#I HAD LIKE TWO DOODLES WITH COLOR EXPERIMENT AND I WENT WITH NONE OF THEM

[winterfireice]

Chapter 3!

taglist: @tiana4evahh @doodle-do-wop @amandayetagain

Full chapter under cut

“There is no reason that you should have more cologne than I do perfume,” Biana says to her brother Fitz,  

“It’s not my fault I like to smell nice,” he responds,

Sophie and the rest of her friends were hanging out at Havenfield after a particularly long day at school. Keefe and Fitz had gotten to hear about the lecture regarding safety precautions in case of a Neverseen attack on the school even though, one, the majority of the Neverseen were in a top security prison, two, all of them had more than enough experience dealing with and attacks and of course three, Fitz and Keefe had already graduated. That hadn't stopped their friends from talking about it for over half an hour though,

“How did we get to this topic again?” Marella asks, 

“I don’t know, we went from school, to dessert, to their cosmetics apparently,” Sophie responds,

“That cake in the cafeteria today was delicious though, I hope they have it tomorrow,” Dex mentions,

“When has our school ever had two edible sides in a row?” Stina asks from next to Dex, lying on one of the colorful blankets Sophie had found inside the house,

“Good point, we're never seeing that cake again until the rest of us graduate,” Dex sighs dramatically and falls to the ground, but when he does he brushes against Stina, his cheeks bursting with red hues.

Sophie also noticed the way Stina brushed her hair in front of her face but left the hand that was resting against Dex’s leg, 

“Do you see what I see?” Sophie transmits to Keefe,

“I do! It is taking everything in me not to start screaming,” Keefe’s mind squeals after he lightly nods to Sophie so she can enter his mind, “They are so adorable, they need to confess already,” 

“Is it possible we are too excited about their so far non-existent relationship?” Sophie asks hesitantly,

Keefe’s mind hesitated for a moment, “Maybe, but do we have to deal with that?” 

“Not yet, this is way too much fun. It’s like watching a TV show,” 

“So are we all going to ignore the Sokeefest happening right now?” Marella asks while twirling Linh’s silver hair around her fingers, “they both are staring off into the distance like none of us are here and I have known you telepaths long enough to know that means they are having a conversion none of us can hear,”

“Plus Keefe is starting to look like a tomato and only looks that way when he’s trying to keep something a secret,” Biana adds,

“Nope, nuh-uh. No secrets here just good old friend time,” Keefe says super unconvincingly as he swings an arm around Sophie and rests his head against her shoulder,

“Yeah, that was super believable bud,” Fitz laughs, “And that looks super comfortable, not like your straining your neck at all,” 

“Yup, really comfy. Fos-Boss isn't too close to the ground or anything,” Keefe mumbles,

 Sophie laughs at the feeling of his breath blowing against her skin “You’re tickling me! And you’re going to be in pain later, we should switch,” she gently pushes him off of her side and rests against him. She brings her hand up to his stomach and tickles him in return, making his body thrash,

“You two were made for each other,” Stina says in a tone Sophie can't tell is complimentary or not,

“Thank you?” She responds, “At least I think,” 

“Hey sometimes two people just work well together and there is nothing you can do about it,” Keefe grins in Stina and Dex’s direction, causing Dex to blush even more,

“I want that one day,” Dex almost whispers, 

“I have to say something, I can’t hide how amazing they would be together,” Keefe’s mind almost shouts,

“Don’t you dare,” Sophie tells him, “This is way too important and if we push them they will never admit it, especially Stina we need to let them figure it out on their own. Remember how long it took us to get together? Every time someone teased us about our possible feelings it pushed me farther and farther away from accepting it,” 

“You’re right, I know. But they better figure out their feelings soon because I need to be able to obsess over them because they are perfect for each other,” 

“If you keep it together for a couple of more hours I’ll ask my mom to bake something,” Sophie bribes,

“I know what you’re doing and it’s working,” Keefe playfully sighs,

“Hello, earth to either of you,” manicured hands wave in front of their faces, “What are you guys thinking about?” Biana says,

