{ D I V I D E }

|| semi-private multimuse rp blog for characters from HIDE.EXIT, a wip game by GENERICDRAWINGS || writtten by CDRA.

[bathed-in-red]

His hand retracts after a moment; once sure the other wouldn’t strike back in defense. Arms then cross irritably over his chest, a soft breath leaving him. There was no helping it now. By this time, his target’s lost for the time being. The hunt will have to continue another day. When the time was better it seemed. Though, what to do about this person? They saw him. They knew exactly what he was doing. He hadn’t committed a crime per se just yet. There was nothing to rat him out for but- 

That was risky. For a moment, he’d mull over his decision. { “You’re not the one I was looking for.” } He states plainly, a shot of malice in his voice; mixing blandly with his previous irritation. However, he simply moves to lean against the wall now. { “Did you see a man a bit taller than you pass by? Shorter hair… a suit?” } Well if they were in the way, he could always ask for information before he came to his decision. Stall for time. Maybe consider picking up the chase once more?

[divhyde-blog]

               Not the right guy? God, that’s a relief -- Hy gives a nervous chuckle, forcing an awkward smile to show sharp teeth as his posture relaxes a fragment. “Oh... well, I guess it wouldn’t be the first time for that, haha...” he tries to make a joke, but he’s fairly certain it falls flat -- is this really an appropriate situation for jokes? It’s true, though; it’s stupid how easy he is to mistake for his Other -- and that aside, how many times has a friend almost killed him before realizing he, despite his far more unassuming presence, is a Hyde as well?

               “I... didn’t see anyone, I don’t think,” he pulls at his collar uneasily, still not taking his eyes off this stranger. “I wasn’t really looking... s-sorry.”

[bathed-in-red]

@divhyde

Darkness gives way to eyes of shimmering ruby; focused upon a single unfortunate soul. Their body wanders the empty streets of the city, steps casual. The poor fool is completely oblivious, they must be. And as they turn the corner of one street connecting to the next, he moves from his high up perch. Quickly he follows. The land is empty and none are out so late. It’s the perfect opportunity. 

However, as swift steps carry him from where he’d landed to around the corner, his body halts suddenly. Claws of metal adorning his fingertips cease inches from a person’s face. A person who… wasn’t the one he was initially tailing? This wasn’t his target. Where did they go? And more so… What… was he to do in this situation?

{ “Ah… you’re… not?” } 

[divhyde-blog]

              He’s going to die; he’s been here before. Flashbacks suddenly replay themselves in his head and his reflexes make his hand shoot up, though he most certainly would have stopped those blades a split-second too late -- except that they stopped short, which is perhaps even more shocking than the feeling of impending death, and now there’s a rather terrifying yet also confused-looking man staring him down from just beyond his own hand and glinting sharp silver.

             “I’m... not?” Hy repeats, confused, blinking mismatched eyes -- he’s not... what? His body’s on guard now -- even if he doesn’t like fighting, he can defend himself pretty well, right? That whole Hyde-killer-instinct thing -- it’s not completely dead within him. “I’m not what?” He doesn’t want to fight -- there’s a reason the other stopped, and hopefully, it’s enough that he won’t actually kill the poor idol.

[divhyde-blog]

>> temporiize:

Seconds before they could muster a comment about his name (some combination of ‘edgy’ and ‘somehow, I think it fits’), he practically slammed their train of thought to a complete halt. “Wha─? Wait, wait ─ you’re famous?” The shock sets in immediately, though exactly why it’s such a surprise to them is a mystery; it’s like they’ve never met a celebrity before or something.

They don’t think they have.

“Hu─  o-oh, sure! I’ll check ‘em both out as soon as I can!” How exciting! Just the thought of being able to brag along the lines of ‘hey, I know that guy!’ was enough to get them practically bouncing in their seat. “Do you do the whole autograph thing? There’s a saying that if you immortalize yourself in a fortunate place, you’ll be granted good luck for years!”

Whether that was an actual belief or not was well beyond them but hey, at least it sounded legit.

               “Well, not quite -- yet!  We only debuted a few months ago...” Wow, has it been that long?  Time sure flies when it’s not a mess of the same half-remembered repeats, doesn’t it?  ( That wasn’t funny, and he mentally kicks himself for thinking it. )  “So like... I wouldn’t really say we’re famous, but it’s only a matter of time assuming all goes well!”  Though, the possibility of things going HORRENDOUSLY wrong is a lot higher than he has any reason to admit.  But he likes to keep his chin up anyway.

