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Hunter Schafer in Custom Dilara for the after party ۶ৎ

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NOELLE WAS INCAPABLE OF NOT CONSTANTLY fidgeting her shoulders under the halter straps of her deep red dress or picking invisible flecks off the fabric of it, practically paying more mind to that than the shirley temple she held in her hand that adorned nails of a matching polish. There weren't many people in attendance that she knew, invited as an extension of her brother's wife being the mother of the groom, and shoving the blonde into any social situation she was unprepared for was bound to create a mess of a person. Teeth worrying her lip, her eyes casted between old signs of the Vegas city in search of Dusty or Bambi, as she knew her older brother would be able to soothe her nerves or she'd feel less awkward in the ambiance of her sister's confidence and attitude. She tried to make the surprise of someone actually wanting to talk to her too obvious, nodding in response to the casual comment. "I don't know them well, but they look really happy together, like they don't wanna let go of each other every time they see each other." A bit of tension fell from her stiff posture at the admittance of the other, head shaking and sending blonde curls swaying. "No, I totally get it. When Harry Met Sally is practically my favorite movie, and I could watch it a thousand more times no matter how much I've seen it. So, even without knowing them too well besides extended family events, it's kinda impossible not to see all the romance in it as a hopeless romantic. How do you know them?"

( cyrek and stella's wedding, june 10, 6:30 p.m. ) @boneyardstarters

Hands absently fussing with the ruffle details along the edges of the soft pink, form fitting dress adorning her figure, Freya scanned the gathering crowds with wide brown eyes. Though she was well accustomed to being the center of attention in her line of work, the same couldn't be said for the burlesque dancer when she was off duty. When she didn't have a stage persona to hide behind, the brunette was more at home observing and clinging to the walls of parties than chatting up strangers, and her brother's wedding was certainly no exception. Still, she was among family and friends here, all coming together to celebrate Cyrek and Stella. The least she could do was mingle, even if it meant introducing herself to new people. Taking a steadying breath and squaring her shoulders, Freya grabbed a glass of champagne off a nearby serving tray and gestured over to the happy couple. "They're lovely together, aren't they? They just... look like they fit, you know? Like... they make sense as a pair." she mused to the person next to her, a tentative smile gracing her features. "Sorry, I've just been watching those two slowly come together over the last several years. Make me extra sappy on a day like this. Then again, I'm a romantic. I'm sure I would've been sappy even if I didn't know them."

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WORKING IN EMERGENCY SERVICES made coffee a staple in her life. Sure, she may have never been on the scene, but Noelle had heard many different scenes of trauma through the headset she wore for hours a day. Instead of leaving her with a sense of despair, she preferred to look on the side of the aid she was able to provide, even if it was just her voice helping calm someone until the right attention arrived. Making her specific coffee at the gas station-two creamers with two and half sugar packets, specifically-she tried backing out of the way of someone else needing the coffee area without any concern for what was behind her. "Oh! I-" The grimace on her face wasn't hidden. Speaking on the phone for a living didn't require the blonde to hide her expressions. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. Do you want me to buy your...half drank soda?"

Location: Pump n Snack Gas Station Date: June 10th, 1996 Cap:♾️ @boneyardstarters

Ira stopped while he was walking, lifting the soda can he had just bought a moment ago at the gas station. He cracked it open and let the small fizz run over the top of the can. Bringing it to his lips he slurped the fizz up and glances around, spotting someone coming right at him, “Aw, shit.” He muttered, “Here we go.” Taking a drink, he held his left arm out toward the other, putting a barrier up between him and them.

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HEY, i think i just saw NOELLE GRAVES walking down the strip. stop by to catch up and you’ll learn the TWENTY SIX YEAR OLD is working as a/an 911 OPERATOR and lives in SOLSTICE APARTMENTS. given they are KINDHEARTED but NERVOUS, it’s unlikely that they ARE NOT a vampire. i bet you can find them tearing up the dance floor to ANYWHERE BUT HERE - HILARY DUFF and you’ll know why they’re called THE FRAGILE BUTTERFLY. 

trigger warnings for intro : bullying, transphobia, murder, burglary

pinterest : link

Ever since she was little, Noelle knew there was something different about her. It would take her a few years to exactly pinpoint it, but when she did come to the conclusion that she was a girl who hadn’t been living her life as one up to that point, she was still quite young.

Unfortunately, she would never get the chance to make this revelation known to her parents, although from what memories she’s been told from her siblings, they would have been accepting. She has little memories of her own of her parents, and some she’s not sure are even her own or just feel like they’re hers from how many times she’s heard them recounted.

When Noelle was just a year old, still a baby, a home invasion that was intended to be just a simple burglary would go wrong, resulting in the death of their parents.

