#Parallel Susie; Musings

[parttimepuff]

Goblin won’t make us leave, we’ll just harass him more.

We still have m!a’s, remember? I do anyway

"I can't make you leave, anyway. I am. In Prison. In case you forgot." Goblin sarcastically grumbled. "It would just… encourage them more…" Suzie added, clearly struggling to remain awake at this point. "Yeah, that's true." He agreed, pausing. While he doubted he could convince her to do anything she wasn't already going to do, he had to speak up about this. "…um, Suzie? Are you-um. You can take a break from grilling me. I'm not going anywhere."

"I’d say it’s more like a rotisserie…" Suzie mumbled, her eye having trouble staying open. "Like on a sp-Jesus." Goblin interrupted himself, hearing the sound of a door being broken in through. "You aren’t, the only one worried though…" The redhead sighed. Panic struck him. "That's, he's not back, right?! He's locked up?!?" The Dream Demon desperately questioned.

Weakly, she shook her head. "No…" Suzie managed before a booming voice rang out. "SUZIE, YOU'RE INSANE-" Rose shouted, gently pulling her away from the portal with her wing in direct contrast to the power in her voice. "What in the hell has you out and moving you can’t…" The batomon trailed off, noticing the Dream Demon staring back at her. "Be doing… that…" She finished her thought, locking eyes with him. "…hey." She greeted, her friend leaning heavily on her.

Goblin struggled to find his voice. It had been quite awhile since he'd seen her. He was hoping he'd be better at being a better person by the next time he did. "H-hey, Rose." He stuttered. "Hey, Goblin, right?" Rose prompted. "Y-yeah, yeah. That's what I've been, going by recently." The Dream Demon confirmed for her. It wasn't one he'd chosen, but there wasn't much use in denying it at this point. "It’s a good name." The batomon assured him. "Thanks..." He murmured.

"Guess she thought you were worth crawling out of the medical wing. Something happen..?" Rose asked, looking at the screens on her side of the portal. That added detail shocked him. "Crawling?? Christ, I knew it was bad, but… I'm, really sorry." Goblin apologized, clasping his hands together tightly. Turning back to him, her expression fell. "I… she got into a fight and it left her pretty bad. She’s gonna be fine-" "I already told him…" Suzie explained to her. "-if she would stop and get some rest." The batomon finished her sentence, glancing back at her friend.

"It’s been, tumultuous, the last few days." Rose concluded. His hands clenched even tighter. If he was going to do better, he had to actually own up to his mistakes. "…yeah, I know. It was, my fault." Goblin confessed. She raised an eyebrow at him. "No, it wasn’t. I know that it wasn’t." "No, it was. I'm the reason he got out…" The Dream Demon insisted.

Silence fell as Rose processed what he'd just told her. "You…" She mumbled. Suzie, meanwhile, grabbed her horn for balance, leaning heavier against her. Tensed, Goblin stared at the floor of his bottle prison, just waiting for her to scream at him. Or to smack him around. He would deserve it, after all. But nothing came. Hesitantly, he looked back at the portal. She stared at him, not angry, but incredulous. Unsure.

After another moment, she adjusted her wing to hold up the redhead better. "I have to go take Suzie back, just…" Rose paused, looking into his eyes. "…I’m glad you’re okay." She expressed. Goblin stared back, confused. She wasn't furious? She didn't hate him? Before he could find his voice again, the portal closed. The tension leaving him, he dropped his hands. "…o-ok. I'm… thank you." He mumbled, knowing full well she was gone. She was glad he was ok... Those words weren't leaving his mind anytime soon.

[dustedmagazine]

King Creosote — I DES (Domino)

Photo by Other Voices

At the beginning of the end of I DES, Kenny Anderson’s latest King Creosote album, we hear an open fifth. Someone better versed than I in the lexicon of music tells me that open fifths are ambiguous. Further, she tells me that, because B# is just C, the implied goal, to her, of naming the 36ish-minute song in question “Drone in B#” is to achieve a sense of opacity. Rightly or wrongly, I take this to mean that B# both does and does not exist, like an unattainable parallel world — like, perhaps, the afterlife. This occurs to me because time and what is to be done as it passes and frays and comes to an end is the unavoidable subject running through Anderson’s lyrics on I DES.