               His expression gets a bit more puzzled at her statement -- is that a thing people say?  What does that mean exactly, though?  “Hhuh,” he mutters, trying to work past his confusion to go along with it, “Well, I have no idea what any of that’s about, but... I guess I can sign something for you, yeah!”  It shouldn’t be a problem, right?  He turns around in his seat for a second, glancing around for something; did Liza get seriously distracted, or did she leave him on purpose?!  Really, either one seems pretty likely...  seriously, she’s more airheaded than him, or even Jack!

               “Ehh... seems like my manager got off somewhere... she might have some photocards or something I could sign...”

[divhyde-blog]

>> temporiize:

The level of restraint that it takes to not blurt out a really?! at the idea that they actually were right on some level with their reading is astonishingly high in and of itself ─ so much so that even if they’ve managed to bite their tongue to not seem like they were completely unprofessional, it easily reflects in the way they immediately brighten up, almost channeling a newly bought lamp that’s been unnecessarily equipped with a 100-watt light bulb. Success ─ it was an undeniably great feeling, a priceless reward for ventures into previously uncharted territories. The actual money earned from it was more of a secondhand thought than anything else (it’s not as though they particularly needed it, given the easy access to multiple accounts and cards that they had), only taken after a momentary, nearly absentminded pause.

“Oh, it’s Ahrin! I guess I kinda forgot about that part, huh?” They chuckle a bit at their own thoughtlessness, though it’s unlikely that they’d remember to do it the next time around simply from this. “What about you?”

               He’s happy that she’s happy -- in that way, he’s a terribly simple creature, not unlike a puppy that wags its tail as soon as its owner gives it a smile.  Wasn’t that half the reason he was so fine going along with this tomfoolery, anyway?  Reactionary feedback loop aside, he grins broadly as she gives her name.  “Virus!  Well, err, that’s not my real name, but... I’m an idol, you know?  We’re total rookies right now, but me and my group are aiming for the stars!”  He laughs at himself for a second -- haha, star puns, are they actually funny or just kind of painful to even think?

               “You should totally check out our stuff, Ahrin!  My group’s called EX -- I mean, HIDE!  EXIT’s our brother group that a bunch of my friends are in, so you should totally check them out too!”  Poor creature, programmed for publicity!  It’ll just be a bit longer before he gets used to his own lies -- at least he introduces himself by his stage name already, right?

[divhyde-blog]

>> temporiize:

“Hwa ─ ” Not contacts? Wow his eyes were really awesome, then (and, as he found himself busy with choice, their head tilts slightly as they stare at them in awe). When deciding on this sort of hobby, they hadn’t considered the kinds of people they’d meet, much less expect them to be so interesting by default. Under their breath, the softest exclamation leaves them unconsciously: “Cool…” I wonder if I could find a fish that looks like that…

It must be ironic in some way or another that the one to temporarily catch them in a daze would be the one to snap them out of it, but they don’t take the time to appreciate it for what it was worth. Right, right ─ they had a job to do right now, and it probably wasn’t in good taste to keep a customer waiting.

“Ahh, let’s see…” In hindsight, it would’ve been fairly helpful if they’d asked what kinds of things he was worried about beforehand since they’ve read about particular layouts, but if there was nothing else they were good at, it’d be finding a different route to something on the fly. General readings weren’t that bad, either! They could totally charge more for the complicated ones, at that. One by one, they flip over the cards he’s chosen, making sure to keep their orientations the same. 

“Seems like you have some things you have’ta think about ─ deeply, I mean. Deeeep reflection over your life ─ that’s what this hermit one means when it’s right here. Alone time and stuff. Since this devil’s in the middle… you’re trapped into something that you should probably get out of ─ I mean if it’s something like a coffee addiction that’s not that bad, but it might be something like a relationship of some sort instead? In any case, it’s holding you back somehow. And this ─ ” They hold up the third card he picked: the hierophant. “Since this is here, your future’s gonna be awesome ─ err, most likely, that is. Unless you follow guidance from the wrong person. But if you don’t and you go the ‘greater good’ path, it’ll be great.”

               As she begins to tell his fortune, his excitement slowly drops to a mild distress -- really, what on earth was he expecting?  Well, nothing, if he had to be honest -- he was sort of expecting something obviously ludicrous and entertaining ( you’ll have twenty kids and be abducted by aliens ), not ( even if by complete accident ) something so awkwardly and painfully descriptive of his current situation.  Really, his muter of “oh...” as she talks about the Devil is hardly about it at all -- that card seems more like an obvious fact, even if not one he wants to think about, whereas the idea that he has things to reflect on is... maybe it’s true, and that’s why it’s so unpleasant.

