Here at AREPH, our main goal is find and secure any and all loose, missing, and escaped pet humans. If you have a pet human who has run away, contact us through our inbox and we'll get on it! We rehouse abandoned pet humans as well, so if you're looking for a new pet for a low price, get in touch!
We often work closely with associates at ANAKT, helping make sure all of the pets at the Garden are where they are supposed to be.
We have staff members that are human, but rest assured that they are monitored and checked frequently for any misconduct. They also are not allowed any clearance above Level 3. Do not pry into the file of Eddy.
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TAG DIRECTORY:
#OS REPORTS - Lore content, original posts
#OS FINDINGS - Reblogs
#AREPH PAPERWORK - All AREPH staff and patient profiles
#AREPH INTERCOM - Any in-lore announcements
#OS SPEAKING - Mod/Blue speaking
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FONTS:
- Name plaque: ABNES REGULAR
- Data: DESIGNER or AZONIX
All are downloadable for free through DaFont on IbisPaint
FACULTY UNITS:
UNIT: HOSPITAL [TRAINEE, L1, OS]
UNIT: LP HOLDING [L1, OS]
UNIT: STRATEGICS [L2, OS]
UNIT: RETRIEVAL [L3, OS]
UNIT: MILITARY [L4, OS]
UNIT: HP HOLDING AND TESTING [L5, OS]
PERMITTED UNITS FOR PATIENT ADMITTANCE:
UNIT: HOSPITAL
UNIT: LP HOLDING/TESTING
UNIT: HP HOLDING/TESTING
CLEARANCE LEVELS:
HOSPITAL ACCESS [TRAINEE]
HOSPITAL AND LP HOLDING/TESTING CLEARANCE [L1]
STRATEGICS UNIT CLEARANCE [L2]
RETRIEVAL UNIT CLEARANCE [L3]
MILITARY CLEARANCE [L4]
HP HOLDING/TESTING CLEARANCE [L5]
OVERSEER [OS]
formatting and assets were all done by me lol (zen @verdantlights ) hi hehe i made the profile templates :tism:
After Round 24, he was sedated and tucked into his stiff bed so tightly it felt like a straitjacket. Whenever he woke on and off in the course of the worst night of his life, it was to hands - human hands - cradling his head. He was so out of it, he didn't know if he imagined it or not.
Before he woke from his coma to the intrusion of the tube in his throat (god, he didn't even want to think about that) he had flashes of awareness. He didn't know if he imagined those, either, and he didn't know whether he desperately needed them to be real or an illusion. He remembered hearing about kids who were always strung out on drugs, needles in their arms and legs and, in some horror stories, their eyes. Straps holding them down. Machinery positioning them like a doll. It wasn't something he'd had to deal with more than a few times at Anakt Garden, and they were very cursory tests, albeit uncomfortable.
But he felt different. He remembered them... doing things to him. Remembered strange helmets and wires on his head, unobstructed by his shaved hair; the needles and the straps. How could his brain conjure something like that up? He'd have to be crazy, and he was already scared enough that he'd gone crazy, or that this was all one long nightmare his mind created in his final moments and he had been dead on the stage of Round 7 all along with its morose lighting and ballad chords in the background, crooning tauntingly. He could practically feel the chill of the air - the weight of a coat lowering onto his body.
What made him doubt the reality of these flashes was that nothing had seemed to happen since he was taken down to that dark place. He woke up with the tubes and the IVs shoved into his body, prying eyes and alien voices surrounding him like he was some kind of spectacle, the kind of spectacle you never were on the stage. They sedated him whenever he panicked. They gave him some daily shots. Comparatively, that seemed relatively standard. The worst of it all was having to be hooked up to those fucking electrodes and watch his most beloved companions fight for their lives.
