#I need to start on a bio for her but brain stuff and other obligations

[claudia-nomusaabara]

@xx-sharpfawngz-xx Thank you for working with me on another collage piece for another OC I have for the Metalocalypse verse!

Keep on the look out gor a bio for Vama!

[astonmartinii]

dj got us falling in love | lando norris social media au

pairing: lando norris x dj!reader

a new hobby can sometimes open many new avenues, sometimes even lead to love

landonorris

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landonorris: the morning after the night before

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user1 lando really be on his hobby game rn

maxverstappen1 so that's where you were the entire night?

landonorris i saw you dancing your heart out so don't complain maxverstappen1 you are overestimating just how much of last night i remember

user2 dj!lando unlocked ... does this mean photographer!lando is dead?

user3 he's so so sexy oh my

user4 the backwards cap is WORKING

danielricciardo so how long is this one gonna last?

landonorris i swear this is the one for me

yourusername

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yourusername: life recently... check out my boiler room set in the link in my bio it was super fun xxx

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user5 eating up the dj game i am obsessed with her

user6 i need to be at her next set or i'll become a threat to national security

landonorris sick set y/n !!

user7 bro what are you doing here? GET OUT OF HERE

danielricciardo ah i now see where the new inspiration came from ...

landonorris i need you to shut the fuck up yourusername awww thanks lando, send me some of ur stuff we can compare x landonorris on it 🫡 maxverstappen1 i don't know how you've pulled this off but i am impressed

user8 what actually is going on in this comment section

landonorris added to their story

[caption: bestest teacher in the world]

yourusername

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yourusername: life recently

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user6 ALERT ALERT MALE ALERT

user7 heavy emphasis on the mug rn

danielricciardo @maxverstappen1 whoa that hand looks super familiar

maxverstappen1 you're right daniel that hand does look familiar .... yourusername yall crack me up user8 lando you gonna let them do you like that? landonorris my pr officier said not to reply carlossainz55 bro... landonorris oh shit

user9 mclaren really keep all his brain cells i can't

silverstone

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silverstone: big announcement coming in fast ! y/n y/ln will be headlining the silverstone main stage for this year's british grand prix - the dj will take the stage for the sunday evening slot. see you all there!

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user10 idc this is fuelling my lando x y/n agenda

user11 i'm so fucking excited

landonorris i'll be there

oscarpiastri you are contractually obligated to be there mate landonorris let me be supportive !!! user12 oscar is done with the pining

yourusername thank you so much for having me !! i won't let you down

carlossainz55 by all accounts you're too good to do that user13 have they all just collectively given up on the secret? maxverstappen1 yes too much effort

landonorris

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landonorris: P2 in quali at home !! super, super happy, lets see what we can do on sunday

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user14 I AM LOSING MY MIND

user15 this is crazy i'm so proud

yourusername lets go landoooooooooooooooooooooooooo so sick

landonorris blah blah blah something about a certain someone being a lucky charm ;) yourusername does this mean paddock passes for life? landonorris it might have to

user16 they're so cute

user17 the crowd cheered when they showed her in the garage silverstone is ROOTING for this relationship

oscarpiastri let's get this bro

mclaren

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mclaren: LANDO TAKES HOME P2 AT HIS HOME RACE

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user20 OMG THAT OVERTTAKE AT THE START I AM GAGGED

yourusername unbelievably proud of you lando

landonorris love you too babe user21 BABE? user22 LOVE YOU TOO?

danielricciardo i saw that shoey man i'm so proud 🥲

landonorris miss you danny danielricciardo i miss you more yourusername am i a joke to you? landonorris i'm sorry i love you yourusername love you too ❤️

user23 why is danny always at the scene of the crime?

yourusername

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tagged: landonorris

yourusername: best weekend ever!! silverstone you're the best, my favourite crowd ever !! p.s. lando i am so so so so proud, though if you try to kiss me after a shoey again we're breaking up.

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user24 CONFIRMATION CONFIRMATION OMG

user25 them saying i love you under mclaren's post wasn't enough for you?

landonorris noted.

landonorris ALSO YOU WERE SO SO GOOD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH yourusername i love you more, thanks for the gig baby xx

maxverstappen1 do you take bookings? my birthday is in october

martingarrix i see how it is yourusername i'm not getting involved in this domestic you're on your own max

user26 god when is it my turn

landonorris

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landonorris: dj got us falling in love or something like that, love you baby.

comments are disabled on this post.

note: I'M BACK - so my absence was a lot longer than expected, i graduated uni (with a first, i'm so stoked) and my housing has been a whole mess. i worked at silverstone, hence the inspo for this imagine... ENJOY !!!

[fancyfade]

I got into DC recently and latched onto Talia like a baby duckling. Like even before I fully understood her as a character I was ready to fight for her honor, which is when ran into your blog on her tag.

The Talia brainrot has been really rotting my brain SO you got anything Talia related? Arcs you wish were explored. If you were put in charge of a Talia run what would it be? Outfits you saw, or made up, that you think she would rock? Do you know any other blogs that are normal (as in they know Talia's OG characterization) about Talia? HCs? Your bio says you like Star Wars, so what Star Wars character do you think she would be friends with? (I think she would be friends with Satine Kryze) Who do you think she would despise? Do you think she would be a Jedi? If so what era do you think she would thrive in? What's her favorite Shakespeare play? Do you think she would have a favorite quote from him? (I think it would be Beatrice's "I will eat his heart in the marketplace" from Much Ado. Beatrice's relationship with Hero is so personal to me and I definitely think that's the type of cousin/ older sister Talia would be). Something DC brought up once about Talia, but you think it should be explored more (WHO IS AMALA DC??? WHAT IS HER FRIENDSHIP WITH TALIA TELL ME MORE).

Oh most importantly: How do you deal with comics that completely screw her up? I'm reading Tomasi's Batman and Robin and GOD I barely get through the beginning of Vol 2, and I know there are comics that do worse with her. So I know I can't just drop comics that do a nasty job with her because then I should just quit Batfam comics in general and try some other fam and I have NO idea where to start with that and ugh.

Just anything about Talia.