What Noelle actually remembers from her childhood is being raised by the circus family that her parents had been a part of before their untimely deaths. It was definitely a unique and, possibly eve, unusual upbringing, but also accepting and supportive environment.

Still, that didn’t mean the childhood didn’t come without its hardships in addition to the family’s tragedy. Not only did her gender identification make her a bit of an outcast, it also didn’t help that she was seen as a freak from the circus, as she was often spending her free time practicing or performing the art of trapeze rather than more normal extracurriculars.

This would only worsen during her teenage years, where she would eventually drop out of high school to begin traveling with the circus for the first time. There was nothing tying her to Aurora, West Virginia any longer with her siblings moving onto other things, and she was certainly tired of the peers that seemed to only exist to torment her.

Noelle would stay traveling with the circus for years, not only getting to be alongside the people she knew as family, but the opportunity to see more of the world than just the Eastern town she grew up in. She would never return to school, and, to this day, lacks a high school diploma or GED.

She would eventually get tired of never knowing one place as home after traveling around for so long, though, and decide to follow after her brother Dusty by moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Her resume wasn't very impressive, with not much listed on it other than work as a trapeze artists and references made out of other circus members, but she managed to get a job as a 911 operator. Somehow, the girl that was always so full of anxiety knew how to remain calm in times of other people's panic, and she finds the work fulfilling in way working at the circus never was.

She often makes her own clothes, even if they can seem a bit unique, with lots of bright colors and different textures. Some pieces are very obviously homemade, but she has gotten better at it over the years. (Heavy Andie from Pretty in Pink inspiration for this headcanon.)

Personality=wise, she is generally more soft spoken and hates confrontation. This is partially just a natural characteristic of her personality, but also just reminds her of the bullying she would face as a child. She much more likely to run away from a situation than fight against it, as which can be seen from previous decisions.

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HUNTER SCHAFER attends the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Feb 22, 2025)

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THE BRISTLING THAT WAS A RESPONSE TO the hurried apology was involuntary, Mei blinking away the natural tense to her body that happened any time she thought someone was upset with her, a reaction picked up from years of brutality thrown her direction. Even harmless gestures of frustration had her body preparing for harm, though she quickly offered a smile to the woman behind the counter to right any off-putting she may have unintentionally caused. One could say that Mei still didn't have the best people skills, though, even before life-altering events that rewrote her general opinion of people, she didn't have very many. It was almost ironic she had found herself in a customer service position, but luckily, she was usually surrounded by more felines than humans. "Sorry if this question is annoying or one you've heard a lot, but there's this one I believe you had last year--I don't remember exactly what it was called, but it was a strawberry pastry of some sort that I thought was in a heart shape. Does that sound familiar? I remember buying them for my roommates, and they were all practically gone in a day." Even if the trailer was now down one roommate and the artist was almost sure Mindy was the one who snacked on the most, the plan was still made to repeat this year, maybe as some sort of odd ode. "I don't want to ruin any surprises, but I was curious if you'd have them again this year."

puggy cakes — 3:45 pm. cap 0/4. @anchoragestarters

unruly and irascible she might have been, a commitment to her duties had been instilled within the rancher over recent years with the past few months witnessing a surge in fervor. not only did diligence maintain order but distractions provided a bulwark against mental tumult when her offspring were not clinging to her arms. busyness proved a double-edged sword - though it offered scant solace during nocturnes, it allowed her to cling to focus, to avoid shattering beneath the weight of her thoughts. ( perhaps more accurately, she endeavored to persuade herself of resilience against the vulnerabilities her mind insisted upon revealing. but how could it resist the re-emergence of tension, when the moschetti’s news broke, and vanishing - bodies, alive and dead, propelled another stack of newspapers on her desk? ) yet even the most indomitable amongst many falter, wounded and lacerated - and it was not until the query posed to her was reiterated that she became aware of how profoundly her attention had strayed. “sorry - fuckin’ - sorry.” partial-functioning gaze landed upward to the customer, and she should let someone else take over, really, but of course in lieu push was dragged into a shove. “yes - we’ll have valentine’s specials over the week. sweetheart swirl - raspberry and white chocolate swirl on a cheesecake. there’s more but - wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, yeah?” she wasn’t certain if that had been the question in the first place.

