#i might make a final drawing of the doodle in the corner someday (i really like it)

[perisdynasty]

Amedot Fusion | Fluorite

@dribbonart is doing an amedot fusion contest, and I thought it'd be fun to join in! So, here's Amethyst and Peridot's fusion, Fluorite!

(Click for better quality)

[multiimuse]

Dilan HCs

Odds for your boys tbh. B)

I’m never trusting u with meme powers again, kitty.

ANYWAY.

1. What does their bedroom look like?

Relatively neat, if still rather dusty in corners from years of disuse. Sparsely decorated with a bed and a nightstand, a dresser and a closet. He has a (probably) useless decorative lance mounted on the wall above his dresser, and and a small lamp on his nightstand. There used to be a bonsai on the dresser, but Aeleus rescued it  took it away a few years before the garden fell, when Dilan’s attempt at using it to relax nearly did the poor thing in. (He’s considering trying again, but it would probably meet the same fate if he did.) Overall? It’s not very personal - it’s just the place where he sleeps. His space is the kitchen.

3. Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

Dilan’s more likely to be caught moving than standing still, honestly. If he’s not cooking or working on putting the castle in order, odds are he’s exercising or training. Keeping in good physical condition is important to him - one of the few things that had little to no change during his time as a Nobody. And it’s certainly better than sitting around letting whatever he’s feeling catch up to him. As for what, specifically, he does, he rotates through routines so that he can generally keep from overstressing any one area.

5. Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)

Unless he’s been actively working up a sweat (which is admittedly rather often), Dilan tends to keep himself and his personal spaces presentable and neat. It’s easier to get things done when everything is kept neat. Really, that’s all it’s about - it’s not so much a personal preference as it is practicality and training. (Although when it comes to the kitchen, it’s also about avoiding contamination and bacteria, because no-one wants food poisoning and unwashed dishes are gross.)

7. Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

Dilan doesn’t waste time. If he does something, it’s because it needs or should be done, for some reason or another - and idleness is something he outright refuses to indulge in. Even if that reason is simply to try and make himself feel better? It’s worth doing.

9. Makeup?

Hahaha no. He does groom his sideburns though? (Sorry ladies, those eyelashes are all natural.)

11. Intellectual pursuits?

He prefers to leave science to the scientists, but Dilan does have a soft spot for history. Knowing what happened in the past can prepare one for the future, after all. (He’s also rather interested in nutrition, mostly because it ties into cooking and being able to balance good food with needed food is important.) Really, though - he’s just not that interested in research.

13. Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

It isn’t something Dilan thinks of much. He fell for someone exactly once, and it ended so badly that even decades later he’s not willing to even consider the concept of being attracted to anyone. (I as mun would tentatively label him as both demisexual and demiromantic, but neither he nor I know if heteroromantic or biromantic or panromantic; it’s something to find out if it ever comes up, I suppose.) As for views of it in general? Love is Stupid and he’ll recommend avoiding it, but doesn’t actually care one whit what anyone’s orientation is. It’s just not a thing that he thinks about one way or another.

15. Biggest and smallest short term goal?

Right now, his biggest short term goal is getting his temper back under better control. Living so long without it has gotten him out of the habit, and the sheer intensity of it’s rather overwhelming. His smallest is to make sure Braig keeps eating because he doesn’t trust the man to look after himself right now.

17. Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

He... tends to stick to his uniform, really? After years of wearing the organization’s coat he’s not exactly prone to thinking about alternate clothing. It... doesn’t really feel right to wear the guard uniform like he has been, either, but - there’s something comforting about it, something that makes it easier to reintegrate into his life as Dilan. Maybe he’ll branch out in the future, but right now, this works. (As for rituals, unless he ended up wandering into the kitchen in the middle of the night and fell asleep there, you’re not likely to catch Dilan leaving his rooms without him being fully dressed in his uniform. He isn’t particularly comfortable with leaving things done only halfway.)

19. What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

He tries not to, actually, beyond lists of what he needs to do the next day or going through what he’s already gotten done. Thinking too much leads to feeling, and he’s really not fond of how free the heart is with forming emotions to even the littlest things. 

21. Turn-ons? Turn-offs?

NEXT QUESTION BECAUSE THIS ISN’T RELEVANT.

(On: When someone isn’t intimidated by his temper, who has the fire to match himself. Touches to his collarbone. Massages. Soft voices reading aloud in the evenings. Off: the slightest sign of distress, strong perfume, poor manners at meals.)

23. How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

He’s relatively organized? It’s again not so much a personal thing as it really is just the discipline required to be a decent guard. So things tend to be kept in order, he keeps appointments, etc! However... his temper can easily throw that all into disarray. When he loses his temper he tends to throw and/or misplace things, or lose track of time until he’s finally calmed down again. It’s another reason why he wants to get it under better control again.