On the second song, “Blue Marbled Elm Trees,” a buoyant rhythm and shimmering pipes take us to the scene of a speculative (but certainly windswept) funeral. With the assurance that “no I shan’t complain,” our narrator walks us to the edge of their future final resting place to show us how they’ll be laid “down to sleep/…under earth two meters deep.” Then come the memories, also not worthy of complaint. The unabashed joy of “laughing with my girls” and the rueful bitterness of regret projected onto “only a dozen or so of the loves of my life [who] cannot contain their grief/and they weep real tears/of all those wasted years.” It isn’t score-settling, it’s account-taking, and, here, the tally comes out alright: “I had the best life offered up by this blue marble/or any alien world.”

The narrator of the next song, “Burial Bleak,” is less at ease with the inevitable. It could be the same character from “Blue Marbled Elm Trees,” shaken out of their terminal fantasies by a real confrontation with death: “at a burial bleak/I'm thinking that maybe dying's just not for me.” Where our guide in “...Elm Trees,” imagines solace in gratitude and letting go, whoever relates “Burial Bleak” promises to “greedily…cling to [their] life.” The theme carries through “Dust,” the song that follows, which holds the fear and resolve of “Burial Bleak” up to the acceptance of “...Elm Trees” and sees only resignation. Ashes to ashes and all that. In keeping with the mixed feelings that may tumble out of that maxim, the music of “Dust” is all shifting synthesizers: silvery textures, intermittently bitten by the plunge of sharper notes, gleaming then darting away. The sound and feel is unsteady yet consuming. By the end of “Burial Bleak,” Anderson’s singing is clear and determined, a fist pumped into the opulent wheeze of an accordion and triumphant, stately strings. But when he repeats “someday/you too/will be dust” for the last time, his voice strains over the eponymous refrain then disintegrates into a billow of sound.

Much of I DES resides, lyrically, in this immense and ambivalent half-light – the “grief” and “wasted years” of “...Elm Trees,” the “lymphatic…lunatic” narrator of “Walter de la Nightmare” pulled towards “the last chance saloon,” or the desperate appeal of “Please Come Back I Will Listen, I Will Behave, I Will Toe The Line.” We do, however, sometimes spin and land on a more playful and ecstatic square. The rapid handclap/knee-slap bang of the beat that drives the spieling, reeling “Susie Mullen” shatters, in the best way, the elegiac mood that precedes it. First, the effect is jarring, like, where’s my solemnity gone, but as the song rushes forward and Anderson’s nearly frantic rap is filigreed with fuzzy keyboard intrusions before breaking into a long, bright bridge, you get the sense of a release. The big questions and morbid musings seem, from that angle, to have been set aside. “Susie Mullen” gives I DES both an aural boost and a welcome deviation in tone, but even here, in the opening line “are we 20 years too late?” Anderson’s nagging subject, the past and its hold on the present and what remains of the future, isn’t completely discarded.

I DES is an ambitious, moving work. It places the incisive melancholy of Anderson’s tenor within a complex, often soaring musical environment. Rather than merely complementing his voice, the accompaniment pushes him to compete for space. It’s a beautiful and sometimes overwhelming listen for the sheer magnitude and vivacity of sound, something like the headlong vigor of Spiritualized brought alongside the elegant cloudy ruins of Elbow or The National. But if competition is the right framing, Anderson, as vocalist and storyteller, ultimately bows out. Even if the title of “Drone in B#” is nothing more than a notational in-joke and the open fifth simply felt right in the moment, there is something meaningful in the fact that the last statement by such a distinctive singer and prolific lyricist is to omit his voice. On an album that so adeptly draws out the enigmatic, ongoing, and unknowable – or, yes, ambiguous and opaque – nature of living and dying with ourselves and others, perhaps it is appropriate, after all, to give drones, the great foundational sustainers, the last word.

Alex Johnson

[asimplechaos]

submitted without comment

[scarlxtleaves]

Misc Muses

Name: Nero

Age: 17-20

Origin: Devil may cry 4

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: Nero is one of the main protagonists of the Devil May Cry series. He first appeared as a playable character in Devil May Cry 4, and later in Devil May Cry 5. He is the son of Vergil who is raised in Fortuna and serves as a Holy Knight in the Order of the Sword, a religious group that worships Sparda and fights to protect the world from demons.In Devil May Cry 4, however, he is forced to fight against the Order after encountering Dante and uncovering a conspiracy to conquer the world using The Savior. In Devil May Cry 5, Nero is a more seasoned demon hunter that has since changed his operation to being a mobile Devil May Cry branch. He finds himself fending off a demonic invasion as he chases a mysterious figure (later revealed to be his own biological father Vergil at the end) that severed the Devil Bringer.

