you're not a judge, but if you're gonna judge me

[resipiscent]

WHO: Riku et cetera
WHERE: All four cities!
WHEN: Duration of the pull point event.
WHAT: Riku tries to figure out these four weird worlds, and tries really hard to avoid Sora. Feel free to use any of these prompts or simply write your own. Hit me up on plurk at guriido_ if you wanna plot something specific!
WARNINGS: None as of yet!



a: 'arrival'

[This wasn't Hollow Bastion.

That was really the only thing he was thinking about when he realized he was somewhere else. This wasn't Hollow Bastion, and Maleficent wasn't here. The relief upon that realization is obvious on his face for a split second before he realizes something else -- he doesn't know where Kairi is. He was supposed to protect her. How could he do that when he'd literally misplaced her? Instantly he's on edge, studying his surroundings for any clue of where to start. First priority is -- he has to find Kairi. Second -- figure out where he is. Though the second thing may come easier than the first. Actually, weirdly, it feels like he should know where he is already. But how can he? He knows he's never... been here. Right?

Riku takes a step from the place he'd found himself standing. It's just a city street, by the looks of it -- he's on the sidewalk, and apparently waiting for the crosswalk to empty of -- weird floating cars. Instead of doing that, though, he turns and heads down the street. Honestly, where does he even start?

As he moves he feels a strange weight in his pocket and reaches into it to find a phone. It's only got one button, and he presses it experimentally. The screen lights up, and so as he walks he stares down at it to figure it out, head down. He's not really looking where he's going -- the street's not that busy. People get out of the way if you just don't make room for them.

So maybe he walks right into you.]

b: heropa

[He's trying to figure out where 'home' is supposed to be. It's been a few hours, and he's starting to figure out some things about this world. Some things.

Riku's found the residential area, and so now he's simply walking up and down the streets, looking at each house in turn and scrutinizing it, then moving on. None of them look familiar. He feels like he should be looking in the -- 30s? Why 30? 30-something, certainly. So he spends the most time there than anywhere else. This weird sense of deja-vu has been helping a little, but not enough. All he knows is that -- someone he likes is living in the house he's looking for. It feels like it should be Sora, but he rejects that idea almost as soon as it crosses his mind. It isn't Sora. Sora is no longer his friend, and so even though the idea of it being him is something that grabs his heart and squeezes it in its fist hard, an idea that he would like if only he didn't feel so hurt -- it's not Sora, because it can't be Sora. And it's not Kairi, because... he's starting to think she's not here.

Standing outside a house, he stares up at the front of it, arms folded. Is this supposed to be it? He can't tell.]

c: other import cities

[He left Heropa.

As soon as he found the house he was looking for -- it took almost the whole day, and so when he finally arrived at the Porter it was after dark -- he'd found that it was Sora. Sora was there. And though he was different -- not how Riku had seen him last, a year behind him, but maybe actually older than him -- though his eyes had widened so much that he could see white all the way around his irises -- Riku had left. Turned on his heel and walked right back out the door. He just couldn't be there. If he stayed -- he'd have to talk to him and, because of the unfamiliarity of this world, work together -- he just couldn't bring himself to stay. He wanted to, on some level. On another he needed to do -- anything else. And so he'd taken the 'anything else' option.

He wanders each of the destinations these weird teleporters allow him access to -- he does, in the end, end up sleeping in a park at least a couple of nights. Not necessarily all in a row. At least some of the places are warm. Not as warm as Heropa (and the similarity to Destiny Islands makes him both want and not want to be there), but not so cold that he was uncomfortable, either. He didn't necessarily mean to sleep outside -- but he has nowhere to go, if he doesn't stay in that house.

Riku can be found in Nonah, Maurtia Falls and De Chima, maybe a couple of days in a row or maybe only for a few hours, though he repeats visits, too -- face set in the frown it's been perpetually stuck in since he left the Islands.]

