#its like once a drawing idea comes out of my cranium it can never be revisited

[qeyond]

me everyday since may: i need to draw. i want to draw! but im scared. what if it doesnt come out good. what if i dont like it. what if it's not as good as all those super dynamic pose drawers can do? what if its just not good enough?

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars - Chapter 4-5 Interlude

The Will to Act

Ambience filled the air of a cold laboratory, filled to the brim with countless deranged experiments still in progress. A dark blue hue encompassed the facility, and only the beeping of computers and the flowing of liquids cancelled out the silence. That is, until the high-tech gate marking the entrance opened suddenly, and in walked Dr. Eggman. The lights immediately switched on, though the inherent darkness of the surroundings was still prevalent. He still had a grin on his face, and his swagger remained confident as he walked. His diminutive lackeys followed right behind their master.

"Sir, aren't you at least a LITTLE concerned that the Wraith failed to defeat them...?" Orbot asked, though he knew the doctor would brush him off before he even got his answer.

"Bah!" Eggman scoffed, as he walked up to a large metallic table with blueprint papers. "If you worry over every little setback, you'd never get anything done. That's something I've learned over the years. You gotta roll with the punches if you want the last laugh."

He then took out a single grey crystal, evidently one of the crystals from Zephyr Mountain he managed to get away with. He examined it closely... He seemed to be able to sense the power within just by holding it, as he let out a heavy exhale through gritted teeth.

"Oh yes..." he paused, before putting the crystal down onto the table. His body crouched slightly, perhaps overwhelmed by what he just experienced. "I can feel it... right through the course of my veins... It feels... amazing... This will be so good when everything's done."

"So uh, what do these pretty crystals do, exactly?" asked Cubot. "They for a Christmas tree or somethin'?"

Eggman wordlessly glared at the robot for his inadequate levels of awareness. "No... they have a much greater purpose." He pointed at one of his papers, which included a sketch of two crystals. One grey, the other fully colored.

"The crystals we have now can already achieve great things. They can power my creations to new heights, and give them amazing strength. But these ones... " He placed his finger on the drawing of the colored crystal. "...are twice as much. No, ten times as much. These crystals are the ones with the most remnants of the Ethereal Zone's power on this planet. With them, one can control the elements, and maybe even more..."

"But if that's true, why are you looking for the Ethereal Zone itself?" Orbot questioned, while Cubot scratched his cuboid cranium. "Surely the crystals would be enough to satisfy your proverbial hunger?"

"It's about climbing the scale, idiot," Eggman sneered arrogantly, complete with a clench of his fist. "With these crystals, we get those crystals, and with THOSE crystals, we get closer to finding the Zone."

"And what about the Chao?" the round robot asked again, as he mildly fidgeted.

"They're still a priority as well. I wouldn't waste time capturing them if they weren't." The doctor snapped his fingers, and pointed at both of his minions. "So I expect the two of you to investigate where Sonic and his annoying friends could have taken them, and where else there could be more Chao."

"You got it, boss!" Cubot gave a hearty salute, and pulled Orbot close to him, much to the latter's chagrin. "When you feel you're gonna sob, Orbot and Cubot are on the job!" With that, he dashed out of the laboratory in seconds, dragging a distressed Orbot by the hand all the while. The scientist stood there for a brief moment, before shrugging to himself in resigned annoyance.

"I'll do it myself later, they'll probably screw it up somehow. But first..."

He picked up the grey crystal again, and this time he walked over to a row of test tubes, all of which were filled with a mysterious green liquid. Silhouettes of different sizes and shapes could be seen in each of them, but one test tube in particular caught his attention. With a growing grin, he pressed one of the buttons on the panel beside the tube, and slowly, the liquid began to clear away. The silhouette from within was still obscured ever so slightly by the shadows, but even those who weren't the mad doctor himself would know straight away what was in that tube. Sonic certainly would.

"Wakey wakey," Eggman called out in a sinister sing-song voice. He showed the crystal, and shook it a little, like a parent interacting with their own baby. "I've got a little present for you, son. Fancy settling your little vendetta with the fake once and for all...?"

Immediately after he asked, a pair of red rings sprung to life where its eyes would be...

---

"So what do you think Eggman wants the crystals for?"

"Dunno. Maybe he wants them to give that monster more power... Or maybe they're for some other weapon, like a laser cannon or something."

"Oh, like the Eclipse Cannon?"

"Well, he's tried some things more than once before, hasn't he?" The hedgehog shrugged. "How many Death Eggs has he had again?"

Tails and Sonic continued to debate the motivations for Eggman's crystal hunt as they made their way back from Zephyr Valley to Lutrudis' castle. Lutrudis herself was walking beside them, with her hands behind her back, listening to her friends' chatter while she looked around at the beautiful scenery presented by the valley. Her mind appeared to be elsewhere...

"You ever think Eggman will give up some day?" Sonic asked half-jokingly.

"I think we already know that'll never happen," Tails answered with a light chuckle.

"But he's done everything to try and win!" Sonic pantomimed dramatically with his hands. "He's sicced Chaos! He's tore the planet apart! He's disrupted the flow of time and space! And he STILL can't beat us!" He grinned knowingly. "And you wanna know why?"

"Why?"

He suddenly brought Tails close to him and gave him a soft noogie. "Because he'll never be as awesome as us!"

"Aww, come on, not in front of Lutrudis!" Tails laughed sheepishly, trying his hardest to cease the noogie. Lutrudis herself let out a small giggle at the sight of Sonic's antics.

None of them noticed the top hat-donning robot hiding away through the trees. The robot's hands continued to move erratically, as it spied on the heroic trio walking through the display of vibrant vegetation.

"You may be certain about that for now," it whispered to itself in a feminine voice. "But in time, you will surely bow... ~hmm hmm hmm~..." It vanished in another puff of fancy smoke, leaving as quickly as it appeared once again.

"Listen, guys," Lutrudis spoke up, having decided to bring up what was on her mind. "I've... had an idea I've been going back and forth on. It's about the crystals."

"Oh?" Sonic let go of Tails, and the fox regained his composure. "What kind of idea are we talking about?" Sonic pondered.

The horse rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, and her eyes glanced over to the ground at her side. "It's probably a silly idea, but... Suppose we were to fight fire with fire..."

"You mean... to use the crystals ourselves?" Tails correctly sussed. His tails swished at the mention of this prospect.

"Heh, close. You guys are probably fine as it is. But I had an idea involving... well, myself." She pointed her thumb at her back, which her trusty bow was currently tied to.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at the implications, though he trusted that his friend knew what she planned on doing.

"Well, lead us the way, Trudy."

