recolle | semi-closed || this game was never so involved before

semi-closed || this game was never so involved before

WHO: Minako and friends!
WHERE: All around the city
WHEN: Anytime during July, with the exception of the 9th and the convention weekend
WHAT: Bingo catch-call log!
WARNINGS: A little bit of Persona 3 Evoker usage, but otherwise nothing of note.

I won't be trying to fill any more of my own card, but if you'd like Minako for one of yours, especially for a 'stranger' one, check out my plotting post and definitely don't hesitate to PM me or message me on Plurk at

raynestorm! I love new CR for her ♥

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[ Did somebody say the word 'bet' within earshot of James Buchanan Barnes?

IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE IT

He was here to help his dad gather supplies for the 4th of July potluck on base, but he ends up stopping by Minako. ]

Oh yeah? How confident are you about that?

[She turns and, seeing his grin, can't help but smirk herself. She has a feeling she knows where he's going with this.]

Pretty confident. They're only about five or six bites per hot dog, I can get through them pretty quick.

[ He crosses his arms and scoffs lightly. Amateur hour. ]

Five or six bites? What a waste. I manage them in four.

Uh huh, and how long are you chewing those four bites for? I would be onto my next hot dog by the time you've managed to swallow.

Oh yeah? How sure are you about that? Because I bet you don't know anything about how fast I manage to swallow.

[ Yes. That is exactly what he said. I am leaving this comment exactly like this. ]

[Incredible.]

How about a demonstration, then?

[...she holds up two packs of hot dogs in each hand.]

Let's see who can eat faster.

You're on.

Fifteen minutes, in the parking lot, we settle this.

[ Because James is apparently okay with eating cold hot dogs in a grocery store parking lot. ]

[Minako. Is not.

She makes a face and shakes her head.]

Half an hour, at my apartment, because I have to finish grocery shopping for my roommates before this.

[ He rolls his eyes. Amateur. ]

Alright, fine. I can ditch my family after this, just tell me where to go.

[Some people have adult lives to take care of, James.]

Sure, I'll send you the address over Retrospec. Get ready to lose in half an hour.

I hope you're talking to yourself there, because the only thing I'll be doing in half an hour is winning.

[ And with a smug grin, he walks off to rejoin his family in the next aisle over, ready to check his phone until he gets the address sent to him over the app. ]

[Ping! There's the address to an apartment in Apprassage. By the time he gets there, the smell of grilled hot dogs has already drifted outside the door.

A bark from Koromaru tells Minako that her guest has arrived, and she answers the door with an apron on and tongs in hand.]

Almost done prepping, come sit down!

[ James walks in through the door with a plastic bag in hand. As he approaches the table, he lays the contents out: mustard, ketchup, relish.

Then he leans down to pet Koromaru. ]

Good. I brought some condiments, if you're the type to actually bother with those.

[ He's a fan of ketchup and mustard himself, but like hell is he going to slow himself down with those in an eating contest. Still, when he told Becca what he was going to be doing, she insisted he had to bring something so as to be polite. So, condiments. ]

I'll use them on a victory hot dog.

[She flounces back into the kitchen, and a minute later, two platters piled high with the stuff is set down on the coffee table.]

There! That's thirty for you, and thirty for me.

Thirty, huh? I guess we're going all out on this, then.

[ It seems like a high number to him, but he's not going to admit that. No way, half the competition is all about psychological warfare. If he says anything, he'll just give her an edge. ]

What about water? We're gonna need some of that here too.

[ He doesn't know Minako's kitchen well enough to get it himself. He'd leave it be, but he's pretty sure he read somewhere that water plays a part in competitive hot dog eating or something. ]

Ooh--

[Flouncing back to the kitchen to do just that now.]

I have juice and soda too, if you want those instead?

No way. You can't trick me with that, just give me water.

[ Because surely, the offer of juice and soda is a ploy to weaken him with non-water substances in this competition. Well, he's having NONE OF IT! ]

[Since she's still in the kitchen, she can safely roll her eyes without seeing.]

Fine, fine.

[The water is set down, Minako takes her seat, and then she leans over the plate in preparation to eat.]

Korochan, give the signal, okay?

[Koromaru props his paws up on the table, tail wagging. Alright then, leave it to him. A pause, and then he throws his head back, barking loudly three times. GO!]

[ He launches into the plate of food like a machine made for the exact purpose of shoveling hot dogs into a mouth. Sure enough, he manages to down his first few hot dogs in two bites.

He stares Minako dead in the eyes, unblinking, the entire time. It's a psychological tactic, his coach side. It psychs the opponent out. And if his hot dog consumption isn't terrifying enough, then by god, he's going to reinforce it with the deadened glare of a man with nothing to lose. ]

[Geez, so aggressive. Unfortunately for him Minako has been subject to similar glares many a time before by virtue of working several customer service jobs, so while the not blinking part is kind of disturbingly fascinating (how is he doing that?), all she does is return an arched eyebrow, her first hot dog disappearing in four bites, and her hand already reaching for the next one.]

[ He's definitely strong out of the gate, switching off between rapid bites of his third and fourth hot dogs.

The psychological tactics don't seem to be working, so he amps it up, trying to bare his teeth at her. It mostly just shows a bunch of chewed hot dog and bun, though.

Whatever, at the end of the day what matters is the number of hot dogs consumed. Once he polishes off his third, he picks up a fifth in his empty hand. It is a threat. ]

[Okay, that. Makes Minako choke. Not because she's intimidated, no-- far from it. The teeth baring was so animalistic that for a moment, she imagined him as a puppy, growling over his food, and

yup, here comes the cough-laughing.]

[ He doesn't know why she's suddenly choking, but he'll take the opening. As soon as he polishes off his third hot dog while she's coughing, he grabs a new one off the plate and dunks it violently into his cup of water.

Then he jams it into his mouth, whole. Oh god, this was a mistake. James reflects on all the choices he's made in life that led to this moment, and then decides--no. This is no mistake. This is the moment he transcends his human form.

Eat through the pain, James. Eat through the pain and become the hot dog god.

(Minako's probably okay anyway, she's not gonna die from this! He thinks.) ]

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semi-closed || this game was never so involved before

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