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[There is an awkward moment where Gladion also steps forward as if to get the door, Leo gets there first, and he looks confused-into-embarrassed for about two seconds there.

Then scurries through with an acknowledging nod, still looking vaguely embarrassed. Okay, moving on!]

I don't know, I think that would just make it easier to overlook someone who's trying to stay on the downlow. [waves hand a little] Not that I seriously think that's the case. The whole thing just feels weird.

[And he thinks about it too often because she has the power to bring him his best friend, if he accepted all the repercussions that would have.

...Anyways. Lizards! And snakes and, yes, turtles. Gladion gravitates to a gecko tank near the entrance, peering with the ghost of a smile at one that's stuck to the glass.]

[Leo for his part barely registers the embarrassment, or if he does, well, he doesn't dwell on it. Not worth chasing after in the moment.

He's more focused on his conversation with Gladion to really tease him.]

Trust me, people have patterns, rhythms to how they act. If someone is trying to stay unseen, people will pick up on that pretty fast. There isn't social media here or excessive tracking, but if you have a keen eye, you can tell whose hiding and who isn't. Agreed on the weirdness though. Not enough answers about Mana to be satisfying.

[He walks with Gladion towards the lizards, snorting a little at the gecko.] This guy has the right idea. Just hanging out, basking. That would be perfect.

[This is all fair commentary that makes Gladion feel a little bit uncomfortable for reasons he knows by name but will interrogate further on his own time.]

Even in a city this big? Or if they don't need to live around people at all, and they're just minding their own business out there? They wouldn't have to hide from everyone, they'd just have to avoid giving any monsters a reason to care.

[Peering a bit closer, fascinated by the texture of the gecko's footpads - but he's sort of tentative about how close he brings his face to the glass, as if trying to be polite about invading the lizard's personal space.]

If someone is curious enough, or has a stalking instinct from their transformation, you never know what is and isn't seen. [Leo says easily enough with a shrug. He's also particularly nosy and prone to observing his surroundings with easy interest.

He watches Gladion investigate. The politeness just makes him chuckle a little. It makes Leo think of his baby brother.]

These guys are cool. My baby bro Mikey always wanted a gecko as a pet, but, never happened. Raph always shot the idea down since we lived in the sewers and it was way too cold for a gecko.

[Emmet dot jpeg......

Baby brother? He'd assumed Leonardo was the youngest. Okay, new data point. Along with "living in the sewers" (?) and keeping lizards as pets.

...

How should he ask this.]

Relations between species in your world aren't quite like how they work here.

[This is one of those statements that is also obviously a question.]

Edited 2023-01-24 17:29 (UTC)

I mean, every world is wildly different if you ask the right questions. [Its an easy enough answer on Leo's part as he taps at the enclosure vaguely. The gecko is unmoved by his attempt to bother. Gecko aint phased by you turtle boy.

Leo hears the question, but chooses not to answer it for a moment.] Back home, there were humans, then yokai, then mutants. Very different eco-system, mostly due to Drax mutating people randomly.

[(Various things) NOTED. Tact was a good choice, probably. Leo doesn't include animals in that list, but he's called the reptile house inhabitants "kin" before...

Gladion doesn't have a frame of reference for what he's putting together, but he thinks he's on the right track.]

Never heard of yokai before. [The word is...vaguely familiar, though? Very very vaguely? Hopefully the unfamiliarity means it's not a sensitive topic.]

They're a whole different species from everything else you'd expect. Human, animal, etc, etc. [Leo waves his hand casually. As always he's happy to just talk. He has the gift of gab and he'll use it.] They live under New York in their own Hidden City. Their species is pretty small apparently. Far as I can tell, Drax only started mutating people to try and turn every human into a yokai.

Didn't exactly work, but points for effort, old man.

[...You know what? Actually? Scratch that, Gladion has no clue what the fuck is going on.

And besides his sort of...promise?...to converse with Leo, Gladion also doesn't just want to stand here and scrape information off of him. Feels bad.

So.]

My world is inhabited by humans, and countless species of Pokemon. Of which a lot resemble animals - you'd think they'd have to be parallel universe counterparts. But there are also plenty of plant Pokemon - [kinda holds up a hand demonstratively?] - that can move around like "animals" do. And inorganic Pokemon, and Ghost-types, and synthetic Pokemon. The kinds of things that, in this world, I've only seen in monsters. So it's not a perfect equivalence. And they don't - most Pokemon don't speak a human language, but they're...I don't want to generalize and say more intelligent than the animals I've met, but it's different.

[hm]

...They definitely have a lot more say in what goes on in the world than animals seem to. So, that's where I'm coming from.

Huh. [Leo seems intrigued by the whole explanation, not even interrupting to make a joke.]

Okay, that does explain your general confusion at least. Animals in my world, and I guess in this world aren't stupid. They sure just... animals? Work off instincts and stuff. Humans are generally smarter than animals.

I don't really remember being an animal. I was freshly hatched and then we were mutated. So, I can't say much about that.

[OKAY for a second there he was like, wait, was he a human who was mutated into a turtle somehow??

His first assumption was right, but still not...right right. He expected that Leonardo might be a...sort of a liaison to the world (metaphorical) of these animals he's related to, bridging the gap in these other-worlds that's boggled Gladion so badly. He expected, at first, that mutant meant something sharply isolated. But all the mentions of brothers, the familiarity with modern conveniences - maybe mutant as in a mutant strain, something well-established for which there was a place. Some set standard for Leonardo to be running from having to meet, acting like he does.

