[PP-F2] Dank Memes and Broken Dreams

[Mishiro 0]

January 16, 2023

The conclusion of the Floor 2 boss battle meeting and the ongoing preparations, which included the “leveling rush” (the term she had coined for the noticeable increase in player activity one week before the boss raid commenced), signified a change in Mishiro’s daily routine. Usually, she was asked to buy weapons, armor, potions, and other consumables, from NPC and player-run stalls in Floor 1. But now, with the squad’s need for higher-leveled equipment and better healing items, she was sent to the unfamiliar Floor 2 with a bag of Col and a grocery list.

There was strong opposition from Roman, particularly on the part of sending her alone, but that was quickly shut down by Mishiro herself and the squad leader. This was her only job, the only way she could be of use to the players who were constantly risking their lives to save them all, so she wanted to do it properly. 

And it was going well. With her grocery list in hand, she looked at the shop transactions window. Then at her Col, then back at her grocery list, then back at the transactions window. She tapped the ‘Trade’ button and her Col amount decreased as the items she had bought appeared in her inventory. She scrolled through her inventory once again, checking the item’s amount and enhancements, then ticked a box off her grocery list. 

That was the last.

Mishiro dismissed her inventory and stepped back. She looked down at her list again and felt a small sense of accomplishment for having done something important today.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Mishiro

[Pinball 1]

Pinball was getting good with his dagger. 
His knife tricks were pretty rad. 
As he strolled through the haphazardly cobbled roads of Urbus' large marketplace, he twirled the weapon around, hardly paying attention to it as he glanced at the shiny trinkets or warm, tasty looking food set out in store windows or laid out in market stalls. In between his fingers the knife went, from one hand to the other... up, around his back, into the air, balance the blade... and he nearly dropped it completely as somebody pulled him aside. 
"Watch where you're going, Finn," Lucy sighed, as an angry NPC that had almost gotten a dagger in their head stormed past. 
"Sorry about that," he laughed, then, whispering excitedly to Lucy, "did you see their face? They did not look happy at all." 
Lucy's face softened, then, and she smiled, nodding back. "I know, right?" 

They were here to shop - well, Lucy was here to, anyway. Pinball didn't have any money. He adamantly refused to fight, and whether he had made that decision as a joke or out of fear, he'd forgot... but he was a leech, and that was certainly a funny dynamic! Speaking of which - 
Pinball skipped over to a store window, poking energetically at the glass. Laid out on a velvet pillow was an ornate dagger, with a black blade and small rubies embedded in the hilt and pommel. "Can you get me this?" 
Lucy shook her head, throwing up her armored hands. Her shiny armor could almost be seen as she lifted her arms, as the soft black cloak draped around her shoulders parted with them, letting the sun hit the halfplate she wore underneath. "I already told you! If you want something, go make some money! Broke boy!" Pinball laughed. She sounded mean, but she really did care about him. She bought him everything he needed, and then some - they'd just been friends for a very long time, and she was probably getting tired of his refusal to actually do anything, especially in this situation. 

It was then that he was hit with a brilliant idea! "You know what, Lucey Luce," he smiled widely, booping her nose, "I think I will!" And with that he ran off, squirming out of Lucy's reach as she tried to grab him. "Finn, hey, no - what are you-?!" 
Lucy covered her mouth with her hand, watching on, horrified as she contemplated what horrifyingly embarrassing thing her friend was going to do now. 
Pinball ran over to a market stall, and kicked a wooden crate to the side, much to the dismay of the NPC that ran the stand. He pushed it into the center of the road, then retrieved a basket from the same stall. "Just borrowing this," he explained, laughing, as he set the basket in front of the crate. Then, using it as a stool, he stood up, raising his arms. It was an odd sight at this time of day, especially when a lanky boy in a black shirt that seemed much to big for him towered over most of the crowd. With an over the top bow, Pinball commenced his act. He started twirling his knife around. 
Juggling it, balancing it on the tip of his finger only to launch it into a spinning toss around his back, and then catching it by the blade before it flew to the side. He twirled it around in his fingers like a fan, the blade a blur, passing it between two hands with ease... he'd balance the knife on his nose, throw it into the air, catch it, drop it, kick it back up with the heel of his boot... 

