[OPEN] you're on your own, kid

[ghostmoder]

WHO: Yusuke and... you?!
WHAT: May Catchall
WHEN: anytime and all times
WHERE: Highstorm, Old Springstar, elsewhere?!
WARNINGS: shitty teen behavior




Prompts in comments! Feel free to wildcard me if you feel like riffing on any of them, or hit me up with a PM or on Discord (@ pineappamatic) if you wanna plot out something specific!

Comments

HIGHSTORM

[ghostmoder]

i → the market

[Yusuke's not an antiques guy. He's not here to buy, he's here to observe: the stalls, the people running them, the kinds of things being sold, and the kinds of people buying them. Call it info gathering, call it boredom; either way, it's a decent way to kill a couple of hours.

If you are one of those people buying, or even someone just window-shopping, he might pop up at your elbow to squint at whatever you're considering, especially if it's decorative, has a complicated design, or is otherwise weird-looking.]

Whassat even for?

[He's talking through a mouthful of what looks like some kind of fluffy pastry with cream in the middle. Depending on how closely you were watching, you might have noticed him at the adjacent bakery stall before he came over to this one. He made it through that long line awfully quick, didn't he? Almost like he "forgot" to pay for what he picked up.]

ii → benny's

[Like it or not, Yusuke has become a regular at Benny's, even on nights when there's no potential hangover to sop up, and sometimes even during the day. Highstorm is already a little buttoned-up for his tastes, but a late-night diner is always a magnet for the kind of grimy, unpredictable atmosphere he feels most comfortable in.

He's almost perfected the teenage art of buying just enough coffee to enable his loitering without getting a plate thrown at his head. The operative word there, though, is almost— on a day where his balance is a little off, he might flag you down from his table.]

Hey, hey. Sit down for a second, willya?

ii

[bakedapple]

[ Link had just stepped through the door, seeking out a big, late-night plate of breakfast food, when Yusuke snatches his attention from a table. He recognizes him immediately, of course; it's good to see the kid has stuck with Zenith so far. (It'd be a shame to have to fight him someday.)

The diminutive Hylian plops into the booth seat across from him and stares, eyebrows raised. ]

Everything okay?

[ He looks okay. Maybe he just... wants company? ]

Yusuke, was it?

[ghostmoder]

The one and only.

[Not even remotely true! He gives Link a little thumbs-up, which he apparently deems sufficient communication that everything is fine and definitely not weird, and goes to pull a cigarette from his pocket.]

Link. [He remembers too!] You're eating, right?

[bakedapple]

[ Just as Yusuke asks, a waitress with golden yellow eyes and obsidian black hair approaches the table to ask if Link "wants the usual." He turns to her with a smile, and after a wordless nod, the waitress heads off to put in his order.

He turns back to Yusuke with the smile lingering on his face. The fact that he's smoking doesn't bother him at all, coming from a world with no particular rules about that sort of thing. ]

I come here once a week or so. I always get the same thing.

[ As he talks, he starts to unbuckle a strap laying across his chest. Once it's undone, the heavy collection of equipment on his back falls from his shoulder and thunks against the chair behind him. ]

You must be making an effort to explore, if you've discovered this place? That's good.

i

[tresemme]

[ tony bristles; he had been fairly absorbed in looking for potions and tinctures (et cetera) for his hair, and so he had neither noticed yusuke’s approach nor his earlier pilfering. ]

It’s for hair, idiot.

[ he has a lot of it, so it’s immediately obvious why he would want it; but contrary to his pretty looks, there’s a rough and tumble kind of sneer in the way he takes offense to… being surprised by a stranger. ]

[ghostmoder]

[lol. lmao. That's not at all the kind of reaction he was expecting from someone who looks like Tony, but (unfortunately for Tony) in a way that piques his interest more.]

Oh yeah? [He leans more into Tony's space, ostensibly to get a better look but probably also to continue being annoying. He takes another bite of his pastry.] What's it do?

[He's not a total stranger to hair products himself, but he doesn't really take care of his hair so much as. abuse it. rip.]

[tresemme]

[ the crumbs!!!

tony wrinkles his nose, shrugging one shoulder to get the flakes to fall off, since his hands are occupied with the mysterious crystalline bottle. ]

That’s what I was trying to figure out.