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MEI WAS DOING HER BEST TO PUT ON A BRAVE FACE, to turn her life in a positive direction after facing cruelties that no person should ever have to know. If she had done it once before it shouldn't have been so hard to prove she was strong enough to do it once again, right? Though, as easy as the book keeper tried to convince herself it was, there was a very noticeable difference. The only reason she was ever able to do it the first time, the one person who had helped her through every obstacle and jump over every hurdle, even if it came with their asinine remarks and snarky behavior, was the exact person she was now mourning. She missed every cranky or petulant morning welcome that they gave, the first person she was able to learn to trust after being given every reason to lose any inkling of hope in humanity. But if Mindy had taught her one thing, it was to continue to get up every morning, or really, to get up every time after another derby skater had knocked them down, which was exactly what she tried to do in the other's name. A stack of three copies of the same book being stuffed in the basket of her bicycle after she left the RV in the trailer park, she peddled into town, eyebrows curiously scrunching as she thought she noticed a familiar figure on the sidewalk. It was only when pulled over and came to a stop in front of the dance studio did concern fully consume her visage. "Bryn?" Mei asked softly, worry etching into the syllable. "I was hoping to catch you at work; the books had finally come in for February's pick for the book club." Ever one for prompt organization, she liked to deliver them more than a week advance of the new month. If it required visiting each member of the dwindling group individually, she truly didn't mind. Her hand raised but stopped short of actually coming within inches of him, dropping instead. "Are you okay? Oh...is that blood?"

Location: Alister's Dance Hall & Studio Date/Time: January 24 @anchoragestarters

Laying in his bed, Bryn had been deep asleep after a late night out at a bar, the issues of late being drowned from his mind as he attempted to keep the stress down. His body had been twisted up in his bedding over the last few hours of sleep, and part of his right arm was not even on the bed itself. His head had been buried deep, but comfortably into his very comfy-looking pillow, taking in a few harsher but quieted breaths, he flinched, his right hand twitching as he did. A couple of vague expressions of distress formed on his face. Turning over, he lies on his back for a moment or so before suddenly starting to push himself up into a sitting position, his eyes slightly opening.

Moving to get out of bed, he tried to walk before his bedding stopped him, bringing him crashing harshly onto the floor. Wincing, his head jerked up before he looked around with a more alert look. Just for a moment before laying his head back down and falling asleep again, a small hum leaving him as his breathing soon relaxed once more. Some time later he again shifted, getting up, this time managing to wiggle his way out of the bedding and stand. Stumbling a little as he walked from the room and out into the living room. Leaving the lights out as he moved toward wherever he was going. His eyes unfocused as he clumsily made his way through the darkness before finally reaching his front door.

Opening it, he stepped out into the cold, only wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. Making his way across the pathway, he passed several of the other trailers around his, making his way on unsure footing toward the main part of Anchorage. Sometime later, he came to a stop in front of the dance studio, staring at it for some time, before moving toward the doors. Reaching out a hand, he missed the door and in the same second continued to walk into the door hard, bouncing off it and crashing to the ground, “Ah!” Wincing he suddenly brought his hand up to his nose, cupping it.

“What-” Looking around he frowned, unsure how he got there, at least by his own memory, before looking at the person who had seemed to be watching him do whatever he just did, “AAahhh-- The doors locked. Heh.” Putting on an uncertain grin, “Weird.” He knew exactly for sure at that moment what was going on. Maybe, he realized, he was starting to feel at least a little too affected by what had been going on lately, especially since Halloween. He was sleepwalking again, along with his returning night terrors. Bryn gulped and narrowed his eyes, before looking back at the other person with a clueless look on his face, he laughed.

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MEI WAS BEGINNING TO PULL HERSELF out of the clutches that was the darkness she had once found herself surrounded by during the ending months of the last year; it was hard to enter the new one with an entirely bright outlook, as she never would have considered herself an optimist but rather a prepared realist, but she for once was cognitive of all that was happening around her. She was a survivor after all, and even when life continually found ways to knock down whatever progress she slowly built up over time, the book keeper would continue to keep stacking her blocks, no matter how slowly. Once she had found herself fully back involved in the routine of work, and resuming effort back in the tasks assigned to her during each shift, a semblance of the soothing nature of the thrift book shop that had drawn her to the position had returned to her, inspiring a the stack of novels that sat with her behind the register that had been collected from around the store for a new window display. The voice that drew her from consideration of including Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White was recognizable in an instant, a match in cadence and tone to one of the only voices who carried her through turmoil and strife in years past. It had hit her so suddenly that Mei was taken aback, a pause in gathering herself before she could process the request being made. "Oh, yes. Or, rather, I can look through; our library on the wedding resources isn't what I'm most familiar," she admitted, nor was it very commonly asked about. "There should be something in one of these, though. Let me see what you have here..." Pushing aide her own small stack, she made room for the pile brought over to be spread and flipped through. "Are there any other particulars for the invitations? I believe some of these take a bit more time for arrival than others." The sanguine theme of any literature themed around marriage matched that of which she was trying to find in opposition of the last few months. At the mention of romance novels, a smile slipped onto her features. "That, I feel much more confident in being able to assist with. I have a much wider knowledge when it comes to romance novels," and had been getting her own fill of such in life from fiction, as it was a reliable source of escapism that could provide an escape. "Can we narrow it down at all? Do you enjoy historical romance, or maybe something with a bit of a comedic tone to it?"

