open starter ( @shrikestart )
location: summer carnival
thalia was stubborn and goal oriented at most. she had lost froggie a while back, too obsessed over winning that goddamn giant frog plush, that she had spent pretty much all the change in her wallet. but she had been so close this last time, that giving up didn’t feel like an option. the tent owner stood there, judging her with a hand on their hip as she thought of something to do. “i’ll be right back,” thalia said in a tone that clearly meant business, then ran off until she found somebody she knew– even if vaguely. “can i borrow a dollar?” she smiled up at them. “or... maybe two– maybe five? preferably in singles?” the doe eyes always worked, so she had to try. “please?”
starter for froggie ( @horrorbxby )
location: somewhere in the mountains
thalia didn’t waste any time. the second stevie told her about his hunch, where froggie could have gone to, she went off. she didn’t even care to let somebody know where she would be at– stevie could probably inform them if they wanted to know so much. she didn’t care to change shoes, clothes, or grab anything that could possibly help her on her way up the mountains. she had only been there once or twice with them all– but she had no idea how much of a special place it was for stevie and froggie. she simply thought it was one cool place to hang out, but now the story made her heart feel heavier as she took one step at a time up the path that started in the forest. thalia was a smart girl. she had enough knowledge to follow a trail and not die trying, but the weather was getting colder nowadays, and she had started walking only a few minutes before sunset.
it wasn’t long before night fell on her, a full moon shining her way ever so slightly, but not even close to enough to pierce through the thick trees that still had most of their leaves intact. she was scared again. of every single noise she heard around her, of every single rustling of branches and trees, of every single step she took once the trail had faded. in just a few weeks, thalia, who had mainly lived under excessive care and privilege, had been realizing how vulnerable she actually was– how scared she was of everything around her: she was scared of being chased, she was scared of darkness, of the sound the wind makes against a window open ajar, of the light reflected in her mirror after a car passed in the middle of the night. she was scared of her own voice, her own mind and how easy it could flip and turn itself useless. she was scared of that moment right before recognizing a panic attack– that moment where you feel like you are about to die in about five seconds with nothing to stop it. she was scared of losing stevie, of never talking to ernie again, of never looking into wheezie’s eyes, or valentine’s, or any of her friends. but she was terrified of losing froggie, which she was sure would happen if she didn’t move faster, if she didn’t keep on moving despite the paralyzing feeling she had, that didn’t allow her to look behind her.
she climbed for over an hour, however long stevie had told her. she had only her watch to count time, and after a couple slips and falls on the way up, the screen had shattered. her tights had holes over her knees, covered in dirt and scratches she would care for later, some other day. she could not feel any pain, nor her feet soaking wet and frozen after the entire trail. her hands were not safe from the injuries either, but she kept going for about ten more minutes to the left– “froggie?” she called for the first time, scared that her voice would disturb someone, something living around here. according to her memory, she would find the fireplace they used around there, but the dark had made it almost impossible for thalia to see anything.
“froggie, if you’re around here... i’m so-” she said, stepping on some kind of branch, that initiated a series of noises that moved around her, paralyzing her yet again. some more rustling, something like a growl and footsteps. thalia stopped breathing for a moment, but the thud of her heart was louder in her own hears than any other sound. and then came some more rustling, another little branch cracking, except thalia had not moved. she knew of bears, deer, elks, mountain lions, all sorts of giant animals that could be found in the area, and when the smartest choice was to stay very still until every sound was gone, thalia listened to her survival instinct first and set off running. she didn’t scream, she didn’t have the energy for that, but she ran in the first direction she could find, away from the source of the noises, and she ran, and slipped and ran some more until she spotted a small almost torn apart cabin. thalia’s breath was so loud she would not even fool a bunny if she stayed still. and even when the cabin seemed like some sort of crack house, or scenery from a horror film, thalia opened the door and stepped inside, closing behind her and leaning back against the wood as if that was enough to be safe.
the inside of the cabin was even darker than the outside, but it was quiet, warmer too. it was the first source of comfort she had found in the past hour or so. it felt like an eternity. she was not made for this life, no matter how much she would want to stay away from the princess role she had been seemingly assigned at birth. she sat there for a couple minutes, trying her best to recover, and asses her injuries and scratches– they were everywhere. her hands, knees, her legs, her face– her head too? she wiped as much of the dirt and blood with her clothes before she stood up, digging inside her pocket for a lighter to try and walk around, see what this place really was. there wasn’t much of anything, though. a couple tables, empty cans that had probably been there for days, weeks, years, who knew.
