iFain
Merule*Grovels*
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Yays for living! And yesh, he is cute :P
I keep having this. . . Interesting/intense scene going through my head just thinking of how Rei responds to Alessandro and his affections. I see them, either one night in his room, or caught in the rain taking shelter in a random secluded spot, Ale having that same urge from before, but perhaps a step further and just saying something like, "I want to touch you." or something like that. And Rei basically going "Uh, sure? As long as you are not planning on cutting something off." or something equally. . . . .Not responding how someone normally responds to something like that, but giving Ale the okay. Then basically, Rei being very responsive to the touch, and despote this being very new and him having the distinct impression he's missing something again, him not stopping Ale at any point because he said the prince can do whatever, as long as he's not harming him. I see Rei coming out of it rather exhausted(Even if all he does is get Rei off) and instinctively just needing contact after that and climbing on top of Ale and just falling asleep. In my head, this would(And forgive my assumptions) leave the prince happy, sad, and confused. Happy because, yay intimacy with someone he admires! Sad because he would realize that whatever it meant for him, Rei obviously from the beginning saw the whole thing differently(Because Rei), and confused as to what he wants, what he was looking for, and where they now stand with one another. . . .Again sorry for assuming. *Bows* I just keep having it run through my head. Rei going from doll like to basically a glistening mess(Sexual activity, one of the few things that can make a fae sweat, who knew!?) and he himself wondering on all new levels about Ale and himself and sheer culture shock(Given his background of no affection whatsoever from either his people or those who raised him). . . .So, yeah, thing in my head. We don't have to do it or anything, I just thought I'd share it in case you'd find it interesting. I still can't wait for that moment(I think it's tonight) when Alessandro pulls Rei into bed during his evening check on the prince :P It's so cute :P
I keep having this. . . Interesting/intense scene going through my head just thinking of how Rei responds to Alessandro and his affections. I see them, either one night in his room, or caught in the rain taking shelter in a random secluded spot, Ale having that same urge from before, but perhaps a step further and just saying something like, "I want to touch you." or something like that. And Rei basically going "Uh, sure? As long as you are not planning on cutting something off." or something equally. . . . .Not responding how someone normally responds to something like that, but giving Ale the okay. Then basically, Rei being very responsive to the touch, and despote this being very new and him having the distinct impression he's missing something again, him not stopping Ale at any point because he said the prince can do whatever, as long as he's not harming him. I see Rei coming out of it rather exhausted(Even if all he does is get Rei off) and instinctively just needing contact after that and climbing on top of Ale and just falling asleep. In my head, this would(And forgive my assumptions) leave the prince happy, sad, and confused. Happy because, yay intimacy with someone he admires! Sad because he would realize that whatever it meant for him, Rei obviously from the beginning saw the whole thing differently(Because Rei), and confused as to what he wants, what he was looking for, and where they now stand with one another. . . .Again sorry for assuming. *Bows* I just keep having it run through my head. Rei going from doll like to basically a glistening mess(Sexual activity, one of the few things that can make a fae sweat, who knew!?) and he himself wondering on all new levels about Ale and himself and sheer culture shock(Given his background of no affection whatsoever from either his people or those who raised him). . . .So, yeah, thing in my head. We don't have to do it or anything, I just thought I'd share it in case you'd find it interesting. I still can't wait for that moment(I think it's tonight) when Alessandro pulls Rei into bed during his evening check on the prince :P It's so cute :P
Rei nods in satisfaction as the prince assures him that he will not be removing himself from the world any time soon. The hand, not on the top of his head this time, but in his hair, seems a little different this time. He's not sure why or how, but as he looks at that smile on the prince' lips, that look in his eyes, he's quite sure he's missing something once again. It doesn't bother him though. The prince has never really posed any threat to him, and the look in his eye is. . .Soft, for lack of a better word, and his smile is honest. The touch itself is gentle and he does not move away from it. The prince can do what he likes, and it's not like the feeling of fingers in his hair is unpleasant. “I do not flatter. As I understand the term it is projected falsehoods to compliment another, and I am simply pointing out the obvious truth.”
The hand falls away soon enough however and Rei tilts his head once more, listening to the man talk. He laughs at the idea of Rei killing the woman, though he admits feeling tempted, and the fae has to wonder if this is some kind of royal double talk. He however takes the gratitude and the spoken denial at face value and decides that if the prince really wanted her dead, he would have said so. 'Well, he knows the offer is there. Humans change their minds all the time, and I will be around for some time and ready to act if Alessandro wishes me to'
His keen eyes do not miss the strain leaving the prince's body and as he gains his feet Rei can feel himself relaxing as well. His head perks up almost like a feline's as Alessandro brings up the subject of books and he looks past the prince up the stairs with a faint twinkle in his eyes over the prospect of acquiring – even if only temporarily – another rare book to read. Skittering along smoothly behind the prince he waits for the other to open the door before looking about the room curiously. The old man from before – he'd called through the door and bade them enter without asking who was it that knocked – is sitting by the table, a small stack of books laying about haphazardly.
Many of the tomes are open to random pages and Rei's eyes are drawn to them. Without even really acknowledging the tutor he walks over and begins reading the open pages at a distance, wondering what the old man is looking into or recalling. He recognizes research when he sees it, and the old man has been looking up something. The passages he reads however are rather confusing, having to do more with human history before the age where they knew fae and other creatures like them existed. The old man chuckles at him after greeting the prince and Rei looks at him curiously, then turns to the prince, casting small glances over his shoulder as if to ask if he can go grab a book yet.
The hand falls away soon enough however and Rei tilts his head once more, listening to the man talk. He laughs at the idea of Rei killing the woman, though he admits feeling tempted, and the fae has to wonder if this is some kind of royal double talk. He however takes the gratitude and the spoken denial at face value and decides that if the prince really wanted her dead, he would have said so. 'Well, he knows the offer is there. Humans change their minds all the time, and I will be around for some time and ready to act if Alessandro wishes me to'
His keen eyes do not miss the strain leaving the prince's body and as he gains his feet Rei can feel himself relaxing as well. His head perks up almost like a feline's as Alessandro brings up the subject of books and he looks past the prince up the stairs with a faint twinkle in his eyes over the prospect of acquiring – even if only temporarily – another rare book to read. Skittering along smoothly behind the prince he waits for the other to open the door before looking about the room curiously. The old man from before – he'd called through the door and bade them enter without asking who was it that knocked – is sitting by the table, a small stack of books laying about haphazardly.
Many of the tomes are open to random pages and Rei's eyes are drawn to them. Without even really acknowledging the tutor he walks over and begins reading the open pages at a distance, wondering what the old man is looking into or recalling. He recognizes research when he sees it, and the old man has been looking up something. The passages he reads however are rather confusing, having to do more with human history before the age where they knew fae and other creatures like them existed. The old man chuckles at him after greeting the prince and Rei looks at him curiously, then turns to the prince, casting small glances over his shoulder as if to ask if he can go grab a book yet.
*Giggles* *Cheers* *Buys zombie brain biscuits and treats for doing such a good job*
*Still misses one of my best partners ever* I hope to see you around some time. . . . .
BubblegumcAndi: After setting up Skip with the picture, Andi returns to her studio, taking care of some imps as she works her way upstairs to the kitchen. She finds a few other food items and heats them up, taking a short break as she reads the newest message from Fire Lord.
He has explained that he has created new foods that have in-game effects, which is…bizarre. It makes sense when actually playing a game, but putting things in her body that give her a boost—or accidentally poison her, is a bit more frightening. It sends a shiver down her spine just as the microwave ‘dings’. With a small nod, she types a message to him, figuring that he will likely get it when he wakes.
BubblegumcAndi → Fire Lord: Weird. But cool. Thanks for experimenting!
She also makes a mental note to keep a closer eye on things for him since he will be asleep, and she has no idea if sprites need sleep too. In either case, getting back downstairs to her computer sooner would likely be better.
When she gets back in front of her other computer, she sees that Stithis has dropped a bedroll, and grins. That will certainly make her night. She jots down the code, and in between bites, goes over to the punch designix machine to get the card for the bedroll. When it is ready, she goes through the rest of the motions to create the sleeping bag.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Thanks so much! I’d cook, but you’d have to make sure I don’t blow the place up :P
Andi has just about finished her dish when she hears the sound of…windchimes? She jumps up for a moment, thinking that it must be imps having knocked over her trap again, but instead, it is some guy in a red hoodie and pants. When he speaks, he addresses her in the nickname that Stithis uses, something anyone would easily know, but she looks at him uneasily, having risen from her seat.
He looks relaxed, but that doesn’t mean Andi is. “I am…significantly less confident in my fortifications now…thank you very much.” She pauses, looking over him once more before she continues. “Shenanigans, I presume?” She asks, thinking of Skip’s earlier statement. Any guy who can just teleport all…wind-chimey mist in front of her certainly isn’t going to be a level appropriate encounter, and she hopes that this isn’t some new thing she is supposed to fight.
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Shenanigans: Holding his hands up in the 'I mean no harm' pose he smiles a little wider and nods. “Yeah, I'm Shenanigans. No need to freak out. We're friends after all.”
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi raises her eyebrows a bit as the man doesn’t deny the accusation—and actually admits to being Shenanigans, whatever that means. She had not really thought through her words before they came out of her mouth, but she is glad it was those particular words, and not the wrist-mounted crossbow. “Firstly, this isn’t me freaking out,” she says, leaning against the table while still facing the man. “and second, just how are we friends? I don’t know you… You are either some hallucination brought on by the game, or you are running it, in which case I’m sure a lot of people just died. I’m generally not friends with mass murderers.” Andi isn’t trying to be accusatory, but she is trying to figure out just what this guy is doing here, and how he intends to ‘help’.
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Shenanigans: Pressing his hand to his chest in mock hurt the young man declares, “What, me? Lord English? No way! That guy's a dick!” Putting his hand down he sighs, still looking relaxed. “But no, seriously, I'm not him.” Pushing his hood back he smiles at the woman across from him for a moment before pulling something small and silvery from his pocket. Tossing it gently to Andi he says, “Here, you gave this to me as proof before I left.” The object is an ear piece. One he can see her wearing right now as a perfect copy lands in her hand. Reaching up he scratches behind a device attached over his left ear that looks a bit like a scouter from DBZ. “You said it was special.”
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Stithis: After building a few floors Marcus yawns, pulling up Pesterchum and checking Bubbles' response. He chuckles at her joke about blowing the place up before zooming in to the room she's in now. His fingers freeze however when he spots the figure standing across the room from her. “What the. . . .” he says in a harsh whisper. Before he can stop himself he types something to Andi.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: How the fuck did I get there!?
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BubblegumcAndi: Lord English? What kind of bizarre name was that? Though, Andi doesn’t have a lot of time to contemplate it, however, since he pulls out something and throws it to her. It is her earring. She studies it for a few moments before she feels her ear, where the gift from her last serious boyfriend was still sitting.
Removing the hood doesn’t suddenly reveal anything terribly useful about the guy. He isn’t horribly disfigured, or particularly evil looking at all, really. He adds that she gave it to him before he left, and she raises her gaze skeptically once more. “Before you left…what, the future?” It doesn’t occur to Andi that she already knows him, but if he is trying to say that she gave her earring to him, and she doesn’t remember it, the future is (sadly) the most likely answer. Of course, with the machines they have in this game, he could have easily made one. He would still have to have yours… She reminds herself.
“It is special.” She answers, running her fingers over the pattern once more. “So what are you here for?” She figures it is a slightly more polite way to ask what he wants. Andi feels the phone buzz, but figuring it is a group message, she ignores it for now. This is clearly more important.