Also, I know I typed a lot and if you don't want to answer some of them that is 100% fine! Or if you want to answer them in parts across different posts. I just need more with her.

hmmm so talia arcs i would like to see

well probably b/c i am just re-reading lexcorp, but i would like a more satisfying end to president lex stuff and lexcorp talia. I feel like he just kind of grabs the idiot ball, unless I am remembering the end to this saga wrong. like IIRC it was due to him being stupid in batman/superman and not any of the people trying to take him down... which is SUCH a shame b/c a story of talia teaming up with the superman characters and helping them take down lex could be so interesting. like. we saw talia feed calvin carson info to get him to go to the press about lex. we saw clark go undercover* to try to find some dirt on lex after lex covered up his crimes. lois got a lot of dirt on lex he conveniently made disappear about his involvement in OWAW . i want to see this all come together in a satisfying way!!

for star wars, I think Satele Shan (from SWTOR era) interacting with Talia could be very cool! both in I just think both characters are neat, but also for some interesting mother son parallelisms and contrasts. Talia initially wants Damian but then realizes she has to give him up to avoid him being raised in the league and to protect him from his parents possibly dying on him, Satele I don't think we see a ton of reason why she gives up Theron, but in general I viewed her as a character who did not want to be a mother, and she knew that she couldn't be theron's mother while still fulfilling all her obligations to the Jedi and fighting the sith, and that's OK (Fandom hates this). I think seeing them interact and team up to stop a bigger threat could be cool.

Also would be cool: To see Talia interacting with Imperial Agent's crew (again SWTOR :P). Talia in her lexcorp era often feels very much like she'd fit in with the vibes they are going for in that story, which is that no one really trusts anyone completely, or in many cases at all. A lot of her time in Lexcorp she has no allies and has to play all her cards very close to her chest as she's dealing w/ very dangerous people. especially if you go with defector-imperial agent (who defects in chapter 2 to... that guy who's name i forget since it's been a very long time since I played swtor IA. ardun?). B/c my understanding of defector IA (I've never played it b/c Aereinys is too mad to consider it, even tho she also hates the empire at that point) would, being a double agent appearing to work for the empire and having to pull off missions successfully for them to stay useful, routinely work against people who otherwise would be on her side, while working for people she finds morally repugnant.

For Jedi stuff I think Talia would want to be one of those chill nerdy Jedi who meditate and study. But if we go with her in canon plotlines a Jedi Shadow would work well :P

I don't read much shakespeare so I can't say much for what her favorite Shakespeare play would be. if we're going w/ Talia + literature appreciation, I can see her liking Hombre Pequeñito (link) which is admittedly a short poem and not a play but :P

For dealing with comics that completely screw her up: I honestly just write my own headcanon stuff and that's my canon now. It is helped a little by the fact that new 52 created a big break in my mental continuity, b/c they messed up so many characters I care about (Babs, Cass, Jaime), so all of DC from 2011 til now is very much "I do what I want". So there is stuff to re-write but less stuff.

I got my own fanfic (link) for how pre-Morrison Talia can meet Damian, and that's what I hang my mental canons on for them.

I do know that people who are reading Ram V's TEC run say it's got pretty good Talia, I haven't read it yet but hopefully they're getting her back on the right track.

for other blogs that are good about talia u might find some in my talia al ghul tag (link)... there are a lot of good blogs tho. @brucetalias, @immortaldino, @fluffykitty149, and @arellas are often who I think of for the Talia fans!

*for like 1 issue ;_;

[gingerwritess]

SPILT COFFEE WITH PRE DATING IDIOTS

ok i just realised i should be labeling these as parts of a series cause that might be REALLY confusing to new readers oop

SO this is following the dick-grab/only one chair ordeal! lets get some tension started up in here. i’m craving blushy loki and tension so this should get things moving in that direction for our pre-dating idiots ;)

part 10/infinity of Loki’s Happy Ending, masterlist is linked in my bio!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Break rooms at the Avengers tower are always...strange.

Today, there’s no “enhanced beings” or trained assassins eating donuts, it’s just a gaggle of technicians and facility operators huddle around the coffee pot.

Oh, and one probably psychopathic god-disguised-as-a-neurosurgeon-fake-boyfriend.

...that’s not even the strangest thing anymore.

You are a bit surprised to see Laing—uh, Loki—is the one in the middle. He’s the one they’re all laughing with, he’s the one telling the jokes, he’s—

“No, I think I’m going to keep her for a while, gents.”

—talking about you.

Oh, for the love of all that is holy, you just wanted some coffee.

You steel yourself for an onslaught of inevitable lying through your teeth, plastering on a small smile and pushing past Loki to get to the coffee pot.

“Gonna keep me, huh?”

A chorus of friendly chuckles goes around the little circle as Laing—god, no, Loki— just takes a sip of his own coffee with a sure “mmmhm.”

You force out a laugh. “Gee, thanks for letting me have a say in that decision, Robbie.”

“Mmhm.”

Okay. Disclaimer. You hadn’t had your coffee yet, so brain power...wasn’t on. And this might be the first time you’ve seen Laing without a lab coat, so maybe there was a blinded-by-your-fake-beauty bit of distraction as well.

Turning around with a roll of your eyes to head back out the door, you grab Laing’s chin in your free hand and plant a loud kiss on his cheek.

His entire body tenses.

...which only cracks the ceramic mug he was gripping apparently too tightly, hot coffee sloshing all down your front.

“Lok—LAING!”

Shoving him away, you grab a handful of paper towels and try to blot away the liquid, but the stain keeps spreading and Loki just stares in stunned silence as you stuff more napkins down your shirt.

The whole breakroom is watching.

A glance around brings you to a pause. “Heh...” you give a nervous laugh, reaching behind you for the god in question. “Isn’t he a weird little guy?”

Your hand fists in Laing’s shirt, dragging him right out the door behind you.

By the time you’ve shoved him into your office and slammed the door, he’s regained some smidgen of reality, not so frozen, eyes not so glazed.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” you huff, digging around your desk drawers for napkins. “I just needed to get us out of there, y’know? I don’t want people asking questions, not many humans can break a mug like that—”

“Why did you do that?”

He’s still standing in the doorway, still Dr. Laing, still holding the broken handle from the coffee mug.

“Do what?”

“You know.” He takes a cautious step towards you, taking the idea of side-eye-ing to a whole new level.

“What, give you a kiss?” Straightening back up with a sigh, you resolve to just try to soak up the stain on your shirt with tissues. “We’re dating, Laing, and since you’d decided to use me as gossip material, I thought you’d appreciate me ‘acting the part.’”

