aterat | Seventeen Again And Causing Shit

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Seventeen Again And Causing Shit

Who; Tommy Shepherd, Yusuke Kitagawa, Open
What; Tommy makes a poorly Advised Wish and becomes less responsible (and 17)
Where; Lodge, Markets, Gray Residential Building
When; March 12th to 18th
Warnings; Lots of cursing

I. Fraught Emotions | The Lodge (Closed to Yusuke)

It's been a lot of things going on, and the storm was just fraying at Tommy's nerves in ways it should not have been. Weather had rarely been a thing to move him so much, because he could avoid it, move from it. There were exceptions of course. Too much snow made him ache in a way that was only true for speedsters he thought. But there was a whole other issue with storms, with lightning. His speed built up static, and too much of a charge could draw energy to him. Like lightning. So Tommy had to go slow with storms.

But really, that had to be the only reason he was in such a foul mood tonight, right? Had to be. Tommy still had to work though. The pay from the Lodge was mostly spent on feeding Speedy after all, so he came to work and made his way through it. And here it was, one of his favorite customers. Tommy put down his plate of food for his break opposite Yusuke and slid right in, not even thinking about it.

"Shit weather, right? Mind if I sit. Anyway, I brought extra bread."

A bribe to be tolerated as company.

II. Where The Fuck Is Here And Who The Fuck Are You? | Markets

It had all happened so suddenly. One moment he'd been stretched out on the Kaplan couch, letting Mrs. K talk at him the way he knew he had to so that he could get dinner with the family when he visited, and then he'd been in some old western diner or something. Tommy hadn't taken it well, but the kid there had been kind, tried to explain shit. Not that it'd made sense.

When finally he'd gotten fed up with everything Tommy had fled, right out into a wet world just after a storm. Annoyed he'd just let his feet do the guiding, and yeah, he'd found a city. Except.

"Fuck this place looks more in the past than Transia," he grumbled as he moved through the town square. And why the fuck were all these people looking at him like he was familiar.

"The absolute fuck is going on? I swear when I get back I'm giving B a piece of my mind for this shit."

Because of course it had to be his all powerful witch brother who was depressed that did this to him. What else made sense? At least it meant Billy was getting off his ass and using his powers again

III. Hell Was Almost Better | Gray Residential Building

Okay, so he'd figured some shit out. He was here, there was no going back unless the powers that be sent him back, and he was going to have to live with that. At least the him that was here before, the older him, had done something right in getting his life set up.

That didn't mean Tommy knew where the fuck that was, other than the clue of a gray key in the gray pouch at his side.

"Hey," he shouted as he burst through the doors of the gray residential building at full speed. "Anyone here? Someone tell me where the hell I live before I have to try every damn door in this place!"

He was losing patience fast. All he wanted to do was crash on a really comfy bed and sleep, was that so wrong?

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Yusuke wasn’t particularly fond of storms himself, if only in that they tended to descend upon the world in the least convenient moments. Sometimes it felt like they actually followed him, and a few people had indicated as much. Even here at Aterat, where poor Aerith was the victim of an oversized hat and a lot of wet sand during a downpour, they both got caught in.

So while he wasn’t grumpy over the weather like other people seemed to be, he felt a certain amount of displeasure and uncertainty every time the sky opened up and dumped harsh buckets on their heads.

This day had found him seeking shelter in the lodge on his way back from Aerith’s, where he’d been delivering another piece for her to display in her shop. The torrential downpour catching him in between (but thankfully after the painting had been delivered) and driven him inside. He found the atmosphere in the lodge pleasing enough, and both Tommy and Ignis never minded his lingering when he was ‘people watching’ to get a better idea of the atmosphere in a place like the lodge. He’d been checking through his bag to see if anything got soggy when Tommy slid into a seat and set a plate down.

“I cannot deny that, certainly. It’s absolutely dreadful out, not fit for man nor beast.” He sighed his agreement, before shaking his head. “Of course I don’t mind. Sharing a table with a friend is always a delight.” Though his eyes lit up at the mention of extra bread. He never needed a bribe to ‘tolerate’ Tommy’s company, but he also would be the last person to turn down free bread. “Extra bread? You have my thanks. I was thinking I might need a bite before I head back out.”

Tommy slides the bread over as he starts into the heavy stew that was made just for him. Ignis was kind, just letting Tommy keep a pot of thick stew on for when he needs to eat.

"Why the hell would you go out in this? It's such a mess, right? Sopping. Disgusting."

Yusuke didn’t take long to accept the bread, picking up a piece to break into bite-sized pieces to eat.

The question is met with a pause. Why indeed? “Ah, well, I have a few errands to run yet. I was delivering a painting to Aerith. She’s been displaying my work in her shop.” She hadn’t convinced him to let her sell anything for him yet, but that was perhaps understandable.