[ …before you rudely interrupted, is the implication.

he removes the glass stopper; although he’ll obviously get yelled at if he pours it out to test on his hand, he wants to know what it smells like. so, like any normal person, he moves it under yusuke’s nose for assessment. ]

i

[fishfearme]

[With Highstorm now resembling more and more like a Water Temple level, that meant that the markets were now selling specific items that weren't as numerous or unique in Old Springstar or Skysong. Utterly immune to any kind of dirty looks or bad vibes due to his Meridian ties, what with lacking any sort of social awareness entirely, Byleth wandered through the market with a strange sort of lackadaisical purpose.

He eventually stopped at a stall, picking up one of his coveted specific items to scrutinise it closely with a frown. He turned it over in his hands, examining it from every angle... and not even flinching when Yusuke popped at his shoulder with unabashed curiosity.]

For my collection. [Without missing a beat, he turned and held the specific item aloft for Yusuke to better see.] What do you think? Front doorstep or the pond side?

crying i love him

[ghostmoder]

[He reels back a little when Byleth turns the, uh, item on him, surprised himself to not have been surprising. At this height he's basically making eye contact with it. For a second he and the fish have a little staring contest.

..... scary......]

Uh, depends, I guess. You trying to keep people out?

[He looks at the fish again. It feels unwise to let it out of his sight for too long.]

[fishfearme]

No. It's to welcome them.

[After all, weren't the big, vacant eyes and gaping mouth just cute? Of course it would lure in passerbys to admire this adorable fish up close! At the very least, it would fill them with a sense of happiness before they knocked on his door - that was what he thought, anyways (he was delusional).]

I chose it because of its inherent cuteness. The rounded edges, the big eyes, the non-threatening expression... who can resist that?

[Everyone, Byleth.]

OLD SPRINGSTAR / KOWLOON

[ghostmoder]

i → uptown

[Yusuke is easiest to find prowling around Old Springstar, where the vibes are the most tolerable and the culture is the most entertaining. He's looser here, and more friendly with the locals without all the simpering pressure of Highstorm.

Today that manifests in a cheerful argument with the owner of a food stall, Yusuke bent enthusastically over his half-cleared plate.]

Look, it's your call if you wanna leave money on the table. I'm just saying, crank the heat up and you'll get all these idiots lined up around the block. Anything less is a waste of good greens.

ii → downtown

[The deeper Below he goes, though, the sharper and broader his body language becomes. He's not worried about his ability to handle himself, but he knows very well how much a reputation can carry you in a place like this, and how he's starting from zero to build one up around here.

He's mostly interested in the pop-ups today, and the snatches of more advanced ("""advanced""") technology he can get at without having to bother with Skysong and all its bullshit. He keeps to himself, moving in between shopfronts— unless he feels eyes on him, at which point he'll return the stare head-on.]

Got a problem?

DOWNTOWN

[zauneyete]

[ It's hard to miss new bearers, with his true sight able to pick out different shard bearers and which faction they've signed their fates to. Silco cannot help but use it whenever he sees new faces. Of course, sometimes it is nothing — especially after the repose, it is difficult to not encounter new faces — but Silco still checks the new ones time and time again.

Which is how Yusuke catches him staring from one of the other little pop up, a small shop with an array of illicit substances, though he doesn't seem to be purchasing for himself. Instead, it's a much more casual affair, the short, reedy man leaning against a counter, chatting up with some measure of charm, though his half-unblinking gaze certainly does flick often enough to Yusuke at the counter next to him.

His lips curl, slightly, over scarred tissue, though the smile isn't... pleasant. Not hostile, either, but Silco was never a pleasant man. ]

A few, but don't we all these days?

[ He waved a hand to one of the muscle, who started to dole out coin to the shopkeeper, the other taking a crate from behind the counter. They were ready to move when Silco was, but he waved a hand, to get them to start moving. He stayed. ]

Especially for new arrivals, I think. Decisions on decisions, and a choice to make. [ A beat. ] Interesting that you've already chosen, though I suppose Zenith looks a touch more welcoming these days, hm?

[ Says the man who personally drove several from Zenith. Oopsie! ]

[ghostmoder]

[literally why are all old people like this!! Can't even just be kind of a bitch to someone without getting a whole bunch of blah blah blah in return.

Silco's picked at a nerve, though. Setting aside how he even knows all this stuff in the first place, Yusuke doesn't like the notion that he's allowed something to get its claws into him quickly or easily. He trusts his own logic, and he knows that to play a long game sometimes you gotta let the other guy get a hit in, but that doesn't mean he wants to take the slug.]

And? What's it to you? [He holds his ground, fists deep in his pockets.] I was supposed to keep sitting on my ass in case some idiot wanted to blow more hot air at me? No thanks.