thalia wasn’t sure where she was anymore, nor if froggie was anywhere near, if she had fucked up somewhere along the way and was now in unknown territory, but she knew her best bet was to spend the night under a roof, behind a closed door, and so far, the place seemed safe enough, as she tiptoed around what seemed like the living room. the dim light of her fire allowed her to see a door in the furthest corner of the room, one she probably should leave closed as it was, but there was something in her heart, rather than her mind, that told her to go inside. thalia then approached the door as quietly as she could, her hand on the doorknob trying to turn it without making a single sound and then it clicked– the door was open. the blonde took a deep breath and slowly opened it, cringing at the creaking noise it made as it moved and then–
“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
thalia screamed from the bottom of her stomach, emptying the air in her lungs as she instinctively threw her lighter at the figure right in front of her (the lighter turning off in the air, thank god). but the light of the moon was shining through one of the windows, and it was not long before she could see the figure’s shape– her features, her hair, her best friend’s face– no. her soulmate right there.
“froggie–” it was not a question, but an affirmation– one that came almost desperate as the shorter girl threw her arms around the outer in surprise, if anything just to make sure she wasn’t dead yet or dreaming or something. “you’re here– fuck. you’re here... i found you.” she held her face for a moment there. she wanted to kiss her again, because whenever the thought of losing her settled in her heart, it was what her deepest desires wanted– to keep her close, to never let her out of sight, never let her go– not without her. “i found you– i’m sorry– please don’t leave,” she pleaded exhaustedly, not just physically but mostly mentally. “please don’t leave me.”
starter for stevie ( @urdamage )
location: fall festival
she had hopes to see her at the festival. that somehow somebody had managed to drag her to try and get her out of her house– something, anything. but by now, she was sure she would have run into her. she had seen ernie earlier, and she wasn’t with her– her only hope was stevie, but when he showed up a little later without froggie by her side, thalia could feel her heart threatening to jump out of her ribcage. what if she meant it– that she would be leaving town, skip forever? what if she would never see her again? she was starting to feel her chest tightening with panic as she ran towards stevie. if she didn’t want thalia to know where she was, she wanted to at least make sure she was alright, and stevie would be one to know. for sure. “stevie– how– how’s froggie?” thalia asked, assuming he would know right away. “is she okay? why– why isn’t she here with you?” her words were all jumbled up as she looked left and right, in every single direction in hopes to find the blonde coming a few steps behind him.
usually it was easier to ignore when thalia made mistakes. she could brush it off with a little giggle, a shrug, or a simple oopsie. it was easy being thalia on the surface, because not many things mattered to her. but that one night, the carnival, feeling death stepping on her and froggie’s heels had put many things in perspective. it had been some kind of surprise than when thalia thought was having her very last few seconds on earth, the only person she thought of was her best friend– except it had been far from friendly the way she wanted her, the way she had held onto her like she was her angel, as if knowing they were together would send them immediately to heaven or valhalla or whatever was beyond their last breath. but then she got scared. and somehow that fear was even more real than the thought of dying together, and it was to keep living, but going separate ways.
tommy would tease the fuck out of her, how he knew it before she even said or did anything, which is why she was holding it a secret from him and everybody else, ernie and stevie included. she was pretending it didn’t even happen, as if it had been some sort of adrenalin dream or something made up in her head, something the edibles provoked, but not a fact. not something she was feeling, even though the memory of it put a pressure on her chest that even she knew somehow, would only get lifted if she kissed the other again. but no. she wouldn’t. she was taking different shifts at work for that reason. she had switched most of her schedule to not see froggie any longer than a quick goodbye or hello, then make up some sort of emergency that couldn’t keep her talking, and every night, when they usually spent hours on the phone, thalia had pretended to be fast asleep. she was coping with things, she would say. she had been more exhausted than normal, she used as an excuse. she had been under too much stress lately– oh, she was getting a cold. she would be fine soon, sorry– can’t come over.
and then she walked in on friday, not expecting to see any familiar face on the morning shift, the one she rarely ever took because everybody hated opening, and she found froggie as she checked in. she had even been slightly late, and froggie seemed to have thought about it as well. it was pointless that the rink was even open this early, nobody showed up, so it was usually spent cleaning up or even napping in the back room couch– smoking a joint if the mood was right. it used to be a fun thing for the two of them, something they did every now and then, and yet, thalia couldn’t say she was looking forward to spending a whole day with nobody but froggie, pretending nothing had happened in the mirror maze. “hey– i didn’t expect to see you here this morning.” thalia said, feigning surprise and joy to see her friend, even if they had barely spoken. “stevie told me you were taking the evening shift, otherwise i would have picked you up on my way here.” she lied, she had just seen the schedule. she just wanted to seem natural, except thalia could not look at froggie properly in the eyes any longer than a second and she was sure it wouldn’t go unnoticed.
