Dum Spiro, Spero

[stcsis]

She needed a Hero, so that is what she became

Mercedes "Outis" Salazar. Bio. Tags. Face. Sarah "Slapstick" Smith. Bio. Tags. Face.

[waywardlegacies]

As quiet as the N.E.S.T was, it was in the moments like this when the hollowed filled with laughed over silly things, reminds Sabryna the reason she joined in the first place. It had always been about finding a place in community, the little moments in the mundane that made everything worthwhile and that little bit greater. As serious as the world can be at times, even with the falling apart of the N.E.S.T, it was more important than every to find moments where they can bond and laughter. The ones who were here all had there roles to play and balanced out everything well. Viamiti was simply mother, the one who kept everything in line. Mercedes was a hardwork and a realist, hence why Sabryna knew that she could talk with her, as they both wanted to do all that they could to make sure that everything was up and running.

But now, caught in the harmonies of laughter, bought them just that little bit closer. "I know I'm right about mother," Sabryna caught up in her infectious laughter, falling a little bit back into her seat, the phone tucked to the side of her now. But then the laughter dies down a little bit, as she hears the tapping of Mercedes fingers on the table. As much as their were moments of laughter, there were times like these when they got serious and rational about everything that they thought about. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she wanted to know her insight on the idea. As if anything where to come of it, it wouldn't be a project she would be doing on her own. Hopefully. Sabryna's gaze on her lightly nodding to each word. Sabryna was rather sure that if she were able to understand the basic principles of Amontons' Laws and understand the use of the coefficients of friction, then surely it couldn’t be that difficult to understand the basic metrics for social media. Right? The amount of social media managers that offered free tips and tricks online could be something they could use right? Not to forget, mother seemed to have her pulse on all the trends if not being ahead of them. So maybe asking Vaimiti for a tad bit of guidance wouldn’t be all that difficult. “I mean…I wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two about it. If it would help the N.E.S.T then I don’t mind spending the time.” Sabryna nods along, “Oh yeah…that’s why I also use AlterEgo for…the news.” If by the news you meant spoilers for the new season of Bridgeton or the fan edits of her OTPs then yes, yes very much so.  That was one thing that she admired about Mercedes; she had such grace and charm to her. Everything that the fellow volunteer did with such effortless beauty. She held a great admiration for learning about all the little details she did about her over the time that the two had worked together, from the way she harbours an affinity for books and the sort. The more that she got to know about her, the luckier Sabryna felt to call her a friend. As they also both seemed to share the same concern. "Yeah exactly. They are real people with real hearts," Sabryna commented with genuine hurt in her tone ,"And like I'm pretty sure half of them are staging stuff. Or things just can't be private." She pauses imaging her great love story being posts on AlterEgo, moments taken out of context. The thought alone made her heart ache.

Sabryna? Going to far in her thoughts? Never!

A flustered redness crept on her face as Mercedes stated that not going as far as the thirst traps. That was definitely mother’s niche. But when Mercedes, beautiful and graceful Mercedes, called her pretty, the pink rose in her cheeks as she dismissed it herself. “I think you have the wrong girl because you Mercedes, are the really, really pretty one!” Sabryna was not going to lose that argument, “And you’ve got this effortless confidence about you. When you talk, people can’t help but listen. And everything I’ve got to know about you always wants me to know more. The way you talk just draws people in. Surely if anyone would get us attention, then it would be you,” Sabryna argues. Or does this sound more like a confession to all the wonderful things about Mercedes, as the pink blush was still ever-present on Sabryna’s cheeks.   Not that she was trying to push away from the fact that she should be entering the show. Denying that being on her new favourite show herself was not something on her bingo card for well any of her lifetime. The unease and uncertainty still stirring inside her. Even though, she had agreed to do it. There was still time for Sabryna to back down. It is not like the show needed two of them doing the show right?   

[stcsis]

“Could you, please? I have a lot on my plate right now, and I admit that for the most part technology and I don’t get along too well,” Mercedes admits sheepishly. She is good enough to browse AO3, and her fandom tags, and post occasionally for N.E.S.T. or for Outis. Honestly, if she wasn’t paying as much attention as she did for the N.E.S.T. campaigns and updates on any big crisis’, she probably would not be posting at all. She just always feels too awkward, trying to post anything and wondering if anyone would be interested. The internet is so vast, and outside of being Outis she isn’t all that impressive, honestly.

“Well,” she drawls slowly, noticing Sabryna’s reaction and wanting to give her a little more to make herself not seem as stiff as she probably had sounded. “To follow up on the news and on my favorite fandoms, honestly. But that still doesn’t mean I use it much. I prefer tumblr, and well. That doesn’t quite have an algorithm.”

She ends her admission with a small shrug and grin. It’s not like she is embarrassed of her hobbies, but she can admit that she doesn’t tend to talk much about her personal life while volunteering. Mostly, because she tends to focus on her task and then the next to make sure she finishes it, since if she gets too distracted she tends to procrastinate way too much with her ADHD. Her meds do help, but honestly, no solution is perfect.

“It’s hard for people to remember that about celebrities, especially stewards, since the media tends to sensationalize them and glorify them, even while ignoring the dirtier sides of their job,” she says, a grimace on her lips as she thinks of the Invictus cartoons. They had gotten her through childhood, yes, but looking back it does seem like rather bad taste to make a cartoon based on the real life of the people that had saved them all back during the excursion. In a way, she understands why the other sentinels remain estranged from the Great Boudica after she sold her life right away. A lot of what is shown in the cartoon is rather personal, and it is definitively a huge violation to their privacy and a betrayal to their friendship, she would say. 

“Though we can’t forget that modern stewards that are signed up to big agencies do tend to want the attention that fame and scandal brings for them,” she says dryly and perhaps a tad too cynically. Mercedes doesn’t necessarily talk about her opinions on the modern industry of professional heroism, because she knows her views are not quite mainstream, but well. Telling Sabryna a little bit wouldn’t be too bad, right? “And if they aren’t staging stuff, then it is the paparazzi and the newspapers trying to invade their private life, which sounds exhausting.”

There are truly so many reasons to keep working for BYOH, even if they are beginning to sell out as well. 

“Hold up,” she says, her train of thought derailing entirely as she turns to look at her with a bemused expression. “Why would I be wrong about calling you pretty? You are breathtakingly beautiful, like genuinely, Sabryna. You could be a model if you wanted, I swear. Or, well, since we are talking about AlterEgo, an influencer.”

She wants to say more, but the more Sabryna compliments her, the more her cheeks and ears burn until she has to bury her head in her hands to hide her embarrassed expression. 

“I mean, thank you for the compliment,” she offers, words muffled from behind her hands as she peeks from her fingers and offers her a grin. “But me being pretty and confident doesn’t detract from you being beautiful and charming. I think we have to call it even here. I think that is why Vaimiti likes us so much, she sees how great we both are.”

The last part she says through her own embarrassment, her grin still full even as she averts her gaze to her cup of coffee and hurries to take a sip to create a pause in the conversation.