Note: For storylines outside of DMC I will portray him post DMC5 unless we’ve discussed something. 

Name: Arthur Pendragon

Age: 30′s (Appears mid teens)

Origin: Fate/Prototype

Class: Saber

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: Saber's True Name is Arthur Pendragon, otherwise known better as King Arthur. Approving of the virtuous and correcting atrocities. A hero who is like a knight in shining armor that anyone would dream about as a child. Also called the wielder of the holy sword of the planet. His true identity is that of the “King of Knights” of a parallel universe, who reached this world by chasing after some sort of existence.

Name: Arthur Pendragon

Age: Eternally youthful

Origin: Fate/Prototype

Class: Archer

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: Saber's True Name is Arthur Pendragon, otherwise known better as King Arthur. Approving of the virtuous and correcting atrocities. A hero who is like a knight in shining armor that anyone would dream about as a child. Also called the wielder of the holy sword of the planet. His true identity is that of the “King of Knights” of a parallel universe, who reached this world by chasing after some sort of existence.

Note: I will portray him a little more tamed than the way he’s portrayed in UBW. Whilst he might still seem tyrannical, in his mind he is doing the world justice because that’s just how much he loves the world which is, of course, his garden.

Name: Frank Morrison

Age: 19

Origin: Dead by daylight

Icons: No

Icons credit: n/a

About: Frank Morrison was nineteen and had little to show for it. He'd stopped attending school after being kicked out of the basketball team for shoving a referee into the stands. Yet Frank was a man of potential, who could light up a room despite his bleak childhood. At six years old, he'd been taken away from Calgary to start a circuit of foster homes. No matter how many times he'd lashed out, threw tantrums and got into fights, they'd kept moving him to new, unfamiliar houses. His last move had been three years prior when his last foster dad, Clive Andrews, had picked him up from the adoption centre. They'd been on the road for seven hours before reaching a small bungalow in Ormond. It would be the longest time they'd spend together. 

Clive was too busy trading cheques from Family Services for drinks at the bar.Ormond was a small, stale place; a remote town of six thousand inhabitants where grey winters drag on for most of the year. Frank did everything he could to get into another adoptive family, but he changed his mind when he caught the attention of Julie, a beautiful girl who was convinced that she deserved better than a life in Ormond, and Frank, as an outsider, was her ticket out. Frank attended the parties she threw where everyone was younger than him and easily impressed, which he liked. He met the impulsive Joey, who liked to show off, and the shy, naïve Susie, who was Julie's best friend.They would hang out at an abandoned lodge up Mount Ormond. Their time together was the perfect break from the boring conformity of their small, insignificant everyday lives. Frank saw it as an opportunity to shape their lack of experience into something powerful. He lined up nights of debauchery and rampage, testing their limits. 

Bullying , vandalism, and theft were essentially their weekend plans. It came to a point where they would do anything he asked. Nothing was off-limits when they put their masks on. One evening, Frank dared Joey to vandalise the store that had recently fired him. They snuck inside easily enough, as the building was supposed to be empty after closing hours. But a cleaner who was still there grabbed Julie as soon as she came near. Hearing her stifled cries, a dark impulse took over Frank. He rushed to her aid, knife in hand, and without hesitating, planted the blade into the cleaner's back.As the group stared at Frank in shock, he ordered them to finish the job. Joey clenched his jaw, grabbed the knife, and stabbed the bleeding man in the ribs. Susie didn't want to do it. Frank shouted at her; they had to finish what they'd started. Julie closed her eyes and slid the knife into the man's chest. She handed the wet blade to Susie: they were all in this together now. 

