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 Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 11:31 pm
who Yuri, Yves, Vesna, and Lorenzo
what A daytrip to Isle de Gambino!
where Isle de Gambino's fun boardwalk amusement park, Sunny Shores!
when LATE AUGUST, 2016........
weather Sunny with a nice breeze coming from the ocean.
_______________
Vesna had wanted to go to an amusement park ever since she had read about them in shoujo manga, and while she and Lorenzo had enjoyed a spirited back and forth over whether or not manga Accurately Depicted Amusement Parks (and furthermore, why she would want to go to them when disaster always seemed to strike plucky heroines there), Lorenzo had to concede that some people, perhaps a majority of people, agreed with Vesna's assessment that amusement parks were Fun.
Lorenzo was about as fun as the next man, if that next man was also a licensed necromancer, but he had never enjoyed amusement parks. They involved direct sunlight, crowds, loud noises, and, in the case of boardwalk amusement parks, sand, which got everywhere. But Yuri and Yves had extended an invitation, and Vesna had seized so eagerly upon it that it had been difficult to wiggle out, or come up with a suitable counterproposal. Plus, Yuri had worked diligently at learning about necromancy and his powers all summer. Lorenzo hoped that if Vesna could spend more time with him, he would be a good influence, and, indeed, he had noticed that Vesna had also worked hard this summer. Sort of. In her own way. If he had to be dragged along to one, ten, or twenty amusement parks to encourage that kind of behavior, so be it.
Vesna was out the car door like a shot, although she lingered briefly nearby to watch Lorenzo try to walk through the sand in his shoes. He was dressed for the beach as best an extremely traditional necromancer could dress for the beach, but he was still wearing the kind of outfit that wouldn't look out of place at a funeral. She reached out when he pulled out his wallet, handing her the agreed upon spending money, and chimed "Thank youuuuu," stuffing it in her bag along with the crescent moon compact mirror Cesc made her for snacking and a brochure she had circled very thoroughly the night before. Lorenzo was toting a far bigger bag full of other necessities, up to and including a surgical kit which Vesna had asked him to please leave behind or at least not mention to no avail.
"So you are...?" Lorenzo prompted.
"Not going to spend all my money in one place, going to stick with the group, and not going to be too disappointed if I can't ride all the rides without a--"
"Ah,"
"Body," finished Vesna, having chosen to be extra good in return for the opportunity to go someplace as exotic and exciting as an actual amusement park. Formalities over, she turned to look at Yves and Yuri, grinning from ear to ear.
"Have you ever been to an amusement park before??" she asked. "I've only read about them in, um, literature. What should we do first?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:20 pm
When Yuri had asked to go to the amusement park in Gambino, Yves had been excited. How fun would that be? He never went out to these kinds of things on his own, and Yuri had been so busy with his studies that they hadn't done much 'hanging out' over the summer. He supposed that was just how it was going to be; Yuri was growing up fast, faster than any human child, and he wouldn't be content playing with stuffed animals at home forever.
However, when Yuri had asked, with as casual a tone as he could muster, if he could hypothetically bring a friend along if they wanted to go...
That question alone had caused Yves to become so invested that he'd followed Yuri around the house, badgering him until he admitted who it was.
Ah, Vesna. She was a lively girl (no pun intended) who Yuri seemed to enjoy hanging out with quite a bit. He'd been a nervous child, but something about Vesna's upbeat, kind personality had seemed to help draw out a much more social side to him. Yves liked her a lot, and he thought Lorenzo was a good man. Their cat, well... Buddy was awesome, too. Just a little smelly. Yuri, of course, adored Buddy and compared him to their own cat at every chance he got.
And so they found themselves at Sunny Shores park. Yves had made sure to put sunscreen at the top of the list, as well as an actual summer-appropriate shirt for Yuri. The kid loved his fur, but he over-heated terribly easily. With some help, he sported a Weather Safe plain white tank top and a bright green visor to push his bangs back out of his face; his hair had already grown a little long again, so he kept it tied back in a tiny ponytail. The visor made him look a little ridiculous, but it also kept the sun out of his eyes, so... who was the real winner, here.
Yuri fanned himself with his pamphlet. Thankfully, he didn't have to actually walk on the sand -- he'd been eyeing poor Lorenzo and wondering how he did it in that getup, honestly -- but the sun was still pretty overwhelming. Was every summer going to be like this, then?
"I've never been," Yuri admitted, casting Vesna a small smile. He tried not to look like he was cooking alive, but he doubted he was doing a very good job. Yves tapped his shoulder with the sunscreen.
"You want more of this? You're already getting red!" he chirped. Yuri rolled his eyes and waved it away with a groan.
