having edgy ocs is soooo embarassing like yeah this is johnny... he.. kills people... yeah with a knife and theres blood and stuff yeah... sorry i know...
“I’ll see you later! Remember you can always ask if you need help!”
Anne smiled at the kid as they jogged away, heading in the direction of their house. Their backpack had acquired new pins representing different animals and plants, easily identifiable as Saguaro’s work, and they were also sporting a new hat with fake fuzzy antlers pointing out of the top. It was clear they were settling into the island, despite her worries. As she watched them enter the doorway to their place, however, something tugged at the back of her mind.
Anne’s smile dropped slightly as her brain began to wander. Should she be giving the kid souvenirs of her own? What about Cooper, the kid didn’t have any items that were recognizable as being from him. In fact, had she seen them hanging out recently? She pondered interactions between the two recently, and realized she couldn't think of any instances of them spending time together. In fact, now that she thought about it, they hardly ever interacted in group settings either. Oh dear.
Humming, Anne pulled out her pawpad and opened her messages with Cooper. The last several messages sent were a few paragraphs of Anne explaining the concept of how to safely cook a grilled ham sandwich, at the request of Cooper himself. Cooper seemingly had sent a simple ‘ok’ in response, about ten minutes ago, which Anne huffed at slightly before tapping out a message. At least that meant he was likely to respond soon.
Anne 3:21 pm
Cooper, have you seen the kid recently? I'm sure they’d love to spend more time at the arcade!
Impatient against her will, Anne tapped her claw slightly against the screen. A few seconds later a response came.
Cooper 3:21 pm
yeah i saw them yesterday they came over to the arcade and played skii ball for like 20 minutes
Anne 3:22 pm
Oh! Did you play with them?
Cooper 3:22 pm
no i was in the middle of a game
i could've gotten a high score but then a kid came over and stood over my shoulder and was breathing in my ear and it distracted me so i messed up and died
its ok though
Anne 3:23 pm
Ok! Sorry about your game :( We should all do something together soon!
Cooper 3:24 pm
yes!
Anne smiled, ears perking up. It was slightly reassuring to know that they hadn’t gotten into a fight and didn't hate each other (this was unlikely but not impossible of course) but it would still be good for them all to spend some time together. She just had to sort out what and when. Her schedule was already quite packed. Ideas of possible activities ran through her head- Hiking? No, Cooper could get tired and complain, which wouldn't be fun. Anne could get them to help with gardening, but it was possible the kid didn’t enjoy getting dirty and she didn't know if she trusted others around her plants anyways. Before she could consider more options, her pawpad buzzed with another message.
Cooper 3:26 pm
lets go picnicn
*picnicning
!
Picnicking! Wow, that was perfect!
Anne 3:26 pm
*Picnicking
That’s a great idea Cooper!
Hmm, I can go tomorrow at lunch if you’d like! I'm free then.
Cooper 3:27 pm
woof !
i can do tomorrow
ill make the sam sandwiches now that i know the expert method
Anne 3:27 pm
Haha, don’t worry Cooper. I’ll make the food :)
Cooper 3:28 pm
aww man come on its a sandwich i can do it grr
you gave me a million instructions i cant mess it up
Anne 3:28 pm
There were 6 steps Cooper.
Anne hesitated, unsure what she wanted to type next. She didn’t know if Cooper could do it. Well, she knew he likely could, but chances were the sandwiches would be burnt, or he would forget to make enough, or he would be late to the picnic because of it. It would be much easier if she did it herself. But she knew she couldn't just say that to poor Cooper.
Anne 3:29 pm
Cooper, really it's fine. You know I like cooking :D
Cooper 3:30 pm
Hmmm
I do know that i just
i would be fine making the food i just feel like youre always doing everything you know
like youre always the one making the food and planning the things
What? Anne frowned. Of course she was.
Anne 3:30 pm
I don't understand. You know I like planning things.
Cooper 3:31 pm
well yeah
but i mean i like playing games but i still need a break sometimes
Anne 3:31 pm
Cooper, it's fine! I promise.
Cooper 3:31 pm
ok if you say so
i just mean yknow you don't have to do it all yourself
I can help with things too!
Ah, alright. Anne understood now. She could deal with this.
Anne 3:32 pm
Cooper, you do so much! You're like the most active person I know!
Cooper 3:33 pm
i play games all day
Anne 3:34 pm
Yes, as your job. And you're so good at making people happy! I mean look at how many friends you've made! Trust me, there's no way I could keep up with that many people. Just because you do different things doesn't mean you don't do anything.
Cooper 3:35 pm
ok ok ok
yeah ok
but if you ever need me to make the sandwiches i can do that. just so you know
Anne 3:36 pm
Of course Cooper :)
Cooper 3:36 pm
ok. see you tomorrow then
?
Anne 3:37 pm
Yup! See you tomorrow!
Can we meet at 12:30?
Cooper 3:37 pm
yeah that works
thanks
lova ya woof !
