[Video/Action] 001

[wishingalone]

[Video]

[A new face appears over the Warp Bands. Mami, being a ridiculous Valkyrie who treats the law of gravity more like a loose guideline for other people, is just casually standing atop one of the towers while she sends a broadcast out. There is some wind as a result.]

Good morning, Union. Your city is quite impressive. As are these Warp Bands. I'd heard of them, but... never seen the like before.

[She is honestly relieved that they have tall towers here.]

I'm one of the people who assisted in that unfortunate business in Sanctuary. Mami Tomoe, a Valkyrie of Citadel, at your service. I hope everyone is well after everything that happened.

[The bright smile she flashes is perfectly polite and practiced, but a little sad. Yeah, that... entailed some discoveries that she isn't pleased with.]

[Action, Later in the Entertainment District]

[Mami doesn't spend the entirety of her first day in Union flying from rooftop to rooftop. It wouldn't be a very efficient way to see and experience the city, would it? No, instead, she is walking along the streets. She's presently in the entertainment district -- and gawking (or something more muted, but still utterly surprised), because Citadel has nothing like this. It's outside of the Pocket Stadium that she stops, staring at a flyer pressed into her hand.]

[She wrinkles her nose, trying to make sense of it.]

Bullet... Ball? [She's asking everyone and no one at the same time.] Is this like Sky Hockey? A Unioner sport, perhaps?

[Is Unioner the right word? She doesn't know.]

Comments

Action

[punchesyu]

[He likes getting out and doing things, it sucks to sit inside and work all day. He'd managed to get out of working for the rest of the day, and heads over to the Entertainment District to check out anything he could do there, when he sees her.

There's. No. Way. Is that?]

Mami Tomoe! Holy crap, somebody pinch me! What the hell is she doing all the way out here?

[So after he's done talking to himself, he walks over, trying to act cool about this. Thankfully, she's confused about the flyer, and he looks at it with her.]

I don't know, but it sounds pretty cool, huh?

[wishingalone]

[She didn't hear him ask aloud if that was really Mami Tomoe. (Chances are, she would have taken it in stride.) She is left looking at the flyer, confused, such that she isn't quite aware that Yosuke approached until he's closer. Closer than someone usually manages to get to her without her Senpai Sense tingling realizing. Combat training as a Valkyrie, it's a thing.]

Ah? Oh, hm.

[She glances down at the flyer, then back at him, with a smile.]

Yes, I suppose it does. "Bullet" implies that it must be fast. And graceful.

[punchesyu]

I couldn't agree more! [Because why wouldn't he be agreeing with one of the upcoming aces back in Citadel-!]

I mean, those from us from Citadel totally can appreciate something like that, right?

[wishingalone]

Oh, then you're from Citadel, too...? [Ah, and he must recognize her. She smiles and, subconsciously, straightens her posture out a little. She has an image that she has to maintain among her fellow countrymen.]

We certainly can. We are the children of the skies, after all. [She winks, then extends her hand to shake.] What's your name?

[punchesyu]

[He eagerly takes her hand, shaking it. Oh man. He really is getting to meet her.]

Yosuke, Yosuke Hanamura. I just got here not too long ago. You're Mami Tomoe, right? Guess that conveniently makes us both out-of-towners at the same time.

[wishingalone]

[She takes a second to think if that's a name she should know. She doesn't, though; she smiles instead and really hopes he's not the son of -- or worse, is -- someone important that she's supposed to know about.]

I am. I came here after the Battle of Sanctuary. We worked with Union on that operation, so I thought that I should see the city for myself.

[punchesyu]

You were at Sanctuary too? [How did he miss her?]

Yeah, that was pretty intense wasn't it? [Uh, think Yosuke, what do you say now? Crap crap...]

[wishingalone]

I was. I went with the team that took care of a Gigan weapons depot. We encountered resistance. Though...

[She frowns.] ...it was intense. And troubling, to discover what Sanctuary's resistance has done.

[punchesyu]

Yeah... [He looks down at the ground, trying not to flip out and get angry about that.]

No one deserves that. To be honest, I don't even know what to think anymore about that whole situation.

[wishingalone]

Forty years. I cannot approve of what they did, but... forty years is a long time. The desperation they felt must have been terrible.

[She glances down, too, and her eyes narrow.]

But I don't appreciate that they also used us as weapons to their own ends.

[punchesyu]

I guess I didn't think about it that way. Someone had to go in and do something about it, but...