As for the errands, he would probably be going back to run a few patrols around the harbor once he stopped at the thief’s den for a brief check in on the group. That needn’t be said, though, so he instead focused on the other’s words. “But you are right, it’s more like swimming rather than walking when outside. And it comes down in such random moments, I feel as though the sky is laughing at us.”

"You know, that's actually quite accurate," Tommy said, sighing between spoonfuls of soup. "Like, the rain is just there to be annoying. Because of course it is. That's just how life works right now."

Especially for him, and he hated it. Why can't things be simple?

Nibbling on a piece of bread he’d broken off, he knew Tommy was right. It was the pattern that life seemed to follow here, and right now it was a lot of rain and weird occurrences, almost like clockwork. Things got quiet for a bit, and then suddenly they were in the middle of something again. “Truly vexing, really, especially when there is nothing to be done for the unstable nature of weather and its whims. I suppose even with your speed, you couldn’t outrun it either, right?” He offered sympathetically. The rain was just there, and in such heavy downpours, it didn’t really matter how fast you were if it was already coming down.

"I could, if I could get far enough away from this place," Tommy said. But that wasn't going to happen. Not now, not ever.

"Did that sometimes, back home. When I didn't want to deal with it. Of course if you think hydroplaning cars is bad..."

“Ah, so only that odd barrier is stopping you, then.” It was terribly frustrating to think their world really was so small here… But he did like to wonder sometimes if it might change one day.

“I couldn’t imagine being so fast as to outrun the rain.” Yusuke tilted his head at the idea. To simply outrun the weather you didn’t want to deal with. He winced a little at the mention of hydroplaning, though. “That must be more than a little scary, and painful if you hit something?” Seriously, that sounds terrible, Tommy.

"Yep," he says, the p popping noisily. "And it's not that I'm outrunning the rain. It's still there. You can't step between rain drops. But I can outrun the front."

And yes, it's scary and painful. To the point where even Tommy winces.

Tugging another piece of bread apart, he listened to the explanation with interest. It was something to learn about, honestly. Hearing about other people and what they could do was always an interesting thing. It put the vastness of the possibilities in other worlds into perspective. So very different from persona… Even some people here with persona had different experiences from his own.

“Oh! That does make more sense.” Still, that was quite impressive regardless. It had to be frustrating to be suddenly stuck in some space, forced to essentially put up with things one normally didn’t have to if they decided they didn’t want to. At the wince, he supposed he had his answer to the question. “So even if you’re used to the weather conditions, I suppose it must be better to not risk it in this weather.” No wonder Tommy’s mood was low, if he also had to slow down on top of the unpleasantness of being caught in a storm he’d normally not have to put up with.

"Exactly," Tommy said with a frustrated groan. "This place is just like that. Like being trapped all the time. Like being back..."

No, he wasn't going to think about that.

"It makes me miss the easy time, with my team. When I could just be a hero."

The way Tommy’s sentence dropped off got a small, confused expression from Yusuke. Sounded like something important, but also not like something the man wanted to speak about as he continued with a slight shift in the topic. “You had a team?” He wondered briefly what they were like, though it was clear that they weren’t here. “I can well imagine you’d miss them, though, being so far from home and in such an oddly contained world.” That was something Yusuke knew he was lucky for, that two of his own team were here. Even if he didn’t exactly know one of them yet when they arrived. But they took that in stride and gave him the chance to know them, anyway. The point stood. He wasn’t entirely alone, and they were… doing their own thing, and that helped to deal with the obvious flaws to this world.

"Yeah. My brother. His boyfriend. A girl and a guy I liked. A best friend. Two best friends actually. And then everything happened and it all fell apart."

They all fell apart. Tommy hates thinking about that. They had Cassie back now, but Jonas would never be back. Jonas's parts, his mind, they were used to restore his father. And... And he didn't want to think about it.

"It was so much better back then. We were just heroes, doing our thing, saving the world. I liked it a lot, even if they were all sorta stuck up punks sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could have those days back."

They were the wrong words to say, and he doesn't even know it. The spell that hovers unseen around them latches onto the words and acts. There's a flash of light and instead of Tommy in his early twenties and in casual work clothes, there's a younger teen there, looking confused and annoyed. Oh and he was in a strange green and silver outfit with orange tinted goggles on.

"What the actual fuck?"

Yusuke listened to Tommy talk about his team, his friends that he clearly missed. Whatever had happened to make it all fall apart must have been something considerable, by the tone in the other’s voice. It was sad to think that not only was Tommy alone here, but that the team wasn’t still together even when he went back. He couldn’t imagine how he’d feel about losing his own group. It had been jarring enough when he first arrived and no one was here at first.

He opened his mouth to offer a sympathetic comment at the wish. It was quite understandable, after all. Wanting to go back to some time before, either before something happened or before things got complicated. But… Well, he doesn’t really get to.