During his sedation in the aftermath of Himei's... round... and between the brief sensations of human connection (and he knew he was safe when Eddy was there, because it could be no one but Eddy, and Eddy watched over him. They were no saint or savior, working for these wretched creatures, but they watched over him. They didn't hurt him) Tallis dreamt. He dreamt of sitting in a transparent, empty pod, and seeing a small girl in a pod across from him whom Tallis instantly recognized as a human, like him. A real human. Her pod was filled with trinkets, little toys and luxuries Tallis had never seen before. He remembered crawling closer and pressing his face against the glass to see the soft little toy she held in her richly dark hands, darker than his, different but the same, pretty. She had splotches of lighter skin here and there, but her hands were dark, and he remembered her hands maybe more than her face in that moment from watching them so intently. She smiled at him timidly. He didn't know how to smile back. He just smushed his hands against the container as hard as he could.
He dreamt of a girl with dark, wavy hair, gentle eyes, a bright smile. For some reason, she picked him, a scrawny boy with average looks, messy hair and premature worry lines, out of a crowd of children who looked like stars even from a young age. She picked him talentless and friendless from the masses, and she looked at him, smiled at him.
Tallis didn't know what to do with that, for a while. Maybe he never learned how.
They sat under Eden during their recesses and read together. She sped through books with ease, devouring each word without a second glance. He was slower, though, so she waited for him to nod his head against her shoulder to turn the page. He'd never been good like her at hurrying things. Whether it be a book, a song, a sweet-smelling breeze or the sticky molasses of emotion in his chest, it was in his nature to savor. He read every sentence twice. When a song ended, he couldn't even remember it beginning in the first place.
He dreamt of sitting by the stream with Himei. He saw wide blue eyes staring back at him from across the water, so he stood and leaned forward to get a better look. Cirrus sent something floating across the stream, and when Tallis stooped to scoop it up in his hands, he found it to be a lily pad. The petals of the lily itself were shred to bits, ruined; but an attempt had been made to position them so it might look whole. Tallis looked back up at his classmate, but they were gone. When he looked to the side, Himei was gone, too.
Tov remained where she had been sat on the other side of Himei, meeting him with a flat, steady gaze.
That was when Tallis had regained awareness and woke to Eddy wiping his face, soaked with tears, with a cloth.
They didn't say anything about it, so neither did Tallis.
He remained in bed almost constantly.
Small portions of food were all he would take. He didn't want to use the showers in the medical ward, and no one but Eddy seemed particularly interested in his hygiene. Every few days, Eddy woke him from his blissful (false) dreams of his girl, his crumpled lily, and urged him to his feet. They helped Tallis to the showers, and while he had to be monitored at all times, Eddy respectfully averted his gaze when they realized staring at his face while he was without clothes made him more than a little unsettled.
He wasn't a prude, he'd been intimate with Himei before, but that was different. It was natural for them to be without armor when they were alone together. There was a difference between their brand of intimacy and a friendly brand, and Eddy's was most definitely friendly - if even that.
If nothing else, at least they were another human.
Tallis doubted he would be sane if not for this strange, clueless, towering thing.
Fretting for Tov and grieving for Himei had come simultaneously. Himei was gone - he watched her die on live television. He watched her go out like a light and crumple to the stage floor, white suit drenched in crimson red. He felt something in his heart shift and snap loose.
Tov was still alive.
And he knew, because he knew himself and Tov was nothing if not his mirror - he knew she would lose, whether she consciously wanted to or not.
Tallis had barely any time at all before Tov was up on the chopping block. He knew she wouldn't make it. He knew he wouldn't make it.
Half of his heart was gone. He'd lived through a lot, but if the other half fell into the abyss with it, he wouldn't make it.
Eddy didn't tell him when Round 25 was. Tallis had to really press it for that information.
"Jae and Lang," Eddy murmured with sad eyes. "Tomorrow night. One of the contestant's last shows had some disruptions, so I'll be on patrol at the site that night." After a beat, they added, "They won't hook you up for this round, they're waiting for twenty-six."
Tallis mulled over that information for several long hours. When Eddy returned that night, they were a little teary, awed and downcast all at once.
"I liked her," it murmured to itself as it undid the straps on its clothes. Tallis wasn't supposed to hear - he followed Eddy, and he had particularly sensitive hearing compared to his peers.
He jerked back when he heard those words and hurried back to bed, tears stinging in the back of his throat.
