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【WEARING • LATEST TUMBLR UPDATE • OOC】​

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Madeline Moore was awoken by the annoying sound of zipping and rustling. Before opening her eyes, she braced herself. It was quite possible that Reuben had invited some people over and that they were now digging through her bag, specifically for her unmentionables...Granted, even she didn't see his usual customers being that tasteless. When she was ready to face whatever awaited her, she twisted so that her back was curved up against the disgusting cushions of the couch and finally lifted her eyelids.

Fortunately, unfortunately, Reuben was there alone. He lifted his chin when he saw her turn and flashed her a small, reassuring smile.

"...Don't mind me, precious. Just looking for the money you made at the springs. I didn't want to wake you, you look so tired."

She sighed bluntly and rolled her eyes, pulling herself up and running her fingers through her wavy, tangled hair. Her braids had untwisted at some point during the night and the strands had knotted up slightly.

"It's in the first pocket. The side with the brown buttons. I zipped it up nice and tight, just for you."

Madeline failed to cover the sarcasm in her voice. Reuben laughed.

"I already looked there. I just found this," he held up a dollar bill and the color drained from her face, her lungs feeling heavy. About a minute passed before his own face darkened. Nervously, she knelt down to the carpet and pushed herself to his side, pulling her bag away from him and starting to search herself.

"Oops. Sorry, it was kind of...late when I put the money away, so I probably just shoved it in instead of putting it where I usually do."

Her fingers shook as she dug through the bag. She felt like throwing up, and her mind was racing so fast she felt the room starting to spin.

Where?

I swear I...!

Was it possible that John had completely screwed her over? She didn't like him, but that was no reason to assume he was that big of an asshole. Fuck, she should have paid more attention to what he was handing her! ...No, he wouldn't do this. He wouldn't.

"M, are you kidding me right now?" He flapped the dollar in her face, blocking her vision of the bag. She stayed quiet, flipping the bag over to dump the contents onto the carpet and rummage through them, trembling. That is, until Reuben grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "I'm talking to you! Is this a joke? Don't fuck with me right now, tell me if you're joking."

Tears stung at her eyes. She didn't understand, or know what to say, so she just shook her head back and forth. Reuben's eyes flashed but then his shoulders fell and he threw the dollar onto the floor.

"...It's alright. I'll let you make up for it."

No.

She scrambled back, past the couch and towards the door of the apartment. Reuben looked exasperated as he stood up and followed after her.

"What's the matter? Hm? What's wrong, you dumb slut."

Fuck, no. Madeline pulled herself up from the ground and reached to unbolt the apartment door. She looked like a mess, but that was okay. Out there was better than in here.

Of course, Reuben pried her fingers from the doorknob and pinned her back again the opposite wall instead. ​

 

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❝Theodore! It's nice to see you again ~❞​

Who the hell was this? Without any sort of warning the masked girl grabbed his hand and shook it rather aggressively. Though he laughed, it was clear that he was a little freaked out, especially with the mask this girl was wearing. As soon as she was done shaking his hand, he wiped it on the side of his pants.​

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❝Ye-yeah. Nice to...uh. Meet you? Where do you know me from? Wait, no...I bet you're one of the time travelers, huh?❞​

He shrugged and asked one of the servants to fix him up a plate of pancakes and a cup of orange juice, happy that food was available. ​

❝...Where is everyone else?❞​

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By everyone else he meant Marina, mostly. She was the one trying to get everyone together, after all. Her not being here was annoying. ​

 

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Ben groggily lifted himself out of the bed, slipping his dirty clothes back on. He disliked not having an extra change of clothes to wear, but he felt it would be too much of a hassle to ask on of the Sario servants for some clothes - assuming they even owned any in his sizes. Still, he wondered how Elliot was standing the lack of clean clothes. The thought of Elliot wearing nothing but a lab coat and washing his clothes made him chuckle. He walked slowly down the long staircase leading away from the guest rooms and approached the dining hall.​

