[h4rlequ1nn]

temp. pinned <3 ..

SEMI-SEL. 18+ multiverse writing/roleplay blog for 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗥 (𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗡),

an OC set primarily in the verse of 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟵.

a mirage protoframe with a deep connection to music ,

a thirst for bloodshed,

and a desire to perform .

h4rlequ1nn is now online. MEMBER NAME: Parker LOCATION: Hell BIRTHDATE: 07/04 SEX: Sure MARITAL STATUS: No thanks

[s4dpngs]

[lyricalmusingstuff]

when the stage is mine, i remain invisible to all.

[h4rlequ1nn]

04. tackles the other in a sudden and joyful hug - from amir

` * 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 : happiness — 04. tackles the other in a sudden and joyful hug.

“OKAY, that’s the last of th—“

Amir’s sudden movement gives no leniency towards her momentary distraction. His jump occurs as a flash of lightning—quite literally—and before Parker can notice he’s sending both of them flying towards the ground. She cushions their fall with her body followed by a loud oof!

The abrupt contact that came after slaughtering the relentless army of techrot rode on the coattails of adrenaline. He tackled her so hastily she almost saw her life flash before her eyes—prey at the hands of yet another beast molded by the disease. For a split second her body was raring to go again.

Yet there was no unholy screeching or grating noise of feedback. All that remained was the quiet hiss of static electricity singeing the tips of her hair… accompanied by the achingly tender, suffocating grip of the man who more or less resembled the world’s largest golden retriever.

And god, did he weigh like one, too.

Parker groans softly at the pressure he began to put on her torso. Her scattered mind first attempts to balance the thinking power it took to comprehend the hug and the rising lack of oxygen. The results concluded immense happiness overrun by sudden panic. It materializes into a confused yet kind hand patting his back gently before escalating into more rushed, light smacks.

“Ah— A— Amir, you—“ She huffs out, voice strained. “I-I— y— crushingme—“

[hollowprompts]

` * 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 : 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 (+ 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦) 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦.

𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 -

01. avoids eye contact or looking at the floor. 02. wringing hands together in silence. 03. fidgeting with the hem of their shirt, unable to stay still. 04. looking at receiver in long silence before looking away. 05. silently leaves a folded note on the table in front of the other. 06. touches the others arm but pulls back out of guilt.

𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 -

01. slams fist onto a table without saying a word. 02. exhaling sharply through their nose and clenching their jaw. 03. throws an object across the room. 04. crossing their arms tightly, digging fingers into their own skin. 05. pacing the room with heavy steps. 06. glares at the other with a clenched fist.

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 -

01. gently pushing stray hair behind the others ear. 02. resting their forehead against the others. 03. cups the others face with both hands. 04. pressing a kiss to the others forehead in silence. 05. lingering touches against the others face. 06. wraps their arms around the other from behind and rests their head on the others shoulder.

𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 -

01. wiping their eyes before someone can notice. 02. pressing their face into a pillow to muffle sobs. 03. pulls the other into a desperate hug and wont let go. 04. silently reaching for the others hand, needing comfort. 05. walks into the room with red-rimmed eyes and no words.

𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 -

01. spins the other around without warning in a hug. 02. links arms with the other and tugs them along happily. 03. provides the other with a handmade gift. 04. tackles the other in a sudden and joyful hug. 05. kisses the others cheek unexpectedly and grins.

𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 -

01. backing away slowly and looking for exits. 02. hiding behind the other and peeking around. 03. flinches at sudden movement from the other. 04. presses their back against the wall with eyes darting around the room. 05. jumps at a noise and instinctively grabs the others hand.

𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

01. tucks a blanket gently around the other person's shoulders. 02. applies a bandage with slow and deliberate care. 03. brings them food and water and watches to ensure they eat. 04. runs fingers through their hair in efforts to soothe. 05. rubs soothing circles on the others back while they cry. 06. stays silently by the others side in support without saying a word.

𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

01. raises a hand but hesitates. 02. grips the others arm a bit too tightly. 03. pushes the other away with more force than necessary. 04. turns their back on the other to begin walking away without a word. 05. rips a shared photo in half without a word. 06. steps in closely with cold and narrowed eyes.

[h4rlequ1nn]

Dumbfoundedly the woman stares at him for a moment, giving a dry scoff in amusement. “You’re funny,” she tuts before shifting to his side and taking the secondary door out.

