entranceway | video;

[ Oh great, Mondo gets another alien friend. The day he finds out about all these facts of Jon his head's gonna explode. ]

Holy crap! [ What a fucking cool dad. ] Your dad do woodwork or somethin'?

[ Aaaand... question marks fill his eyes. Monkーwhat? Hello technology, Mondo's worst enemy. ] Uh, sure! Sounds fun! [ Well. Whatever. He can try. ] Don't think there's a farm here, but there's a stable nearby. We can go there whenever this event thing's over. Ya like horses?

Dad does a lot of stuff. He’s a reporter. He kept up the farm, but we were gonna move off of it soon. ( what reporter doesn’t also have experience in woodworking? gosh, mondo. obviously, reporters do stuff like that. gotta know the stuff they’re reporting, after all!! . . not that he reported about wood. but.

jon makes his way over to the tv, sitting down on the ground in front of it to boot it and the gaming console below it up before grabbing onto the two controllers settled right next to the console; one goes onto his own lap, the other goes beside him for mondo. ) Horses’re pretty cool. I know how to ride them, but I’ve got more experience working with cows and stuff.

[ Mondo's got zero clue of what reporters do apart from... reporting news on newspaper or TV, but he guesses a lot of things happen in the background or something. He gives a hum of acknowledgement to that. Living in the farm area sounds nice. ]

You guys gonna move to a city?

[ Ooh, so they use this to play. Huh. He's seen these on TV before. Let him examine it for a bit. ] You do? Well, let's go then, next time. [ Obviously, he prefers riding motorbikes to horses, but animals in general are great. Even for a bit, maybe he can have a taste of farm life that way. ]

I don’t really want to, but--they’ve got work stuff in Metropolis. ( he’d way prefer to be living the city life and going to a new school and all of that new stuff rather than be stuck here. so maybe moving to the city really isn’t all that bad of an idea.

even as jon speaks, he keeps his eyes glued to the screen, going through the start menu and getting the game set up and please don’t make me try to explain a fake game, i don’t know how this game works. ) I’m first player, so you just gotta pick your character, and your screen shows below mine--it’s split screen, ‘cause we only have one console and it doesn’t look like we have wifi here even we did have a second.

[ Ah, he's heard of those. He attends school just barely passing the attendance requirement back then, but he remembers there're transfer students from time to time. Having to move around 'cuz of parents' job must be kinda tough on 'em too. He shifts his focal point from Jon to the screen, nodding at the explanation even if he doesn't completely get it. Man, what are these? Monsters? ]

Er, aight. Uh. So, guess this is how Iー uh. [ He ends up selecting a character instead of going left and right. Well, whatever. ...The fuck's wifi again? Is it that 'internet' thingy? While Jon selects his, Mondo waits, guessing that's how it works. ] ...Say, d'ya miss your friends from home? Moving means you gotta make new friends, right?

Yeah. ( that’s 90% of the reason he’s against moving in the first place: jon makes friends easily enough, sure, but it doesn’t mean he wants to start all over. he likes his friends; they’re all pretty great people, who do pretty great things. ) I miss Kathy and Maya the most--Maya and I weren’t close friends, but she’s pretty awesome.

I knew Kathy for a while, too—her grandfather and her were from out of town and moved into my hometown a little while ago ( actually, from outer space. ) but we had a lot in common. She’s real nice. Probably the bestest friend I’ve ever had. ( and it’s. . good, to have a friend he truly can relate to. sure, kathy’s heritage is way different from his own, but he still felt comfortable talking to her, and being able to open up to her; she was a lot more in control than jon, but she understood the struggle of being a kid with more power than they should have. )

Maya lives far away from my home town anyway, though. . she travels a lot, so moving won’t mean I get to see her less, I guess. Damian’s always lived pretty far away, too, but he and his dad visited a lot. I’m sure they’ll come even when we’re in Metropolis. ( he shifts through the game menu for a moment, changing the difficulty to easy before starting the level of whatever the heck this game is. ) Damian’s here anyway, so I don’t really--miss him. ( he sure does miss bruce being around though. ) Do you miss your friends from back home?

