It was in pretty bad shape. A headlight was busted, the front bumper was half off, somebody clearly took a crowbar to the license plates in an effort to make them unreadable, and the engine was making worrying noises. And there were way too many passengers inside. The van struggled to contain the rowdy group.
All eight of them.
It slowed to a stop on the side of the highway. The driver, a woman with smudged pink lipstick and a heavy jacket, got out to survey the town before them. She squinted at the oddly shaped cliffs. “Heh.” She twisted on her heel and pounded the roof of the car. “Hey, get out, we’re here! Let’s make a game plan!”
“Finally.” Someone broad-shouldered lurched out of the van and rubbed his head. “I was about to eat someone. Why does it take so long to get anywhere on Earth?”
“Are you sure, Ronnie?” another, smaller voice piped up. “We didn’t really get to see that road sign before you ran over i--!!” His voice broke off into a squeak as someone else rammed a knee into his gut clambering over him. “Shut up, Andrew.” Two more passengers spilled out of the car.
“Look, you can can see where those 11th dimensional losers crashed!” said one. “Why are we here?” the other whined, eyes hidden behind a tightly drawn hood. “Why can’t we just go back to the Realm, find another Ciph--”
“SHHHHH,” everyone else hissed simultaneously.
“Can you not,” ‘Ronnie’ said seriously. “We do not need him hearing us until we’re totally sure we want him to, okay?”
“But-- but he’s sure to see us, anyway, in this town, he sees everything!” said someone else, a nervous looking younger man with something drawn in black marker on his forehead.
“Let him,” said the broad-shouldered one. “He will see. But he will see less if we don’t give him a reason to watch.”
“Easy for the party tank to say,” ‘Andrew’ muttered, limping over to the group.
“Cipher’s Eye, you’re such a NERD, Kryptos--”
“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHshut up with his name! Geez!”
The third to last passenger to exit, a man wearing heavy metal bracelets, leaned against the hood of the car. “So, should we consider ourselves defectors, or...?”
The driver raised her hands. “Nobody said anything about defecting, we’re just stopping over here in this dimension because that’s better than wandering around the Mindscape while we decide what to do. D’you know how long it’s been since we’ve had a little time off from the Boss? Let’s-- let’s, y’know, use it! Especially after what happened with Morpho and our last-- our last him.”
After a minute of uncomfortable silence, the man by the car turned to look inside. “Hey, Hector, how’s the big guy holding up?”
“Still carsick.” A man with a squashed hat was trying to reassure the last passenger. “Look, buddy, maybe you’ll feel better if you get out here for some air, huh? Come on. We’ll get you something to eat soon, okay?”
Something in the car rumbles lowly. Then, with some effort, an absolutely massive....animal...covered in masses of dark fur rolls out of the car to rest on the ground. It’s so fluffy that the face is lost to view.
The driver broke away from the group and went to kneel at their pet’s(?) side. “I’m sorry you were all cooped up, you big loaf,” she cooed. “We feel ya. Vessels sure start to feel icky when you’re in them too long. We’ll be off this stupid planet soon, we’ve just gotta hang around here for a couple weeks.”
She stood up. “What’re you all standing around looking at me for? You want me to tell you what to do? Fine.” She pointed. “Make camp over there. We’re doing a food run later tonight. ‘Cause we’ve got to...” She made a face. “...stop our bodies from dying, I guess. Ugh.”
The gaggle of out-of-towners shrugged and set about pushing the van into the woods.
Wouldn’t it be stupid if I could just... ask them to do whatever they did to open the rift one more time? Wouldn’t be crazy if this universe was that broken?
There’s a big ol’ grin on her face – hopefully they can’t tell it’s forced – when they open the door. She sorta shakes the container in her hands, showing that she brought them over. “Heya!”
Shoes off at the door nonetheless. Shoes were always the worst. But she set the cookie container on the table, leaving the top on. And then she scurried over to Agatha, pat her head a couple times as a greeting, and turned back to Morph.
