#03 ic

[discovdani]

@dismalice continued from here.

The yokai let out an embarrassing yelp at the appearance of the strange... stranger. He almost toppled backwards from the outburst, loud and performative. Spamton could've been playing any role he wanted -- unbeknownst to Usapyon, this was all he knew -- and the otter would've still been taken aback. What an interesting way to greet someone. By interesting, he of course meant very rude!

"What the-- what the hell?! How are you speaking in numbers?!" Usapyon's hands balled up as he followed up by grinding his teeth. He wanted to pull his helmet's ears over the complete absurdity of it all. Didn't he just come out of a dumpster?! Was he dumpster diving?! Gah, so many things were running through his head that he could hardly follow just one of them. Cyber City had a lot of interesting people in it. While his time in New Yokai City was short, he could take as ever long as he wanted to here. There were no worlds that were at the brink of no return -- there also wasn't Hailey Anne dragging him around to all the spots she wanted to see in their downtime. As a whole, this solo trip to the neon-lit city was doing him right. Usapyon fixed on the salesman's face once he went on his routine spiel. Pink and yellow glasses, what a pretty color combination. What didn't make them pretty was the shady man speaking to him in cryptic characters. Was that him he was smelling? Ew.

"Spamton G... what? You use the same name twice?" Granted this shouldn't have come as a shock to the otter. There were a handful of yokai with strange, silly names. That was the distinction: they were all yokai, and Spamton was a Darkner. Two entirely different things! Usapyon retorted, fixing his posture. Making a deal with a complete stranger was never a good idea. Usapyon didn't know anything about the salesman outside of the fact that he was strange and very untrustworthy. Did he know the impression he was giving off? With everything else in mind, no, he most likely didn't. Or couldn't help it. That made the yokai feel bad. Spamton didn't necessarily appear as though he'd died once, but he looked pretty damn close to it. That still didn't do anything to still the otter's nerves, however. "Anyway, I'm sorry, but I'm not looking to make any deals. I'm just a visitor! I won't be staying around Cyber City long to see it come to fruition." If the man could smell through garbage dumpsters, maybe he could smell lies. At the very least Usapyon was telling him a truth.

[discovdani]

"Do  you  believe  in  ghosts?" (from UT asriel)

... What. What?! Usapyon stared at the poor kid for a good minute, so entirely beyond himself that he was surprised the words came out of his mouth. What. Did he...? He surely didn't know. But he was so much different compared to the rest of the monsters in the Underground. Maybe everything didn't point fingers to him being completely dead, but... He looked pretty dead, if you asked him! He had his whispy tail for a reason! Then again, what was Asriel's deal? Usapyon hadn't seen him around the Underground from what he could see. The region seemed relatively tight-knitted, but the otter supposed someone of his size might be able to slip past. Though that begged the question... weren't these two the same height? Usapyon did not like referring to himself as small, but he thought it was relevant to the minute he spent staring and pondering. He must've looked weird. Yes, it was an entire minute. During that minute, he got a good look at Asriel. He came to the conclusion that something wasn't all that right with his figure. Something about it was fuzzy, hazy, and he didn't have a shadow. Didn't that make Asriel a ghost? He knew ghost physics worked much, much differently than they did at home, but this was kind of ridiculous? Hasn't he heard of "it takes one to know one?"

"This has gotta be some sorta joke. Can't you see-- Don't you-- haha, yeah! This is just you teasing. You would never ask if you already-- oh wait, you're serious. Dead serious, dead serious like a..." Usapyon's face fell.

"Yes? Yes, I'm a ghost? Aren't you a ghost? Shouldn't you already be familiar with the extraterrestrial or something?" Really, Usapyon was both reeling and catching himself up over the question. He didn't want to laugh in Asriel's face about it. He looked like a child who had a premature death of some kind. Seeing that he's a monster, he didn't have a similar way out like he did. Or, he would assume he didn't. There's not really any room for any rocket ships. The Core doesn't really cut it, either. "But yes, I'm a ghost, but I better prefer the term yokai! Its-- that's what we're called where I come, dani! Please respect that!"