@fragilcline w. mei at the sleepy cat books, january 24th

"Um, hi." Her soft voice was almost inaudible in an otherwise empty store, no other sounds to muffle it, even a pin drop. There were thick catalogue books in her two hands as she approached the desk, the cane attached to her wrist by the strap, and ensuring her fingers met the surface that she was able to locate from the hollow of the sound that bounced from it. The scent of yellowing papyrus was strong, but she had accustomed herself to the natural and unnatural scents that people carried about them like wreaths. "Do you..." Her voice faltered, pausing and blinking over the set of unsettling deep amethyst of her false eyes, before smoothing her hands over the top of the pile and trying again, "I... want to help my soon-to-be... daughter-in-law with wedding invitations," how foreign it sounded resting on her tongue, and nonetheless, she was earnest in her endeavoring, "I was hoping to find... a form for custom invites that specialize in braille. I don't think that any of these have what I'm looking for, though. Would you... know of any wedding catalogues that might have that? From this pile?" She had scoured through the racks of magazines at the front of the first-and-foremost used book store, but to her dismay, most of the magazines didn't have any braille lettering for her to follow. "I could make them myself. But I feel like going through another source would give them, you know... the beauty they deserve," she spoke uncertainly, wondering if any of the words out of her mouth betrayed the lack of confidence, adding shyly, "And... do you have any romantic novels you'd recommend?"

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MEI WAS USUALLY OVERLY ATTENTIVE not only to every single detail within the bookstore but to any request or comment (or complaint) of customers, her strictly kept order of the thrift store and cat sanctuary making for a usually pleasant customer experience that was now tanking as her care for her job was slipping through her fingers. It was difficult to find a reason, she would've realized should she have had taken a moment to think on it (or really, think at all, when her preference instead lied with turning off her brain and acting on autopilot if only for the self preservation that her thoughts would inevitably wander back to Halloween night) then she would've realized a nihilistic theme had taken over her entire life ever since the truest friend she had ever known, who helped lug her out of the depths of hell, was now departed from this world. And she was supposed to care about books? An ironic question coming from someone who's life previously revolved the binds of fiction. Blinking her focus onto her brother, there was at least an attempt to try and lift the corners of her mouth to show acknowledgement of the comment and his ever-present persistence to offer aid, from its form of picking up the slack in her job performance to his attempts to bring some kind of humor back into her life. Mei really should've been more appreciative than she was showing, and that was the first thought she had that actually managed to break through the towering walls of bricks she had built up that separated her from doing anything but putting on a display of disassociation. "Then I suppose I was actually doing them a favor." It was the most casual continuation of the slight joke that she could muster up. If there was anyone who deserved her to use the small amount of might she had left to make an actual effort, it would be her siblings, especially when so much time had already been stolen away from them. Are you doing okay? Her lips pressed against each other, a sign of actual consideration rather than brushing it aside with a false guarantee that she was. "I don't know how to answer that question, honestly." Her shoulders drooped a bit. "It's as if....if I pretend reality doesn't exist, nothing exists, then it's easier to get through the day." The box had practically already been forgotten from where she had laid it, as that was just as little attention she had given it since it was in her hands just a few moments prior. "Oh. I guess it can't really stay right here. Will you? They do need to eventually go out on the shelves, but they're kind of a mess of variety." One she would have previously enjoyed sorted through but now the task just seemed large and daunting. She allowed a beat of silence hang, at least as much silence as there could be when cats had taken over the store and one would inevitably be finding some kind of trouble to be had in the form of zooming around or finding a balled up receipt to throw around. "Do you want to get some coffee? I can buy it....for helping me around here." And she did have ulterior motives of hoping the caffeine of her favorite beverage would spur her on to possibly make her feel more like a living being, not that she would put her money to such a bet. "It should be fine if we put up the closed sign just to run across the street for a few minutes." Although based off the customer interaction she just had featuring the box, it probably would've been better for business to lock the whole place up.

aang watches his sister with the quiet vigilance of someone perpetually poised to intervene, ready to smooth the edges of her frayed interactions and shoulder burdens that aren’t his to carry. his mind races ahead, crafting apologies on her behalf and assembling a mental blueprint for how he might assist with the towering responsibilities at sleepy cat books, despite his lack of an official place on its modest payroll. the customer she’s addressing doesn’t seem entirely appeased by her apologies, though they maintain a polite demeanor as they shuffle toward the non-fiction section, their almost-missing toe now a topic best left unmentioned.

to break the tension, aang flashes a bright smile and waves after them, his optimism stretched thin but determined to hold. “listen, don’t worry about them. i actually read somewhere that they busted the myth—we don’t really need our pinky toes as much as we think we do!”

his lungs collapse in a soft, defeated sigh when he realizes his attempt at humor lands with all the grace of a misstep in a crowded room. awkwardness tinges the moment, so he diverts his attention, crouching to inspect the battered box between them. his fingers trace the cardboard seams, testing for tears under the weight of its overstuffed contents. the books inside, their spines hopelessly worn and bowed, seem like silent casualties of too much expectation. despite his efforts to smile, a faint pout betrays his concern as he casts a glance back at his sister.