He dreamt of a girl with black and white hair who fixed his harp when it broke.
Tov's round was in a matter of nights, and he could do nothing.
Oh Lang, Tallis thought tearfully through the next hopeless day, you were always good at finding solutions. Anyone could give you any problem and deem it unsolvable, and you would find a loophole within minutes. I don't have any loopholes. I don't have anything.
If a problem is meant to be solved, it'll be solved, Lang's voice intoned in the back of his mind. She always spoke about these things like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She always spoke with quiet acceptance. Is your problem meant to be solved?
It should. Tallis imagined all those wild fans roaring for Tov when she went up against Lark. It should. For her and for Himei.
Then you'll solve it.
And if only it was that simple. If only he wasn't in some high-security bunker in the middle of fucking nowhere with nothing but a medical gown to cover his bare ass and a clingy guard to - what? Feed him soup and give him sponge baths?
What's stopping you?
Wires, he whispered into the damp, empty air. Wires in my nightmares and around my arms and legs, crawling into old bullet wounds.
He could practically feel Lang roll her eyes.
Then cut the wire.
Tallis guessed he was lucky that Eddy was a Tov fan.
The little stuff was nice to see. It was comforting to see Tov in the magazines Eddy read and left on the nightstand while it went to use the restroom.
Tallis hadn't thought it would be of particular use until now, though.
With Himei and Lang's voices looping in his ears, he tore a relatively blank page out of the latest issue of the Alien Stage magazine series - nothing but advertisements for pet human enrichment items - and scrambled for something to write with. He wasn't allowed to have sharp objects, though. Eddy came back to him and recoiled at the sight of Tallis standing with their torn magazine, hurt by what they perceived as a slight.
"Eddy." Tallis stumbled to them and grabbed their shoulders. "Please give me a pen. Please. Please. Just for a few seconds, please."
"My magazine," Eddy said forlornly. "Sungmin gave me that issue."
"What? No, it's only an ad. Eddy, please, please can I..."
"Why do you need it?"
With a little pressure, Tallis convinced them to let him write his sheet music over the ads. Then he gave it to Eddy and begged them to digitize it. To send his message so Tov might have a chance.
"No, that's not..." Eddy fidgeted with the page, shaking its head. "That's not allowed, Tallis..."
"I'll owe you forever," Tallis blurted. "I'll do anything, anything you want or need, forever, as long as I'm alive! I'll be - I'll be your best friend, I'll never leave you, I'll be your human companion, just please, please, I'll never ask anything again!"
Eddy's stare was so blank for what was most likely a few long seconds, though it felt like minutes. Their one coral-colored eye grew shiny with moisture, and Tallis had a brief flash of regret tug painfully at his gut - he'd quickly learned how lonely his keeper was, and time and time again, he used it to get what he wanted. Eddy was a human too. Eddy deserved empathy.
Before he could deflate, Eddy squeezed him tight enough to knock the wind out of him, and he had no air in his lungs to backtrack.
Eddy rationalized it by saying it wasn't a code or a lettered message - it was just a song. Eddy didn't know all this song represented for Tallis and Tov. Eddy knew it was a beacon of hope for Tallis's friend, and that's what they digitized and sent to Guardian Cassio.
What did promises like "I'll never leave you" even mean when Tallis was stuck here anyway?
When Tov and Akane sang, Tallis forgot all about the helmet and the electrodes, the eyes on him from behind a thick sheet of one-sided glass.
Lark hadn't stood a chance against Tov's might, but this girl, this girl was something else. She sang low and soft, yet her voice trembled with some powerful suppressed emotion that vibrated like a plucked harp string in her core. Tallis had never known Akane well - she was older and liked to keep to herself but for her noisy companion in the next class - but he felt struck by her, in some way.
Still, nothing could overcome the strength of his emotions when Tov sang.
She reached for her high notes with outstretched hands and sparkling eyes. She fought with every inch of her small being - her soul, too big and full of light to fit in her body, burst at the seams of her skin. When she trilled out Tallis's melody, Tallis physically jolted, the brain waves on the aliens' monitors spiking. Tears streaked his cheeks, full of faded freckles from so little time spent outdoors as of late.