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Stithis: “Fuck, I wish I could read lips. . .” he murmurs, sending another message.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, chika, that's like, me, but older. How. . . .How the heck does this work!?
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Shenanigans: Humming softly the guy looks out the window as he answers. “Without getting too much into it, yes, the future. Two years from now actually.” He seems wistful, and rather sad. “And I'm here to make sure something that happened in my time line doesn't happen in yours.” Turning his gaze back on to Andi he smiles brightly. “You've rather keep both of your eyes, right?”
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BubblegumcAndi: Two years?... If he came from the future, and it had been two years, there was no getting out of this. Andi’s expression softens a bit as she notes his change in disposition. “Shit…” He is traveling in time to save this timeline… It is completely crazy, and yet also possible.
“Umm yes, I do prefer to keep my eyes, Shananigans…” She replies quickly. “They are pretty important in art.”
“That’s what you came back to change? Me losing an eye?” She asks. Somehow, she thinks that he is really talking about something different, and though the situation is strange, she is all ears.
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Shenanigans: He nods slowly. “One of many things I'm gonna work on here. This is the true time line, so if this one fails, then all hope is lost. . .” He once more sounds rather distant, but after a moment he brightens. “But, that's a very complex matter that we'll deal with later. For now I . . . .” Suddenly a book comes floating through the air and pokes him in the cheek. With a sigh he pushes the book away. It comes back and begins poking at his chest and with another sight he says, “Chat, Stithis, current time line.” The device on his ear moves, a green visor screen slipping out to curve around his eyes.
Shenanigans → Stithis: Yeah dude, I know, cool duds, now can you chill for a bit while I save Andi from a giant monster who will poke out her eye if we're not careful?
He says this aloud before saying “End chat.” and the visor retreats. Smiling at Andi once more his eyes once more trail to the window.
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Stithis: Seeing the new message Marcus drops the book and stares. “Whoa. . .Yeah, I think I'll just. . . .” Quickly he grabs the heaviest thing nearby and waits patiently. No way he's letting his friend and comrade lose an eye!
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BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans goes on about true time lines, and it is all really a bit much for Andi so she just nods and waits for him to get back on track. As a book comes towards him, Andi frowns, and then pulls out her phone. She realizes that it has to be Stithis, and figures maybe he sees something that she doesn’t and was trying to warn her. She quickly takes in his two messages, and then looks back up at Shen—Stithis?
Shenanigans says something… but clearly not to her, as a visor appears over her eyes. If this weren’t so weird, she might just say that his gear was really cool. Instead, she blurts out something that sounds much less intelligent.
“You’re…Stithis…From the future.”
Her gaze moves to the window, finally, and then she remembers the rest of what he has said. “So…how do I keep my eyes?” She asks.
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Shenanigans: Shenanigans nods distractedly. “Yeah, that I am, and you keep your eyes by not letting that pick you up.” Just as he says 'that' a dark face appears outside the window. It looks somewhat feline with black hair and a forked tongue. Along the top edge of the window you can see what looks to be a sombrero. Looking over at Andi with a playful smile he points towards the nearest door. “To the roof! We don't want this thing trashing your workshop!” Without a sound a giant fan that looks like a classic Japanese paper fan made of shiny black metal appears in his hand and he motions for Andi to take the lead. The fan is nearly as tall as he is but he props it up on his shoulder with ease.
Fan(But black and silver instead of white and gold) - Fan
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi looks out to see a very large creature, much larger than the basic imps, and her eyes widen. “I thought we were on level 1—only imps!” She squeals. He points to the door and suggests that they go upstairs, to which Andi nods quickly. “Yea…” She slips her phone back in her pocket, and then makes sure that her wrist cross-bow is mounted before ‘leading the way’ as Shenanigans suggested.
There are a few imps they encounter along the way, though Andi takes out most of them with her weapon. The ones that she misses, Shenanigans or her sprite takes care of. Andi doesn’t really pay much attention, she is just moving ahead and taking out what she cans. It reminds her a bit of those Crash Bandicoot levels where you want to pick up the treasure but there is something chasing you and so you spent most of your time running. She makes her way up the stairs quickly, and finds a new set of stairs that continue leading up.
Taking them without hesitation, Andi grabs the railing to steady herself as she shoots an imp at the top of the stairs, and soon finds herself on the room, dispatching a few other imps that are around. The creature was apparently climbing up to the roof as well, and as it comes into view once more, Andi’s eyes widen. What had she done to earn the wrath of a boss-ogre?
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Shenanigans: Running along behind Andi as she blasts her way through imps Marcus smiles as a wave of nostalgia passes through him. “This is your home base, not level one, and the enemies level up as you do. You'll only ever get basic level monsters here at your base, but eventually all the incarnations of the first grade of monsters will appear.” Skidding to a halt on the roof he watches at the ogre climbs into view. “You just breeched level five recently, so this guy showed up. You need to get Stithis to make you a safe room. Inside the room, as long as the door is locked, no monsters will bother you, and the ones outside the room won't destroy your stuff, but for now, let's worry about taking him down, eh?”
With a flick of his wrist his fan vanishes and after a few seconds a new weapon appears. Looking way too big to be wielded by a human a giant double sided scythe appears in his hand.
Scythe - Referance 1
Referance 2
Twirling it easily he smiles over at Andi reassuringly. “The game never throws anything at you you can't handle here at your base, as long as the proto-typeing went right, which it did, so I'll keep you safe, but you take the lead!”
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Stithis: Grinning wide at the sight of the scythe Marcus logs it away to make later, once he's able to not only make it, but to wield it. He still has his table at the ready to do some bashing if needed.
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BubblegumcAndi: “So... this…is first level?” She asks, gesturing towards the ogre. She tries to file away what he says about a safe room, knowing she will need to do the same for Fire Lord as well. “Safe like… just a door with a lock?” She asks. Of course, now that she was asking questions, she really wanted to know why he didn’t just take care of this himself. He was obviously quite a bit higher level than she was. She also wanted to know why he didn’t just do his weird teleporty thing to the roof, but she refrains from asking that at the moment.
Suddenly he was holding a giant scythe, and Andi takes a step away to make sure that she isn’t going to be hit by it. “But…couldn’t you take care of this on your own better?” She asks. She summons her aerosol weapon, holding it in her left hand since the cross-bow is in the right—but it still feels like this guy should just take care of it for her.
“Hey…why did you come back and not me?” she asks. Of course, the ogre takes that moment to charge, and Andi shoots him with the crossbow and then Aerosols him before running to the side and out of the way. She gets her bearings once more on the other side of the roof, and shoots the ogre again before it can start to run towards her.
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Shenanigans: Letting out a soft sigh while still smiling at the familiar lack of proper 'time to talk' logic from the younger version of his old friend, Shenanigans jumps to the side, but stays close enough to Andi so he doesn't have to yell too loud for her to hear him responds, and so that he is always within striking distance of the ogre should she lose focus. “For now, as long as it's a room where you can lock the doors, you're safe, but later on you want a room with no windows, or windows with doors over them you can lock as later on monsters will figure out that windows are breakable.”
Putting away his scythe for a moment, he calls a saxophone that looks like it's Satan himself's, then with a grin plays a familiar tune.
Elemental Enhancement
The ogre screams as the sound seems to give Andi's gun some extra flame power, making one of it's arms unusable. Putting it away after a few seconds he pulls his scythe back out and her weapon's power goes back to normal. “Yeah, I could, but then you'd miss out on the experience, and in this game, it's best to take what you can get. If I start playing it for you, I don't really know what will happen. I haven't tried it yet, but it's best not to experiment here.” Rolling out of the way of a swing he comes out of the roll right next to Andi, standing at her side with his weapon at the ready. “As for why you're not here, that's easy.” He smiles over at her. “I'm the guy with the time powers, not you, and bringing people with me heightens the chance of the time line getting fucked.”
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Baker: Tim looked a little sheepish towards the nice message sent by Andi and decided to leave it at that. They were going to have plenty of food to spare and Stithis even supplied her with blankets. FIreLord sent out random mixtures of drinks? Poisons? Either way, it’d be helpful in the future. Good, things were going smoothly. He wondered how Skip was doing, but figured she was busy getting help from Andi- whatever artistic project she needed aid with. Speaking of artistic, he was supposed to be building ‘skyscrapers’ in order to reach the sky.
Feeling Charro nuzzle against him, he realized he’d been stuck in thought. “Hm? Oh, right. I need to build more grist. Then I can start working on that skyscraper- er, Spirograph.” He petted Charro and wielded his newer weapon. “Alright Charro, let’s get this over with.” Of course, he dreaded every moment of the fighting, but he dealt with it. The others all had words of encouragement (or insults) towards his pacifistic behavior. He opened the door, whistling outside in order to get the imps’ attention. Of course, they travelled in packs and of course there had been more than the last time.
He started off fighting as he normally did, wildly swinging the rolling pin this way and that. He quickly realized that wouldn’t keep him safe forever. The imps were smarter. They learned how to not run right into danger. They got evasive and Baker had to become defensive. His swings had become more coordinated and he even began to incorporate the grater in his attacks, scratching the imps to stun them and then attacking with the pin. As the last imp fell and turned into Grist, Tim slumped into one of the chairs and heaved a sigh.
“...Well, on the bright side, the weapon works.” He chuckled lightly and stood back up, closing the door to the bakery again. As much as crashing and burning (passing out) sounded, Tim instead went back up the steps to his computer. He figured it’d be better to work as much as possible rather than stop now. Peeking in on Stithis, he only spotted him sitting and invested in something else, possibly his host.
Baker → Stithis: Just giving you a heads up. I’m going to start on this Spiro skyscraper thing now. So if it gets a little shaky, really sorry about that!
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Skip: A wave of sadness passes through the woman as the familiar feeling of her brother's arms around her remind the hardened assassin once more that he's actually quite dead. 'This isn't him. Just a sprite in his form. . .But, he called me sister. . . .' Letting out a shuddering breath she gives the sprite a light hug of her own before pushing him to arms length to look him over. His ever present smile gives way to a giggle as he waits for her to complete her inspection.
Alexisprite: “Am I all up to specks sister?” he asks cutely, turning this way and that while still being held to show off best he can.
Skip: She smiles back at his antics and nods slowly. “Yeah Alexi, you're just. . . .Perfect. . . .” Seeing her sad he gives her another hug before proceeding to play with his own weapons with the same child like wonder she would expect if her real brother were alive and actually here with her. Pushing that aside however she looks to her phone and sees Baker doing some actual fighting. Watching for a moment she tries to gather her thoughts. Watching as he heads back inside she sends him a message more as a distraction than any real desire to converse with the man.
Skip → Baker: Seems like you're making even more progress. You may become less than cannon fodder yet!
Looking back at her sprite she wonders for a long moment what to do before finally giving in and motioning towards the door. “Shall we go do some exploring?” Alexisprite nods and drifts over, waiting for the door to open.
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Stithis: Marcus watches the fight closely, smashing the ogre with the table every once in a while to try and at least be distracting. He can't help but feel exhilarated as he sees the weapon his other self is wielding and makes note to try and make some of them himself in the future. At the sight of the sax he looks at his old saxophone on it's stand in the corner and nods. “Hell yes. . .”
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Fire Lord: He lays in bed for a go long while, staring off into space, until at last he can feel sleep coming to him. Looking over at Nintorisprite he murmurs, “Keep me safe.” and waits for the nod before letting himself drift off to sleep. However, strangely, as he begins nodding off, he simultaneously feels as if he's waking from a very long, satisfying sleep. Then, with a start, he sits up. His eyes whip around the room and at first he doesn't recognize where he is. Then, it dawns on him as he looks at the lush velvet curtains around his bed and the books lining the shelves along the left wall. “This, is my room!”