"I'm fine, I can't just be all greased up like a piece of bacon. They won't let me on any rides, I'll slide right off."
Yves held the sunscreen bottle to his chin and tried not to laugh. He failed, but quickly covered it up with what he hoped would be a good distraction. "Oh, look!" he called, pointing forward. "There's a big roller coaster. I'm terrified of those, good thing they probably wouldn't allow a frei on there, huh? Because... because you have to be this tall, and..."
Yuri rubbed his shoulder and drifted away from Yves, who was chortling to himself over his terrible joke, to be closer to Vesna and Lorenzo. Sometimes he just couldn't handle his dorky dad. He debated for a few seconds, and then gave each of them a shy glance. "Thanks for coming," he said in earnest. "I wasn't sure if you guys..."
He looked right at Lorenzo when he said that, but tried not to make it too obvious that he was talking about him, the guy in funeral garb who looked like he probably didn't enjoy going out to the beach very often, specifically.
"Would wanna go to something like this," he finished, tipping his visor up a bit to get a better look ahead.
Yves tutted and quipped, "Who wouldn't want to go to an amusement park! Although, Lorenzo... aren't you hot?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:53 pm
Lorenzo smiled at Yuri reassuringly. "No, no! Don't be silly, it's good to try new things! I mean, I've been to amusement parks once or twice, but, you know, on business."
There was a pregnant pause as Vesna looked at him, appalled.
"...Trips!! Business trips! With the Licensed Necromancer Committee," Lorenzo lied. "I've never been to an amusement park with, ah, non-necromancers before! So that will, um, be new. Can't just find my group by looking for a crowd of people in capes today. Ah hah. Hah. And I've never been to this amusement park." That, at least, was true. Junior necromancers generally handled late night emergency resurrections that senior necromancers didn't want to touch. Lorenzo had been to several amusement parks in graduate school, but generally the seasonal ones that were set up and torn down in a matter of weeks. He had taken emergency calls all over Gaia. Anybody could die anywhere for any reason, after all. He laughed again, a little too jovially. "Of course, if anything does happen, I did bring a few supplies, so just, you know, let me know, and-"
"Great, Dad, I feel so safe! Super safe," Vesna assured, although she felt significantly less safe than she had mere minutes ago. "Aaaand, I feel, like, way less bad about not getting to ride the scary rides."
"My work here is done," Lorenzo joked. Looking to change the subject, he waved a hand airily at Yves. "My outfit is made of breathable material. Necromancer fashion has become so much more adaptable these days. Plus, I finally have the chance to wear my vacation tie. He lifted up his cape to reveal a tie with a festive floral print on it. "So all in all, I feel rather refreshed."
Vesna bit her lip and drifted slightly closer to Yuri, and, completely coincidentally, farther away from the Vacation Tie. Turning to her friend, she said, "Iiiiii was thinking we could ride the Ferris Wheel. I mean, I know we can float and all, but that's the thing I've read about in, um, literature, most. And if we wanted to try scary rides, I thought maybe we could just... hold on really securely and tie our ribbons to something, since it's not like we can feel them. Oh! And games! I wanna see if I'm any good at those, especially if they have any cute stuffed animals." She pumped her fists. "Thanks so much for inviting us! Even if Dad has to, um, do business here, I'm super excited!"Logue dear yves and yuri im so sorry about lorenzo Existing--
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 9:37 pm
Yuri nodded sagely when Lorenzo spoke. Of course, of course. It only made sense to bring a first aid kit. Especially when one dealt with the undead on a regular basis. It was especially useful for someone like Yuri who, due to his own powers, tended to be a little reckless when it came to his own well-being. Worst case scenario, he broke something and got it fixed up in a jiffy. Silently, he marveled at Lorenzo's sensible thinking; Yves, he guessed, was pretty sensible, too, since he brought.... sunscreen...
Yves stared at the tie with an expression that was generally only reserved for heinous things. Quickly trying to cover it, he held a hand up and waved it with an admittedly startled laugh.
"O-oh! That... is so..." He struggled and tried to come up with a compliment, because that was the polite thing to do. "It's so... stylish and weather-appropriate."
Yuri winced. Yves grimaced. That was the kind of compliment a practical guy like Lorenzo could appreciate, wasn't it? ... wasn't it?
Ears sticking up and at alert, Yuri looked at the Ferris Wheel, which loomed over the park. He wasn't afraid of heights, since he could fly, but he heard that some of the carriages rocked. If he just floated in place, maybe it wouldn't be so... bumpy. But then that defeated the purpose of the Ferris Wheel, didn't it?
