For the Horde!
Gill smiled and leaned in to kiss Mindy, before she suddenly turned her head. Gill was smacked in the face with her hair and he sputtered, lurching backwards a bit and wincing. Blinking in confusion, Gill was suddenly turned and his hand shook by a woman that he recognized from the photos on Mindy's wall.
"Hi, nice to meet you! Yeah, my name's Gill!" he greeted her once the confusion had worn off. The confusion returned, however, once Mindy trudged up to her room. "Mindy?" he asked, getting up and starting to follow her. "What's wrong, are you okay?"
Heidi's eyes widened as she looked at the huge smoothie before her. She took a hold of the gigantic smoothie and grinned.
"Fuck yeah! Thanks, Elaine," Heidi said, heading outside towards the seats. She didn't look back at Elaine until she had sat down, noticing Elaine didn't follow. She gave Elaine an odd look, then started to drink her smoothie.
"You coming??" she called from outside.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, shopping center, The Slab, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who are confirmed quadruplets.
"Yup, it is Blake," Linton said aloud. The other three quadruplets then turned briefly towards the window, and the four simultaneously gave him a simple wave in response. The other three then turned their attention back to what they were doing before, while Linton continued looking out the window.
For Lindon, that was waiting for the ice cream to be ready so he could pay for it. Carolyn was politely waiting to hear what Vivian had to say.
Marilyn looked at Val, evidently keeping up with and understanding everything the existentially challenged kid said, given that she did not look confused at any point. After the phone was put on speaker, Marilyn sat up a little straighter, and raised an eyebrow. "Identical quadruplets, actually. And you are?" the yellow dressed quadruplet said in response, her tone polite, but not really friendly.
Monday, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf who can be jumpy.
"Right, mornings and evenings-" Sandra had closed her eyes and was nodding her head, only to stop mid sentence and open her eyes, not looking at the screen directly. "... Wait, is there a time difference? What time is it there? And... Do you even have twenty four hour days?" she asked after coming to that realization.
...
Meanwhile out in the living room, as soon as Coralie said the words, Alex's head turned quickly and he let out some abrupt curses in Spanish while scrambling away from her on the couch. He stopped a moment later after he was at the other end of the couch, all the hair on his arms and the back of his neck standing up. "Coralie!?" he said, remembering the time she changed the principal's age. "Some warning next time would be nice, sheesh! Thought some crazy lady just broke in," Alex muttered, shaking his head.
He forgot about actually answering her question. On the television was an episode of Family Feud, probably a rerun.
You are reading this.
The Slab
"Friend of Val's. Name's Liz," came the voice from the phone.note "Okay, cut me off if anyone else is listening in. Rule number one of the world you've found yourself in is don't tell anyone. Pretend you're in Fight Club, except without any of the fighting. Got it? What was I talking about? Right, twins." Liz spoke very quickly. She definitely seemed like the kind of person who talked faster than her brain could come up with sentences.
"Three options. First option is this friend of mine with a twin brother I coincidentally happen to have has been lying to me about it for three years, and he's a bad liar, so that's out. Option two is you're pranking Val, and if that is what you're doing, keep doing it, that's hilarious. The third option, and what I think is the right option, probably, is that you have somehow gone your entire life without you or anyone else realizing you're anomalous, which is insane. Like, I don't think I've even considered that that's a thing that can happen until now."
Val, meanwhile, got out of the booth and went over to the window where Blake was, for unclear reasons.
Smoothie Shop
"Yeah! Yeah, yeah, I'm coming..."
Elaine reopened the door that had swung shut and walked outside.
Outside the Shopping Center
Outside the Slab
Like the people inside the Slab, Blake would see Val coming to the other side of the window. Unlike the people inside the Slab, Blake would hear something.
"...hey Blake!...I've never actually done this trick before, can you hear me?..."
Outside the Smoothie Shop
Elaine walked over to where Heidi was sitting and sat down.
"S-Sorry, I just...yeah." Her voice was wavery and uncomposed. She seemed nervous, for some reason. She also took the time to nod at a random woman who walked past. "Ma'am," she said, nervously but politely.
Oh, yeah, and by "a random woman who walked past" I mean Ms. Smith, who shortly after that would recieve another phone call. "Vertigo again. Any updates on the mission?"
The Fountain
Layla's worries about her secret were very much not helped by some jerk coming up behind her and trying to pull her veil off.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, shopping center, The Slab, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who are just (not) normal.