Comments

b

[flynnnotjunior]

[ A young man in crutches comes out of 36 and pauses to see Riku. ] Uh, hey?[ What are you doing? ]

[resipiscent]

[His eyes leave the facade of the house instantly, meeting this guy's. He realizes he's been standing here for a few minutes and shoves his hands in his pockets, eyes averting as soon as he acknowledges him.]

... Hi.

[flynnnotjunior]

[ Ok, well, he's going to have to do better than that. ] What are you doing? I mean, aside from staring at stuff.

[resipiscent]

Mostly just staring at stuff, [says Riku. He's a little indignant -- this is not working out.] It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going to find anything. [It feels that way, anyway.]

b; pretend i have bitty-Norman icons please. OTL

[manofmanylegends]

[It took quite a bit for Norman to gather his bearings back at home, so he finally steps out of Heropa #035 to investigate the rest of the—

Oh.

Norman stares wide-eyed at the world around him, one completely different from anything he's used to. Yet there's something weirdly familiar about the street, the buildings, the... vehicles, to some extent. All the same, it's also terrifying because he knows he's never seen anything like the world laid out before him.

Seeing someone—another boy like him!—Norman slowly approaches.]

Um. Hello. Do you happen to know anything about this place, by any chance?

LOL pretend I have more bratku icons

[resipiscent]

[He wasn't really expecting anyone to come and talk to him -- but this is two people now who have come up to him on the street out of the blue. What's with these weirdos?]

Not really, [he admits after a moment.] I only just... got here. ["Found myself here", more like, but that's a matter of semantics.] Why?

ok. we can call it even. XD

[manofmanylegends]

Oh. [Norman feels a little disappointed.] I asked because I do not recognize this place at all. It is completely different from anything I have ever seen before.

[Turning to look back and point at Heropa #035, Norman continues,] I found myself in one of the rooms in that building, but I do not know how I arrived here in the first place.

Re: ok. we can call it even. XD

[resipiscent]

Oh, so...

[That means that this boy arrived here in the same manner he did -- simply finding himself in a new place with no recollection of how he got there. Is it just them?]

... in that case, I should say that that's what happened to me, too. Sounds like we're both outworlders, in that case. I... was on a street down there, though, [he adds quietly, frown deepening a little.] I didn't want to say anything in case you were from here. I think we should probably keep it kind of quiet.

b

[rassera]

[Even with everything going on, Kaneda wanted to make sure he kept up his tradition of taking Riku out for food. Tetsuo was occupied with Mayoi for awhile, he'd be okay--and it's not like he didn't trust him with her. That's right--he has to tell Riku about what happened too...

So Heropa it is, a bag of takeout slung in his arm as he walks down the street. He could take his bike, but with his mood on the upswing, he's found a little joy in soaking in the warm weather. His eyes glitter when the sun strikes them, and is gait is as confident as ever.

Imagine his surprise when he happens upon Riku's house--or just outside of it--and seeing a boy standing in front of it, looking quite perplexed at the idea of it. Curiosity piques, and slowly but surely Kaneda walks up to stand by his side.

Silent for a few moments.



Before--]

I think you're supposed to knock.

Re: b

[resipiscent]

[Who even asked you? is what he wants to say. But then it occurs to him that he's just irritable and he takes a moment before he answers for real, staring up silently at the house for a few more seconds. After he feels like he's composed himself, he looks over at this new companion, face very deliberately neutral.

When he does, he feels instantly very strange. Because somehow, when he looks at this person, he knows his name. Just another one for the 'everything is even more weird than normal' pile, he supposes.

There's a moment where he's clearly at a loss for words, gaping stupidly, and then he shuts his mouth and looks back up at the house, arms folding.]

I'm not going to do that. I don't even know if this is the right one.

[rassera]

[Well someone's a little anklebiter, aren't they. You've practically got 'fight me' written across your forehead, kid. And it does nothing to shy Kaneda away from him as they stand outside the door to Riku's house like total creepers. At least HE usually creeped on this house. He's a reoccurring customer!

This kid, though...


....looks oddly familiar.


Time to scope for clues.]

Well, who're you lookin' for? I'm here to see Riku. So...you know, I get first dibs.