25. How do they see themselves 5 years from today?

That isn’t something Dilan’s letting himself think about too much - it’s easier to take everything one day at a time. Providing the worlds are still standing in five years, he imagines he’ll be in much the same place he is now: rebuilding his life, whatever method it takes.

27. What is their biggest regret?

He has two: that he never saw his daughter after his relationship fell apart and as such has no idea what her ultimate fate was, and that he did not stop Xehanort, did not even step in, when he knows that he should have. (Perhaps it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end, but that doesn’t negate the responsibility he feels he bears.)

29. Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)

He’s a guard, so he’s trained not to panic - instead, he’ll respond to whatever it is as calmly as possible and if it’s something he can deal with, he’ll deal with it. If it’s not? Get everyone he can out of the way and keep them there until someone who can deal with it has been informed and is on their way.

31. Most prized possession?

If anyone were to ask, he’d state that it was either his weapons or his cooking knives. But the true item he prizes above all others is a soft child’s doll shaped like a knight. He never got to give it to the one meant to own it, but he kept it safe for her on the off-chance that someday he might. Eventually, it simply turned into a reminder that he can’t bear to let go of. (And he’s just about as possessive of it as, say, the Beast and his rose. Never touch it without permission, if you even have been given the right to know that it’s there.)

33. Concept of home and family?

The castle is his home, and its denizens his family - or as close to one as he has or bothers to think about. Family, to Dilan, is made up of bonds of loyalty that can never be broken - if they are easily shattered, then they were never family in the first place. If any physical location could be considered ‘home’, it would probably be the castle kitchen - it’s where he’s most at ease, where his path is most likely to cross with the people he cares for, and where he retreats when he needs to do so.

35. What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time?

He doesn’t really waste time, so if an activity could be considered as such he doesn’t let himself try it long enough to find out if he likes it or not. ... He probably should, just to branch out a little more, but it would take some persuading to convince him that anything that might be seen as a waste of time (movies, meaningless doodling, etc) is worth giving a shot anyway.

37. Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?

He tries to be analytical, but that was far easier as Xaldin. Now that he has his heart back, there’s something of a push-and-pull going on in his decision making. So unless he forces himself to calm down, his first reaction is going to be emotional. (Have I mentioned he really didn’t want his temper back, yet? Because he sure didn’t.)

39. What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?

Cooking, mostly. Dilan uses it to unwind, to de-stress and to be productive in the face of more overwhelming emotions. If he’s too drained to even manage that, however, he’ll simply make some kind of tea and relax at the table until he’s doing a little better. If he’s hit that point, however, he’s not likely to be social, so it’s usually best to leave him be and let him make the first move.

41. How misanthropic are they?

He’s... pretty misanthropic. Naturally a little suspicious and guarded around others, his relationship falling apart led him to drawing farther back, guarding himself further and making it that much harder to trust that anyone has good intentions, and then, after what happened with Xehanort... well, by now he’s more or less given up on humanity as a whole, or bothering with people he doesn’t already have some connection with. (There are a few exceptions, but they are exceptions.) 

43. How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?

Dilan’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy, so that while he had formal education up through the end of high school, that’s where it ended; he enlisted upon graduating, and anything he’s picked up since has been self taught. Primarily, this includes cooking, but he’s also picked up more than he would like to know a few things from being around Ansem and Even for so long. He has no strong opinions on formal versus self-education, save that he wishes more people were taught how to defend themselves - a silly thought, perhaps, before the Garden fell. But now? Now, he’s willing to bet more than a few survivors agree with him.

45. Superstitions or views on the occult?

He doesn’t really have any? Dilan isn’t a superstitious person by nature, and tends to not do a lot of thinking about occult matters. His mindset is more or less one of ‘if I don’t think about it, it won’t affect me’ - which works well enough until you lose your heart and start living an existence that is neither truly living nor existing but still somehow something. (Now that he’s himself again, he’s still trying very hard not to think about such things.)

47. If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?

Hahahahahaha, ha. ha.

Never again. (Ideals are for idiots and children, anyway.)

49. If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?

If it’s to the point of a fist fight, it’s usually because Dilan’s too angry to think straight, so the only thing he’s focusing on is releasing his anger onto his opponent. Thus it lacks in his usual finesse and precision... but given that he’s still strong, and fast, and trained in combat, he’s... still pretty dangerous and not one you really want to piss off to the point he’s throwing punches.

[quiesphere]

2017 Art Summary (template)

   When I look at my previous art summaries, I think, "It's already been a year? Two years?!"... I'm surprised at how much I still like some of these pieces. But since I made art summaries for these last two years, why not make one this year too?