The crackle of various glass and debris beneath her feet begins to trail off the farther she ventures out from the entrance. What seemed like a harsh rejection only seemed to get worse because she wasn’t turning around. She wasn’t even giving him a goodbye—just a handful of questions and added doubts about the gravity of the situation involving more protoframes. More people. More victims.

But while it seemed like she was running away, never to return again, something makes her stop dead in her tracks. A feeling of not guilt, but… possible curiosity. With a deep breath filling her lungs, feeling it seep out of her nostrils, she calls back out to him with intrigue in her tone.

“Be glad that I like funny. Now c’mon, we’re going hunting.” A rather antsy palm reaches down to grab one of the twin pistols in her holster. “It’s not my ideal first date… buuuut we can make it work.”

[v0idlight]

HE SCRAMBLES TO MOVE, head tilting more and more in curiosity of how peculiar this lady can possibly get -- but Amir doesn't want to stop, like the familiar hit of pavement against his feet that keeps him running. She's intoxicating, the way how indifferent she is. Amir tries his best when in combat yet all he can muster is exaggerated confidence. She's the real deal.

"First date? As in, we are going out to have fun?" He quips, pushing up glasses against flickering eyes; the lady is armed and dangerous, ready to shoot potentially anyone. That explains her willingness to aim her pistol at him -- but not their mutual bio-strain of whatever is flowing through their veins. "If your idea of a date is hunting, I'm worried what you do by yourself. Better not be... more hunting." The technician isn't really into pointless killing (even Scaldra have families to go to at the end of the day), but when the mission dictates blood must be shed, who is he to say no?

Before he can have a crisis about the entire ordeal, he zips through the doors -- and into the dim glow of Höllvania waiting on the other side. "You'd be a killer rogue in Fables and Frontiers. I can see it now: the lady of the night, using glamours and tricks while taking lives... Ya know, you really got to tell me more about yourself. At least while I'm sticking with you on this date."

[h4rlequ1nn]

The protoframe gives a small hum in surprise. It’s hard to truly pin a specific emotion onto his companion. Nevertheless Amir receives his answers and then some with the tiniest bit of excitement inflicted in her tone. “Well, first things first—it’s actually bard class. I’ve always been a bard at heart. No matter what character I’ve made.” She nods with a small smile. “Though your observation is… noted and taken into consideration. I’m flattered you think I can be cool and mysterious.”

Her nose crinkles with a certain scent that stops her dead in her tracks. This causes her to immediately pivot, diverting off the main road and down a back alleyway. Which is totally where you’d want to go with someone who just actively held you at gunpoint.

“Other than that I… don’t know. I used to study… music therapy.” She adds, pausing thoughtfully in between words. For once she attempts to recall something, anything interesting about her. Not that there weren’t a lot of things interesting about Parker. There were maybe too many interesting things about Parker. But she was never great at icebreakers and she certainly wasn’t going to suddenly be great now. The nonchalant shrug of acceptance helped to convey that. “I… can see colors. I can taste sound, too. Which seems weird on paper but there’s a real explanation for it and so therefore I am not weird, but everyone else is weird for thinking I’m weird.”

Her eyes finally turn up to him. It seemed like she was possibly avoiding his gaze on purpose, but it could easily be chalked up to shyness. “You strike me as a sorcerer, actually. Mostly because of your whole… you know,” her free hand raises to wiggle her fingers, “electricity thing. It’s… pretty cool you can do that.”

[h4rlequ1nn]

Both of her hands raise in innocence. “Alright, to be fair, you did catch me off guard,” she explains, “but to answer your question, Apollo is… one of us. You know?” A hand motions between the two of them, then shifting to Amir’s protoframe body. “One of us. Or… four of us. There’s four of us in our group.”

It seemed like the more she answered his flurry of questions the more that small tidbits of information seemed to naturally flow out. Amir being a protoframe definitely seemed to have a part in that—but it may have also saved him a lot more trouble than he would’ve had originally. A true blessing in disguise.

She stands up a bit straighter and begins to take in her surroundings. There’s no sign of enemy life here besides him. The mall is pretty well preserved, actually, maybe even lived in. I can’t let you kill anyone here had to have meant there were more people… and had she gotten hostile she would’ve had to deal with a crowd. A part of her stomach begins to flutter with excitement at the concept of an adrenaline laced battle. At the same time, it forms a bottomless pit of dread. Exhausting work for one small itch.

… said itch, has to be scratched.