---

After having returned to the castle, they immediately went back to the cavern underneath it. While Sonic went down the rocky steps like the previous time, Tails was generous enough to simply fly Lutrudis down to the cave, having remembered her struggle with steep steps. When they went inside the cavern, it looked exactly as it did last time, as rustic yet radiant as ever. The crystals once again gleamed heavenly, in all their multitude of colours to choose from.

"So..." Sonic started, curious as to what the horse had in mind.

Lutrudis motioned with her finger to halt Sonic's words, indicating non-verbally that all will be explained. She walked up to a wall in the cavern, and with her other hand on her hip, she casually tapped it thrice with the back of her fist. Right on cue, a bunch of ropes came down from the roof, each of them holding onto what appeared to be plushies based on Eggman's Egg Pawns. Sonic and Tails looked at each other in surprise at this sight.

Then, Lutrudis looked at a selection of crystals beside her. Each of them were glowing, and pulsating with the mysterious power they still hadn't quite learned the full story of. Slowly, very slowly, after a brief moment of hesitance, she put her hand on a red crystal. She closed her eyes as she took a moment to exhale deeply through her nostrils, having felt its unexplained heat. Once she was ready, she opened her eyes once more, and gently plucked the crystal out of the ground.

Sonic's quills straightened up slightly, and he and Tails looked at their friend in concern, uncertain as to what she was about to do. Nonetheless, they let her continue, knowing she was far from careless.

Without a word, she pulled out one of her arrows, and slowly pulled the tip of it off. After a few seconds of her glancing between the now-incomplete arrow, and the crystal itself, she carefully placed the crystal where the tip of the arrow once was. It was inserted onto the arrow with little issue.

"Woah," Tails muttered in surprise.

Lutrudis grabbed her bow in one hand, with the new, specialised arrow in the other, and she turned her head in the direction of her two friends. She motioned towards the entrance to the cave, to which they understood immediately and backed up so they were further away. They clearly understood she wouldn't want there to be an arrow in someone's eye if something went wrong.

Still perfectly silent, she took her time to put herself into position, as she stared down one of the hanging Egg Pawn targets. She closed one eye, and got her bow and arrow ready. She could still feel the intense heat of the red crystal by being so close to it. A light bit of sweat went down her forehead. But she didn't budge. She was ready... She aimed...

The hedgehog and fox closed their eyes, and crouched in anticipation...

FWOOOOM

Sonic opened his eyes abruptly at the noise he just heard. He couldn't see any arrow through his body, much to his own relief. He nudged Tails with his elbow, to which the younger one opened his own eyes in response. When they looked at Lutrudis, they couldn't believe their eyes. She stared at the Egg Pawn plush... or what remained of it, as it had almost completely burned apart due to the crystal that remained stuck in its chest.

"Holy..." Sonic stopped himself, before Tails could hear. "That's some Blaze business right there..."

Lutrudis still said nothing. There was little emotion on her face as she looked at the burnt Pawn... but something was clicking in her eyes. She went to the closest selection of crystals again, and this time, she picked out a blue one. She repeated what she did last time. Took an arrow, pulled the tip off, replaced it with the crystal. Her body mildly shivered, as the coolness of this crystal was a palpable contrast to the warmth of the previous one. Once again, she prepared herself to aim at another hanging Pawn, and when she felt ready, she fired away.

CCCLLLIIISSSHHH

Another direct hit... but instead of burning up, this one was inexplicably frozen in an appropriately sized ice cube.

"Nice...!" Sonic muttered out loud, with an impressed grin on his face. Tails was similarly amazed by what he was seeing.

She decided to try out one more. She looked at yellow crystals, green crystals, among all colours upon colours... Her eyes stopped upon noticing a purple one. Its glow was significantly darker, more dimmer than the rest... and almost as black as the night itself. Despite showing even more hesitance than the previous two examples, she put her lingering fears aside and carefully plucked out the purple one, and repeated the process once more. This one didn't feel hot or cold. Instead, it felt... strange. She couldn't pinpoint what it made her feel. She aimed, braced herself...

But neither she nor her friends could have predicted what this one would do...

WWWHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH

Everyone's eyes were wide in complete and utter bafflement. Lutrudis in particular looked enormously dumbfounded. Did that Pawn just get... sucked into a void? She looked to her side at another purple crystal, and then looked back at where the Pawn once was. The look on her face remained the same. She was completely puzzled, and possibly aghast.

Sonic and his little bro went closer to the green equine, still full of shock themselves. All three of them had trouble getting a single word out of their mouths. Even for as much as they already knew, they had no idea the crystals were capable of that much power.

"Well..." Lutrudis tugged on her ponytail nervously, and let out an embarrassed chuckle. "This would be quite awkward if my aiming stunk."

"Trudy, this is... this is incredible! And kind of terrifying... We've GOT to show this to Amy and Cream!" Sonic looked again at where the Pawn was before it got whisked away by an actual, literal void. "No wonder Eggman's after these things!"

"But if nothing else, they sure do look as though they could come in helpful," Tails added. "Although, surely you'd run out of crystals eventu-"

Before Tails could even finish his spoken thought, a brand new red crystal popped out of the ground, exactly in the previous red crystal's place. Likewise, a new blue crystal emerged from the ground in its place, and a new purple one came to fill its own. Tails' jaw hanged low. Sonic simply whistled in amazement.

"Oh yeah, that's another thing," Lutrudis smiled coyly, as she tilted her head and swung her leg back and forth while leaning on the other. She clasped her hands. "It's not a finite resource. If you take one, another takes its place."

"Man..." Sonic stroked his left quill, still dazzled at what his friend could do with these abnormal jewels. He was far from a stranger to them. He's seen and used the Chaos Emeralds who knows how many times. He's seen the Sol Emeralds. He's seen the Master Emerald. He's seen the Time Stones. He's seen the Phantom Ruby.

But none of them were so prominently... multi-purpose in their specific capabilities. The rest would boost your power, distort time, create illusions, but these crystals had a whole slew of bells and whistles. And is it possible that they could stack up? If this was what they had to offer, what on earth could the Ethereal Zone itself be capable of...?

It was a scary thought for the Blue Blur. On one hand, he was glad he had a compadre who could use them effectively. On the other hand, Eggman would be able to do so much in so little time if he got his hands on them. And since it's an apparently limitless resource, he'd never run out of that power...

"So... was the sheer level of power why you were hesitant about this?" Tails asked while he rubbed his ear.

"Well, it's one of the reasons," Lutrudis sat down on the nearest rock, and put both of her hands to her sides. She crossed the ankles of her boots. "They say power corrupts and all, and I'd like to believe I'm more responsible than an entitled manchild with the nose to match."

"You already are," Sonic chuckled softly.

"But talking of Eggman... I've been a little morally conflicted about it," the horse admitted.

"How come?" Tails questioned.

