(open) You're so quiet

[silentmagician]

Who: Yugi + O P E N (+ closed prompts as they come into existence...)
What: Catch-all, some general exploration for now
Where: Various locations
When: Around the first weeks of March-ish
Content Warnings: N/A for now, but will update if anything pops up



[Open top-level prompts below unless otherwise specified! Feel free to PM or catch me on keihatsu for a specific prompt]!

Comments

@ arcade (MARKETzone)

[silentmagician]

[Of course the MARKETzone would be eye-catching enough for Yugi to take a peek inside. So, he does, taking in the delicious and familiar smells from the food stands and the dilapidated look of the storefronts and just... meandering.

It's no surprise that he is drawn to the arcade. He loves all games. That's why it's such a tease when he realizes that, after trying a good number of them, none of them seem to be turning on.]

Are they really all broken...? What's the point in that?

[No sign of a cat-potato hybrid one just yet either.]

i'm not sure if we're keeping the TDM canon so have an in between sort of thing! 8D

[menaretrash]

[ It's been a bit of a trying few... hours? Hours. She'll go with that. She hasn't been able to find her friends anywhere, and she's pretty sure she's checked the entirety of this place up and down like six times. Well. Except for the arcade -- she hasn't seen any of them really hang out here, but you never know. It's the main reason, at least, why Ann has made her way here, and just in time to both see and hear poor Yugi. ]

Mm, I don't really come here often other than with Seto to help him move stuff, but I've noticed that if there's a storm, electronics have a better chance of working. So maybe if we have a thunderstorm, they'll work!

[ It's a temporary distraction, at least, from her fruitless search. ]

Actually, Seto and I moved some to his apartment so he could take a look at them and see if he couldn't fix them. He's pretty good with this kinda thing, so maybe he can figure it out.

i'm good either way! let's say yes so that cookie wager assistance is still viable??

[silentmagician]

[Yugi turns to look at Ann, offering a little wave in acknowledgement before speaking.]

Hey! Is that right? I'll have to try another time then. The weather looks pretty clear right now...

[But he's quickly learned that doesn't really mean anything when it comes to forecasting the next bit of weather.]

If he does manage to fix any, I'll have to ask nicely if he'll share. Is that why you're here? To scout out some more?

That sounds like a plan~

[menaretrash]

[ It's good to see him settling in, at least; this place is A Lot™ and it's good that he's further exploring his surroundings and getting to know the ever changing landscape a little better. ]

Hey there, it's good to see you again! Yeah, thunder storms kinda come and go at random. The weather here is kinda... bizarre. When I first got here, it was wind that seemed to be the most prevalent. Wind and snow. I can't tell you how many times I got blown over like a tree.

[ More times than she can count, and it wasn't a pretty sight... ]

I'm sure he will! Actually, one of my friends has a pretty retro gaming console that kinda just appeared from home not too long ago. I'm sure he'd let you check it out! [ You know, if she could find Ren long enough to introduce him to Yugi. She just sort of laughs wearily and shakes her head, trying not to let her expression fall too much. ] Sort of. I'm actually on the lookout for the aforementioned friend and like, three others. They haven't really... been around.

[silentmagician]

[This place sure is A Lot^TM. But Yugi seems to be none the worse for wear so far. He does get a bit of a far away look when she mentions the weather though.]

Yeah... yeah, the snow and I haven't been great friends so far. I had to get rescued a couple times. But everything else has been okay.

[The joys of being five foot nada with little meat on his bones. Go figure.

He looks pretty excited about the console for about two seconds, before Ann mentions that she's looking for her friends. Friends come first.] I haven't seen or heard anyone around since I got here. Have you looked through the rest of the market yet?

[menaretrash]

[ If that's not the face of someone having a war flashback, she's not sure what is... ]

Originally, I'm from Finland. I really used to like the snow until coming here.

[ Y'know, what with the reindeer and Christmas Village and all that other Finlandish shit that they have. There aren't any friendly reindeer or jolly people dressed up as Santa in an adorable, year round decorated village here, though. Just really shittacular weather. ]

I have. I've searched everywhere twice, I think... I think maybe they aren't here anymore. Two of my friends disappeared for a few weeks before and came back, so, I'm not entirely sure if this is the case too, but this time they're all gone. I'm gonna try to keep looking, though, but this feels different. I don't think they're coming back this time.