Susie stared at Julie in disbelief as Frank grabbed her trembling hands and inserted the knife deep into the man's throat. Frank told them to move fast; they mopped the blood off the floor, stashed the body in the trunk of Joey's car, and drove up Mount Ormond.All four were digging in the muddy snow to dispose of the body when Frank spotted something moving through the woods. He grabbed his knife and broke from the group to check it out. The Fog thickened around Frank, becoming so dense that he soon could no longer see ahead. He retraced his steps and stumbled onto an ominous trail. He followed the eerie path, as if called by the darkness. Julie, Susie, and Joey finished digging, but Frank was nowhere to be seen. Julie spotted his muddy footsteps in the snow and the three of them followed the trail, which took them deeper into the woods. When Julie, Susie, and Joey did not return home that night, their parents thought they'd run away with Frank. Each family came up with a different theory. The mood in the town changed, however, when a body was found by an abandoned lodge up Mount Ormond.

Name: Gohan Son

Age: 17-30s

Origin: Dragonball Z

Icons: No

Icons credit: n/a

About: Son Gohan is the elder son of the series' primary protagonist Goku and his wife Chi-Chi, the older brother of Goten, the husband of Videl and father to Pan. He is named after Goku's adoptive grandfather, Gohan.Unlike his father, Gohan lacks a passion for fighting (although, he does possess a strong power within him) and prefers to do so only when his loved ones are threatened.  Nevertheless, Gohan fights alongside the Dragon Team in the defense of Earth for much of his life.

Name: Trunks Brief

Age: 17-40s

Origin: Dragonball Z

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: A friend of mine (proper credit later bruh)

About: Future Trunks is the Saiyan and Earthling hybrid son of Future Vegeta and Future Bulma from an alternate future. By the time Present Trunks was born, the timeline had been altered by Future Trunks' and Cell's trips to the past. Therefore, the two Trunks had completely different lives (as opposed to those who lived before the Time Machines arrived, they lived exactly the same lives as their counterparts until the point at which the two timelines diverge: three years before the androids arrived).

Well-mannered, serious and very cautious, Trunks hails from an alternate timeline in which Future Androids 17 and 18 murdered the Dragon Team and proceeded to create apocalyptic hell on Earth. Trunks is trained by Future Gohan as a teenager and become a gifted fighter, swordsman and a Super Saiyan; traits that aid him greatly in the battle against the Androids after traveling back in time in order to save his own future.

Years later, Future Trunks would return in Dragon Ball Super, this time fighting against a mysterious entity referred to as Goku Black (and later his partner-in-crime Future Zamasu) wreaking havoc in the future. In the end, Trunks (with the help of Goku and Vegeta) neutralizes the threat, though unfortunately, Fused Zamasu not only survives the ordeal, but his essence began to merge with the universe itself, to the point that Future Zeno had to erase the future timeline completely. Trunks himself is one of the three survivors and is currently living in another future timeline where another Future Trunks exists - created in the anime by Whis warning Future Beerus ahead of time to eliminate the soon-to-be rogue Supreme Kai, while in the manga Trunks and Mai travel to their timeline's past and prevent Future Shin's death with the blessing of Beerus as it will save his counterpart, thus eliminating the possibility of the Project Zero Mortals.

Name: Peter Parker

Age: Mid-late 20′s

Origin: Marvel Spider-man

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: While attending a public exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials, sponsored by the General Techtronics Corporation, the 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten on the hand by a spider that had been irradiated by a particle accelerator used in the demonstration. Unbeknownst to him, after the spider fell from his hand, it bit a girl, Cindy Moon on the ankle before it died from the radiation. Making his way home afterwards, Peter was almost hit by a car; when Peter jumped out of the way, Peter discovered he had somehow gained incredible strength, agility, and the ability to cling to walls, spider-like traits that he immediately associated with the spider bite.

Note: I roleplay as Peter within Insomniac’s Spider-man canon. But always willing to world hop a great type of crossover/au. 