“Dessert,” Both Keefe and Sophie say at the same time, causing the rest of their friends to laugh,

~~~

“Edaline is the best,” Keefe says while stuffing Custerbursts into his mouth,

Sophie had kept her word and after everyone had gone home she asked her mom to make Custerbursts. Edaline quickly agreed and the three of them started trying to bake them, it mostly went well except for Sophie spilling hot water over her arm and Keefe spilling a bag of flour,

Now they were lying on her bed eating and discussing what Elvin foods tasted like human ones, 

“The purple root thing tastes just like cheeseburgers, ugh I miss cheeseburgers I know we stuff that tastes the same but I miss the textures the Forbbiden cities have,” Sophie says,

“Makes sense, I had the opposite feeling when I lived there, it must be nostalgia or something,” Keefe says as lushberry juice drips down his chin, 

 Sophie nods,  “You need a napkin love, you are going to get juice everywhere,”  

“Better?” Keefe asks after he wipes his mouth,

“You still have some on your nose Love,” Sophie tells him, grabbing a napkin and wiping it off herself,

Keefe takes advantage of Sophie leaning towards him and surprises her by wrapping his arms around her and tickling her until she is laughing so much she falls back onto her pillows,

“Ok stop, stop!” Sophie giggles, 

“That is payback for earlier by the way,” Keefe laughs and he lays beside her, 

“That was overkill Keefe,” Sophie says, “I think you just wanted an excuse to lay down,”

“How could you accuse me of such crimes?” Keefe says sarcastically,

“Because,” the rest of Sophie’s sentence gets interrupted by her imparter ringing suddenly next to her,

“Je crois que je meurs” Stina’s voice comes through the screen,

“You're not dying, breathe and then talk. What's going on?” Sophie responds, staying in French,

“Are you sure that you're not going to use this against me in the future,” Stina asks skeptically,

“I will not use it against you maliciously but one day if this conversation becomes funny I will jokingly make fun of you like friends do, is that ok?” 

“Fine, I guess you’re my best option right now,” Stina sighs, “After we all started to leave your place almost everyone had leaped away but Dex and I, and the wind was blowing my hair everywhere so I was complaining and you want to know what he said?” Stina says like she’s mad at him, “He said, he thought it looked really nice like that,”

“And were angry about that?” Sophie asks, causing Keefe to chuckle,

“Yeah isn't that a compliment?” Keefe asks also in French,

“Wait, he can understand me?” Stina asks confused,

“You didn't know he was here? Sorry, I thought you could see him,” Sophie apologizes,

“No I could see him but he speaks French?”

“Of course I do,” He shifts a little so he is more in the frame of the imparters camera

“What do you mean by of course?” 

“Stina,” Sophie says confused, “You know he’s a polyglot too right?” 

Sophie watches realization dawn on her face, “I need to stop forgetting polygots exist,” 

“Yeah, why does this keep happening to you?” Sophie asks her, “This is the second time,”

“I don’t know! Maybe because me and my family learn languages like normal people instead of just knowing everything,” 

“Wait until you find out we both have photographic memories too,” Keefe teases,

“Shut up, this isn't why I called. You two really double how annoying you are when you guys are together,” 

Sophie cuts Stina off, “Ok go back to what you were talking about, if you want I can kick Keefe out but go back to Dex,” 

“No I guess it’s fine he already knows at this point,” Stina grumbles, “The hair thing was mostly it, I just want to know what he meant by it. You people are all so sickeningly positive all the time even when you’re in the middle of dying that I don’t know if he meant it in a friendly or… in a not just friendly way,” 

“It's impressive how you can insult and compliment us in the same sentence,” Sophie starts, “Do you want what Dex said to be in a friendly way?

“I don't know! Clearly I am out of my depth here Sophie. He probably meant nothing by it and I should ignore it and bury myself under one of the stables until everyone forgets about it,” Stina seems to throw her head into a pillow next to her and Sophie tries to muffle a laugh which only makes it come out as a loud snort,

“Reminder that we can’t forget, with our whole photographic memories,” Keefe mentions,

“Ok, I’m reconsidering your offer to kick him out,” Stina says deadpanned, “Better yet, I’m going to go,”

“You sure? I feel like I didn't help much,” Sophie responds,

“I don’t need advice or anything I think at this point I’m too stubborn for that but thanks for listening,” Stina tells her, “You should go back to your annoying boyfriend,” 

“Aww thanks, Hexie, since you are already impressed by my stunning personality I should tell you I’m on team ‘tell him you're falling for him’,” Keefe peeps up,

Stina makes a face at his comment like she’s disgusted by the implication, “I don’t fall, good night you two,” with that she clicks away leaving Sophie and Keefe alone in her room again,

“I don’t care what she says, she’s falling,” Keefe says switching back to the enlighted language, his arms still lying over Sophie, he snuggles closer moving his face to the crook of his neck,

A buzzing comes from Kefes pocket and he groans in annoyance, 

“Doesn't everyone know it’s snuggle and sleep time?” Keefe mumbles, as he does the bare minimum of moving to answer his imparter,

“Oh it’s Dex,” Keefe seems to perk up only slightly,

“Hi, are you with Sophie?” Dex asks,

“No I just have a really realistic life-sized pillow of her,” Keefe says,

“Don’t mind him, he gets cranky when he’s sleepy,” Sophie laughs, “What’s up?” 

“Well… did Keefe already tell you what I was talking to him about earlier?” 

“Kind of,” Sophie pauses, “I more guessed,” 

“How did you possibly do that?” Dex questions,

“It doesn't matter, I’m assuming you're calling about Stina,” 

“Yeah I am, something happened today when we were leaving your place,”

“Oh really?” Keefe says, his tone slightly elevated for a reason only Sophie knows,

“I told her that her hair was pretty, I’m freaking out because she got really quiet and then made some excuse to go home,” Dex sighs, “I feel like I’m messing it all up, I just want her to like me,” he wines, causing Keefe to laugh and disguise it as a cough, 

“I’m sure it will be fine Mickey Mouse,” Keefe says including the nickname that hasn't gone away since Sophie told him what human Disney was,

“But what if I ruin our friendship and then she never wants to see me again?” Dex continues, “That would be awful,” Dex is looking past the camera lost in thought,

“You should talk to her Dex,” Sophie hints, “It may turn out better than you expect,” 

“She’s right, I mean she usually is but yeah you should tell her,” Keefe mumbles,

“Wow he really is tired,” Dex says as Keefe yawns,

“Yeah, I should probably let you go before he starts snoring,” Sophie only half-jokes,

“Good plan, I’ll see you tomorrow at the team meeting,” 

“Good night, oh, and Dex? You really should talk to Stina,” at Sophie’s comment Dex only shakes his head before hanging up,

“They’re oblivious,” Keefe says with his eyes closed,

“So were we and look at us now,” Sophie whispers, to the blonde boy in her arms,

“Fair point,” Keefe whispers back, “Can we sleep now? You’re too comfy not to fall asleep on,” 

“Of course love,” Sophie reaches to turn off the light and settles into bed falling asleep next to the oblivious idiot that stole her heart,

[doppelneer]

A Wee Bit of Catching Up With This Mess

Soooo originally this was going to be a big post on my main tumblr blog @abyssforphantoms , but I got thinking about it and it just made more sense to make this on it's own blog and repost it over there if I feel like it... instead of spamming my main with this au stuff.

Anyway, Welcome to the mess that is my brain and They Came From The Deep Au. I will not be going too deep into the story in this post, but will do a short summary and explain my prosses behind my decent into madness with the various stuff I have accumulated for it over the year.

Summary:

After the final quest the Abyss Crew was fine. Cannoneer was back, safe with the rest of the crew, and they have gotten what they wanted when they went down to those accursed depths (even though they almost didn't make it back if it weren't for the skykid). So everything should be fine, back to status quo... right?

Well it was for a bit.

Then strange stuff started happening.

Supplies keep disappearing and shifting around the reef. The members of the crew feel like they are being watched from a distance, and the sea almost seems more restless. Every one has a sense of unease...

None more so then Cannoneer,

because of the weird dreams they keep having, and now the crew is saying they did things they didn't do. It was like they were at two places at once.

Then they saw it-them from a distance... they looked almost exactly them! but something was off...

Now it's up to Cannoneer to figure out what is going on, what does this doppelganger (a.k.a Doppelneer or Cannondoppel) want and convince the crew this isn't another one of their "embellished stories".

Meanwhile other things deep down start to stir... and they aren't going to be as "friendly".

And yes Doppelneer will be a big part of this post

Warning: the images below may have some BODY HORROR.

Veiwer Discretion is Advised.

Around August 2022??? - the sticky note

The thing I drew that started it all

Thr original idea for it was just what if cackling cannoneer but dark creature

I forgot that it existed until...

October 2022 - "A Familiar Face That Is or Isn't You"

I found the sticky note again and wanted to explore the design further in a one off piece (and then it wasn't, lmao)

I also got into exploring doppelgangers as an idea which lead to me having the questions

"If someone from the Abyss Crew had a doppelganger who would have the most interesting reaction?" (You can guess who I picked lol)

"What if the doppelganger wasn't nessasarly evil but thought they were the person and the person they are a doppelganger of was a doppelganger that took over their life, thus kinda wanting to sabotage the person's life a little?"

I drew this piece in my sketchbook but then colored digitally

Originally posted to my deviantart 26 October 2022

Finished Art

Drawing Process / Alternative Versions

November 2022 - Old Reference Sheet for Cannondoppel

Very outdated and crusty

I will post the updated ref in another post

DON'T USE THIS ONE I BEG OF U!!!!

December 2022 - "Breath in Deep Water"

Digital painting

Just a story idea

Waking up one day being able to breathe water must be jarring ngl

First appearance of the phantom eyes

Posted 1 January 2023 on my deviantart

January - Inspirational Glitch happened in Sky

Didn't really do to much with the Au for a bit, nor does this really have to deal with the au

But this happened to me one day and thought it was neat yet felt like walking into a sky creepy pasta.

It's the red green visual glitch and the spirit staring glitch with Cannoneer happening at the same time

March - Some Old Doodles

"There is always a bigger fish. "

More experimenting with the story in my mind

May - "Reflections"

"Just a reflection in the void"

Changed some details with Doppelneer, mainly hair and sometimes they have a tail

Reversed

July - artfight cameo

just a small appearance

Nothing too much too note

And that is it for now will return soon with more stuff soon

[hyakunana]

Day 3 - Partners in Crime

Last Surprise plays in background while I have no idea how I planned to color this dkgkxkvsl

[prompt-master]

Bear Trap (Part 1/3)

Request fill for @hibiscuswolverine and art done by @doodles-by-noodles

The world was starting to heal.

Little by little, everyone who survived Hope's Peak Academy's killing game was bringing about change to the world. It had only just started, and they likely wouldn't live to see their vision fully realized, but there was hope. Hope the world hadn't seen since the tragedy broke out in the first place.

Yep, Naegi Makoto had a lot of work to do, but he also already had so much to be proud of. He and the survivors had already proven themselves to adapt to a world that was nothing like the one they left behind. They had been given a warning from Enoshima Junko herself, but even with the knowledge of killer robots and rampaging despair-induced rioters nothing could really prepare them for life on the outside.

Honestly, they had never expected to make it to where they were right now. Proud members of the Future Foundation, able to work together with the higher ups to take down the biggest threats against the world's progression. It felt like just yesterday they were sleeping in the rubble of what once were apartments, tightly packed together in case anything were to break in. And now Makoto stood proud and tall, going over his next mission on video call with a member of one of the higher divisions.

"I suppose I shouldn't be terribly surprised that the Ultimate Hope would be so adamant on these matters."

Makoto smiled, still as strong and inspiring as it had been back in the killing game, "Really, you don't have to call me that. I'm nothing special, just Naegi is fine."

She completely ignored him, looking over the notes he'd sent to her one last time. He and Aoi had accidentally discovered a distress call from a group of survivors in an unsafe area. There was no way he could ignore something like that, he wouldn't ignore any possibility that someone was suffering like his class did. Even if there was an equal possibility that it was a trap.

"Well, your plan asks for Ultimate Detective Kirigiri Kyoko and Ultimate Affluent Progeny Togami Byakuya to go with you. With those two, plus the Ultimate Hope, equipped with hacking guns then I see no reason to be concerned for any mishaps. Your mission is approved."

Makoto's smile widened at that, feeling a rush of pride and hope at her words, "We won't let you down! Promise!"

She didn't even look up at him, simply humming to let him know she heard. But he could tell, there was a slight smile on her face. Makoto managed to melt his fair share of hearts even if he couldn't explain how. The call blinked off, and Makoto shut his laptop gently, but with no regard to what it was running.

He let out a loud sigh, slouching back into his chair. Any and all office calls felt so nerve wracking. Each one held its own weight in importance. Every exchange oversaw the future. He pulled his arms over his head, stretching them as far as they could go.

He could already feel himself getting pumped up. A small, prideful smirk snuck it's way onto his face. The plan wasn't anything extreme, but he knew with his friends by his side it would all be ok. They were meant to go together in a group so that they could protect themselves in the event of a trap or other unforeseen circumstances. The distress call came from a fallen city mostly blocked off by a collapsed building. They would drop off inside the city's bounds, and continue on foot to find any survivors they could. They knew there would be some despaired within, but that was a given anywhere they went now.

It would all be worth it to save them.

Now he just had to tell Byakuya and Kyoko the good news

It was clear to anyone near the survivors that Byakuya, Kyoko, and Makoto were a force to be reckoned with. While the general public has no qualms with calling Makoto the leader of the group, it was more so all three of them were coleading. Each taking charge in their own way, from the start of their new lives to now. The three of them were all incredibly smart in their own ways and their combined skills lead to a team that could likely conquer any despair they faced. But it took an even closer eye to see the emotional connection the three shared with each other. 

Makoto walked in front, leading since he had heard the distress call in the first place. It was certainly an interesting relationship that the three had. Although Makoto certainly didn't see himself as the leading type it seemed that Byakuya and Kyoko both trusted his guidance entirely. And he did the same for them. There was no way to describe the significance that lay underneath the floorboards of their bond. For the two most emotionally shut off of the survivors to so openly trust him? To Makoto that was enough to lay their hearts out in the open for him to see. And not to mention…

Makoto glanced back at the two. Byakuya was messing around with his hacking gun, glasses slipping down his nose, and hair nearly hiding his eyes from Makoto's view. Kyoko was taking in her surroundings, trying to figure out sooner rather than later if this whole thing was just a trap as suspected. Her eyes may be void of emotion but the color and warmth was vast. Makoto faced forward again, his face feeling just a bit hot. 

They were both really pretty. 

No, no he can't focus on his silly crushes. Yes, crushes plural. Because Makoto's sensitive heart was so big he managed to give it away to two different people. That didn't matter right now though, because the focus was on the mission. 

The town was about as decimated as it looked from the outside. It reminded him of his first experiences out in the new world, making him wonder how many survivors might be hiding under rubble, scared to come out. So far they hadn't run into any sort of trouble. No robots, no despaired, no survivors. There was really...nothing here. It was starting to look more and more like a trap. 

Makoto stopped walking at a split path, "The call said to find the convenience store but...I can't tell where to go since everything's been destroyed." 

Byakuya came to stand by his side, "Not that it should matter much all things considered. Let's just get this over with so we can clear out those insane idiots and rebuild this place already." 

"Togami-kun!" Makoto pouted, Byakuya may have softened up but he still had a habit of harsh thinking first, "don't say that. I'm sure there has to be someone here who needs saving. There's people who need to be rescued everywhere we go!" 

"Indeed" Kyoko chimed in, "but it's not a bad line of thought. If we stage a rebuilding operation here then that increases our chances of finding survivors then if only a search team walked around." 

Byakuya smirked, pushing up his glasses in that annoyingly arrogant way of his, "And to do that, we need to weed out the problems first no?" 

"Yes...yes we do." 

"Besides what would you rather do? Try to talk to the despaired? And get clubbed again?" 

"It was one time, Togami-kun!" 

Byakuya laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked around, "Come now, this way. All these buildings are too destroyed to make any sort of distinctions regardless. And by your sentimental logic we should be checking more than just the given location, wouldn't you agree." 

Byakuya didn't wait for an answer, he walked ahead to begin searching the first building to their left. Makoto had to break into a light jog to catch up to him; damn your long legs Togami! 

That marked the start of their exploration, building after building. They found nothing. Not to mention everywhere seemed like it has been residential, no sign of the store they were told the survivors were. Even Makoto felt like something was a little bit off but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Regardless he kept up hope, he had heard those survivors speak with complete clarity in their voice. They had to be here. He wouldn't give up over a simple bad feeling. 

Byakuya stepped over broken glass, moving further into the crumpled home he was currently inspecting. A surprisingly intact kitchenette caught his eye, and decided a thorough search was necessary without telling his company. Although they didn't need much prompting to understand when he went off trail again. Kyoko thought if he was going to focus on possible material goods stored away in this forgotten piece of life, then she could at least see if there was any current piece of life hiding away as well. Makoto stood at the door of the house. He'd given nothing more than a glance to Byakuya before turning toward the outdoors again. Looking for anything. Any sign of life lurking under the foreboding red sky. 

Nothing. 

He sighed, turning his attention down to what used to be a grass area. Not much was left of that, in fact it looked almost like any plant life besides the weeds in the street cracks were...set on fire. The ground had this grey ashy feeling to it. And when Makoto scuffed it with his shoe….yeah, that was definitely the remains of something burning. That was a good sign right? It meant that someone was alive. This couldn't have been that long ago. 

Makoto opened his mouth to call for his friends, when a cold hand slapped over his mouth and forcefully tugged him backwards. 

Huh

Huh?!

Makoto was immediately kicking and yelling. He bucked like a disturbed wild animal, trying everything he could to get out. Wiggling, kneeing, elbowing, even trying to bite the hand over his mouth but none disturbed the individual. The house was getting farther and farther away but his voice was too muffled to ever reach it. There was heavy breathing in his ear, the air wet and warm against his skin in a way that made his body shudder. He forced himself to look up at his kidnapper. An individual with a wide smile on their face and eyes that spoke of a spiraling psyche. Everything about them...from their expression to their actions to their lack of reaction to pain...it all said despair. 

Eventually Makoto was dragged into the street and thrown down like a slab of meat. Makoto was about to scream again for help, when a hand quickly reached out for him. He couldn't help but flinch back, shoulders bunching up in an attempt to shrink away. His tie was yanked off, the force pulling his body upwards. When the tie snapped off he fell back again, he could feel rocks digging into his skin from the fall. Then his hands were tied behind his back. This was bad. This was so bad. Bad didn't even BEGIN to cover it. 

His captor came uncomfortably close, having lost all concept of personal space in the madness the end of the world has provided. Makoto tried his best to keep calm as they placed their arms to either side of him so that they were above, staring down below. There was a tense moment where neither moved, they simply tried to catch their breaths so that the silence would stop being filled with panting. It felt like a test. Like they were waiting for him to even dare to try to escape. They wanted to show Makoto what happened when he disobeyed! He could see it in their eyes! In the manicale look, in the smile that kept opening and closing like a strange gutted fish. The way their arms trembled and shook by Makoto's head, just waiting with the high of excitement.

Arms still shaking, mouth overflowing with spittle and pupils pinprick sharp, they began to slowly lower themselves. Makoto held his breath, willing his body to sink further into the concrete. His heels scraped against the ground, but he willed himself not to move in fear that any sign of escape would reward him with a slit throat. Their noses pressed against each other. The captor let out a shaky relieved sigh, as if the contact was the greatest thing they'd felt in a long time. Their eyelids fell half lidded, their smirk from excited to downright sadistic.

"I've got you now, Mr. Ultimate Hope."

Stay calm. You've dealt with this kind of person before. 

Makoto's nails gave a tug as he ran them against the concrete in an attempt to ground himself, dirt filling the space between skin and keratin. His heart hammered in his chest as if he were a scared rabbit, but there was no time to panic here. His life depended on it.  The despaired were completely delusional...which meant..

Makoto felt a laugh rise out of him, nervous and high in pitch.  A bit too high in pitch. He scraped the ground again, enough so that it began to hurt from the force. Calm down. Stay fucking calm. 

"Heh...heheh! Yeah! You got me..!" A smile graced his face, "what did you...get me for?" 

They pulled back, but not enough so that the pungent smell of smoke and ash left Makoto's nose. Their head tilted, daring to make an innocent face, "You know who you are, right?" 

"I do. And who are you?" 

Their body moved back and forth as they laughed with everything they had, their knees closing in so that Makoto could feel it against his leg. "Me? Me? Mememe?? Forget that! You're the Ultimate Hope!"

"That's right…" 

"I wonder what Miss Junko would say right now. Seeing you pinned down like this?" Their eyes flickered to the sky at the fantasy that no doubt filled their mind. 

Makoto tried his hardest not to cringe, and just attempted to change the subject instead, "Do you want me to do something for you?" It was a loaded question. One that made Makoto feel like he was picking all the wrong dialogue choices. 

"I do!" 

Progress. He wasn't sure if it was good progress, but it was, in fact, progress. 

"What's that?" 

Their voice dropped to a whisper, waning and cracking in excitement once again. They reached into their pocket. 

"I want you to watch this" 

They pulled out a little remote that looked horribly put together. Even with how much their hand trembled he could see that it was made of what seemed to be the remains of a torn apart scrap pile. Before Makoto could ask what they meant, they pressed the only button built in. 

What ensued was a large explosion. 

------

BOOM 

A loud eardrum breaking noise filled the previous silence. Byakuya was forced to grip the kitchen countertop as the world around him shook, a sudden intense burst of wind following soon after. The heat uncomfortable against his face. He made his way to the open wall, Kyoko not far behind him. 

"Was that an explosion?" Kyoko asked, not wanting to waste any time. 

Byakuya looked outside at the smoke and fire that overtook the sky. It was suffocating just to look at. Shit, it was definitely a trap then. "Looks like it" 