[discovdani]

(give an item prompt) dark candy! a red-and-black star-shaped candy that tastes like marshmallows. it grows on trees

For all his time as a yokai, he'd come across some peculiar things. The prospect of a piece of candy being plucked from a tree shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did, but that didn't deter his initially shocked expression seeing it pulled and then plopped into his hands. His nose scrunched up, but really... he wasn't going to say no to candy! "Erm, thank you very much, dani," Usapyon smiled despite himself and took a closer look at the piece. He was theorizing it would taste like dark chocolate from impression alone. He turned it around in-between his thumb and index, bringing it closer to his face. The look on his face was almost skeptical despite his seemingly-cheery demeanor he showed prior. Regardless, the visor pulled up and Usapyon took the entire candy into his mouth. As he chewed it, his foot began to tap rhythmically. It then went at a quicker pace, until the shady yokai snapped his fingers. "Marshmallow! Ehh, marshmallow?" He murmured, his mouth still full. He finished chewing and swallowed the candy down with a satisfied sigh. "I wouldn't have guessed it'd taste like that at all! Though, I'm not complaining a bit. It was so sweet, dani!" The shady yokai practically squealed before he rose his hands up, palms open. He silently gestured for more, especially with how his fingers squeezed inwards.

[discovdani]

she takes a stance no less like a cat on the hunt. pupils blown wide, Poochie carefully crawls closer && closer - once near, they give a little wiggle. then... SURPRISE ATTACK!!

she pounces, clinging on as she bunny kicks && nips. good thing there's his suit for extra protection.

Haha, was it just him, or was he in danger? Usapyon was entirely unsuspecting of Poochie's pounce, not even knowing they were crawling behind him. He was too absorbed in his Yokai Pad, scrolling through it to find some more odd jobs for him and Hailey Anne to do that day. He was about to reply to one of them -- Koalanyan? What'd that fella want this time? -- before Poochie's entire body sprang on him.

"HEY HEY HEY! Get off, fiend!!" Quickly he put his Yokai Pad away to deal with the critter at hand. Usapyon shoved whatever entity was on top of him with his entire body. He squealed and ran around, trying to get her to fall off. When he finally managed to pull Poochie off himself, he looked down at her in exasperation. Then, anger. "Of course it was you! How many times do I outta tell you about personal space?!" He stopped his foot rapidly and furiously against the ground. "It was about time I taught you a lesson, dani!!" Usapyon moved his thumbs to the bottom of his helmet, pressing two of the buttons on each side. His helmet fogged up, a piercing red gaze coming from the other side of the glass.

VADER MODE.

The shady yokai pulled out his pistol, shooting red bolts of electricity in Poochie's direction. His aim was uneven; he was flailing his arms around everywhere. They were gonna have to learn the hard way!

[discovdani]

GASP!! eyes shining, Poochie can't help but get closer when spotting the other. a paw pokes at one of the ears on the suit, crooning. "what a cute getup, totally stellar and CHIC! are you some kinda space mascot?"

Woah, woah, woah, hey!! The shady yokai's eyes sealed shut at the boop and the close attention, face contorting into unease. Just who was this?! They surely weren't anybody he's come across before. What gives...!

"Wait a minute!! Don't you have any regard for an otter's space, dani?!?!" Usapyon screeched quietly, more pathetic and surprised than significant discomfort. The ears did nothing in return to Poochie's poke, given there were no nerve endings, given there was nothing there... As he says, he is an otter. Usapyon politely (or as politely as he could) pushed Poochie away from him, dusting off the ears at the top of his helmet. He had a strange glimmer in his eyes as he patted them, unsure of his own actions. He didn't necessarily have to do that -- they couldn't be maneuvered out of place -- but it made him feel better about it anyways. The otter took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Ehe, sorry about that. You just... don't do that next time, alright?" It was simple, straightforward, and while some tension was there, it wasn't anything significant. Though if Poochie attempted to touch the top of his head further... well, he most certainly shy away from pressing two little buttons right next to the makeshift rabbit ears. And a space... mascot? He wasn't sure if he should be honored or offended. At least it held some resemblance somewhere, but he was much more than a cute and cuddly face of space!