[ Kathy and Maya, huh. Well, he won't be surprised if Jon's popular amongst the girls, even Mondo's impressed by him. He listens to Jon talk about them with a mischievous smirk on his face, ready to tease him about it like those typical nosy big brothers the moment he gets the chance.

But the chance doesn't come as his attention is captured by the mention of a friend of Jon being here. ]

Oh, he's here? Ain't that great! You won't feel too lonely then, at least. [ So Damian is a guy's name. He's really not good with foreign names, but he's still pretty sure Kathy and Maya are girls. And about thatー ] ...Ah? [ Just when he's gearing up to tease him this time round, the question is flung back to him. Well. His hand reaches up behind his head, scratching. ]

I... guess so. [ Rather than friends, Crazy Diamond members were more of his comrades, probably. He surely had the time of his life blasting through the night with them then but... he doesn't have a place to return anymore. In fact, he probably had no rights calling them comrades in the first place. After all, he's been lying to them the entire time. ] ...... [ He contemplates for a moment. ] But two of my classmates are here, so. It's notー It's not so bad. [ And he's lying again, through his teeth and crooked smile. Things have been pretty... complicated with them. Putting teens into a murder game setting must be one of the most brilliant ways to fuck them all up. ] ーA, anyway, we're gonna play, right?

( at least one of the multiple here that are from a world at least mildly similar to his own knows he exists, instead of thinking that there's no way jon exists. damian remembers him. unlike kara, and everyone else he's talked to thus far who know his parents, but not him. the multiverse is weird like that.

damian is. . okay. he's loud and arrogant, but jon's gotten used to him. he probably shouldn't really explain--damian himself much, because jon knows he's really bad at telling halftruths; considering most of his time with damian has been spent in capes and masks, he's bound to slip up at some point.

jon can hear the way mondo's heart stutters when he lies, but that's not something he can really. . say out loud, is it? he can't tell mondo that he's got super ears, can tell when people are telling him mistruths; jon hates liars, but he does also understand that this kind of lie isn't laced with malice. this guy's probably just trying not to make a big deal out of. . whatever it is.

he leans his shoulder against mondo, starts the level up and starts moving his character around. ) We're friends now too, right? If you ever need anything. . you can come to me. I'm, uh--a lot stronger than I look, cross my heart. So you really don't have to worry about me. But I'd be happy to be there for you an' stuff.

[ Well...

Jon might hear the sound of Mondo's heart squeezing tight then, because holy shit. It takes all his might not to fall over with that warm touch on his side, especially when it's sidekicking such warm, sincere words. He ain't gonna cry! He ain't!! Gonna cry!! ]

Y-Yeah.

[ The days here in Wonderland since his arrival have been the terrible kind of roller coaster ride, but this. This helps him to see some good in it.

Friendship isn't a word that he largely associates with. Being in the biggest biker gang in the country ー the leader of it, no less ー automatically kept him friendless at school, his lack of attendance didn't help any. His gang, Crazy Diamond were only banded together because they had the same goal, and because of his lie. He knew that he wasn't powerful and charismatic enough like his big bro to keep them together had they found out about it.

The only person he could find a friend in was Ishimaru, the guy he'd sorta sworn brotherhood on, his classmate in the Hope's Peak Academy. They bonded deeply overnight, and he can feel that something similar's starting here between him and Jon. To think he's befriending a kid... who's probably much more mature than he is. It feels really good, though, knowing someone's got your back, regardless in whatever form it is. Probably doesn't make sense, but it's as though Jon knows he's trying to let the topic slide away from him. He finds comfort in that. ]

'Course, same goes here! Tell me if anyone bullies you and Imma beat 'em to a pulp!

[ Don't mind his suddenly loud voice, he's totally not covering up an overflow of emotion or anything! Don't mind the rough head ruffling either! ]

Aight, let's do this!!