   Even though I've been super busy because of uni I managed to draw many things this year, I hope I'll be able to draw even more next year! I'm still struggling with my lenghty art process but I feel like I'm becoming better at it little by little. I can put aside perfectionism now and just, draw and paint with good results, yay! \o/

January - Piece: Tilde of the Forest    I have to admit, I like this one a lot!! I wish I had added some sort of texture, but I want to think it's already fine as it is so it doesn't look too convoluted. I'm glad I managed to make it give off the feeling I wanted it to have. I'm not sure if the forest Tilde lives in will look exactly like this, but I hope to make an area like this in one of my games someday. Making detailed forest maps is super hard, but I'll do my best! ´A`)9

February - Piece: Carmilla    I... barely drew anything this month (mostly stuff I finished the next month). So I picked up this drawing I had done a while ago in pencil and colored it! I really wanted to play FGO back then, but couldn't, but thanks to FGO NA I can now! I've been playing for a while, and I even got her. :') Sometimes dreams do come true. About the drawing itself, I like how it reminds me a bit of a painting, especially the reds. It got so few response when I posted it that I felt like there might be something wrong with it, but now I still like it regardless! \o/

March - Piece: Sisterly Hatred    Finally, a month with more stuff! I was able to draw a lot of Touhou this month thanks to requests on Twitter. ;v; I really missed drawing Touhou!! It's one of my favorite sagas, so I'm glad I drew quite a lot of it this year. The stars this month are the two paintings I drew from Pocket Mirror, though! I really like these two! Special mention to Cynthia too!    (I also started posting my adoptables this month! Yay!)

April - Piece: Wicked Hermit    Touhou! This one was also one of the requests, but I decided to go a bit wild with it and ended up making it more detailed. I wanted to draw a pretty Seiga anyways, so I took the chance. She's pretty high up on my favorite Touhous ranking. ;v; The background was completely improvised, but it looks surprisingly well. I really like how it came out! (After SAI crashing and making me lose all the shading once, it better be... orz)

May - Piece: Cecillia    This one doesn't even have an actual title since it's just a doodle, but since I barely drew anything this month, here it is! Though it does have something special (other than it being a tribute for my favorite OC's birthday! I love her!!), and it's that I drew it in a very very short time while still looking nice. A bit closer to my process goal. ;v; It... it's really going to be two years since I created her next May? Time sure goes by fast...

June - Piece: Lynerea    I actually started this one on May and only finished the last touches in June, but since I was very busy with my third year uni project this month I didn't draw anything else other than adoptables. However, I really, really like the result! It doesn't look like the usual expressions I draw, and it's a bit of a more dynamic stance. The background was also completely improvised, including the magic circles... I'm still not sure how I drew them (magic??), but I'm super happy with it.    I want to make more drawings like this, with people casting magic in cool poses... yeah B)

July - Piece: Yukari    I have to confess, I really disliked how this drawing was looking while I was working on it. I find coloring blonde hair a bit harder than colors like red or green (my favorites to color), and since there was so much of it... Other than that, I felt like it really looked more simple than what I had in mind. It took me quite a lot of tries to get motivated enough to finish it (since I dislike leaving drawings unfinished even more!) However, after finishing it, I feel like it's not that bad at all! I'm glad I did. I have to learn that simple doesn't equal bad. ;v; (The hair still gives me nightmares, though!!)

August - Piece: Forget-me-not    Another piece that took several years off my lifespan, but for a really good cause. I got so tired of looking at it, and I was even planning on coloring all these flowers one by one at the beginning (thanks copypaste for saving me from this torture). But after finishing, it's probably one of my favorites so far, especially the upper left corner! I like that flower section specifically.    This character has her own story which I have pretty much developed, but I've got to finish other projects first. She's not the protagonist, though!    I also opened (pixel) commissions for the first time. I do plan on opening illustration commissions in the future, though! (I'm growing up! \o/)

September - Piece: Rose Queen    I!! GOT!! ROSETTA!! I sparked her on August after having been saving up since January. I really wanted to draw something to celebrate so there she is! I actually made two different sketches, one for this drawing and one for an alternate version I finished later. This one took wayyy too long, so I decided to just go ahead and post it before finishing the other. To be honest, she's probably my favorite character out of, like, anything, so I really wish I could draw her more frequently. ;v;    I feel like I overworked the coloring in this one a bit, though. I hope I get to draw her well someday... on the other hand, I spent a lot of this month working on my cosplay of her. Gotta show my love however I can. /)v(\

October - Piece: Ran    More Touhou!! Ran was the last one of the Touhou requests I got many months before. I wanted to draw her with Yukari (and a bonus Chen) at first, but couldn't get the sketch right. In the end, I gave up and drew her by herself, though it also took a bunch of tries! I'm also proud of Peony, which is another drawing that barely took me any time to finish. I managed to sacrifice a lot of perfectionism in this one, and it made me feel like I had taken a step forward.