The flash of light left him blinking with a perplexed expression as his eyes re-adjusted and he was faced with… Not quite the person he’d been speaking to just now. “What, indeed?” He responded in a confused tone himself, tilting his head slightly. “What on heart was that light about just now? Your clothes are different- you’re different, actually.” He tilted his head slightly and looked over the costume. He would almost say it was like when his own costume appeared but… His physical appearance didn’t change, and Tommy looked younger than the 20 something he had before.

Yeah, this was not what he was expecting. One minute he's bumming it in New York on the Kaplan's couch, waiting for dinner, next he's... Where the fuck is he? Fucking hell.

"This is Wiccan's fault isn't it?" he grumbled as he looked around. And of course there's the dude across from him.

"Yo, dorky but cute, where the fuck am I, who the fuck kidnapped me, and what the fuck is happening? Better have good answers."

With a few moments to observe Tommy’s shift in attitude and behavior on top of the appearance thing, it becomes more likely that what happened did more than change the man’s appearance… It seemed like he wasn’t recognized either, so it wasn’t just Tommy being physically younger. It was… Tommy reverted to the time he… Oh. He had just said he wished he could have those days… the days from his past, back.

Yusuke was startled out of his internal speculation by the comment. “P-pardon??” ‘Dorky but cute????’ What? He blinked a bit like a wide-eyed owl at that and the rapid-fire questions directed at him. Complicated questions… He was good at answering questions, or at least he tried to be when someone new joined the group. So just pretend this was like that, Yusuke!

“Right, well. This is the hunting lodge’s restaurant.” No. Too specific. “This world is called Aterat, and we’ve all been brought here from our own worlds while this one rebuilds… But I think you’re here specifically because of something that the you I was just speaking to said? Which is to say you were already here, and you’ve… switched somehow with the you from another time.” Maybe… Probably…? Are those good answers? Probably not. “Oh, and before I forget my manners entirely, I’m Yusuke Kitagawa.”

He calls them like he sees them, Yusuke, and he's had plenty of time to peg you as a dork. Your own fault. Don't like it, don't be a dork. But he really doesn't like the answers he's getting. Too farfetched. Doesn't believe it.

"Okay, Kitagawhatever, that all sounds like a load of BS. Really complicated BS. Like, seriously, you've trapped me in some sort of magical illusion world, haven't you? Admit it. I've seen through your lies."

“Kitagawa.” He corrects, because it seemed like Tommy hadn’t quite caught it… Rather than gotten it wrong on purpose.

He moved on, though, to the main subject. “Well, I can’t deny it’s complicated. Most of what we know is just vague, fragmented bits of knowledge that one of us happens upon once in a while. But I do assure you, it’s all true.” He responded with a shake of his head, even as he sees the skepticism in this Tommy’s eyes.

He doesn’t even know how he’d go about trapping Tommy like that. Unless the guy fell into the metaverse when his app was activated, of course, but that would be an accident rather than on purpose. Plus, that didn’t exist here aside from that one time, the Mirror world changed into something the other persona users knew as the Dark Hour. “I certainly haven’t trapped you in a magical illusion world!” Expression slightly wounded for being accused of lying, though he had to admit it's not an easy subject to explain. “We’re all rather tapped and we don’t control arriving or leaving.”

Dude, he didn't fully get it, but he also didn't really care? Because this dude had captured him and thus deserved no respect.

"I'm in a magical illusion world, I'm apparently trapped, and I land right here with you? Sounds pretty fucking suspicious. You're an evil sorcerer, aren't you? Don't lie, I can see through you."

Okay, that was actually… Kind of fair point. Yusuke frowns slightly, awkwardly folding his arms at the accusation. “Well, when you put it like that, I can’t deny it sounds like a rather logical theory… But I’m not an evil sorcerer!” He gestured with a little flap of his hand, tone quite serious. “I’m an artist!” Not a sorcerer…!

… So maybe he could also summon a very large person to fight with him and case ice spells and stuff… But not a sorcerer! An artist and a phantom thief! That’s very different from sorcerers, he thinks!

Yeah, bullshit. Tommy rolls his eyes and gets to his feet. This is not where he belongs.

"You're definitely something. And I'm not trusting you."

He needs more information.

This really really was the strangest conversation he’d ever had, and it seemed like it was going nowhere fairly quickly. What was worse was he really didn’t think there was a way to make this Tommy trust him, given his reason for not trusting him.

He could see Tommy seemed intent on getting up and leaving. Which was a bit worrying, considering the guy didn’t know where he was in the first place. At the same time, Yusuke also couldn’t really discourage him from leaving. That would only make him seem more suspicious. “That is rather clear… But I am telling the truth, regardless of what you think right now.”

Hopefully, someone else could back that information up. He was sure there were plenty of people who knew Tommy here as well, given both his jobs.

Hey, getting places (including nowhere) quickly was absolutely Tommy's thing. Don't be so shocked.

"Truth is fucking malleable," Tommy said, and then in a burst of speed and a rush of air, he was gone.

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Seventeen Again And Causing Shit

I. Fraught Emotions

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