metalogs | [Open + 1 Closed] johnny come lately

Entry tags:

rtmnt: leonardo hamato

[Open + 1 Closed] johnny come lately

Who: Leo Hamato

faceguy & anyone who goes to the secret flying meta high school
What: Leo is brand new to the high school experience, superpowered or otherwise! Say hello?
When: early February
Where: meta high school
Content Warnings: none so far

A: Hallways (morning)

[School was something Leo had never had any interest in. From what he saw on TV and what he heard from April, it was largely a place better avoided. There may be some cool things about it (like team sports), but the rest sounded like a major drag. Besides, learning? He's not a nerd, he doesn't need that stuff!

But his contact at the guild had badgered him about it, saying You're a minor, you should be going to school, blabbity blah, and Leo decided hey, maybe a new experience might be okay. Besides, there were supposed to be teachers here that can help young Metas with their powers, and as much as he hates to admit it, he needs some of that right now. If it sucks, he'll just drop out.

The day before was mostly spent on placement tests and getting a schedule together (they'd also given him a holographic watch to hide his appearance, which he hasn't turned on yet), but today is his first real day of school, ever. And he is faking that he knows what he's doing - again, he's watched a lot of TV.

Of course, the building is pretty big and he's lost.]

Room 218, room 218... yeesh, they gave me all these books but not a map.

[He'll flag down the first person he sees.]

Hey buddy, help a guy out - where's 218?

B: Lunch

[Another thing that TV and April's horror stories have taught him is that cafeteria food is unidentifiable slop (that may or may not be alive). So he's a little surprised when lunch comes and the food looks... fine? Not great, but edible at least.

Still, he can be found poking at a tator tot suspiciously with his fork, like he thinks it might bite him. It seems to be a normal tator tot. It's actually disappointing, in a way. His high school experience is really letting him down so far.

He's by himself. A few of the native Meta kids look at him and wonder, loud enough that he can hear, why he doesn't just use the holographic watch he's clearly wearing to look more human.

He's doing his best to just ignore them.]

C: Study Hall (afternoon)

[Turns out high schoolers don't even get recess. Instead they just get study hall, which is infinitely more lame.

Leo's been placed in remedial classes for almost every subject, and he stares down a worksheet of eighth grade math problems like they have personally offended him. What does he even need this for? His phone has a calculator already!

Instead of continuing the math problems, he rips out a piece of paper from the notebook he'd been given and folds it into a paper airplane. Then he scoots his seat closer to the window and slides it open, just enough that he can send it sailing down over the courtyard below. He watches it all the way down, wondering if he can get the next one to go over the side of the floating school entirely.]

...Oh, nice hang time!

[Wait, he just said that pretty loud - now several people are looking at him.]

...Eh heh, whoops.

Closed to Huvrye

[His first day of school is behind him, and Leo still isn't sure how he feels about it. It was pretty different from what he was expecting (and not just because all his classmates also have superpowers), so he's still mulling over the dissonance between his expectations and reality.

He doesn't really like sitting around his room thinking about it, so he decides to go bother Huvrye. He's guessing he's in, because Leo can see where food delivery guys come into the hotel from his window and one of the places he likes delivered food about twenty minutes ago. (Leo hasn't tried to steal anything since getting caught - he's a good boy!)

So he heads over to Huvrye's room, with only half a plan for what he's even going to say as an excuse for why he's here.

Knock knock knockknockknock!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Finding out that he's got another month in the hotel - and another month on the Guild's mostly-unlimited card - has turned Huvrye's plans on their head, but in a good way. He's got a little more time, and a little more leeway, and he's using it to figure out a little more of civ life and get better adjusted. Today, that came in the form of opening his first ever bank account and figuring out how to withdraw funds from the Guild card and put them in his account. He's still going to have to pledge to a Guild, but at least he'll have something of his own in reserve when he does. It's a good feeling.]

[He heads back to his room - via the elevator, because it's way too cold to leave the window open right now - sheds his coat, and looks up as there's an insistent knock on the door. Huh. He heads over and opens it to find Leo on the other side.]

Hey. What's up?

[He had not, as it turns out, ordered food today. Seems like someone else in the hotel has a hankering for pho.]

[But he's still in, so Leo will consider this a success!]

Got a new toy! [He wriggles the holographic watch on his wrist at Huvrye, grinning.] It's supposed to change my appearance. Which, I know, I know- [He indicates his face with his hand.] Hard to improve on perfection, but we can sure try!

[And then, because he knows he didn't really explain anything, he'll add:] I'm supposed to use it for school. And, ya know, so humans don't see me and think they're being invaded by aliens or whatever.