November - Piece: Flower Master of the Four Seasons    I actually drew this one on paper on summer, even before HSiFS came out! I wanted to color it before then but in the end time passed, I drew other things and forgot about it a bit. After that, it suffered a bit like my Yukari drawing on July... I tried to work on it because I didn't want to leave it unfinished (and because Yuuka is my favorite Touhou character!). I wasn't very happy with the result, and lost a lot of motivation.    But in the end, I decided to just go simple and do what I could. And it worked! The background I was scared to face became a few strokes, and in the end I managed to have fun with the coloring. I like this drawing a lot now. I think about this every time I dislike my works in progress; that maybe after finishing I'll look at them with other eyes.

December - Piece: Undead Relic    I had hoped to draw more this month before it ended, but I just took a lot of time to finish a single drawing that is not this one... oh well. ;v;    This is another piece that I managed to finish in a short time with good results!! I hadn't drawn Reliquia in some time. Now that I look at her, I notice that she doesn't actually have that much hair... I just go way too overboard when drawing hair... orz

   I.. I sure wrote a lot this year, didn’t I? It feels like it's kind of an overview of my year and the things I’ve felt and thought about. Thank you so much if you’ve read my ramblings so far!!

   Onwards to a hopefully great, art-filled 2018! \o/

[awkwardspiritanimals]

be ready and be brave (keyleth and the mountain goats)

i’m doing a set of meta pieces where i take a critical role character and pick five mountain goats songs that i think they would like and that i associate with them, and then writing meta posts of varying middle lengths about them in my college!au. you can read the longer explanation on the project here, and here’s the mountain goats wikipedia page if you’re unfamiliar. this is also a decent quick primer on them. i’ll link my favorite version of each song i use so you can listen along.

without further ado, this is the first part, which belongs to keyleth.

i. be ready and be brave

keyleth listens to the mountain goats for a long time before she really gets the mountain goats.

of their group, percy in particular listens to them a bunch, and they spend a lot of time together, just the two of them, so that’s where she hears them the most. the animal shelter she volunteers at is over near victor’s, so she catches a ride with him pretty often, when he’s got afternoon or evening shifts, and they usually take his truck (he likes driving more than she does and is more likely to need his vehicle while working than she is and also quite frankly he just doesn’t fit into her car very well).

(when she’d bought the little green vw bug years ago, there was no way she could have possibly predicted that she would someday go off to college and befriend a bunch of giants. grog and the de rolos like to swap exaggerated horror stories about trying to fit themselves inside the tiny car without dislocating anything. pike and scanlan laugh at them about it a lot.)

percy defaults to the mountain goats most of the time when they’re driving, and keyleth doesn’t mind them, so she doesn’t complain. she thinks they’re fine pretty much from the beginning, especially once she’s gotten used to jd’s voice, to the songs that percy plays most often, but none of them ever particularly reach out to her, not until magpie.

it’s spring, some day in that last little lull of the semester before finals kick into full gear, warm enough that they’ve got the windows rolled down, and the song catches her right from the beginning as percy pulls up to a stop sign. there are a lot of different kinds of mountain goats songs, but this one is gentle, reaches out and touches some bit of her that still feels lost and vulnerable in emon, away from home and her father and the familiarity of the greenhouse, tugs and pulls at it, opens up some hidden, scared part of her in a way that makes her breath catch for just a moment before it shakes its way out of her chest.

(try hard to do your best. be ready and be brave.)

percy doesn’t say anything when she skips back to listen to it again.

ii. i will get lonely/and gasp for air

the second time this happens they’re in the library.

it’s that stage of finals where she’s legitimately wondering if giving up and going off to just live in a forest a long ways away is the better option, and percy’s sharing his headphones with her because she forgot hers, which is something she does a lot. the stuff he listens to while they’re working is more varied than when they’re driving, because percy doesn’t have to worry about distracting himself from the road and can skip around and choose new stuff whenever he wants, so get lonely catches her even more off-guard than magpie had.

it’s the same thing though, the gentle sound of jd’s voice on i will get lonely/and gasp for air reaching in and tugging at something in her chest, something hidden there from everyone else and from herself. the song sounds lonely, sounds how lonely feels, and keyleth is very familiar with it all. not so much these days, but there are still moments of it, cold, sharp pinpricks of it when everyone gets busy and they don’t see each other for a few days, little stinging bits of hurt reaching back to a time when she was so often lonely that she can only really understand the entirety of it now, removed from it a bit by time and place. the song pulls at the edges of this place inside her, both old and new, her breath catching to the rhythm of the string part at the chorus.

and then percy leans into her just a bit, his shoulder pressed warmly against hers and one eyebrow raised in question. the song ends, and percy’s still there, not saying anything but there. she nods, and he leans into her a little more for just a second before going back to his own notes, connected to her by his earbuds.

iii. the sun’ll come out tomorrow

when she finds this song, she is not expecting it to be one she already knows, because of course everyone knows tomorrow, and at this stage in her knowledge of the mountain goats it is not a song she would have ever imagined they might cover.

everyone knows tomorrow, but not this tomorrow, not this soft and gentle thing that john darnielle makes it. the original is bright and hopeful and just on the edge of triumphant, and this is those things too but something different also, all those things pulled down, tight and close, a tiny little ember of something, smaller and softer but still bright, still burning.