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Near the entrance he saw Theodore and a black-haired girl. Another girl stood with them. He recognized her, though her face was obscured by a canine mask. Inside a room on the other side of the hall, he saw Marina with the pink-haired boy - Casey, if he could recall - and a blonde boy. He recognized that one: Harley Jackson. He remembered the name as if it had been an eon since he had heard it. If Harley was here, then the black-haired girl must have been Kallisti Lein. Ben recalled his first meeting with them, caught up in the body-switching shenanigans. Not exactly the best first impression. He hoped neither of them remembered the original events. That way, he would be able to make a better impression on them.​

 

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( OOC :: AAAAAAAAH, MY EYES, THEY'RE HURTING! ; ~ ; )​

( DAY :: 14 - 2/3 ) • ( DECEMBER 13, 2012 ) • ( LOCATION :: DINING ROOM // LIVING ROOM )​

( YOU • ME • NAMES • LINKS • HATE ) • ( MOOD :: EMBARRASSED )​

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Vanille hadn't exactly meant to be so eager with Theodore, and felt bad when she made him feel uncomfortable. She was tempted to apologize, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of him. Well, it would be better to apologize than save herself. Put others before herself, that's what mom always said.

❝Ye-yeah. Nice to . . . uh. Meet you? Where do you know me from? Wait, no . . . I bet you're one of the time travelers, huh?❞

She took a step away from him and nodded her head, ❝Mmhm!❞ she let out with a smile, ❝And . . . s - sorry about jumping on you like that. It was just really nice to see you again!❞ It was probably better to leave him alone for now. She didn't want him to hate her or anything.

❝. . . Where is everyone else?❞

Vanille looked around the room to see a few other people, but saw few of them. Marina had said something about the living room, and to come to the dining room only if they were hungry. She wasn't, but some of the others seemed to be grabbing food.

❝I think we're supposed to be going to the living room . . .❞ she said unsure of herself, looking around, and then she saw Quin stand from the table and walk out, Harley watching after her with a frown covered up with an amused look. She thought about following Quin, since they were supposed to be going to the living room anyway, but she felt a little awkward as she looked around at the others.

Not knowing what to do made her feel hot in the face and she felt like she might cry.

❝I - I think I'll just go to the l - living room . . .❞ she mumbled in a voice that she was failing to control.

Vanille quickly left the room and when she was standing out in the hall, looked around for anyone. Seemingly no one was around, so she swiftly removed her mask, wiped her eyes and calmed herself before slipping it back on.

Quin was already sitting on a couch when she came into the living room and so Vanille sat in another seat close to her, but not on the same couch. It was a habit of hers to talk to people too much and annoy them and make them push her away. It wouldn't be the first time, either.

She waited for others to fill the room. A few minutes later, Harley came to sit on a chair that was across from Quin and the two seemingly had a staring contest, one that Quin lost many times. It was enjoyable to watch the two of them, but she wondered if Harley had a crush on Quin or not.

Although that sounded strange because of their blood relation, it really wasn't. They didn't have any blood relation, after all.

She giggled to herself and waited for others.

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Aww, the masked girl was kind of cute. Kind of.​

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A little less eager to 'get the party started', Theodore took a seat and enjoyed the fluffy pancakes he was presented while the rest of them disappeared into the living room. When he was done, he took his time sipping away at his orange juice before he politely thanked the servants, got up, pushed his chair in and headed into the living room. ​

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When there he took a seat and didn't bother saying anything. ​

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{Tumblr ✄ Psychosis- Normal ✄ Mood: Awkward ✄ Location: DOM's House}​

{OOC: ---✄ Wearing ✄ Day 14.2 ✄ Wednesday December 13th}​

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Heidi thanked Mr. Marshall for making breakfast. He was right--an apple would have done little to provide for her. She tentatively took the plate of food to the table and began to nibble away at it. After she was a few bites in, Altair came meandering into the kitchen. "Ah Heidi I see your awake! good morning" Altair said with a charming smile as he took a seat on the nearby dinning table. "I see the old man got off his lazy ass and decided to cook something." She nodded awkwardly before glancing over at his grandfather.

"Y-yeah..." Heidi let out an uncomfortable chuckle and went back to quietly eating away at her food. When she finished, she took her plate to the sink and quickly excused herself from the kitchen. She needed to shower--how she loathed them--and to get on proper clothes.

