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 Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:33 pm
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Quote: Prompt 5: Though Destiny City is a busy metropolis, dense forests encircle the city. It's uncommon for wildlife to wander into the city--especially larger creatures--but something is making its mark on Destiny City. Large footprints, humanlike but far too large to belong to any ordinary human, are appearing around Destiny City. They always lead to the woods, and back again--and the strange part is that no one seems to be able to see what has caused them. Cameras distort, and anyone who thinks they've come into contact with the creature can only make out a thick, white fur and something easily nine feet tall. Oddly enough, any surface near the tracks are covered in a sheet of ice, as though whatever passed close to them was so cold it left a frosty trail.
"Misha," Yuuri hissed a whisper at his companion as they made their way down the street after dark as the snow fell around them. "Do you even know what we're looking for?"
This was a horrible idea. Why had he agreed to help Misha with this ridiculous venture? Now he was stuck bundled up in a coat and two scarves and hat and wished he had thicker pants, all the while trying to practice holding a camera steady as his hands shook, even if he was told the stabilizers should take care of most of the shaking.
For the views or something along those lines and a bright smile was what convinced Yuuri to help in the first place. And Misha was kind of his employer, so it only seemed like it was the proper thing to do?
That, and he kind of liked Misha as a person, for whatever reason. Maybe because he didn't brush Yuuri off as a lost cause? Who knew...
Part of him suspected this creature was a rogue youma, but unless he could power up into Kamacite, he had no idea what to expect. And he didn't like not knowing what to expect.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:15 am
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When Misha first moved to Destiny City, he was a little concerned he wouldn’t get any interesting content. People claimed Destiny City was a terrible place. Why go there when there were safer, more interesting cities?
It turned out Destiny City was a gold mine.
First there was the General he met — the one who summoned a real, live, actual monster. Then there was the stuff about magic and aliens, which he hadn’t seen much of yet, but… the evidence was all around! Destiny City was weird, which meant there was plenty to do, plenty to see, and plenty of content to be had for anyone brave enough to go looking for it.
“Of course I know what we’re looking for,” Misha said, cheerful as always.
He was bundled up against the cold like Yuuri, more so than usual, given that it was dark out and the temperatures dropped significantly as soon as the sun was out of sight — a bright, energetic adventurer in a puffy lilac coat, sturdy winter boots, matching hat and gloves, and a soft cashmere scarf (courtesy of his older brother, who showered Misha with gifts on their shared birthday). He, too, carried a camera, partly to capture footage from different angles, and partly so they’d have a backup if one of their cameras stopped working.
“See?”
Misha came to a stop as they approached the forest, pointing to a large, humanlike footprint in the snow. It was much larger than any human footprint he’d ever seen, but was shaped the same and had the same number of toes. The imprint was also slick with ice.
“I heard these tracks were showing up around the woods,” he explained. “I figured, if we came out at night, maybe we’d have a better chance of finding whatever’s making them. You know, less people, less noise, less things to scare it off.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:22 pm
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“Because of the monsters, right?” Misha asked, crouching down to get a better look at the icy foot print.
He didn’t sound concerned. And he wasn’t, really. Sure, monsters could hurt them, but Mr. Dark and Mysterious General Jet hadn’t seemed like a bad dude. He even offered Misha a spot in his super secretive Earth defense force. Maybe Jet had ulterior motives for doing so, but Misha happened to think he was a good judge of character, and nothing about Jet had seemed particularly threatening.
Except for the monster. And the magic. But Jet kept his word and no harm came to Misha, which had to count for something.
Either that, or Misha was lying to himself for the sake of getting cool content and he’d end up dead sooner or later.
“Or the youma, or whatever they’re called?” he continued, making sure to get adequate footage of the foot print before scoping out the tree line. “I think that’s what Mr. Dark and Mysterious called them. Did I tell you I ran into some guy who claimed there were aliens in the city? It was a week ago, I think. After we met. I thought it’d be cool to get footage of one of the monsters everyone talks about, so I went out and met that dude, but I dropped my camera and it got busted.”
Luckily he had several backups.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:24 pm
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Yuuri watched Misha warily when monsters were brought up, and then cringed when the word youma was mentioned. A lot of people seemed to be getting pulled into this war that probably shouldn't.
"Yes," Yuuri said somewhat breathlessly. "It's not safe," he reiterated once more, but it seemed Misha had already waved off the danger.
Although, knowing that he'd crossed paths with someone who could either be a Negaverse officer, or a knight… or even a senshi. What side would Misha consider Dark and Mysterious?? And what did he mean he was already trying to get footage of monsters?
"That's very not safe," Yuuri squeaked in his distress. If it turned out that Misha was working for or at least was friendly with the White Moon, what would that mean for Yuuri? Surely Misha wouldn't want to employ him at that point.
