thenearshore | [closed] today i had that dream again

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[closed] today i had that dream again

Who: Ren & Shun
When: August 7th
Where: Inanna's temple
What: Getting some regains and being sad~

[Ren is very reluctant to wake up in the morning. He's still feeling rundown from being stung yesterday, and it's so warm and comforting laying here next to Shun. He even ties to snuggle a little closer to Shun in an effort to pretend he's not waking up and it'll be easy to fall back asleep again.

...The kitten who decided right on top of him is the prefect place to wrestle with a toy this morning is making the very difficult, though.

Ren finally groans and tries to turn over to either dump the kitten on the floor or see what the heck is so interesting...and instead slides right out of bed and yelps as he lands on the floor himself. Well, that was pretty much the way his luck has been going lately. There's no way he'll be going back to sleep now.

In a surprising bit of good luck, the kitten lands right in his lap, still wrestling with her toy. Ren tugs the covers away to see it clearly and freezes.

It's not a toy. It's not even remotely a toy.

He goes on staring without really comprehending until he has to breathe again, and that finally jerks him into action. He frantically scolds the kitten and tugs her prize away, and then hurriedly scans the room for the other one. And there it is, in the middle of a tug of war between another two kittens. Ren scrambles across the floor to save the other glove, making even more commotion than before both in his hurry and to try to get the kittens to let it go on their own.

If Shun wasn't already awake, he definitely will be now.]

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[Given Shun almost invariably wakes up before Ren and (for once) hasn't been running himself into the ground recently, he's mostly just been lying around waiting for Ren to wake up. On a normal day, he would have likely gotten up already, but given what he heard happened yesterday, this doesn't really constitute a normal day. Having to deal with Eric getting a memory back means Ren's getting some extra consideration this morning.

As soon as Ren falls out of bed - which isn't exactly a surprising turn of events, but it's still not really a good one - Shun sits up, already obviously a lot more awake than Ren probably was to begin with. That also means that he doesn't have much trouble spotting the kittens tugging on a glove across he room, and given Ren's abrupt speed in trying to get it away from them, he's fairly certain he knows what's happened here.

In a quick, smooth motion, he slips out of the sheets and darts to the end of the bed in case Ren needs help intercepting the kitten battle. Ren's probably going to get there first either way, but that doesn't mean Shun can't intercede to pick the kittens up by their scruffs and make it a little easier.]

Let go. [The scolding isn't that necessary given the picking up itself substantially loosens their grip in the wake of some kittenish complaining, but it's kind of force of habit from work now.]

[As soon as Shun has the kittens in his grasp, Ren wastes no time in tugging the second glove from them. It's hard to be as gentle as he'd like when that makes the kittens even more eager to latch on to their toy, but once he does manage to get it free, it thankfully doesn't look likes it's been damaged at all.]

Thank you.

[His voice it quiet and he sounds more like he's saying it out of habit than because he's really paying attention to Shun being there. After a moment, he shifts so he's sitting more comfortably and starts turning over the gloves in his lap, looking for any damage and just enjoying being able to touch them again. Who would have thought he'd miss a pair of gloves so much...of course, they're very special so he did and now they're here and it almost seems too good to be true.]

[Once Ren manages to get hold of the glove, Shun brings the kittens up into his arms so they can't try to storm out and grab it again. It's especially relevant given how distracted Ren seems in the moments following getting both of the gloves, and after Ren's been turning over the gloves for a few seconds, Shun settles down across from him rather than crouching.

He's not sure what the gloves are or what they're for - they're not like anything he's seen in his world, with the strange design on the back - but Ren's behaviour towards them puts more certainty in his mind of what just happened, and he turns his attention from the gloves to Ren's face as if checking for a potential negative reaction.]

Is this the first time you've had something from your world appear here? [Shun's had it happen once before, but that was a while ago.]

[For a moment, it seem like Ren didn't even hear the question. Then he looks up at Shun like he's trying to decide if Shun really did ask him something, and when he finally seems to figure out an answer, it's with a very short, light laugh and he very quickly looks away again so hopefully Shun won't see how fragile it was.]

Is it really that obvious? [He finishes his brief inspection and his hands fall still, other than his thumb rubbing the stone on the back of one of the gloves.] I'd kind of given up on it...

[Unfortunately, since Shun was kind of expecting something along those lines, the hasty turn away doesn't really hide the fragility of it. Especially when Shun tends to do the same sort of thing himself when he wants to hide a certain reaction.

Setting the kittens behind him in the hope they'll find something else to be distracted by, Shun leans forward and reaches over to gently try to turn Ren's face back towards him.]

It's happened to me before, so I thought it might be the same thing. But it doesn't seem like there's rhyme or reason to it if it's taken this long to happen to you. [Ren's got to be going on six months for having been here now, since he'd been here about a month and a half before Shun arrived.]

