seaturtlesclimbtrees

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → you PIECE OF SHI-

→ MESSAGE FAILED TO SEND

❥ STACIA! → DID YOUR CREEPY ASS STALKER DUO HACK MY PHONE-

→ MESSAGE FAILED TO SEND

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → the world is silencing me

❥ STACIA! → i will COMPLAIN LOUDLY in person

❥ STACIA! → ... wait what's wrong with an all-you-can-eat buffet

❥ STACIA! → i want to redeem that just because you hate it

→ MESSAGE FAILED TO SEND

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → aside from an all-you-can-eat... what IS redeemable since MY PHONE SEEMS TO NOT WANT TO EAT THERE

@seaturtlesclimbtrees, cont'd.

[ sms: angry chipmunk ] What was that, sweetie? I'm afraid your messages weren't coming through all the way. [ sms: angry chipmunk ] Having tech trouble, I take it? [ sms: angry chipmunk ] I thought you hunters were savvier with your equipment than to let a little IT mishap sour your mood. [ sms: angry chipmunk ] But I'm sure Linkon must still be in good hands no matter how much today's technology makes you fuss.

[ sms: angry chipmunk ] I'm on my way. [ sms: angry chipmunk ] While I do hope you're hungry, you should recognize this courtesy voucher *isn't* for an all you can eat buffet. I do have standards to uphold contrary to what you might think.

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

(i have been so behind on posting finished comms- OT3 comm by @bunsybun ! 😭💗 THEY'RE SO CUTEEEE)

@xiayizhou @idolatri

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

— @eternaldroplets on x (via letsbelonelytogetherr)

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

❥ STACIA! → why would i get fired for just talking to her?

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → i am on nothing but my best behavior!

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → … but theoretically…

❥ STACIA! → you are completely right…

❥ STACIA! → i'm not even seeing these text messages right now… you're not punching anyone. or about to eat anyone.

❥ STACIA! →

❥ STACIA! → BUT OK OK give me like two minutes to tell this person off that thinks they're better than me at kitty cards

❥ STACIA! → spoiler alert -- they're not they're really, really bad

❥ STACIA! → and we can go!!

[ sms: stacia ] you really don't like this girl, do you? it wasn't her, btw. it was three people but as not to get you FIRED, i'm not telling you who they are. [ sms: stacia ] i technically don't "work" here so you should just let me punch whoever i want [sms: stacia ] what's the association gonna do? arrest me?

[ sms: stacia ] i still want to leave btw or i'll actually eat somebody and call it an accident. maybe the girl with the braids since you hate her so much.

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

Anna Akhmatova, The Guest

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

yes, yes. she's extremely generous. and he's hungry enough. good. all you can eat would be perfect for him! ... and her! (probably!) if she looked up for just a second to notice he was being diligent on preventing her untimely demise via bruising on office furniture, she'd of definitely thanked him for his gallant efforts. instead, her eyes were completely enraptured by her phone screen, unaware they even reached the elevator until she heard the distinctive 'DING!' of the lift.

it's as if mikazuki's words summoned the restaurant she has mind, the search on her phone ending as if her eureka moment commenced merely seconds later. she proudly let out a cheer of FINALLY finding it. "YESSSS!!" she cleared her throat quickly after, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes with a small laugh, "yes! that one! i just found it."

she flashes a cheeky smile at his comment, "oh no, the kidnappee doesn't get to apologize or ruin my gloating, but i guess i'll forgive you for holding the door for me. in you go." she doesn't wait for him to retort, tugging his arm again with her free hand as she heads in the elevator. as soon as he's inside with her and the doors close, she presses the lobby button with ease.