closed starter for valentine ( @urdamage )
location: puzzle aisle, toys r us
“hey– you’re back to work,” thalia noted when she saw valentine in one of the aisles at toys r us. she visited the store quite often trying to keep completing her puzzle or board games collection. she even played them by herself if tommy or froggie weren’t available. it made time go a little bit faster at times, didn’t let the anxiety or the loud intrusive thoughts win, to be fair. she loved them. “it’s good to see you here. in... one piece.” she smiled. “sorry– that was a shit thing to say, right?” thalia was BAD to talk about sensitive things, always feeling some sort of lump in her throat. “how are you?”
starter for froggie ( @horrorbxby )
location: end of the summer carnival
one of the reasons why thalia enjoyed being high was simply because she could blame it all on it. she could be bolder, wilder, louder than she had ever been and then say it was because she had been high, even if the effects were barely there. the interesting thing about edibles was that the time they took to hit was more of a personal thing, so she simply could lie and pretend she had forgotten about the moment she and froggie shared on the very top of the ferris wheel, right before the fireworks started and got them so startled the two of them had almost jumped out of their seats only to be unable to stop laughing until they both stumbled down of the ride. thalia still couldn’t stop laughing as she hooked her arm to her friend’s– she looked at the crowd gathered for the view, and really... it was not exactly her first choice to mix in with the sweat and human smell of a bunch of people, so she dragged froggie towards a different side of the carnival, under the excuse of wanting something to drink.
she was well aware why she had come to this specific side just a few minutes ago, but it seemed the edibles kicked in without her noticing because she was now spinning in circles as she rubbed the back of her head to try and remember. and no, it wasn’t water, she assured froggie a couple times before she covered her ears and shut her eyes real tight to get some real concentration going. “FUCK ME, I KNOW!” thalia yelled, grabbed froggie by the hand and ran towards another booth, one that had been empty all day long, which she had used as her personal storage all night. nobody had noticed. “wait–” she had to check her stuff was still in there. “yes,” she chuckled. “okay– alright, just... close your eyes and don’t open them. promise you won’t.” thalia waited a couple seconds before waving her hand in front of her face to make sure her friend wasn’t cheating. she couldn’t contain her giggles as she reached for the pink bunny plush she had won earlier for her, before froggie had been able to escape work. “okay, hold your hands out– still with your eyes closed! don’t cheat!” she waited again, and placed the plus on her hands slowly, then took a step back to look at her reaction.
closed starter for marzipan ( @horrorbxby )
location: solstice comics
thalia had about one full hour before froggie and stevie finished their shift. ernie was nowhere to be found, and thalia didn’t want to go anywhere, so she ended up walking around the mall by herself. she was not dumb– there was still enough people around to feel safe, but for that same reason she wasn’t going to her car, no matter how much she wanted to take a nap.
after buying herself a giant icee, something she would not do when the temperature dropped lower, she decided to walk into stores she rarely ever did before. the skate shop was fascinating, but it was clear she did not belong in a place like that when nobody even asked if she was finding everything okay. she was not offended– she just found it funny that whenever froggie tagged along, everybody came to ask, but not herself. they knew her too well, and it seemed it was just by the way she was dressed. she walked out, moved on to the next store, and the next store until she ended up in the comic book store. that one was a new one for her. she wasn’t even sure if tommy was into comics– she only knew superman and wondergirl and stuff like that then, but never actually opened one of those books– magazines? still, thalia wandered inside, looking around mindlessly until a voice called her attention behind her. “oh– hi. sorry, i didn’t see you. i’m just... i was just looking around. never been here before– can you tell?”
starter for tommy ( @tommyhq )
location: fall festival
she was having one of the toughest weeks of her life. she couldn’t focus in work, she couldn’t escape home for too long because seeing stevie was awkward, seeing ernie was awkward, and suddenly she found out that her entire life had become her friends, and they were all on froggie’s side, apparently. she was too upset, but it was not something she wanted to show. she needed plans. she needed a distraction.
thalia asked around the house where tommy was, since, apparently he was the only person who would willingly hang out with her at the moment, and when she was told he was already gone, she felt like crying. and yet, she did her best to look decent, put her hair up in a half do, and decided to go to the festival by herself. except the twin connection was confirmed again, since they somehow ended up in the same booth at the same exact time, except tommy hadn’t seen her yet, so she was the one to approach him as he was checking out some bracelets, poking him on his sides, then trying to jump onto his back. “you thought you could escape my claws, you bastard?” she joked, because obviously, if he was a bastard, there was no possible way she wouldn’t be.