Lutrudis glanced at the crystals all around her, before she looked at her friends' faces, visibly unsure of herself. "I want to do everything I can to help, and I really mean that. But... If I used the crystals this way... would that make me no different from the likes of him? You know, using a powerful natural resource for one's own benefit... would that not make me just as contemptible as him, and others like him...?"

"Trudy, pal, it's not the same thing at all, believe me." Sonic sat beside her, and put an arm around her back, much to the horse's surprise. "Eggman only cares about power, and nothing but power. That's all he ever wants... that and maybe my head on a pike. When he uses shiny magical doodads, it's for the purest of selfish reasons, to appeal to his own ego at the expense of others... Trudy, I may have not known you for long, but I already know you're not like that. Not one bit. Heck, unlike half of my other friends, we didn't even fight after an easily avoidable misunderstanding!"

"Your reasons for using these crystals are perfectly benevolent," Tails continued along, with a comforting smile. "You want to help protect our world, to give our fellow people peace and security, instead of taking it away from them... you and Eggman couldn't by any more different with your intentions."

Sonic pointed his thumb at himself, with the characteristic smirk to match. "I've used the Chaos Emeralds to fight big bad monsters and giant scrap piles for years. Don't see me going full Egghead, do you?"

Lutrudis looked at one of the crystals behind Sonic's position, before exchanging eyesight with him once more. Her demeanour relaxed. "No," she smiled tenderly. "I suppose not."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt the scene guys, but..."

The three of them were immediately alert at the sound of a new voice entering the scene. It didn't sound at all like Eggman, thankfully, but it was also too gruff to be Amy or Cream... and masculine.

"We would just like to talk with Sonic," another voice piped up. It sounded younger than the first voice, but it too was gruff, and definitely male. "Your friends told us you were down here."

"Those crystals are so PRETTY!!!!" a third voice shouted enthusiastically. The pitch was notably higher with this one. "Can we take one? Pleeeaaase???"

"Quiet already, sheesh!"

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, as he soon recognised their identities before he even saw their shadowed figures. "Oh, it's just you guys, the... what are you guys called again?"

"The Chaotix Detective Agency," Vector the Crocodile announced with pride as he entered their field of vision. "At your service, sirs and madam!"

Sonic and Tails exchanged blank looks with each other. Lutrudis merely waved awkwardly at the newest face.

---

Back to Chapter 4...

To Chapter 5...

[dubsdeedubs]

An Outreached Hand [7/?]

Summary:  On a cold winter’s day in 1982, Stan Pines shows up at his brother’s door with two cats tucked in his jacket and no heartbeat in his chest.

[AO3]

Notes: I actually posted this like two days ago but didn’t make the Tumblr post for it till now.  Probably says a whole lot about how distanced I’ve been asojioda

There's someone staring at him from across the diner. A waitress, to be more precise, squinting at him suspiciously under heavy purple eyeshadow, a sharp twist to her expression that even his tired mind can read immediately as 'trouble.'

Ford's fairly certain that he has never met her in his life. But then again, his life hasn't been entirely his for several months now.

Lady over there's giving ya a real stinker of a look.

He can't help but start at the echo of Stan's voice in his head. It's... not something he's used to, hearing his brother in what used to be the domain of someone - something entirely different.

He thinks maybe it's something he will ever get used to.

You stiffed her on tips before or what?

Now that Ford thinks about it... no, yes, he had made a visit to this establishment once before. He's sure of it. It had been shortly after Fiddleford had left him, and around when Bill had decided to up the ante where psychological torment was involved. The memory of being surrounded by a dozen pairs of yellow-slitted eyes flashes before his mind's eye, and he grimaces despite himself.

Had this woman been there for that disaster of an attempted breakfast? Did she remember him from his frantic escape?

Not for the first time, he's thankful that for all of his brother's abilities, he either could not - or did not at all want to - read Ford's thoughts.

His left hand lifts itself up and flicks his nose, hard.

Ford flinches, more out of surprise and confusion than any real pain. It takes him a moment to make sense of what had just happened.

"Stanley -"

'Stanley' yourself, his brother says flatly, entirely unamused. You've been sitting for a full ten minutes in this place without moving a muscle. Have ya ever heard of ordering food when you're in a restaurant? Or is that something hermit scientists don't do?

Ford bristles. "I know perfectly well how to order food, I just haven't done it yet because the waitress has been staring at me for the past -"

He blinks, looks again.

In the span of this extremely distracting exchange, said waitress had disappeared entirely from his view.

Ford's mental alarm bells go off almost immediately.

He had long held suspicions about the local townspeople, which were only exacerbated by the recent appearance of mysterious hooded figures around town. And, considering that Bill was perfectly able and entirely willing to manipulate other people to get to him, being around anyone at all was a security breach of the highest magnitude..

The waitress had seen and recognized him. She must have noted that he was here, vulnerable and out in the open without any of the defensive measures he had set up around his home.

There is just one reason he can think of for her disappearing so immediately, and that was to share that information with others.

He knew this was a terrible idea, Ford thinks, heart racing.

He knew, but his brother just wouldn't listen to logic and sense (but why would he, when for all Stanley must have thought, Ford was just being paranoid? Because he couldn't know, not about the extent of Bill's powers, not about what had happened to Fiddleford, not about everything that Ford had been manipulated into being a part of -)

Ford needed to leave, the sooner the better. There was no telling how much time he had left before they - whoever they was, whether the hooded figures or a pawn of Bill or something he had not even anticipated - used his vulnerability to their advantage. He had to -

"Are those wild animals in your coat, mister?" Says a voice right behind him, far too close for comfort.

Ford jolts forward with a sharp noise of surprise that he refuses to call a squeak.

When he twists his head back, eyes wide, the waitress is staring back with a scrunched Look of deep disapproval. He thinks somewhat stupidly that the heavy magenta eyeshadow added magnitudes more to its power.

For a moment, his brain just doesn't process the words.

"Wild - wild animals?" He repeats.

She points down at the two furry heads poking out from the neck of his old trenchcoat.

Mabel - he thinks, it's not nearly as easy to tell the two apart as cats than as children - offers a single cheerful meow.

Ford stares down at them, speechless. He... had entirely forgotten they were there. How had he forgotten about two live animals tucked inches away from his own body?

"We don't allow animals in here," the waitress says with a frown. "Got a sign on the door and everything."

She points at it for emphasis. He stares after her finger for a moment too long, expression slack.

The waitress squints at him. "You alright there, mister?"

Ford, Stanley says flatly, you're useless.

Just like that, his mouth stretches into an entirely unfamiliar kind of grin, slow and flirtatious, the kind of expression Ford doesn't think he has ever made in his life.

"Sure I am, sugar," Stan says smoothly. There's an easy confidence to his words that's enough to make Ford feel just a twinge of envy. "I would ask ya the same thing, uh -" He squints at the messy scrawl on the woman's name tag. "- Susan. But I gotta say, it looks to me like you're doing just fine."