[Hey, if it works, it works.]

[He raises an eyebrow at the "toy" and smirks a bit at the comment. The explanation is welcome - Mark had given him a rundown on what human education was like, so he at least has a little context. He pushes the door open a little further and beckons Leo inside.]

Have you figured out what you want to look like yet? When you can't look like perfection, that is.

[He comes in, making himself at home immediately. This is what Huvrye gets for letting him in ever.]

Not really. I thought I'd wing it. Oh, but I think I should be blonde, don't you?

[Sure, his last experience with blonde hair was a disaster, but this time the hair won't be a living thing! He thinks. Regardless, he thinks he looks good as a blonde! It's just the Vibe.]

[Honestly, he's come to expect it. It's better than someone just standing awkwardly in his space.]

I think you should figure out what you're doing before you field test it.

[Nothing quite like a shot of reality in between the jokes.]

I know what I’m doing, Huv, no biggie!

[Waving him off! But he does have a point… Leo wouldn’t want to walk into school looking like a mismatched disaster.

(He still doesn’t really want to walk in looking human at all, but that’s beside the point.)]

But I guess we could test it out. Fiddle with the settings and all that.

Okay then, show me.

[Bluff immediately called. Huvrye knows how long it took him to pick out looks for his disguise, and how much help he'd needed; Leo probably won't need as much time or help, but he should still be prepared.]

[Why the bluff calling!? But alright, fine... He can figure this out.]

Okay, let's see, you just press this, and it's supposed to...

[He trails off as he presses the button, and with a soft buzz the watch lights up. For several seconds it seems to be calibrating, and the hologram around Leo flashes through a variety of discordant looks, with hair and skin of all different shades and a cacophony of fashion choices. Leo can't see all of it, himself, beyond being able to watch his skin tone and clothes change.

Oh, and he has five fingers now instead of three. So that's weird.

Eventually, whether it's because it's basing it off Leo's closest human approximation or his DNA or what he himself thinks he should look like ~~impossibly futuristic tech, who knows the logistics~~ it eventually settles down into something that looks an awful lot like his dad at his age. Rounder in the face, with more baby fat, and clean-shaven, but still very similar.

Also not blonde. Alas.

Leo doesn't know what he looks like yet, though, beyond his hands and skin and the clothes he's wearing (just a black t-shirt and jeans, currently).]

Oh, it stopped! How do I look?

[Because he's figured out how Leo works at this point.]

[The Guild-assigned watch works very differently from the magic disguise Strange had given him. It seems to be working on its own, settling on a specific look after half a minute or so. It's unique - not something Huvrye would've picked, but Huvrye's entire motivation behind a disguise was to blend into a crowd, whereas Leo's looking for something he can wear on a consistent basis.]

You look good.

[It's sincere. He gestures towards the door.]

There's a mirror on the front closet door if you want to look.

[He lights up a little at being told he looks good, his smile still very much his own even in human form. Now he's excited to see it!]

Don't mind if I do!

[He skips over to the mirror, still grinning as he does so - but once he sees it, the smile slips, his eyes getting wider.

He doesn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this.

For a second, Leo is quiet, reaching up to poke at his face curiously. He still feels his scaley skin under his fingers, can still feel that he only has three of them despite what the hologram is telling him. When he reaches back to make sure, he can feel his shell there, even though it's masked.

But really, the lack of turtle features are not what's getting to him here.]

...I look like my dad.

[Huvrye can't help but smile himself - it's good to see Leo in a good mood. The smile drops when Leo's does, and he approaches the mirror, concerned.]

Isn't that a good thing?

[He remembers Leo mentioning that his dad - one of his dads? - was human. Families generally looked like each other, right? Though if Leo doesn't like his dad and his disguise winds up looking like him...yeah, Huvrye can see how that would be rough.]

[Leo jumps, because he almost forgot for a second that he wasn't alone. Right, Leon, don't be weird about it.

He pulls his smile back on, grinning at Huvrye.]

Uh yeah, it's awesome! My dad was a movie star! Man, I knew I got the good genes.

[He doesn't miss that startle - had Leo forgotten he was there? Should he have stayed silent and let Leo figure things out?]

[It's too late to consider that, and Leo is back to smiling, so he lets it go for now.]

I'm glad you like it. Definitely wear it around for a little while - at least until you get used to looking in a mirror and not seeing yourself.

[It'd helped him get used to his disguise, at least; maybe it'll help Leo too.]

Yeah, good idea. Much as I like looking at my own face, it won't help the whole laying low thing if I keep staring at myself.

