text + video

[tenminutes]

[ First of course, is text to get everyone's attention.. ]

ATTENTION DUCKS!

[ Then it switches to video. ]
Yurippe here!

[ She waves, smiling. She's actually in her desk in the prinipal's office/SSS headquarters right now, not in Rokkenjima. Mostly because rain as background noise makes this less exciting. She points at the screen dramatically. ]

Next month, I want to host an event that will put to the test all fighting styles and determine who on the community is truly the strongest! Consider this a challenge, fighters. There will be two divisions, one for physical strength and one for super-human talents. You can enter either division as long as you follow the rules set out for each one, which I'll announce at another time.

For now, I need a few things to get this started: [ Yuri holds up one finger before her. ]

One! Multiple arenas. If your world has a unique, deserted area that you think would provide an excellent and challenging course for a fight to occur that won't get us arrested, volunteer here. [ Yuri lowers her finger, putting her hand off to the side. ] For one of the more dangerous courses, I'll be activating Guild's traps and Guild territory will act as a field. I'm looking for more than one field though, so just because someone has suggested one, it doesn't mean you can't.

[ A second finger up! ]

Two! Refreshments. There'll probably be an audience right? So there needs to be drinks and snacks. I'm not asking for full course meals or anything, but definitely things like popcorn and meat buns and.. hot dogs on a stick. You know, sporting event food.

Three! Prize sponsors! I've already got a couple of ideas, but clearly the grand prize should be something ridiculously awesome. If you're the most powerful in more than one universe, you deserve it.

Four is Equipment. A camera crew would be nice for the people who don't want to get worldhopped around to the different fighting arenas but still want to watch, but I'm sure we can work something out with our community devices for that. If someone could get some bleachers for stadium seating for an audience, that'd be great. I've got projectors and lots of other equipment left over from the SSS for a lot of other things I'll need, but those sorts of things are definitely needed.

Last but definitely not least! Five! [ A sweet smile and Yuri excitedly leans forward, then back in her nice big chair. ] Volunteers! Brave ones too. If you're going to be refereeing fights, I can guarantee some people aren't going to be holding back so you're going to definitely have to have guts. Possibly immortality. I'll be there since it's not like I can die again, but I'll need eyes in multiple places to keep track of things and people to hand out refreshments. Oh! And on-site medics. Don't want anyone dying, obviously.

That's it, other than that I think I can work out things like that. If you think you'd be interested in fighting, don't volunteer yet. I'll post a sign up later once we get more things together and come up with a roster. It'll probably be sometime mid-February so we've got plenty of time to prepare. Questions?

Comments

locked; > action?

[tenminutes]

[ Oi, they're in the same world. Yuri's just going to sign off and come find her then. This isn't something to be talking about where hackers are around and she knows Battler's practically a psychopath siscon when it comes to Ange, who knows if he'd try to hire one after this conversation got cut off right after Yuri mentioned Ange's first kiss..

So naturally, Ange's bedroom is the first place she'll check. ]

Ange?

action!

[entreats]

[ But the problem is that she's pretty sure she won't be able to say it in person!! It's why she didn't realise those other risks, but at the same time, she didn't think that Yuri would come and seek her out either. It's why she actually looks surprised when she sees the other girl entering the room. ]

Y-.. Yuri! [ Oh god, this makes it all even more awkward, doesn't it? ] With that I didn't mean "come over", you know..!

action!

[tenminutes]

[ Not to Yuri it doesn't. ]

Your brother's all kinds of crazy, he'd probably hire a hacker to get into that thread where it left off. Anyway, this is the kind of thing that should be talked about personally right?

[ She told Ange when she started kissing someone in person. ]

[entreats]

[ 'It's much more difficult to talk about personally though'. It's what she wants to say, but that exact fact - that Yuri told her too - keeps her from saying it. She needs to be open about it, even if it still hurts like hell to just think of it. ]

.. There's nothing to really talk about. It just.. happened, I was being stupid, that's the end of it.

[tenminutes]

So you kissed him and... that's the end of it? Did you run or something? [ She can see Ange realizing what she did and running off out of embarrassment, somehow. ]

[entreats]

I did run off. [ But that was only in the end, at that time she didn't even realise what she was doing.. ]

But that was since.. [ .. well, it's easier to rip the bandaid off quickly, right? ] .. he rejected me.

[ She looks away from Yuri as she says it, as if it's too difficult to say while facing someone. Her tone is pretty forced. ]

[tenminutes]

[ Yuri reaches over a second after Ange looks away, then pulls her closer. Since getting over her problems, she hasn't had as much of a problem with touching other people or getting close. Comforting someone though.. that was something she got better at before then. Even if Ange doesn't ask for it, she's going to get a hug.

She's not going to say anything just yet. ]

[entreats]

[ Normally she might tsun or reject it. Right now she doesn't, mostly since thinking about it makes her feel more and more hopeless once again, rendering her unable to even act, and then there's the fact that it's Yuri hugging her - it's less tsun-worthy in general then. They're like sisters.

