[OPEN] Check it out, the future’s at our feet!

[ridethathippo]

Who: Yuya, Inaba, & England. Open prompts for anyone too.
When: Anytime after his post with Yuto.
Where: EVERYWHERE
What: Yuya hanging out all over the place & getting into shenanigans. He also has plans to do gymnastic things with Inaba, learn *real magic* from England, and build pillow forts.
Rating/Warning: None at the moment.


[OPEN PROMPTS]

A - ViViD: [Having a tough time with the current wave of enemies? HP getting too low?

Fear not! Because suddenly there's a giant red dragon barreling down an enemy that's getting too close for comfort, and a kid with tomato-colored hair riding the dragon is reaching down to help you up.]

I got your back!

B - Gardens: [There's a very loud yelp coming from coming from the edge of one of the many bodies of water in the gardens. Guess who decided to put their hand in the water and just narrowly avoided having his fingers chomped off?
...It may be problematic that the aquatic alien's decided to latch its tentacles around his wrist and try to drag Yuya into the water again.]

W-whoa, HELP! Someone-?!

C - School: [Somehow ended up in the costume closet of one of the acting clubs? You'll find Yuya standing in the middle of the room, looking pensive for a moment before turning to address his new company:]

Hey, can you pick an outfit for me? I can't decide which role I want to try today.

D - Gym: [You can find Yuya either hanging upside-down from one of the taller gymnastics bars, eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest in thought, OR you can find him grinning from ear to ear while jumping on one of the giant trampolines. He'll wave you over to join him before a particularly high jump that lands him in the foam pit.]

E - Create your own prompt!


[Closed to England]

[Welp, time for magic lessons! And in the evening so that Yuya doesn't have an excuse to skip classes. He's even prepared beforehand by finishing all his homework...or at least partially finished but made to look like he's got answers down. He'll just have to look over it again later when he's back at his apartment. Right now, though? Yuya's super excited to both learn some real magic AND to finally meet Arthur face-to-face. While they've chatted over the network with videos and texts whenever Yuya's needed to ask questions and get another perspective on some home-issues, it feels better knowing he'll finally get to meet his friend in person.

So after leaving school, Yuya's booked it to the CERES gardens to their arranged meeting place. He'll be looking through his deck and humming to himself on a bench while he waits for Arthur to arrive.]


[Closed to Inaba]

[ANOTHER FRIEND TO MEET UP WITH! With ViViD being the best option for trying out different routines thanks to the pain filter, but the real question is which game would be the best option for practicing without enemies popping up all over the place?]

Hmmm...Something easier would be good. If we have to fight, I could always summon Odd-Eyes to keep us safe. Maybe a platformer... [Mostly thinking out loud, but he does turn his attention away from the display screen to look at Inaba.] How much experience do you have with ViViD?


[Closed to roommates]

[WELP, THERE'S SUDDENLY A GIANT PILLOW FORT IN THE LIVING ROOM? When did they get that many pillows?
You should think fast though because our tomato protag's head is popping up from one of the openings and hurling a pillow at your face.]

Comments

[ridethathippo]

Yup! Both of us.

[Too bad for Yuto because the moment Yuya releases his hold on his shoulders, he'll shove his counterpart towards the pillow fortress, hard if he really won't budge. Just to get him a few steps closer before he quickly follows up by hurling himself in a full out tackle-hug into Yuto so that they'll land on in a pile. He's laughing with the initial impact, obviously not about to let go anytime soon.]

[darkduelist]

_{[It seems like Yuto was right - Yuya really was scheming something! Despite that, the tackle-hug still catches him off guard. Now he's really glad there are so many pillows there, otherwise it would be a pretty painful fall.]}

...Let go.

_{[He doesn't sound angry and he looks more like he's just unsure of what to do now more than anything else. He doesn't do anything to free himself for the hug, either.]}

[ridethathippo]

Nope. [Although he does loosen one of his arms so that Yuto can twist around if he wants but not necessarily get up. Yuya's not about to untangle himself from his twin either. He's not really used to being very physical, even with his friends, but sacrifices must be made for progress.]

You can't tell me you didn't have pillow fights or made pillow forts when you were younger.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Yuto will twist around in that case, but when he realizes he won't be able to get up he gives up with a soft sigh escaping his lips.

And now he's trying to remember the times when he was younger and life was easy and happy. It really feels like a very distant memory.]</sub>

It was long time ago... but yes, I did have pillow fights.

_{[And he admits to himself it was fun at that time, but now... he feels too old to do any of that.]}

[ridethathippo]

[Too old at 14. It's a shame.

Yuya sits up slightly to regard Yuto for a moment, his expression softening into something more considerate before he flops back down.]

You know, everything might be messed up, but you should still take moments like these to have fun. [There's actually a lot more he wants to say. That he wants to return Yuto's smile to him because the one that's still sketched so vividly into his memory is a heartbreaking moment. And what he couldn't say when Yuto seemed adamant against him risking his neck to bring him back-- it's still strange that "that's what friends are for" still doesn't fit right while the sentiment is still the same. Instead, he opts to press a finger between Yuto's eyes, chuckling a little to himself.]