"Misha, you could end up hurt. Or dead. Please don't wander around this city without me," he requested, sounding somewhat desperate.
Although, was that a strange request? Yuuri wasn't exactly very threatening. Not as Yuuri anyway.
Besides… he… had to protect his employer… right? Would that be more believable than Yuuri saying that he was already a bit fond of Misha, even though they barely knew each other?
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:22 pm
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Misha blinked up at Yuuri, all wide green eyes and chipper smile.
“That’s sweet of you,” he said.
Strange? Maybe. But also sweet. Compared to Yuuri, Misha was new to town, and he wasn’t nearly as careful as he should be. Misha didn’t wave off the danger so much as he’d decided it was an acceptable risk. Besides, if these monsters were roaming around the city (unattended in some cases), he could run into one at any time, whether he was trying to find one or not.
Better to go into it knowing what he was actually getting himself into, right?
“But — and please don’t take this the wrong way; I don’t mean it to be rude — you don’t exactly look like you could protect me from a monster, or Mr. Dark and Mysterious,” Misha said, his tone kind instead of cruel. “He wasn’t so bad anyway. I think he was trying out the calm, vaguely sinister act, but I never felt like he was going to hurt me. He was actually kind of cute. Not too tall. Nice hair. Swishy cape. Said he was a General, but I don’t know, he seemed kind of young to be so high ranking.”
Did it ever occur to Misha that he shouldn’t be so casual about sharing his experiences? Yes, of course. If Mr. Dark and Mysterious wasn’t lying, anyone could be an alien and Misha might never know.
But, again, Misha thought he was a good judge of character. Yuuri didn’t strike him as dangerous or untrustworthy.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 8:05 pm
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No, he didn’t exactly look like he could protect anyone from a monster or Negaverse General?? Yuuri continued to stare with increasing distress the more Misha spoke about his encounter with a General. How Misha was standing there as himself and not going around as a Negaverse Agent was beyond him.
For Yuuri, his very first encounter with a General, and a half-youma one at that, meant being turned into a Senshi of the Negaverse. And while he didn’t exactly look back on that time with fondness, his place in the Negaverse had been much more inclusive than the rest of his life. Somehow.
But with everyone he’d ever cared for missing or just… gone… the loneliness and sorrow was often quick to overwhelm him.
“I might surprise you,” Yuuri mumbled, more to himself than to Misha. As Kamacite, he held on to every bit of training he was given. He knew how to use his magic, knew how to use his appearance and small stature against his enemies. He was fast where others might rely on brute strength.
For now, he was stuck as a civilian, wondering if it would be better if Misha was part of the Negaverse so he could keep an eye on him, or if staying a civilian meant he was happier and blissfully unaware of the war around him.
But what if he ended up being pulled onto the side of the White Moon? What then?
“Did…” he started, and then paused to take a breath and steady himself, “Did Mr… Dark and Mysterious tell you anything else? Or… did he just… want to talk? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?” For all Yuuri knew, Misha had been brought into the Negaverse.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:26 pm
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“Do anything to me? Like what?” Misha blinked again. “He didn’t assault me, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Turning back to the footprint, Misha flipped back the mitten top of one of his gloves to expose the tips of his fingers, gingerly touching the sheet of ice. It felt normal, slick and cold to the touch, but it was the only ice around. Everything else was snow.
Climbing to his feet, Misha continued to blithely ramble. “He said his name was Jet. He summoned one of those monsters so I could see it. It wasn’t as big as I was expecting, but I guess some of the others might not be as small. It was kind of cute, too. In an ugly, scary sort of way.”
Misha wandered further down the sidewalk to approach the treeline, peering into the woods for any sign of the creature that left the footprints. The woods were dark, so he couldn’t see far, and silent at the moment, except for the creaking of tree limbs through the wind.
“He said I could join his Earth Defense League if I wanted to. I think he called it the Metaverse? Megaverse? Something like that. I had to turn him down. I mean, I only just heard about the aliens. I can’t go joining shady military organizations without thinking about it first. Lev would kill me.”
Misha paused to consider it, head tilted pensively. “Now that I think about it, though… It probably wouldn’t be anything worse than what my parents do for a living…”
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:52 pm
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Well, no, he hadn’t meant if he assaulted him, although reaching into someone’s chest basically was assault. The recent memory had Yuuri rubbing at his own chest. He’s remembered how painful it had been when he was first made into Kamacite, which was why he tried to make taking starseeds as painless as possible, but the recent reminder of how it felt was… unnerving to say the least.
Yuuri wasn’t oblivious to whom Misha was referring when he said the name Jet. General Blond b***h’s boyfriend, or some such. Still, Yuuri felt at least a little relieved to know that General Jet apparently didn’t go around killing civilians who turned his offer to join the Negaverse down.
