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FestiveOkay so: unnamed planet, unnamed continents, and unnamed countries (though based on some of the IC posts we will need a "US", "Germany", and "Asia"). Nautilus is a independent city-state. And just forget everything from the old version. Gotcha.
Is Oakridge and Helston (actually any of the cities except Nautilus) in the same country?
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@Prisk: Ooo! I can do hash tags! Let’s see...
#iamthisclosetopunchingmyprofessor
Actually I have a question. If you don’t mind. Does this "Pandora" (or whatever the planet's name is in this version) still have the continents Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega? The cities have names instead of numbers now, so I wondered if the continents have different names too. Then again, from what I can tell from the map, there’s not even five continents anymore.
Also, does the concept of the World State exist in this version (I know there's a "central government", but is it the World State)? Or is there a new governing system? Do countries still exist and do they have their own government? Or perhaps individual cities (technically) govern themselves? At this point in time, I'm imaging that the "central government" is like the High king... or UN.
Ah, and yes. If we do get into combat soon, I think Kimberly will hear them coming (the passive sound spirit ability: enhanced hearing) unless they make an effort to hide the noise they make.
@Adorabadass: Did you still want to do a collab post?
#iamthisclosetopunchingmyprofessor
Actually I have a question. If you don’t mind. Does this "Pandora" (or whatever the planet's name is in this version) still have the continents Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega? The cities have names instead of numbers now, so I wondered if the continents have different names too. Then again, from what I can tell from the map, there’s not even five continents anymore.
Also, does the concept of the World State exist in this version (I know there's a "central government", but is it the World State)? Or is there a new governing system? Do countries still exist and do they have their own government? Or perhaps individual cities (technically) govern themselves? At this point in time, I'm imaging that the "central government" is like the High king... or UN.
Ah, and yes. If we do get into combat soon, I think Kimberly will hear them coming (the passive sound spirit ability: enhanced hearing) unless they make an effort to hide the noise they make.
@Adorabadass: Did you still want to do a collab post?
-----After the Group’s Departure from the Main Gate-----
The Appleberry’s continued to wave at their grandchildren until the group vanished from their view. Once gone, their arms lowered themselves down. “And there they go,” Clair announced to no one in particular as her wife whispered a prayer. The old couple stood there, watching nothing for a moment longer until they turned to each other at the same time. They smiled at each other. They were both ready to go. As they walked towards the school building, Clair and Michaela’s hand automatically searched for each other and stayed glued together for the whole walk.
Clair’s hand instantly missed Michaela’s warmth once the two had to let go of one another to greet Dr. Perth at her office. They shook hands with their grandson’s doctor. “It’s good to see you again Dr. Appleberry, Mrs. Appleberry.”
“Thank you. It’s good to see you too, Athene.”
Dr. Perth glanced to the man standing next to her. “This is my colleague, Dr. Haziq Ramirez. He’s part of the science team researching the nature of spirits---…” Before Dr. Perth finished introducing the young scientist, Dr. Ramirez practically jumped his way over to Clair and shook her hands feverishly, eyes twinkling in admiration. Dr. Perth sighed, “he’s one of your fans.”
“It. Is. An. Honor. To meet you Dr. Edrik. I-I love your work. Your theory on Eternal Etro and spirits is phenomenal. I especially thought the concept of Yggdrasil is---…”
“Haziq. Calm down. Dr. APPLEBERRY is not here to listen to your ramblings.”
“Oh. Um. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” The young scientist laughed awkwardly before finally greeting Michaela. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He turned to Samuela, and in the most high pitched baby talk tone he could muster, greeted the infant, “hi there little princess. Hi! I’m Haziq! Ha-Zi-Q.” Samuela returned the greeting with a blank stare, either dumbfounded or unimpressed with his mastery of baby talk. Regardless, it was not nearly as exaggerated or as high pitched as Olivia’s baby talk was. “Aww… aren’t you just adorable! What’s your name sweetie pie?”
While her associate continued to fondle over the child, Dr. Perth sat down with Clair and passed her a tablet computer. “Here’s the medical records on Kimberly.” Clair took the tablet without hesitation, and after putting on her reading glasses, proceeded to read through the records full of medical mumbo jumbo as if she was casually reading the morning newspaper. Out of habit, Dr. Perth was ready to explain the medical results in layman’s terms, but quickly remembered that the man---… woman in front of her studied in the science field even before she was born. Clair worked as a botanist now, but Dr. Perth knew she could have mastered any field of science or medicine. She simply notified Clair that information considering Kimberly’s spirits was at the end of the document and left the old woman to her reading. While she waited for Clair to finish, Dr. Perth’s attention moved back to her colleague. “Haziq, stop harassing the poor girl.”
“I am not harassing her. I’m entertaining her.”
“I doubt it’s working if she’s giving you the thousand-yard stare.”
“No she’s not. See look! She’s smiling at me.”
Dr. Perth leaned in to get a better look at the girl. Then noticed something. “She’s not looking look you.”
“I think she’s a little too young to be having flashbacks of the good old days, Athene.”
“Observe, you sorry excuse for a scientist.”
“What are you talking about? I have astute observational powers,” Dr. Ramirez began then suddenly stopped.
“What? Did you finally realize you don’t have such powers?” Silence. “Haziq?” Dr. Perth looked up at Dr. Ramirez and then followed his line of vision. There, they saw Michaela and Samuela looking at the same direction, moving their eyes, and occasionally their heads, in unison when the invisible something moved. Taking some time to get to the conclusion, Dr. Ramirez finally asked, “you two can see spirits, can’t you?”
Michaela looked away from the invisible object and faced the scientists, but only smiled wearily, not affirming or denying the claim disguised as a question. But that was enough for Dr. Ramirez. The scientist suddenly gasped and screamed, “you’re Lady X!”
It took a moment for Dr. Perth to process what Dr. Ramirez said, “wait, what?”
“Lady X, you know, the test subject from---…”
“Haziq!”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Participant. The participant in one of Dr. Edrik’s earlier case studies! Wow, I was wondering what happened to Lady X! Who knew she actually married him!” His eyes sparkled again, “wait, wait! That means almost every generation of this family has at least one person with some degree of heightened spiritual senses!”
“Haziq.”
“No, really. I mean, there’s Mrs. Appleberry, First Lieutenant Faye, and then there’s Samuela. That. Is. Amazing! I wonder if it’s hereditary. Is that even possible? Then again, I guess anything could be possible. We know too little about the spirits. Mrs. Appleberry, was your daughter---…” Dr. Ramirez slowly fell silent when he pronounced the word daughter. Quickly regretting that he even started the conversation. “Ah shi---… fuc---… damn it! Excuse my language.”
Clair calling for Dr. Perth’s attention made both of the doctors jump from where they sat or stood. Dr. Ramirez looked like he was preparing himself to get punched, but no such thing happened. Clair pointed at the tablet, “you mentioned that you think this ‘Ghost’ is either a product of psychological distress, a spirit associated condition, or a combination of both. Can you tell me why?”