Tov, his guiding light, clawed her way to a tie. When the score rested at exactly 50/50, her eyes widened, the hope and sheer power in the air around her freezing.
Tallis froze right with her.
No.
A red laser dot on Himei's forehead came to mind, Min's body blocking the unjust shot, blood spraying over Himei's shocked face.
Not this.
A split screen showed Tov and Akane both, opposite and equal, as they stared in shock at the screen.
A beat passed.
Tov's number ticked up.
51.
Tallis gasped at the same moment Tov sucked in a sharp, trembling breath.
Akane's expression shifted.
Tallis's mind blanked at the fast, violent display. The crowd screamed when a shot was fired into it. Akane smiled with exhausted, muted satisfaction.
Then her head blew up on the screen, making Tallis jerk his face away.
She's alive, he thought numbly as they unhooked the wires, Eddy moving to grab his face carefully in its large, spidery hands and shake him, trying to see if there was a hint of him there in his eyes.
"She's alive," he said dumbly.
She knows I'm alive.
He crushed Eddy in the first hug he'd ever given it of his own free will and exhaled, shaky, into its shoulder.
I owe you everything.
This was one of my favorites to write!!
Tov belongs to @ivanttakethis; Noora and Lark belong to @kamersona; Cirrus belongs to @cirrusoftheclouds; Jae belongs to @kofeedoggo; Lang belongs to @pwippy; Akane belongs to @aakaneeee; Min belongs to @starry-skiez; One of Nyx's (@rockwgooglyeyes) maybe siblings is mentioned and I FEEL LIKE I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME SO I MADE AN EDUCATED GUESS IT'S THE ONE WHO GAVE EDDY THE MAGAZINE CORRECT ME AND I'LL EDIT IT I'M SORRY
Tallis had to be sedated when he wouldn't cease his screaming and his clawing at the helmet the electrodes attached to. He looked like he was going to rip his own damn head off. He scratched his own eyeballs and made the whites a furious pink when he clawed at them like he was trying to gouge them out so he might never have to see again.
Eddy held him when Yakun sunk the needle into his neck to force him into unconsciousness. Tallis sank back into Eddy, legs going limp, hands scrabbling for Eddy's arm like he was desperate for something real (human) to hold onto.
Eddy wasn't supposed to show weakness in front of their coworkers and superiors.
But when they cradled Tallis's head to their chest that night in a frantic attempt to comfort what couldn't be comforted even in sleep, hands covering his ears like they could block the world out from his senses, Eddy cried, all silent tears and bitten lips.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
/////
OUTGOING MESSAGE
TO: Gdn. CASSIO
TO BE RELAYED TO: Pet Human & ALNST Contestant TOV at the request of SENDER
FROM: UNKNOWN??SOURCE
[There are no words in the message.
Only the notes to a song.
It can be played on the harp.]
This one is messy and vaguely disorganized but that's the post R24 vibe so we ball. @ivanttakethis I wanted to get this out real quick before Tov vs Akane *salute*
Tallis was brought to the facility shortly after Round 7.
While his companion, the guard, Hayate, was dragged unconscious to the lower high-security floors that Eddy had yet to attain access to, Tallis was immediately transferred to the ICU. Usually, this space was reserved for injured workers, but Tallis was an exception. He was placed in the same bed that Eddy had been vacated from after a long rest and recovery following its near-death encounter with the target Solei. Or... whatever they were now. Eddy wasn't certain. It was still set on the idea that it could save them and bring them home after such a long absence.
While Eddy was slowly integrated back into the field, they lingered in Tallis's room during the long days. At first, they merely observed him; a real Alien Stage contestant, up close! It was a marvel. He was marked for death by his loss against the contestant Daiki with her edgy wit and charm, but AREPH must've had bigger plans.
Maybe they brought Eddy a friend after all this time. They hadn't had a friend for a very long time. Not since... not since her.
Eddy tried not to think too much about Mae most days. Some days they allowed themselves to look at her baby pictures and smile and tear up.