[He looks back at the mirror, twisting and turning so he can see himself more. It's so weird. It's so weird hearing his own voice come out of a human's face, it's so weird feeling his normal body but not seeing it.]

This is pretty trippy, though... [He wags his fingers.] I can feel that I only have three fingers, but I see five. Feels like my brain is glitching.

Or people will just think you're really vain.

[Not a callout, but still definitely something counter to laying low.]

[He can't blame Leo for finding it weird. He'd had enough trouble seeing his wings gone even though he knew they were there; Leo's disguise is a different body structure entirely, so it'll definitely take some getting used to.]

You might have to practice with that - I'm not sure how good the disguise at that kind of finesse.

[Worth testing, but maybe not on day one.]

"Vain" is something threes accuse tens of to hide their jealousy.

[As the resident ten here, he knows these things.

He finally stops staring at himself in the mirror and turns back to Huvrye.]

Practice human things. Sure, I can do that.

[As the resident three on a good day, Huvrye rolls his eyes at that and does not otherwise respond. Sure, Leo.]

[As for practicing human things, Huvrye shrugs.]

You'll probably have to figure out what works with the disguise and what doesn't. I have to remember not to fly when I'm wearing mine.

[Leo will probably have a pretty good idea of what he's capable of that normal humans aren't - he can fill in the gaps.]

[They gotta work on Huvrye's self image. He could at least snark back at him for saying something like that.]

Right, so no shell bowling.

[He walks over to the couch and sits down. He thinks he probably looks like his posture is much better than it actually is, but the hologram probably can't account for how his spine doesn't bend like a normal human's.]

It's weird, though. Looking like my dad. He'd flip if he saw me.

[He keeps coming back around to it.]

[That self-image issue is a gordian knot that neither of them are prepared to tackle. He'd had enough trouble trying to work that out with Mark; he refuses to put it on Leo.]

Right.

[Huvrye joins him on the couch, settling in. It sounds like Leo does want to talk about this, and Huvrye's not about to leave him hanging.]

Yeah? Why's that?

Uhhh, because I'm a turtle? I don't normally look like this.

[Well, obviously Huvrye knows that. But he probably doesn't really get it. Leo can't imagine most people would.

He fishes for his phone and pulls it out, swiping to unlock it and pull up his photos. He leaves the actual, real photo in his room, safely put away where nothing will happen to it, but he keeps a picture of it on his phone so he can look at it just... whenever.

He shows it to Huvrye now.]

See? Me, my brothers [He points to each of them in turn.] and my dad.

[Sir that is a rat.]

Oh, and that's April. [The only human in the picture.] She's basically my big sister.

[Leo offers his phone, and Huvrye leans in a bit to take a look. He follows along with brothers just fine, but definitely stumbles over dad. Leo had said he was human on his second dad's side - maybe his other dad is a human? Who isn't in this picture?]

[He picks up again for the...adoptive sister? friend? April, evidently - and offers Leo a smile.]

It's a good picture.

[And then, because this was obviously meant to be an explanation and Huvrye definitely isn't going to get it without some clarification:]

So is your second dad not in the picture? You said you were human on his side.

[For just a second, Leo forgets what he said before and thinks Huvrye is talking about Draxum, except ew, he definitely knows he's never referred to Draxum as his dad in front of Huvrye, because he doesn't care what Mikey says, that guy threw him off a roof.

And then he remembers, oh yeah. He made a joke about that.]

Oh, that's him. [He taps Splinter again.] So remember when I said I'm an escaped lab experiment? This guy here is my human DNA donor. And my dad.

The same guy that made me a turtle-human mutant made him a human-rat mutant.

[He chuckles, leaning back.] We're just a typical American family.

Oh.

[Yeah, Huvrye definitely would not have guessed that. It's good to have the explanation.]

[...he's pretty sure he knows the answer to his next question already, but he has to ask.]

Are you joking, or is that what your world is like?

Oh, no, my world is full of humans. Well, there are yokai, but... no, let's not get into that. The point is that we spent my whole childhood having to hide out from human society. We're freaks!

[He says it like he doesn't mind. And he really doesn't.

But that brings him back to what he's been thinking, since he put on the disguise.]

I never cared before. I mean, yeah, it makes doing anything kind of hard because I have to sneak around and not get caught, but... I look like my brothers, so it doesn't matter.

But I saw myself like this and I thought, wow, is that what I would have looked like if I were just a normal guy? If my dad had hooked up with some human woman and had a kid? I never really thought about it before.

[He doesn't know how he feels about it yet.]

[Dana only starts a little when a human-sized green shelled creatures addresses her. Months of being in this place make him- well, not really seem normal, but not a cause for alarm, and probably someone she can understand.]