The protoframe shrugs and begins to walk to the door Amir was just about to pass through, into the warm embrace of Höllvania’s summer night. “Well, sorry for causing a ruckus. I need to go clear my head.” A small hand is raised behind her in a farewell. “Take care.”

[v0idlight]

More... Protoframes. Noted! Amir keeps that little tidbit in his head, ready to tell Arthur, but a gut feeling says he'll forget in the morning. He wants to ask more questions until she's ready to disappear just as fast as she appeared -- he zips over to cut her off from the door, eyebrows raised. "Wait. Wait. You're just gonna leave like that?! After you point a gun at me and give me the bombshell that there's more protoframes?"

Well, she's going where he was already planning to go, and he's already dressed up (a double whammie). There's no other choice: he's going to join her. "At least let me uh, walk you towards the next person you're going to menacingly talk to?"

She doesn't have to know he was planning to go outside anyways -- clearly she has something going on, so Amir's framing it as gathering intel. "I'm not sure if you've seen it, but the city is a big ol' mess. A mess of biblical proportions." Amir puffs out his chest a little bit. "I could probably speed you somewhere fast if you need that too."

[h4rlequ1nn]

Dumbfoundedly the woman stares at him for a moment, giving a dry scoff in amusement. “You’re funny,” she tuts before shifting to his side and taking the secondary door out.

The crackle of various glass and debris beneath her feet begins to trail off the farther she ventures out from the entrance. What seemed like a harsh rejection only seemed to get worse because she wasn’t turning around. She wasn’t even giving him a goodbye—just a handful of questions and added doubts about the gravity of the situation involving more protoframes. More people. More victims.

But while it seemed like she was running away, never to return again, something makes her stop dead in her tracks. A feeling of not guilt, but… possible curiosity. With a deep breath filling her lungs, feeling it seep out of her nostrils, she calls back out to him with intrigue in her tone.

“Be glad that I like funny. Now c’mon, we’re going hunting.” A rather antsy palm reaches down to grab one of the twin pistols in her holster. “It’s not my ideal first date… buuuut we can make it work.”

[v0idlight]

[ text ] are you okay? - @h4rlequ1nn

[H16h V0l7463]: okay is a VERY subjective word

[H16h V0l7463]: i mean like not rlly

[H16h V0l7463]: but ya know it'll be fine

[H16h V0l7463]: it'sjustsomanythingsthatohmygodWOW

[H16h V0l7463]: really long story lol

[H16h V0l7463]: uno reverse card, now i get to ask you

[H16h V0l7463]: are you ok?

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: It’s not like you can’t handle your feelings. He just said something that hurt you and it has to be addressed, that’s all. If he says anything else about it then he’ll have a whole other issue to worry about

[jesterzpriviledge]: But I’ll be honest with you

[jesterzpriviledge]: (Because I care about you so much)

[jesterzpriviledge]: You’re totally not taking care of yourself and your body’s having trouble paying the debt.

[jesterzpriviledge]: Your bad habits are writing checks that your body can’t cash, bud

[jesterzpriviledge]: We need to get you some proper rest, proper nourishment besides caffeine and man—you need a BREAK.

[jesterzpriviledge]: Like

[jesterzpriviledge]: A day to chill out. To just… Be. Yknow?

[jesterzpriviledge]: When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? Have these nightmares been super persistent or

[v0idlight]

[H16h V0l7463]: likeeverynight

[H16h V0l7463]: i know i knowww it's bad

[H16h V0l7463]: i've been having them probably every night or so

[H16h V0l7463]: it comes with the job

[H16h V0l7463]: hard fighting against the government lol - just so many people to kill and fight against, it's like an endless boss mode

[H16h V0l7463]: if i had a day to chill i dunno what i'd even do other than the usual

[H16h V0l7463]: caliber chicks 2

[H16h V0l7463]: reading comics

[H16h V0l7463]: racing around the mall

[H16h V0l7463]: coding

[H16h V0l7463]: etc.

[H16h V0l7463]: besides the gang needs me

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzprivilege]: Oh man

[jesterzprivilege]: Oh dude.. I wish I had better words. I can try to analogize I think

[jesterzprivilege]: Imagine you’re like

[jesterzprivilege]: At less than 25% of HP

[jesterzprivilege]: and the team is going in to a MASSIVE boss battle

[jesterzprivilege]: If you go in there you risk not only dying but losing all the progress you made so far. And there’s no such thing as a revive irl

[jesterzprivilege]: You have the resources to rest up and regain health—so it would only make sense to do so right?

[jesterzprivilege]: So like. Let’s brainstorm a way to get you at a level of flow state to where we’re not stressing out all the time. Does this kinda make sense??? I hope it does

[jesterzprivilege]: Uhm. Have you tried not sleeping alone? Or with a. Weighted blanket

[v0idlight]

[ text ] are you okay? - @h4rlequ1nn

[H16h V0l7463]: okay is a VERY subjective word

[H16h V0l7463]: i mean like not rlly

[H16h V0l7463]: but ya know it'll be fine

[H16h V0l7463]: it'sjustsomanythingsthatohmygodWOW

[H16h V0l7463]: really long story lol

[H16h V0l7463]: uno reverse card, now i get to ask you

[H16h V0l7463]: are you ok?

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: Oh so it's Q. Understood [jesterzpriviledge]: I'll have a chat with him [jesterzpriviledge]: On the other hand... that sounds horrible. I'm sorry you keep having panic attacks [jesterzpriviledge]: It's important to remember anxiety is not linear but can ebb and flow with external factors. Have you been taking care of yourself physically? Mentally? [jesterzpriviledge]: Because last time I checked, coffee mixed with energy drinks is horrible for your nerves :-U

[v0idlight]

[H16h V0l7463]: nononono don't tell quincy he'll make fun of me

[H16h V0l7463]: a guy who can't handle his feelings

[H16h V0l7463]: boohoo

[H16h V0l7463]: sometimes coffee w/ energy drinks is the only way to calm my nerves so...

[H16h V0l7463]: you could say it's the only way i've been taking care of myself

[H16h V0l7463]: ::haaaaaaah::

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: It’s not like you can’t handle your feelings. He just said something that hurt you and it has to be addressed, that’s all. If he says anything else about it then he’ll have a whole other issue to worry about

[jesterzpriviledge]: But I’ll be honest with you

[jesterzpriviledge]: (Because I care about you so much)

[jesterzpriviledge]: You’re totally not taking care of yourself and your body’s having trouble paying the debt.

[jesterzpriviledge]: Your bad habits are writing checks that your body can’t cash, bud

[jesterzpriviledge]: We need to get you some proper rest, proper nourishment besides caffeine and man—you need a BREAK.

[jesterzpriviledge]: Like

[jesterzpriviledge]: A day to chill out. To just… Be. Yknow?

[jesterzpriviledge]: When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? Have these nightmares been super persistent or

[h4rlequ1nn]

The quickness of the movement and sparks of lightning make her flinch, instinctively straightening her posture. Even if he didn’t move closer to the source of the clones, it was almost as if they all shared one stream of consciousness that could peer into different angles of the physical. She confirms this by making the hologram (gently) bonk him in the head with the Uzi. It phases right through him with zero feeling. “I would say the latter.” She nods.

With one superfluous movement she spins the Uzi around by the trigger, holstering it in one of the pockets of her harness. In another life she could make it as a Wild West cowboy. “One of these is a fake. The other two are real.”

The soft footsteps behind Amir grow louder until she stops to place a hand on his back. Gentle palms graze his shoulder blades with precision and a touch of observation. This touch felt just like the real thing—coming from three different angles instead of only one.

Her touch is cut dramatically short by a tiny zap that causes her to hiss softly and recoil. Almost instantly the clones disappear into a flurry of shimmering flakes that hover in the dead air of the mall. From behind him she gives a contemplative hum.

“You’re fast. And electroconductive.” Her right hand rubs the other in a soothing motion. It doesn’t take long for her to start observing him, too. Like two dogs meeting for the first time she paces around him in a circle. Curious eyes scan him up and down with the type of sparkling excitement only seen in the eyes of a kid on Christmas Day. Though she didn’t smile, her eyes gave away the shared awe. “You remind me a lot of Apollo. He’s fast, too. I wonder which one of you is faster.”

[v0idlight]

He's a little too enamored with the illusions, brain reeling with the numerous of questions he could ask her. Amir is not one to bombard strangers (well, who is he kidding) with questions, but every word out of her mouth only fuels the fire. His body jolts with the sudden touch on his back, figuratively and literally -- he's not used to any physical touch, not since he got into this mess.

"You-know-you-could-really-turn-that-into-a-magic-act," Amir nervously laughs again, scratching the back of his head and desperately trying to super normal and not like his words are getting faster by the second. "But you're right! I do run fast... and do-the-electricity-stuff." The end of his sentence ends in a mumble, the lady now encircling him around and around. She's mysterious, that's for sure; Amir might as well flip a coin to guess what she thinks of him. Her body language isn't giving any answers.

"Who's Apollo? Is he like us? How many of you guys are gonna come out with guns? I mean, more the merry. If they won't kill me too."

[h4rlequ1nn]

Both of her hands raise in innocence. “Alright, to be fair, you did catch me off guard,” she explains, “but to answer your question, Apollo is… one of us. You know?” A hand motions between the two of them, then shifting to Amir’s protoframe body. “One of us. Or… four of us. There’s four of us in our group.”

It seemed like the more she answered his flurry of questions the more that small tidbits of information seemed to naturally flow out. Amir being a protoframe definitely seemed to have a part in that—but it may have also saved him a lot more trouble than he would’ve had originally. A true blessing in disguise.

She stands up a bit straighter and begins to take in her surroundings. There’s no sign of enemy life here besides him. The mall is pretty well preserved, actually, maybe even lived in. I can’t let you kill anyone here had to have meant there were more people… and had she gotten hostile she would’ve had to deal with a crowd. A part of her stomach begins to flutter with excitement at the concept of an adrenaline laced battle. At the same time, it forms a bottomless pit of dread. Exhausting work for one small itch.

… said itch, has to be scratched.

The protoframe shrugs and begins to walk to the door Amir was just about to pass through, into the warm embrace of Höllvania’s summer night. “Well, sorry for causing a ruckus. I need to go clear my head.” A small hand is raised behind her in a farewell. “Take care.”

[v0idlight]

[ text ] are you okay? - @h4rlequ1nn

[H16h V0l7463]: okay is a VERY subjective word

[H16h V0l7463]: i mean like not rlly

[H16h V0l7463]: but ya know it'll be fine

[H16h V0l7463]: it'sjustsomanythingsthatohmygodWOW

[H16h V0l7463]: really long story lol

[H16h V0l7463]: uno reverse card, now i get to ask you

[H16h V0l7463]: are you ok?

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: I’m plenty okay, surprisingly enough

[jesterzpriviledge]: However I noticed you, on the other hand, haven’t been acting the same as usual

[jesterzpriviledge]: Fidgeting more, talking quicker

[jesterzpriviledge]: I think I even noticed an astute disinterest in Caliber Chicks and THAT specifically was the dead giveaway

[jesterzpriviledge]: So what’s been going on in Amir-land ? I’m curious

[v0idlight]

[H16h V0l7463]: wheredoibegin

[H16h V0l7463]: nightmares have been keeping me up so my reaction time is ruined lol

[H16h V0l7463]: quincy teased me again about not being able to keep up

[H16h V0l7463]: ialsothinkimgettingpanicattacksmore

[H16h V0l7463]: i thought i'd get better but i guess not

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: Oh so it's Q. Understood [jesterzpriviledge]: I'll have a chat with him [jesterzpriviledge]: On the other hand... that sounds horrible. I'm sorry you keep having panic attacks [jesterzpriviledge]: It's important to remember anxiety is not linear but can ebb and flow with external factors. Have you been taking care of yourself physically? Mentally? [jesterzpriviledge]: Because last time I checked, coffee mixed with energy drinks is horrible for your nerves :-U

[v0idlight]

[ text ] are you okay? - @h4rlequ1nn

[H16h V0l7463]: okay is a VERY subjective word

[H16h V0l7463]: i mean like not rlly

[H16h V0l7463]: but ya know it'll be fine

[H16h V0l7463]: it'sjustsomanythingsthatohmygodWOW

[H16h V0l7463]: really long story lol

[H16h V0l7463]: uno reverse card, now i get to ask you

[H16h V0l7463]: are you ok?

[h4rlequ1nn]

[jesterzpriviledge]: I’m plenty okay, surprisingly enough

[jesterzpriviledge]: However I noticed you, on the other hand, haven’t been acting the same as usual

[jesterzpriviledge]: Fidgeting more, talking quicker

[jesterzpriviledge]: I think I even noticed an astute disinterest in Caliber Chicks and THAT specifically was the dead giveaway

[jesterzpriviledge]: So what’s been going on in Amir-land ? I’m curious

[h4rlequ1nn]

An amused, equally bitter chuckle tumbles out from her lips. Like his fingers it even crackles a bit in a mixture of amusement and pure exhaustion. Maybe even a third more secretive emotion. “Oh, what hasn’t happened?” She muses, shoving the sugary treat back in her mouth. “Pain. Loss of my body. Worsened dysmorphia. A warped sense of reality, with just a pinch of a thought that maybe death would be kinder than whatever happened to me.”

The glitter from before seems to generate from mid air as perception begins to warp. In an instant, three new clones stand at attention—one barrel staring him down has now turned into four. Each one having its own angle from each direction in a circle.

“The powers were cool too, I guess.”

With every syllable a sense of dread comes forwards through tone. This wasn’t an opposing view as much as it was a shared feeling. She’d kill that twisted doctor on the spot, too, if he were right here in front of her. Yet even though the barrel remains locked in on Amir, her grip on the handle was loose enough to make the gun go limp in her palm. In fact, it doesn’t even look like the safety was off.

“I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say it’s not much different for you, right?” She adds. “The pain and everything. You’re in pain, too. You ever wake up and have this… insane, phantasmal pain that feels like your skin is being pried from your body in real time?”

[v0idlight]

Awe fills his eyes as he sees the glitter dissipate and form glamours -- her -- and it's hard not to get excited. Not excited about unimaginable pain, but the revelation that there are more protoframes like him, like the others; they're not alone. "I get it sometimes, when I'm falling asleep. My nightmares are just so... vivid." He gives a soft, breathy imitation of an explosion. "Like the dead are shouting at me and my entire body is peeling its own skin off. If you're talking body horror, join the club. My friend Eleanor would love to talk to ya."

It's not the same friendliness he offered so eagerly to the drifter long ago. He wants to give that same excitement, but what's clear is that he still can't let his guard down, much to his chagrin. It's a dance between them and he's not one to play mind games. Amir wants to know friend or foe ASAP (and maybe still go out on that run so he can sleep soundly tonight).

He zips forward, blue streaking out of his afterimage; closer to the clones, not her. They glimmer in the moonlight of the mall, fading in and out. When he passes a hand through one of them, it simply goes through. "Sooooo, apparitions, eh? Is it like, you split your mind in each of them or do they automatically follow your movements?" His brain jumps to the next topic at hand; no need for formalities, she can do magic tricks! Still, the internal scales of judgment are tipping towards friend, as if going through the same excruciating experience grants comradery. It's not often that a person becomes a being intertwined with infestation.

[h4rlequ1nn]

The quickness of the movement and sparks of lightning make her flinch, instinctively straightening her posture. Even if he didn’t move closer to the source of the clones, it was almost as if they all shared one stream of consciousness that could peer into different angles of the physical. She confirms this by making the hologram (gently) bonk him in the head with the Uzi. It phases right through him with zero feeling. “I would say the latter.” She nods.

With one superfluous movement she spins the Uzi around by the trigger, holstering it in one of the pockets of her harness. In another life she could make it as a Wild West cowboy. “One of these is a fake. The other two are real.”

The soft footsteps behind Amir grow louder until she stops to place a hand on his back. Gentle palms graze his shoulder blades with precision and a touch of observation. This touch felt just like the real thing—coming from three different angles instead of only one.

Her touch is cut dramatically short by a tiny zap that causes her to hiss softly and recoil. Almost instantly the clones disappear into a flurry of shimmering flakes that hover in the dead air of the mall. From behind him she gives a contemplative hum.

“You’re fast. And electroconductive.” Her right hand rubs the other in a soothing motion. It doesn’t take long for her to start observing him, too. Like two dogs meeting for the first time she paces around him in a circle. Curious eyes scan him up and down with the type of sparkling excitement only seen in the eyes of a kid on Christmas Day. Though she didn’t smile, her eyes gave away the shared awe. “You remind me a lot of Apollo. He’s fast, too. I wonder which one of you is faster.”

[h4rlequ1nn]

The change in his tone doesn’t seem to do much but briefly halt them in their tracks. For just a moment, the world stood still, and all that remained was the remaining tension. It was a string pulled taut–ready to snap at any given moment. A beat passes. Then, stepping out from the cast darkness, a smaller figure appears. A girl, not much shorter than himself, her eyes narrowing at him in what could only be described as an intimidating stare. Her nose didn’t crinkle and her upper lip wasn’t raised in a snarl. Instead, she keeps the Uzi trained on him intently. There’s no fast movements to be made here. But the more she observes him, the more something seems to click behind her eyes. His body, her body… both of them were protoframes. Oh, yes, the sleek metal, interwoven with muscle, morphed into skin–an indistinguishable branding. Victims of the same damned man. If he looks close enough he might notice the slight relaxation on the grip of the handle. “You’re right. I don’t.” Her head tilts to the side, following the barrel of her gun. “But I don’t know you… as much as you don’t know me.” She readjusts the lollipop to the other side of her mouth thoughtfully. Her free hand then moves to fish the stick from between her lips. A red heart lollipop. “From the looks of it, though–” she sighs, “we might know each other more than we think.”

[v0idlight]

Amir's body crackles, crackles-- and then settles once he sees the familiar swordsteel, hardened into armor. Void of Scaldra signia. Just another person trying to survive. Relief floods his veins, because oh wow, he was not prepared to get into a fight. She's closer, enough for him to determine the level of danger. Not a Scaldra soldier. Not a tech rot amalgamation. Still a girl with a gun held straight at his head.

He tilts his head, lowering both hands down slowly; no sudden movements. Amir simply puts his hands close together to let the electricity arc between fingers, showcasing his abilities. "If you're talking about the guy who forced me to look like this, oh boy oh boy, I get to tell you he's not here. In fact, if he was here, I think I'd kill him on the spot." The laugh he tries is nervous -- tinged with bitterness -- but the guy would probably do anything so she can just put it down.

His fight or flight adrenaline is still kicking, so maybe a fight might be imminent. It's just like what Quincy says, Amir can not be the fool. The opportunity window widens with her step forwards. "What happened to you?"

[h4rlequ1nn]

An amused, equally bitter chuckle tumbles out from her lips. Like his fingers it even crackles a bit in a mixture of amusement and pure exhaustion. Maybe even a third more secretive emotion. “Oh, what hasn’t happened?” She muses, shoving the sugary treat back in her mouth. “Pain. Loss of my body. Worsened dysmorphia. A warped sense of reality, with just a pinch of a thought that maybe death would be kinder than whatever happened to me.”

The glitter from before seems to generate from mid air as perception begins to warp. In an instant, three new clones stand at attention—one barrel staring him down has now turned into four. Each one having its own angle from each direction in a circle.

“The powers were cool too, I guess.”

With every syllable a sense of dread comes forwards through tone. This wasn’t an opposing view as much as it was a shared feeling. She’d kill that twisted doctor on the spot, too, if he were right here in front of her. Yet even though the barrel remains locked in on Amir, her grip on the handle was loose enough to make the gun go limp in her palm. In fact, it doesn’t even look like the safety was off.

“I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say it’s not much different for you, right?” She adds. “The pain and everything. You’re in pain, too. You ever wake up and have this… insane, phantasmal pain that feels like your skin is being pried from your body in real time?”

[h4rlequ1nn]

Even with his silly remark, there is no response. For all that was known this could be another rotted conglomeration of tech coming to terrorize the Hex with a taste for vengeance. Or, arguably worse, he woke someone else up and they were coming to scold him. Soon the stillness starts to become deafening. No amount of adjusting his eyes to the dark could reveal what, if anything, was staring him down. One thing was for certain—whatever figure obscured themselves in the darkness of the mall was sizing him up. It was as if they were a starving feline, deciding whether to scamper away or to pounce. Wouldn’t it be great if this were just a small kitty-cat?

Before he could think about it further, though, the quiet click of a disengaged safety breaks the silence. The sound cuts through the tension like a hot knife, a subtle chill in the air freezing it solid. An audible confirmation. This was no one he knew.

With the moon’s lighting piercing through the mall’s glass ceiling, tiny twinkles shimmer and float through the air like miniature stars. The particles begin to slowly part themselves, making space for a slowly emerging figure. Footsteps tap, tap, tapping against the linoleum bring the silhouette of a smaller figure closer to the light. The first thing to be uncovered from the curtain of shadows... the barrel of a gun. “I need your name. Now.”

[v0idlight]

Amir stifles a yelp that threatens to come out as a scream (well, maybe waking up Arthur wouldn't be so bad anymore), gun pointed at him with intent. He can run fast, yes -- but he can only run so fast compared to a bullet. What a predicament that he got himself into, just for the mere sin of wanting to go out for a run. He raises his hands up immediately, anxiety spiking.

He's no soldier, so words will have to suffice. "I-I'm Amir." The protoframe stammers, blue electricity arching off his body; he knows he should show more backbone, but the technician is not below begging. Within his own home, where he sleeps, where he spends time with the other members -- for Sol's sake, he's yards away from the arcade. He can't let this Scaldra soldier- intruder wreak havoc. In a stronger voice, his tone solidifies, just like how Arthur or Quincy might speak: "I can't let you kill anyone here. I'm giving you a chance to walk away with your life."

He doesn't have power in this situation, he knows that -- but does the other person know that? Under his orange goggles, his eyes calculate the space between them and the time that he needs to bridge the gap. "You don't have to do this." Just a lapse in judgment will give enough time, if Amir needs to resolve this without words.

[h4rlequ1nn]

The change in his tone doesn’t seem to do much but briefly halt them in their tracks. For just a moment, the world stood still, and all that remained was the remaining tension. It was a string pulled taut–ready to snap at any given moment. A beat passes. Then, stepping out from the cast darkness, a smaller figure appears. A girl, not much shorter than himself, her eyes narrowing at him in what could only be described as an intimidating stare. Her nose didn’t crinkle and her upper lip wasn’t raised in a snarl. Instead, she keeps the Uzi trained on him intently. There’s no fast movements to be made here. But the more she observes him, the more something seems to click behind her eyes. His body, her body… both of them were protoframes. Oh, yes, the sleek metal, interwoven with muscle, morphed into skin–an indistinguishable branding. Victims of the same damned man. If he looks close enough he might notice the slight relaxation on the grip of the handle. “You’re right. I don’t.” Her head tilts to the side, following the barrel of her gun. “But I don’t know you… as much as you don’t know me.” She readjusts the lollipop to the other side of her mouth thoughtfully. Her free hand then moves to fish the stick from between her lips. A red heart lollipop. “From the looks of it, though–” she sighs, “we might know each other more than we think.”

[v0idlight]

His internal clock ticks ticks ticks within his head -- it roars like thunder, fueling the tempo of his leg that refuses to settle down for the night. Amir should had been asleep hours ago, but it's only him and his thoughts at 1 am, brain bursting at the seams. He needs to runrunrunrunrunrunrunrun-

Höllvania be damned, one quick lap around the block won't hurt anyone. Maybe him, if he trips and falls. At least no one will see that.

The cold mall's floor is unyielding against his footsteps; every noise threatens to awake another person, but the electricity crackling in his veins keeps each step light. Light armor and little equipment (godforbid a fella doesn't want to suit up every time he goes out into the hellscape) for the late night run -- get himself tired out, then he can stave off the thoughts overloading his brain. He feels the tension, the wiring in his body refuses to shut down until he physically exhausts himself. Amir's body wants to be in motion; lighting zipping through everywhere. He, simply wants a good night's sleep.

Yippee ki yay, he's ready to rock and roll; just a couple steps away from the glass door until an erroneous crunch comes out underneath his foot -- the sudden feeling of eyes watching him from the disturbance. Fuuuuuuuck. Frick! Slumped shoulders, he can only sheepishly look around and pray that the emerging figure from the darkness isn't pissed. "Heeey. . . Assuming you don't wanna join me outside."

>open to anyone!

[h4rlequ1nn]

Even with his silly remark, there is no response. For all that was known this could be another rotted conglomeration of tech coming to terrorize the Hex with a taste for vengeance. Or, arguably worse, he woke someone else up and they were coming to scold him. Soon the stillness starts to become deafening. No amount of adjusting his eyes to the dark could reveal what, if anything, was staring him down. One thing was for certain—whatever figure obscured themselves in the darkness of the mall was sizing him up. It was as if they were a starving feline, deciding whether to scamper away or to pounce. Wouldn’t it be great if this were just a small kitty-cat?

Before he could think about it further, though, the quiet click of a disengaged safety breaks the silence. The sound cuts through the tension like a hot knife, a subtle chill in the air freezing it solid. An audible confirmation. This was no one he knew.

With the moon’s lighting piercing through the mall’s glass ceiling, tiny twinkles shimmer and float through the air like miniature stars. The particles begin to slowly part themselves, making space for a slowly emerging figure. Footsteps tap, tap, tapping against the linoleum bring the silhouette of a smaller figure closer to the light. The first thing to be uncovered from the curtain of shadows... the barrel of a gun. “I need your name. Now.”

[h4rlequ1nn]

// looks around.. waves awkwardly.. may resurrect this to include the other 3 protos I got.. smiles