a face for just a second, because uh, if she hadn't not included herself in "kids near me," he was definitely going to assume she was a little kid... Sorry, girl...

A-Anyway.]

I don't know about playing heroes with so few people... Do you have a kendama on hand? I dunno if he's ever played with one.

[He looks at Quark, like, yes/no? Quark shakes his head mid-sip of his latest pop with a muffled "nuh uh!"]

[valiantarms]

[Tragic consequences of being short teen girl.]

I've seen the kids on the shopping street play with only two of them. [Those two siblings. But she shook her head, looking downcast.]

Sorry. I don't have anything like that or know where you could get one.

[coolerjunpei]

Alright, heroes it is, I guess. You ready?

[That last part is for Quark, who hums around one last egregiously long sip of his soda before hopping up. Junpei gestures, like, here you go.]

I'll be the boss, you two are on a secret mission. What's a good secret hero mission?

[valiantarms]

[Sora was just silently staring for a moment. Blinking. Oh, she was fine with playing but she'd not been expecting it straight away.

But... she tilted her head.]

Um... Shouldn't the boss be the one coming up with the mission?

[They both suck.]