But she half-slumps into the hug either way, as if that's her way of accepting it while she's like this. That, and opting to let the silence linger, her eyes half-closed. ]

[tenminutes]

[ Yuri was going to stop after a second, but with Ange slumping she decides to just stick with the hugging. Ange falling on the bed would not be very kosher. ]

I think I must've rejected your brother a hundred times before he just ignored me and kissed me anyway, claiming it was so I wouldn't get my first kiss stolen during some virus. It's probably the destiny of Ushiromiyas to pick difficult targets, so don't you dare give up.

[entreats]

... Onii-chan and I are different though. [ It's little more than a tiny mumble, but Yuri should be able to hear it since they're this close right now either way. ]

And.. that and this are different too. [ She probably means Yuri(ppe) and Battler on one hand and Yuri and herself on the other.. ] Even if I wouldn't give up, he still wouldn't accept. I'd.. just be a bother.

[tenminutes]

So? If he likes you even a little bit while you're being a bother, then it won't matter. You realize I almost kicked Battler off of a building once? Before he was a sorcerer. I had to save him after nearly killing him he was annoying me so much. I'm not telling you to ask him out every time you see him or be obnoxious about it, just...

[ No, she's got an idea. That'd be a bad thing to do if he really wasn't interested. Yuri herself wasn't originally, but that was more.. because she didn't want anything to do with any relationships. Her relationship experience with Battler is basically the only she's got, so she usually just goes straight to that but... thinking about it, theirs was kind of weir. ]

Do you still want to be friends with him, even if you can't be together like that?

[entreats]

[ It's not like she worries Yuri (the guy one) is going to kick her off a building or anything?! Besides, that's a very Yurippe kind of thing to do, picking the violent way out.. but the last question instead takes up all her attention, especially since it's difficult to just plainly answer it. ]

... Yeah. [ .. ] Well, I mean.. it'd be awkward. [ Since she definitely likes him. She knows that. And she can't just stop it either. Not that she'll bother him with those feelings, so she'll just keep them to herself, but still.. ] I don't even know how to talk to him anymore now.

[ She's honestly admitting a lot here though that she normally might not have said as easily. But it's Yuri, and she trusts the girl, so.. ]

[tenminutes]

Well, how did you lead up to the kiss?

[ Maybe she can figure something out to excuse what happened.. ]

[entreats]

[ There's a moment where she pulls back enough to be able to look at Yuri, looking almost a little curious, but.. she has a vague idea of what the other girl is hinting at, so she shakes her head a little. ]

I don't want to lie about what happened. Or about my feelings. If anything.. that'll probably make it more awkward, right?

[tenminutes]

You're pretty brave, Ange.

[entreats]

[ ... ]

It doesn't have to do much with being brave or not. I mean, it wouldn't be possible for me to hide the feelings even if someone made up an excuse for it either way.

.. and.. I think he didn't reject me because it was me, or because he didn't like me. [ He did kiss her back. And he looked almost.. sad as he said all of it, right? Like he wishes it could be different too. 'If only'.. isn't that what he said? ] So then it's not as bad.

[ Okay, that last part was definitely a lie. ] I guess.

[tenminutes]

Maybe not, but you could run from them. Not doing that makes you pretty brave.

[ Yuri finally lets go of Ange, facing her now, both hands planted firmly on the bedspread. ]

Of course it's bad. It's absolutely bad. I've seen the sting of rejection a hundred times with at least three different guys even though they knew it wasn't because I didn't care about them. If you have to cry it out, then cry it out. As the absolute queen of bottling things up, you're going to end up bursting at the seams if you don't let something out.

[entreats]

[ It takes a moment to fully straighten herself, and even now she doesn't really look like she usually does. Her usual unflappable look is completely gone, replaced by something a little more defeatist. She's not crying though. ]

I don't have to cry. [ But she'd say that no matter whether she really has to or not. ] It's no use crying over something that's already been established.

[tenminutes]

You accept things the way they are too easily, Ange. You're kind of a dumbass.

[entreats]

[ At least she's too hardened to let something like 'dumbass' get to her by now. ]

He said we couldn't be together. Then why should I still just selfishly force my feelings onto him instead of accept that? It's not going to make him any happier.

[tenminutes]

[ This isn't going to go anywhere, and Yuri knows better than to try to force someone to believe something other than what they already do. At least not without genuine confidence that it'll work. She doesn't know Lowell well enough. ]

Let's go do something!

[entreats]

... Like what?

[ Her suggestion suggests that now - even moreso than usually, yes - she doesn't really feel like doing anything but sitting here and moping over all the events. ]

[tenminutes]

Just come with me!

[ With that, Yuri's standing up and taking Ange by the wrist. That urge to sit there, do nothing but mope.. that's exactly why Yuri wants to get her out. Moping does nothing but make Ange more depressed. ]

[entreats]

[ It's true, it is just what Ange always does - digging her own grave, making herself get more and more unhappy by thinking about the unhappy things so much. It's a habit she's always had, really, so this is only for the best.

Even if she doesn't necessarily seem to agree. Despite being too weak to just not let herself be dragged along passively. ]

So we're just going to run around randomly then.

[tenminutes]

No, I've got a plan, but you're going to argue no matter what it is and say you don't feel like going anywhere right? So you don't get to know.