((just a lil ooc note lol lucy aint dead here yet)) 

Edited November 11, 2018 by Pinball

[Mishiro 0]

What to do next? Mishiro wrapped Roman's brown coat, three sizes larger than hers, tighter around herself as she moved to the middle of the crowded road, allowing the players who were next in line to come forward. She had some excess Col left from the amount Leah traded to her - around 600, as her payment for running errands - and the policy she had set for herself was to save half the money for later and do whatever she wanted with the rest. Now...what to do with 300 Col? She slowly walked down the road, glancing at the contents of the stalls she passed by. Food, trinkets, potions, weapons... Sadly, she had no use for anything with stats. 

 

Laughter from a passing pair of players caught her attention and she stopped to glance at them. Both held a cup of coffee in their hands. Oh! Mishiro felt something click in her mind as an idea occurred to her. Coffee. The past few days, Roman had been coming home tired and stressed, and with Arabelle not being around to cheer him up, that duty naturally passed onto Mishiro. And one of the things he liked the most was coffee. He always told her that he preferred it black, but she suspected that wasn't the case. Black coffee didn't even taste good. While she herself drank it often, she only did it out of habit. Besides, if she bought him something he already drank every day, it wouldn't be as special as she wanted it to be. So she decided to buy him a frappe. 

 

With a destination in mind, she started walking.

 

"What are you--?"

 

Only to be blocked by a boy pushing a large crate he had..."borrowed" from a nearby NPC stall to the middle of the road. Then he ran to another stand and grabbed a basket he most definitely did not own and placed it in front of the crate. Satisfied with his work, he hopped onto the crate, bowed like a proper performer, and started doing... knife tricks? To the side, his female companion buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. She understood, somewhat. If either Roman (not likely) or Arabelle (very likely) were to perform that stunt while she was with them, she would disown them immediately and run away.

 

But she chose to move to the red-haired girl's side and quietly watch the rest of his performance. He performed different maneuvers with his knife, twirling it around his fingers, throwing it up in the air and catching it with his boot... She had to admit that it looked impressive. How had he even learned that? Practiced doing those tricks for no particular reason at all? Granted, it wasn't as useless as some other skills other performers had. Expertise with twirling a knife could easily translate into skill with wielding a dagger in battle. She watched attentively until the performance ended - he gathered quite a crowd with that stunt - and then she came forward, manifesting 100 Col as coins and dropping them into the basket. Then she offered the two a friendly smile and went on her way.

 

That was certainly a fun addition to her day.

 

@Pinball

Edited November 12, 2018 by Mishiro

[Pinball 1]

So, it's important to note that Pinball is by no means a performer. 
He'd long since come to terms with the strange fact that he'd only ever be able to do anything bearing any slight semblance of confidence if, and only if, he was doing it for a laugh. He didn't know why that was, really - he just knew that whenever he was up in front of people he'd choke up, and he'd find himself stifling the incredible urge to cry. 
Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, this time was no different. He saw Lucy out of the corner of his eye, and saw that she wasn't smiling quite as widely as she had been (even if that smile had been one of embarrassment). And with her smile, so too did his confident facade fade. All at once he felt the weight behind the stares of every single person in the small crowd that had gathered. A shiver ran down his spine, and the color drained from his face. 

It was then that a single girl stepped forward, pushing gently through the crowd to drop a few bits of Col into the basket he had set out. This was his chance to nope the hell out of there. As soon as her back was turned, Pinball caught his knife mid-toss. "Nah," he murmured, hopping off the crate he had been standing on. He scooped up the basket, and, not breaking stride, made a beeline to his companion. 

He pushed the crowd in a hurry, refusing to look any of them in the eye. There weren't many people there to begin with per se, so the density of the gathering broke apart pretty quickly. He could feel the heat in his cheeks as he walked back up to Lucy, his head hung low. "I'm never doing that again," Pinball grumbled, staring into the basket he unhappily cradled in his arms. "Huh?" 
Lucy was staring off into the distance. Pinball tried for a moment to follow her eyes, but made out nothing peculiar in the thin sea of players milling about the shopping district. "What are you..?" Lucy grabbed him by the arm. "Come on!" 
"Wha-?" 
She glanced down at the basket he was holding, exhaling loudly. "And bring that too, dork," she said shortly, before pulling him along. Pinball panicked. He couldn't steal the basket! He whirled around, pulling Lucy along with him for a brief moment. He yanked the Col out, dropped the basket, and in the same motion punted it clear across and over the crowd of passerby and back towards where the market stalls had been. Lucy pulled him along. 
"Where are we..?" 
It was then that he finally noticed they were coming up - rather quickly - behind the girl that had tipped him that bit of Col for his knife tricks. 
 

