#tb:phi

[notevenjupiter]

Dear. Future. Time.

@twinbluebirds

“Phi, watch out—!”

The dull pain against her head was one Phi had, unfortunately, experienced far too many times. She’d fallen hard against the ground, and and that ever so slight throb she felt, right under her left parietal bone... it was like she’d woken up on the floor of Dcom all over again, wasn’t it?

Thankfully, no, it wasn’t Dcom. Her eyes were telling her this much, once they were open. This was the public park, the one by the middle school, where she and Diana were just walking, and-

Diana.

She bolted up, trying to suppress the pain as much as possible, holding a nervous hand to her head, and frantically scanned the area. No Diana. No Diana, anywhere! And... as if this day couldn’t get any worse, a gaggle of worried middle schoolers seemed to be gathering around her, one by one, all with concerned looks on their faces, all preventing her escape. What the fuck was this? She’d never seen a single one of them a day in her life before!

No, wait. She paused. That wasn’t quite right. The scrawny, orange-haired one, with the weird eyes. The one who was closest to her, the one who looked the most shaken of all. She knew him.

Delta.

...

Wait. 

DELTA???

“What the hell?” Her first words upon awakening, directed at no one in particular - although, Delta was probably the closest to hear her. She fell backwards, scooting in reverse like a cornered animal, her eyes rapidly darting around the entire circle, before hurriedly pulling herself into a ball, a near fetal position, and shutting her eyes tight. Using a power hitherto unknown to her, she sent a message. A single, concrete thought, for only one person to hear.

G e t   m e   o u t   o f   h e r e  !!

[notevenjupiter]

twinbluebirds:

〔ΦΔ〕 ic 001: excursion.

Φ — “Del-taaaaa!”

A JUVENILE VOICE rang loudly through the trees, high and impatient. Phi sat on a low branch, her sneakered feet swinging back and forth, the midnight breeze tousling her short hair as she waited for her brother to catch up with her.

Φ — “Hurry up! C’mon, do you want me to carry you or what?”

About fifty feet away, the straggler being addressed waded through the high piles of wet leaves that littered the forest floor. Wincing with every labored, heavy step, Delta groaned in futile complaint and pulled his thick jacket tighter around his chest. Did she really have to be so loud? It wasn’t his fault that his weak, useless body couldn’t move him any faster, and besides—

Δ — “If you keep yelling, someone’s going to come find us,”

he murmured, quietly and flatly as always.

Δ — “They might think we’re running away.”

Φ — “Oh, they’ll come find us, will they?”

Phi’s tone was no softer than before, taking on a note of mockingness as they slipped gracefully from the branch with a dismissive snort.

Φ — “I’d like to see someone try a n y t h i n g with you around. They come try and kidnap us, you can just trip ‘em up, right? I’ve seen you do it before.”

This was not the first halfhearted debate the Klim twins had gone through about their clandestine outings, and it would not be the last. Every Saturday at midnight sharp, Phi dragged Delta through a new local adventure on the argumentative basis that he needed to get out of the house more; he protested without any real objection because he knew she wouldn’t make him do anything he didn’t actually want to do, and she insisted without any real expectation because she trusted him to tell her if she was actually pushing too hard. Last week, the two of them had gone out to the local park and played two-man (well, one man, one nonbinary person) tag in the freezing darkness. This week, they were going to climb the tallest tree in the forest neighboring said park and stargaze. Phi had a game they liked to play where they and Delta competed to make up the silliest constellations out of random clusters of stars. It helped take the twins’ minds off things.

Δ — “Sure, but I can’t Mind Hack my way out of one of our neighbors calling Mom.”

Despite how grouchy the boy sounded, Delta couldn’t deny he had been looking forward to this. The crispness of the air made him feel particularly at one with himself, and the loneliness of the forest at night, while frightening for many children his age, was a welcome reprieve for someone who still couldn’t completely control whether or not he heard the internal monologues of every single person within his field of vision.

Φ — “Don’t be such a contrarian, Delta. The tree’s right there. Think you can climb it without having to hang off my back this time?”

Phi was expecting a smart-alecky retort or cheeky eye roll from her twin brother, but instead, Delta stopped moving. His indigo gaze strayed from Phi and the tree, fixed instead on a point somewhere in the distance, off to the side.

Φ — “Uh… Delta?”

Δ — “Hold on. Be quiet for a second.”

Φ — “What? What is it?”

She held her breath, tilting her ear towards where Delta was looking. After a few seconds, she heard it herself.

Footsteps.

Δ — “Someone’s coming.”