[Oh, so Shun's not going to let him do that, huh. He could just jerk his head away, but that would definitely make Shun even more concerned and he doesn't need to be concerned at all because he's fine and this is fine, wonderful even. So Ren sighs a little and his fingers tighten around his gloves, but he lets Shun move his head and his even smiles a little helplessly at the observation.]

It seems like that's how it is for a lot of things. It's frustrating, but... [Shrug. There's not much they can do about it without knowing who's behind things.] What did you get?

But we need to find out what's going on before we can do anything about that. [Though Shun sounds mildly annoyed by that detail, he also sounds somewhat resigned. At this rate, it's not going to be anytime soon they figure out what's going on here.

At the question, Shun's gaze shifts a bit to one side, but only for a moment or two.] That photo I showed you a while ago. With me, Yuto and Ruri. The version on my phone was just a photo of the hardcopy, and I didn't react well to finding it either.

[That had not been a painless morning. There's a reason Shun usually keeps the frame it's in face-down.]

Oh. [Oh. No, he wouldn't think even Shun would react well to something like that.] But it's nice to have a way to remember them, isn't it? I think I would've liked having something like that. We took some pretty good pictures after the High School Championships...

[He started that out with a small smile, but by the end of it, he's staring off past Shun's ear just looking lost and sad. After a moment, he sighs a little and his fingers nervously worry at his gloves again.]

I guess that sounds pretty greedy, doesn't it? After I just got something...and I really am happy I got my gloves back...

[Shun figures from the way Ren loses his attempt at cheery momentum to sadness that he understands the problem he would've raised without him having to bring it up. He's not quite as sure of how comforting people usually goes when he's as close to them as Ren, but since his hand is already on his cheek, he makes an initially somewhat hesitant and awkward attempt at rubbing his thumb against it like Ren sometimes does to him.]

It's a double-edged sword. [And Ren clearly understands that, so he doesn't press, instead moving on to the point of it being greedy and shaking his head.] They're your friends. Of course you'd want some way to remember them. I'd think it was stranger if you didn't still want something like that, even if it can hurt as much as it helps.

[Ren blinks in surprise, but soon enough, leans his head into Shun's hand and closes his eyes. He isn't sure he really wants it right now, but he probably needs it and it is pretty nice. (Although the nicest thing about it is that Shun decided to try it all on his own.)]

Double-edged swords are my favorites. [Even this one. Especially this one. Sure, if he ever did get a picture, it would hurt every time he looked at it, but it would be completely worth it.] So I don't think you'll have to worry about me for a long time.

Just because I don't have to doesn't mean I won't. [Then again, neither of them is terribly good at being deterred about worrying. As it is, Shun just keeps up the motion of his thumb for a few moments before withdrawing it and nodding a little at the gloves.]

If you want to tell me more about them, you can. Obviously they're important to you, but from here I can't really tell if they're technology or just fancy gloves.

[Or both, which is just as likely an option.]

[Turns out, this was a very wise thing to suggest, because Ren would absolutely like to talk about them and is, in fact, very eager to show them off.]

They're a bit of both. [And he's just going to work a hand into one of them while he's talking, so Shun can get the full effect.] They're my Fight Gloves. They work with some of the older Motion Figure Systems to create holograms while we're fighting. My private fight fields don't need them, but all of the systems used in official tournaments do.

[Ren flexes his fingers and turns his hand around a couple times to give Shun a good look at the glove, and then pulls his hand back to run his fingers over the crystal on the back again with a much more wistful smile.]

The crystals on the back are supposed to be from Cray, but I've never noticed anything special about them. I've always wanted that to be true, though.

[As soon as Ren mentions that they have something to do with the holographic systems they use in his world, Shun's interest piques rather obviously. Without the context, it's hard to really see how the two things connect, especially when what his world uses is so radically different, but it seems like he's curious to find out, and he's definitely looking over the glove carefully when Ren shows it off.]

So they connect to the field somehow? Sounds like it'd be a different experience to what we use in my world. [Odd, but it makes a certain kind of sense. He'd almost liken it to the Action Field system, but that was never needed to make the holograms themselves work.

The bit of lore does explain the fanciful design, and Shun nods a little in thought.] So your game has those kinds of lore and legends as well. The holograms we use in my world worked completely differently, but that never stopped people from starting rumours. [Or supposed rumours, like duel spirits.] I don't think I ever showed you how ours work properly, though.

[...You know what, he's just going to pull on the second glove too while he's at it, because he was going to do it eventually so eventually might as well be now.]

I'm not sure it was a rumor so much as a marketing thing. Most people don't believe Cray is real, after all.

[Once he has both gloves on, Ren pauses to just stare at his hands for a moment. Then he takes in a deep, shuddering breath and pouts playful at Shun, although his fingers are clinging tightly to his ankles now.]