(keyleth can’t get over the volume of the piano in comparison to jd’s vocals.)

if magpie and get lonely had pulled things apart in her, tugged at hidden bits of her in a startling and sort of frightening way but also a good way, a way that had exposed them to light and air, had allowed her to learn the shape of them within her and the space they occupy there, then tomorrow puts something back together, smooths out rough edges and unjumbles things she hadn’t even noticed.

she wants to share it with someone, because it seems like the kind of song you should give to someone else once you’ve found it. keyleth thinks vex might appreciate it, in those moments where she’s less brash and sure of herself than usual, but in the end it’s pike who she shares it with first, because she thinks that pike will understand, understand it in the very specific way that keyleth needs someone else to understand it.

pike’s quiet for a little while after they listen to it, and keyleth is sure she’s made a mistake, that pike actually doesn’t understand, is about to say something nice just because pike is usually nice, especially if she thinks she’s disappointing you, but then she just puts a hand on hers and says ‘oh.’

it’s exactly the reaction keyleth needed.

iv. i’m gonna make it through this year if it kills me

there is a momentum to this year that always gets caught up in keyleth’s bones.

most of her favorites in the mountain goats discography are the gentler, softer songs, because those are the ones she needs most often, to pull at the ragged edges of things and to smooth them back into place. but there are also days she just needs to shout i’m gonna make it through this year if it kills me.

there are those days when she thinks it might, maybe not literally, but days where life leaves her feeling jagged and incomplete and like she has no fucking idea what she’s doing. and those are the days when she needs to sing very, very, very loudly that she is going to make it through this, that it (it being at that moment the entirety of the cold and unfeeling universe) should do it’s worst and prepare for disappointment, because at the end of it all she was going to still be there, shouting along until her chest aches with the joy of it, of that defiance and that spite and that brightness.

the momentum of it all gets her every time.

v. you can’t tell me what my spirit tells me isn’t true

keyleth doesn’t have any tattoos. it’s not that she has any problem with them, or even that she doesn’t want any, it’s just that… it seems like an important decision to her. the others tease her sometimes, about how seriously she takes the whole process, but she won’t be rushed.

she has a notebook where she keeps all her ideas. she’s had it for years, adding new things in whenever something inspires her. vax and vex are fond of half-stealing it, adding their own doodles in the margins and starring the ideas that are their favorites. there’s an entire page where she let grog design some for her, big, bright shapes that morph into vines and flowers when you look at them for long enough. percy has a page of his own too, his drawings more traditional and measured than grog’s, and her favorite is a sunflower that takes up most of one corner, realistic enough that she swears it moves sometimes, turning towards the sun.

the page dedicated to the mountain goats had mostly happened on accident. she’d written down one line she’d liked (be ready and be brave) and then another (i’m gonna make it through this year if it kills me) and then once she’d really started listening to them there’d been a bit of a deluge and now there’s a page full of them (i have no fear of anyone, i am young and wild and free. you were brave, you are splendid, and we will never be alone in this world. we held on to hope of better days coming, and when we did, we were right. no matter what they say, it’s gonna be okay. and look about, all the stars are coming out.) most of them are written as tightly as possible, in every inch of available space, because there’s a lot of them and keyleth assumes there will always be more.

there’s one, though, that’s bigger than the others, written in the top margin of the page so she would have enough room. she doesn’t think it will be the first one she gets, because there’s percy’s sunflower and grog’s vines and kerrek, well, kerr had done this amazing sketch one day, when she’d been curled up in his and grog’s little studio space on campus, wondering what the fuck she was doing with her life and trying to escape from everything for a little bit, i have passed through fire, curling and dark and perfect.

but she thinks someday, maybe, a few tattoos down the road, it would be right, that it’s something she’d like to have with her always.

(i don’t have to be afraid. i don’t want to be afraid. you can’t tell me what my spirit tells me isn’t true.)

(she honestly wishes there was someway to tattoo the horn part. it feels important somehow, to the whole thing.)

[askpet-archive]

PET MHA 1

Ari is sitting in the main big room, holding a pencil, hands twitching as she wrote quietly on the paper, she knew a new intake was coming today, she wanted to give them a warm welcome.