Leaping out of bed a flash of gold catches his eye and he looks down to see himself dressed in the oddest clothing. They look like gold pajamas with a moon emblem on the chest. “What the heck?”
Clothes - Prospit Male
Looking up his eyes wander over the walls, which also appear to be golden, and he noted that his room's vaulted ceiling has been reduced to a reasonable height. Looking at the far wall he also makes note that the huge window that had made up much of the wall all the way up to the ceiling has been replaced with one small one, free of glass, and about the size of a doorway. About his room are scattered a few things he's never owned, but all of which he likes and would enjoy owning, but never actually purchased. Every which way things seems so familiar but also so different, and all he can do is stare in wonder.
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BubblegumcAndi: He describes that she only needs a lock, though later she will need to get a place without windows. Andi immediately thinks of the room upstairs for photographing their makeups. It is set up with no windows so there isn’t any outside glare. That room would be idea for her safe house, but she obviously doesn’t have time to deal with that now.
Future Stithis plays the saxophone, and Andi gathers that either the sound is making the ogre ill, or it somehow boosts her aerosol weapon’s flames. In any case, it certainly hasn’t ‘popped’ yet, and so she alternates her weapons, feeling like she should have gone for the two-handed crossbow with more power instead.
He explains that it probably isn’t best for him to be playing for her, and Andi nods in agreement. At least that makes sense. He then adds that he has time powers, and taking along others makes the journey more risky. She fires again, moving to the side, closer to the edge of the roof, and replies as he closes the distance between them. “That makes sense… But if you are time, what’s my power going to be?”
She lost count of how many arrows she has fired, and she should have gone through a whole can of hairspray by now, but this creature just isn’t dying. It’s actually…a bit embarrassing. She should be able to take care of a creature this early in the game, and she hadn’t heard of a single complaint from anyone else about difficult opponents. Not only was this taking a very long time, but apparently last time she fought the ogre, she lost an eye!
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Shenanigans: Slipping an arm around her waist with familiar ease he launches himself into the air and lands them a couple dozen feet away before putting her down and smiling at her. “Why, Hope of course!” He chuckles. He seems almost sadly nostalgic as he smiles at Andi, pulling his sax out once more. “How about we turn this guy into a pile of ash, hmm?” Putting the mouth piece between his lips once more he begins playing the same song as before.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: You can feel a stirring inside you at the sound, something about it making you think of fire.
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi shrieks when he launches them both into the air, and out of reflex she smacks his hand away—once they have landed, of course. “Hope? That sounds much less awesome than time travel—I thought at least I would get like…bionic robot powers or something.” Andi pouts, though it isn’t entirely serious. She notices that he seems a little sad, perhaps, but she really doesn’t know the guy well enough to say. If this were all via text, and she knew it was Stithis, she might have a chance at gauging his emotions. In person, however, she wasn’t nearly so talented.
Andi takes a step away as he pulls out his saxophone, and readies her aerosol weapon with both hands, moving a few steps closer to the ogre as she pulls the trigger and holds it.
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Shenanigans: He play pouted when she smacked him, but as her little gun flares to life, setting the ogre on fire and within moments causing it to explode into a large pile of grist he smiles happily as he looks over and sees both her eyes intact. Putting his weapon away he chuckles and shakes his head. “Nah, nah, you're the strongest of us chika, just don't tell anyone I said that. Not yet anyways. We got some serious character in our team, and I know two in particular that wouldn't take kindly to the news.” Despite having his hand smacked early he reaches out and gives Andi's shoulder a squeeze before pulling it back sheepishly.
“Sorry, I just miss having my Bubbles around. She constantly indisposed for the most part in my time line. . .” Shaking his head he looks away with a distant expression for a moment before looking back and nodding. “You're the binding force here, miss Sylph of Hope, so don't think for a minute that you're anything less than epic.”
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BubblegumcAndi: “I bet you say that to all the alternate timeline girls you meet.” Andi replies when he says she is the strongest of them. “So what happens—“ Andi begins to speak as she touches the grist and puts her weapons away. “To your timeline. Do you go back and your bubbles still has 1 eye? Or will it be different, with normal ole two eyes instead?” She asks. It is at this point that Andi notices her own sprite, who has been keeping the imps off the roof, likely with the help of her Stithis.
“And do we ever get together?” She asks, not realizing as they tumble from her mouth how it could be construed romantically. She blushes furiously as she does, however, and shakes her head quickly. “That’s not what I meant. Like…” She begins to laugh, knowing that any attempt she makes to fix this won’t come out right. “Like…do people ever get to meet and fight together? Or are we all stuck in our own world for…the next two or more years?” She asks. She can watch Fire Lord, and interact with others via text, but it is going to be hella lonely if she is just doing this for the rest of her foreseeable future.
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Shenanigans: Rolling his eyes at her teasing he's careful not to touch any of the grist as he follows her around the roof. “She will be as she was when I left. Our time lines are separate from one another, this being the true time line, and all the others being either loops or. . .” He looks at Andi for a long moment. “Do you really want the fifty hour speech of how time travel works in this game, or would you rather just know that no matter what I do here, my time line with still die out upon game completion?” Letting out another sad sigh, a sadness he can't seem to shake, he looks up at the aqua spyrographs shifting endlessly in the sky overhead. “The second gate in each world leads to the player's player, so your second gate leads to James' world. Your fourth gate leads to Sophia's, and your sixth gate leads to Laurra's” He looks back at Andi, smiling at her furious blushing. “So, yeah, everyone 'gets together' at one point or another, and for the end fight everyone comes together for the final boss battle.”
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BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans explains that his Andi will still be there, which she finds to be a bit of a relief. It is better than going back to a world where everything is different, she reasons. However, as he continues, it becomes apparent that she has struck some sort of nerve, because he then says that no matter what happens, his time line will still die out. Andi’s eyes widen in shock, since the statement makes very little sense to her. Are they all going to die out? Or is hers somehow…special, because they are the ‘true’ timeline. That is stupid, and it doesn’t make sense. Why would a timeline die out, instead of just…continuing to live in their own dimension?
Andi frowns, and by the time she gathers her thoughts once more, he is answering her second question, explaining that the gates lead to the other people on her team. She doesn’t know all the names he has given, but she figures that they are Skip, Selendri, and the others, in some combination. “I see… I’m sorry, if I upset you with my question before. I still don’t get it, and I think…I think that you shouldn’t give up hope on your timeline.” She walks over to Shenanigans and wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. “Perhaps you are right, and I am Hope after all.” She grins playfully, and finishes collecting the grist.
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Shenanigans: The hug warms his heart and he's able to return the embrace with one arm – still recalling her smack – and nod slightly. “Time is an ass, and the number of times I've seen everyone dead. . . .It's kinda hard on the soul, but thanks Bubbles, I appreciate it. . .” Slipping his hands once more into his hoodie pocket he tilts his head cutely to the side. “And you're right, you are Hope, and once you learn to use it, you'll agree, it's badass.”
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi can’t imagine seeing everyone dead, but she doesn’t argue. Who is she to judge him, or try to put herself in his shoes? The grist collected, Andi walks back over to the door, opening it for Shenanigans and herself. “Think we’re making Stithis jealous?” She asks, chuckling a little. She pulls out her phone, though, and doesn’t see anything new from anyone. That’s a good sign. On the other hand, she was supposed to keep an eye out for Fire Lord while he rested, and she did a really shitty job of it.
“Crap.” She mutters as she realizes what she had forgotten. “I was supposed to keep an eye on Fire Lord while he slept.” She picks up the pace down the two flights of stairs, killing two imps when they appear on the second stairwell with her cross-bow. Refreshingly, it only takes one hit to get each of these guys, and she can make her way back to her computer to check on her (hopefully) sleeping comrade.
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Shenanigans: Walking through the open door Shenanigans chuckles and shakes his head. “Well, maybe. I recall wanting to do some major party action near the beginning, wanting to see us all working to take down something epic, but never mind him. He'll have his own problems soon.” Holding up his hands he adds, “Don't worry, nothing he can't handle.” Smiling cheekily he follows Andi back to her main room and high fangs Georgesprite. The snake dragon thing hisses in a pleased manner and looks over Andi's shoulder.
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GM → BubblegumcAndi: Fire Lord seems to be sleeping just fine, his sprite standing guard.
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Georgesprite: Hissing softly again one of the heads says, “Looksss tasssty ssssenorita. . . .” while eyeing Jamess sprite.
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Stithis: Clearing up the last of the imps on the stairs while Andi and his other self kick some major ass Marcus pans back over to the two of them only to find them hugging. A huge grin splits his face and he chuckles. “Awww, so cuuuute. . . .” Following them back inside he waits until everything looks okay before sending her a message.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Awwww, so cuuuuute. You two look good together. Maybe I should build a private little room for you and Shenni.
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BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans explains that Fire Lord will have his own problems, things that he can handle. “He’ll probably love that.” Andi answers, chuckling. She remembers how much Fire Lord has looked forward to being here and fighting monsters. Those kinds of problems sound like exactly what he is looking for. Sure enough, Fire Lord is just sleeping for now, and everything certainly does look to be going well. Andi breathes a sigh of relief and sits on the table next to the computer. She glances over to her sprite, hearing it hissing something about James’ sprite being tasty, and Andi shakes her head a little. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat other peoples’ sprites. But if you are hungry, I think Baker send us info for some cinnamon rolls.” She says.
Turning to Shenanigans, Andi continues. “What about you? Hungry? I haven’t mastered the whole making food things yet—or…tried it at all actually, but I am sure you can help make sure what I make is edible.” She adds.
Her phone buzzes, and Andi sees the message from Stithis asking if he should build them a private room. “Ugh!” She says. “Stithis is jealous, methinks.” She tells Shenanigans.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Haha! You’re hilarious. Though, he recommends a better safe room…I am thinking upstairs, the photography room with no windows.
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Shenanigans: The tall man chuckles once again, shaking his head at the staring sprite. “Same as ever. . . .” he says wistfully, turning his attention to Andi when she speaks. Looking around thoughtfully he spots her lathe and says, “I'll make us something.” before wandering off to do just that. While he's carving the totem for Bubble's favorite meal from the future he hears he comment on his other self being jealous and with a smirk he shakes his head. “Yeah, he'd like to have someone around right now, but too bad for him. It'll be a while, unless we do some major changes around here. . .Which I do not recommend.”
Alchemizing a set of trays of food he brings them over to the sculpting tables and goes back to make up some drinks. “So, something fizzy, or something healthy?” he asks, thinking about what he has in stock. He's gathered quite a collection over the years, and despite his extended time with Andi's counterpart, drinks are the one thing that seems to change from meal to meal.
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Stithis: Reading her message he lets out a yawn, shifting his view upstairs to try and find the room she's talking about. Finding it, he scowls. “Far too small!”And with that he begins building a much “better” room for his player. He feels an itch, wanting to watch “himself” and Bubbles interact, but at the same time he has to admit staring at an older version of himself is unnerving on some deep level.
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BubblegumcAndi: He offers to make something, bringing a smile to her face. Though she doesn’t want to admit it, she can’t remember the last time a man stuck around long enough to cook for her—even if it wasn’t exactly cooking. “Umm…An hour ago I would have said fizzy all the way, since I don’t know how long we’re going to make it in this crazy game…but since apparently I am going to be just fine, and even with twice the number of eyes for a while, let’s go with healthy.” Andi opens up her phone once more and types a quick message to Skip, remembering their earlier conversation regarding Shenanigans.
BubblegumcAndi → Skip: Met Shenanigans. I think you can trust him.
She starts to type that he has Stithis from the future, and then hesitates. It might not be good to share that information with everyone.