He falls silent, watching your every move as you swipe furiously as the giant brown stain on your shirt.

“I don’t.”

You glance up at him, eyebrow quirking. “So don’t act the part?”

“Don’t...touch me,” he slowly replies, turning a piece of broken mug over in his fingers.

“Okay...that’s not going to make for a very convincing act, but you got it.” Something about him seems to have turned almost nervous, so you shoot him a small smile. “No touching.”

He nods, clasping his hands behind his back.

The way he rocks up onto the balls of his feet is very uncharacteristic.

A little bit childish. Completely unintimidating.

Ever since that unfortunate accidental dick grab, you’ve tried to make sure that Loki knows that it was an accident. This can’t get any more awkward than it already is, but now with that almost-accidental kiss going over so well...

Here goes nothing.

“So how’s work?”

His head cocks to one side. “Why do you care?”

“Just trying to make conversation.” You shrug and try for another smile, but his eyes narrow.

“We don’t have to speak to each other.”

“You’re just bursting with rainbows and butterflies, aren’t you.”

“Clearly.”

“Fine,” you sigh, giving up on trying to clean your shirt and slumping back in your desk chair. “I forgot, I’m just your pretty little pork chop. Don’t need to talk or anything—”

“That’s quite enough, little sausage.”

Standing abruptly from your desk, you round the corner in two steps and stomp towards this insufferable fake doctor, hand raised and hurtling through the air towards his face.

He catches your wrist before the satisfying—but completely pointless—smack echoes through the room.

“Don’t touch me,” he growls, switching back to Loki in the blink of an eye. “Next time, you lose your hand.”

“Then don’t talk to me like that.” You try to struggle out of his grip, but he holds you tight.

“Fine.”

“Fine! Now let go of me!”

He drops your wrist with a roll of his eyes, stepping away from you as you do the same, glaring as hard as you can possibly manage.

It’s been a while since you saw his real person, saw the real Loki, you realise. Maybe that was for the best.

You can’t help but stare, trying your best to turn it into a disapproving glare, but knowing you’re failing.

Loki’s decaying.

Literally, his body looks like it’s sinking in on itself: he’s thin, thinner than before so you know it can’t be healthy, and one look into his eyes shakes you to the core—skeletal.

His eyes are sunken, greying. Hair knotted and greasy, cheeks hollow, he raises a tired eyebrow at you.

“Seen enough?”

You thickly swallow your pride.

“Where are you living, Loki?”

“I’m not moving in with you,” he drones, kicking out one of the chairs in your office and lowering himself into it—every move looks like it could break him.

“Okay...wasn’t gonna offer, but good to know.”

“Most nights I stay in a lab here,” he quietly continues. “Just using a cloaking spell. I know I look terrible, you don’t have to remind me.”

“When was the last time you showered??”

“Laing showers every night. I can’t exactly waltz into the showers whenever I want.”

“So things you do as Laing don’t actually help...you?”

He shakes his head with a thin smile. “The one casting the illusions still exists, separate from that which they cast. It’s not meant for long term arrangements.”

Your mind is reeling. No wonder he looks so awful, if nothing he does in one form helps the other—

“Oh my god, Loki.” Your eyes widen in shocked realisation. “When was the last time you ate??”

“I just had a pastry with my coffee,” he frowns, running a hand through his tangled hair. “You saw me, I spilled it all over you.”

“No, Laing had breakfast. When did Loki?”

He thinks for a moment, pointedly avoiding your gaze.

“I don’t count the days.”

You steel yourself and point at your desk. “Under the desk, Loki. Don’t argue.”

He laughs, raising his eyebrows at you. “Going to turn me in, now that you know my weakness? Should’ve known.”

“No.” You snap your fingers, pointing at the desk again. “You’re gonna take a nap while I go get you some food. You’re gonna sleep, not Laing, not fake Loki, you. C’mon.”

“I most certainly am not—”

“Yes, you are. You’re a couple of days away from dying, Loki, and I don’t want to have to explain how my fake boyfriend died for the next few months.”

Okay, that was too easy.

He gets up, nearly stumbling as he trudges to your desk, narrowed, tired eyes on you the entire way.

You’re expecting him to argue, to threaten you for speaking in such a condescending manner—but he sinks to his knees, gripping the edge of the desk for support, and curls into a little ball under your desk.

You don’t know what to say. Or do. Or think. This is...new.

“I’m desperate,” he calls out hoarsely, eyelids already drooping. “That’s the only reason you win.”

“What?”

“If you use this opportunity to betray me, I’m past the point of caring.”

“I’m not going t—”

“When you do,” he cuts back in, “I won’t blame you.”

I suppose he is taking a rather large leap of faith here, choosing to trust you enough to conceal him.

“Just, um, sleep.” You flash him a slightly awkward smile to which he nods, and you turn for the door, flicking off the lights. “I’ll get some food.”

Silence, save for a few ragged breaths that gradually slow to a steady pace.

This is a perfect opportunity to turn him in.

He practically admitted defeat.

But he hasn’t hurt anyone, done anything for the past month; if anything, he’s actually helped people.

In fact, the god hugging his knees to his chest under your desk, immediately slipped into an exhausted rest, seems nothing like the crazed god who led a swarm of aliens to conquer your planet.

Nothing.

You push the thought of reporting him from your mind, focusing on the bigger question:

What in all hell do you feed a dying god??

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

feel free to send me ideas!!

if you enjoyed…what if i linked my venmo…haha no i jest…no obligations….just in case….u don’t have to ha ha…….unless… ??

