7th Episode [Phone calls]

[bamboozler]

[Phone calls locked to aristocracy!]

[Welcome to the 1950's. Mr. Panda is a successful banker and father known around town as a jovial and, unfortunately, clueless man. His biggest successes are Bearbank, his little princess Pilouette, his very dear daughter Toph...and, eh, there might be a third child in the middle there somewhere. Maybe.

Now that he's made his wealth, he spends a lot of his time gossiping! So if you're in the aristocracy and/or on good terms with Panda, you might get one of the following phone calls.]

[Night One]

Hello, hello...! Do you ever want to pick up a really awesome talent, even if it means you have to risk your life to learn it? Is there anyone in town like that?

[Night Two]

Hello, hello...! Don't mind me, just go ahead and start talking! Ah! But first, don't you get a really good feeling when you say "Mr. Panda" out loud? It's great, isn't it?

[Night Three]

Hello, hello...how do you think I should get beautiful women to fall in love with me without even trying? With Pillo and Toph and the other at the dance, I realize it's very quiet around here...

[Option 4]

[On night one, two, or three, Panda is still going to call your character...but what he talks about will be a total surprise! Are you brave enough to take that call?]

[OOC; Since Panda is physically using a phone for this post, this post is only open to rich people and people he might know (teachers, doctors, bank customers...). Sorry. If you pick option 4, just tell me what night and I'll have Panda come up with something just for your character. o7]

Comments

[bamboozler]

So there's no one in town who can do that sort of thing? Eh...I was hoping to try something really exciting.

[Rich people have all the time in the world, after all.]

[geniustheveil]

I don't think there's a circus or anything like that in town right now...

[Because really, those types of things...]

[bamboozler]

What about you? Do you have any exciting skills you want to pass on?

[geniustheveil]

The things I can do are very normal, I think. [Nothing that exotic, at least, certainly.]

I can sew, and cook a little. [She doesn't mention the small efforts at more creative pursuits; she doesn't have confidence in her ability in those.]

[bamboozler]

Ehh...those are nice traits to have, Ami. It's a shame that everyone says those things about you. I think you're fine just the way you are.

[She should know what things he's talking about, of course.]

[geniustheveil]

[Unfortunately, she doesn't know for sure. And with a need to know born of every guess she can make, she finally asks it.]

Those things..?

[bamboozler]

About marrying down? Don't worry, don't worry, you'll always have the Panda family on your side.

[geniustheveil]

[Panda, you don't have to say it so bluntly.

Ami should have known it was that, really. What else has there ever been to cause gossip in her, the dutiful daughter and good student and good citizen? She manages to carry off her answer with good grace - while they're still on the phone at least.]

Thank you for that.

[bamboozler]

[Yes. Yes, he did. He's rich and says what he wants.]

Ehhh, you don't have to thank me! You're very good at what you do. Hm...maybe I should study acupuncture...

[geniustheveil]

[She's pretty sure the problem there isn't the money part. It's the second part.]

Acupuncture? I've read about it a little bit. I was surprised to find out it's said to be very effective in some cases. It could be a very good skill to learn if you're interested in it, to help everyone.

[bamboozler]

Hmm...you make it sound like it's not just guessing where to put the needles...is there more to it than that?

[geniustheveil]

It's not guessing! [She sounds a bit horrified by that, probably because she's imagining the consequences, unpleasantness at the least, of jabbing someone with needless haphazardly.]

It takes a lot of study to understand the body and where they should be placed.

[bamboozler]

Ehhh...it looks so easy in the movies. Maybe I should find a different dangerous talent...something that takes less time to learn.

[He's in deep thought for a moment.]

Maybe I should try eating fire. Have you ever tried that, Ami?

[geniustheveil]

No, I've only seen performers do it. I don't know how it's done, either.

[Some sort of illusion? Some sort of practice to do it exactly the right way? Something like that, she thinks, but she's not at all sure which it would be.]

[bamboozler]

What about juggling knives? Do you think that's a good idea? You're a doctor, so you've probably met jugglers before, right?

[geniustheveil]

[She's... not sure what one has to do with the other, really, but she has seen jugglers perform before.]

Once or twice, but using knives for juggling seems like something difficult to learn to do safely, too.

[bamboozler]

Hmm...isn't there something dangerous and exotic that takes no effort to learn whatsoever? That's the kind of new hobby I'm looking for.

[geniustheveil]

It doesn't work like that. Special accomplishments take time and a lot of work to learn. They say to become skilled at something, it takes ten thousand hours of practice.

[bamboozler]

T-ten thousand hours?! I don't even have that much time left to live, do I...?

[geniustheveil]

I'm sure you'll live that long. Practicing several hours a day, it would only work out to a few years.

[bamboozler]

A...a few years?! That's a really long time...! Even longer than a year!

[geniustheveil]

Yes, I'm afraid so. Worthwhile things often aren't easy, or fast, to achieve. [Not even for a Mizuno daughter, if she had her own ambitions:] I studied for many years to become a doctor, for example.

[bamboozler]

But I don't want to do worthwhile things...I just want to do really exotic and cool and dangerous stunts.

[geniustheveil]

Dangerous things take a lot of skill, too, to do them safely and without injury. There aren't easy answers in learning something. No matter what.

[bamboozler]

Ehh...that's really unfortunate. Maybe I'll just buy another exotic pet to make up for it. Thanks for the advice, Ami. I know I can always count on you.

[he's putting a snake in tsuna's room after this]