ArchivedLogs:Almost Famous

Almost Famous
Dramatis Personae Doug, Kaori	2013-08-31 '
Location <NYC> Riverside Skate Park - Morningside Heights
Tucked between Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights, and the Hudson River, the Riverside Skate Park is a mecca for skaters of all ages. The fenced in area is ringed by trees, and the park itself is actually manned by a city attendant during daylight hours. Skaters must sign a waiver before using the facilities, but anyone can come in just to watch. Also, Friday-Sunday food and drink vendors often circle the park, or come inside to sell their wares. Inside, the park is packed with skate trick elements. Many can be daisy-chained together in complex routines; ramps, jumps, rails and curbs. There is also a competition-sized half-pipe wide enough to support several riders at once. All of the trick elements are sturdy, and well built, because the city doesn't want to get sued. Skate on! It's one of those long, hot, humid New York nights. Nine in the evening, and the park lights have finally switched on. Which park? The skate park. A jumbled collection of concrete elements - ramps, jumps, curbs and rails, all set aside for the city's skating population to come and blow off some steam. And maybe show off a little. Kaori was only noticed by a couple of the people when she first arrived at the park. Friends whispering to each other when the girl with the bright pink hair tossed her backpack into a corner and came to sit on the edge of the half pipe, board in her lap. She's wearing a black tank, and knee length, gray cargo shorts. Black vans on her feet, and /bright/ pink socks to match her hair, reach half way up her calf. But the limited notice only lasted until the gold-medalist actually dropped into the pipe. After only a few passes, by the time she came up for air, quite a few people were watching, though so far most people here have been cool enough to not come up and bug her. Of course the camera phones are going nuts, but they're giving her her space for now. Doug is not a frequent visitor to the skate park -- especially not lately, what with other projects occupying his time. It might have been a /while/, actually, since he's been to any skate park. But, he's here tonight. Perhaps to blow off some steam, or to see if he can still ride a stick with any ability. Dressed in a pair of khaki-colored cargo shorts and a loose white tee-shirt with a complicated-looking algorithm on the front, with black pads and white sneakers, the teenager rolls along the pavement with his eyes on the phone in his hand rather than what's got everyone else's notice. That is, until his phone chirps, and he checks the incoming tweet. His head jerks up as the picture loads, and he looks around in a bit of confusion before he spies the gathering crowds, and shifts his weight to roll in that direction. When Kaori turns from where she's standing on the far side of the pipe, and sees the crowd, she grins and waves, throwing up the peace sign. She drops back in and pops out closer to where everyone has gathered around. Maybe she loves this, or maybe she just wants to break the tension because she lives here now. Either way, she starts making her way through the crowd, fistbumping, and generally making nice. "Hey, what's up, guys?" she says, her accent finally completing the picture most only know from YouTube. Her head-on greeting seems to have done the trick. She jokes with people, and just breaks down whatever wall was up. She poses for a couple pictures, and generally just enjoys everyone's company. Doug might be one of those taking pictures. He definitely has his phone up and pointed at the Japanese girl as she comes over. Eventually, though, he drops it, checking the video grab before sliding it into his pocket. When the older woman glances his way, he grins broadly, and lifts his chin in greeting. "{I'm a big fan,}" he says in Japanese, tipping his head. "{You were great in the last Winter Olympics.}" Kaori's friendly smile widens as her eyes go big when Doug addresses her in her native language. "{Oh /thank you/ very much.}"she replies in happy Japanese. "{Hardly anyone speaks Japanese in this city. It seems like every other language is around every corner, but,}" Kaori shrugs and beams up at the tall young man. "{Did you study it in school?}" The young man has Kaori's full attention as she looks up at him, skate dangling from her fingers at her side. Up close, it's clear she doesn't wear any makeup, but she has somehow added sparkles to her dark eyelashes and eyebrows. "{Oh, sorry,}" she adds, with a slight bow. "{I'm Kaori.}" "{Oh, no,}" Doug says, lifting a shoulder. "{I have a gift for languages, and all the best video games are in Japanese, so I learned it on my own.}" He grins, and wrinkles his nose, rubbing a hand along the back of his skull. "{I hadn't really thought about no one else really speaking it. The hazards of hanging out with video game geeks and anime fans.}" He returns the bow, placing a hand against his chest. "{I'm Doug. It's an honor to meet you, Kaori-san.}" That being said, he straightens, and looks over at the slightly-boggling group of spectators. "{I'd read you'd moved to New York, but I didn't think about you turning up here.}" "{You speak so well, Doug-san! It's nice to meet you.}" Kaori effuses. "{I wish english was so easy for me. It's very confusing sometimes. Oh! But, do you know the Zelda series? It's /so/ much better in Japanese.}" She drops her eyes, a little embarrassed about her open enthusiasm. At least most of the people still milling around don't understand the conversation. "{Miyamoto-san is a genius sometimes.}" "{American English is a confusing language,}" Doug agrees, bobbing his head. "{It's cobbled from so many other languages, I can see where a non-native speaker would find it frustrating.}" The woman's embarrassment gets another grin, and his eyebrows pop up as he nods enthusiastically. "Oh, yeah," he breathes in English, momentarily forgetting to speak in Japanese. "{I have those. I also have the best Final Fantasy games in Japanese,}" he confirms, kicking his board up to catch at the trucks and dangle it as he speaks. "{Like I said. All the best games are in Japanese.}" He ignores the confused crowd, who seem to be breaking up since no skating is actually happening. Doug inclines his head to a nearby picnic table before drifting that direction. "{Which Zelda game is your favorite?