Era was doodling in a corner of the room, trying not to get it onto the walls. She stared, focused on the disturbing doodles. She was trying something new, 'draw the hallucinations you see.' Kind of like, something to help grasp onto what was real and what wasn't. She glanced up again for what might of been the 5000th time, staring at everyone else in the room

Ari slid out of her seat, walking over to Era and sitting next to her "what are you making?" She asked, smiling softly, messing with a tiny rock in her hand. She had smuggled it inside last time they were allowed to the backyard

Era stares at Ari, fidgeting in her place, before holding up her picture. It's some.. type of bird? Deformed bird? 'This is birdie.' is scrawled on the paper as well Ari smiled "are they nice?"

Era nods her head, murmuring a "yes."

Ari heard the door opened, Ami came in "Ari, Era dears, do you want to meet the new intake?" Ari jumped, ready to g o

Era decided not socializing wouldn't help anything, despite feeling uncomfortable at the thought of meeting others. She stood up with Ari as well, clutching her paper. She wonders what the new people will be like

Ari couldnt touch Era due to rules, but she hovered her hand near Eras waist, ready to pull her close if neccsary. The nurse led them out into the hall, in the hall were two boys, Vince and CM

CM leaned against the hall wall, listening to Vincent while he crossed his arms, "And so the general told me to go into the bunker-" CM interrupted, "And then you found the others fortified without you. I know, you told me the story millions of times." He grunted, Vincent sighed and combed his hand through his hair.

Ari waved at this guy, smiling "bonjour! Im Arianna!" She exclaimed "this is my best friend Era!"

Era waves at the two of them, giving a blank stare. She continues to hold her paper with her right hand

Vincent looked hopeful, "More survivors! Oh I'm so glad that the carrier was able to load in more units, I thought Colonel and I were the last batch making it to the hospital!" He said in glee, CM fixing his bandages on the left side of his face.

Ari played along, nodding "yep! I was terrified when shhhhstuf went down, i got Era and Spop out as fast as possible though"

Vincent waved over to CM, "Come Colonel! Do you recognize any of these soldiers? Were these any of yours?" CM sighed and got up from the wall and slouched over, staring at them, "Ah yes... they are..." He looked at their nametags, "Ari and Era... None of mine though." CM played along.

Era blinks, frowning. Soldiers? Survivors? Oh no, had the apocalypse started yet and she wasn't informed? That would be bad, really. What kind of apocalypse would it be? Maybe aliens finally invaded. That would prove everyone she was right about them. She's just staring off into nothing now, lost in thought, forgetting that other people were in the room

CM snapped his fingers, "Hey. Hey." He bent over closer, "There's nothing going on. I'm acting." He whispered, smiling and putting his index finger over his mouth, "Shh..."

Ari softly pinched Eras hand, wake up. "Oh, you guys arent in uniform yet, ill show you too it. Leader Amanda says its good for everyone to be in regular clothing, leaves our bodies light enough to train"

Era blinks, going out of her thoughts once the two of them got her out of it. Oh, okay. Aliens would invade someday, though. She was really sure of that. Oh, wait, did she need to say something? Maybe not.. she didn't have anything to say.. is that a bad thing? Ari's talking to them now, okay, she doesn't need to anymore

CM got up from his leaning position, directing his question to Ari, "So, what's wrong with you guys? I might as well ask to make sure anyone pulls a knife on us. Luckily I made myself a bodyguard, he gets annoying but he's alright."

Ari snickered "i wont hurt anyone. I just...see...things..." she trailed off, looking behind him "era is.. kind of...she just hallucinates i think.." "Schizophrenic." Era mutters, just loud enough for him to hear

He nodded, "Hallucinations are very popular in here, myself... I have DID. I might as well not say their names or they might want to meet you." He pointed over towards Vincent, "That guy has PTSD, he thinks he's in WW2.  A real interesting guy."

Aris eyes widened "poor guy! Maybe he had a past life" she heard the DID statement, she looked at CM "id love to meet them. Ive met people with it before, its interesting"

CM glared at her, not menacingly, just curious. "You want to meet them? Well, one of them wont be able to come out because my camera is upstairs... I guess I could have Actor come out..." He muttered as he said Actor's name. He stepped back and took a breath, bowing and starting to say, "Act I... Prolouge... From ancient grudge break to new mutiny..." He began with a dull tone. CM suddenly paused mid sentence and put on a glorious expression as if he was on a spotlight, "Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes. A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows!" He cheered, boastfully ending his talk, bending over and shaking both Era and Ari's hands.

Era jerks her hand away almost immediately, stepping back a bit. Wait, oh no, was that rude? Oh no, she didn't mean to be rude, she just didn't want them to touch her, oh no. "Sorry-" She would of said more, explaining why she did it, but decided after one word that she didn't want to talk anymore and just stood next to Ari rather awkwardly

Ari jolted a bit. H i. "Oh, hi." She chuckled, shaking his hand "touch isnt allowed here just so you know..you said your name was Actor?" She smiled "Arianna, pleasure to meet you"

Actor bowed and apologized, "My mistake, M'Lady and Ser. Alot of people here are shy audiences... Only Vincent really enjoys my company..." He started to get down, then put on a happy smile again, "I'll take my intermission." Actor blinked, CM coming back again."He didnt touch you guys right? I swear if he did again..."