“are you doing okay?” he asks, though the question feels redundant the moment it leaves his lips. of course, she wasn’t okay. the weight she bore was palpable, and his asking wouldn’t magically dispel the ache lodged in her heart. the selfish part of him—desperate to see her healed, if only to ease his own sense of helplessness—was at odds with his deeper understanding. it wasn’t about him. he couldn’t rush her through grief or force her into a semblance of wholeness. he could only offer his presence, a quiet promise to endure the silence and the sorrow alongside her.

“i can help you move this box if you need me to,” he offers gently, knowing their siblingship far exceeds the policies of any bookstore outlaying that he wasn't allowed to help. “i can make space for them on the shelves, donate them to the library, or label them half-price if you want.” his voice carries the unmistakable tone of someone desperate to lighten her load, even as he wonders if he’s inadvertently coddling her, overstepping the boundaries of her independence, and undermining her ability to manage on her own.

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The Worst Person in the World (2021) dir. Joachim Trier

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MOVING THROUGH THE MOTIONS while her mind was on pause was the best way to describe each of her shifts since she had returned back to work. Usually Mei was incredibly specific about the books she was sorting. Each genre was only required to be sorted alphabetically by author, but she was the only employee who found it to make much more sense if each author's collection was also sorted in alphabetical order by novel's title, starting with paperbacks and hardbacks. And if multiple copies of the same novel were in stock? Publishing date was the next detail to fall back on. It was what made sense to her, and a fantastic way to distract her brain from focusing too heavily on the possibilities of what each chime of the bells above the door meant. Now, each ring was barely registered in the haze that was her head, and if she had been paying enough attention, she would have noticed she was barely getting the genre correct when she shoved books on the shelves, much less any other categorization. Turning bleary eyes on the customer, she more so looked through them like they were a ghost. (Did that mean she would eventually see Mindy? They were a ghost now, after all, weren't they?) "Hm?" Eyes blinked, as if the action could help bring her back down to earth. "Oh, I managed to miss my own feet as well." That she would have noticed, she believed. The question was one that partially took her off-guard. How many times had she wished someone would ask that years ago on the rare chance she managed to see another person? Usually people didn't care. "If I'm honest," she picked up on of the books from the box. "I don't think I think be at work." Contemplation passed over her expression. "But a lot of people would prefer not to be at work this week, wouldn't they? It's probably a silly complaint to be made on my part."

Relia had stopped into the little hold-in-the-wall bookshop in search of some metaphysical reading and honestly, they were fine just browsing on their own without any assistance. However, when they saw the woman with a box of books, they'd given a polite hello, though she apparently hadn't heard them. Honestly, she looked like she was in a bit of a trance and that only became even more apparent when she dropped the large box of books and nearly took out Aurelia's foot in the process. Though they weren't really one to jump down someone's throat, it was a little concerning that the woman seemed so...out of it. "Are you alright?..." they quietly asked, not wanting to pry but also wanting to make sure that she was good. "No, no, don't worry about it. I'm fine to look on my own, I just... Are you okay?"

Honestly, the witch couldn't blame anyone for feeling out of it these days. Luckily, the aftermath of the Halloween fiasco had started to die down, even though the idea of having come across Andrea's car accident still haunted Aurelia. That could've so easily ended in so many other horrible ways. Ever since then, Relia had insisted that Andrea stay with them in Rabbit Creek, worried that whoever was out there might show up to blonde's home address. They wanted to do whatever they could to keep their girlfriend safe. Honestly, they were both really lucky. Unfortunately, the night hadn't ended so well for others.

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HER BODY HAD MIGHT AS WELL had become one with the tiny bed deemed her own since the day she had rode into Anchorage, Alaska from how rarely she had left it if not forced to for work or any other necessity since the month of November had begun. Ignoring the outside world while she huddled in her bed was Mei's chosen approach to self preservation, only supported by the fear that the rest of the world would immediately see the blood on her hands that she saw every time she looked down at them, which was also the reason that the knocks at the RV's door hadn't first reached her ears as truly there. It took a moment of contemplation on whether she even wanted to answer it until Benny's voice was carried through the thin metal walls of the mobile transportation turned home, encouraging her to find the energy to come vertical to her feet, move to what acted as the 'front door' and pulled it open. An unfamiliar warmth filled her core just from the sight of him, a relief she hadn't known would even be possible to find from her view at such a low point she found herself at mentally that lead her to throw her arms around him with only a couple seconds of hesitation. It almost felt like a simpler time months ago before everything had fallen apart. It was only when she pulled away that she pushed some of her hair back out of her face, giving a mumbled, "Sorry," as if she needed to add to her list of things she needed to apologize about. "What are you doing here?"

