#a course of thorns and roses rp

[rp-partnerfinder]

⚔️ (18+ writers only!) The Masked Beast of the Wood. A cryptid to some, a cursed nobleman to others. Commoners whispered of the great parties he threw, rumored to all be in the name of finding a solution to the bane inflicted upon him. A true lover, they said, was the only one to take the plagued mask from his face. It the capability to turn him into a feral beast at random, though one would think with his already great size and easily excitable temper that he was predestined for thoughtless chaos. If only someone was capable of falling in love with a savage and breaking the curse that tormented them all.

Hey! I’m a 21 year old female university student from the US who would be interested in a partner willing to play the female love interest of my monstrous little shapeshifter (he is neither little or in control of his shapeshifting but that’s besides the point). I write strictly in the third person and like my responses to range anywhere from multi-paragraph to novella. I can respond fairly regularly, but I’m a patient partner so please take your time as life outside of this hobby is way more important. My preferred platform to roleplay on is Discord, so if we seem like we’d be a good match we could exchange that information privately! NSFW is welcome, but any information regarding that should be discussed in private. I left the aforementioned plot relatively open ended so we can establish if we want any supernatural species and additional lore to supplement. I’m heavily inspired from the ACOTAR series, so of course I’d be open to fae or any other not-too-crazy species beyond just human to be the identity of either character.

.

[farizrz]

Desert Rose | Romance Club

Ask me anything with Amy G.

Desert Rose | Romance Club · 29 Dec at 7:05 am

Source: VK

(translate by chrome)

❓ What was Zane’s childhood like and his relationship with his parents? And did the death of his father influence him and become the reason for his reckless youth?

❗Zane loves his family very much. The relationship between his mom and dad was an example of true love for him. Speaking of his father, Zayn adored him and he will always be proud of his father. But you will learn more in the future :)

❓ Back at the end of the first season, Yasmine mentions that she loves Mr. Darcy, and since then I've been wondering which of the RP characters do you think is most like Mr. Darcy? And in the same spirit of loving literature, what other books did Yasmin love as a child?

❗ Hmm, on the way with Adil, Yasmin thinks that she has found her version of Darcy - a cold-blooded Bedouin. But I think Zayn can also be like Mr. Darcy to her. She likes Notre Dame, Oliver Twist, The Thorn Birds, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Little Women.

❓ 1. What pranks did Adil, Rajab and Madi do when they were growing up? And did they immediately agree to the rebel’s plan with Adil? 2. Yasmine is one of my favorite main characters and I love that we see her growth throughout the story! What inspired you to create a GG like her? And who does she look more like, her father or her mother? 3. Do you have any plans/ideas for your next story after completing the RP?

❗ 1. Along Adil's path you will learn more, but they loved to joke with Ali) 2. I talked a lot with my Muslim friends, read discussions. I tried to create a kind of lonely girl who lives in her dreams and tries to build her path, her life. 3. Yes 😉

❓ 1. Whenever Yasmin introduces Adil, she introduces him bare-chested 😅 (most of the time)... is this intentional? Even in the heartbreaking cutscene of the last update 🙈 2. The musical animation in the season finale is another feature of the RP ...how did you come up with this idea...? It's like ending the season with a bang. 3. I know this will be a spoiler 😅🤣... but can you tell me if Mr. Bat will confess his love one day?

❗ 1. Haha, I knew that the players miss Adil so much, so I wanted to give them a gift 😁 why was he naked in the dream? This is a spoiler) 2. My technical designer and I decided to do this - we think it's sort of the final act of every season finale. 3. He will do it 😁😈 or I will hit him.

❓Have you ever encountered writer's block, and if so, how do you deal with it?

❗ Yes, of course. I try to calm down by writing something funny or stupid just to relax, watching cartoons or something emotional and inspiring. For example, musicals. Speaking about my work: I always remember that I have to make people happy and this inspires me very much) Good luck and believe in yourself! ❤️

❓ 1. How does Jack feel about Adil? I'm guessing he feels pain over his "death", but were they close to each other as children? 2. When did Cindy decide to become a model? Did someone notice her or maybe she was inspired by a famous model? 3. If you could include one of your characters in another CR story, who would you choose and what story do you think they would fit well in? 4. I love that you also write beautiful songs, you are so talented. Can you tell us if you plan to write more songs for Garden of Eden or other stories?

❗ 1. Jack loves Adil, Adil has always been his role model, but on the other hand Jack thought that their father loved Adil more and Jack hated it. Jack is the only one (not counting Yasmin on Adil's path) who knows the real Adil, his soft side. 2. Her mother wanted her to become a model. Cindy also thought that the only talent she had was her face and body :( She needed to make money, so she decided to become a model. 3. Moonborn perhaps? I want to see Zane and Victor fight over coffee and tea 😁 4. Thanks, who knows 😼

❓ 1. If they had a choice, what dream place would every LL in RP want to visit? 2. Can you give us some BTS facts (Behind The Scenes)? How do you come up with lyrics? What is the brainstorming process?

❗ 1. Zane - New Zealand; Mustafa - Lisbon, Cindy - New York, Adil - Paris, Jack - Iceland, Said - Prague, Jaffar just dreams of being able to travel) 2. Well, I'm trying to imagine what I want to say in my song, how it will influence the ending season, after that I start writing and finally singing, but honestly my voice is a terrible version of a Disney princess, so I... I'm glad Alisha sang my songs 😁 Thank you ❤️

❓ 1. Was Mustafa inspired by someone you know in real life, or maybe a fictional character you admire? 2. Are there any traits in Yasmin that you would like to have? 3. When will we see Rebel the cat again? I miss him.

❗ 1. No, but I just wanted to create a kind person, a person who will destroy the stereotypes of the spoiled Arab guy that GG has to be with. I wanted to create a good brother who takes care of his sister because I know some girls don't have a good relationship with their brothers :( 2. Maybe her inner warmth? I'm more cold-blooded, less sociable, like to plan everything. She is more spontaneous and naive. Sometimes I wish I had these qualities. 3. You will know 😼 meow 😈

❓ 1. My first question is related to the Garden of Eden: you wrote the lyrics to Starfall, it’s an amazing song. How did this collaboration begin? 2. I was wondering if you have time to play any other KR stories in your free time? If so, which one holds a special place in your heart?

❗ 1. Nastya, the author of ES, is one of my friends, so I am always ready to help her, working with her is always fun and inspiring. I love Luna's story, we wanted to create a song that showed her pain, her struggle with her own triggers and nightmares. That’s why I wrote: “The window is open - I see the sky.” Sometimes we are so worried, so wounded, that we can’t even see the sky, even if dozens of windows are open. We don’t see the world, pain blinds us, but it’s important not to give up. 2. Yes, but now I don't have enough time :( I liked ES, Psi, KPS - the new stories I played - Moonborn, LI, Sails in the Mist and Arcanum are my favorites too! But honestly, I think that all the stories are good ❤️

❓Which character in RP was the most difficult to write? Zane? Buahaha

❗ Poor Zane! Sometimes it's the simplest! Sometimes everyone is very bad and doesn’t want to communicate with my muse 😁

❓ Since this is a topic I'm passionate about, what inspired you to write a story about rebellion and speaking truth to power?

❗ I was inspired by the stories of the Bedouins, culture, political past of Morocco, Arabic fairy tales. I also love Les Miserables (“Les Miserables”), and I even had the idea of ​​writing a novella based on this book.

❓ 1. What genres of books and films does Zane like? Are there any specific names? 2. Why did Zayn choose fashion as a career? 3. If you had to play as Yasmin, which path would you choose? Disobedience or dreaminess and Child of the city or flower of the desert? 4. What do you find most difficult and easiest when writing a RP?

❗ 1. He just loves good books) good from his point of view, of course) For example, novels for women are not his strong point. He loves Machiavelli, The Scarlet Letter, The Financier, The Godfather) 2. You will find out ;) 3. I play every path during tests. 4. Sometimes I hate writing scenes like “he came... she looked...” - just descriptions. I really love writing scenes with LL. And I love some of the story scenes because I know that every scene has its own meaning;) I hope when the story ends, you will see the whole thing) And of course sometimes it is difficult to write about culture, because, well, you know, there are many trigger moments, especially if we are talking about religion. I'm trying to figure everything out because I don't want to hurt anyone.

❓ 1. Which path (dreamy/rebellious) do you think best suits each LL personality? 2. Can you tell us some interesting fact about Jack? 3. Which LL would you like to have an affair with? 4. What inspired you to write this story?

❗ 1. I think that every path can be interesting for every LL. 2. He tried to act like a brother and called Adil's classmate (he imitated his voice), but unfortunately his mission failed 😁 3. I want to have a harem. 4. Morocco's political past, 2000s, Arabic tales, Bedouin stories.

❓ My question: could you tell me more about Jaffar? For example, what are his hobbies or favorite things to do? Does he have any other family members besides the father he mentioned? What did he do before he came to work for Yasmin's father?

❗ He loves to run, watch nature, loves Moroccan culture and cuisine. Yes, there is) you will learn more through the branch with him) and you will learn more about his past.

❓ 1. Can you share interesting facts about Mustafa? 2. Will it be possible to adopt the Rebel cat?

❗ 1. Ha, Mustafa was forced to play with dolls with his sisters :))) he hated it, but he is a good caring brother 😁 2. Who knows 😉

❓ 1. Which paths are best to choose with each character? Or just choose what we want?2. Is it possible to choose one path or balance stats? 3. What are Adil and Yasmin’s favorite books??

❗ 1. You can choose whatever you want) There will be endings for balance and the same for each stat. 2. Adil: Hemingway, Night in Lisbon, American Tragedy, Red and Black, Germinal. Yasmin: Notre Dame, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, The Thorn Birds.

❓ 1. Will Yasmin's father accept Adil as his son-in-law? 2. Can we expect a wedding with Adil at the end? 3. Why didn’t Adil tell the truth to Yasmin or Jack earlier, after his memory returned?

❗ 1. You will find out 😼 2. 😉 3. Because he is a closed person, it is difficult for him to tell everything that is on his soul, he needs time to realize. He wanted to tell Yasmin, but did not find the right moment. If we talk about Jack: he thought he was dead, realized that he was alive when he found medical documents and saw his brother's handwriting.

❓ If you could give all LLs or any other character a superpower, what would you give them and why? 🦸🦹‍♀️😁

❗ Hmm) I wish everyone to become wizards, like in my beloved Harry Potter. 😈 for example, Adil would talk to snakes 😈

❓ 1. Said’s favorite food, colors, hobbies? 2. What attracted him to Yasmin or what attracted her to him? Maybe what is his love language?

❗1. Said loves nature, loves to walk and look around, loves animals, especially cats and parrots) 2. Said loves kindness, hates indifference, that's why he liked Yasmin - she can be rude or something like that, but on the other hand, with him she tries to be kind and helpful. Speaking of her, she was captivated by his personality. He is always there to help her.

❓ 1. What do you think could have happened if the romantic paths had not been closed and the player dated Jack and Adil at the same time? How might they both react to this? 2. What is the reason for the distance between Yasmin and her father? He seems to love her no matter what, but there is still an invisible wall between them. 3. What is your favorite character trait about Yasmin? 4. Can balancing the Desert Flower and Child of the City stats lead to a happy ending?

❗ 1. I think they were really hurt. Adil could not start an affair with the girl his brother loves. But if you dated Adil, but decided to break up with him, and you have a very close relationship with Zayn, then... an interesting path awaits you 😁 2. You will find out. 3. Her inner warmth and the fact that she is not afraid to seem naive) 4. Of course, don’t worry.

❓ 1. Can we expect more romantic content with Sayid in season 3? Will he then have a full-fledged path or will it be more of an affair on the side? 2. Will we find out who Zuleika’s child is in the story? 3. Is something going on with Rajab and Amira??

❗ 1. Yes) and with him you will have a final. 2. Her baby is just her baby, but maybe if I have enough space we can help her meet her son. 3. Oh, they are so passionate together 🔥

❓ 1. What research did you have to do regarding Morocco, Brazil and the medical history of the virus? 2. Can you tell us a little more about Sefer's political parties (views, foundations, etc.) 3. This is related to the last question. What does Adil's rebellion mean to ordinary people in Morocco, and was his character inspired by any real-life Moroccan events?

❗ 1. I read a lot about the history of Morocco, talked with friends from Morocco, watched films, etc. I also read about Brazil and tried to show it in different ways. But because of the plot and some things that will work later, I had to change something. For example, the brothers have non-Brazilian names and surnames, but... this was necessary for something that you will learn about later) 2. Conservative. There were different parties - liberal, democratic, but now everything has simply collapsed. They also behave badly with the Bedouins :( 3. He was inspired by the Bedouins and their stories. Ordinary people love the Rebel, they believe in him. And the Bedouins adore him. He helps a lot. And he will help more.

❓ 1. What is Cindy's favorite color? 2. Can you tell me one of Cindy's happy childhood memories? 3. Is there any place/country in the world that Cindy would like to visit with Yasmin?

❗ 1. Dark blue, fuchsia, yellow, orange. 2. Cindy loved to dance and was so happy when her mother bought her a doll - not a Barbie (she was too expensive), but a very beautiful ballerina. It was the best Christmas present. Cindy was truly happy. 3. I think she would like to visit New York!)

❓ 1. What do you enjoy most about writing scenes/lines for Zayn? Is it as fun as it seems to get inside his head? 2. What sparked Zane's passion/skill for tango when it is so contrary to his harsh personality? Is there a chance he'll try to teach Yasmin? 👀 3. If you could take home one of LL's gifts for Yasmin (like Adil's elephant pendant, Zayn's bracelet/necklace, Cindy's necklace, Mustafa's stuffed watermelon, etc. - I forgot so much 😭), what would you choosed?

❗ 1. I like writing Zayn's journey - I like his emotions, I like how he tries to figure everything out, to control his life, but she... this wild creature ruins everything 😁 soon you will see my favorite scenes with Zayn. I hope you will enjoy. Honestly, sometimes I laugh. For example, when I wrote the scene of Yasmin dancing, I laughed - I imagined Zayn hiding behind a palm tree 😁 2. He will tell us about tango) will he dance with her - who knows, maybe 😼😉 3. I will choose everything and, maybe Yasmin's camel toy. 😁

❓ Will we meet our mother-in-law in Italy? How and when did Gurub fall in love with Adil? Does helping her have plot significance?

❗ You’ll find out 😉 You’ll find out :) Well, yes, it’s better to help her :)

❓ I loved the interaction between Madi and Jaffar (despite the circumstances) - it was so fun to imagine them pitted against each other, trying to achieve the same goal.

❗ I also enjoyed writing their scenes 😁 Madi is one of my favorites)

❓ If you played, who would be your favorite?

❗ I think I would have a harem, but I'm married 😁

❓ Can Karo still become LL?

❗ Caroline has her own storyline) You will find out ;)

❓ Will we learn more about the past/relationship between Zayn and his tango partner? 👿

❗ Ha, yes, it will be so)

We thank Larisa M. for her help with the translation.

[lucymaeson]

📌 INTRODUCING: Lucille "Lucy" Maeson

Age & Birthdate: 35 – January 1, 1989

Gender & Pronouns: Cisfemale, She/Her(s)

Place of origin: Las Vegas, Nevada

Previous Occupation: Sugar baby

Power/Ability: Illusion

(+) Clever, Playful, Generous

(-) Spoiled, Vain, Fickle

FULL BIOGRAPHY | PLAYLIST

Birth and Early Life

Born at 12:02 AM on January 1, 1989, in Clark County.

First baby born in the county that year, marked by brief media attention.

Raised by a young, single mother, Carmen, in Las Vegas.

Childhood

Grew up in the chaotic environment of Las Vegas, under her mother's unpredictable lifestyle.

Learned harsh life lessons early, focusing on survival in a world driven by power, money, and appearances.

Developed a strong understanding of human nature, learning to use charm and beauty as tools for survival.

Adult Life

Became an exotic dancer in Las Vegas, using her looks to gain power and financial security.

Experienced a brief, intense romance, which ended painfully, leading her to guard her heart and focus solely on money.

Marriage to Winston

Caught the eye of Winston, a wealthy widower, leading to a marriage based on security rather than love.

Lived a life of luxury and comfort in exchange for her company, an arrangement that suited them both.

Inciting Incident

While attending a charity gala, she maintained a facade of glamour and control. This is the last thing she remembers before the cruise ship.

The RP begins with a mysterious event where she wakes up on a ship, disoriented and facing an uncertain reality.

Interview

“What is the last thing you remember before arriving on the island?”

Lucy shifted in her seat, her posture taut like a coiled spring. Her eyes flicked to the interviewer, then away, as if she were gauging the threat he posed. The question hung in the air, and she exhaled slowly, her mind drifting back to the last moments before everything turned upside down.

“The last thing I remember?” she echoed, her voice soft but laced with bitterness. She didn’t want to think about that night, but the memory was sharp and vivid, like a thorn buried deep. “I was at a gala. With Winston.” Her tone hardened when she said his name, the anger seeping through. She could still hear the whispers, the snide remarks from the women of the Rotary Club. ‘Look at her, clinging to his arm like a desperate trophy.’ Lucy clenched her fists in her lap, the red velvet of her dress bunching under her grip. “I heard some old hens making comments. About me. About us.” Her lip curled, and she looked the interviewer dead in the eye, daring him to say anything. “They were jealous, of course.”

A pause followed, and then the next question hit her like a slap in the face.

“Do you think you will be remembered or forgotten?”

Her heart pounded in her chest, the words cutting too close to the bone. Forgotten? The thought was like ice water down her spine, a fear she buried deep beneath layers of bravado and carefully crafted confidence. She straightened, lifting her chin defiantly. “Remembered,” she said, her voice dripping with arrogance. “People like me don’t get forgotten.” But there was something brittle in her tone, a crack in the armor, a tremor she couldn’t quite hide.

The next question made her jaw tighten, the muscles in her face twitching as she fought to keep control.

“What do you feel you could contribute to life on the island?”

Lucy’s gaze darkened, a storm brewing in her eyes. Contribute? What was she supposed to contribute? She wasn’t made for this—this wilderness, this nightmare. She felt cornered, like a wild animal with no way out, and that fear morphed into anger. “Contribute?” she spat, her voice cold and sharp. “What do you think I can contribute? I’m not here to play house or help with your little survival project.” Her voice rose, growing more venomous with each word. “I don’t have to answer that. And I won’t.”

She crossed her arms, the bracelet on her wrist digging into her skin, but she didn’t care. She glared at the interviewer, daring him to push her further. The silence stretched, thick with tension, until the next question came.

“Do you think with your heart or your brain?”

“Brain,” she snapped, almost before the question was finished. It was a defense, a shield she threw up around herself. She wouldn’t let anyone see her heart—not here, not now. Thinking with your heart got you hurt, got you vulnerable. And Lucille wasn’t about to let herself be vulnerable.

“What is your most meaningful memory?”

When asked about her most meaningful memory, something softened in her expression, though she quickly tried to hide it. The image that floated into her mind was one she hadn’t thought of in years. “Midnight at a casino,” she began, her voice distant, almost wistful. “I was nine. My mom took me there to celebrate my birthday. We stayed up late, and she won $500 at Blackjack.” A small smile, almost imperceptible, tugged at the corner of her lips. “We had a steak dinner. The waitress sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. I wore a paper crown made from the restaurant menu.” The memory was sweet, tinged with the warmth of childhood innocence, but it also reminded her of everything she had lost.

“What are you most curious about regarding the island?”

The final question was the one that made her blood boil.

“Nothing,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. “I hate it here. I want to go home.” She leaned forward, her eyes blazing with fury. “What I’m most curious about is how the hell to get off this godforsaken rock. Or how I even got here in the first place.” Her gaze shifted to the cameras, their lenses cold and unblinking, tracking her every move. “And I want to know why those cameras are watching me. Who’s behind this? And why?” She shook her head, as if trying to shake off the fear that clung to her like a shadow. “I’m done with your questions. I just want answers.”

Her voice trailed off, and for a moment, the defiance wavered, revealing the fear and confusion beneath. But she quickly masked it again, retreating behind the wall she had built, a fortress of pride and anger that she wasn’t ready to let down.

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

so i definitely don’t post things like this here on my blog, but i’ve been dying to talk about something important to me, and important to Hestia!!

it’s this (very) rough drawing-

Hestia’s pocket-watch! What was originally used as a plot device during one of my wonderful RPs with @queen-with-the-quill has become one of my favorite aspects of Hestia’s physical description, as well as her relationship with Tumblebrutus, since he was the one who found it and gave it to her!

I wanted it to be more than just a pocket watch, so I kind of ended up accidentally modeling it after that clock that the Weasley family has in Harry Potter?

So the pocket watch has symbols that represent the most important cats to her, the members of her (living) family.

so, going clockwise:

The rose: It’s Hestia’s symbol (inspired by the wonderful header that @platothefluffbutt​ made for me for her blog!), so that’s where the hands rest if she’s in the Junkyard with her family. 

The sparkles: Mistoffelees, of course! I had to do his sparkles for his symbol, since his encouragement and happiness is what helps Hestia to push forward.

The scarf: Tugger, and I wanted to do something more unique to him, since multiple cats have spiked collars, so I went with the scarf that he has tied around his leg! I definitely imagine baby Hestia just sitting next to her dad gnawing on his scarf while he’s talking to other cats.

The bracelet: Tumblebrutus! He and Hestia have matching bracelets, with Hestia’s having a brown bead, and Tumblebrutus’ having a blue, to represent their eyes. 

The book: One of Jubilee’s favorite books, and it definitely took me quite a while to decide which book to model her symbol after, but I thought that Peter Rabbit would be a good choice! @queen-with-the-quill​

The heart: Sekhmet is the heart of the family. There, I said it, and it’s true, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me can fight me. She does keep her feelings and emotions to herself from time to time (hence the thorns).

The flame: Ares, since the very first thing that Hestia ever associated with her brother was the scent of ash, and is a scent that she still associates with him. But also, to Hestia, Ares is warm and kind to those he cares about, and protective. @dcjelliclequeen33​

The moon: This represents the general Junkyard, though it can also represent Old Deuteronomy if Hestia focuses on her grandfather.

The silver hands on the clock help Hestia to know whether or not her family’s in the Junkyard. If she focuses on one of the symbols, the hands switch around. The red hand alerts Hestia of incoming danger, and the silver hands will point to whichever cat is in danger, or if the Junkyard and Jellicles are in danger. When nothing is happening, it rests on Hestia’s symbol.

The line written “when you’re walking alone” is the line from the opening song that I associate most with Hestia, as well as the line that I imagine her taking over once she’s old enough to join the Jellicles during the Ball. It also helps to keep her grandmother close, as it was once Grizabella’s line.

I’m hoping to write a short about this watch, and how Tumblebrutus gives it to Hestia, so stay tuned for that!

[project-rosewood-476]

Every Rose Has Its Thorns Chapter 1

So I’ve finally decided to post the first chapter of my creepypasta fanfic Every Rose Has It’s Thorns. This is based on an RP that I’m doing with @creepypasta-shtick so this takes place in their universe that they created so a lot of this were their ideas too just as much as mine. You should go check them out!. Maplehood creek, Rosewood Prep, and Tabby Anderson belongs to me.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Chapter 1

Tabby Anderson laid awake staring blankly up at the ceiling. She was replaying the last months worth of events that happened in her life over and over again in her head. Like a broken record. Over the course of a month she watched the ones she held close all jump to their deaths one by one while everyone’s cheering drowned out her own screams of terror. She could still hear the breaking of the glass window as Horatio, the guy who made all of her friends jump to their deaths, forcefully shoved her fist through the window. It was an unforgettable sound as it would be one that would haunt the rest of her life. She let out a silent gasp as she clenched her bandaged left hand from the phantom pain. She no longer had any use of her left hand as that was gone forever now. Living as a constant reminder of what she failed to do.

She winced from the fresh bruises and scars that never healed as she turned over to her side as she looked at the alarm clock. It read 2am in big red numbers. She let out an audible sigh and she squeezed her eyes shut as she banged her head over and over again on her pillow. Insomnias a bitch as it was but it was even more of a bitch to deal with when your stomach is empty and your mind is full. She realized that she had school in a couple of hours with the strict regimen that her stepdad had her on.

“On top of no sleep for tonight I also have to deal with another day of hell at Rosewood Prep and another day of hell at home too. All by myself”, She said in thought.

She looked around at her surroundings in her room. It was pretty minimalist for the most part. She looked at her dresser with the lopsided mirror that made the shadows in the room dance. She had her Rosewood Prep uniform laid out for the next day. She had her stack of unfinished homework that she didn’t finish on top of the school textbooks. She would scramble at breakfast tomorrow before she went to class to finish the homework. Laid on the side of her school books and homework was her black bag that she’s had since forever. She then looked at her closet door that was slightly ajar. There was nothing in it except for a few nice shirts and a lacey pale blue flower dress that hung up in there.

Tabby flopped back onto her pillow as her eyes made their way back up to the ceiling. She wasn’t sure just how long she could make it at Rosewood and at home since it was just her now. I mean her only motivation for living was taken from her and Rosewood wasn’t a place you could survive on your own. She didn’t know if she could make it to graduation. She then came up with the dawning realization. One that made her bolt up straight in her bed with her unnaturally wide eyes growing wider. If she stayed any longer she would be killed for sure, whether it was by Horatio, her step dad or herself. Either way one of those three would get her it was only a matter of time. Tabby couldn’t die not yet at least. Not until she fulfilled her promises of avenging her friends and killing Horatio once and for all. She got up and winced at her bruises that were still tender. She got dressed in a white tee shirt and black jeans with faded dirty pink converse. She got her black bag and began to pack. She packed a couple of photos, one of her mom, stepdad, herself, her older and younger brothers, one class photo in the 8th grade that was just her and her now deceased friends, a picture of her little brother, and a couple of sketches of her that her best friend Autumn made. She then packed some clothes, hair brush and toothbrush. She was about to sneak out when she realized she forgot the most important thing. Tabby ran back to her dresser and took out the money she’s been saving for the last two years from her job at the This or That restaurant and her red plaid jacket that shes had since the 6th grade. It was enough money to buy a bus ticket and have a little leftover to live until she found a job and got a stable income. After she pocketed the money safely away and tied her jacket around her waist, she snuck out through her window.

Tabby landed with a soft thud on to the ground she laid there for a bit and groaned. She got back up and brushed herself off and picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders. Tabby took a few moments to appreciate the peacefulness of the night. For it being in the middle of November it was surprisingly warm. Must be one of those freak mother nature weeks or something. She could hear the few cars going by occasionally and there was no sound of people. She could hear the wind rustling through the trees that were the woods surrounding her town. Tabby knew that there were shortcuts in her section of the woods that led to the next town of HolyAnn. That was where the bus stop was and where she could buy a bus ticket and get out of Maplehood Creek for good. Tabby kept her back to her apartment complex and ran straight into the woods and never looked back. Ever.

Meanwhile deep in the heart of the woods, the whimpering of the woman before them was not stirring Hoodie’s sympathies. She could shake and cry all she wanted, about how she needed to get home to her children and husband. Hoodie didn’t particularly care all that much. Masky turned to look at Hoodie.

“Hm, do you think we should let her go?”, he asked in a taunting voice clearly mocking the poor woman’s pleads.

Hoodie and Masky loved to toy with their victims. In Toby’s opinion, it made them take too long to get the job done. However, the creativity and cruelty the two of them displayed were why they were some of the Slenderman’s favorites. Toby noted that they were only violent with victims around each other. Solo missions and missions with only one or the other resulted in the two being much less brutal. Though, Toby noted, Jeff was much more crazed and violent than these two. Toby’s head snapped up when he heard the woman scream in pain. He did not turn to see what one of the men had done to her. Someone in the woman’s family was trying to get information about the Slenderman. Killing her would be sending a message. Toby continued to stare off into the woods, knowing the direction he was staring into was where several houses were.

Tabby continued to curse herself as she got deeper and deeper into the woods. She was clearly lost but she refused to admit it to herself. She then heard a woman’s scream. Tabby’s fight or flight instinct kicked in and she was on high alert as always. She thought she was running away from the danger only to stumble upon a masked man, a man with a frowning mask, and a man with orange goggles and the corpse of the dead woman. She locked eyes with the orange goggled man. She unfortunately has the freeze response so she couldn’t run or fight even if she wanted to at this minute. Tabby was a pitiful sight to see. All covered in various bruises and scars of different colors and sizes, unnaturally wide, haunted hazel eyes that were colored underneath from lack of sleep and were slightly sunken back due to malnourishment. Her cheeks were slightly hollow also due to malnourishment and she stood in a potential fighting stance that exposed her bandaged left hand. She quickly realized that running would ensure her getting killed. If she was going to die she was going to die with what little dignity she had left and face death face on, She wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Oh fuck…”, she let out quietly.

Like with everything else in her life she had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was having a flashback to when she was 12 with a similar situation with her step dad happened. Death was not new to her; she was the least fazed by that. She was more worried about her own survival at the moment. She shook her head to get rid of the flashbacks and to focus more on the situation at hand. Should she go with the situation or fight?

It did not matter how quiet the girl was. Hoodie and Masky have been doing this line of work for a long time. They were also blessed by the Slenderman with practically supernatural senses. Hoodie stared coldly at the girl. Masky chuckled.

“Well, well, well what do we have here?”, he said looking at the frail stranger in front of them.

Toby continued to make eye contact with the girl. He recognized the signs of abuse and neglect and had a flashback of his own. He had been hiding in a closet with his older sister. He couldn’t have been more than eight or so at the time. He remembered his father yelling and screeching at his mother. The sounds of a fight and his mother screaming. He remembered footsteps stomping up the stairs and his father calling for his sister and him to come out. He remembered his sister covering him in towels and blankets to hide him just before his father opened the closet. His sister had saved him from a beating that night.

He snapped back to the present when he heard Hoodie speak, in his raspy quiet voice.

“Let’s just kill her there’s no point in leaving her alive”

Masky seemed to be considering that.

“Alright, Hoodie, you-”

“No”, stated Toby abruptly.

“I’m sorry what?”, asked Tabby surprised.

The two men stopped and stared at the newer proxy.

“Don’t be ridiculous”, Tim began to lecture Toby.

Toby, however, stood his ground.

“No let’s just let her go”, he stated

“Are you fucking stupid”, Masky stated coldly, “That is a major breech of conduct”

Toby shook his head, ”There’s really no point in killing her”.

Hoodie just listened as the two men began to debate. He personally figured that killing the girl was unnecessary as they were not ordered to do so. However, he realized that they just couldn’t let her go either.

Tabby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in defense. Although she looked like a mixture of ready to either bolt or fight.

“Oh please killing me would be a sweet blessing compared to the 17 years that I had and specifically with this month in general”. She stated.

She didn’t dare look at Toby for too long as she quickly learned growing up that if she looked at someone directly in the eyes for too long, it meant a challenge and resulted in a sure beating.

“If I do get let go I’m going back to where I live, clearly I picked a bad night for this and didn’t think this through enough. I’m going to find that bottle of whiskey in the cabinets that I know damn well my parents have hidden somewhere and I’m going to drink myself to oblivion and forget this encounter ever happened”, Tabby added out loud talking more to herself than to the others. She hasn’t been killed yet so staying and going with the situation was her best option.

Hoodie spoke up.

“Are you sure you’d go back home?”, he asked bluntly.

Masky glanced at him. It was like he could sense that Hoodie was analyzing the kid.

“I mean you’ve just gotten away from em, hm?”, Hoodie prodded as he gestured to her black backpack.

Hoodie was known for being scarily perceptive. Even Masky was staring at him.

Tabby huffed and pushed her hair back.

“I…have nowhere else to go but if I stayed I would be dead in the very near future. So I was running away. But obviously this is a bad night to do so, clearly I didn’t think this through enough and I have one other to protect…”, she said defensively.

Masky hummed.

“I think that if living is such a hassle to you then-”, he was cleaning the bloody blade off his jacket.

“No! Lets not kill her-!”, Toby intervened again.

“Why?”, asked Tabby quietly.

Toby looked at the girl and then looked down.

“Because I understand what you’re going through”, Toby whispered.

Hoodie pretended that he hadn’t heard what he said while Masky scoffed and was about to argue again when Hoodie spoke up.

“Let’s take her to our boss. Let him decide”

“Hoodie! He has to ask to see a human. Just simply bringing one to him-”, Toby protested.

“It’s better than letting her go”, said Hoodie with a shrug.

Everyone looked back at Tabby for her decision. It was either this or death. Her options were limited.

“Alrighty lets see here….I can’t run….That would ensure my death and I’d be hunted down for sure…I can’t fight all three of you at once….I really have nothing to lose anymore….so going with you guys seems like the best course of options to ensure my survival for now…I really don’t have much of a choice now do I?”, she took a deep breath, stood up straight and looked at them with an emotionless expression, “Lead the way I guess. The sooner I know me fate the sooner I can carry on with my life dead or alive”

Hoodie nodded, ”You’re right. Even if you ran or even if we let you go our boss would have us hunt you down”

Masky nodded and perked up.

“I’m impressed with your ability to make a rational decision in a life or death situation”, he mused, “Toby. You walk with her and make sure that she doesn’t try anything”

They were going to break the rules just this once. Maybe the boss would take pity on the girl. After all, he’d done the same with Toby. Toby went to stand next to the girl as Masky and Hoodie led the way deeper into the woods.

Tabby moved a couple of steps from Toby to give him space. She just looked at the ground praying that he wouldn’t beat her or kill her. Not yet. She walked with Toby not daring to speak. Being used to sneaking around she was quite stealthy. She made very little noise to where you would almost forget that she was walking with you. She was fidgeting with the hem of her white shirt like she was wringing someone’s neck. Even though she showed no emotion. She was anxious. Her anxiety was skyrocketing. She had to fight the urge to run every time she heard a noise. Her eye twitches occasionally. That was due to her being taken off meds that she didn’t need because doctors refused to do diagnosis correctly.

Toby had no intention of harming her. He could tell that she wasn’t doing too well, and he couldn’t really blame her. They passed the corpse of the dead woman as he followed the two older proxies. Hoodie and Masky were having their own conversation ahead of them. Toby decided to try to chat.

“Er..I’m Toby”, he stated, “What’s your name?”

He really didn’t expect a positive response from her. Why should he? He knew that she was probably freaking out. He did too when he was put in this situation.

“My name is Tabby”, she replied looking at Toby for a quick moment.

She looked wary and cautious but decided to show no fear. Hoodie and Masky paused in front of a haggard old tree with the boss’ symbol carved into it. Masky pulled off his glove and pressed the symbol with his bare hand. It began to glow faintly. It seemed like the woods grew darker, as if shadows were melting and joining together in some kind of macabre dance. Toby remembered being absolutely terrified of the opening of a portal when he was new. Especially a portal that led right into the heart of the Slenderman’s domain.

Tabby kinda looked up and around her in a mixture of awe and mortification. She stopped fidgeting slightly occasionally wringing her shirt before catching herself and smoothening out. She was desperately trying to show no signs of weakness despite how she looked.

Toby understood. Hoodie went through the shadows first and just seemed to vanish. Masky nodded to Toby and Tabby.

“You two are next Toby will lead the way”, he said.

Toby smiled at Tabby reassuringly.

"It-It’s just cold”, He assured her. His face twitched a bit. Damn it he had been doing so well so far, "It won’t hurt or anything.”

Tabby gave him a hint of a small smile although she was still suspicious and didn’t trust him or any of them for that matter one bit. Her eye twitched again. But she didn’t raise herself to be a little bitch so she jumped through the portal after Toby. She hid her left arm behind her back to avoid any questions about her hand.

It was cold and dark. Toby felt his feet hit something soft and cold. The ground always felt off. He heard the sound of a lighter clicking, and turned and saw Masky behind them with a lit lighter. The small flame wasn’t nearly enough to fully illuminate the entrance, but it was enough. Hoodie was waiting for them near what looked like a thick wall of foliage. Hoodie had his arms crossed and looked a little impatient. They had to take a walk through the Pocket to even get to the boss’ place, which would be dangerous for the human, as she was, well, a human that wasn’t a pet in a haven of killers.

“We don’t have all day.” Hoodie said firmly.

“I’m here” she said rather defensively.

“Good”, Hoodie stated.

Now he took off his glove. Masky protested a bit.

“I can do it, my glove is already off-”

Hoodie ignored him and sliced his palm slightly. He waved his hand in a way that would splatter the blood on the plants. Just like that, they slithered back, creating a doorway that seemed to lead into a huge town. Hoodie walked resolutely forward. Masky sighed and put his glove back on.

"You two go after him.” He said.

Tabby nodded not looking at him. She quickly walked a little ahead of Toby but she wasn’t more than an arms length away from him. She looked around at her surroundings. It was very different from her hometown where the only sinister thing was Rosewood Prep where she goes to school. She was used to the feeling of darkness making observations to herself.

Toby offered her a small smile.

“Make sure you stay close…” he warned her quietly.

Tabby nodded slowly, slowing down her pace to be evenly matched with Toby. She was careful to avoid eye contact with everyone.

The town was bustling. Toby saw some people he knew outside. Clockwork’s bar was bustling with activity. He could see EJ perched on a bench, eating…something. Judging from the blood splatters on his hands and clothes, Toby figured he knew what it was. The sky was clear and very dark. There were a bunch of plants and trees that Toby knew no human would have ever seen before. It was a very colorful place surprisingly, save for the pitch black sky and dark ground. But it was always cold. And it always felt a little off. Lights floated against the sky, giving the illusion of some sort of stars. The town was also illuminated by lamps and the lights from the buildings.

"It’s…different….definitely not like Rosewood Prep" she said quietly more to herself.

Toby nodded.

“Yeah. That’s the school in the town right?” He asked.

He was homeschooled so he wasn’t too sure. Masky walked behind them and Hoodie walked in front. A woman in a tight black dress and a wig stopped Masky temporarily and handed him a file. He seemed to thank her and continued to follow them.

Tabby nodded politely as she walked by the woman.

“it’s one of them unfortunately. There’s also Maplehood Creek elementary school. I went there for the first 4 years then I got transferred over Rosewood” she gave him a bitter smile and a bitter laugh “In Rosewood you’d either have to be very rich, mentally disturbed or very intelligent to get in. And I’m two out of the three” her eyes showed a dark, pained haunted expression.

Toby nodded. He understood.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that about that school.”

He looked around, then whispered.

"That woman that gave Masky the file used to go there too. You probably didn’t know her or anything but she did go there.“ He stated earnestly.

It was true. Jane had gone there. Toby knew several others who had gone there too.

"I never went to school so…well I did for elementary but that didn’t go too well for me.” Toby said.

Masky was glancing through the files.

She showed an expression of understanding and relief, “so they’ve probably have horror stories of their own about that place”.

She looked at Toby “don’t worry it didn’t go too well for me either that’s why I got transferred”

She remembered her first day at that sinister place. Meeting her first real friend and making her first sworn enemy and accidentally witnessed Horacio physically torture some poor kid. All at the ripe old age of 9 years old.

Toby nodded.

“Yeah. That school is absolutely ripe for producing people like, well…” He gestured around at the people in the town, “It’s why where you live is such a hotspot for, well, paranormal activity as well as people like me.” He explained.

He didn’t want to go into detail about his hellish elementary school days. He knew proxies who would watch that school day in and day out because of all the people that would just snap there.

She looked at him. “I now see why you guys didn’t decide to kill me… Makes sense I’ve always been able to see paranormal shit all my life from the time I could remember…I guess that I’ve always had some sort of potential”

she gave a bitter laugh.

“Who knew that my step dad would be proven wrong about me. The shit I saw and went through made me the survivor that I am today and I don’t mean to undermine your hellish experience but to me that sounds like heaven compared to Rosewood. I wish I had your elementary experience”

She hesitated for a minute before her expression turned dark, fearful and pained.

“Are you aware of anyone named Horatio Galloway?” She asked quietly

She held her bandaged left hand close to her.

“Ha, well I mean if you define "heaven” as being relentlessly tormented by all your peers, having a hate club made about you, and being put in the hospital twice by kids older then you then I suppose so.“ Toby smiled.

"Also, usually we kill people who are sensitive to the paranormal. Well, the people who work for my boss do.”

Toby was silent after being asked about the stranger.

“I’m not, I’m sorry. Though someone else here might be aware of who he is.”

“I had all of that and more. I’ve been put in the hospital more times then I care to remember”, she physically flinched as she felt the phantom pain of her hand and the beatings of her step dad.

"At least you didn’t watch the only people who were the closest thing you had to a real family jump to their deaths one by one at the hands of Horatio. And there was nothing I could do about it”, she went quiet.

“I-I said too much. It’s not really anyone else’s business”, she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, “hm…if I die I at least will be with my friends again…hopefully” she sighed “that’s fine…I’ll get my revenge eventually…if I live long enough…”

Toby nodded. He understood. He spoke.

“My father liked to say that my sister died in a car crash. She was in one, that was true, but the reason it killed her was because of a head wound my father had given her. The car cr-a-ash-”, he stopped and cleared his throat, “was simply just an excuse.”

“Dads aren’t shit”, she said as she playfully punched his arm gently with her right hand with a small smile.

Toby understood what it was like to lose people. So did a lot of the folks here. They soon were heading up a steep hill towards a monolith of a mansion. It was beautiful, with sprawling gardens and marble columns. All three of the men quickened their steps towards the metal gate, which swung open to let the group in. It seemed that whoever or whatever was inside was expecting him. Toby figured Masky had let the boss know. All proxies could communicate telepathically with their boss. But only their boss.

She almost forgot about her anxiety as she was talking to Toby. Her anxiety spiked up as she was about to receive her fate. She went back to wringing her shirt.

“Its so strange…I might die at any minute now and I’m strangely okay with this. You know death was very real to be growing up. I knew I’ll die any day now whether I’ll do it myself or someone else would”, she shook her head, “I just never expected my death to be like this. This turned out to be a longer night then expected”

Toby patted her shoulder.

She dodged his touch and then offered him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry instincts”

“I’ll vouch for you.” He said simply.

“What if that’s not enough? What if I have to die anyways regardless?”, stated Tabby.

Hoodie led them up the stairs to a huge door, that also creaked open invitingly. The inside of the mansion was beautiful, with golden curtails, matching rugs, and wooden floors. Two people in matching masks and uniforms closed the door when Masky had stepped through. Without a word, they both gestured, at the same time, for the group to follow them.

Tabby whistled and was impressed at her surroundings.

“This is so much better than my apartment…”

Toby glanced at Tabby.

“Disgraced proxies.” He explained, then mentioned he would explain everything later to her after the conversation with his boss.

“Oh…”, she nodded an okay as he said that he’ll explain later. She sincerely hoped that she would be alive for the explanation.

She made the sign of the cross and put her hands together in a silent prayer and followed them. She stood up straight with her hands to her sides and kept a neutral emotionless expression for first impressions.

Toby understood. There wasn’t much he could do for her except put in a good word for her. Masky looked like he had a bit of a headache. The two people in the pearly colored masks eventually led them to a heavy door. One of them pushed it open. This room was darker than the rest of the mansion. It was cold. Painting of landscapes hung on the walls. It seemed to be some sort of sitting room. In the corner, on a plush armchair, rested a tall imposing figure. As soon as Hoodie, Masky, and Toby entered the room, they approached the chair and kneeled. The proxies in the pearly masks kneeled right next to the door, allowing Tabby to go in. Tabby entered the room cautiously and looked around. Tabby didn’t know what to do. She saw everyone else kneeling so she did the same too. Wincing at her bruises as she did. She looked down, not daring to speak or look up until she was spoken too.

The room seemed to rumble as the figure in the chair spoke.

“Masky…why have you brought this human here?”, It was a smooth, but chilling voice.

Masky remained kneeling, and addressed his creator.

“Conflict in the group as to what to do with her, sir.”, Masky said.

The being chuckled coldly.

“How silly. Why did you not just do away with her?” The being asked.

Masky sighed, and responded.

“Some in the group believe there is no purpose in killing her.” He stated firmly.

Toby was muttering something under his breath, over and over. “Cruel but fair, cruel but fair, cruel but fair-”

There was only one thought in her mind, "is this really going to be the end of me?”

That was when Toby stepped in.

“Sir! Don’t punish my teammates for what I did. They both wanted to kill her but I suggested bringing her to you! I figured she…that she could be useful, maybe. Even if you just let her go, sir.”

That’s when Tabby stepped in.

“Now wait a minute! If anyone should be killed it’s me!”

She quickly turned to the being.

“Sir with all due respect, I should be killed. I was the one who made the stupid decision to run away from home. I was stupid enough to stumble upon them doing their job. I never should have ran away in the first place. I was stupid enough to not run away from what I stumbled upon when I had the chance”

she said more quietly, “sir please don’t punish them for my own stupidity. It should be me and me alone. I’ll take the full blow if I must and even if it includes death”, she looked down.

Toby looked at her in shock, hoodie sucked in a breath, and Masky sighed, facepalmed and shook his head.

She realized her mistake but it was too late to take it back. The damage was done. She was sure for certain now that she’ll definitely be killed now. She waited for the consequence.

“Silence.”, The figure said, waving his tentacles threateningly.

"I hold these men to a higher standard than mere humans. However…“, The being cocked his head. "I’ll admit that usually the humans brought before me simply beg for their life. You did not, which…amuses me.”

“Oh…yeah I forgot about my own life for a minute there…uh….spare me? Please?”, she said awkwardly not really putting much effort into it.

Toby perked up. She might just be spared.

“You simply were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Normally, I would have you slaughtered anyways.”, the being paused.

The proxies remained kneeling. The Slenderman seemed to settle.

“Since you have amused me, I’ll put your fate in your own hands. You can choose to die, in which case I shall send you out with either Knot or Paene.”, he gestured to the two proxies in the pearly masks, “Or, you could stay here, and see what we can make of you.”

“You mean if I choose to stay I can live and eventually get my revenge and a new life?”, she asked in disbelief.

She thought about it, “but if I stay I’ll never see my mother or little brother again…” she then remembered that her mother and little brother were treated better than her. He would never beat them, only her.

"They don’t really need me…and I have nothing else to lose… and I have been asking for a second chance at life since I was 12…“

She looked at the being making her final decision. As she said something that she didn’t believe, "I want to stay”. Meaning that she wants to live.

"Very well.“, the powerful being said, and offered her his hand to shake. He could sense something in her that was…darker.

Tabby gave him a firm handshake with her right hand to seal the deal.

"You may stay with either Masky, Hoodie, or Toby.”, the being said.

"I’ll stay with Toby", she quickly looked down. Her chances of surviving would greatly increase if she stuck to him for now. Besides he was nice to her and spared her life so she kinda owes him.

Once she proved herself useful, she could have her own home. Until then, she needed a mentor and someone who could explain the new life she was given. The being nodded to Knot and Paene to show the group out. He actually had some business to attend to with Masky and Masky only, and it involved the files he had brought to him. The Slenderman nodded, and sent her, Hoodie, and Toby out while he spoke with Masky privately. Toby was happy to at least be able to help her adjust. He hoped she’d be able to make the cut. Even though he was new, he was still a decent proxy meaning the apartment he had had two rooms and enough space for them to live comfortably. Jane was their neighbor along with a few others Toby had never met. Tabby followed Toby closely; she was careful not to stare as she was Generally polite for the most part. She saw a doctor with stitches going across her. She made damn sure to avoid her since she didn’t like doctors. She saw an eccentric child playing with LJ, the Doll maker and Jason the toy maker. She saw two boys arguing with each other that reminded her of an old married couple.

Toby was thinking.

“We can get Jane to make you a mask.”, he said, “I think you might like her."

Tabby looked offended, "what’s wrong with my face? Is it because of my eyes?”.

She did have unnaturally wide eyes. She often got picked on for them. People called her wide-eyed, bugsy, googly eyes ect…

“No, no it’s nothing to do with your face!”, Toby assured her, “It’s just that people like us wear masks. It’s kind of like our new identity. But any face covering works, really.”

They passed a haggard, tall, skeletal thing with long tangled black hair. The creature’s limbs were covered with dirt, mud, blood, and other…things. It watched Toby and Tabby continue on, mouth ripped open and hanging near its collar bone. It stared with its yellow blank stare. They passed a tall man with broad shoulders, very attractive and charming-looking. He was holding a cat in his arms. He looked relatively normal. They finally made it to Toby’s apartment building.

She looked at the apartment complex, “it’s a lot nicer than my old apartment…”

She didn’t look at the other people as she didn’t want others to kill her. He led her into the lobby. The lobby was empty, save for a lady at the front desk. She looked normal, save for the fact she had no eyes and her mouth was stitched shut. She was doing paperwork. Toby didn’t seem to mind.

“Come on!”, He said, a little excited to show her where she’d be staying.

Tabby gave him a small smile and let him lead the way. Toby let her into his apartment. It was oddly clean despite being lived in by an 18 year old boy. The blinds were open. There were a few dishes on the sink but nothing too unclean. The walls were a light green with dark brown trim. It was a decent place. A little cat slept peacefully on the couch. It was quiet besides the humming.

“Your room will be the door right next to the hall closet.”, he stated, “My room is locked, so don’t worry about getting into the wrong room.”

She nodded in understanding as she took in her surroundings. She dropped her backpack in a corner and slowly walked up to the cat cooing at it. Not daring to touch it until she gained its trust but it’s evident that she has a soft spot for cats.

“Your apartment is nice and it’s relatively clean…I always had to play Cinderella at my old apartment”, said Tabby.

Toby smiled.

“I just like being in clean spaces.”, he said, not wanting to get into the reasons for that.

He introduced the cat to her. The cat’s name was Nugget.

“She was a stray. I found her beating the crap out of some raccoon so I took her in. She’s a real big baby.”

Nugget remained asleep, obviously unbothered by Tabby’s presence.

She nodded, “so do I. I have Bad OCD”, she left it at that not wanting to get into the reasons for that.

"Nugget is really cute. I love cats"

“Well, lucky for you, Nugget loves sleeping in your room so you may wake up and find her next to you.”, Toby said with a smile, “I’ll give you some time to settle in.”.

“Okay” she picked her back pack up and went to her room.

It looked the same as the rest of the place with the same colors just smaller. There was already another bed with a small bedside table and a small dresser with a mirror on it. She unpacked. She only had a week’s worth of clothes for summer and winter and like 3 pairs of pjs. She put socks and underwear in one drawer, shirts in the next, pants in the next and then pjs in the next. She hung up the plain pale blue long sleeved dress that she had in the closet. She put her hygiene products and feminine products in her closet. Lastly she took out the two pictures that she had and put them on the nightstand. And she took out a couple of sketches that her best friend Autumn made for her. They were both of Tabby in different poses. She laid them on the bed. The bed was bare as there was no bedding on it. She’ll buy frames for her pictures and bedding for her bed once she got money. She’ll ask later if she could hang stuff up on the wall.

Toby busied himself while she got settled into her new room. He had done the dishes from what he had managed to eat that day and checked on the food he had. He was running low, but thankfully he’d soon be paid for the mission with a bonus, as he was now training someone. Proxies got paid per mission, though it was always possible to get money on the side. The longer and more complex the mission, the more pay you’d get for it. Toby had finished cleaning up his mess in the kitchen and was looking over his mission schedule for that week. He had given Jane a call to let her know her services would soon be needed. He figured that a friendly female presence would help Tabby adjust to this place, and he knew the moment she had her mask was the moment she could go around The Pocket safely. Jane would make it to her liking. Toby knew that while he’d be the primary mentor, there were things he could not teach her and would need help with. He also knew that he needed to explain the rules.

She sat on the bed and looked into the mirror and took a good long look at her reflection and took the time to process tonight’s events. How fucking quickly her life changed from running away to becoming a proxy.

“Wtf actually happened? How did I survive this?”, she said out loud to herself.

Toby knew his schedule was clear the next day. That would be good. He figured that they soon would need to get something to eat but Toby didn’t feel it was a good idea for Tabby to go out too far without a mask. Not wearing a mask made you a target for the malus population, or even sometimes higher ranked monsters or other proxies. It was deemed unacceptable to not wear one unless on a stealth mission. Thankfully Tabby has bad social anxiety so it’s unlikely that she’ll ever venture out by herself. If anything she’ll venture out if she had too only with another person with her. Toby knew that she would have to make friends to survive for long here. It was always best to have someone in your corner unless things went to crap. Thankfully Toby knew some decent people who could definitely help her out of her shell a tad and also would be loyal. She decided to leave Toby alone for now since she didn’t want to get in his way and bother him. He knew where to get her if he needed her. She just flopped on the bed staring up at the ceiling. It’s insomnia week so she’s not going to sleep for a couple of days. Her anxiety died down and the adrenaline wore off.

She talked quietly out loud to herself, “Alrighty ground rules. Don’t speak unless spoken too. Only make eye contact for a little bit when someone is talking to you. Always be polite and respectful, fight if you have too, just keep your head low, stay out of the way and if someone asks you to do something quickly, quietly and efficiently”.

She nodded as she agreed with the rules that she made for herself. She gave herself a little pep talk.

“I survived Rosewood for the last 8 years. I can survive here. This is no different from Rosewood only the steaks are higher. I can live with that. I’m sure there’s a weapon store somewhere here. I can buy some weapons to defend myself with when I absolutely have to go alone”. She took a deep breath “I’m finally going to do it Autumn…I’m going to avenge you and the others….just hold on”

Toby knocked on her door, and let her know he was going out for groceries. He told her Jane would be over in about fifteen minutes to start working on a mask with her and asked her if she needed anything. He was planning on just making some simple food for dinner. Jane was a very talented mask maker, and Toby knew that she would do a good job with Tabby’s. Toby had a bit of a flashback. When he was new, still slightly burned and bruised from the fire, he was sitting down on some stone steps outside a building and he was crying. He remembered feeling a tap on his shoulder and seeing Jane sitting next to him. She was ranked lower than he was, she had explained, so he could feel assured she wouldn’t hurt him. He remembered her taking him back to her apartment and making him some food before showing him where he was supposed to go. Jane was an incredibly sweet person and was able to make people just open up to her. She did a lot of espionage missions and did a lot of work with stealth.

Tabby opened up the door and nodded.

“Do you think you can buy my two frames? About an 8 x 9? And at least two knives for me to defend myself when I absolutely have to go alone? And some bedding too?”, she added quickly, “if you don’t want too that’s fine! I can wait until I get my own money! I don’t need anything fancy! Just something sturdy and simple. And something warm. I don’t want to be a burden on you. I can take care of myself! I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you! I’m actually really grateful!”, she babbled on as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and looked down prepared for the harsh comeback.

“It’s okay! I can get that for you. Any specific colors you want for the bedding and the frames or should I just get stuff that matches the room?”, Toby asked.

He had no problem providing her with stuff. She was a guest in his home and he would be a bad host if he didn’t help her out. Plus she was in a new world with new rules that probably seemed a bit hellish. If he could help in any way he would be happy to.

“Oh, and I’m grilling some chicken and making some salad for dinner. Is that okay or do you want me to bring you back something?”, he asked.

“Teal…I like the color teal…it’s my favorite… as for the frames just simple black ones will do. No need to be fancy.”, she added quietly.

She listened to him when he said what he was making for dinner, “That’s fine I’m not a picky eater. but I have to watch you make it because I don’t trust anyone to make my food unless I’m watching or if I’m making it myself. It could be poisoned. No offense to you".

It was common knowledge at Rosewood that you don’t eat the school food as everyone’s caught Horatio poisoning the food more times than not. So everyone brought their own lunch and the kitchen shut down.

“Okay, that’s fine with me.”, Toby assured her, “You can even help me cook it if you want.”.

He understood. When he first got to the Pocket he was given to an older proxy to be trained to who called himself Demitrius. Toby had been training with a girl named Farrah. Demitrius despised them. He was so awful to them, which they both had to take as they were new. Then they had both started getting sicker and sicker. Farrah had found out that they were slowly being poisoned so they were both moved to different mentors. He didn’t feel like explaining that however.

“I’ll make sure I’ll get you what you need, okay?”, said Toby.

She nodded as she sounded relieved, "Okay. I’m pretty good in the kitchen myself”.

As she’s always had to cook dinner for the 5 of them, the people she lived with. On top of her working at the This or That restaurant.

“Okay thank you”, she ventured out to the living room as she sat down on the edge of the couch since he mentioned that a girl named Jane was coming over soon.

“Okay, I’ll see you.”, Toby said with a smile. He turned and left the apartment with a list.

Soon enough, the door slid open. The woman from earlier came into the apartment. She was tall, and wearing a very pretty painted mask and a wig. She had changed from the dress from earlier into a long sleeved t shirt and jeans.

“Hey hon! I’m Jane.”, the woman said with a kind voice.

She quickly looked up at her, “hello my name is Tabby”, she quickly looked back down again as she was fidgeting with her shirt again. She was covered in bruises and scars old and new. And her bandaged left hand was obvious.

She stood up trying to be a good hostess, “would you like anything to drink? I’m sure we only have water here for now”.

Jane smiled and shook her head.

“No thank you, I’m good.”, she said.

Jane noted her bruises, scars, and her hand. She gave her a smile.

“I was asked to come here to discuss the type of mask you would like.”, she said tentatively.

“Hmm…I don’t want anything too fancy as I don’t want to drag attention to myself more than I already will since I’m fresh meat…and something of a teal color”, she was thinking as she made room for Jane to sit if she wanted to.

Jane sat next to her with a smile, “Hm, teal, that would look nice. You won’t be fresh meat for long, but I understand wanting a plain mask. Maybe a golden design over the teal? That could look very pretty.”

Tabby nodded excitedly, “yeah! Like golden spirals in different directions”

Jane nodded, “That could be pretty.”, she sketched out a tentative design and showed it to her.

“Yeah…”, she just stared for a couple of minutes as she was having a flashback to when Autumn was alive. She was the artistic one in the group. And was also her best friend/big sister. She was always showing Tabby her sketches.

She shook her head to clear away the memories.

“Like that”, she confirmed.

“Okay! Anything else? Would you like me to paint the lips, add any engravings, stuff like that?”, Jane asked.

She remembered one older proxy, about 40, who had lost his entire group in one mission. He had come to her and had her engrave their names on one side of his mask.

She hesitated for a minute, “could you engrave 14 names in the inside of the mask? And paint the lips black please?”.

“Okay, lips black. Can you write out the names please?”, Jane asked, handing her the sketchbook and a pencil. She would be more than happy to.

Tabby took her sketch book and wrote down the names ‘autumn, ora, Emma, heath, Gavin, Donny, Rebecca, Mitchell, Morgan, jewel, Julie, Caleb, Riley, Emmy, and Daniel’. She handed back the sketch book.

“Okay. I’ll carve them on the inside of the mask.”, She said.

She figured those names carried sentimental value to Tabby.

Tabby looked up, “thank you”, and she looked down.

Jane nodded, “I’ll have it done by either tomorrow or the next day, okay?”.

Tabby nodded, “yes that’s fine. Take all the time you need. I don’t plan on going out anytime soon”.

“Of course. I’ll get it ready.”.

“Okay then”, Tabby wasn’t really good at holding up conversations as she never really got too much socializing. Especially if it’s a stranger.

Jane smiled.

“Would you like me to leave, or would you feel more comfortable with someone else in the apartment?”, Jane asked with a smile.

“Oh you can stay if you want if you’re not busy”, she won’t admit it but she didn’t want to be alone in this strange new world just yet.

"I’m not all that busy. If I could bring some of my mask making stuff over here that would be great.“, Jane said. She understood

"Yeah that’s fine. I’m sure Toby won’t mind as long as there’s no mess afterwards”.

"Oh I won’t make a mess.“, Jane said peacefully. She said she would be very fast.

”Unbelievable“, she said in thought, ”I’m talking to a killer…I’m having an ally ship with two of them so far“, she shook her head, "my life really did take a drastic change”

Jane went to her apartment and soon came back with all her supplies. She could get three of her orders done if she worked fast. Jane began to chat with Tabby as she set up.

“So Tabby, you’re very new, hm?”.

“Yeah my life turned into this in one night. I was honestly not expecting this to happen. Originally I was running away”, admitted Tabby.

Jane nodded. She understood. She began making the mold for one of the masks.

“I understand. But this will be a pleasant change, you’ll see.”, Jane promised, “Revenge and whatnot is quite exhilarating”.

She shook her head slowly, "I hope so. I’m just doing it because I know I can’t die and go with my friends without avenging them while he is still out on the streets and in school. Someone else will suffer at his hands and I’ll be damned if someone else has to suffer by the hands of him like I did”, she said quietly.

“I think I know who you’re talking about.”, Jane said, “And…if it’s any consolation at all, ghosts do exist and several of them have contact with other dead folks. There may be a way to talk to your friends, albeit temporarily.”, She set the mask cast to dry and made another one.

“There’s only one I would like to talk to one last time. I owe her everything after all she did for me”, she said quietly. She then changed the subject.

“Toby said that you also went to Rosewood Prep”.

“He’s right. I used to. I still have human contacts in there.”, Jane said. She set a fan on the first mask as she finished the second one.

“So how long ago was that? What was it like? Was it still the same students who were just as corrupt as the teachers? Was it like the hunger games where you had to be on guard and fight every day to survive only with more rules and regulations? What horror stories do you have of that place?”, she asked excitedly. She never met anyone who lived long enough to get out of Rosewood. Normally the people who do got the fuck out the first chance they got and were never really heard from ever again.

“I was there two years ago, actually. I’m still pretty new here myself. I…I have a lot of stories.”, Jane said.

She shifted anxiously, “I once got caught stealing food from the kitchen, and they locked me in the sports shed for almost a week. They poured water on the ground for me every day and I had to lick it up from the ground. Teachers would have favorite kids and that would keep them out of trouble. Rich kids were treated much better. Anyone who made lower than a C on anything was punished. Sometimes they would lock kids who were hallucinating in the upstairs bathroom and just leave them there. I have so many.”

“Horatio Galloway” Tabby’s face paled and her eyes were wide in fear, “most of my horror stories had to do with him” “rarely did I ever get into trouble with the teachers. I was always a straight A student. It’s only when I got into trouble for skipping classes because of Horatio”.

“I think I remember him.”, Jane said, “I didn’t get in as much trouble with him ever. I did okay in my schooling but I was rebellious.”. Jane set the second mask to the side, and started on another.

“It was probably a good thing that you’ve gotten punished for stealing the food. It was probably poisoned by him. I’d rather be locked in the sports shed than have a slow death”, pointed out Tabby.

“It was before the food was prepared. I wasn’t stupid. I took fruits and veggies and unopened pre packaged things. They were denying a friend of mine food. I got caught after she got to eat.”, Jane spoke with some pride.

“Good for you”, Tabby said proudly.

Tabby then looked down and her voice quivered, “then you must be aware of the Rosewood massacre that happened a month back”, She rubbed her left hand.

Jane’s eyes darkened, “I heard rumors about the massacre but don’t know the details. Several of my friends are still there…”.

“I can tell you the real full story. The massacre as they called it really did happen. I saw it with my own eyes but being the person that Horatio is he made damn sure that I couldn’t do a damn thing about it”, she gave a bitter laugh, ”always had it out for me since day 1".

Jane looked sadly at her.

“I’m so sorry you had to be there.”, Jane said softly she began to paint the first mask, a pretty lavender mask, “Talk about it only if you would like to.”

She sighed and thought about it for a while. She’s never talked to anyone about this.

“It…was homecoming…you know at Rosewood how each homecoming is a different theme every year. This year was carnival themed. Which I don’t like as it is because I have a severe distrust of clowns. Too many horror movies growing up you know? Anyways my mom decided to let me go to the event and she and my grandmother came with me. That was the catch. Horacio was standing at the entrance dressed as the ringleader handing out pink candies that were laced with LSD to everyone. You should know at Rosewood it is common knowledge that you do not take anything that Horacio gives you. Whatever it may be. I didn’t take the candy because I knew better. I tried warning my mom and grandmother about it but they wouldn’t listen. I was too smart for his bullshit but not smart enough. I couldn’t find my friend group anywhere. But I knew that they were here so I didn’t worry about it too much and I’ll find them later. So I got to the seats and watched the show which was quite boring since I wasn’t hallucinating from the candy. But the last act though. It was outside. I saw all my friends lined up on the rooftop of the school and it’s a fucking tall building. while everyone was thinking that they were doing some acrobatic tricks i watched them jump to their deaths one by one….i was screaming and crying begging someone to help but all ignored me and i couldn’t shout because they were too far up hear me and I couldn’t break into the school either. i couldn’t do anything. later on the LSD wore off and they were mortified to find the 14 dead bodies. all confused on how it happened. So they deemed it the Rosewood Massacre. After the show was over I confronted Horacio about what he did. I attacked him to strangle him. My goal was to kill him. but the problem was that we’re too evenly matched with each other. in strength and intelligence so it turned out to be a fist fight. we did a good amount of damage to each other. until he caught one of my punches and shoved my fist through a closed window shattering the window and every bone in my hand. i had to get the glass surgically removed as it was deep in the tissue so i can’t feel a thing in my hand anymore and they had to set my hand for the broken bones to heal. But since doctors refused to do their jobs correctly they set it wrong so it healed wrong and now my hand is paralyzed. he took everything away from me! My family! My home! My motivation to live then! and my hand!”, she was more hurt than angry.

Tabby quickly looked away to recompose herself, “I’m sorry for the sudden outburst. I never talked about that day since to anyone before”.

“I understand.” ,Jane said softly. She had been letting the lavender mask dry so she could paint flowers on it and had been working on the second one, listening to the subject.

“I’m so sorry.”, Jane said softly, “I understand what it’s like to lose everyone. A lot of the teachers at that school were just plain cruel, and I still don’t know how and why the human government hasn’t shut down that institution or why parents won’t stop sending their children there. No one deserves to lose people the way you did."

"That’s because the shit they do there is unbelievable. No one would believe them if others heard their stories. I don’t know about your parents but mine didn’t believe me either and neither did my therapists”, explained Tabby.

The second mask was a half white and half black one.

“We can get you an appointment with the Puppeteer perhaps. He can just drain your sadness away.” The Puppeteer was highly sought after for his empath abilities. It comes back after a while unless he numbs your memory, but it’s nice to feel peace just for a little while.“

She shook her no.

"No thank you. I don’t like my mind being tampered with. I’ve been through 7 psychologists. I don’t need anyone else. My sadness, anger and grief is my motivation to put Horacio Down once and for all. I can have peace of mind after that”, said Tabby.

“I understand. He doesn’t tamper with your mind though. He feeds in negative emotions so you can at least get a bit of sleep and have a moment where everything feels okay. And you’re right. My parents didn’t believe me either. All my letters were monitored as I lived in the boarding section.”, Jane said, “My parents didn’t believe in therapy, so.”

She finished up the first mask. It looked lovely and glossy.

“As much as that sounds nice. I can’t sleep even if I wanted too. I have insomnia and narcolepsy. So it’s a hit or miss”, explained Tabby. “I’ve heard horror stories about the boarding section. I guess I was considered lucky enough to be able to go back to the place where I lived”.

“Oh, he can deal with that too.”, Jane said, “He’s honestly a blessing. And yeah. The boarding rooms were awful.”, She didn’t want to go into too much detail.

"Maybe I’ll think about it" , she nodded in understanding. She learned in order to keep a friend you don’t push boundaries and you don’t ask too many questions.

“So Tabby. What do you do for fun?”, asked Jane, changing the subject.

“Fun?” she asked, confused. She had to sneak around after school or at night in order to have some fun as her step dad was a cruel and strict man.

“I normally like to read and write, have time to myself to philosophize. I liked to hang out with my friends whenever I could. Listen to music”, Tabby finally said.

"Ah, I see.” Jane said. “Those are fun hobbies. What do you like to write?” She asked. She had stenciled out a white design for the black side of the mask and mirrored that design in black for the white side. The third mask was hardening.

“I like to write fiction. Darkly realistic fiction. Sometimes free verse poetry”, Tabby said.

“Oh, that seems fun.” Jane said, continuing her work on the masks. She checked the little black clock up on the wall. “Toby will be home soon.”

“Yeah. Although I left all my written works back at Rosewood. I didn’t think to bring them back to the place where I lived. I didn’t exactly plan on running away. It was a spur of the moment type thing you know?”, she nodded, “I’m not too worried about him. He seems like he’s the type that can handle himself”

“Ah, I understand. Maybe you could get Toby to get you some notebooks or something to write in.” Jane said. “And you’re right, he most definitely can. He’s pretty strong.”

“Maybe and that’s good I guess”

Jane finished up the second mask and began working on the third. She looked like she was thinking.

“Has Toby told you the rules yet?”, Jane asked.

She shook her head no, “I know that there are rules and guidelines. I figured I would ask him later when he got back”

"Ah. Well, if you’d like, I could start filling you in.” Jane offered.

“That would help out a lot. The more I know the less of a chance I have of being killed”, said Tabby.

“Okay. I’ll tell you a few of the official rules then.” Jane said, adjusting her position and making sure her mask was secure. “First of all, there is a hierarchy here that is absolutely set in stone. Since you’re a proxy, you’re lower in the hierarchy, but you are not the lowest of the low.”

“Sounds like my position in any life in general but okay what else?” She asked.

“It’s best to try to consort with your rank and above. So for you, that would be other proxies and monsters. The higher beings are not likely to befriend you so I wouldn’t bother.” Jane explained.

“So like you and Toby for example?”, asked Tabby.

"Not me, actually. Toby flaunts a few of the rules because he’s popular. I am actually one of the lowest in the hierarchy.” Jane said with an awkward nod. “It’s not like you’d be punished for speaking with me or anything like that. People would just look down their noses a bit at you.”

“That’s nothing new to me. I can live with that. Who would be my best chance to make an ally with, the higher proxies I mean?”

“Hm. If you want high-ranking proxies that are pretty friendly, then believe it or not, Masky would be your go to guy. If he’s not trying to kill you, he’s very pleasant. Clockwork is another proxy I would chat with if I were you. She runs that little bar a couple minutes from here. Kate’s not high ranking, but she can pull you a lot of favors because she knows people. There are a few monsters who don’t care too much about the hierarchy either.”

"He was trying to earlier. If it wasn’t for Toby I would mostly likely be dead in the woods. I’m avoiding him for a while. I could give Clockwork and Kate a chance once my social anxiety dies down and when I get the courage to go out on my own willingly. Anything else that I need to know?”

Jane nodded. “Yes. Relationships with humans that aren’t mission-related or cleared by your boss as allies is VERY against the rules. It will get you put down to my level.”

Tabby nodded slowly “well I’m too fucked up for a relationship. I’m sure no one would want me anyways…The man I loved is dead now. No one will replace him. So I can have allies but it has to be cleared by the boss first?”

“Yes. By allies I mean humans who are aware of our world and have chosen to side with us.” She was painting what looked like a galaxy on the third mask. And I would be careful. You may find someone and it may shock you. I didn’t expect-“ Jane stopped then continued painting in silence.

"You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I’m not the one to push boundaries. And that makes sense. What else do I need to know?”, asked Tabby.

"Treat all gifts with suspicion. Even if they’re from people you know. There are a lot of backstabbers here.”

“I’m highly intuitive and I have serious trust issues. I don’t trust anybody or anything. Unless I see them making it or doing something with my own eyes. I’ve already came up with the conclusion that this is no different from Rosewood. Except the stakes are higher and I have more freedom for the most part. If we survived Rosewood for that long we can survive here”. What else?“

"You’ll find that this may be a bit tougher than Rosewood, mainly due to the missions. This is a very high stakes job. Many proxies die young. But it is also so rewarding too, really. Cause once you root yourself here, you’ve got some people that have your back.”

"Well then I guess I’ll have to do my best not to die. I’ll try to keep myself alive for as long as possible. Is there anyone I I shook steer clear away from? Like a red flag warning?”

“Jeff.” Jane said firmly. “Ignore him. Don’t do favors for him and don’t let him do favors for you. Ever.” Her hands remained steady even if she was freaking out.

“Is Jeff to you like Horacio was for me?” She asked quietly. “I’m good at ignoring people. I ignore people like they are the plague. I’m antisocial af”

“Well, he set me on fire and murdered my family in front of me, so yeah, I’d say so.” Jane said. She said it in a way to make it seem like it didn’t hurt her but it was easy to tell that it did.

“Horatio can’t get me here…can he?” Her voice quivered and her eyes were wide with fear.

“Horatio is just a measly little human.” Jane said. “After you’re trained and fully transformed, he won’t really be able to harm you on his own. You could absolutely humiliate him.

"But he’s always been 10 steps ahead of me…I couldn’t even get close enough to kill him and believe me I’ve tried countless times…what if he’s still 10 steps ahead of me after I transformed? All my efforts would be in vain”

“He won’t be. Like I said. He’s just a stupid human. You will be able to get rid of him with no sweat.”

She sighed the problem with Horatio was that she and him were too evenly matched. In intelligence and strength. She just uses her intelligence differently than he did.

“I’m sorry for what you went through…including the stuff with Rosewood. I really am. What else do I need to know?”, asked Tabby, changing the subject.

“It’s fine. I’m coping okay. You should probably know that the ghost community is a great community to be friends with.“ Jane admitted. "They’re everywhere and they can get into places for you.”

She nodded “I’ll try talking to them at some point”

"I can easily introduce you to almost anyone you’ll need to know. When you finish training, you’ll be put into a group.”

“What do you mean?”

“Proxies work in groups. Usually. You’ll be given missions to do either solo, with some members of your group, or your whole group. They will be the people you can trust most.”

She nodded in understanding “Toby said something earlier about disgraced proxies. What are those?”

"People like me. Other people call us honorary humans, or just disgraces. They are proxies or monsters who have broken some of the cardinal rules and were caught and punished for them.”

She nodded in understanding, taking in the information “is there anything else I should know?”

. “Not really much that I can think of right now.”

“Okay thank you for taking the time and effort to explain things to me. I’ll take your advice. I’ll ask Toby if there’s anything else I should know when he gets here and see what advice he has. I’d like to hear what he has to say”

"You should. I’m just telling you things I know from experience.“ Jane said. She heard footsteps outside the room.

Tabby froze as her ears picked up on the noise. She got defensive ready to attack or bolt. Toby, carrying everything he had bought at the grocery store in his arms and a basket. Jane got up to help him unload it all. Tabby sighed in relief and she got up to help too. Her mom made her carry 4-5 heavy bags in each hand every time they went grocery shopping. She may be small but she definitely has some lean muscle to her. She’s still useful despite her left hand. Toby thanked both of them. He set down the bags of food on the counter and handed the things that Tabby had specifically requested to her. Jane had gone to start packing up her stuff after putting some things away. She knew that she probably needed to go now. Tabby went to her room to put down the bags. She’ll take them out later once everything settles down. She went back out to help.

Jane pack up.

Jane pretty much had everything packed up and ready to go.

"I’ll swing by tomorrow with your mask.” She assured Tabby

“Okay. It was nice meeting you and having you here. It’s nice to know I’m not alone with Rosewood”

“You’re definitely not alone. If you need someone to talk with who’s not, well, a man-” Jane smiled a bit. “Then just give me a call or drop by. I literally live next door.”

She laughed. She gave herself a weird look. It was a sound that she hadn’t heard in a long time. She only reserved it for Adam or her friends. “Well that’s convenient then!”

Jane nodded and smiled. It was nice to hear her laugh. Toby’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Thanks for coming, Jane!” Jane smiled at Tabby and waved goodbye

Tabby gave a small wave goodbye. Jane left the apartment. Toby poked his head in and let Tabby know he was going to start cooking now if she felt she needed to make sure her food was safe. Tabby nodded and she went in to help cook the food while keeping a close eye on Toby to make sure he didn’t try anything with the food. Despite her hand she was actually very handy with a knife (cooking wise and also fighting wise). She was very fast and efficient in the kitchen. She was using her wrist to hold some of the vegetables in place as she cut them. On top of always cooking dinner at home for 5 people she also worked in a kitchen at a small restaurant afterschool. It got her out of the house for a while since she never wanted to go home. She only quit last month due to her hand. Honestly she would have become a chef if she never made the choice to come here. Toby made sure she saw and knew what was going on with the chicken he was cooking. If he added a spice, he told her what it was. He admired how skilled she was with a knife even though one of her hands was essentially crippled. He could tell she had experience. That was good to know. Most of the killers couldn’t cook. Jane always ended up burning everything so he always offered her food. The neighbors next door, however, were excellent cooks but since they were literally a family unit, Toby never really spoke to them. He knew that monsters and proxies would sometimes settle down and start families but he never really met them. Most families got moved to another part of town. But she was the type of person to go through with her choice when she made one whether it was good or bad. She would see it through to the bitter end crash and burn. That was the most dangerous thing about Tabby.

She liked how Toby respected her wishes and went out of his way to tell her what the spices were. She never really had a lot of respect in her life so it was a nice change. She liked how the moved well together in the kitchen. It almost reminded her of those types of families she saw on tv that the husband and wife would help each other in the kitchen. The thought made her look down and blush a little.

Moving on. She was thinking about the irony of her situation. She hated all adults she didn’t know in general specifically males in particular. And here she was living with an adult serial killer and a Male nevertheless. The situation made her burst out laughing out of nowhere.

"Jesus…unbelievable…“, she said, wheezing for breath.

Toby glanced over at her.

"Hey, you okay?” He asked.

He had ticked a bit in the middle of the “okay” but it hadn’t really affected his speech. He figured she might have gotten herself with the knife a bit. But then why would she be laughing? Hm. The chicken was almost done. After dinner he would go out to check his mail to make absolutely sure he had no bills to pay or no missions he had neglected to see. He could hear faintly next door a baby crying. He heard footsteps, a small creaking sound, and some shushing. Soon the baby quieted. Toby smiled to himself. The people next door never let their baby cry for too long. They were very considerate neighbors.

She calmed down a little bit, wiping her tears away from laughing as she was still giggling.

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt. Even if I did get myself with the knife I wouldn’t feel it because I used to work in a kitchen so my hands are pretty calloused”.

She showed him her left arm that had a crescent shaped burn mark on her bicep.

“That’s from work. I didn’t realize it until two hours later when my arm was feeling irritated. So I looked down and saw a burn mark about 2 inches and a half in diameter. It eventually died down and became this. I was laughing because I realized the irony of my situation. You see I never really trusted adults in general. They don’t do their jobs protecting their own kids. But if you’re male you have a higher chance of me not trusting you. And here I am living with a technical adult male serial killer! I don’t think you understand. I went against everything I knew and believed in one night. I took a leap of faith and I don’t do that for just anyone so you better feel special”, Tabby explained.

She smiled and shook her head, "my life really did take a drastic turn of events”.

Toby nodded. He understood. He offered her a small smile.

“Well, I’m glad you did decide to take a leap of faith.” He said earnestly.

He plated up the chicken, then asked if she needed help with finishing up the salads. He heard faint music from Jane’s apartment. The baby next door didn’t start crying again. It was, for once, pretty peaceful. It was impossible to hear outside while the windows were closed, but if they were open it would be highly probable they would hear screaming.

She shook her head no, “the salad will be done in a few minutes. I just needed to put the vegetables in and toss it” she did that and tossed it using a chef’s flip without utensils mixing it good. The salad is done”.

She plated the salad on both of their plates. She sat down and waited for him to sit to begin eating. Toby sat across from her with his plate. He was starving. He had gotten himself a knife and fork, and had gotten some for Tabby as well. He asked her if she wanted anything to drink. He had water, soda, and juice. No milk. He was lactose intolerant.

“I would like some water please”

Her expression changed to a more serious one as she was going to get down to serious business.

“So Jane told me the basics of the rules. Like how there is a hierarchy. We’re proxies so we’re low but not the lowest of the low. How ally ships between us and humans and humans not from here are strictly prohibited. It’s best to have a few higher up proxies as allies. And that I should stay away from Jeff” “but I want to hear what you have to say. Like anything else I should really know? Anyone I should stay clear away from?”

Toby went up to get them both some water.

“She’s right. She covered almost everything. Especially about Jeff, though if you get on his good side he can teach you some pretty cool stuff. I think it’s important to know higher being politics as well. Proxies have a specific boss. Monsters can serve whoever they want and do jobs for whoever. But it’s important to know which higher being hates who, because sometimes they will act out against the proxies that serve that higher being.”

She nodded slowly in understanding “I’m fairly observant so I’m sure I’ll pick up a few things on higher being politics here”.

“Is there anyone who you think I should stay away from personally?” She said in between bites. She was scarfing down her food like she wouldn’t see food again. She didn’t eat much in general for the last 8 years due to Rosewood. You had to bring your own lunch and her family was too poor to buy extra food. So she ate dinner at home and that was the only meal she would eat. They barely had enough food for the month while struggling for rent. Although when she was very young she could eat like a champ. For the last 3 months when her step dad came up with the cruel and unusual punishment for her to eat nothing but rice. But she got sick of it and she either stole a little bit of food from the stores when her mom used to send her out or Autumn was very generous and brought her some food for her own house.

"I’m also not too fond of Jeff. But I also wouldn’t trust LJ either. But he’s friends with BEN and The Puppeteer so you can’t really avoid him.“ The ghost community was super tight.

"Is there enough for seconds?”, she asked.

"Yeah. There’s enough for seconds if you’d like.“

"I don’t trust clowns either. I watched too many horror movies as a child you know? But I’ll be wary and cautious like I usually am with everyone and everything else” she got up for seconds and scarfed down her second and third plate. It wasn’t until her fourth plate when she stopped.

By then the entire thing of food Toby had cooked was gone. He didn’t mind one bit however. He got up to do the dishes.

“Yeah, don’t trust clowns. They aren’t…they aren’t all that great. Especially here.”

“They’re never in general”. She went to help with the dishes while drying them.

“Thank you” she said quietly after a period of silence.

“No problem.” Toby said with a smile. He helped put the dishes away after they were finished. He heard a meow and saw Nugget plodding towards them.

Tabby’s face lit up as she started cooing at the cat and kneeled down to pet Nugget. She sucked in a breath at the pain of her bruises. She started petting the cat affectionately.

Nugget purred and pressed her body up against Tabby, her tail indicating that she was pleased with this. Toby smiled.

“I think there’s a scrap of chicken on the table. Hold on.”

“I mean if you give it food you have a higher chance of befriending the animal. It works with me”

Toby laughed and picked up some scraps of chicken from the counter. He offered them to Tabby so she could feed the cat. Tabby took some. She ate a piece herself and feed the rest of the scraps to Nugget one by one. Nugget seemed to enjoy the chicken. Her purring was very loud as she ate it. Toby watched from afar with a smile.

"Is there a library around here?”

“Yeah, there is. I could take you there.” Toby offered.

“Good. If you’re not busy tomorrow that is. I would much rather have someone to come with me to show me around and I’m not taking the chance of dying on my first day out since I’m fresh meat as it is so curious about the new girl that it is inevitable to say the least. Two is better than one. "I would also like to get books on this place and plants and stuff so I can have a lesser chance of dying and not being afraid. A wise man once told me that you can’t be afraid of something that you understand. Like being afraid of the dark for example” she babbled.

“Sure thing.” Toby said, “I don’t have any missions tomorrow and your training schedule hasn’t been sent yet. Books will be good and all but talking to other people about stuff here will make it much easier to learn. Like, you can read all you’d like about the poison daisy, but field experience with someone who knows much more about it will be helpful. Also, we still have to teach you how to fight properly and other things that will make you more successful. It will come much easier to you once you fully transform though.”

"Okay. And I know that there’s only something you can learn from experience. I just want to learn all I can from books first. The rest I’ll ask around and experience for myself and what do you mean “properly”? Are you saying I can’t fight. I may be crippled but that doesn’t mean I can’t kick some ass one handedly! I’ll have you know I’ve gotten into a lot of fights and I’ve won the majority of them. Well despite getting my ass kicked many times before…“

"I understand.” Toby said to her first comment. He wanted her to learn as much as she could from books first too, it would keep her from being gullible and from getting hurt badly.

“I’m not saying you can’t fight, I’m saying that you’re living with people who fight and hurt for a living. You’ve won fights, sure, but that’s against humans.” Toby finished cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. “It isn’t a smart idea to overestimate your own abilities here. Really. The people here are stronger than humans, are faster than humans, can take more damage than humans, some have literal magic powers, or extra limbs, or whatever. ”

She sighed in defeat.

“That’s true. This isn’t Rosewood. I’m not up against people my own age who are equal in intelligence and strength and skills. This isn’t my territory. But I’ll adapt and overcome like everything else in my life so far. I’m a quick learner. Just one day at a time that’s all”, said Tabby tiredly.

“I know. That will help you live.” Toby said. He sighed, then smiled.

"Don’t worry. We can train you. We can also get the WPA to train you so you’re specialized if you want.“ Toby said.

"What’s WPA?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"The Women’s Proxy Association.“ Toby said. "They’re a group of specialized fighters that ensure the training of female proxies. They’re bad asses. They’re kind of like Amazons, if you want the human equivalent.”

"Oh…that sounds like something I’d be interested in…” she was still tilting her head but smiled up at him.

“Oh and another thing. If we’re going to be living together for a while we need to establish ground rules. I only have two. One, please don’t lie to me. I give you the common courtesy to give honest information. I would also like to be hurt with the truth instead of living a lie. If we’re going to be working together in some way we’re going to need some form of honest communication. Two, please don’t fight my battles for me. I don’t like other people suffering from my own stupidity and I know in this society that’s just the way shit goes around here but I’ll do my best to minimize that when someone’s with me. I can and will take care of myself. If someone has a problem with me it’s with me alone and nobody else okay? Does that sound reasonable to you?”.

Toby nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good. I don’t really have any ground rules for myself at the moment, but I’ll let you know.

He was pretty honest for a proxy, and while he wasn’t the type to let people he cared for get beat up, he understood how she would want to stand up for herself. It was good she had that drive to stick up for herself. Proxies who didn’t have that usually ended up dead.

"So what do you want to do now?”, Tabby asked.

"Well, seeing is it’s kinda late, we should probably get some sleep.“ Toby said. "Well, you should. I have another small mission tonight but it shouldn’t take too long.”

"Ah well you see I have insomnia…and narcolepsy so I don’t ever get enough sleep. This is a week and a half of no sleep. But I’ll be here when you get back. Try not to die okay?“ She gave him a small smile. Which was code for 'be careful I care somewhat’.

"I won’t, it’s a fairly riskless mission.” Toby assured her. It really wasn’t too bad of a mission. “It’s just a delivery.” Toby got up to leave. “There’s sleeping pills in the hall closet if you’d like. They’ve got the power of like, horse tranquilizers.”

“Alright I’ll think about it and I’ll see you later”

“Alright, I’ll see you.” Toby soon left.

Tabby went to her room to unpack the bags that Toby had bought her. She took out the frames and gently slid both pictures into their frames and set them on her night stand. She took out the two knives and positioned them like she was about to get into a fight. They were good for defense. Tabby took out the bedding; it was a soft patchwork blanket with a teal color scheme and pillows to match. She positioned them just how she liked them. She decided to not hang up Autumn’s artwork so she put them in her nightstand and deemed that it would be private and personal.

Toby slipped through the shadows, the package in hand. He realized the quickest route would be through monster’s only territory, but as long as he wasn’t caught he would be fine. He darted through the trees, paying close attention to any noise he would hear. He eventually managed to pass through it unharmed, which made the bulk of his journey a lot easier.

She stepped back until she was near the door to take a look at her room. It was simple and basic but you could tell that it was her room. Then she came across the dawning realization “like it or not this is home now”. Home. That was a place she hasn’t had in a long time. Sure she lived with her mother and two brothers and her step dad. But it wasn’t considered home or a family. Tabby knew that a home is where you feel safe and you belong and a family accepts you for you broken or not. Tabby shook her head.

“This isn’t home. I mean I’m living in this world now so I guess this world is my home now but this place isn’t. It’s not my territory and I barely even know him” she talked out loud to herself.

Toby walked down streets that were covered in multicolor slick, which was essentially the water in this dimension. He carried the package in his gloved hands. Even through his mask, he could smell something cooking. He knocked on a heavy dark door. It swung open almost immediately. He gritted his teeth as cigarette smoke permeated the air. It reeked. The man standing before him was tall, and horrendously burned. The tales told about him said that his skin had been bleached, and that was partially the case. However most of his skin was mottled and scarred with varying shades of red. His face was barely distinguishable as a face. The eyes were sunken and shriveled. The nose was covered in scars. His mouth was clumsily cut into a wide, oozing grin. The man seemed to sniff the air. He clicked his tongue.

“Ah. Twinkle Toes. Nice to…hehe… see you."

"Hey Jeff.” Toby said uncomfortably. “Is Barb here? She told me to bring her this.” He held up the small package. Jeff clicked his tongue again. He felt the package with his marred hand while seeming to stare directly at Toby.

“Yeah, Barb’s here. You can come in.”

Her eyes widened in paranoia as that was kicking in now ”how much did I tell him really? He isn’t stupid so I’m sure he picked up on more than what I told him…wait let’s see…I told him about my insomnia, narcolepsy, anxiety and OCD, I told him about Rosewood, I told him about Horacio, he already figured out I came from an abusive home…“, she counted on her fingers. Several things. Not bad. Nothing too personal, just observations and bare basic surface. She sighed in relief. But her paranoia was still there ”why did he spare my life? Me out of everyone else that could have stumbled across tonight? On top of that, why is he so nice? I mean I appreciate it but No one is this nice for free. Accept for Autumn but we were kids then and we didn’t really know anything. What if he’s trying to gain my trust just to catch me off guard to kill me later? Especially in my sleep…what if he has other motives? I can’t trust him nor am I going too. I’ll work well with him and I’ll be nice and kind back because it’s right. But trust seems to be a long shot…“, she rubbed the bridge of her nose like she had a headache. She hated when her paranoia showed up. "Goddamn Rosewood” she muttered to herself. She got out of her room to pace around the apartment to think out loud.

“However he did save my life…if it wasn’t for him I would have probably gotten my death wish early…and he did take me in for now…so like with Autumn I kinda owe him everything"

She shook her head "I am thankful for all he’s done for me so far…but I can not and will not care too much. It’s like Jane said a proxies life isn’t that long on average….I don’t want to hurt him and have his efforts of keeping me alive to be in vain…that’s not fair to him. I’ll have allies but no friends. All my friends are dead and they can not and will not be replaced. Moving on means forgetting and I promised myself that I wouldn’t forget them” but she knew that deep down inside that wasn’t the real reason.

“I can’t have what happened at Rosewood happen to anyone else that I’ve become allies with…I don’t want to get attached and go through that heartache again…while I’m still going through it…” she admitted quietly to herself.

Toby didn’t have much of a choice as Jeff pulled him into the building. The cigarette smoke only got stronger. But thankfully, he heard Barb’s laugh from the upstairs, so he made his way up the creaky staircase. That’s where he found her. Barb was around eight feet tall, and had four muscular arms. She had a sharp jaw and broad shoulders as well as long dark blue hair. She had fur the same shade as her hair coating her arms and legs. She had a tattoo gun, and was tattooing another monster. It was a pretty large and complex tattoo, but Barb had a lot of the skill to make it look nice. She turned when she heard Toby.

“Hey Tobes!” She said in her loud, booming voice. She extended a hand that wasn’t being used. “You brought the pills?”

“Yeah, EJ gave them to me earlier.” Toby said, passing them to her. Barb smiled, showing sharp teeth.

“Thank you!” She boomed jovially. The monster getting tattooed, a tiny wisp of a woman with eyes all over her face and arms had all her eyes trained on Toby. It made him very uncomfortable.

“Well, I should probably go-” Toby said.

She looked around and it was too quiet to her liking.

“On second thought those sleeping pills sound nice right about now” she mused to herself.

She went to the closet and grabbed the bottle and read it carefully to make sure they were sleeping pills. She opened up the bottle and only took one since Toby said that they have the power of a horse tranquilizer and she’s…well…small. She popped the pill dry and took some clean bandages that she found and a hand towel. She would clean her crippled hand and dress it in new bandages so it doesn’t get infected since the surgical incisions were still fairly new. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands with soap and water and patted her crippled hand dry and wrapped it in new bandages.

After she was done she could feel the pill kicking in. So she went back to her room. She locked her door and was debating on whether or not to move her dresser to barricade the door just in case he or someone else were to break in and attempt to kill her in her sleep. Since when she actually goes to sleep she’s a deep sleeper. But she decided against it since she was too lazy and it would be a hassle to move it out of the way if she needed to escape immediately. She took her two knives and curled up laying down on her bed with her back facing the corner. She normally didn’t sleep with covers on as they were a hassle to get off is someone were to attack her. She had her knees pulled up to her stomach for protection and her arms crossed to protect her chest and neck. She had both knives in each hand that laid against the back of her neck too for protection. No one was going to attack her easily. It was the only way she could feel safe while sleeping. And pretty soon she was out like a light.

Toby eventually got back to the apartment. Jeff had wanted to show him something, which he knew wouldn’t have ended well. He made sure to lock the apartment door behind him. It was quiet. Nugget was probably in Tabby’s room. Toby peeked in her room to check on her and saw that she was asleep. Nugget was on her bed. After making sure she was okay, he closed the door and went to go take a shower and get ready for bed. He was pretty tired. He had run into Masky on his way back who managed to get him to share a drink and talk for a bit, which Toby found nice. Masky was in a much better mood today than other days. His shower and clothes change was quick. He put his dirty clothes into the hamper. He took it down to wash his clothes twice a week. The apartment had a shared laundromat.

Tabby stirred awake as Toby closed the door

“son of a bitch” she thought to herself.

She wasn’t protected enough. But even in her sleepy state she could recognize that it’s Toby so she had nothing to worry about that much but for once in her life she was just too damn tired to do or say anything about it.

“I’ll deal with it in the morning” she grumbled to herself and went back to being dead asleep in her protective position.

Toby was in his pjs. He went to the kitchen and got a glass of ice water before heading back into his room. He closed his door behind him. He sat on his own bed and turned on a fan. He liked it cold in his room. He had a small little radio next to his bed that he used to play soothing music or sometimes just audiobooks or things like that. Soon he managed to sink off into a deep sleep.

[vaedar]

𝐎𝐎𝐂;

     Hello everyone! So unsurprisingly, I haven’t been here but I have been RPing, in another fandom. This time, the ACOTAR ( A Court of Thorns and Roses ) books series fandom, which I recently got into and am obsessed. Those who know me best are aware that once I get obsessed, I have to channel that somehow woops 🤣😅 

So if there is anyone who is familiar with this fandom and would like to interact, let me know by liking this post and I will pop by to send the link to the blog ( It is a Rhysand RP blog ). As with all my blogs, it’s low activity but I am at least RPing over there while here for now, am not doing anything at all, as you can see. Though, of course, doesn’t mean I won’t come back because I always will, it is known. 

Hope everyone’s doing great! 

[the-ship-maker-2]

Every Rose Has its Thorn

So I’ve finally decided to post the first chapter of my creepypasta fanfic Every Rose Has It’s Thorns. This is based on an RP that I’m doing with @creepypasta-shtick so this takes place in their universe that they created so a lot of this were their ideas too just as much as mine. You should go check them out!. Maplehood creek, Rosewood Prep, and Tabby Anderson belongs to me.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Chapter 1

    Tabby Anderson laid awake staring blankly up at the ceiling. She was replaying the last months worth of events that happened in her life over and over again in her head. Like a broken record. Over the course of a month she watched the ones she held close all jump to their deaths one by one while everyone’s cheering drowned out her own screams of terror. She could still hear the breaking of the glass window as Horatio, the guy who made all of her friends jump to their deaths, forcefully shoved her fist through the window. It was an unforgettable sound as it would be one that would haunt the rest of her life. She let out a silent gasp as she clenched her bandaged left hand from the phantom pain. She no longer had any use of her left hand as that was gone forever now. Living as a constant reminder of what she failed to do.

    She winced from the fresh bruises and scars that never healed as she turned over to her side as she looked at the alarm clock. It read 2am in big red numbers. She let out an audible sigh and she squeezed her eyes shut as she banged her head over and over again on her pillow. Insomnias a bitch as it was but it was even more of a bitch to deal with when your stomach is empty and your mind is full. She realized that she had school in a couple of hours with the strict regimen that her stepdad had her on.

   “On top of no sleep for tonight I also have to deal with another day of hell at Rosewood Prep and another day of hell at home too. All by myself”, She said in thought. 

     She looked around at her surroundings in her room. It was pretty minimalist for the most part. She looked at her dresser with the lopsided mirror that made the shadows in the room dance. She had her Rosewood Prep uniform laid out for the next day. She had her stack of unfinished homework that she didn’t finish on top of the school textbooks. She would scramble at breakfast tomorrow before she went to class to finish the homework. Laid on the side of her school books and homework was her black bag that she’s had since forever. She then looked at her closet door that was slightly ajar. There was nothing in it except for a few nice shirts and a lacey pale blue flower dress that hung up in there. Tabby flopped back onto her pillow as her eyes made their way back up to the ceiling. She wasn’t sure just how long she could make it at Rosewood and at home since it was just her now. I mean her only motivation for living was taken from her and Rosewood wasn’t a place you could survive on your own. She didn’t know if she could make it to graduation. She then came up with the dawning realization. One that made her bolt up straight in her bed with her unnaturally wide eyes growing wider. If she stayed any longer she would be killed for sure, whether it was by Horatio, her step dad or herself. Either way one of those three would get her it was only a matter of time. Tabby couldn’t die not yet at least. Not until she fulfilled her promises of avenging her friends and killing Horatio once and for all. She got up and winced at her bruises that were still tender. She got dressed in a white tee shirt and black jeans with faded dirty pink converse. She got her black bag and began to pack. She packed a couple of photos, one of her mom, stepdad, herself, her older and younger brothers, one class photo in the 8th grade that was just her and her now deceased friends, a picture of her little brother, and a couple of sketches of her that her best friend Autumn made. She then packed some clothes, hair brush and toothbrush. She was about to sneak out when she realized she forgot the most important thing. Tabby ran back to her dresser and took out the money she’s been saving for the last two years from her job at the This or That restaurant and her red plaid jacket that shes had since the 6th grade. It was enough money to buy a bus ticket and have a little leftover to live until she found a job and got a stable income. After she pocketed the money safely away and tied her jacket around her waist,  she snuck out through her window. 

      Tabby landed with a soft thud on to the ground she laid there for a bit and groaned. She got back up and brushed herself off and picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders. Tabby took a few moments to appreciate the peacefulness of the night. For it being in the middle of November it was surprisingly warm. Must be one of those freak mother nature weeks or something. She could hear the few cars going by occasionally and there was no sound of people. She could hear the wind rustling through the trees that were the woods surrounding her town. Tabby knew that there were shortcuts in her section of the woods that led to the next town of HolyAnn. That was where the bus stop was and where she could buy a bus ticket and get out of Maplehood Creek for good. Tabby kept her back to her apartment complex and ran straight into the woods and never looked back. Ever.

      Meanwhile deep in the heart of the woods, the whimpering of the woman before them was not stirring Hoodie’s sympathies. She could shake and cry all she wanted, about how she needed to get home to her children and husband. Hoodie didn’t particularly care all that much. Masky turned to look at Hoodie.

    “Hm, do you think we should let her go?”, he asked in a taunting voice clearly mocking the poor woman’s pleads.

     Hoodie and Masky loved to toy with their victims. In Toby’s opinion, it made them take too long to get the job done. However, the creativity and cruelty the two of them displayed were why they were some of the Slenderman’s favorites. Toby noted that they were only violent with victims around each other. Solo missions and missions with only one or the other resulted in the two being much less brutal. Though, Toby noted, Jeff was much more crazed and violent than these two. Toby’s head snapped up when he heard the woman scream in pain. He did not turn to see what one of the men had done to her. Someone in the woman’s family was trying to get information about the Slenderman. Killing her would be sending a message. Toby continued to stare off into the woods, knowing the direction he was staring into was where several houses were.

    Tabby continued to curse herself as she got deeper and deeper into the woods. She was clearly lost but she refused to admit it to herself. She then heard a woman’s scream. Tabby’s fight or flight instinct kicked in and she was on high alert as always. She thought she was running away from the danger only to stumble upon a masked man, a man with a frowning mask, and a man with orange goggles and the corpse of the dead woman. She locked eyes with the orange goggled man. She unfortunately has the freeze response so she couldn’t run or fight even if she wanted to at this minute. Tabby was a pitiful sight to see. All covered in various bruises and scars of different colors and sizes, unnaturally wide, haunted hazel eyes that were colored underneath from lack of sleep and were slightly sunken back due to malnourishment. Her cheeks were slightly hollow also due to malnourishment and she stood in a potential fighting stance that exposed her bandaged left hand. She quickly realized that running would ensure her getting killed. If she was going to die she was going to die with what little dignity she had left and face death face on, She wasn’t going down without a fight. 

     “Oh fuck…”, she let out quietly.

    Like with everything else in her life she had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was having a flashback to when she was 12 with a similar situation with her step dad happened. Death was not new to her; she was the least fazed by that. She was more worried about her own survival at the moment. She shook her head to get rid of the flashbacks and to focus more on the situation at hand. Should she go with the situation or fight?

   It did not matter how quiet the girl was. Hoodie and Masky have been doing this line of work for a long time. They were also blessed by the Slenderman with practically supernatural senses. Hoodie stared coldly at the girl. Masky chuckled.

   “Well, well, well what do we have here?”, he said looking at the frail stranger in front of them.

   Toby continued to make eye contact with the girl. He recognized the signs of abuse and neglect and had a flashback of his own. He had been hiding in a closet with his older sister. He couldn't have been more than eight or so at the time. He remembered his father yelling and screeching at his mother. The sounds of a fight and his mother screaming. He remembered footsteps stomping up the stairs and his father calling for his sister and him to come out. He remembered his sister covering him in towels and blankets to hide him just before his father opened the closet. His sister had saved him from a beating that night. 

   He snapped back to the present when he heard Hoodie speak, in his raspy quiet voice.

   “Let’s just kill her there’s no point in leaving her alive”

   Masky seemed to be considering that.

  “Alright, Hoodie, you-”

   “No”, stated Toby abruptly.

   “I’m sorry what?”, asked Tabby surprised.

   The two men stopped and stared at the newer proxy.

   “Don’t be ridiculous”, Tim began to lecture Toby.

   Toby, however, stood his ground.

  “No let’s just let her go”, he stated

  “Are you fucking stupid”, Masky stated coldly, “That is a major breech of conduct”

  Toby shook his head, ”There’s really no point in killing her”.

  Hoodie just listened as the two men began to debate. He personally figured that killing the girl was unnecessary as they were not ordered to do so. However, he realized that they just couldn’t let her go either.

  Tabby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in defense. Although she looked like a mixture of ready to either bolt or fight.  

  “Oh please killing me would be a sweet blessing compared to the 17 years that I had and specifically with this month in general”. She stated.

   She didn’t dare look at Toby for too long as she quickly learned growing up that if she looked at someone directly in the eyes for too long, it  meant a challenge and resulted in a sure beating.

   “If I do get let go I’m going back to where I live, clearly I picked a bad night for this and didn’t think this through enough. I’m going to find that bottle of whiskey in the cabinets that I know damn well my parents have hidden somewhere and I’m going to drink myself to oblivion and forget this encounter ever happened”, Tabby added out loud talking more to herself than to the others. She hasn’t been killed yet so staying and going with the situation was her best option.

   Hoodie spoke up.

  “Are you sure you’d go back home?”, he asked bluntly.

  Masky glanced at him. It was like he could sense that Hoodie was analyzing the kid.

  “I mean you’ve just gotten away from em, hm?”, Hoodie prodded as he gestured to her black backpack. 

   Hoodie was known for being scarily perceptive. Even Masky was staring at him.

   Tabby huffed and pushed her hair back.

   “I...have nowhere else to go but if I stayed I would be dead in the very near future. So I was running away. But obviously this is a bad night to do so, clearly I didn’t think this through enough and I have one other to protect…”, she said defensively. 

   Masky hummed.

  “I think that if living is such a hassle to you then-”, he was cleaning the bloody blade off his jacket. 

  “No! Lets not kill her-!”, Toby intervened again.

  “Why?”, asked Tabby quietly.

  Toby looked at the girl and then looked down.

  “Because I understand what you’re going through”, Toby whispered.

  Hoodie pretended that he hadn’t heard what he said while Masky scoffed and was about to argue again when Hoodie spoke up.

  “Let’s take her to our boss. Let him decide”

  “Hoodie! He has to ask to see a human. Just simply bringing one to him-”, Toby protested.

  “It’s better than letting her go”, said Hoodie with a shrug.

  Everyone looked back at Tabby for her decision. It was either this or death. Her options were limited.

   “Alrighty lets see here….I can’t run….That would ensure my death and I’d be hunted down for sure...I can’t fight all three of you at once….I really have nothing to lose anymore….so going with you guys seems like the best course of options to ensure my survival for now…I really don’t have much of a choice now do I?”, she took a deep breath, stood up straight and looked at them with an emotionless expression, “Lead the way I guess. The sooner I know me fate the sooner I can carry on with my life dead or alive”

   Hoodie nodded, ”You’re right. Even if you ran or even if we let you go our boss would have us hunt you down”

  Masky nodded and perked up.

  “I’m impressed with your ability to make a rational decision in a life or death situation”, he mused, "Toby. You walk with her and make sure that she doesn’t try anything”

  They were going to break the rules just this once. Maybe the boss would take pity on the girl. After all, he’d done the same with Toby. Toby went to stand next to the girl as Masky and Hoodie led the way deeper into the woods.

   Tabby moved a couple of steps from Toby to give him space. She just looked at the ground praying that he wouldn't beat her or kill her. Not yet. She walked with Toby not daring to speak. Being used to sneaking around she was quite stealthy. She made very little noise to where you would almost forget that she was walking with you. She was fidgeting with the hem of her white shirt like she was wringing someone's neck. Even though she showed no emotion. She was anxious. Her anxiety was skyrocketing. She had to fight the urge to run every time she heard a noise. Her eye twitches occasionally. That was due to her being taken off meds that she didn't need because doctors refused to do diagnosis correctly.

   Toby had no intention of harming her. He could tell that she wasn't doing too well, and he couldn't really blame her. They passed the corpse of the dead woman as he followed the two older proxies. Hoodie and Masky were having their own conversation ahead of them. Toby decided to try to chat.

   “Er..I’m Toby”, he stated, “What’s your name?”

   He really didn’t expect a positive response from her. Why should he? He knew that she was probably freaking out. He did too when he was put in this situation.

  “My name is Tabby”, she replied looking at Toby for a quick moment.

  She looked wary and cautious but decided to show no fear. Hoodie and Masky paused in front of a haggard old tree with the boss' symbol carved into it. Masky pulled off his glove and pressed the symbol with his bare hand. It began to glow faintly. It seemed like the woods grew darker, as if shadows were melting and joining together in some kind of macabre dance. Toby remembered being absolutely terrified of the opening of a portal when he was new. Especially a portal that led right into the heart of the Slenderman's domain. 

   Tabby kinda looked up and around her in a mixture of awe and mortification. She stopped fidgeting slightly occasionally wringing her shirt before catching herself and smoothening out. She was desperately trying to show no signs of weakness despite how she looked.

  Toby understood. Hoodie went through the shadows first and just seemed to vanish. Masky nodded to Toby and Tabby.

  “You two are next Toby will lead the way”, he said.

  Toby smiled at Tabby reassuringly.

  "It-It's just cold”, He assured her. His face twitched a bit. Damn it he had been doing so well so far, "It won't hurt or anything."

  Tabby gave him a hint of a small smile although she was still suspicious and didn't trust him or any of them for that matter one bit. Her eye twitched again. But she didn't raise herself to be a little bitch so she jumped through the portal after Toby. She hid her left arm behind her back to avoid any questions about her hand.

   It was cold and dark. Toby felt his feet hit something soft and cold. The ground always felt off. He heard the sound of a lighter clicking, and turned and saw Masky behind them with a lit lighter. The small flame wasn't nearly enough to fully illuminate the entrance, but it was enough. Hoodie was waiting for them near what looked like a thick wall of foliage. Hoodie had his arms crossed and looked a little impatient. They had to take a walk through the Pocket to even get to the boss' place, which would be dangerous for the human, as she was, well, a human that wasn't a pet in a haven of killers.  

  "We don't have all day." Hoodie said firmly.

  "I'm here" she said rather defensively.

  “Good”, Hoodie stated.

   Now he took off his glove. Masky protested a bit.

  "I can do it, my glove is already off-”

  Hoodie ignored him and sliced his palm slightly. He waved his hand in a way that would splatter the blood on the plants. Just like that, they slithered back, creating a doorway that seemed to lead into a huge town. Hoodie walked resolutely forward. Masky sighed and put his glove back on.

  "You two go after him." He said.

  Tabby nodded not looking at him. She quickly walked a little ahead of Toby but she wasn't more than an arms length away from him. She looked around at her surroundings. It was very different from her hometown where the only sinister thing was Rosewood Prep where she goes to school. She was used to the feeling of darkness making observations to herself.

   Toby offered her a small smile.

  "Make sure you stay close..." he warned her quietly.

  Tabby nodded slowly, slowing down her pace to be evenly matched with Toby. She was careful to avoid eye contact with everyone.

  The town was bustling. Toby saw some people he knew outside. Clockwork's bar was bustling with activity. He could see EJ perched on a bench, eating...something. Judging from the blood splatters on his hands and clothes, Toby figured he knew what it was. The sky was clear and very dark. There were a bunch of plants and trees that Toby knew no human would have ever seen before. It was a very colorful place surprisingly, save for the pitch black sky and dark ground. But it was always cold. And it always felt a little off. Lights floated against the sky, giving the illusion of some sort of stars. The town was also illuminated by lamps and the lights from the buildings.

   "It's...different....definitely not like Rosewood Prep" she said quietly more to herself.

  Toby nodded.

  "Yeah. That's the school in the town right?" He asked.

  He was homeschooled so he wasn't too sure. Masky walked behind them and Hoodie walked in front. A woman in a tight black dress and a wig stopped Masky temporarily and handed him a file. He seemed to thank her and continued to follow them.

  Tabby nodded politely as she walked by the woman.

  "it's one of them unfortunately. There's also Maplehood Creek elementary school. I went there for the first 4 years then I got transferred over Rosewood" she gave him a bitter smile and a bitter laugh "In Rosewood you'd either have to be very rich, mentally disturbed or very intelligent to get in. And I'm two out of the three" her eyes showed a dark, pained haunted expression.

   Toby nodded. He understood.

  "Yeah, I've heard that about that school."

  He looked around, then whispered.

 "That woman that gave Masky the file used to go there too. You probably didn't know her or anything but she did go there." He stated earnestly.

 It was true. Jane had gone there. Toby knew several others who had gone there too.

 "I never went to school so...well I did for elementary but that didn't go too well for me." Toby said.

  Masky was glancing through the files.

  She showed an expression of understanding and relief, "so they've probably have horror stories of their own about that place".

  She looked at Toby "don't worry it didn't go too well for me either that's why I got transferred"

  She remembered her first day at that sinister place. Meeting her first real friend and making her first sworn enemy and accidentally witnessed Horacio physically torture some poor kid. All at the ripe old age of 9 years old.

  Toby nodded. 

  "Yeah. That school is absolutely ripe for producing people like, well..." He gestured around at the people in the town, "It's why where you live is such a hotspot for, well, paranormal activity as well as people like me." He explained. He didn't want to go into detail about his hellish elementary school days. He knew proxies who would watch that school day in and day out because of all the people that would just snap there.

  She looked at him. "I now see why you guys didn't decide to kill me... Makes sense I've always been able to see paranormal shit all my life from the time I could remember...I guess that I've always had some sort of potential" she gave a bitter laugh.

  "Who knew that my step dad would be proven wrong about me. The shit I saw and went through made me the survivor that I am today and I don't mean to undermine your hellish experience but to me that sounds like heaven compared to Rosewood. I wish I had your elementary experience"

  She hesitated for a minute before her expression turned dark, fearful and pained.

  "Are you aware of anyone named Horatio Galloway?" She asked quietly She held her bandaged left hand close to her.

  "Ha, well I mean if you define "heaven" as being relentlessly tormented by all your peers, having a hate club made about you, and being put in the hospital twice by kids older then you then I suppose so." Toby smiled.

  "Also, usually we kill people who are sensitive to the paranormal. Well, the people who work for my boss do."

  Toby was silent after being asked about the stranger. 

  "I'm not, I'm sorry. Though someone else here might be aware of who he is."

  "I had all of that and more. I've been put in the hospital more times then I care to remember”, she physically flinched as she felt the phantom pain of her hand and the beatings of her step dad.

  "At least you didn't watch the only people who were the closest thing you had to a real family jump to their deaths one by one at the hands of Horatio. And there was nothing I could do about it", she went quiet.

  "I-I said too much. It's not really anyone else's business", she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, "hm...if I die I at least will be with my friends again...hopefully" she sighed "that's fine...I'll get my revenge eventually...if I live long enough..."

  Toby nodded. He understood. He spoke. 

  "My father liked to say that my sister died in a car crash. She was in one, that was true, but the reason it killed her was because of a head wound my father had given her. The car cr-a-ash-", he stopped and cleared his throat, "was simply just an excuse."

   “Dads aren’t shit”, she said as she playfully punched his arm gently with her right hand with a small smile.

   Toby understood what it was like to lose people. So did a lot of the folks here. They soon were heading up a steep hill towards a monolith of a mansion. It was beautiful, with sprawling gardens and marble columns. All three of the men quickened their steps towards the metal gate, which swung open to let the group in. It seemed that whoever or whatever was inside was expecting him. Toby figured Masky had let the boss know. All proxies could communicate telepathically with their boss. But only their boss.

  She almost forgot about her anxiety as she was talking to Toby. Her anxiety spiked up as she was about to receive her fate. She went back to wringing her shirt.

  "Its so strange...I might die at any minute now and I'm strangely okay with this. You know death was very real to be growing up. I knew I'll die any day now whether I'll do it myself or someone else would", she shook her head, "I just never expected my death to be like this. This turned out to be a longer night then expected"

  Toby patted her shoulder.

  She dodged his touch and then offered him an apologetic smile.

  “Sorry instincts”

  "I'll vouch for you." He said simply.

  “What if that’s not enough? What if I have to die anyways regardless?”, stated Tabby.

   Hoodie led them up the stairs to a huge door, that also creaked open invitingly. The inside of the mansion was beautiful, with golden curtails, matching rugs, and wooden floors. Two people in matching masks and uniforms closed the door when Masky had stepped through. Without a word, they both gestured, at the same time, for the group to follow them. 

  Tabby whistled and was impressed at her surroundings.

  "This is so much better than my apartment..."

   Toby glanced at Tabby.

  "Disgraced proxies." He explained, then mentioned he would explain everything later to her after the conversation with his boss.

  "Oh...", she nodded an okay as he said that he'll explain later. She sincerely hoped that she would be alive for the explanation.

  She made the sign of the cross and put her hands together in a silent prayer and followed them. She stood up straight with her hands to her sides and kept a neutral emotionless expression for first impressions.

  Toby understood. There wasn't much he could do for her except put in a good word for her. Masky looked like he had a bit of a headache. The two people in the pearly colored masks eventually led them to a heavy door. One of them pushed it open. This room was darker than the rest of the mansion. It was cold. Painting of landscapes hung on the walls. It seemed to be some sort of sitting room. In the corner, on a plush armchair, rested a tall imposing figure. As soon as Hoodie, Masky, and Toby entered the room, they approached the chair and kneeled. The proxies in the pearly masks kneeled right next to the door, allowing Tabby to go in. Tabby entered the room cautiously and looked around. Tabby didn't know what to do. She saw everyone else kneeling so she did the same too. Wincing at her bruises as she did. She looked down, not daring to speak or look up until she was spoken too.

  The room seemed to rumble as the figure in the chair spoke.

  "Masky...why have you brought this human here?", It was a smooth, but chilling voice.

  Masky remained kneeling, and addressed his creator.

  "Conflict in the group as to what to do with her, sir.", Masky said. The being chuckled coldly.

  "How silly. Why did you not just do away with her?" The being asked. Masky sighed, and responded.

  "Some in the group believe there is no purpose in killing her." He stated firmly.

  Toby was muttering something under his breath, over and over. "Cruel but fair, cruel but fair, cruel but fair-”

  There was only one thought in her mind, "is this really going to be the end of me?"

  That was when Toby stepped in.

  "Sir! Don't punish my teammates for what I did. They both wanted to kill her but I suggested bringing her to you! I figured she...that she could be useful, maybe. Even if you just let her go, sir."

  That’s when Tabby stepped in.

  "Now wait a minute! If anyone should be killed it's me!"

  She quickly turned to the being.

  "Sir with all due respect, I should be killed. I was the one who made the stupid decision to run away from home. I was stupid enough to stumble upon them doing their job. I never should have ran away in the first place. I was stupid enough to not run away from what I stumbled upon when I had the chance" she said more quietly, "sir please don't punish them for my own stupidity. It should be me and me alone. I'll take the full blow if I must and even if it includes death", she looked down.

  Toby looked at her in shock, hoodie sucked in a breath, and Masky sighed, facepalmed and shook his head.

  She realized her mistake but it was too late to take it back. The damage was done. She was sure for certain now that she'll definitely be killed now. She waited for the consequence.

  "Silence.", The figure said, waving his tentacles threateningly.

 "I hold these men to a higher standard than mere humans. However...", The being cocked his head. "I'll admit that usually the humans brought before me simply beg for their life. You did not, which...amuses me."

  “Oh...yeah I forgot about my own life for a minute there...uh….spare me? Please?”, she said awkwardly not really putting much effort into it.

  Toby perked up. She might just be spared.

  "You simply were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Normally, I would have you slaughtered anyways.", the being paused.

  The proxies remained kneeling. The Slenderman seemed to settle.

  "Since you have amused me, I'll put your fate in your own hands. You can choose to die, in which case I shall send you out with either Knot or Paene.", he gestured to the two proxies in the pearly masks, "Or, you could stay here, and see what we can make of you."

  "You mean if I choose to stay I can live and eventually get my revenge and a new life?", she asked in disbelief.

   She thought about it, "but if I stay I'll never see my mother or little brother again..." she then remembered that her mother and little brother were treated better than her. He would never beat them, only her.

 "They don't really need me...and I have nothing else to lose… and I have been asking for a second chance at life since I was 12..." 

  She looked at the being making her final decision. As she said something that she didn’t believe, "I want to stay". Meaning that she wants to live.  

 "Very well.", the powerful being said, and offered her his hand to shake. He could sense something in her that was...darker.

 Tabby gave him a firm handshake with her right hand to seal the deal.

 "You may stay with either Masky, Hoodie, or Toby.", the being said.

 "I'll stay with Toby", she quickly looked down. Her chances of surviving would greatly increase if she stuck to him for now. Besides he was nice to her and spared her life so she kinda owes him.

 Once she proved herself useful, she could have her own home. Until then, she needed a mentor and someone who could explain the new life she was given. The being nodded to Knot and Paene to show the group out. He actually had some business to attend to with Masky and Masky only, and it involved the files he had brought to him. The Slenderman nodded, and sent her, Hoodie, and Toby out while he spoke with Masky privately. Toby was happy to at least be able to help her adjust. He hoped she'd be able to make the cut. Even though he was new, he was still a decent proxy meaning the apartment he had had two rooms and enough space for them to live comfortably. Jane was their neighbor along with a few others Toby had never met. Tabby followed Toby closely; she was careful not to stare as she was Generally polite for the most part. She saw a doctor with stitches going across her. She made damn sure to avoid her since she didn't like doctors. She saw an eccentric child playing with LJ, the Doll maker and Jason the toy maker. She saw two boys arguing with each other that reminded her of an old married couple.

  Toby was thinking. 

  "We can get Jane to make you a mask.", he said, "I think you might like her."  

  Tabby looked offended, "what's wrong with my face? Is it because of my eyes?".

  She did have unnaturally wide eyes. She often got picked on for them. People called her wide-eyed, bugsy, googly eyes ect...

  "No, no it's nothing to do with your face!", Toby assured her, "It's just that people like us wear masks. It's kind of like our new identity. But any face covering works, really."

  They passed a haggard, tall, skeletal thing with long tangled black hair. The creature's limbs were covered with dirt, mud, blood, and other...things. It watched Toby and Tabby continue on, mouth ripped open and hanging near its collar bone. It stared with its yellow blank stare. They passed a tall man with broad shoulders, very attractive and charming-looking. He was holding a cat in his arms. He looked relatively normal. They finally made it to Toby's apartment building.

  She looked at the apartment complex, "it's a lot nicer than my old apartment..." She didn't look at the other people as she didn't want others to kill her. He led her into the lobby. The lobby was empty, save for a lady at the front desk. She looked normal, save for the fact she had no eyes and her mouth was stitched shut. She was doing paperwork. Toby didn't seem to mind.

  "Come on!", He said, a little excited to show her where she'd be staying.

  Tabby gave him a small smile and let him lead the way. Toby let her into his apartment. It was oddly clean despite being lived in by an 18 year old boy. The blinds were open. There were a few dishes on the sink but nothing too unclean. The walls were a light green with dark brown trim. It was a decent place. A little cat slept peacefully on the couch. It was quiet besides the humming.

  "Your room will be the door right next to the hall closet.", he stated, "My room is locked, so don't worry about getting into the wrong room."

  She nodded in understanding as she took in her surroundings. She dropped her backpack in a corner and slowly walked up to the cat cooing at it. Not daring to touch it until she gained its trust but it's evident that she has a soft spot for cats.

  "Your apartment is nice and it's relatively clean...I always had to play Cinderella at my old apartment", said Tabby.

  Toby smiled. 

  "I just like being in clean spaces.", he said, not wanting to get into the reasons for that.

  He introduced the cat to her. The cat's name was Nugget.

  "She was a stray. I found her beating the crap out of some raccoon so I took her in. She's a real big baby."

  Nugget remained asleep, obviously unbothered by Tabby's presence.

  She nodded, "so do I. I have Bad OCD", she left it at that not wanting to get into the reasons for that. 

 "Nugget is really cute. I love cats"

  "Well, lucky for you, Nugget loves sleeping in your room so you may wake up and find her next to you.", Toby said with a smile, "I'll give you some time to settle in.".

  "Okay" she picked her back pack up and went to her room.  

  It looked the same as the rest of the place with the same colors just smaller. There was already another bed with a small bedside table and a small dresser with a mirror on it. She unpacked. She only had a week's worth of clothes for summer and winter and like 3 pairs of pjs. She put socks and underwear in one drawer, shirts in the next, pants in the next and then pjs in the next. She hung up the plain pale blue long sleeved dress that she had in the closet. She put her hygiene products and feminine products in her closet. Lastly she took out the two pictures that she had and put them on the nightstand. And she took out a couple of sketches that her best friend Autumn made for her. They were both of Tabby in different poses. She laid them on the bed. The bed was bare as there was no bedding on it. She'll buy frames for her pictures and bedding for her bed once she got money. She'll ask later if she could hang stuff up on the wall.

  Toby busied himself while she got settled into her new room. He had done the dishes from what he had managed to eat that day and checked on the food he had. He was running low, but thankfully he'd soon be paid for the mission with a bonus, as he was now training someone. Proxies got paid per mission, though it was always possible to get money on the side. The longer and more complex the mission, the more pay you'd get for it. Toby had finished cleaning up his mess in the kitchen and was looking over his mission schedule for that week. He had given Jane a call to let her know her services would soon be needed. He figured that a friendly female presence would help Tabby adjust to this place, and he knew the moment she had her mask was the moment she could go around The Pocket safely. Jane would make it to her liking. Toby knew that while he'd be the primary mentor, there were things he could not teach her and would need help with. He also knew that he needed to explain the rules.

  She sat on the bed and looked into the mirror and took a good long look at her reflection and took the time to process tonight's events. How fucking quickly her life changed from running away to becoming a proxy.

  "Wtf actually happened? How did I survive this?", she said out loud to herself.

  Toby knew his schedule was clear the next day. That would be good. He figured that they soon would need to get something to eat but Toby didn't feel it was a good idea for Tabby to go out too far without a mask. Not wearing a mask made you a target for the malus population, or even sometimes higher ranked monsters or other proxies. It was deemed unacceptable to not wear one unless on a stealth mission. Thankfully Tabby has bad social anxiety so it's unlikely that she'll ever venture out by herself. If anything she'll venture out if she had too only with another person with her. Toby knew that she would have to make friends to survive for long here. It was always best to have someone in your corner unless things went to crap. Thankfully Toby knew some decent people who could definitely help her out of her shell a tad and also would be loyal. She decided to leave Toby alone for now since she didn't want to get in his way and bother him. He knew where to get her if he needed her. She just flopped on the bed staring up at the ceiling. It's insomnia week so she's not going to sleep for a couple of days. Her anxiety died down and the adrenaline wore off.

  She talked quietly out loud to herself, "Alrighty ground rules. Don't speak unless spoken too. Only make eye contact for a little bit when someone is talking to you. Always be polite and respectful, fight if you have too, just keep your head low, stay out of the way and if someone asks you to do something quickly, quietly and efficiently".

  She nodded as she agreed with the rules that she made for herself. She gave herself a little pep talk.

  "I survived Rosewood for the last 8 years. I can survive here. This is no different from Rosewood only the steaks are higher. I can live with that. I'm sure there's a weapon store somewhere here. I can buy some weapons to defend myself with when I absolutely have to go alone". She took a deep breath "I'm finally going to do it Autumn...I'm going to avenge you and the others....just hold on"

  Toby knocked on her door, and let her know he was going out for groceries. He told her Jane would be over in about fifteen minutes to start working on a mask with her and asked her if she needed anything. He was planning on just making some simple food for dinner. Jane was a very talented mask maker, and Toby knew that she would do a good job with Tabby's. Toby had a bit of a flashback. When he was new, still slightly burned and bruised from the fire, he was sitting down on some stone steps outside a building and he was crying. He remembered feeling a tap on his shoulder and seeing Jane sitting next to him. She was ranked lower than he was, she had explained, so he could feel assured she wouldn't hurt him. He remembered her taking him back to her apartment and making him some food before showing him where he was supposed to go. Jane was an incredibly sweet person and was able to make people just open up to her. She did a lot of espionage missions and did a lot of work with stealth.

  Tabby opened up the door and nodded.

  "Do you think you can buy my two frames? About an 8 x 9? And at least two knives for me to defend myself when I absolutely have to go alone? And some bedding too?", she added quickly, "if you don't want too that's fine! I can wait until I get my own money! I don't need anything fancy! Just something sturdy and simple. And something warm. I don't want to be a burden on you. I can take care of myself! I don't want you to think I'm trying to take advantage of you! I'm actually really grateful!", she babbled on as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt and looked down prepared for the harsh comeback.

  "It's okay! I can get that for you. Any specific colors you want for the bedding and the frames or should I just get stuff that matches the room?", Toby asked. He had no problem providing her with stuff. She was a guest in his home and he would be a bad host if he didn't help her out. Plus she was in a new world with new rules that probably seemed a bit hellish. If he could help in any way he would be happy to. 

  "Oh, and I'm grilling some chicken and making some salad for dinner. Is that okay or do you want me to bring you back something?", he asked.

  "Teal...I like the color teal...it's my favorite... as for the frames just simple black ones will do. No need to be fancy.", she added quietly.

  She listened to him when he said what he was making for dinner, “That's fine I'm not a picky eater. but I have to watch you make it because I don't trust anyone to make my food unless I'm watching or if I'm making it myself. It could be poisoned. No offense to you".

   It was common knowledge at Rosewood that you don't eat the school food as everyone's caught Horatio poisoning the food more times than not. So everyone brought their own lunch and the kitchen shut down.

  "Okay, that's fine with me.", Toby assured her, "You can even help me cook it if you want.".

  He understood. When he first got to the Pocket he was given to an older proxy to be trained to who called himself Demitrius. Toby had been training with a girl named Farrah. Demitrius despised them. He was so awful to them, which they both had to take as they were new. Then they had both started getting sicker and sicker. Farrah had found out that they were slowly being poisoned so they were both moved to different mentors. He didn't feel like explaining that however.

  "I'll make sure I'll get you what you need, okay?”, said Toby.

  She nodded as she sounded relieved, "Okay. I'm pretty good in the kitchen myself".

  As she's always had to cook dinner for the 5 of them, the people she lived with. On top of her working at the This or That restaurant. 

  "Okay thank you", she ventured out to the living room as she sat down on the edge of the couch since he mentioned that a girl named Jane was coming over soon.

  "Okay, I'll see you.", Toby said with a smile. He turned and left the apartment with a list.

  Soon enough, the door slid open. The woman from earlier came into the apartment. She was tall, and wearing a very pretty painted mask and a wig. She had changed from the dress from earlier into a long sleeved t shirt and jeans.

  "Hey hon! I'm Jane.", the woman said with a kind voice.

  She quickly looked up at her, "hello my name is Tabby", she quickly looked back down again as she was fidgeting with her shirt again. She was covered in bruises and scars old and new. And her bandaged left hand was obvious.

  She stood up trying to be a good hostess, "would you like anything to drink? I'm sure we only have water here for now".

  Jane smiled and shook her head.

  "No thank you, I'm good.", she said.

  Jane noted her bruises, scars, and her hand. She gave her a smile.

  "I was asked to come here to discuss the type of mask you would like.", she said tentatively.

  "Hmm...I don't want anything too fancy as I don't want to drag attention to myself more than I already will since I'm fresh meat...and something of a teal color", she was thinking as she made room for Jane to sit if she wanted to. Jane sat next to her with a smile, "Hm, teal, that would look nice. You won't be fresh meat for long, but I understand wanting a plain mask. Maybe a golden design over the teal? That could look very pretty."

  Tabby nodded excitedly, "yeah! Like golden spirals in different directions"

 Jane nodded, "That could be pretty.", she sketched out a tentative design and showed it to her.

  "Yeah...", she just stared for a couple of minutes as she was having a flashback to when Autumn was alive. She was the artistic one in the group. And was also her best friend/big sister. She was always showing Tabby her sketches.  

  She shook her head to clear away the memories.

  "Like that", she confirmed.

  "Okay! Anything else? Would you like me to paint the lips, add any engravings, stuff like that?", Jane asked.

  She remembered one older proxy, about 40, who had lost his entire group in one mission. He had come to her and had her engrave their names on one side of his mask.

  She hesitated for a minute, "could you engrave 14 names in the inside of the mask? And paint the lips black please?".

  "Okay, lips black. Can you write out the names please?", Jane asked, handing her the sketchbook and a pencil. She would be more than happy to.

  Tabby took her sketch book and wrote down the names 'autumn, ora, Emma, heath, Gavin, Donny, Rebecca, Mitchell, Morgan, jewel, Julie, Caleb, Riley, Emmy, and Daniel'. She handed back the sketch book.

  "Okay. I'll carve them on the inside of the mask.", She said.

  She figured those names carried sentimental value to Tabby.

  Tabby looked up, "thank you", and she looked down.

  Jane nodded, "I'll have it done by either tomorrow or the next day, okay?".

  Tabby nodded, "yes that's fine. Take all the time you need. I don't plan on going out anytime soon".

  "Of course. I'll get it ready.".

  "Okay then", Tabby wasn't really good at holding up conversations as she never really got too much socializing. Especially if it's a stranger.

  Jane smiled.

  "Would you like me to leave, or would you feel more comfortable with someone else in the apartment?", Jane asked with a smile.

  "Oh you can stay if you want if you're not busy", she won't admit it but she didn't want to be alone in this strange new world just yet.

 "I'm not all that busy. If I could bring some of my mask making stuff over here that would be great.", Jane said. She understood

 "Yeah that's fine. I'm sure Toby won't mind as long as there's no mess afterwards".

 "Oh I won't make a mess.", Jane said peacefully. She said she would be very fast.

  "Unbelievable", she said in thought, "I'm talking to a killer...I'm having an ally ship with two of them so far", she shook her head, "my life really did take a drastic change"

  Jane went to her apartment and soon came back with all her supplies. She could get three of her orders done if she worked fast. Jane began to chat with Tabby as she set up. 

  "So Tabby, you're very new, hm?".

  "Yeah my life turned into this in one night. I was honestly not expecting this to happen. Originally I was running away", admitted Tabby.

  Jane nodded. She understood. She began making the mold for one of the masks.

  "I understand. But this will be a pleasant change, you'll see.", Jane promised, "Revenge and whatnot is quite exhilarating”.

  She shook her head slowly, "I hope so. I'm just doing it because I know I can't die and go with my friends without avenging them while he is still out on the streets and in school. Someone else will suffer at his hands and I'll be damned if someone else has to suffer by the hands of him like I did", she said quietly.

  "I think I know who you're talking about.", Jane said, "And...if it's any consolation at all, ghosts do exist and several of them have contact with other dead folks. There may be a way to talk to your friends, albeit temporarily.", She set the mask cast to dry and made another one.

  "There's only one I would like to talk to one last time. I owe her everything after all she did for me", she said quietly. She then changed the subject.

  "Toby said that you also went to Rosewood Prep".

  "He's right. I used to. I still have human contacts in there.", Jane said. She set a fan on the first mask as she finished the second one.

  "So how long ago was that? What was it like? Was it still the same students who were just as corrupt as the teachers? Was it like the hunger games where you had to be on guard and fight every day to survive only with more rules and regulations? What horror stories do you have of that place?", she asked excitedly. She never met anyone who lived long enough to get out of Rosewood. Normally the people who do got the fuck out the first chance they got and were never really heard from ever again.

  "I was there two years ago, actually. I'm still pretty new here myself. I...I have a lot of stories.", Jane said.

   She shifted anxiously, "I once got caught stealing food from the kitchen, and they locked me in the sports shed for almost a week. They poured water on the ground for me every day and I had to lick it up from the ground. Teachers would have favorite kids and that would keep them out of trouble. Rich kids were treated much better. Anyone who made lower than a C on anything was punished. Sometimes they would lock kids who were hallucinating in the upstairs bathroom and just leave them there. I have so many."

  "Horatio Galloway" Tabby’s face paled and her eyes were wide in fear, "most of my horror stories had to do with him" "rarely did I ever get into trouble with the teachers. I was always a straight A student. It's only when I got into trouble for skipping classes because of Horatio".

  "I think I remember him.", Jane said, "I didn't get in as much trouble with him ever. I did okay in my schooling but I was rebellious.". Jane set the second mask to the side, and started on another.

  "It was probably a good thing that you've gotten punished for stealing the food. It was probably poisoned by him. I'd rather be locked in the sports shed than have a slow death", pointed out Tabby.

  "It was before the food was prepared. I wasn't stupid. I took fruits and veggies and unopened pre packaged things. They were denying a friend of mine food. I got caught after she got to eat.", Jane spoke with some pride.

  "Good for you", Tabby said proudly.

  Tabby then looked down and her voice quivered, "then you must be aware of the Rosewood massacre that happened a month back", She rubbed her left hand.

  Jane's eyes darkened, "I heard rumors about the massacre but don't know the details. Several of my friends are still there...".

  "I can tell you the real full story. The massacre as they called it really did happen. I saw it with my own eyes but being the person that Horatio is he made damn sure that I couldn't do a damn thing about it", she gave a bitter laugh, ”always had it out for me since day 1".

  Jane looked sadly at her.

  "I'm so sorry you had to be there.", Jane said softly she began to paint the first mask, a pretty lavender mask, "Talk about it only if you would like to." She sighed and thought about it for a while. She's never talked to anyone about this.

  "It...was homecoming...you know at Rosewood how each homecoming is a different theme every year. This year was carnival themed. Which I don't like as it is because I have a severe distrust of clowns. Too many horror movies growing up you know? Anyways my mom decided to let me go to the event and she and my grandmother came with me. That was the catch. Horacio was standing at the entrance dressed as the ringleader handing out pink candies that were laced with LSD to everyone. You should know at Rosewood it is common knowledge that you do not take anything that Horacio gives you. Whatever it may be. I didn't take the candy because I knew better. I tried warning my mom and grandmother about it but they wouldn't listen. I was too smart for his bullshit but not smart enough. I couldn't find my friend group anywhere. But I knew that they were here so I didn't worry about it too much and I'll find them later. So I got to the seats and watched the show which was quite boring since I wasn't hallucinating from the candy. But the last act though. It was outside. I saw all my friends lined up on the rooftop of the school and it's a fucking tall building. while everyone was thinking that they were doing some acrobatic tricks i watched them jump to their deaths one by one....i was screaming and crying begging someone to help but all ignored me and i couldn't shout because they were too far up hear me and I couldn't break into the school either. i couldn't do anything. later on the LSD wore off and they were mortified to find the 14 dead bodies. all confused on how it happened. So they deemed it the Rosewood Massacre. After the show was over I confronted Horacio about what he did. I attacked him to strangle him. My goal was to kill him. but the problem was that we're too evenly matched with each other. in strength and intelligence so it turned out to be a fist fight. we did a good amount of damage to each other. until he caught one of my punches and shoved my fist through a closed window shattering the window and every bone in my hand. i had to get the glass surgically removed as it was deep in the tissue so i can't feel a thing in my hand anymore and they had to set my hand for the broken bones to heal. But since doctors refused to do their jobs correctly they set it wrong so it healed wrong and now my hand is paralyzed. he took everything away from me! My family! My home! My motivation to live then! and my hand!", she was more hurt than angry.

   Tabby quickly looked away to recompose herself, "I'm sorry for the sudden outburst. I never talked about that day since to anyone before".

  "I understand." ,Jane said softly. She had been letting the lavender mask dry so she could paint flowers on it and had been working on the second one, listening to the subject.

  "I'm so sorry.", Jane said softly, "I understand what it's like to lose everyone. A lot of the teachers at that school were just plain cruel, and I still don't know how and why the human government hasn't shut down that institution or why parents won't stop sending their children there. No one deserves to lose people the way you did." 

  "That's because the shit they do there is unbelievable. No one would believe them if others heard their stories. I don't know about your parents but mine didn't believe me either and neither did my therapists", explained Tabby.

  The second mask was a half white and half black one. 

  "We can get you an appointment with the Puppeteer perhaps. He can just drain your sadness away." The Puppeteer was highly sought after for his empath abilities. It comes back after a while unless he numbs your memory, but it's nice to feel peace just for a little while."

  She shook her no.

  "No thank you. I don't like my mind being tampered with. I've been through 7 psychologists. I don't need anyone else. My sadness, anger and grief is my motivation to put Horacio Down once and for all. I can have peace of mind after that", said Tabby.

  "I understand. He doesn't tamper with your mind though. He feeds in negative emotions so you can at least get a bit of sleep and have a moment where everything feels okay. And you're right. My parents didn't believe me either. All my letters were monitored as I lived in the boarding section.", Jane said, "My parents didn't believe in therapy, so."

  She finished up the first mask. It looked lovely and glossy.

  "As much as that sounds nice. I can't sleep even if I wanted too. I have insomnia and narcolepsy. So it's a hit or miss", explained Tabby. "I've heard horror stories about the boarding section. I guess I was considered lucky enough to be able to go back to the place where I lived".

  "Oh, he can deal with that too.", Jane said, "He's honestly a blessing. And yeah. The boarding rooms were awful.", She didn't want to go into too much detail.

   "Maybe I'll think about it" , she nodded in understanding. She learned in order to keep a friend you don't push boundaries and you don't ask too many questions.

  "So Tabby. What do you do for fun?", asked Jane, changing the subject.

  "Fun?" she asked, confused. She had to sneak around after school or at night in order to have some fun as her step dad was a cruel and strict man.

  "I normally like to read and write, have time to myself to philosophize. I liked to hang out with my friends whenever I could. Listen to music”, Tabby finally said.

  "Ah, I see." Jane said. "Those are fun hobbies. What do you like to write?" She asked. She had stenciled out a white design for the black side of the mask and mirrored that design in black for the white side. The third mask was hardening.

  "I like to write fiction. Darkly realistic fiction. Sometimes free verse poetry", Tabby said.

  "Oh, that seems fun." Jane said, continuing her work on the masks. She checked the little black clock up on the wall. "Toby will be home soon."

  "Yeah. Although I left all my written works back at Rosewood. I didn't think to bring them back to the place where I lived. I didn't exactly plan on running away. It was a spur of the moment type thing you know?", she nodded, "I'm not too worried about him. He seems like he's the type that can handle himself"

  "Ah, I understand. Maybe you could get Toby to get you some notebooks or something to write in." Jane said. "And you're right, he most definitely can. He's pretty strong."

  "Maybe and that's good I guess"

  Jane finished up the second mask and began working on the third. She looked like she was thinking. 

  "Has Toby told you the rules yet?", Jane asked.

  She shook her head no, "I know that there are rules and guidelines. I figured I would ask him later when he got back”

  "Ah. Well, if you'd like, I could start filling you in." Jane offered.

  "That would help out a lot. The more I know the less of a chance I have of being killed", said Tabby.

  "Okay. I'll tell you a few of the official rules then." Jane said, adjusting her position and making sure her mask was secure. "First of all, there is a hierarchy here that is absolutely set in stone. Since you're a proxy, you're lower in the hierarchy, but you are not the lowest of the low."

  "Sounds like my position in any life in general but okay what else?" She asked.

  "It's best to try to consort with your rank and above. So for you, that would be other proxies and monsters. The higher beings are not likely to befriend you so I wouldn't bother." Jane explained.

  "So like you and Toby for example?”, asked Tabby.

  "Not me, actually. Toby flaunts a few of the rules because he's popular. I am actually one of the lowest in the hierarchy." Jane said with an awkward nod. "It's not like you'd be punished for speaking with me or anything like that. People would just look down their noses a bit at you."

  "That's nothing new to me. I can live with that. Who would be my best chance to make an ally with, the higher proxies I mean?"

  "Hm. If you want high-ranking proxies that are pretty friendly, then believe it or not, Masky would be your go to guy. If he's not trying to kill you, he's very pleasant. Clockwork is another proxy I would chat with if I were you. She runs that little bar a couple minutes from here. Kate's not high ranking, but she can pull you a lot of favors because she knows people. There are a few monsters who don't care too much about the hierarchy either.”

  "He was trying to earlier. If it wasn't for Toby I would mostly likely be dead in the woods. I'm avoiding him for a while. I could give Clockwork and Kate a chance once my social anxiety dies down and when I get the courage to go out on my own willingly. Anything else that I need to know?"

  Jane nodded. "Yes. Relationships with humans that aren't mission-related or cleared by your boss as allies is VERY against the rules. It will get you put down to my level."

  Tabby nodded slowly "well I'm too fucked up for a relationship. I'm sure no one would want me anyways...The man I loved is dead now. No one will replace him. So I can have allies but it has to be cleared by the boss first?"

  "Yes. By allies I mean humans who are aware of our world and have chosen to side with us." She was painting what looked like a galaxy on the third mask. And I would be careful. You may find someone and it may shock you. I didn't expect-" Jane stopped then continued painting in silence.

  "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I'm not the one to push boundaries. And that makes sense. What else do I need to know?”, asked Tabby.

  "Treat all gifts with suspicion. Even if they're from people you know. There are a lot of backstabbers here."

  "I'm highly intuitive and I have serious trust issues. I don't trust anybody or anything. Unless I see them making it or doing something with my own eyes. I've already came up with the conclusion that this is no different from Rosewood. Except the stakes are higher and I have more freedom for the most part. If we survived Rosewood for that long we can survive here". What else?"

  "You'll find that this may be a bit tougher than Rosewood, mainly due to the missions. This is a very high stakes job. Many proxies die young. But it is also so rewarding too, really. Cause once you root yourself here, you've got some people that have your back."

   "Well then I guess I'll have to do my best not to die. I'll try to keep myself alive for as long as possible. Is there anyone I I shook steer clear away from? Like a red flag warning?”

  "Jeff." Jane said firmly. "Ignore him. Don't do favors for him and don't let him do favors for you. Ever." Her hands remained steady even if she was freaking out.

  "Is Jeff to you like Horacio was for me?" She asked quietly. "I'm good at ignoring people. I ignore people like they are the plague. I'm antisocial af"

  "Well, he set me on fire and murdered my family in front of me, so yeah, I'd say so." Jane said. She said it in a way to make it seem like it didn't hurt her but it was easy to tell that it did.

  "Horatio can't get me here...can he?" Her voice quivered and her eyes were wide with fear.

  "Horatio is just a measly little human." Jane said. "After you're trained and fully transformed, he won't really be able to harm you on his own. You could absolutely humiliate him.

  "But he's always been 10 steps ahead of me...I couldn't even get close enough to kill him and believe me I've tried countless times...what if he's still 10 steps ahead of me after I transformed? All my efforts would be in vain"

  "He won't be. Like I said. He's just a stupid human. You will be able to get rid of him with no sweat."

  She sighed the problem with Horatio was that she and him were too evenly matched. In intelligence and strength. She just uses her intelligence differently than he did.

  "I'm sorry for what you went through...including the stuff with Rosewood. I really am. What else do I need to know?", asked Tabby, changing the subject.

  “It's fine. I'm coping okay. You should probably know that the ghost community is a great community to be friends with." Jane admitted. "They're everywhere and they can get into places for you."

  She nodded "I'll try talking to them at some point”

  "I can easily introduce you to almost anyone you'll need to know. When you finish training, you'll be put into a group."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Proxies work in groups. Usually. You'll be given missions to do either solo, with some members of your group, or your whole group. They will be the people you can trust most."

  She nodded in understanding "Toby said something earlier about disgraced proxies. What are those?”

  "People like me. Other people call us honorary humans, or just disgraces. They are proxies or monsters who have broken some of the cardinal rules and were caught and punished for them."

  She nodded in understanding, taking in the information "is there anything else I should know?"

.  "Not really much that I can think of right now."

  "Okay thank you for taking the time and effort to explain things to me. I'll take your advice. I'll ask Toby if there's anything else I should know when he gets here and see what advice he has. I'd like to hear what he has to say"

   "You should. I'm just telling you things I know from experience." Jane said. She heard footsteps outside the room.

   Tabby froze as her ears picked up on the noise. She got defensive ready to attack or bolt. Toby, carrying everything he had bought at the grocery store in his arms and a basket. Jane got up to help him unload it all. Tabby sighed in relief and she got up to help too. Her mom made her carry 4-5 heavy bags in each hand every time they went grocery shopping. She may be small but she definitely has some lean muscle to her. She's still useful despite her left hand. Toby thanked both of them. He set down the bags of food on the counter and handed the things that Tabby had specifically requested to her. Jane had gone to start packing up her stuff after putting some things away. She knew that she probably needed to go now. Tabby went to her room to put down the bags. She'll take them out later once everything settles down. She went back out to help.

    Jane pack up.

   Jane pretty much had everything packed up and ready to go.

   "I'll swing by tomorrow with your mask." She assured Tabby

  "Okay. It was nice meeting you and having you here. It's nice to know I'm not alone with Rosewood"

  "You're definitely not alone. If you need someone to talk with who's not, well, a man-" Jane smiled a bit. "Then just give me a call or drop by. I literally live next door."

  She laughed. She gave herself a weird look. It was a sound that she hadn't heard in a long time. She only reserved it for Adam or her friends. "Well that's convenient then!"

  Jane nodded and smiled. It was nice to hear her laugh. Toby's voice came from the kitchen.    

  "Thanks for coming, Jane!" Jane smiled at Tabby and waved goodbye Tabby gave a small wave goodbye. Jane left the apartment. Toby poked his head in and let Tabby know he was going to start cooking now if she felt she needed to make sure her food was safe. Tabby nodded and she went in to help cook the food while keeping a close eye on Toby to make sure he didn't try anything with the food. Despite her hand she was actually very handy with a knife (cooking wise and also fighting wise). She was very fast and efficient in the kitchen. She was using her wrist to hold some of the vegetables in place as she cut them. On top of always cooking dinner at home for 5 people she also worked in a kitchen at a small restaurant afterschool. It got her out of the house for a while since she never wanted to go home. She only quit last month due to her hand. Honestly she would have become a chef if she never made the choice to come here. Toby made sure she saw and knew what was going on with the chicken he was cooking. If he added a spice, he told her what it was. He admired how skilled she was with a knife even though one of her hands was essentially crippled. He could tell she had experience. That was good to know. Most of the killers couldn't cook. Jane always ended up burning everything so he always offered her food. The neighbors next door, however, were excellent cooks but since they were literally a family unit, Toby never really spoke to them. He knew that monsters and proxies would sometimes settle down and start families but he never really met them. Most families got moved to another part of town. But she was the type of person to go through with her choice when she made one whether it was good or bad. She would see it through to the bitter end crash and burn. That was the most dangerous thing about Tabby.

   She liked how Toby respected her wishes and went out of his way to tell her what the spices were. She never really had a lot of respect in her life so it was a nice change. She liked how the moved well together in the kitchen. It almost reminded her of those types of families she saw on tv that the husband and wife would help each other in the kitchen. The thought made her look down and blush a little.

   Moving on. She was thinking about the irony of her situation. She hated all adults she didn't know in general specifically males in particular. And here she was living with an adult serial killer and a Male nevertheless. The situation made her burst out laughing out of nowhere.

   "Jesus...unbelievable...", she said, wheezing for breath.

   Toby glanced over at her.

  "Hey, you okay?" He asked.

  He had ticked a bit in the middle of the "okay" but it hadn't really affected his speech. He figured she might have gotten herself with the knife a bit. But then why would she be laughing? Hm. The chicken was almost done. After dinner he would go out to check his mail to make absolutely sure he had no bills to pay or no missions he had neglected to see. He could hear faintly next door a baby crying. He heard footsteps, a small creaking sound, and some shushing. Soon the baby quieted. Toby smiled to himself. The people next door never let their baby cry for too long. They were very considerate neighbors. 

   She calmed down a little bit, wiping her tears away from laughing as she was still giggling.

  "I'm fine. I'm not hurt. Even if I did get myself with the knife I wouldn't feel it because I used to work in a kitchen so my hands are pretty calloused".

  She showed him her left arm that had a crescent shaped burn mark on her bicep.

  "That's from work. I didn't realize it until two hours later when my arm was feeling irritated. So I looked down and saw a burn mark about 2 inches and a half in diameter. It eventually died down and became this. I was laughing because I realized the irony of my situation. You see I never really trusted adults in general. They don't do their jobs protecting their own kids. But if you're male you have a higher chance of me not trusting you. And here I am living with a technical adult male serial killer! I don't think you understand. I went against everything I knew and believed in one night. I took a leap of faith and I don't do that for just anyone so you better feel special”, Tabby explained.

   She smiled and shook her head, "my life really did take a drastic turn of events".

  Toby nodded. He understood. He offered her a small smile.

  "Well, I'm glad you did decide to take a leap of faith." He said earnestly. He plated up the chicken, then asked if she needed help with finishing up the salads. He heard faint music from Jane's apartment. The baby next door didn't start crying again. It was, for once, pretty peaceful. It was impossible to hear outside while the windows were closed, but if they were open it would be highly probable they would hear screaming.

   She shook her head no, "the salad will be done in a few minutes. I just needed to put the vegetables in and toss it" she did that and tossed it using a chef's flip without utensils mixing it good. The salad is done”.

  She plated the salad on both of their plates. She sat down and waited for him to sit to begin eating. Toby sat across from her with his plate. He was starving. He had gotten himself a knife and fork, and had gotten some for Tabby as well. He asked her if she wanted anything to drink. He had water, soda, and juice. No milk. He was lactose intolerant.

  "I would like some water please"

  Her expression changed to a more serious one as she was going to get down to serious business.

  "So Jane told me the basics of the rules. Like how there is a hierarchy. We're proxies so we're low but not the lowest of the low. How ally ships between us and humans and humans not from here are strictly prohibited. It's best to have a few higher up proxies as allies. And that I should stay away from Jeff" "but I want to hear what you have to say. Like anything else I should really know? Anyone I should stay clear away from?"

  Toby went up to get them both some water.

  "She's right. She covered almost everything. Especially about Jeff, though if you get on his good side he can teach you some pretty cool stuff. I think it's important to know higher being politics as well. Proxies have a specific boss. Monsters can serve whoever they want and do jobs for whoever. But it's important to know which higher being hates who, because sometimes they will act out against the proxies that serve that higher being."

  She nodded slowly in understanding "I'm fairly observant so I'm sure I'll pick up a few things on higher being politics here".

  "Is there anyone who you think I should stay away from personally?" She said in between bites. She was scarfing down her food like she wouldn't see food again. She didn't eat much in general for the last 8 years due to Rosewood. You had to bring your own lunch and her family was too poor to buy extra food. So she ate dinner at home and that was the only meal she would eat. They barely had enough food for the month while struggling for rent. Although when she was very young she could eat like a champ. For the last 3 months when her step dad came up with the cruel and unusual punishment for her to eat nothing but rice. But she got sick of it and she either stole a little bit of food from the stores when her mom used to send her out or Autumn was very generous and brought her some food for her own house.

   "I'm also not too fond of Jeff. But I also wouldn't trust LJ either. But he's friends with BEN and The Puppeteer so you can't really avoid him." The ghost community was super tight.

   "Is there enough for seconds?", she asked.

   "Yeah. There's enough for seconds if you'd like."

   "I don't trust clowns either. I watched too many horror movies as a child you know? But I'll be wary and cautious like I usually am with everyone and everything else" she got up for seconds and scarfed down her second and third plate. It wasn't until her fourth plate when she stopped.

  By then the entire thing of food Toby had cooked was gone. He didn't mind one bit however. He got up to do the dishes.

  "Yeah, don't trust clowns. They aren't...they aren't all that great. Especially here."

  "They're never in general". She went to help with the dishes while drying them. 

  "Thank you" she said quietly after a period of silence.

  "No problem." Toby said with a smile. He helped put the dishes away after they were finished. He heard a meow and saw Nugget plodding towards them. Tabby's face lit up as she started cooing at the cat and kneeled down to pet Nugget. She sucked in a breath at the pain of her bruises. She started petting the cat affectionately.

   Nugget purred and pressed her body up against Tabby, her tail indicating that she was pleased with this. Toby smiled.

  "I think there's a scrap of chicken on the table. Hold on."

  "I mean if you give it food you have a higher chance of befriending the animal. It works with me”

  Toby laughed and picked up some scraps of chicken from the counter. He offered them to Tabby so she could feed the cat. Tabby took some. She ate a piece herself and feed the rest of the scraps to Nugget one by one. Nugget seemed to enjoy the chicken. Her purring was very loud as she ate it. Toby watched from afar with a smile.

  "Is there a library around here?"

  "Yeah, there is. I could take you there." Toby offered.

  "Good. If you're not busy tomorrow that is. I would much rather have someone to come with me to show me around and I'm not taking the chance of dying on my first day out since I'm fresh meat as it is so curious about the new girl that it is inevitable to say the least. Two is better than one. "I would also like to get books on this place and plants and stuff so I can have a lesser chance of dying and not being afraid. A wise man once told me that you can't be afraid of something that you understand. Like being afraid of the dark for example" she babbled.

  "Sure thing." Toby said, "I don't have any missions tomorrow and your training schedule hasn't been sent yet. Books will be good and all but talking to other people about stuff here will make it much easier to learn. Like, you can read all you'd like about the poison daisy, but field experience with someone who knows much more about it will be helpful. Also, we still have to teach you how to fight properly and other things that will make you more successful. It will come much easier to you once you fully transform though."

   "Okay. And I know that there's only something you can learn from experience. I just want to learn all I can from books first. The rest I'll ask around and experience for myself and what do you mean "properly"? Are you saying I can't fight. I may be crippled but that doesn't mean I can't kick some ass one handedly! I'll have you know I've gotten into a lot of fights and I've won the majority of them. Well despite getting my ass kicked many times before..."

  "I understand." Toby said to her first comment. He wanted her to learn as much as she could from books first too, it would keep her from being gullible and from getting hurt badly.

  "I'm not saying you can't fight, I'm saying that you're living with people who fight and hurt for a living. You've won fights, sure, but that's against humans." Toby finished cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. "It isn't a smart idea to overestimate your own abilities here. Really. The people here are stronger than humans, are faster than humans, can take more damage than humans, some have literal magic powers, or extra limbs, or whatever. "

  She sighed in defeat.

  "That's true. This isn't Rosewood. I'm not up against people my own age who are equal in intelligence and strength and skills. This isn't my territory. But I'll adapt and overcome like everything else in my life so far. I'm a quick learner. Just one day at a time that's all", said Tabby tiredly.

  "I know. That will help you live." Toby said. He sighed, then smiled.

 "Don't worry. We can train you. We can also get the WPA to train you so you're specialized if you want." Toby said.

  "What's WPA?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

 "The Women's Proxy Association." Toby said. "They're a group of specialized fighters that ensure the training of female proxies. They're bad asses. They're kind of like Amazons, if you want the human equivalent.”

  "Oh...that sounds like something I'd be interested in..." she was still tilting her head but smiled up at him.

  "Oh and another thing. If we're going to be living together for a while we need to establish ground rules. I only have two. One, please don't lie to me. I give you the common courtesy to give honest information. I would also like to be hurt with the truth instead of living a lie. If we're going to be working together in some way we're going to need some form of honest communication. Two, please don't fight my battles for me. I don't like other people suffering from my own stupidity and I know in this society that's just the way shit goes around here but I'll do my best to minimize that when someone's with me. I can and will take care of myself. If someone has a problem with me it's with me alone and nobody else okay? Does that sound reasonable to you?".

  Toby nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good. I don't really have any ground rules for myself at the moment, but I'll let you know.

  He was pretty honest for a proxy, and while he wasn't the type to let people he cared for get beat up, he understood how she would want to stand up for herself. It was good she had that drive to stick up for herself. Proxies who didn't have that usually ended up dead.

  "So what do you want to do now?", Tabby asked.

   "Well, seeing is it's kinda late, we should probably get some sleep." Toby said. "Well, you should. I have another small mission tonight but it shouldn't take too long."

   "Ah well you see I have insomnia...and narcolepsy so I don't ever get enough sleep. This is a week and a half of no sleep. But I'll be here when you get back. Try not to die okay?" She gave him a small smile. Which was code for 'be careful I care somewhat’.

  "I won't, it's a fairly riskless mission." Toby assured her. It really wasn't too bad of a mission. "It's just a delivery." Toby got up to leave. "There's sleeping pills in the hall closet if you'd like. They've got the power of like, horse tranquilizers."

  "Alright I'll think about it and I'll see you later"

  "Alright, I'll see you." Toby soon left.

  Tabby went to her room to unpack the bags that Toby had bought her. She took out the frames and gently slid both pictures into their frames and set them on her night stand. She took out the two knives and positioned them like she was about to get into a fight. They were good for defense. Tabby took out the bedding; it was a soft patchwork blanket with a teal color scheme and pillows to match. She positioned them just how she liked them. She decided to not hang up Autumn's artwork so she put them in her nightstand and deemed that it would be private and personal.

   Toby slipped through the shadows, the package in hand. He realized the quickest route would be through monster's only territory, but as long as he wasn't caught he would be fine. He darted through the trees, paying close attention to any noise he would hear. He eventually managed to pass through it unharmed, which made the bulk of his journey a lot easier.

   She stepped back until she was near the door to take a look at her room. It was simple and basic but you could tell that it was her room. Then she came across the dawning realization "like it or not this is home now". Home. That was a place she hasn't had in a long time. Sure she lived with her mother and two brothers and her step dad. But it wasn't considered home or a family. Tabby knew that a home is where you feel safe and you belong and a family accepts you for you broken or not. Tabby shook her head.

  "This isn't home. I mean I'm living in this world now so I guess this world is my home now but this place isn't. It's not my territory and I barely even know him" she talked out loud to herself.

   Toby walked down streets that were covered in multicolor slick, which was essentially the water in this dimension. He carried the package in his gloved hands. Even through his mask, he could smell something cooking. He knocked on a heavy dark door. It swung open almost immediately. He gritted his teeth as cigarette smoke permeated the air. It reeked. The man standing before him was tall, and horrendously burned. The tales told about him said that his skin had been bleached, and that was partially the case. However most of his skin was mottled and scarred with varying shades of red. His face was barely distinguishable as a face. The eyes were sunken and shriveled. The nose was covered in scars. His mouth was clumsily cut into a wide, oozing grin. The man seemed to sniff the air. He clicked his tongue.

  "Ah. Twinkle Toes. Nice to...hehe... see you." 

  "Hey Jeff." Toby said uncomfortably. "Is Barb here? She told me to bring her this." He held up the small package. Jeff clicked his tongue again. He felt the package with his marred hand while seeming to stare directly at Toby. 

  "Yeah, Barb's here. You can come in.”

   Her eyes widened in paranoia as that was kicking in now "how much did I tell him really? He isn't stupid so I'm sure he picked up on more than what I told him...wait let's see...I told him about my insomnia, narcolepsy, anxiety and OCD, I told him about Rosewood, I told him about Horacio, he already figured out I came from an abusive home...", she counted on her fingers. Several things. Not bad. Nothing too personal, just observations and bare basic surface. She sighed in relief. But her paranoia was still there "why did he spare my life? Me out of everyone else that could have stumbled across tonight? On top of that, why is he so nice? I mean I appreciate it but No one is this nice for free. Accept for Autumn but we were kids then and we didn't really know anything. What if he's trying to gain my trust just to catch me off guard to kill me later? Especially in my sleep...what if he has other motives? I can't trust him nor am I going too. I'll work well with him and I'll be nice and kind back because it's right. But trust seems to be a long shot...", she rubbed the bridge of her nose like she had a headache. She hated when her paranoia showed up. "Goddamn Rosewood" she muttered to herself. She got out of her room to pace around the apartment to think out loud.

  "However he did save my life...if it wasn't for him I would have probably gotten my death wish early...and he did take me in for now...so like with Autumn I kinda owe him everything" 

   She shook her head "I am thankful for all he's done for me so far...but I can not and will not care too much. It's like Jane said a proxies life isn't that long on average....I don't want to hurt him and have his efforts of keeping me alive to be in vain...that's not fair to him. I'll have allies but no friends. All my friends are dead and they can not and will not be replaced. Moving on means forgetting and I promised myself that I wouldn't forget them" but she knew that deep down inside that wasn't the real reason.

  "I can't have what happened at Rosewood happen to anyone else that I've become allies with...I don't want to get attached and go through that heartache again...while I'm still going through it..." she admitted quietly to herself.

  Toby didn't have much of a choice as Jeff pulled him into the building. The cigarette smoke only got stronger. But thankfully, he heard Barb's laugh from the upstairs, so he made his way up the creaky staircase. That's where he found her. Barb was around eight feet tall, and had four muscular arms. She had a sharp jaw and broad shoulders as well as long dark blue hair. She had fur the same shade as her hair coating her arms and legs. She had a tattoo gun, and was tattooing another monster. It was a pretty large and complex tattoo, but Barb had a lot of the skill to make it look nice. She turned when she heard Toby.

  "Hey Tobes!" She said in her loud, booming voice. She extended a hand that wasn't being used. "You brought the pills?"

  "Yeah, EJ gave them to me earlier." Toby said, passing them to her. Barb smiled, showing sharp teeth.

  "Thank you!" She boomed jovially. The monster getting tattooed, a tiny wisp of a woman with eyes all over her face and arms had all her eyes trained on Toby. It made him very uncomfortable.

  "Well, I should probably go-" Toby said.

   She looked around and it was too quiet to her liking.

  "On second thought those sleeping pills sound nice right about now" she mused to herself. 

  She went to the closet and grabbed the bottle and read it carefully to make sure they were sleeping pills. She opened up the bottle and only took one since Toby said that they have the power of a horse tranquilizer and she's...well...small. She popped the pill dry and took some clean bandages that she found and a hand towel. She would clean her crippled hand and dress it in new bandages so it doesn't get infected since the surgical incisions were still fairly new. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands with soap and water and patted her crippled hand dry and wrapped it in new bandages. After she was done she could feel the pill kicking in. So she went back to her room. She locked her door and was debating on whether or not to move her dresser to barricade the door just in case he or someone else were to break in and attempt to kill her in her sleep. Since when she actually goes to sleep she's a deep sleeper. But she decided against it since she was too lazy and it would be a hassle to move it out of the way if she needed to escape immediately. She took her two knives and curled up laying down on her bed with her back facing the corner. She normally didn't sleep with covers on as they were a hassle to get off is someone were to attack her. She had her knees pulled up to her stomach for protection and her arms crossed to protect her chest and neck. She had both knives in each hand that laid against the back of her neck too for protection. No one was going to attack her easily. It was the only way she could feel safe while sleeping. And pretty soon she was out like a light.

  Toby eventually got back to the apartment. Jeff had wanted to show him something, which he knew wouldn't have ended well. He made sure to lock the apartment door behind him. It was quiet. Nugget was probably in Tabby's room. Toby peeked in her room to check on her and saw that she was asleep. Nugget was on her bed. After making sure she was okay, he closed the door and went to go take a shower and get ready for bed. He was pretty tired. He had run into Masky on his way back who managed to get him to share a drink and talk for a bit, which Toby found nice. Masky was in a much better mood today than other days. His shower and clothes change was quick. He put his dirty clothes into the hamper. He took it down to wash his clothes twice a week. The apartment had a shared laundromat.

  Tabby stirred awake as Toby closed the door  

  "son of a bitch" she thought to herself. 

  She wasn't protected enough. But even in her sleepy state she could recognize that it's Toby so she had nothing to worry about that much but for once in her life she was just too damn tired to do or say anything about it. 

  "I'll deal with it in the morning" she grumbled to herself and went back to being dead asleep in her protective position.

  Toby was in his pjs. He went to the kitchen and got a glass of ice water before heading back into his room. He closed his door behind him. He sat on his own bed and turned on a fan. He liked it cold in his room. He had a small little radio next to his bed that he used to play soothing music or sometimes just audiobooks or things like that. Soon he managed to sink off into a deep sleep.

[khaosgaming22]

You Are Here- Part I

Drake’s mysterious glowing orb lead him to the far reaches of Jovian Space, all the way out to one of Jupiter’s moons. He flew his Dreaming City ship he earned from Petra for taking care of all the corrupted Ahamkara Eggs in through the nonexistent atmosphere of the green moon as he eyed the black pyramid ship that blocked out the view of the gas giant. It was... gigantic, and he knew from Rasputin’s bunker that this was only one ship, more were on there way, he had to stop this.

Drake readied his Lumina, the weapon he had taken from Ken known as Thorn, turned into something else through lots of hard work and dedication. If anything could stop the Darkness in it’s tracks, surely it would have to be a Weapon of Light. He landed his ship on a nearby plateau and stepped out onto the moon’s surface. The sheer magnitude and scale of the ship was even clearer now on the ground. He walked along the basin toward the ship with extreme caution. His senses were dialed to max, he watched for any other Guardians around, he couldn’t afford any liabilities, he had to end this here and now. Alone.

Drake walked to the edge of the clifface and found what the ship was doing here. “Wait... isn’t that?” He stared down at what was left from the first civilization here on this far flung moon. The place where the Traveller first arrived on Io, The Cradle, was shadowed by the pyramid ship. Drake wondered why the ship was parked over that one specific place until he felt the ground beneath him shift from the neon green surface of Io to engravings in black stone. Then he felt the pull.

Drake had felt this before on the Moon, hidden deep within that Scarlet Keep. The ship wanted him closer, it wanted him to enter. Good, he thought, that’s what I wanted too. Smaller ships blinked into existence on both sides and he heard a shriek. Wait. A shriek? Hive weren’t on Io, they didn’t-

Before he could figure out why he heard that awful screeching noise on a moon like this Drake blacked out. Just before the Hive portal sucked him through, the ship transmatted him into itself. When he awoke his head hurt and his Light was dim, he could feel the Lumina in his hands. It’s white and gold bloom wilted, it struggled to exist in a place with this much Darkness. He eventually picked himself up and he saw a figure clouded in shadow approach him, he had no where else to go, the walls had no windows and only a soft crimson glow from lights around the ship offered vision. His hood was gone and his yellow mohawk and Awoken paint were exposed to the shadow. Drake saw no point in trying to escape right now, he didn’t even know where he was in the ship, he would get lost immediately. The figure stopped in the doorway and the shadowed cloak around them dissipated.

“Hello my son, I am here. Just like I said I would be.” Drake remembered that cold and calculating voice, he stayed quiet. “Hm, not a talker these days I see. Well that’s okay, because I’m the only one who needs to talk here anyways.” Drake stared down his corrupt maniac of a father, he was determined to show no weakness. “I do hope you don’t blame me for what I’ve done to you, you see, I left you on Earth because I assumed you were strong enough to survive there on your own. We all make mistakes, we’re only human after all.”

“You left me there alone to starve in a pre city age with no protection. Of course I was going to die.” Drake spat and a smile crept onto the shadow’s face.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Tell me Draeko, do you honestly think I left you there out of hatred? My dear boy no, I simply wanted you to figure out how to thrive on your own. You see, life has to survive, evolve. It is the only way it has the right to keep going, for you see if the weak survived, then they would blight the whole garden with it’s dead roots. But you. You were strong enough to survive and you have become a great weapon. It was by... her means sure, but we all make our own path and choose our own decisions. The important thing is you are here.”

“I am not a weapon. And I wasn’t ready to fend for myself. I was born in the Reef, I had never been to Earth, I had nothing and I died. Because you left me to die.” Drake shot back and the figure sighed shaking it’s head.

“I was hoping you would see reason, but I can see that she has buried herself too deep within you. We could’ve been rulers of the universe Draeko, but instead you chose to side with her...” He reached a claw out to Drake and he backed up against the wall. His heart beat faster as he stepped closer and closer. The clawed hand covered in shadow wrapped around his throat and he placed the other on Drake’s cheek.

“Shhh sh sh sh... Why are you afraid Little Light I’m your friend. Everything is going to be fine.” He wrapped a shadowy tentacle around his bag and Drake struggled to speak.

“Get the fuck away from her you psychopath.” The shadow ignored him and pulled out Eve’s shell holding it tight.

“Temper temper. You have made a bond with this... robot haven’t you? Hm I see... well you will not need her anymore but I will keep her if that’s how you feel.” He took Eve in his tentacle. She was lifeless. Blank. She couldn’t feel anything this close to something this dark. Drake shed a tear for her and it rolled down his cheek as the shadow finished the job.

“Welcome to the world my son. A world of Darkness. A world where only the strong survive.” Drake’s eyes rolled back in his head and he released the clawed hand. He took the Lumina handcannon and scoffed at it. “Pitiful.” The weapon returned back to Rose as the petals died and then twisted as it reverted back to what it once was. Thorn. He placed it in Drake’s bag. “That’s better.”

~

Drake woke and stood in another room. He looked down at the Thorn and he was smiled upon by a shadowy figure. He liked that feeling.

Sorry buddy, had to happen at some point. I’ve been putting this off for a while now cause I’ve wanted to wait for the ships and darkness to be the main focal point. Well they’re here now. We still are not fighting the Darkness itself but it may be a few years. I also put this off because it is definitely classified as angst and with the things going on in my RP Server I’ve felt very discouraged to add to any of that. Now that it’s doing a little better I felt comfortable writing this. Art below was done by the amazingly talented @confusedasexualhuman! Check their stuff out!

[marshmallowprotection]

Your AU is so cool?? I wanna hear more about it if that's okay! Info dump as much as you want! :D

Fairy Tale or Fantasy AU is like, my favorite thing and I wish I had people to RP with on it because I just get really invested and wind up playing these things out in my own head because it only really humors me. I guess I could talk about the uh endings if that is what makes people interested in hearing about some of my AUs. I had a good one and a bad one in mind.

Saeran surrounds the castle with thorns and thickets so tall that you can barely see the castle. Nobody can leave and nobody can come in. He's angry and he clearly wants something that he doesn't understand and Rika is whispering in his ears about what they should do now that he's angry and he knows that people are out to hunt him down according to Rika.

He blames Lila for it, and he blames the world more or less for wanting him so badly that he was forced to live like this.

He does torment Lila because of course, he does.

Her actions with things tell if things are going to end badly or not. If she has faith in him and sees him as more than a monster with these powers, then it will be okay but if she fails to see that, then she's doomed. I have this whole aesthetic in mind for this AU, too, honestly? Think of a cute forest prince for Ray with blue roses for a crown and as a very wicked Maleficent type for Saeran with a crown of briars, because I imagined him wearing one of those once and lost my shit.

So, say that she doesn’t see him as someone that can create flowers and life in the world? Say all she sees is his thorn and blood. Well, he’s going to see that he is that. All he is is a target and he will make them all rue the day that he was forced to live alone, with his Savior. If he’s broken then she’s gonna be ultimately broken too. 

He’ll basically BE2 her in this circumstance and make her bow to his lead. If she wants to think that she can take him down, as far as he knows since that is what his Savior said and he can’t believe Lila, then she will make herself useful to him and be at least the pretty girl on his arm as he destroys everything she must hold dear to her heart and overruns the land with thicket. T

hink of the world slowly being covered until you can’t leave your door, because you’ll be shredded and destroyed. 

Am I saying that because I think the dark outfit and briar crowns are really damn cool? No. Totally not. 

However, if she does see him for the person he is, a blessing with a gift of life and love, then he will slowly realize that he was lied to by Rika and that his own power wasn’t a curse, nor did anyone want to hurt him. He would confront her and learn that she stole him away when they realized they had gifts when the family he was with realized that he had a blessing from the heavens that no one else did. She wanted to use him to destroy everything. 

Needless to say, that’s not going to happen when he sees the truth, and when he realizes that he doesn’t have to stay locked in this castle, he can be free to travel the world and see everything that he’s ever wanted to see... and he can do it with Lila. 

I can’t describe how I envision him at the end but trust me, he’s a handsome flower bastard. Honestly, I’ve had this AU in my head for a while but I didn’t think anyone would care. 

[caithelps]

Inspired by True Events by Tori Kelly RP Sentence Starters: Part 3; (feel free to change name(s), pronouns, etc as needed) Find part 1 here  and part 2 here

The Lie:

“I need some closure”

“Feel like the chip fell off my shoulder”

“Overexposure”

“Opened my wounds and made me close up”

“I got everything that I thought I'd like”

“Simple memories leave a stain like wine”

“It's pouring over”

“Coursing my veins, leaving me sober”

“They told me the more the better”

“Guess the joke's on me”

“Same old song I cry”

“Lie lie lie”

“I hate roller coasters”

“Them ups and downs get me no closer”

“Played my role and did what I'm supposed to”

“They say, ‘She's heatin' up,’ but I feel colder”

“Pour the gasoline, set my dreams on fire”

“Smokin' up my mirrors till it burns my eyes”

“I'm moving blind now”

“An empty heart is not a hideout”

“Same old song I cry”

“Don't believe the lie”

Until I Think Of You:

“Some days I wake up wishing I hadn't”

“Just leaving the house is hard to do”

“Clouds make the sunshine hard to imagine”

“When you feel you're only bound to lose”

“Some nights I can't sleep”

“I'm trapped in these sheets”

“It hurts no matter what I do”

“I'm lost and all alone”

“Until I think of you”

“When I'm sinking deeper soaked in a sadness”

“When emptiness is hard to hide”

“Each step I take brings me closer to madness”

“But they all think I'm doing fine”

“I can't find my way”

“I need saving grace”

“It hurts no matter what I do”

“I'm lost without a home”

“Until I think of you; my strength, my guide my love, my life”

“You're all I need to get me through the darkest night”

“My peace of mind 'cause I know you'll never leave my side”

“Broken and confused”

“Nothing left to lose”

“I just feel like there's no use”

“I'm sure it's over now”

3/26/1994:

“Who wants to pray for us?”

“You gonna be blessed!”

“You already taken care of, girl”

Your Words:

“An empty house, a dusty room, a photograph, of me and you”

The smell of pine, forest green”

“A song of hope, in your ear”

“Your smile told me, that you could hear”

“And I know that I'll see you again”

"I don't want this to be the end”

“It's hard to say goodbye 'cause you're gone this time”

“Every part of me misses every part of you”

“And with all the chaos in my world I could really use your words”

“Every part of me wishes that you could make me see different”

“Through all the heartache, all the hurt I could really use your words right now”

“A winter fire, or falling trees”

“And stories told, from Kingston to Queens”

“A life of love, and memories”

“And I know that I'll see you again but I don't want this to be the end”

“Heaven rejoices”

“Sings with their voices”

“As they welcome you home”

“The streets are now gold for you”

"God is now holding you”

“You'll never be alone”

Before the Dawn:

“Thought I saw you smile”

“Underneath you were frowning”

“Thought I saw you wave but you must have been drowning”

“What's a rose without a thorn”

“What is calm without a storm”

“I can't say I know what you're going through”

“I know you won't find peace without a war”

“The finest silk can still be torn”

“It's always darkest right before the dawn”

“So keep your head up my love”

“When you feel alone and the room is overcrowded I want you to know you can talk to me about it"

“So keep your head up”

“Too many words going unspoken”

“My door will always be open”

“What's a heart if it's never been broken”

Until Forever:

“It's only you and I under painted skies”

“Can't believe you're mine”

“When you look in my eyes, it’s like paradise”

“Fingers intertwined”

“Don't let go”

“It's just me and you against a world of fools”

“Ain't nobody have your back the way I do”

“Baby I was born for loving you”

“So let me fall for you like pouring rain”

“I'm where I wanna be”

“When you're holding me I can't help myself, got me feeling some kinda way”

“I'll be loving you until forever”

“With every step we take”

“From London to LA we keep it moving babe”

“It only fuels the fire”

“So just say the word, my love, and we can run away”

“We got something we can't lose”

“Ain't nobody I would rather choose”

“I know that I was made for loving you”

Minute to Myself: 

“You are there when no one else is”

“You move my hair when it's in my eyes”

“You don't care when I act out”

“I'm still the one you choose”

“And I know you know me well”

“I know you wanna help”

“This time I'm sure”

“I don't need you hand”

“I just need a minute to myself”

“No, I don't need anybody else”

“Doesn't mean I love you any less”

“It's only for the best”

“It'd be good for our health”

“You light me up when I get burned out”

“You hold the wheel when I can't drive”

“You're the one”

“You've seen the worst parts”

“The only one I can't lose”

"I know you know me well”

“I know you wanna help but this time it's more”

“I'm sure you understand”

“So give me a chance to miss you”

“Give yourself a chance to miss me too”

[fletchlingfletcher]

LFRP- Miahtoux Daphenier & Corinne Fletcher

The Basics ––– –

Age: 29 || 23

Birthday:10th Sun of the 4th Umbral Moon (10th August) || 3rd Sun of the 3rd Astral Moon (May 3rd)

Race: Wildwood Elezen || Midlander Hyur

Gender: Male || Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Marital Status: Married

Physical Appearance ––– –

Hair: Short, styled raven-black hair worn with a long fringe over the right eye ||   Dark, straight, mousy brown hair falling just passed her shoulders. Short bangs side-swept to the right and a small braid pulled to the back of her head.

Eyes: Left- Stark Scarlet, Right- Crystal Blue ||   Bright, bold, and ever curious green

Height: ~6'8" || 5′3″

Build: Tall and thin, Miahtoux suffers from a severe eating eating disorder though there are some areas of his body that still appear “normal,” noticeably his arms and upper torso. ||  A soft pear shape- round and fuller hips with narrower shoulders. Not particularly well-toned

Distinguishing Marks: Single scar on his left cheek, A deep, imperial purple marking on his right cheek of the Sharlayan Archons ||  A faint scar cutting across the bridge of her nose

Common Accessories: A shard of crystal fashioned into an earring. A leather bracer containing 4 soul crystals (property of Sharlayan and purely for academic study of course), A silver necklace bearing the image of a dragon entwined with roses and thorns. And a small potion vial containing a liquid glowing like sunlight ||  A ribbon hanging from her right ear. More often than not a variety of pouches hung around a belt. And a crystalline, glowing blue rose in her hair.

Personal ––– –

Profession: Sharlayan Archon, Researching new type of magic, Agent of the Circle of Seeking, hunting and investigating occult disturbances. ||  Student, alchemist/potionmaker, aspiring mage, and junior/unofficial member of the Circle of Seeking

Hobbies: Reading, Research, Practicing and training in various types of magic, assisting in the rearing of young dragonlings ||  Music! Adventuring/travelling, botany, archery

Languages: Eorzean, True Dravanian (Vocal only, as a spoken although Miahtoux can comprehend the dragon tongue it is impossible for him to speak it with its telepathic counterpart) || Eorzean

Residence: A repaired and converted workshop located in the Dravanian Hinterlands || Corinne owns a small home in the Lavender Beds || Both have their own room in The Circle of Seeking's headquarters on Île Murée (An Island in the Archipelago surrounding Sharlayan) 

Birthplace: Ishgard, The Daphenier Undercroft || La Noscea, in her family home

Religion: The Twelve / None

Patron Deity: Rhalgr || Byregot

Fears: Open Water, Avalanches, Loss of Control (Of self and to others), Poison, The future ||  Tight and confined places, bugs, being alone

Relationships ––– -

Spouse: um...each other?

Children: None

Parents: Avenall Daphenier (deceased) , Catherine Daphenier (deceased) || Charles and Lucille Fletcher (alive)

Siblings: Juanaux Daphenier.... ||  6 older sisters (Charlotte, Caroline, Connie, Camilla, Chrissy, and Cameron)

Other Relatives: .... || None of note

Pets: None || An intermittent lesser panda named Podi. And while he may not technically be a pet, Corinne’s earned herself the affections and companionship of a young dragonling named Lips

Traits ––– -

* Miah’s answers BOLDED, Corinne’s answers ITALICIZED

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Additional information ––– –

* Miah’s answers BOLDED, Corinne’s answers ITALICIZED

Smoking Habit: Never / Sometimes / Frequently / To Excess

Drugs: Never / Sometimes / Frequently / To Excess

Alcohol: Never / Sometimes / Frequently / To Excess

RP Hooks ––– –

Dragons, Dragons Everywhere: Miahtoux has a strong relationship with several dragons and Dravanian communities. While he has no ties to Hraesvelgr or Nidhogg he can claim familiarity with individual dragons from these broods. 

Allagan Exploration: Miahtoux has... an interest, in Allagan history, specifically with their research and capture of the Meracydian dragons. Anything even remotely related to this would get his attention. 

Oh, Oh, Oh, It’s Magic!: As an Archon (even if a new one) Miahtoux has substantial ability with magic, and a unique understanding of it- it’s why Corinne demanded he teach her magic to begin with. Anything related to magical anomalies or suspect powers would be something he could help with and both he and Corinne would be curious about.

Ishgardian Justice: On the wrong side of Ishgardian law for several reasons, if your character is Ishgardian law enforcement, or just Ishgardian in general, they may have heard of House Daphenier or at least seen a description on bounty boards for one ‘Miahtoux Daphenier’ - or any information regarding those harboring him (or stealing government documents for him)

Imperial...Complications: Due to Miahtoux's past, if your character served or is serving with The Empire, they may have heard his name... well not this name... but a name. 

Secrets in the Cloud Sea: Miahtoux is involved with something hidden deep in the uncharted spaces of the Sea of Clouds. If your character explores there, they could potentiall run into eachother. Or maybe they already have...

OOC Information  ––– –

I’ve put out looking for RP posts before for singular characters, but Miah and I were both looking to pull some other folks into our current plots and figured we should combine efforts! 

While Miah isn’t so active on tumblr, I am super easy to get a hold of here. You can find both of us in-game on Mateus Server/Crystal DC (me on Corinne Fletcher, Miah on, well...Miahtoux Daphenier). Discords are available upon request. 

I work weekdays and Miah’s schedule alternates. Weekends and weeknights tend to be the best for actual RP, but we are both available nearly any time to plot

@mooglemeet @ffxiv-crystal-rp @crystalxivrp

[briennexofxtarth]

So here we are, almost two months, 1176 posts and 200 follows later. I’m not doing a Follow Forever, because I follow and unfollow blogs a lot (and that doesn’t mean I think you are not great, that only means I’m slow surfing my dash and I get stressed if there's too much amazingness to read), but I want to thank the people who make me stay around and make my day a little bit happier with their posts and interactions. You probably think I only like you because you write memes for me, but actually, there’s more than that (thanks for the memes, though. I really enjoy them).

First people first: It's safe to say that this blog wouldn't exist without you. You put up with me on the IMs or on Discord when I have had a bad day, when I rant non-stop, when I do keysmashes because I'm too excited about our threads and when I'm too bored to actually write replies. For all those reasons and many more, you deserve a special place in this post (and in my heart):

@materxdracones @scndor, @goldcnlic, @mxnofhonour, @saltquccn and  @dear-indies (Cat, you don’t belong in here, but you also belong in here)

You should probably be in the first group, but maybe we haven’t known each other for that long, or we have never officially roleplayed together (yet), or maybe we have but we never interacted as much as we should; but I've read your threads and probably I've drowned you in memes and, with your words, you have made me smile:

@thescaledqueen @goldenidiotpass @hesquired @longmayshereignxcersei @artfulprecision @queen-of-thorns-and-roses @steeledstark @alordnamedsnow @freefiire @steelthcrns @quccnnorth @secondaryking @jbearmormont @deathelude @regardsent @a-maimed-man-and-bitter @jernhjerte @heldtoflames @thecomplication @peachswcct @donahontes @stormlandr @xiledbear @redwolfiegirl @saltxwolf 

The most precious place in heaven is for all of you, Braime shippers. We have been through SO MUCH and it's SO GREAT being part of this. The official rules of roleplay blogs say that you shouldn't follow personal blogs, but who cares when you all are so amazing. I love all your Braime content, but I also love your personal posts, your posts about other fandoms and your random gifsets.

@sassbewitchedmyass @lillian-sunshine @anatlittle @sarahoftarth @elsolivagant @serbrienneserjaime @lannlstar @conylannistarth @firthycreature @aliveanddrunkonsunlight @kingsxmutant @tarthed @glinternik 

And of course, I have to give a big thank you, to a bunch of people who made this 200 followers thing possible. Seriously, thanks for being there. No matter if you are a Braime blog or a RP blog, we should probably talk more (or just talk in general).    

@3000milesawayfromhome @aaure00 @abadmoon @acrownforaking @akingslayerx @aladyhasnoname @aladysweapon  @amesbury88 @arwendottirofelrond @aryasstark @astatheloner @awallflowerstuff @ben-roll-io @berlinisforthelovers @bibibibibibi68 @bird-with-pencils @blackasniight @blazinghart @booksandcoffee9 @braime80 @braimer @breaker-cf-chains @brideofxdragons @camyya @casualcopmoneytaco @cecejacobs @chosenviolence @clu-less @corccrdium @couragetaught @daenerwsz @danysaindon @darysofsuvion @dcrthvxder @deki405 @dracharenae @dragonsbirthed @dreamingofyousblog @driftingmcses @effervescentsoulstm @elleriss @elpoetaleyenda @el-queen @fallesto @fewfandomblog @fiammablade3466 @flxbber @fullcfterrors @galileojones @gameofthronesfics @gendryaandbraime @heroicstud @heythereimashley@hisie-lasselanta @hollysian @honey-nut-queerlos @hrhmonpetitchou @humans-must-be-the-heroes @hurricaneher @iamquirkyspice @infamousprinceofdorne @kingxfmischief @kmmahone @ladylilithofold @ladymacbeth909 @ladyoftheiris @lastinglanterns @lazydays1647 @libri-e-amore @lionprided @lmoncake @lovettroses @lwiica @madedaring @maidofwinter @makingitsnow @malistrom @matristark @mcsttrusted @missandei-of-naath @missbess @mombeavty @morewclf @mrsdaisypotter @mvssandei @mysterioushedgehog @nephake @northkeep @nymeriaastark @ofthewhitehands @originallyepik @podstye @ravenclawesomex @redheadedfangirl79 @sansa-jonquil-stark @sapphires-and-gold-fics @seaworthed @serbezoar @shenorth @short-temperedbrit @shroudedgold @slytherinoftarth @smedegaard3105 @sonullka @sstarkarya @starksistersftw @stormstag @supersasha123 @superstarlight08 @teapetrichor @thebcauty @thechairmanlikesalec @the-ironthrone @thewondernanazombie @theyoungxwolf @trnslatr @unburntqveen @usagi636 @valentina-who93 @varysisamanmaid @vodkasquip @vvolfqueen @wildducksflyingbackwards @win-cr-die @wlfmaid @ysladidasbear 

Graphic inspiration: [x]

[wlthq]

Just an admin post alerting all of you amazing writers who are still with us that WLT is now on indefinite hiatus. You’re of course free to continue writing as your characters as your characters are your own. We thank you for your dedication, to those of you who stayed with us for those three amazing months, as we both enjoyed watching your characters interact while being blown away by the incredible talent you all have with your creativity and writing in general. 

If you wish to find us again, we left our newly started up d/s rp under our navigation. 

In the meantime, if you’d like to have a place to put your muse, I’ll highly recommend these rp’s.

City of Invictus

Krovs Castle

Thorn Haven

Briar Rose

The Institute 

Covaire City

We may be back in the future, so we won’t say goodbye but rather talk to you later, my dudes.

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, NAY! You’ve been accepted for the role of JULIET. Admin Minnie: My arms are wide open for you to return to us, Nay! I am so unbelievably thrilled to have your Juliana join us again. You capture her completely, without reservation and without a bit of doubt — and for good reason. You understand Juliana in a way that honestly leaves me speechless. And the fact that you wrote a whole new app that incorporated the darkness you’ve discovered in Juliana along the way? The potential, the precipice that she stands on now with so much to lose and even more to gain? Wow. Nay, I’m so glad you’re back. I can’t wait to weep reading your writing yet again. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | nay.

Age | twenty-one, but my birthday is next month (january 8th!) so i'm already telling people i'm twenty-two. or eighty? spiritually, i'm eighty & i'm knitting these days, so.

Preferred Pronouns | she/her.

Activity Level | my life is something of a circus, i'll be real with you. i live between two houses, i'm trying to get through my final year of undergrad while trying to earn money writing, fighting mental illness (aren't we all?) and basically having a midlife crisis every other week. but, like. an 8. i love y'all such a lot, you can't keep me away ;)

Timezone | gmt+5.

How did you find the RP? | i… don't even remember at this point. it's just home.

Current/Past RP Accounts | to quote Hamlet, act III, scene iii, line 87? no.

IN CHARACTER

Character | juliet / juliana rosa capulet.

J U L I A N A | the name is chosen before she is even born. picked out of a Bible resting askew atop rounded-belly, like a flower from a garden: Juliana. she is named in devotion to the once-suffering patron saint of sickness, Saint Juliana of Nicomedia (now, Naples). she is only a squirming bundle, already carrying a legend of martyrdom through a namesake.

R O S A | what smelt sweeter than a rose? her mother adored them – and thus, there could never be anything sweeter ever again. so sweet, many hearts yearn to pick them. enchanted by the intoxicating perfume, many lovers cut themselves on these thorns.

C A P U L E T | who truly understood the magnitude of a name? a name of Anglo-Saxon origin; coming from a wooded area beside a chapel, hailing from a family who once-lived in a village named Caplewood. a prophecy, then—taken, and bastardized: paupers evolving into the kings, a chapel beside no more than a house to their sins.

What drew you to this character? | i remember fragments of the last time i answered this question. this time, i made it a point not to read my old application, because if i was going to reapply? i wanted to do it the right way, go through the whole process, start on a fresh page. that said, i do recall my own surprise at a reincarnation of juliet capulet being my character of choice. i remember my own poetic gibberish; this romanticisation of colours & versatility, the whole universe inside juliana that causes her so much pain. somehow, after the span of only months of writing her, i can't answer it the same. somehow, a paltry chunk of time has turned an idea i was enchanted by into a person. somehow… it made the experience of reading her biography again, after all this time, a more impactful one. and perhaps that's the mark of rosey being the wretchedly talented wordsmith we must suffer angst for loving, but i found myself picking up on details i had missed, and lines i had forgotten to be arrested by – and somehow, a character i had, swathed in my own contradictory brand of hubris, thought i knew like the back of my hand? she still inspired me. i still had ideas flooding in my head, and love swelling my heart. i think that's the mark of a well-written character, every bit as much as it is an indicator that the character is one you can write with integrity.

thrive. ghost. onlooker, helplessness, obsession, lamented, saint, blood, symbol, succumbing.

isn't it absolutely prophetic?

what draws me to juliana is her complexity, at the heart of it. i love the boundless possibility of her; this dainty, precious, precocious slip of a girl—not just a girl, but not quite a woman yet—and the enormous weight of a last name, which really has nothing on the burden that is the heart she carts around in her chest. there's something peculiar about her, an eeriness about how truly, genuinely tender she is. and as easy as her tenderness is to mistake for weakness, she isn’t. she is the embodiment of love – and much as it is absolutely the greatest source of pain to her, it is her greatest strength. love is what makes her, and it is what has the power to completely undo her: to a different version of herself, harder or softer, or undone.

i’d see it as a great privilege to get to explore her story.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

TRIGGER WARNING: suicide mention, mental illness mention, postpartum depression mention, drowning mention

LOVER / her heart is her biggest strength, just as it is her biggest weakness. it always has been. just like it was her mother's. it's why her father worries so much about her – and how can she begrudge him for it? she worries about herself, too. jia capulet had had a bleeding heart; where had that landed her? six feet under is where. and thus, they worry, worry for the ways that she is her mother's daughter. but juliana worries about the ways in which she is her father's daughter, too. she loves him so dearly, so reverently, that she has been his dutiful puppet. she has been a figurehead, a symbol, a caricature. she has smiled… she has been smiling for an eternity, for an audience that never stops watching. she worries, still, about how much war steals: time, and lives, and this city that is their home. there is some irony to it, she thinks; the girl they say has everything, so terrified of loss.

› juliana is so thoroughly a person led by her heart. moreover, she is a compulsive overthinker. she nitpicks (internally, constantly), she analyses, she wonders and lays awake at night plagued by questions she cannot answer, and answers she knows not questions to. it isn't a surprise that her own story — i.e. the people she comes from — is something that weighs on her, heavily, and shapes her, influencing her thoughts, perceptions and choices. 

this is a self-driven plot, i know, but i want to headcanon that her mother, jia, suffered from a devastating case of postpartum depression after she prematurely conceived juliana's little sister. italy is actually a frontrunner in hands-on understanding of mental health without the questionable committing to an institution, but with that said, jia capulet wasn't italian. she was chinese, and didn't grow up in a society where she would at all be open to entertaining the idea of mental illness perpetuated by pregnancy. it is incredibly difficult to help someone who does not want to be helped – and all juliana and cosimo could do for her was pray. and when they failed her, and she and the baby girl were found floating in the lake behind capulet manor, all they could do was hide the story from the world, the first secret between father & daughter. it is a personal headcanon of mine that juliana bears an eerie resemblance to her mother, and that doesn't help the difficulty of separating her own identity from the trauma that's tainted her childhood, and the trauma currently tainting her adolescence.

i'm dying to explore how it produces an adulthood for her. as much as i love a good coming of age story, juliana's needs to be something darker. i want to see what she takes from her parents, what she tucks away, what she tosses aside – and who is left, ultimately, after it all.

ALL MY FLOWERS GREW BACK AS THORNS / two years: that's how long it's been since juliana's world was turned upside down. oh, of course she'd heard the rumours. of course she'd heard snippets of conversations, caught the caution in some eyes, malice in others, in too many others. she had never asked questions for the answers she was given, had she? but an evening in her father's study — cosimo's brows furrowed, and vivianne's arched, expectant — and reality was unveiled, all the same. beneath the cover of those luscious roses, nurtured and adored, was reality. go on, they had urged her. la principessa was to get her hands dirty, to seize the opportunity she had never been brave enough to ask for – and now, those hands bled, reality's gritty red, ruddy & relentless, oozing out of thorn-impalement, those puncture wounds. it stings. it stings, it stings, it stings, over & over. how much can she take?

› the biggest overarching plot-point for juliana's i story that i would so like to explore is the changes in her as the war progresses, and how it transforms her. i genuinely believe that she is, at heart, a good person. she is also, however, a good person who has grown up with a very basic, one-dimensional view of morality and goodness and their opposites, in the way that children are. in large part, that's attributed to the extremely sheltered way juliana has been raised, protected so suffocatingly, and that's why i understand that it hits her and begins to shape her immediately, going from the extreme of being in the dark about everything and then essentially becoming the figurehead for a war that has been going on for way, way longer than she has even known about it. there is a difference between idealism and optimism, and the lesson to understand it is a painful one. i would like to put her through that, and peel back the layers of her naiveté to unveil the woman she must grow into.

GLORY & GORE / verona is falling apart. lives are being lost – innocent, guilty… who is man to decide, what is to be done with Dio's creations? juliana was raised to believe in God. she was raised to respect the universe, to do her duty to spread kindness, to work to spread good fortune where it was lacking and to be generous with it. is a gun in her hand one day meant to change who she is at heart? who is this violence for, for whose good? what is to come of it all? is power ever enough? will it ever be? who will be left standing? will anyone? the streets run too red. this is not her verona.

› i would love to see juliana, at a point, actually take over the reins from cosimo. now, the possible events that could lead up to that as endless: a death, a coup, a voluntary succession? i'm here for any of it. but a plot i'm very interested in is seeing juliana, who has spent a majority of time being rigid, and uncomfortable, too caught up in a holier than thou take on mob reality taking on power and defining it for herself now that the war has begun to very personally take from her – first, the near-assassination of her father, then vivianne's blood on her hands, and now, her beloved rafaella. i want to see how she balances her humanity and diplomacy, if it truly isn't possible to both be in power and not be corrupted by it. i want to see who follows her, who would pledge allegiance to her, and what she would do of those who do not. spicy plot, right?

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | so long as she dies for love.

IN DEPTH

In-Character Para Sample: 

NOTE: i cheated and stole an excerpt of my own thread for juliana. oops?

Excruciating awareness seemed to be her stock in life. One would think—as, frankly, Juliana herself often did, excruciatingly aware of her mind’s rapid, ricocheting song—that it would be she was used to it by now. But she was no such thing, and it was because of this that she found herself ultimately unable to detach herself from what a companion of hers thought of her, unable to keep from recording even the most minute of details, some of them caught out of the corner of sharp, dark eyes. Even though Juliana Capulet knew that she thought she knew better than to care what anyone thought of her, given how routinely she exploited popular perception for the benefit of her own agenda, she had only ever been able to claim the victory of divorcing what people thought of her from what she knew of herself.

Lately, that hadn’t been feeling like much. A victory, still, but only a half-baked one. One that didn’t keep her from feeling an elementary sort of embarrassed shame, like she was a child who’d got caught with her hand in the cookie-jar. Perhaps that was only because what she knew of herself was a chapter already passed by… and the person who sat in front of Katarina DuPont was not the person she knew. This person was not Juliana alone; they did not sit together to share conversation about art and religion, about culture and cuisine, about music or magic. They sat together: the future Capulet mafiosa and a soldier in the army she would inherit. It was simple and as complicated as that.

At least there will still be wine, Juliana thought, halfheartedly.

Intravenous therapy was more than what was necessary to stay the inner-workings of the heiress’ mind, unfortunately. And there wasn’t enough chilled glasses of it poured down her throat to keep Juliana from wondering what it was that Katarina DuPont knew of her. Whether there was a file out there that encompassed all the myriad reasons in which she was the awful, doubtful fit for leading the Capulet mob, and had been from the first moment that she had finally been told about it. Whether that supposed file would be a less pathetic read even with a couple of pages worth of additional material on a traumatically-revised mindset pressed between its lips in offering. Would it make a difference? After nearly three years worth of distastefully looking down upon a history begun by an ancestor called Lucius Capulet; a man who had taken power into his own hands, with a vengeful spirit burning from years worth of mistreatment setting it alight – and then eating through it, like fire through paper, until what he resented in power-wielding elite that brought as much ruination as it did opulence is what his initiative rotted down to. Three years, and all her judgement bowed its self-righteous head down to was, what? Ah, agony that altered her. A night—one night—and she was no longer the same. Did it make her enlightened, then, to be awoken by her own thirst for vengeance, now – by an insatiable urge for Rallis—and those like him—to suffer as they ought to? Or was she just another hypocrite?

Juliana had always rather liked her eyes. They were so dark, so shadowed by raven-haired lashes casting shade over enigmatic irises, it at least kept her from flustering herself over the blonde being able to read the questions she had no answers for burning darkly within them. At least there was that. It kept her from her own worries clouding the clarity with which her honeyed counterpart answered her question. And for that – oh, for that, Juliana was ever-glad. Eternally, and boundlessly. For as right as she was about their relationship being that of a leader and soldier? She was terribly wrong, as well, for the conviction with which Katarina’s words spilt felt like poetry. They touched her soul. They stirred it. Our cause, the dauntingly tall woman called it. It warmed Juliana’s gut more than even her laugh had done. Every second we live and breathe, gives us a chance to do better. “Yes.” The word was a rough whisper, sounding from the embrace of the swelled walls of her throat. “Yes,” but her own conviction cut through it, exhaled a second time.

“Better is all I want. I –” Would it be a mistake to say it out-loud? Perhaps. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. “Well, I want more than this. For this city I love, for this universe that speaks to my soul, for… these hearts that live in my heart. Better – yes, I do agree, Katarina. I believe, as well. I want more than mindless bloodshed. I want more than fear and terror, more than domination for the sake of domination. I do not know just how clearly you can see it,” wryness laced the words as fluidly as her emotions had done, “I am not my father.”

Then that, too, dissolved. It gave way to gold, still hot & bubbling: “I am another entity entirely. Not a mouth-piece, not a symbol. I am a woman, and one of my word at that. I told you I would tell you why I asked – so here is why, signora. I ask because one of those who hold room in my heart, one of the largest… was nearly lost to me. This war takes and takes. From all of us, Capulets and Montagues and those who watch, who savour, and who suffer. I got out of bed today to work towards better.” Her head canted. Lashes lifted, unveiled those same dark eyes. Juliana let them burn.

“Would you like to join me?”

Extras: 

pinterest;

playlist;

headcanons -

due to having spent a large portion of her childhood on her own, juliana very early on developed an appreciation for time to herself. many of her interests, in fact, are shaped by it: her love for learning, for one, no matter the subject matter; her attachment to art, an outlet she keeps a secret, locked away in a room no one but herself is privy access to, and; additionally, the amount she talks to and counsels herself to stay sane.

her aesthetic preferences meander on the side of classic, vintage and minimalistic. it is extremely rare for juliana to opt for overt flashiness. she's pearls over diamonds, matte lip-stain in lieu of gloss, and neutral tones apparel over pops of colour.

she is petrified of rabbits, and their evil red eyes. 

juliana enjoys music, but she prefers it not having words.

she has a codependent relationship with coffee. no one with a body this slight has any business throwing back that many shots of espresso, but here she is anyway.

she has never learnt how to swim.

her nails and lips are always red, no matter the outfit. she enjoys having a signature of her own that has nothing to do with anyone else, as if it is her own private act of rebellion.

[mournholdvacation]

That time Sotha Sil almost mantled Azura, a RP between me and @boethiah.

Me - Seht @boethiah - Ayem

The Sul RPer, is not on Tumblr.

(Long Post)

Something was, happening.

Coward.

The word beat in his skull, pounding like a thudding engine.

Almalexia, crest fallen, head bowed under the pressures he had left her with. His people, burning under the fire spewing from the sky. His Morrowind, broken and gray, the spark of life choked by ash and decay.

Aetherius's shard, buried deep within him, pulsing with fear, with pain, with anger.

No.

Kindling his own magicka he let it explode from within him, a golden flame licking up from his body and suffocating the roots that held him. An act of resistance, of anger, one that had seemed to die with him upon first opening his eyes in Moonshadow.

-

Daedric Princes could not die, but they could be defeated, they could be harmed. The magika escaped Sotha Sil and tore up the hand that cupped his face, golden light shredding skin and vine alike. Azura roared, a deep hideous sound unlike any girlish affect she'd adopted in the past-- she had been offended but never wounded, not until now. Reeling back, the Prince grasped her own smouldering arm rounded on Alandro Sul. "END HIM!"

-

"HOW DARE YOU," Sul screamed, charging at Sotha Sil with Hopesfire blazing in his grasp. But just as he got near enough to swing it the blade twitched and jerked in his hand, causing his whole arm to sway as he struggled to keep it in check. He wobbled as the force of the sword's defiance nearly threw him off balance, hissing through his teeth as it yanked him away from his quarry.

"FOOLS!" he shrilled, reaching over to grab the hilt with both hands. He strained to lift it into a position to hit Sotha Sil, pouring his unnatural Daedric power into the effort. "Now you will--"

And then he screamed a very different sort of scream, a pained one, as the sword in his hands became completely wreathed in fire -- now decidedly more blue than purple, and very much intent on searing him to the bone.

-

There was, of course, something simple Azura had overlooked in her 'corruption' of Hopesfire; even this mere shard of Almalexia took Boethiah's teachings quite literally. In self-preservation it had worn the skin of Trininac, feigning broken-ness until its moment came. Its moment had come.

Its fire unfurled across Alandro Sul, forcing him to drop it, and for a moment as it clattered to the floor the energy contained within it was made manifest, unfurling as something dragon or mer or too shrouded by blue flames to tell. SEHT, it called out in a voice unfittingly familiar for the situation at hand, USE MY STRENGTH. END HER NOW.

-

Alandro Sul bellowed in combined pain and rage, his horrendously blistered hands steaming and shaking as the flesh started to reform. "No!"

-

With a pain filled hiss Sotha Sil pulled himself to his feet, wrestling the sword from Sul's trembling, burning hand and allowing the blue flames to ascend up his own arm in a rush of heat. It met his own power, wild and vivid, coating his skin with a golden shine and rolling over the grass; a wildfire set ablaze. A golden light erupted from his hand, momentarily blinding the Daedric Prince and her servant as Seht reached for and seared the tendrils of Moonshadow clinging to his soul.

A lash of fire curled about his right arm, snaking about his feet before closing its fangs over Sul's legs, immediately searing the skin from his bones. His eyes, dark as blood turned their gaze upon the Prince. A machine, the Temple sculptures had portrayed him. Terrible, cruel, and golden. Not so far from the truth, at the end. Not so far from the now, as his power rippled about him, strengthen from Azura's sudden loss of grip upon his soul.

'Azura,' Sotha Sil said, form wavering in the sheer power of the magicka swirling about him. 'I cannot kill you, but that you will soon regret.'

-

Alandro Sul crumpled to the ground and howled, nothing but charred meat and bone left of his legs. The strength of the magical flame was such that even a demiprince's regenerative powers could not soon restore the flesh and so he writhed, rolling onto his belly and attempting to crawl toward Azura. "My Lady," he gasped, reaching for the hem of her skirt. "Help me..."

-

Azura stared at the two-- at the one of them, for Hopesfire had surrendered itself completely and utterly, Almalexia the Lover, what was given to Nerevar in marriage is given to you now freely, and there was only its power now-- Azura stared with a strange expression that went beyond rage, beyond offense, beyond mortal comprehension. Clutching her burned hand she stared as the connection was severed and its ruin fell around her feet in ashes and incinerated petals. If she felt Sul at her feet she did not show it.

"Vanity," she breathed, "Vanity and arrogance! Pride and a prophecy!"

With that she released a shrill laugh and pulled-- the thorns that her realm released sunk not into Sotha Sil, but into the golden skin about him, the part that was too different from she to fight it. And then Hopesfire was wrenched back, in the form of a woman and then in the form of a blade, that clattered to the floor beside Azura.

This had exhausted her power, and she fell to her knees, and Moonshadow began to fold in around them like a rose blooming in reverse, closing itself off to the world, pushing out anything that did not belong. Pushing out the now free Sotha Sil.

-

The space of air left in Hopesfire wake filled, the fire taking the form of a sword gleaming with the pinpoints of a thousand and thousand Dunmer souls. A last act of revenge, a last lasting mark.

With a lunge he closed the gap between him and Azura, hand falling on her shoulder as the blade pierced the darkening skin cutting through her with a hiss and filling the air with a terrible, gray mist that seemed to scream with an unnatural fury. For a moment the fire of Sotha Sil's anger dimmed, a mere candle as Azura's own power bit back into him carving a mark down the palm of his hand, down the side of his wrist and then around his arm.

Thrashing he stumbled back, grabbing for Hopesfire as Moonshadow seemed to erupt around him, violently heaving as the ground rolled beneath his feet.

-

Azura discorporated, or nearly, in tendrils that ceased to obey the rules of Nirn: she dissolved into loose threads of fate, strands of prophecy unrealized, whirling clockwork. But in her last furious throes she reached out, wrenching Hopesfire out of Sil's grasp. As Moonshadow finally withered closed she thrust it into Sul's arm, and then the realm was shut off, sealed, barred to any mortal who lacked Azura's favour, and in turn Azura's influence was barred from the world.

-

Nirn, conversing and rippling and splitting into a dozen different pieces and snapping back together in a patchwork whole. Time slowing, and then speeding, and then cracking into a million different pieces; withering the plants, decaying the wood, and shattering reality.

All happening before Almalexia's eyes, all contained within one single room.

Waves of light, brilliant red and dark purple spun about, Mundus shuttered as Moonshadow closed upon itself and forced the burning, raging fire into the mortal plane.

-

Daedric manifestation, the likes of which she hadn't seen on Nirn for millenia. Almalexia drew Goldbrand and stepped back, falling into a battle-stance. So this is the end, the thought danced across her mind unbidden; watching time make and unmake itself repeatedly, twisting her own linear soul in knots, she found herself preparing for a duel she could not win, and wondered with her last seconds what would become of her followers.

The madness subsided and her sword-arm dropped. "... Sotha Sil?"

-

With a desperate hiss the flames subsided, wisping into mere tendrils and then sparks as a golden hued figure unfolded his arms, palms turned upward and raised at his side.

Sotha Sil. Golden and Terrible; a machine of clockwork lingering above dark flesh and twisting turning, collapsing and rebuilding with the rhythm of his own heart. An orb, a globe in his right hand, spinning and expanding and withdrawing. In his left hand, the a shimmering ocean; a brilliant blue of life tossing and turning and breaking upon the shore.

Azura. Dark and Beautiful; the Twilight made manifest in a spray of color and draping fabrics and flowing hair that wavered and reached and swept into the sky. The too brilliant sun in her left hand, blinding in its fury and casting rays of purest light. In her right hand, the moon; serene and all consuming, sparkling and blending with its sister to drape the room in crystal and gold.

-

Almalexia's hand slackened, and Goldbrand fell from her grasp entirely, clattering to the floor. In contrast to the apparition, her light dwarfed by its light, she looked... mortal, an ageing mortal woman with her hair loose and her clothes ragged from so long in the wilderness.

"Sotha Sil," she said softly, raising both of her hands to show the palms. "Sotha Sil," she repeated, stepping forwards to greet the god before her. "Seht..."

-

'Almalexia.'

Sotha Sil's voice, or perhaps Azura's, she cannot tell.

The figure stepped forward, hands still outstretched and the ... object ... still swirling about upon his hand. A smearing of colors, all blending into one another with no discernible beginning or end. A being that could be called Sotha Sil, but would answer to Azura.

Walk like them until they walk like you.

'Almalexia.'

-

The ocean, the moon. The city, the sun. Something laced in-between; briar-vines or the flesh they ripped, or perhaps both. Almalexia felt a pang of grief. Those wounds were so deep, the thorns that made them savage.

She tried to think of the words to call him back from the chaos and found none; she was not Vivec, she knew no spells, she held no keys to unlock the world. She tried to find a gesture that would reverse this and failed; she was not Sotha Sil, she could not wind back time at her whim. She thought of picking up the sword; but she was not Boethiah, she could not cut her way out of this.

"You're hurt," she uttered, reaching out for the god's wrist. "You've been wounded. Let me heal this."

-

At her touch, Sotha Sil's arm wavered, dipping slightly as her gentle fingers closed about his wrist. The figure in his hand dimmed, trembling under some unseen pressure.

'Almalexia,' he breathed, face glowing the beauty of the dawn.

-

Almalexia turned her head, lowering her gaze to her task, the slim wrist in her hand-- were these deep scars that showed where some vine had bit, or were they the vine itself, its thorns cutting her own palm? Did it matter?

The spell she conjured was simple for someone who wielded the strength of gods, a rudimentary healing spell, the sort taught to children or apprentices, drawing on her native magika rather than the vestige of Lorkhan that clung to her soul. But it worked, knitting new skin over the old wounds. A rose-thorn rebuked her, drawing a droplet of blood from her thumb. Would Azura know mercy if she were shown it?

"There, my friend." Her voice was shaking. "All better. How does that feel?"

-

'Almalexia,' he said again, eyes turning on her form at last and seeming to stare through her, through the very walls of the Temple and into the future itself.

'A city caught upon the web, a sword upon the innocent, a peasant in a crown of gold.'

His eyes unfocused then, the City and Ocean becoming a little sharper

-

"Sotha Sil, the Artificer, who shapes the here and now, crafting the very future into a shape he finds pleasing." Almalexia's voice rose. "No seer of prophecy, only--"

Her hand had tightened on his-- their-- wrist, she realised, nails digging in like thorns. She forced herself to let go and step away from him, her arms falling to her sides.

"I won't hurt you again," she said aloud. "We are not daedra, my friend. Whatever you choose, I will not fight you." Her voice softened, then. "And I choose this. It's always our choice."

-

'Sotha Sil.'

A gasp, a groan escaped the figure's lips, arms lowering further as Mundus shivered at the splitting of two newly merged souls, melted together and then ripped apart in seconds that resembled centuries. Sotha Sil Who Is, Who Is Not Azura, crumbled to the ground, hands closing upon the City and Ocean.

-

Almalexia lunged at Sotha Sil when he crumpled, catching him around the waist before he could hit the floor, pulling him up and into an embrace and keeping the both of them upright with her own strength. "Shh, shh," she murmured, dragging him back, to the bed in the corner, "You're here. You're here."

-

'Ayem,' he said, voice wavering but his own, his own echoing in her ears.

'Ayem,' he repeated, voice becoming stronger as he closed his hand on her wrist pulling it close.

[mcveriicks]

have you seen [ MAVERICK ST. JAMES ] since the storm? some say they look like [ HERMAN TOMMERAAS ] but they’re [ TWENTY-TWO ]  & go by [ THE PARADOX ].  [ HE ] lived in halloway for [ THREE YEARS ] & they are originally from [ WASHINGTON, D.C. ]. before the town vanished they were studying [ PHILOSOPHY ] and lived at [ UNI BLVD ]. most people knew the [ CISMALE ] as [ +CLEVER ] but i’ve heard they can also be [ -APATHETIC ]. for some reason, they feel [ UNEASY ] about the town’s disappearance. ( riley, 20, she/her, est )

hello !!! my name is riley and i’m ????? so so extremely very much excited to get the ball rollin, down n dirty, into this rp !! i’m a sucker for angst and sadness, so … expect MUCH of that w me !! mav is a new muse of mine but i’m SUPER excited to get to dev him with all of you guys !! below the cut is a … long-ass intro post bc i have no chill !! if, per chance, you’d like to plot w me and my know-it-all, assholey but suprisingly soft child, please feel free to GIVE THIS POST A LIKE or to DM ME ( either tumblr or discord i check both, i promise i don’t bite ) !!!

tw: drugs.

* / BACKGROUND.

maverick hobbes st. james was born into a life filled to the absolute brim of expectation. his mother and father met at halloway’s law school, and both went on to become highly respectable lawyers who dealt with constitutional law in washington d.c.; they work highly demanding jobs, which often left maverick, who is an only child, alone at their impressively decorated family townhouse, staring at family photos and wondering how his definition of family had become so different to his friends’ growing up.

growing up in middle and high school, maverick assumed that getting good grades and excelling at school would make his parents proud, would get them to turn their attention to his successes –– but surprise, surprise, they didn’t. they’d pat him on the back as they headed out the door to tend to their daily schedules –– that is, if he was lucky enough to see them in the morning.

he studied. hard. trying to understand the ins and outs of what his parents did, trying to see if following in their footsteps by studying law would warrant a smile or beam of pride. it didn’t. but it still got him an acceptance to his parents’ alma mater, halloway university. he made friends quickly –– he always did. always the charismatic friend, he’s learned to rely more on his friends than his family in his life.

when maverick was a senior in high school, he finally reached an age to realize some of the shady deals his parents would make on the regular, the random bonuses his parents whispered about finally making sense to him. one case in particular had apparently caused one of his classmates’ parents to be publicly humiliated for a scandal and an incident that was apparently unrelated to their careers –– but ruined them in the process.

he felt guilt, himself, knowing that his parents could be making deals like that every day. it made him shake his head, made him cry into his pillow, made him absolutely disgusted to call people like his mother and father his own parents. he wrote so many fucking speeches that he’d recite to them once he got the chance, berating them for their practices and lack of morals in their workplace. but they never came home –– and hypocritical as he was, he still enjoyed the fruits of his parents’ work. they gave him unlimited checks with his name on them, as if it was some sort of sick version of love.

while maverick was fulfilling some of his general requirements, he fell in love with philosophy, with questioning life and ethical choices that mankind has made in the past, and would make in the future. he ended up pivoting his studies, moving from pre-law to philosophy at the end of his freshman year of his undergraduate studies.

and of course –– with this twist in the system, maverick is about to make this world his playground, living in his very own simulation of how a fresh new world reacts to infinite freedoms. he’s partially excited to see what will unfold, partially scared that things will fall to absolute shit ( ever the pessimist, maverick st. james ! ) because he has little faith that his company will collectively make the right decisions.

* / PERSONALITY.

maverick st. james is quite the paradox ( hence, the label ! ). he’s charismatic, funny, and has a witty sense of humor –– and is generally appreciated by his peers because he’s able to move conversation and discussion without making topics seem dry. and generally, he’s only like this in classes that he’s passionate about –– otherwise, you’d see him in the very back corner, doodling amongst his haphazardly written notes. what’s funny is he used to always be like this –– happy, smiley, obviously intelligent and driven. but it all sort of changed when he had this big epiphany that some people aren’t what they seem like on the outside ( re: his parents ).

he’s certainly a bit arrogant, given that he’s intelligent, innovative, and clever, and knows it –– however, even if he might not show it on the outside, he appreciates a good challenger. he thinks it keeps his wit sharp, and of course, his ego would never show it, but he does appreciate learning from people. after all, his passion in philosophy makes him certainly interested in how minds work.

at social events, you can probably see him flirting his ass off, but always having a good time, too. he’s definitely the type to sleep around, but he likes to pick at people’s brains, too. probably the most deep-ass pillow-talker halloway has ever seen. it probably borders on the line of being too romantic with flings –– the way he asks questions, but also borders on being annoying.

those who happen to get to know maverick outside of the surface-level stuff, outside the initial cockiness and flirtatious front he puts on will know that he’s actually quite thoughtful. his lonely childhood has made him extremely loyal to those who have shown him similar trust and friendship –– he would never turn his back on them. he asks probing questions, is a good listener –– perhaps because he’s interested in human decision making, but is also because he doesn’t quite know what it’s like to be loved unconditionally –– though he wants to. he’ll hold back hair and rub a friend’s back while they yak, walk his friends home, maybe throw a few punches or two –– but spicy comebacks are really more his speed.

deep down, what almost no one knows is that he’s really quite soft. he passes his curiosity off as wanting to understand people, when really it’s a mechanism for hoping someone asks him questions in return, to give him the time of day he wished his parents had given him. 

* / AESTHETICS.

coffee-stained mugs, walking with headphones in, untied shoelaces, black hoodies, a cheeky smirk, small books in his back pocket, writing in the margins, quoting old authors on a daily basis, incessant eye-rolling, pen ink stains, unmade bed, mismatched socks, floral ties, empty bottles of liquor, rose thorn pricks, old worn poetry books, polished dress shoes, calloused fingers, unlit cigarettes between teeth.

* / HEADCANONS.

funnily enough, maverick’s name means ‘independent, a noncomformist’, which is exactly the path that he has taken to stray away from his family’s expectations of practicing law, specifically constitutional law as a career. he’s like. nah. fuck that.

maverick has some form of synesthesia, which allows him to remember a lot more than the average person. he associates colors, smells, sounds, to words –– and allows him to efficiently study any subjects he doesn’t have immediate passion for.

in the privacy of his own bedroom, he sometimes writes poetry and sketches his thoughts and muses –– when he knows he’s in complete privacy. faces and features that appear in his sketchbooks are often those he’s thinking of often, those who intrigue him. he’s actually quite good a sketching, maybe not quite as good at writing poetry.

tw drugs. he more than dabbles in drug use, smoking marijuana maybe every other day, while partaking in harder drugs like cocaine and adderall and others probably once a week. he feels like he’s in control of his use, but it may start to get the best of him. end tw.

maverick is left-handed. he hates that he gets pen ink stains when he draws, writes poetry, takes notes. his left palm is probably perennially covered with ink.

though he’s often wearing headphones ( airpods, of course, the nerve of this rich kid ), half the time, nothing’s playing. sometimes he forgets to press play on his phone, sometimes he purposely likes listening to decision-making and conversations of strangers. it lets him think about the nature of mankind.

maverick’s favorite philosopher is albert camus, known for his work that heavily developed the idea of absurdism ( much to do with the meaning of life, and human inability to discern an answer ). 

* / WANTED PLOTS. 

CHECK OUT MY WANTED PLOTS PAGE HERE !

childhood friends: again, someone who would have known him from pre-cynical, arrogant asshole days. they could be friends now still, 

ex-friends: perhaps maverick went a bit too far with the questions, about trying to probe into someone’s mind. maybe for this reason, or for others, these two fell out of touch / argued and might be forced into new places due to the disappearance of the other townspeople.

unlikely friends: maverick’s reputation isn’t exactly favorable to some crowds. maybe they became friends in one of their shared classes or through mutual friends, and actually get along well, despite coming from different backgrounds / having different values. they probably see a bit of a deeper side to mav than most people !!

good influence (?!): maverick gets into his shit, has probably a less-than-favorable reputation, but he still cares about people, deep deep down. maybe your muse is a bit lost, and maverick is worried about them and wants to help them get back on track –– especially with all the changes happening in the society !! we can plot lil details about this, esp bc it’s a v unique side of mav i’d love to explore !! ( insp: x, x, x )

bad influences: those who partake in the sins that maverick just loves to lap up. they feed off of each others’ energy, often encouraging more drinking, more drugs, more sex. it’s a bit of a never-ending circle, but one that maverick keeps coming back to, for some reason. ( insp: x )

frenemies: this could be some sort of intellectual challenger kind of deal ? someone mav actually appreciates having in his life, though they butt heads a lot maybe for some reason !! ( insp: x )

disliked: they probably find maverick’s personality appalling or annoying, they probably find him pretentious af and super hypocritical for preaching so much about morals, when he drinks and uses drugs and just fucks around half the time. they could call him out for his flaws, or we could go down a completely different route of them having some weird history of mutual plots ??? so so much room for possibility here !!

+ have a couple more in my wanted plots tag here ! but literally, as a self-proclaimed angst and plot ho, please hmu with any and all ideas you might have !! i can’t wait to get started w all of u !!!