He winks. Ford cringes.

The waitress - Susan, he reminds himself - stares at them for a long moment, looking very flustered. Understandably, Ford thinks to himself, considering that from all appearances, he had switched gears from 'confused' to 'Casanova' at the drop of a hat.

"See, I think there's a little bit of a misunderstandin' here."

"How so, mister?"

"This is a family diner, yeah?" Stanley says. He gestures at the door. "Says it right there. 'Greasy's, for the whole family.' Right above that sign about wild animals."

He squints. "Why - why do you have that sign about wild animals anyways?"

Susan blinks. "Well," she says after a moment, "whaddaya know, it sure does!"

"So thing is. These two here, they ain't 'wild animals.'" His brother pauses, for what Ford highly suspects is just for dramatic emphasis. "They're family."

Her eyes widen. Her jaw drops.

Stan leans in closer slyly, going for the kill. "And this can't be a family diner if the whole family can't eat, right?"

In the privacy of his own mind, Ford lets out a deep sigh. This... was entirely ridiculous. It spoke magnitudes about Stanley that he had thought it would actually work. Everything else aside, they had snuck two full-grown cats into a dining establishment in their coat. There were - there were rules against these things, he was sure, rules that he doubted a waitress would -

"Oh hon," Susan chirps, and slaps them on the back hard enough that they choke on their own spit. "Ya should have said somethin' earlier!"

In the span of what feels like a second, the woman's demeanor had transformed entirely. Easy understanding had replaced suspicion on her broad face, and there was a new friendliness to the way she held herself.

"For a moment there, I figured you were one of those characters that come in marrying woodpeckers and kissing raccoons -"

"One of those -" Ford chokes. "Marrying what?"

"- but I can tell now, you're nothin' like 'em. Heck, I can already tell what you are!"

A chill goes down their back, and he doesn't know if it's from him or Stan. Maybe it doesn't matter.

"And," Ford says slowly, with a tone of vague concern, "what is - that?"

"A kindred spirit, handsome!" Susan winks like she doesn't know how to.

"...Oh."

Aaaaaalright, Stan announces, I did the heavy lifting. You're on your own now, Sixer.

Wait -

Somehow, he can tell that his brother is studiously ignoring him. Ford sighs.

"Family! What a perfect way of puttin' it!" Susan gushes. "You're right, why keep 'em cooped up in there? Let your kitties stretch their legs!"

"Are - are you sure that's alright?" He starts to ask, an eyebrow raised. "The sign -"

"Oh hun, this is Gravity Falls," She scoffs. "Just about everyone around here has seen much, much worse in this diner, I bet ya."

That... did absolutely nothing to ease his worries. Ford nods dumbly, more than slightly alarmed by the casual revelation.

The cats stretch out on the diner table, low and lazy. Which... probably wasn't hygienic, but considering the stains and flecks of unknown substance already present when he had sat down, he supposed a few animal hairs wouldn't do much worse to the establishment's bacterial ecosystem.

Mabel, or at least he thinks it's her, looks between him and Susan. She gives him the feline version of a wink. Ford looks at her in horror.

"What are their names?" Susan asks, drawing close, a soft expression on her face. "Your sweet little fur babies."

"They're my niece and nephew, actually," he corrects quickly, edging away, and realizes too late how odd that statement came out without the benefit of context. "But, ah. Dipper and Mabel."

Susan doesn't seem to mind the slip-up, however. In fact, judging by the extra sparkle in her eyes, that only seemed to endear him to her even more.

"Well, my oldest is Mr. Snookums," she says conspiratorially. "He's getting up there in years, maybe just a year or two older than your kitties here. And then there's Mittens, except she's the kind of lady that likes ta put a twist on things, so lately she's been trying out something new. Look, I've got pictures!"

Ford blanches.

It's after noon when Ford peers through the window of the local grocery store with an air of dawning apprehension. No one inside but a lanky teenager with a stunningly large cranium, manning the cash register with an almost physical air of general rebelliousness.

Ford swallows. "Stanley, are you sure it's fine to, ah -"

Relax, poindexter, his brother groans. I take the kids everywhere I go, and I've never run into any trouble.

Very carefully, Ford wonders if that was less about the actual regulations in place and much, much more about nobody wanting to tell a certain casually terrifying individual that he needed to leave his pets outside.

Besides, bringing the cats worked out fine in the diner, right?

"That doesn't count," he retorts immediately. "That woman was - she was obsessed with cats, Stanley, I didn't even know half the things she was talking about., and we talked for two hours."

Hey, I'm not seeing how that's a bad thing.

"Two. Hours."

Hell, I didn't even know the 'not having a collarbone' thing. I mean, it's not like the kids would have known about that. Though, Stan says thoughtfully, that definitely explains some of the crazy places they've gotten into over the ears.

"If you enjoyed it so much," Ford snips, "perhaps you should have spoken to her instead."

Nah. By the looks of you, Sixer, you haven't talked to another human being for a loooong time. Better a nice lady with a whole lot to say about cats than, uh. Mr. Potato Head inside there.

"Stanley."

What? I call it when I see it. Guy's head is disproportional.

Ford lets out a long sigh, and carefully does not admit that his brother was right about Susan. The social interaction had been overwhelming and occasionally bewildering, but it had been - a comforting sort of normal, in a way that nothing in his world had been for a very long time now.

Just chatting with a waitress in a diner about the best way to brush a cat. Nothing like his angry confrontation with Fiddleford, or the conversations he had with Bill that just thinking about made him reel with self-disgust. Nothing like everything that had happened since his brother had shown up at his door, just yesterday.

He walks into the store with his back straight, carefully ignoring the furry ears rubbing against his chin.

Then just as Ford steps over the doorway, there's a loud welcome chime.

He flinches, and jerks back with so much force that he knocks over the store display right next to him.

The cardboard figure hits the ground with a too loud thwap. The teenaged cashier glances up at him, a strangely intense look in his eyes.

"Apologies," Ford says stiffly, and awkwardly moves to stand it back up.

What the hell was that?

"I didn't expect the sound," he admits reluctantly.

"Who are you talking to?" The teenager asks, an odd look on his face. His voice is an entirely unexpected baritone, one that fits his craggy face but is strange with his frame.

"No one," Ford says, a bit too quickly. "Just - ah, just wanted to hear the sound of my own voice -"

Ford, shut up and just keep walking.

He does clumsily, and almost trips over his own feet. The cashier's stare feels heavy on his back all the way.

So. Grocery shopping. You want some of uh. Eggs, or something? Cheese? People buy cheese, right?

"...Stanley?"