~ masterlist link in my bio ~

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug  @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas @doralupin01 @whitewitchdown @atomiccharmer @falconfeather23435 @babygirlicecream @avengrcs @vethrvolnir2 @bookgirlunicorn @wabisabigrl @myhealingstar @khaleesi-marvel @ei77777 @spacecrumbs @scarlettghost13 @rocks-are-pretty-odd @confessionsofastrugglingteen @easilydistractedwriter @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fluffyllamaswearinghats @milktearose @lcyouinhell @h0tshotholland @dontmesswithmemundane @southsidesarcasticwriter @helnik-s @lilith-akemi @fire-in-her-veinz @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mischievousbellerina @kcd15 @mellowgirl01 @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @allthingzhiddleston @scorpionchild81 @lokixme @blue-automne @galaxycharmed @devilbat @kangaroobunny @end-up-well @planetariumx @sarcsep @mrfandomtastic @amaru163 @im-way-too-many-fandoms @caswinchester2000 @kybaeza @wester-than-west @vintagesunshinebitch @adefectivedetective @poetic-nikolai @moonduhsted @kerri-masson @iamverity @innaminitus @spnbarnes @narcissxblack @woohoney @anxiousamandapanda @padmeisgay @authordreaming13 @lokisironthrone @theunknowinglys @highfuncti0ningfangirl @epicfallenismine @stubby-toe-589331 @fandomnerdsarecool @retrofantasyland @arch-venus25 @forever-trapped-in-my-dreams @littleredstarfish @marshyrebelcloud @okie–loki @atterodominatus @stfxlou @pandacookieowo @tonakings @shinisenko @tinchentitri

[alexaplaysgames]

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

Tagged by: @onlyhereforinteractivestories thank you so much this was a blast! 🥰

Tagging: I reallyyyy hate doing this because I don’t want to make anyone feel obligated to do it. So anyone that wants to do it, do it and tag me please!

Name/Nickname: You can call me Alexa or Alex, I don’t really mind which.

Gender: Female

Starsign: Aries ♈️ 🔥 I think I’m a Gemini moon sign or sum but I’m bad with astrology.

Height: 5’0 welcome to Whoville y’all! Haters can’t bother me cause I can’t see em.

Time: it’s 9:43 AM as I’m writing this.

Birthday: April 17th

Favourite Bands and Favourite Solo Artists (combined): Listen, I’m honestly not a huge music fan. This list would include: a wack of rock bands my middle-aged father likes, a whole bunch of French-Canadian artists no one has heard of, and the people that write Disney songs. I also really like Michael Jackson, The Bee Gees, Mika, Led Zeppelin. It’s a weird list.

Song Stuck in my Head: Well now it’s Beat It by MJ because I had to think about him. But before that, the House MD theme song. I have problems with a capital Need to Get Some Help.

Last Movie: I watched The First Purge with a friend it left me scarred... The world is fucked up man.

Last Show: The Queen’s Gambit and Beth Harmon can step on me please.

When did you create this blog?: uh... like a few months ago? Idk? For quite a while I did nothing on it. Just stalked people harder than Joe Goldberg.

What do I Post: Garbage, honestly. Tbh, it’s just like everything that goes on in my mess of a brain. It’s really unorganized in here fam. I probably should’ve made seperate accounts with the number of fandoms, but I am lazy. So, like my bio says: everything interactive fiction.

Last Thing I Googled: Other than school related stuff (which is boring), The Wayhaven Chronicles fics on AO3. I obsessively read fanfiction- it’s unhealthy.

Following: 102 (let me love you my pretties)

Followers: 91 and they are all my children so my mother can’t ever ask me why I never gave her grandkids.

Do I Get Asks: Not really, but tbh I wouldn’t ask me questions either. My parents don’t call me a disappointment for nothing.

Why I Chose my URL: Honestly? I was planning to change it and just wanted something that worked. Do you know how many users with Alexa in the name there are? A lot, apparently. Too many. I’ll have to kill them all to become the only one. I’ll probably choose a new one until then.

Average Hours of Sleep: I actually sleep quite a bit, somewhere between 6-8 hours per night which is healthy, so wow! I guess I have accomplished something in my life. Although I am a uni student, this term just started so it’s pretty chill. But it probably won’t last for long.

Lucky number: 6! It was my soccer jersey number for a long time.

Instruments: Look... I’m a band kid. The only instrument I can actually 100% play is the euphonium. It’s not a pretty instrument; it sounds equivalent to a tortured elephant. Don’t bother looking it up, I promise you it’s not cool. But I did take guitar lessons. I just sucked.

What I’m Wearing: literally a t-shirt with a huge ass picture of Rupert Grint’s face on it that just says Ron in a font that looks vaguely threatening. I got it from my cousin. Other than that, Roots sweatpants.

Dream Job: I’m currently pre-vet so it would be nice to actually follow that through! We’ll see how that goes though. Sounds like a lot of commitment.

Dream Trip: I would love to visit Australia or Japan! They both sound really neat. Also, random fact: did y’all know Chris Hemsworth lives in Australia? That’s... an odd coincidence.

Last Book I Read: In reality, it would be an IF book (Supernatural in New York, precisely) but in terms of an actual novel? The Hobbit. Actually no, it would be my Biology textbook but that’s boring. I’m a cool kid.

Favourite Food: I really love pasta. Like crazy obsession amount of love for any kind of pasta. I’m not even remotely Italian. Give me those carbs.

Nationality: Canadian! 🇨🇦 and I find Canadian stereotypes hilarious. I often laugh over them while drinking maple syrup and riding my pet polar bear.

Favourite Song: Once again, I’m not a huge fan of music. So I’ll put the song I’m listening to right now: Golden by Harry Styles. I didn’t even know the name of the song until I looked it up. I’m sorry.

Top Three Fictional Universes: The Percy Jackson universe has been one of my favourites since forever. I also love Middle Earth, the setting of Lord of the Rings (I sound so basic). Lastly, the MCU! I’m a huge superhero fan :) it would be cool to be a superhero but I’d probably die in 0.02 seconds :/

[douxreviews]

Cloak & Dagger - ‘Shadow Selves’ Review

"What if I just want to hurt people?"

Well, this one certain gives us a few things to unpack.

Cloak and Dagger catches up with some supporting characters, while bringing us up to speed on what Mayhem has been up to since last season's finale. Oh, and gives us a mediation on the essential nature of self, as you do.

The 'shadow self,' according to Jungian philosophy, are those parts of one's personality that you reject or choose to not know about. That's a horrific oversimplification, and I apologize to any psychology students who might be reading this. It's not really my field. I had to google just to confirm that much.

Most obviously this is a reference to Brigid and Mayhem, implying that Mayhem is that shadow self that Brigid has always had inside of her, neatly separated off into its own body. I believe there was a Star Trek episode where something similar happened to Kirk, but it was a little less... let's be polite and say 'nuanced,' than what we get here.