"A- anomalous?! Excuse me!?" Marilyn said in an offended tone, standing and following after Val since they still had the phone on speaker. To someone, say, standing outside looking in through the window, it may very well look like Marilyn was upset with Val.
"We may be very rare and unique, but that doesn't mean we're something... Unnatural! How many people do we have to explain that to!?" the yellow dressed quadruplet went on, then attempted to take her phone back from Val.
You are reading this.
What, me worry?
Mindy's House
Mindy plopped herself on her bed right when she noticed Gill running after her. Not what she expected. She figured he'd be chatting up a storm with her mother. Another friend he could make. But there he was, right with her.She sighed before going on. Ah, Gill... I'm just tired of havin' all these moments killed. First at the beach on Saturday. Now here. We were openin' up to each other, we kissed... don't really like people gettin' in our way. And sorry about my mom, she's kinda guy-crazy. Mindy remembered hearing about how wild her mother was back in her younger years right before meeting her father, who reigned her in. Didn't expect her to be home this early. But I just like this time between the two of us. You know, talkin' to you about everything... well, I think it's helpin' me. It's... I don't know... She wanted to express how he made her feel safe, but couldn't quite put it in words. The bottom line is I've been likin' our one-on-one time together. But these interruptions are drivin' me crazy! She threw her arms in the air before crossing them, a scowl resting on her face.
Fountain
As Layla sat there brooding, she sensed someone walk up behind her and made the move to take off her veil. Before the mystery hands reached for it, she jumped away from the person. She walked back. Who are you? What do you want? Layla said, her heart beating fast.Edited by MatthewLMayfield on Mar 24th 2024 at 5:22:12 AM
For the Horde!
Gill frowned, sitting next to her and looking down at her.
"I understand... I just wish there was something I could do to help further." He looked at her straight in the eyes. "If you want, we could meet again on the beach Friday night. We wouldn't have school the following day. We could spend as long as we wanted over there."
Heidi wasn't paying attention to either the people surrounding her or to Elaine's obvious discomfort. She was just sucking down the smoothie.
"Damn. This is a tasty smoothie," she said. "How's yours, Elaine?"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Slab
"Well, I guess you're right about it not being that big of a deal compared to some of the others, like... you know. Not that I want to complain too much about my whole thing, I'm not trying to do that. I'm glad you probably won't have to deal with anyone being afraid of you, that's not something I'd want for anyone else."
She overhears Marilyn, and shrugs. She knows she didn't mean anything by it, but she couldn't help take notice of something she said given the nature of herself and some of the other students.
"People sure do make a big deal about what is and isn't 'natural'," she says off-handedly.
Toa of Anarchy
Alex's House
"Yes, of course we have twenty-four hour days, why wouldn't we?" asked Dalma, getting a little impatient.
"Now, now," Noor cut in, "It's a valid concern, given all the wild things Coralie tells us. Dalma, do you remember that star chart she showed us in February with all the different constellations? Or that world she told us about with pirate fairies in helicopter ships?"
"...honestly, at this point I just tune out the moment she starts raving. But yes, here we have twenty four hour days, seven day weeks and thirty day months- ehh, give or take. Does this suit you?"
Coralie erupted into giggling the moment Alex had his freak out. "But the look on your face, though!" She sighed, "Oh, my day is officially made... Y'know, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my Transmogrifier Gun today." She leaned over to whisper conspiratorially. "Today, I turned Miss Hughes into a teenager. Hee hee! She spent the whole lesson as this meek little classmate, then changed back none the wiser. The other kids gave me a hard time, but I still got away with it!"
Edited by LizardOfAus on Mar 25th 2024 at 5:22:49 PM
Fwomph
The Mall, The Slab
Blake enthusiastically nodded and thumbsed-up before realizing hey maybe he can actually be heard through the glass too.
"I can hear you! That's cool! Is it like, ontological lipreading or something!? Should... Should I just come in?"
The Mall, Mrs Smith's Secret Agent Mission
"Oh, V! Yeah I've been trying to find them, think they're probably hanging out at the mall somewhere. Anything new for you?"
Edited by Pentigan on Mar 26th 2024 at 10:36:15 PM
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
The Slab
By the Window
Val wordlessly handed Marilyn her phone back as she tried to take it.
Liz, meanwhile, seemed offended that Marilyn was offended. "Hey! Being anomalous isn't a disease! I get enough shit from all the other people I run into, I don't need to be treated like this by one of us!"
