maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

WHO: Sakuma & Open
WHERE: Heropa and Nonah
WHEN: All of April (except the 1st)
WHAT: Catch-all for the month
WARNINGS: TBD
NOTES: Brackets or prose, I'll match whatever you prefer. Closed starters in comments. Open prompts below the cut. Don't see a prompt that works for you? Feel free to write your own or hit me up so we can plot something specific together!

a. AFTER SCHOOL IS OVER
LATE AFTERNOON & EARLY EVENING DURING THE WEEK IN NONAH

[The irony of being exPorted for the entire duration of 'April Fool's Day' hadn't eluded Sakuma, but to say he found any amusement at all in the timing would have been a gross miscalculation of his patience. He recognized that he was fortunate not to have been absent any longer than he already was, and that he was more fortunate still to have made his way back to his friends' sides at all, but knowing the undue stress his disappearance would have caused both Kidou and Genda...

Well, he didn't feel very lucky. Instead, even though there was nothing he could do to change the past and there'd been no way he could have stopped the Porter from playing its tricks, he felt guilty. Like, somehow, he'd let down the two people who mattered most to him here in this world or even back home. They didn't see it that way, of course. Neither one would have ever blamed him for something that only the AI in the Porter could control, but it was a weight Sakuma nevertheless carried around with him the entire first day back. And yet, that same weight allowed him to appreciate the silver linings that miraculously still existed.

Having been Ported out on the weekend, he was given plenty of time to mentally readjust so that, by the time Monday rolled back around, he was no longer distracted at school and seemed, outwardly at least, as if everything was fine.

Which wasn't to say that his disappearance hadn't changed anything, because it had, but it was surprising to him that none of the ways that things were different were actually bad. They were simply...ways that he had to get used to, which seemed a common enough experience among imPorts, and one they each had to come to terms with on their own. And his method of accomplishing that was to keep busy and find ways to be productive in his spare time.

When he wasn't at school, working, or practicing his soccer, he had a brand new ability to get a handle on, and he couldn't think of a more discreet way to practice using it, or a better time, than on his way to the Porter in Nonah after school had finally let out.

He was cautious as he followed different people around, focused on keeping his distance and testing his range — perhaps even too focused. For he seemed almost to have forgotten that as an imPort, and as someone who's appearance wasn't 'ordinary' by any means, he still stood out more than he would have liked...]

b. SHOOT FOR YOUR GOALS
THROUGHOUT THE WEEK AND BEFORE DARK AROUND HEROPA

[For all the ways in which this world was awful, one of the most glaring and intolerable was its idea of soccer. The sport, insofar as Sakuma knew it, was teeming with life and energy, and while the soccer that people played here wasn't dead, it also wasn't alive in the same way, either. He was able to play with his peers at school, but he was constantly reminded of the differences in the levels of their abilities.

He had to be mindful of the strength of his kicks and, perhaps worst of all, he couldn't even use any hissatsu. The advantage his techniques would give him wouldn't be fair to the other players, for one. And for another, he didn't want to endanger anybody or ruin what fun everyone else found in such a simple activity.

Being forced to hold back wasn't simple, however. Especially when Sakuma remembered that he'd been about to take on the world with his team in the FFI tournament. Curricular soccer wasn't just a huge step down from that, it was a gigantic plummet into a pit that seemed bottomless, and not one he was convinced there was a way out of, either. At least, not as long as he remained here in this world. So few people from home were here, not even enough to make up half a team. But, depressing as that was, it wasn't any reason to let himself wither. Being unable to play his soccer at school didn't mean he couldn't play at all, or that he couldn't practice. And after the invasion of anachronisms last month, Sakuma realized now more than ever how important it would be to keep his skills sharp.

There were plenty of places to practice around Heropa, especially with its weather so much warmer than Nonah's had ever been. And so, when Sakuma couldn't be found in his own backyard at Heropa 032, he'd take to the park or to empty parking lots behind large plazas to practice individual skill and control, kicking around a ball summoned by a sound most people wouldn't ever expect to hear in the heart of Florida.]

c. OUT OF THE CONCRETE JUNGLE AND INTO THE ZOO
ANYTIME DURING THE DAY ON THE WEEKEND IN EITHER HEROPA OR NONAH

[Every now and again Sakuma behaved the way a teenage boy was expected, and while he never completely forgot about the things that worried him, he found it easier to give himself a temporary reprieve from worldly concerns when he visited the zoo. There, surrounded more by animals than people, or at least capable of tuning out the human ambiance, he seemed infinitely more at ease.