You're on your own for this, pal. Look, I'm dead. I haven't had to eat for a long, long time. Thank God, because from what I remember hunger was uh.

A long, telling pause.

Not fun at all.

Ford looks up, and then even further up at the cans and boxes that line the shelves and seem almost to reach up to the ceiling. There's oats, then organic oats, then something about added sugar or reduced sodium and -

"I'm a bit rusty with grocery shopping myself," he confesses.

What, Stan says skeptically, you would rather eat out, now that you've got a college degree and big science money?

"Stanley, I told you, that's not how research funding works. I can't just spend that money on anything I want - "

Ford cuts himself off before he can go on the whole rant. He has a sneaking suspicion that telling his undead brother about the intricacies of research grants and scientific stipends was pointless.

"No," he says instead, voice clipped. "I just didn't eat."

His brother goes quiet at that. ...Well, all I know how to buy is food for the kids, and as horrible as I'm guessing your eating habits are I doubt you wanna get cat food -

Ford coughs. "Yes, not cat food would be good."

...You want stuff that doesn't go bad quickly, right? Canned stuff would be good for that, you can probably figure out how to fry bacon or something for the extra protein. Hell, you know what, eggs aren't a bad idea. And maybe some uh, green stuff. Vegetables. Spinach, kale, whatever.

"Stanley -"

Eh, what do responsible adults eat? Hell if I know.

"Stanley, that's - a great deal of food," he says carefully.

That's the point, Sixer.

"The issue is, ah. I can't afford all of that."

There's a long silence.

You can't - afford all of that, Stan says blankly. Like, you don't got enough money for it?

"Y-Yes, that's usually what it means to not be able to afford something -"

But you have money, his brother argues uncomprehendingly. You went to college, didn't ya? Isn't that what going to college is for?

Ford blinks, entirely thrown off-guard. "No, that's -" He starts off weakly, and then goes quiet with sudden realization.

He had been away from his family for years now, keeping the bare minimum of contact. So it had been easy to forget, surrounded by other college students and even more educated professors, that his household had always held a very fundamental misunderstanding of what higher education entailed.

Filbrick Pines had lived his entire life working for a living, and the idea of putting effort into studying something with no direct financial reward was entirely disjointed from his reality. Ford had smiled (grimaced, if he had to be entirely truthful) along with his father's loud boasts about how his boy was going to make the whole family rich, that his college admission meant they were all set for life.

It had been easier then to just stay quiet. Though, of course, that just meant the inevitable fallout was just that much more explosive.

But Stanley hadn't been there. He had left home long before Filbrick realized that Ford's research grants weren't free money, before the big argument that had ended with Ford admitting that no, his studies weren't going to make them rich, not any time soon, and no, that was never what college was for. Not for him, and he had gotten his degree for himself, not anyone else.

Which meant, this whole time, his brother had thought -

"Going to college didn't make me rich," Ford says at last. "It was... almost the opposite, really. Backupsmore gave me a full scholarship, but I had to take out loans and work on the side to eat and pay for textbooks. I got money to come out here for my research, and I suppose it's a large enough amount as a lump sum. But I need to justify all of my expenditures to the committee that approved me, and..."

He smiles wryly. "As it turns out, research scientists don't prioritize 'quality of life' too highly."

...Huh.

The words had come out almost terrifyingly easy, and it hits Ford suddenly that it's the most he's told his brother about his life in their years apart in... well. Very possibly ever. It's an odd feeling, one that comes with something like regret and slightly more like panic.

But mostly like relief.

Geez, Stan says suddenly, you could've just said so earlier. And here I thought you were stuck on an actual problem.

"An actual problem," Ford repeats blankly. "So you're saying this isn't an actual problem."

Sure. We can just steal.

A beat.

"You," Ford says, horrified, "want to do what?"

His voice cuts off suddenly, entirely out of his control.

You wanna say that any louder? Stan groans. Trust me, Mr. Potato Head doesn't want to care, but keep shouting about robbing this place and he's gonna have to.

"Don't call him tha - Stanley, I refuse to steal," Ford hisses under his breath, entirely scandalized.

Eh, suit yourself, his brother mutters casually, too casually. There's a loaf of bread down your shirt, by the way. And half a dozen oranges up your sleeve.

He freezes. "How did you - when did you -"

Don't ask questions you don't want answers to, pal.

"Stanley."

Stan hesitates, then sighs.

Look, I didn't have to eat, but I had to feed the kids somehow. And it wasn't like I was getting any kind of real job, with how I look. You figured out a way to make the system work for you, and guess what? So did I. Maybe it isn't as pretty. Or as legal.

He's quiet, for a moment.

...But it works. So shut it, alright?

Hearing that makes Ford's mouth goes dry. For the second that day, it hits him just how thankful he is that Stan can't hear his thoughts.

"Alright," he says hoarsely. "Do what you have to do."

"There's something wrong," Ford says quietly, about thirty minutes after they leave the store with something like a week's groceries stuffed in various pockets and folds.

Not about the stealing. The cashier - 'Ivan', as his name-tag introduced him as with an unfitting cheerfulness - hadn't looked twice at him when he paid for a single carton of eggs to keep up appearances. He hadn't seemed at all thrown off by his meager purchase, or even the two cats peeking out from the neck of his coat.

But there was a strange intensity in the way he had stared after him as he left, It reminded him of the looks the townspeople had given him on the streets that morning, how some of the other diner customers had turned to glance at his table as he talked to Susan and ate an uncomfortably filling breakfast.

"I'm being watched."

What, like right now? Stan says skeptically.

"No, this - this whole day. People have been staring at me. Following my movements."

Ford, you haven't showered in a week, you've got two full-grown cats hitching a ride in your coat, and as far as everyone's concerned you've been talkin' to yourself this whole time, Stan says flatly, sounding distinctly unimpressed.

"Still -"

Honestly, Sixer, I would be shocked if people weren't staring at you.

That... was true.

But...

For just a moment, Ford hesitates, ready to argue -

- and doesn't.

He lets out a sigh. He's tired, the bone-deep exhaustion and general stress of the past several months hitting him all at once.

Ford... doesn't want to think, can't think. Not right now.

"You're right," he says at last. "Let's go home."

They do, but it's Stan who pilots their body for most of it.

He's the one who gets the groceries put away and cooks an omelette that turns into scrambled eggs somewhere along the way, on a range that sputters and dies before the liquid gets all the way solid (Ford scarfs it down anyways - he's facing a host of much more immediate dangers than salmonella.) He piles firewood that Ford had completely forgot he still had into the fireplace, and struggles to light the flames with a box of soggy, year-old matches.

It ends with him curled up on the least destroyed armchair he has, moth-bitten blanket clumsily draped over himself, two warm bodies snuggled in and purring on his lap.

Somewhere distantly, he wonders if, just maybe, he had forgotten something.

