She showed up at my door just like in a teen movie

[homerunning]

WHO: Junpei Iori homerunning and Wendy Corduroy hardcorduroy
WHERE: Laser tag and Sushi
WHEN: Backdated to Mabel's Matchmaking
WHAT: A PLANNED BLIND DATE THANKS MABEL
WARNINGS: Junpei Iori


[Junpei loved kids. He really, truly did. Hell, he was applying for a job where he would get to see their faces every day, rub the dirt off their faces, fix the scrapes on their knees and get them back out onto the field. But Mabel Pines was evil. She not only had signed him up on one date (Which, in actuality, wasn't that bad. Mina was pretty nice even if she was...certainly less organic than most girls are nowadays), but two.

Junpei Iori had two dates and he was only through one of them.

First it was rollerskating. This time, it was Laser Tag. They certainly seemed like places that Mabel would choose for a date, and he had to admit...they at least appealed to his own tastes. But Wendy? Wendy was that...redheaded girl who knew Dipper, wasn't she?

Oh god. She was pretty cool, wasn't she. He had to act cool.

No, he had to BE cool. Just...be cool, Junpei. You can get through this last date and then go back to the house and never think about this again, right? You can do that.



Yes. This would be just fine.]

Comments

[hardcorduroy]

(while mabel's attempts to copy pinterest makeup art or hairstyles were greatly appreciated by wendy, but they were simply... too much for her. she doesn't even want to know how her hair managed to completely defy gravity for a while five minutes. while she opted out of the makeup and hair, wendy did dress up a bit, however.

she changed her usual green flannel for red this time. clearly much classier, especially for an art such as laser tag.

but honestly, wendy doesn't have many expectations for this date. it's definitely gonna be better than robbie, but she's not exactly expecting the best date ever here. gotta get some ground work, first. gotta be buds.

she walks over to junpei with a wave and a grin, going for a high five before all else.) Sup, dude?

[homerunning]

[As for himself, he'd opted for his usual hat, but went with something more casual as far as clothing went. Jeans and fur lined jacket. What do you even wear on formally planned dates?

Not like any girl actually had one with him, and not like Chidori was really for that stuff--


Okay, stop thinking about Chidori, Junpei. Just for this one night!

But Junpei is definitely one of those guys who's better when he's actually talking than not. He may not be expecting Wendy at that moment, but his head turns the moment she addresses him, all his thoughts immediately put on the backburner.]

Oh, hey! Wendy, right?

[And it's like all the unease is gone. At least...on the surface.]

Funny how we got each other, huh? What do they call this...destiny? Chance?


...




Coincidence?

[hardcorduroy]

One and only. You're... Junpei. Ken's friend. The Dipper cosplayer. (congrats, jumps, that's how she sees you in her mind.

she jut casually shrugs at the destiny comic.) Nah, Mabel's just good at hooking people up. Back home, she got Robbie and Tambry to date, almost married a gnome army, she got Waddles and Gompers married, then there was the snadger... (just casually counting all these off on her fingers. mabel pines has done Shit.)

[homerunning]

Uh...yeah. Don't expect that to be a thing, though. People are already saying how much we look alike....to the point of them saying he's my 'mini me'.

[Mostly non-imports, but hey, that's not the image he wants right off the bat when trying to get a rep!


heh...off the bat.]

...


[His hands go up, as if to stop her.]

Lemme guess. Mermaids marrying manatees for political reasons too.

[hardcorduroy]

Ehhhhh. (she squints, leaning in a little closer to get a good look at his face. then shaking her head.) Nah, I don't see it aside from the hat.

(ah. the. mermaid, yeah. that happened.) Uhhhh. Actually, that one wasn't her. It's kinda complicated, but yeah no, she didn't get them together.

[homerunning]

Phew.

[At least that's one step in the right direction.]


So that...did happen. Dipper wasn't going crazy on me. [His voice is small and weakly amazed at that. Because of all the stuff he's been through (and let him tell you, it's pretty dang weird), some of the stuff Dipper spouts on occasion he has to just...shrug off as overactive imagination.


But here Wendy is, confirming it all.]

What IS your world?


[Join him as he starts to walk.]

[hardcorduroy]

No no no no, Dipper may sound like a paranoid old man who sees conspiracies everywhere-- (she thinks on this for a second.) --and he may act like that sometimes. But nah, he's not crazy. (probably.

her puts her hands out in front of her, panning them to the sides.) Gravity Falls. Weirdness Capitol of the World. Does that explain it?

[homerunning]

Heh, man, if this Gravity Falls can out-weird Iwatodai...no wonder he's talking about manatee marriages and conspiracies.


So...why's it so weird, anyway?

[He opens the door to the laser tag place for her.]


I mean, can't be just bad luck, right?

[hardcorduroy]

Nah, that stuff's totally normal. If you want really weird, there's the neon rainbow unicorns, zombies beaten by pop music, the weird triangle demon trying to take over the town. Oh, and apparently dinosaurs are stuff in sap underground. (she just. casually says all this like it's a normal tuesday in gravity falls while she grabs her laser tag gear.) Uhhhh, Dipper's uncle, the paranoid smart one, he's looking into it. Weirdness is just. Attracted to Gravity Falls. Something about aliens, I think? They might be in the town. (meanwhile she turns on her gear and prepares for battle.)