"And you are one of us. I don't know how to tell you this, but, like, it's literally just you. Your thing is physically impossible. This is a known fact. Like, I'm not even h—ahem—I'm an only child and I know how twins work. You're a bit more 'rare and unique' than you bargained for."
By the Counter
The counter guy finally finished making the order, and plopped the five ice cream cups onto the counter. He then said to Lindon, "Here's your ice cream. $21.20." His eyes then narrowed a bit at the conversation Carolyn and Vivian were having, but he didn't say anything.
Outside the Shopping Center
Outside the Slab
Blake would hear "...oh, I forgot I was holding this...I-I meant to say that inside the building, oops..." as he saw Marilyn taking back her phone.
"...uh, it's, uh...I'm sort of...changing where my voice is coming from, if that makes sense?...yeah maybe you should just come inside..."
Outside the Smoothie Shop
"Uuuuhhhh..." Elaine, who hadn't actually drunken any of her smoothie yet, took a sip. "Yeah, uh, it's good..." She then...closed her eyes? For some reason?
Meanwhile, Ms. Smith (who was still within earshot of Heidi and Elaine) would hear back from Vertigo. "I've recieved a physical description. Of course, you remember the Bentham Scenario training. I'll leave it to your judgement on whether you think it'd help more than it would hurt."
The Fountain
"Just, uh, just curious," said the perpetrator, who was a rather average-looking teenage boy. More noteworthy, however, was the old camcorder he had set up on a tripod pointed in Layla's direction. (Yes, it was that guy again.)
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf with a softer side.
"Oh, really? I guess that would've been nice to see," Alex said, with a bit of a shrug as he turned his eyes towards the floor, feeling reminded about why he had ditched school that day.
"... You know, I wanted to know if that thing could have made me not a werewolf anymore, but... I guess it doesn't matter now," Alex admitted after a short silence, still looking at the floor rather than at Coralie. His expression was somber, with a little righteous indignation in there.
...
"Yes, that's all about right here as well. It's just a while after noon here. I don't know what time of day it is for you there, but this will probably be about the time that she calls you after school every day- well, maybe a little later; I drove them home today, but I won't be able to most days. It's not that long a walk though," Sandra explained to Coralie's parents in response. With a smile, she then reached a finger for the red button to end the call...
Sandra paused with her finger just short of the button though. After a moment, she pulled her finger away, and let out a little sigh before speaking again. "You know, I wasn't sure if you should be told this, since we wouldn't want you to worry, but... As one parent to another, I know if you found out later, you would probably be a lot more upset." She gave a quick glance at her bedroom door, confirming their relative privacy, before looking back at the image of Coralie's parents. "I don't know if you have them in your universe, but my son, he is a hombre lobo, licántropo- a werewolf. There's nothing to worry about though; it's not contagious, and I can confirm he's still harmless while transformed. Possibly even more harmless than normal."
Monday, Little Haven, shopping center, The Slab, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets running out of patience.
"Well, we don't have anyone who has tried to hurt us for what we are," Carolyn said to Vivian in a sympathetic tone. "We're just getting a bit tired of people acting like they know more about us than we do... Especially if they're trying to be bossy about it," the red dressed quadruplet explained, making her way over to the booth where Linton was still sitting. As she walked, she glanced over at her sister.
Meanwhile, Marilyn regarded the phone with a sneer. "Oh, and you, an only child, would know more about identical siblings than we do?" the yellow dressed quadruplet said in an incredulous and sarcastic tone. "And you try to act like you can tell us what to do. You know, it's a real wonder how you can get someone like Val to be your friend. Piss off." With that, Marilyn hung up the call and moved over to the counter.
At the counter, Lindon said a simple, "thank you," as he picked out a twenty and two ones from the bundle of cash he had. He put them on the counter and waited for his change, while Marilyn went ahead and grabbed the two cups of strawberry ice cream. Then she balanced one of the other cups between her hands, and started to head to the booth. Lindon intended to grab the last two after pocketing the money, and follow after her.
You are reading this.