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Marina sat quietly in the living room. Her stomach growled slightly but she was in no mood for food. It could wait until business was finished with. Things here were far more important. While she waited for others to join her, she sat on the large sofa and flipped cards on the coffee table. Lidia had brought her a cup of coffee to substitute for the breakfast she was skipping. They needed to get things moving. Yesterday and the day before had been wastes. She wondered how much longer it would be until Benjamin and Mister Plume joined her there. They never got the opportunity to talk properly about what happened on that island. This would be their chance.

As Kallisti came walking in, she nodded at her, but said nothing. Her blue eyes were focused on the cards in front of her. Would this further hinder her efforts to get people to listen? They already thought she was crazy, something she had grown accustomed to over the years. One could not go through life without being viewed as crazy when practicing divination--frauds and nut jobs, as they were. She was not a fraud or a nut job, but now she wondered just how accurate things truly were. She had always relied so heavily on the influence of spirits, but spirits did not exist for they did not have souls. When they die, they stop existing. There is no afterlife or anything of the sort. Their bodies are empty husks from they day they were born. Hah! That was a funny thought. None of them had actually been born, had they? For this world only began, what, fourteen days ago? That was not true either. It began however many days ago after she died, in addition to the last two that she experienced.

Slowly, others began to file into the room. Vanille came trotting in, filed by Harley. He sat across from his cousin and they continuously stared at one another. She wondered what was going on with their relationship. She would have to influence Harley to share. Her eyes never left the cards. Flip, shuffle, flip, shuffle. Over and over again she splayed the cards out on the table. Something was different about them. They showed something new, but since it appeared to be about a female, she hardly cared. Theodore wandered in after Harley and she glanced up for just a moment. She smiled at him sweetly. He was still here. She had not waited to see if he would stay last night. She was pleased that he decided to. "Good morning Theodore," she said in her soft soprano voice before returning her attention to the display of cards in front of her. she wrinkled her nose in frustration before mixing the cards up violently and shoving them back into the deck. Not good... not good at all. Marina pursed her lips as her blue eyes stayed locked on the now empty spot of the coffee table. The cards were gone, but she kept seeing the images. They were burning themselves in her mind.

 

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Bronagh was a bit tired of wandering at this point and was starting to ask herself the question, why am I still here?​

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Why was she still here?​

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She figured based on the way things were going on, Marina was trying to group together the people in this game. Or, at least as many people as she could get to. Out of all the things she expected this little game to be she hadn't expected it to be her entire life.​

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After about the 5th time wandering down the same stairs she ended up staring right at the front door for a while. Did she want to leave? What was she going to do... buy a phone and go home? No! Bronagh sighed as she heard more people talking in the other room.​

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She found herself heading towards the dining room ​

 

Click. Snap. Click. Snap. A click for the his finger mashing the button. A snap for his new camera snapping the picture. His photography friends agreed when they showed it too him. He twisted as he walked past something he didn't notice before on the ceiling. He didn't feel like walking back, so he stretched his back and held the camera to his eye until his view was perfect. Then, click, snap and the picture was stored on his SD card. There was a flash too. After all, this building was pretty old and run down. But it embodied so much life and history! That's why he was so glad to come down here when one of his photography buds announced a little photography contest. The one to take the best picture that embodied history would win prize? What was the prize? Thomas didn't know, he just knew that this was his chance to win something and do something that he loved at the same time! It was like when people hired him to take photos. He would do it for free, but he had to pay for his software and new memory cards some how.

The light was flickering in this hallway, and Thomas frowned at it. It was like some floors made him think Wow..look at the history in this crack here. Then there were the other floors with a gigantic dark stain that made him think Did someone do crack here? He sighed, after all, there was nothing he would or could do about it. His mind churned as he snapped pictures here and there. No weird emails to think about. No school until they fixed the place up. This was the life. He thought back to that horrifying time though, he had finally gotten a date, he had arrived there way before her, suddenly...WHAM! He's crushed. But through some miracle and some complex things he didn't want to think about anymore, he was back. Weaker then he was due to the coma and bed rest, but he was back. In fact, he was supposed to be resting today, but he coaxed and guilted his mother into this little trip. Begging and pleading until she saw his way. He felt caged, as life moved on and his crawled by. He was not allowed to take a picture unless it was from his window! Come on! This is the guy who climbed trees to take pictures of birds that were higher up on the branches.