Actually, the Star Trek comparison is useful here, particularly when compared to the explanation that Mina gives us in this episode. Since I'm going to actually talk about it, I've felt obligated to look up what it was called, and it's 'The Enemy Within,' for anyone wondering who didn't already know. Additional apologies to Star Trek fans for the oversimplification I'm about to launch into. Fans of both Jung and original series Trek, please contact me directly and I'll send you an apology fruit basket or something.

In 'Enemy Within,' Kirk is split into 'good Kirk' and 'evil Kirk,' and the point is very much that even good people have bad stuff in them and it's a character study of who Kirk is as a complete character. That being the purpose of the experiment, one Kirk is very definitely 'good,' and the other definitely 'evil.' In 'Shadow Selves,' Mina describes the process that's been splitting her test mice into two, and therefore by proxy what's happened to Brigid, as resulting in one version of the self with no activity in the brain's rage center, and the other version having activity only in the rage center. Your basic Hulk scenario.

But neither of those descriptions fit what we actually see of Mayhem's character this week.

Mayhem isn't full of rage, particularly. She's task-oriented and happy to kill people she views as 'bad,' but that's not at all the same thing. If anything, Mayhem is a much better cop than Brigid. Sure, her first instinct is to track down and kill her other half, but she gets distracted almost immediately by wanting revenge on the guy she was already looking to get revenge on before the personality split, and then never shows an inclination to kill Brigid again, despite the half a dozen times this episode alone in which she could have done so.

Great job to the showrunners for the Mayhem backstory we get tonight, and the way it pulls a lot of the pieces of this season's plot together. Mayhem starts with wanting revenge on Connors, isn't able to find him, and then decides that since she wants to kill people anyway she should focus on finding bad people to kill, becoming Dexter with Day-glo fingernail polish. Plus, she's clearly capable of being thoughtful and kind, as shown in her comment about Ty being her friend. It was nice that Delgado gives her the advice that pushes her in the direction of punishing the guilty, by the way. Put a pin in Delgado, we'll circle back to him in a minute, but there's one last point about Mayhem that I want to touch on before we move on.

This show is one of the rare examples in which every single change they've made to the source material has made the show stronger. The exception, as I've said before, being not having Ty stutter, but that's more of a practical consideration, so we'll let that slide. In the comics, Mayhem is essentially what you'd get if Toxic Avenger and the Punisher made a beautiful love child, but having Mayhem and Brigid be two separate beings who share Brigid's memories and thought processes was a brilliant move and is really paying off for them. The way that Mayhem clearly wants Tandy to side with her and be her partner on the investigation is just one aspect of the overall impression that what Mayhem really wants is to prove that she's better than Brigid, and that's fascinating. I can't wait to see where this is going.

But Brigid isn't the only one whose darker side has come to the fore here, and now we get back to Formerly-Father Delgado. Wow, was I not prepared for how dark they went with Delgado. I questioned last season why they threw in such a randomly dark note as the reveal that Delgado had killed a kid while driving drunk, but now I think they were just preparing us for this next stage in his character development. I don't have a ton to say about drunk street preaching nihilist Delgado except that I'm impressed that they went there, and it was nicely handled how he factored into Mayhem's evolution from seeking vengeance to becoming an actually effective rescuer of human trafficking victims. That was not where I saw any of that going.

And last but not least, Ty and Tandy continue their promised power-up. Tandy's ball of light which lit up the whole warehouse was cool looking, but my inner fangirl nearly passed out with joy when Ty finally unveiled his full body of darkness effect and then we got to witness firsthand someone inside the dark realm of his cloak being tormented by visions. Now all I need to die happy is for Tandy to ride 'inside' him to crime scenes and leap out throwing light knives.

Bits and Pieces:

-- The debate between Ty and Tandy as to whether they should just step back and let Mayhem kill the human traffickers had valid points all around. Generally speaking, I'd put myself on team 'yes, please murder the human traffickers' but Ty's concerns about the victims being collateral damage was fair. That said, I did not feel bad when Mayhem ran that one over with a truck.

-- Mayhem climbed out of the lake 242 days earlier, so Evita's statement last week that it had been eight months was more or less on the nose.

-- The extremely mini story-arc of Dale, the skeezy desk clerk at the transient hotel, was a thing of beauty. From creeping on Mayhem, to backing away, to the obedient puddle he'd become by the time Brigid came to find the hotel was just perfection. This show really does understated very well.

-- Haven't we all wanted to beat up a refrigerator?

-- Oh Mina Hess, I'm so glad that you're OK. Mina has apparently now added microbiolical bio-chemistry and behavioral research fellow to her already impressive track list of Structural Engineer, Thermodynamics expert, plumber, renewable energy expert, and about twelve other unrelated specialties. At this point I think it's best to view Mina like Reed Richards, i.e. all purpose science-y person who knows all the science-y stuff when it's needed. Plus just maybe she'll encourage a few more girls to pursue STEM careers, and that's a good enough goal in its own right.

-- Today I learned that SRO stands for 'single room occupancy,' a type of hotel that in a less dignified age I would have referred to as a flophouse.

-- Tandy mentions in passing that she and Mina have kept in touch. I feel like we were cheated out of a few highly entertaining explanation scenes.

-- Special shout out to Emma Lahana for the physical work she's doing to differentiate Brigid and Mayhem. Mayhem moves in a very distinctive shoulder forward way, which is very different from how Brigid walks. It's a nice, subtle detail, and should be praised.

-- Apparently I was overcomplicating the kidnapped girl plot last week. They seem to just be human traffickers who panicked and let Mikayla go because Ty had suddenly appeared in their ambulance so they had to cover their tracks. I kind of appreciate the show letting me work that out for myself.

-- 'The Glitter Gutter' is a great name for a strip club.

Quotes:

Mina: "Don’t worry, these cosmetics were tested on humans."

Brigid: "She’s not me." Tandy: "She’s got your face and she’s got your badge."

Dale: "No one went in your room. I didn’t mean to make eye contact, I’m sorry."

Tandy: "What is this?" Brigid: "This is Mayhem."

Mayhem: "And in another lifetime, Ty was a friend. At least he was to me, I don’t know if he’d say the same."

Tandy: "Hey Ty, look. Ya got a deranged map twin."

Mayhem: "You don’t get to play the victim. (Slashes his throat) Well, now I suppose you can."

Fuchs: "Who’s up for Awkward reunion pancakes?"

