#ren cormander archival intern

[casandaxel]

Cas paused to think about that for a moment. “Well… we have friends who like cats, right? You’ve talked about the archive cats, and how they’re treated better than people. We could see if anyone wants any kittens. Then, we know they’re going to a good place.” And a place not far away. Cas knew he was going to get too attached to these kittens and he’d be very upset to see them go.

"Honey, I'm home," Ren calls, dry amusement in their tone. They set a bag of groceries down on the table.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Cas got up from the couch, where he was playing with the increasingly bored Smungle now that the Void didn’t have the energy. He walked over and started helping Ren put everything away. Cas did the drawers and cupboards while Ren worked on the fridge and freezer. Ren enjoyed a game of freezer Tetris. Cas did not. “Hey. How’d your day go?” He asked.

[eviltoxicmosssauce]

Meet Ren! They were hired as an intern post-Prentiss in order to keep Jon from chewing up the furniture and/or stalking his coworkers. Unfortunately Elias forgot to hire someone who had any qualifications whatsoever aside from being touched by At Least one of the fears (and also a little bit gay) so they're not having the best time.

featuring @cosmicisbored 's oc Collin because i love him

I WOULD LOVE ASKS. I HAVE SO MUCH LORE FOR THEM YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. SOOO MUCH LORE

[child-of-the-vast]

The space between dimensions is thin, in their apartment, as if someone had just passed through it. Based on the fog still clinging to the floor, the Lonely is close by. He could almost touch it.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Orion can feel it, in the way the fog swirls around their feet and the cold seeps into their bones. They cautiously step forward, looking for some way to cross. He reaches a hand up and places it on the closest wall-it seems like a long shot, but anything is fair game. He gives it a gentle shove- seeing if it’s got any give.

[laertesthelocalstranger]

Ren hasn't sent a response to the gift basket, and Laertes is starting to worry. Maybe they'd decided she was right about the seam rippers after all, maybe- but no. They wouldn't do that, not after everything. Probably.

She's still wearing the necklace Ren had let her borrow after the Juniper incident - the same one they'd clipped around her neck in the Theater, the small silver hand with the closed eye on the palm. He hadn't had a chance to return it yet.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Laertes hadn’t thought Ren would respond. They’d given up by now on trying to take care of them by means of reaching out, they know the Lonely doesn’t work like that- so they’re praying that giving Ren the tools to take care of themself will have been enough.

…Cas is their friend, too, though, right? And sure, they’d had asked her not to visit them, but Cas is still free game! So what if he shares the same apartment as the loved one Laertes is increasingly panicking about? That’s just a coincidence, obviously.

They don’t knock. Laertes never does. Instead, he blips onto the arm of a chair in the living room. Or at least, he’d been aiming for that- he somehow ends up standing on the ceiling of the bedroom instead.

[residentsofhollowville]

Marc. I'm told you're to thank for getting part of Laertes out.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

I am, yes. What's it to you, Institute boy? You a friend of theirs?

[nobodys-soldier]

Ren is wandering the streets of London, aimless. They can't stop thinking about the music box. Can't stop wishing they'd managed to figure it out.

They pass under an almost unnatural shadow, the tension bleeding from their shoulders as they pause for a moment to just let it engulf them.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

A man stands there, a stranger in the dark. The shadow could be his, or one of xers friends, or maybe just Rowan xemself. There’s no substantial difference anymore. Hadn’t been for a long time. He takes comfort in that.

He blinks in surprise as somebody walks by, pausing along their way to step into his bubble of quiet, and stand uncomfortably close to him in this little hollow he’s created. It’s not like they could see Rowan before. But he hadn’t really thought that through.

“Um…hi?”

[y0ud0n0tkn0w]

...You're an avatar of the Dark, yes?

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Who says I am?

... Fine, I guess you already know anyways. Yup, I am. Why? And who are you?

[architecture-lover-ash]

When Ash pulls up outside the building, Ren is standing outside, holding something bundled in their hands. They give a small wave as Ash steps out of their car.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Ash gave Ren a smile and a little wave back in greeting as they walked up. They were holding the book in their hands, but kind of awkwardly away from their body, as if it might explode or something. They didn’t really understand what Leitners… well… do.

“Hi Ren! What’s up? What do you have?” They point to the thing Ren is holding.

[archivalassistantriaan]

I don't mean to freak you out, but, uh. Worms.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

i didnt come in to work today, what do you me-

oh. oh shit.

[casandaxel]

Ren is tinkering idly with a half-disassembled clock, the clicking of their tools the only sound in the apartment other than the quiet chatter of Cas's reality TV show.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Cas was sitting on the couch, barely paying attention to the show, mostly watching as Ren worked on the clock. He was happy to see them go back to their hobby, after several months avoiding it because of what happened in the theater. He didn’t understand it, but he also didn’t understand the reality television he always watched.

[eviltoxicmosssauce]

martin chill out they don't want your man

[the-fog-isnt-real]

Hello.

I believe we met before.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

oh, it's you!

so i was right about you after all. to some extent, at least.

[laertesthelocalstranger]

Ren is filing stacks of statements in the Archives when there's a familiar cadence of knocks on the door.

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Laertes doesn’t even wait to finish knocking before blipping in, dangling his feet off a desk and disrupting his fair share of papers. He mostly just wanted to prove to that one anon that he still did pop goes the weasel stuff, anyway.

“Hiya, Ren.”

They look different than last they met. Both in that he seems like the version of Laertes that they know, and that she got her legs back- if not all of her pieces. Some sharp and heavy pendant has replaced the old eye joke, something that spins like a compass and doesn’t quite make sense when Ren tries to look at it.

[casandaxel]

[Ren enters quietly, like they'd never made a sound at all. They almost look like a ghost- drawn and vacant and empty, somehow. They don't bother to take their shoes off before bee-lining for their room.]

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

Cas smiled as Ren walked in, but the smile quickly faded seeing Ren’s expression and the haste in which they were walking away. Something had definitely happened, Cas could tell. He turned towards Ren, trying to catch their attention before they got to their room. “Hey- Ren? Are you alright?”

[eviltoxicmosssauce]

It’s a boring day in the archives for Ren. Sorting mislabeled files and such wasn’t an incredibly interesting task, but it was fine enough. Most of it wasn’t real cases anyways. The only thing of interest on that particular day was an appointment someone had made to give a statement. Which no one had been aware was a thing someone could do. Usually people just showed up. But whoever it was had an appointment in about half an hour.

And worst of all, they've been assigned to take said mystery person's statement. As if they didn't have enough on their plate already, what with doing the work of an entire other assistant plus all the normal intern things (i.e. having the archival staff's coffee orders memorized and on hand at all times). They're half convinced Jon only pawned the statement giver off on them because he wanted them out of the way.

The half hour drags by at the same pace as every other half hour in the day. At least they can go home afterwards, they sigh to themself as they prepare the small, slightly cramped room. Of course, right on time, there is a knock on the door.

[laertesthelocalstranger]

You have a little guy...

@ren-cormander-archival-intern

I HAVE A LITTLE GUY