#nexusstarter

[greenjanellybean-blog]

After watching her friends hit the road without them and the truck that she had spent her last few years of her life in grow smaller and smaller in the distance until it was gone, Jae stood there in the empty streets for a long second, composing herself as the fact that she was now alone finally settles in her head. But, years on the road taught her one thing and it was that she had to keep on moving, so that’s exactly what she did, wandering the streets to scout the place out and figure out her next move. 

It seemed as if sadness had driven her first, Jae making the great decision to spend the only spare cash she had left and was now eating dripping ice cream cones in each hand on a lone park bench. She wanted some ice cream dammit and she’ll do what she wants. No matter how pathetic it may look.

[ranbirsback-blog]

Ranbir had always been a fan of routines. He got up on the same side of the bed. He spent exactly ten minutes in the shower-- twelve if he was washing his hair. It changed as he grew up, always in little ways. The water ran out? Fine, he’d rinse his hair out using a bucket. He always made it work. Routines are what got him through things-- even when his wife died, it was the constant pace of life that got him through.

How, though, was he going to make a routine out of this? The man was living out of a hotel, half of his belongings were shoved inside of his trunk, he’d run into aliens at least twice, and he had no idea where to get a decent cup of tea. 

The man flag down a stranger on the street. “...Excuse me? Hi, sorry, do you know where...” He  was already regretting speaking before he even finished his sentence. He’s very aware of how strange it must look, a ruffled up. sweaty looking indian stranger standing in the middle of a sidewalk with two loaded backpacks on his shoulders, asking about tea. “Ah, nevermind.”

[crimsonhearted]

It was early.

It was always early when Russ took his daily jog because it was the routine. The routine helped keep him motivated, according to his physical therapist. According to Russ, it kept him sane. His days were planned: wake up, jog as far as his battered knee would take him, shower, class, work. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was monotonous, certainly, but he had a goal, now. He was going to get back on the football field one way or another. That had to be why he felt so off. What other reason could there be for the fluttering in his chest or the twist in his gut? What else could make his skin crawl or cause those dreams? It had to be the ache of missing the one place he’d felt at home. 

(What else could it be?) 

Little by little, Russ had eased himself closer. He’d started working out again. He’d found himself on the sidelines once more, coaching Angel Grove High to a winning season for the first time in forever. But he longed to trade that track jacket for a jersey. Jealousy and pride dragged his heart down at he watched kids younger and less skilled than he was succeed. And so, he had a routine. 

Jogging was the perfect answer. It let his mind float off onto those dying beams of light from the moon. He’d just hit that runner’s high, his muscles pumping and the blood flowing, and it let him drift away from Angel Grove for a moment or two, bask in the warmth of the day, and just exist. No worries. No ache. Just his feet against the ground as he wound his way around the hills on the outskirts of town. The high must have distracted him, for he ran square into something -or rather someone- solid. “Shit,” Russ muttered, yanking an earbud out of his ear and tipping his head to the side after staggering back a step or two. “My bad. You okay?”

[naomihall]

The Nexus was a handful, alright. Naomi didn’t even realize how it seemed that time passed somehow differently over there. She wasn’t sure if it was faster or slower, she just knew that it had an unusual effect on her and she was still trying to decide whether that was a good or bad thing. But Nexus also carried a feeling of serenity with it, away from the city noise and real world. And so when she found an empty room (or was it vice versa?) she had one thing in mind: dancing. Naomi equaled it with her whole life since that’s what it was, and the fact that she was able to have a piece of mind while doing what she loved most -- there was no reason for her refuse it. There, she didn’t have to share any space with the sweaty gym goers because of the lack of resources. And so she danced, the rhythm instilled in her bones, becoming one with her.

[auroraevelynwest-blog]

Home at last. As as late, every time she found herself at the little stone house with the fading green shutters, Aurora felt like she was in strange territory. When she was home, it was typically only for a few hours to spend time with Max or catch an hour or so of shut eye before she was back to work or back to training. Gotta pay the bills. Gotta save the world. As if to reflect her continued absence from the humble abode, the pile of mail she found stacked in the mailbox of 129 Coastal Road was too great for a single hand. 

Bill. Bill. Bill. Latter from Layla. Credit card offer. Bill. And so it continued. 

With a sigh, she shuffled through the remainder of the envelopes in her hands, only pulling her attention from them when she heard the smooth scrape of shoes on concrete directly behind her, whipping around with a mildly startled expression. Enhanced senses were only an asset when you were paying attention, it seemed. 

“Fu--I’m sorry, you, uh...You surprised me.”

[jaymillers]

“Bed rest?! Whoever came up with the concept must have been lazy, ‘cause I don’t know how anyone else can spend longer than eight hours in bed or just sitting around doing nothing.” Jay grumbled, aware that he was talking to himself as he hobbled his way down the street, leaning against the crutch under his left shoulder

[opheliateller-blog]

“Watch your fingers sugar, that pie is straight out of the oven” Placing the now unneeded oven mitts on the counter Ophelia moves her attention to the small fridge by her side, reaching inside to retrieve a jug of cream she had prepared earlier.

[naomihall]

It was one of those days that Naomi was spending exclusively in the gym. Or she liked to pretend it wasn’t really all a gym -- the part that she was conducting dance sessions was at least a little bit separated, even though people from the gym often peeked in. Naomi did not have resources to actually rent a place for the practices and Angel Grove didn’t have professional studios, apart from hers. But, she wasn’t complaining in the slightest. She raised a lot of interest and in one whole year that the studio existed -- she accomplished a lot. She had regular dancers, three sessions of specific age groups, and she also found the time to actually dance for herself.

Yet lately, that time was cut in half, yet again. With everything that was happening, the only times that she was actually able to be on her own was towards the closing time and by that hour -- she was already exhausted. After the vortex and the coin and Nexus and that whole roller coaster, her senses were heightened and that boosted her energy. Still, she could feel the fatigue catching up to her. It was creeping in, but she wouldn’t let it phase her. So if she would only be able to get that quadruple pirouette right... but no such luck. She lost focus in a split second throughout her second turn, her foot slipped and she fell face down, or so it seemed. It was actually hilarious because she could see her own reflection in the mirror and couldn’t it help as she looked dumb. @jaymillers