Was that muffled talking? It was, it wasn't any of his business but he was much too tired to keep going onward. He sighed, he missed his old strength, and that made him think of the bright side, if he continued his muscle therapy, he'd be back to normal in not time. He wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned his back against the wall. The sound and appearance of the doorknob right in front of him jiggle and turn slightly, made his head lift itself up as he rested, he was glad his peripherals had caught the event. It was the room that had the people speaking in muffled tones.[DOUBLEPOST=1363203367][/DOUBLEPOST]John went to sleep, his head resting on the edge of Eleanora's bed. Right by their connected hands.

 

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She was in that state of loneliness where you could be around so many people and still feel like you were the only one there. Maybe it was her trust issues or something, but instead of going into the room where all the kids were she was now sitting in a dining room with her little notebook open as she wrote sad little monologues for books she would either never write or never finish.​

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She had only ever finished one of her books, it was called Happiness in Hell. Which people wouldn't read because of the name even though it had next to nothing to do with religious ideals. The book was about a boy in his Twenties who just didn't have life go his way and he blamed everyone else for it. In the end he got it worse and ended up losing next to everything. In somewhat of a skid row he found himself a lover, a fun job, some trusting friends, and in the end ended up happier with his experiences regardless of how poor his health and financial situation was.​

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A couple people bought it, but no one got back to her with reviews on it. So she chose to just not try and get it to a publisher and get it big. Her aunt Joyce loved it, but she was her aunt and she could just be saying it for moral support.​

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Bronagh kept on writing though, she had taken another apple from the bowl that was there. Bronagh didn't want to be that person who just walked in and served herself food in someone else's house. At least if she took an apple she wasn't stealing a meal or messing up dishes.​

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Spoiler: Written in the Notebook I

Why exactly does one do good things for bad people,
why is one sympathetic towards someone who doesn't care?
How often can one hear the words "you will be fine" before they no longer are fine?
How many times can you heard "I am terribly sorry" before the announcement of a death before you figure out that they only say the words to make YOU feel better. Not themselves.
Words are useless to me unless the actions are louder.
Hah, get it "actions speak louder than words"?

I'm not fucking laughing.​

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Temperance waited. . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . .. . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . but there was no response.

She sighed heavily before making her way back to the guest bedroom she had occupied. She couldn't do this--be here. She couldn't be around these people. There was no one here she even remotely liked--save for the person she had just tried to visit. When she entered the room, Temperance latched her fingers down onto the bag and tossed it over her shoulder. She would leave before anyone noticed. The only problem was the fact that her car had been ruined in the flood and had taken one of the town cars here. she would be forced to call a cab, unfortunately, the drive from here to where it was she decided to go would cost a fortune. Her fingers slipped inside of the front zipper pocket and pulled out the shiny credit card her mom had given her a long time ago.

There was only one option and she greatly disliked the idea of it. If it hadn't already come down to being her last resort, she wouldn't go there. Just thinking about it disgusted her. She would rather spend another night at Reuben's then go to his house. I wonder if that's an option... She mulled it over briefly before deciding that she probably shouldn't. She wouldn't be going there to buy anything and if she started seeking refuge in his home she would have to make it up to him and that was definitely out of the question. There was no way she would whore herself out like Madeline.

Her stomach fluttered and she covered her mouth afraid of throwing up again. After a couple minutes, the nausea passed and she removed her hand. She needed to leave. Temperance held her phone up to her ear after dialing the number and called for the cab. When she gave the address, the cabby dispatcher sounded rather skeptical but she assured the woman that it was not a prank.

Temperance slipped out of the room and made her way down the hall in the direction she had come the night before. It seemed relatively quiet. She wondered where in this large house the others had gone, but it was of no importance to her. It actually made things easier. If no one saw her slip out, then no one would be inclined to stop her from going. When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she crossed the entryway and walked outside. It would cause less of a stir if she met the cabby at the front gate. It took a lot longer for her to walk than she had realized it would. By the time she arrived, the car was already waiting.