They watched frozen, transfixed on the horror as a building toppled from where it was standing, joining the others as rubble for them to walk on. They still stayed in place. They knew there was nothing they could do to prevent or help the issue. 

Byakuya was so focused on the sight, thinking about how he had to call for an early pick up that he didn't even notice until Kyoko asked. 

"Where's Naegi?" 

------

Makoto gasped and gasped as he ran for his life. After whatever that person had rigged went off he found himself surprisingly not being pinned anymore as the person sat cackling nearby. He had managed to slip away when more despaired came over and argued with the individual who had been pinning him.  Now he was running as fast as he could hoping he wouldn't get caught once again. 

He struggled against his traitorous tie, feeling it chafe against his wrists uncomfortably. Untying it would have been enough of a challenge without the running aspect. Now he found himself tripping over his own feet trying to think about the two things at once. 

Before he knew it, his feet had slipped right out from under him and he barely caught himself before faceplanting. 

Taking the fall as a hint, he stopped to catch his breath, looking around the area to gauge where he was. It seemed like more of the same until he saw a rather structurally sound convenience store. It was surprisingly big too for how little damage it had. A smile overtook his face. Aren't I lucky? Maybe the people inside can help me get this dang tie off. 

After letting his breathing calm down he made his way toward the store. Elation filled his heart, a familiar hope that kept him going. He knew it couldn't have all been a trap! Almost there now. Once inside he'd have someone untie his hands, and then he'd find his friends and-

His friends. He hoped Byakuya and Kyoko were safe. He had no idea how far the damage of the explosion traveled, but if it was enough to collapse an entire building there was certainly the risk of them being in hot water. Not to mention the multiple despaired that were walking around, who knows what sort of danger they could walk into. Then again, if anyone was capable of holding their own it would be Byakuya and Kyoko. But he should probably focus on his own safety instead of imagining Byakuya and Kyoko taking down their enemies in the most attractive way possible-

He was right there. He'd reached the convenience store. All the windows were covered up so that he couldn't see inside, but he knew someone inside was waiting. He just had to- huh? What's that? 

Makoto looked down to see a familiar, very unwelcome sight. It was a Monokuma with yellow and black stripes. At the top of its head was a red siren. And they were making eye contact. 

"Shi-" 

Instinctively he reeled back at the loud, sharp noise. The sound raised and lowered it's pitch smoothly, reminding him of tsunami drills he had to do back when he was in school and the implications it brought were similarly horrifying.

So much for being lucky. Makoto felt himself panicking again, the siren was loud enough to hurt his ears. He couldn't tell if his ears were ringing or if the siren was just that obnoxious. But he didn't have time to complain about that. The noise and the light… no doubt others would be coming soon. 

"Shh...shhhh!! Stop it!" He couldn't break the machine with his hands the way they were...he had to settle for getting help. 

Makoto stopped in his tracks before he could approach the door of the convenience store however, because there was someone watching him through the window. They'd opened the curtain to check what the commotion was. Makoto saw no madness or instability in their eyes...the survivors really WERE here. Makoto smiled, wishing he could wave and gesture for help, but he had to hope his expression was enough. 

The survivor frowned, eyes fixated on the Siren Monokuma. Without looking at Makoto again they closed the curtain.

No one was coming to help. 

Makoto backed away. That's ok. There was still a chance. If he ran quick enough maybe he could get away before reinforcements arrived. 

The growling he heard mocked his fruitless thoughts. That was the deranged sounds a Beast Monokuma made…he couldn't hope to outrun one of those. They were like real rabid bears but worse because they never got tired. They never stopped running once they had you in its sights, just like this one. 

But Makoto tried anyway to flee, only to end up taking a riot shield to the face from a Guard Monokuma. 

"Oof!" 

He fell back hard feeling all air leave his lungs. The snarling and pounding of the Beast Monokuma was getting louder. Too loud. Makoto rolled onto his side, scrambling to get up. He winced as a claw grazed his cheek, first blood of the night welling up. 

He felt like an insignificant worm with how he desperately rolled on the floor, hoping to find good enough footing in his panic to stand. But when he got to his knees he was met with another riot shield. He almost didn't react in time to dodge another slash from the Beast, managing to get the tie around his wrists cut. 

He'd never gotten to his feet so quickly before in his life. Bits of gravel stuck to his palms and blood ran down his right arm. He scrambled to find something -anything- to defend himself with, but he was already surrounded. It was too late to even bother going for the Siren Monokuma. How the hell was he supposed to-? 

He yelled out as sharp metal claws dug into his back, seemingly deep enough that he feared for his spine. The claws rake along his back as the beast removes them. If that wasn't enough to bring him back to reality, he was quickly overwhelmed, bruises being beaten into every inch of his skin from the shields, and slashes from regular Monokuma's on his arms. And worse of all the Beast Monokuma that was trying its best to chomp his head off with it's twitchy manic movements. He tried his best to fend it off, pushing at it personally with his bare hands despite the continuous relentless assault he was receiving. 

Another good hit with a shield and his hands slipped. In a split second moment that he didn't even get to think about, he reached a leg up and kicked at its face. He only had a moment of victory.

It bit down on his leg and didn't let go.

Now the interesting thing about Makoto is that even though he doesn't seem capable, he's grown to be able to keep himself calm when it mattered. Even at his own execution, where he was slowly heading towards his untimely demise, With frequent reminders of what was about to come, he had managed to keep as calm as possible. Even well he fell stories down into the garbage. He refused to make a peep and panic when every one of his friends could see. But right now no friends were watching.

Naegi Makoto screamed.

-----

"I'm going to kill Naegi my damn self for running off when we find him." Byakuya was, as per usual, annoyed as hell. 

Kyoko sighed, "Calm down. I'm sure there's a reason, you know he isn't like that." 

Byakuya rolled his eyes, but didn't say a word. Kyoko was completely right, but he would never give her the satisfaction of admitting that. His silence was enough. 

They had made way for the source of the explosion only to find the path to the other side of the city was completely blocked off by the collapsed structure. Due to the closed off nature of the cities remains that left them with only one option: go the long way around and hope those entrances aren't blocked as well. 

When it was just Kyoko and Byakuya there was always this weird silence. Sometimes comfortable, sometimes tense. Makoto was always the one to fill it, he was like the bridge between the two. Kyoko wished he could tell Byakuya to cheer up -his attitude was getting on her nerves- but Makoto's absence was the whole reason for it in the first place. 

"Keep your guard up" she reminded, her own hand staying close to the pouch strapped to her thigh. Inside was an all weather purpose mini notepad and a handheld taser. She quite liked her taser, it was both heavy hitting and satisfied Makoto's wish to not kill anyone: even the despaired. "I'm certain that explosion was rigged up by a person." 

Byakuya scoffed, "I am Togami Byakuya" he kindly reminded her. Kyoko rolled her eyes, she'd heard that way too many times to count. "My guard is always up and my reaction time is perfect. Maybe you should worry about yourself instead." 

"Incorrigible as usual, I see." 

He glared back down at her, still walking forward with overconfident strides, "I'll have you know-" 

There it is. Another rant which consisted only of Byakuya boasting about his own skills. She shut him out without a second thought, focusing on her surroundings instead. It's not as though Byakuya would provide any sort of new information anyway. 

"Wait." She interrupted, which Byakuya hated, but his feelings be damned, "do you hear that?" 

Byakuya paused, facing towards the direction she was looking. There was a sound in the distance, something familiar. It was far, but if he focused hard enough he could figure it out. 

Kyoko and Byakuya looked at each other, both having recognized the siren's undeniable screech at the same time. With a nod, they began to run. Makoto or not, whoever was caught by that Siren Monokuma was in danger. Byakuya steadied his hacking gun in his hand and Kyoko effortlessly pulled her taser from it's bounds. Despite their great desire to find Makoto meer seconds ago, they hoped that anyone else would be caught by the Monokuma's. But, this was Makoto after all. 

It took an undetermined amount of time for them to loop around to the convenience store, but the time spent felt uncomfortably long to them both. When they did arrive they found it was a chaotic mess. There was a group of Monokuma's huddled together over one unseen person. There was blood scraped across the concrete as though someone was dragged with their horrible injuries and all. But there were no sounds of a struggle. The sight was more akin to school yard bullies gathering to kick a victim than a genuine fight. 

Without wasting much time Byakuya fired at the Siren Monokuma, destroying it without a second thought. "Damn noise was getting on my nerves" He said. 

Kyoko shook her head, "Focus" she pointed her nose towards the pile up. Byakuya's uncaring attitude toward the situation showed that he believed the person was already dead. One by one the machines fell apart or destroyed themselves. And in their wake was a small, bloodied mess in human shape. The smell of copper and the sickening sight of messy pink was one they had gotten all too used to over the years. But that didn't make it easier when you recognized one of those bodies as someone you cared about. 

Byakuya felt harsh, furious breaths of air pushing in and out of his nose. The action was an almost unconscious response. He couldn't help but let anger well up at the sight of Naegi Makoto laying on the ground curled up on his side.

He grit his teeth, "Is he…?" Dammit. A Togami didn't hesitate. Certainly not Byakuya.

"No." Kyoko's voice was barely more than a whisper, and for a split second he thought she was simply in denial. But no, she had caught  sight of Makoto's chest moving up and down. She made way to him, hands hovering over him unsure of how deep his injuries ran. The first thing she saw were vicious claw marks running down his back. There were bits of debris clinging to the wound. They were ugly and jagged things. She wanted to roll him onto his back to get a better look at him but was it even safe to move him at all? She didn't want to risk paralyzing him. Not to mention she'd be pressing his wound to the ground. She glanced to his leg. A complete mangled mess, she could tell the unit that attached itself to his leg was relentless in its attack. Shaking and thrashing and the like. The fabric that once covered his leg was all but torn to shreds leaving the whole injury on brutal display. There was blood pooling underneath where he lay on the ground. His skin was pale from blood loss, breaking into a cold sweat that made her certain shock was already setting in. Almost all exposed skin was blossoming into a different, unnatural color indicating a plethora of bruises. His breathing was quiet but heavy, he'd already lost a lot of blood. When her eyes finally trailed up to his face she felt a small bit of relief that his features were marred by only a small cut on his left cheek, with a lazy stream of blood pouring from it. 

Byakuya and Kyoko were two individuals with a massive disconnect of their emotions brought about by their upbringing. Byakuya turned any emotion he felt into anger and disdain. Kyoko snuffed out most emotions she felt so that nothing would show. They had the emotional resolve of steel, it wasn't easy breaking down their walls. Makoto was that strange part of the equation that ruined all of that. He managed to get Byakuya to be intrigued by someone so seemingly insignificant and he managed to get Kyoko to act pouty and almost childish during the game. Yes, their entire lives were spent crafting these defenses. And now they had to fight to keep it all together with only elmers glue in their arsenal.

Kyoko was up close and personal with all the gruesome details of his attack. She tried to shove it all down so that she could completely focus on ensuring Makoto's survival. But he was looking up at her with a dazed half lidded look, as though any second the world would slip away from under his feet. And despite that Makoto smiled when he caught eyes with her. Kyoko's heart cracked. 

Byakuya could only watch with his fists by his side. He had set out to ensure all the survivors of the first killing game continued to survive and here we are. He forced all these feelings to be translated into anger. But he knew the underlying causes. He knew there was a part of him that simply was scared for his friends sake. 

The two of them both understood the others emotional grievances. And that's exactly why Byakuya's heart skipped a beat when Kyoko looked up at him with fear vibrant in her eyes. 

"It doesn't look good." 

[levi-llama]

{Questions and Desires}

Jasper x Fem!OC x Alice / Part One:

Series Rating: Mature

Chapter Rating: Teen

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of Homophobia, Distress, (Probably Inaccurate) Depictions of Diabetes, (DM me if I missed any)

Word Count: 1,225

Chapter One:

<<<>>>

I walked out of my aunt’s small, worn down home. As the old, eggshell paint chips off the front door I shut behind myself, I feel the cold, humid air of the Olympic Peninsula fill my lungs. It’s a new place, a new school, and a new experience for me; I just hope I can positively adjust to my current surroundings.

You see, I came to Forks, Washington for a reason. My family’s gone to ruin, and I’ve come to my only safe haven in order to regain at least some of the general hope I used to have. My mother and her sister grew up here until her father passed away when she was young. My aunt, Winnie, still lives in this small town. What caused all of this, unfortunately, is how my parents kicked me out, their only child, for coming out. Though, I’ll leave it as that for now at least. In result, I officially decided to move forward, putting myself in some fresh scenery and living with an even more refreshing family member.

I arrived last night, but I was too exhausted to unpack, so this morning was a struggle to say the least. I was scrambling for clothes, throwing things out of my cardboard boxes, then shoving things back in when I found what I needed. I threw on my giant blue-green flannel, with a tight grey chamisal under. I hurriedly pushed my pale legs through my whitewash skinny jeans and laced up my black sneakers. Thankfully, my hair is a short ginger pixie-cut, so my lazy-ass didn’t have to worry about brushing my hair. I somehow remembered to grab my bag and started my mile walk to Forks High.

<<<>>>

First period started as soon as I walked through the doorway. I darted for the open seat, yet my US History teacher stopped me short. I was only a hair away from sitting in that safe, safe chair.

“Miss,” spoke loudly to get my attention and I froze in place, turning slowly to him with a sigh. “You’re the new student, correct?” I nodded hesitantly. “Why don’t you come up here and introduce yourself to your new classmates!” He seemed unnecessarily cheerful.

“Yea, uh, hi. Amelia Warren, Nice to meet you all,” I gave a small wave.

“Very nice! You can take a seat now.”

I continued back to the only open seat, the same seat in which I originally moved towards. It was the second to last row from the back of the classroom. I was sitting between a peer and the wall. This wasn’t an ordinary peer, though, this was the single most beautiful young man I have ever seen. His long, disheveled, golden hair strung down the sides of his head. It covered his gaze as he glanced up to me through his lashes, yet it didn’t cover enough to keep me from noticing. The whole hour went by insanely fast. I honestly couldn’t concentrate at all with the whole ‘game of tag’ my table mate and I were playing with our glances.

<<<>>>

The lunch bell just rang with a relieving, yet deafening sound after my first three, utterly exhausting, class periods. I ignore the long, crowded lunch lines and go straight to sitting down, alone, at an empty table in the back. I open up my backpack and pull out my sketch pad and a pencil. I lay them out, yet as soon as I place the tip of my pencil on the paper, I see, from the corner of my eye, a group of unbelievably gorgeous students walk by me. They all take a seat at the table in the furthermost corner, the table next to mine. I try not to stare as I snap myself out of my mysterious daze, now looking back down towards my sketchbook. As soon as I try to start doodling once more, I get distracted from the feeling of two sets of eyes lingering on me. I glance up, as inconspicuous as possible, only for my eyes to meet with an elegant, pixie like female, and that same stiff young man with golden hair from history class. I don’t know if it initially came to my attention from my sudden flustered state that was caused from the non-verbal encounter, or something else entirely, but at that moment, I could feel my head start to spin and my vision started to blur. I couldn’t see the rustling of the cafeteria crowds. I couldn’t hear the chattering and noises of the eating utensils clanking on the strong plastic trays. At that point I cursed under my breath as I finally realized: I forgot to take my insulin.

I’ve struggled with my Type 1 Diabetes since I was a child; I’ve forgotten my insulin before, yet I’ve had people to help me in these scenarios, people that knew how to handle these predicaments, but I didn’t know anyone in this scenario. I had no one that could help, none at all. No one near me knew of my issues, therefore I came to a conclusion. I decided I’d start my walk home, even if it meant I’d have to ditch on my first day of school, because the only option I could think of was heading home as soon as possible. I just had to get my, much needed, insulin shot.

I gathered my things and got up as carefully as could be in hopes that it’ll subdue my lightheadedness. Of course, lady luck still wasn’t on my side. I started to tip, yet I caught myself by leaning on the cream-colored, circular lunch table, and, quickly, regained my balance. I wobbled out the door, making sure not to trip on anything, and looking back once to confirm the feeling that the two were still watching me. They were.

I wandered through the crowded, echoing halls that, while in my dizzy state, seemed like a maze from a fun house. All the giggling, the muffled rattling, the sudden and slow movements occurring around me, and the colors in which started to blend together in a rainbow mush. I made my way to the clear, cool, and comforting front doors of the complex. I pushed it open with my weaker state as I mindfully felt the soothingly chilled metal bars on the glass doors. I feel the brisk breeze make its way through my nostrils as I inhale the crisp, yet humid, Washington air. I started my walk across the parking lot’s blacktop. The deep green grass looked as if it was slowly mending with the light cement sidewalks. The cars zoomed past, but they’re noises of the engine speeding up or slowing down just suddenly disappeared. I think I was about halfway home when my blood sugar seemed to have increased to, now, dangerously high levels. Just then, strength turned for the worst, and, to no one's surprise, lady luck abandoned me once again as I looked down to my phone, realizing that it was completely dead. I couldn’t call my aunt for help. I couldn’t call anyone for help. I was alone and lost. I was scared and confused. I was an idiot for forgetting such an important thing. But, sadly yet expectantly, then, before I could react, I fell to the ground unconscious.

<<<>>>

Part Two>>

[belpheroo]

home again home again

Pairing: Mammon x MC Rating: T Summary: A follow-up to the last day. MC Adjusts to life back in the human realm, but Devildom just can’t stay away.

As Lucifer had promised, when she returned home, no time had passed. It was as if that year, that time she spent in Devildom, belonged wholly to a time and a place outside of the realm of her human reality.

He had warned her some memories might soften, fading around the edges until she would start to question whether they had happened… but given her celestial heritage, perhaps she would have a different experience. She was no magic user like Solomon, but Lilith’s blood was magic in itself and that blood was in her veins, no matter how small.

She left her bags packed on her floor, venturing out her bedroom door and into the hallway. It was twilight, just like when she left, warm amber sunlight shining just barely over the edges of the window frames.

A clock ticked. Her cat mrrowed curiously from their sleeping spot. Her college texts laid on the small kitchen table, notebooks and pens scattered where she had left them.

Quietly, deliberately, she moved through her small kitchenette, putting on her electric kettle and taking down a familiar mug and a familiar bag of tea. She ripped open the package, set the bag in the mug and waited.

And waited.

And waited for it to feel real.

---

A week went by and then another. Her morning classes came and went. She found herself falling behind her friends, not even listening to their chatter as she focused out on the people passing by on their street and across it.

“Who are you looking for?”

One of them had asked, smiling and cheeky.

“You have a date?”

There was no shock of white among the crowd, no familiar voice.

“... no, I’m just… people watching.”

By the time she got home and set down to study she noted all the doodles in her margins were of tiny lesser demons, with their top-hats and little horns.

She sighed, dropping her pencil in defeat and picking up her phone to check Devilgram. In front of her eyes, the screen displayed one sentence in a grey box:

Out of Service Zone

Mammon had said it would work, that it would still connect… but it seemed he was wrong. Instead, she navigated to her saved chats, flicking through lines of conversations and messages going back the course of the year. It was easy to get lost, to read and to laugh and think of those past conversations and of her boys, somewhere in a realm between worlds.

She knew it wasn’t a good idea to get too caught up, not when there was work still to be done. With a heart, no less heavy, she moved to set the device face down on her desk when she noted the screen had illuminated, the pale blue-green color showing against the table surface.

She held her breath as she turned it over.

Signal Found Reestablishing Connection…

…

…

Connection Reestablished

The access was slow, nothing had changed on the screen, no new notifications or chats. She waited, eager to see the little pink birds that would soon dot her screen. She wondered how they all had been doing, whether they missed her and how things were.

She had expected a few notifications, maybe even none. It had only been a week now. Instead, she opened the message center to a proverbial flood of little bird notifications. It was enough to make her laugh, the joy in her chest bursting forward as she opened the main chat group “House of Lamentation”. There were all the same questions she had for them- how are you? What have you been doing? Do you miss us?

Before responding though, her eyes caught to one of those messages with a little gold eye icon. The messages she was not supposed to be included on but for whatever reason her settings gave her access. She hadn’t seen this title before… the chat subject line simply her name followed by Absence Support Group

She clicked it.

Asmodeus: As discussed! This chat is for the support of all of us who miss our dearly departed exchange student.

Asmodeus: This is a judgement free zone <3

Satan: When you say it like that it sounds like she’s dead… couldn’t we all just text her when we miss her?

Asmodeus: Judgement. Free. Zone. ~<3

Levi: Unless your name is Stupid Mammon.

Mammon: HEY

Mammon: NO

Levi: sTuPiD mAmMoN

Belphie: Great. Another chat for me to mute. Zzz

Beel: Has anyone else texted her? I texted her. It isn’t open.

Asmodeus: Hmm? Yes, she hasn’t opened my pics either.

Mammon: PICS?

Asmodeus: Oh yes <3

Mammon: THE HELL KINDA PICS YOU SENDIN’ MY GIRL, ASSMO?

Asmodeus: Judgement Free Zone <3 <3 <3

Mammon has been muted for One minute.

Levi: You have GOT to show me how to do that!!!

Beel: I text her when I am thinking of her.

Beel: Yesterday, I got up for a snack. I stopped at her room and knocked to see if she wanted any.

Beel:  I had forgotten.

Mammon’s muted minute had been up even, judging by the time stamps, but there was still a prolonged pause before someone else responded.

Satan: I remembered I lent her a book. The Corpus Hermetica. She left it in my room sometime before she left… her bookmark was still in it.

Beel: Are you using it?

Satan: I-- yes.

Belphie: I took a nap in her old bed the other day. The sheets don’t smell like her anymore.

