Warehouse timeeeee!!!!!!!

Bow-wow

This time I will specify the thread is taking place in the warehouse bc I am so good at this!

Bow-Wow can be found rummaging through boxes- he's not really… looking for anything specific at this point, he's just enjoying looking over the items in the boxes. He hums a little to himself, leaning over a particularly tall box, on his tip-toes, reaching in with both arms.

….He's gonna fall in if he's not careful.

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi hadn't been to the warehouse to earnestly look around yet. The last time she came in here, she had found Robert and several disappointing books. Now, at least, she could take some time to look around without being bothered by anyone--

--or not.

She sees the youngest member of this group nearly ready to plunge into a box, perhaps never to be seen again.

She could say something to stop this travesty.

Or, she could watch.

Or, she could simply begin searching through another box nearby and ignore it when the inevitable happens. She opts for this route.

What instead occurs is that, as Akemi reaches for a box that is perhaps a little too out of her reach, another nearby box tumbles onto the floor with a thunderous crash.

"--!"

She steps back and glances toward where Bow-wow was. That had probably not been the ideal thing to keep him from falling in.

Bow-wow

"WAUUUGH!" Bow-Wow nearly jumps out of his skin at the sound. He hadn't even noticed Akemi enter, and so the sound might as well have killed him. He stumbled, proceeding to fall head-first into the box he was leaning over, leaving his legs comically sticking from the top.

"W-Who did that?! Who's there?!?"

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi waits a beat to see if Bow-wow would recover on his own, then walks over, peering into the box slightly.

"A box fell." She says plainly, as if she hadn't been the cause of that disturbance. It just did that, obviously.

She considers whether or not to start picking up the fallen box, but opts instead to simply spectate.

"You did not break anything, did you?"

Who can say for sure if she meant bones or items.

Bow-wow

"I-I don't think so!" Bow-Wow wiggles a bit uselessly for a couple of moments, before managing to pull himself fully into the box, turning over and finally peering his head up at Akemi. His hair is disheveled, and he sounds pretty out of breath.

"T-Thanks for the help by the way." He huffs, in what is one of the only times he's been sarcastic.

"How long have ya been here?!"

Emmy | Akemi

"I was here for several seconds."

She decides that now is a good time to start gathering up the things that fell, lest this child decide to start lecturing her.

"Despite our age difference, I am smaller and weaker than you. I would rather avoid somehow joining you in the box in a clumsy attempt to help. Just what were you hoping to find?"

Bow-wow

"I ain't exactly the strongest in the world!" Bow-Wow proclaimed dramatically, but he huffed with reluctant acceptance. "But… well. At least I'd have a friend in here if ya fell in too!"

At the question of what he was looking for, he shrugged.

"I was kinda just lookin' in there for the sake of it. An' people usually hide the good stuff right at th' bottom of th'box if food service has taught me anythin'!"

Emmy | Akemi

Akemi raises an eyebrow at that, envisioning a box of frozen fast food ingredients with some horrid freezer-burnt mold cake in the bottom.

"I…see."

She decides not to question the 'bottom of the box' logic out loud. Somehow she feels that will not be the most productive of conversations. Though, she supposed almost any conversation could be more productive than one with Sylas in her experience.

"Have you found anything of use?"

Bow-wow

"Mmm, no, not really! All about the same stuff that was in there when I looked before!" Bow-Wow shrugged, finally deciding to stand up and rather ungracefully pull himself out of the box.

He nearly rolled out, by some miracle not landing on his face or anything- his face was too precious for that!!!

"Anyway, we ain't met yet, have we? I'm Bow-Wow!" He stuck out his hand- slightly clammy, a little shaky.

Emmy | Akemi

"I suppose it was foolish to hope they would put much of interest in here…" she sighs, "…far too many hobbies involve sharp implements, I imagine."

She looks at the offered hand, considers the insane name she was just offered, and simply decides she has little choice but to contend with the bizarre reality she is in. She shakes his hand firmly, as she has been raised to do.

"Akemi Kuro. I….don't imagine that 'Bow-wow' is your given name…where did you acquire it?"