When she slid into the backseat, the cabdriver stared at her skeptically until she flashed the shiny blue AmEx in his face. With a disgruntled nod, he pulled away from the to make the long trip back to Coy and the Industrial Light and Power District where her father lived.

 

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Ben walked into the dining room after the all the others had entered. Still no sign of Olivia... he thought. What was that girl doing? This was the third day since they had been revived, or rather, since time had been turned back. He desperately wanted to speak with her about what his death and what had happened after it, but he had not seen her face since they came to the Sario residence. He sighed and took a seat. He poked absentmindedly at one of the sausages he had loaded onto his plate. It rolled across the plate and bounced back to his fork after colliding with a slice of toast.​

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Ben shifted his gaze across the table to Marina. When he entered, she had been shuffling something in her hands. He supposed they had been her tarot deck. Though she had put the deck away before he had sat down at the table, her eyes remained fixed on a spot in front of her, her expression grave. He recognized it; it was the expression that she bore when she had read his palm at that pizza party all those nights ago. Did the cards foretell some sort of doom? A few weeks prior, he wouldn't have been so suspicious, but after the dangers of this game had reared their head in the first timeline, he had learned to trust the psychic's readings.​

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"Marina..." He hoped his voice would snap Marina out of her daze.​

 

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❝Good morning, Theodore.❞

Marina's voice snapped him out of his slight daze. He smiled genuinely at her and returned the good morning before taking a glance around the room. There were a few shifts and coughs interrupting the silence before someone finally said something more.​

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❝Marina...❞​

Theodore's eyes darted back to the dark haired girl. He made sure to wipe the slight look of annoyance off of his face and clear his throat before speaking.​

❝...So, why are we all here?❞​

Oops. He was louder than he had intended, meaning only for his question to reach Marina. His cheeks burned a bit at first so he slouched back in his seat and diverted his gaze to his fingers.​

❝It's already gotten late. There has to be a reason you invited us all here? Did you want to discuss or do something, Marina? If not, I'll be on my way soon.❞​

 

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"Marina..."

The sound of her name snapped Marina from her daze. How long had she been out of it? The psychic took her eyes off of the vacant spot on the coffee table. ❝...So, why are we all here?❞

"Mm..." Marina glanced up at Theodore thoughtfully.

❝It's already gotten late. There has to be a reason you invited us all here? Did you want to discuss or do something, Marina? If not, I'll be on my way soon.❞

"Yes, yes..." She stood from the seat and smoothed out any unsightly wrinkles that may have developed in her jeans and shirt. "We are all here for the obvious reason. I invited everyone so that we may get somewhere in regards to this email and this game. Some of us know things, while the others do not. Enlightenment would be a positive overall goal. For instance, I wish to hear further on how this time reversal was triggered and I thought the rest of you might like to learn of the trials. We uncovered quite a bit from that event." Marina shifted her attention to Benjamin. "Would you not agree?" She pursed her lips as she took note of the number of guests in the living room. "I wonder if the others got lost."

Marina set her phone and the cards back down on the coffee table in front of her. She brushed a stray lock of brown hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her blue eyes were bright as she studied the faces of her guests. "I wish not to die again; and as they say, 'the more you know.' " She smiled at the simple joke. Schools were always trying to cram down that--PBS Special--concept. Marina thought about her short time spent on the airplane with Benjamin and Cherno. That strange girl that was their flight attendant never left her thoughts. Rhia--that creamy pink hair, those raspberry eyes, and those curved ram's horns still crossed her mind. She was a part of this somehow, and yet she seemed so different in retrospect.

 

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After an uneventful day she invited herself to stay the night again. Regardless whether or not Marina would have offered anyway. She planned on leaving first thing in the morning and get herself out of here. Bronagh wasn't really doing anything, but that the same time she really did not wish to face the police yet.​

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Although I really don't have to at this point do I?​

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She ended up in the same guestroom 3 days in a row at this point, she only learned that her whole life was a game and a lie. In a way she really didn't think about. Sometimes she sat there and wondered, what happens when you die? Is there really a heaven, is there reincarnation? What happens to your memories when you are reincarnated... what if just nothing happens at all.​

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Her last one was the closest the the supposed reality. Although she couldn't base everything entirely on the words of Marina Sario. Then again there were apparently others that could remember.​

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Bronagh was lying down on the bed as she whispered to herself, "How come only a few people remember... and why them? Do they know something we wouldn't have known anyway? I know Marina said she already died but... why couldn't I remember?"​

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Bronagh stopped whispering and eventually just fell asleep.​

 

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"For instance, I wish to hear further on how this time reversal was triggered and I thought the rest of you might like to learn of the trials. We uncovered quite a bit from that event. Would you not agree?" Marina turned her head toward Ben.

