#open. sit by the fire

[burdenedreverence]

Off shift and back from the gym, in a writing mood! Even better!

Been awhile since I’ve done these, and Hayden’s definitely got a few new friendships this last year.

Like this if you’d like a small starter theme’d around his and your muse friendship. (Friendly, antagonist, romantic, familial)

[captmuldoon]

'He sees something in me. Could lead anywhere. Anywhere.'

[flowerakatsuka]

realized that i've barely drawn jyushi despite him being my second fave sextuplet, correcting that crime immediately.

[libartz]

world's most awkward submarine trip

"so, uh, what are you in for?"

[suyahime]

[novelconcepts]

Van as storyteller. Van, with a miserable home life, a place where she has to raise herself. Van, who’s probably been telling herself stories to ward off the loneliness for years. Van, who sees stories as escape.

Van, who lands in the woods and starts telling stories aloud. Van, who has all these movies living inside her head, who lets them out to make everyone else feel less alone. Van, who takes a campfire dynamic and turns the dial to eleven, because stories are comfort, stories are safety, stories are home.

Van, who understands more than anyone expects expressly because of stories. Van, who sees the situation through the lens of a narrative arc. Beginning. Middle. End. Van, who watches the plot unfold, watches the twists and turns, and can’t stop telling the story aloud. Van, who knows all too well what kind of story they’ve landed in.

Van, who can’t stop telling the story now. Van, who sees the truth behind the tale. Van, who is finally done regurgitating the narratives that bring her comfort, who turns instead to the ones that will keep them alive. Van, who understands stories are sometimes the only way out, the only way to escape.

[trainingdummyrabbit]

haiii pik :] i'm usually Scared to ask this in your inbox out of nowhere because i don't wanna bother at the wrong time but,, , uhm i have been Thinking. about the cocoa and lc agent azrael duo quite a bit lately and. this is all just a hypothetical for Funsies and i do no want to disrupt your original plot in the facility but just. wanting to talk about what it'd be like if they actually got to work together in the facility ^_^ considering cocoa's whole yk. That. and azrael's own problems i wonder how it'd be like for them to have be assigned to suppress higher risk level abnos and deal with later ordeals., ,this may or may not be an invite to talk extensively but it's all up to you o7

CRACKS KNUCKLES. I Can Do This >:] verily !!

quite a lot to chew on tbh... honestly, the starting would be the hardest part ithink. or at least, on her end it would be.

this got quite long and rambly. continue if you will. 👍

see like, cocoa isnt really Averse to interaction in any sense of the word-- she was honestly quite friendly, if a bit spacey. towards the start of her being Like That, i mean. super airheaded, will honestly just go along with things if you drag her along. she just kinda. ":)?" ":)!" ":)??" she doesnt really register that much, but just kinda matches the energy of whoevers around her.

but at the same time, shes very distant in the sense that. She Is Not Paying Attention. kinda resets between scenes, if you will. you have to be pretty persistent for her to ever actively remember anything-- let alone for her to Act on that memory. shes silly and will play around, but also she like. Really Super Doesnt Care, actually. the "and" in the "yes, and", if you will. (also she doesnt really. Speak. she has certain basic phrases and echoes whats said around her, but only ever really Responds that way.)

otherwise, shes very mechanical. does as she does and doesnt think about it too hard. however, its hard to notice the Drive of her actions unless you Really pay attention to her. because it usually just comes off as "She Just Does What She Wants. we just dont know what that is. shes surely got her reasons though." all it really is is habit, though. habit and the vague idea of Yeah Thats Close Enough To What People Do, Sure.

all that to say, youre gonna have a Really hard time reaching her that way. she is Not paying attention and Will Not Remember. though, depending on where azrael is in his whole . Everything. it could be different. if hes still locked in his Distancing state, i imagine theyd be. pretty wholly neutral. yknow the whole 'weve never talked but we sit at the same bus stop at the same time every day in silence so now itd be weird if they werent there' thing? like that. in idle downtime, they are just. next to each other, vaguely. (id have to wonder if azrael would notice how consistently Still she is. if anything would come of this. she is present to a very common degree, but never Does anything, past when shes called for something. she herself is unbothered by this, but..?)