Lots of good stuff here, with only a couple of awkward plot contrivances to really criticize. For example, it's a little hard to swallow that Brigid being pulled from the lake would make breaking citywide news under those circumstances. Still, if that's the show's biggest sin, my shadow self is happy.

Three and a half out of four shadow dimensions.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[starlit-scifi]

Chapter 6

First•Previous•Next

It’s the last round of exams for this term, and it’s taking a toll on everyone. You feel like you’re drifting from class to class like so much space junk, on an aimless collision course with failure.

Or at least with Lori; she manages to keep her footing while you topple over like a baby animal, bits of technology and snack wrappers spilling out of your bag. You look up at her, mortified, and she cracks up.

“Sorry, sorry...” She pulls herself together, and helps you pick up the last of your stuff. “I really need to not read while I walk.”

“You do,” you say firmly. She helps you up, and you wince as you put weight on the knee that you fell on.

“You okay?” she asks, concern in her grey eyes, and holds onto you a little longer. It takes you a moment to remember how to breathe, then another to remember what she just asked you.

“I think so, I’ll just walk it off,” you say quickly, and she nods and lets go, still staring at you. “So… where are you off to?”

She blinks, then shakes her head, a tired smile on her face. “Sorry I’m so spacey, I barely slept. I have Ethics of—Well, it’s a mil class. Last week they decided the final would be a written exam. I have it tomorrow and it’s going to be a disaster.”

“Okay, you should probably be reading for that.” You raise an eyebrow. “In a more stationary manner though.”

She chuckles at that. “Will do. What are you doing later?”

You sigh. “Studying. Unconventional Bio, and Empires of the Fourth Sector. Both finals are in two days.”

She winces. “Good luck. Those sound awful.”

“Eh…” you really can’t defend either class at this point. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“If you want to take a break, let me know. I need to get caught up on Missing Frequency.”

You laugh. “The only thing you need to do is study for that exam!” She shrugs innocently, and you can’t help but smile. “...But sure. After last week—”

“I know! Kara makes me so mad, can’t she just…" she glances off to the side and you notice one of your instructors walking by. She clears her throat. “Anyway. I should get back to studying. And you, too,” she adds sternly.

You smile. “Will do.”

---

The rest of finals week goes by in an over-caffeinated blur, but you’re pretty sure you pass everything. With exams finally over, there’s a few weeks of downtime before the next term starts. Unity is too far away from most of the colonies for the majority of students to bother travelling back, and since room and board for short breaks is paid for while travel home is not, almost everyone but the richest of the rich decides to stay. In your social stratum, the name of the game is “networking”, which your generation understands as “party hard”.

Of course, there are rules. The mils can’t have anything on their side of the ship, and are expected to wake up and train as usual, as well as participate in “teambuilding activities,” which Manda says with a scary grin on her face that you’re not sure you want to understand. On your side, things are a bit more relaxed, especially in your hall since your hall director tends to be at the center of most of the rowdier parties. Since you’d rather be sober enough to walk the next morning, you tend to keep to your own room and hold quiet get-togethers whenever friends do come by.

It’s getting into what passes for evening when you and your typical bunch of year-mates are sitting in your room playing a virtual board game as you munch on hoarded cheesy snacks. Keegan makes a particularly risky move and somehow manages to win the entire game. Everyone groans, Hayleen throws a cheese puff at his head.

“Aurie, you need to restart your airscreen,” she whines, “It’s glitching up again.”

“Don’t pick on it, it’s sensitive,” you say faux-angrily, tossing a cheese puff at her. She bounces it off her nose and catches it in her mouth. Your polite gathering devolves into a snack-throwing contest, until you’re alerted that someone’s at the door. You dodge several flying cheesebombs as you go to answer it. No sooner does the door open than you are shoved out of the way.

“Delenz, your room is a mess! Demerits! Demerits for all of you!” You recognize the voice as Lori’s and grab a stray cheese puff and throw it at her. It hits her right in the forehead. She laughs and says, “You know, if I weren’t so impressed by your perfect aim I might actually give you a demerit for that.”

“Lori, you know we’re off duty,” Manda says with a chuckle, closing the door behind her.

“And thank the stars,” Lori groans.“You wouldn’t believe how much paperwork we’ve had to do tonight!”

“It’s all virtual, mostly pre-filled, even,” Manda points out, scooting her way into your circle of cheese dust and depravity.

“That doesn’t make it any less irritating,” Lori grumbles lightheartedly, and shoves herself in beside Manda. You dig out another bag of snacks and a couple bottles of water and hand them to the pair.

“How do you even get your hands on this much food?” Manda asks between bites of chips.

“My parents got me this ridiculous care package subscription service. Plus I take food to my room most of the time, and then I don’t eat a lot, so I just save the non-perishable sides for later…”

“Deeeeemerits,” Lori hisses evilly.

You giggle and elbow her. “You wouldn’t,” you tease.

“I could,” she returns. “Posters on the walls—”

“Approved sticky tapes,” you cut in.

“Unnecessary electronic devices.”

“That’s not a rule.”

“Unmade bed and messy desk area.”

You stick your tongue out at her. “Also definitely not rules.”

“Do you really have zero rules on this side?”

You shrug. “No excessive noise after school hours, no sleeping over on school nights, no fire hazards, all the common sense ‘living in space’ kind of rules.”

“Aaaand no illicit drugs,” Manda singsongs. Lori freezes. Her eyes widen and she turns around slowly.

“You didn’t.” Her voice is low and almost threatening.

Manda shrugs. “I might have…”

Her cheerful attitude does absolutely nothing to calm Lori down. “You know it’s—”

Manda turns and puts both hands on Lori’s shoulders. You’re the only one close enough to hear her say softly, “Lori. Poor kid wouldn’t have a home to go back to. And it’s tame stuff.”

Lori’s face turns red, and you can practically see the moral dilemma working up to a thunderstorm in her brain. Eventually she closes her eyes and lets out a long, tired sigh, sticks out a hand, and says, “Give it.”

Manda obliges, pulling a small opaque cloth bag from her pocket. Lori takes it from her, then grabs her by the fingers and delivers a swift and audible smack to the back of her hand. Manda hisses in pain and pulls herself free.

“That’s for stealing,” Lori growls.

“Fair,” Manda concedes. “Good shot, too. Three points.”