Tallis was a lot - well, bigger than Mae was, but he worked well as a friend all the same. Eddy clumsily re-braided his hair whenever his braids loosened in his unresponsive state. It checked Tallis's IVs and the bandages on his midsection, one for the first bullet (it definitely got him good, but only pierced the fatty tissue of his side) and another for the second, which had pierced his abdomen. The aliens who tended to Tallis's health joked that Eddy might as well be their boss, seeing as it was there even more than they were.
It read case files to Tallis to stimulate his mind, ate meals in his presence and told him that he would love the pudding from the caf once he woke up, studied his calloused fingers (how did they get so rough?) and gently wiped his face and neck with a wet cloth every now and then to keep him clean. When one day, Tallis was transported to the lower levels where Eddy couldn't go, it was sad to see its new best friend go. Waiting for him to wake up felt like it was taking forever.
When he re-emerged a few weeks later, he was still asleep - kept in a medically induced coma, the doctors told Eddy, for his health. They told him he should wake soon and put him in one of their medical observation rooms. Eddy couldn't braid Tallis's hair anymore, as it had been buzzed sometime when he was gone, but they could resume their usual routine.
Until Tallis did finally wake a few nights after Eddy monitored Round 16 to watch for Aurien and Solei.
And Tallis was not happy.
They got past the initial awkwardness after Tallis threw things at them the night he woke up and spit in their face. Tallis must've realized relatively quickly that he was surrounded by aliens and his best bet was to let the only other human stick around.
He rejected Eddy's friendly gestures for a solid week. He pushed away the warm washcloths and refused to eat much of the food Eddy offered him despite his gaunt, sunken appearance. The only times he addressed Eddy directly (or anyone, really) was to ask questions.
Where am I? The AREPH facility. Where's the facility? I'm so sorry, I can't tell you that! How am I alive? The guard saved you - I'm glad he did, too! Where is he, then? Undergoing treatment in the lower levels, then he'll probably be questioned. Are you going to question me? Soon, yes, we think you might have information pertinent to our investigations.
Tallis's jaw ticked at those words, and Eddy knew he knew what that meant.
Tallis had ties to high-profile figures.
(And that was the only reason he still lived, not because his life had any worth to anyone, but because he had information on the people who really mattered in the eyes of others.)
Which brought them to their first compromise.
Eddy wasn't technically allowed to show Tallis any information regarding Season 39 of Alien Stage. He was supposed to be in the dark.
But it broke Eddy's heart to reject him any information on his friends, Tov and Himei. He cared about them. He had a human connection with them, like Eddy had a human connection with Mae once upon a time.
"I'll be your friend if you tell me if they're okay," Tallis said ever so quietly one night from his bed, eyes wide and teary. "Just tell me if they're alive. Tell me how many of my friends are still alive."
And Eddy broke.
"Tov," Eddy whispered in his ear so no sound systems would pick up on it. "Himei, and all the others who won their rounds before you, all but Vera. Khoi." Tallis's eyes fluttered shut. "Lark, Akane, Jae, Lang, and Onyx."
Tallis's throat caught on a harsh swallow. "No Castor?"
Eddy hesitated, wishing not to have to be the one to confirm it.
"No Castor," it murmured, shrinking away when Tallis's face briefly crumpled, a single tear released from his eye. Then he wiped his face with his blanket like a small child might and forced a stoic look upon his face, though his lips still trembled.
"Tell me," Tallis said shakily, "who wins the next row. If you can."
Eddy couldn't turn him down again after that.
"I can."
AREPH had different plans.
Eddy didn't have to tell him one thing, because for Rounds 17 and 21, Tallis was placed on a chair in the observation room with wires and electrodes attached to his head. Eddy and a few others had already taken a few cracks each at getting Tallis to talk about his classmates and he had thus refused.
"Is this necessary?" Eddy whispered to the small alien named Yakun, chewing on the inside of their cheek behind their facemask. Tallis's face was nearly green with sick as the countdown to Tov's round whittled down, his friend about to meet the fate she was destined for either way.