Oh, by the way, I'm gonna kick your butt.

[homerunning]

[Sorry, were we suiting up? That's what Junpei was GOING to do, but all that talk about unicorns and dinosaurs as sap and zombies and triangle demons just sort of...occupied his brain first. He's standing there holding the laser tag gun like an idiot, eyes wide and lips puckered in...

Uncertainty.]


...


[Did Mabel set her up on a date with someone crazy. ...But then again, Dipper was kind of this way too. Almost too like it.]


Wait. Kick MY butt? I'll have you know I'm an ACE at these kinds of things!

[hardcorduroy]

(sorry, junpei, if you're weirding out about this, wendy can't tell. it's all just a regular tuesday in gravity falls for her.

she does hold up her laser gun confidently and give him a smug look.) I've been playing laser tag since before I could walk. Soos had a stamp card for laser tag, and you know he invited me all the time.

[homerunning]

Soos?


Isn't he that old geezer who wrote the books about cats and hats?

[Junpei, you're going down, just accept your fate.]

[hardcorduroy]

No, that's Dr. Seuss. Soos is the local handyman around Gravity Falls. He's a really great guy, everyone likes him. He could kick my butt at laser tag.

But today, victory is for me. (AND THE DRAMATIC COUNTDOWN TO THE LASER TAG ROOM BEINGS. complete with fog machine.)

[homerunning]

Well, Suess or no Soos, you're going down. Because I'm a naaatural with one of these things.

[Just because you can beat the other Magician doesn't make you a master, okay.


But the countdown starts, buzzer sounding once it reaches 0 and Junpei takes off immediately, looking for ample cover in both the smoke and the darkness.]

[hardcorduroy]

(wendy only gives him a daredevil grin before doing a tuck and roll to hide quickly in the fog as she finds good coverage, preferably behind something and high up so she can have a good vantage point.

wendy is currently very glad her dad gave her all those apocalypse training lessons and lumberjack games because thanks to them, she's become a very good shot. snipe snipe, motherfuckers.

you're next, junpei. just as soon as she can spot your hat.)

[homerunning]

[A gun (even a laser one) certainly isn't Junpei's FORTE exactly (then again, neither is a giant broadsword, but that's a discussion for another time), but he has had some experience in the arcade at Paulownia Mall.

He could beat Kenji, he can beat this! And it shows in the way he catches two players attempting to sneak by.


Unfortunately, his height works against him, and those long legs don't exactly hide himself as well as he'd like.


That and his hat is a dead giveaway.]

[hardcorduroy]

(junpei. junpei you poor, sweet summer child. even if you are older. and taller. but that height comes at a great advantage to wendy because luckily, her brown hat hides most of her red hair.

you? not so lucky. don't mind as she aims a little below where she sees the hat, taking her time to precisely hit one of the markers on his vest. steady... and... fire!

off goes the beep to signal he got hit, and wendy ducks around a corner to hide herself and triumphantly whisper yes! to herself.

sucks to be you, junpei, you're gonna get your butt kicked.)

[homerunning]

[It all happened so fast, too. Junpei had been JUST ready to take aim at some other guy...just about ready to pull that trigger and show Wendy just how it's done...when his vest starts going off, lights blinking and the trigger all but useless now as the BWAMMM sounds from the little speaker on his gun. He'd been hit, and he never even saw it coming.

Eyes scan the room, searching for the perpetrator, immediately trying to duck for cover so he doesn't have that happen a second time.

Then again, he knew JUST who had hit him. And he'd get her back for it.]

[hardcorduroy]

(she's going to make it a point to come back and get junpei again. but until then, wendy's going around and expertly shooting other people, but keeping herself as well concealed as possible.

after hitting a few more unfortunate saps (and getting hit a couple times herself, much to her disdain), she finally locates junpei again. oh, it'd be so great if she could get the drop on him twice! she positions herself again, but not above him this time. instead she's behind him hidden by a wall, or she sure hopes she is. give her a second to take aim. she's better with crossbows.)

[homerunning]

[There's something to be said for a girl on a mission, and right now, Junpei almost looked like he was ready to fall into that trap again. But once you're shot once in laser tag, especially by someone who you've got your own little competition with, you learn to be more wary about that stuff.

That, or he notices sommmmmething out of the corner of his eye, ducking to take cover as quickly as he can.]

HA! YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD ME!

[hardcorduroy]

(she clicks her tongue in annoyance, but moments after he says that, the kill sound goes off for junpei's vest again.

yeah, congrats, dude, your yelling just alerted your presence to another player. nice.) Dude. Nice. That was golden. (thumbs up to that other guy.

now to go find a hiding spot from all the people following the screaming guy.)

[homerunning]

[Dammit.

That's what he gets for announcing his victory. SOME ASSHOLE had to steal it away from him! In some display of both rage and...luck, he waits for it to reload and ducks, pinpointing his eyes on that guy who just nailed him, taking aim and...


PCHOO.


SCORE. That's 1/2 he's got to get revenge on. The guy seems to know it was him too, doing the famous 'fingers to eyes fingers to you' gesture, in which case Junpei returns it.

But not until after he's hit Wendy with a shot from his good ol' blaster.]