Summer Festival in the MGU

Wherever you are, whoever you are, one minute you’re at home minding your own business and the next you’ll see a shower of sparkles before you blink and find yourself teleported elsewhere.
The elsewhere, it seems, is an open grounds lined with stalls, pathways and gardens. Lanterns light up the pathways in soft glowing oranges and pinks, and even though it’s evening the weather is warm and enjoyable for a fun summer festival.
As you set off to explore, you’ll find that there are countless stalls with every type of treat you can imagine from a variety of cultures (including some from your own home worlds, strangely), all of which smell delicious and enticing. There are other stalls available with different carnival games as well. Go ahead and give it your all! Win a prize for that special someone, or just keep trying out of sheer stubbornness. Other stalls seem to be selling wares such as clothing, household items, flowers, and other things that can be given away as gifts. It seems that every time you look around, a new stall opens, almost as if this festival is responding to your every wish.
Speaking of wishes, there’s a small cluster of bamboo trees nearby as well, tables set up with baskets of arts and crafts supplies to write your wishes on the colorful paper and tie them to a branch. It’s a sweet thought, no?
And of course, what’s a festival without fireworks? Every now and then fireworks will light up the night sky, bursts of color in fun shapes such as stars, hearts, faces of people you know, whatever! Sparklers and bubble wands can also be found to play with throughout the evening near the viewing gardens. Flowers bloom and cover the area, though the paths lead to several small alcove-like areas and gazebos for those of you who wish to have a little romantic privacy. No matter where you are though, you’ll always be able to see the starry night sky.
Do try to play along and enjoy yourself for the evening. It’s only when the last firework bursts several hours later that you can actually leave anyway. Have fun!
[ooc: you know the drill, past mg characters from any of our past games, please don't make me list them again but go nuts.]

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...?
[Stop, don't think it's fine for him to be a leader. He's still coming out of being emo, so he absolutely doesn't think he's fit to be a leader of any kind. Especially not when he thinks he can't control any of the darkness in him... without proving it first.]
Something like that. [Friends to lovers.................we both really fucked up our chance here on this meme, didn't we? Damn.] They... had devices given to them so they could help protect their world and another world. A digital one. Kind of like our keyblades. [HE REALIZES JUST NOW ALL THE TIMES YAMATO AND TAICHI BAITED HIM INTO TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM!!! Wow, he doesn't know shit hardly!! HELP HIM.]
They have partners, too. I didn't know about the Dream Eaters yet, but... their partners are like the Dream Eaters in a way. I think they said... they had to reset things to keep everyone safe, but it was hard because... they had to say goodbye to them since they would have had to be reset, too.
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instead, he's watching him as they walk through stalls of food and seem to be heading for the game fairway, processing all of that.]
A digital device made of light. [that's how he's interpreting it.] Sounds pretty hard to say goodbye to your friends like that. But a reset doesn't mean they were gone forever. Hopefully their partners are okay.
[thinking, thinking...] You want to see them again too, don't you?
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They're okay. Meeting someone you care a lot about again when they don't remember you... is just hard.
[It's fine...
He very quickly glances away, and then sort of pulls up short. They are absolutely still holding hands because I say so even if Sora needed two to feed Meow Wow earlier.]
Sora, I...
[Okay, he doesn't know how to navigate most things like this, so he definitely finds it awkward trying to navigate this. He looks everywhere except Sora in vain hopes he'll figure out how to talk.]
...I want to see them again, but... not... the way you think.
[Sora is MEAN making him say this FIRST.]
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they're holding hands because i also assumed sora just held out the stick of cotton candy for meow wow to bite off of it because he's disgusting that way, but when riku stops he pauses and gives him a Look. cool. what's going on, why are we stopping...]
...what's that supposed to mean? [sora is mean making him say it first, but riku deserves it for all of the grief he's given sora over the years.] You don't want to go back to your school, do you?
[riku had asked if sora was going to go back to the realm and he said no, but what if this is different?]