               But, he perks up again at the final card, all uneasiness faded away as he grins -- “Ooh, awesome!  Err, I wonder who the ‘wrong person’ is...” he glances around; actually, he has a decent idea on that one, too.  It doesn’t really faze him that in reality, he’s never been good at pursuing the “greater good”, much more often accidentally following others to their mutual demise -- unlike the rest of his predicament, perhaps he fails to see that as so much of a problem.

               Putting his ponderings aside, Hy claps his hands; “That was great, man!  Kinda... scary-accurate for a second there... but hey!”  He flips out his wallet and passes the fortune teller the agreed payment with a nod.  “Totally worth it.  Hey, what’s your name?” ( He would hardly trust himself to actually remember her name, but there’s no harm to be found in asking. )

[divhyde-blog]

>> temporiize:

“Ehh, no harm, no foul!” His blunder’s brushed off with ease and a flourish of the hand, though it’s an action done more for his sake than their own. First impressions left the greatest marks, and from what Ahrin determined so far (they had a propensity for such a thing ─ quickly made observations and judgements based solely on initial meeting), he seemed like a pretty carefree guy ─ with a unique sense of style, too! “By the way, nice contacts!”

(More importantly, he seemed like the type of person that they could get to come back later.)

“You can just set the fee off to the side. And then when you’re ready─” With a slight turn, they reach over to grab a deck of cards, taking a bit of time to look through them before setting the stack in the center of the table. After a seemingly careless swipe to scatter them all in a what was supposed to seem like a systematic manner but cut it a bit on the ‘mess’ side, they place their chin in their hands as their elbows rest against wood. “Go ahead and pick three out!”

               For an instant he’s relieved that he didn’t offend them, but his expression just as quickly drops into mild confusion; “Contacts?  Ohh---contacts!” ( He’s blessed than fans don’t comment on his eyes, being used to the oddity; moreso, though, he wishes he could actually wear them without an awkward green gleam showing through, and his eyes being irritated to boot. ) “Ahaha, thanks!” Still, it’s easy to sound genuine enough in thanking her for the compliment, still looking a tad sheepish as he grins, “But these are just my eyes!  I’m actually from Planet Za--- you know what?  Forget that.  We can go back to it later.”  Better to cover his confusion in a well-prepared lie than his discomfort with being placed on the spot -- then again, perhaps telling his Alien Backstory to someone who isn’t a fan is a silly idea at best.  ( Not that Hy is known for particularly un-silly ideas. )

               Yes, no good to dwell there -- he perks up as he looks over the spread of cards before him, fascinated by the half-order of it all.  Utterly seeming to miss the whole “set the fee aside” bit ( even if he did notice, isn’t it a little sketchy that she wants him to set it aside?  more importantly, is that really the FIRST thing he’s found sketchy here? ), a bit too wrapped up in his tangents and enthusiasm.  He taps his chin in thought before systematically pointing to three of the cards, then looks up to the stranger with a wide smile -- “These ones!”

[divhyde-blog]

>> pervigil:

It’s automatic ( something he hates, despite how undeniably useful such a reaction is ), the easy smile that spreads across winter-chapped lips, and he’s every bit the cordial host in the moments that follow. “Hey, no worries. I just thought there was something cool back there that I was missing.” Lee chuckles, a clear indication that he’s just poking fun at himself rather than the stranger, and hands find their way into pockets as he continues. “In that case, welcome. Do you need directions somewhere or anything like that?” Although he can’t quite place where this guy’s from given attire and accent alone, it’s common enough for there to be lost tourists in the downtown core for him to have made the offer without thinking twice.

                He would have to say he appreciates the warmth, chuckling in response as well -- he’s perfectly comfortable with strangers (( “so much for peace and quiet” -- no, this is fine, he’s nothing to worry about )), despite how rarely he really interacts with them ( fans aren’t really strangers; they know an awful lot about you, after all ).  El drops his smile in favor of a pondersome hum for just a moment; “Ah, I’m not going anywhere in particular...” he gives another sheepish laugh at his own thoughts, adjusting the hood of his jacket as he glances over his shoulder, “Just avoiding my manager, mostly...” He looks back to the stranger, grinning again without concern.  “I could go for a cup of coffee, though.  Know a place?”

[divhyde-blog]

>> temporiize:

Success! If that were all it took, why did people ever take the passive advertisement route? It was all as simple as throwing out a lure and seeing what sort of fish you’d catch (and from looks alone, they’d certainly managed to catch an interesting one)! Pushing themself back along the table to free up a decent amount of space (and, more importantly, to spare their screaming midsection) for their enthused customer, they fall into their chair with a fairly graceless, yet still successful motion. 

