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[sasaeru]

WHO: Ulvida and YOU.
WHERE: Heropa, Nonah, De Chima, your pick.
WHEN: non-specified, but during January.
WHAT: this is an open log + catchall for anything I have planned.
WARNINGS: none for now!

[a; shopping for PET SUPPLIES (any city)]
[Getting a pet cat was not something she exactly planned to do, but it happened, Gran agreed, and they had one very fluffy very large cat that liked to lie across her bed or a resident's lap and leave everything covered in fur. She adored it.

Now that a cat is there, though, the home needs to adjust to it too. You can find Ulvida wandering the aisles of a pet store, small or large, a large cushion held under one arm as she peers at the rows of toys and furrows her eyebrows. She never had pets growing up. The most she had were stray cats that came by the orphanage for a few years. Does she need to keep a lot of toys? Does a cat need that piece of furniture? How big should the carry be? She did her research, but in the end it's hard to be sure of what's right.

Eventually she settles down on a harmless looking toy at the top of a display, but with a cushion under her arm it's difficult to jump high enough to get it. Perhaps you can help her out! Most people are taller than this fifteen year old. Or you could be the cashier that helps her ring up the small collection of cat related supplies she dumps on the counter. Or, while she's still lost in the aisles, you decide to bestow her with some cat-owner know-how?]

[b; at the LUCKY CAT CAFE (Heropa only)]
[Between the morning and early afternoon of some weekdays, there is one blue-haired girl behind the counter of the Lucky Cat Café. She's not very smiley, and she's usually standing back and making the drinks rather than taking orders and ringing up customers, but she's not opposed to talking to you or taking your order if there's a line. The nametag on her apron reads ULVIDA with a few sparkly star shaped stickers stuck around the name. The drinks she makes you are usually very neat-looking, with any and all spills wiped off the outside of the cups before she hands them out. If you order a cake, you bet that cake is standing right side up. Sometimes she'll even smile at you! Sometimes.

Feel free to ask for any drink from the menu or a snack on display. Watch out for the cookies in the bowl priced cheaper than the rest, though, because those are from Wendy Corduroy's this-was-a-mistake batches and sometimes have chili powder on them rather than cinnamon. Ulvida is not going to stop or warn you.]

[c; teaching some kiddies how to play SOCCER (any city)]
[You know that weird collection of middle school kids who kept asking about soccer? Well, she's one of them, although she hasn't talked about the sport on the network like the boys have yet. She was assigned a job making announcements for junior league soccer, but as of late she's been picking up another activity: helping those junior league kids get better at soccer.

You can find her at a park in almost any of the imPort cities, surrounded by a group of kids anywhere from five to ten years old. She isn't running around with them, per se, nor does she ever really kick the ball, but her teaching involves a lot of demonstrating and helping the kids with their form. Kids are easy to talk to.

Sometimes a ball might come rolling your way. Please catch it before it reaches the street! Or are you a kid who also loves soccer and wants to join in? Or maybe you are just curious about what a soccer is.]

[d; WILD CARD]
[Please feel free to pick from any of the above prompts or make up your own if you'd like! If you want to plot something out with me with Ulvida, you can contact me at squigstuff and I'll be happy to discuss and even set something up.]

Comments

[sasaeru]

[She closes her eyes, shaking her head and saying very neutrally,] I can't say I know.

The boss Wendy Corduroy's of the philosophy that no food should be wasted, even including the ones that she accidentally sprinkled chili powder on.

[nextlevel]

Chili powder ...

[ He looks a bit green. Those calories definitely aren't worth itt. ]

Um, just the coffee and the katsudon then.

[sasaeru]

That's a smart decision.

... It wouldn't kill you. Your Viktor [okay maybe his Viktor is a weird way to say it but it's said now no takebacks she supposes] was tricked into one of those before... he was fine, ultimately.

Katsudon and coffee it is. Would you like your coffee the way you usually like it?

[nextlevel]

[ His Viktor, huh. He pinks a bit, glancing down at his ring. They're so official even the barista has noticed. ]

Viktor has an iron stomach, I think. [ A pause. ] Please and thank you.

[ He only takes cream, with no sugar. ]

So Viktor's mentioned me, huh ...

[sasaeru]

[Only cream and no sugar it will be. Ulvida reaches for a cup, some of which are strangely crystal-like and fancy-looking, remnants of a worker she never got to meet, and starts pouring him his drink while quickly ringing up his total.]

You both come in here often. I met him and Makkachin on the way home a few days ago.

He also told me that Gran has been in your care.

[nextlevel]

[ It's almost like the cup was carved from a solid gem. But that would be wildly expensive - and crazy to hand out to people. Must be some fancy glasswork.