[stcsis]

who? Sarah Smith & Ajay Gupta [@mincedoaths] where? Annual Queens World Film Festival, Queens, NKC  when? May 14, 2022 

After the oddity of the first night at the Film Festival, Sarah had gone out of her way to try and get more positive press for the event. It seemed to be working, with how the ticket sales were steadily increasing, but even then, she wanted to end the week of movies with a bang. Metaphorically, of course. Her plan for that had required multiple stages, from convincing Ajay to go to the closing ceremony with her to convincing his PR team that this was yet another good opportunity to humanize him. Normally, she wouldn’t bother going through his team, as he was old enough to make his own choices, thank you very much. But Ajay, the sweetheart that he is, had accepted her offer to appear on her stream of the night, so she wanted to make sure his sweetness wouldn’t get him in trouble for some silly reason or another. It worked because what she had told the PR team was true: the public had loved her collab with Ajay and how it humanized him, and reminding them of it would create a wave of good press before the next few reality shows he was slated to be in began airing. 

Of course, her motivations were a little more selfish than getting Valerian good ratings. Sarah simply wanted to spend time with her friend, and stick it to his haters.

“Ready?” She asks, glancing up at Ajay with a small grin as she gestures to the venue at the other side of the street. “Or do you want a moment? I know you are probably used to all this, but it is still nerve wracking every time.”

[imanniewan47]

ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ An Unexpected Cameo

With: Sarah Smith ( @stcsis )

Anna stands inside the Museum of the Moving Image, letting the cool air settle over her skin while she decides whether she’s actually staying. She’d flashed her old student ID at the box office without shame in order to score three bucks off, which was a small victory. She hadn’t even checked what films were playing on opening night. The plan had been to meet Dev, wander around, maybe pick something at random, and pretend to be film students at the Q&A afterward.

But ten minutes ago, Dev texted: family emergency, can’t make it, sorry sorry 🙇🏽🙇🏽

No details. No explanation. This was supposed to be her last calm evening before she swallowed Restaurant Week whole. Now it’s just her, a lobby full of strangers, and a discounted ticket to a movie she didn’t even check the title of.

She could still leave, go home, and put on pajamas.

God, she’d love to be in her pajamas right now.

But the festival energy is hard to walk away from: it’s a mix of indie filmmakers practically vibrating with nerves, film students trying to look older and more serious than they are (bless them for trying), and neighborhood regulars who come every year just to see what the world is making.

Anna shifts her weight, scanning the lobby.

Stay --

Leave --

She hasn’t decided but is halfway through convincing herself to cut her twelve-dollar loss and find a food truck when she sees her: theCartoonist – Slapstick, or whatever Valerian is calling her these days -- big hair, bright smile, brighter presence.

Anna’s been following her since before the name change -- back when she was an independent content creator showcasing her chaotic, cartoon‑logic stunts online. Anna had loved watching her then: the energy, the creativity, the weirdness.

After signing with Valerian, Anna had been disappointed. She watches the odd videos, still comments to boost the algorithm, and still thinks she’s fun. The corporate branding just kind of taints the experience.

Seeing her under the soft museum lighting, surrounded by cameras and people in suits, feels surreal.

Anna just watches from a distance, tucked outside the flow of the museum lobby. She hasn’t decided if she’s staying. But she hasn't left yet.

[stcsis]

Fame can grow to be bothersome at times, yet there are times when it is incredibly beneficial to one’s goals. Slapstick is not the sort of steward that is invited for events such as the Annual Queens World Festival, but her parents knew the organizers and she had been asked to help promote the festival. She had said yes immediately, and then again a few days later after she had ran the idea by Valerian. It deviated slightly from her usual persona, but the festival included a handful of animated films and that was a good enough excuse for her to attend, in the eyes of Valerian. After all, she could claim she is doing research for future patrols. Admittedly, she wishes she didn’t have to go through all that red tape in order to get to go to an event she is genuinely excited about; but she understands why the fuss is necessary. As much as she hates the role Valerian had shoved her into, she had been shown to be an asset for them over and over again by rehabilitating the public image of a handful of high profile stewards. Ruining such a reputation when she still was unable to get herself reassessed to move up the ranks would be foolish. 

She understands it, really. But that doesn’t mean she likes it. Still, it is worth it for times like this, when she is discussing the number of ticket sales with the organizers and being told that they surpassed expectations. It’s good that she is helping so many young artists and creators get noticed, especially considering how the film includes movies from multiple nations, not only the US. Diversity of viewpoints is always  a good thing. Is this thought that keeps a bounce on her step as she thanks the coordinators for the update and weaves into the crowd, slipping through bodies with a cheery smile and a wave as she considers the options for the movies that night. 

As she looks around, her eyes catch someone tucked away from everyone else, just out of reach from the flow of people going through the lobby. It’s enough of an oddity to have her slow down and change tracks, moving towards them with the same rhythm as before even if her eyes are sharp. She doubts anyone would be here to cause trouble, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. She had advertised her attendance rather loudly, after all, and she has quite a good number of haters. 

“Hello there,” she greets the stranger with a smile as she gestures around. “Do you need help finding the movie you came to see?”

[dishonestly]

‧₊☽ what friends are for ☾₊‧

˙⋆ ✮ ❥ who: sarah & trix ˙⋆ ✮ ❥ place: trixie’s house | manhattan, nkc ˙⋆ ✮ ❥ time: 04.29.2022 – nighttime

After a long past couple of days, Trixie makes her way back to her home in Harlem. She’s been considering moving, feeling like she may need a change of scenery and to get outside of Manhattan altogether soon – she’s always dreamed of a Victorian style mansion, and now that she could truly afford it, Manhattan wouldn’t be the place to find one in. Entering the front door of the rust colored brownstone she resided in, she immediately kicks off her sneakers before making her way into the living room and switching on the lights. The gold and ruby chandelier dimly illuminates the room in warmth, reviving a familiar air of comfort and peace. Tossing her backpack and keys to the side carelessly, she collapses onto her burgundy velvet couch with a deep sigh. Finding herself ruminating yet again, she’s startled by the sudden sound of her phone vibrating loudly on the floor beside her. She rolls her eyes, guessing it might be one of her managers calling to complain about her recent trash-talking the Under Armour campaign. However, she’s pleasantly surprised to see her best friend Sarah's name flashing on the screen. 

She smiles to herself and answers with her version of enthusiasm, greeting her friend who knew her well enough to understand that she was being genuine. Sarah was calling to confirm their plans tonight, which Trix had truthfully forgotten about. She decides that it’s not worth mentioning that part and suggests they hang out at her house to have some wine and catch up. After they hang up the phone, she gets out of bed to straighten up a bit. Although she didn’t feel it was necessary to do too much since the two had such a long history of close friendship and shared comfortability, she still wanted the place to be presentable. Her home was cozy, but very spacious – much larger than her childhood home in Colombia – which meant more upkeep than she was used to, even after years of being here. She was looking forward to seeing Sarah and wondering what’s been going on in her life recently. She always made her laugh and distracted her from the more negative thoughts floating around her mind, which would definitely be appreciated right now. 

The two originally met in their early teenage years on an internet forum for young artists during an unusually vulnerable time in Trixie’s life. Her mom’s career as a successful hair stylist was just starting to take off and time at home was dwindling, leading her daughter to – uncharacteristically – seek solace and community online. Aside from her adrenaline pumping hobbies, she very much always enjoyed painting and street art, which is what originally brought her and Sarah together. While Trix’s “chronically online” phase was very brief, the friendship between the two continued to blossom and transcended their common interest in art. They understood each other’s personalities, relationship and family dynamics, habits, and struggles. They balanced each other out, defended each other, and became more like sisters once she moved from Colombia to NKC years ago. However, like most of Trix’s actual personal life, she was protective over their friendship and it was fairly private. As she’s choosing a bottle to pop open from her vast collection of wine, she hears a knock on the door and makes her way over excitedly. “Bitch! Long time no see!” she exclaims as she opens the door, embracing her friend in a tight hug. She gestures for Sarah to come inside, closing the door behind her and heading toward the kitchen for some glasses. “How have you been? What’s been going on? Fill me in on everything!” she demands, pouring the deep red liquid into her dramatic crystal wine goblets and setting one on the bar for her friend. “Spill.”

[stcsis]

Life is the sort of cruel mistress that follows her highs with astronomic lows, Sarah thinks as she swipes closed the message from Scotty with a deep sigh. She had known the whole thing had been too good to be true when it first had happened, really, but it feels extra shitty when she thinks of how she is going to disappoint so many people when it comes out that she was dropped. After all, she had already sent a message in AlterEgo and held a stream about the whole thing, so it is bound to come out even if she tries to avoid the topic at all. Mostly, she is trying to focus on that facet of the disappointment, rather than dwelling on the little voice on the back of her head telling her that this was just the obvious outcome from the beginning, and that did she really think a brand as well known as UnderArmour was going to take her seriously when Phoenix and Flare were available? She had to be realistic. 

Biting the side of her cheek lightly to distract herself from the possible spiral, she takes a long breath and shakes her head, trying to shake off the train of thought as she steps off the subway itself. Looking around, she nods to herself as she doesn’t notice looking her way and pulls up her hoodie before merging into the wave of her body leaving the station. She forces a pep to her step as she goes, trying to leave the cloud of negativity behind and focus more on the girl's night ahead of her. 

It’s been a while since she had gotten to hang out with Bea, what with their schedules being as packed as they were. Somehow, they never seemed to match up lately. Bea with her interviews, and photoshoots and missions, and Sarah with her streams, patrols and the pet projects Valerian yeeted her way to humanize. Those last ones took a lot of time, considering how she had to match her schedule to whatever A or B rank steward had fucked up enough to become kind of scary to make sure they were humanized once more by having to tolerate her shenanigans. Always amusing, she has to admit, even if every successful campaign made it so Valerian was less likely to want to change her image. 

Shaking her head one last time before stopping before Bea’s door, Sarah takes a deep breath and locks her bitterness and negativity away in a safe and tucks the metaphorical key in a drawer. Then, she knocks, a smile spreading through her lips as she hears her friend get closer. 

“My beatiful friend!” She calls in return to Bea’s words, a little snicker leaving her lips as she returns the hug with enthusiasm, tapping Bea’s back a couple of times as a habit before stepping back and following her deeper into her apartment. Leaning against the counter, she considers her options for a long moment before reaching for her goblet and downing it with a quick motion. 

“Do we want the good gossip or the depressing kind? Because my main good news were kinda thrown out the window like fifteen minutes ago,” she admits with a grimace as she offers her goblet to Bea to get it refilled. “In the sort of ‘fate is a kid with a stick and I am a piñata’ sort of way even. Which, honestly, it’s far too dreadful to start off after not seeing each other for so long.”At some point during the night, she would have to tell Bea about the Blue Blood too, she thinks. They hadn’t been able to meet since the whole thing began, so she hadn’t had the opportunity to tell her in person. And she would rather do it in person, since it would help her feel the whole thing out. It is still hard to believe even now, to be honest, so she just wants to see what Bea thinks of it, considering she works with them a lot more than she does.

[dishonestly]

˙⋆ ✮ ❥ who: outis | trix ˙⋆ ✮ ❥ place: badatnam skate park | the bronx, nkc ˙⋆ ✮ ❥ time: 04.29.2022 After spending time putting on the performative act that comes with attending Valerian events, Trixie finds herself looking forward to spending her time doing the things she finds cathartic. While wandering aimlessly throughout the city for a bit and reflecting on whether or not she has been sufficiently separating her steward identity from her true self, she decides to make her way to the skate park in the Bronx in the hopes of clearing her mind from the incessant existential contemplations. As a child and teenager, before she could (legally) operate a motorcycle, one of the most socially acceptable ways Beatrix could satiate her need for action was through skating and BMX. In fact, the first person to call her by the nickname “Trix” was one of her fellow thrill-seeking childhood friends from her little group back in Colombia, alluding to her inclination toward exceptionally risky stunts. She knew that the nickname was obviously bound to emerge from people in general without the lore, as it was pretty basic, but still smiles to herself when she thinks of the origins she holds close to her heart.

Trixie decides to pick up a new skateboard on her way to the park – because, well, why not? – and immediately gets to what she went there to do. Executing some of the tricks she finds most challenging in attempts to escape her thoughts by forcing herself to focus intently on the activity, she pays no mind to peering eyes and onlookers. Today, she wasn’t performing for anyone else. Right now, all she was in the mood to do was empty her mind. She wanted to feel as though the only thing that existed was her, the wind in her face, the sound of rolling wheels, and the feeling of gravity falling under her feet. Deciding it was time for a cigarette and hydration break, she screeches to a stop and the world halts around her. Before she has a chance to take a proper breath, scattered applause erupts. Smiling with effort, she puts up a peace sign before the enthusiastic small crowd continues going about their own business and practicing. They were respectful, as she was a regular and didn’t draw as much attention as she might’ve while pulling those moves at any other skate park. She walks off the ramps and toward an area of the park that was always somewhat empty, pulling the hood on her black hoodie over her head. It was times like these that she vaguely longed for her true identity to be a secret. While these moments were rather fleeting and Trix usually rather enjoyed making a spectacle of her stunts, it just seemed like one of those off days. Luckily for her, the skate park was far from fully packed today. I guess everyone wants to be invisible every now and then, she thinks to herself as she makes her way to her usual bench. Plopping herself down and retrieving her water bottle from her tattered backpack, she takes a few gulps and sets it down next to her. Getting lost in the internal nostalgia that sometimes comes with skating and thoughts of home, she finds herself mildly startled when she feels a small tap on her shoulder. Before Beatrix can react fully, a kind voice politely asks if she might know where the lost and found is. Although Trix was not especially friendly or courteous – on or off the clock – the stranger had an authenticity in their voice that made her refrain from snapping immediately. She turns around to view the source of the sound, revealing a woman she did not entirely recognize, although she was amused by her choice of clothing – could it be a fellow steward, or just someone with interesting tastes and an affinity for masks? She couldn’t really recall meeting her before, but there was always a chance she had simply slipped her mind. “I’ll do you one better and take you there,” Trixie responds, deciding she has nothing to lose by taking a walk alongside the timid stranger with the compelling wardrobe – she seemed interesting enough, and that was really all she cared about when it came to meeting new people. She knows the skate park like the back of her hand and had the unfortunate experience of losing an earring there in the past, so may as well help out. Returning her water bottle to her black backpack, she hops up from the bench and turns toward the mystery lady. “If you tell me what the outfit is all about and who you are on our walk there. I’m Trixie, by the way,” she informs her, despite being aware that most people know exactly who she is due to her status and permutation. Regardless, if there was any worthwhile conversation to be had here, she was not exempt from acknowledging that an introduction was necessary in order for most people to feel comfortable in encounters with her. ‘Sangrienta’ did not necessarily have the best reputation, and there have been a few times she’s scared people off unintentionally because of her permutation, reputation, or general attitude. She begins leading the way all the way across the park next to the woman. “The lost and found isn’t far from here. What exactly is it that you’re looking for?”

[stcsis]

Now, despite not keeping a close eye on internet trends or most famous people in general, Mercedes is not completely cut off from the news cycle. She makes sure to keep an eye out for other A Rank steward, as well as going out of her way to research every new A ranker. She does not keep up to date quite as much with B rank heroes, since there are a lot more of them, but she makes a note of a few that have caught her attention. But she does know A rankers. More specifically, she makes sure to know all A rankers in Valerian. If she had accepted their offer, once upon a time, they would have been her coworkers. And beyond that, they are allies now, whenever they are out in the field, so she needs to know what their abilities are so she can think of feasible strategies to use in a crisis. It’s to the point that she has made plans and possible paths of actions in her free time, to make sure she can provide proper support if a high level crisis crops up and she has to work with one of them. 

That is to say, Mercedes knows the faces of other A rank stewards, so it comes as a rather big surprise when the woman she tapped turns around and she finds herself in front of Sangrienta. Beatrix Villanueva is a rather interesting character, and her permutation is equally interesting. 

“Huh,” the sound of surprise slips through her lips, muffled by her mask, and silently Outis files away the information that it seems like the A ranker before her frequents the skating park. Not only does she seem to know the direction of lost and found, but she had been rather comfortable before she had interrupted her peace and quiet. Someone new to the park would have been more tense, she thinks. Or at least, she would be if she were in an entirely new environment. “Would you? That is very kind, thank you.”

As her words leave her lips, she is once again taken by surprise by Trixie’s next words. Exasperation mingles with amusement as she shrugs and nods. She is dressed rather oddly for someone just walking around, she knows, so she can’t begrudge her for her question, even if Mercedes doesn’t quite like having the directions to the lost and found hung over her head. Still, it is far easier to go along with the Valerian steward’s curiosity, rather than be stubborn about it and lose precious time she could use to fulfill another request or two. 

“Sure, that works,” she says with another nod as she follows the other deeper into the park. “A pleasure Trixie, you can call me Outis. I am a BYOH steward, and well, I do prefer some degree of anonymity. Ergo,” she gestures to her whole get up with extensive hand gestures and an air of amusement that she tries to communicate through her posture, “all the layers. It is also helpful if I am fighting someone, since I can’t afford fancy gear just yet.”

At Trixie’s follow up question, Mercedes hums thoughtfully and pulls out her phone from her pocket, scrolling through it until she finds the BYOH app and pulls up her request, turning the phone around to show the other a photo of the skateboard she was asked to retrieve. 

“I was asked to retrieve this skateboard, since the owner lives all the way out in Arden,” she says with a shrug as she closes her phone and puts it away. It’s a fucking nightmare of a trip, this specific request, but it also offers a pretty good compensation. Enough that she could cover her rent and groceries for the week.

[waywardlegacies]

Sabryna had two options: lie and say it was her finger slipping whilst hunting through the tags or tell the truth that, yes, yes she actually was looking directly at the thirst traps. Because hello? There was an art to making the perfect edits. The precious moments that needed to be captured. Finding the perfect match shot to the lyric choices. A song that encapsulated everything. Just a few seconds of capturing Vaitimit’s excellence. Just how What…Sabryna might have watched a few amvs here and there as a teenager as she didn’t have time to indulge in fandoms due to working hard all the time. Unlike now, where she doomscrolled all her OTPs to death. Some of those edits were always on point!   Okay…wait now to come to think of it, Sabryna could see the visionary that Vaimiti was and so easily creating these herself. Slightly reminding her of the one or two she saw of herself back in her competing days. Thought those hardly had any views with terribly grain footage overlayed with that iMovie filters everyone adored on the early days of Youtube.      Still flushed in her cheeks as she stood up from scooping up her phone. At least Mercedes had watched them too. “Yeah I did,” Sabryna admits, as denial would just be a silly thing to do. “Honestly, it is pretty on point song choice.” She tilts her head a little bit, lightly laughing at her observation. “You really think that she would do the same thing twice? I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen her wear the same outfit twice. So I highly doubt even thirst traps would be any different. She really does have a vision.”  Sabryna drops herself into a seat across from Mercedes, stretching out a little bit before the shift to face her a little bit. “Maybe we need to look at the analytics and that could help us know what demographic and markets we have a chance with…and maybe the ones we aren’t hitting as much?” Sabryna wasn't an expert in social media, but with everyone wanting to be famous, it seemed numbers and engagement were the way to do it. Yet possibly, that could be a starting point for them making a plan of action. A strategy even!

“That’s….that’s an option too…” her tone drifts off, chewing on the inside of her cheek. It wasn’t really Sabryna who had been asked more the lines of Swizzle has been asked to make an appearance on the NBC shows. Part of her doubted that she would make good television but if it meant doing something to attract funding for N.E.S.T would it really be all that bad? “I mean…it is an option to go for. But there is a lot to consider personally you know? Like, there is a kinda exposer that you have, sure it could be great but have you seen some of the people on AlterEgo? Sometimes they forget that it is real people they are talking too. Just like how you and I are talking now.”   

For moment she pauses and asks, “You think other’s should be on NBC shows to create more thirst traps?” Sabryna partly jokes, partly serious.

[stcsis]

Another snort escapes her as she tilts her head towards Sabryna, as if she were giving her the point for being absolutely right about her understanding of Vaimiti’s character. It would be quite unlike the renowned steward to slip up and repeat herself, when she is well known for her style and her attention to detail. Still, the amount of work put into the thirst traps was enough that the realization did not stop impressing her. Mercedes has never put so much effort into video editing. Not only because she was pretty bad at it, but also because she preferred writing as a medium of expression. That did mean that she knew how hard video editing was, and she respected the amount of work it went into it. Hell, she is sure Vaimiti has a reason for doing everything she does, so for all she knows it is truly good advertisement. 

“You are right, you are right,” she admits raising her hands in defeat, laughter dancing on the tip of her tongue as she does. Tiring as it was to keep working to keep the center alive, she couldn’t deny that moments like this made it worth it. The sense of community that came from being around other permuted and seeing them laugh freely was wonderful, and she wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. That is why she has to keep working, even if it all seems hopeless for now. “Vaimiti would be caught dead before being caught repeating herself, I am just surprised it applies to videos too. Those take a lot of brainpower to make.”

She pauses for a moment at Sabryna’s suggestion, eyes narrowing in consideration as she considers the option as she taps the table rhythmically. 

“Huh, yeah that is a good idea. I just,” she grimaces as she glances at Sabryna and shrugs. “I am not going to lie, I have no actual clue how to check analytics and all that. I am not a huge social media sort of person, to be honest. I just have AlterEgo to keep up with the news and things like that.”

And maybe to cyberstalk some of the A rankers out there as well, to see if there is any situation that needs her interference or not. RealHeroTV doesn’t do live streams, so it's hard to know where the biggest crises are most of the time, unless she was specifically asked to be part of a mission because of her own rank. 

“Yeah, that is what has me concerned too,” she admits with a sigh, eyes finally turning back to face Sabryna as she nods. Another reason she doesn’t use AlterEgo all that much is because she doesn’t quite like online fans of real people. Mercedes loves things like fandoms for superhero comics and animes and so on, but when it comes to real people? Some fans get a little intense in a bad way. “Being behind a screen tends to make people forget that the person on the other side is real too, and that is pretty uncomfortable.”

Mercedes lets out a pensive hum. A hum that is interrupted by Sabryna’s question, and she snorts at it. “No need to go that far, I think,” she says. “I mean, if you want to sure! But I meant more like. You are really pretty and pretty interesting, so I am sure people would like to know more about you if you appear in a show or two. And we maybe can use that to get attention in the center.”

[retrocausalities]

what'd you get?

public open starter for @invictushq ft. valerian muses

setting: valerian tower lobby floor waiting room, manhattan, nkc

timeframe: april 28, 2022.

capped at 5!

content warnings: reference to sexual humor.

A phone outstretched and held high overhead, Keegan Jeong poses with the nylon drawstring bag from Under Armour, doing his due diligence to get the branding on point by taking multiple shots. One is too fuzzy, another the logo gets blurred, and the third one has awful lighting on him but at least the bag looks somewhat enticing. Although sponsorships aren’t his expertise, Keegan, as a Marvel VS. Capcom Stan through and through, understands the necessity of advertising a featured Collab. (Also justice for Cloak & Dagger, that gameplay would’ve been amazing had the dev team pulled through.)

Thumbs rapidly pressing, keys reacting underneath with flashes of color and a feedback of haptic vibration, Keegan types out the following alt to send on his official AlterEgo account, @officialatlas1 (yes, someone has his handle before he could have it, and no, it is not a pressing matter for Valerian to pursue this matter for someone who gets relegated to RealHero TV B-roll.)

@officialatlas1 going live now to check out the sweet loot from the new Valerian x Under Armour drop!! I wonder what Durapeak®️ is gonna feel lik|

Keegan shakes his head and pauses mid-text. “ Feel like? When am I a fabric connoisseur? ” He mutters to himself and tries again.

He’s out of his element; he’s an ex-nurse practitioner, not a marketing guru! No matter how many years into the job (5 and counting), he isn’t sure how to go about promoting products. He attempts again, throwing out that saccharine alt.

@officialatlas1 going live now! come hangout with me and let’s see what I get from the Valerian x Under Armour grab bag! #fingerscrossed !! 🤞

That feels more true to himself, he thinks. He can handle a simple live “unboxing”, right? He goes through the Durapeak®️key points in his head as he sets up his little space away from the bustle of the lobby's main double doors, propping his phone tripod on a low table across a russet-red toned couch. He fiddles with the tripod, angling the screen to show the iconic Valerian ruby-glass elevators in the background. All good to go. This angle seems alright, so he won’t have the under nose fiasco from last time’s live.

Slipping on his half-face helmet to complete the look of Atlas, Keegan counts. 3, 2, 1! His screen flashes red.

“ Hey guys! It’s Atlas! How are you doing? Welcome, welcome! As you can see, I’m at Valerian Towers — oh hey, junedoe1234! Hi, saymynameplz! Hello— ” Keegan greets his usual live viewers of 11, and steadies himself. Here comes the shining moment. Lifting up the Under Armour goodie bag, he gushes, “ Check out what I got! Apparently every steward at Valerian’s got a nice gift from Under Armour, what do you think I’ll get? ”

The users chime with socks, pens, stickers, and one even says a business card (rude, man). At least junedoe1234 says a baseball cap.

“ Gosh, I would love a baseball cap! Well, we’ll see who’s right — huh? ” Keegan starts, only to blink owlishly at his chat suddenly typing way too fast for him to read.

OMG OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

RARE SIGHTING

I need to @ my friends to check an Atlas live for once lmao

“ What are you guys talking about? ” Keegan asks, peering into his screen, then checking at himself in case he has a rip in his costume, or worse, has a ranch dressing stain again on his person. He had to quell some nasty nicknames and rumors after sending an alt with the caption: had a big tossed salad for brunch thanks to @therealajaygupta.

Lol he doesnt know

TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES

At the remark, Keegan spins his head so hard he gives himself whiplash, and he gets it now. Standing outside of the elevator is another steward at Valerian, much more famous than he. The chat is going off, demanding Keegan to get their attention. Suddenly becoming an outsider to his own show, a twinge blooms in his chest but it gets shoved aside.

It’d be nice to talk to a fellow steward about the Collab, right? Besides, bringing two different things together are what Collaborations are about! Yeah, this is a great chance to show the unity at Valerian!

“ Hey! ” He calls out to the steward. “ I’m doing a live and unboxing the Under Armour goodie bag! Do you want to say ‘hi’ to the viewers? ”

[stcsis]

There is a pep to her step that has been becoming a more common occurrence ever since she had refound her motivation to be a steward. Sarah is vibrating inside her skin, glee clear on her features as she leaves the meeting where she had been told she would be part of the campaign. It’s beyond her wildest imaginations, considering she is still just a C-Rank steward, but she had been getting more and more coverage ever since The Incident™. While she had been relatively well known before the Level 8 crisis,  her work during it had all but yeeted her into becoming noteworthy. More than just the new wave of attention had resulted from the whole debacle, of course, but considering the restraints from her permutation, she has to admit that it is nice to be more known. After all, the more she is known, the more people are going to see her streams while she is patrolling or attending to a threat, which would make it easier for her to respond to said threats as soon as she is keeping up with her training. And she is. She has somewhere to aim to, someone to reach, and she can’t stop until she has reached her goal. Not when there are people waiting for her at the summit. Trix and— Well, to be honest, the entire thing still feels unrealistic considering who she is and who they are, but it is a Thing™, and she is going to fight against every obstacle on her path to make sure it stays a Thing™.

With that in mind, she rushes to pull out her phone from her pocket, causing it to slip from her hands as she does. What proceeds it’s a full minute of scrambling to keep the phone from reaching the ground as a small cloud develops around her as she kicks up the metaphorical dust that always seems to appear whenever she is stumbling or tripping. In the end, the phone is on her hand and she has an expression of triumph on her face. She is also ignoring the odd looks from a few B rankers passing by, but that isn’t anything new. People always tend to stare at her, a side effect of never quite seeming to stay still on one side of reality, and always wavering between cartoonism and realism. 

Unlocking her phone, she opens AlterEgo and types a quick post for her followers, smiling when she hits post and immediately begins to see the likes. There is a warm and fuzzy feeling inside her as she continues scrolling through AlterEgo until her finger stops scrolling and her eyes fall on a post from Atlas. Her brows raise and her already wide smile widens as she types a quick message before quickly jumping on his stream. As she is watching, Sarah moves to the elevator, noticing his surroundings and knowing where he is at a glance. A part of her feels bad crashing on his stream, but she also knows that if she does that she will drag some of her own fans his way and that might give him a boost in followers. Popularity is the name of the game that Valerian plays, and it is unfair. There is no ignoring that. So she wants to do what she can to make sure her fellow C rankers get the attention they deserve. After all, they might not be as flashy as B or C rankers, but what they do still matters. 

No matter what anyone else says.

Stepping out of the elevator, she looks around for Atlas, expression brightening when she hears him call out. Turning around to face him, she waves comically and bounces her way to him on two rather unrealistic bunny hops. 

“Atlas, hi!” She says to her friend first, before turning to the viewers and blowing them a kiss —  which, because she is who she is means that the kiss emoji leaves her lips and makes its way to the screen so the viewers feel as if their screen had been kissed — and wink — accompanied by the twinkling star effect that always happens when she winks— . “And hellooo everybody! I saw Atlas post on AlterEgo and I just had to drop by. I am really excited to see what you get!”

She finishes her words with a little clap as she wiggles in place and tries to peer towards Atlas’ bag. All very exaggerated, but she has big emotions and she likes to emote big. It makes the added effects from her permutation look better, after all, and a lot less out of place. 

“What are you hoping for?”

[fuli163]

               WHEN HE GOT BACK, HE RAN TO HIS APARTMENT AND SHUT HIMSELF AWAY TO SLEEP LIKE THE DEAD. Only after checking his freezer and checking in with anyone who’d texted him the past day—one message—he slept for probably twelve hours. After he woke, he shoveled a microwaved bowl of rice, tuna, and mayo into his mouth before showering and wrapping himself in bandages to set out for the evening. 

As he runs down the street to catch a bus downtown, Hikaru tells himself that the past twenty-four hours were just a dream. While people avoid eye-contact with him, he’s unable to grasp material reality with full awareness and merely looks past them, past everything. The moving scenery beyond the windows holds his attention for most of the ride as city lights flicker on until they go through a tunnel and Hikaru sees his reflection on the glass. A blank, expressionless surface save for a spot of oxidized blood under his nose stares back at him. He frowns; the reflection remains emotionless. He forgot to switch out the bandages. Gross. Hikaru turns away and all but rushes off the bus when it reaches his stop. 

       He’s walking down an alley, between two old and towering apartment buildings, and waiting on a ping from his phone when a familiar voice rings out from above. Hikaru stops and looks up, sees Outis’ familiar mask, and can’t help the smile that blooms on his face. Of course, it doesn’t show through the layered bandages, but he hopes the enthusiastic waving is enough to convey his excitement. He watches as she gets up and effortlessly vaults over the fire escape railing, climbs down a few window sills, and lands on the street beside him. Hikaru, not for the first time, is impressed by how simply cool she is. 

He eagerly listens to her question, then points at his phone with a shrug. It shows BYOH’s home screen with three small dots indicating that he’s still waiting to get pinged for a job. He’s ready to take anything. The fact that he’s downtown reeks of desperation, but Hikaru is trying to make at least fifty bucks tonight... Hopefully.

Outis doesn't need to know how dire his straits are. He tilts his head when she brings up the Cleaner, realizing that her encounter doesn’t align with his. Two days ago, before Hikaru got displaced, he had a confrontation with a tall man who followed another freelancer and would’ve ‘cleaned them out’ had Hikaru not intervened. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it, though, by the time he got a headache and, before he knew it, found himself a few decades in the past. Horrible stuff. He’s glad Outis has been on the lookout. 

He holds up a finger—hold on—as he digs into his back pocket and pulls out a small pocket journal. Hikaru flips to a blank page and hastily scrawls out a note that he hands over. 

‘I bumped into him two days ago (i think, sorry) He’s very tall, 6 '5"? And has frosted tips. Old school? He was trying to rob someone’

[stcsis]

Eyes hidden by goggles follow his hand as he points and Mercedes nods as she registers the screen of his phone. 

“Waiting to go to a job then,” she clarifies with a brief nod, understanding what he means. Truly, the most irritating part of it all, the waiting. There are only so many hours in the day, and their hope is always to ensure that they are able to do as many jobs needed to make rent or to be able to afford groceries. It can be hard, since requests tend to be seasonal and monthly, so the lulls in activity come as unexpectedly as the times when there are far too many requests for the number of stewards available. Yet, for all that such times are an annoyance like no other, it is still far better than anything Valerian is able to offer. After all, unlike the megalodon of a company, there is a certain level of freedom and certain freedom of movement that is afforded to the BYOH stewards. Even if it comes from the side effect of being overworked and underpaid. “I am doing the same, to be honest. I finished a couple of jobs in Brooklyn but now  I am trying to get a couple more done in the area before I head out for the day.”

She had started early, that day, her mind overfocused on how both BYOH and N.E.S.T. had gotten offers to appear on different reality TV shows during the same frame of time. It is an odd coincidence, and one that sort of bothers her, even if she knows it is likely just that: a coincidence. 

“Honestly, the Levy twins should be focused on finding a way to ensure there is always a steady supply of jobs, rather than trying to sign us up for TV shows,” she grumbles with a sigh, raising a hand to rub the bridge of her nose, but stopping halfway through for a moment as she remembers that she is wearing goggles, moving it then to rest at the back of her neck, pulling at her braid absentmindedly. “We could all afford to take more jobs instead of just being on air.”

Not that she has too much room to talk, she can admit. At the end of the day, she does sell some of her footage to RealHero TV every once in a while, but that seems rather different than participating on Dancing with the Superstars or something like that.

Her train of thought is sidetracked when she notices Fuli163 raising his finger, and she closes her mouth behind her mask to wait and see what he has to say. Eyes trailing down to the paper, she hums with interest. 

“That tall, huh? I didn’t notice inside the crowd, but that was a good catch. The frosted tips are an affront to fashion, though,” she says with a grimace, ignoring the fact that her entire get up was one as well. “Do you think anyone else has been able to get a glimpse of him? Maybe we can build a better picture of who they are if we put all our glimpses together.”

[paulcirigliano]

[kssitbetter]

DANIELLE BROOKS 📹 Instagram

[stcsis]

#INVICTUS TASK 001:

CHARACTER INTRO

000. Application

{ danielle brooks. cis-female, she/her. } hey, did you see the video of [ slapstick ] [  breaking through a wall like the Kool-Aid man ]? apparently their real name is [ sarah smith ] and they’re [ signed with valerian universal ]. people in the comments are calling them [ the flame ] , and saying their permutation is probably [ cartoon physics ] — that would mean they scored an [ C ] on the f.b.a.i. assessment rank, right? i mean, i guess it sort of looks like them, if you squint. i'm not sure though, the person on the video doesn’t look like a [ 32 ] year old who would list [ pockets full of snacks to an impossible degree, drones following you during patrol filming you as you defy the laws of physics with a giggle, filling in an adult coloring book as old cartoons play on the TV, books piled in your bedside as you page through the newspaper to get to the Sunday strip, rubber ducks looking at you from the windowsill ] as their interests on alterego. what? don't look at me like that — i got curious! besides, if that even is them in the video, it’s probably a pr thing for realhero tv, Physical 1000, and Dancing with the SuperStars. — ( slipped by ori. 26. she/her. est. none. )

Rest of Profile under read more

001. General.

name: Sarah Smith nickname/hero alias if applicable: Slapstick, Bugs faceclaim: Danielle Brooks age/date of birth: 32 || November 1st, 1990 gender & pronouns: Cis-Female & She/Her orientation/marital status: Bisexual/Biromantic distinguishing features: A blinding smile with dimples, laughter lines near her eyes, due to her permutation her emotions sometimes manifest as symbols around her (hearts when swooning, thunderclouds when angry), hair that is in a different yet elaborate hairstyle every other week occupation: Streamer & Steward at Valerian Universal power: Cartoon Physics height: 5’0” place of birth: Queens, NKC, USA family: Miriam Jones (mother), John Smith (father) current residence: Newpoint Vistas, Brooklyn, NKC