Toa of Anarchy
"...ooo..." Coralie's smile dissipated, as a depressive and awkward silence fell over the room. As if on cue, the transformation timed out. Coralie's skin and hair were enveloped in crackling energy, and her clothes billowed as she shrank back into her real age. Another second passed as she sadly contemplated the floor
"...for the record, that's not really an easy question to answer," she said. "On the one hand, I haven't studied werewolves nearly enough to know how the change thing works. If I screw up your biology, who knows what can go wrong?...On the other hand, you said it was a hereditary thing, and my gun works with family genetics. Might just be a case of switching you over to your mom's recessive genes or something. But back on the first hand, not only would I need to do a whole BATTERY of tests to make sure I got it right, but my gun is only temporary to begin with. To cure you for permanent, I'd need massive specialist equipment, half of which is stuck in my lab a whole frigging UNIVERSE away!"
She huffed. "Great, now I'm bummed over BOTH our problems."
The couple smiled and nodded along, though Dalma's smile seemed more strained as Sandra waffled for a bit. He could barely hide a sigh of annoyance when Sandra stopped herself from hanging up a second time. But then, she made the big reveal, and the couple reeled in shock. "WHAT?!" came the cry from both, before Sandra assured them that Coralie wasn't in any danger.
"Oh, well, uh, that's good," giggled Noor nervously, "Very...very good. Well, you are his mother, after all, s-so you would know best, I'm sure...!"
Now it was Dalma's turn to calm and reassure his wife. "Coralina can handle herself. Fearless fool that she is... Give her a loubo-garou, she'll probably be playing 'fetch' with it in the hour!"
"Yes, yes, very true..." Noor composed herself. "Apologies, Ms Palencia. We knew she'd be going to a place for, erm, 'ultra-natural' children, but sometimes these things surprise even us. We'll leave her in your hands now. Make sure she calls us same time tomorrow, and let us know if anything changes!" She winced a little at that, as the word 'change' put her in mind of whatever this woman's son could turn into at any time.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf who knows what he wants for dinner, but not for the rest of his life.
"Fetch?" Sandra said with an amused little half laugh. "Well, if she can figure out how to make him transform, then I can't say I would object to it. Otherwise she'll have to wait about a month for the next full moon," she continued, then her smile faded as she realized part of what she just said.
"Well... Hopefully by then she won't still be stuck here," Sandra added, then waved her free hand at the screen. "Bye for now!"
...
"Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to bum you out," Alex said, holding his hands up slightly in that universal (well, at least in this universe,) 'take it easy' signal. "Really, it... It doesn't seem to be a problem anymore," the young werewolf continued, genuinely trying to be reassuring, despite his overall attitude still being a bit somber.
"It seems like the wolf half isn't as keen on tearing people apart and eating them as I was worried it would be," Alex admitted, a bit embarrassed, as he looked back towards the television. He wasn't really paying attention to the Family Feud show though.
"... It's just, now I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Things would certainly be a lot simpler if I wasn't a werewolf anymore, and could just go back to the life of a normal person," Alex continued after a moment. "And please, don't say something like, 'being normal is boring anyway,'" the werewolf added preemptively with a glance over at Coralie, though he did have a slight grin on his face as he said it.
It was then that Sandra walked down the hall and into the living room, after hanging up the trans-universal call. "Alright you two, you're not misbehaving in here, are you?" Sandra asked in a joking tone, walking over to the couch.
"So, your parents want you calling every day once you're back from school. Before school too if you can, but not if it's going to make you late," Sandra relayed to Coralie, setting the device down on the couch next to the young scientist. "On weekends, let's have you call right after breakfast."
With that, Sandra then clapped her hands together. "Now, any preference on dinner?" Alex perked up, but before he could say anything, she added to him, "Alex, we're letting our guest choose for her first night here."
"Uh, right," Alex muttered, deflating slightly.
Sandra just gave him a nod, then returned her attention to Coralie. "You may have to tell me about what the dish is like if it's something we don't have here... And I may have to just do the closest I can with what we have in our kitchen."
You are reading this.
What, me worry?
Mindy's House
First Gill followed Mindy into her bedroom (where she left the door open. Didn't want her mother getting any funny ideas about her daughter after all). Now Gill straight up asked her out. He's full of surprises. And while she managed to not let herself fall into a trance like before, she still can't resist his charms and his unexpected show of confidence. She looked down briefly before meeting his eyes with a wide grin. Gill, I'd love to. Gotta admit, startin' to grow to like that beach. Once you get past strange diary girls, it's pretty nice. All right, Gill, it's a date.Fountain
Curious? Don't you know you're not supposed to snoop around a lady's personal space without consent? Layla scolded the camera boy. Her senses heightened by his camcorder as she stepped out of sight. Are you filming me? She asked, sounding rather creeped out. I should warn you, my father is a powerful attorney. So if you recorded anything, I suggest yout delete the footage right away.