“You want some help or something? Like, I could totally help you with that. Like, even if you just want someone to go with you…” She let her voice trail off for a second before walking back over and taking a spot at the kitchen table. Her fingers pried open the container and grabbed a cookie. “Okhay, wha’sh up?”
Hopefully, Mabel can’t tell they are just barely holding it together.
Agatha squints happily when Mable pats her head, breaking into a gummy froggy grin. She lurches off the couch, landing on the floor with a wet splop, and zaps an incredibly long tongue out to nab a cookie.
The Shape delicately picks a cookie out of the box, nibbles at it thoughtfully, then licks their lips and goes back for three more. “Oh... nothing much.” They watch Agatha noisily nom her cookie, rather than look directly at Mabel. “...I’m not overly fond of winter. I guess I’ve just let it get to me.” On the other side of the room, their phone vibrates. They ignore it.
“I-- I was going to. Um. Go away from here,” they say on sudden impulse. “...It didn’t work out.”
They’re silent a moment before they meet eyes with Mabel, smiling slightly. “I’d like that,” they say. “Y-You going with me, I mean. I just go to the corner store, for food and smokes and things, and... hair dye. I was thinking about dyeing my hair again.” The pink from their last dye has mostly washed out. They absently twirl their ragged bangs around their finger. “I don’t know if I should dye it the same or do something different. ...Help me pick a color?”
PSA: To be a Good Roleplay Partner you must Learn how to “Roleplay Intentionally”
I would go so far to say, it is impossible to be a good roleplayer without understanding what intentional roleplaying is.
First, a definition of terms:
Intentional Roleplaying means that you have a strong awareness of your muse’s actions and, most importantly, an in depth understanding of the consequences of their actions on others.
This is critical for respecting the boundaries of others since a lot of admins are uncomfortable with rping certain topics. Without it, theres no way you can respect your partner’s boundaries because you won’t know what boundaries they have and how to respect them.
Intentional roleplaying requires that you:
Hold your muse accountable for their actions: This is not just “I don’t endorse what happens IC”. It’s more than that. You constantly need to hold your muse accountable. If the story doesn’t allow for it immediately, then hold them accountable OOC. And besides, there always comes a day when everyone gets the consequences of their actions. You must let your muse have that.
Keep your muse separate from you: Again, more than just denouncing your muse’s behavior. Don’t take it personal when your partner critiques your muse. It’s understandable that you rp to get away from your own problems. Whats not okay is when you start encroaching in other people’s space and making other people uncomfortable. This is a space for everyone.
Actively seek understanding the consequences of your muse’s actions: This means asking your partners about whats going on in the rp. Talk about the consequences. Ask about boundaries your partner has and if it’s okay to even go on certain routes. This is important.
TLDR: You really need to hold your muse accountable for their actions. You ought to be constantly asking your partners about the consequences of your muse’s actions, too. It’s the only way you can be a good roleplay partner.
[txt:Morpho] well hurry up im on my waaayyyyyyyy :^)
She is. She’s already got the cookies in a travel container. She’s grabbed her hoodie and her keys. Locking the door, no turning back. At least they have the time while she gets downstairs to her car, and the time it takes to drive there.
When Mabel gets the door and knocks, the only things that can be heard inside are the Shape muttering to their frog, and few squashy sounds of frog feet on the floor. Three different deadbolts and a chain pull back before they nervously poke their head outside. “Er. Hello! Why don’t you come inside--”
The house looks more lived in than before. The scent of incense is stronger. Agatha, now a substantially bigger and fatter frog, is sitting loaf style on the couch, all five eyes half closed.
“I haven’t managed to go food shopping myself yet... so I suppose it’s a good thing you brought a snack.” They try to lean over to see inside the cookie container. “Sit down anywhere. Make yourself at home and tell me what you’ve been up to!”
annaxmalina
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