“Not much at all! In fact, for you, I can cut it to ten dollars! How’s that sound?” The reality of the situation was that there was nothing to cut the price from ─ they’d quite literally determined it all on the spot, just to see how well it’d go over. “That means your second reading would be down to five!”

               “Ehh---? That’s not bad at all!”  A combination of naivete and people-pleasing are most certainly working against the dancer, but he isn’t bothered by it; this is why he probably should be SUPERVISED, but it seems his manager has taken her eyes off of him for just a bit too long, allowing for all kinds of foolishness.  ( For he’s programmed this way, DESIGNED to show people what they want to see, and even if he weren’t he would rather TUCK AWAY his darker truths until they were useful to him, at least. )

               Hy leans in even more, making himself look somehow smaller ( he must not look so short sitting down ); he’s like a child when it comes to the world outside of his schedules and his dorm, and there's far less wrong this world can do when he’s SEEN the things that he has.  “Alright, let’s go for it, man!  Oops, err---” his grin shifts to an awkward sideways glance for a moment, “---uh, you know what I mean!”

[temporiize-blog]

@divhyde

“Hey! Hey, you there!” 

Their shouts come along with a wave that could be more accurately described as flailing, and they’ve practically thrown their body across the table to garner someone’s attention. Leaning in such a manner definitely did quite a number on their poor abs (the struggle not to kick over the chair behind them surely didn’t help), but they still force a bright expression onto their face in the light of gaining a ‘customer’. They had to get somewhere in this new endeavor, and shouting at strangers rather than playing the waiting game seemed like a much more appealing option. 

“If you get your fortune read now, the next one’ll be half off! You’re tempted, right? Right?”

[divhyde-blog]

               “---Eh?”  It’s remarkable how accustomed he is to displays of enthusiasm, on some level; still, Hy takes a moment to blink mismatched eyes dramatically at the girl ( a fan?  no, she doesn’t seem to know who he is? ) that’s ( fairly literally ) thrown herself in his direction.  ‘Get your fortune read’, huh?  Soon enough, the idol breaks into a grin, putting up his usual enthusiastic character with ease ( even if she doesn’t know him -- no, no matter who she was, he’d still have a certain image to maintain, right? ).

               “Ooh, fortune-telling??  That sounds exciting~!” he beams, putting his elbows on the table as well and leaning in; “Aw, I’m a little short on pocket change, though...  How much is it?”  ( Not that he’s actually too worried about it; while he doesn’t have much to spend, he does have a complete lack of remorse about asking Dell or Ideh for a loan later that everyone knows he won’t pay back. )

[the-write-ideas]

okay, sure, “make me” has a lot of sexual tension, but let’s not forget “prove me wrong.”

[wexver-archive-blog]

                                                                                                   this ringing in my head—                                                                                is this a cure, or is this a disease?

                                             independent semi-selective oc.                                                      ( written by cdra. )

[cfmusings-blog]

I want to memorize you————                       every line dip c r e v i c escar every perfect imperfection that creates you mapped out under my eyes              explored by my fingertips                             caressed with my mouth until I can tell you like a story backwards and forwards from the inside—-                             out

[divhyde-blog]

[divhyde-blog]

[ofmuseisms]

is our secret safe tonight?

and are we out of s i g h t?

or will our W O R L D come

t u m b l i n g d o w n ?

[divhyde-blog]

[pervigil-blog]

“Woah.” Herd mentality. Never having been a fan of it, even having condemned it on several occasions, yet prey to human nature at the end is the young man who pauses in his tracks at the sight of the other’s awestruck gaze. Pauses, swivels, squints ( his lingering headache from the prior night’s escapades aren’t helping the situation much ) at what can’t possibly be anything but ordinary downtown buildings, then turns back to the stranger with a quizzical look. “Woah?” he says again, this time with a question laden amidst that single syllable.

[divhyde-blog]

               “Oh!”  His eyes snap over, down, up, and land about eye level of another man -- he’d been lost in thought ( or perhaps more in conversation ), it seems, and thus finds himself startled by the realization that a question’s been directed at him.  This person -- is he a local, perhaps? -- as he thinks, a slight spark of embarrassment brightens the pale hue of El’s skin and he lets out a light chuckle.  "Sorry! I, uh, haven’t been here before, so everything’s all fresh and new to me.”  Perhaps a poor reasoning, but nonetheless the truth, is what he offers with an honest ( if sheepish ) smile and a clear ( unwittingly, almost actor-like; is the camera still listening, this far away? ) tone.