First Breath, gotta catch your breath.

[entertainheir]

Who: SS First Breath, anyone else?
Broadcast: None
Action: First Breath
When: Starting from the IC shuffle, up to the end of the month

[There's been a bit of coming and going on the ship lately, but this time the First Breath is graced with no less than three (3) new passengers! Welcome all, and how are you guys faring? And while we're at it, what are the older residents up to? Inquiring minds want to know.]

Comments

[entertainheir]

[Yuya, for his part, is...still adjusting. Normally he's all for a celebration, but life's been rough lately and getting kidnapped has definitely put a big damper on his attitude on top of everything else. The end result is that when the new arrivals are teleported onto the ship he's surprised for a moment, and then he just stands there looking vaguely unhappy. He's observing the confetti and the music and the desserts, but it's all with a glum sort of hollowness until the deja vu hits him. He's gone through this just two days ago, hasn't he, and he's only thought about the lessons Mom imparted to him because of it a dozen times in the last day.

So he puts on his best smile and spreads out his arms at the nearest people like he's greeting an audience (which is probably true anyway, even if he can't see the viewers in question), and slips into his entertainer persona at full throttle. His voice is notably affected; just part of his theatrics as usual.]

Ladies and gentlemen! My name is Yuya Sakaki, heir to Yusho Sakaki's Entertainment Duel style. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that together we can give our unseen audience a show to remember!

[...Well, it probably would have worked in an arena.]

[detectivewonder]

That's the plan.

[Tim applauds politely, smiling a little and shaking his head at the ridiculous showmanship. It's cheesy, but they can make cheesy work for them, he thinks. And another bright, cheerful attitude on the ship will make things interesting.]

[entertainheir]

[Yuya bows and gets a good look at Tim once he's straightened up again - okay, not intimidating, he can do this. He drops the exaggerated tone when he speaks next, sounding more like a normal fourteen-year-old kid this time.]

And who are you?

[detectivewonder]

Tim Drake. Your pilot and captain. Neither of which you need to take very seriously.

[entertainheir]

Oh, right. I think I'm...an engineer?

[The face Yuya makes says enough about how he feels about that. Can't expect much from a bunch of kidnappers, but did they have to give him some job that involves his worst subjects?]

[detectivewonder]

... Yeah, that takes a little getting used to. Still, I'm sure you'll do fine. You'll find you know your duties better than I do, so except when we hold drills or there's a crisis, I'll leave you to your work without ordering you around.

[entertainheir]

Uh...okay. Do you have to work on piloting a lot around here?

[Yuya doesn't want to purposefully skip out on work and sure, the augments are supposed to help, but he still doesn't have a good feeling about his future success as an engineer.]

[gitanes]

You're kidding, right?

[Lila stands with her hands on her hips, looking dubious. It would've sounded impressive if he wasn't, like, two inches tall.]

[entertainheir]

[That's a reaction he hasn't gotten in a while, and it's enough to make Yuya falter a little bit. He lowers his arms, abandoning the pose, and gives Lila a more mundane smile instead.]

That's our style. It makes things exciting for the crowd, so they'll be looking forward to what you do next!

[gitanes]

What if I don't want them to look forward to what I do next?

[Part of her is purely being ornery, but part of her's serious. She really doesn't want to play into this Atroma bullshit any more than she absolutely has to.]

[entertainheir]

[Also discouraging. Yuya just stops himself from frowning or worse, and instead puts on a bigger smile again. That's his goal, isn't it?]

Well, what else are we going to do? Getting mad here won't do us any good.

[gitanes]

That doesn't mean we have to play into their game.

[Lila isn't about to let Atroma control her any more than she absolutely has to. She can't escape, but she's not going to just sit around and entertain them, either.]

[entertainheir]

Playing along may be the best option we have if we want to go home. Whoever Atroma is, they must be much stronger than we are right now.

[Yuya's still keeping up the smile but this time there's definitely a hint of defeat to his voice. Anger didn't work two days ago, won't work now. At least it's not another war.]

[gitanes]

And you're willing to accept that?

[Now she's just getting angry.]

That's weak. [She said, yelling at a child . . .]

[entertainheir]

[Yuya has no verbal response for that. He just hunches up on himself, looking away as the upbeat demeanor fades. Mom told him to remember his smile, but...is she right?]

[gitanes]

[She looks down at him coldly. He should be stronger than this - no matter how young he is, he should be stronger.]

You can do better than this.

[entertainheir]

[Reiji Akaba said the same thing when they fought, and he had a point. Yuya believed him and played right into his hands, but the kind of person Reiji Akaba wants him to be isn't the kind of person Yuya wants to be if he wants to live up to his father's legacy. And as usual, thinking of what Dad would do gives him a way forward.]

You're right, but not like you think you are. Bringing people smiles instead of fighting, even if they're unfriendly or even enemies...that's the best thing I can do, as an Entertainment Duelist.

[He sure is serious about entertainment - but hey, that's his thing.]

[gitanes]

An Entertainment Duelist.

[What the fuck is that.]

[entertainheir]

Huh?

[Does this one not know what duels are either? The concept is really baffling, because it seems to be a constant across every dimension he knows of.]

Well...have you heard of dueling? Like this.

[Lila may notice that Yuya's wearing cargo pants with some conspicuously large pockets! It's from one of these that he takes out a deck of cards, presenting it bottom-up to show a card depicting a cute hippo in a top hat and bowtie.]

[gitanes]

[Yeah, no, Lila has definitely not ever seen dueling with a pack of cards. She cocks her head, regarding his deck suspiciously.]

So it's a card game?

[entertainheir]

Yeah! You summon monsters and use strategies to do battle. And with newer technology we can interact with the monsters ourselves, and that's where the real fun begins! That's what Entertainment Duels are all about.

[He's really excited, inspired even. This is his element.]

[gitanes]

You interact with the monsters . . . on the cards.

[Okay, now she's just confused.]

And why is that good, again?

[entertainheir]

Because it's fun to watch! Most duels these days take place in an Action Field, which uses holograms to create new environments and Action Cards scattered around to help you in a pinch. Running around with your monsters, never knowing what'll happen next...it's exciting for both the duelist and the crowd!

[gitanes]

So what you're saying to me is you're okay with being kidnapped and put on television because you're used to it?

[entertainheir]

No, that's not it! More than anything, I want to be out with my comrades looking for our missing friend. But even if I'm trapped here, I have to make people smile.