218... That's on the second floor. I can get you there directly, or guide you along the walking path, whichever you'd prefer.

[Oops, he didn't meant to startle her. He does look appropriately apologetic about it.]

Uh, I guess guide me? [So he knows where to go next time... though now he's curious.] Wait, how can you get me there directly?

Teleporting. It's very useful for getting somewhere quick, like if you're about to be late for class. I think we have time to take the long way, though, and it'll help you orient yourself better.

Oh, you can teleport? [He lights up a bit at that.] Me too! Well, usually, anyway.

[It's just been a little weird since he got here.]

[Well, Erika's not privy to Leo's thoughts on lunch food, but when she arrives at the cafeteria and sees Leo sitting there it doesn't take her more than three seconds before running over to his table.]

Leo! You're finally here!

[Sure, she knew that he was ~~being harassed~~ planning on going to school, but she didn't realize that he was here already.

Unlike him though, she has her own lunch with her. If there was one thing that being brought here was good for it's that she... actually learned how to cook somewhat. ]

[He glances up at the call of his name, and actually looks genuinely happy to see a familiar face. Especially one who has so kindly helped him with clothes, previously.]

Hey Erika!

[He gives her a wave as she comes over.]

Yeah, they wore me down.

[She sits down across from him. ]

Yeah. I know exactly what you mean there. I thought about trying to avoid school too but... well, they didn't want to listen to me about that.

[Also, Coffret yelling at her a lot was not a thing she would've wanted. And also Tsubomi decided to go to school too, so that helped a lot.

Either way, she starts to unwrap the bandana around her bento box, and looks back up at him.]

At least school has some good points to. Shame about all the hard classes though.

Eh, yeah, the classes are about as lame as I expected.

[He eyes the bento box with curiosity - he's never seen a lunch packed like that in person before. His dad's Japanese, but he wasn't exactly packing them lunches every day.

He'll keep eating his tater tots.]

What are the good points, exactly? I've been trying to find them.

[Once her lunch is open she grabs her chopsticks and takes out a piece of her port cutlet. It... honestly was far from the best but at least it was edible.

There's also some white rice and veggies in the box too, of course. But she's definitely going for the meat first.

But before she takes a bite, she figures she should probably answer Leo's question.]

It's the easiest way to make friends at our age! Also there's clubs.

...Well, there were clubs back where I came from anyway. I think there's some here but it's not really the same as a school back in Japan.

[At least she can cook at all. Leo would burn water if he tried.]

They have sports teams and afterschool clubs I think? That's what I learned from TV anyway.

[He hasn't looked into it here. Maybe they have a basketball team? Or school plays? Do superhero schools care about that kind of thing?

He has no idea.]

Is American school really different from school in Japan?

[She takes a quick bite of her lunch before answering him. ]

Yep, it's a lot different. Back home I was only in junior high, but a third-year junior high student there is a first year high-school student here. [She pauses, thinking about it a bit more. ]

Also, clubs are a lot less important here. Back in Japan clubs were super important and took up a ton of time. And well... high-school's not even required back in Japan. Not that my mom or dad would let me skip high-school, but it's not like here where we're actually forced to go.

Well, they can't force you forever. You can drop out at sixteen.

[Which is how he knows they can't keep him here. If he decides to leave, what are they going to do? Arrest him?

...Okay, maybe they can do that, actually. He's not entirely sure how much influence the guilds have. But he won't worry about that right now.]

And then you can get your JED or whatever. [Leo isn't the one from his family who cared about things like school credentials.]

[Erika thinks about it for a moment, then shrugs. ]

Honestly, doing that sounds like it'd be a lot harder than just going to school. Also then I'd have to get a job.

[Which, uh, not a thing she really wants to do if it's not making clothes. ]

At least you get paid at a job. Here we're just doing work for free.

[And to get an education but whatever.]

But at least we're all suffering together. [Munching on his tater tots.]

[True. That was definitely true!

...Though she's pretty sure that most jobs you can get without finishing high-school really suck and pay like, garbage. ]

Yeah. Like I said, plenty of people to be friends with here!

Yeah, everyone seems real friendly.

[Oops, was that too sarcastic? Time for a subject change.]

You mentioned clubs, are you in one?

[Maybe there's a fashion club.]

[Erika blinks, because yeah she definitely heard that sarcasm but with the change in subject she shakes her head.]

Not yet. I'd join a fashion club but... a fashion club has to exist first and I haven't been able to start one yet.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Open + 1 Closed] johnny come lately

Let's goooo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject