#also anon we might be out of the super long reply stage haha

[ryuichifoxe]

(Adding your reply here anon because it's lengthy and so is my own haha.)

For the next few weeks, it's just silence. No more missing packages, the cover is put back in it's place and it's as if nothing has happened at all.

At first the eerie quiet is suffocating, charged with anxiety and paranoia. Constantly looking behind, making sure that you are not followed, that nobody is watching is exhausting. It's like after the Farm all over again. The days slowly drag on, but having to wake up to a panic attack each night, so severe that you actually throw up and want to claw your face off and just hide, is doing wonders to one's sanity. Not going up at all helps, it's kind of grounding, and calming to be able to hide in the shadows. Though he misses being able to stuff his face full of donuts so much. The lair is still safe, hasn't been compromised yet, and that is the important part.

When the nerves have had time to settle, and he doesn't feel like shit everyday it's time to investigate. From a safe distance and taking every precaution he can, erasing every trace. Hopefully the mechanic lowered his guard in the meantime and thinks the silence meant that the threat has been successfully scared away. He starts writing e-mails from a throwaway address, asking for advice about mods that are exhaustingly mundane, and he already knows the answer to. Just to see how he reacts in normal circumstances. Then it's looking up online reviews, profiles for the shop and basically everything he can put his hands on. After that only the hard part is left, trying to profile the mechanic himself, which is not easy considering it seems like he does not make housecalls, which would open up the rather dangerous possibility of sneaking into the shop. Now that would be a bold move. And stupid, scratch that. So it's watching from a distance, from the shadows of dark alleyways as Em goes grocery shopping once in a blue moon, and if he so much as glances his way, he is out and gone. Watching him work and tinker late into the night from the shop window is kind of fascinating. The light inside painting everything in gold, while the dark envelops him outside, taking care to be in the blindspot of the cameras.

Then he makes and appointment from another throwaway e-mail address for just a quick check-up. Late into the night, as late as Em is willing to let him push without getting suspicious.

Deep breaths. You got this. Keep your walls up. If it goes to shit, you still have an out.

He arrives fifteen minutes late to the agreed time, because he needed that to have another panic attack in an alley.

How can you be so fucking stupid.

But it's too late; he is already in, looking around in the vaguely familiar interior, taking in everything he can. A man in his late twenties, light stubble on his face, except for a scar on his right cheek, prominent cheekbones, familiar dark circles under the eyes, light brown, almost tan skin. He has dark brown, chin-length straight hair, but most of it is covered by a beanie on his head. His eyes are a strange hue, somewhere between green and brown. He holds himself stiff and upright, and is a few inches shorter than Emery. He put away his sewer rat clothes, for grunge streetwear that is nondescript enough. Jeans, boots, a long sleeved shirt and black slim ankle length coat.

“Hello, hi, sorry, I know I am late, there was an accident at the main road, and I had to come the long way.”

He is still looking around, glancing at him but not making direct eye contact, heading his way and sitting down at the chair he saw the other clients use.

Time of the truth, I wonder if he recognizes?

He shrugs out of the coat, rolls up the skin-tight shirt sleeve revealing his mechanical right hand, and laying it in front of Emery on the table. As he sees him focus on it, he turns to look at his face directly for the first time.

“So I have a little problem with the thing's grip strength, it needs to be adjusted. It makes for a challenging wank.”

Why the hell would you say this, this wasn't the plan and you are left handed anyway. Maybe he will smile, take the joke? Or he will think you are a pervert and haul your ass out of the shop like you deserve. What the fuck is wrong with you.

His attention is still glued to Em's face, looking for the tiniest twitch of his mouth, for a disgusted sneer, for an annoyed eyeroll, anything.

Life returned to normal and the paranoia eventually faded to it's usual, manageable level. Though Emery still toyed with the idea of relocating his business to another side of town, just to be safe. His neighbor, Maria, was horrified when he brought it up one afternoon.

Who's gonna feed you? Bring you snacks that won't rot your teeth? Make sure you take an actual break at noon??

First of all, he's a grown man. Not even human. Fully capable of running a business and buying his own food. So what if it was mostly sugar and high fructose corn syrup? It helped him stay focused. But the thought of needlessly worrying this older woman he's known for two years, and inconveniencing one of his elderly clients, ultimately guilt him into staying put. He'd just have to up security and stay vigilant. Besides, he knew how to disappear if push came to shove.

It didn't.

The feeling of being watched occasionally, sure, but he tried not to obsess over it too much. He'd already ruled out the Farm, as far as the thief went. Emery doubted anyone worth worrying over would abduct him walking home on a brightly lit street, convenience store concha in one hand and bottle of strawberries and crème liqueur in the other.

On second thought, maybe Maria was right to worry.

But everything felt the way it did before the thefts began. Work never slowed down, now without the added customer service task of rescheduling the same two appointments over and over. Emails to respond to, new clients to pencil in. The latest is running behind schedule. It's always the last job of the night.

He doesn't let the frustration show when his client finally shows. Doesn't immediately look his way, offers a distracted hum in acknowledgment until he's finished filling out a form on his laptop. Mind not open but unguarded, no reason to have his shields at 100%. With how many people come and go in the shop nowadays, it was a hard learned lesson in burnout.

“What's a Friday night in Los Diablos without a pileup on the freeway.”

Even after he turns his focus to the man in his shop, there's no eye contact. He expected the client to move to the chair, heard the leather give under his weight. Instead, his eyes go to the hand on the table and the way it connects to the rest of the arm. His thoughts racing, cataloging the wear and tear long before he's close enough to even pull up a chair. He's mid-reach when the words register in his brain and Em's head jerks up to finally, finally look him in the eyes, visibly caught off guard by the joke.

It's impossible to miss how every muscle in the seated man's body tenses. Crude humor. Nervous reflex.

“Sounds like you're having a real hard time then,” he jokes, grin curling slightly more to the right. Most people found it charming and make an effort to calm down. “Gonna pop the shells off and take a look, but if your grip is weak then it sounds like a sensor issue. Maybe a loose cable. Relax, alright?”

When Emery says it, the goal is to do what he always does. Extend his mind, reassure his client of no ill intent. That he can be trusted. He won't sweep their unspoken concerns under the rug or chalk it up to the most expensive part being faulty.

Only to hit a roadblock. A familiar one.

He doesn't move. Can't. It's embarrassing to admit how much of a struggle it is to keep his breathing steady. Simply sits there, staring at the inner mechanics of the palm he removed the shell from, until he's able to compose himself. The intrusion to his mind is carefully pulled back, not yanked.

“Relax.” Em isn't sure why he repeats it, or who benefits more from hearing it at this point. But his tongue feels heavy behind his teeth and he has a choice to make. A skittish glance up at an equally nervous face, and the decision is made. Back to work with no sudden movements, just careful fingers. “Didn't think you'd actually show up. I take it this is why you singled my shop out."

Shit. What the hell.

Who the heck is this lunatic, who follows a stanger into the gutter?! Anyone sane would have called the police. Should’ve known, the tracker was a warning not a challange. Oh well the sewer system under the city is like a labyrinth, he will either turn back after a while or wander into his death.

Taking the advantages of the home turf, he can focus on hiding in the shadows, taking care not to make any noise as he continues to head back home. Luckily they don’t have visual on each other yet, and from the sound of the cursing the mechanic is still at the main entrance.

As much as I don’t like to pry I will have to keep a tab on him.

But as he extends his consciousness, and something actually reaches back for once, as if searching for him, he has to stop in his tracks. Sheer panic settles heavily in his stomach, cold sweat immediately drenching his back, a metal right hand landing on his mouth to stiffle a surprised noise escaping.

Quickly, I need to shut this down. But it is too late, he must have felt it too, the strange recognition in each other instead of the expected.

Paniced thoughts start to rush around in his head as he raises the mental walls, trying to shield himself of any intrusion, listening closely.

Was I fast enough? What do I do, who the hell is this, he was just a mechanic! What now?!

[Thank you for extending the character limit <3] -✘

There.

He shifts, facing the direction where his consciousness brushed against another.

Contact. Brief, almost reaching, familiar, dangerous, and then it's ripped away. The recoil is immediate; physical and mental. As if he'd placed his hand directly on a hot burner. It takes a considerable amount of effort to force his shields back in place, the panic overriding his anger bleeding through the cracks until the last piece seals shut.

Idiot! Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? You should've relocated when this started, instead of thinking you had any advantage. Didn't want to leave. Let yourself get too comfortable, feel too human. Arrogant. Run. Get out.

Stumbling, Emery keeps his eyes trained forward and grabs for the rungs he know lead topside. A tentative step, waiting to hear anything, and then he's moving. Up.

Telepath in the sewer. A telepath--Farm? No. They wouldn't show their hand, not like this. Taunting isn't their style. He would've already been dragged off if this were the directive. It should settle his nerves but the nausea won't subside.

Still, Emery hesitates at the top of the ladder and glances back to where he last sensed the thief.

“I know you're still there.” It's an assumption, one he's not willing to test by mentally reaching out again. Safe bet though, since he hadn't heard any movement after the contact.

Are they just as unnerved?

Em steadies himself by pulling at the anger from earlier, letting it harden his voice. There's an edge he can't quite shake. “You want something, you come in through the front like the rest, got it? Steal my shit again and I will find you.” Quieter. “And don't think you're safe because you're in the sewer.”

Was it a threat? A strange olive branch? Both. Neither? He's not sure. With any luck, neither will they and this problem will resolve itself with them fucking off forever.

Emery hoists himself out but pauses when reaching for the cover. It's his eyes making shapes out of shadows, has to be. He bites his lip and, like many of his choices tonight, stupidly leaves it open. Their little rat game is up anyway. Telepathy's out of the bag too. For both of them. That has the nausea rearing it's head again, so he takes one last look, pulls his shields tighter, and finally breaks for the open window to his shop.

He needs to walk, shake this off. Grab something sweet and bottle of schnapps.

[vodka-aunt-coran]

Bio anon again! Got excited about the last part of your reply so I'm gonna talk about stuff out of order sorry! Anyways there's a lot of non coding bits in DNA (several theories about why this is but idc rn) so maybe nonessential genes could be replaced or rewritten as a message? Also it depends on how functional the olkari wanted the spores to be! That opens of the possibility of rewriting all sorts of genes, maybe to the point of "everything goes except what makes it a spore" so they're (1/?)

(2/?) no longer functional and can't develop into later life stages. They could create larger, easier to read patterns to make a message. I'm assuming the message could be read given a cipher? But they would need an incredibly good understanding of which gene does what. ALSO that's an incredibly short message compared to what could be stored in DNA. Proteins might be easier to work with and to read, but more limited in how much info can be stored? Which fits the v short message in the show...

(3/4) but how do they keep the proteins in order? A chain of proteins could easily get lost in the physical spore structure. And that's assuming they have the same molecular/cellular structure and similar DNA. Even bacteria have significantly different DNA/RNA from people, so what are the chances of recognizable DNA sequences evolving so far from earth? Anyways this got way longer than planned so I'm just gonna end this on a headcanon: alteans and humans have different taste palettes! We evolved

(4/4) to recognize tastes as good or bad based on what food is around. Bitter is less desirable than sweet bc plants produce bitter toxins for defense, and sugars are easy carbs. But alteans might have an entirely different set of plants, and might experience tastes very differently! (Sorry this was so long omg)

1) i love you

2) the olkari seem to have some kind of…magical way of changing plants? so maybe knowing which parts of the DNA (or whatever structure they have) is, like, basic and common knowledge to their species :0 the idea of spores solely for communication and that they can’t develop is super neat too!!

3) omggg that’d be super neat!! and, y’know, altean food is obviously less palatable to humans so that’d make sense :D maybe alteans prefer bitter or acidic food? which would be my guesses as to what made coran’s dishes less appreciated by the paladins haha.

feel free to elaborate on any of these or bring up new points!! don’t worry about sending too many messages; go on for as long as you want :)

[taesthetes]

(1/?) Travel-anon-hi! Sorry for the late reply, I've been feeling a bit under the weather D: But wow! That's so sweet of you for what you did for your mom! My family's not big on celebrating parent days, but we do go out for dinners - my mom's bday is a couple days before, so we merge the two ;u;~ Thank you! I'll probably come back with a pile of photos, and be super picky which to instagram, haha. Oh! Good idea with the perfume! I normally don't carry any, but this sounds like a good reason to.

(2/?) Aw, you had to give up your internship? I’m sorry D: but on the bright side, vacation? Would you be able to do the internship another time? In terms of expensiveness, I think HK topped it for me. The livelihood there is super high end and overpriced to me :/ And ikr! I wish it were like that here too, but North America’s just too big and spread out for that unless you lived downtown, but that’s expensive D: In December, one Japan night was 24 degrees celsius ouo;; that’s pretty much summer

(3/?) But it does depend where you’re at in Japan! That night I was in Tokyo! It’ll be colder if you’re farther north~ I don’t know if the magikarp promo is still going D: but if it is, you definitely have to try it! I actually like the “crispy sandwich caramel” haagen dazs! I can’t get it where I’m from ;u; so depriveeeed. Your convenience stores sound so much better than mine! All mine have are dollar store things and candy OTL? Usually super grungy looking too. Aw, that’s cute! Do you visit?

(4/?) For the cat, not your sister (well, I guess her too), haha. I don’t remember, did you say you’d try to get a pet in the future for yourself, maybe? Yep! Certain holidays or popular events cause tickets to be more expensive to those countries during those times~ It’s still modern art?! Why isn’t there any traditional ones D:?! I actually prefer modern art, haha; mostly the interactive type ones! I don’t particularly have a favourite artist; I appreciate based on how interesting their-

(5/?) concepts are and how well they executed it. I mean, we did drop a lot of cash on the machines (and won nothing a lot of times), so I’m pretty sure that’s why they took pity on us, haha! I hope you’re lucky enough to either win it yourself, or find someone to help you! I also wish for you to be good at those games ;D! Have you had any more ramen since I last spoke to you? You’re still making me crave for it, and I can’t have any right now ;u; Oo, barely any jet lag can be a good thing!

(6/?) I don’t jet lag much when I travel, but the bits that I do, I accounted for, and used it for long-term traveling within the country! Oo, I hope I get to try a vietnamese hot pot some time then :D! If we ever manage to meet up in another country, let’s hit up vietnamese hot pot, haha. Omg, both of those movies were so good!! Infinity war, I really hope you do get to see it soon D: There’s so many spoilers out already, and it would suck if you got completely ruined to it beforehand!

(7/?) I preordered all 4 albums when they first opened it :D;; If I was only getting 1 of them though, I’d have gotten O! What about you? Did you preorder, or are you going to hit up a store when it’s released where you are? Which is your favourite concept? And, omg, yes. Jimin’s pretty hardcore when it comes to going 0 to 100, so I tend to die fairly often, haha. How do you manage to keep up with Tae?! He’s just as bad, if not worse, than Jimin’s 0-100?! He’s too pretty and amazing as a person!

(8/8) I was going to end this at 7, but well, here’s 8, haha. I follow on yt, and when a notice pops up, I listen and fav the song if it matches my tastes :D NCT is going haaard right now, like wow, almost every other week or two OTL I’ve been into kpop for so long that I like a lot of groups, so it’s hard to recount all of them, haha. What about you? Who else do you listen to? How long have you been into kpop? How was the Tswift concert?! Did you have an amazing time?? How early did you lineup?

hello, m’love!! oh noo, i’m so sorry to hear that ): are you feeling better now? make sure to drink lots of fluids and rest up! and thank you :’) i hope you had a good dinner with your family!! and happy belated birthday to your mom 💕 oh gosh, my instagram is a mess, i just post sporadically and nothing matches. but i think i’ll start trying to make a nicer instagram page though haha. yeah, it’s pretty helpful with the perfume because you can’t bring pepper spray onto planes or anything for travel, so i just pack a small perfume bottle instead!

