its still gloomy as fuck outside but i love it so much. other people are bummed about it but this shit is my favorite
anyways yesterday when dr habit was introducing me to everyone (again) we talked to a girl named lulia who seemed like fashion was important to her, so i figured she might have a spare metal hangar i could use for my internet antenna thing. so today i went and asked her, and she said she’d look, but right now she’s feeling really shitty and can’t be bothered to move from the stairwell.
weird but fine. i mean i kinda get it though. so thatll have to wait. im super itching to get back into making music and djing though!!!
i explored a little bit more and decided to go back to that hallway where i saw something/someone (probably habit i think????) late two nights ago, and its all chained up, just like the welcome/info sheet thing talked about
which is fucked up, cause like. a wet paint sign or something would work just fine. this is overboard and creepy without the context of habit being, well. Like That. but since ive finally met him, and i know firsthand that he’s Like That, this makes more sense
so i decided to go to the lounge again today. leg still hurt but not as bad; figured i should move around, be active, etc. talk to people again since Ive kind of kept to myself the past day or so.
bartender was doing ramen today. like, the cheap college kid stuff, not the real thing. but he was mixing it with shit like eggs and veggies and whatever so it was fine! so I get that and a water and talk to him a little. seemed stressed as all fuck, talking about his kid who’s also at the habitat. everyone here’s got problems including the staff, evidently. hes nice though!
at some point we were mostly done talking and he looks over at the entryway and says “hey doc”, and im like, oh shit????? and look too.
and its the doctor
dude is green, tall as hell with bigass super fluffy hair. this whole time i thought the puppet and doodles and shit were a caricature but the doctor really just looks like that! super eccentric which is understandable I guess?? for a “smile doctor”?
anyways i look back at my food cause im like 95% certain hes gunna want to talk to me. i wanted to talk to people today, yeah, but with all the hiding and cryptic shit about the doctor i just feel super unprepared for that; like i wish I had had some kind of warning.
and i hear him walk up one spot away from me OF FUCKING COURSE. and put his hand on the counter. he asks the bartender for ramen, and its at this point I notice dude’s fingers are long as hell and pointy, like claws. his hands are already big cause he towers over me, so the claws just make it that much weirder.
i look up at him cause obviously he wants to sit down. and he looks back at me, gives me a polite little smile and wave, and asks if he can sit with me. so I say sure.
he gets this big grin on his face and sits down in the spot right next to me. OF COURSE.
“hi! you’re our newest habitician, correct?” he says. “i’m dr habit!”
“hey, yeah. im uh...” and i kinda stumble my sentence cause i havn’t picked a name yet. all i know is i dont want my old one.
he speaks up, saving me the trouble
“your application says you don’t use a name right now, yes?”
“yeah,” i sigh. “i don’t know yet. its hard.”
and he gives me this really sympathetic look. like i can see in his eyes that he gets it.
“i understand. names are tricky business! may i just call you friend?”
“sure”
“then hello, friend!” and he smiles big again. “it is nice to finally meet our freshest face! i absolutely must apologize for not stopping by sooner; i’ve been oh-so-busy with things like business and paper!”
“oh, nah, don’t worry about it,” i say even though i definitely still think it’s weird that it took this long and everything seems incredibly informal. whatever.
at this point im already way less freaked out about the whole situation cause the name thing went over way better than i anticipated. its always awkward cause not many people are used to meeting someone with no name, but he was so chill about it. idk! it was nice. hes nice.
“how are you enjoying your stay?” he asks
“oh, god. its so relaxed and kind of freeing. like, in comparison, yknow?”
“ good! im very very happy to hear that! i want to make sure all you habiticians have a nice safe place to stay and think on things!”
the bartender brings over habit’s ramen. the fork he’s given is much larger than the one i got — because of his huge hands I assume. habit thanks him and pulls the bowl closer, bending down to smell the broth.
“which is why i hired our very special mr jimothan here to prepare only the best, tastiest, warmest, comfiest meals! thank you jimothan!”
jimothan nods, accepting the compliment, then returns to his work, gritting his teeth and sweating as he usually does. poor guy.
“yeah,” i say. “the food has been really nice so far. its like… a nice diversity without being too fancy about it? comfort foods and stuff.”
“uh-huh!” habit agrees as he starts munching on a big mouthful of noodles, most of which are still halfway submerged in the broth. its like he got the whole bowl’s worth in one go. he tries to keep talking. “thith anbd da shicken anbd wabbfles arb my fhavfhorith”
“what??”
“holdth onb” he says and holds up his index finger, signaling me to wait while he keeps working away at the noodles. he really is just doing all the noodles in one go. this continues for about ten seconds
“oh my god, dude,” I say, amused. for a doctor, this guy is a fuckin goober.
he glances over, some noodles flicking broth onto the countertop, smiles with a bowl’s-worth of noodles hanging down (only a little gross), and keeps going to town, so I take the opportunity to finish my own ramen. after maybe 20 seconds of this, he finishes off the noodles and continues his thought as if nothing happened
“my biggest favorites are the chicken and waffles, and this!”
“oh! yeah, i couldn’t tell,” I joke.
“well it’s true! and now you know! ill bet you’ll have some favorites too pretty soon.” he gives another big enthusiastic grin then picks up his bowl and starts on the broth, clearly not picking up my sarcasm. i look to jimothan, hoping to see if he had caught everything that just happened, but he’s made himself busy with drying dishes. i’m alone in this conversation.
habit sets his bowl down and, content, looks back to me.
“so what do you do, friend?? what is your thing that you do?”
“oh, uh,” i pause for just a moment, deciding that as my therapist-type person, hes going to learn everything about me eventually anyways, so I might as well be open. “I make dance music. and dj”
“oh??” his eyes fuckin LIGHT UP. he is stoked. i start to ramble and sort of instinctively defend myself, which usually happens every time i tell someone what i do.
“yeah, like a club dj, not a radio dj. kind of like edm, but not quite as crazy or heavy as, yknow, dubstep or whatever. mostly housey stuff”
“i don’t know what youre saying but its very exciting to have another musician here at my humble little habitat! have you met our tiff yet?? she has a wonderful, beautiful voice! she sings here in the lounge for me!”
“uhh, probably in passing? i have a really hard time remembering names”
“oh you two simply must make a song together! i would love to hear it”
“maybe! i would, but uh. i don’t have my software on my laptop. I forgot to download it before I came here; I kind of left in a hurry. and the reception isn’t great, so I can’t connect to get it.”
“oh,” he says, visibly disappointed. “i see. well, if you find a way to get the things you need, i would be so happy to listen to you and learn the words youre saying about it!”
it’s at this point that he lifts his bowl again, finishes his broth, and stands. i am again reminded just how fuckhuge this guy is. easily twice my height.
“well friend, i’m going to say hello to some of the other habiticians since I have been away for so long! would you like to come with me? perhaps we can find tiff and start writing a song together!”
i consider the offer for a moment. on one hand, im already a bit worn out from this conversation; I didn’t expect to meet the guy, so it really drained me. on the other hand, my whole goal for the day was to get out and talk. so why not?
“sure! maybe i can try to remember names this time”
i get up, thank jimothan, and walk out with habit.
after that we did the rounds with the other habiticians, chatting with each one we saw. i ended up being kind of uncomfortable the whole time? it was kind of weird being chauffeured around and showed off to everyone, but habit was genuinely excited for the others to meet me. he meant well.
he seems really nice. a little weird, but very kind.