Name: Vincent Phantomhive

Age: 20-30s

Origin: Kuroshitsuji / Black Butler

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: Vincent was the head of the Phantomhive household and acted as Queen Victoria's Watchdog. As a young man, Vincent attended Weston College with Alexis Leon Midford and Diedrich. He was the prefect of the Sapphire Owl dormitory. Vincent was idly reading a book on the lawn, while neglecting the preparations for the annual cricket tournament on June 4th, when he was approached by an exasperated Diedrich. Vincent made a snide remark that "everything German is pretty tough to handle," fueling Diedrich's anger. Diedrich swung his cricket bat, and missed Vincent, hitting his book instead. He complained that he was forced to handle all the preparations himself, and commented that since the leader is representative of the pack, the rest in Blue House must be awful as well. Provoked, Vincent proposed a contest: whichever dorm is the winner of the tournament will have the loser perform a free request for him. Later, Vincent led his house to their only triumph in the annual cricket tournament—this astounding event was dubbed as the "Miracle of the Sapphires." Afterward, at the Swan Gazebo, Diedrich accepted his loss to Vincent and asserted that he will carry out Vincent's one request. Vincent then told him to become his fag, much to Diedrich's alarm as they are from separate dorms; however, Vincent stated that he must keep his promise regardless and that whenever he is to call him, Diedrich must come without question. He added that their affiliation will continue past graduation and drifted on a boat away from Diedrich (though he was pursued by him), relishing in his success at finally attaining a "loyal German dog."

Note: Should I roleplay with anyone within kuro’s present canon I will simply use an au in which Vincent is still alive. The events that transpire still happens, he’s merely saved last minute and was kept away from London but relocated into Italy where he becomes the head of a mafia group that keeps the city safe from the shadows. Vincent, of course, is told that he is the only survivor, at the time of the murder the group that found him searched for his wife and child(keeping it spoiler safe just in case.) but none were found.

Name: Byleth

Age: 19

Origin: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: Myself

About: Born to Jeralt and his wife on the 20th of the Horsebow Moon 1159, Byleth lost their mother shortly after their birth. She was buried at Garreg Mach Monastery. Some time after her death, Jeralt left the Knights of Seiros, taking his newborn child with him to travel Fódlan, becoming a mercenary in the process and starting his own mercenary company.

During Byleth's childhood, Jeralt shared little information about the world, the Church of Seiros and especially his past. Byleth either forgot or never learned their true birthdate, Jeralt claiming they were born years after the fire to a woman who supposedly died of illness. Jeralt trained Byleth in combat, eventually joining his band of mercenaries and gaining a fearsome reputation for their unflinching courage in battle. They would soon be known as the "Ashen Demon" as a result.

Name: Cabba

Age: 19+

Origin: Dragon Ball Super

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: @startnone​

About: Cabba is a Saiyan born in Universe 6 on Planet Sadala. Cabba was trained by Renso, and the latter was his captain. At some point in the past, Cabba fought alongside Frost to stop space pirates on the planet Mayonnai, a group Frost is the leader of in secret.

Name: Victor Frankenstein

Age: 25

Origin: Code Realize

Icons: Yes

Icons credit: me

About: Victor Frankenstein is a researcher who once had ties to the British Government. Though his knowledge and intelligence are unrivaled, he is genuinely humble and self-deprecating. In addition to being very sociable, he is easily swayed by others. After an unfortunate series of events, he is now a wanted criminal.

[secretaryx3elementsmages]

✍️

I want Parallel Susie to cause trouble (espically for Susie) + come across some of the characters in the main world (Example: Kirby, Meta Knight, etc).

Considering so far; she been hiding in the shadows for so long along with another muse.

[parttimepuff]

Amazed that Goblins version of dedede was a nightmare and final boss and he STILL chose to slap the sleeping bear awake. Stunning work.

"I already said!! I wasn't looking for him specifically!! Geez!!" Goblin shouted, hands clenched into fists. "And he isn't my version of Dedede!" He added. After a moment, his bravado left him and he turned to look at Suzie. "…he isn't, right?" The Dream Demon questioned.

"I’m assuming the Dedede here isn’t a six year old child?" The redhead replied, throwing him for a loop. "Huh??? No??? But neither is Mac???" Goblin answered, thoroughly confused. "Then no, he’s not." Suzie concluded. Frankly, he had no clue what she was getting at. Maybe whatever pain medication she was on was taking its toll.

[parttimepuff]

It may help if you apologized to her for being a little shit before, I think rose would forgive you. It would be a good thing for both of you

"a…" Goblin breathed. His feelings about this were hard to vocalize, even more so with Suzie here, one of her actual friends. "I mean… I would like to. Can't exactly, call her or go see her to apologize and…" The Dream Demon paused, continuing quieter. "…I don't know if she'd actually forgive me." The redhead stared at him for a moment, expression only readable as exhausted.

"…how do you think Rose sees you." Suzie bluntly asked. "Like… a nuisance that she's nice enough to tolerate?" Goblin answered, unsure if that was right despite it being how he felt. "And you don’t think she’s going to forgive you if you took initiative? Under that assumption, of course." She pressed.

