tushanshu | [Console: Video]

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[Console: Video]

[The feed kicks on to an empty chair. The video is streaming, but there's no sign of Makoto anywhere. She may or may not be sitting on the floor, out of view.]

Alright, real talk.

I have something super important to ask you all, so listen up.

[She actually sounds pretty serious here too.]

How uh... How many of you know baseball?

[Home is far away and out of reach, so she's on the hunt for common ground.]

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Well, that is what it's there for. [The Welcome Center] We might not be a Hotel, but I'd hope the couches I got for the main room are comfortable enough.

Speaking of, have you looked into the Hotel yet? That is where a lot of people end up staying, I believe.

Wait you organized all that? Thanks so much! It's been really great while I work out... well, everything.

The Hotel though... I've heard about it but I haven't gone to see it properly yet. I'm... kinda new at this stuff. My folks helped out a lot more than I ever gave them credit for.

Mmm...kind of.

[Normally, Zatanna would be all over that kind of praise and adulation, but considering the history of the Welcome Center...for once, she was more comfortable being modest.]

It was passed down to me from people who've gone. There are two portraits on one of the far walls of the main room--you might have seen them already. The red haired woman, and the boy with white hair. Their names were Pepper and Jack. Pepper started this whole thing a long time ago. Like three or four years, I think. Then, when she left, Jack inherited it. And then when he went back home...it fell back to me.

[There was the slightest twinge of pain, especially when she spoke of Jack, but she managed to keep herself together. Practice.]

I would check it out. The worst that could happen is you decide it's not for you. But the owner's a fellow import like us, so he knows how hard it can be to show up here for the first time with no clue what to do or where you are. Or even why.

[She listens, careful not to interrupt or react too openly to the news that friends are lost here as well. But she sobers, and nods.]

Yeah, I've seen them. I wondered about who they were but I hadn't really got to look into it yet. And, I'll definitely check out the Hotel. The more I hear about it, the more it seems like a good move.

[There's questions she wants to ask, but the topic seems a sensitive one and the last thing Makoto wants is to upset someone who's been nothing but kind to her.]

But um... Do you mind if I ask how long you've been here? You don't have to answer that if you don't want to!

[She gave a wince, but not for the reason one might think.]

I don't mind, but...are you sure you want to know?

[Oh. That's. Not good. Makoto takes a deep breath and nods her head.]

It's probably better for me to know what I might be in for.

[She sits up a little in her chair, game face on.]

Okay, hit me with it.

[Well, might as well be honest.]

I came here when I was about fourteen. Tomorrow...give or take a few time-space issues from world to world...I turn nineteen.

[It's more than she thought it would be. Makoto was braced for a year, maybe two but the answer she gets is more than double that. For a moment she sits, stunned and then she nods firmly.]

Alright. I asked for it so... don't worry or anything. That's a lot longer than I thought.

[And she laughs, a little forced but hey, she's trying.]

[At least she took it well.]

...for what it's worth? I've been here longer than anybody.

Some people disappear as soon as a month or so after they arrive. Everyone's different.

[As well as she can. It's when she's on her own that she'll start to think and overthink and things will spiral from there. Makoto's already doing all she can to brace herself and keep control. Getting upset about it isn't going to help things, even if she'll probably have a good hard cry about it later.]

That's... kinda good and kinda bad, I guess. Like, do you get any notice that someone's going to leave or do they just... go?

[At this, she sighed heavily. Then shook her head.]

Nothing.

It...as far as I know, it tends to happen overnight. Like, people don't usually just up and disappear right in front of you. It happens when you're not looking. When you're...asleep in another room, for example.

Creepy.

[A beat.]

It's... good that people get to go home eventually though, I guess. But... sad too.

[She'd probably give Zatanna a hug if she were actually close by. Instead, Makoto tries for a comforting smile.]

I'm sorry.

[For all you've lost.]

It's gotta be rough.

]She offered an appreciative half-smile at the sympathy, but then immediately shrugged it off. Because habit.]

It sucks, but what are you gonna do? That's...just the way things are around here.

But it's not all bad. I mean, for as long as most people are here, they're pretty cool.

[Makoto whines a little at that, shoulders slumping as she nods her head.]

I guess so. I mean, it's not like we have much of a choice... Might as well make the most of it.

[And she smirks.]

I mean, how many people can say they've been on a giant turtle? None of my friends back home have, that's for sure.

[She...almost pointed out the fact that there was every chance none of then would remember ever being in Keelai when they went home.]

[But you know what? If the poor girl wanted to use that as a bright side to her situation, then Zatanna wasn't about to darken it. Yet.]

There you go.

It is a pretty cool bragging right.

[That she might not remember is something that'll hit Makoto much, much later. For now she's stuck in GO mode for all the cool stories she'll be able to tell her buddies when she gets back.]

Alright then, I'm gonna make this an adventure.

[She makes a fist, triumphantly.]

I dunno what yet, but I'm gonna make sure I do some awesome stuff while I'm here.

You're definitely in the right place for awesome things. We've always had a decent selection of those, even when things were...a little more tense.

[Rationing came to mind, but because of her magic, she'd always been able to make do. And curfews were meant to be broken, anyway.]

What did you have in mind? Maybe I can point you in that direction. I have been here for a while, after all. Kind of know the place pretty well.

Hmm...

[Her hand finds her chin and Makoto falls into deep thought. A moment passes, and then she slumps.]

I... have no idea. Maybe I need to just look around a little more first and get some hints.

[Zatanna allowed herself an amused smile at that.]

That usually works for me.

I say go for it. Explore. Wander around aimlessly until you find something that captures your interest.

Y'know, I'm gonna do just that. Hey, if you ever get bored and want to come wander around with me, just fling me a message.

[Congratulations, Zatanna. You just made another friend.]

I mean, I hear there's a superhero who hangs around the fire sector. I so want to see that!

[Friends are good. She likes friends.]

Yeah? Which one?

[She may or may not know a few superheroes floating around that area.]

Chat Noir! I haven't seen him yet but I hear he's around that area.

[It's only a matter of time.]

[He...was one of the few she actually didn't know.]

What else have you heard about him? Maybe I'll go take a peek for myself some night.

[She deflates a little at that. Makoto doesn't really know quite what she's looking for.]

I... well. Y'know.

[She shoots Zatanna a small smile.]

Not too much, really. I know that he's saved people from evil butterflies with another hero called Ladybug.

[It's sounds crazy when she says it. Adrien has a way with words that Makoto certainly does not.]

...evil butterflies?

[Somehow, that was a new one. Huh. Even the Ladybug moniker barely registered compared the the mental picture of having to fight off giant winged creatures.]