Levi: … I’ve been playing her really crappy low leveled character in Memoirs of the Samurai-Ninja, Warriors of Dynasty 6. So she doesn’t get even MORE behind in events.

Mammon: Oi, back up. Belphie, you did WHAT now?!

Mammon has been muted for Two minutes.

Asmodeus: No judgment zone!!

And it went on like that. Day after day. One of them would post a thought or a feeling or a moment that struck them, that reminded them of her. It shocked her a bit when the dots of something typing began to appear, then disappear, then appear and… then disappear. And this carried on for a long time before finally a new message appeared.

Mammon: So. I’m totally NOT super completely upset but the other day I was doing some a m a z i n g modeling work and the camera lady asked me where my “human friend” was.

Mammon: Threw even me, THE Mammon, off his game.

Asmodeus: Because they called her your “friend” instead of your “girlfriend”? <3

Mammon: No!

Mammon: But she is. 😈

Belphie: What if she gets a human boyfriend?

Mammon: EH?! No way! No human boy can compare to ME.

Satan: Well, you are here. She is there. Do you really expect her to wait for you?

Mammon: …

Belphie: Maybe she’d wait for one of us. But Mammon?

Mammon: H-hey! What happened to the judgment free zone?!

Satan: Would explain why she hasn’t called.

Belphie: Or texted.

Mammon: …

She felt her heart sink. She didn’t have a human boyfriend! She’d just had absolutely no SIGNAL since she had gotten back to the human realm! Panicking, she hurried to the phone section of the D.D.D and pulled Mammon’s contact up.

Hurriedly she pressed the dial, listening to the faint tone as it rang.

And rang.

And rang.

The connection was in and out again, sometimes the ring distorted with feedback. The call dropped and quickly she re-dialed again.

“C’mon… c’mon! Mammon! Pick up!”

Click.

The ringing stopped. The timer flickered on. Call Ongoing 00:03.

“Mammon?! Are you there? Can you hear me?”

There was a voice, but it was choppy and undecipherable.

“My D.D.D. isn’t working right! I can’t understand you, but if you can understand me I-- I wanted to call and say-- um. I wanted to say--!”

The line was quiet.

“I miss you all so much! S-so… please convince Lucifer to let me visit! Or come visit me!”

The phone made a sound, a strangled static burst. The battery flickered even though it had been nearly full just moments ago.

“The connection is draining my stupid phone! Ugh, I’m sorry! Tell everyone I said hello and I miss them!” she paused, words stuck on her tongue as she tried to get them out, “And Mammon… I miss you most! And I love--”

The phone made a ding sound as the battery finally and truly died. She dove to her bag, digging out the charger and desperately trying to plug it in. The first time in weeks she managed to get a call in and the human realm to Devildom signal was that bad?!

“Stupid phone. Stupid stupid stupid…”

There was a faint smell, like sulphur or burning wood. She made a face, looking over the device for any sign of damage and finding none at all. That was odd… but still she could smell an ever growing scent like something had caught fire.

Standing up, she turned half towards the hall and abruptly dropped her phone in sheer shock, the device clattering loudly.

Mammon was breathing heavily, steam coming off his body in waves. He was in his devil-form, all horns and wings.

“Wh...what… was that… last bit?” he panted, leaning against the hallway wall, “I didn’t… hear all of it!”

“You came all the way here just to finish a phone call?” she said teasingly, knowing full well what it was he really came for.

“Please! A… transport like that… is ah- nothing! To the Great Mammon!” he was still out of breath, but catching it quickly, “Now. What did you say?”

There was nothing suave in his question, nothing concealed or charming. There was something more desperate in his eyes, something needy. Her lips curled into a fond smile as she found the words came so much easier the second time.

“Mammon, I love you.”

“... of course ya do.” Mammon said, crossing the space between her both until she was snuggly in his arms. He was warm, warmer than usual after his trip, but that smell would HAVE to go.

“You need a bath.”

“Tch… then give me one.” he grumbled in reply.

Who would possibly say no?

[yuusa]

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟏

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟐𝟓𝟖𝟑

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏:

The loud beeping of the alarm clock went off in the room as your groans followed, your hands slamming the object to the ground before slowly sitting up from your bed. You rubbed your eyes as you tried to adjust to your surroundings, your mind and body wanting nothing but to curl underneath those soft sheets of yours and smother your face in the feathery pillows. You raised your hand to cover your mouth as you yawned and stretched, you swung your legs over the edge of the bed as you slowly walked towards the singular bathroom in the hallway.

You filled up the reusable cup with water before applying the toothpaste onto your brush. With your half-lidded eyes, you carefully started to brush your whitened teeth while staring at the mirror. As you brushed your teeth, you made some mental notes to pick up your journal for school. You had remembered you left it on your desk and wanted to fill it out for the morning. You spat out the minty paste and rinsed your mouth before grabbing a towel to wipe at the remaining droplets of water.

You went back to your room to which your uniform was laid out on the chair with your bag already next to the door. Your room was quite plain, it had mostly white walls with white-colored books neatly stacked against each other on the shelf. You turned to your bed to decide whether or not you wanted to fold the sheets. It was. . . Extremely messy. There were sheets piled on top of each other, the pillows shoved into one corner of the bed, and various loose pens and papers surrounding your “nest”. While the rest of the room was clean, your bed was one of the more unorganized spaces. You only shrugged as you thought to clean it up later when you get home.

Which you probably wouldn’t, but you put effort into thinking about it.

You slowly pulled up the required skirt placed on the chair and began to change into the required uniform. You thought that the high school uniform looked slightly childish for girls but it was something that was unchangeable. You pulled your grey colored sweater over your shirt, the end of the white fabric still peeking out from your outer layer.

Before you left the room to start on your breakfast, you picked up the required journal with its ribbon dangling from the edge. It wasn’t a flashy journal, it had a white hardcover with a golden strip of fabric that separated the new from old pages. You had signed your name at the corner of the book, the characters of your name glimmering underneath the light of your room. As you ate your toasted bread you quickly documented your morning routine onto the papers. Some may have thought of this as a meaningless hobby, but to you, it felt like something more that you could cling onto to give significance to your boring life.

“I hate you! I’ve always hated you!” The sharp impact came across your face in a swift movement. “You’re always in front of me, what have I done wrong?!” She screamed in frustration as her tears flowed down like a waterfall, her movements becoming more frantic by the second as she gripped the edge of your shirt and threw you towards the wooden shrine, the smell of incense burning being inhaled as you struggled to catch your breath.

You slammed your journal shut before silently cleaned up the table and grabbed onto your bag. You had no one to wish goodbye to, nor did you have anyone to tell you welcome home. You tilted your head downwards as you walked towards your school.

Although you faintly remember your middle school reputation of being popular with the boys, you tend to stay within your own closed-off area of the school next to the tree to study. You once thought to yourself that school could have been easier if you had actual friends to make your life exciting. Maybe you wouldn’t have to spend every day eating alone. You pressed your lips together as you frowned. Of course, there wouldn’t be anyone left to be friends with, a lot of them already knew each other from middle school and many of them wanted to stay far away from you, possibly to admire you from afar. With each step you took towards the school, it almost felt as if the world had slowed down for your thoughts.

Your life was lonely.

You slipped onto your indoor shoes and placed your regular ones into the shoe cabinet, your mind still occupied by your own gloomy thoughts as you continued forward to your classroom.

You thought that perhaps there could be someone who would share the same experiences as you, someone as lonely and closed-off as you were, but that would simply be wishful thinking. It was a very selfish thought. You wished not to burden others, but to take on the weight yourself. This train of thought only reminded you of the nightly dreams you have that you write down every morning.

It was about the Great Zodiac Race or Zodiac Legend, you didn’t quite understand why you had consistent dreams of this specific myth, but it was something you thought to be profoundly interesting. Legend says: God told all the animals he was throwing a banquet the next day and to not be late. The rat had decidedly told the cat that the banquet would be the other day as to fool the feline. He would wake up the next morning to find that his dreams of the feast were simply a lie, the mischievous rat had tricked him.

You pondered about the significance of this story. You originally felt pity for the cat, being so easily fooled by the rat, but you had come to the realization that you don’t feel a connection to either of these animals. You wondered if the rat felt as if winning the race was worth it.

After all, when you’re at the top of the world, there is nowhere else to go. You hooked your school bag onto the desk and sat down, pulling out your journal to write a report on your own thoughts. You questioned why an animal such as a bird, perhaps even an eagle, was unable to win the race. They were fast and swift, their talons sharpened and most of all: they were free.

With wings, you could soar through the skies God had walked on. You could flourish in Heaven while the rest scoured the grounds. If you were an eagle. . . Perhaps God could finally look you in the eye and grant you anything you wanted in life. Perhaps. . . The rat would no longer have to feel lonely if someone as great as the eagle could replace his spot. Even if the eagle were to feel alone, it would still settle the dispute between the two animals. You smiled grimly as you doodled a small eagle onto the side of your notes.

You would still feel lonely in end.

You turned your head to the side and noticed the abundance of students flocking into the classroom. You watched as the brown-haired student who you sat next to smiled brightly at her classmates. She had a very friendly appearance and was pretty, but she was a total airhead. You remembered the first time you were assigned seats, she kept dropping her eraser and utensils next to you and would apologize nonstop. It was endearing, but it was very annoying when she had to apologize for simply being near you. You heard that she was extremely close to the Sohma family, you weren’t very interested in her personal life, but it seemed as if the school couldn’t shut up about the news, especially the micro-banged club leader.

You grimace every time she squawks with her annoyingly high pitched voice and micro-bangs. Wherever you went it always seemed as if she was there, constantly cawing over the littlest things the Sohmas’, more specifically Yuki Sohma, been doing. You sighed before noticing the mentioned Prince sitting on the other side of the classroom. You always thought that he seemed to be strangely distant from the class, always trying to smile despite how fake each and every one of them was. You wondered why no one else had caught on to the fact none of his laughs were even remotely genuine. The more you stared at him, you realize that there must have been something different about him. As you faced your head to face the board, you failed to notice the grey-eyed stare you received.

Yuki felt himself be cornered in the library by another unknown female confessing her love to him. He seemed to have lost track of the number of girls who had tried to open their hearts to him, only to be met with closed doors with his own. She poured out her feelings towards him, her tears almost coming out of her eyes as she tried to leap into his arms, only for him to quickly grab her face and halted her movements. She looked up to his grey orbs and felt herself become mesmerized by the sight, burning the memory into her mind as to never forget this glorious moment.

Yuki never understood these girls no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t understand what they saw within him that would grant him the honor of being someone’s lover. With his girlish face, anyone would assume he was simply a female. He never thought of himself as cool, but as pathetic. He felt as if he went beyond the standard and that itself was enough to believe he isn’t a good match for anyone. He wasn’t cool and tough like his cousin or outgoing like his older brother, he wasn’t extremely wise either. He is, for a lack of words, a lonely person with no sense of self-love. He wanted to bite down on his lip in frustration as he remembers the interactions his cousin had with the other students, the anger he felt when he couldn’t relate to any of the other students enough to make friends. It made him want to curl up into a corner and melt.

“You’re nice, Yuki-kun, but you’re closed off to other people, aren’t you? Everyone says that! Yuki-kun is special! A normal girl isn’t good enough for him!” The young girl ran away and accidentally shoved you as you walked around the corner, causing you to drop your book onto the ground. You winced in pain as you slammed into the bookshelf from the impact.

You clicked your tongue in annoyance and frustration from having to pick up your fallen book. When your hand was about to reach the hardcover, another pale one had already grasped the spine of the book and offered it to you. You lifted your head as you made eye-contact with the grey-haired male, his smile plastered over his face as usual.

“Are you hurt?” He asked, your eyes widening for a few seconds before returning to their normal dull appearance. He noticed the slight glimmer in your irises before you pulled away from him.

“I’m fine.” You took the book from his hand and bowed slightly. You quickly went towards the previous bookshelf that Yuki had found himself trapped in, your mind still occupied by a foreign thought. You closed your eyes with your back turned to him. You didn’t know exactly how to address the situation. Yuki stood behind you awkwardly, he too was speechless in a way.

He gripped onto the sleeve of his left arm, his bangs overshadowing the look in his eyes away from you. He didn’t know what to do in this situation, he had never talked to you outside of classroom duties and even you were closed off. He bit his lip as he struggled to pull himself together. You only frowned before sliding one of the books out of the shelves and turning over to face him.

“I heard. . .” You saw him flinch at the sound of your voice, “about what the girl said.” Your (e/c) eyes met with his as you continued your staring contest.

He looked back at you in shock, his grey orbs widening to the size of saucers as he comprehended your words. In a way, he felt a bit flustered to be caught in this situation, maybe if he was cool like Kyo, he could be more assertive and talk his way through this. His lips wavered and turned into a small frown but you noticed that he was still trying to give you a smile. Yuki decidedly broke off the contest as he stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts and concerns. Your lips curled slightly downwards to a frown as you thought you might have offended him. You should diverge the topic then.

“It reminded me of something,” you absentmindedly peeled open the book to examine the contents of it, “you sort of remind me of the Rat from the Zodiacs.”

You weren’t the best at formulating conversations or articulating thoughts, so this was the best you could even do. You wondered if this was truly the right thing to do. You didn’t notice the look that the boy had given you, you would have to assume that he stared at you in disgust or annoyance when in reality he was merely speechless.

“Sohma-san, do you believe in the idea that the rat may be lonely?” You asked, “because I believe the rat is lonely.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, “what makes you say that? Are you implying that I’m lonely?” He retorted.

You shook your head, “I was just curious.” He pressed his lips together at your response. “I always thought that. . . If the rat never came in first place, do you think he would still be lonely? He wouldn’t have to shoulder the burden of being by God’s side, he could be like the others.”

Yuki leaned against the window, his head against the glass wall as he stared at your figure, “if the rat hadn’t come in first place, who would?”

He seemed to be catching on quickly. You smiled at his question, “the bird.”

“A bird?”

“An eagle.”

Yuki pondered over the meaning of your words. He stared at your expression as you flipped through the many pages of the book.

In a way, an eagle could have won the race, but it was an unrealistic thought. The rat had won, and there was no way to change that fact. He tightened his fists until his knuckles became white like the snow. The rat had won, and there’s no way to change fate. He shut his eyes tightly as he grit his teeth, remembering very clearly his relationship with his cousin.

There was no way to change fate.

“Why do you think the eagle should have won?” He asked, albeit reluctantly.

“They’re the closest you can get to God,” you slid the next page over, “an eagle could fly through the sky and be eye to eye with God. . . They could be equals.”

“But. . .” You closed the book and slowly walked towards the exit, the time spent in the library being already too long, “the eagle. . .” Yuki’s eyes flowed the movement of your figure as you glided your hands across the door frame.

“Could save the rat from his burdens.” You turned to him and gave him a sorrowful smile.

[sahbibabe]

The Fiction of Love

The Fiction of Love

Soulmate AU: Where whatever your soulmate writes on their skin appears on yours.

Genesis Rhapsodos/Fem! Reader

In which you finally meet the source of the daily recitations of Loveless on your arm: Genesis Rhapsodos.

IT STARTED LIKE everyone else's soulmate experience─the writing appeared one day, out of the blue, on the skin of your forearm like a tattoo. They were always quick to fade, the magical ink devoured by your body's immune system, but they lingered long enough for you to notice them.

And, weirdly enough, the first words your soulmate wrote to you were the words of a poem. Whoever they were, they wrote in an amazingly talented hand, the calligraphy putting your awful, cramped words to absolute shame.

'Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess,' they wrote on your arm that morning,'we seek it thus, and take to the skies.'

From then on, every day since then, you would be sure to find phrases of that poem written somewhere on your body. On your arms, forearms, hands, knees, legs, but the most common was always the inside of your wrist, written there as if it was some secret, some thrilling note that you could look at when no one was around.

You hated it.

Unlike the rest of the women in your office building, you despised that poem─and the play─with every fiber of your being. It was one thing to hear it every day at work, brought on by the cooing assistants who fawned over the main male leads of the play and lusted for their numbers. But to be hounded by it even as you relaxed at home, unable to forget those damned words because they appeared on your skin almost every hour on the dot?

It was ridiculous.

Your spite had extended to your replies to your soulmate, so much so that you never replied at all once your hatred took hold of you. It had been nearly two months since you had stopped, six months since they had started to begin with, and yet your soulmate soldiered on, leaving the little phrases for you to find─in obvious spots, none of them ever inappropriate─and going on with whatever they did for a living.

It had to have been something time and attention consuming, because the one time you wrote back, drunk during mid-day, you didn't get a reply until well after twelve in the morning. You had just wrote, pretty awfully,'Why Loveless?' and passed out on the couch, dead to the world.

You woke up right in the middle of the reply appearing on your skin as they wrote it, the curls of their handwriting fascinating as every whorl and slash bloomed upon your arm like wicked black flowers.

'Why not Loveless?' They had replied.

Needless to say, the irritation had rose up as you had expected it to, and you pulled a hoodie on for the rest of the night to hide your arms from your line of sight. If you would have pulled up your sleeve just a bit then, you would have caught the extended reply that they added on to it.

'I'm just joking. Why Loveless? Because it is a truth; it is deliverance. It is a meaning.'

Unfortunately for you, the ink had been devoured long ago and replaced with another Loveless stanza, this one a little bit longer than the others they had written for you… and not at all part of the official poem.

'Even if the morrow is barren of promises

Nothing shall forestall my return

To become the dew that quenches the land

To spare the sands, the seas, the skies

I offer thee this silent sacrifice.'

It was then, staring at your arm as you stood in front of your office copier, the glow of the mako reactor shining upon your skin, that you realized this poem was much more than a means to annoy you. This was their passion, their joy, their hobby, all wrapped into one poem.

You made a decision then.

You booked the tickets, the priciest seats you could afford, rented out a modest but elegant dress for the evening, and made a reservation at a nice restaurant just across the street from the theater, even more pricey than the tickets.

'Theater #2, front steps, 8:30 P.M. Dress nice. Don't be late.'

That reply had been instantaneous.

'I wouldn't dream of it.'

The date set and your dress hanging comfortably in your closet, you began wondering what your soulmate looked like. Could you pick them out of a crowd? Or were they plain and unassuming, able to blend in easily, like camouflage?

You asked them, just to be sure.

'What do you look like?'

'Let's leave that as a mystery. I'm sure I'll be able to find you.'

Stumped, you stared at your arm with wide eyes, before scratching through your question and doodling a smiley face with the tongue sticking out of the side.

'Not if I find you first.'

'I look forward to the challenge.'

By the time the date rolled around and you were dressed and waiting by the steps of the theater, you were so nervous you could throw up. You were a little early and tried to settle your nerves with a small can of soda, but all that succeeded in doing was making the butterflies worse. You were lucky they had even agreed to the meeting in the first place; some people just never got that chance. And that didn't guarantee you would even get along, did it?

After a few minutes of failing to calm yourself down, you got on your phone and scrolled through the new ShinRa announcements, eager to take your mind off of the wrecking ball going off in your stomach. It only helped a little bit.

And then, something odd happened; like the proverbial red sea, people parted for someone walking through the crowd at a leisurely pace, except the 'red' was a man, and not a sea at all. Just from your distance, he was gorgeous, with russet red hair and mako green eyes that sparkled under the fluorescent lights.

Whoever got him as a soulmate had earned the jackpot, you thought wordlessly to yourself, watching as the crowd continued to part for him. Really, really lucky.

Then you realized, belatedly, like a sucker punch to the gut, that he was headed your way, those insanely green eyes trained on you with the focus of a predator. It was suddenly very hard to breathe, your lungs constricting at the disbelief in your mind, your phone very heavy in your hand.

There was no absolute way in hell--

"I told you I'd find you," he said with a smooth grin. His voice was like honey, rich and smooth with all of the right cadence, and sat right in your stomach like molten gold. You swore if you weren't so awe struck that you would have teetered back and fainted right then and there. "I win."

"I guess so," you replied faintly, barely a whisper. He seemed to acknowledge the effect he had on you because his eyes crinkled up just the slightest with a smirk that made you want to, quite literally, rip off that red leather jacket he wore and show him who was boss. "I'm [Name]."

"Genesis." You watched the emerald earring he had in his ear dangle and catch the lights, adding to his features spectacularly. "Are you ready to go inside?"

You had to stop yourself from sounding too eager. Your plans had went from having a nice time at a play, to dinner, and parting your separate ways and straight to watching a play, having dinner, and hopefully taking him back home with you if he was willing. "Yes, please."