"speaking of... mikazuki! look, look!" she tugs him briefly with the arm she's still holding to catch his attention. raises her phone up for him to view the fruits of her labor, dragging her index finger and thumb over the screen to zoom in on the visitor-submitted menu and food images found on the business's instaStar for an easier viewing experience. from a brief glance, the prices were fair; not that they had to worry about that with their hunter's salary. with the photos she's seen so far while browsing, their selection was standard for what you'd expect from a typical all-you-can-eat. while trying to find an example of the dinner specials he referenced via visitor photos, she was unable to withhold a face of pure disgust at one of their cooking results—COMPLETELY BURNT? did they even TRY to cook their meat?!

"looks good, right? minus the burnt food. let's pretend we didn't see that, haha...ha..." her voice trails off as she does yet another swipe to display more food—ooo, dessert offered at the end. "since it's only a few blocks away, it's technicallyyyyy within walking distance. unless your old bones can't handle it." her voice carries a teasing edge to it, stacia completely aware of the fact that he's merely in his thirties.

the elevator descends successfully to the lobby floor, and the doors open just in time; she finally lets go of his arm to take the first steps outside and turns around, facing him with her hands behind her back with a wink. "let's go, kidnappee!"

–〖月世界 〗–

      "My, what a generous kidnapper I have." His voice is still amused, playing along with the younger's words with a smile. At her tugging, he follows along easily as his hands make sure he has his wallet on him and keys. She had a point--there was a certain fatigue that came along with being stuck in a building all day but he never complained about it outright despite knowing he would be better off in the field.

     "Maybe...a 7? 7.5?" He still answers even if it's unheard, watching as the other's expression flips to concentration as she tries to figure out her train of thought. There's a few restaurants he knows that are nearby starting with that but remains quiet to let her think.

     His eyes glance at the phone she had, watching as the words scroll by as her fingers skillfully continue their search for answers. Though he wants to ask if she needed help, he instead focuses on making sure she doesn't bump into any desks or chairs instead as her focus on the screen. It's little effort to clear the way of a few wayward chairs via his evol so they reached the elevator unscathed.

     He presses the button to head down, the light ding of the elevator sounding as it begins to head towards their floor. "If it's all you can eat, there's one a few blocks away." He finally says in his usual friendly tone, in hopes of lending her some help if the smartphone in her hand wasn't effective for her. "They have some dinner specials to balance out the meat."

     The elevator opens and he raises his hand to hold the door open for her to step in first.

"Ah apologies, Miss Kidnaper. Did I overstep? Hahaha--"

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

“You prayed for god to take you, to save him. He took you both instead. (Darlings, when has a god ever been written as kind?) He gave you a heartbeat. He gave him a tomb.”

— Your story still ends with you dead and intertwined | p.d (via lostcap)

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

Anna de Noailles, from "Tranquility" in Poems

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

[Panic] from @hunterxsimone

 *  ―  𝑵𝑶𝑵-𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑺𝑻 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺. | [ panic ] sender helps receiver through a panic attack

@hunterxsimone

perhaps jumping straight back to working a mere week after the funeral was a terrible idea, but stacia needed the distraction to try and retain a sense of normalcy amidst her grief. with her heart condition being... not the best, given the shock and turmoil from the... explosion, and with the stake of her emotional well-being, some mundane office work seemed like an absolute blessing in retrospect.

she just needed to ignore all the worried stares and sympathetic words. the more she allowed her thoughts to linger to anything NOT involving work, the more she thought about... caleb, and the last time she saw him... and then grandma... and then what was to be their last meal together... and then---

she furiously tries to click faster on her work keyboard to STOP THINKING, because if she strays further down that road, she knows she will LOSE it, and she can't afford to do that. not at work. her apartment is already a mess from her desperate attempts to retain control of her emotions. she can't allow her workplace to receive that same treatment. she's been doing such a good job so far. he'd... be proud, surely...?

...

stacia doesn't fully register that she's started to get engrossed by her thoughts, as the sounds of footsteps of someone approaching are met by deaf ears.

she's already having a difficult time at home alone. every corner she turns, she sees something that reminds her of... him. at the kitchen counter. sofa. matching trio mugs. his leftovers rotting away in her fridge that she's been too afraid to touch in fear of it... confirming that he's gone. she feels as if she's being haunted by him. her safe haven. gone.