He looked at Vesna for help, but realized she couldn't read his thoughts and kept it to himself. The mention of stuffed animals brought him back and he, too, raised his fists in determination.
"I can win some stuffed animals," he declared, even though he didn't know if that was actually true or not. But he had to try, because stuffed animals were really great and one could never have enough pillows, frankly. Vesna was obviously the type who liked cute things. For his friend, he had to try.
Also... he wanted some for himself...
"Yuri! That's so adventurous of you," Yves chimed in, causing Yuri to scratch his ear in embarrassment.
"Vesna will probably be better than me," he muttered. "Since she's so good at video games and all... right?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 5:57 pm
"I dunno!" Vesna admitted. "I'm not really good at competitive games, since I don't have anyone to play with. Most of the games I play are more... psychologically focused?" Somewhere from behind her, Lorenzo cleared his throat. It was a terrible thing to be judged by a man in a Vacation Tie. "If I'm good at them, though, I'll win some for both of us!" She grinned and started floating to the boardwalk. "We won't know until we try, right?"
Lorenzo followed along behind her. If the stricken reactions to his Vacation Tie had been obvious, he didn't seem to have noticed, and as he walked, he pulled a map out of his bag, and fell behind to walk astride with Yves and give Vesna and Yuri some space. Having been raised by an excessively proud pair of parents, Lorenzo was well aware of his daughter's need for privacy with her friends.
"I've circled all the bathrooms and first aid areas on this map," he explained to Yves, "And Vesna and Yuri have both our numbers if they get lost- Did you have lunch before you came? I didn't, since Vesna usually wants to see what the food looks like. And, ah, photograph it." Inwardly, he groaned. One of the things he had been looking least forward to today was the fear that he may have to gorge himself with amusement park food- he was halfheartedly hoping that being with a friend would distract Vesna from one of his least favorite of her hobbies.
Vesna waited until Lorenzo was safely engaged in conversation with Yves, and leaned in close to Yuri. "I'm sorry about the tie. I don't know why he bought it... I tried to get Buddy to eat it?? But even Buddy was just kind of like 'nah, I'm good,' and I was like, 'well, I guess I can't blame him'."
When they got to the park's main plaza, she asked, "You know what I wanna do, is there anything you wanna do, Yuri?? I don't wanna make it boring for you when you invited us here or anything."
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:11 pm
Yves nodded sagely when Lorenzo explained his map procedures. He didn't know him very well, but he did appreciate how "on top of things" Lorenzo seemed to be. He was a no-nonsense guy, and that was a rarity in this day and age.
"Ah, Yuri and I had a very light lunch," Yves replied, scratching his cheek. "Yuri wanted to see if there was anything he could eat here, and... as for me... I just really like carnival food." He laughed a little at himself.
Yves leaned a hair over to look at the map. "Maybe we should get something to eat while they go have some fun. If I know Yuri, he'll want to jump right into something crazy before he even thinks about his stomach. Uh, lack thereof, I mean."
Yuri snickered. "The tie's okay," he lied, not wanting to hurt Lorenzo's feelings, possibly, as if the man would suddenly develop super hearing. Would Lorenzo even care if someone disliked his tie? He always wore his strange outfits without any care for what others thought, it seemed like. The total opposite of Yves. Yuri knew, deep down, that they should all strive for that level of self-confidence - especially his guardian.
Turning to look at Vesna, Yuri's eyebrows shot up. "Vesna, I won't be bored no matter what. I don't go out with friends very often, so I'm just excited to be here, really."
Some time ago, someone had told him that he was pretty mild. Yuri hadn't known what they meant at the time, but he thought maybe he was beginning to see it. He seemed to always be willing to go with the flow, do what others wanted. The unknown had almost gotten him killed before, so it just seemed to be safer to trust a close friends' judgment.
Still, even he knew that always thinking that way wouldn't do him any good in the long run. He wrinkled his nose and offered, "Let's do, um... let's go on that."
He pointed upward. There was a strange octopus-looking ride with little carriages attached to each leg. It was sitting still, then, as people began to load up into it. Yuri looked at Vesna for affirmation, but his attention was drawn back to the ride when it began to move.
It moved, alright. Up, down, sideways, it was spinning all over the place up in the air. Yuri's stomach dropped and he felt his resolve waver, but he didn't want to be mild Yuri. He wanted to be cool, spicy Yuri!
"Y-yeah, um, that's the one," he managed to add, his ears flattening against his hair and betraying his words.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 11:18 pm
Vesna beamed. "I go out with friends a lot compared to Dad. I don't know if he has friends. But I don't feel like I go out with friends a lot. I guess I spend a lot of time with you now, but before you started coming over, I spent a lot of time just, you know, floating around the house."