“Hey, is it okay to tell the others about you? Or…would you rather be some creepy guardian angel type?” She calls out to him.
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Shenanigans: With a nod he makes one of her favorite fruit drink mixes, and himself a coke, and puts both on their respective trays before taking a seat and motioning for her to join him. Raising an eyebrow at her question he thinks about it quietly for a moment before nodding. “I don't mind who you tell, but I will ask you tell Laurra, sorry, Skip, what I look like so I don't get shot when I need to go see her next.” Standing up he pulls up his short, showing a scar that is unmistakable a bullet graze running along his ribs. “My first visit to her left me a little out of commission for a while.” Sitting back down he laughs and shakes his head. “Trigger happy psychopath. . .” Looking back up at Andi he adds quickly. “She isn't really, but it's kinda her nickname in my time line after she'd shot two of us on accident.”
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BubblegumcAndi: “Shhiiiitttt.” Andi lets out a slow curse when Stithis shows her the scar on his ribs. “So she did…”
“I will certainly make sure to do that.” Andi says. He replaces his shirt and sits down, upon which Andi lifts her phone and snaps a picture of him. “See…easy enough.” Andi sends the picture to Skip, along with another brief message.
BubblegumcAndi → Skip: Here’s what he looks like. (Pic) He is Stithis from the future, and he says he would like it if you didn’t shoot him this time :P
“There. Sent.” Andi puts her phone down on the table, keeping it close in case someone needs her, and turns to the food. Andi takes a quick sip of the pinkish smoothie, and smiles brightly. “Oh my god…Is this Mangosteen Madness?” She asks, giddy with excitement. It’s a drink she used to get at her favorite smoothie place, with strawberries, papaya juice, kiwi juice, and of course, mangosteen juice. She didn’t think she would ever get to taste it again.
“I was wrong before. You are a guardian angel.” She says happily, looking at the dish in front of her…apple cider vinaigrette salad with toasted pecans. Andi digs into the dish happily, enjoying the short reprieve from this game world.
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Shenanigans: Making a cute 'Peace!' sign when she snaps the photo, he chuckles and nods, thanking her softly. His smile only widens as she fangirls over the meal and drink he's selected and pretends to blush saying, “Nah, nah, no angel here. Just a very observant friend.” Chuckling he digs into his own salad, having developed a taste for them after spending a year dining off and on with the woman, then dining with her more in the later months. Looking back up at Andi he adopts a slightly unsure tone as he says, “Sorry, I keep doing that. You barely know me, and I keep pretending we've known one another for years. . .” He dips his head in apology. “Sorry, I forgot that that can be a little disconcerting.”
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Skip: Slipping into a side room Laurra checks her phone, just in case the messages are urgent, and as they pop up she raises an eyebrow curiously. “Time travel, really? How cliché. . . .” With a sigh she heads back into the hallway, shaking her head. “So I've already shot someone, somewhere, in some time, that's useful to know.”
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BubblegumcAndi: “Naw… It’s not that weird. I mean… It’s weird, but it comes across about the same level of weird as like… going out with a guy you met on Tindr you didn’t know managed to already find out your entire medical history and grades from your k-12 education.” Andi laughs lightly and takes another drink from her smoothie. “I mean…We just fought an ogre on the roof of my makeup studio that used to be on Earth. I think I am sort of beyond surprising today.”
She glances over to one of the windows to see that it is just as bright as it was in the afternoon when she entered the game. “Speaking of today… Shouldn’t it have gotten dark by now?” Though she is enjoying the food, she is also quite exhausted, and somehow it doesn’t seem fair that this day be allowed to go on forever.
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Shenanigans: “I d'know, sounds pretty creepy to me.” he says with a laugh, shaking his head. Following her gaze he lets out a sigh. “Sadly, your world does not have a day night cycle. Not yet at least.” He says the last part with a twinkle in his eye before turning his gaze on the ceiling at the sound of the building being rearranged. “However, it seems like you're room is being made up for you as we speak, am I right?” Cocking an eyebrow he looks over at her curiously. “Once you have a safe room, you'll be able to sleep and the monsters will quiet down. If it's a room without windows you should be able to sleep just fine even with the constant light.”
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BubblegumcAndi: “Then you haven’t heard about some of the guys I dated.” Andi retorts. Though, they weren’t all that bad, really. No one knew her entire k-12 educational background…at least, not that they revealed to her. Andi continues eating as he explains the lack of day-night cycle, and that Stithis is likely making up a room for her. She looks up as well and gives a small shrug. “It would seem so, but you would know better than I.” She pauses for a moment before adding another thought, the fork stopping in mid-air. “Though, I suppose in your timeline, today went very differently for me.” She clearly was supposed to lose an eye, and she doubted that the other Bubbles got a time traveling Stithis to cook her dinner after that.
“So… thanks. If I didn’t make that clear enough already. Today could have sucked a lot more.” She finishes eating the bite of food that had been on its way as another question forms in her mind. “So what’s next for you? I mean, are you going to stick around in our timeline and try to make sure it all works out? Or are you heading back to your world…er…time…er…whatever you call it.”
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Shenanigans: He shrugs. “It's not like I know everything.” he says in response to him knowing better than her. “I've made a change, so, I'll need to surf a bit to watch the ripples, but I can say that I plan to continue helping when and where I can. . .” He nods, smiling softly. “No need for thanks Bubbles. I was glad to do it.” Taking a few more bites he lets out a sigh at her final question. “Like I said, yeah, I will be hanging about, but first I have to see what's happened or at least. . . .”Looking past her shoulder he raises an eyebrow. There's the faint sound of wind chimes and with another small swirl of mist, another Shenanigans appears. Waving he motions for the new one to come around the table. This one looks a little more ragged and they converse quietly for a few seconds before he nods and makes the shooing motion with his fork.
The new one is gone a moment later and he sighs. Looking at Andi he smiles. “Seems like I'll be able to stick around here for a while. That was a me who checked this time line and, to save me the trouble, came and told me the next place to focus.” Shrugging he goes back to eating as if he's just explained something no more complicated than reading off a grocery list.
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi glances up when she hears the noise, thinking for a moment that he is about to vanish on her. But instead, another one appears. She is about to crack a joke about getting another chair, but he calls over her Shenanigans, if there is such a thing, and they converse briefly. When he returns, he says that he has more time, and knows where to focus next. He seems pretty calm about it, and since it doesn’t bother him, Andi isn’t going to let it bother her. “Sounds…like a whole lotta Shenanigans.” She chuckles at her own joke, and turns back to her meal, accepting the new piece of information with ease.
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Shenanigans: Nodding with a smirk he agrees. “Yeah, that's kinda why I picked the name. The game is full of all kinds of shenanigans, but most of all, it's the time shenanigans that take the cake. I was once in a room with thirty other “mes”, and let me tell you, it gets a little awkward.” Smiling over at he he feels a little pride. She's always been the one to try and keep things together, even when the world just continues to get stranger and stranger. 'Always helpful, always caring. I really admire her for that.' he muses, letting out a soft sigh. “As for while you're asleep, I can either stick around in your safe room, or head off to someone else's place for a while, it's up to you. I'm fine wither way.” Tapping the thing on his ear he gives and ironic smirk. “I've got games.”
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Selendri → Skip: I think it’s all deployed now. I moved the table for you.
Quickly, she pulled up her browser on her phone, checking the current news reports, and sure enough, there were reports of meteor sightings all over the world. “This is not so fun anymore…” she muttered, as news of a few scattered deaths started rolling in.
Selendri → Fire Lord: Sorry to keep you waiting, was starting my host setup. Looking for my hammer to open this thing now...
She typed to her own host quickly, and then stood and began searching in the closet for her toolbox. Soon enough she had found the tool she wanted, a particularly heavy hammer. As instructed, she hit the cap of the Cruxtruder’s pipe with all the strength she could muster. She was quite strong for her size, thanks to her job as a fireman, and so the pipe popped open, revealing the time left, 57 minutes to be exact.
Now that she had (mostly) overcome her initial shock and disbelief, Sophia leaped into action, or rather, leaped into reading the Pesterchum messages and rereading the manual so that she would know what exactly to do. When she was finished, she glanced down at her adorable 14-year-old German shepherd mix who was laying lazily in his dog bed, glancing around curiously at the machines that had recently popped out of the sky.
“Oh shit… Spock,” she muttered, realizing her options with a sinking feeling in her chest. If this had not happened, he would have died within the next two years. And now… he will likely die in 57 mins if I don’t do it. But… I don’t know what that thing will do to him. But it has to be better than death by magic meteor. The young woman sighed with the knowledge of what had to be done, glaring at the bright green ball of light following her around. “So, I guess I just put you in here,” she began, scratching behind Spock’s ears and petting him gently for the last time. After a few moments, she finally picked him up and touched him to the bright light.
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GM → Selendri: There is a bright flash of light and when it fades the canine is no longer in your arms. The spyrograph in the middle of the ball of light has vanished and has been replaced with a much larger version of your dog’s head. It follows you around happily.
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Selendri: Sophia grinned at her new Spocksprite and he seemed to grin back at her, approving of his new life, or at least, that is what she told herself as she began the next step. She retrieved her dowel from the Cruxtruder, along with her pre-punched card, and stepped over to the Totem Lathe. It took only a moment to inspect the machine, find the proper slots, and insert the dowel and card. Taking a deep breath, and sharing a look with Spocksprite, she sighed and pressed the giant green button. She took the totem, a bright green shape that looked like almost cylindrical, except for the fact that several smooth waves were cut into it. “It looks almost like… a three dimensional barcode, or something,” Sophia muttered, as she inspected the item and placed it on the Alchemiter. Then, she pressed the large green button on the Alchemiter and waited with a raised eyebrow for something to occur.
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GM → Selendri: The Alchemiter scans the totem, then once the button is pressed there is a flash of light and what looks like a giant fashion magazine appears, and with a rustle the large green book fans open to a page with a very “perfect” looking woman on it in a very revealing dress. She is faceless, but “flawless”.
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Selendri: I probably need some weapons, I suppose, she thought. It seemed that the others had taken their houses with them, but she still wanted things assembled in the living room in case there was an attack. So quickly she took out her bow and arrows, katana, and sledgehammer and set all three on the couch. Though she was aware that she needed to log some of her items, she decided she would do that once she entered the game, as time was running out.
“So, I’m supposed to break this, hmm?” Sophia muttered, taking the green magazine. Glaring at the “perfect” body with an obvious sense of disdain, she instinctively ripped out the page, tearing it to shreds.
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GM → Selendri: The world goes white around you. After a few seconds however the white fades and you find yourself in the same place, the magazine now gone. As your eyes adjust the words “Land of Acid and Stone” passes before your eyes before fading. Your sprite shifts and flashes before seeming to break into three parts. A white copy of the orb rises through the ceiling without damaging it, a black copy goes through the nearest window, shattering it, and vanishes from sight. Left behind is a ghosty form of your dog with canine head and arms, and a ghosty lower half, all in green.
He has explained that he has created new foods that have in-game effects, which is…bizarre. It makes sense when actually playing a game, but putting things in her body that give her a boost—or accidentally poison her, is a bit more frightening. It sends a shiver down her spine just as the microwave ‘dings’. With a small nod, she types a message to him, figuring that he will likely get it when he wakes.
BubblegumcAndi → Fire Lord: Weird. But cool. Thanks for experimenting!
She also makes a mental note to keep a closer eye on things for him since he will be asleep, and she has no idea if sprites need sleep too. In either case, getting back downstairs to her computer sooner would likely be better.