"stacia?"

then, grandma. she won't be able to get those silly calls from her reminding her to be safe despite stacia telling her not to worry; she's a hunter, and she can SHOOT anyone that messes with her with a hundred percent accuracy! she won't be able to enjoy seeing her nagging caleb over the silliest things. her laughter.

"stacia!"

she won't be able to visit her anymore. she still has to visit her with caleb. caleb is going in the house first, without her--- wait, gege, don't go i have a very bad feeling--- don't leave me don't leave me don't leave me--- BURNING BURNING BURNING-

it's a foreign grip's shaking of her shoulders that temporarily anchor her to reality, all visions of her blazing childhood home and senses overwhelmed with ashes slowly evaporating only to be greeted with simone's blurry visage, "anastacia." her voice is subdued, quiet. stacia feels as if she has to strain her ears just to catch her name being called. but, she feels as if her hallucinations refuse to let her escape. no, you can't leave grandma and caleb behind in the flames of the explosion. you still have to look for them. their bodies are still burning behind while you're HERE UNSCATHED—

dimly, she feels shoulders shake once more, but even the physical touch is doing little to deter stacia from the other sensations that are overwhelming her as she lowers her head, hands tugging tightly in her light gray hair as a desperate attempt to try and calm down. gege's side profile. warm smile. door closed. explosion. SMOKE. FLAMES. EVERYWHERE. GRANDMA. CALEB. HAVE TO FIND THEM BOTH. THEY NEED HER---YOU'RE STILL HERE ALIVE WHILE BOTH THEIR GRAVES LIE EMPTY—IF YOU JUST TRIED HARDER, DUG THROUGH THE DEBRIS LONGER, YOU COULD HAVE FOUND GRANDMA'S BONES PIECE BY PIECE. 'SHE WAS SO PROUD OF YOU,' THEY SAID AT THE FUNERAL. SHE'D BE EVEN MORE PROUD IF YOU SUCCESSFULLY FOUND THEM BO--

a sudden warm sensation engulfs her senses, causing her thoughts to halt completely and stacia's eyes to widen, tears falling freely down her cheeks. simone is... hugging her? when did this happen? faintly, she hears some words being spoken, but she's in no condition to concentrate enough to understand what's happening around her. instead, she rests her face against the crook of her friend's neck, effectively getting the fabric of her hunter's uniform wet.

later, when stacia is of sound mind, she'll have to properly thank simone for being there for her. it's... difficult talking about what happened with caleb and grandma even with zayne, and a part of stacia secretly fears she'll never fully recover from this. as if a part of her died the day the explosion happened. the day she saw the dog tags on the ground surrounded by the ashes from the remains of her burnt childhood home. 'when U come back' alone.

but, with support from friends like simone, maybe she can fool herself into thinking she will be.

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

"Haaaaaaaaaapyyyy Birthday~~!" An excited squeal erupts from between painted lips. A muted 'pop' between the cheers and confetti flies about. Barbara jumps as her friend is covered in the glittering scraps and bits. "So, I know you have a date later buuuuttttt---" a ghost of a smirk glides across the Hunter's face as she quickly skips out of the living room into the entryway.

Barbara returns with what appears to be a Limited Edition Lumiere standee. Is it the one they saw at the event Stacia was unable to attend due to a mission? Maaaybe! How did Barbara get it? We don't worry about such things!

"What gege doesn't know, won't hurt him, right?"

//idolatri -- Barbara - she probably told stacia to stay away from the door when she came in lol

@idolatri

stacia immediately heeded her friend's warning and took a few steps back as soon as she opened her door, at first confused about the reasoning—did something happen in her apartment? did xavier burn something in his kitchen and cause everyone to need to evacuate the building again? but, no, she was just surprised with a birthday cheer and confetti!

stacia lets out an excited laugh of glee, a wide grin on her face as she clasps her hands close in front of her and right next to her face. she's definitely happy with this rather than the alternative!