While Dr. Perth moved closer to Clair to explain her hypothesis, Dr. Ramirez turned back to Michaela. Watching the young scientist facing down with puppy dog eyes, reminded Michaela of the time when her grandson and his friends accidently destroyed an entire cabinet full of china in her coffee shop. How they coiled in fear, huddling close to one another, faces down, waiting for the punishment they were sure they would receive. Michaela chuckled to herself, before placing her free hand on top of the young man’s hand. He looked up, surprised at first, but then he relaxed. “I apologize for my insensitivity.”
“I accept your apology, but… sweetheart? Just to make this clear, it’s not a taboo to talk about my daughter. She may be dead, but mentioning her is not contagious.” The man nodded. “As for my time during the… studies… Well, we don’t talk about it, because it just reminds me how much of a pompous jackass Clair used to be and apparently it reminds her how much of a dull-witted shrew I was when I was younger.” Dr. Ramirez wasn’t quite sure if the old woman was telling a joke or not. “It was a match made in heaven,” Michaela grinned. “Speaking of matches. Have you heard about the time I beat him in a boxing match?” Now, he knew she was just pulling his leg.
“Why did you tell Dr. Ramirez about the boxing match?”
“Why not?”
“I personally like to pretend that never happened.”
The two laughed and continued to joke around as they walked their way to the Academy’s main entrance. When they got close to their destination, the Appleberry’s noticed a familiar face walking towards them from the other end of the corridor. The red headed man, who was much too young to be wearing a Major general’s uniform, also noticed the couple, but made a deliberate attempt to ignore them. Clair and Michaela exchanged looks and nodded to one another. Their eyes narrowed on to their target.
The Major general knew he should have turned away and find another route, but he knew they would have chased him down regardless and he didn’t have time to waste. The redhead straightened his back up and continued to walk down the hallway. First, the soldier simply tried to walk to one side of the hallway. As expected, the old couple moved towards that direction, blocking him from passing through. Next, he tried moving to the other side and, once again, the couple blocked his path. From the third trial on, the Major general attempted more elaborate methods to dodge the encounter with the old ladies, ranging from various basketball moves to throwing his wallet and wrist watch at the feeble elders. It was a cheap shot and he wasn’t proud of it, but it was better than ramming them down. Not even he was willing to stoop that low just yet. It didn’t matter either way, though. The Appleberry’s deflected each attempt. In the end, they had him right where they wanted him to be: in front of them.
The two opposing forces stood in the middle of the corridor. Silently, the Appleberry’s returned the soldier’s belongings. “I believe you dropped this, sir.” The redhead sighed in defeat and accepted his personal items. “What do you want?”
“Oh nothing,” Clair smiled innocently. “I just dropped my bag here.” Slowly, Clair raised her handbag then dropped it to the ground. The two forces stood there in silence, before the Major general broke the silence with a sigh and was ready to pick up the bag before Clair stopped him. “Oh, no good sir. Please. I can do it myself. No need to trouble yourself.” The redhead groaned in frustration, “damn it, I don’t have time to---…”
“Oh! Ooooooh!” Clair cried as she turned her handbag inside out, letting its entire contents to drop onto the floor. “Oh noooo! How clumsy of me! Oh, oh!” Clair shook the bag for extra measure. “Look at this! Such a mess! The tragedy! Love! Help me! I can’t do this on my own!”
“Oh, you silly, silly person. You are so clumsy. Let me help you.” With that, Michaela practically shoved Samuela into the soldier’s arms. The redhead’s face paled. He held the baby as if she was something between a ticking bomb and a priceless fragile porcelain doll. Michaela started to help Clair pick up her belongs, “be sure not to drop her.”
The soldier glared at her, “then don’t give her to me!”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry dear, I’m having trouble hearing you.”
“You’re lying and you know it.”
The two old women laughed.
“I hate you both.”
Samuela giggled.
The Major general shifted the baby into one arm to point at her with his free hand, “and you are just as bad as them.” Mistaking the pointed finger as an offering, Samuela tried to bite it. The soldier quickly pulled his finger away from her mouth, “no. Don’t do that. You don’t know where my hands have been.” The Appleberry’s snickered. “Shut up you wicked witches. I’m trying to be mad here. What did I say about meeting me in public!?”
“Sorry, good sir, what did you say?”
The Major general sighed deeply and simply gave up. The Appleberry’s took their time picking up the scattered contents of the bag. A time, which the soldier spent scrutinizing the baby in his arm. The redhead’s rough gaze eventually softened up. He caressed Samuela’s checks and smiled back when she smiled at him. His eyes glistened when he recognized whose eyes Samuela had. It was the eyes of someone who’d never come back. Someone who would never smile like this ever again.
The Applberry’s wished they could have let the soldier stay longer with the baby, but world around them did not care. From the main entrance, another familiar figure appeared, wondering what was taking the redhead so long. The old man in an expensive dark colored suit walked towards the small group, then halted when he saw Clair. In a span of a few seconds, the old man’s expression changed from surprised recognition, to disgust, to hate, and to indifference. “Nathaniel. What are you doing here? Did you get what I asked for?”
Although his back was facing the old man, the redhead, Nathaniel, recognized his father’s voice and turned stiff. He did not dare turn to face him, however. Not with the baby in his arms. Nathaniel held Samuela close to his chest.
“Are these… people bothering you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then stop wasting your time on them,” he gave Clair a particularly dirty look, “they’re not worth it.”
“Mr. Edrik?” The man turned to another person who came running from the school’s entrance, “we’re about to begin.” Mr. Edrik nodded to the person and faced his son once again only to say, “hurry up,” and then he left.
Nathaniel stood still until was absolutely sure his father left. Once the front doors closed, the soldier returned Samuela to her grandparents and walked right passed them without a word. Without ever looking directly at any of their faces.
Once outside, the Appleberry’s finally figured out what all the commotion was about. Surrounded by camera lenses, flashes, and reporters, was Mr. Edrik. As the Appleberry’s slithered their way past the crowd, they could hear one of the reports talking about how the Edrik family, one of the most wealthiest and influential families, had made another significant donation to Oakridge Military Academy. The reporter claimed that William Victor Edrik stated that he had made the donation because he believed in supporting the young troops, but Clair knew that was a lie. William, and the Edrik family in general, never donated to charity: they made investments. The Edrik’s did this only to gain more power. They did this, to make sure Nathaniel would never have to fight in the frontline. It was difficult to deny the possibility that his family’s money bought him his rank at that age. Despite the fact that he was talented enough to have eventually earn that title on his own. But they didn’t care. They never did care: to the Edrik’s, they were the most important people on the entire planet. To loose an Edrik was a tragedy. That’s what they taught their children since birth. That’s what Clair used to believe a long time ago.
“Let’s go, Love.”
----- Departure -----
As usual, Kimberly was in the rear of the group when Olivia announced that she was tired and required rest. Worried that perhaps Olivia was not feeling well, Kimberly broke away from his usual spot and headed towards her. “Are… you feeling all right... Olive?” Kimberly’s hand reached up to touch Olivia’s forehead, but retreated at the last moment. There was no point in trying to check if she had a fever when he was mostly covered in battle armor. “I… can carry you if… you feel sick.” Kimberly was quite serious. In fact, he could carry anyone and everyone ---with some help from the spirits--- if need be. It would not be a comfortable ride ---not with him covered in hard metal and people being stacked on top of each other--- but it was not impossible. And anything that was not impossible was a potential choice.