Ari laughed "its ok! I love contact, he can touch me, hand poke, hug, anythin. I dont care, Era doesnt like it though"

CM facepalmed, and heaved, "Can this guy remember the rules or what..."CM stepped back away and signaled Vincent with a snap, "Alright Vincent. Let's go. I better get back and find some new plastic cups, they always forget to give me some after room service." Vincent stood in attention and nodded his head, walking down the hall as CM walked behind him.

Spop was sitting in the common room. In her arms was a pig plushie that she clutched tightly, quietly muttering to it.

Ari decided now was a good time to- oh. Wait whats that. She starts following something only she can see, down the boy bedroom hall

Era blinks, now standing in the empty room. Uh. Okay. She looks around, before just, sitting down and going back to her drawing

-----

CM drunk from a plastic cup, surveying a dead outside with nothing but dark gloomy trees and muddy grass. Vincent sat down next to Spop, "Hello! How's Klondike? Did the nurse patch him up?"

Spop looked up at Vincent and her eyes sparkled. "Mhm! He is all better now!"Vincent's face lit up, "That's superb!" CM looked down at the two of them , "Vincent, did the nurse tell you anything about when your leaving?" He asked, Vincent shrugged, "She told me that I wont be out of care for another few years. You?"CM sighed, "I havent heard much..."

"The nurse says that I cant leave as long as I talk to Klondike"

"Actor may know, but he rarely wants to speak to me. Cammy just... changes the subject over to if I cleaned the lenses off my camera or not."

Spop tilted her head and her eyes lit up more when Actor was mentioned. Spop likes Actor

Ari walked into the room, she looked upset. "Hey guys" she muttered, "...did you guys know we're all broken and insane and nothing we think we see can be actually real and the only reason we're like this is because we're weaker then the rest of the population?"

CM looked up quickly, getting up and signaled her to zip her mouth. "I swear if you... yknow- I'll actually have Actor perform a death act. Those two cant handle something like that! And for a fact, Im stronger than alot of healthy people." Vincent looked up at CM, his eyes fearful, "That's not... true. Right General? Atleast for me? I'm a healthy guy... right?" He glared over at Ari in an intense stare, "What made you think..."

Ari looked..completely out of it. Her eyes were glazed over, mouth stuck in a tiny frown, she had probably just had her meds "nope! You arent healthy! No one here is!"she laughed

CM couldnt make out a reply, his heart felt shattered, "I-I'm healthy... just not mentally. I believe... the nurses wont tell me anything about my condition..." He looked over towards Vincent who looked petrified, CM quickly stepped over towards him, "Vincent. Go to your quarters. You are ordered to forget about this conversation. Take the pills the nurse put on your drawer"Vincent got up and gloomly shuffled his way out of the room, nervously holding onto himself. CM swiftly turned heel and walked back towards Ari, "Why."

Ari shook her head and laughed again "merly told me! He also told me that no one here actually exsists, im all alone in the solitude room, or dead" she looked puzzled for a second "im probably dead"

"Ari, think about it. Would you be able to feel this if you were dead." CM held one of Ari's hands, knowing it could land him in solitude. He took a deep breath, "If you still think you're dead, know this. Atleast you have people to talk to. Death would be pure darkness. If no one existed... well... you wouldnt be able to smell the roses and fresh cut grass in the gardens."

Ari froze when he grabbed her hand, her eyes kind of, unglazing, she looked confused, before she realized "oh..god, i, oh jeez- my meds always do that, its a side effect.." she panicked a bit, looking around..no nurses were nearby, she hugged CM in thanks, before quickly pulling back "did-did i say something bad? I didnt upset anyone did i..?"

CM looked at were Vincent left the room, "Vincent may have heard your little rampage. I told him to go upstairs and take those memory pills the nurse gave him. Just to make sure he's alright, I think we should see him." He spoke, still in his mind of how heartwarming it was to recieve a hug. Actor was shouting in his head about how CM could break the rules and he couldnt

Ari starts running to go find Vincent, probably peeking into his room "Vincey..?"

Ami the nurse walked into the common room, glaring at CM "..i saw that. Dont let it happen again. There are attachment boundaries here Cam. No touching"she growled

CM let out a small groan, rolling his eyes as she left the room. He trailed behind Ari.Vincent was laying down on his bed, hands folded together and his eyes looking up at the ceiling. He heard his nickname, turning his head towards the door and surprised to see Ari. "Oh! Ari! Hey, what's up..." The glass of water next to him was empty and the pill bottle was open.