[There's curiosity, though, in the way he eyes all the satellite activity going on, money and product changing hands. Silco reminds him of the guys he'd see his mom hanging around with sometimes. Not her loser boyfriends, but the severe-looking men in sleek black suits, the same ones who parked their sleek black cars all around his school the day she met with the principal to... convince him to let Yusuke re-enroll.]

[zauneyete]

[ There's the ghost of a smile, like a flash of something knowing, but it's swallowed back down, as if it bursts to life, only to be drowned immediately after it's acknowledged. ]

Hm. Few have conviction enough to make that decision.

[ He states it like it's fact, though it's true. Some do hem and haw, trying on one side or the other until they feel as if it fits, or as if its settled. Silco had not felt such a thing, no. He'd harmonized nearly immediately, and not because of the matron, like amos, but because of something else.

Revenge, mostly, but he knows that is an ill-fitting suit to most, and even he can bite his tongue from time to time. ]

Didn't like the way the topsiders went on and on about bringing things back, I take it? You're not wrong, of course. They can hardly see their own futures, blinded by the light of Meridian, to see that they are being foolish.

[ Fooled, perhaps, he thinks. There's only one path forward, and what good could bringing back the dead do? ]

busts into downtown

[damnpire]

[The farther Downtown D goes, the closer he shifts toward Zenith land, the more he fits in little by little. Here, he doesn't really stick out much at all except to those who may know who he is, who may know he is, in fact, a glimmering Meridian.

He has finally cut his hair from its ridiculous post-Repose length, but it still falls in dark waves to his back. The get-up screams edgy fantasy Western. Why is this guy standing around in D&D pauldrons and a long cape, slapped over with black leather from neck to toes, and carrying a long sword on his back? The hat, too? Absurd.

The face looking back at Yusuke beneath the brim of the hat doesn't match the aesthetics of the attire, though. Physically, he doesn't look much older than Yusuke, maybe no more than seventeen or eighteen, and there is this incredibly unnatural beauty about him. Like Kurama, in a way. Unnerving in the perfection. For what it's worth, he does not seem to have any shame in keeping Yusuke's gaze, though there isn't any intimidation on his part.]

No. You're new.

lfggggggg

[ghostmoder]

[The dissonance itself is its own kind of intimidation. Who looms like that, dressed like that, down here, and isn't intending to throw their weight around? Someone who doesn't need to; that's the only conclusion Yusuke can come up with, anyway.

He does a quick scan beyond D and his big hat to check for anyone else that might be tagging along, coming from any other potential angle, but... nothing. It does just seem to be this one, weird guy.]

Yeah. So what? [He turns to face D more fully. In his mind, especially down here, uncertainty is a threat until proven otherwise.] You're a little late. We already had the parties and everything.

[damnpire]

[For once, it's just him. This sounds ominous; however, the thing usually behind him sometimes if not another person, but a giant cybernetic horse. To complete the ridiculous vampire hunter look.]

I didn't go this time.

[Which would be strange if not for the fact so many of them woke up from a hundred year sleep. Celebratory parties just happened to not be on his list immediately.]

Did you decide? Which side to join.

@ FRIEREN

[ghostmoder]

[Yusuke doesn't ordinarily spend much time in the shared accommodations for new Zenith Shard-Bearers; it gives him the heebie jeebies. But he doesn't have anywhere else to go for the foreseeable future, so for now it's a place to sleep at night ("""night"""), and to leave in the morning ("""morning""").

Except today, apparently. Today he's here playing with a candle.

Well, he's not playing with it, because that would imply he's having fun with whatever he's doing. He is very clearly not having any fun at all, instead getting progressively more frustrated as he goes along.]

Damn it, what was the—? [There's a somatic component to this spell that he's clearly forgotten. He tries a couple of random gestures— until the flame finally reacts, shrinking on its wick. Rather than seem encouraged, though, he glares down at his palms.] Okay, well. That's something. Now how do I make it less stupid and useless?

[He might be here a while.]

[spellcollect]

[ Frieren, on the other hand, simply hasn't seen a reason to move out just yet. So she's been hanging around the shared accommodations for the last few weeks as she adjusts to her new situation and tries to figure out what her next angle is going to be. There's a lot of information out there and a lot of moving parts. She'll need to make sure of herself.

Today she's going through some notes she took during her last foray to the Tomes, but her attention has been drawn by the flickering of a candle. For a few minutes she mostly ignores it - but then he gets her attention again. She regards him curiously and then, after a long few moments, stands and walks over. She's silent still and then: ]

What are you hoping to achieve?