Closed starter for @fragilcline

Benny had a hard time accepting it. It simply couldn't be. He wasn't so sure if it made things easier that he and Mindy had already had their fall-out, and that he hadn't been able become friends with her again. But it also made it much harder. He hadn't been able to get back in their good graces, despite the help offered.

And he had nobody to talk to about them either.

It was why he found himself knocking on the door of the RV for the first time in a long time. The place familiar enough, but odd as well. He remembered all the times he'd sneaked in and out, and though he had fond memories, they now felt clouded.

"Mei? Are you in there?"

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where : sleepy cat books when : november 16th cap : 0/4 @anchoragestarters

AFTER A CONSECUTIVE TWO WEEKS THAT were spent without barely moving her body from the small bed in the RV, time passed with glazed over eyes focused the poorly decorated aluminum walls, the sounds of wicked Alaskan winds whipping, and an incoherent thoughts that bounced between rapidly rushing about to being entirely turned off. However, circumstances that bore a lack of savings and a trailer park lot that needed to be paid for had Mei back at work before her mind was fully prepared to do so, even the cats milling about her in an unusually tentative sense, avoiding her as if her instability was palpable to them. Every movement of her body carried a heaviness with it as she moved about the dusty store full of secondhand books, weighed down by a guilt that was impossible to shake off, even if some of the last words to reach her ears in Mindy's voice were those granting forgiveness. It was hard to care about something as inconsequential as correctly sorting a book there was no guarantee anyone would ever care enough to pick up to even peer at, which was exactly why in the middle of stocking, she had carried the box of (dejected, worn out, hopeless) box of books on to the front of the store and dropped it right out of her hands to land on the floor with resounding thump from the weight of multiple pounds of books, narrowing missing someone else's feet due to her mind blanking on being attentive. For this reason, it took her a few passing moments of silence before even registering the need to apologize. "Oh. I'm sorry." The bookkeeper's voice was devoid of any emotion, not making for the most of genuine apologies, but it had been stuck that way for two weeks and counting. "Can I help you find something? If you go looking yourself, beware there's a few boxes randomly about." Conveniently, she didn't include that she was supposed to have taken care of those.

[fragilcline]

FROM HER SPOT ON THE GROUND, Mei was sure this would be her last moments. This certainly wasn't how she imagined going out and trust, she had imagined plenty of different ways that it could happen. Never once was it at the hands of scare actors or....whatever these beasts were, as she was beginning to think they truly did walk straight off the pages of a horror novel, but by those who had damned her to a life of torture for their own greed, seeking out revenge and a lesson to be taught after escaping. It was almost ironic that she had been terrified of the wrong villains for the last seven years of her life. (Although, to be quite fair, if she was aware of whatever these creatures were, then they probably would've been added to the list.)

Her free hand gripped onto the frozen grass, unable to find her feet as the situation overwhelmed her to the point where she couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't process any of what was going on in her surroundings. There was blood on Ash, and there was blood on Mindy, and there was blood on the few bodies that were now slumped onto the ground, and she remembered being in situations before where the only thought in her head was there was so much blood, how much blood could a body hold before it ran out, before it dripped dry because this felt like too much too much too much but there was always MORE. And that was always the thing: it always felt like too much, that it had to reach a limit but the limit didn't come and instead she just wished someone would once push her over the edge into finally enough because even if it meant the end, it meant everything had to finally stop, too. That was all she ever wanted, was for everything to stop, finally stop and be done and be over and stopstopstop but even if she was able to finally get one breath in, she was suddenly being pulled back under by the dark waves of riptides of all that was around her. No matter how hard she squeezed her eyes shut or her fingernails dug into her palms, there was still so much pain and so much hurt and so much fear all around her. It was hard to remember if she was on the ground in the middle of Alaska or if she was back in dirty motel rooms but it didn't really matter because either way there was some sort of beings coming to hurt her and there was no way to stop them and that was never really fair because she never did anything but maybe yell at her parents a few too many times or not want to share her belongings with her little sister but she wasn't a bad person so why was she always being punished by being hurt when all she ever wanted was for everything to stop and be nothing because nothing sounded safe and all encompassing and warm and nothing wasn't painful, maybe nothing was even nice, if she could just have nothing because WHY DIDN'T IT EVER STOP.