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro was a fast walker. Though she had been unable to for the last six months of her ordinary life, she got the hang of it over the past three months since the game started. It took practice. Oftentimes, she would put her foot down the wrong way or lean forward too much and then lose balance and fall. Then she got up again without complaining. She had forgotten what it felt like to walk unhindered by her disability, and the game helped her remember. It was the wish the virtual world had granted her, in exchange for her and Roman's freedom. 

 

Frankly, she could have done better without it.

 

When the pair of players reached her, she was already halfway through to her destination. She had a caramel apple in her hand - it came from her inventory, she had enough stock that could probably last her a week - and she was walking quickly, weaving past players who were lined up to buy goods as she twirled the popsicle stick around her fingers, looking for a good spot to bite into. 

 

All of a sudden, she stopped. She didn't know why. The person behind her nearly collided into her - something she made sure to politely apologize for - and they shook their head and went away, grumbling. The players around her changed their course, creating a divide in the crowd. 

 

She looked over her shoulder at the two players who had emerged from the divide. Her expression showed curiosity as she realized they were clearly headed for her. Then she recognized them. The dark-haired boy who had been doing knife tricks and his embarrassed companion. "Good afternoon," she greeted with a small nod of her head. Had she not been holding her favorite treat in her hands, she would have given off the initial impression of a more formal, uptight person. "Is the show over already? You gathered quite the interested crowd back there."

[Pinball 1]

Up until this moment, Pinball wasn't too sure what Lucy's intentions with the girl were. She dragged him along, for the most part, but as they got closer she let go of his arm... much to Pinball's subdued disappointment. Pinball fingered the handle of his dagger nervously as Lucy walked up to her. "Oh, good afternoon." She whirled around though, shaking her head at Pinball. "I thought I recognized her," she explained under her breath. Pinball grinned, then looked over to the mystery girl who had been polite enough to greet them. 
"Oh, uhh, yeah," Pinball replied, his voice trailing off and ending in an uncertain tone. He shook his head, smiling shyly. Interested? God, I hope not. 
"I don't really think so. I've never actually - done that before. A show." Pinball fell into silence again, looking at Lucy desperately for help. 
Thankfully, she was familiar with his usual predicament, and wasn't terribly opposed in the moment to help him out. 

"So, what are you up to today?" Lucy rested an armored hand on her waist. "Shopping?" 

It was polite conversation, right? Pinball didn't know why, but to him it almost sounded like... loaded questions? He searched Lucy's face for any hint as to what she meant by that, if anything, but found nothing. If it was just polite conversation - he didn't actually know whether it was or not - then what were her intentions? Did she just want a new friend? Lucy wasn't horribly social. Moreso than Pinball, but that wasn't very hard. He found it hard to pull his eyes from her face, and he felt a bit of heat rising in his cheeks as he finally managed to look back to the rather formal sounding girl in front of them.

[Mishiro 0]

When the boy started to speak, Mishiro turned around to face them fully. The caramel apple she was about to bite into earlier dematerialized as she returned it to her inventory. "Is that so?" She tilted her head slightly and gave him a small, friendly smile. To lift some of the awkwardness. He seemed a bit jittery, perhaps from his performance earlier? That would have certainly made a first-timer feel nervous. "You did well. I had fun watching."

 

She was being sincere. But her flat, monotonous tone normally gave people the false impression that she was either being sarcastic or dishonest. "Ah, yes. I just finished running errands for my guild earlier. I suppose you were also out shopping? There's not much else to do in this part of town." Then as she said that, she was reminded of the time. One hour until she was supposed to turn the goods in. Roman's squad leader wasn't strict with deadlines, but Mishiro was. Given a certain time, she would usually arrive fifteen minutes before.

 

And she still had to buy his coffee. The girl half-turned to the direction of the cafe. "Do you know the NPC-owned cafe just three streets down from here? You should try it. They serve good cold beverages. Well, have a good day." She offered the performer and his redheaded companion another friendly smile before starting down the road once again.