The Appleberry’s continued to wave at their grandchildren until the group vanished from their view. Once gone, their arms lowered themselves down. “And there they go,” Clair announced to no one in particular as her wife whispered a prayer. The old couple stood there, watching nothing for a moment longer until they turned to each other at the same time. They smiled at each other. They were both ready to go. As they walked towards the school building, Clair and Michaela’s hand automatically searched for each other and stayed glued together for the whole walk.
Clair’s hand instantly missed Michaela’s warmth once the two had to let go of one another to greet Dr. Perth at her office. They shook hands with their grandson’s doctor. “It’s good to see you again Dr. Appleberry, Mrs. Appleberry.”
“Thank you. It’s good to see you too, Athene.”
Dr. Perth glanced to the man standing next to her. “This is my colleague, Dr. Haziq Ramirez. He’s part of the science team researching the nature of spirits---…” Before Dr. Perth finished introducing the young scientist, Dr. Ramirez practically jumped his way over to Clair and shook her hands feverishly, eyes twinkling in admiration. Dr. Perth sighed, “he’s one of your fans.”
“It. Is. An. Honor. To meet you Dr. Edrik. I-I love your work. Your theory on Eternal Etro and spirits is phenomenal. I especially thought the concept of Yggdrasil is---…”
“Haziq. Calm down. Dr. APPLEBERRY is not here to listen to your ramblings.”
“Oh. Um. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” The young scientist laughed awkwardly before finally greeting Michaela. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He turned to Samuela, and in the most high pitched baby talk tone he could muster, greeted the infant, “hi there little princess. Hi! I’m Haziq! Ha-Zi-Q.” Samuela returned the greeting with a blank stare, either dumbfounded or unimpressed with his mastery of baby talk. Regardless, it was not nearly as exaggerated or as high pitched as Olivia’s baby talk was. “Aww… aren’t you just adorable! What’s your name sweetie pie?”
While her associate continued to fondle over the child, Dr. Perth sat down with Clair and passed her a tablet computer. “Here’s the medical records on Kimberly.” Clair took the tablet without hesitation, and after putting on her reading glasses, proceeded to read through the records full of medical mumbo jumbo as if she was casually reading the morning newspaper. Out of habit, Dr. Perth was ready to explain the medical results in layman’s terms, but quickly remembered that the man---… woman in front of her studied in the science field even before she was born. Clair worked as a botanist now, but Dr. Perth knew she could have mastered any field of science or medicine. She simply notified Clair that information considering Kimberly’s spirits was at the end of the document and left the old woman to her reading. While she waited for Clair to finish, Dr. Perth’s attention moved back to her colleague. “Haziq, stop harassing the poor girl.”
“I am not harassing her. I’m entertaining her.”
“I doubt it’s working if she’s giving you the thousand-yard stare.”
“No she’s not. See look! She’s smiling at me.”
Dr. Perth leaned in to get a better look at the girl. Then noticed something. “She’s not looking look you.”
“I think she’s a little too young to be having flashbacks of the good old days, Athene.”
“Observe, you sorry excuse for a scientist.”
“What are you talking about? I have astute observational powers,” Dr. Ramirez began then suddenly stopped.
“What? Did you finally realize you don’t have such powers?” Silence. “Haziq?” Dr. Perth looked up at Dr. Ramirez and then followed his line of vision. There, they saw Michaela and Samuela looking at the same direction, moving their eyes, and occasionally their heads, in unison when the invisible something moved. Taking some time to get to the conclusion, Dr. Ramirez finally asked, “you two can see spirits, can’t you?”
Michaela looked away from the invisible object and faced the scientists, but only smiled wearily, not affirming or denying the claim disguised as a question. But that was enough for Dr. Ramirez. The scientist suddenly gasped and screamed, “you’re Lady X!”
It took a moment for Dr. Perth to process what Dr. Ramirez said, “wait, what?”
“Lady X, you know, the test subject from---…”
“Haziq!”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Participant. The participant in one of Dr. Edrik’s earlier case studies! Wow, I was wondering what happened to Lady X! Who knew she actually married him!” His eyes sparkled again, “wait, wait! That means almost every generation of this family has at least one person with some degree of heightened spiritual senses!”
“Haziq.”
“No, really. I mean, there’s Mrs. Appleberry, First Lieutenant Faye, and then there’s Samuela. That. Is. Amazing! I wonder if it’s hereditary. Is that even possible? Then again, I guess anything could be possible. We know too little about the spirits. Mrs. Appleberry, was your daughter---…” Dr. Ramirez slowly fell silent when he pronounced the word daughter. Quickly regretting that he even started the conversation. “Ah shi---… fuc---… damn it! Excuse my language.”
Clair calling for Dr. Perth’s attention made both of the doctors jump from where they sat or stood. Dr. Ramirez looked like he was preparing himself to get punched, but no such thing happened. Clair pointed at the tablet, “you mentioned that you think this ‘Ghost’ is either a product of psychological distress, a spirit associated condition, or a combination of both. Can you tell me why?”
While Dr. Perth moved closer to Clair to explain her hypothesis, Dr. Ramirez turned back to Michaela. Watching the young scientist facing down with puppy dog eyes, reminded Michaela of the time when her grandson and his friends accidently destroyed an entire cabinet full of china in her coffee shop. How they coiled in fear, huddling close to one another, faces down, waiting for the punishment they were sure they would receive. Michaela chuckled to herself, before placing her free hand on top of the young man’s hand. He looked up, surprised at first, but then he relaxed. “I apologize for my insensitivity.”
“I accept your apology, but… sweetheart? Just to make this clear, it’s not a taboo to talk about my daughter. She may be dead, but mentioning her is not contagious.” The man nodded. “As for my time during the… studies… Well, we don’t talk about it, because it just reminds me how much of a pompous jackass Clair used to be and apparently it reminds her how much of a dull-witted shrew I was when I was younger.” Dr. Ramirez wasn’t quite sure if the old woman was telling a joke or not. “It was a match made in heaven,” Michaela grinned. “Speaking of matches. Have you heard about the time I beat him in a boxing match?” Now, he knew she was just pulling his leg.
“Why did you tell Dr. Ramirez about the boxing match?”
“Why not?”
“I personally like to pretend that never happened.”
The two laughed and continued to joke around as they walked their way to the Academy’s main entrance. When they got close to their destination, the Appleberry’s noticed a familiar face walking towards them from the other end of the corridor. The red headed man, who was much too young to be wearing a Major general’s uniform, also noticed the couple, but made a deliberate attempt to ignore them. Clair and Michaela exchanged looks and nodded to one another. Their eyes narrowed on to their target.
The Major general knew he should have turned away and find another route, but he knew they would have chased him down regardless and he didn’t have time to waste. The redhead straightened his back up and continued to walk down the hallway. First, the soldier simply tried to walk to one side of the hallway. As expected, the old couple moved towards that direction, blocking him from passing through. Next, he tried moving to the other side and, once again, the couple blocked his path. From the third trial on, the Major general attempted more elaborate methods to dodge the encounter with the old ladies, ranging from various basketball moves to throwing his wallet and wrist watch at the feeble elders. It was a cheap shot and he wasn’t proud of it, but it was better than ramming them down. Not even he was willing to stoop that low just yet. It didn’t matter either way, though. The Appleberry’s deflected each attempt. In the end, they had him right where they wanted him to be: in front of them.