She nodded as Yuri explained what he wanted to do. "Okay!" Looking through her own map of the park, she said, "Dad said it should be okay for us to go on any rides with belts that covered the chest, so some of them are out, but most of the rollercoasters and stuff have ones that go over your shoulders. It looks like that one's okay..." She looked up at the ride Yuri pointed to and back at his anxious expression and made the executive decision to Lie. "But... I... think that's a little too scary for me? Soo, maybe we could ride a smaller one first! It's like training, right? You shouldn't just go on a big one right away."
"But then we can go on the big one. After the little ones. And it should be fine," she added a tad wistfully, looking back at the ride. "I don't think we need to try the merry go round or anything, except that it's supposed to be super cute, but there's a kiddie coaster that might be good to start out on. Or teacups? Or the Viking Ship, that just goes back and forth." She waved back at their guardians and held up her map.
"Dad!! Yves!! Is there anywhere you wanna go?!"
"We're going to need lunch eventually, but other than that, go wild!" Lorenzo called back to Vesna, and paused.
"But not too wild!" he amended.
"Do you want to eat now?" Lorenzo asked Yves. "I don't want to let Vesna out of my sight for too long, but I'm up for food whenever you are" Plus, and more importantly, if they all ate together, Vesna would probably want to instagram Yves instead- he was more photogenic, after all. Vesna could get her instagram notes, Yves could get his food, and Lorenzo wouldn't have to try every snack that caught Vesna's attention.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 2:20 am
Yuri relaxed as soon as Vesna pointed out that the ride he'd been eyeballing was a little... advanced. True, it wouldn't have been smart to go straight for that kind of ride, would it? Even if she just said it for his sake, just admitting anything like being scared was hard. He glanced at Vesna and gave her an awkward, appreciative smile.
"Not too wild," Yves repeated under his breath, followed by a short, muffled laugh. "Well said! Yuri's got bad luck, so I hope Vesna can help look out for him."
At the mention of food, Yuri's ears perked up in Lorenzo and Yves's direction. "I brought my lunch," he announced, matter-of-factly. He could eat it anywhere, anytime. But Lorenzo and Yves probably... couldn't, could they.
"Yes, you did," Yves called back. He turned and stuck his hands on his hips. "In that case, Lorenzo, should we all just eat together really quick? I don't want to hold the kids up, but I'm with you on the whole... not leaving them alone for too long. The park is a big place."
Yuri floated over, giving Yves a pointed look. "You don't trust us?" he asked, the corners of his mouth turning down into a tiny frown.
"I don't trust strangers," Yves corrected, wagging a finger at him. "Do not fret! We'll be quick. I promise we won't weigh you two down after that."
Sinking down a bit closer to the ground, Yuri sulked. "Okay," he conceded, and looked at Vesna to see if she, too, agreed to these terms.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 12:59 am
Lorenzo considered that the amount of trouble Vesna got into was not so much bad luck as willful self-endangerment, and he laughed nervously. "Perhaps she can serve as an example." Yuri could... observe her.... and then do the opposite.
"I brought my lunch, too!" Vesna announced, holding up the crescent moon compact that Cesc made for her. "But, you know, I'm probably gonna just eat as I go." Even if she wanted to stop herself, she couldn't really do much about it, after all. And there were tons of reflective surfaces and people taking pictures at the amusement park- she was probably ruining somebody's vacation photo right now, in fact, and the fact made her stomach flip flop. It was a fact of life, and she had to ignore it if she wanted to go anywhere or do anything fun, but the realization of that fact came and went.
"I'm fine with eating now," Lorenzo agreed. He pulled out his map and pointed to a circled Feature. "We can head over to the dining area, then, and maybe you two can scout out things you want to do along the way?"
"Yeah!" said Vesna, considerably more excited about food than Yuri. "Ooo, Yves, can I take your picture with your meal?? For Instagram??" She pulled out her phone to show him her account, which was mostly pictures of cute food, cute animals, and aesthetic shots. "Can you order something cute," she asked seriously. She looked ahead as they began to approach the food stalls. "How do you feel about fried dough? Is that a lunch food? Like french fries??"
Lorenzo reached to pat Yuri on the shoulder, a spring in his step now that Vesna had attached herself to Yves as her Instagram Victim. "We can probably find something a little less advanced than that rollercoaster on the way," he reassured Yuri. "I personally wouldn't recommend the haunted house here, though. I sent them several emails about it, but their depictions of undead people are still incredibly offensive."