[Pinball 1]

All he could muster after that was offer a nervous smile, nod, and agree, "Oh, uh, yeah. Thank you." Pinball took another lazy but questionably large step back, swinging his leg wide and obviously as his hands found their way to his pockets.
Lucy noticed that, and nodded. They were a nervous bunch, but Lucy was nowhere near as bad as Finn when it came down to a competition of sociality. Or lack thereof. And after suggesting a place to buy good cold drinks, the girl turned around, seeming a bit busy with the way she cut off the last sentence. Lucy nodded, giving a small smile and wave as she turned around to leave. "Ah, thank you~! Have a good day!" Then, the redhead spun around, looking at Pinball with wide eyes. "Whoops." 
Pinball laughed, and the two left, heading back toward the teleporter. They were going back to the First Floor now, where they had been staying in a small room in the small town of Horunka. 

[Mishiro 0]

January 20, 2023

 

As with everything else, Mishiro's favorite cafe had a panda. A panda cub familiar owned by the NPC shop owner, to be exact. It often waited by the wooden door of the restaurant to greet customers, serving as a nice surprise to players who walked in for the first time (and a deterrent for players who were afraid of bears), and occasionally, its AI would pick out a random person in the restaurant and it would follow them around for the duration of their stay. It was a fake. It never grew - if it ever turned into a large bear, then it would lose its appeal and there would be fewer players visiting the shop - and it was essentially a series of 1's and 0's programmed to act like a cub. 

 

But, it was cute.

 

Mishiro gently shut the door behind her and sat on her heels, taking care to fold her checkered skirt neatly. She held out a short, thin branch she had picked up on her way to the store. "Hello there, little guy." She smiled as she dangled the small branch just an inch out of its reach only to suddenly drop it down onto its eagerly waiting paws. It grasped the branch between its paws and rolled on its back, gnawing on the leaves. "Oh, wait, no. I don't think that's edible..." She stopped. Right. It was an AI programmed specifically to act cute. It wouldn't just up and die and leave an unlucky player traumatized. It was possible but since it didn't align with its role, it was highly unlikely. "I'll bring you more next time."

 

She finished playing with the familiar and moved to stand.

[Pinball 1]

More than a few days had passed, and Pinball had a lot of free time on his hands. Lucy had been out hunting for a while now, with some guy she had introduced as - and Pinball nearly gagged at the thought of it - her boyfriend. Just the thought of it made him angry, sad, and a bit jealous all at once. He shook out of it. But with all this free time, he didn't really have much else to do other than fill out his journal and walk around; but the sights in the small hunting village they stayed in were old and tiring, and Pinball was of a mind to explore. As he packed of things, he remembered the girl they had run into not too long ago, and the cafe she had suggested. 

Is that a panda? 

Pinball had pushed open the door, and the first thing he saw was a baby panda bear rolling around on the ground with a stick. He was... very tempted to pet it, but he managed to control himself, despite the way he hesitantly leaned forward, halfheartedly sticking an arm out... Directly ahead of him, he saw the girl who had recommended the place to him. He awkwardly struggled to make eye contact, offering an equally as uncomfortable smile as way of greeting. "Hello," he mumbled, almost to himself, glancing around the place. How does it work around here? 

[Mishiro 0]

The wooden door swung open behind her and Mishiro instinctively looked over her shoulder. Standing there by the doorway with his hand half-extended to pet the cute familiar, was the performer from a few days ago. He was alone and seemed quite unsure of himself as he stuck his hand back into his pocket and looked around. Their gazes met and she saw his blue eyes move to look at various parts of the room, then flick back at her. So it wasn't just because he'd just finished his performance. He was naturally an anxious person.

 

"Good afternoon," she greeted, still looking over her shoulder. "Is this your first time here? You can pet the familiar if you want to. It's friendly." 

 

"Is that all, ma'am?" asked the NPC from behind the counter.

 

Mishiro nodded and took her table number. She approached the nervous-looking boy curiously. In any other situation, she would have ended the conversation right after what she said earlier, but he seemed a bit...lost. She could still recall feeling the same way the first time Roman left her to do errands for the squad alone. "Where's your companion from the other day?"