No, you never did. They probably are pretty different, though. Our different systems are pretty different experiences from each other, so I'm sure they are between different worlds too.

That was never really as relevant in my world. But that's still what you'd consider "lore" for the game. [Marketing a game that was basically universal was a little on the pointless side, hence why Shun jumped to rumour rather than marketing, but he supposes that makes sense as well.

The way Ren breathes in the moment after he puts the gloves on and the way he clings to his legs makes Shun's brows draw a bit, and for a moment, he reaches a hand out to cover one of Ren's in a reassuring motion. But he figures he could maybe use a bit of a distraction - or perhaps more reason to talk about his own world - and it's with that thought that he leans back to where he left his day clothes at the foot of the bed and digs around until he can pull out his Duel Disk.

It's another moment before he remembers he's been keeping his deck seperately, and he sighs quietly and reaches back over to retrieve his deck box.] I'm not used to keeping these apart. [Ren may be able to guess why he is, though, given their conversation the previous day.]

[Ren starts a bit when Shun touches his hand, but after a moment, he does relax a little and he watches Shun dig through his thing with a faint smile. He knows Shun still feels like he has no idea what he's doing with this relationship thing, but he's doing really well at figuring it out.

As Shun leans over the second time, though, Ren suddenly frowns and leans over the other way to look around him. It looks like there's something under his bed, but it's far enough under that it's hard to tell what. A card? Did he somehow drop one of his cards and not notice? It does look more like one of his than Shun's, if it looks like anything at all...

And it can wait if Shun's about to give him a demonstration of his hologram system. Ren leans back upright again, his frown turning more thoughtful.]

...Oh, Fubuki-kun? [He honestly isn't sure he could keep himself from re-teaching anyone from his world who showed up as a shinki, much less keep his cards hidden from them, but Shun probably has the right idea here.] I guess you have to be really careful that he doesn't see any of it, right?

Yeah. It wouldn't be as bad if he was completely disconnected, but...from what Johan said, he and Fubuki are from some kind of alternate version of Academia. One that didn't militarise, and was just a normal school. [He still sounds a little distant from the concept, as if he can't quite believe it, but Fubuki definitely isn't a soldier, let alone one of the tier Academia trained, and Johan had basically short-circuited when Shun rattled off every summoning method that wasn't Fusion. Not to mention specific tournaments and different teachers - it's too complicated a lie to maintain on the spot. It's hard not to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

Shun inserts his deck in the end of the duel disk and sets it on his wrist as he goes on. As he puts it there, a metal clasp comes out from the base and fastens around his arm.] I don't use it often, but it still has functions other than holographic displays, so I can't risk that I'll pull it out for those without thinking.

[As the disk switches on, the outward edge lights up and a triangular blade of hard light appears in the air just in front of the disk, bright blue at the edges and much darker in the middle. Without much fanfare, Shun opens a slot in the reverse of the disk and slips out a card, laying it vertically on the blade. A swirl like a black and gold galaxy, full of stars, winds open at the roof, and a creature descends - a robotic bird that takes up basically the entire height between floor and ceiling. It's a strange-looking one, its legs disproportionate in two different ways and its four wings lined with exhaust pipes. As it appears fully and the gateway closes, its six red eyes light up, and it raises its head to emit an eerie, wailing cry.

Shun looks up to it with something almost affectionate in his gaze.] This is Raidraptor - Rise Falcon. If I had to choose a monster I was closest to, this would be mine.

[As soon as Shun activates his duel disk, Ren is fascinated by it, and he leans forward to get as good a look at it as possible and even reaches up to touch the edge of the solid blue light. He had been wondering how Shun could use such a small thing to play his game, but he didn't quite expect this to be the answer. It reminds him a little of the floating tables the Reversed fighters caused to appear, which he thought would be difficult to replicate since that had been magic. Figuring out some way to have it project from something small like this, though...it's too bad he doesn't have the resources here to hire the right people to do it...

He doesn't have long to think about it, though. As soon as the galaxy appears above them, Ren turns away to gap at it and then at the creature that drops out of it. There's a sudden scuttling commotion on the floor behind them when the creature cries as the kittens, who had migrated onto the bed, fall over themselves to get away from it, but Ren doesn't even seem to notice. He shivers a little and pushes himself to his feet to get closer to it.]

He's so cool! He's much cooler like this than on the card. I bet you guys were terrifying together. Can I touch him?

[Of course, he's going to try to touch Rise Falcon's beak without waiting for an answer. At least, so long as Rise Falcon itself doesn't seem to mind, but even then it's going to be hard not to keep trying. It's a cool bird and he really wants to touch it.]

[The blade is very solid, though given it's hard light, the feel of it might be a bit strange. While Shun turns his head rather sharply at the sound of the kittens running off - he'd almost forgotten they were there, honestly - he looks back in time to see Ren stand up to get closer.