The two opposing forces stood in the middle of the corridor. Silently, the Appleberry’s returned the soldier’s belongings. “I believe you dropped this, sir.” The redhead sighed in defeat and accepted his personal items. “What do you want?”
“Oh nothing,” Clair smiled innocently. “I just dropped my bag here.” Slowly, Clair raised her handbag then dropped it to the ground. The two forces stood there in silence, before the Major general broke the silence with a sigh and was ready to pick up the bag before Clair stopped him. “Oh, no good sir. Please. I can do it myself. No need to trouble yourself.” The redhead groaned in frustration, “damn it, I don’t have time to---…”
“Oh! Ooooooh!” Clair cried as she turned her handbag inside out, letting its entire contents to drop onto the floor. “Oh noooo! How clumsy of me! Oh, oh!” Clair shook the bag for extra measure. “Look at this! Such a mess! The tragedy! Love! Help me! I can’t do this on my own!”
“Oh, you silly, silly person. You are so clumsy. Let me help you.” With that, Michaela practically shoved Samuela into the soldier’s arms. The redhead’s face paled. He held the baby as if she was something between a ticking bomb and a priceless fragile porcelain doll. Michaela started to help Clair pick up her belongs, “be sure not to drop her.”
The soldier glared at her, “then don’t give her to me!”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry dear, I’m having trouble hearing you.”
“You’re lying and you know it.”
The two old women laughed.
“I hate you both.”
Samuela giggled.
The Major general shifted the baby into one arm to point at her with his free hand, “and you are just as bad as them.” Mistaking the pointed finger as an offering, Samuela tried to bite it. The soldier quickly pulled his finger away from her mouth, “no. Don’t do that. You don’t know where my hands have been.” The Appleberry’s snickered. “Shut up you wicked witches. I’m trying to be mad here. What did I say about meeting me in public!?”
“Sorry, good sir, what did you say?”
The Major general sighed deeply and simply gave up. The Appleberry’s took their time picking up the scattered contents of the bag. A time, which the soldier spent scrutinizing the baby in his arm. The redhead’s rough gaze eventually softened up. He caressed Samuela’s checks and smiled back when she smiled at him. His eyes glistened when he recognized whose eyes Samuela had. It was the eyes of someone who’d never come back. Someone who would never smile like this ever again.
The Applberry’s wished they could have let the soldier stay longer with the baby, but world around them did not care. From the main entrance, another familiar figure appeared, wondering what was taking the redhead so long. The old man in an expensive dark colored suit walked towards the small group, then halted when he saw Clair. In a span of a few seconds, the old man’s expression changed from surprised recognition, to disgust, to hate, and to indifference. “Nathaniel. What are you doing here? Did you get what I asked for?”
Although his back was facing the old man, the redhead, Nathaniel, recognized his father’s voice and turned stiff. He did not dare turn to face him, however. Not with the baby in his arms. Nathaniel held Samuela close to his chest.
“Are these… people bothering you?”
“No, sir.”
“Then stop wasting your time on them,” he gave Clair a particularly dirty look, “they’re not worth it.”
“Mr. Edrik?” The man turned to another person who came running from the school’s entrance, “we’re about to begin.” Mr. Edrik nodded to the person and faced his son once again only to say, “hurry up,” and then he left.
Nathaniel stood still until was absolutely sure his father left. Once the front doors closed, the soldier returned Samuela to her grandparents and walked right passed them without a word. Without ever looking directly at any of their faces.
Once outside, the Appleberry’s finally figured out what all the commotion was about. Surrounded by camera lenses, flashes, and reporters, was Mr. Edrik. As the Appleberry’s slithered their way past the crowd, they could hear one of the reports talking about how the Edrik family, one of the most wealthiest and influential families, had made another significant donation to Oakridge Military Academy. The reporter claimed that William Victor Edrik stated that he had made the donation because he believed in supporting the young troops, but Clair knew that was a lie. William, and the Edrik family in general, never donated to charity: they made investments. The Edrik’s did this only to gain more power. They did this, to make sure Nathaniel would never have to fight in the frontline. It was difficult to deny the possibility that his family’s money bought him his rank at that age. Despite the fact that he was talented enough to have eventually earn that title on his own. But they didn’t care. They never did care: to the Edrik’s, they were the most important people on the entire planet. To loose an Edrik was a tragedy. That’s what they taught their children since birth. That’s what Clair used to believe a long time ago.
“Let’s go, Love.”
----- Departure -----
As usual, Kimberly was in the rear of the group when Olivia announced that she was tired and required rest. Worried that perhaps Olivia was not feeling well, Kimberly broke away from his usual spot and headed towards her. “Are… you feeling all right... Olive?” Kimberly’s hand reached up to touch Olivia’s forehead, but retreated at the last moment. There was no point in trying to check if she had a fever when he was mostly covered in battle armor. “I… can carry you if… you feel sick.” Kimberly was quite serious. In fact, he could carry anyone and everyone ---with some help from the spirits--- if need be. It would not be a comfortable ride ---not with him covered in hard metal and people being stacked on top of each other--- but it was not impossible. And anything that was not impossible was a potential choice.
Adorabadass said Yo, JJ, want to collab a post? :P
Sure!
Rockette said JJ: I hope what I posted about the Appleberry's and Sam was all right and you don't mind it too much! I would have run it by you first, but I didn't want to miss my own deadline.
No worries Rockette, it's perfectly fine with me! NPCs from me are for anyone to use freely ;)
Edit: Also, I have not heard anything from Tenish
Phew! Posted in time.
Before Kimberly could follow his friends out of the office, his superiors stopped him to remind Kimberly that he needed to check in with his doctor before departure. “Yes sir,” Kimberly saluted and left the room. For a while, the group walked down the halls together until each friend had to scatter into different directions to get prepared for their upcoming mission. During their relatively short walk, the old childhood friends started to get into their usual positions.
As long as Kimberly could remember, the group had a certain way of walking when they were together: everyone had a “spot” they naturally drifted to; a place they fit into, like a puzzle piece. Although some of the pieces never moved from its original space, Kimberly had watched most of the pieces move gradually across board. Regardless of where they landed, they always “fit”. If there was any place on the board that no one could ever fill up again, it was in the front. The empty space where Samuel used to be. Kimberly knew this, because he was one of the pieces that never moved: he was that one guy in the back of the group. However large or small the group was, Kimberly walked a few steps away from the bulk. Close enough to be there when his friends needed him, to watch out for every back in front of him, and far away enough that people around them would think that “that Faye boy” had nothing to do with the gang. His dear friends had their own set of problems and rumors, they didn’t need to burden themselves with Kimberly’s. Even to this day, there was the occasional person who would go out of their way to warn his friends and/or legal guardian(s) about Kimberly’s “bad influences”. He didn’t blame these people, though. They only wanted to help. Kimberly was the crazy son of a bloodthirsty killer and a suicidal maniac who only failed to become a murder because her child survived: of course he was pure evil. Bwahaha! …It was just better for Kimberly to keep a certain amount of distance away from his friends in public, for their sake. It may have been even better if he just stopped seeing them altogether, but Kimberly was not selfless enough to do that. He never was and never will be. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted friends, a family. He wanted to feel accepted. He was probably taking advantage of them. He used them to fill up the sense of loneliness. If that was the case, it was only fair that they used him as well.