[Pinball 1]

"Ahh, oh, good afternoon," he stammered. Then, looking back over at the familiar, his voice a mumble, he added, "Oh. I- is he..?" He shook his head, turning back to the girl. "It's alright." He offered a weary smile. He didn't want to scare her away just yet. It got awful lonely when Lucy wasn't around, and Pinball never really had people to talk to - not that he minded, but it was a nice change of place. Pinball just had to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid yet. He had a tendency... 
"Oh, right," he half-chuckled. "She's off hunting - or, grinding, or whatever. I don't really know." He didn't mention who she was doing with, but Pinball frowned at the thought of it. There was something about that guy he didn't like, though he seemed friendly enough. He stood there, not knowing what to do. He didn't often come to places like this; places with cute, adorable little animals he wanted to pet and squish the faces of and - 
"What... what do they sell here? Is it like a Starbucks or something?" 

[Mishiro 0]

"A...Starbucks?" It took her a few moments to make that connection - after all, they'd been in the game for more than three months and she hadn't visited her once-favorite coffee shop (and study area) since March of the previous year. "It's supposed to be a cafe, so I guess it's like a Starbucks. They have warm and cold beverages, and some dessert."

 

There was a lull in the conversation. Mishiro wasn't terribly talkative and she didn't want to keep him from making his order. So she moved to the side and glanced around the cafe. Her gaze fixed on a table for two by the window. "If you're going to order, you should do it before someone arrives." She moved past him and looked over her shoulder. He still seemed a bit out of place. Or was it just his nervousness? She considered her next few sentences carefully. "I suppose you're alone today? Well, I'll be there. It's a table for two, so if you want to join..."

 

She didn't know how to finish that sentence, so she went on her way and claimed the table.

[Pinball 1]

Pinball grinned as she voiced her - momentary? - disbelief. "Yeah, well," he murmered, still smiling softly, "the dessert at Starbucks was always kinda ass." 
She pointed out that he should probably hurry up and order, or someone else would come up and take his spot. "Ah, that's right, sorry," he said, shaking his head and snapping back to attention. When she offered to sit with him, he stared at her for a moment. And then a wide grin tugged at the corners of his lips, and he slapped his cheek, tilting his head sideways. "Oh my," he gushed, "of course, of course, of course." He chortled to himself, and then turned to the barista to make his order. That's when he remembered he had never really been much of a coffee drinker. He had really only come here for the aesthetic, now that he thought about it. 
"Uh... actually - make it random. Just give me whatever," he told the NPC who ran the shop. He grinned. "Yeah~, surprise me." When he got his drink, which was, to Pinball, unidentifiable, he walked over to sit at the coffee girl's table. "Hi," he greeted politely, before sitting down across from her. 

Edited December 8, 2018 by Pinball

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro did not understand this kid. When she first saw him, he was proudly doing knife tricks on a lifted platform before a crowd. When she talked to him and the red-haired girl, he seemed to have stage jitters and stammered through his sentences. When she met him again, he stuttered a lot less but was still awkward. But now that she had offered him a seat, he was... like a completely different personality? With all her knowledge in vocabulary, she couldn't find the right word for it in her mind. Perhaps inviting him to sit with her was all it took for him to open up. Was that possible? It was making her dizzy. People were supposed to stay consistent...right? Or had the game finally screwed with his mind, too?

 

The waiter - luckily - served her drink before he arrived. That gave her the liberty to lift the mug to her lips and effectively conceal half of her confused expression. "Hello..." Mishiro looked down at his drink curiously. She only ever ordered two things: a caramel frappe or a mug of black coffee, so she was unfamiliar with anything else. "What did you order?"

[Pinball 1]

Pinball had sat down, and gripped his cup of - coffee? - tightly. For a second he had been comfortable, and now just as quickly he was uncomfortable again, and he hated it. The girl that sat across from her - she seemed to retreat within herself a bit, and Pinball thought it was because of something he did, and so he fell silent again. Maybe he wasn't supposed to accept her invitation? Was he doing something weird? Maybe he should find an excuse to leave. Why did he even think this was a good idea? He shouldn't really talk to people in the first place. He should just stick to enjoying the silence alone, for the most part. It wouldn't bother anyone. 
"What did you order?"
The question almost took Pinball by surprise. He looked up to meet her eyes, and it took him a couple of seconds to register what she had just asked. Then, once he did, his eyes snapped back to the drink he was clutching in one hand. "O- oh! Uhh..." He peeled the lid to the cup back, taking a peek inside. It was light brown, with little swirls of white in it? Pinball couldn't make much sense of it, to be honest. He knew next to nothing about the drinks. "Uhh... yes?" He snorted, closing the lid again. "I- I don't really know?" He pushed the cup to her. "Wanna take a looksie?" 