Anne 3:37 pm
Love you too! Sniff
Cooper 3:37 pm
hehe sniff sniff
Anne smiled to herself as she tucked her pawpad back into her pocket. She didn't want Cooper to feel as though he was useless. She knew him better than anyone, and was more than aware of his self esteem issues. It was difficult, in situations like this, but the fact was that it was more efficient to take care of these things herself. It wasn't that she didn't trust the dog but she knew how he was prone to accidents and delays. It wasn't his fault of course, it was just easier for her to take care of it. It was what she was good at.
Anne made a mental note to do something with Cooper later that would make him feel competent. Let him beat her at some games maybe, or successfully teach him how to make that sandwich. But right now she had to put that aside and focus on the current situation. Picnic tomorrow.
Running through her daily schedule, she contemplated when she had time to cook food, where to go, what to bring, and so on. Right now, she should be getting back to her house to do her daily chores, and if she completed them early she could start preparing meals for them all tonight. Her mind was on autopilot as she made her way back through main street, waving and making pleasantries with the animals around town. Main street was pretty empty today, as it was an afternoon on a weekday, and mostly only the shopkeepers were around. Anne was almost at the Savannah Lands door when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.
Anne almost didn't see the speck as she was deep in her thoughts. At first she offhandedly categorized it as a piece of litter like a bag or milk carton, but as she placed her claws on the doorknob she paused. Anne turned back towards it.
A little bit away, next to one of the benches scattered around the street, was a small square on the ground. It looked like a perfectly angular hole, but instead of going deeper into the ground it was just… empty. It was completely blank, as though the ground itself had just vanished from reality in that one spot.
Anne stared. She felt her heart speed up, sudden panic beginning to race through her, though she wasn't even sure why, as her brain struggled to catch up with what she was seeing. Her thoughts ran, and she had the feeling the hole was growing larger, that everything else around her was distant all at once. It was like she was staring at nothing, not even a hole, but a dimensionless, colorless, nothing. Static filled her ears as her surroundings shifted, suddenly there was grass brushing her legs, red reflected in the background of her vision, she felt crushing, hot air on her neck and the smell of earth filled her nose. The square stayed in the center of her vision, the pinpoint of her focus, holding her captive as everything changed around her. The edges on it were sharp, clear cut, distinctions between the everything pressing in around her and something else. She felt like she was choking.
Then, suddenly the whole world stopped. The oppressive air, the noise, the color, the scent, was all gone. It was replaced with emptiness, like the blankness of the square had swallowed her, and where she was looking didn't matter because it was everywhere. She couldn't feel. For a brief moment, Anne was alone in the nothing.
The moment ended as soon as it began, and reality crashed down around her like ice cold water. She gasped for air, and pain in her fingers and knees raced through her, almost a relief after the void of sensation she had just experienced. The air felt almost cold on her skin. As her mind caught up to her, she realized she was on the ground, claws digging harshly into the dirt. She must have fallen at some point. A thought struck her, and swinging her head up Anne desperately searched for the hole, but was met with only grass and dirt next to the bench. It was gone.
Panting, Anne pushed herself to her feet, and despite almost losing her balance several times made her way over to the bench. She pressed her hand to where it had been. It felt like normal grass. Using her claws, she dug at the spot, which revealed only the dirt underneath. Anne didn’t understand. She couldn't understand.
Anne stood to her feet again, shaking, not taking her eyes off the spot where the empty square had been. Finally, a thousand thoughts came pouring into her head so fast she couldn't focus on any of them, as she processed what just happened.
What was that? Was it real? Am I going crazy? Did anyone see me? Why did I..
Anne breathed in and out, trapped in her own brain, feeling like her mind was going in circles. She didn't know how long she spent standing there, eyes stuck to that one patch of slightly yellow grass and dirt, thinking. It felt like it had been months. As her breathing evened out, her thoughts slowed, and eventually, she came to a conclusion.
With shaky hands Anne pulled her pawpad out of her pocket. It was 4:12. More than a half an hour had passed. Numbly, she put it away and opened the door to the Savannah Lands. The doorknob was cold. She had lunch to make.
people can’t be immortal. so in order to be immortal you can’t be a person anymore. you have to be distilled. stripped of everything. till you come out the other side as an abstract concept.
came back wrong in the sense that the person who revived you subtly or even obviously changed aspects of your appearance to conform better to their concept of beauty, but no one else notices, or thinks that you look better like this anyway so they don't care and are even jealous of you. came back wrong in the sense that you never consented to be brought back; don't know who dressed you like this and arranged your body in the position that you woke up in; it feels like a violation that no-one will admit to. came back wrong in that everyone is so smotheringly protective of you now; won't let you take even minor risks or "abuse" your newly-revived body with substances and poor lifestyle choices.
being doomed by the narrative is cool and all but i like when a character is doomed just by being a fucking idiot. sorry that happened to you but it is entirely your own fault and you could have just chosen to not do all that
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