scelerata_logs | sweet babbu

Entry tags:

the once-ler

sweet babbu

Who: The Once-ler (

yolonceler) and OPEN!!!!!!
What: Somebody's canon regressed back to simpler times and is wondering why he's wearing this ugly suit
When: NOW
Where: The gardens!!

The Once-ler really needs this vacation. Two weeks and he hasn't sold a single Thneed, nobody cares, and a little girl smashed his guitar. Little girls are terrifying (thinks the 6'4" adult). But hey, he's on vacation, in this... weird... cool-looking place! It's no truffula valley, sure, but it's away from all the stresses of being a young entrepreneur. Time to kick back, relax, and think about how much of an incredible failure he is. Good times, right?

So, yes, the Once-ler is in the gardens, sitting cross-legged and staring at a flower he twists by the stem back and forth between his fingers. His dumb gloves and dumb tailcoat are folded neatly beside him, right under his dumb top hat and dumb sunglasses. Really, where the hell did those come from? Whatever. The reason he's not lounging in his room because he finds it impersonal. Don't get him wrong, the room is great - it's just... after living in truffula valley for a few weeks, spending too much time indoors just feels wrong when there's such a lovely atmosphere outside.

Why hate yourself on a fancy bed when you can hate yourself surrounded by flowers? It's common sense.

He is yours to bother.

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Mako keeps finding himself in the gardens. It's not as stuffy as the hallways, his room gets too boring, and the lobby and first floor? A little too creepy and empty for his tastes. But more people have been trickling into the hotel, so maybe it's a legitimate hotel.

With some tourist creep factor, or something.

Whatever.

At least the gardens were open, airy. There were a few days he thought it was dying, but the next day everything would be full of life again. So maybe that was just imagination.

They were in full bloom again today, and it looked like someone else had the same idea. But the suit the guy was wearing was... Very silly. And obviously too big for him.

And he looked miserable.

Oh god.

Maybe if he just walked on by and--

Aw crap, this guy's making the same kind of face Bolin makes when he's upset. He can't... Say no... Mako stops a step or two away from him.

"Uh... You okay?"

Edited 2012-07-12 21:35 (UTC)

The Once-ler flinches and looks up. Someone's talking to him, really? Someone cares enough about his feelings to ask? This is groundbreaking. Things like this simply don't happen to the Once-ler. Alright, play it cool. You may be a complete and total loser, Oncie, but not everybody has to know that. So the Once-ler puts a smile on his face that's almost too big to be real.

"Everything's a-okay down here, man. Peachy-keen."

Okay, if you don't want to look like a loser, you should probably not say "peachy-keen".

Oh my god this guy's a total loser.

Maybe not completely but Mako's mental image is now tainted with 'peachy keen' connected with this dork in an oversized green suit.

"You just get here today?"

I was going to say "shut the fuck up this suit is awesome", but it's only awesome when you have the confidence to pull it off (which the Once-ler does not). He sets the flower down beside him, but just ends up drumming his fingers on the ground.

"Hour ago, give or take. You?"

"Huh." So that's why he doesn't look completely freaked out yet.

"Couple of weeks."

Edited 2012-07-12 22:10 (UTC)

Weeks. That's all he has to think. Just weeks.

"Weeks."

WEEKS.

"You've been here for weeks? It's, uh, a nice place and all, I guess, but... that's kind of a looong time."

"Trust me, I know."

Why did he stop to talk, why did he stop to talk, why did he stop to talk.

God, this guy is just a kid, his height ignored. "You're not alone here, are you?"

Shut up they're the same age.

"Completely alone. Alone and wearing a really, really dumb suit. Look at this thing, it's huge." The stranger doesn't care about your dumb suit. "... I guess that's to be expected, though. Being alone, I mean."

Tenzin is out for a simple walk, something that's become a rather routine thing for him, as there seemed to be little else to do for the time being. He had his hands clasped loosely behind his back, beneath his cloak, and is strolling along at a... decent pace. It was peaceful outside the hotel, oddly, and he took solace in it.

He'd taken a moments pause as he caught sight of a small red bird in a nearby tree, one like he'd never seen before. The Airbender watched it for a moment before it darted off into the surrounding forest. He was going to start on his way again, when he noticed the man sitting not too far from where he stood.