Ari decided not to mention it, instead putting on a smile "oh, nothing. Just checking on you. CM said you came up here. I wanted tp see if we could hang out!" She goes into his room and sits on the side of his bed, casually taking the pill bottle and reading what it does

He sat up in the bed, he gladly accepted the invitation. "That'll be great! What time is it? Wow, 4:36? I thought the clock was 12:23 when I looked at it a little bit ago." CM came in and sighed in relief, pulling up a chair towards the bed and sat with the others.

The pill bottle had information about erasing memory from 5-4 hours earlier after taking the pill.

Ari stared at it, before cracking a smile, slipping a pill up her sleeve and into a tiny pocket she had bitten into the fluff, before putting the pill bottle down Ari  smiled softly, ruffling her friends hair "you mustve fallen asleep. Do you wanna talk about strategies orr, can me or CM tell a story?"

He nodded his head, "I'd love to hear your guys' stories for once!" CM looking at the clock and knew they werent supposed to be here at this time...

Ari nodded and clapped her hands together, about to start, before she seemed to see something, her body freezing up.

CM noticed her freezing up, glancing up at her and tried to see whatever she's seeing. He looked back at her and gave her hand a quick tap, and whispered, "Psst."

Vincent looked behind himself, "Ari?"

Ari pulled back when he touched her. Whatever shes seeing, it aint good. Shes shaking.

CM fully turned to her, "Hey. Remember what therapy told you. Generalize the situation. Calm down. And tell me what you see."

Ari didnt answer, shes starting to cry

"I- they-" she looked at CM and forced back a scream, skittering backward "CM..? Are you-" hes bleeding oh my god..

---

Spop walked over to Era and put her chin on the couch next to Era. She stared at the drawing before smiling. "It looks pretty"

Era gives a ghost of a smile, nodding a "thanks." to Spop

Spop giggled

She pauses in the drawing for a moment, glancing up, before adding something to it "how are you.." It seemed more like a statement then a question, but oh well

"I'm good. you?"

"mmm.." Era looks up again, focusing on something, before replying "fine."

Spop sighed and walked off to find someone else to talk to. It was clear Era had other things to do. Not like Era trusted her

Era brings her gaze over to Spop, staring as she started to walk off, "wait-" Oh, no, well what does she say now. She really did want to talk more, the silence was beginning to become suffocating  "uhm. hows klondike?" Okay, tack on that

Spop turned around and looked at Era. "Klondike doing well. The lady in green came and fixed him right up!"

"oh, that's good. the nurses are always really nice, right?"

"Uh huh, though rumor has it" She leaned in close to Era "One of em isn't a human"

Era's eyes widen "oh! i bet it's the one with the messy bun, right? she always acted weird, weird, weird.. secretive!"

"I bet it's the one who runs this place. The black man"

Era thinks for a moment "that seems like it'd be true, too. there's a lot of evidence for it.. i haven't seen much people notice though.."

Speaking of the 'blonde man' Charles walks into the room "hello girls!" He smiled "im sorry ive been on the adult side all day, was group today enjoyable?"

Spop looked at Charles and squinted her eyes. "It was"

Era looks over at him, her face going back to being a blank stare "i think it was nice."

He nodded "perfect! Anywho, its about 5 minutes from dinnertime, you hungry?"

Era nods, slightly eager. Food was always nice, especially when she wanted to be distracted

Spop nodded and ran off to get Klondike

Charles clapped his hands together, going to go find the other three patients

---

CM holds her name, shaking it slightly. "Hey. Come back to us. Ari. Snap out of it. We're here!" Vincent sat there, quiet. He doesnt know what to do. He looks hopelessly towards CM.

Ari blinked a few times, it wasnt going away "CM.." she whined, grabbing his arm. This was normal uh

CM heard footsteps coming towards their room, he doesnt know wether he should force Ari's grip off of him or just accept punishment.

Charles looked in the room, a confused look on his face when he looked in "..what is going on in here?!" He exclaimed, too late now

Ari doesnt really realize, girl is just cryin dont mind her

CM yelped at the sight of him at the door, freezing. Vincent saw the man and closed his mouth,  'Umm.. he um. Ari- er."

Charles went over and pulled CMs arm away from Ari, proceeding to carefully inject something into the frozen girls arm, before turning back to CM "three touches. In one day, CM, give me one reason i shouldnt put you on watch."

"They were all for good reasons. I swear. Please dont put me in solitude." He winced at the word of him having three touches in ONE day. Getting up quickly and kept out of the proximity of the other two.

Charles sighed, idiot boy. He looked  at  Vincent "go head to dinner with the others, Ari will join you later, you too cm."

Vincent got up from the bed, CM motioned him to speed up. They both left the room, quiet muttering fell behind them.