002. Iconography.

character inspirations: Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes), Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), Sokka (Avatar), Squirrel Girl (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl),  character tropes: Funster, Jester (Archetype), Lady of Adventure, Snarky McSnarkerson, Underdog, Lovable Sidekick, Plucky Comic Relief, Deadpan Snarker, Underestimating Intelligence,  zodiac sign: Scorpio mbti: ESTP positive traits: creative, sarcastic, friendly, brave negative traits: impulsive, insecure, disorganized, jaded likes: baking, reading, drawing, art, history, comics, videogames, cartoons, rubber ducks, snacks of all types, cooking, streaming, chatting with people dislikes: the way valerian is setting her up as the plucky comic relief to their A and B Rank Heroes, being underestimated, being dismissed fears: that no one will ever see beyond the image valerian is crafting for her, losing her loved ones, failing on her job, people dying because of something she could have prevented habits: chewing her lower lip, describing her actions out loud while she patrols for the little drone that follows her around with her viewers, tripping over air, snaking as she walks hobbies: streaming (although it’s also technically her job), playing videogames, reading, watching cartoons (with a preference for looney tunes sort of shows), trying different art styles (with a preference for cartoons and still lifes). pets: A big, bossy grey American Fuzzy Lop bunny named Daffy Duck (called Daffy) and a shy orange Maine Coon named Tweety Bird (called Birdie)

003. Extras.

bio:

(tw: implied fatphobia)

Were it not her permutation, Sarah would have likely lived a regular upper-middle class life in Queens, NKC. With a mother working as an Art History Professor at X University and a father working as an English Professor, Sarah grew up loving art and storytelling. Her parents had met on their university’s newspaper, working as the paper’s cartoonists and had fallen in love through countless hours spent together drafting the adventures of Sara Sutherland, a precocious duck that ventured all over their university’s campus. Sarah is named after the character, and part of her has always wondered if this was a chicken and the egg sort of situation. Was she always meant to have the permutation that she does, or did being named after a cartoon character her parents created (like they created her) have any weight on the matter?

She doesn’t know, but it is a fun question to pose to people to fuck with them. 

At the end of the day, Sarah grew up beloved, and she knew it. This helped her face the world with confidence, even when the world was not always kind about her appearance. It’s that confidence, and a childhood fascination with superhero cartoons and comics, that prompted her to become a part-time steward while in her second year in college when BYOH launched. At the beginning, she wasn’t very well known, because she was only a C-Rank and BYOH had just been born, but that didn’t matter. Sarah found that she liked bringing smiles to people’s faces, as well as making them laugh, and with her ability it was easy to do as much as a steward. 

In her final year in college, she began streaming her work in BYOH whenever she could get permission from her clients, testing the hypothesis that an audience through stream would give her a boost to her powers. Her hypothesis proved true: the more people were watching her through her stream, the easier it was for her to defy the laws of physics and do a little comedic routine. Slowly, but surely, her channel gained popularity, because who wouldn’t want to see a cartoon character brought to life? By the time she turned twenty-six, she was popular enough as a streamer that she could quit her job and stream her BYOH work full-time. 

That was around the time Valerian Universal came knocking. 

Needless to say, Sarah was shocked. She knew she was popular enough as both a streamer and a steward, but she hadn’t realized that it would have been enough to get the attention from Thee Valerian Universal. She signed up without hesitation, as soon as she was made an offer (after running the contract through her parents and their professors’ union rep to make sure there weren’t any unfair clauses)(there were some, which she asked to be taken out, and others that she couldn’t like Valerian claiming a percentage of the money she would make through her streams from now on), thinking the world was opening before her eyes. 

Reality soon sunk in, though, and Valerian lost most of its shine. They had wanted her, yes, but not to make her an A-Rank Steward. They had wanted her as the comedy relief, and for all that Sarah enjoyed bringing laughter to others, to be told that she would never amount to anything more than that? It dealt a heavy blow to her confidence. The fact that her stream’s popularity shot up as soon as she signed with Valerian helped, for a while, but with the new popularity came a new wave of hate comments. By then, her already weakened confidence went out the window, and for three years, she only went through the motions, jaded by the realization that Valerian had no expectations on her.

Then, she turned thirty-one. Then the Level 8 threat happened. She remembered why she had wanted to be a steward, to protect people’s smiles. She remembered that while maybe Valerian didn’t have expectations on her, she could.

It’s like she had her eyes closed for years, and had finally opened them. 

She decided, then, that she wanted to prove Valerian, and everyone else who only saw her as a comedic sidekick, wrong. She would become a respected steward (whether it was as an A rank or B rank, she didn’t care), and she would show them all that she could do that while still bringing smiles to people’s faces. 

wanted connections:

The Blue Blood: I will do several, likely illegal, things for whoever brings them in. I am dead serious. I want the ✨drama ✨. Three bonus points if The Blue Blood is also part of the Power Couple subplot for the angst and emotions. 

The PR Cases: Slapstick’s image has been designed by Valerian to be the Plucky Comic Relief, the Forever Sidekick, etc etc. This means, whenever an A or B Rank steward is doing particularly bad in the online polls/general media, Valerian’s PR team throws them to Slapstick and all but chains them together for a few months or so, since being around her generally leads to funny shenanigans that have around a 87% of becoming an internet meme, thus turning around the steward’s public opinion. Slapstick has been at Valerian for five years, so let’s say she has done this at least 3 times. The actual dynamics between the stewards it’s up for plotting.  (0/3)

The Forever Fan: A muse that has been following Sarah ever since she was working in BYOH, back when she went by her streamer handle @sarahtoon, and followed her endeavors into Valerian. 

Former Collab Partners: While she is not incredibly famous, she is a well-established streamer with a good range of fans considering she streams while doing her patrols to boost her abilities. As such, it is viable that muses from Kardinal might have appeared on her streams at some point… Before the Beef™ was planned of course. 

Childhood Friends: She grew up in Queens, and has lived her entire life in NKC, so she could make for a good childhood friend. 

Exes: I imagine Sarah has more than one ex, but all things considered, she could have had one to two relationships with permuted through the years. The dynamic is up to interpretation, but I just think its a neat dynamic to explore. 

Friends: What says in the tin, as simple as that.

Rivals: Another C-Rank that is racing to up their rank like Sarah. 

One day, I will Get You: One of the more popular stewards (A to B Rank) that openly dismisses Sarah because of her permutation, since well. It is kind of silly, isn’t it?

memes:

More here

[stcsis]

who? Outis & Trix [ @dishonestly ] where? The Badatnam Skate Park, The Bronx, NKC when? April 29, 2022

Moments like this have Outis considering if selling her soul to Valerian is actually a better alternative. The notion is always easily dissuaded, since it’s just a brief moment of poignant bafflement as she goes through the motions of fulfilling a request no matter how utterly bizarre it is. At least, if she had taken the Valerian offer, she would probably be doing harder work than just fetching a skateboard from the Badatnam Skate Park’s lost and found. But then again, it would also come with endless press and media attention, as well as having to deal with office politics and corruption (probably, she has no proof but a company as large as Valerian must have a dark side to it, it’s show biz babey and all that), as well as having to sell her image and identity for the amusement of the people she is supposed to be protecting. 

So not worth it at all, even if her work in BYOH means that she has to travel all the way from Liberty Glens to The Bronx in the subway while in costume. Mercedes is visible enough when out and about as Outis, but she is not well-known, so she does tend to draw the eye and get people pointing at her, wondering if she is a steward or just shady as hell. Which, she can’t exactly deny, considering her steward outfit consists of military cargos, a leather jacket and a Winter Soldier sort of mask getup. If people weren’t so used to stewards dressing in all shapes and forms,  she is sure someone would have called the cops on her by now. And that would have been awkward. 

She is lucky people have been desensitized to weirdness, even if she wishes some would be more aware and stopped with their whole “hero chasing” routine, since that tends to put them in more danger than not. 