The Slab
"I'm not sure how I feel about the term 'anomaly' in general," Vivian admitted, showing solidarity on that issue. "Maybe it's not exactly inaccurate, but it's a bit... othering, I guess."
"I will say that your whole thing is unique even amongst identical twins as far as I'm aware, though. That much I do have to agree with her on."
For the Horde!
Gill smiled at her, taking her hand and standing, pulling her up with him.
"Great! I'll be looking forward to it. Now, I should really get over to Blake's house. They're probably wondering where I am right about now," he explained. "I enjoyed dinner, Mindy. Thank you so much." He squeezed her hand, then let go and started to head out.
"Awesome," Heidi responded, not noticing (or if she did notice, not caring about) Elaine's obvious discomfort and continuing to drink her smoothie. She felt a squirming inside her body. "Oh, fuck." Gotta cut this short, gotta go!" she quickly exclaimed. grabbing the nearly-finished smoothie and walking quickly with it, chucking it into the trash and ducking back into the smoothie shop, ducking as quickly as she could into the women's bathroom.
No sooner did she slip into one of the stalls that she felt her change coming on, and her body morphed into that of Jackie, who looked positively mortified.
"What am I doing?! I've got to get back home!" Jackie muttered in a panic. She rushed out of the bathroom and the smoothie shop, not looking where she was going but just trying to get home.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Fwomph
The Mall, The Slab
Blake very quickly bounds into the shop and waves at everyone inside.
"Heya!"
The Mall, Mrs Smith
"Yeah that might help a bit if I know what kinda thing I'm looking for. Would help with the shopping."
The sudden shout and departure of one of the girls did draw her attention, but beyond noting what Heidi looked like (just in case the description given matched) she didn't pay the scene much mind.
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
The Slab
The counter guy was a bit slow in counting out the change, but other than that everything went smoothly. Marilyn would also hear several notifications/feel her phone vibrate several times from receiving a string of texts, but obviously she couldn't check that until she put the ice cream down.
Val, meanwhile, made an awkward little wave to respond to Blake's. "...hello...I think you're a bit late if you want ice cream, but, uh..."
Outside the Shopping Center
Elaine's reaction to Heidi randomly leaving was to start...cringing? She seemed to be getting progressively more and more anxious. She also kept her eyes closed.
V continued, "Alright. We don't have an exact physical description, because there are a few different suspects, but we do know they have—" Ms. Smith couldn't hear what they had over a loud banging sound; looking over, it looked like Elaine flipped the table she was sitting at. Her smoothie ended up spilling onto Jackie as she ran out of the shop. "Oh, I, uh, I stood up without pushing my chair back! Whoops! Ehehehehe..."
The Fountain
The kid pulled out his phone, looked something up, looked disappointed at whatever came up, then put his phone back.
"Yeah, well, uh, this thing records onto physical tapes, and I don't know how to delete those," he said, as if this was a good point that made sense.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, shopping center, The Slab, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who would like to just have a normal time.
Carolyn looked a bit confused at what Vivian said. "What?" the red dressed quadruplet said simply, then shook her head. "Actually, I'd rather stop talking about it," Carolyn then decided, moving to get seated at the booth.
Meanwhile, Lindon looked at Val with a confused expression after he walked over with the other ice creams. "What are you saying, Val? We haven't even started yet," the blue dressed quadruplet pointed out, then looked at Blake. "Hey man, want some ice cream?" Lindon asked, putting the two cups he was holding down on the table.
Linton had just waved in response to Blake's wave.
Marilyn sat down and ignored her phone, and started distributing the ice cream cups around the table. One of the strawberry cups went to Carolyn, while the other went to an empty spot for Vivian. The daiquiri ice was put at another empty spot, for Lindon. The cookies and cream went over to Linton. Marilyn kept the caramel swirl in front of her for herself.
You are reading this.
Fwomph
The Slab
"It's fine, I'll probably have some after dinner. Mom kinda owes me for dragging me around today..."
Outside, Mrs Smith
Mrs Smith flinched as the table toppled. A moment later, her mind realized that it was exceedingly well-timed to ruin her intel.
"How about you text me, I need to help with this."
She shut off the call and wandered over to the flipped table and bent down to try and pick up spilled trash.