Genesis smiled and tucked your hand into his elbow, like a gentleman--you could feel your face growing as hot as coals--and escorted you up the stairs, careful not to let you trip and fall. As you walked with him to the stands to give the doorman your tickets, you noticed that he didn't exactly walk with the awkwardness of a normal person. His gait was smooth, fluid, elegant and refined, as if someone had drilled him to always be light on his feet. Add that to the sword you could feel at his side and the beautiful green eyes, and you knew you had a SOLDIER for a soulmate.

"You're a SOLDIER?" You asked quietly as you entered the quiet zone of the play stage.

He chuckled lightly. "What gave it away?"

"Let's see… Other than the sword and the way you carry yourself?" You teased, stomach jolting when he moved his hand to the small of your back to urge you towards your seat. "Your eyes. I've never seen such a concentrated color before."

"Yes, the tell tale sign of mako energy," he lamented, if only to earn a laugh out of you. "But yes, I am a First Class SOLDIER."

Your head turned so quickly that you were sure your neck would have snapped. "First Class? And you're here with me, not on some elite mission?"

"Of course." He blinked, tilted his head, and furrowed his eyebrows as if he was the one who should be confused. "Why would I turn down the chance to see Loveless with a goddess such as yourself?"

Oh, you felt the heat now, curling down your spine like a snake and he the charmer. It should have been cheesy, given the situation and his love for a poem mentioning such a goddess, but for some reason, it wasn't, and it made goofy feelings rise in your chest, along with understanding.

It was more than just a poem.

He grinned when you brought your pamphlet up to fan yourself, leaning back in your chair and mumbling,"Let's just watch the play, okay?"

Genesis was, thankfully, tame during the entire thing. He was just as absorbed into it as you were, those pretty green eyes taking in the play actors with relish, and absentmindedly stroking his leather clad thumb over your knuckles as if it was natural to him.

When the play was over, the actors gave out cute silk flowers as a souvenir, thanking everyone for their attendance and citing their next performance as sometime next week.

Dinner, you came to find out, was fair game for Genesis.

Not only did he pull some strings behind your back to pay for it himself, he also switched your reserved table to the most secluded one in the entire building: the Elite floor where only people like Rufus Shinra dined and held their meetings and drank fine wine.

There were only three other tables on the floor, each one hosting a couple, and the room was dark, barely lit by glowing red lanterns as a centerpiece. Clearly it was a popular spot to be wooed.

You caught envious stares from the waitresses, a few offering you winks and a thumb's up, as you made your way up the stairs, Genesis behind you and making sure you didn't fall. You half guessed he was also in it for the view as well.

When you were seated and left to order your food, Genesis spoke up.

"So, you know what I do for a living, but you have yet to tell me anything about yourself." He propped open his menu and looked over it to you.

"Well… There isn't much to say." You shrugged and focused on trying to undo the straps of your heels with your feet, feeling your toes ache with the added height. "I'm a bit boring compared to you."

"I digress," he hummed,"but go on."

"I work in an office building for twelve hours a day," you deadpanned, much to his amusement. "It's boring."

"Allow me."

Confused, you opened your mouth to ask what he meant, but all of the breath left your lungs once again when his fingers wrapped around your ankle and unbuckled the straps to your heels with nimble fingers. He took his time, sliding his palm up your leg to take a hold of your calf as he removed the shoe from your foot.

Relieved from the pressure of your shoes, you let out a pleased sigh, but when you looked back across the table at him, those green eyes were glittering dangerously, trained on your face for a solitary second before getting to work on the other shoe.

You couldn't help the sudden heat rising in your belly. That look alone had made you tingle.

Before he could open his mouth and say something that would probably make you forego dinner plans entirely and drag him back to your house, the waitress came back, sheepish, and took your orders.

When you finished ordering--a salmon filet drizzled with soy sauce and wine--Genesis was busy studying you, watching you toy with the strap of your dress nervously.

Unfortunately, he never did make any more moves on you for the rest of dinner, but your stomach was glad for that because every time he looked at you even slightly, you would feel food get lodged in your throat.

You spoke well into the morning hours, getting tipsy enough that Genesis had to carry you all the way back to your apartment because the cabs weren't running that late. He was amused, if anything, and laughed whenever tried to come on to him, slurring sweet promises in his ear.

Every time, he would say,"Perhaps later when you're not so drunk."

"If not now, when?" You whined pathetically, leaning against your door as he picked the lock, unwilling to take the plunge down your bra to retrieve the keys.

"Soon," he said, his voice full of dark promise, enough that your alcohol addled mind could make out the desire in his voice like an arrow to the heart. "Soon."

He left you with just that promise, vanishing down the hall and into the night.

You remembered the look on his face, the tone of his voice, even when you woke up, and took maybe five seconds before you were yanking a pen out of your nightstand and writing on your arm.

'Now?"

A few seconds passed, then three minutes. And there it was, written in his elegant penmanship: your answer.

'3:40 P.M. Don't be late.'

[aphrodites-law]

A Bit of Clarity 🍂 (6/?) The visions had started last autumn, a year ago now. It had caused a bit of chaos for some, a bit of clarity for others. Two days ago, Clarke Griffin had been perfectly fine managing both her Café and her stress. But now she was curious - so deeply curious about the vision of herself entwined with the aloof Lexa Woods that it was leading her to complete distraction. (ao3)

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5]

Pretending things hadn't changed might've been the dumbest thing Clarke had ever agreed to do. When Lexa dropped in the following days, sometimes in the morning and other times in the afternoon, Clarke knew there was no going back to whatever their normal had been.

This was the woman she'd shared a vision with - that didn't go away after one rushed conversation. But Lexa seemed to choose the busiest moments and Clarke couldn't exactly leave Gaia and Harper to manage the orders so she could pick Lexa Woods' brain.

It was the doodles she thought about the most. Lexa had mentioned seeing some framed, but Clarke didn't have anything like that at her place. She had sketches and portraits from college lying around in closets and pressed between the pages of the books on her coffee table, but that was it. The only piece she'd framed had been a charcoal landscape her dad had liked and specifically requested for his birthday. Clarke didn't frame any of her art, let alone doodles. Those were for her own piece of mind; a way to entertain herself when all the coffee machines were cleaned, all their customers were happy, and the phone was quiet.

So what could she have possibly scribbled that would be worth framing? And how far in the future could it be?

Clarke was pondering the very question while she went through stock in the back of the café. It was a small, cramped room with her desk in a corner, but it was tidy and, most importantly, it was quiet. Until people bust in announced, that was.

"Hey!"

Clarke clutched her heart. "Raven, oh my God! Why do you hate knocking so much?"

Raven laughed. "Because then I miss that look on your face."

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"It's 6:30pm and you didn't answer my text about the party."

"It is?" Clarke glanced at her watch. "Fuck." She focused back on Raven and vaguely remembered the email she'd gotten earlier this week. Octavia and Lincoln were having a housewarming party tonight and had invited her. Clarke knew she'd clicked on it but the café had gotten a call at the same time and she'd forgotten about it after. She didn't know Octavia or Lincoln beyond meeting them once, so she was fairly certain they'd invited her on Raven's request.

"I forgot. I'm not going," she decided.

"It was rhetorical, grandma!" Raven exclaimed. "Wells and I are stopping by his parents for a bite and then we're picking you up. It starts at nine."

Clarke shook her head. "I barely know these people."

Raven paused. "You know what? I'm not doing this again. You don't want to go, that's fine."

"Raven."

"No, I'm serious. I'm not responsible for your social life anymore. I quit."

Clarke crossed her arms. "For someone who works in a theater you're a really shitty actress."

Raven narrowed her eyes at her. Clarke held her gaze before huffing and throwing her hands up. "Fine. I'll go."

Raven smirked. "Pick you up at 8:45. Oh and I'm pretty sure Lexa will be there. Bye!"

"What? Raven!"

Clarke was in a grumpy mood that entire evening, pulling clothes out of her closet and putting them back in for a good thirty minutes before she settled on what to wear. She didn't get like this. She knew what worked on her body and what made her look like a potato sack barely stitched together. This wasn't a date or even an intimate get-together. It was going to be an apartment packed with new faces and most likely very little room to walk around, let alone take in what people were wearing beyond blotches of fabric and color. With that in mind, she stuck to a navy blue dress and a sweater, having spotted some angry clouds on her way home. She grabbed her coat when Raven called to tell her they were waiting in their car, and was out the door after taking a deep breath.

There was absolutely no reason to be nervous.

* * *

Octavia and Lincoln's apartment in the Green Strip was on the highest floor of their building, a spacious three bedroom with earthy tones and wooden furniture. There was something immediately welcoming about it when Clarke stepped inside behind Wells and Raven, smiling at Octavia when they were all greeted with a hug.

"You made it," Octavia beamed, soon ushering them into another room where they could put their coats.  

They were directed to the living room, a wide open floor plan with the kitchen on one side. Tall windows opened to a balcony, still empty from what Clarke could see. The room was already buzzing with at least twenty people, some that Clarke recognized from the night at Barton, others not at all. She could see why Octavia and Lincoln would want to show off the place - it was perfect for entertaining.

"See Wells, this is a couple's place, not your den beneath the ground," Raven elbowed him playfully.

"You like my den. You moved into my den," Wells reminded her.

"Only because you're freakishly clean and it always smells like apple pie."

Octavia laughed. "Trust me, you have it good. It took Linc' and I forever to settle on a place together."

"Is it pure coincidence you're this far from the Polis Hotel?" Raven asked jokingly.

Lincoln rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "I appreciate my heritage, but some distance from it never hurts. Besides, this is close to Octavia's work and I can write anywhere."

Octavia gave his arm a gentle squeeze, their eyes locking while Raven fussed with the collar of Wells' shirt. Clarke was used to it by now - feeling like the third or fifth wheel, that was - but it didn't prevent her heart from sinking a little bit. The front door buzzer seemed like her saving grace from the display of domestic bliss. 

"Please, feel free to grab a beer, wine, chips - we've got it all!" Octavia told them before darting away.

Raven grabbed Clarke's arm. "Let's leave the men to find common ground," she said, giving Wells a subtle wink before ushering Clarke toward the drinks set up in the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Clarke asked.

"Wells thinks Lincoln is going to be the next playwright superstar. He's crushing hard."

"He hasn't even seen his play yet."

Raven poured herself a glass of red. "Octavia sent us a copy of the script after I told her about his birthday gift. Wells practically peed himself when he opened the email."

"Cute."

"You know him, he only read the first ten pages to preserve the theatergoing experience."

They shared a knowing look and laughed. "Nerd," they both said affectionately.

Raven glanced over Clarke’s shoulder and then smiled widely. "Speaking of nerds, yours seems to be having a ball."

Clarke turned around in confusion. When two people moved, she caught a glimpse of Lexa in a plaid shirt sitting on a couch alone, head down while she typed something on her phone.

"Definitely not mine," Clarke muttered while grabbing a beer on the table.

"What do you think is her deal?" Raven asked. 

"I don't know. It's none of my business."

Lexa had shown at the Polis Hotel she could be the center of attention if she wanted, so Clarke had given up on guessing. 

Raven arched a brow. "You want it to be, don't you?"

"I'm not going to pine over someone who isn't sure if they want me or not."

Raven took her shoulders and turned her around to face the room. "Good thing there's other eligible people here. And we're talking crew; that's carpenters and painters and electricians - plenty of talented, rough hands to make your dreams come true."

Clarke rolled her eyes. "I should've never told you."

"You started a business from the ground up. I know you have it in you to charm the pants and skirts off of everyone here."

"Raven. I don't want..."

"What? What do you want, Clarke?"

Unsure how to even start answering, Clarke took a sip of her beer and shook her head. "Forget it. Let's just have a good time."

Raven squeezed her shoulder. "Let me make sure my boyfriend hasn't started sweating his ass off."

"You really make him sound so lovely."

Raven laughed. "Yep, and he's all mine!"

* * *

No one started a business without some talent in schmoozing. Raven was right about that. But it was one thing to be driven by passion and another to be driven by... well, Clarke wasn't entirely sure. She knew her dry spell wasn't sustainable, as evidenced by how tense she felt most of the time, but the end of her casual relationship with Niylah hadn't been for no reason either. Casual wasn't what she wanted anymore.

So tonight she'd learned some names and talked about her café, laughed at jokes and listened to stories, a lot of them about the visions, still the go-to topic that could last for hours. But inevitably Clarke knew she'd be asked about hers, which was why she discreetly excused herself from a group before it could come to that.

She was sipping on her second beer when the person whose gaze she'd carefully avoided all night approached her.  

"Hello."

Clarke turned from her spot by the wall, her grip on her beer tightening. "This is a surprise. I thought you were hiding in some other room."

Lexa shrugged. "Stay too long in one spot and someone is bound to notice you. Theater people can be… enthusiastic after one too many drinks."

"Something tells me it's not just theater people you keep at arm's length."

Clarke saw something flash on Lexa's face, almost like hurt. It was true though - Clarke had never seen Lexa with a friend. She'd always come to the shop alone; sat alone; worked alone. She'd never been around with a colleague either on her lunch breaks, which told Clarke she possibly kept her life carefully split. Clearly she hung out with her cousin and his entourage, but didn't she have a Wells or Raven in her own life? 

"Well, I'm here now. I was hoping we could get to know each other," Lexa said.

Clarke looked away with a curt laugh. "You don't have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Feel obliged to talk to me because you go to my coffee shop. We don't need to make weird small talk because we're at the same party."

"That's a bit harsh."

Clarke's head snapped toward her. "Harsh?"

"'Weird small-talk' - is that what we do?" Lexa asked.

"I think you made it pretty clear there is no we."

"Lex!" Octavia called out, prompting her to turn around.

Octavia walked toward her with one of the houseguests, an older man with salt and pepper hair.

"This is Semet. We were just talking about his vision- I think you want to hear him out."

He smiled at her. "Octavia told me you were compiling stories?"

Clarke felt she was the odd one out and slipped away.

"Oh uh, yes, I am," Lexa told him, briefly looking over her shoulder before she extended her hand. "I'm Lexa."

Clarke didn't hear the rest, but as she saw the various groups of people talking, she felt out of place. Even Wells and Raven were deep in conversation with another couple, his hand casually resting on her waist.  

The party was nice, and Lincoln and Octavia couldn't have been more welcoming. They clearly kept good company and, in any other situation, Clarke might've been more comfortable easing her way into another conversation. As it was, she realized just how unsociable she'd been in the past year and habits died hard.

Feeling unsettled, she sneaked out the open front door for a breather. Raven's words after Barton came back to her - the deliberate choices she'd made to stay home instead of going out. She'd kept her distances and now it was no surprise she felt so rusty. Nothing had really changed aside from the café's opening. The change in lifestyle had been a shock, but Wells had worked just as hard as her - if not more, especially on their bakes - and had still managed to find a balance in his life. She'd never really asked him about it, assuming it was simply in his DNA to be absolutely brilliant at everything.

But Clarke wasn't horrible at managing her time either. It wouldn't be that difficult to have a life outside of her business, she could admit that much. She just hadn't put in the work and now it showed. 

Dipping her toe back in the dating pool felt daunting. She'd never tried dating apps and couldn't imagine putting her energy into that. Harper was on three different ones and from the chats she'd overheard with Gaia, it always seemed like an endless struggle of deciding what was appropriate and what wasn't. 

Clutching her beer close, Clarke spotted a stairwell at her right and decided to try her luck. She made her way up and stepped out to the rooftop. There was an area with planter boxes and some chairs, which Clarke figured had to be communal. It was a pretty relaxing setup and she was sure summer saw a lot of tenants up here, but the promise of rain and the chilly wind tonight left it empty.

Unperturbed, Clarke walked to the area and stood by the tall parapet, resting her forearms on it. She took deep, calming breaths as she looked over the residential streets of Costial, the city she'd called home for ten years now. She could barely make out the mountain chain in the distance, but she knew it was there, majestic as ever surrounded by the sprawling forest. She briefly thought about the Mountain Men and how they'd survived for a century beneath the ground. What it must've felt like to see the same people every day, to never meet a stranger, or to never feel the sun on their faces.

"So maybe you don't like small-talk with anyone."

Clarke didn't need to turn around to know that voice by now. "I just needed some air for a few minutes."

Lexa leaned against the parapet next to her, though with a good three feet between them.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was thinking about the Mountain Men actually. How abandoned they must've felt."

Lexa looked toward the horizon, where the mountains hid in the night. "They were forgotten, but I don't think they dwelled on it. You'd be surprised how many good stories I had to leave out to fit my report. Memories about times where their parents and their grandparents laughed, kissed each other, and danced together. People are resilient no matter the cards they're dealt. They made lives for themselves - different from ours, but who's to say they were any less fulfilling?"

Clarke turned to her, not knowing what to say for a moment. It didn’t escape her that Lexa seemed to genuinely want to engage with her. 

"It must've been fascinating to listen to them."

"It was. Opening the channels of communication took time, but I went into journalism for these stories."

"Have they had visions?" Clarke asked, curious.

Lexa shook her head before taking a sip of her own beer. "I didn't ask. It wasn't appropriate at the time and looking back I know it would've made them uncomfortable. They're very… spiritual. Connected to the world in a way we could never be. I'm sure their insight would be fascinating, but some lines shouldn't be crossed."

Clarke lifted her bottle. "I'll drink to that."

Lexa smiled back, drinking another sip of her own.

"So did Semet say anything that throws a wrench in your theories?" Clarke wondered.

Lexa chuckled and looked over at the city again. "He gave me his number to talk further, but he did mention he wasn't in it. Only saw his brother."

Clarke's eyebrows rose. "His brother?"

"Hm-mm. That got my attention too. I don't think I've ever heard about someone not being in their own vision."

"Seems like we still have new things to learn."

Lexa considered her next words carefully. "Writing about people's visions has been… the most gratifying experience of my career. It's pushed me to think differently and it's changed the way I work."

Clarke could tell it wasn't easy for Lexa to talk about it. Not her work, but the way it made her feel. Maybe it was just a morsel, but she was opening up and it was more than Clarke had ever heard from her.

"I haven’t drawn any conclusions and I probably don't know any more than a blogger or someone's Twitter thread," Lexa continued with a small shrug. "But there's still a part of me that questions the degree of influence. I've heard too many stories about people being changed to their core to not be slightly wary."

Clarke frowned: "You don't think they're a positive thing?"

"I told you about the woman who left her husband because of a vision. Do you think he'd see her vision as a positive? I wouldn't say they're either/or, but the repercussions aren't negligible."

"Leaving him was her interpretation of it, though. We can't know for sure that's what the vision meant."

Lexa nodded. "You're right. It'll always be up to the person who has it."

Clarke cleared her throat. "You and I - we had the same one. I had the during, you had the after. Has that ever happened?"

Lexa tilted her head to the side. "Not that I've heard of, but it might not have been…" she trailed off, tongue-tied.

"What? The same time?"

"Hm."

Clarke laughed before taking another sip of her beer. "Alright then."

Lexa looked away with a growing smile. "You're the one who brought up interpretation."

"Uh-huh. If that's what you want to tell yourself."

It was flirting plain and simple and Clarke was very aware they both knew it. She'd missed it - that flutter in the pit of her stomach when flirting with someone. The first steps around each other; testing the waters; knowing the attraction had to be mutual by now. This was a game she could play. 

"Twice," Clarke hummed. "That's very presumptuous of you."

"I'm just taking the facts at face value. There's no clear indication of a timeline and-"

"Do you know I'm not even sure it was you?" Clarke interrupted.

Lexa narrowed her eyes. "You said it was."

"I guessed. Messy brown hair, slim but fit - could be anyone."

Lexa pushed off from the parapet, stepping closer. "I don't believe you."

Clarke stood her ground, feeling a throb of desire. When Lexa was intense like this, she had no doubts it'd been her. But then there was that other side of her - distant, impenetrable - and the clear image in her mind shifted into a blur again.

"Why not? Does it upset you that it might be someone else?" Clarke asked, challenging.

"You wouldn't have told me if you weren’t certain."

"Maybe I wanted to get you off my back."

Lexa smiled slowly. "I think that's exactly where you want me."

Clarke's mouth dropped open. "Are you drunk?"

"Barely tipsy."

"Lexa. What are you doing?"

Lexa stopped short. "I'm sorry, I thought-"

Clarke was the one stepping closer this time. "No, I don't want an apology, I want an explanation. Clearly, you want… something from this. You talk to me; you flirt; you asked me out."

"I had a spa-"

"Come on. You don't even believe that."

Lexa swallowed. "Maybe I was wrong too. Maybe it wasn't you."

"It's one step forward, two steps back with you. I don't get it." Clarke set her bottle down. "Fine then, there is one way for me to be sure. We can settle this right here, right now."

Lexa's eyes flickered down to her lips before she caught herself. "There is?" She asked barely audibly.

"If you'll let me…"

Slowly, Clarke reached for her wrist. She felt Lexa tense and then relax, holding her eyes while Clarke undid the buttons of her sleeve. When they were loose, she pushed the sleeve up her arm. Clarke felt her heart beat faster the more skin she uncovered, gently pushing the fabric past Lexa's elbow. She tried not to think how soft and warm she felt beneath her fingertips, or if she was imagining the way Lexa's breathing stuttered a bit.

Lexa must've known what Clarke was trying to find out. Her eyes darkened when Clarke finally glanced at her arm. The bottom of a tattoo peeked out from beneath the bunched up sleeve, thick lines wrapping all around her bicep. Clarke's hand fell like she was burned, but a quick Lexa reached out to take it in hers.

"Lexa," Clarke gasped.

"Is that all you need to be sure?" Lexa asked quietly, face drawing closer.

Clarke found it hard to even think. "I-I could always find another way."

"Oh?"

Clarke's eyes closed when she felt Lexa's nose brush against hers, but the anticipation of a kiss remained just that. 

"Then make sure of it," Lexa ordered tenderly in her ear as their fingers laced together. "Close your eyes tonight and make sure it was me."