if hes more in his Prying state, being more curious, things could be a smidge different. i can imagine that, given azrael's background and how he functioned towards the start of his arc, the way she acts might. bother him, a little. not necessarily "irritate," but more. "Somethings Not Right Here." she wouldnt make it any easier to find out (given that she doesnt even hide it on purpose really,) but there Are little notes to be picked up from her.

i dont think anything could be done for her that would "wake her up" in that state, but i think he Would be able to become a part of her Normal. just. yeah. that one. that one thats always there, and then comes and sits next to me, and talks about things. not quite consciously, but she'd come to Expect him to be there. just kinda passively gravitates. makes room for him, if you will.

now, combat-wise. honestly? i think theyd work pretty well together. iirc az is more dps focused, given the whole. Motions To All Of Him. despite the Big Fuckoff Sword, cocoas actually more of a tank role when it comes to combat. she just. Takes It. its honestly really reckless-- she doesnt even Try to dodge a lot of the time. you can toss her around like a ragdoll and shell just get back up. even if shes pretty critically injured, she just. keeps doing it. the "Just Win" approach, if you will. shes a persistence predator. theres no reason for her to Stop when she starts, so she doesnt. itd be. really dangerous, if she wasnt a little freak of nature jdhfbgjdhf

which is to say, cocoa would be very very capable of covering for azrael if ever they had to face a threat together. though, more pressingly, to me, this is where more of cocoas character gets the chance to show through. she works well, very thorough, very reliable in her role; but her demeanor is a Very stark change from her usual. Violentce(tm). its the closest to Actually Agitated that she can get at that point. the "mechanical" descriptor becomes less of a similarity and more. um. concerning.

the thing is, too, is that she gets uneasy when someone else is in the line of fire. its hard to tell if this is some sort of concern, or if its just that she doesnt like having to keep track of another variable to work around. (its both. unfortunately, she represses the 'concern' Hard, and it kind of comes across as irritation. or um. as 'irritated' as she can get, really.) which is, again, to say; she will get Very restless if someone has to cover for her. shes entirely task-oriented, but theres a certain Tension she seems to put off when things get dire.

...that she entirely seems oblivious to the instant things calm down. and i think that would be what tips azrael off about. yk. Something Being Wrong With This One.

so like. the thing about these two is that cocoa is like, wholly Entirely incapable of exerting any sort of Anything of herself for a very long time. however, azrael very well could have the patience and persistence to simply. chip his way in. again, become part of her normal. becomes Habit. if he does, its hard to say that she Notices, but the way she acts does Change. routine starts to form Around him, and all. and honestly... that is really, really important to her.

because like. if someone is constantly just There for her, she will do the same thing back. maybe not entirely consciously, but still enough to be noticeable. she isnt very capable of reaching out, but she Does know that patience. and will simply allow things to be, to be said, without positing any expectation.

(i cant really speak much on either of their respective breakdowns-- azrael's because i feel it is not my place to speak (and cocoa is terribly suited to this sort of thing past essentially just being a punching bag,) and cocoa's because. um. Well Thats Quite A Lot. its something she only reaches due to the presence of another character (You Know Her.) and only really gets out of due to being a) Exhausted, and b) Stopped From Doing Serious Damage To Herself (and others..) in all honesty, i cant really say she Solved much past being able to see herself a bit more. but thats an aside.)