When she gets back in front of her other computer, she sees that Stithis has dropped a bedroll, and grins. That will certainly make her night. She jots down the code, and in between bites, goes over to the punch designix machine to get the card for the bedroll. When it is ready, she goes through the rest of the motions to create the sleeping bag.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Thanks so much! I’d cook, but you’d have to make sure I don’t blow the place up :P
Andi has just about finished her dish when she hears the sound of…windchimes? She jumps up for a moment, thinking that it must be imps having knocked over her trap again, but instead, it is some guy in a red hoodie and pants. When he speaks, he addresses her in the nickname that Stithis uses, something anyone would easily know, but she looks at him uneasily, having risen from her seat.
He looks relaxed, but that doesn’t mean Andi is. “I am…significantly less confident in my fortifications now…thank you very much.” She pauses, looking over him once more before she continues. “Shenanigans, I presume?” She asks, thinking of Skip’s earlier statement. Any guy who can just teleport all…wind-chimey mist in front of her certainly isn’t going to be a level appropriate encounter, and she hopes that this isn’t some new thing she is supposed to fight.
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Shenanigans: Holding his hands up in the 'I mean no harm' pose he smiles a little wider and nods. “Yeah, I'm Shenanigans. No need to freak out. We're friends after all.”
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BubblegumcAndi: Andi raises her eyebrows a bit as the man doesn’t deny the accusation—and actually admits to being Shenanigans, whatever that means. She had not really thought through her words before they came out of her mouth, but she is glad it was those particular words, and not the wrist-mounted crossbow. “Firstly, this isn’t me freaking out,” she says, leaning against the table while still facing the man. “and second, just how are we friends? I don’t know you… You are either some hallucination brought on by the game, or you are running it, in which case I’m sure a lot of people just died. I’m generally not friends with mass murderers.” Andi isn’t trying to be accusatory, but she is trying to figure out just what this guy is doing here, and how he intends to ‘help’.
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Shenanigans: Pressing his hand to his chest in mock hurt the young man declares, “What, me? Lord English? No way! That guy's a dick!” Putting his hand down he sighs, still looking relaxed. “But no, seriously, I'm not him.” Pushing his hood back he smiles at the woman across from him for a moment before pulling something small and silvery from his pocket. Tossing it gently to Andi he says, “Here, you gave this to me as proof before I left.” The object is an ear piece. One he can see her wearing right now as a perfect copy lands in her hand. Reaching up he scratches behind a device attached over his left ear that looks a bit like a scouter from DBZ. “You said it was special.”
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Stithis: After building a few floors Marcus yawns, pulling up Pesterchum and checking Bubbles' response. He chuckles at her joke about blowing the place up before zooming in to the room she's in now. His fingers freeze however when he spots the figure standing across the room from her. “What the. . . .” he says in a harsh whisper. Before he can stop himself he types something to Andi.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: How the fuck did I get there!?
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BubblegumcAndi: Lord English? What kind of bizarre name was that? Though, Andi doesn’t have a lot of time to contemplate it, however, since he pulls out something and throws it to her. It is her earring. She studies it for a few moments before she feels her ear, where the gift from her last serious boyfriend was still sitting.
Removing the hood doesn’t suddenly reveal anything terribly useful about the guy. He isn’t horribly disfigured, or particularly evil looking at all, really. He adds that she gave it to him before he left, and she raises her gaze skeptically once more. “Before you left…what, the future?” It doesn’t occur to Andi that she already knows him, but if he is trying to say that she gave her earring to him, and she doesn’t remember it, the future is (sadly) the most likely answer. Of course, with the machines they have in this game, he could have easily made one. He would still have to have yours… She reminds herself.
“It is special.” She answers, running her fingers over the pattern once more. “So what are you here for?” She figures it is a slightly more polite way to ask what he wants. Andi feels the phone buzz, but figuring it is a group message, she ignores it for now. This is clearly more important.
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Stithis: “Fuck, I wish I could read lips. . .” he murmurs, sending another message.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Hey, chika, that's like, me, but older. How. . . .How the heck does this work!?
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Shenanigans: Humming softly the guy looks out the window as he answers. “Without getting too much into it, yes, the future. Two years from now actually.” He seems wistful, and rather sad. “And I'm here to make sure something that happened in my time line doesn't happen in yours.” Turning his gaze back on to Andi he smiles brightly. “You've rather keep both of your eyes, right?”
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BubblegumcAndi: Two years?... If he came from the future, and it had been two years, there was no getting out of this. Andi’s expression softens a bit as she notes his change in disposition. “Shit…” He is traveling in time to save this timeline… It is completely crazy, and yet also possible.
“Umm yes, I do prefer to keep my eyes, Shananigans…” She replies quickly. “They are pretty important in art.”
“That’s what you came back to change? Me losing an eye?” She asks. Somehow, she thinks that he is really talking about something different, and though the situation is strange, she is all ears.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: He nods slowly. “One of many things I'm gonna work on here. This is the true time line, so if this one fails, then all hope is lost. . .” He once more sounds rather distant, but after a moment he brightens. “But, that's a very complex matter that we'll deal with later. For now I . . . .” Suddenly a book comes floating through the air and pokes him in the cheek. With a sigh he pushes the book away. It comes back and begins poking at his chest and with another sight he says, “Chat, Stithis, current time line.” The device on his ear moves, a green visor screen slipping out to curve around his eyes.
Shenanigans → Stithis: Yeah dude, I know, cool duds, now can you chill for a bit while I save Andi from a giant monster who will poke out her eye if we're not careful?
He says this aloud before saying “End chat.” and the visor retreats. Smiling at Andi once more his eyes once more trail to the window.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Seeing the new message Marcus drops the book and stares. “Whoa. . .Yeah, I think I'll just. . . .” Quickly he grabs the heaviest thing nearby and waits patiently. No way he's letting his friend and comrade lose an eye!
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans goes on about true time lines, and it is all really a bit much for Andi so she just nods and waits for him to get back on track. As a book comes towards him, Andi frowns, and then pulls out her phone. She realizes that it has to be Stithis, and figures maybe he sees something that she doesn’t and was trying to warn her. She quickly takes in his two messages, and then looks back up at Shen—Stithis?
Shenanigans says something… but clearly not to her, as a visor appears over her eyes. If this weren’t so weird, she might just say that his gear was really cool. Instead, she blurts out something that sounds much less intelligent.
“You’re…Stithis…From the future.”
Her gaze moves to the window, finally, and then she remembers the rest of what he has said. “So…how do I keep my eyes?” She asks.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Shenanigans nods distractedly. “Yeah, that I am, and you keep your eyes by not letting that pick you up.” Just as he says 'that' a dark face appears outside the window. It looks somewhat feline with black hair and a forked tongue. Along the top edge of the window you can see what looks to be a sombrero. Looking over at Andi with a playful smile he points towards the nearest door. “To the roof! We don't want this thing trashing your workshop!” Without a sound a giant fan that looks like a classic Japanese paper fan made of shiny black metal appears in his hand and he motions for Andi to take the lead. The fan is nearly as tall as he is but he props it up on his shoulder with ease.
Fan(But black and silver instead of white and gold) - Fan
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Andi looks out to see a very large creature, much larger than the basic imps, and her eyes widen. “I thought we were on level 1—only imps!” She squeals. He points to the door and suggests that they go upstairs, to which Andi nods quickly. “Yea…” She slips her phone back in her pocket, and then makes sure that her wrist cross-bow is mounted before ‘leading the way’ as Shenanigans suggested.
There are a few imps they encounter along the way, though Andi takes out most of them with her weapon. The ones that she misses, Shenanigans or her sprite takes care of. Andi doesn’t really pay much attention, she is just moving ahead and taking out what she cans. It reminds her a bit of those Crash Bandicoot levels where you want to pick up the treasure but there is something chasing you and so you spent most of your time running. She makes her way up the stairs quickly, and finds a new set of stairs that continue leading up.
Taking them without hesitation, Andi grabs the railing to steady herself as she shoots an imp at the top of the stairs, and soon finds herself on the room, dispatching a few other imps that are around. The creature was apparently climbing up to the roof as well, and as it comes into view once more, Andi’s eyes widen. What had she done to earn the wrath of a boss-ogre?
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Running along behind Andi as she blasts her way through imps Marcus smiles as a wave of nostalgia passes through him. “This is your home base, not level one, and the enemies level up as you do. You'll only ever get basic level monsters here at your base, but eventually all the incarnations of the first grade of monsters will appear.” Skidding to a halt on the roof he watches at the ogre climbs into view. “You just breeched level five recently, so this guy showed up. You need to get Stithis to make you a safe room. Inside the room, as long as the door is locked, no monsters will bother you, and the ones outside the room won't destroy your stuff, but for now, let's worry about taking him down, eh?”
With a flick of his wrist his fan vanishes and after a few seconds a new weapon appears. Looking way too big to be wielded by a human a giant double sided scythe appears in his hand.
Scythe - Referance 1
Referance 2
Twirling it easily he smiles over at Andi reassuringly. “The game never throws anything at you you can't handle here at your base, as long as the proto-typeing went right, which it did, so I'll keep you safe, but you take the lead!”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Grinning wide at the sight of the scythe Marcus logs it away to make later, once he's able to not only make it, but to wield it. He still has his table at the ready to do some bashing if needed.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “So... this…is first level?” She asks, gesturing towards the ogre. She tries to file away what he says about a safe room, knowing she will need to do the same for Fire Lord as well. “Safe like… just a door with a lock?” She asks. Of course, now that she was asking questions, she really wanted to know why he didn’t just take care of this himself. He was obviously quite a bit higher level than she was. She also wanted to know why he didn’t just do his weird teleporty thing to the roof, but she refrains from asking that at the moment.
Suddenly he was holding a giant scythe, and Andi takes a step away to make sure that she isn’t going to be hit by it. “But…couldn’t you take care of this on your own better?” She asks. She summons her aerosol weapon, holding it in her left hand since the cross-bow is in the right—but it still feels like this guy should just take care of it for her.
“Hey…why did you come back and not me?” she asks. Of course, the ogre takes that moment to charge, and Andi shoots him with the crossbow and then Aerosols him before running to the side and out of the way. She gets her bearings once more on the other side of the roof, and shoots the ogre again before it can start to run towards her.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Letting out a soft sigh while still smiling at the familiar lack of proper 'time to talk' logic from the younger version of his old friend, Shenanigans jumps to the side, but stays close enough to Andi so he doesn't have to yell too loud for her to hear him responds, and so that he is always within striking distance of the ogre should she lose focus. “For now, as long as it's a room where you can lock the doors, you're safe, but later on you want a room with no windows, or windows with doors over them you can lock as later on monsters will figure out that windows are breakable.”
Putting away his scythe for a moment, he calls a saxophone that looks like it's Satan himself's, then with a grin plays a familiar tune.
Elemental Enhancement
The ogre screams as the sound seems to give Andi's gun some extra flame power, making one of it's arms unusable. Putting it away after a few seconds he pulls his scythe back out and her weapon's power goes back to normal. “Yeah, I could, but then you'd miss out on the experience, and in this game, it's best to take what you can get. If I start playing it for you, I don't really know what will happen. I haven't tried it yet, but it's best not to experiment here.” Rolling out of the way of a swing he comes out of the roll right next to Andi, standing at her side with his weapon at the ready. “As for why you're not here, that's easy.” He smiles over at her. “I'm the guy with the time powers, not you, and bringing people with me heightens the chance of the time line getting fucked.”
_+_+_+_+_+_+_
Baker: Tim looked a little sheepish towards the nice message sent by Andi and decided to leave it at that. They were going to have plenty of food to spare and Stithis even supplied her with blankets. FIreLord sent out random mixtures of drinks? Poisons? Either way, it’d be helpful in the future. Good, things were going smoothly. He wondered how Skip was doing, but figured she was busy getting help from Andi- whatever artistic project she needed aid with. Speaking of artistic, he was supposed to be building ‘skyscrapers’ in order to reach the sky.