Unsurprisingly, he spent most of his time watching the penguins either from the indoor viewing area where their underwater antics could be watched more closely, or from a platform outside that allowed spectators to better take in the whole of the group as they waddled around or slid about on their bellies. When he wasn't there, however, he could be found observing any number of the sea life performances, contentedly watching puffins swim, polar bears play, or seeing precisely why everyone was making such a big fuss over watching animated movies on the new 4D theater.

He absolutely could not be found browsing through everything penguin that filled the souvenir shop, from mugs to postcards, key chains to hats, and t-shirts to plush stuffed animals.

...except he could totally be found there, quietly pondering to himself how much or how little he could afford to buy. At least, when he thought nobody he knew might be looking!]

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[This particular park in Heropa, especially in the afternoon, tends to get a little crowded. In particular, it gets crowded with a very little party -- that is to say, it's the practice grounds for a local junior soccer league, a gaggle of children ranging between the ages of six and eleven running onto the grass and congregating around a few adults, one of whom is obviously an imPort, to anyone who's come to notice the signs, by the shock of bright blue hair crowning her head.

It's that same blue-haired woman who steers the children out of Sakuma's way most of the week, giving him a slight bow of acknowledgement should their eyes meet, making the effort to give the boy enough room to play as he wishes without putting anybody in harm's way.

However, by the end of the week, the little kids have waited enough. They want to see that soccer up close, and it's in the early afternoon of Friday that some of them break off from the group during a rest period, standing at the edge of the field Sakuma is at and admiring. When Reina, the blue-haired woman (one of their coaches) approaches to get them back to the herd, one of the younger ones points in Sakuma's direction and pipes up cheerfully and loudly,]

Coach! Do you know him? He kicks the ball almost just like you, you know? It lights up and make big noises and everything -- just like you and the other guys' hiss-hiss-- hissatwos!

[All week long Sakuma has wrestled with whether or not to introduce himself to the two coaches and their juniors who have been sharing the field with (and staring at) him, and all week long he has opted instead to keep to himself. The less he interferes with their practices, the better it is for everyone, especially when the girl with the blue hair has gone to great lengths to keep the younger and more easily distracted children from wandering too near. And, much to Sakuma's satisfaction, she's been successful, too.

That is, until Friday, when he finds that several of those children have finally gotten away from her. They hug the sidelines nearest the strip he's chosen to occupy for his own practice, well-behaved and quiet while he runs through various individual drills and, against the sturdy trunk of a nearby tree, even practices his shoots.

However, when the children pipe up at her approach and he hears that familiar word, Sakuma makes a quick connection. She must be Aliea's Ulvida...the one Kidou told him about. He hadn't recognized her at first as anything more than another imPort, but why should he have? They've never crossed paths before now and, as far as he can recall, she hasn't even appeared on the network since he arrived. Of course, with so much going on, he hasn't really had the time or presence of mind to look for her, either. But her age (unless his guess is wrong) looks to be about accurate, and Kidou would have told him if there were other people from their world here who could use hissatsu.

Bringing his ball to a halt at his feet, Sakuma makes eye-contact with her...only to realize that he's not even sure what he should say, much less what he should call her. He doesn't know her real name, and Kidou had used Ulvida — but was that the name her juniors knew her by? He hesitates to say anything at all to keep from saying the wrong thing or giving the younger kids any reason to distrust her.]

[The name the kids do call her by, as they continue to chat eagerly at her, is "Vida." It was a shorter and sweeter nickname to her already-fake alias, and easy to pronounce and easy to spell. Her true name was something she'd yet to give away and had no intention of doing so with. She responds with a small smile to the children, answering them that she didn't, but it was likely others with the same power had arrived as well.

Which, as far as she was concerned, was possible. She didn't recognize this boy, but there were plenty of people in the world outside the Sun Garden, and it would only make sense that the chances of her meeting strangers was higher than someone she knew showing up. This must be a friend of Kidou's, or even Endou's -- although the latter is no longer here -- and when she looks up from the children and her eyes meet his one, she simply bows her head politely, knowing there's no immediate reason for her to be hostile at all.]

I'm sorry if they interrupted you. I've been watching you practice during the week... it is true that you seem to know hissatsu.

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