[Mishiro 0]

And he was back to being awkward. He must have sensed her apprehension from earlier. But Mishiro already had a hint as to how things worked. Act friendly, and he'll stop being nervous. Act distant and formal, and he'll retreat into himself and try to act formal too. Which means... she had to be the assertive one here. She didn't know how to be assertive. She was used to hiding behind Roman and letting him do all the talking. How troublesome. But, Mishiro didn't want to leave him alone after going out of her way to invite him and it was a good opportunity to brush up on her social skills.

 

"A looksie...?" Mishiro set her mug down and leaned forward. She tucked her hair behind her ear and peered into the paper cup. Light brown with swirls of white. It smelled like coffee. She looked up at him and tilted her head to the side. "It looks like... a vanilla latte, I think."

Edited December 9, 2018 by Mishiro

[Pinball 1]

He pulled the cup back, looking into the lid now. "A vanilla latte," Pinball echoed. He paused, hesitant. "Alright, here goes," he mumbled. He took the cup in both hands, and held it up to his mouth. He glanced first at Mishiro, and then, embarrassed, let his eyes drift away to stare at nothing. He took a small, hesitant sip, and let the drink pour down his mouth. 
It was... hot. Pinball didn't have the words to describe its taste - but he knew he immediately took a liking to it. And, after finding out that he did, he chugged it - not really realizing that that's not how you're supposed to drink coffee. He tilted the cup upwards, drinking as much as the small opening in the lid would allow, and then he sat his cup back down, empty now. 
He wiped his mouth, and, still not looking directly at Mishiro, sniffed. "Ow." 

Edited December 15, 2018 by Pinball

[Mishiro 0]

The boy in front of her hesitantly sipped from his drink. Mishiro waited patiently. Then, he must have liked it, as he suddenly tilted the cup upwards and chugged the steaming hot vanilla latte down. The virtual world had significantly toned down on their pain parameters, but... to put it simply, hot things were still hot. While it wouldn't kill you, chugging the entire thing down as one would do with a keg of beer was not a good idea. "Hey! Easy..." She stood up, leaning forward. Her pale fingers brushed against the base of the paper cup, and finding it empty, she decided her attempt at prevention was to no avail and sat back down. 

He gave only one word that summed the whole situation up: "Ow."

"Pffft. Hahahahaha!" Her hand went to her mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to restrain her laughter. "Really, I already told you it was a vanilla latte. Are you new to coffee or something? You drank it like a drunkard would down his beer!" Then she calmed down after a few, and her face turned red in embarrassment. She hardly ever spoke like that to Arabelle - well, maybe, sometimes Roman. But that was beside the point. It was unnatural of her. She turned her head to the side, looking at anyone but the odd player. "Um, uh... Sorry if that sounded rude. But try to drink slowly next time. You'll relish the taste more."

[Pinball 1]

Pinball laughed, and then choked, and then laughed a little bit more. Pinball grinned, looking to the side sheepishly, idly shifting the cup with his hands. 
"Well, I- I'm not new, I- yeah." Pinball gave a big shrug, still a bit red in the face. "It tasted good, though?" 
She managed to restrain her laughter after a bit, and it kind of left Pinball wanting for more. He liked it when people smiled. People should smile. She should smile more. Why did she seem embarrased to? He thought maybe he had met a few people like that before. Why was it..? He propped his head on his hand, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at his cup. "Hrmmm." Then, he fixed himself, taking the cup and placing it to the side with a momentary flair of finality. 
He shook his head, a small, almost worried smile breaking that brief glimpse of a maybe more thoughtful Pinball. "No, no, don't be sorry," he said lightheartedly, "there's nothing to be sorry about." Pinball, eager to keep a conversation going and not wanting to have to bear any more uncomfortable stretches of silence, tried to keep the topic light. "So, what do you normally do? Like- day to day." He stopped, squinting. "No," he said slowly, "that sounds weird. Um-" 
His fingers tapped on the table rapidly, then stopped as he jumped. "What do you do for fun?" Pinball leaned forward, his head in his hand and a playful grin on his face.