[silentmagician]

Used to, huh? Guess even there the snow from this place would seem pretty bad.

[War flashbacks intensify. Except not really. They'll both be okay to face the snow here another day. Maybe. Or at least watch it from indoors with a warm drink.]

You mentioned that before... [That some of her friends had went home for a while. It didn't sound promising if she had looked everywhere and there was more than one that she couldn't find now. But, ever the optimist:] It doesn't hurt to look though, right? Just to make sure. What do they look like? I'll keep an eye out for them. Two sets of eyes are better than one.

[menaretrash]

Did Seto tell you about the time we all got snowed in at this weirdo party the Void randomly decided to throw? Everything froze up so fast we got trapped inside.

[ That. That was a uh, challenging experience. She likes parties, and she likes hanging out with her friends. But there's only so much social time this former loner can take, and add that with getting iced in? No. Never again. ]

Even if they went home, they're desperately needed there, so it's not... really a bad thing, you know? [ That's assuming they went home and aren't, y'know. Dead. But she doesn't think so. Well. Akechi doesn't count. ] That's really sweet of you, thanks! Ren's tall, scruffy black hair with glasses, super friendly, and his boyfriend's name is Goro Akechi. He's about the same height as Ren but he's a lot less scruffy and he's got light brown hair. [ And is a total fuckin fake but deets-- ] Haru is a little shorter than me, she's got really curly short brown hair and she's super elegant! Yoshizawa-san is also just a little shorter than me with long red hair that she always keeps up with a ribbon.

[forwearemany]

(Legion currently can't walk very well due to an injured leg, but that hasn't stopped them from making their way to the MARKETzone to see about playing some videogames.

They've actually become somewhat okay at judging which games are likely to actually work, so they've found a stool and are sitting at and playing some sort of strange running game. They don't seem to have noticed anyone is there, though they themselves are likely to be quite noticeable, both visually in that they are a large robot, and aurally in that they're one of the only sources of electronic noise.)

^^ same comment as with ann, i'm down with keeping the tdm canon if you are?

[silentmagician]

[Fantastic. It's great to see he's not the only one looking for a game-- and someone had found a working one at that. Some people (or robots) had all the luck.

Unsurprisingly, Yugi follows the sound of gaming and electronic noises and fun to its source.]

Hey there! I didn't realize anyone else was here. Or that anything was working.

[The comment doesn't come until there is a very clear pause or lull in the game so he doesn't interrupt. Games are serious business.]

That works, it'll have to be a little fuzzy cause of weird timing, but it works.

[forwearemany]

(Games are, in fact, serious business, and Legion appreciates not having to scramble to reach a stopping point or losing due to distraction.

The very clear pause will come once they've finished running the current course, at which point it should become very clear that this is a weird game. It seems the goal of running was to collect materials to craft items with? At least, a list saying what they've earned has popped up, and it all looks like the kind of stuff you'd use for crafting in a videogame.)

Mutou-Yugi. Greetings. Working arcade games are limited.

[silentmagician]

I've... noticed. But it's good that at least one of them works now. I was starting to have my doubts.

[And, yes, this is a weird game. But it's a game nonetheless and as far as he's aware lives aren't on the line for it so - it's a good (weird) game that he was fully invested in watching Legion play before they paused.]

Do you know what you're supposed to make with those items?

[forwearemany]

All working games feature this character.

(They indicate the player character, a ... potato ... cat? Like the game, it seems to be the sort of bizarre mashup an inadequately trained neural network might spit out.)

Affirmative.

(They press a button and open up a list. Looks like there's a bunch of randomly generated crafting goals. Looks like they've also met the requirements to make the next item!)

[silentmagician]

Huh. Strange, but maybe it's just a mascot character. It's... kind of cute?

[He really has no room to judge, some of his go-to characters are weird.]

Oh! It's like crafting and... hm. Not really sure what the point of those goals are. Collecting them could just be the win conditions. Or maybe you need them to get to the boss? If there even is a boss...

[But! He wants to see the next item!! Please let the poor game-obsessed boy see...]

Do you mind if I watch for a bit? No backseat gaming, I promise.