"awww, thank you, barbara!!!" she cheerfully responds as she slowly approaches her friend, not even bothering to shake off the stray pieces of confetti that fell on her shoulders and hair. she playfully winks at the mention of the upcoming date later in return, but before stacia can get a word concerning that in response, her friend leaves the room only to--- WAIT.

IS THAT WHAT SHE THINKS IT IS?!?!

STACIA.EXE HAS STOPPED WORKING.

she lets out the BIGGEST screech of joy at seeing the absolute PERFECTION that is the Limited Edition Lumiere Standee she'd been BUMMED that she had to miss due to work.

"OH MY GOD?!!!!??!?!?!!?"

she quickly runs up to the standee, staring at it in complete awe. it's him. in the flesh. she could not believe her eyes. the pose. his smoldering blue gaze. omgomgomgomgomg---

"HOW--- WHAT-- I---"

she's speechless. she'd hug the standee if it wouldn't completely bend and ruin it. she elects to turn towards barbara and hug her instead to convey her absolute joy and eagerness at receiving this gift.

"thank you so much!! i can't wait to show gege this!! i know juuuuust the spot to put this in his apartment!" caleb most definitely won't be as excited about this standee as stacia clearly is, but that's not important. this isn't about him. "we need to take a selfie with the standee like RIGHT NOW."

she pulls away from the hug, just briefly, to smile at barbara with a spark in her eyes,

"aaaaaaand if you're free, help me get ready for my date later?"

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

“Given the choice between one lifetime spent with you or a thousand without, I will always choose you.”

— Danielle L. Jensen, Warrior Witch

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

she didn't even register what moby did until AFTER she hit the button to take the picture of both of them with their tongues stuck out, but as soon as she did --- stacia's expression changed completely into one of surprise, and her thumb slipped as another photo was taken. moby-- looking exactly like her (adorable, of course) in the same pose with stacia in a bewildered expression. she makes a mental note to send the first one to caleb to see if he can guess which one is actually her later.

"mooobbbyyy!!" stacia giggles out as she playfully shoves... herself, leaning against her friend immediately after as she proudly shows off the selfies she took of both of them on her phone, "you got me there; look at how they came out this time!"

she glances over from the corner of her eye, a wry smile on her face. "no fair. you're lucky i can't transform into you to do some payback. do you want to do some on your phone?"

cute? her ears and cheeks darken as stacia points out the grin she switched on for the photo. she does look good. it wasn't as if her self-esteem was lacking, far from it, moby just... hasn't seen herself in a picture in a long time. stacia looks good too, definitely cuter than her, with a smile made for the camera. with that kind of energy, her phone's album must be full of countless selfies.

"silly? huh." moby glances up for a moment, wondering whether to just stick out her tongue or do something outrageous. eventually, she settles for something in the middle and chuckles before leaning close besides stacia's face. in a second, moby's hair and face changes until stacia's phone is looking at the hunter and her perfect copy, all the way down to the winking eye and stuck out tongue. "say cheese, stacia~!" her voice has changed too; pitch and tone, energy and manner. "we're adorable!"

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

Frustration adorns her face as the plushie slips from the metal claw once again. The toy awkwardly falls on its side, in an even more difficult position to grab than before. Xavier can tell that Stacia is on the verge of shaking the machine.

"Just use your Evol no one needs to know!"

He blinks and look to her before turning back to the claw machine. Xavier's been preparing himself for his. He decidedly moves to take her place in front. Using his keen senses, Xavier takes a quick look around; notices the other patrons much too busy with their own claw machine struggles and the staff busy wrangling some children who were throwing tickets around.

The time to strike is now!

"May the light help us," he utters the prayer from Philos. The metal claw hums with an aurous glow as though it is blessed by the gods themselves. With not so precise timing, Xavier presses the button and watches the arm descend upon the unsuspecting plushie.

Only to completely miss and catch nothing but the air some inches behind the toy.