With the fireplace roaring just a few feet away and the feeling of soft fur under his hands, Ford doesn't even notice when he falls asleep.

[caricaturist23]

//Obscurity

They say that fiction has a way of translating into one’s real life, and vice versa. I, for one, like to believe that fiction, or be it any form of storytelling, for that matter, has a way of catharsis about it.

So today, I am going to tell you a story. It might be fiction, it might be real, it might be a biography, or an autobiography. I guess they are all different, but really, what is the difference? A story is nothing more than a story.

There once was a feeling at the back of my mind. This feeling, in all it’s entirety, tried its best to find a way out of the confines of my cranium. It screamed, scratched, clawed, gnawed - tried every way fathomable to escape. But I didn’t let it. Today, I think I realize what it was. It was loneliness. I was alone, even when I was surrounded by people who loved me, people who considered me family.

I know it sounds ungrateful. I know it sounds shallow. But it’s true. I did not realize that this entire time, this voice in my head was calling out your name.

Two years ago, everything changed. Everything changed, and yet nothing really did. They say that when you leave college, the “real” world awaits. But they don’t tell you the power that vices can have on you, the control they can inflict, the sadness they can carry.

I was absorbed by a vice. I took a job right out of college, and I hated every living moment of it. I had no one to share my sadness with, even though I had the entire world to share the burden of it. I guess I didn’t want to share it with anyone but you. But you were so happy. You wouldn’t understand.

You were so happy, and I was a fucking mess.

I didn’t know how to deal with it.

And so, I befriended alcohol. It would always be there, it would always share my sadness. It started with a drink, and ended with a bottle. Every night of the week. It made me feel light, and yet, ironically, I was getting fat.

I was so lonely. I was so sad.

I missed my best friend so much. I was happy that you were happy, I guess.

I hated who I was becoming. I wanted to do something with my life. I wanted to be an artist, a storyteller, maybe both. I guess there was some aspect of me which romanticized the idea of sitting on a beach in the south of France, with a glass of wine and a typewriter, maybe a moleskin, and some shade - writing away, drawing away - people I met, people I dreamed, people that were real, people that weren’t. There were so many stories in me, there had always been. Instead, I was wasting away in a cubicle, working for a company from nine to five, selling solutions to just about anything but my own life. I guess the paycheck was worth it. A few thousands weighed out the tremendous load that often comes with having dreams. Hey, at the very least, I could afford a handle of whiskey.

And so, the nights flew by.

So did the days.

I would want to check on you every now and then, to see how you were doing. I would try calling you, but I couldn’t.

Do you know what it is like, to feel that your own best friend hates your living guts?

To know that the person you would run to, to talk to about your day, your month, the person who once shared your happiest and saddest moments was better off without you in the picture? To know that this person would rather do anything but be associated with you?

You don’t. I hope you never do.

Anyway, back to me. I made some mistakes. I hurt some people. I hurt the friends who were family. I hurt my family. No one liked to associate with me at one point in time. Where had it all gone wrong? If I try to pinpoint one particular instance where it all started to go downhill, I seem to be at a loss for words. Because there isn’t any. It was slow - the process, but it was steady as hell.

They say that you should savor the day. Seize it. Carpe the fucking diem. Enjoy your moments, because they are fleeting, and cherish the ones you love. They tell you to count your blessings and they tell you to be thankful. I tried. I really did.

Everything changed last year. The color came back into my life. I could see again. I had everything I had ever wanted, and I took it for granted, yet again. I hurt this color, the way I hurt everyone close to me. I lied to this color. The color, which had changed my black and white world to something I could care about, to something of vibrance and life - I hid my past from it.

I did not want the color to know how black and white my world had become. How drained I had become, how tired, how many people I had hurt, and how lonely I was. I did not want to blame anyone but me. Not even my friend, the bottle, or my friend loneliness. I wanted to appear just as colorful as I had been before the color had left my life.

I did not do right by my color, and for that, I am sorry. I am sorry to everyone and everything that I hurt. I thought I had stripped away that former self, and I thought that if I never spoke about him, he would never come back. But he was waiting. He was still inside, and he had grown stronger. He lingered. The claws of his prior existence were embedded far too deep within my soul to leave so easily.

He had vowed to return, and return he did. 

I don’t really know what the point of this story is. Maybe it has no point. Maybe it isn’t fiction, maybe it’s a rant, a way of telling myself what I already know. Maybe I am standing at this cold, empty hallway, peering over the edge, and maybe I see a door. Maybe the door has a sign above it, and maybe that sign reads the name of my former acquaintance; “loneliness”. Maybe this letter is addressed to him.

Maybe the door peers into the very darkness that sits brewing inside my head, the darkness that has waited so long, the abyss that gazes back into my soul in those rare, tiny moments of self-reflection.

I understand you, loneliness. 

I understand what it is like to be alone. 

I understand what it can do to you.

Come, for I have been waiting - with closed arms.

I cannot say that I am ready to accept you, but maybe, just maybe - this is what I deserve.

[surveysonfleek]

212.

1. When you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? more cereal than milk so the cereal doesn’t get too soggy too quickly.

2. Do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a winter day? the first hit of cold is always nice. after awhile it gets annoying.

3. What random objects do you use to bookmark your books? nothing too interesting, random pieces of paper etc. or i’ll just fold the corner.

4. How do you take your coffee/tea? coffee: two sugars with milk. tea: one sugar and milk.

5. Are you self-conscious of your smile? i’m happy with my teeth, they could be a bit whiter though.

6. Do you keep plants? my mum loves plants, our backyard is huge and there’s gardens everywhere. there’s also some plants inside in the front lounge and then our dining room. none in my room, not enough sunlight lol.

7. Do you name your plants? no.

8. What artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? none. do tumblr surveys count?

9. Do you like singing/humming to yourself? only if i’m really into the songs.

10. Do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? side or stomach.

11. What’s your inner joke you have with your friends? there’s too many but one of the more recent ones is millus. there’s a guy at work named milos and it’s correctly pronounced ‘milosh’ but everyone says ‘mi-loss’ which is also fine. one of our workmates called him ‘millus’ the other day ever so innocently and we thought it was hilarious. so his name is millus now. lol.

12. What’s your favourite planet? earth.

13. What’s something that made you smile today? getting a new candle!

14. If you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? definitely loft style. huge space with high ceilings. our room would be open on like a second level and then everything on the first level would be studio-like, not many walls apart from the bathroom.

15. Go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! no.

16. What’s your favourite pasta dish? ugh i hate pasta. if i had to choose, probably gnocchi.

17. What colour do you really want to dye your hair? nothing in particular. wouldn’t mind some highlights. but my hair is super dead, it needs a break.

18. Tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. tomorrowland and coachella alwayssss come up in conversation. 