"Don't worry about it, happens to everyone. Are you alright?"
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
What, me worry?
Mindy's House
Before Mindy knew it, Gill raised her up out of bed. Yeah, you're welcome. And thank you... for everything. Mindy smiled before pecking him on the cheek. She watched as he left the house. A minute passed after he disappeared from view before she went back inside where she's greeted by Izzy, whose one face is lit up in joy."My Mindy's got a boyfriend, it's about time!" she said before wrapping up her daughter around her arms.
Mom, please! Mindy protested, but mother had her in a tight wrap like a boa constrictor. She let go before sitting on the couch.
"Mindy, have a seat with me." Mindy complied with her mother. "Mindy, I'm proud of you. I told ya things would work out here. You made some friends and now a boyfriend. See? It's not so bad here, is it?"
Mindy relented before replying Yeah, I guess it ain't that bad. Kinda happened pretty fast, though. But yeah, I'm glad I met Gill, Queens, and a few of the others. In fact, Gill's tryin' to move in with Queens right now. He's... kinda homeless.
"Ah, poor guy. He doesn't have any parents or anything like that?"
No, they abandoned him when he was really young.
"Aww... that's sad. Who would do that to a child?!"
I don't know...
"I hope it all works out for him. He's a nice kid. Now, Mindy, I wanna talk to you."
Mindy sighed. What is it?
"Gill's your new boyfriend. And I'm absolutely thrilled for ya. But you gotta remember some things. You're not some little kid anymore. You're gettin' to be a grown woman. And it's time to start bein' responsible. Havin' a boyfriend like that is huge. It ain't all gonna be all kissy-kissy, touchy-touchy. You're all gonna have to learn to set limits."
Limits?
"Like sex for one thing." Mindy burrowed her head to her legs. hiding how red she turned upon hearing her mother mention the "s-word".
"Look, I know you don't like talkin' about this stuff."
I don't like talkin' about it with you!
"Look, Mindy, just listen to me. You're at an age where your hormones will start actin' up. And I seen you around him. You're like a dog about to gobble up a steak. Now, I was like that when I was your age. Been around hot guys and I lost control. I went for 'em all like an all-you-can-eat steakhouse. And of course there are gonna be some guys who look at you that way. But Mindy, don't think eatin' those steaks will fill up your hunger. They'll give you all kinds of feelings that are too much to handle, especially at your age." Izzy said that as if she knew from personal experience. "In the end, save it for marriage. Make it special. Only between you and him. Now Gill, you don't think he's just a steak, do ya?"
No, mom. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's even got me thinkin' about some stuff too. How I can be better.
"And that's good. You gotta go for someone who wants to make you a better person. Like how your father was. He really knew how to calm all my wildfires. He was the best thing that happened to me. I wish he were still around."
Yeah, me too... He died when Mindy was only two. And while her uncle was the closest she had to a father figure, she wished all the time she could have known her biological father. \\\
"Just remember, Mindy. Love ain't all about physicality. It's all about carin' for someone, wantin' to do 'em right. Through thick and thin."
Yeah, I get it, mom.
"Like our relationship. We've been through a lot, especially these past few years. But no matter how many fires are started, how many arguments we went through, you're my Mindy. And I'll always love you. That's why I wanna make sure you do the right thing. I don't want you to go through what I went through, understand?"
Yeah, mom, and I love you too. Izzy pulled Mindy into a hug, which Mindy reciprocated. As much as Izzy drove her crazy at times, Mindy knew she meant well and wanted her to be at her best.
"Mindy, I've had a hard day at work. Think I'm gonna go relax in the bath. But you'll remember what I said?"
Yeah, I will, mom. Don't go doin' anything I'm too young for.
"Attagirl. I appreciate you talkin' to me. And if you got any questions later, don't be shy. I'm here for ya. Remember that."
Gotcha. Thanks, mom.
Mindy watched as Izzy went down the hallway into the bathroom. She sat on the couch, pondering. While she did plan to adhere to her mother's words, she still wanted to do something special for the beach date with Gill on Friday. Maybe there are some stores she can explore. But it'd have to wait until tomorrow. All she wanted to do was relax. She turned on the PS4 and played some ''Call of Duty: WWII".
The Fountain
Then either tape over it or destroy them. I don't wish to be the subject of your films. Layla pulled out her phone, getting ready to call her father. But she gave him a chance to see how he would respond.Edited by MatthewLMayfield on Apr 10th 2024 at 3:58:39 AM
For the Horde!