Lori lets out a victory screech and pulls up her airscreen to add another tally mark to a spreadsheet that shifts around before your eyes—you can tell by the few editors’ names you recognize that it’s some sort of mil thing, and you can infer that it’s probably a stupid one, and definitely unauthorized. You roll your eyes and get Manda a juice from your cold storage compartment. She nurses her hand as Lori makes the two other cadets in the room promise not to tell anyone. You look around at your handful of suppie yearmates. You’re not all totally close, but everyone in the room is someone you can trust with at least the little things. Hayleen shrugs at you, you shrug back.

So the little black bag sits in the middle of the circle. Manda takes it, pulls it open, and pours the contents into an empty bowl. There’s a dozen little colorful pearlescent spheres; you’d think they were candy if you didn’t know better.

Manda looks around at the people in your room. “Nobody’s had anything in the past twelve hours, right? Not even headache medicine?” A chorus of soft “no”s and shaken heads. “Then we’re all doing this, each and every one. So if anyone lets it slip, we all go down.”

“Fair,” Lori murmurs.

“It’s just a pill,” Manda says, rolling a tiny sphere between her fingers. “Drink enough water that it goes down.” She demonstrates, then passes the bowl to the guy to her left. You watch it go around, and obediently take your turn. You swallow it easily, and you finish your bottle of water just to make sure. As Lori picks one up, she says to Manda, “You know, I really hate you sometimes.” Then she pops it in her mouth and takes a swig of water.

Manda shrugs, grinning, and ruffles Lori’s hair as she gets up to dispose of the two remaining pills. You hand out more snacks, then bring up your video library on your airscreen and start scrolling. After much complaining and teasing, the majority of your little gathering agrees on Two Brides, A Sweektar, And Jon.

Lori groans as you press play. “I’ve seen that one way too many times.”

“So have I, but it’s the comedy classic of our generation!” You say, giving your best announcer’s voice.

She rolls her eyes. “It’s inane, vapid nonsense and the character development isn’t even good.”

You’re a bit confused, and you’re pretty sure the pills haven’t started working yet. Maybe. “It’s supposed to be a comedy, not…” Coming to a realization, you grin, nudging her with your elbow. “You’re actually really into those cheesy overdramatic romantic dramas, aren’t you?”

She looks away. “I refuse to respond to that question.”

You smile. “That’s cute,” you tease.

“You’re cute,” she fires back. “Like… really… cute,” she mumbles, and her cheeks get more red with every word.

It takes a couple moments for you to process what she said, but when you get there, you freeze, staring at her, and she meets your gaze steadily. She opens her mouth, then closes it. Swallows. Then opens it again and says, slowly and deliberately, “I am now aware that I am not totally sober anymore and I am not going to talk anymore because if I do I’m just going to keep saying stupid things all night that…” She pauses her rambling to take a breath. “That you shouldn’t listen to.” Her lip wobbles and it, very unreasonably, worries you.

“I… I’m getting you another water.” She nods stiffly and plops down on the floor, watching the opening credits with a very determined look on her face.

With your arms full of goodies, you can barely get a finger free to answer the door when the bell rings. You recognize the face on the screen and manage to press the unlock button. Manda enters, grinning widely, and very gallantly offers to help you with your burden. When you’re done distributing yet another round of snacks, you rejoin the circle and she slides in between you and the person to your right.

“Suppie boys are pretty,” she confides, leaning heavily against your shoulder. “Aaaand, I got contact info... and he says his room is just across the hall if I’d like to ‘hang out later’, he said.”

“This is a girls’ hallway,” you point out. Manda considers it for a moment, then shrugs.

“Well suppie girls are pretty then, and I still got a date,” she concludes.

You happen to glance at the other side of the room just as someone from your bio lab tosses a cheesy puff at you. You shriek and duck, and as you fling one back, you ask her teasingly, “Can’t you get demerits for sleeping over in another hall?”

She shrugs. “Eh. It’s only a problem if you’re loud.” She grabs another cheesy puff and nails Keegan right on the cheek, then turns back to you. “This whole hallway is being loud, if you haven’t noticed.”

It is a little loud, you decide as Manda abandons you to join the cheesy puff melee. Almost uncomfortably so. You pull the blanket off your bed, sit in the corner against your desk, and wrap yourself in it, soft fabric by your ears muffling everything. You close your eyes; it’s not like anyone’s really paying attention to the movie anyway, comedy classic or not.

A soft “I’m cold,” reaches your ears. And then a quieter, almost glum: “I’m also still not talking to you.” You peek out from under your blanket to see Lori sitting on the floor a foot away from you. She’s let her hair down, and glances at you through the loose strands before looking away again.

“Then I’m definitely not sharing,” you say as you scoot over and redistribute the blanket so Lori can wrap it around herself, too. She slides up against you, seeking warmth. You oblige, draping your arm across her shoulder so she can put her cheek against your chest. It’s awkward since she’s bigger than you, but somehow in her quest for a cozy spot you make it work.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You know you’re easily overstimulated on this stuff; the noise of the party and the touch of your own clothing against your skin is nearly all you can take and feeling Lori against you is…

Actually, oddly, comforting. You feel warm, and it’s lulling you to sleep…

---

You wake up. The movie had to have ended hours ago and everyone who decided to spend the night is still asleep.

Including Lorina, you realize. At some point you must have both laid down on the floor, face to face, curled up under your blanket. She sighs softly in her sleep and draws closer to you.

And you’re warm, so warm, but it’s different from last night, somehow. Like you want to… you don’t know, you…

You wiggle yourself free and get up, making sure she’s still covered. You grab a pillow and attempt to nudge it under her head, but she grumbles something and wraps herself around it instead. That makes you smile, but you don’t have any idea where the lonely feeling in your chest comes from.

You make your way across the dimly lit room of sleeping people to secure the necessary supplies for taking a shower, cringing as you step on something crunchy. You’ll definitely need to clean up your room once everyone leaves, since at this point it’s probably messy enough for you to actually get a demerit or three from your incredibly lazy hall director… provided that she’s not too hungover to get out of bed.

As you make your way down the hall to the communal bathroom, you run into Manda. She’s wearing last night’s t-shirt and some sweatpants that don’t quite fit her, and carrying two covered bowls of whatever’s being served for breakfast today along with two bottles of juice. She smiles sunnily at you.