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 10:58 pm
Yves tried to think about that one time he tried to go on a diet. And all those times Dani had tried to get him to work out with her. Then he thought of fried dough.
"Fried dough sounds like... a lot," he concluded, but then he added, "But for the sake of your instagram, I will brave it."
It was for the kids. That was how he'd justify eating so much carnival food. That was his kryptonite, and he wasn't about to live a lie. All he needed was a water bottle full of wine and he'd be ready to go. He saw it on a TV show once, it wasn't weird.
Yuri's ears fell back while he listened to Lorenzo, and he offered a solemn "Mmhm," in agreement to the haunted house bit, even though he had no idea. He trusted Lorenzo as the Authority on the undead and all things cool, despite what Vesna told him. He always got a good vibe from Lorenzo, and he knew everything about the undead. What wasn't cool about that?
Making sure Vesna and Yves were properly distracted by each other, Yuri leaned over and muttered to Lorenzo, "Um, I wasn't... scared of the rollercoaster, by the way."
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:54 am
Vesna was already ordering for Yves, having completely forgotten that Lorenzo was also a food-eating human now that he was not her latest Instagram victim. She came back with a plate of it, and reassured Yves, "Don't worry, I asked the dough guy and he says it only has, like, three ingredients, so it isn't a lot at all." As a floating torso who ate reflections, Vesna had a very shaky grasp on food culture.
Lorenzo eyed the other food stalls. It was rare these days that he was allowed to choose his own meals when he went out to eat with Vesna, so he opted for falafel, one on the least picturesque foods on offer. Walking past Vesna on his way back to the group, he reminded her, "Make sure you eat, too," although it was hardly necessary when there were so many reflective surfaces around. Still, getting her into the habit of consciously eating meals was good preparation for if she ever grew a stomach, herself.
He nodded solemnly as Yuri muttered his explanations. "Of course, of course," he reassured. "You were just thinking of Vesna. In case... her undead body couldn't take... the air pressure on the rollercoaster. A sharp professional instinct," he commended, lying thoughtfully. "I've always said one of the most important qualities in a necromancer is empathy."
He dabbed at his mouth with a napkin as he started on his lunch and asked, "I'm sorry, I started without you. Do you eat, Yuri? Is there something we should have prepared for you today?" If any raevan was likely to eat something resembling food, Lorenzo thought it would be Yuri, but he couldn't remember ever having asked about it before, which he supposed spoke poorly of him- Vesna was ever at the top of his mind because she was a client, but when it came to other raevans, he sometimes forgot to pay attention to every little detail.
Vesna floated over to them, having noticed Lorenzo was eating. "What'd you get, Dad?" she asked. He tilted his falafel over to her so she could see, and she gave him a lukewarm smile. "Oh... Nice... Dirt balls?"
"Falafel," Lorenzo corrected.
"Bless you," replied Vesna dutifully.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:17 pm
Yuri had taken a seat (well, the best a floating torso could occupy a chair) across from Lorenzo, looking at his food with interest. It took every ounce for him not to react embarrassingly to Lorenzo's compliment, but his rune did glow. He sank a little closer to the bench and pretended that he needed to scratch his ear. Why he needed to lower himself to scratch his ear... he hadn't thought that far ahead.
"Oh, I brought something," he assured, patting his bag. "Dad said I need calcium, so I can have a couple different things, but... I'm not hungry right now, so..." He trailed off, feeling awkward. He usually felt awkward. It wasn't Lorenzo's fault, or anybody else's - he was just an awkward child.
Yves, meanwhile, was eyeing the fried dough and realizing that he was hungry. He could swear that he had a second stomach for anything remotely dessert-like, anyway. It really made going to the gym with Dani all the more painful.
Finally, Yves let out a breath and beamed at Vesna. "It looks just like something I'd eat," he announced, and then promptly thanked her for ordering for him. "You're really a go-getter type of person, aren't you?"
Yuri was watching them out of the corner of his eye, a little smile curling his lip. He wasn't hugely fond of going out and being around tons of people he didn't know, but he did like this group. And he also hated being cooped up in the house, so... one had to pick their battles, anyhow.
"Vesna, you know," Yves said suddenly, voice thoughtful. "Yuri has done some baking with me before. It might be fun to make your own instagram foods, too, don't you think?" He looked at Yuri, who, despite looking a little alarmed at being put on the spot, nodded in agreement, anyway.
"Dad loves to bake," he clarified. "I'm not very good at it yet, but... it is fun."
"Just some... food for thought," Yves said, and then chuckled to himself. He looked pleased at his dumb joke. Yuri groaned a little under his breath and looked away.
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