19. Do you keep a journal? What do you write/draw in it? nope.

20. What’s your favourite eye colour? hazel is always pretty.

21. Talk about your favourite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. hmmm i change handbags every year and they all go through hell and back with me lol. but i’d have to choose my hand carry luggage. that shit is super old, one of the zips are broken, the handle struggles to pull up but i still take it with me everywhere. one time i checked it in and it went missing. i thought it was the end of it but thankfully it was found and delivered to my front door lol.

22. Are you a morning person? nope. but if i have to wake up early i can do so easily.

23. What’s your favourite thing to do on lazy days where you have no obligations? i clean my room a bit, rearrange stuff, cook something new and watch netflix.

24. Is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? probably my boyfriend.

25. What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? i don’t think i’ve ever broken in anywhere.

26. What are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? i have a lot of favourites that i’ll wear until they eventually break lol. 

27. What’s your favourite bubblegum flavour? watermelon.

28. Sunrise or sunset? sunset. but sunrises are just as beautiful.

29. What’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? when my boyfriend geeks out about certain things like game of thrones lol. loser.

30. Think of it: have you ever been truly scared? yes, of course.

31. What is your opinion of socks? Do you like wearing weird socks? Do you sleep with socks? Do you confine yourself to white sock hell? Really, just talk about socks. i only wear socks when i’m wearing boots or sneakers or if it’s winter and my feet are cold. i own more black socks than white coz of work.

32. Tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with your friends. that’s what i call a dope games night hahaha.

33. What’s your favourite pastry? i honestly love all pastry.

34. Tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. What is it called? What does it look like? Do you still keep it? this cabbage patch doll. she was black with dreads and had a flower tee. my grandparents got it for me, not once did i think she was different coz she was black, i just loved her! i have no idea where it is now sadly.

35. Do you like stationery and pretty pens and so on? Do you use them often? i love stationery, i just don’t use them enough to buy heaps.

36. Which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? no idea. none right now.

37. Do you like keeping your room messy or clean? organized chaos tbh.

38. Tell us about your pet peeves! i could make an entire list. but my main one are people who cough without covering their mouths.

39. What colour do you wear the most? black.

40. Think of a piece of jewellery you own: what’s its story? Does it have any meaning to you? my diamond bracelet my boyfriend got me for my 21st birthday. i love it but it’s super flimsy, it’s broken twice now so i don’t wear it anymore.

41. What’s the last book you remember really, really loving? harry potter. all of them.

42. Do you have a favourite coffee shop? Describe it! starbucks.

43. Who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? i feel like i’ve never done this before lol.

44. When was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? ugh idk never.

45. Do you trust your instincts a lot? yes.

46. Tell us the worst pun you can think of. i’d tell you but it’s not very punny.

47. What food do you think should be banned from the universe? none.

48. What was your biggest fear as a kid? Is it the same today? dogs. haha no, i love dogs now.

49. Do you like buying CDs and records? What was the last one you bought? i don’t buy them anymore. i don’t even remember the last cd i got.

50. What’s an odd thing you collect? nothing weird.

51. Think of a person. What song do you associate with them? marc, get buck. so random.

52. What are your favourite memes of the year so far? haha idk. i like memes but not as much as everyone else on my facebook feed.

53. Have you ever watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Heathers? Beetlejuice? Pulp Fiction? What do you think of them? none.

54. Who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? omg this girl at work last night. no customer service whatsoever. i hope i don’t look like that.

55. What’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? idk lol.

56. What are some things you find endearing in people? just their dorkiness.

57. Go listen to Bohemian Rhapsody. How did it make you feel? Did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? i didn’t listen to it. but i do enjoy that song.

58. Who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? Why? this is incredibly fitting. sara is the wine mom 100%, and irene is the vodka aunt, she’s even russian ffs hahaha.

59. What’s your favourite myth? unicorns lol.

60. Do you like poetry? What are some of your favourites? no. the only time i ever read poetry was in school.

61. What’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? The stupidest one you’ve ever received? idk lol. there’s been plenty both ways.

62. Do you drink juice in the morning? Which kind? nope.

63. Are you fussy about your books and music? Do you keep them meticulously organised or kinda leave them be? not fussy at all. i used to be when i was younger. my itunes library would have all correct details and i managed to cut the genres down to under 10. now i don’t care. my books are everywhere too.

64. What colour is the sky where you are right now? black.

65. Is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? yes.

66. What would your ideal flower crown look like? white, pink and purple.

67. How do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? i love staying inside during those days.

68. What’s winter like where you live? it’s nice during the day and freezing at night.

69. What are your favourite board games? cranium. its an everything boardgame lol.

70. Have you ever used a ouija board? no.

71. What’s your favourite kind of tea? honeydew milk tea with pearls.

72. Are you a person that needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? no.

73. What are some of your worst habits? i get annoyed easily. i also have no patience.

74. Describe a good friend of yours without using their name of gendered pronouns. i am theirs and they are mine.

75. Tell us about your pets! he’s my first and probably last pet dog, sky. he’s sooooo cute and super old but he still has the spirit of a puppy. physically you can see signs of old age in him but i hope he’s okay.

76. Is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? nope.

77. Pink or yellow lemonade? neither. they’re too sour.

78. Are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? neither?

79. What’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? organized a present for me overseas. lol.

80. What colour are your bedroom walls? Did you choose that colour? If so, why? turquoise and light grey.

81. Describe one of your friends’ eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. striking.

82. Are/were you good in school? yeah i was good i guess.

83. What’s some of your favourite album art? all of rihanna’s shit.

84.  Are you planning on getting tattoos? Which ones? nope.

85. Do you read comics? What are your favourites? nope.

86. Do you like concept albums? Which ones? is lemonade one?

87. What are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? sound of music.

88. Are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? modern shit. cubism, futurism, surrealism, pop art.

89. Are you close to your parents? fairly close, yes.

90. Talk about one of your favourite cities. san francisco is a dream. it’s the first city my boyfriend and i ever went to overseas. i love it so much, i want to go back.

91. Where do you plan on travelling this year? this year nowhere, only coz i’ve traveled twice this year already.

92. Are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? it depends on the pasta and the cheese.

93. What’s the hairstyle you wear the most? ponytail.

94. Who was the last person you know to have a birthday? my boyfriend’s dad.

95. What are your plans for this weekend? no ideaaaa.

96. Do you install your computer updates really quickly, or do you procrastinate on them a lot? procrastinate, duh.

97. Myer Briggs type, Zodiac sign, and Hogwarts house? i forgot, sagittarius, ravenclaw.

98. When’s the last time you went hiking? Did you enjoy it? probably diamond head lmao. i hated it but the view up top was amazing.