He nodded in response. "The circumstances around our deaths," he began awkwardly, "could be vital in understanding the nature of the Crestatia's game." He paused, not sure whether to continue. Admittedly, it would be better if Cherno were here as well... assuming he even remembers the events of the trials. He wished for Olivia to be there as well. If he was going to discuss his death with everyone, the least she could do was be there as well.

A thought came into Ben's mind. He turned his head toward Marina. "If we want to know about the time reversal, we'd need someone who was still... around at the time. Do you know of any of the others who remember? When we met at Ishmael, Olivia seemed to hint that she did, but..." He trailed off.

 

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【WEARING • LATEST TUMBLR UPDATE • OOC】​

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Her knees were shaking and her breathing was erratic. The world spun around her, so she closed her eyes in an attempt to fight off dizzyness. He wasn't even doing anything to her yet; just holding her wrists above her head and staring at her, muttering as though he were drunk. His gaze pierced her. She didn't even have to see those cold electric green eyes to feel his stare. It was enough to make the tears fall again.

With his free hand, Reuben traced rough, dry fingers along her jaw, and down her exposed neck. After a moment or two of circling her pulse with his fingertips, he sighed and dropped her wrists.

"You're too easy, Precious," his voice was low and flat, "it's cute of you to have so much modesty left."

She reached up and wiped her face with the back of her right wrist. Reuben left the doorway and sat down on the loveseat while Madeline reached up to fix her hair and the buttons of her emerald green coat.

"Want a smoke?"

"Rot in hell."
"...Madeline, go home."

Her bottom lip trembled for a few seconds as the tears started up again, but it didn't take her long to get a grip on her emotions. Without looking at him, she returned to the living room to gather up her things, and stormed out of the apartment with a heavy slam of Reuben's door. She wished the slam would result in his entire apartment falling down on him, but no such thing happened.

The cold air hit her face and her knees nearly gave out on her. She wouldn't cry though, not here. Maybe in the back of the bus, if she found the courage to go home. Maybe in some dark alleyway alone, if not. But she wouldn't cry anywhere near Reuben.

Keeping her eyes down, she could see a pair of black Converse a few feet ahead of her. Of course someone had to be right fucking there...Rolling her eyes, she sniffled, adjusted her bag on her shoulder and went to walk past.

"...Maddy?"

Immediately, her chin lifted and she took a few steps back, coming face to face with a familiar dark-haired, blue-eyed boy holding a camera. Her lips parted and eyes widened, but she didn't know what to say. Her emotions started to swirl around again and her vision clouded. How awful, to break her will not to cry so quickly. This reminded her of the flood. She had seen Thomas then, too, or so she thought...Quin had stopped her. Had it really been...him? Or was she just going insane?

Her heart started pounding in her ears and she shook her head back and forth.

"I...you're supposed to be in the hospital...Th-they said you're not waking up. I can't, I'm so sorry, I just can't do this right now. Please stop showing up. I don't want to imagine you anymore, please. Please."

Without another word, she was off around the corner again, trying desperately to escape this damned apartment complex.

 

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( OOC :: I'M TIRED AND A LITTLE CRABBY. EXCUSE MY BAD MOOD. )​

( DAY :: 14 - 3/3 ) • ( DECEMBER 13, 2012 ) • ( LOCATION :: LIVING ROOM )​

( YOU • ME • NAMES • LINKS • HATE ) • ( MOOD :: THOUGHTFUL ~ )​

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Others came in and the discussion. Vanille listened with interest to what these other time travelers had to say as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

❝. . . I wish to hear further on how this time reversal was triggered and I thought the rest of you might like to learn of the trials. We uncovered quite a bit from that event.❞ Marina said, and Vanille perked up, knowing the explanation of the first part of her question, since no one else knew it. She was tempted to raise her hand and wave it excitedly in the air, but these people were super serious, and she didn't want to upset them.