Had Yuuri tried to refuse Wolfeite, he was certain he would have been left for dead in that alley.
Lost in his own thoughts, Yuuri almost missed Misha’s mention of his parents.
Wait, what did his parents do that could compare to the Negaverse?
“Your family isn’t part of the mafia, is it?” Yuuri half joked, although nothing about his expression said he was joking. Even before Misha had a chance to respond, Yuuri was almost completely convinced that yes, Misha’s parents were involved in the Russian mafia…
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:37 pm
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Misha jumped when he heard the crack but didn’t drop his camera. Instead, he whipped around to direct the camera toward the tree line, hoping to catch anything that might decide to show itself.
Nothing happened. Something rustled further in, and a few branches swayed in the cold breeze, but that was it.
“I thought you were going to protect me,” Misha teased, tossing a grin over his shoulder before making his way into the woods.
Was it mean of him to ignore Yuuri’s discomfort? He wasn’t ignoring it, was he? He acknowledged that it existed and reassured him as necessary. Besides, Misha wasn’t keeping him there. If he really wanted to, Yuuri could leave. Misha was perfectly capable of doing a little monster hunting on his own. He had before.
But he did feel slightly guilty, even if that guilt wasn’t enough to stop him.
Not yet, anyway.
“I doubt it wants to eat us. It probably wasn’t anything big anyway. Maybe a tree branch snapped under all the snow,” he suggested. Over his shoulder, Misha said, “Let’s give it a few more minutes. I promise if we don’t find anything after that, or if anything really scary happens, we can leave. We can go for some snacks and hot chocolate if you want. My treat.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 5:06 pm
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Yuuri gritted his teeth to stop the chattering, and to also make yet another exasperated expression in Misha's direction. Technically yes, he had every intention of protecting Misha. If it meant giving up his identity, then… he hoped Misha wouldn't use it against him.
"Misha," he hissed out another whisper as Misha took off into the forest, tears practically in Yuuri's eyes because he definitely could not fight very well as a civilian. But he only stayed in place for a moment before quickly following after him into the trees.
Who was Yuuri to argue, anyway? He'd agreed to help, although he hadn't quite processed that they would be chasing after potential monsters until they were out there doing it. And he would rather not disappoint Misha.
If they did manage to get good enough content, it would give him another project to work on for Misha's social media channels. That meant he should definitely be helping, right?
But he also didn't want Misha hurt, who seemed genuinely curious about these kinds of things.
Misha was braver than Yuuri ever could be.
Meanwhile, Yuuri was hoping they would find nothing soon and leave.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:02 pm
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Misha happened to think it would do Yuuri some good to get out and explore the world more often. He seemed to be a skittish guy — which was fine, Misha didn’t mind that, but it must be stressful to live that way. Yuuri often looked tense, a little sad, a little scared, and frequently uncomfortable, both in his surroundings and in his own skin.
Immersion was the best way to get over that, Misha was sure. Lucky for Yuuri, Misha was happy to help drag him out of his shell. Lev usually only helped with his cooking videos; Misha sort of liked the idea of having company for some of the others, too.
A few minutes later, another crack cut through the night.
Misha ducked behind the thick trunk of a tree, grabbing Yuuri’s arm to yank him into hiding with him. In the distance, Misha could see a large figure covered in fur. Beyond that, he couldn’t make out much about it. It was white and blended in with the snow.
His heart pounded with excitement, and maybe a tiny bit of fear. This creature was much bigger than the youma General Jet had summoned for him.
“It’s okay,” Misha whispered to Yuuri in the hopes that he wouldn’t start freaking out.
Carefully peaking around their hiding spot, Misha tried to zoom in on the creature with his camera.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:28 pm
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Yuuri jumped again when another crack echoed in the cold air, and then squeaked in distress when his arm was grabbed onto and pulled behind a tree with Misha. It was a rather tight spot to try and hide without being basically on top of one another, so Yuuri tried to stand behind Misha behind the tree, although it was his turn to grab onto Misha’s arm when he also saw the creature in the distance.
“Misha,” he practically cried out a whisper, tugging almost desperately on Misha’s jacket, but in a way so he hopefully didn’t draw the creature’s attention. He would very much like to not get eaten that night.
Apparently that was all he could manage to say, too. Was to try and get Misha’s attention so they could leave, but it didn’t seem as though Misha was changing his mind any time soon. Which meant Yuuri was stuck with him, tears in the corners of his eyes because he really didn’t want to have to explain who he was as Kamacite if he had to teleport them both away.
“What is it??” he barely breathed, doubting that it was a youma, but it was definitely a monster of some kind. “We should go. We should really go.”
He had a feeling that they were not going to be going until Misha was satisfied with his content.
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