[ ic contact ]

[beaconed]

"Helloooo! You've reached Jaune Arc! If I'm not answering, it means I'm probably off somewhere fighting monsters or... doing something really awesome like saving a cat, or the president's son! You know how it is, a leader's schedule can be really hectic nowadays, ha ha! Just kidding, I'm probably in school, but I'd totally do those things if I ha-- [BEEP]"



[ TEXT | VOICE | VIDEO | ACTION ]

Comments

10/10

[corona]

[ Rude. He's rude. He's a rude person. ]

Yeah, well. [ Short laugh. ] Your turn to drag, I guess.

[beaconed]

[ AND DRAG HE WILL.

They've spent about half a day playing hooky so far, just exploring the campus while avoiding security like they're playing real life Metal Gear Solid. And they didn't even need to use any boxes yet! How did his life suddenly get 1000% more adventurous... ]

...aaannnnnd now this brings us to the vending machines! ... A vending machine. [ Jaune steps aside to let her examine it. It seems to offer both snacks and drinks, but as for curses? There's no guarantee in Cerealia. ]

... Thrilled? [ Because it's pretty underwhelming, haha. ]

[corona]

Maybe. [ Said appraisingly. She pauses to inspect the goods through the glass, tilting her head this way and that before stepping back and gesturing plainly. ]

Well. How does it work? I won't know if I'm thrilled until I see it in action.

[beaconed]

Wh... What do you mean?

... Rapunzel? Have you... y-you've never seen a vending machine before, have you?

[ Jaune wonders just how small her world used to be. He has no idea. Perhaps she lived on an island or something? But that's fine, even he didn't know what Aura or a Landing Strategy was. No judgment! ]

Do you have quarters? Coins maybe?

[corona]

No. [ She bites her lip, suddenly feeling a smidgen of consciousness - despite what they'd just talked about!! ] –er, I mean... maybe? I don't know. Heh. Quarters of what?

[ Gosh sure is strange being the one who doesn't know something and needs instruction. It must, she thinks, be incredibly annoying, and she wishes there were a book somewhere she could read about all this! ]

I mean. I don't know if there are vending machines in my world, you know...

[beaconed]

[ Meanwhile in Jaune's mind, he wonders if this is what Pyrrha felt like when she had to show him the simplest things. He's certainly smiling the same way she did. ]

Well, you can't know everything about everything. I would know.

[ His hand rummages through his pockets until he shows her a fistful of coins. All random change. ... There's also a loose button in there, just to remind everyone that he's still an idiot. ]

Vending machines are like shops, y'know? The way it works is you put money in them, and... then pick what you wanna get in exchange. Wanna try?

[corona]

[ ...Looking tentatively between Jaune's hand and the machine. Those are his precious items, aren't they? Treasures from home. ]

...I can? You don't mind if I take your quarter coins?

[beaconed]

[ Quarter coins....... d-don't laugh. ]

I think we earned ourselves a snack, don't you? [ Note to self: Teach her about money sometime. Second note to self: Teach self how to explain money to someone else. ]

Go ahead.

[corona]

EE! [ Unexpected outburst right in the face!! ] Okay!!

[ And now she hop hop hops like a strange mutant rabbit to put the coins into the slot, first the wrong way, then the right way, then hesitantly because she doesn't like to see them go away aaah... ]

Goodbye friends. [ There they go! ]

Jaune, I did it. Look. Now what?

[beaconed]

[ jESUS don't scare him with those outbursts!!!! ]

Well, let's see.

[ Jaune towers behind her as he also leans forward to read the machine better, lightly slamming the thing with his hand when he looks at it accusingly.

It's like a backwards kabe-don. ]

W-What?! Did I only have that much?! C'mon... We're supposed to be students! Unbelievable...!

[ Apparently they can only afford the low quality drinks/snacks. And not enough for both?? ]

[corona]

[ At first this seems like a very serious transaction; Rapunzel looks up at Jaune (she has to crane her neck rather sharply to do this, but it's actually sort of fun), looks back at the snacks, looks up at Jaune...

And then, as he's negotiating with a nonexistent teller, hums and nods to herself as if this makes any sense at all, settling back for the long haul. Ah life in the under 5' lane. ]

Yes. Mm, it's a problem for sure. [ beat ] What's the matter?

[beaconed]

[ Man, he's so flustered about the machine robbing him that he doesn't even have time to be flustered about this weird closeness. HE WANTED THAT ORANGE JUICE, UGH. ]

W-Well? See this second row? [ His hand lowers slightly as he presses his finger against the glass, dragging it across as he continues explaining. ] You get to pick annnnnyyyyyyyy of these snacks or drinks. --Cool, right?

[ He's trying to sound enthusiastic about it, but it's hard when there's a muesli bar among those options. Who the hell ever orders those from vending machines?? No wonder they're cheap!!! ]

But only one! So... ch-choose wisely! I guess.