Kimberly started to slow down his walking pace, as the group got closer to one of the hallway intersections. He abruptly announced that he had to see his doctor, then turned the corner. After taking a few steps, Kimberly retreated back to the intersection. He looked down at the floor for a moment, before fixing his gaze to the group, “bye.” Mm… mmm! Isn’t that the most silvery-est silver tongue I have ever seen! …Heard. Fascinating. Just fascinating.
The doctor’s office was as generic, minimalistic, and uncomfortable as any medical room Kimberly had ever been in. The overuse of white and the burnish of the unblemished clinical instruments blinded the eyes. Everything in the room lacked any form of warmth. The furniture and large equipment were either in the shape of rectangles or squares. In conclusion, it was an artistically unimpressive room with no sense of character or life. Not that a doctor’s office needed either… And Kami, that smell! The distinct smell of medical supplies continued to irritate Kimberly’s nostrils throughout his visit to the doctor’s office. “I’ll keep this short. I know you only have a few minutes with me.” Dr. Perth cut to the chase, “how are you feeling?”
“Fine, mam.”
“Have any hallucinations recently?”
“I… had one this morning, mam.”
“Did you take the medication I prescribed to you?”
“Yes, mam.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes, mam.”
“Is it still working?”
Kimberly paused for a moment, eyeing his roommate walking around the office as if he was bored out of his mind. “Mostly.” Dr. Perth scrutinized Kimberly, “is it ‘him’?” When Kimberly nodded in response, the doctor’s expression told him she was perplexed by the situation. “Interesting,” she simply said, refraining from giving her opinion on the matter. Dr. Perth started to take some notes.
“They… know about this… right?”
“Excuse me?”
“They… the… Academy Council…”
“Yes they do know about your condition.”
“Then… why?”
“Why…?”
“Did they… choose me? I’m… not,” Kimberly tried to come up with the appropriate word.
“Bat s**t crazy?” Kimberly’s roommate suggested.
“Well,” Kimberly finally said.
Dr. Perth’s writing hand halted midsentence. She sighed and placed her pen to the side to give her full attention to her patient. “Have you ever taken a class about sensation and perception?” Kimberly didn’t know where this conversation came from, but nodded regardless. The doctor continued, “then you should know that we experience the external environment through what our senses can detect. If a person can’t sense something, then in that person’s world, that something doesn’t exist. That doesn’t mean that ‘that something’ truly doesn’t exist at all, does it? Most people can’t see spirits, but they exist. Just because we both learned that this,” Dr. Perth touched her golden watch, “is the color gold, does not mean we actually see the same color. We just learned to call this specific color, gold. In short, every person perceives the world in their own way.”
“Are you trying… to convince me… that… the army of samba dancers… are actually real people doing an interpretive dance… that is secretly a pro-environmental musical?”
“Is that what you saw this morning?”
Kimberly hesitated, “yes, mam… but… I think they were just plant spirits... maybe some earth spirits too.”
“Huh.” After a long pause, the doctor finally asked, “have you ever thought that perhaps ‘he’ is not just a result of damaged brain or irregular neurotransmitter activity?” When Kimberly did not give her a response, Dr. Perth smiled, “what I am trying to say is that, despite all these medical exams, we are still not sure what is actually causing your hallucinations… I wouldn’t call yourself bat s**t crazy, just yet.”
Kimberly stopped dead in his tracks when he started to hear familiar samba music coming from the direction of the main gate. For a moment, he expected to see the same performers from earlier that morning, but when nothing came, Kimberly advanced toward the source of the sound. At a bench near the main gate were two old women and a little angle. The woman with bright colorful clothing, also known as Michaela Appleberry, was sitting on the bench, next to the radio, clapping her hands as she watched her “wife”, Clair Appleberry, in a pastel colored dress dancing with a baby. Kimberly approached his family, “Nana, Maw maw.”
The two ladies greeted their grandchild with hugs and kisses. The baby’s cooing shifted Kimberly’s attention to his daughter in his granfa---…mother’s arms. As soon as Clair passed Samuela Jolee Faye to the giant, his beard and hair proceeded to perform phagocytosis on the little giggling ray of sunshine. Considering that she was cute enough to make anyone want to gobble her up, phagocytosis may not have been too far from the truth. Kimberly didn’t care that his daughter drooled all over him or pulled out a tiny fist full of hair just for her own cruel amusement, he planted hundreds of kisses all over her face: something that he knew he would not be able to do once Sam turned five or six... or whenever girls typically turned self conscious. It almost made Kimberly wish she would never grow up, although she would undoubtedly become a gorgeous woman with turquoise eyes and strawberry blond hair. Boys ---or girls--- would flock to her and Kimberly would have to fend them off until finally, one day, Sam would get angry with him and run off with her first love. Thank Kami, Sam didn't inherit anything from him… Imagine the amount of hair.
“I thought... you’d be half way to Helston by now… Didn’t you say you’d be leaving… yesterday?”
“We lied, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
Hearing that their grandson and their unofficial grandchildren were highly likely to be initiated into SWARG, prior to graduation, the Appleberry’s decided to delay their return to Helston to see the party off if and when they should receive their first military assignment. Knowing that they would not be able to bring the actual presents with them on the mission, the Appleberry’s had given out everyone’s graduation gifts during graduation and instead, packed lunch for the group’s trip to Norton City. “We had to bribe Cid to allow us to give this to you guys and gals. Can you believe it?” Clair laughed, “Love and I made sure to put in everyone’s favorite food, so you better not waste any of it, do you hear? Especially the vegetables. Let me know how it tastes like.” This probably meant Clair grew something experimental and wanted to know its affects on people. Luckily everyone knew that Clair would not use something that was life threatening in the lunch. At most it was going to taste really nasty.
When the time for departure came, the Appleberry’s kissed and bear hugged everyone goodbye. Sam could not do either, but instead gave a sweet smile that distracted most of her father’s friends away from the significant amount of saliva sample she stealthily managed to get on everyone. Kimberly’s family stood at the main gate, waving at their grandchildren until they completely disappeared from view.
As long as Kimberly could remember, the group had a certain way of walking when they were together: everyone had a “spot” they naturally drifted to; a place they fit into, like a puzzle piece. Although some of the pieces never moved from its original space, Kimberly had watched most of the pieces move gradually across board. Regardless of where they landed, they always “fit”. If there was any place on the board that no one could ever fill up again, it was in the front. The empty space where Samuel used to be. Kimberly knew this, because he was one of the pieces that never moved: he was that one guy in the back of the group. However large or small the group was, Kimberly walked a few steps away from the bulk. Close enough to be there when his friends needed him, to watch out for every back in front of him, and far away enough that people around them would think that “that Faye boy” had nothing to do with the gang. His dear friends had their own set of problems and rumors, they didn’t need to burden themselves with Kimberly’s. Even to this day, there was the occasional person who would go out of their way to warn his friends and/or legal guardian(s) about Kimberly’s “bad influences”. He didn’t blame these people, though. They only wanted to help. Kimberly was the crazy son of a bloodthirsty killer and a suicidal maniac who only failed to become a murder because her child survived: of course he was pure evil. Bwahaha! …It was just better for Kimberly to keep a certain amount of distance away from his friends in public, for their sake. It may have been even better if he just stopped seeing them altogether, but Kimberly was not selfless enough to do that. He never was and never will be. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted friends, a family. He wanted to feel accepted. He was probably taking advantage of them. He used them to fill up the sense of loneliness. If that was the case, it was only fair that they used him as well.