Turning into the skatepark, she glances around and sighs. Yeah, she has never been here, so she has no clue where anything is. Quickly, she finds the nearest person — a woman with dark hair looking towards the skaters, with a skateboard next to her —  and taps her shoulder politely. 

“Excuse me, sorry for bothering you, but could you tell me where the park’s lost and found is?”

[stcsis]

who? Outis & fuli163 [@fuli163 ] where? Liberty Glen, NKC when? April 28, 2022

The thing about secret identities and aliases is that it’s not for everybody. She gets that, and realizes that sometimes the visibility of having an alias tied together so closely to their civilian identity can be helpful. Still, when acting as Outis, Mercedes does prefer the anonymity of wearing the mask, and she can’t help but feel a level of approval around those who do the same. It does seem to be the sort of approval that she doles out at random, considering how she is also fond of some fellow stewards that would not know nor claim anonymity even if it bit them in the ass and demanded they use it. Still, there is no denying the sense of approval every time she runs into Fuli163, accompanied with the usual wave of amusement as the bandages used as a mask. 

“Hello there,” she calls out from where she is sitting in the fire escape, feet kicking back and forth in the air as she presses herself forward into the railing and raises a hand to wave at him emphatically, making sure he sees her before she drops her arm and moves to stand up, slowly extricating herself from the railing and stretching as she goes. Once she is standing up, she places a hand on the railing once more and vaults over it, her other hand snapping to grab a nearby window still to slow her momentum and so on, slowly making her way to fall next to him with a little bounce in her step. 

“Coming back from a job or going towards one?” She asks, head tilting in question in an exaggerated manner. By now, she has learned to over-emote, since having a full face mask makes it harder for people to read her body language, and at the end of the day, it is best to make sure there are no misunderstandings from the beginning. Otherwise, trouble is bound to happen. “Watch out for the Cleaner, either way. Last I saw him, he was taking the Q Line and was dressed in a dark navy maintenance uniform, I think. Had a baseball cap and everything. Very non-descript, unfortunately.”

[waywardlegacies]

₊˚｡ ❆𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞

₊˚｡ ❆who: sabryna & mercedes [ @stcsis ] ₊˚｡ ❆where: n.e.s.t branch, liberty glenn ₊˚｡ ❆when:  28th april 2022

Being apart of something special, made you special right? Or maybe that was just a bit of Sabryna's wishful thinking. Or maybe she just needed to pause watching reruns of glee as her background show at night. It was either that or reruns of the office. Something that was a little break but reminders of the optimism that can be found in the everyday. And, no she wasn't just watching to see her ships get together. Those were for the moments when she needed to switch off and not think! For now though, she had to think putting her mind to it.

It was no secret that the retention of volunteers for N.E.S.T were starting to fall short. With donations slowly depleting as well as funding were being spent on much needed redevelopment. Hope and hardwork was something that N.E.S.T carried in abundance! One of the reason Sabyrna was willing to give and do as much as she could to help sustain for the support of other permuted people. And honestly, she was glad this was a vision shared with Mercedes. Another kindred spirit and kind heart that felt the same way as Sabryna did. Scrolling through her phone, going though AlterEgo. The app could be full of nose and thirst traps, as she clicked on the hashtag #ChicksOfTheNEST. And wow there were a lot of thirst traps of Vaimiti on the tag. Wow she mouths to herself, as she scrolls down further the tag before her finger brushed on the video. Startled as Savage by Megan Thee Stallion blared from her phone with clips of Viamiti playing. Sabryna swoops down picking it up bright red,"It was research!" she defends herself, locking her phoen putting it back into her pocket. "I mean...I was just reading about your last post on AlterEgo. It got some pretty good engagement. And you know, maybe we do need to boost our social media presence to maybe get some volunteers in?" She poses the point to Mercedes,"What do you think?"

[stcsis]

There is a lull in the activity of the center that afternoon. It’s the sort of lull that has become more and more frequent over the last few months — hell, perhaps even the last few years. It’s not pleasant, neither the lull nor the bitter aftertaste that it leaves as less and less people pass through the door, either for services or as volunteers. With less traffic around the center as the bus routes changes, less and less people knew of its existence. If they don’t do anything to stop it, the N.E.S.T. branch in Liberty Glen will fade from existence as many of the other branches did. That can’t happen. Won’t happen, not if she has anything to do with it. And she does, quite a lot. Hard work is not a cure all, end all, but it matters, and she is not going to stop until their hard work matters enough to make a difference. 

Adding some milk into her espresso shot, she mixes it and adds some sugar, silently thanking the heavens that the staff room for the center is still well stocked, before turning and resting her hip against the counter. As she is raising the mug to her lips to take a sip, her eyes slide across the room taking in how empty it is in comparison to when she had first begun to volunteer. It’s only Sabryna and her, right now. Waiting for things to pick up again, trying to find ways to ensure that they do. 

She is considering making more flyers to put in the community centers nearby, when music startles her out of her pensiveness, shoulders jumping slightly as her head snaps in the direction of the sound. What she finds has her snorting lowly as she raises a hand and waves Sabryna’s concern off.

“It’s okay, I recognize the song. Did you click on one of Vaimiti’s thirst traps?” She asks with a smile as she moves closer to the break room table and takes a seat. “I looked through them earlier to see if they were all the same or not. They aren’t. She is surprisingly committed to variety.”

Once sitting, she wraps her hands around her mug and shrugs slightly. 

“It did have some engagement, but not nearly enough to count just yet,” she admits, chewing her lip absently as she considers Sabryna’s proposal. “But yeah, boosting our social media presence would probably help, though that is easier said than done.” She pauses and shrugs again. “Maybe taking Vaimiti up on the offer to appear in NBC shows it’s the way to go. That will get us a ton of followers, I am sure. But I don’t know if it will be the good kind of attention or not.”

[stcsis]

demons : say if your muse was in silent hill , a mystical town that shows it's visitors physical manifestations of their own demons - what would they see ?

MUSE QUESTIONS

demons : say if your muse was in silent hill , a mystical town that shows it's visitors physical manifestations of their own demons - what would they see ?

Honestly guys, so far Mercedes is pretty mentally healthy and doesn’t have a lot of demons! This will change. But likely, she would encounter demons representing her anxiety, her fear of never accomplishing anything worth mentioning, and her constant worry that she is failing those she cares about.

[stcsis]

symbolism  :  does  anything  about  your  muse  symbolise  anything  ?  whether  it  be  in  their  narrative  ,  or  part  of  their  design  ,  or  something  else  ?

MUSE QUESTIONS

symbolism  :  does  anything  about  your  muse  symbolise  anything  ?  whether  it  be  in  their  narrative  ,  or  part  of  their  design  ,  or  something  else  ?

I always pick my muses names with a lot of thought, and I picked Mercedes based on the behind the name definition which goes as follows: Means "mercies" (that is, the plural of mercy), from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, meaning "Our Lady of Mercies". It is ultimately from the Latin word merces meaning "wages, reward", which in Vulgar Latin acquired the meaning "favour, pity". Mercedes name, then, represents the way she approaches life by being merciful and favouring those who work hard. 

Another one is her alias. Mercedes’ alias is Outis, which is a transliteration of the ancient Greek meaning “Nobody” or “No one”. It serves a dual purpose, as a tribute to Odysseus and his cleverness as well as a hope to live up to said cleverness, and as a pointed note of her thoughts regarding professional heroism. She thinks stewards should be anonymous and focus on helping the community, rather than court fame and fortune.