The truth - what he thinks he's learning of this part of it, at least - wedges into a gap that Gladion hadn't fully realized his assumptions even had in them: whatever world Leonardo inhabited, and however close it was to the human species, it really didn't have that much overlap with the animal world?

ANYWAYS,

nodding a few times to indicate that he's listening, as you do]

Not like anyone remembers being a baby anyways, I guess. [?] Some Pokemon species are more intelligent than humans in specific ways, but they don't live the way we do. As individuals - from all kinds of species - a lot of them live with us. It can be like having a pet...animal, but usually it's...somewhere between that and just...knowing someone. They're not this dependent [nod at gecko] but you take care of them because they're with you instead of in their own habitat. Like...a guest in human society. [SHRUG] Hard to describe. In my world -

[He turns a little and hard pauses on that for a second with this visible "ah hm" moment in his eyes like, not sure if this is rude to say. Rallies after that second, and commits to just, saying what he thinks? This isn't actually supposed to be some big meaningful affirmative statement. It's just vibes.]]

- it's not a good or bad thing, but nobody would guess you weren't originally a human, from the way you talk about...your interests, and other people. The way you talk in general. Since Pokemon have their own ways.

[Leo listens raptly enough, watching Gladion with easy interest before glancing back at the gecko just minding its geko-y business. He's taking the conversation seriously enough. His usual need to lob jokes around set aside.]

Yeah, that's, very different than just having a pet. Dogs or cats seem smart, but they're not- exactly like that? I've never owned a pet so I can't give a good baseline. It's hard for me to completely wrap my head around, but its not weird. It's just a different world. Like how yokai are probably jarring to hear about for you.

[He snorts a little at the compliment of a sort.] My brothers and I were socialized by a previous human, our dad, and a lot of movies. So, thanks I guess?

[Buhhhhh.

...A more deliberate S H R U G.]

It's just an observation.

[It's not - it genuinely wasn't supposed to be a compliment, but he knew it would sound like one, and...is this bruise-poking behavior? Looking for things to remind him how different these other worlds are?? Whatever it is, it's probably not cool, is it.

...

(subtle face/stance journey begins)

......

????????]

...Does it matter?

[WHAT are your VIBES, please,]

[Leo snorts a little openly at the awkwardness. He's more openly amused by the reaction.

Just as much as he's wondering if he misstepped somewhere.]

Not really, I'm just comparing and contrasting with you. My twin talked about different universes sometimes, so I find the idea kinda fun. Especially here, there are maybe handful of people from the same places, but not many from worlds that wildly different.

[OH THANK GOD AN OFF-RAMP. Gladion crosses his arms in relief (yes that is a gesture that expresses relief), turning to get them moving towards some other kind of lizard or perhaps serpent.]

From what I understand, my world might actually be...parallel to the common cluster. Pokemon live there, so it's different, but I recognize a lot of languages here and I think there's a lot of geography in common.

[surely yours isn't one of those.]

Kinda like, echoes of echoes. [Leo bats back as he walks with Gladion.] I'm not the science guy, that's my brother's deal. I just heard some of his rambling.

Most planets are earth, without pokemon. Yours has pokemon with some kinda similar geography but probably like... different because of pokemon? [he's trying to discussion with you, Gladion, go with it.]

[waves it off a little, he doesn't really care, who knows jack about shit around here anyways] I've only compared notes with one person on this, most of this is secondhand and neither of us are history experts. Does the placename "Hawai'i" mean anything to you?

Yeah, its like the 50th state in America? Never been though. [He confirms easily enough with a quirk of his eyeridge.] You have your own version of hawaii?

We think - I think it's the parallel to my home region. [looking vaguely perplexed under default affected cool. what the fuck is an america]

[He swallows back about three hawaiian shirt jokes, though the inclination is RIGHT THERE.] I'm guessing tropical, island kinda deal then?

Makes me wonder what your version of New York is like.

Volcanic archipelago region in the middle of the planet's largest ocean, four major islands and their minor neighbors. [ie yeah] Where's New York?

Edited 2023-01-27 15:57 (UTC)

New York is a city that is in America. [Leo is trying to vaguely remember what he read online about America at some point. It is incredibly vague and probably not helpful in the least.] America is a part of Northern America. It's one of the larger continents on that side. Definitely away from Hawaii.

[.....

ALRIGHT.]

No clue. ["America is a part of Northern America" is an unhinged sentence but it probably makes sense in context. Also he thought it was a "state of" - never mind actually.] I might have the right part of the world in mind, but there are plenty of regions to pick from, let alone cities.

[spoilers he is thinking of the wrong side of the atlantic]

[Leo goes quiet as he mulls over his own words again. He holds up a finger with a scrunch of his 'snout'.]

...We need a globe. That would probably help a lot more?

Also you know, me saying that gave you no context at all. I'm used to just... [Awkward three fingered jazz hands] Assuming people know what America is.

[Nod. Yeah a globe would help. Too bad they are in a secret third world type where the globes are completely different when they do exist...]

That's a given, right? If I asked you if New York was north or south of Kalos, I couldn't expect an answer. [With a little less energy:] Lots of things like that when you talk about homeworlds.

[Like animals. You know.]

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