past everything, though, in her more conscious state... i do actually genuinely think they could get along pretty well. they have a very similar calmness about them, for lack of a better term. stillness. azrael would. also very much enable cocoa's sharp tongue, which is Really funny to think about. stupid little thinglets staring at you from a distance. silently, but the judgement in it is nigh tangible.. jhdbfgjd

they have this odd sort of dynamic, to me; this kinda dry, kinda sharp sort of reaction to things. cocoa very much (in the cat sort of way,) mirrors azraels demeanor, simply because well. he feels like the type of character she would genuinely start to trust, once she gets the ability to. shes still heavily passive, but remembers more, and goes out of her way to accommodate him. cat bringing you leaves and twigs but its things he may have said he'd liked at some point. (she also gets much more Defensive of the people she chooses to like, so that as well..)

her method of showing closeness to people is incredibly, Incredibly quiet, but i think he'd be able to do it, if he can push through those first barriers. she's hard to goad into much of anything, so you rarely ever get anything out of her, but it Does affect her.

i do also think about the funny little "Thats My Friend." whiteboarddoodle from the other day cause like. thats Exactly it, really. like.. she would just. "oh. we're friends? okay cool :)" and would play that part until she actually gets the mind to register "oh wait. youve been here the whole time. oh. okay."

tl;dr theyre getting wellcheers together in the break room. in my heart. yay <33

[lady-shadow-and-darkness-da]

You ever think about the fact that the "Vi vs Jinx" fight is shown in the first opening and not the second? That it has, quite literally, been set in stone?

[virgil-upinthestars]

the fire alarm went off a lot when I was in high school, for a multitude of reasons (someone pulled it, someone decided to smoke weed in the bathroom, someone tried to microwave a burrito) that were never actually a fire. but, because of protocol, we'd have to stay outside in the cold pnw rain for anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour as the fire department trudged over to figure out what the fuck happened this time. this resulted in a school full of teenagers who reacted to a fire alarm like it was an announcement for a suprise assembly. instead of dropping everything and heading for the exits, we'd jump at the loud noise because ew loud noise, groan because fuck not again, and proceed to pack our shit because there was no way we'd be standing out in the cold for forty minutes without our coats and phones.

cue me now, three thousand miles across the country, studying in the library of a well-respected university when the fire alarm goes off. my roommate and I nearly both jump out of our seats, grabbing each other's hand out of sheer reflex, and after a blurred prayer, I realize what's going on. all around us, people are getting up and talking over the alarm as they worry about what's going on, making their way to the nearest exit. my roommate gets out of her chair, looking worried. me?

I look up. I take a long sniff, like I'm impersonating the wolverine. and then I finish my goddamn email.

some of my roommate's friends come over to us, hurriedly explaining that it's just a drill, we don't need to worry. my roommate visibly relaxes. I respond "oh, thank fuck" and close my computer, packing my stuff up. these girls from east asia look at me with shocked and slightly unnerved expressions as I put on my blazer. they've all left their stuff behind. my roommate's also leaving her coat and bag. I shrug, and sling my backpack over my shoulder. If I don't smell smoke, I'm finishing my goddamn email.

[bumblingbabooshka]

I don’t typically like when star trek characters reference legacy characters just to talk about how great and perfect they are but I do like this route where even though Tuvok calls him a great visionary in the end he brings Spock up to say he argued with him. I think this is the way of the future. Lean in. Star Trek characters should say things like ‘An old man cut me off in space traffic the other day. I think it was McCoy?’ and another should nod and shake their head like he’s always doing that shit

[burdenedreverence]

"I'll be there, if you need me or not. As a rule of character, I don't abandon my loved ones or allies if I can help it."

[mistrdctr]

"Merry Christmas-Eve, happy holidays, have a wonderful time, all of that..."

"---And yes, the Sanctum has turned into a snow palace, don't ask why."

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

We went to the museum for the first time this season.

The theme of the day was

pyromania

light and warmth as in times before.

[shiniestcrow]

Fuck

[sankttealeaf]

brainrot so bad im considering making hyperspecific playlists for my characters that arent even playlists but a mix of relevant ambient noise and songs that match specific eras of their life