Another boy spoke, one named Benjamin and Vanille recognized him from the Academy. She hopped up from the chair and began to walk around the living room, listening to the words and thinking at the same time.

❝. . . time reversal, we'd need someone who was still . . . around at the time.❞ he said, and she perked up, stilling in her spot and looking at him, ❝Do you know of any of the others who remember? When we met at Ishmael, Olivia seemed to hint that she did, but . . .❞ He trailed off.

This was it, her time to join!

❝I was there, at the meeting.❞ she began brightly, and then motioned to Theo, ❝He was hosting a meeting too, at Antilum Labs, and then when we all got together to start talking, Harley said the witch's name, and she sent us back in time after the meeting room had blown up.❞

She walked around and was standing between the chair where Theo sat and the couch where Harley sat, ❝I'll be honest!❞ she began again, spinning around smoothly, ❝I don't think the witch sent us back in time to save Madeline Moore and Temperance Spike, and I don't think she sent us back in time to save anyone else. She did it for her own amusement. But maybe, maybe ~ there was something that happened between days twelve and fourty-five that we could have changed to set the game in a completely different direction.❞ Of course, this was just a theory . . . One that she hadn't been thinking on for very long, but it was a start? Maybe, maybe ~

❝There's also no real indication why she chose who she did to remember the past - but maybe the people who do remember have to do with the change that might need to take place. Maybe.❞

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The phone rang in her pocket and Temperance readjusted under the seatbelt to pull it out. When she lifted it to her face in the dim light of the backseat she read her mother’s name displayed across the screen. This was someone she was not in the mood to speak with, especially now. Reluctantly, she accepted the call and double checked to ensure that the partition was closed between the cabby and herself. “Hello?” she asked rather annoyed.

“Temp! Thank God,” her mother exclaimed.

“What mother?” Temperance tapped her fingers on her knee in frustration.

“I heard about your friends, sweetie. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’ll get over it.”

“Sweetie, you should be careful. Have you heard what they are saying?”

Temperance groaned, “I don’t care. I’ll be fine.” She could see the familiar streets of the Industrial Light and Power District and her heart lurched in her chest. “I’m almost to dad’s. Can we talk later?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line before her mom finally let out a long sigh. "All right sweetie. You know I'm here for you if you need anything. We're looking at apartments this weekend. Hopefully we can find something soon and move back into the city." Her mother waited for a response, but found none. "All right, well, have a nice time with your father. I love you."

"Mhm," she responded as she hung up the phone. The cabby pulled up to the duplex that she had given him the address to and turned to face her. She rolled her eyes and pulled out the credit card. The cabdriver held onto it for a minute and entered in the numbers from the card. After another minute he turned back around and handed it too her.

"Have a nice night."

Temperance nodded and climbed out of the car. She stood at the end of the driveway for a few minutes. It was cold. One could definitely tell it was the middle of December. Reluctantly, she walked forward. The door was locked. She rifled through the backpack for the keys and remembered that she no longer had them. They had been left in her purse back in her gym locker. She groaned and lifted up the welcome mat, revealing a gleaming key underneath. Temperance felt the freezing metal between her fingers and inserted it into the doorknob. The key turned to the left and the handle clicked as the door unlocked. She pushed the door open slowly. The house was dark and reeked of booze. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as the foul odor of B.O. lingered throughout the place. She walked upstairs, running her hand along the banister as she ascended the stairs.

Heavy snoring sounded from the back of the house. That was a good sign. At least he was asleep for now. She stopped in the kitchen, noticing a pile of past due notices on the counter and a pink slip from The Industrial Light and Power Company. There was a severance check underneath that had never been cashed. Oh dad... She sighed. Temperance straightened out the kitchen and stacked up all the envelopes into a neat pile. This was one of the things she hated about being here. As much as he disgusted her, and as much as she was disgusted with herself for never saying anything; she felt bad for him. She didn't want him to live this way. She pitied the man that was her father. Ever since the divorce he had gone in a downward spiral. Granted, it was his fault that it even happened. She sighed and headed to her small room to drop off the bag.