Feeling Charro nuzzle against him, he realized he’d been stuck in thought. “Hm? Oh, right. I need to build more grist. Then I can start working on that skyscraper- er, Spirograph.” He petted Charro and wielded his newer weapon. “Alright Charro, let’s get this over with.” Of course, he dreaded every moment of the fighting, but he dealt with it. The others all had words of encouragement (or insults) towards his pacifistic behavior. He opened the door, whistling outside in order to get the imps’ attention. Of course, they travelled in packs and of course there had been more than the last time.
He started off fighting as he normally did, wildly swinging the rolling pin this way and that. He quickly realized that wouldn’t keep him safe forever. The imps were smarter. They learned how to not run right into danger. They got evasive and Baker had to become defensive. His swings had become more coordinated and he even began to incorporate the grater in his attacks, scratching the imps to stun them and then attacking with the pin. As the last imp fell and turned into Grist, Tim slumped into one of the chairs and heaved a sigh.
“...Well, on the bright side, the weapon works.” He chuckled lightly and stood back up, closing the door to the bakery again. As much as crashing and burning (passing out) sounded, Tim instead went back up the steps to his computer. He figured it’d be better to work as much as possible rather than stop now. Peeking in on Stithis, he only spotted him sitting and invested in something else, possibly his host.
Baker → Stithis: Just giving you a heads up. I’m going to start on this Spiro skyscraper thing now. So if it gets a little shaky, really sorry about that!
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: A wave of sadness passes through the woman as the familiar feeling of her brother's arms around her remind the hardened assassin once more that he's actually quite dead. 'This isn't him. Just a sprite in his form. . .But, he called me sister. . . .' Letting out a shuddering breath she gives the sprite a light hug of her own before pushing him to arms length to look him over. His ever present smile gives way to a giggle as he waits for her to complete her inspection.
Alexisprite: “Am I all up to specks sister?” he asks cutely, turning this way and that while still being held to show off best he can.
Skip: She smiles back at his antics and nods slowly. “Yeah Alexi, you're just. . . .Perfect. . . .” Seeing her sad he gives her another hug before proceeding to play with his own weapons with the same child like wonder she would expect if her real brother were alive and actually here with her. Pushing that aside however she looks to her phone and sees Baker doing some actual fighting. Watching for a moment she tries to gather her thoughts. Watching as he heads back inside she sends him a message more as a distraction than any real desire to converse with the man.
Skip → Baker: Seems like you're making even more progress. You may become less than cannon fodder yet!
Looking back at her sprite she wonders for a long moment what to do before finally giving in and motioning towards the door. “Shall we go do some exploring?” Alexisprite nods and drifts over, waiting for the door to open.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Marcus watches the fight closely, smashing the ogre with the table every once in a while to try and at least be distracting. He can't help but feel exhilarated as he sees the weapon his other self is wielding and makes note to try and make some of them himself in the future. At the sight of the sax he looks at his old saxophone on it's stand in the corner and nods. “Hell yes. . .”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Fire Lord: He lays in bed for a go long while, staring off into space, until at last he can feel sleep coming to him. Looking over at Nintorisprite he murmurs, “Keep me safe.” and waits for the nod before letting himself drift off to sleep. However, strangely, as he begins nodding off, he simultaneously feels as if he's waking from a very long, satisfying sleep. Then, with a start, he sits up. His eyes whip around the room and at first he doesn't recognize where he is. Then, it dawns on him as he looks at the lush velvet curtains around his bed and the books lining the shelves along the left wall. “This, is my room!”
Leaping out of bed a flash of gold catches his eye and he looks down to see himself dressed in the oddest clothing. They look like gold pajamas with a moon emblem on the chest. “What the heck?”
Clothes - Prospit Male
Looking up his eyes wander over the walls, which also appear to be golden, and he noted that his room's vaulted ceiling has been reduced to a reasonable height. Looking at the far wall he also makes note that the huge window that had made up much of the wall all the way up to the ceiling has been replaced with one small one, free of glass, and about the size of a doorway. About his room are scattered a few things he's never owned, but all of which he likes and would enjoy owning, but never actually purchased. Every which way things seems so familiar but also so different, and all he can do is stare in wonder.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: He describes that she only needs a lock, though later she will need to get a place without windows. Andi immediately thinks of the room upstairs for photographing their makeups. It is set up with no windows so there isn’t any outside glare. That room would be idea for her safe house, but she obviously doesn’t have time to deal with that now.
Future Stithis plays the saxophone, and Andi gathers that either the sound is making the ogre ill, or it somehow boosts her aerosol weapon’s flames. In any case, it certainly hasn’t ‘popped’ yet, and so she alternates her weapons, feeling like she should have gone for the two-handed crossbow with more power instead.
He explains that it probably isn’t best for him to be playing for her, and Andi nods in agreement. At least that makes sense. He then adds that he has time powers, and taking along others makes the journey more risky. She fires again, moving to the side, closer to the edge of the roof, and replies as he closes the distance between them. “That makes sense… But if you are time, what’s my power going to be?”
She lost count of how many arrows she has fired, and she should have gone through a whole can of hairspray by now, but this creature just isn’t dying. It’s actually…a bit embarrassing. She should be able to take care of a creature this early in the game, and she hadn’t heard of a single complaint from anyone else about difficult opponents. Not only was this taking a very long time, but apparently last time she fought the ogre, she lost an eye!
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Slipping an arm around her waist with familiar ease he launches himself into the air and lands them a couple dozen feet away before putting her down and smiling at her. “Why, Hope of course!” He chuckles. He seems almost sadly nostalgic as he smiles at Andi, pulling his sax out once more. “How about we turn this guy into a pile of ash, hmm?” Putting the mouth piece between his lips once more he begins playing the same song as before.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → BubblegumcAndi: You can feel a stirring inside you at the sound, something about it making you think of fire.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Andi shrieks when he launches them both into the air, and out of reflex she smacks his hand away—once they have landed, of course. “Hope? That sounds much less awesome than time travel—I thought at least I would get like…bionic robot powers or something.” Andi pouts, though it isn’t entirely serious. She notices that he seems a little sad, perhaps, but she really doesn’t know the guy well enough to say. If this were all via text, and she knew it was Stithis, she might have a chance at gauging his emotions. In person, however, she wasn’t nearly so talented.
Andi takes a step away as he pulls out his saxophone, and readies her aerosol weapon with both hands, moving a few steps closer to the ogre as she pulls the trigger and holds it.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: He play pouted when she smacked him, but as her little gun flares to life, setting the ogre on fire and within moments causing it to explode into a large pile of grist he smiles happily as he looks over and sees both her eyes intact. Putting his weapon away he chuckles and shakes his head. “Nah, nah, you're the strongest of us chika, just don't tell anyone I said that. Not yet anyways. We got some serious character in our team, and I know two in particular that wouldn't take kindly to the news.” Despite having his hand smacked early he reaches out and gives Andi's shoulder a squeeze before pulling it back sheepishly.
“Sorry, I just miss having my Bubbles around. She constantly indisposed for the most part in my time line. . .” Shaking his head he looks away with a distant expression for a moment before looking back and nodding. “You're the binding force here, miss Sylph of Hope, so don't think for a minute that you're anything less than epic.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “I bet you say that to all the alternate timeline girls you meet.” Andi replies when he says she is the strongest of them. “So what happens—“ Andi begins to speak as she touches the grist and puts her weapons away. “To your timeline. Do you go back and your bubbles still has 1 eye? Or will it be different, with normal ole two eyes instead?” She asks. It is at this point that Andi notices her own sprite, who has been keeping the imps off the roof, likely with the help of her Stithis.
“And do we ever get together?” She asks, not realizing as they tumble from her mouth how it could be construed romantically. She blushes furiously as she does, however, and shakes her head quickly. “That’s not what I meant. Like…” She begins to laugh, knowing that any attempt she makes to fix this won’t come out right. “Like…do people ever get to meet and fight together? Or are we all stuck in our own world for…the next two or more years?” She asks. She can watch Fire Lord, and interact with others via text, but it is going to be hella lonely if she is just doing this for the rest of her foreseeable future.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Rolling his eyes at her teasing he's careful not to touch any of the grist as he follows her around the roof. “She will be as she was when I left. Our time lines are separate from one another, this being the true time line, and all the others being either loops or. . .” He looks at Andi for a long moment. “Do you really want the fifty hour speech of how time travel works in this game, or would you rather just know that no matter what I do here, my time line with still die out upon game completion?” Letting out another sad sigh, a sadness he can't seem to shake, he looks up at the aqua spyrographs shifting endlessly in the sky overhead. “The second gate in each world leads to the player's player, so your second gate leads to James' world. Your fourth gate leads to Sophia's, and your sixth gate leads to Laurra's” He looks back at Andi, smiling at her furious blushing. “So, yeah, everyone 'gets together' at one point or another, and for the end fight everyone comes together for the final boss battle.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans explains that his Andi will still be there, which she finds to be a bit of a relief. It is better than going back to a world where everything is different, she reasons. However, as he continues, it becomes apparent that she has struck some sort of nerve, because he then says that no matter what happens, his time line will still die out. Andi’s eyes widen in shock, since the statement makes very little sense to her. Are they all going to die out? Or is hers somehow…special, because they are the ‘true’ timeline. That is stupid, and it doesn’t make sense. Why would a timeline die out, instead of just…continuing to live in their own dimension?
Andi frowns, and by the time she gathers her thoughts once more, he is answering her second question, explaining that the gates lead to the other people on her team. She doesn’t know all the names he has given, but she figures that they are Skip, Selendri, and the others, in some combination. “I see… I’m sorry, if I upset you with my question before. I still don’t get it, and I think…I think that you shouldn’t give up hope on your timeline.” She walks over to Shenanigans and wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. “Perhaps you are right, and I am Hope after all.” She grins playfully, and finishes collecting the grist.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: The hug warms his heart and he's able to return the embrace with one arm – still recalling her smack – and nod slightly. “Time is an ass, and the number of times I've seen everyone dead. . . .It's kinda hard on the soul, but thanks Bubbles, I appreciate it. . .” Slipping his hands once more into his hoodie pocket he tilts his head cutely to the side. “And you're right, you are Hope, and once you learn to use it, you'll agree, it's badass.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Andi can’t imagine seeing everyone dead, but she doesn’t argue. Who is she to judge him, or try to put herself in his shoes? The grist collected, Andi walks back over to the door, opening it for Shenanigans and herself. “Think we’re making Stithis jealous?” She asks, chuckling a little. She pulls out her phone, though, and doesn’t see anything new from anyone. That’s a good sign. On the other hand, she was supposed to keep an eye out for Fire Lord while he rested, and she did a really shitty job of it.
“Crap.” She mutters as she realizes what she had forgotten. “I was supposed to keep an eye on Fire Lord while he slept.” She picks up the pace down the two flights of stairs, killing two imps when they appear on the second stairwell with her cross-bow. Refreshingly, it only takes one hit to get each of these guys, and she can make her way back to her computer to check on her (hopefully) sleeping comrade.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Walking through the open door Shenanigans chuckles and shakes his head. “Well, maybe. I recall wanting to do some major party action near the beginning, wanting to see us all working to take down something epic, but never mind him. He'll have his own problems soon.” Holding up his hands he adds, “Don't worry, nothing he can't handle.” Smiling cheekily he follows Andi back to her main room and high fangs Georgesprite. The snake dragon thing hisses in a pleased manner and looks over Andi's shoulder.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → BubblegumcAndi: Fire Lord seems to be sleeping just fine, his sprite standing guard.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Georgesprite: Hissing softly again one of the heads says, “Looksss tasssty ssssenorita. . . .” while eyeing Jamess sprite.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Clearing up the last of the imps on the stairs while Andi and his other self kick some major ass Marcus pans back over to the two of them only to find them hugging. A huge grin splits his face and he chuckles. “Awww, so cuuuute. . . .” Following them back inside he waits until everything looks okay before sending her a message.