Though he can guess well enough what Ren wants even before he says it, he shakes his head slightly with a somewhat downcast air to his face.]

You can try. [But Shun reaches his own hand up to touch at one of Rise Falcon's claws - his hand goes straight through the projection, and his jaw tightens a bit as if he's still not used to that.] They haven't had mass since I came here. I don't know why it was just that that broke, but something must have happened.

[It had been troubling, ending up in a new world without even his most steadfast comrades to come to his aid, but he's adjusted to that absence by now. Even if he still certainly doesn't like it.

Even so, the projection responds in a more lively manner, tilting its beak down a bit at the apparent registering that there are people trying to touch it.]

[Ren looks a little disappointed when his fingers go right through Rise Falcon's beak, but only because Shun's duel disk had made him hope for more. Otherwise, this is pretty much what their holograms are like back home. So once the moment has passed, Ren just moves on to pretending to pet its beak as best he can.]

Maybe they thought you'd do too much damage if you had the option.

[Doesn't explain how certain other people who could do massive damage all on their own (like his shinki) weren't defanged like that though. Well, just one more question to ask whoever's responsible when they find them.]

...My private Motion Figure Systems are a lot like this. They just project your units and not anything else. They don't interact with you like this, though.

[If his disk's abilities had still been intact, Shun would likely have demonstrated earlier, but as it is it only ever feels like a sad echo of what it would've been like back home. Granted, he certainly wouldn't have been demonstrating in Ren's bedroom if the holograms still had mass.

There's a faint sound of mild annoyance at Ren's guess, partially because he's probably right.] It's not like I pull out Revolution Falcon or Satellite Cannon Falcon for just anything, and those are the biggest widespread damage-dealers.

[Did Shun mention he has a monster literally named Satellite Cannon Falcon, because he does.

It makes sense, too, that their holograms would have a different level of interactivity.] Yours are only designed to be used in "fights", I'm guessing. Any duel disk that ever had Real Solid Vision is designed to be used outside of duels as well, so monsters can't only respond to things related to the game.

[Satellite Cannon Falcon... Ren mouths the name after him, along with a faint "cool..." because seriously, with a name like that it has to be amazing.]

Yeah, even when we were facing an alien invasion, they had to attack us by turning us against each other through normal fights first, and by the time any real units could show up to cause real damage, Aichi-kun was in the middle of expelling them all anyway.

[Or so it had seemed from the footage he'd watched afterward since unfortunately, he'd been unconscious at the time.]

Maybe if it was easier for them to reach Earth and they'd shown up sooner, we would have needed to come up with something else...something more real would be pretty cool for some kind of amusement park, though...

Usually we use duels, but there's nothing stopping anyone from using the technology to set an explosive trap outside of one, or something similar. [But that's about all the comment he's making on that aspect of it, because there's a pretty big thing here that he feels the need to remark on. Ren kind of glossing over it just makes Shun raise a brow at him over his disk.]

You've never mentioned an alien invasion before. [Probably one of his "other stories", but they never really got to that after the first one. Shun had basically had to tell his entire story in one go, but Ren seemed to have quite a few.] But you probably would've needed that technology if they'd come sooner with that kind of power. That's how it started with us.

[An overwhelming enemy with power their dimension hadn't discovered yet...it rings a bit too familiar.]

[Ah yes, he can see how that could be bad. It would have been really bad if Void had been able to do things like that. Good things it couldn't! And the only powers he knows of that could be that dangerous had been pretty limited in where they could be used.

...Oh, has he not. mentioned the Link Joker invasion yet...? Ren stares thoughtfully at one of Rise Falcon's wings for a moment. Well, maybe not quite so explicitly. Oops.]

Oh, probably because that happened after I came to my senses. And there's some stuff that happened in-between too. And stuff that happened after.

[There's actually quite a lot he hasn't told Shun yet, since the point of their last story-time was trade notes on how terrible they both were. And then it just hasn't come up again since then. Oops??]

I did want to tell you about all of that some time. [Right this minute, he not sure how much of it he could get through without Shun worrying too much about how he's holding up, but the offer's out there now and he can't take it back.]

[Shun had figured that much, though Ren's being a bit vague about where this invasion sits compared to that, since "stuff happening" could cover quite a broad scope of time. But he does want to know more about Ren and his past, and though he's a little concerned about doing it right now when Ren's already in a bit of an iffy state, he can try to make it as comfortable for him as he can.]

I'm interested in hearing it. If you're okay with that. [It's down to Ren, really, since it's his history. Shun's about the last person who'd force someone to share that sort of thing unless it was vitally important.

It does make something else occur to him, though, and he gives a faint sound of something like amusement, ot perhaps more the novelty of just having registered something.] It's been almost three months since we first really talked about this.

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[closed] today i had that dream again

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