The Dream Demon fiddled with his hands. "I mean, she doesn't have any reason to. I can't do anything other than a sorry. Can't make it up to her any other way…" He explained. "Sorry is a good way to start." Suzie told him. "…yeah." Goblin relented, glancing away from her. Of course she was right, it just hurt thinking that his sorry wouldn't change anything.

Tired as she was, she could follow where his mind was going. "You aren’t doing either of you any good by putting her on a pedestal that high." Suzie said, catching him by surprise. "O-oh. Was I doing that?" Goblin hesitantly asked. "You think she’s untouchable." She surmised. "…is she not?" The Dream Demon replied, starting to hear how that sounded. Leaning more heavily against her desk, the redhead sighed. "…you’d be surprised." She eventually managed. "Huh…" He murmured. Maybe, he had more to think about.

[parttimepuff]

I use a hint coin on Sussie, share your data for peer review and use

Glancing over her shoulder, if you could call it that, Susie turned around in her chair to look at her visitor and their bribe. She took the coin from their hand, putting into her pocket. "Thanks, I might need that later." She replied, a smile in her eyes, before turning back to her research.

[parttimepuff]

Suzies dying, hermits dying, king dedede might kill someone, does anybody follow the rules around here?!

Suzie regards the anon with cool regard, sighing. “You people do love exaggerating things.” Though she doesn’t look much different, she’s clearly better as far as recovery, though her fresh bandages are accompanied by the harness keeping her to the hospital bed. “Don’t worry, Rose made sure I was going to stay this time”

“Only because you made me!-“ The batamon strolls by, giving her a bit more than just a scrutinizing side eye. “Rosie please-“ “Don’t ‘Rosie please’ me-“ The red orb turns on her heel, wings quivering at her temper. “How about Suzie please don’t get yourself killed?” A tired huff leaves Suzie, rolling her good eye. “I didn’t know you cared~”

---

Hermit tilted their head, confused. "I have... dying..?" They repeated, not familiar with the concept. Both Gremlin and Reverie turned slowly to glare daggers at the anon. "They're just being mean again, Hermit, don't worry about it." The Dream Fae assured them. "Oh..." The Matter nodded, inching behind the two so that they were safer.

Something that wasn't lost on them. "We'll take care of it for you." Gremlin assured them. He and his brother both started pushing the anon out of the room until they were unceremoniously shoved into the hall. The door slammed shut behind them. Hermit visibly relaxed, the minor danger they posed gone for now.

---

"Ah ain't gonna kill nobody." Dedede grumbled. He sat on his throne, getting through some paperwork. He'd be speaking to Metaknight soon, but he couldn't just pace about doing nothing in the meantime. "That's a last resort kinda thing an' ah don't let it get that far." He added. Well, he certainly tried not to. If it came down to that, it was typically Kirby who ended things.

...geez, putting it like that made him feel awful. He was glad that he and the puffball had grown to be good friends despite how things had started out for them. Kirby was just the bigger person when he needed him to be. As a king, he would keep doing his best to follow that example.

[parttimepuff]

WHAT ABOUT THAT FUCKED UP PENGUIN MADE YOU THINK HE WOULD HELP?

"I wasn't!! Looking for him!!! Specifically!!!" Goblin loudly protested, pounding the glass with his fists for emphasis. "And I figured out pretty fast he wasn't gonna help!!!" He added, shoving his hands back into his pockets with a huff. "Fast learner, good." Suzie noted. "I am! ….sometimes." The Dream Demon half-admitted.

"I suppose with a lesson that blunt you have to be." She figured, taking a deep breath. "Did you notice anything before or during your, altercation, about them? Doesn’t go out in public much, if you haven’t noticed." Suzie questioned. Focusing more on what happened replaced his anger with anxiety. "Well, it wasn't exactly very long but… He did a cool battle cry, which I figured was a good sign." Goblin began.

"And then he, looked at me. And uh, I could tell he wasn't happy." He glanced down, his hands rising from his pockets to clasp together. The redhead gave him a slow nod, her unbandaged eye closed. "I'm not exactly good at, calming anyone down, but I tried. And it did not work out. And… I think that's it? It was a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure that's all that happened." Goblin explained, wracking his memory for any details he might be missing.