[resipiscent]

["I'm here to see Riku." Why? But upon second thought....]

... so maybe this is the place, then.

[After all... if he's here to see him, then this has to be the house he's looking for. Doesn't it?]

If you're here for me, then... this has to be the house I'm supposed to find.

[This guy will know, won't he?]

C

[thelimitdoesnotexist]

[It's been a blur of a couple days of Mewtwo: not for good reasons. His life here has dissolved like a bad dream from the moment he 'awoke' from his creation. Soon came the wave of bad memories and the reasons he hated humanity with a passion.

He responded with the only way he knew how: fighting. It was part of most pokemon, that's what humans assumed anyway. Why try hiding it?

It's in the middle of his challenging spree that he took a break from it, merely floating through the park. It's there he spies something humanlike asleep on a bench.

The pokemon says humanlike for the feeling he gets from this person, like he's met them before. Mewtwo stands over them a good minute before directing a harsh order to their sleeping head.]

< Get up. >

[resipiscent]

[He doesn't hear the thing approach. He doesn't even notice it's there until suddenly there's a voice. Not one spoken out loud -- if he'd been speaking it would have taken Riku a moment to figure out what was said, and to react to it. As it is he jerks upright -- he's not laying down, he's sleeping sitting up, so when he awakens he doesn't quite fall off the bench, though he might have otherwise.

Riku wakes up, finds himself sitting up, and then stares up at the thing in front of him. It's not touching the ground. It's floating in front of him.

If he had never visited Wonderland, he'd think he was going completely nuts by this point. Instead he just frowns at it, folds his arms quietly.]

What?

[He was sleepin' here, pal.]

[thelimitdoesnotexist]

[Most people reacted with fear when they saw him. But this one, he gets up and opens his eyes without missing a beat. Mewtwo almost gets insulted from the nonchalance of his actions.

Never minding that, Mewtwo mirrors the action by rising, making himself seem larger by factor of intimidation.]

< I'm looking to fight. >

[resipiscent]

[He's used to dealing with people who want to hurt him, is why. It's not that he's not scared -- he has no idea what this thing is capable of -- he just knows how to handle it now.]

Yeah? Impatient, huh?

[He folds his arms, looking up at it. Riku is aware that he knows this thing's name -- but why he knows it escapes him, just like all the other names.]

Well, whatever. I'll play along for a bit.

c

[notyourfathersosborn]

[The downside to running your own company was that you weren't able to work typical 9-5 hours like everyone else. Between his own lab work and the paperwork that needed to get done, it was well after midnight when Normie finally got around to walking home. Though it isn't the quickest way back to his apartment, he likes to cut across the park at night, just so he can at least say he's seen a tree before he went to sleep.

What he didn't expect to find was someone he recognized sleeping on a bench in said park. The symbiote extends from behind his back and reaches out to tap their friend on the shoulder.]

...Riku? What the hell are you doing?

[resipiscent]

[Unlike his encounter with Mewtwo he's curled up, half laying down with one elbow on the armrest of the bench to support his head. There's something withdrawing from near his face -- and as he focuses on it he realizes that it looks solidly like something made of the darkness. He would have known, though, if it were a Heartless. So what...?

Riku follows his gaze from the thing that touched him to its source and finds a man, his expression confused, standing above him. Instantly he's on edge, body stiffening as he gets up. He's not as tall as this guy, and though he's not scared of the idea of fighting him, he is a little bit suspicious.]

How do you know my name?

[But even as he asks it, Riku realizes that he knows his name. How... does he keep doing this? It doesn't matter, though. Perhaps whatever force is telling him people's names has also told Normie Riku's name.]

[notyourfathersosborn]

Oh man, not you too.

[Luckily Normie is all too familiar with how people seem to have no recollection of anything all of a sudden (thank you slacking off and watching the network!), or that would have hurt more than he'd like to admit. As it stands, he offers Riku a tired, weary smile.]

Because we're friends. My name's Normie Osborn, and we've known each other for about a year now.

C

[resoundingpledge]

[ It's the hair, really.