[ He's? So fired up?? Just pressing all the buttons in the controller one by one now though, trying to figure out how to get his character moving. He's taking time to get used to it, memorising is difficult... But at least he figures out how to jump? Jumping around all the way. ]

( one of the great things about being a half-alien kid? jon entirely understands that some things are better left unspoken. being ten, he does--enjoy pushing boundaries, yes, but not for stupid things like this. mondo doesn't want to talk about it, and he's more than happy to help change the subject. it's--nice, the way mondo responds? he's glad he could help him, as jonathan kent. some things don't need superpowers--things like this.

and it's amazing, to just be a kid. if jon's honest: getting powers was the last thing he'd ever expected in life, and he's learning to embrace it, to use it to help, but he missed the part of life where he could just. . act like a normal kid. like this. a nice, normal friendship with some teenager with weird hair where they sit and talk about their feelings and play video games and talk about horses and carpeting. )

Haha, I think you're getting the hang of it! ( well he's not dead yet, at least; jon's sure mondo will eventually get the hang of it. he leans up against him, back pressing to his shoulder as he turns his side to face the screen and bends his legs up, knees bent but still low and heels pressing into the ground. ) Press "x" jump, triangle to draw your weapons, square to dodge, and uh. I'm sure you'll figure out the rest!

[ Playing games and talking about woods and horses sound like activities that're up in his alley, even if he sucks at the former. Maybe he'll educate Jon on bikes too, eventually. And maybe whenever he's set up his own bike, he can take Jon for rides! ...Ah, he better not go too far ahead of himself. As great as this feeling is ー having a warm body up against him and the warm feeling in his chest ー he knows he can't let it lull him. He can't embrace it too tightly, even if he knows deep down he craves for this kind of bonding. Friendship. After all, he's done a lot of bad in the past, things that people can't simply just forgive him for, things that... he can't ever forgive himself for. There might come a time where he'll need to let it go.

Even so, for now, he wants to relish in this. ]

Am I? [ There's a hint of doubt in his voice, but he's enjoying himself, if the grin on the edges of his lips are indicating anything. Well, the doubt is real when his HP's pretty darned low. ] Yeah, I just... when you move it's hard to remember so I justー [ Dammit! An enemy! He presses everything at once and thwack! Ah... he died. Clearly can't focus on two things at the same time. ーNo wait? He's back alive! The number of lives he has on the corner of the screen definitely has decreased by one, though. ] Huh. You can't die or somethin'? That kinda system? [ He's not noticing that little detail yet, of course. ]

( ooc: i'm just going on the fly with all these game settings, feel free to tell me to change up anything! )

We're playing it on easy mode, so when you die, as long as you have lives left, it just takes one life and you keep going. If you play it on normal mode, you gotta go back to the start after every death. . But as long as you don't run out of lives, you should be fine! ( it's a little obvious he has no idea how this game works. has he ever even played video games before? most of them in this day and age have at least similar controls. . it didn't take jon that long to figure this game out, and he hasn't even had it for that long yet.

but he's also young, grew up with smart phones and all the latest technology available for him, so. he's got that advantage. jon moves his own character closer to mondo's, keeping an eye on any enemies close to him to help take them down before they mess up mondo's stuff again. he does pause after a rather angry sound comes from his stomach, though--and tilts his head back a bit, resting it against mondo's shoulder. )

Hey, does the kitchen here have Hot Pockets and iced tea? ( there really aren't any stores, right? so these kitchens better be decently stocked. )

[ ooc: no worries, they don't really go into how it works in canon at all so asdlkh ]

[ Ironically, that sounds a lot like Wonderland. You get to die five times, in which after that... who knows what the fuck's gonna happen. ]

Oooh, that's helpful. [ In a sense, they're living on easy mode here. ] You're really good at this. [ He's sincerely impressed. Technology isn't something he cares much for, apart from ones that have any relations to motorbikes, so honestly... everything else is just blotches of question marks for him. Oh, look at that, what a good kid. He's trying to aid Mondo closelyー

Whoa there. ]

Haha, ain't that some splendid sound! [ And wow, way to attack him with puppy eyes... this is like, two of his weaknesses in one package, kids and puppies. Look, he'll give you another few pats on the head, just don't tell everyone else. ] I dunno what Hot Pocket is but... aight, Imma show you somethin' cool. [ He'll get on his feet with a huge grin in his face. ] Let's go.