Smile and relax more or else you'll have worry marks forever.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[That's exactly what wars do to you.

But it's not like Yuto doesn't remember how to smile, because he can smile and he does smile sometimes. Relaxing and having fun is difficult though. He still finds himself wary and he can't sleep without waking up in the middle of the night. It just feels strange to him, to have a place where he's safe and doesn't have to worry about surviving another day.

He watches Yuya and frowns a little. Say how much you want, but that frown is not going to disappear for now.]</sub>

I'm just... not used to this. _{[He admits finally, because Yuya is right. He does need to relax at least a little.]} I need some time, that's all.

[ridethathippo]

[AND THEN SHUN GETS NOMMED ON, SO THERE'S NEVER A TIME TO RELAX.

Okay, that makes sense, and Yuya's glad that Yuto's open enough to admit it. Humming a note, he decides to release his counterpart in favor of rolling to the side. If Yuto needs time to relax, he won't push it now. But he still sticks close, hoping that his pillow collection and him won't be abandoned so soon.]

Take your time. I'll always be up for doing something fun. [The playful grin is back:] And besides, we're supposed to be cousins now, so I'm not going to leave you alone.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[Seriously. All he wishes for is a happy life for everyone. Is it really too much?

Worry not, Yuto is not going to abandon Yuya. Even when his counterpart releases him, he still just lies there and watches. Lying on the pillows is kind of comfortable, so he doesn't feel like standing up just yet.

Yuya's words ring in his minds. They are supposed to be cousins, family. That's just another strange thought, considering that not so long ago (or at least to him it feels like it wasn't that long ago), they only met each other. And yet Yuya doesn't feel like a stranger to Yuto at all. Almost like he suddenly found his brother (or cousin, right?) after long years of searching.

And each time he sees Yuya smile he feels like he's looking into a strange mirror and wonders if he would also look like this if he smiled.

Just a tiny, soft smile finally appears on his face and he nods to Yuya. And perhaps that smile is yet another silent "thank you".

Yuto pushes himself up into a sitting position and takes one of the pillows in his hands.]</sub>

Where did you get all of these, anyway?

[ridethathippo]

It's kind of a long story. Some of them I bought on sale, but I made most of them. There's a lot of fabric just sitting around in the art studios at the school!

[It's easy to tell which one are the store-bought ones and which ones Yuya made by hand. He may be good at doing fine details in decorating cakes, but his hand-sewing is a bit on the shoddy side compared to his machine work. Sadly, the school staff have caught onto the fact that he's kind of a lazy student, so he hasn't had a lot of time to abuse the school's sewing machines, hence why a majority are hand sewn. The stuffing in them isn't the best of quality either considering he couldn't get his hands feathers, so most of the pillows are stuffed with a collection of soft things like packing peanuts, foam, and other wadded-up fabrics.

He reaches out to grab a random pillow, turning it over in his hands to point at the design on it: Discover Hippo's smiling face.]

See? This is one of mine.

[darkduelist]

_{[Yuto isn't sure if he should be impressed or... Okay, he actually doesn't know what to think of it. He gives the pillows another look, noting how many of them are hand-made by Yuya, before he addresses his counterpart with anther question.]}

And you made them only so that you could make a pillow front?

_{[Because that's what was actually bothering him the most. Was Yuya really that bored or was making a pillow front that important to him?]}

[ridethathippo]

...Maaaayyyybe~? [Obviously he's not about to say exactly, but it really has been a mix of boredom and wanting to make something that all three of them can enjoy (although he's expecting Yuzu to yell at him initially).

Grabbing a few more from around him, he tosses them all up into the air to let them fall back down onto the two of them.]

Don't worry, I'll put them all in my room once I clean up.

[darkduelist]

...Maybe, huh?

_{[He sees everything now. And he nods at the last part of what Yuya said.]}

When you decide to clean up, I'll help you.

<sub>[With so many pillows it'll be quicker if they do it together. But for now...

Yuto is silent for a moment, looking at that one pillow he is holing in his hands. Well, he supposes he has to be impressed at least a little with all the work Yuya had done. A soft smile appears on his face, before he lightly tosses the pillow at Yuya.]</sub>

[ridethathippo]

Really? Thanks! [Aw, Yuto, such a pal.

...And there's a faint 'brrmmph' sound as the pillow hits his face followed by a snort as Yuya lifts it up. A raised eyebrow accompanies his grin before he playfully smacks Yuto's arm with the pillow.]

C'mon, you can do better than that.

[darkduelist]

<sub>[He's staying under your roof, so he's more than happy when he can do something to help.

And of course he can do better than that. He doesn't do anything for a moment, before he looks at the pillows again as if trying to decided which one to choose. He grabs the closest one and looks at Yuya.

Well, you asked for it. He'll give you a moment to prepare yourself. Use it well.]</sub>