She almost strains to say the name Bow-wow. The whimsy of it feels so foreign to her, and adding any honorific to it feels equally ridiculous. He really has her in a catch-22 merely by existing.

Bow-wow

Bow-Wow-san… C'mon Akemi, y'know you want to…

"It's kinda my nickname? Preferred name? It's th' name of the character on the mask! He's kinda like… how I wanna be known?" He's not gonna call it a 'fursona'. Especially because he'd never live it down if Ellie caught wind of him doing so.

"It's plenty nice ta meet ya, Miss Akemi!" He shakes her hand enthusiastically. "What d'you do for a livin'?" He asks, tilting his head.

Emmy | Akemi

This one was going to be among the most polite people here, apparently. She would have little choice but to reign in her attitude just a little. It would hardly be becoming of her to be cruel to someone who seems to hold no ill will.

She would certainly not question someone preferring a pseudonym here, though the whimsy of this mask and the name were going to remain a point of personal contention to deal with on her own. He would hardly be the only person here with a secret or two.

"I see. So you are something of a mascot, then." Goodness knows she has seen more than enough of those around Japan, not that she has ever particularly liked them.

"I am an art critic. My job involves visiting art exhibits and writing my thoughts on how successful the artists were in their endeavors. Much like how movies are giving ratings by critics."

Bow-wow

Bow-Wow was a very polite young man! He'd be so honoured to be amongst the numbers of 'the most polite here'. But he's perfectly content to allow his name and choice of attire to be something Akemi handles in her own time- after all, it's the norm for him!

"Oh, yes, I am a mascot! Not for… a company or anythin', a sports mascot!" Bow-Wow hadn't really expected her to just realise he was a mascot, but it made his job easier, not having to explain things!

"I always thought art critics were kinda lame and really rude, but clearly y'all aren't all made equal!" He blinks quickly, "I never even thought it was a job t'begin with! But ya seem far nicer than th'movie critics I've seen 'round!"

Emmy | Akemi

"They are rather common where I am from." Akemi explains, "I am hardly fond of them, but many towns and stores have mascots, so it can be difficult to navigate Tokyo without seeing something of that nature."

She raises an eyebrow, "That is not a rare sentiment to have. Not all artists are pleased to see a critic write negatively on their work, though many refuse to even engage with what is written on any level except to dismiss it. And the layman assumes we are glorified complainers, without considering how challenging artists can push things forward on a cultural level."

Her expression shifts to surprise at being called 'nice' of all things after very intentionally allowing him to fall into a box.

"You must have met some rather heinous film critics, if you consider me kind by comparison."

Bow-wow

"In America we usually just have 'em for sports teams! Not really for stores… although… some stores probably have mascots… now that I think about it…?" Did Colonel Sanders count as a Mascot… in a sense, yes…? But he wasn't exactly a character that had a specific costume that people dressed up in… that Bow-Wow was aware of, anyway.

…Wow! Akemi was using a lot of big words, huh! Bow-Wow seemed a bit taken aback by the complex… assessment, however, he's at least trying to make sure he gets it.

"I kinda get it! Both sides, I guess? I'd be pretty upset if someone turned around and told me all the bad stuff 'bout what I did… but I never really thought about it from the… tryin' ta do it ta benefit others and culture…point of view!" He'd still definitely be really upset. But it was perhaps a little bit of food for thought to think that not every critic was just complaining for the sake of complaining.

To the matter of her being nice, he laughed a little-

"Well ya ain't exactly been deliberately mean ta me, ya havin' a normal conversation wit' me, I consider that pretty nice!"

Emmy | Akemi

"My understanding is that many brands in America have mascots, but they rarely come with costumes. I believe there are even concerts and conventions revolving around mascots, in Japan. I do not follow such things enough to say much on them."

Akemi occupies herself to rifle through a box as she speaks.

"Almost all who pursue and study art in school engage in formal and informal critique. It is how they improve their craft beyond what they are capable of seeing on their own. My job is merely an extension of that practice within a professional setting."

She looks back to Bow-wow, wondering just how horrid his social experiences were if 'not deliberately mean' was akin to 'nice.'

"I see. I admit, it is not a very common sentiment. But, I see little reason to be deliberately aggressive toward someone who has been overall polite in conversation."