There's only so many people here with white hair—only so many imPorts, anyway, and of those there's only one whose hair looks so much like her own. Even if it's shorter now. Even if he's shorter . . . they'd probably look eye to eye now, instead of him towering above her, wouldn't they?

There's not much to alert him to her presence here. No sense of malice or threat—there's barely any darkness to her at all, only the whisper that marks her as still human—and her footsteps over the ground are light.

What's he even doing out here? Nonah wasn't the best for parks, the nights were still cold . . . she doesn't touch him, but she does lean over him a bit, watching his sleeping face upside down.

So strange, too, to see him sleeping. And a shame to wake him, but it's not warm out here, and there's better places to be. ]

Riku?

[resipiscent]

[It's cold here. It's not like Heropa, where he could have fallen asleep without even thinking about it -- it would have been like camping outside back home. But 'back home' is a concept he knows he needs to erase from his brain. So despite the fact that his body had been protesting the temperature, the chill getting to him and making his whole body shiver -- he'd eventually gotten used to it and drifted off. But his sleep is still light, and even though he'd fallen asleep this time properly curled on his side, when he hears a voice his eyes snap open.

A girl... Kururu, says his brain, and he sits up slowly, cautious even though somehow he feels like he shouldn't be. But he can't trust that feeling -- that's what led him to find Sora. That sensation in his gut that he should be able to follow -- he can't trust it anymore.]

... What? [he says quietly after a moment, fingers curled around the edge of the bench's seat.] What do you want...?

[resoundingpledge]

Good morning.

[ And it is morning, the pale light of daybreak painting the sky with colours.

As he sits up, she crouches down, folding her arms over the edge of the bench. It feels less like looming like this, and she's . . . curious, a little. It's not often her presence makes people cautious. Not here. ]

Do you want breakfast? There's a café not too far . . . I was going to stop there, before school.

a :3c

[thinhammer]

[ With age apparently came experience, and Naruto has found that in his old(er) age, he's way better at talking to adults than he was when he was younger. He's capable of listening, of understanding, of agreeing and smiling without that kind of aggressive defiance he'd had the habit showing every time a grown up looked like they were about to speak down to him. Naruto is busying himself talking animatedly to a random couple and their intrigued kid when a force barges into his back, and without really budging he lifts his arm to look under it at the teen lodged in his cape. ]

Riku? [ He kind of blurts because he's not sure where he knows that mop of silver and pair of dark eyes from, but is certain that he definitely does somehow. ] Uh. [ His words kind of hang there for a moment. ] .... You okay?

[resipiscent]

[Riku nearly drops the phone as he's stopped abruptly and he fumbles for a moment before securing his grip again, shoving it back into his pocket after a few seconds longer. He slows, looks up at the person he's run into. Without delay his brain supplies a name: Naruto.

How does he know it?

More pressing: how does this Naruto person know his? His shoulders stiffen, raising a little as if he's trying to defend himself. Because, honestly, he sort of is.

Riku doesn't say anything for a moment, taking inventory of himself, and then nodding, taking a step backward.]

... yeah. Sorry.

[Maybe somehow he can deflect this guy and get away easily.]

[thinhammer]

[ Man, if Riku had reminded him of Sasuke before then it's nothing compared to the stoic little ball of angst and awkwardness he's standing in front of now. Riku... did remind him of Sasuke some time, huh? He doesn't know how he remembers that, but he does and there are more important matters than how he knows this kid going on right now, that can wait.

Naruto is way taller than him - he remembers being shorter, definitely remembers looking up at him - and so he crouches in a swoosh of his white robe to get a closer look at the little wooden kid. ]

You look shaken up, buddy. What happened? [ He realises his fumble just as it falls out of his mouth. If he didn't know the answer to that question then how the hell would this kid know? No, he's gotta treat this situation delicately, like he would with a younger Sasuke, or Sarada. ] Uh, did you lose your way, huh? I can't tell which way is which in here, either. Everythin' looks the same, right? And it's so loud. D'ya think you can help me find some place to sit down?