Mei had never been a fighter; she didn't have a fighting bone in her body. All she knew how to do was wish and wait until someone else helped her all out of it. She didn't really expect that then, though; no, if she was able to have a clear thought in her head it would have been for Ash and Mindy to save themselves and just leave her right where she was to endure whatever was meant to happen to her while one of them able to cut down that stupid skeleton that was still swinging above as if it was gleefully watching the show below it with its empty eye sockets. A cry rang out that Mei was barely able to notice when her arm was grabbed and her entire body pulled up, taking a moment to recognize it had come from her own mouth. Everything was still happening too quickly around her, her understanding practically nonexistent. She never had a weapon in her hand before, never thought she would even be able to use one should she have. It was almost an out of body experience as she was shaken by the grip still on her arm, her other hand swinging the axe blindly with a power surged on by her panic and every bad experience she had previously endured that she never had the opportunity to put an end to. The axe came to a halt when it collided straight into the being who she could only assume was about to cause her demise. // @nvghtcrrors

Mindy's heart was thundering in their chest, their mind running a mile a minute through the jungle of their own thoughts — they weren't so logically-brained, but they could pinpoint a thought that there couldn't possibly be an endless army of whatever monstrosities were lumbering after them. Chance glances were passed to the gnarled tree that hung overhead, and the plastic skeleton that hung from one of its branches pitifully. The color had steadily drained from their knuckles thanks to their vicegrip around the handle of the dagger, crimson soaking the front of their jacket and staining at the flesh of their exposed neck. If they could just climb up to the tree and start breaking the limbs that were flimsy to cling onto its mother earth, then maybe they could impede the path of the monsters without forcing the trio to cut down even more of them. Were they human? The indistinct montage of red painted a few of the fallen. It was impossible to focus, swinging their arm every which way to block the path of enemy weaponry. One thing was perfectly true: they were outnumbered, and the group was being pushed back toward the tree. Was the point to pressure them into solving the riddle?

"Fuck, Mei, get up!" The permafrost was layered with snow and the first sign of sleet in Anchorage, and if she didn't find her feet beneath her, they were all fucked. What happened if they got struck with the weapons themselves? Those thoughts swarmed forth and overrode the loose plans they had been batting around. Fuck all the drama and the past year's heartache, and Mindy's own centric self-pity. Mei was the reason that Mindy had found themselves back in the small town in the first place — in a dead-end reception job where they arguably were committing to good deeds insubstantially, the other's desire to take flight on shaky wings had inspired their decision to move back and offer their friend shelter. It had spanned outside of their work. If it weren't for her, perhaps they would have eventually lost their way, and stumbled off the path of the humanity they had forged to assuage their guilty conscience as if it were some ilk of atonement. Because of the bookworm, they'd forged new friendships and rekindled old ones and found... love, fuck. They'd save the wishy-washy debate on why they'd been wasting precious time gnawing at the bones of their bitterness, and instead, barreled through the siege of creatures toward Mei's side. Their dagger slashed against the shoulder of one of the assailants vying after anything it could latch onto, shrieking intangibly. If there were words in their mouth left, it would've formed a GET THE FUCK OFF MY FRIEND!!

They would not leave Mei again, much less to her certain death if the brutes around them struck blows.

Mindy's hands roughly grabbed the collar of the uncouth creature and shoved it to the ground, faithfully ignoring it in favor of tending to their friend's side. A hand outstretched, wrapping around Mei's forearm and clamping their fingers down firmly, pulling Mei to stand upright in the snow, if leaning on the labored trunk of the old tree. There was a shooting pain up their calf as the fingernails of the monstrous being they'd shoved to the snow gripped onto them and threatened to pull their balance out from under them, pulling back their leg to strike a kick at its face and unintentionally jostling Mei's petite frame. / @fragilcline

[fragilcline]

[fragilcline]