Clarke felt her skin become heated, the pulsing between her legs desperate for attention. "What if it is? What if it's not?"

Lexa stepped back, her eyes hooded like she was drunk. "I guess we can put my theory to the test."

"Your theory?"

"Whether we're inevitable or not."

"Lexa-"

Lexa let go of her hand and walked toward the exit. "Have a good night, Clarke."

* * *

When Clarke got home after Wells and Raven dropped her off, the stillness of everything was in stark contrast to the apartment full of life and laughter she had been in for hours. She didn't mind the quiet though - loved it, even, especially after long days at the café. But maybe there could be... a little more life to the place. 

By the time she got to bed, her body was buzzing. Clarke turned on her back and took a deep, steadying breath. She couldn't stop thinking about the way Lexa had touched her. What she had husked in her ear. 

She hadn't… dared. Not even once. Getting herself off to the thought of Lexa had felt all sorts of wrong, especially knowing she'd have to face her at the café on a regular basis. But it was unbearable now. Clarke slid a hand beneath the hem of her sleep shorts and between her legs, moaning when she found herself wanting. It was no surprise - not after the rooftop. She closed her eyes and tried to focus, remembering her vision in fragments at first.

But her vision wasn't what she wanted. Her vision was just that - a fantasy. She wanted the reality of Lexa; the Lexa she'd felt against her tonight; the Lexa who'd made her dizzy with mere words.

So she imagined the rooftop instead: her, pressed against the parapet, and Lexa pressed against her. She imagined Lexa's hand going up her thigh, slowly pushing up the fabric of her dress. She could still smell her, could still feel her mouth by her neck. Lexa hooked her fingers in her underwear and slid it down, encouraged when she felt how wet Clarke was. Clarke had to imagine how Lexa would moan; if she would be vocal or not; how deep her fingers might reach. She touched herself slowly at first, head thrown back and mouth agape.

She didn't know if Lexa was a talker in bed, but it was easy to recall the shiver down her spine when she'd told her to think of her. This time her words were dirtier, spurring her on. Clarke's thighs widened as the ache inside her swelled and she added a second finger. 

"Lexa," she gasped, bringing her other hand to her breast to squeeze it roughly.

Her thoughts scattered all over: Lexa gripping her hips to turn her around, leaning down so that Clarke felt her weight on her back. Lexa taking her from behind, filling her with two and then three fingers. Overwhelmed, Clarke turned on her stomach and groaned in desperation, knees pressing into her mattress while she brought herself over the brink. She moaned loudly into her pillow, her orgasm blindsiding her. 

Clutching her sheets with one hand, Clarke's grip loosened slowly. She let out a small moan and felt her muscles loosen as her knees finally caved and she flopped onto her mattress. It had been far too long.

Turning on her back, Clarke kept her eyes closed as her breathing returned to normal. She wasn't too eager to open them to a lonely room, at least not for now. She moved her body to drag the sheets atop her and slipped her hands beneath her pillow, her stomach already in knots at the prospect of seeing Lexa tomorrow. 

But there was no going back now. Clarke was sure Lexa knew it too. No matter what this was between them, if two nights were all they'd need to work out the tension between them, denying it was not in the cards. At least not the ones Clarke held.

-

[part seven]

[kirathehyrulian]

🎅2019 SPN J2 XMAS GIFT EXCHANGE🎅

🎁Gift for Themegalosaurs🎁

(Please do not repost or alter. At the very least, please give me credit.) |LJ community: spnj2xmas |Giftee: @themegalosaurus | LJ Post

​Gifter: kirathehyrulian Title: Don’t Play With Your Food Rating: G Pairings: Gen Warnings: None

Summary: Witch!Sam isn’t playing with his food, honest.

For more art from me please check out my “myart” tag here on Tumblr. 👇 (Bonus Doodle and Artist Notes down below) 👇

Artist Notes:

I’m still new to it myself, but for those that don’t know what this fandom activity is, it’s a gift exchange where instead of buying gifts you use your artistic skills to create a work based on one or more of the five prompts while keeping in mind the wants and dnw’s of the giftee. Your chosen giftee is handpicked by the mods based on your can do’s and can not do’s that you listed on your sign-up sheet. It’s a great way to encourage creativity and community in the fandom.

I signed up as a pinch-hitter. This means that in the unfortunate event someone has to drop out, I will be asked to fill in for them. I won’t participate in the main exchange, but I will be able to ensure someone will get their gift for this event. Which is a role I feel more comfortable with.

Anyways, I was asked a few days ago to fill in. I said yes and got started right away. I wanted to make it for the pitch hitter deadline, so the past few days were dedicated to this. Lol, I told the community rep that I was busy with two other projects and I couldn’t make anything complicated. But, that went out the window when I got crackin.

It’s like artist masochism or something. First, it was just going to be a simple drawing of Sam, then I wanted to add the fox, then I wanted to add a background and foreground, then shading, till finally, I decided to add color. x_x  I guess I was just wanted to make a good gift worth gifting. I’m happy with how it turned out, so I think I did so, but that is truly up to the giftee to decide.

I took a literal approach to the prompt list instead of the metaphorical one that was probably supposed to be intended. I know that the giftee likes Sam and the prompt said hocus pocus. So, witch!Sam. The prompts mentioned a heart, robin eggs, hearing, a skeleton in a closet, nothing wasted, nature, and young.

So, we get recycled food, drying herbs, young witch Sam, a skeleton in a closet, a nest with robin eggs, ears and a heart in jars. Also, the likes listed cracky subjects and Sam’s hobbies. So, we get Sam experimenting with raising zombie food, keeping a bunch of books like the bibliophile he is, and drying herbs.

Sam’s known for his relationship with yellow eyes, but I’ve always thought that if Sam had a natural power/aura it would always look orange or copper. Plus, Jared has fox eyes, so instead of the typical dog, wolf, or cat familiar I gave Sam a cuddly fox instead. Lastly, I don’t really like using the child actors as references when I draw young Sam or Dean. So, I was trying to use the very few child pics of Jared I found to make a young!Sam.

Now the bonus for those that made it this far:

Witch!Sam isn’t playing with his food, honest. He was playing with Dean’s. Haha.

I really love the cute zombie food. That tomato eating the peach.^u^ The half eaten hamburger is also a fav.The grumpy banana peel is upset that he doesn’t have his banana no more. The freshly risen bread had a good sleep and is ready to feast on the flesh of his brethren. And poor orange didn’t get reanimated right so he’s a little sick.

Enjoy, if you can!♥♥♥

Musical Inspiration (Things that I listened to this time to get in the mood to draw, but not meant as an accompaniment to the fic):

I didn't listen to anything specifically for this work, but I did frequently listen to Billie Eilish- Lovely, Billie Eilish- Bury a Friend, Aquilo- Silhouette, Billie Eilish- Everything I Wanted

[blucmoon]

━  ☾ ⊹  ( gabbi garcia, cis female , she/her ) say hello to ALTHEA CORTEZ, the TWENTY FOUR YEAR OLD that seems to have a lot in HER hands with HER job as an EVENT PLANNER! beyond that, they seemed METICULOUS AND GENEROUS upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of VOLATILE AND STUBBORN though. SHE seems to live in a SHARED VILLA in SIARGAO, PHILIPPINES. anything else to add? oh, yeah! she also LEFT EVERYTHING BEHIND IN VANCOUVER FOR A JOB OPPORTUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES!

basic information

full name: althea cortez

nickname(s): ally, thea

age: twenty four

date of birth: december 2, 1996

birthplace: makati, philippines

hometown: vancouver, canada

current location: siargao, philippines

ethnicity: filipino

nationality: canadian

gender: cisfemale

pronouns: she / her

orientation: demiromantic, heterosexual

religion: agnostic

education: graduated high school, various courses at a community college

occupation: event planner

physical appearance

faceclaim: gabbi garcia

hair colour: naturally dark brown, has never dyed it in bold colours. the most she’s done is getting some blonde streaks upon arriving at siargao but soon got bored of them and dyed back to a color similar to her natural one.

eye colour: chocolate, does like to wear coloured contacts when going out or on special occasions.

height: 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m)

weight: 132 lbs ( 60 kg )

tattoos: none yet.

piercings: standard and upper lobe in both ears, helix on the left ear.

personality

label: the restless

positive traits: meticulous, ebullient, outgoing, loyal, generous, helpful, ambitious,

negative traits: volatile, conflict-averse, fluctuating self-esteem and confidence, secretive, reserved, quick-tempered.

hobbies: calligraphy, baking, swimming, hiking.

habits: talking to herself, drumming fingers on every surface, chewing the ends of pens, flicking pens/pencils/anything between her fingers, doodle on the corners and margins of her planner, humming when listening to music, tapping her feet when she’s impatient, rubbing her neck when she’s nervous, tugging loose threads when she’s anxious, not listening to others when she’s deep in thought.

zodiac sign: sagittarius sun, leo moon, virgo rising

mbti: esfj-a “the consul”

temperament: sanguine

hogwarts house: ravenclaw

moral alignment: chaotic good

anger: hot

approachability: friendly

sociability: loves being around people, feeling most energized when she’s having deep conversations about topics that interest her. one to not let the conversations die and always finding ways to either continue or spark a new topic, getting so involved in this that she often loses track of  time. she’s easily bored if not involved in social activities and dislikes solitude. it’s not unusual to feel as if you’ve known althea for years after the first meeting as she welcomes everyone with open arms and loves making people feel seen and heard.

detailed personality

restless, cheerful and friendly, althea will happily involve anyone into whatever interest she has or will give up her free time to be engaged in the things her beloved ones are interested in. generous with her time, effort, and emotions, she often takes on the concerns of others as if they were her own, and will attempt to put her energy to help others, eager to please and provide.

secretly, althea needs approval, recognition and admiration; she wants to be seen. goes out of her way to notice what is needed and feels even more motivated when others acknowledge her efforts and express their appreciation. though, sometimes she’s so focused on others that she lacks to pay attention to her own unmet needs and feelings.

however, she’s selective with her friends and is not overly influenced by them. when she feels comfortable, she does like being the center of attention. that is, she likes being in the “spotlight” in the comfort of her own home and with family and friends. enjoys entertaining others and is more able than most people to get others talking, simply because she’s very receptive and sympathetic with an innate ability to pick up others’ feelings and body language.

althea possesses an unwavering ambition: once she’s set on a particular path, she’s not coming back until her purpose is fulfilled. likes to get things done and has a knack for handling a wide variety of tasks at once; a tendency to take on perhaps too much at the same time. very easily distracted and her attention span can be quite short.

doesn’t have an inherent love for routine and established anything’s, but does recognise its value and purpose when it comes to be productive. she’s learnt to be a little more organized and does prefer to stick to certain plans, mostly when it comes to her job due its nature. easily gets stressed when things don’t meet up to expectations. althea sees problems clearly and is able to delegate easily in order to solve them. likes a sense of harmony and cooperation around her, and she’s energetically dedicated to her responsibilities.

able to adapt quite easily to wherever she’s in and, with an outstanding memory, she tends to pick up a lot of information from her environment to facilitate this. althea can be brave, knowing how and what risks to take. she’s able to bend the rules from time to time if she feels the need to do so.

can be a challenge to predict from time to time, even by the closest people to her. can seem very loyal and steady for a while, but althea has a tendency to build up a store of impulsive energy that explodes without warning, taking her interests in bold, new directions.

has always had problems expressing herself, particularly verbally, and much prefers to listen to others than being listened to. whatever she might say is self-censored to some degree. it’s difficult for althea to pour out her emotions because she’s always aware of what others might think of her with what she says, not wanting to accidentally come across as tactless and judgmental. very careful with what she reveals to others.

she can get easily wounded, and when this happens, her emotions are not contained as she “wears her  heart on her  sleeve” but will more often than not avoid burdening others with her own problems and concerns. instead, she likes to channel these dramatic and vibrant emotions into one of her multiple hobbies, mostly baking (she stress-bakes).

to avoid feeling a deep sense of loneliness, she finds ways to connect and be of service to others. she has an innate sense of what to say or do for people to feel seen and admired, taking pride in her ability to comfort and support others. she’s constantly moving away from feelings of worthlessness and towards feelings of connection and appreciation.

background

born as the middle sibling out of the three, althea and her family moved from makati to vancouver when she was almost one year old due to a job opportunity presented to her father.

had a really average childhood with all the pressure being poured onto her sister, five years older than her, and pushed to become the example of the other two. all the while her brother who’s only 2 years younger than althea clearly became the unspoken favorite. being the middle sibling was easy most of the time. so long she didn’t do any extraordinary things, neither good nor bad, althea was able to remain below her parent’s radar.

regular high school experience: neither remarkable nor reprobatory grades, a “steady” friends circle (as much as it can be when a teenager), dated a couple of times, part of the swimming team. by junior year, college never figured in her plans (or the lack thereof).

her parents didn’t quite like the idea but after getting help from her sister who talked to them, they didn’t complain as long as she got a job or helped her mom with hers (she was a seamstress), which is what she ended up doing.

it comes as a stroke of luck when her mother gets a call asking if she could help fix a bride’s dress at the wedding’s venue. her mother, quite busy at the moment, sent althea instead and she quickly fixed it before the ceremony started.

about to depart, crisis after crisis started presenting and it was obvious they were a little understaffed (althea learned a couple of years later that two of the assistants got sick on that same day).

with a little bit of free time in her hands, althea offered her help. by the time every crisis had been averted and she was ready to leave, the event planner took notice of her and offered to become an assistant in her company. at nineteen, thea takes the job.

the company is not as big as many others but still renowned enough to have a steady income of clients and at least one event every couple of weeks. thea was pretty much an errand girl at first and they often sent her to take courses or workshops to learn and hone some skills. (calligraphy, flower arranger, hospitality, etc. she even took an event planning course that went for 9 months, successfully getting a certificate.)

eventually, her opinions start being taken more and more into consideration and she takes more of an active role in the planning process. at twenty one, thea planned her very first wedding (a small one, no more than 50 guests).

she pours all her energy and time into this new phase of her job, loving every second of it and thriving for the compliments she got after every successful event. weddings were mostly her niche, she even planned her sister’s wedding; it doesn’t come as a surprise that she announces the engagement with her college sweetheart, it was actually quite expected. (her parents even implied more than once that they were taking too long).

it’s in one of her events, a birthday party for some socialite, that thea meets the guy that would become her boyfriend for the next two years. despite being surrounded by wealth and pretentiousness, he was unlike any of his peers: sweet, attentive, decent and didn’t pride himself on his parents’ money. it was quite easy to talk and be with him, thus they started dating shortly after.

her life seems to be perfect in every aspect: a good job, more than decent income, a healthy relationship with her boyfriend… her parents couldn’t find anything to complain about… for now.

it’s at the peak of her career as an event planner, that her parents become more and more insisting on questioning her about her status with her boyfriend. “after planning so many weddings, shouldn’t you start planning your own?” asked her mother, which thea always dismissed or ignored to avoid any fights.

truth is, even if weddings were a prominent aspect of her day to day, being a bride and going through the whole ceremony wasn’t something she saw happening in the foreseeable future, and her boyfriend seemed to be on the same page… or at least it was an unspoken thing between the two.

it’s the day before her 23rd birthday that she finds by mistake a ring box in her boyfriend’s apartment. knowing exactly what it meant, thea cracked the box open, finding the most beautiful engagement ring she’s ever seen. and it made her feel sick.

putting it back in its place, the whole night thea acted as if nothing happened despite the emotional turmoil she was going through.

when getting home, the first thing she did was try to find an email from one of her friends who told her about some camp in the philippines that could use an event planner. finally finding it buried deep within her inbox felt like all the answers to her problems were in those couple of lines.

in the middle of the night and with a dire need for adventure, thea left with a bag full of her belongings and all of her savings after booking the next flight to the philippines.

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Healing Stellar Vibes

AO3

Danny had, from the beginning, thought that his ability to repair himself from damage was probably his second favorite power right after flying.  It was beyond helpful after a fight with Skulker or Valerie or some competent ghost that was out to get him.  One thing he’d always wished – silently, in his head where Desiree couldn’t hear him – was that he could extend that to Sam and Tucker.  They did so much to help him in his fights and they had to get real good with concealer real fast when things got serious in their fights.  He had hoped, of course, that the ability to extend that neat healing power to others would come to him at any time, though he’d expected it in the middle of a crisis situation, such as all his other powers.

In the middle of English class, the sun warming his face while he leaned on his hand, tilted toward Mikey instead of Tucker for once since Mikey was closer to the window, Danny found himself thinking about space more than about the hidden meaning in whatever literary text Lancer had cooked up for them to go over today.  He thought, of course, about the stars and life and how the two were affected by each other.  This had almost nothing to do with him getting high off of ghost nip that one time, no siree, just your standard contemplation about how every living thing came from the stars, and how all the people and beings on Earth were just the ghosts of a long dead star.  His hand had found his pencil and doodles of the night sky were being sketched very much so without Danny’s conscious input but that was just how it was sometimes.

Eyes drifting as much as his mind, Danny noticed for a moment that Mikey had a few bruises on him, likely from Dash being an asshole.  Feeling sympathetic, Danny reached out and patted the ginger on the shoulder, offering him a smile.  What the ghost boy did not expect was to find his ghostly energy surging to his fingertips and into Mikey, filling him with the cool warmth of the space just around a star, silver, gold and green light rippling like flames just beneath the nerd’s skin as his purple and yellow bruises fixed themselves up and healed over to a healthy pink.  Danny noticed only the flaring up of his powers, though, not what they had done, and his attention snapped up to the board and around the room, searching for anything that might’ve set them off.  Finding nothing, Danny shrugged and leaning back in his chair, trying to focus on Lancer’s dry as toast lecture.

 Unlike Danny, Mikey was not so oblivious as to fail to notice the energy surging through his body like a friendly live wire, healing up his injuries.  He was a somewhat intelligent boy, he liked to think, and it didn’t take much to put together that Danny had been the source of his new found lack of pain. Now, to an outside observer not from Amity Park this would be cause for alarm or shock or something like that.  Mikey, however, has been a resident of Amity Park his entire life.  When Danny Fenton was in his 6th grade algebra class and Dash had been calling Tucker names, Danny’s eyes flared up a toxic neon green that they all now knew was the color of ectoplasm.  Jasmine Fenton, when not paying attention to what she was doing, caused books to move toward her – either dragged toward her on what appeared to be an invisible string, or simply appearing where she needed it.  Mikey has seen Danny walk through a vending machine while talking and not notice.  This was weird, yes, but it was nothing new at all.

So, instead of freaking out, Mikey reached into his bag, pulled out a blueberry lollipop and slipped it to Danny, who accepted it without looking or really noticing.  Once the pop was in his mouth, wrapping vanished in pockets that some were certain had no actual limit to their depth, the nerd turned his attention back to class.  Unlike Danny, he actually found Lancer at least mildly interesting.

And then he heard the soft rumbling purrs of a cat coming from none other than Danny Fenton himself.

Everyone paused for just a moment, the students behind him and on the sides turning their attention blatantly toward the purring teen while Lancer cocked his head to the side and listened.  Tucker’s phone was out and recording immediately, as were several others, and Mikey heard at least one person coo about how adorable that was.  Danny didn’t seem to notice, and before he could notice and probably stop purring, everyone went back to normal class things.  It wouldn’t do to let him know so soon when it was far more entertaining to see how long it took to notice on his own.

Turns out, it wasn’t until the end of class when Danny leaned on Tucker’s shoulder on the way out and saw the silver light just beneath the geek’s skin that he stopped purring.  The absence of the vibration did more to tell him about it than it’s arrival.  “Guys, was I vibrating just now?”

“You were purring like a kitten,” Sam whispered with a wide smirk.  “It was honestly kinda cute.  Also, is Tucker glowing or do I need to get my eyes checked?”

“Oh no, I’m feeling tingly. But it’s like, a good tingly?  Like, scrapes from the last few fights are feeling less sore all of a sudden?”

“Huh.”  Danny pulled up Tucker’s arm and gave it a pinch.

“Nope, nothing but your fucking pinch,” Tucker said, elbowing Danny in his ribs.  “Thanks, by the way.”

“I expected to get something like this during a fight, not gonna lie.  Wait, shit, what if people-“

“Everyone just sorta waited for you to notice you were purring, Danny.”  Sam ruffled his hair and he bat at her hands.  “No one thinks you’re a ghost, they think you’re mutated by your parents’ experiments and shit.”

“That’s not inaccurate,” Danny muttered.  “How long have people thought that?”

“In those exact words? About 8th grade.  In general though?  About 4th grade.”

“What?!”

“Danny, your eyes have glowed since that one time in the park when Kwan and Dash were being little shits to us.”

Danny took a deep breath and buried his face in Tucker’s sweater, screaming for a moment, and then leaned on his best friend.  “Why is this my life?”

“Better question is why you think the perfect cover story is a bad thing?”  Sam arched a brow.  “This is literally the best way to make sure no one figures you out.”

“It kinda paints my parents in the worst light ever, though,” Danny mumbled.

“It’s an accurate light, you’ve been glowing, seeing things that other people can’t, and sometimes making people feel lighter than they should since forever bro.”  Wonderful.  Danny needed time to figure that out.

“Think Frostbite can help me figure out this healing thing?” That was a good distraction.  His powers always kept him from thinking too hard about things – that and ghost fights.

[cy-fi-theansweris42]

Alright everyone, buckle up for a 2012 Mikey appreciation post because gosh darn it canon did not do him justice, so it’s time for some of my rambling. 