[forwearemany]

Perhaps.

(They don't remark on the cuteness--that's a concept they don't fully understand.)

We are uncertain if this world understands the concept of win conditions.

(They speak as though it is alive, because that is what they have come to believe.)

We do not mind. (Their headflaps ripple.) Suggestion: we could take turns?

[starshower]

[Tifa has been spending more and more time in Wall Market lately, much more than usual, hardly ever venturing up to the surface to see anyone. It's rare that she's in much of a mood to talk when someone does wander down, either for food or just passing by, but when she sees an unfamiliar face, she's taken an interest, watching from behind the stall counter as he examines the arcade games lining the walls of the shop across the way.

She's in the middle of wiping an already-dry glass when he speaks, and she greets him back with a smile.]

Could ask the same thing about a lot of the stuff here.

[Like the library inside a gas station.]

You a fan of arcade games?

[silentmagician]

[Yugi gives a good-natured laugh at the response to the stranger. Fair enough. There was a lot that was strange with this place in general, and it seemed like he was finding more and more of that patent strangeness every time he ventured out a little further.]

I guess that's true. Kind of disappointing though, since the whole point of a game is to be played.

[The people, however, he has found to be nice and their kindness so far has not been strange in the least. So he isn't wary at all in his responses.]

Arcade games are fun, but any kind of game would be a bonus in my book. Honestly, I'm not too picky.

[starshower]

That's true.

[Arcade games are meant to be played. What's the point in them even being here if they can hardly be used? Not that there's a shortage to do in the MARKETzone, but it might draw people down if they had more to do.]

Try coming down next time there's a storm. See if you can beat my high score.

[silentmagician]

So they do work. There was just a trick to them. That's kind of fun, actually.

[Not as fun as a game, but-- well, that problem has been fixed. And Yugi looks pleased as punch about it.]

You're on. What name should I look for on the leaderboard?

[starshower]

Tifa. Thought about maybe using a neat nickname instead, but it didn't have the same ring to it.

[She comes out from around the counter, having finished up what she was doing, and slumps onto one of the booth stools instead, kicking her feet against its legs.]

So, what name'll replace mine on the leaderboards?

[Honestly, she's been able to hone her skills, having practically lived down in the area for a while now, but it's far from being the highest score.]

[silentmagician]

Yugi. Guess we'll both be going by our real names then. There's something nice about seeing them up there.

[Alas, the games don't work right now, but the next best thing is talking to someone. So, when Tifa comes from behind the counter, Yugi abandons the games from across the way to approach, eyeing up the stall.]

Fair warning - I play to have fun, but also to win.

[Rather - he plays to have fun, but has a pretty good track record for winning...]

[metachrosis]

Tried walking around lately? I question the point of everything in this place.

[Espio - a young man with a mishmash of draconic features including tail, wings and horns - only vaguely caught the teen talking to himself as he wandered by, but he can’t help but comment. He stops for a moment, giving the lad a quick once over as he wonders if he’s seen him before.

No, he doesn’t think he has. He must be new here, then... well, Espio’s not up to anything important, so he might as well stop to chat a little.]

...you’re a new face.

[silentmagician]

That's actually what I'm doing right now, to be honest. Walking around seems to be the best way to figure out what's worth questioning and what's not.

[Which answer's Espio's question (statement?) pretty well. Yugi looks over his shoulder and shrugs good-naturedly at the comment. He's seen enough of the other residents in this place at this point to not be completely taken aback by Espio's appearance, but he does take it in curiously. It isn't anything like anyone else that he's seen -- not to mention... dragons (and draconic features) are pretty cool to most teenagers in his world.

It's obvious that he's new now, but he answers anyway, giving a friendly smile.]

You caught me. I'm Yugi Mutou, it's nice to meet you.

[metachrosis]

Espio.

[He's not a smiley sort, so he just offers Yugi a casual shrug.]

Welcome to the Void, I guess. Weird place, but not terrible... just got a different idea of normal. You get used to it.

[silentmagician]

[Who needs a smile? Line-facers are just as welcome. Yugi is affable to everyone.]

Getting used to it isn't exactly what I want to do, but taking it in stride and making the best of it isn't a bad idea at all. At least for now.