Haha, yeah. I grew up playing video games and stuff, so. ( he does recognize that people that didn’t quite have the same upbringing as him, or people a little older struggle with this stuff. it took him a while to break his dad into being able to play stuff without accidentally jumping off of ledges all the time. ) I had a smart phone back home, too. I kinda miss it—those have a lot more stuff than the network thing here.

( he’s quick to pause and turn off the console once mondo starts getting up, though, a matching grin spreading across his own lips. headpats are always nice, thank you. he’ll take all of them. even if it’s not nearly as satisfying when he’s wearing a hat. the sacrifices one’s gotta make for their secret identities. . )

How can you not know what a Hot Pocket is? They’re great! ( he climbs onto his feet fast enough, though, moving a hand to grab onto the edge of mondo’s sleeve. ) Sounds good to me.

[ In that sense, Mondo's probably at Jon's dad's level when it comes to all these game stuff. It's nice to be trying out new things, though! Even if he doesn't really get it yet. Smartphones, huh... He guesses Jon's generation is much different to his, even though their age difference's probably less than a decade. Back then, even if there were some game consoles, he preferred to be out and about with his big bro and their friends. Riding their bicycles and running around, hide and seek, sandcastle, swings, soccer, baseball, basketball... the list goes on! It was really great when things were much simpler. All they had to worry about wasー Ah, he's getting too carried away with the reminiscence.

The momentary blank look in his eyes return to a more amused one when he hears Jon's question, smile can't help spilling out of his lips. The boy's enthusiasm and positivity are dangerously infectious. ]

We didn't have it back in Japan, but they should have it here. You'll find out when we're there.

[ Huh? What's that on his sleevー

OH NO. Oh no. Shit, that's one fuckin' adorable gesture, Mondo doesn't know what to do with it. What does he do with it?!? As much as he adores kids he doesn't know how to act around them. Does he hold his hand? That'd be weird, right? Jon sure as hell doesn't seem like he's that age anymore. Even if he is, there's no traffic or whatever shit for him to keep him in line for, plus he doesn't seem like he'll get lost, so uh. Mondo will just. Awkwardly keeps his pace slow so Jon doesn't get left out. ~~(And can still hold on his sleeves, sssssh.)~~

Once they're outside, they'll be headed straight towards the stairs. ]

What else d'ya feel like eatin'? Other than Hot Pockets.

[ What kinda naming sense's that, though?! Surely it's not... like... literally warmed up pockets or anything right? He's met some monsters and aliens here, he wouldn't be too surprised if Jon eats fabric. Ok he'll still be surprised but. You know. He looks human to Mondo, at least, and iced tea sounds pretty normal. ]

Edited 2017-09-15 09:13 (UTC)

( handholding is for babies. obviously, jon is not a baby. it’s more habit than anything else; no, jon doesn’t need to hold onto someone to keep from getting lost. he’s fairly capable of following behind others without any issue, he’s been doing it for years, but when you’ve got two extremely overprotective parents who like to keep hold of you even when you’re just walking down the street, you get fairly used to holding onto something.

usually sleeves, sometimes capes. but mondo doesn’t have a cape, so his sleeve will just have to do. jon keeps pace with him just fine, staying a step behind them as they walk. ) Japan . . ? ( it explains the weird hair, the fashion sense. he’s seen some of those weird tv show clips where they do weird stuff like bite furniture to see if it’s actually chocolate, and the weird obstacle course ones. mondo is starting to make a lot more sense. ) That’s soo far away. What do you do for fun there? ( please don’t say bite furniture to see if it’s chocolate. ) I always wanted to go see Godzilla in Tokyo!