The main topic of this post: MIKEY IS NOT DUMB! HE’S NOT STUPID, STOP TELLING HIM HE IS!!!

Now it’s time to provide you all with Canon Proof: -The antivenom in Parasitica. Mikey was able to follow Donnie’s instructions on how to make the antivenom. Small bit of evidence but still important, it was just a quick set of instructions when they were both under pressure, and he still followed them well enough to make the antivenom and save them all. -The cure in The Creeping Doom. Donnie was losing his intelligence and nobody else knew what to do and none of them thought “well let’s at least see if there’s anything in his lab that can help” except for Mikey, who went straight for “well if I got him in this mess then I’ll get him out of it” and then he straight up makes a cure. -The chemical to make more retromutagen in Battle for New York. We all know Donnie could make retromutagen, but the process took him (if I’m remembering correctly) 10 canisters of mutagen to make one thing of retromutagen. Definitely not an effective process, but it’s what he was able to come up with. Then Mikey made a chemical that with just one drop could turn an entire canister of mutagen into retromutagen, which was a huge boost to the process and saved them lots of time. (Yes, he couldn’t name the chemicals he used but I’ll get into that in a moment) -Saving Donnie in The Fourfold Trap. Donnie was hooked up to that awful machine that kept electrocuting him every time he made a mistake, and one mistake according to him could fry him. Then Mikey comes in and manages to successfully unhook Donnie from the machine without getting shocked again (he did get shocked himself, but sometimes it be like that). -Also, as he mentions in The Fourfold Trap while saving Donnie, he has “like 50 puzzle apps on his t-phone” and while he could be exaggerating the number you don’t just have a bunch of puzzle apps on your phone unless you like them and you’re good at solving them so you’re looking for a new challenge. -Finally, let us not forget that in Dimension X, Mikey is the genius.

Now that I’ve provided you with all this evidence proving that Mikey is not dumb, let me give you a theory about what he is.

Mikey is a visual learner. Don’t believe me, here’s some more Canon Proof: -Once again, the antivenom in Parasitica. Donnie shows him how to make it and bam, the cure is made. -In Invasion of the Squirrelanoids when they introduce the Squirrelanoids Mikey was using his knowledge from a comic book with a similar situation to help them beat the Squirrelanoids and, guess what, comic books are highly visual. -In New Friend, Old Enemy, Mikey was able to learn Chris Bradford’s special kata, show it and teach it to his brothers well enough that Splinter was able to recognize it, and then use Bradford’s kata against him in the same episode.  -The puzzle apps mentioned in The Fourfold Trap most likely have bright colors and fun visuals which is why he likes those so much and has a whole bunch of them. -Mikey mentions that he has a photographic memory in The Creeping Doom (he says the wrong word but hey, words can be hard and knowing how a word looks visually and saying it out loud are two very different things) -Also, and I’m mostly throwing this in here because I think it adds to the idea of Mikey being highly visually based, but in Journey to the Center of Mikey’s Mind, we see his imagination and it’s very brightly colored. Same as in In Dreams when we see Mikey’s dreams and it’s tons of bright colors everywhere. (I could probably go on a whole other rant about just like Mikey being a visual learner and how bright colors in puzzle apps and cartoons and the visuals in comics help hold his attention, but I’ll spare all of you that for now, lol)

Also, and this is more speculation which is why it’s not going in the Canon Proof section, but I’m betting that the reason why Mikey is able to make some of those cures, able to get Donnie out of the electrocution helmet in The Fourfold Trap is because he knows more than he thinks he does from years of watching Donnie and his experiments. We know he hangs out in Donnie’s lab a lot, likes knowing what Donnie is up to. I’m betting, with Mikey being such a highly visual learner, that he’s picked up more than any of them realize that way. And that’s why he couldn’t name the chemicals he used to make the retromutagen-chemical in Battle for New York because he never learned their names, just what they looked like and what they should do because he watched Donnie use them. If Donnie had asked Mikey to show him, it would have been a whole other story.

I’m betting that if they played to Mikey’s strengths, found visuals and encouraged any interesting in learning some of these things, he could learn so much and at the very least, be an amazing lab assistant and sounding board for Donnie, and help him out when an experiment isn’t going the way it should be. Give him those comics that teach you while you read and videos with colorful drawings to hold his attention and he’ll learn incredibly quickly.

(Also, and this part is more headcanon than anything, but with Mikey’s love of cooking and his knack for chemicals, he could be a really good chemist. Cooking is just chemistry you can, for the most part, safely eat so that’s how he can get into it. And a friend showed me this book that has the elements with a cute art style and he’d love the art style, it would help hold his attention. Then later on he’d doodle the characters together and next thing you know what looks like just random doodles of these characters is actually complicated chemical formulas and once Donnie realizes this and gets Mikey working with him on chemistry stuff (because encourage your little brother Donnie, gosh darn it) then Mikey will give him these really nice drawings with the characters and once Donnie looks at it and thinks about what the characters are, he’ll realize the drawings are experiments they did together because Mikey operates and thinks in visuals and that’s the best way for him to communicate gosh darn it).

In summary, Mikey is not stupid, despite what his brothers say...all the time. (Seriously canon, there’s a difference between teasing and taking it too far and you definitely took it too far). He’s a goof ball that learns best with lots of visuals to hold his attention and with Donnie just absorbing information in a way he can’t and everyone telling him he’s dumb, then there’s no point in trying to learn, right? (Seriously, I’m going to fight someone. He’s not dumb but they always say he is but his brain’s just wired differently and someone give him visuals and tell him he’s not dumb gosh darn it).

Alright. Rant over.....for now.

[tiny-smallest]

the sun’ll come out tomorrow

Rating: G Characters: Tallest Mikyuki, Dib, Membrane Warnings: none Description: Mikyuki takes her charge on a little field trip, reflecting about her current situation along the way. On the way back, something catches the toddler’s eye…

Also on AO3!

———

She really didn’t like the rain. Being the empress of an entire planet somewhat spoiled her, she’d admit. The blue eyed Irken squinted up at the sky from her seat at the window, scowling at the drops of water falling from the sky. Back at her old position as Tallest, should such an offending substance threaten her from a planet’s skies, she would have no less than a dozen Irkens at her side immediately with a number of things that could be used to ward off the downpour, and at least one would offer to atomize the planet for her.

She’d refuse, of course, but it was the offer that counted.

All right, in light of that, maybe she’s a lot spoiled. Even so, she can’t understand what anomalies this planet must produce so that acid falling from the sky would be a frequent occurrence. Or, perhaps even more unsettling, that its inhabitants—sentient and nonsentient—would be completely immune to its effects. Professor Membrane had nearly given her a heart attack the first time she’d seen it rain and he’d stepped outside into it; she was so sure based on that kitchen incident with the sink (that she would be taking to her death thank you very much) that he was going to melt. She had to admit she was jealous over his immunity to the water’s effects after she’d stopped fuming over him scaring her half to death. It didn’t look like she would be leaving this planet anytime soon. Her ship was far too wrecked; you could barely even tell it was a ship at some point. She’d be surprised she survived it, if not for the fact that she was a Tallest. Genes this good, she figured, gets one out of a lot of things.  

Apparently it even helped you survive a planet trying to punch you in the face with its gravity. Whatever. Miyuki was alive, that was the important thing. She was alive, and she had found an ally. She was forced to help him develop a smeet of his species so that she’d have an ally, but she had an ally.  

It’s better than nothing, and he was perfectly reasonable about it, and continued to be. The fact that she could and should skewer him should he become unreasonable was irrelevant and she refused to think on it anymore. Right now, she should probably be thinking more about the small creature tugging at her leg. Miyuki’s gaze turned from the wretched weather of this awful planet to the doe eyed toddler pulling on her skirt. She was silent for a moment; he was too short to see without looking up that he has successfully gotten her attention, and he had not looked up because he was too interested in the metal plating of the skirt. He poked at it with a tiny finger, scratching at it with the pitiful excuse that humans had for claws.  

It’s when he went to lick it that she cleared her throat and he, smart enough even at this stage of human development to recognize the sound for what it is, moved his eyes from the spot he’d selected for tasting to her face, tongue still out. “I am not food.” He squeaked. “If you are hungry, I will make something.” He tilted his head to the side. She sighed. “What is it that you want, Dilbert?” As an answer, he pointed to the digital clock in the cable box by the television. She raises an antenna in surprise. Membrane had said that thanks to his Irken genes Dilbert would evolve much, much faster than the average human smeet, but she had not expected a creature whose vocabulary was currently limited to “I,” “bottle,” “binkie,” and “dad” (she will ignore for the moment, as always, that the total words in his vocabulary are actually five) to be able to recognize the time, much less correlate the time with a specific event. Like the event that is supposed to be happening now but that Miyuki was entirely reluctant to do because of rain. “Dilbert, I think we will forgo our walk today.” A plaintive wail sent both antennae back. “No, it is raining. I do not like rain. It… hurts me. We will not venture out in it. Stop yelling.” The wailing continued. Blasted human smeet. Regular smeets could be irritating but at least they didn’t cry. They couldn’t. Human smeets, though, very much could and dear Irk please shut up.

Maybe agreeing to help his father make an heir was a mistake.

(Even as she thought it, something within her quailed at it.) Membrane was not here to help, Miyuki reflected with a frown. He was out for the day, at his laboratory, working on a new sort of teleportation technology that intrigued her and would very much like to pick apart sometime. Right now it was just her and the smeet. She would have to do something quickly if she wanted to keep herself from doing something she’d regret-

Wait, there was noise absent. Her eyes flicked from the crying child on the floor to the window. The patter of the rain was what had been missing for the past two minutes, and she had failed to realize it because of her focus on the much louder, much more annoying of the two sounds. Well then. The rain was gone but there would still be puddles. She scowled again, ready to reaffirm that she would not go outside today, but it turned into a grimace. 

No, she didn’t want to go outside today. But the human smeet needed sunshine and fresh air to grow properly—part of the requirements brought on by his human heritage—and now that it wasn’t actively raining, it would be prudent to give him what he needs.

Especially because it would make him shut up. “Fine, you win.” His sobs faltered and slow down some, and Miyuki shook her head, wagging a finger at him. “But only because it stopped raining. Wait here; I will go get ready.” She took swift strides to the doorway, and he followed on his clumsy little legs like the insolent creature he was. Typical. Something bubbled over in her chest and she let out a low laugh, shaking her head as she looked around the little bedroom that was hers now, so much smaller than her quarters at home. 

She, the Tallest, ruler of an entire planet, the greatest planet of the known universe, was playing smeetsitter to a hybrid that did not belong in existence, that was probably breaking about thirty Irken laws simply by being, and that could never and would never be accepted by either race should anyone learn what he truly was. All because she crash landed in the middle of universal nowhere and had no other way to return home but to suck up to the single creature on all of this backwards “Earth” planet that could help her so that he’d help her fix her ship.  

“I wonder,” she said to the toddler as she reached into her dresser for some Earthling clothing, “if someday you will also grow up to manufacture something that will try to eat me. I’ve had that experience once; I’m not…” Her throat tightened slightly  “… Keen on reliving it.”

His face remained in her head, however much it hurt that it did. Those big, eager eyes, the color of Vortian (and also, apparently, Earthen, which was just a delightful discovery) raspberries. That giant smile. Chirping voice that could turn to loud crowing at the drop of a hat. So very, pitifully small for an Irken, the smallest Irken on record; he should have died years ago when he was first hatched, or in training, but he didn’t. So enthusiastic and eager to please, so ready to prove himself, that he did everything and asked questions never.

The entire point of his job in weapons manufacturing was to keep him out of trouble, out of harm’s way. Far from a drone service, but as close to an Invader as possible. And he still found some way to screw it up, all in the name of…

“It’s for you, my Tallest! This is just a prototype, the real one will be much more deadly, much more worthy of being used by the Irken Armada! But, it, eh, felt like a waste to just throw it out, and it’s soft and squishy, and you like soft and squishy things, and it nuzzles and makes little chirpy happy noises, so I thought you’d like to keep it!”

Making her happy.

She looked over to Dilbert, now sitting on the floor, amusing himself by drawing patterns in the carpet with his little, round fingers.

He doodled when he was bored, too. 

Ugh. She had to stop torturing herself like this. Would he even be alive when she got back?

He survived this far. The brutal training, the initial activation, despite being too small… The Control Brains keep missing him entirely, even after talking with him directly…

Yes but he also has a penchant for disaster, and you’re no longer there…

Her insides squirmed. Dilbert was squirming. She shoved the thoughts from her mind and retreated into the bathroom with her things. A few minutes later she pushed the door open again, picking with distaste at the cloth and at the necklace around her throat. A simple blouse and matching skirt would ensure she blended in easily, and the jewelry added an extra touch of human normalcy, but she was still not entirely sure she liked wearing them. The clothes felt too light on her body, too loose. Still, dealing with clothing that felt oddly was much better than, say, being captured and dissected. Or being forced to flee for her life. She would put up with it.

Dilbert, mercifully still quiet, scrambled to join her at her side, taking hold of her skirt with one tiny hand. She scooped him into her arms, wincing at the human scent she still wasn’t used to, before carrying him from the room. He squirmed in her arms, cooing quietly, and didn’t resist when she set him down in his stroller. Kneeling beside him, she fastened him carefully into place and reached up to her necklace, pressing a button. 

The heat the hologram disguise generates tingled unpleasantly along her skin, but it protected her. At least in that way it was more useful than the clothes. And it was blue, too. 

She opened the front door and flinched when a blast of wind greeted her. Dilbert squinted his eyes at the sunlight peeping through the clouds, but showed no visible signs of distress, thanks to his father’s efforts to get the boy outside frequently.

She, however, was never going to get used to this ‘weather’ thing. Sure, sunny days she can manage, but wind tugged at her antennae and scattered scents! How was she supposed to get a read on her surroundings if she couldn’t pinpoint where anything was coming from? Then there was rain- rain was an abomination that doesn’t deserve to exist. Fog stung her face and whatever else wasn’t covered, and she didn’t like the sound of this ‘snow’ business. Or ‘heatwave.’  Apparently the snow thing would be coming soon, too. Ridiculous planet.

The air smelled sharp and the wind chilled her slightly. Maybe she should give up on this after all… No, no, think rationally. Did she have anything to deal with this? She did have a sweater, but she doesn’t like the feel of it- wait, yes she does! The coat! How did she forget about the coat!? It was only her favorite piece of clothing on this ball of dirt that calls itself a planet! Miyuki wheeled the child inside and, ignoring his cries of protest, left the living room to dart into her bedroom and fetch the black trench coat Membrane had purchased for occasions such as these. She grabbed the coat from the closet and pulled it on as she left the room, returning to the stroller and pushing it out the door. A quick pause to lock the door behind her. Not that she needed to with the intense amount of security, but might as well. And they were off. Finally She pulled the collar up around her mouth, using her other hand to steer the stroller around a puddle while hissing her hatred at the liquid. The sky was clearing, so more rain was highly unlikely, but even just the presence of puddles made her skin crawl. Stupid, Miyuki knows this; she was wearing boots and no water can get in. But still, who willing stepped in collections of acid even with protective gear? It took a little longer to reach the park and her steering had to get really creative occasionally, but eventually they left the sodden sidewalk behind for… soggy grass, mud, paths that are pocketed with more accursed puddles, and a playground that’s completely unusable due to how soaked it is. No, don’t shake a fist at the sky; you’ll look insane. Letting out a deep breath instead, she rolled the carriage back and forth slightly as her eyes closed, letting out a low hum. Well, the park wasn’t an option today. Was there anywhere else to take him where the little hybrid could spend at least an hour outdoors without too much water?

… Not… really.  The Irken groaned. Fine. Back they go.   Stupid Earth weather. With a huff she turns the wheels and starts pushing on the stroller. Dilbert was whining again, little arms reaching back towards the playground as he twisted in his seat, and her antennae shift back, a growl rising in her throat. If he was so smart, why couldn’t he see the water on the playground and recognize that it would be unwise to let him run about on such a slippery surface? “Be quiet,” she eventually snapped. He responded with actual tears, and her guts twisted slightly. Just great. Some children flew by on skateboards, bicycles, and scooters, nearly splashing her and the Dilbert in the process. She hissed before she could stop herself and yanked her body and the stroller back to avoid them, and just in time; one of the girls clipped the stroller with her scooter and almost fell off, having to hop off before the primitive devise could throw her from it, run awkwardly beside it, and then leap back on. Thankfully the water missed Miyuki, as the girl was going too slowly by the time she went through the puddle to spray it very far.

“Watch where you’re going, smee- CHILD!” Human vocabulary was strange and still refused to roll off the tongue with any ease. “Next time I swear I will take that toy from you and wrap it around your skinny little throat!” It’s was late; they were too far for their inferior human ears to hear her. Damn them to the deepest depths of the farthest black hole. Snarling, the Irken carefully righted the stroller, which she had pulled back in such a way that, had it not been for the straps, would have dumped its precious cargo onto the concrete. Dilbert was whimpering, little hiccups leaking out with big, fat tears. Blast it all. “Shhh, it’s alright.” Well, her tone wasn’t sharp, at least. “They are gone now, and should they return I will make them very sorry they did.” She watched as he scrubbed his knuckles into his eyes, chewing on her tongue. Perhaps if she had some candy, that might work, but she didn’t think to grab any before leaving the house. Which was a stupid move, she reflected, since the human smeet was the most accident prone person she’s known since him and candy was usually a quick fix anytime Dilbert gets a bump or scrape. Her antenna flicked. He was quiet. Why? Quickly she glanced down; he was staring at something. Blue eyes rose, and found his were locked onto a tiny black trench coat a mannequin in the shop window was dressed in. His little mouth was hanging open like he just discovered the answer to the meaning of life. “… Well then.  We’ve lingered here long enough.” Her hands returned to the stroller’s handles, and he cried out.  

“Want!” Of course he’d add another word to his vocabulary right now. It’s not like she was eager to leave or anything. Miyuki raised a hand to her face to place her fingers against her forehead, then moved them to her temple. Well, he’d seen it and he’d pitch a fit if she tried to leave without it. It’s small, right? It can’t cost too much, and I do have monies on me. It wouldn’t take long, either… “Fine. Let’s go see it.” She wheeled the carriage inside. Dilbert insisted on having that exact trench coat, and it was a hassle to convince the store clerk to take the coat off the mannequin, but Miyuki was nothing if not persuasive, and eventually she conceded and took it down for them. Then it was off to the tiny dressing room in the back, where Dilbert refused to allow her to accompany him into the room to help him into the coat. 

The toddler sure was a willful one, and Miyuki can’t help but wonder if this was a normal thing in human smeets, and if she should be proud or annoyed. She settled for a mix of both, the former somewhat begrudgingly. “Tah-dah!” She glanced up from her seat to see the tiny human-Irken hybrid in front of her more or less drowning in a coat made for someone twice his height. His eyes were closed and his smile was huge, showing off all his strange human teeth, and he had his hands on his hips, sleeves falling far past them. The sight was so weird and so amusing she couldn’t help but smile a bit. “You look stunning.” He beamed brighter. “Come, we should be leaving.” She went to remove the coat and he frowned, pulling back and hugging himself to keep the coat locked in place, making grumbling noises. She shook her head and took hold of his arm in a loose grip, carefully pulling him along with her until he moved his hand to hold hers, as she looked for the clerk. The woman allowed them to buy the trench coat—two hundred monies is ridiculous for such a tiny piece of clothing and Miyuki wished she could just steal the thing, but that would be a terrible idea—and they returned home, finally. Dilbert refused to take the coat off, and she allowed him to leave it on while she got supper together for the three of them.  

A Tallest, cooking. Really, now the universe had seen everything. Or would, if this hick planet was near anything resembling the civilized universe.

Membrane returned home, and laughed at the sight of his son, ruffling the little one’s hair. “That’s a great look for you, son!  What gave you the idea?” Neither of them expected an answer, but he surprised them. The tiny boy flashed Miyuki a giant smile and pointed to her. “Just like Mommy!” She almost dropped the plate she was carrying to the table. “… Son?” Membrane does not look nearly as shellshocked as his Irken companion; he’s merely confused. “… The coat.” Miykui’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh, he means the coat you bought for me in case of cooler weather; I’ve been wearing it a lot for the past few weeks but not the past few days… he must have remembered me wearing it frequently…” Dilbert nods. He looked so pleased with himself. “Like Mommy!” “Yes, it’s good to be like your mother.” Membrane patted his head before carefully peeling the coat off and setting the fussing boy in his high chair. “Now now, take it easy,” he cut in above Dilbert’s protests. “You can have it back when you’re all done with dinner.” They started supper. Miyuki for a few minutes stared silently at the meal. Just like Mommy. The way his face lit up when he said that… Maybe she was more ready for that other word in his vocabulary than she thought she was. Mommy. It wasn’t not such a bad word, really. The twitch of her lips went unnoticed as she began to eat.

[innerclouds]

Questions to really go deep

1. Do you have more friends or acquaintances? No.

2. What emotion are you most afraid of feeling/ displaying? Depends on who’s company I’m keeping.

3. Have you ever experienced a “glitch in the matrix” moment? Deja vu? Constantly. Probably just signs of a stroke coming down the line.

4. Favorite term you discovered on Urban dictionary. I don't browse it so none?