[ Genuine, if muted, curiosity. ]

[ghostmoder]

[He doesn't even look up at her, resigned to his fate of embarrassing himself in public.]

It's supposed to go out.

[It's supposed to be able to do a few other things too, but he's sort of given up on those at this point. He seems to have narrowed down the range of gestures that activate the somatic component, at least. He moves his hands again, and the flame shrinks again; he's able to hold the smaller flame this time, apparently, but it doesn't extinguish.]

This is so stupid. I might as well just blow it out for all the good it's doing me.

[spellcollect]

I see.

[ She regards him for a long moment and then crouches next to him, the twin tails of her hair flowing down her back as she eyes the candle. ]

Most magic I'm familiar with uses a verbal component - with some gestures from a staff or other instrument to help focus it.

[ She glances at him. ]

Are you familiar with magic of any kind?

@ AMOS

[ghostmoder]

[Things are getting rowdy at Benny's again.

Maybe he's regressing a little. Maybe he's better than this; maybe he's been better than this for a while now. Maybe Genkai would tear him a new one, or Keiko would be disappointed in him. But they're not here, and he is, and he's trying, okay. He can blow off some steam if he wants to.

He's shouting back over his shoulder into the diner as he slams the door open, spilling noise and the cheerful aroma of maple syrup out onto the street with him.]

Yeah, yeah. I'm doing you a favor, buddy! Take one more step and you'll be eating that steak through a straw.

[This is, apparently, enough of a deterrent to whoever's inside. Yusuke lets the door rattle shut behind him, and wanders a few more steps down the sidewalk, grumbling. He's preoccupied with fishing in his pockets for his stupid old timey cigarettes and the stupid old timey matchbook he has to use to light them.]

That's what I thought. [He fumbles a little with the match when he finds it, hands clumsy from the beer or two still working their way through his system, but manages to get a light.] Idiots.

[baltimores]

[ There's really nothing like some good late-night food, no matter the time of day. Amos had been obliviously cheerfully heading up to get his fill, with even the sounds of shouting doing nothing to dissuade him. Yeah, it's Benny's; that happens sometimes.

What he does not expect to see, though, is someone so obviously young on at least one end of it. In hindsight, the voice shouting had been a bit younger, but actually seeing the kid it belongs to is what has him making the connection.

And just like that the promise of greasy, filling food fades into the background, because he's got a one-track mind when it comes to kids, and suddenly Yusuke is his only real priority. ]

Hey. [ Amos' voice is soft, like he doesn't want to startle the kid. He's got a hand briefly raised in greeting as he approaches him lighting up his cigarette, and... yeah, he recognizes those signs of impairment, but. Whatever. This is all just kid behaviour, right? Not like he didn't do similar at his age. ] You okay?

[ A glance at the diner's now-shut entrance door, eyes slightly narrowed as he looks in through the window — not that he sees anyone in particular in there, but. ]

Someone in there need some taking care of?

[ Because Yusuke is a kid, so whatever this is, he's probably in the right?? Right. ]

[ghostmoder]

[Yusuke does not startle. He tilts his head toward Amos when he's addressed, like he already knew Amos was approaching and had been ignoring it up until this point. Even impaired, physically or mentally or whatever he's got going on at the moment, even if a fight never actually got off the ground, he's still in fighting mode. Knowing where people are in his general space is one of the first things he learned how to do.

He rolls his eyes. Is he "okay"? He's fine. Clearly.]

If something needed taking care of, I would've taken care of it.

[It has an edge of a sneer in it; there are a lot of people older than him and bigger than him who've regretted judging him "just a kid". In truth, this is his version of de-escalation. With his powers back, he knows he hits harder than most ordinary people can stomach, and he doesn't actually need to get banned from the one place he likes in Highstorm.]

Leave it alone.

[baltimores]

Alright.

[ He gets it, what it's like when the adrenaline doesn't go down, when you still need to be hyper-vigilant — when you still need to punch something, maybe? Or maybe that's just a him problem; he isn't entirely sure how relatable Yusuke's sneer is to him. Just that it's relatable enough — and so Amos' own version of deescalation, a placid and easy agreement.

Yusuke can handle himself. Or at least thinks he can. However, that doesn't mean Amos is inclined to go anywhere. His shoulders slump, relaxed; he tilts his head as he watches him, looking for all the world like an idiot who is just not going to move. ]

Are you okay, though?

[ Leave it alone, Yusuke had said. Not leave him alone, so that's as good an invitation as any. ]