( obviously, there is no way to get tokyo to see it from here, though. man, that’s a sad thought. and here he was, just getting the hang of super speed. he could’ve probably run all the way to tokyo across the ocean without any problem! the flash does stuff like that all the time, right? )

I like pizza, and uh. . cup noodles? And chips. ( if he’s naming off stuff he knows how to make, at least. he likes other stuff, but it’s mostly stuff lois made for him, which isn’t stuff he can find here, probably. but chips? chips are always good, so’s cup noodles and pizza. and pizza can usually be cooked in a toaster oven, which is something he’s allowed to use, so. )

[ Whatever it is, Mondo's having a field day. Who would've thought he'd ever get a taste of what it's like being a big bro? ]

What I do for fun? [ If you ask Mondo, there's only one answer. ] 'Course it's bike rides! We've got some cool tracks o'er there. You ever heard of musical roads? When cars drive past those roads, you get to hear songs 'cuz how they construct those roads. On bikes, 's pretty hard to hear, 'specially if you've got straight pipes like mine. [ Um. Traffic law violation there, what are you teaching Jon, Mondo... ] So I gotta get off the bike on the sideline to hear it when cars pass. Pretty cool still! 's probably simpler to just drive cars, but you don't get the same feel like when you ride bikes, y'know? [ And he blabbed without a stop, sorry Jon. Then again, that's what Mondo sees as having fun, will largely vary when it comes to other people.

The mention of Godzilla stops him though, finally. ] You mean the movie, right? Not the real thing? [ Just checking, 'cuz he doesn't know how to break the news to him if he believes Godzilla is real. ]

Haha, simple's best! [ Sounds super unhealthy, but Mondo's not really one to talk. Maybe he can think up some dishes from home for Jon to try. ] 'm sure they got those too, no worries. [ Just one more floor to go! They're getting close to the dining room! ]

( he. . has no idea what mondo is talking about with the cars and the roads that make music thing, but that's cool. mondo sounds excited about it, which means that jon is getting just as excited about it. there's a smile on his lips as he listens to mondo talk about it, nodding his head every few sentences to show that he is actively listening to him, even if he doesn't quit get it. it's better to wait for someone to finish speaking and then talk, after all, so he'll wait until he's done. )

Damian has a bike back home! He let me ride on it once. It's one of the smaller ones though, so it's probably not the same thing. It was fun. ( not as fun as flying, or running super fast, but it was a bit more efficient at the time. ) There's a statue of Godzilla in Tokyo, right? I've heart it's supposed to be real cool! I wanted to go see it with my dad one day. My mom'n I've watched the movies! Even the subtitled ones that're in Japanese.

( he's fought things about the size of godzilla, stuff that was much scarier than some movie monster, really, but that's not the same as the actual godzilla. and way less fun. )

Ooh, he does?! [ There are undeniable sparkles in his eyes, if the tone of his voice isn't enough to express the enthusiasm. ] Right? I don't have my bike down here, but whenever I set one up, I'll letcha sit behind me. [ A big grin adorns his face. Ah, it's getting him even more excited to try and build up one. Might take some time, but it'll be so worth it. ]

So you're talking about the statue! [ That's a relief. ] Yeah, it's pretty cool. You really like monsters, don'cha? [ He laughs lightly. ] Do you want to fight them? Or befriend them?

[ Finally, they're at the second floor. Their destination is near! With all the interior overhaul it's a little hard to navigate, but he can vaguely remember where the dining room should be. ]

Should be that room with huge doors. Let's try going there.

( that’s a rather complicated question. his lips press tight together for a moment, really stopping to think about it. does he want to fight or befriend monsters? it’d depend on the monster, wouldn’t it? some people back home call him monstrous. a menace. something that probably shouldn’t exist. alien-hybrid and all that. )

There’s different kinds of monsters, just like there’s different kinds of humans, right? I think I’d fight the bad ones--if I could, I mean. But not the good ones? Because they’re the good guys, so I’d want to be friends with them. Godzilla’s not really good though, he just destroys stuff. I haven’t really seen any good monster movies, but there’re good uh, non-human people, right? Like Superman, and Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman. .