The white-haired Phi had felt compelled to venture out to the forest tonight, and she couldn’t put her finger on why. It wasn’t the insomnia. Her insomnia would have told her to stay inside and watch six straight hours of CuriosityStream. And she could have done her usual late night routine that she picked up in college - head to 7-11, grab a few beers, then stroll out on the beach and see what happened. She’d made some good friends that way.

But, no. As if fate compelled her, as if she was locked into a timeline, she found herself walking towards the forest, further and further away from her apartment. It was a strange sensation. Not only were her feet moving on their own volition, but... even the air felt different.

And, that’s when she heard voices.

More specifically, it’s when she heard her own voice.

It was unmistakably hers. When she was a teenager, she used to record audio diaries of herself, so she could play them back years later to see how she’d progressed in life. It was a fun, pretentious way to pass the time - and besides, her future self was the only friend she’d had back then.

But it wasn’t just her voice, was it? Someone else was there, too. And their conversation... she couldn’t make out every word, but what she could hear sent chills down the back of her spine.

‘Mind Hack.’ ‘Mom.’ ‘Delta.’

Her pace quickened. She didn’t dare run - with how high the leaves were, she could easily trip - but she walked, as fast as she could, until she could isolate the sounds’ source. And once she found them, she stopped dead in her tracks.

[notevenjupiter]

"Surely there's SOMETHING you've felt petty over??" (@ Phi)

“No. Never.”

She folded her arms across her chest.

“I’ve never been petty in my entire life. Even when I’ve been betrayed, I’m a very forgiving person, and I would never, ever strand them in an underground bunker to live the rest of their days in isolation. It’s a shame that happened, but I didn’t do any of it, because I’m not petty. And for a more specific example, I have never once drawn several penises on Sigma’s face as he was sleeping because he wouldn’t stop singing Womanizer by Britney Spears. Someone may have done that, but it wasn’t me. I’m not petty. I don’t have a petty bone in my body.”

[notevenjupiter]

@psyncin-in-the-restrain​ - continued from here!

“You’re actually stopping? I’m mildly impressed. Most guys in this joint have a much harder time saying no to a little bit of the bubbly.”

No, he hadn’t been getting too rowdy. But there was a row of empty shot glasses on the table in front of him, and the bartenders at this place didn’t give a shit as long as their customers paid the tab, so... Phi had decided to take one for the team and engage the weirdo in conversation. He reminded her of Dio, but with a less punchable face. That was good.

“Last week,” she continued, “There was this big, burly security guard. Between jobs, but he still had those dumb security guard glasses on. Said he used to work for some asshole called Sejima. Anyway, he was pounding down Asahi Blacks until he passed out. I didn’t want that to happen to you.”

[notevenjupiter]

“I want to know who your friends are.” - Phi

“You really wanna know, huh? All right. Here.”

Phi pulled her phone out, and opened up Instagram for them to see.

“This is Clover. She’s probably my best friend, right now. She says she’s a secret agent for the government, but if you ask me, it’s just her cover for why she’s still at that waitressing job. I actually had a crush on her, at one point in time, but, she’s happily taken, and I’ve moved on.”

She scrolled down a bit more.

“This is Junpei. He’s another good friend. We’ve got something in common, getting one hundred percent fucked over by people we love and trust. Me and him and Seven - Seven’s another friend, he doesn’t use social media - go out and get drunk together all the time. It’s a good time, as long as none of us get too bitter about the past.”

After a few more swipes…

“And… here’s Akane. Smartest person I’ve ever met. I don’t see her often; she’s been keeping to herself the last couple months, working on a personal project. But when I do see her, we can talk for hours on end, without ever having to resort to small talk or awkward shit about the weather.”

[notevenjupiter]

@shougancid​ - from here!

“Sigh... you’re lucky you’re hot. Otherwise, I’d have to murder you, after that stairs comment. 

And I’d do it, too. I’ve taken down professional basketball players.”

[notevenjupiter]

explain your smolness

“Life is a series of equivalent exchanges. For every good thing, something bad has to exist in equal measure.

God gave me a superpowered brain, lightning-fast reflexes, an amazing fashion sense, and the best mom on the planet. In return, he took away my ability to get things off of tall shelves.”

“Of course, I’ve never simply accepted anything the way it is, and that includes my height. How do you think I got so good at jumping? It’s because I’m getting that box of cereal myself, damn it. I don’t want anyone helping me.”

[notevenjupiter]

@convivxncia​ - continued from here!

Whether it was intuition, morphogenetic resonance, or something in her subconscious... Phi had taken one look at this girl and knew. She just knew. The little one didn’t belong to this Earth, and maybe not any Earth at all.