Stithis → BubblegumcAndi: Awwww, so cuuuuute. You two look good together. Maybe I should build a private little room for you and Shenni.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Shenanigans explains that Fire Lord will have his own problems, things that he can handle. “He’ll probably love that.” Andi answers, chuckling. She remembers how much Fire Lord has looked forward to being here and fighting monsters. Those kinds of problems sound like exactly what he is looking for. Sure enough, Fire Lord is just sleeping for now, and everything certainly does look to be going well. Andi breathes a sigh of relief and sits on the table next to the computer. She glances over to her sprite, hearing it hissing something about James’ sprite being tasty, and Andi shakes her head a little. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat other peoples’ sprites. But if you are hungry, I think Baker send us info for some cinnamon rolls.” She says.
Turning to Shenanigans, Andi continues. “What about you? Hungry? I haven’t mastered the whole making food things yet—or…tried it at all actually, but I am sure you can help make sure what I make is edible.” She adds.
Her phone buzzes, and Andi sees the message from Stithis asking if he should build them a private room. “Ugh!” She says. “Stithis is jealous, methinks.” She tells Shenanigans.
BubblegumcAndi → Stithis: Haha! You’re hilarious. Though, he recommends a better safe room…I am thinking upstairs, the photography room with no windows.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: The tall man chuckles once again, shaking his head at the staring sprite. “Same as ever. . . .” he says wistfully, turning his attention to Andi when she speaks. Looking around thoughtfully he spots her lathe and says, “I'll make us something.” before wandering off to do just that. While he's carving the totem for Bubble's favorite meal from the future he hears he comment on his other self being jealous and with a smirk he shakes his head. “Yeah, he'd like to have someone around right now, but too bad for him. It'll be a while, unless we do some major changes around here. . .Which I do not recommend.”
Alchemizing a set of trays of food he brings them over to the sculpting tables and goes back to make up some drinks. “So, something fizzy, or something healthy?” he asks, thinking about what he has in stock. He's gathered quite a collection over the years, and despite his extended time with Andi's counterpart, drinks are the one thing that seems to change from meal to meal.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Stithis: Reading her message he lets out a yawn, shifting his view upstairs to try and find the room she's talking about. Finding it, he scowls. “Far too small!”And with that he begins building a much “better” room for his player. He feels an itch, wanting to watch “himself” and Bubbles interact, but at the same time he has to admit staring at an older version of himself is unnerving on some deep level.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: He offers to make something, bringing a smile to her face. Though she doesn’t want to admit it, she can’t remember the last time a man stuck around long enough to cook for her—even if it wasn’t exactly cooking. “Umm…An hour ago I would have said fizzy all the way, since I don’t know how long we’re going to make it in this crazy game…but since apparently I am going to be just fine, and even with twice the number of eyes for a while, let’s go with healthy.” Andi opens up her phone once more and types a quick message to Skip, remembering their earlier conversation regarding Shenanigans.
BubblegumcAndi → Skip: Met Shenanigans. I think you can trust him.
She starts to type that he has Stithis from the future, and then hesitates. It might not be good to share that information with everyone.
“Hey, is it okay to tell the others about you? Or…would you rather be some creepy guardian angel type?” She calls out to him.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: With a nod he makes one of her favorite fruit drink mixes, and himself a coke, and puts both on their respective trays before taking a seat and motioning for her to join him. Raising an eyebrow at her question he thinks about it quietly for a moment before nodding. “I don't mind who you tell, but I will ask you tell Laurra, sorry, Skip, what I look like so I don't get shot when I need to go see her next.” Standing up he pulls up his short, showing a scar that is unmistakable a bullet graze running along his ribs. “My first visit to her left me a little out of commission for a while.” Sitting back down he laughs and shakes his head. “Trigger happy psychopath. . .” Looking back up at Andi he adds quickly. “She isn't really, but it's kinda her nickname in my time line after she'd shot two of us on accident.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “Shhiiiitttt.” Andi lets out a slow curse when Stithis shows her the scar on his ribs. “So she did…”
“I will certainly make sure to do that.” Andi says. He replaces his shirt and sits down, upon which Andi lifts her phone and snaps a picture of him. “See…easy enough.” Andi sends the picture to Skip, along with another brief message.
BubblegumcAndi → Skip: Here’s what he looks like. (Pic) He is Stithis from the future, and he says he would like it if you didn’t shoot him this time :P
“There. Sent.” Andi puts her phone down on the table, keeping it close in case someone needs her, and turns to the food. Andi takes a quick sip of the pinkish smoothie, and smiles brightly. “Oh my god…Is this Mangosteen Madness?” She asks, giddy with excitement. It’s a drink she used to get at her favorite smoothie place, with strawberries, papaya juice, kiwi juice, and of course, mangosteen juice. She didn’t think she would ever get to taste it again.
“I was wrong before. You are a guardian angel.” She says happily, looking at the dish in front of her…apple cider vinaigrette salad with toasted pecans. Andi digs into the dish happily, enjoying the short reprieve from this game world.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Making a cute 'Peace!' sign when she snaps the photo, he chuckles and nods, thanking her softly. His smile only widens as she fangirls over the meal and drink he's selected and pretends to blush saying, “Nah, nah, no angel here. Just a very observant friend.” Chuckling he digs into his own salad, having developed a taste for them after spending a year dining off and on with the woman, then dining with her more in the later months. Looking back up at Andi he adopts a slightly unsure tone as he says, “Sorry, I keep doing that. You barely know me, and I keep pretending we've known one another for years. . .” He dips his head in apology. “Sorry, I forgot that that can be a little disconcerting.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Skip: Slipping into a side room Laurra checks her phone, just in case the messages are urgent, and as they pop up she raises an eyebrow curiously. “Time travel, really? How cliché. . . .” With a sigh she heads back into the hallway, shaking her head. “So I've already shot someone, somewhere, in some time, that's useful to know.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “Naw… It’s not that weird. I mean… It’s weird, but it comes across about the same level of weird as like… going out with a guy you met on Tindr you didn’t know managed to already find out your entire medical history and grades from your k-12 education.” Andi laughs lightly and takes another drink from her smoothie. “I mean…We just fought an ogre on the roof of my makeup studio that used to be on Earth. I think I am sort of beyond surprising today.”
She glances over to one of the windows to see that it is just as bright as it was in the afternoon when she entered the game. “Speaking of today… Shouldn’t it have gotten dark by now?” Though she is enjoying the food, she is also quite exhausted, and somehow it doesn’t seem fair that this day be allowed to go on forever.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: “I d'know, sounds pretty creepy to me.” he says with a laugh, shaking his head. Following her gaze he lets out a sigh. “Sadly, your world does not have a day night cycle. Not yet at least.” He says the last part with a twinkle in his eye before turning his gaze on the ceiling at the sound of the building being rearranged. “However, it seems like you're room is being made up for you as we speak, am I right?” Cocking an eyebrow he looks over at her curiously. “Once you have a safe room, you'll be able to sleep and the monsters will quiet down. If it's a room without windows you should be able to sleep just fine even with the constant light.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: “Then you haven’t heard about some of the guys I dated.” Andi retorts. Though, they weren’t all that bad, really. No one knew her entire k-12 educational background…at least, not that they revealed to her. Andi continues eating as he explains the lack of day-night cycle, and that Stithis is likely making up a room for her. She looks up as well and gives a small shrug. “It would seem so, but you would know better than I.” She pauses for a moment before adding another thought, the fork stopping in mid-air. “Though, I suppose in your timeline, today went very differently for me.” She clearly was supposed to lose an eye, and she doubted that the other Bubbles got a time traveling Stithis to cook her dinner after that.
“So… thanks. If I didn’t make that clear enough already. Today could have sucked a lot more.” She finishes eating the bite of food that had been on its way as another question forms in her mind. “So what’s next for you? I mean, are you going to stick around in our timeline and try to make sure it all works out? Or are you heading back to your world…er…time…er…whatever you call it.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: He shrugs. “It's not like I know everything.” he says in response to him knowing better than her. “I've made a change, so, I'll need to surf a bit to watch the ripples, but I can say that I plan to continue helping when and where I can. . .” He nods, smiling softly. “No need for thanks Bubbles. I was glad to do it.” Taking a few more bites he lets out a sigh at her final question. “Like I said, yeah, I will be hanging about, but first I have to see what's happened or at least. . . .”Looking past her shoulder he raises an eyebrow. There's the faint sound of wind chimes and with another small swirl of mist, another Shenanigans appears. Waving he motions for the new one to come around the table. This one looks a little more ragged and they converse quietly for a few seconds before he nods and makes the shooing motion with his fork.
The new one is gone a moment later and he sighs. Looking at Andi he smiles. “Seems like I'll be able to stick around here for a while. That was a me who checked this time line and, to save me the trouble, came and told me the next place to focus.” Shrugging he goes back to eating as if he's just explained something no more complicated than reading off a grocery list.
_+_+_+_+_+_
BubblegumcAndi: Andi glances up when she hears the noise, thinking for a moment that he is about to vanish on her. But instead, another one appears. She is about to crack a joke about getting another chair, but he calls over her Shenanigans, if there is such a thing, and they converse briefly. When he returns, he says that he has more time, and knows where to focus next. He seems pretty calm about it, and since it doesn’t bother him, Andi isn’t going to let it bother her. “Sounds…like a whole lotta Shenanigans.” She chuckles at her own joke, and turns back to her meal, accepting the new piece of information with ease.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Shenanigans: Nodding with a smirk he agrees. “Yeah, that's kinda why I picked the name. The game is full of all kinds of shenanigans, but most of all, it's the time shenanigans that take the cake. I was once in a room with thirty other “mes”, and let me tell you, it gets a little awkward.” Smiling over at he he feels a little pride. She's always been the one to try and keep things together, even when the world just continues to get stranger and stranger. 'Always helpful, always caring. I really admire her for that.' he muses, letting out a soft sigh. “As for while you're asleep, I can either stick around in your safe room, or head off to someone else's place for a while, it's up to you. I'm fine wither way.” Tapping the thing on his ear he gives and ironic smirk. “I've got games.”
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri → Skip: I think it’s all deployed now. I moved the table for you.
Quickly, she pulled up her browser on her phone, checking the current news reports, and sure enough, there were reports of meteor sightings all over the world. “This is not so fun anymore…” she muttered, as news of a few scattered deaths started rolling in.
Selendri → Fire Lord: Sorry to keep you waiting, was starting my host setup. Looking for my hammer to open this thing now...
She typed to her own host quickly, and then stood and began searching in the closet for her toolbox. Soon enough she had found the tool she wanted, a particularly heavy hammer. As instructed, she hit the cap of the Cruxtruder’s pipe with all the strength she could muster. She was quite strong for her size, thanks to her job as a fireman, and so the pipe popped open, revealing the time left, 57 minutes to be exact.
Now that she had (mostly) overcome her initial shock and disbelief, Sophia leaped into action, or rather, leaped into reading the Pesterchum messages and rereading the manual so that she would know what exactly to do. When she was finished, she glanced down at her adorable 14-year-old German shepherd mix who was laying lazily in his dog bed, glancing around curiously at the machines that had recently popped out of the sky.