( it’s about time to change the subject though, isn’t it. he takes several step forward and starts pulling on mondo’s sleeve to drag him towards the kitchen. probably not a good idea to talk about the morals of humans vs. nonhumans. ) Do you think they have frozen burritos, too? Aw man, I could really go for three or four of those!

[ All Mondo's taking away from this is that Jon's a very observant and intelligent young boy. He doesn't just answer with a yes or no, this or that. Instead he gives so much thought about it and voices his opinion clearly and firmly. It reminds him of a certain person he knows. ...Yeah, Mondo's thought still stands, this boy will be a big shot when he grows up. ]

Ya've got some good points there! Well, I wouldn't say superhuman people are monsters, but befriending them sure sounds nice, eh? [ In the first place, he can say this because he doesn't consider them real either. Will it be different had the situation been different? Who knows.

And that tug is enough to distract him from the topic. Excited, aren't we? He chuckles at Jon's excitement and pushes the dining room door open. ]

Whoa... [ Right, of course the interior changes here, too. They look like they're in the dining hall of some medieval castle, taken outright from a movie or somethin'. ] Normally, it ain't this grand, but I guess while the 'event' lasts, it's gonna be like this. [ He'll lead them to walk closer to the ridiculously long table. ] See anything you fancy?

( he almost stops and asks if mondo's ever met a metahuman--or any of the heroes they'd been talking about. he doubts it, though; he knows the flash gets around to anywhere and everywhere pretty fast, but he's also aware that the other side of earth generally has it's own set of superheroes. . like toyman and doctor light.

food is way more important though. mondo starts walking towards the table, and jon takes off for it, running towards at a speed that's almost superhuman but not quite before he's grabbing onto a giant handful of grapes and shoving all of them right into his mouth. he's not even finished chewing those by the time he starts looking at everything else on the table, eyeing it with interest before he manages to find a plate and starts filling it with some of everything.

jon is polite enough to wait until he's finished chewing to speak: ) It's awesome!

[ Look at that speed, Jon must've been really hungry! Mondo can't stop grinning at that, susbequently shaking his head as he grabs the seat beside where Jon stands. ]

Slowly, slowly. You're gonna choke like that. They ain't goin' nowhere, ya know?

[ He'll pat the top of the chair on the other side of Jon to get the boy's attention to it, gesturing for him to sit down. ]

Usually here, we can ask for anything we want to eat. It'll just... 'poof' in front of your eyes if you think about it. Ah, see! [ He quickly points at the refilling plates of meat. ] Something like that. But during this event, I don't think it works. Well, the event shouldn't last too long, anyway. Just grab whatever you like, it's all for free.

( he's a growing boy, he's always hungry and ready to shove his face full of five hundred things. he doesn't even care what five hundred things at this point, really. just things.

jon takes the hint and does sit down where mondo gestures to, sliding his plate down onto the table in front of him as he grabs onto the pig leg and starts shoving that down his throat. it's not really an. average food, but whatever; still tastes good, he'll still eat it. again, he waits until he's finished with the food in his mouth before he turns to mondo, wiping off his mouth on his sleeve. )

Oh, that's cool! A little weird, but--cool! At least we won't run outta stuff.

Edited 2017-09-18 00:39 (UTC)

You're gonna get your sleeves all oily by the time you finish... Use this napkin.

[ He'll hand Jon the napkin over with an amused smirk. If he keeps this up, maybe he'll grow to be a buff man. Of course, apart from just eating, that means proper training is necessary. Could Mondo probably coach him? That'll be fun. Maybe he can... try hitting up the exercise room again sometime. Maybe. ]

ーOh, yeah. Y'can also get some food from your closet if ya don't feel like goin' too far. [ They could've just ate at his room, but might as well show him around. ] There's also a Diner on the eighth floor, if you want some home-cooked meal. They make pretty good stuff. Desserts, too. [ Emphasis on desserts. ]

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rip me rip mondo

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