entrancelogs | time to take a stroll

[ Fortunately, it wouldn't be the first time John Blake's been mistaken for Arthur, though Blake's never met the guy himself; from what he's to understand, they share a face and an actor — a fact that John had learned since first arriving in Wonderland — but beyond that, he has it on good authority they don't share a whole lot of other common factors besides the same face.

He'd alert Frank to this fact if he knew what the guy was thinking, but he's not a mind reader, so he just smiles and offers his hand instead. ]

Sure, it's open to anyone. Don't think we gotta be strangers for long, though. Name's John Blake.

And mine is Frank Zhang. [He gives the man a little bow out of respect- he doesn't know he is a policeman, but it's close enough to a soldier his father's genes tell him he should be respectful.

When he's done bowing he holds out a hand for him to shake.] Nice to meet you, John not-stranger-any-more Blake.

[ Cradling that large beach ball under his other arm, he shakes the man's hand and smiles, nodding in such a way to say he appreciates the sentiment. ]

You, too, Frank. [ A pause. ] What d'you prefer? Beach volleyball? Water polo? I dunno what people're lookin' to do, but I'd like to get some kinda multi-player game goin'.

[He has to hold back a laugh- gods, it sounds so normal. So easy. Playing water polo in a beach party, it's been months since he's heard anyone mention simple things like those.]

Either might work, but with volleyball people who don't really feel like swimming will not have to?

[ Over time, a person tends to lose some perspective in Wonderland. It's been a year and a half since Blake's been home and it's been easy to forget those trials he faced in that time. For him, this is actually kind of normal these days.

Blake takes a glance to see the people around them in various states of dress and then looks back to Frank, nodding in agreement. ]

Yeah, that's a good point. Just need a coupla more people to get a game goin'. Got any friends you might wanna call?

Well, Hazel's around... [And he wonders if she's even played it. She seemed so uncomfortable to be here, it was kind of obvious it just reminded her of the years she'd lost. That she didn't quite belong, even if Frank would literally fight anyone who dared imply something like that.

So maybe this kind of games wasn't the best idea, not yet.]

But I'm not sure she'll want to play.

[ If nothing else, Blake can appreciate the fact that some people just aren't ready to socialize, especially if they're fairly new to Wonderland. He nods and tosses the ball in Frank's direction. ]

How 'bout just you an' me for now? We can toss the ball back an' forth an' get to know each other.

[He picks it up, maybe even a little too fast. Demigod reflexes, they come in handy sometimes.]

What, you want to play beach-20 questions? [He replies, grinning.]

Yep, that's exactly the kinda thing I'm thinkin' on, to be perfectly honest. Can't hurt, right? You've got the ball, you go first.

[ He's basically an open book... if you only show off a volume at a time, of course. But John's always been a sporting guy, so this is totally happening. ]

['Can't hurt'... well, if they are trying to keep the whole demigod thing in the down low something like this could get out of hand. But he thinks he can manage a few questions.]

Uhm... okay. Where are you from? [And he tosses the ball at him, a shy grin on his face.]

[ A catch. ]

Gotham City.

[ It's pretty common knowledge by now, even if Blake always feels weird waiting for people to recognize the place as real or otherwise. ]

Any pets?

[ And a toss. ]

[He shakes his head as he catches the ball again. There's absolutely no recognition to the name, though he would know the name of Batman himself if mentioned.]

I mean, I had goldfishes one but I got too sad when they died, mom didn't want to traumatize me any more.

Job? [Toss again.]

[ A goldfish, huh? Blake makes a face and nods as he catches that ball. ]

Cop. Uh, formerly. Non-profit work since then.

[ More ball-tossing. ]

Who's Hazel? The one you mentioned before.

[He was still processing the ex-cop thing when the ball is tossed at him. A cop, and he can't get o back home? They really stand no chance at all.

But then he actually hears the question, and he can't help the way he blushes. Or does he? Having sensible skin has its advantages and it's hard to tell if he's blushing or it's just the red of being too long under the sun.]

My girlfriend. She's- she was brought here with me, we got here together.

[ Oh, Frank. Wait until you hear that Iron Man and Captain America can't make their way home and then you'll really wonder about everyone's chances. ]

Yeah? Dunno whether to congratulate you, or give you my sympathy.

You two settlin' okay? Okay as can be, I mean...

It's fine, it's actually nice having her here. A friend of mine said I can't even tie my shoelaces without her around- and this place is seriously really nice compared to home.

What about you? Got someone from home here?

Nope, not a soul. Used to have a friend, but she up and vanished a while back.

[ Briefly, Blake considers fessing up to the fact that there's a movie where he could easily point out her face, but decides to avoid the whole "possibly-fictional" conversation. ]

You like sports? Got any favorite teams?

Edited 2014-08-07 16:51 (UTC)

[Frank hasn't been in a cinema for months, and he's also technically from before the movie aired. Blake has nothing to fear for.]

Not really, where I'm from we don't follow them much. The only sport I've ever really liked was Archery and- well, does capture the flag count? [He says with a laugh. It's the safest way to mention the 'War Games'.]

How long have you been here?

Nineteen months.

[ It's kneejerk. It seems he's been asked more and more and more lately. ]

But, yeah, capture the flag counts, definitely. I'm a fan. Archery's kinda popular here, too.

How good are you?

You could say I'm a natural at it. [And that's his little way of being modest without actually lying. He doesn't like to brag.]

I can show you one day, if you'd like?

Yeah, man, I think I'd like to see that. Pretty sure I won't be the only one, either.

[ He smirks and tosses the ball off to one side, almost impishly assuring the other man has to chase it a little. ]

Does your girlfriend do anything like that?

I don't think I could do well if I had an audience. [He laughs, he doesn't seem to mind chasing the ball. This is fun actually.]

No, she doesn't. Hazel's better at fighting while on top of a horse. What's the weirdest thing that you remember happening here?

[ Blake gets the audience thing. Everything's always that much harder with an audience, no doubt. It's only been in the last couple of years that he's felt any bit comfortable around people, save for a couple teenage years where he just didn't care what anyone thought. ]

Here? [ He laughs, but only because he knows he'll have trouble choosing just one. ] Maybe the time we were all dreamin' each other's dreams. That was pretty fucked up.

You good at dealin' with stuff like that? Disaster, bein' in a pinch, an' so on?

Dreaming each other's dreams?

[That's- well, 'fucked up' describes it just fine. And actually a little bit scary. He hasn't really heard his father's voice in his head in a while so the weird prophetic demigod dreams have kind of stopped, but he'd still not wish his dreams on anyone.]

Wow. But- uh, yeah I think I am. I mean, this place sounds weird but it's the kind of weird you can get used to I think?

Yeah, no doubt you will if you're here long enough.

[ And if he's not, then all the better, right? Sometimes Blake has a hard time letting go, but generally speaking, home's where everyone else wants to be, even if he isn't quite on board with that just yet. ]

Waffles or pancakes?

time to take a stroll

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Wow that was such a me-fail on the name. Also thank you for the paid it made my day ;u;/

You're most welcome~

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