Temperance proceeded to the bathroom after and started the shower. The steam felt pleasing on her skin. It was relaxing to finally wash away days worth of filth. It would feel even better to slip into a set of clean clothes. The shower helped with the chronic sense of nausea that never seemed to fully go away. She sat down on the tub floor, letting the hot water rain down on her. Black hair clung around her body and she wiped away the water in her face. It continued to pour and she readjusted so that it wouldn't hit her face. Everything had been so overwhelming lately. You said you loved me... She let the shower water wash over her face as tears began to streak her cheeks. It wasn't fair. Temperance hung her head as the water turned cold. She hadn't even washed her hair or body. It didn't matter. She would take care of it properly in the morning.

She sniffled as she shut off the water and stepped onto the cool tile floor. Temperance rang out her hair and wrapped a brown towel around her body. It smelled musty, like it hadn't been washed in a long while. The house was disgusting. As she opened the door, there was a snort from the adjacent room and she froze. It grew quiet for a moment before the silence grew back into snoring. Temperance exhaled in relief before walking out of the bathroom and to her bedroom. As her hand wrapped around the knob, a thick meaty hand pressed down on her shoulder. "Temmmppyy..." Her head turned slowly at the sound of her father's deep gruff slurred voice. "Youssss are home." He pulled her close and she flinched, holding the edges of the towel tightly against her body.

 

Thomas sat there. Stunned as the girl of his dreams talked to him as if he was going to teleport away or something. He glanced up and down the hall as she talked. It felt amazing to hear her. And despite her ragged appearance she still looked lovely to him. He would never say it, but he was sad when his mother said that no one visited him. He couldn't believe his little Maddy was so...cold. In fact he didn't believe it, he thought about it from multiple angles. She thought he was dead. His coma could have taken years. She was heavily troubled and who knew what effort it took for her to agree to his date. So when he was allowed to go home. He let her be, he was one less thing to worry about and she would have probably killed him with worry every time she came around.

Thomas's mouth was an open 'o'shape because he was about to speak before she sped off in a hurry off in a hurry. Quickly he gauges that he had rested enough for a small chase, hopefully she would slow down and stop before he became winded. He took off after her, wondering briefly why no one ever seemed to chase after the upset friend who runs away despite only having a second head start. "Maddy! What are you even talking about! Just wait up a second, please! This camera is really heavy and..." Shít. End of the line. He was gasping softly already, they had only reached the end of the second hall while he pursued her. His feet thudded to a close, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of losing her, not at the fact that he needed to work out more. His mind raced at it's highest speed. His arm leaned against the wall for balance and his thumb flickered over the camera as his zoom increased and his phone switched into rapid fire mode. He aimed at his unwilling blonde model and with the press of a button., the once quiet hall now filled with a steady staccato of audible clicks from his shutters. ""Finally got a picture of you to keep for myself. A whole batch of them that can be uploaded in minutes unless you… he paused to wheeze and lean more heavily on the plaster wall for support. Taking a big gulp of air, he could breath and talk again. "Unless you stop, and talk to me damnit.[/b]"

 

Cherno woke up with a violent start

Beads of cold sweat dripped down his trembling fingers. What time was it? Were the others there? Downstairs? Ugh . . .

It felt like he had a fever. His nose was burning, yet the soles of his feet were positively frozen.

That dream. That ****ing dream. It- ugh.
Was he going to believe it? What Orpheus and Prescott and the bearded man kept saying? This was ridiculous. This was just his conscience. Just his conscience, right?

No. No more. Cherno lifted himself up with shaking hands and fell off the bed with a loud thud, shaking the bedroom floor. The bedside lamp collapsed beside him, just missing his head. He was causing such a ruckus. Could the others downstairs hear him?

He scrambled up towards the nearby chair and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Quickly, quickly.

////

Temperance.
Temperance?
Please tell me everythings dandy i heard
a noise fromthe door it was you aint it god
****ing dammit i need to know if
youre okaytell me where you weny
I am going to collapse you dig

///

Cherno wanted to cry as he sent the text.
That dream. That dream was too much.