"And if they call super important space figures mascots, then yes! This image, this name is one you'll see in the history books in the next few decades!" If Dr. Hughly didn't forget to include him in his autobiography, that is... "And the name to the face is Usapyon!" The otter struck a pose, showing off to Poochie. The next few decades was a long ways away... would she even remember him? Would she even be around then? At the very least he knew one way to go about this. "When those history books come out, you gotta be one of the first to see them, dani! What's your name so I can get 'em back to you?"

[discovdani]

@tv-t1me continued from here.

It was an interesting endeavor. Usapyon had only spent a little bit of time in TV World, watching Tenna's latest performance from the sidelines, yet the television himself seemed to prioritize him! The otter was aware it would take Tenna by surprise, as it did with many of the folks he'd come across, but never like this! This guy's face was plastered everywhere he walked! Usapyon's own pride swelled; was he going to end up getting golden statues next?! ... Well, what seemed so simple started rattling around in Usapyon's mind. He held a hand to his chin, wondering which way to go about this. He had been to space before no question, but it was by no usual means. He was meant to go into space before then too, but... The yokai didn't let it shake him. If all of television got so up and personal like this, desperate for an answer, who was he to deny him? Tenna's confetti stars sprinkled behind him as he struck a pose.

"Not to the moon, but let me tell you, I was pretty close! Would you believe it, me and a band of misfits were all up in a spaceship! A big baddie threatened the whole world and, well, we weren't gonna stand there and let it happen! We like our human friends, and we like our home!" That was the truth, and his claim earlier hadn't been a complete lie. He was trained, perhaps even born to fly amongst the shooting stars and all the debris that surrounded the Earth. So it didn't go the way he'd planned it, he still made it! And he got to be a big hero out of it, too! If that wasn't newsworthy, well, just start calling him a rabbit (don't do this)! But Tenna seemed to be the sort who had a far deeper interest in the outer reaches of space than the common stargazer. Usapyon was at least an astronomer, and that was 100% factual! If there was anything up there that Tenna would want to talk more about, he'd come to the right yokai. So lets talk stars.

"It doesn't surprise me that you like all the glam and glitter -- I mean that generously, dani! -- but I can almost see through your screen the intent to learn more, or just to see more! I've got good news; we can! I even have a state-of-the-art telescope for us to use!" Tenna was already a refreshing change of pace. Most people would latch onto whatever adventure he'd recently gone on. Saving the world was a tall order! But that was a one time thing. The TV host might be like them, he might be different. Stars, he's hoping you'll be different, Mr. Ant Tenna!

[discovdani]

@angelichooves continued from here.

A sudden, loud thump caught the yokai's attention. He twisted his head to look at the boot, eyes widening, only for all his features to contort in anxious surprise. Granted he'd seen plenty of bigger beings in his time -- there were definitely yokai who scaled ten times over his size -- but it always sent a shock of uncertainty through him. Nobody could know the thoughts behind someones eyes, especially those bright greens. Yokai he was not. Regardless of his feelings, Usapyon was forced to take a few steps back to see Asmodeus in all his neon glory. He blinked, needing to in order to drink his appearance in, or he'd surely blind himself. The ruler was something like a star, but his spark came from more... intimate affairs. Just like all the other demons here. There was something powerful about him, different. Usapyon didn't know what to think of Asmodeus, but perhaps he would be the one to help him in his time of need. If he'd be willing to assist someone he'd most likely consider a rodent. Asmodeus's words, too... The otter couldn't blame him for assuming he was the typical patron. It sent a shiver down his spine anyways, stunned from this salacious misunderstanding.

"That's not a problem! Really, I insist- I'm more than serious!" Usapyon attempted to plea, waving his hands quickly, insistently. He didn't even have a partner, and if he did, he was pretty sure this would be the last place he'd take them! It was alright for the folks who enjoyed it, who spend their leisure time down and around Ozzie's, but this just wasn't for him! The otter shuffled, looking at the building across the street. There were suggestive magazines of all kinds. He grimaced, then forced his head back up towards Asmodeus. "I most certainly took a wrong turn somewhere. I'm looking for the Sloth Ring, but gee, I just don't know which way to go, dani!" His gaze loomed over his feet, his hands now obscuring that view. He picked at his fingers. Now here was the most embarrassing thing of all: asking for directions! "You look super acquainted with this place. Could you help a poor visitor out?"