“Morning!” she sings out. “What’s got you up this early?”

“I dunno. I just woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.”

She nods knowingly. “I can’t sleep with cuddlers either.” When you flinch, she grins and teases, “Don’t lie; I saw you two curled up together. It’s cute.”

“I didn’t— she didn’t— she said she was cold, so I just—”

She shakes her head and smiles, though there’s a little sadness in it. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me… And I don’t think you’ll need to explain yourself to Lori, either. She likes you, you know.”

“Of course she does, we’re partners.”

She shakes her head again. “That’s sweet. You’re a sweet person.” She stares at you for a moment, and you feel frozen in her sudden seriousness. “Take care of her, Delenz,” she says softly, a strange fierceness in her eyes. “You’re both going to need each other more than you think.”

And she puts on that sunny smile again, wishes you a good day, and flounces away.

You take a quick shower, and for some reason you don’t stop feeling naked even after you’re fully dressed.

Back in your room, people are starting to wake up. Keegan—bless him—has already recruited a couple people into cleaning up. You give him a thumbs-up of gratitude and he smiles back. Lori’s still sleeping, and when you shake her gently and ask if she needs to leave she mumbles “no” and wriggles away, so you just shrug it off and help clean in between giving people directions to the bathroom or back to their own halls. Eventually everyone is gone but the softly snoring blanket-covered lump on your floor. You go get (late) breakfast, and the sound of your return wakes her up. She sits up groggily and you plop down beside her.

“Good morning,” you say, and she yawns.

“Mmm… morning,” she mumbles as she sits up, still draped in your blanket. “How long was I asleep? What time—” She looks down at her wristscreen and curses. “I’m so getting in trouble for this.” She throws off the blanket and starts to hunt for her shoes.

Just then you get a (startlingly loud) message on your airscreen. You wince and quickly turn the volume down from movie-theatre-level before opening your inbox. The header shows a new message from Manda that’s tagged as important business, so you open it and load the attachment. It’s a screenshot of a forward of a forward of a badly-formatted schedule with a dozen names on it you don’t recognize, except for Manda Yu and Lorina Estevna, which are highlighted with bright pink glitter stickers. The message under the attachment is You’re welcome! accompanied by cheesy hearts and flowers, and signed Manda Yu. Lori slumps down on your bed.

“That girl,” she groans into her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, she saved our butts, undoubtedly.” She shakes her head. “Who even knows what kind of strings she had to pull to get the schedule rewritten so last-minute, but we’re both off the hook for another… three hours? I owe her big time,” she mutters as she runs her hands through her hair. “…I also need a shower.” She turns guiltily to you. “Can I use your shampoo and stuff? I really shouldn’t be seen on the mil side right now.”

“Sure, no problem. You can borrow some clean PJs too if you’d like; I have plenty.”

She accepts graciously and you send her off to the bathrooms. The door closes and you return to your oatmeal, lukewarm and pasty with the gross-tasting kind of artificial fruit on it. It tastes like nothing in your mouth, but you’re determined to get through it because you know you just need something in your system at this point. After a few minutes you give up and just stare into the half-empty bowl, your mind whirling.

She thinks I’m cute.

She’s my partner.

We totally cuddled last night.

But she’s my partner.

I definitely really like her.

But she’s…

She comes back in; you hear her footsteps pause and then speed up. She kneels beside you and rests a hand on your shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

You struggle to open your eyes, and for a moment all you see is blurriness and a tangle of eyelashes.

“I’m fine,” you lie.

“Are you sure?”

You shake your head, desperately trying not to cry. “I’ll be fine, this just… happens with this stuff,” you try to say it firmly, but it comes out more strained than you meant it to. “I’m just…” You feel your nails digging into your skin through your pajama pants. “Sleep-deprived, that’s all.”

“...Okay.” There’s concern in her voice, and that hurts more than anything else.

You hesitate, then lean against her shoulder. She’s warm, and her hair’s still wet, and she smells like your body wash and that makes you feel a hundred things you can’t begin to name. “I’m sorry,” you murmur.

“For what?” She slides her arm around you, and though you’re grateful for the bit of comfort, you can’t help but feel you’ve betrayed her.

“Being a mess, and you getting stuck here all night, and—the pills…”

She sighs. “It’s not a big deal.” You look up at her and she gives a tired half-smile. “Really. This all could have gone a lot worse. I’m not mad at you; if anything I’m mad at Manda… but even then I can’t be anything but grateful for her.” She laughs. “Stars know I don’t need any more punishment duty.” She gets a call and pulls away with a sigh to answer it. “Speak of the devil—ah, crap, it’s a video call.”

“It’s a video call to you too, sweetie,” Manda’s cheery voice comes from Lori’s airscreen. “How are you two doing?”

“Fine, thanks,” she grumbles, then exclaims, bewildered, “Wait, how did you know—”

Manda rolls her eyes, grinning. “You had to crash sometime. You haven’t slept more than five hours a night for the past week and a half. You barely slept at all during finals.”

“That’s—!” Her head hangs in defeat, though you don’t miss her sideways smile. “That’s actually true. You win.”

“I know I do, hence my very high score, which you need to catch up to.” She grins mischievously. “Delenz, keep that one away from the caffeine, you hear? Or I will give you demerits.”

You giggle. “Yes, ma’am.”

She blows a kiss. “Stay warm, lovebirds!” Manda hangs up before Lori can get another word out, so she settles for tossing the device onto the pile of blankets beside her. Lori’s face is thoroughly pink as she tells you, “Don’t take her seriously, please.” She’s almost begging, and it makes your stomach feel all funny—actually, that’s probably the oatmeal.

“I won’t,” you promise.

“Good.”

Silence. It’s awkward. It seems to be growing as quickly and boundlessly as the known universe itself. To counteract the endless pull of strange and unmeasurable forces propelling you towards saying or doing something exceedingly stupid, you opt for shovelling cold, congealed oatmeal into your face as Lorina’s fingers whirl across her airscreen.

When your sad excuse for breakfast has become totally inedible, you flit around your room cleaning aimlessly as Lori dozes off again until her time is up. She wakes up with a jerk when you put a hand on her shoulder, but quickly collects herself and gets ready to leave, promising to return your stuff as soon as she possibly can.

As soon as she’s gone, you flop down on your bed and cry out in frustration into your pillow.

First•Previous•Next