Kimberly started to slow down his walking pace, as the group got closer to one of the hallway intersections. He abruptly announced that he had to see his doctor, then turned the corner. After taking a few steps, Kimberly retreated back to the intersection. He looked down at the floor for a moment, before fixing his gaze to the group, “bye.” Mm… mmm! Isn’t that the most silvery-est silver tongue I have ever seen! …Heard. Fascinating. Just fascinating.
The doctor’s office was as generic, minimalistic, and uncomfortable as any medical room Kimberly had ever been in. The overuse of white and the burnish of the unblemished clinical instruments blinded the eyes. Everything in the room lacked any form of warmth. The furniture and large equipment were either in the shape of rectangles or squares. In conclusion, it was an artistically unimpressive room with no sense of character or life. Not that a doctor’s office needed either… And Kami, that smell! The distinct smell of medical supplies continued to irritate Kimberly’s nostrils throughout his visit to the doctor’s office. “I’ll keep this short. I know you only have a few minutes with me.” Dr. Perth cut to the chase, “how are you feeling?”
“Fine, mam.”
“Have any hallucinations recently?”
“I… had one this morning, mam.”
“Did you take the medication I prescribed to you?”
“Yes, mam.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes, mam.”
“Is it still working?”
Kimberly paused for a moment, eyeing his roommate walking around the office as if he was bored out of his mind. “Mostly.” Dr. Perth scrutinized Kimberly, “is it ‘him’?” When Kimberly nodded in response, the doctor’s expression told him she was perplexed by the situation. “Interesting,” she simply said, refraining from giving her opinion on the matter. Dr. Perth started to take some notes.
“They… know about this… right?”
“Excuse me?”
“They… the… Academy Council…”
“Yes they do know about your condition.”
“Then… why?”
“Why…?”
“Did they… choose me? I’m… not,” Kimberly tried to come up with the appropriate word.
“Bat s**t crazy?” Kimberly’s roommate suggested.
“Well,” Kimberly finally said.
Dr. Perth’s writing hand halted midsentence. She sighed and placed her pen to the side to give her full attention to her patient. “Have you ever taken a class about sensation and perception?” Kimberly didn’t know where this conversation came from, but nodded regardless. The doctor continued, “then you should know that we experience the external environment through what our senses can detect. If a person can’t sense something, then in that person’s world, that something doesn’t exist. That doesn’t mean that ‘that something’ truly doesn’t exist at all, does it? Most people can’t see spirits, but they exist. Just because we both learned that this,” Dr. Perth touched her golden watch, “is the color gold, does not mean we actually see the same color. We just learned to call this specific color, gold. In short, every person perceives the world in their own way.”
“Are you trying… to convince me… that… the army of samba dancers… are actually real people doing an interpretive dance… that is secretly a pro-environmental musical?”
“Is that what you saw this morning?”
Kimberly hesitated, “yes, mam… but… I think they were just plant spirits... maybe some earth spirits too.”
“Huh.” After a long pause, the doctor finally asked, “have you ever thought that perhaps ‘he’ is not just a result of damaged brain or irregular neurotransmitter activity?” When Kimberly did not give her a response, Dr. Perth smiled, “what I am trying to say is that, despite all these medical exams, we are still not sure what is actually causing your hallucinations… I wouldn’t call yourself bat s**t crazy, just yet.”
Kimberly stopped dead in his tracks when he started to hear familiar samba music coming from the direction of the main gate. For a moment, he expected to see the same performers from earlier that morning, but when nothing came, Kimberly advanced toward the source of the sound. At a bench near the main gate were two old women and a little angle. The woman with bright colorful clothing, also known as Michaela Appleberry, was sitting on the bench, next to the radio, clapping her hands as she watched her “wife”, Clair Appleberry, in a pastel colored dress dancing with a baby. Kimberly approached his family, “Nana, Maw maw.”
The two ladies greeted their grandchild with hugs and kisses. The baby’s cooing shifted Kimberly’s attention to his daughter in his granfa---…mother’s arms. As soon as Clair passed Samuela Jolee Faye to the giant, his beard and hair proceeded to perform phagocytosis on the little giggling ray of sunshine. Considering that she was cute enough to make anyone want to gobble her up, phagocytosis may not have been too far from the truth. Kimberly didn’t care that his daughter drooled all over him or pulled out a tiny fist full of hair just for her own cruel amusement, he planted hundreds of kisses all over her face: something that he knew he would not be able to do once Sam turned five or six... or whenever girls typically turned self conscious. It almost made Kimberly wish she would never grow up, although she would undoubtedly become a gorgeous woman with turquoise eyes and strawberry blond hair. Boys ---or girls--- would flock to her and Kimberly would have to fend them off until finally, one day, Sam would get angry with him and run off with her first love. Thank Kami, Sam didn't inherit anything from him… Imagine the amount of hair.
“I thought... you’d be half way to Helston by now… Didn’t you say you’d be leaving… yesterday?”
“We lied, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
Hearing that their grandson and their unofficial grandchildren were highly likely to be initiated into SWARG, prior to graduation, the Appleberry’s decided to delay their return to Helston to see the party off if and when they should receive their first military assignment. Knowing that they would not be able to bring the actual presents with them on the mission, the Appleberry’s had given out everyone’s graduation gifts during graduation and instead, packed lunch for the group’s trip to Norton City. “We had to bribe Cid to allow us to give this to you guys and gals. Can you believe it?” Clair laughed, “Love and I made sure to put in everyone’s favorite food, so you better not waste any of it, do you hear? Especially the vegetables. Let me know how it tastes like.” This probably meant Clair grew something experimental and wanted to know its affects on people. Luckily everyone knew that Clair would not use something that was life threatening in the lunch. At most it was going to taste really nasty.
When the time for departure came, the Appleberry’s kissed and bear hugged everyone goodbye. Sam could not do either, but instead gave a sweet smile that distracted most of her father’s friends away from the significant amount of saliva sample she stealthily managed to get on everyone. Kimberly’s family stood at the main gate, waving at their grandchildren until they completely disappeared from view.
Prisk said @EveryoneI don't know what your methods are, but I usually plan my posts by writing small notes and ideas in my phone, or whatever, of things that I want to cover in a post—makes it easier and faster to write the damn thing when I get around to it!
I actually have a notebook dedicated to writing down ideas. It's a complete mess at first glance though :P ...It's a vomit of... stuff.
At first, he could hear nothing. He knew he dreamt about something, but whatever dream he had faded away into the abyss. His mind was still submerged somewhere between unconsciousness and consciousness when he felt something pull him towards the real world. Kimberly was starting to wake up. The last thing Kimberly vaguely recalled thinking about was where “that noise” was coming from, before slowly opening his eyes.