He brightens a bit the mention of Gran. ]

More like Gran took care of us. He came over to visit us, helped me figure out a few things about this place. I'm really grateful.

[sasaeru]

[It's that moment, that reaction, that seems to make Ulvida relax and warm up to Yuuri the most. Her expression softens, and so does her voice as she responds.]

He's like that. He likes to be helpful...

[She smiles, making sure the coffee isn't going to spill.]

Please have a seat. I'll be out with your bowl in a few minutes.

[nextlevel]

[ Good, he's glad to see her open up a little. ]

I can tell, yeah. Are you from his world too?

[ He moves to sit down at his table. ]

[sasaeru]

[The answer to that last question comes minutes later, after Ulvida has returned from the kitchen with his bowl of food and placed it in front of him.]

There's the two of us, and a couple of others. If you find two boys around our age talking passionately about soccer, you'll know it's one from our world. Apparently, the influence that sport has on our world is unusual.

[nextlevel]

[ Yessssss katsudon. He's so pleased just to have the bowl in front of him, ready to be eaten. ]

It's definitely not a popular back home. Not the way he talks about it.

[ He pulls out a chair, inviting her to sit. ]

[sasaeru]

Ah, thank you.

[She'll take the invitation and sit down. The Lucky Cat really wasn't strict about things like that, and they have people on staff today.]

I think it's different because of the powerful techniques we learn. That's something that seems to set it apart from other sports in our world and soccer in other worlds. At its core, though, I think the passion that the players have for it is close to what athletes in other sports have, too.

You learn about yourself by pushing for improvement. You learn about your teammates and find friends. Instead of enemies, you meet rivals to compete against but better yourself through that interaction.

[nextlevel]

[ Oh good. He doesn't want to get her in trouble; he'd just like to talk to her while she has a few minutes. ]

Ah, yeah ... That's definitely a sports thing. Our doesn't involve literal meteors, though. Or drop kicking people out the door.

[ Unless your name is Yuri Plisetsky, anyway. ]

[sasaeru]

... Gran used his hissatsu?

[Her frown is almost immediate, but one that's out of confusion more than anything. A little bit of apprehension, but this is Gran --he isn't the type to use his strength for no reason.]

What happened?

[nextlevel]

[ Did he say something wrong? He doesn't mean to rat Gran out, of course, but ... ]

My house got attacked during the blackout. Gran happened to be messaging me at the time, so I told him. And he came to rescue me.

[sasaeru]

[At that explanation, Ulvida... sighs. She's not upset. Even the earlier apprehension seems to dissipate after receiving Yuuri's answer.

She could easily start a lecture about how Gran is only fifteen years old, and how could an adult like Yuuri rely on him? How he may be a strong soccer player, but only a soccer player. The Genesis uniform, if he were even wearing it, can't guard against weapons. There are so many things she can say, but she decides she'll just hint at it toward Gran himself, later, so that he isn't allowed to fool himself into thinking she doesn't know.]

That sounds like him. [That idiot.]

... I'm sure it's something he did knowing the risks. I'm not going to be upset about it, and you don't have to worry about outing him. I appreciate it, actually. I'm glad you were able to get help.

[nextlevel]

[ Nothing that Yuuri hasn't thought himself. It's not as though he'd asked for help anyway - Gran had just come. He bows his head a little even with her comment. ]

No offense to either of you - he's clearly stronger than I am - but that still seems wrong to me. He's still just a kid.

[sasaeru]

In the world, there are many adults who'll take children like us and ask, or sometimes force, us to fight. I once knew of somebody like that. The government of this country is not so different. Wrong or not, we don't always have a choice.

But Gran protecting you was a choice he made. [and then her voice drops a little in tone. You know how your coach fiancé gets when he's about to rag on you, Yuuri? It's very similar.] My only concern is that he decided he'd do it alone without regard to his own safety.

[nextlevel]

[ God, what a hideous thing that is. Yuuri shivers a little just thinking about it. ]

Was it really a choice? Could he really have said no?

[sasaeru]

Not with that personality. [Self sacrificial shounen idiot that he is.] But protecting you is different from what we've done before.

[nextlevel]

[ Yuuri looks up at that, his expression clouded. ]

What did you do before? You said you were forced to fight?

[sasaeru]

...



Soccer.

[nextlevel]

... Eh? Soccer? That's it?

[sasaeru]

That was the system we were told was used on Earth when humans decided things.

[Or so it was decided would be the setting.]

We played soccer. We just did not know to enjoy it as we do nowadays.

[nextlevel]

I ... I see. It's just ... well, it's really just a game here.

[ What the hell is wrong with their universe. ]

[sasaeru]

It is. I've heard from the others that it was a bit of an adjustment. It's difficult -- impossible, really to go all out.

But... I think it's nice. The children here are free to play for themselves, in a different way from us.