But she was at a small loss for words - she’d never known anyone this young to be this kind of adventurer. Or for anyone her age to just blurt it out so casually. A bit of paranoia in the back of her brain wondered if she was just wandering into some kind of trap...

There was no reason not to trust her, though. She couldn’t doubt a kid that size, never, ever. Phi had been stuck in thought for an uncomfortable few seconds, but with that clarity, she turned back to the traveler with a grin.

“Nope! It’s not you, it’s me. I’ve got a knack for spotting these things. You see... I’m not exactly from this world, either.”

[notevenjupiter]

❝ So help me God, I’m going to eat one of those multicolored detergent pods. ❞ for phi. i'm so sorry

“You are? Well... I think you’re a few years late, but.... if you really want to, I’m not gonna stop you.”

Phi didn’t have much of a response to Chiaki’s sudden outburst. Maybe SHIFTing so many times had given her a flippant response towards death. Or maybe, just maybe, Phi was really beginning to care about her, and Phi’s way of expressing love was daring her loved ones to do some dumb shit.

“Whatever you do, just don’t drink any water from the sink. The tap here is filled with dihydrogen monoxide. It could end badly.”

[notevenjupiter]

[CRACK PROBABLY] While working at 7-Eleven during graveyard shifts Phi notices the nightly presence of some particular dweeb purchasing nachos and whatnot has staved off a lot of potential robberies. Whadahell.......

Phi had indeed noticed that the last few weeks had been relatively easy compared to when she first started - and that it mostly started when this guy started showing up. She wasn’t the kind of person to believe in coincidences. 

“Hey.” On this current night, they were the only two people in the store, and with the managers gone for the night, she had mostly free reign of the store.  “You want a free taquito?”

[notevenjupiter]

What’s wrong but sounds right?

“If I were you, I wouldn’t drink bottled water. 

Every single bottle, no matter which brand, company, or source, contains the same chemical compound: dihydrogen monoxide. Too much dihydrogen monoxide consumption can lead to acute poisoning and a risk of death. It accelerates the rusting and corrosion of many metals. And, potentially worst of all - as the polymer hydroxyl acid, it’s a major component of acid rain. Yet we willingly take it into our bodies without thinking.

Petition your local supermarket to stop selling products containing this dangerous compound. We’ve got to warn everyone of the devastating effects of dihydrogen monoxide before it’s too late.”

[notevenjupiter]

Phi has best fashion

“I commend you on your excellent taste. I am unmatched.”

[notevenjupiter]

🍫 (Oh, it seems that Momo has made a small box of chocolates for Phi! They're shaped like little bunnies!)

The gift stunned her, and she held the box for several seconds before finding the right response.

In the back of her head, she always thought that she’d be the one doing things for her little brother, and not the other way around. She’d be the one teaching him about society, and making sure he did okay in school, and stayed out of trouble, and didn’t swing a katana at any more household objects. But for him to give this to her... for him to make this for her... she was at a loss for words. 

“They’re... so cute... they’re all so cute...”

She shook her head, coming back to her senses.

“Thank you, Momo. Let’s eat these together, okay?”

[notevenjupiter]

Tida wanted to recommend his spotify playlist of best techno bops to Phi for Coffee Chats; but accidentally sent the link to his playlist of Greatest Sonic The Hedgehog Soundtrack songs instead. sorry... they're bops, too, though. please enjoy.

☕️coffee chats ☕️- accepting!

Phi’s enjoying these, all right. 

She’s still not the best at expressing emotions through IMs - she’s still not the best at expressing emotions, period - but the 👍👍s and 🤘🤘s showed her distinct approval.

There’s even a link for him, too.

[notevenjupiter]

“I want to know what your hobbies are.” [ Akane @ Phi! ]

“I’ve got several: reading novels, fine dining, working out, listening to 90s rave music, among others. The main one right now, though, is keeping my Latin sharp. I’ve set Duolingo Push to wake me up at 6 in the morning, and if I haven’t completed those five minute quizzes by the time I’ve finished breakfast, the owl has permission to beat me up. I think it’s fair.”

[notevenjupiter]

(All for Phi) Charcoal, Jet and Phthalo?

charcoal: if you could have something named after you as a memorial what would you choose? (building, park, school, etc.)

“I’d have a crematory named after me.

It seems appropriate.”

jet: if you were going to a costume party next week, what costume would you wear?

“I’d go as Marie Curie; the woman who coined radioactivity, discovered polonium and radium, and provided the namesake for curium. And just to spice things up, I’d bring several glowing green capsules and distribute them as radioactive party favors.

They wouldn’t actually be radioactive, of course - just some glow sticks from Party City. But you’d be surprised at what people believe when they’re under the influence of alcohol.”

phthalo green: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

Answered here!