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Admittedly, it's a great accidental buffer for his anxiety. Both of Riku's shoulders drop in exasperation.]
I--no. Sora. Not that. [Don't just turn him into a hivemind who wants to go back to the weird school!!] I don't want to go back there.
I meant... [This is literally way harder than anyone would think.] I want to see them, but it's... not as... friends.
[Kill him.]
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Like...more than friends...?
[(Axel voice) two?! ]
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Because he's nervous as hell being so honest about something so... Wow, he really has no clue Sora went off and got a girlfriend, and he's struggling for no damn reason.]
...Yeah. More than friends. [(axel voice)] ...Both of them.
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boyfriends is also a surprise but not as much as riku having two of them. ]
Oh. [...hm.] You like them that much? [are they nice to riku? do these two boys treat his best friend right? does he have to fight?]
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His lashes lower a little over his eyes in an effort to not meet Sora's gaze. How do you tell your best friend of HOW many years that you tripped into a romantic threesome with two other dudes?
He feels as shy and awkward as he did even bringing it up to Yamato.
Slowly, his eyes hesitantly lift again.]
They're important to me. When I needed them most... to get back to you... they were there for me.
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What do you mean--[maybe that doesn't matter. he goes quiet again for a moment.] I'm glad they were there. It sounds like things got pretty tough back there.
[...] So...you're dating...both of them?
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Please don't just say it out loud like that. While he doesn't release Sora's hand, he does shift awkwardly.]
There was a woman... uh, Beauregard. She... said something about... [THIS IS SO HARD WHY.] ...three being okay if... everyone was fine with it.
Uh, anyway... I--yeah. Both.
[He says this uncertainly in the way he thinks Sora is going to judge the hell out of him.]
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...Lup said the same thing when she was dating Blanca and also kissed Cloud. And Alex, Hansa, Chiron and Emet-Selch were all dating each other, too. [so it's not the poly that's a surprise. it's the riku being in a poly that he's mostly curious about.]
And you're all okay with it. [to...clarify. he's slowly trying to process all of this.]
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...Sora, that's four people.
[QUADSOME? Swingers. Hello?!]
...Yeah, I guess we are. [This still feels incredibly weird telling Sora.] I brought it up with Yamato right before the end... but Taichi was cursed.
And then... everything at the end happened, so we had to wait to talk about it. It didn't change the fact they had to go home, and... I had to go get you out of the darkness. We had to go home, too.
...
Sorry. I know it sounds weird.
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[right. the darkness. he knows everyone obviously had to go home, but he wonders briefly if he made things worse for riku by being stuck in the darkness. not that it was his fault but...ugh.]
It's not weird. If they make you happy then...I don't think that's weird at all. [it's difficult to really pinpoint how he feels about it outside of being glad riku's happy. he should probably tell him about clementine but he's being a good friend and focusing on riku instead :)
i hate him :)]
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It feels... [He trails off uncertainly.] After how mad I was before... No, how jealous I was before about you and your friends. I'm sorry, Sora.
[He technically has already apologized for a lot to his time's Sora, but this is just... Sora still. So he's going to apologize anyway. He can't help he's stuck a bit further back.]
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It's okay. I get it. [he says, not entirely getting it.] It's not...you can't help how you feel, can you? If they make you happy and you all agree then it's no big deal. I'm just kinda bummed I won't get to meet 'em if they're not here.
[...] ...Clem's important that way, too. [he will finally admit that.] And it doesn't mean you and Kairi are less important to me. Right?
[it just means he has no idea how any of them would feel about poly and frankly he's not sure how to ask or what to do about it when he's floating in a void anyway.]
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But it doesn't take being a mind reader to know Sora is not saying important things by instead saying everything else. ALSO, HANG ON. ??????????? @ Clem's important that way too.]
...You and Kairi are more important to me than anything.