[It's a situation that just morally, really confused him. He'd need more time to think on it.]

Hey, Mami, you know since we're standing outside of the stadium, why don't we go in and check it out? We can talk more inside than standing out here. [He figured watching whatever Bullet Ball is would help lighten the mood.]

[wishingalone]

Mm. [She nods. But... she's grateful for for the subject change and something else to focus on. There's nothing she can do about that; the thoughts it leads to are darker than Mami wants to deal with. There was supposed to be justice there, but--]

[--right. Bullet Ball!]

A fine idea! Let's. I think we will need to see it for yourselves, don't you agree? [She smiles and starts walking forward towards the Pocket Stadium. Why's it called that, anyways?]

[punchesyu]

[Score! It's not like a date or anything, but Mami totally just agreed to hang with him! Someone likes him. He hopes.]

Totally. [He joins her at her side, walking up to the ticket booth.] Two, please!

[The lady prints the tickets out, handing them to Yosuke. He fumbles in his pocket for his wallet, thankful that his dad gave him some of his earnings in Union money, and hands over some.] I got this.

[The lady stares back. You didn't give her enough, Yosuke.] Crap! Hold on a sec...

[wishingalone]

Oh, quite all right, I can help!

[She may be entirely clueless. Or she may be a little cruel. With Mami, you can never be entirely sure. She reaches smoothly into her pocket and pulls out a few coins, then puts them down. It's... it's more than enough to cover the whole thing.]

[Rich people.]

[punchesyu]

Ahhh... [She's totally loaded...]

T-Thanks. I guess I didn't have as much as I thought...

[wishingalone]

Don't worry about it. It happens.

[At least... she assumes it does. Really, most of her time is spent doing Valkyrie things. She usually participates in the sports -- not watches them. This is pretty novel. She starts walking inside.]

What brought you to Union?

[punchesyu]

[He walks alongside her, leading her in the direction of the concession stands. He has to make up for that so she doesn't think he's a total loser. Somehow.]

My dad and I moved here to open up another branch of our market. It does really well in Citadel, and he figured he could make a market here too. Have you heard of Junes?

[wishingalone]

Oh, yes. I've bought things there before, at the one in Citadel. I didn't realize your family owned it!

[She is a little impressed. Maybe she should know his family...]

Have you opened one here yet?

[punchesyu]

[He brightens at the fact that she'd been there. He must not of been working that day, or he totally would of noticed her.]

Sure have! Dad got it up and running while we were out at Sanctuary. I helped him out the best we could, and it's already attracting customers.

[He leads her to the concessions, ordering some kind of strange fruit snack bowl for himself.] Go ahead! Get whatever you want. [Thankfully, he can afford this, as it's much cheaper than buying two tickets in.]

[wishingalone]

Oh, why thank you!

[Mami doesn't have to think long. She picks a small plate of shortbread cookies. It was between that and cake, and arena is no place for cake.]

I'll have to go by there sometime. I didn't think that I could see any of the stores from home while I'm here.

video

[pearltergeist]

[ the girl on the screen gives a formal bow. ]

Welcome to Union, Miss Mami. My name is Pearl Fey, a student of the Kurain School of Channelling.

[ she straightens up; her smile is genuine and warm, but there's a little sadness there to match the older girl's. ]

You were also at Sanctuary too? I was assisting in the control room.

[wishingalone]

[Oh, a formal bow. Mami already likes you, Pearl. She smiles and inclines her head ever-so-slightly.]

It's a pleasure.

[She wonders about that school of channeling -- but later.]

I was. I assisted in the seizure of the weapons facility. We didn't encounter the... unfortunate things that other teams did. Are the others holding up after all of that?

[pearltergeist]

To be entirely truthful, I am not sure. I think that everyone is holding up as best they can, but still - it has hit some harder than others. Even for those of us on the other side of the radio, it was... a great shock, to hear those things.

[wishingalone]

I should imagine. I was shocked, too... and I can see why they failed to mention this to us. We may not have provided aid, if we knew. Or, the form of that aid might have changed.

[Her tone is calm as always, but... there's a little edge of anger to it. She feels used.]

[pearltergeist]

[ she nods vehemently. ]

Yes, you're right. I do not think I would have been able to turn a blind eye to their pleas for help, but if I had known...

[ she gives a short sigh, clearly troubled. ] I suppose that no matter how we feel about what they hid from us, there is not much use in thinking about what-ifs. But even so...!