Kimberly Rene “Fuzzy” Faye woke up in one of the many dorm rooms at Oakridge Military Academy. He spent the first few minutes of the brand new day staring blankly at the dimly lit room. There was nothing particularly interesting to be looking at, but his body refused to do anything else. When his brain was finally awake enough to do actual thinking, it started wondering why it was still kind of dark. To find the answer of this question, Kimberly’s neck gathered all of its strength to slightly turn the head towards the clock. “This is as far we can go”, the muscles of the neck seem to say, “go on without us.” The task was then passed on to the eyes. They locked onto their target. “No… No it could not be. It’s impossible!” …Why am I awake at 6 in the morning after graduation? “No! Wait, false alarm,” the eyes focused on the clock harder, “it’s 5 in the morning.” Oh. Phew. And here I thought I had gone completely mad. Good. More sleep for me then. Goodnight. Kimberly prepared himself for a second bedtime rest and would have succeeded had he done so a few seconds earlier. But no. It was too late. Somewhere off in the distance, he heard “that noise”. He thought that maybe it was the last few survivors of last night’s party still partying. Or perhaps no one alive had the strength to turn off the stereo. Either would have been possible, but Kimberly was wrong. The faint noise started to get louder with each passing second. Eventually it became loud enough for Kimberly to realize that the noise was actually samba music. Batucada, to be more exact.
Then, after slamming the door open, a mob of singing samba dancers came flooding in, doing what they did best: dance and smile like they meant it. One by one, the performers danced their way further into Kimberly’s room, steadily taking over every free space the not-so-big room had to offer. That’s when he realized this was just one of those moments. Kimberly groaned as he hid himself under the blanket. “You know they’re not going to leave, Kim,” he heard his roommate say. Not that Kimberly needed the reminder. The dark blue mountain on the bed sighed in defeat. Soon after, a mop with a human’s body emerged from the cover and disabled the alarm clock. He didn’t even know why he bothered with the thing: these “people” always woke Kimberly up as early as possible. Kimberly looked up to see that some of the dancers moved onto the furniture, allowing even more dancers into the crowded room. His roommate was sitting on the last dancer free furniture, next to the bed, staring at Kimberly. He smiled, “morning Kim.”
Kimberly quickly regretted heading for the shower. Why did he do that? He was going to do manual labor outside that involved dirt. He should have taken a bath after the job was done. More importantly, he was forced to shower in front of an audience. They may not be “real”, but they were real enough for any stripper to blush. Kimberly was cornered into the bathroom wall, surrounded by constantly smiling, never blinking dancers who continued to face toward Kimberly’s direction. When Kimberly stayed in the shower a little too long for their liking, the performers started to zero in on the giant. Some even managed to get into the shower with him. Not only were constantly smiling, never blinking dancers watching Kimberly every move, but now, Kimberly could not look anywhere without seeing them, except for the ceiling---… wait, he lied. NOW Kimberly had people dancing on the ceiling as well. Though they did not say sing it, Kimberly thought they were upset that he was getting water on him while they died of thrust outside. I doubt you would want to hydrate yourself with hot water guys. Kimberly turned off the water and managed to squeeze pass the dancers to get to the medicine cabinet. He ingested his well-needed medication, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and left the room with gardening tools, all while attempting to ignore his elaborate musical hallucination.
Kimberly passed by the cafeteria kitchen on his way out. Although the cafeteria was not technically opened just yet, the kitchen staff worked diligently on preparing breakfast for the students and teachers of Oakridge Academy. The staff looked surprised that Kimberly came early, but once they saw his attire, they knew where he was heading. Kimberly paid for his bento, which waited to be picked up by him everyday, and went on his merry way. He could have simply eaten at the cafeteria if he wanted to, but that tended to create unwanted attention.
The walk down the hallways was like a parade: the dancer’s movement became more energetic, more imaginary people joined in on the singing, and the music that literally came from nowhere started to speed up its tempo. It was more than obvious the performers were unable to contain their excitement. “Don’t worry… I’ll get there…” Two undergraduates, unfortunate enough to have been walking in the halls at that time, jumped to the side in fear when Kimberly suddenly mumbled something. The giant blushed faintly and continued to walk towards the doors. He had failed to notice the younger students walking when his hallucinations used up most of his senses. Poor things. Of course no sane person saw or heard what Kimberly experienced. He was going to have to expect some new rumors about him for the next few days.
He should have expected to see the imaginary carnival when he finally reached the school’s garden. Yet there he was, standing there, watching the non-existent attraction play out before him. It rained imaginary confetti, extravagant parade cars of various shapes and sizes scattered around the school grounds served as a stage for a number of imaginary performers, and thousand of imaginary beings danced and sang in perfect unison. From how they the show went on, Kimberly could tell this morning musical was at its climax. The performers gave it their all and when the show came to an end, they all posed for Kimberly.
An awkward silence passed between Kimberly and the imaginary entertainers. The performer’s creepy smiles never disappeared from their faces, but their body movements indicated that they were not sure what to do next. They were waiting for Kimberly’s response. After double-checking that there were no real people around to catch him in the act, Kimberly finally applauded. The imaginary performers’ plastered smile shined brightly more than ever as they bowed to the only audience they were ever going to have. When their heads rose up, their eyes twinkled with anticipation, a hope that their show was enough to appease their gardener.
For the first time that day, Kimberly took a good look at the damage the graduation party had actually done to the school garden. Messy… was an understatement. The garden looked like it was hit by a natural disaster. A warzone even. Garbage was all over the place; a number of plants were trampled on or were pulled completely out of the dirt only to be tossed aside; pools of vomit were spotted in certain areas; traces of urine dripped off some of the plants; some trees had broken branches; and a number of drunken bodies were found dead asleep across the campus.
Kimberly sighed and turned his attention back to where the army of imaginary entertainers was standing. This time, however, there were no performers in sight. Whether the medication had finally decided to kick in or his brain was just tired of making things up, Kimberly knew not, but the fictitious carnival vanished from existence and was replaced with reality. It was the world normal people saw… with an added bonus of spirits that hovered in the air silently. “You know… what would be great?” Kimberly smiled at the spirits as he rolled up his sleeves. “For more people to think that Kim is even crazier by dancing to music that they can’t hear?” Kimberly’s “roommate” appeared out of nowhere only to disappear once again. Kimberly could feel the confusion emitting off of the spirits. Sarcasm was not exactly a spirit’s strong suit. Kimberly rephrased his roommate’s statement, “to listen… to some music while I work…” The spirit of sound was more than happy to oblige to the request.
Despite working on the gardens for the entirety of the morning, and even getting assistance from the official gardeners and janitors of the academy, Kimberly was nowhere near completing his garden-cleaning quest when the school’s intercom summoned Kimberly and his friends. For some odd reason he never thought that the announcement was about the Special Warfare and Reconnaissance Group. In fact, Kimberly guessed that Roy had seriously messed something up last night that the old gang was called in for interrogation. He felt slightly guilty for making such assumptions about Roy, but then again, it was Royce “Punk---… Puck” Guyvers. No one could blame Kimberly for thinking Roy did something stupid… right?
“Sure, Kimberly.”