yeah, i’m excited for the vacation!! i won’t be able to do an internship until next summer then unfortunately. oooh, i heard kong kong is really nice! but i’ll make sure not to go there until i have money lmao. yeah, the only way walking is fine in north america is if i live in one of the big cities, like nyc. oh my god, in december??? it’s going to be even worse since i’m going in the summer D: i think overall it’s going to be very hot in japan because it’s summer when i’ll be there. 

ahhh, even if there’s no magikarp, i’m still excited to eat taiyaki!! omg ok, i’ll make sure to get that ice cream flavor when i’m there :o and that really sucks ): hopefully, you’ll get to come back to japan soon and then you can get the ice cream :D ah yeah, there’s a lot of dollar store items and travel items too and candy. i think most convenience stores are pretty grungy tbh. i visited her last year! but that was before she got a cat sadly ):

and yes!! i want to get a dog and a cat in the future! i suppose there are a few traditional art pieces on display? but i think most people here enjoy modernized art more, like even the buildings and such in the usa are much more modern compared to europe. i guess it’s because the usa hasn’t been a country for as long as european countries, so everything is newer looking. oooh nice!! interactive art is always fun! :D modern art is really beautiful too, but sometimes, i see something like the entire canvas is painted one color with only one stripe down it and i’m like ??? how is this worth 91283472319 dollars???

asdfjkads that’s going to be me. i’m going to spend all my money on the crane machines and win nothing, so let’s hope someone will help me ahah and thank you!! fingers crossed! :’)  and i haven’t had any ramen since ): ramen isn’t the healthiest, so i try not to eat it often. ajsdhfalks but you can’t have any right now? D: did you run out? oooh, and that’s smart! i really hope the jet lag won’t hit so hard because i want to explore everything, but there’s never enough time. and yes!! we’ll definitely get vietnamese hot pot, and then you’ll have to show me all your favorite food places too :D ahhh, i want to see both of them soon! i took my last midterm yesterday, but i still have papers and several projects to do ): and my weekends are packed since i have some things to go to for my friends’ birthdays and i think we might do a road trip for the upcoming memorial weekend since we get monday off.

and omg so lucky!! all four wow :o well, i didn’t preorder it, but i don’t know which album i want either. maybe R or O? because they all look good in denim, but tae had that lip ring.. and unfortunately, they don’t sell kpop merch in stores anywhere near me /: so i’ll have to order it from amazon if i do buy it! honestly all the concepts are pretty though. jimin’s stage presence vs real life is mind blowing with how he can switch so fast. askdlhfjaj i barely keep up with tae, he’s too perfect and he’s such a sweetheart pluS HIS DOGS AND CAT ARE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

asdf,nasd oh my god i love nct so so so much, like nct dream is my ult boy group favorite, and i’m so sad mark is graduating from the dreamies after this year ): did you see their chain mv? who’s your bias? oh my gosh i’m so excited to hear you like nct alskdjfhalew i really, really, really love taeyeon, like she’s my ult bias, but i also love shinee and blackpink (when will they release a new song)!!! i follow up with those three and nct the most. but i also listen to red velvet, gfriend, twice, kard, day6, wanna one, monsta x, infinite, vixx, astro, and f(x) like when are they coming back ): oh and (g)i-dle!!! i pretty much listen to whatever group that currently makes a comeback, so i know the title songs of most of the kpop groups, but i don’t know each of the members’ names. and i’ve been into kpop since early 2014 :’)

ooooh my god, the taylor swift concert marks the best night of my life, likE I LOVE HER SO MUCH I’VE BEEN A FAN SINCE 2006 AND I CAN’T BELIEVE I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO HER CONCERT!!!! but i got there two hours early for the lineup, and when it started, i sang along for every single song, and when she sang a mashup with long live included, i was over the moon, plus before the concert, i was like oh hey what if she sings the best day because it’s mother’s day tomorrow anD SHE ACTUALLY DID AND I CRIED OMG I GOT SO EMO i was shaking like i tried to get good videos on my phone, but my phone also died and the video will show you how shaky i actually was and wow i just– best experience, i will definitely go to her concerts over and over again and i just loved it so much. so yeah i was pretty excited and super happy overall :’) and how is your week going? 💗