[Which might sound like he's shoving Taichi and Yamato in the garbage, but he hasn't known them as long as he has Sora and Kairi. His relationship with Taichi and Yamato is important to him also, but romantic relationships can come and go at any time. The one he has with Sora and Kairi? That's destiny.
Carefully, he twines their fingers together and pulls Sora toward him, in front.] You'll get to meet them. I promise you that. And you and Kairi make me happy, too. [Anyway,,,,]
...Now, what's this about Clementine being important "that way"?
[Now that he has Sora close, he's just going to reach up to pinch the shit out of one of Sora's cheeks, pulling it gently.]
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nevertheless, he's about to say something else about the importance of their friendship and all of that sappy, heartful junk but riku's suddenly interlocking their fingers and he's easily letting himself be tugged forward.]
Good. [to meeting riku's boyfriends? to the fact he and kairi still make riku happy? yes. and maybe it's why riku gets away with pinching his face and there's a startled "ow!" as he tries to pull away. it doesn't even hurt? it's totally reflexive, and he's using the cotton candy hand to try and push riku off.]
Quit it. [swatting!! but he does have enough grace to look slightly sheepish about it.] Anyway...it's the same thing. Clementine's important to me like yours are important to you. It just sort of happened.
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So you're dating.
[It's not a question. :|
Very quickly, Riku looks incredibly put-out!] Sora. Why didn't you say anything?! [WHY WAS HE MADE TO SAY EVERYTHING FIRST WHEN SORA COULD HAVE EASILY HELPED HIM LEAD INTO IT.
DAMMIT!]
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I didn't want to stop you from saying what you were trying to say. I was gonna tell you about Clem after that. [he was helping (no.)] But yeah. We're dating. It was sort of something we decided in the last week or two before we won our game.
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Riku just makes a bit of a face briefly. Not about Clem. Just about Sora purposefully keeping things to himself until he's spilled his heart first.]
...Us, too.
[Deciding in the last week or two, he means. This at least--relieves him some? To know Sora gave it some thought and time. (Even if he's not sure how Sora's timeline of Riku would react. He's hoping he's mature by then? Please?) That Sora... really didn't cast him and Kairi aside. Speaking of...]
Kairi really is going to kick the two of us to the curb, huh? [Someone please get Kairi a girlfriend, I'm begging.] Are you happy...? With Clementine.
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but he seems a little interested in that even if he doesn't comment much in order to actually reply to riku before he kicks his butt for stalling.]
Yup. But I think she'll just be happy for us, too. [tell zia to play her and give her a gf. there's a nod though.]
...I'm really happy with her. She always made me feel better when things seemed at their worst back in the Realm. And I want to think I made things better for her, too.
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Mm.
[The hint of a small touches the corner of his lips. He's not any different than Sora. The happiness comes first, even over the healed sore spot he use to have about Sora and being replaced. He gets it now. Sora wouldn't replace him and Kairi like that.]
I'm glad you had people who cared about you while you were there. That you didn't have to do it alone. I know how you always are about doing everything yourself to help everyone else.
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but also yeah, riku, you big dummy. sora would never replace riku or kairi even if he has other people he cares about on a similar level. he has enough room to care about all of them, but his two best friends will always be the priority. that's how it's always been. everything he's ever done up until this point has been about getting back home to be with them again someday.
so it's nice to know that riku's okay with it.]
Yeah, well...[he doesn't have an excuse, scratching his cheek awkwardly.] All of us had to work together to fix it. I had a few teams I was counting on and everything, but they were counting on me, too. Everybody made it out okay though and we got the chance to stay in touch even after we left.
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[This is said in a way like he plans to add something onto it, but he is uncertainly quiet for a long moment. Just, uh, you know... standing here... lookin at your best friend...... holding their hand...]
...I'm glad.
[Well, he can start by being honest first of all. Honest and happy for Sora who receives the kind of love he puts in.]
I wouldn't have doubted you couldn't do it. Somehow, you always manage to find a way to make everything okay.
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