5. What’s a subject you could talk about for hours? Politics.

6. What’s the difference between a type and a preference? I am not getting into this, this is a trap question.

7. What secretly scares you about society? I'd say but I'd be labeled for "wrong think" on this platform. Not that I haven't been already.

8. How bad is your FOMO? What is a FOMO?

9. What’s your spirit animal? Depends on the quiz thing I've taken, it's always different.

10. How well do you perform in school? About average.

11. What are your good habits? What are your bad habits? Washing hands. Biting nails.

12. What personal trait are you most proud of? I can doodle gud I guess.

13. What does your driving say about you? Paranoid.

14. What do you think is the weirdest/ creepiest societal norm? Man that's a long list. Again, it would get me labeled for "wrong think".

15. Favorite sound effect? None.

16. You have the power to divide the world by 2 to 4 groups of people, how do you divide them? With a battle axe.

17. What popular saying or quote pisses you have? The heck is a quote piss?

18. Are you cooperative or a contrarian? Yes.

19. Something a lot of people like that you HATE. Again, I probably shouldn't say.

20. There’s a website that rates and reviews your performance as a lover. What would the reviews for you say? 10/10.

21. What was “the incident” that happened at your high school or college? Which one? There were a lot of those.

22. Has there been a time where you wanted to speak up about something but held your tongue anyways? Gee I dunno.

23. A big risk you took that paid off. Short list.

24. A big risk you took that did not work out. Long list.

25. What’s your favorite historical event to research? Black plague. Actually did something for that as a subject for school once, it was entertaining.

26. How do you work your way into someone’s heart? Rib cage with a bone saw.

27. What food combinations do you enjoy that other people find weird? Not sure.

28. Have you ever had an encounter with law enforcement? How’d it turn out? With a rent-a-cop. About as well as you’d expect.

29. What book made you appreciate reading? All of them.

30. Are you toxic? Are you afraid to admit it? Oh no, I am absolutely toxic and I own it. Some say I'm hitler 2.0 because *gasp* I have differing opinions and tend to rely on facts and evidence. The horror!

31. Dumbest thing you’ve done in a foreign country? Haven't been in any of those. Unless Utah counts, in which, I went to Utah counts as dumbest thing.

32. What do you think is an unfair double standard between men and women? This is another trap question, especially with how it's worded, that I refuse to get into because it'll take hours and I simply cannot be arsed.

33. What’s your personal heaven? Full of eggrolls.

34. What is something that everyone should experience in their lifetime? Conflict.

35. How often do you change your mind on something you thought you were concrete on? Not often, but if you present solid evidence it will help sway me.

36. Is it easier for you to love or hate? What do you think this says about you? I'm an emotional sponge so both. Probably says a lot.

37. You have doubts about the person you’re romantically involved with, how does this get resolved? Don't have any doubts but if I did I would expect by talking it out.

38. Has there been a time where you thought you were helping someone but were actually enabling their worst habits? Possibly.

39. “Charlie” is short for “Charles” but both have the same amount of letters. What are your thoughts? I don't care.

40. To the person you’re asking these questions to: what is the best and worst things about them? Them being them is the best thing about them. Need more days off, heh.

41. Do you surround yourself with people that bring the best or worst out of you? The former.

42. What will inevitably lead to human extinction? Humans themselves, unfortunately it's taking far too long.

43. Is it better for someone to have a wide range of superficial knowledge or deep knowledge about a few things? Yes.

44. What if there were no professionals in any given subject, but everyone knew a little bit about everything? Okay?

45. How can we judge ourselves by our intentions yet judge others by their actions? This can lead to very murky waters and I'm starting to wonder if the OP has a personal slant on these questions, as far as I'm concerned actions speak and intentions are just intentions until they are actions.

46. Can we ever believe someone when they say their intentions are different from their actions? So that basically confirms it. Thanks for playing.

47. What if you could tell if someone’s intentions were truly transparent upon first meeting them? OP, stop it.

48. What is the biggest waste of human potential? That is an extremely long list, but somewhere around the top five? I'd say social media.

49. Would things get better or worse if humans focused on what was going well rather than what’s going wrong? Maybe, maybe not.

50. What benefits does art provide society? Does art hurt society in any way? Art will always benefit society and no, art does not hurt it at all.

51. When did you screw everything up, but no one ever found out it was you? Can't recall doing any of that.

52. How sneaky were you when you were younger? Or was it something recent that you messed up and got away with? See above.

53. What would you name your boat if you had one? Leaky.

54. What’s the worst commercial you’ve recently seen? Why is it so bad? The gillette commercial, you know the one, for obvious reasons.

55. What’s the closest thing to real magic? Love.

56. What is the craziest thing one of your teachers has done? Halloween, dressed as an escaped crazy person with actual chains, dragging them down the halls and scaring the crap out of anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.

57. On a scale of 1-10, how strict are/were your parents? 7.

58. Who was your worst teacher? Why? Don't recall.

59. Who was your favorite teacher? Why? Either PE teacher and another down the line. They both understood.

60. Which would you pick: being world-class attractive, a genius or famous for doing something great? None of the above, fame is overrated.

61. What paper that you’ve written are you most proud of? See school subject on the black plague.

62. What would you do if you were invisible for a day? You mean I've not been invisible my entire life?

63. What actions in your life will have the longest reaching consequences? Rather not mention.

64. You’re the first human to interact with an alien and it’s non-hostile. What do you do? Too shy and quiet to make a proper first contact, probably doom our species to abrupt extinction as a result due to a misunderstanding.

65. Are you afraid? Who isn't?

66. To the person you’re asking these questions to: date, marry or kill? First two.

67. To the person you’re asking these questions to: where did you meet them? Next to a campfire outside a snowy tavern in the woods.

68. Can you describe your first high experience? Confusing.

69. Nice Wat?

70. Can you describe your worst drunk experience? Never again.

71. Post the 17th picture from your gallery. What gallery?

72. What was your favorite place you’ve been employed? What was your least favorite? None. Theater.

73. Do you value charm or intelligence more? Big meaty brains.

74. What worries you most about your mistakes? All of it.

75. What personal prisons have you built out of fears? Yes.

76. What is the most important thing you could do right now in your personal life? Long list.

77. If you could ask one person, alive or dead, only one question, who would you ask and what would you ask? I wouldn't ask anything.

78. What is your number one goal for the next six months? Improve.

79. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? Shitposting.

80. Who or what do you think of when you think of love? Bae.

81. When you help someone do you ever think, “What’s in it for me?” No.

82. What’s the difference between settling for things and accepting the way things are? Virtually none.

83. How many of your friends would you trust with your life? One.

84. Is it better to have loved and lost or to have never loved at all? Depends.

85. Who do you dream about? Naked butlers.

86. What has been the most terrifying moment of your life thus far? Near car accident.

87. Are ghost or aliens real? In a manner, probably. Most likely.

88. Have you ever broken a bone? No.

89. What’s something you’re embarrassed to admit to try? Vegan meals.

90. Is your nationality a part of your identity? No.

91. Do you find your eye color unique? It can be.

92. Is there a song you enjoy from a genre that you don’t listen to? Multiple.

93. What is your sexuality? Triggering to some.

94. Is the person you’re asking these questions to an introvert, extrovert or an ambivert? Former.

95. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve done for someone? Roses.

96. What’s the worst thing you’ve done to someone? Something I can never forgive myself of.

97. When was the last time you’ve felt jealous? Why? Been a while.

98. Do you still think about your first love? No.

99. Would you want to live in the country you want to go on vacation to the most? Yes and no, they need to clean up their problems first.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #227

“it’s my party, and i’ll die when i want to.”

Where do you hang your towel to dry after showering? On the rack that's on the bathroom door. What kind of mouse pad do you have? It's just a simple black one. Do you brush your hair with a comb or a brush? A comb. If you had a choice to be a unicorn or mermaid which would it be? Probably a unicorn? Idk. I think unicorns are cooler, but I guess being a mermaid (as depicted in the media, however) would be fun. Can you do a hand stand? No. If you were the opposite sex, how would you style your hair? Fuck man emo hair is the way to go don't even try to change my mind. What movie are you embarrassed to admit you’ve watched? None, really. Would you rather spin upside down going 30 miles or drop 400 ft. into water? Well, dropping 400 ft. into water would literally result in your body exploding upon impact with the water; at that height (I'm pretty sure that's high enough, anyway), the water's surface would be like concrete at the velocity you land. Soooo, the former. I'd like to live. What's your favorite shape? "I don’t really have one. I guess the shape of women’s bodies? Like, all kinds of them? Whooooopsie gaysie!" <<<< HAHAHA YOOOOOOOOO THIS. If you were put in a room with nothing except for a pencil and paper, what would you write? Doodle meerkats or write poetry. Do you use deodorant? Does anyone who can afford it and in America not? I'm ignorant to if that's a societal standard in other places in the world. Do you think you’ve grown as a person since this time last year? I honestly don't know. If you could change one physical trait about yourself, what would it be? Can I PLEASE weigh around 120 again??? Have you ever gone out with someone you didn’t like? Well, I didn't not like him. I kinda had a crush on him in high school for a brief period, but we lost communication throughout school. When he asked me out a few years ago, I only agreed to it as a test, I guess. He was a good person, and again, I had liked him. It was a "get to know one another (again)" thing. It was still very, very unlike me, though; I usually date people only when I know I'm into them. Looking back, it really was mostly an "I don't want to hurt his feelings" thing. What are some of your morals? "I wouldn’t say I have any unique morals or things like that. I just…don’t do harm and treat people like I’d want them to treat me." <<<< Pretty much this. I don't see my morals as unordinary. Just hopefully the usual good person. Would you ever take a bullet for your significant other? I wouldn't even fucking hesitate. Do you like your smile, or are you unhappy with it? I hate it. I look high when I smile. My eyes squint too much. If you were starving on a freezing mountain, would you eat your friend? No. Some things aren't worth living after. Out of all your friends, who can you count on the most? Sara. Do people who say they’re depressed bother you? I actually don't think any other survey question I have EVER come across boils my blood like this one. Fuck no they don't. Depression isn't a goddamn choice. Rot the fuck in Hell if depressed people "bother" you. Their mental illness is far, far, far fucking more an inconvenience to the victim than to you. What do you think of hunting? By this point in my animal/wildlife conservation and welfare eruption, I'm perfectly open in calling you a goddamn asshole if you hunt for any reason other than survival. There is something seriously wrong in your head if you get fucking pleasure out of ending a life without reasonable cause. Damn man, this surveys getting me fired up, lmao. White lies aren’t dangerous; true or false? They can be. Do you pretend your crush is with you when you’re home alone? I mean, I can daydream? But I don't actually like, pretend they're present. How many times do you go behind your parents’ back weekly? Never. Do you tend to go for people older or younger than you? Older or the same age. I don't mind if they're slightly younger though, so long as they're of legal age of course. If you became a doctor, would you help your patients kill themselves? I am 110% in favor of assisted suicide when a patient is diagnosed with a terminal malady. Forcing a human being to suffer 'til their inexorable death via the hands of their illness is, to me, torture. I genuinely do think I'm a very compassionate and gentle person, so while it would be ABSOLUTELY heartbreaking and probably scarring, I actually feel I'd be a good option for a doctor euthanizing a qualified patient. Are you good at haunted houses, or do you scream your head off? I haven't been to very many at all, actually. The one I remember that I've attended a few times, I handled just fine. They're fun to me. If you’ve seen it, what did you think of the Twilight movie? I didn't watch it, so I really can't make a fair judgment, but from what I've seen and heard (so take this with a grain of salt), the acting is horrid and the romance is very poorly composed. Would you rather be called babe or darling? The latter. Does the movie Titanic make you cry? Oh Lord, yes. We (surprisingly) watched it during one of my psych hospital stays, and even some of the guys were teary-eyed. What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? Play PokemonGO when I'm in enough of an urban area to be able to lmao. Which Disney princess resembles you the most? *shrugs* Which fairytale seems closest to your life story? Rapunzel being trapped in her home, lmao. What color was your first phone? Hm... I believe it was blue? Was your first phone a flip phone? I don't believe so; it slid upwards. What is your favorite pizza parlor? I'm a basic bitch that finds Domino's to be the bomb diggity. What is an old website that closed down that you miss? Hm... I'm not sure. Well, the site itself didn't close down, the Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor forum and games are dearly missed by me. Have you ever had an embarrassing period story? If so, what happened? Not that I recall, thankfully. What was your worst experience in high school? My depression. How much did your senior prom dress cost you? I don't remember, but I know it wouldn't have been all that expensive. Did you cry at your high school graduation? I only teared up very slightly. Did you cry at your college graduation (if applicable)? N/A, but I'm sure I will out of so much pride and joy. Do your parents try to stop you from chasing your dreams? Hell no. My parents are so, so supportive Who is a former friend that you wish would come back into your life? I miss Megan so, so much. Have you ever been in a serious romantic relationship? Two. What instrument did you play in the marching band? I wasn't in the marching band, but rather the normal one. I played the flute. Who got kicked off of your favorite talent show that you were mad about? Okay, so I remember one year, there was this very quiet, shy, and darkly-styled young man with a love for metal on America's Got Talent. Everyone was expecting a screamo mess, and then he belts out FUCKING BEAUTIFUL opera. Everyone lost it, myself included, and the sweetheart started crying. Sadly, he was eliminated the next round because his nerves got to him, poor thing. Do you own the entire series on DVD of any TV show? If so, what? Meerkat Manor. What show did you always want to be on when you were a kid? None, really. Can you tell the difference between Mary-Kate and Ashley? I think I could as a kid? I haven't seen them in forever and half. Who is your favorite set of twins? *shrugs* What is the grossest thing you have ever vomited up? Idk? Have you ever thrown up in public, in front of someone else? If yes, was it embarrassing? Yes, but I was in kindergarten, so it wasn't too embarrassing. I was just surprised. Did you ever take your dog to school? Whoa... this brought back memories. I believe I did bring Teddy to school one day in elementary school... 5th grade, maybe? I can't recall what the occasion was, though. Name one person you know who had a baby in high school. I don't remember her name. Describe your dream wedding in three words. Autumnal, personal, memorable. What do you hate the most about summer? The fucking heat. What is your favorite thing to do in a swimming pool? Just swim around. Which part of your body is the most muscular? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA BOY I couldn't even GUESS. My legs are recovering from muscle atrophy, so OBVIOUSLY not them. My arms aren't impressive. Neither is my stomach at all. I honestly don't know. What was the last race you ran called? Brittany??????????????? running a?????????????????? r a c e??????????????????????????????? Which major holiday is closest to your birthday? Valentine's Day. Do you find kite flying boring? I haven't done that since I was a kid, but BOY did I LOOOOOVE it back then! I'd probably still find it kinda fun. What is your favorite musical? Musicals make me cringe. Have you ever seen a Broadway show? No. What is the best summer camp you have ever been to? Well, I remember as a kid, one of the vacation Bible schools I went to was pretty fun. It was Hawaiian-themed. Have you ever ran a cash register? Never. Ever. Fucking. Again. Do you like the feeling in your stomach on a big drop on a roller coaster? I've never been on one, but I hate even just the sensation you get when the elevator goes up or down. I immediately get dizzy and nauseous. It's so bad that I even experience this in video games if you have to jump from a large height. What is your favorite roller coaster? N/A How and when were you baptized, if applicable? Hell if I remember. Have you been baptized more than once? No. Would you rather paint or carve a pumpkin? Carve it. Have you decorated for fall yet this year? No. Do you own pumpkin earrings? No, but now I want some. That sounds so cute. Have you ever asked someone to be your Valentine? I mean, not really? I've had s/os on Valentine's Days, so being each other's is kinda just... a given. What was your favorite video game to play with your brother? My older half-bro, when he lived with us anyway, used to play this mercenary game (I don't remember the name) that I LOVED watching him play. Idk why. Really when he played anything I would sit right beside him and watch. What computer game did you used to play all the time? Amazon Trail 3 was my cocaine, hunny. Do you like the name Ellery? I guess it's kinda cute... but it reminds me of celery. Do you find cemeteries pretty? "Pretty" isn't the word I'd use, but I find them aesthetically pleasing. They're more like... mysterious, enchanting. Does your phone screen freeze a lot? Often enough... Who is the better cook in your household? My mom. What by your definition is the naughtiest thing you have done? I guess the time I was entirely naked and him just in boxers going the fuck at each other on the chaise in the living room when we were home alone one night. Or maybe when we "slept" in my sister's room one night (can't remember exactly why) and we just fooled around the entire night instead. He came on her bed multiple times, hence why I guess it fits "naughtiest." (Yes, yes, he cleaned it up, calm down.) I honestly haven't done anything too wild. What is one thing you’d never want your parents to find out? The Joel situation I've told before. Which room of your house are you in? Mine. How many blankets do you sleep under? One thick one. I miss my school lunch menu.. what’s the fave thing on yours? Okay real talk, my high school chicken sandwiches were The Good Shit. Do you like your best friend's parents? Could you even tell me their names? I love them, and I could, but it's not my business to share that online. Anything silly that annoys you? (I hate hearing nails being clipped) I really hate people going in/out the opposite door. Why are you where you are right now? I absolutely have to take a mental health day from school, so I'm home in my room. Did you used to watch Blues Clues? Of course. What's your opinion on people wearing high heels to school? I feel very sorry for your feet, aha. But I don't care if you do, go for it. What difficulty do you play on Guitar Hero? I used to play like, everything on expert, but now if I do, I can barely manage expert on most and have to do hard. Do you stutter when you get nervous? BADLY. You’re at the grocery store, what 3 fruits do you get? Strawberries, apples, grapes. If you died next week, what would be the cause of death? Sleep deprivation lmao. Love these night terrors + nightmares. What do you think about dating websites? Whatever. I definitely think there are better, safer ways, but it's not a huge deal. Just go into it with a genuine heart and mind of wanting to find love. There's nothing wrong with wanting a partner to enjoy life with. Do you wear contacts or glasses? I wear glasses. I wish I could do contacts, but noooo sir. I had them very briefly again earlier this year, but I just couldn't; all I could do was feel them there, mainly the weighted one in my left eye because my vision is so bad in it. They just bugged me too much. What is one memory you have from elementary school? Making our own butter in 4th grade came to me first. We walked through school singing this annoying song while we shook our jars. Do you own a pair of converses? A few. How many fridges are in your house? One. Are you easy to get along with? I hope so, but idk. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? She's over 800 miles away lmao. What kind of people are you attracted to? Platonically or romantically? Well, with either, I'm drawn to compassion, a tranquil mind, empathy, gentleness, romance if we're talking romantic attraction, a deep thinker, wisdom, creativity, uniqueness/individuality, just, funny, thoughtful, charitable, concerned with nature/love and kindness to animals, intelligence... There's a lot. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? I don't see why I wouldn't be. Do you like it when people play with your hair? My hair's too short now for that. It'd feel weird. I used to like it, though. Do you think there is life on other planets? Probably. Do you like bubble baths? I don't enjoy baths period. Who are you most comfortable around? My mom, or Sara. Depends on the subject matter. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? No. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? I wouldn't. I'm strictly monogamous and to me would feel like cheating. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yeah. What do you say during awkward silences? Nothing, but I panic inside. What are you paranoid about? My loved ones secretly hating me or leaving me, being raped, people thinking I'm weird (and not in a good way), stuff like that. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? I don't think so. Been suspended/expelled? For what? No. Been arrested? For what? No. Craving something? What? Nothing. What color are your towels? They're varied. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two. Favorite animal? MEERKATS. Opossums are #2. Favorite character from Mean Girls? I don't remember the characters at all. Favorite actress? Betty White. Favorite actor? BITCH Markiplier, lmao. But okay if you mean a "real" actor, probably Johnny Depp. Last time you were in an elevator? Thursday when I had to go upstairs to my Writing class. It's absolutely humiliating, but I can't make it up two flights of stairs due to my muscle atrophy without people asking if I'm okay. Even going down is dangerous for me because my legs ABSOLUTELY QUAKE and I have to go extremely slow. I go down via stairs anyway though for practice. I'm going to fall one day, I know it. I’m sure we all know what your name is… so, tell us what your boss’ name is? N/A Do you actually read your friend’s surveys, or do you just copy paste them and fill them out yourself? Yes; I love learning about my friends. When you were a kid, which comic strip was your favorite? I didn't care for them. Would you feel guilty about cheating on your taxes if you got away with it? Well yeah. Have you ever thought about getting your lip pierced? It is pierced. What woke you up this morning? A nightmare that resulted in me screaming almost the loudest I ever have in my life. My throat hurt for quite a while. What was your favorite sweet as a child? Reese's cups. Still are. Do you own a lunch box? Yeah. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? Once, oops. If there was a fire, what would you take with you? The very first thing I'd grab would be Teddy, then Roman, Venus, and then my laptop, probably. How many people have the same middle name as you? The majority of the white female population lmao. Does your house have a white picket fence? The backyard does. Have you ever needed to call the police? 911 when we thought my mom was having a heart attack. What are you best at? Writing, I guess.