Gill chuckled a little when Mindy gave him a kiss on the cheek. He waved, friendly, towards Mindy and her mother.
"Thanks for having me over, both of you! See you later!" he cheerily said, exiting the house. Now it was time to go find where Blake said he had lived. He made his way down the street, looking at the names of streets as he passed them in the hopes of finding the right one.
However, he didn't feel like he was having much luck.
Jackie shrieked as Elaine's smoothie spilled onto her shirt.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! And I'm so sorry about Heidi, she's so inconsiderate! I'm sorry I can't stay, I need to get going home right this instant!" Jackie rambled, exiting post-haste towards her apartment. She hoped her parents wouldn't be too mad at her being late for getting home on her first day, but as they were both going to be at work until later that day, maybe she had enough time to get home and change into something else before her mother and father noticed.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Slab
Marilyn's phone buzzed a few more times before finally quieting down.
Val seemed to notice this. "...yeah, sorry about her...she means well, she just...speaks without thinking most of the time..."
They also addressed Blake. "...oh, what happened?..."
Interestingly, neither of those people would hear the message intended for the other, and in fact of the Lynns, only Marilyn could hear Val at all.
Outside the Smoothie Shop
"Oh, your parents—" Elaine suddenly cut herself off mid-sentence. "Eh, uh, I'm sure they won't mind too much, ehehehehehe..." She seemed like she wanted to become part of the floor.
"O...kay..." said V, who sounded unsure that this would help. But, true to his word, he hung up, and Ms. Smith would see a text from him.
The Fountain
The kid scoffed. "Psh. Okay, Queen Victoria. 'Ooh, I do not wish to be the subject of your films...'" he said, mocking her voice and generally acting as punchable as possible.
He tried to do a pose that mimicked the coolness of leaning against a wall despite there not being a wall there. "Look, the way I see it, if there's something weird going on, the world deserves to know, right? If I were you I'd tell everyone who passed by about my deformity or whatever you have under there."
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
The Slab
Vivian figures out, at this point, that Carolyn was pretty firmly convinced she was an ordinary person. Ultimately pressing the issue didn't seem like it would be fruitful, and honestly? Maybe it was for the best that she and the rest of her siblings get at least a little more time where they could believe they were just like everyone else. The idea of not being normal did seem to stress them out quite a bit, and it didn't seem like they were going to take it well once they learned the truth of their situation.
"Alright," Vivian agreed to drop the subject as she took a seat next to her. Then she noticed someone else enter.
"Oh, hey Blake. What've you been up to?"
Edited by HilarityEnsues on Apr 17th 2024 at 12:45:15 PM
Mindy's House
Yeah, you told me about that, Mindy responded. That'd be pretty cool. Been wantin' to hang out with Queens more. Nice guy, though he's kind of a mystery. Even he doesn't know his deal. But you know, I felt bad about makin' him a third wheel between us. Time to change that. All three of us together, I look forward to it.Mindy drew herself closer to Gill's face and puckered her lips. That first kiss, while impulsive, left her wanting more. Just as she was within inches, a voice intruded her ears: "Hey, Mindy, I'm home." She whipped her head around and saw it was her mother. Hey, Mom, she said before she began grumbling underneath her breath. "Ooh, you must be Gill. You're right, Mindy, he's a real looker. Like one of those hunks from my soap operas." MOM! Mindy shouted. Her face glowing red as she faced away from Ms. Mercedes and Gill.
Ms. Mercedes grabbed Gill's hand in a firm manner contrasting her tender skin. "I'm Isabella Mercedes. My friends call me Izzy for short. I run a massage business: Long Island Massage up in town. Come by if you ever wanna relax," Izzy spoke in that strong Brooklyn accent just like her daughter, except her voice was a bit higher. Mindy rolled her eyes as she slowly went back to her room.
Morgue -> Fountain
Layla watched as the strange girl disappeared into the morgue before leaving. She walked over to the fountain and sat down. The weight of everything - her missing head, plus having told people the secret she tried hard to keep- hit her like a cannonball. She sunk her head area over her hands and sobbed. What if her secret got out for good? Would everyone treat her like a pariah like they did back in her hometown. Would she be ran out? Would she ever be whole again?Edited by MatthewLMayfield on Mar 20th 2024 at 10:04:23 AM