"To your credit, very little has proven to calm him down." Suzie pointed out, opening her eye again. "I’m glad you survived to tell the tale…" She added. "I didn't think I would for a bit there." Goblin replied, falling silent for a moment as he took in what she'd said. "…but, you're glad?" He repeated, hopeful but hesitant. After all, he'd only ever caused her trouble, including the state she was in now.

"I am, yes." She confirmed. "Not only does it help me understand what their reaction to public interaction is, it helps me figure out what areas to work on further." Leaning more heavily on her desk, exhaustion obvious, she added, "And who else would I tug of war with Rosie over?"

While she was teasing him to some extent, the fact that she wanted him to stay alive made him pretty happy. "Oh…" Goblin mumbled, not entirely sure how to react. "If anyone won that, it'd be her, though." He insisted. That brought a hint of a smile to Suzie's eye. "Hehm, we’ll see about that~"

[parttimepuff]

Suzie you can’t die on the blog that’s against the rules!

Turning slowly to look straight at the anon, expression not giving away any of the pain she was in, Suzie spoke up. "I’m aware." She simply stated. The reply took the Dream Demon entirely by surprise. "…huh????" Goblin managed to get out. Wasn't he the only person who could see that kind of stuff?

"I may not be like you, Goblin, but some of the luxuries you are given are extended to me." The redhead explained, not bothering to face him. "Even at, a cost." She added. He had no idea what she meant by that, though really, he should by now. "I have luxuries???" Goblin questioned instead.

Only now did she look back to him, eerily calm and level for her state. "Just because you don’t know what they are, doesn’t mean they aren’t there." Suzie informed him. In response, he shrank back a little. He had the distinct feeling he should have kept his mouth shut. "O-oh." Goblin mumbled. Frankly, he wasn't sure how being teased by the narration was anything like a luxury, but he wasn't going to ask her about it and risk getting her mad.

[parttimepuff]

Don’t worry goblin Susies just trying a different way of loving herself (the completely wrong way)

"It is! Fucked up! Especially fucked up!" Goblin wholeheartedly agreed. The comment made Suzie give a small snort-laugh, the effort making her wince and abruptly stop. "Correct." She stated. The Dream Demon watched her with some concern as she took a deep breath, trying to keep talking. "But, at least she’s making the effort. She needs it." She added.

Goblin snorted, clearly she was still just as ruthless as ever. "Sounds it." He replied, nodding. "I'm really glad we're not cellmates." "I think most anyone would be." Suzie figured. From her own cell not far away, her parallel stewed with rage in silence. She had enough pride to not give her a verbal reaction. Of course, the redhead was still fully aware of it.

[parttimepuff]

If red sussy was mad she would have killed you by now, right?

"h" Goblin wheezed. The suggestion was worrying enough under normal circumstances. Even more so when she was still in the room. After some courage building, he spoke up. "…..a-are you….?" The Dream Demon managed to ask, not sure whether to even voice the possibility of his murder or to imply he meant how mad she was.

"They’re right." Was Suzie's curt reply, getting a frightened squeak from him. But she hadn't made any moves to hurt him. So... "….does that, mean you're not mad?" Goblin hesitantly asked, hoping for the best. "I’m not, no." The businesswoman stated.

Hearing that was a great relief, though he found himself confused. How could she not be furious with him when his stupid mistake got her so badly hurt? Suzie didn't sound or look mad, so... he would just have to believe her. "oh…" Goblin mumbled, not exactly sure what to say. "Thanks for, not being mad." He decided to express. "No problem." She responded, seeming more tired than anything else.

[parttimepuff]

Does Rose Know About The Dot

Ah, those gray people were back. Maybe they didn't just hang around Gremlin and Reverie all the time. "Not, really? Although, someone seems to think I do." Rose answered, gesturing behind her at the red head facing her computer screen. It was filled with different documents and graphs. "You know a lot more than you thiiiiink~" Susie told her in a sing-song voice.

[parttimepuff]

You don’t know what it is do you, that’s why you won’t tell us

"You’re asking so much from me and I don’t even know your name. Take me to lunch first, why don’t you~" Susie teased, before sitting up straighter. "I have a hunch, but I’m not one to throw out half baked theories and guesses." She answered more seriously, somehow conveying a shrug without shoulders. Seemed that the answer was still a ways off.

[secretaryx3elementsmages]

Your Muse’s Heart.