}" Kaori joins doug at the table, sets her backpack down, and flips her board over to lay face down on top of it. A bright yellow Rockstar logo beams up at them from the underside of it, scratched and gouged, but recognizable. "{Shit yes, Final Fantasy is /so/ good, but half the time, people pick the /wrong/ titles in that series.}" Kaori seems genuinely distraught by this possibility. "{But, Americans got 7, right?}" She sighs. "{That was a beautiful game. Oh, and 10...}" She grins down at the table, embarrassed again. "{Sorry! Zelda! Zelda was funny for me, because my first game was Ocarina of Time, but when I liked it so much, my Uncle made me sit down and play the very first game on his console. /That/ was when I really fell in love with the story.}" She reaches into her backpack and retrieves a couple of small water bottles, setting one in front of both of them as if Doug had asked for one. She cracks hers open and takes a sip. Doug whistles low at Kaori's assessment. "{Oh, Americans are bad about it,}" he confirms. "{But there are a few of us who know quality when we see it --} hey, Ethan!" he breaks off suddenly, to shout at a teenager wearing a toboggan hat in spite of the heat. "I'm still waiting on that check," he calls, getting a loose shrug and a raise of middle finger from the other boy. "Suit yourself," he says, shrugging as he drops into the seat. "Just don't blame me if your site dissolves, one day." He offers the other boy a bright smile before he turns back to Kaori, and nods. "{The first Zelda is the best, although I'm a /huge/ fan of Link to the Past. They're re-doing that for the 3DS. I can't wait.}" The bottle of water is claimed with a nod of thanks. "{I heard your last mix on YouTube. It was pretty awesome.}" Kaori jumps a little in surprise at Doug's sudden shout, but just turns to watch the exchange. Her sparkly eyebrows hitch up slightly, but settle down quickly enough. She picks her reply in a slightly strange order. "{Ug,}" she says. "{3DS. I think I'm the only Japanese girl in the world who doesn't have one, and I don't even like it. Don't tell anyone, ok? I just... I like seeing it all on the /big/ screen. And with the new motion capture consoles? Fwah!}" She half-stands and pantomimes throwing what can only be Link's boomerang. She sighs. "{I would play so many hours. These boys,}" she gestures over her shoulder at the Ethan-types, and leans forward as if sharing a secret with Doug. "{They probably all just play Call of Duty, and Madden 5,076.}" She grins and hooks a thumb in the general direction Ethan had disappeared in. "{So, you make websites for people?}" But that question gets lost when she's made as DJ Spinster. There's a long moment where she's thinking and then she just smiles wide again. "{Thanks, I try! But people keep asking me to remix more songs from the new Daft Punk record, which is dangerous, because I'm /in love/ with that record. You know that phrase in Japanese, right? As in, I would marry it. And have that album's babies. So, when people ask, I don't really mind. But... I don't want to just be one thing.}" She shrugs and grins. If there's one thing Kaori Takahashi has never been, it's a one-trick pony. Doug seems a bit surprised at the admission, and he leans back slightly. "{But...the 3DS is perfect for when you've got to stand in line, or ride the train for fifteen stops.}" He seems genuinely baffled by the idea that anyone would dislike the thing. "{I mean, I love my Wii, but I can't live without my 3DS.}" He pats one of his cargo pockets meaningfully. He's packing. At the question, he nods. "{Yeah. I'm, like, computer maestro.}" He wiggles his fingers. "{But what I build up, I can tear down, for the deadbeats. Do you need a site built?}" Ever the opportunist. When Kaori starts talking music, the blonde brightens. "{Oh, /no/,}" he says with a vehement shake of his head. "{That album is pretty damned perfect. There is nothing to be done to that. Stay strong.}" Kaori grins at Doug's assessment of the album, and sips from her water again. "{Well, here's the thing,}" Kaori says. "{All of this,}" she starts, waving at her board and sponsor stickers. "{It's all 'managed', right? Because, the sponsors want me to show up, wearing their stuff. I have a manager, an agent. The whole thing.}" Kaori takes a breath, clearly working up to something. "{But my music...}" She pats her chest lightly with the palm of her hand. "{It's all mine. I started it on my own, and I haven't signed with anyone. I've been trying to promote myself on Facebook and Twitter, which are good for this, but I've been thinking I need my own site, you know? Maybe I could see some of your work, some time.}" Her dark eyes shine with big ideas, in the big lights illuminating the skate park Doug nods as Kaori explains, already fishing out his phone. "{I get that,}" he says as his fingers slide over the screen. "{You've got to keep your sponsors happy. But I'm happy to help with your music site.}" He opens the browser on his phone, and pulls up a website's mobile version. It's a site for a skate shop, run by none other than deadbeat Ethan. It's pretty impressive, with video archives and a complete online catalog. "{This is more of a commercial thing,}" he says, almost apologetically, then smiles a lopsided smile. "{But I've done music sites, too. If you give me your email, I'll send you some links. What are you looking for, exactly?}" Kaori looks Ethan's site over with a fairly critical eye. She skips quickly past parts related to online merchandise, and lingers on things she seems to find more pertinent. "{Yeah, something like this would be good, just, somewhere they can land after Twitter sends an update, with my show schedule, credits, a few videos, that kind of thing. I'll let iTunes handle the sales, even if they do take a big, wet bite out of my ass.}" Her crassness could come as a bit of a surprise for someone only familiar with her sponsored persona. Kaori reaches into the little front pocket on her backpack and produces a DJ Spinster business card with just a number and email on it. "{Email me here, with 'Cute Doug' in the subject line, so it gets past my spams.}" She winks, and swings her pack up onto both shoulders as she stands. "{But I have to jet, Cute Doug. See you soon!}" With that, Kaori tosses her board onto the ground, and runs to hop onto it, disappearing quickly into the New York City night.