Xavier feels his heart sink as he turns to Stacia. Lips pulled into a frown (not a pout!). "Ah, looks like it missed..."

Again.

//idolatri - xavier

@idolatri

stacia is glad that xavier understands the necessity of retrieving this grumpy cat plush. or, at least, understands that she wants it. either way, he's in it for the long haul, and she appreciates his companionship during this rough time. especially since the more she catches the plushie only for the claw to drop it at a different angle, the more she's tempted to kick the machine. maybe break the glass. she's slowly losing her mind here, especially when the plushie ends up being in an angle she has been completely unable to move it out of, no matter how many tokens the machine takes from her. THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY AT THIS POINT.

in comes xavier to the rescue.

she's giving him a side eye, hearing him muttering to himself like a lunatic---no, wait, he's just praying. as long as he gets her that evil plushie, she's okay with whatever schemes he comes up with. she goes back to looking at the metal claw, seeing the object glow brightly. yeeeeees, yeeeeesss, shine bright like a diamond to catch the stupid plushie for her. (... what does the glowing even do? does it cause the plushie to stick to the claw like zayne's evol?)

she waits with bated breath, clenched fists in front of her chest, as her eyes focus on the grumpy cat plushie waiting to be picked up by the claw. xavier missed beforehand without cheating with his evol the few times stacia needed a break to regain her sanity. surely, with the help of his light evol, suddenly he'll Get Good and Get A Grip and successfully catch it, right?

she hears the click of the button and watches the shining claw descend. in slow motion. completely away from the grumpy cat. she swears she sees the cat plush mocking her by winking. THAT PIECE OF SHIT---

she's speechless. utterly speechless. she's staring at the cat plush, teasing her from her peripheral as she sees the glowing claw ascend away, giving very 'my job here is done'. she hears xavier state the obvious, 'it missed,' but she doesn't respond; her thoughts are spiraling, her lone brain cell working overdrive. one, she SWEARS the grumpy cat plush is sentient. it MUST be. two, the claw machine is RIGGED. will the employees notice if she breaks it open to retrieve the plushie? three, xavier's really bad at the claw machine. four, xavier's evol is also really worthless at the claw machine. like, wow. that was terrible.

she finally looks away from the plushie towards xavier only to be met with what one would describe as a 'puppy face'. if she were of sane mind, she'd almost feel bad, but she's been ridiculed by a plushie for the past hour, so instead stacia meets his look with a deadpan expression of her own.

"my plushie." she replies, calmly, looking away briefly to point at the cat. she KNOWS it moved two centimeters to taunt her, "is still there." she can also state the obvious, xavier. she looks back at him, grabs his shoulders, and starts shaking him. her stupefied demeanor is gone.

"WHAT KIND OF USELESS EVOL USAGE WAS THAT?!" her voice grows louder, but she's mindful to keep her theatrics toned down—she doesn't want to alert the others that she WAS TRYING TO CHEAT TO GET THE DAMN PLUSHIE. "just have the claw glow?! what, is it supposed to have the plushies go 'oooooo! shinyyyyy! lets GRAVITATE TOWARDS IT!!!'?!" she lets go of his shoulders to slide her palms down on her face. she's losing it just like that plushie wanted, she bets. aaaaaallllll according to its plaaaannn. if the grumpy cat's mouth could move, she'd bet it would be openly laughing at her.

she glances back at it. glances over at xavier. glances at the other occupants of the building, all preoccupied. plan B of committing a crime isn't too far off the table.... gege (who would be more likely to assist) and zayne aren't here to stop her... should she give xavier another chance first? she does have, like, ten tokens left… does he even deserve another chance after that embarrassing display?!

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

[seaturtlesclimbtrees]

⋆⁺₊❅꙳｡˚‧͙꙳ 𝑭𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑺 𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑫

╰ 𝒁𝒂𝒚𝒏𝒆 LOVE AND DEEPSPACE: TIMELOCK KEY