Kimberly Rene “Fuzzy” Faye woke up in one of the many dorm rooms at Oakridge Military Academy. He spent the first few minutes of the brand new day staring blankly at the dimly lit room. There was nothing particularly interesting to be looking at, but his body refused to do anything else. When his brain was finally awake enough to do actual thinking, it started wondering why it was still kind of dark. To find the answer of this question, Kimberly’s neck gathered all of its strength to slightly turn the head towards the clock. “This is as far we can go”, the muscles of the neck seem to say, “go on without us.” The task was then passed on to the eyes. They locked onto their target. “No… No it could not be. It’s impossible!” …Why am I awake at 6 in the morning after graduation? “No! Wait, false alarm,” the eyes focused on the clock harder, “it’s 5 in the morning.” Oh. Phew. And here I thought I had gone completely mad. Good. More sleep for me then. Goodnight. Kimberly prepared himself for a second bedtime rest and would have succeeded had he done so a few seconds earlier. But no. It was too late. Somewhere off in the distance, he heard “that noise”. He thought that maybe it was the last few survivors of last night’s party still partying. Or perhaps no one alive had the strength to turn off the stereo. Either would have been possible, but Kimberly was wrong. The faint noise started to get louder with each passing second. Eventually it became loud enough for Kimberly to realize that the noise was actually samba music. Batucada, to be more exact.
Then, after slamming the door open, a mob of singing samba dancers came flooding in, doing what they did best: dance and smile like they meant it. One by one, the performers danced their way further into Kimberly’s room, steadily taking over every free space the not-so-big room had to offer. That’s when he realized this was just one of those moments. Kimberly groaned as he hid himself under the blanket. “You know they’re not going to leave, Kim,” he heard his roommate say. Not that Kimberly needed the reminder. The dark blue mountain on the bed sighed in defeat. Soon after, a mop with a human’s body emerged from the cover and disabled the alarm clock. He didn’t even know why he bothered with the thing: these “people” always woke Kimberly up as early as possible. Kimberly looked up to see that some of the dancers moved onto the furniture, allowing even more dancers into the crowded room. His roommate was sitting on the last dancer free furniture, next to the bed, staring at Kimberly. He smiled, “morning Kim.”
Kimberly quickly regretted heading for the shower. Why did he do that? He was going to do manual labor outside that involved dirt. He should have taken a bath after the job was done. More importantly, he was forced to shower in front of an audience. They may not be “real”, but they were real enough for any stripper to blush. Kimberly was cornered into the bathroom wall, surrounded by constantly smiling, never blinking dancers who continued to face toward Kimberly’s direction. When Kimberly stayed in the shower a little too long for their liking, the performers started to zero in on the giant. Some even managed to get into the shower with him. Not only were constantly smiling, never blinking dancers watching Kimberly every move, but now, Kimberly could not look anywhere without seeing them, except for the ceiling---… wait, he lied. NOW Kimberly had people dancing on the ceiling as well. Though they did not say sing it, Kimberly thought they were upset that he was getting water on him while they died of thrust outside. I doubt you would want to hydrate yourself with hot water guys. Kimberly turned off the water and managed to squeeze pass the dancers to get to the medicine cabinet. He ingested his well-needed medication, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and left the room with gardening tools, all while attempting to ignore his elaborate musical hallucination.
Kimberly passed by the cafeteria kitchen on his way out. Although the cafeteria was not technically opened just yet, the kitchen staff worked diligently on preparing breakfast for the students and teachers of Oakridge Academy. The staff looked surprised that Kimberly came early, but once they saw his attire, they knew where he was heading. Kimberly paid for his bento, which waited to be picked up by him everyday, and went on his merry way. He could have simply eaten at the cafeteria if he wanted to, but that tended to create unwanted attention.
The walk down the hallways was like a parade: the dancer’s movement became more energetic, more imaginary people joined in on the singing, and the music that literally came from nowhere started to speed up its tempo. It was more than obvious the performers were unable to contain their excitement. “Don’t worry… I’ll get there…” Two undergraduates, unfortunate enough to have been walking in the halls at that time, jumped to the side in fear when Kimberly suddenly mumbled something. The giant blushed faintly and continued to walk towards the doors. He had failed to notice the younger students walking when his hallucinations used up most of his senses. Poor things. Of course no sane person saw or heard what Kimberly experienced. He was going to have to expect some new rumors about him for the next few days.
He should have expected to see the imaginary carnival when he finally reached the school’s garden. Yet there he was, standing there, watching the non-existent attraction play out before him. It rained imaginary confetti, extravagant parade cars of various shapes and sizes scattered around the school grounds served as a stage for a number of imaginary performers, and thousand of imaginary beings danced and sang in perfect unison. From how they the show went on, Kimberly could tell this morning musical was at its climax. The performers gave it their all and when the show came to an end, they all posed for Kimberly.
An awkward silence passed between Kimberly and the imaginary entertainers. The performer’s creepy smiles never disappeared from their faces, but their body movements indicated that they were not sure what to do next. They were waiting for Kimberly’s response. After double-checking that there were no real people around to catch him in the act, Kimberly finally applauded. The imaginary performers’ plastered smile shined brightly more than ever as they bowed to the only audience they were ever going to have. When their heads rose up, their eyes twinkled with anticipation, a hope that their show was enough to appease their gardener.
For the first time that day, Kimberly took a good look at the damage the graduation party had actually done to the school garden. Messy… was an understatement. The garden looked like it was hit by a natural disaster. A warzone even. Garbage was all over the place; a number of plants were trampled on or were pulled completely out of the dirt only to be tossed aside; pools of vomit were spotted in certain areas; traces of urine dripped off some of the plants; some trees had broken branches; and a number of drunken bodies were found dead asleep across the campus.
Kimberly sighed and turned his attention back to where the army of imaginary entertainers was standing. This time, however, there were no performers in sight. Whether the medication had finally decided to kick in or his brain was just tired of making things up, Kimberly knew not, but the fictitious carnival vanished from existence and was replaced with reality. It was the world normal people saw… with an added bonus of spirits that hovered in the air silently. “You know… what would be great?” Kimberly smiled at the spirits as he rolled up his sleeves. “For more people to think that Kim is even crazier by dancing to music that they can’t hear?” Kimberly’s “roommate” appeared out of nowhere only to disappear once again. Kimberly could feel the confusion emitting off of the spirits. Sarcasm was not exactly a spirit’s strong suit. Kimberly rephrased his roommate’s statement, “to listen… to some music while I work…” The spirit of sound was more than happy to oblige to the request.
Despite working on the gardens for the entirety of the morning, and even getting assistance from the official gardeners and janitors of the academy, Kimberly was nowhere near completing his garden-cleaning quest when the school’s intercom summoned Kimberly and his friends. For some odd reason he never thought that the announcement was about the Special Warfare and Reconnaissance Group. In fact, Kimberly guessed that Roy had seriously messed something up last night that the old gang was called in for interrogation. He felt slightly guilty for making such assumptions about Roy, but then again, it was Royce “Punk---… Puck” Guyvers. No one could blame Kimberly for thinking Roy did something stupid… right?
“Sure, Kimberly.”
Ozerath said Hey JJ, how would you feel about Thael and Fuzzy/Kimbo being bros? Like, heterosexual life partners level bro?
If you can love a smile like this:
Then sure!
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