1/2

[corona]

What-?! [ Uh oh was that a note of irritation. ] T-That's so unfair...! I don't believe them.

[corona]

...um. [ Uh oh was she just rambling on in a misleadingly knowing manner again. ] Remind me again why that's a problem?

[ Her cringe melts into a contented smile as she turns her eyes back to their limited selection. ] I mean, some of these look... all right. Right? Like - hah. Okay, so I don't know what most of these are, but - cha. Still.

[ STOP IT ]

...How about you tell me what they are and I'll tell you which sounds the least awful. If the taste is bad, I'll eat the rest since it's only fair.

[beaconed]

Sheesh! You're really dragging this out, aren't you?

[ Tapping the glass with his finger now, not out of impatience, but more as a way to help him think. Maybe it would be good to narrow these down even more if she's indecisive... ]

First, do you wanna eat or are you thirsty?

[ are u thirsty thirsty... ]

[corona]

[ She giggles. Not at Adi's bad joke, at Jaune's accurate observation. ]

Both. Unless you want to... buy me lunch somewhere else. [ There's a pause. She contemplates mercy. Decides, why not? ] But... I'd prefer food. I want to eat as much of the food here as possible.

[beaconed]

H-Hey, do I look like I'm made of money?! [ He's got enough tsunderes bullying him into buying things. :'( ]

... [ Wait, did she just... ]

E-Err... I-I mean, I... if you really wanna... [ NO, stay on the topic! ] --okay! So this is what you got!

[ He steps beside the machine again, directing her attention to her options as if it's a gameshow with prizes. ]

You get... Beanitos! Bean chips. Annnd muesli bars? Skip those. Oh, oveeeer hereeee... Onion Rings! They're shaped like rings, but you can eat them! ...Well, I mean, you're supposed to eat them. Th.. that's obvious... heh.....

[corona]

Mother has rings... She says if I wore them they'd make my fingers look fat, so these probably will too. Hm.

[ This isn't going to be an easy choice. Rapunzel's eyes narrow. She spends several seconds deep in thought, turning only as she registers, at last, the absence of body heat behind her. ] Hm. I don't think we have beans in Corona, either, but... that's probably a regional thing.

Wow, Jaune, is - is eating always this daunting in the real world? I mean. Heh. Having all this choice, is...

[beaconed]

[ (I've made a huge mistake.) He interrupts her, getting really expressive with his hands! ] --it's literally the easiest thing! It's SO easy! Y-You just pick one! What do you want?! That's all it is! One, two, or three! That's all you gotta do, just, just-- what!

[ GOD ]

[corona]

Heh. Beanios. [ There is no feasible way that was right. ] Er– The bean one, I mean. I've never had a bean. Are you going to have some too, Jaune?

[beaconed]

[ WHOA SHE PICKED SOMETHING!! ]

I don't think I'll have a choice... [ B-But sharing this low-quality snack with her suddenly increases the appeal. ] Don't forget to press the button, okay? Now you'll finally get to the good part!

[ The part where vending machine finally gives you what you want. WHOA SHIT HE FORGOT ABOUT SOMETHING-- ]

--H-Hey wait, didn't you say one of these was cursed or whatever?

[corona]

[ Everything about her freezes. Smile, hovering finger, even her laughter, which was ringing high and clear as ever (aw), cuts out.

Turning to face him takes an eternity. ]

How... would we find something like that out? [ BECAUSE NGL CURSES SEEM TOTALLY PLAUSIBLE FOR THIS PLACE ] Is... there like - a curse authority?

1/2

[beaconed]

[ D-Don't look at him like that, now he's freaking out, too!! FUUUUUCK, TO BE CURSED RIGHT HERE AND NOW, that would be plausible for JAUNE ARC.




... And yet the machine still has his money. His pockets are empty. ... Wait, are they? ]

[beaconed]

[ The only thing he finds in his pocket is the leaf. The good luck charm. Heh. Looking at it, he's not even sure if he can say he entirely believes in it, but... Rapunzel believes in him, right? Maybe it's a bravery charm, but it's all the same, because his choice is made based on her trust in him. It's a far better feeling than anything else. ]

Only one way to find out...

[ He stands behind her again, as her hand hovers over the button she's afraid of pushing, Jaune presses the leaf against the back of her palm, and then gently pushes so that they press it together.



. . .



OH MY GOD WHY DID HE DO THAT, THAT MADE NO LOGICAL SENSE AS SOON AS HE DID IT, THEY COULD STILL BE CURSED AND DIE ;;;;; ]

1/2

[corona]

[ AHAHAHA WHAT THE HELL WHAT IS THIS FEELING THIS IS SO UNPRECEDENTED ]