99. List some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. noo.

100. If you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go five years into the past, the other five years into the future, which one would you press? Why? errr neither. i guess i’d lean towards going back though. i don’t wna miss all the things the next five years could bring me.

[edocherokee-blog]

15 Mile

Use your skills they said sow i used mine got away from all progressing aggressively through all my dynastic times per every year if my very own drive-in movie theater plus landscaping service including interior decorating plus delivery service can make a billion in ten years after all debits are factored into the equation i can build one of each of my manses per year and a half almost within those ten years not to mention my K-12 university i will be only 44 going on 45 not even 50 looking every bit as 25 yeah i strive for perfection without competition from anyone still i will have multiple degrees from four colleges i won geah and do not forget my wholistic wellness center which if turned into a franchise people who are down to get healed better gradually living longer maybe the 200s i wanna see who is down cause that is the race of all time looking 100 now how does that sound? my own private jet slash airline without all the glitter and glamour just book your seat and let us take off to point b from point a and back with the parachutes on deck just in case with your gps locator on the phone turnt on i will have it where everyone has to go through parachute training before anyone get on my flight and i need a chopper because i said so chop chop chop chop in the air looking over my land oh yeah! and even surveying other prospects to buy more real estate pays when humping takes an extra long fricking time though at least i got the chance to see all of the rough terrain on ground i am real driving commercial trucks is the bomb after i drove my passenger vehicle delivering foods from the least wanted now highly sought after restaurants in them spots where money give to them and around back to me in a circle i had to keep my eye on the prize my N.I.G.G.A. while Queen Yaa Asantewaa keep her eyes on our enemies if we figured to be a bigger accomplishment as ancestral monumental figures you can't stop me the spiritual essence i keep taling myself manifested realer without no fully ever daring to approach me boxing to the death orange and red shoestrings style cause as an Edocherokeeian my vengeance comes swifter furiously brilliant with controlled positive anger it cost 20gz to make millions from that drive-in movie aspect and from my healing tea bottled it takes 2gz to make millions from my right jab you down it takes a g and half with them human bodies in their own passenger vehicles controlling my app with proper mapping giving you that restaurant and grocery food delivery service again and again multi millions insured knock they wind out by employing writers who write nothing but ancestral math and science catering to my dynastic movement using dna languages forget them others at the top i'm all in for the underdawgs we ride together drop that party for them heads once a month on my property costing me a g turn it out into 20gz times 12 months per year put my library and museum up one after the other then proceed to make each manse like i said before until all seven are complete not forgetting my circular music temple guaranteed to attract heads every quarter with a venue you never heard before selling my own cds per the amounts weighing heavy in my game without a record label all instrumental artists from every country on this planet who is down to the end cause we understand who goes around comes around again and again make my enemies per sting to the jaw knocking bells into their ears ringing multiple senses inside that cranium stepping steep dna deep uppercut off they feet when my 13 school university is made let the vodun play hypnotize them at full attention across my garden ampitheater stage showing my absolute strength given to my foes' guts knees weak drop parasicktick tock clocked sucka punk muthafucka critically stunned total knockout dynamite hit the first round draft you picked(echoing)....i'll give a young N.I.G.G.A. 20gz to construct my stock market exchange software from excel or any other mathematical software incorporating fixed points with only small businesses who are down with trades of their handmade products and i will pay to have my stock market exchange constructed on my property cause the hardware is not like you think it is if you know processors and hardrives to include routers and smart switching with fiber optics and a few ip phones Dogon of Mali we on cause i see myself incoming while they don't str8 focused taking nothing for granted while them others out there focused on panties and draws in lalaland i'm busy getting taught how to follow the Suns while growing higher and higher two leafs up while the Kings and Queens with their hoods out slither through my fields ain't nobody brave enough cause they know I'm on ain't we rite Lewis Latimer? click me off ancestor so i can continue two creep with Harriet Tubman she guiding me to another meeting with Hannibal Barca Mansa Musa Malcolm X and Maya Angelou in another 100 miles cause one raven sent word to them that Imhotep wanna see me so i gotta perfect into my best you see....forget the fame what an index is like? what my university is like? why you gotta be an architect to your empire? how many businesses i have as dbas under one corporation? why planning is crucial when leading or having someone to lead your projects into its end so each soar steadily and never fall? what i learned from rise and fall and how the universal laws play? why i am not into personal luxuries though into myself physically moving behind my every seen putting in work for mine completely gone? why unbacked money never mattered to me cause using it for the rags' reason is better? why food water and shelter is better at a gourmet level within one hotel and four castles for frequent travelers and tourists? why tourism is the backing of my every endeavor to be completed? and why college students' gpa doesn't matter when considered for room in one of my 7 manses? immah young ancestor who rock and roll with my ancestors only i got leadership heart and mind to prove to them i am into our depths and until my untimely death cause it is better that way forward me and obliterated foe you....now you can take this to be rewritten cause remember it is just a draft....yet the names, math and forward progress do not need to be revised...it is up to you while i do me....stay educated and far away from the unreal by universal law cause real visions for me do real business and economics and i do not watch television nor even pay attention to the world due to me traveling within in realtime from the past to now and forever....news is the news but my eyes with notes of how and of when and of where and of why and of what and of who will remain mysterious...i am just doing the opposite of what everybody else is doing and it is working cause the paths are clear while my shadow covers my tracks you know my alpha wolf style is mu omicron beta immaculate cause i been there and done that remember? geah....i thought you knew this is Edo and Cherokee the Westside and Eastside from however and whichever direction you peeping from....you can call this the “Reconnect Project” from the “Great Disconnection” on my own the Garveyian Difference way....opposite of everybody else like everybody rushing to the beach and clubs and casinos and etc yeah i am cruising on an empty highway going the opposite direction like when the mercenaries’ lights are on going in the opposite direction yeah just like that and i ain’t even concerned why cause you know why? My great grandmutha always told us when we was knee high to “Mind Your Own Business” and you will be fine....and she was rite too. Evolution made me a truist indeed to the point of no return cause food water and shelter comes first all else is secondary and third i am a legend airy per employee and contractor’s mindset we are alike and it is up to us to get survival of the fittest minus the scandalous. Stay focused cause you know i am you can see it in my math and science without further details and irs apps from Edo to the US to the UK to a country in Asia to a country in Latin America i gotta trade route for my own self indeed using my own transportation to include investments from my own corporation and you know my future international lawyers and diplomats from the tribes to every point at the table is down with it and all i need to deal with we all the way with us especially when it comes to Education....this is Monopoly’s Chess i got my own diplomatic ideas meaning my own diplomats speaking multiple languages shaking hands getting paid featured self-made and unafraid doing what it take it is our honor dutiful and beautifully prized highly deserving....organizational charts all together wits intelligent and markets aimed this highly educated 34 year old is untamed....