WHEN THEY HAD FIRST GOTTEN A GLIMPSE at the skeleton, Mei was already convinced she would not be the one who would eventually knocking it down. Even before all that life had prepared for her to get through, beating her into the soft spoken recluse she was nowadays, she had never been the athletic type, and that couldn't be more obvious than right then. Her plan for the challenge was to simply stay out of the way, or maybe, help with some sort of mental puzzle, not that the hints within the scroll were helping her much with that there. If she wasn't practically useless besides being the third mandatory body needed for Mindy and Ash's participation, then the minute panic began to sink into her bones, she was especially so, if not becoming a liability. She stayed far away from enjoying anything movies or television shows that included even the smallest amount of gore, even medical dramas, and would purposefully skip ahead pages when books chosen for the book club seemed to start heading down that road, in attempt made to not keep her own issues from imposing too many restrictions for everyone else. The fact that there was bloodshed and carnage now happening all around them in a fashion that felt way too convincing for a silly community game being put on for Halloween. The artist probably would've made some sort of dry comment about how they didn't really have much of an option but to stick together since those she refused to refer to as just simply actors seemed to be coming from every side and angle without leaving any place to run and hide, but there was nothing but panic filling her mouth and leaving no room for words or even a scream at that point. The ability for her to think was long gone by that point, every nerve in her body alight with fear in the too familiar fashion of the choking feeling of a panic attack was upon her, heavily sitting upon her chest and forbidding any oxygen to make its way to fill her lungs. Except she wasn't in the RV where she could run and hide under her own covers, not the bookstore where a backroom of dusty, used books that still required sorting offered some solace, not even the women's center that was the first environment of safety that she knew and she'd disappear into the bathroom for hours until the thoughts of doom and alarm melted away enough for her to be around other people again. She was being hunted down like the object of prey that she always feared she was, and just as before, when the face of evil was right there in front of her, she could do nothing but react in stricken fear that left her barely able to move outside of terror filling her chocolate eyes while waiting for it all to be over. Swinging the axe in front of her was practically useless as it lacked any strength or intention behind it to do damage to anyone, not that she had even gotten close to doing so. Despite Ash's warning, Mei's control over her own body had gone severely down the drain at that point and instead of gracefully being able to step out of the way, the back of her ankle catching on one of the tree roots protruding from the ground. She was sent colliding with the slush covered ground, making her even more vulnerable to every attacker swarming the three of them and farther from the skeleton that needed to be cut down, if that even ended this all. The only end she was convinced of was her own as eyes widened to saucers took in the ghastly faces of their assailants. // @nvghtcrrors

Once chaos had crescendoed over them without forewarning, there was really no way to stop it — the warning that cracked from the skeleton's plastic jaw and over the hillside incited a flooding of people — the alleged scare actors, Mindy presumed — and they were testing the weight of the dagger in their hand as they approached. Zealous for the thrill of the hunt, they yelled over their shoulder, "Mei, they're not gonna fucking hurt you, the faster we cut the skeleton down, the faster we can win, so why don't you just —" Their voice was drowned out by the haunting dirges that were falling like water from the mouths of the half-dozen actors that started swinging weapons at them. One of them cut it so close, the fortune teller would swear to the sensation of a hair being snubbed off the back of their head as they swung it around to face their assailant. The dagger lashed out wildly, a rat backed into the corner of its cage, trying to parry their strikes without bringing harm to the actors. One foot felt for the ground behind them, trying to make a path toward the skeleton for Mei.

It was out of the corner of their peripheral that they witnessed the bloodshed, and a part of them was optimistic that it was fake blood stuffed underneath one of the costumes and set to shower when the trio fought back. However, when they craned their head to the side, locked arm-in-arm with the same Frankenstein that had been taking swipes at them, their jaw hung agape as eyeballs melted to brine and rolled over flesh that was turning to soup. A glean of something shiny balled up their heart and dropped it into the bottom of their stomach acid, and the atmosphere of the fun evening had turned itself on its head. Fuck, leave it to Mindy to try to liven up Mei and Ash's night and prove that they were attempting to better themselves as a person, and get fucked by some evil robots — or something. ( Their mind didn't really have an opportune moment to marvel over what could be really transpiring, or mull back on the conversation that they had with Karam, sitting on the floor of the apartment above their own, theories exchanged back-and-forth with no end in sight. Certain mysteries had no answers. )

In Anchorage, nothing was ever fucking easy, once you were a Miroir. God fucking dammit.

"We need to stay together!" Mindy exhorted, the breaths trepidatious in their chest the further they leaned back to avoid the accosting of a blade slicing their own face open. ( Why were they robots again? Was this another lame lending project from that fucking pizzeria? ) The dagger struck out and sank into the shoulder of the Frankenstein, a warbled groan that leaked out of its mouth churning Mindy's stomach contents. "Keep fighting them! I don't think they're that hard to take out, maybe they're not part of the game —" An enraged shriek catapulted from their throat as another dressed in a Plague Doctor uniform brought down a cutlass, missing their jugular by a few inches and their quick wit to duck down and go for brute force. The collision of their body weight, head first and arms encasing its waist, sent the two of them to the ground, blurting out on the off-chance there was still a living, breathing person underneath doing their shitty job for the evening, "Sorry!"

Scrambling to their feet, they stumbled back, ensuring Mei was behind them with a brief glance. If the other two could continue encircling her, then there was nothing to worry about, and maybe they could start pushing back toward the skeleton and get out of this hellish scenario. ( See, when they first read the papers, they kind of thought the horrors that scare actors endeavored for was less... extreme, or more juvenile. Fuck. ) "Ash, your left! Your left!!" / @prismagpie