As there was no reason not to be, Tenzin was quite pleasant when he spoke.

"Ah, good day to you. I see I'm not the only one taking time to enjoy the gardens."

Woah, look at this guy's outfit. Very orange. Very yellow. Summer colors. For a second the Once-ler thinks it's weird, but he then remembers he is wearing an extremely ill-fitting green suit. He's got no room to talk.

So anyway, this monk dude seems like he's a pretty big deal, so the Once-ler stands up and brushes grass off of his legs, which takes more effort than it sounds considering there's so much leg. Shape up, man!

"Uh, yeah! Gardens, flowers, very nice. Great place to sit down, y'know, think about whatever."

He is actually quite a big deal back home, but here he's just another person on vacation. So ultimately, there wasn't much need for Once-ler to be terribly proper, but Tenzin certainly wasn't going to stop him if he chose to.

"I do find them to be wonderful for meditating, as they have the only calm atmosphere in this entire hotel. At least, that is my opinion."

"Right! Meditating." This guy is totally a monk. That's awesome. The Once-ler shoots an uneasy glance up at the hotel. It really is cool and all, but now that he thinks about it, it's anything but calm. Kind of eerie, actually. But anyway! "So, hey, I'm the Once-ler."

He most certainly was a monk, and would happily say so, were the Once-ler to ask. But as he hasn't, he doesn't mention it for the time being. Tenzin follows the other man's gaze for a moment, eyes narrowing at the sight of the hotel. There was something not quite right about it, but that was for later. For now, back to the conversation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Once-ler. I am Tenzin."

The Once-ler tears his eyes away from the hotel and looks back to Tenzin. There will be plenty of time to stare at it later when he's not engaged in conversation. Don't be rude.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. Say, how long have you been here?"

He stroked his beard in thought, idly recalling the amount of time he'd actually been at this hotel. It's odd to consider, really, and it's obvious that he thinks so, because his face contorts into a slightly confused expression.

"...I believe I've actually been here for a few weeks. I'm not at all sure what the date of my check-out is, either."

"Weeks? Like the guy with the scarf?" That's straight up unnerving. The Once-ler simply cannot fathom how anybody could stay here for weeks. What is there to do? "Isn't that kind of... excessive?"

His brows raise for a moment at the mention of Mako, but his face quickly returns to his usual neutral expression.

"Were I able to return home, I would. But as I said, I do not know when I'm supposed to check out, and I cannot seem to find out at the front desk. There also seems to be nothing for miles around, and I got a strange feeling the one time I tried to leave. Hence, why I am still here."

A pause.

"For better or worse."

"Man, I didn't even think of checking the front desk. I've got zero idea of when I'm leaving."

Hopefully he won't be here too long. Gotta pick up a new skill to make up for his failed business. Gardening? Can he learn gardening here? Is that alright?

"Hey, do you, uh, remember making a reservation, or whatever? Clearly?"

"I don't, actually."

Tenzin strokes his beard again, this time continuing to do so as he speaks.

"I only vaguely remember my student insisting I take a vacation, and this being the ultimate result. Though I'm not sure why either of us would have though this hotel was a good choice."

He pauses to sigh.

"Especially considering the footsteps I heard at night, recently."

Oh man, he's stroking his beard. That is so monk-like. And he has students! This is so cool, it's like a movie. ... Alright, Oncie, let's not fawn over the guy. You are still engaged in conversation.

"Are footsteps... abnormal? Because in my experience, I have found that most people make footsteps when they walk."

"Footsteps are indeed abnormal when there is no one there to go with the footsteps. Every time I try to find the source of the footsteps, there's no one to be found. And yet, it sounds as if someone was right outside my door moments prior."

"So it's... a poltergeist, or something?" Do poltergeists have footsteps? "Are you sure you're not just hearing things?"

"I'm positive."

He glances back at the hotel, hands falling to his sides for a moment before being clasped behind his back.

"Mako, the boy you mentioned that wears the scarf, heard and experienced the same thing that I did."

Mako! Finally, he has a name. Good. Calling him "scarf guy" is pretty rude.

"That... makes no sense, though. Could they be coming through speakers or something?"

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sweet babbu

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