“Oh shit… Spock,” she muttered, realizing her options with a sinking feeling in her chest. If this had not happened, he would have died within the next two years. And now… he will likely die in 57 mins if I don’t do it. But… I don’t know what that thing will do to him. But it has to be better than death by magic meteor. The young woman sighed with the knowledge of what had to be done, glaring at the bright green ball of light following her around. “So, I guess I just put you in here,” she began, scratching behind Spock’s ears and petting him gently for the last time. After a few moments, she finally picked him up and touched him to the bright light.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: There is a bright flash of light and when it fades the canine is no longer in your arms. The spyrograph in the middle of the ball of light has vanished and has been replaced with a much larger version of your dog’s head. It follows you around happily.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: Sophia grinned at her new Spocksprite and he seemed to grin back at her, approving of his new life, or at least, that is what she told herself as she began the next step. She retrieved her dowel from the Cruxtruder, along with her pre-punched card, and stepped over to the Totem Lathe. It took only a moment to inspect the machine, find the proper slots, and insert the dowel and card. Taking a deep breath, and sharing a look with Spocksprite, she sighed and pressed the giant green button. She took the totem, a bright green shape that looked like almost cylindrical, except for the fact that several smooth waves were cut into it. “It looks almost like… a three dimensional barcode, or something,” Sophia muttered, as she inspected the item and placed it on the Alchemiter. Then, she pressed the large green button on the Alchemiter and waited with a raised eyebrow for something to occur.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: The Alchemiter scans the totem, then once the button is pressed there is a flash of light and what looks like a giant fashion magazine appears, and with a rustle the large green book fans open to a page with a very “perfect” looking woman on it in a very revealing dress. She is faceless, but “flawless”.
_+_+_+_+_+_
Selendri: I probably need some weapons, I suppose, she thought. It seemed that the others had taken their houses with them, but she still wanted things assembled in the living room in case there was an attack. So quickly she took out her bow and arrows, katana, and sledgehammer and set all three on the couch. Though she was aware that she needed to log some of her items, she decided she would do that once she entered the game, as time was running out.
“So, I’m supposed to break this, hmm?” Sophia muttered, taking the green magazine. Glaring at the “perfect” body with an obvious sense of disdain, she instinctively ripped out the page, tearing it to shreds.
_+_+_+_+_+_
GM → Selendri: The world goes white around you. After a few seconds however the white fades and you find yourself in the same place, the magazine now gone. As your eyes adjust the words “Land of Acid and Stone” passes before your eyes before fading. Your sprite shifts and flashes before seeming to break into three parts. A white copy of the orb rises through the ceiling without damaging it, a black copy goes through the nearest window, shattering it, and vanishes from sight. Left behind is a ghosty form of your dog with canine head and arms, and a ghosty lower half, all in green.
*Giggles* Oh no, here comes the army! *Points* Charge!
Letting out a long, low growl Dani glares off in the direction of the church, or at least the direction he thinks it's in, and stomps his foot, his own wings trembling and jerking. “What the heaven were they thinking?! Making you think that wings are anything but natural, glorious gifts!” He stomps his foot again. “Wings are special! Not 'in the way'!” His fangs flash and his glare darkens as his fire threatens to erupt. Luckily however, Aoba is rather distracting just being himself so moments after the fit starts the little demon lets out a long huff and without warning scoops the angel up and takes off. Looking at Aoba he says sternly, “You're going to learn to fly again, and fly right, and that's the end of it!”
~*~*~*~*~
Fenrir has to try desperately to suppress his laughter as he watches what can only be described as righteous indignation whipping the smallest demon into a near frenzy, only to have it immediately swapped out for parental orders and determination. 'If I didn't know any better, I would call this all very cute. If he wasn't a demon. . . .This would been downright sweet. . . .' Letting out a sigh he sets the mirror aside and begins looking over his reports. There's be a distinct down flux in attacks on angels giving him a few more blessedly free moments throughout the day, and he uses just about every second of them to watch his new favorite “show”. Despite being sad and depressing, not to mention immensely confusing and internally conflict inducing, Fenrir's caring for the little angel has only grown, making every moment he has to watch over him all the more precious. He can't believe that he's actually glad that Aoba is back with the demons, but, he simply can not deny it. 'Aoba is happier here, and. . . .I can not fight that'
~*~*~*~*~
Kuro is entirely unaware of the shadow following after him, slipping through the throngs of demons and not at all looking like he's trying to hide from the slightly smaller male. His gaze remains forward, a light worry in his mind over what Aoba and Dani are up to. . . .Mostly Dani concerning Aoba, but still, he worries for them both. Once he reaches a good point he scares off all the demons around so they can not follow him and with a slow exhale he opens his portal back to earth and steps through. Issho is there moments later, sampling the portal rather than stepping through it, just getting a taste so he knows where it leads before letting it close.
On earth, Kuro doesn't notice that his portal stays open a fraction of a second longer than normal as he's busy watching Aoba being dropped from a high height in an attempt to help him fly. “Dani!” he barks, prompting the smaller demon to scoop the angel back up, pouting at his little brother as he brings them both to the ground. Once Aoba is safely on his feet Dani lets out a whine. “He was getting betteeeer. . . . .” Not caring if it's true or not Kuro launches himself at the smaller demon and the two fall into a rather vicious play session. Dani is once more careful not to touch Kuro's wounded wing, the healing bath in hell doing barely anything to help it heal.
~*~*~*~*~
Fenrir has to try desperately to suppress his laughter as he watches what can only be described as righteous indignation whipping the smallest demon into a near frenzy, only to have it immediately swapped out for parental orders and determination. 'If I didn't know any better, I would call this all very cute. If he wasn't a demon. . . .This would been downright sweet. . . .' Letting out a sigh he sets the mirror aside and begins looking over his reports. There's be a distinct down flux in attacks on angels giving him a few more blessedly free moments throughout the day, and he uses just about every second of them to watch his new favorite “show”. Despite being sad and depressing, not to mention immensely confusing and internally conflict inducing, Fenrir's caring for the little angel has only grown, making every moment he has to watch over him all the more precious. He can't believe that he's actually glad that Aoba is back with the demons, but, he simply can not deny it. 'Aoba is happier here, and. . . .I can not fight that'
~*~*~*~*~
Kuro is entirely unaware of the shadow following after him, slipping through the throngs of demons and not at all looking like he's trying to hide from the slightly smaller male. His gaze remains forward, a light worry in his mind over what Aoba and Dani are up to. . . .Mostly Dani concerning Aoba, but still, he worries for them both. Once he reaches a good point he scares off all the demons around so they can not follow him and with a slow exhale he opens his portal back to earth and steps through. Issho is there moments later, sampling the portal rather than stepping through it, just getting a taste so he knows where it leads before letting it close.
On earth, Kuro doesn't notice that his portal stays open a fraction of a second longer than normal as he's busy watching Aoba being dropped from a high height in an attempt to help him fly. “Dani!” he barks, prompting the smaller demon to scoop the angel back up, pouting at his little brother as he brings them both to the ground. Once Aoba is safely on his feet Dani lets out a whine. “He was getting betteeeer. . . . .” Not caring if it's true or not Kuro launches himself at the smaller demon and the two fall into a rather vicious play session. Dani is once more careful not to touch Kuro's wounded wing, the healing bath in hell doing barely anything to help it heal.
*Giggles* *Outfits Mega Zomboid with badass mech armor while it sleeps*
His eyes roam over the room, spotting it in more order than when he'd turned his back and his smile becomes a little less painted on. He really is happy to have the man as his guest, and his insecurities aside, he looks forward to sleeping on his bed again. Looking back at Aryx he smiles a little wider as the man agrees it's time to head to bead, the slight hesitation his his voice oddly comforting. ”I'm not the only one here a little unsure. That. . . That makes me feels better, even if it mean he's uncomfortable. . . .This is all so confusing' The two wander to the beast man's room and it isn't until Aryx is about to take his pants off that Viltez comes out of his little thoughtful daze and, flushing deeply, he turns around so his back is to the man.
He's already gotten a taste of the cavalier way his people walk around half clothed from the morning incident and he has nothing against the man for his actions. After all, they are both men. 'It's normal, right? Not to be embarrassed?' Quickly he peels off his own shirt, hesitating for only a moment before following suit with his pants, his cheeks glowing. Quickly as he can he slips on a pair of shorts he likes using for warm nights – with Aryx in the bed he figures the rather tepid night with be far warmer than usual – and turns to face his guest with a half smile. 'That heavens he wears clothes to bed. A part of me was convinced he would just be nude. . .. Or maybe I was hoping. . . .'
Mentally shaking his head he tilts his head to the side as he listens to his companion. His stomach clenches painfully at the sight of the frown on his face, and what he has to say doesn't make it feel any better. Waving his hand he does his best to quickly wipe away any feelings of wrongdoing. “N-No, no, mister Aryx, you've done nothing wrong. I mean it. It's simply that. . .That I've never. . .” His voice trails off and he looks at the bed. “Being alone most of my life, I've never slept beside anyone before. . . .” His voice is soft, coming out smoothly as if he's trying to get it all out at once. “And, I-I'm kinda looking forward to it, and I feel like that should be weird, but you're completely okay with it, or you seem to be, and that just. . .”
Looking at Aryx with a pathetic expression he says softly. “Like just having my tail roaming free, and having it hug you, and having it pet, and being okay around someone with it out, it's all just new and different to me. . .” Looking back to the bed he flushes lightly again. He's not quite sure how to phrase the rest of what's going on inside his head so he does his best to sideswipe the issue rather than stating it head on. “And, you know, it's not like there's much room on the bed, and while I don't move much I'm just a little worried that you may feel a little crowded. I-I won't mind, I sure, I w-was just worried about you a bit, that's all. . . .” His gaze goes back to Aryx as his tail begins coiling more slowly behind him. Having spoken his troubles, he feels a lot better now.
He's already gotten a taste of the cavalier way his people walk around half clothed from the morning incident and he has nothing against the man for his actions. After all, they are both men. 'It's normal, right? Not to be embarrassed?' Quickly he peels off his own shirt, hesitating for only a moment before following suit with his pants, his cheeks glowing. Quickly as he can he slips on a pair of shorts he likes using for warm nights – with Aryx in the bed he figures the rather tepid night with be far warmer than usual – and turns to face his guest with a half smile. 'That heavens he wears clothes to bed. A part of me was convinced he would just be nude. . .. Or maybe I was hoping. . . .'
Mentally shaking his head he tilts his head to the side as he listens to his companion. His stomach clenches painfully at the sight of the frown on his face, and what he has to say doesn't make it feel any better. Waving his hand he does his best to quickly wipe away any feelings of wrongdoing. “N-No, no, mister Aryx, you've done nothing wrong. I mean it. It's simply that. . .That I've never. . .” His voice trails off and he looks at the bed. “Being alone most of my life, I've never slept beside anyone before. . . .” His voice is soft, coming out smoothly as if he's trying to get it all out at once. “And, I-I'm kinda looking forward to it, and I feel like that should be weird, but you're completely okay with it, or you seem to be, and that just. . .”
Looking at Aryx with a pathetic expression he says softly. “Like just having my tail roaming free, and having it hug you, and having it pet, and being okay around someone with it out, it's all just new and different to me. . .” Looking back to the bed he flushes lightly again. He's not quite sure how to phrase the rest of what's going on inside his head so he does his best to sideswipe the issue rather than stating it head on. “And, you know, it's not like there's much room on the bed, and while I don't move much I'm just a little worried that you may feel a little crowded. I-I won't mind, I sure, I w-was just worried about you a bit, that's all. . . .” His gaze goes back to Aryx as his tail begins coiling more slowly behind him. Having spoken his troubles, he feels a lot better now.
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