Eddy hoped she won, for Tallis's sake and their own preferences. She was Eddy's favorite contestant. She was radiant.
"It is," Yakun told it. "If he won't tell us about his connections, we'll learn ourselves."
Tallis had already been irritable and jittery since he woke up from his coma. Now, he was downright mercurial as the round progressed live on a projector before him. He shook violently in his seat from the beginning till the end. When Lark hit the floor, he covered his eyes, his mouth moving in what could be some silent prayer. He only removed his hands when the announcer bellowed Tov's name.
Round 21 was worse. Like Round 17, Tallis's friend took the early lead and held it throughout, but also like Round 17, there was a wrench thrown into it. Instead of Lark falling to the ground, it was Himei, forced down by Noora. When Noora started raining punches down on Himei, Tallis, who had already been anxious the whole performance mouthing "something is wrong" promptly burst into silent tears, biting down on his fingers as Himei was hurt. The gunshot piercing Noora's neck almost seemed like a relief to him, making his teeth unclench from his flesh, dark bite marks left in their wake.
Eddy hated it.
That night, Tallis was utterly defeated, pale and shivering. He let Eddy clean his face, or maybe more accurately, he had no energy to resist it. He let them steal an extra blanket from an unoccupied room and put it on Tallis's bed.
Eddy watched over him that night, eyes fixated on his sleeping form, pierced by the familiar ache that came with connection.
Mae's pictures felt like they were burning against Eddy's leg where they rested in its pocket.
Not much more than a week later, Himei's long black curls were falling to the floor with each rhythmic snip of the scissors.
Daiki was dead. Himei had outlasted her. She won the stupid fucking game she was playing against herself.
But with every photoshoot and interview that came afterwards deeming Himei a member of the Elite Eight, declaring her better than Daiki, pitting her against Tov whose points count loomed ahead of her, Himei knew the truth.
Every time she glimpsed herself in the mirror and saw her bruised, sore face, she knew the truth.
Every time she laid eyes on Cirrus, whether in a magazine, on a billboard, or at mealtimes, she knew.
She didn't win.
She'd already lost, regardless of the outcome.
The morning of Round 24, she woke with a heavy heart.
She needed to see Tov.
Tagging time! Tov belongs to @ivanttakethis; Daiki belongs to @daiki1k; Mae belongs to @lulling-riot (edited in due to changes to lore since this log was published); Lark and Noora belong to @kamersona; Cirrus belongs to @cirrusoftheclouds. Everyone else is pretty much mentioned in passing, so I won't tag those people and spam their notifs, lol.
The room Himei was brought into was small and stuffy.
Everything was soundproof and the room itself was hidden away in the deepest recesses of the Season 39 site's main complex, so Himei was under no illusions regarding what was about to happen.
At least it wasn't solitary. Anything was better than solitary.
Not for Lark.
"You look sick," an agent told her bluntly. She was shorter and scrawnier than her imposing partner, who for his part looked like he was about as done with this as Himei was. "Not sleeping well? Hm?"
The agent's tone was sickly sweet, swimming with mock concern. Himei was sick of condescension. The corner of her upper lip twitched in a barely concealed snarl.
"I'm sleeping fine," she said primly.
God, she hoped the light on her collar was green. She'd gotten used to the feeling of it around her neck, but not the read it gave others on her emotions, which were already enough of a shitstorm to deal with.
The female agent tilted her head. "Mmm." Skeptical.
Her partner scoffed and pushed off the wall he leaned against. "That's enough, Agent Pol. Hello, Himei. I'm Agent Irin of AREPH and this is Agent Pol. We're here to ask you a few questions about Subject-012864, known by his peers as Lark."
Himei held the lump in her throat. So much as swallowing felt like a guilty tell. So much as twitching a finger felt like a dead giveaway. "Hello."
Agent Pol took the seat across from her and tipped her chair back so it balanced precariously on its back legs, her feet propped up on the corner of the table. "We had another girl in here earlier. What was her name again?" You fucking know her name. Agent Pol glanced up at Agent Irin boredly. "Toph?"
Agent Irin's throat clicked like he was about to respond, but before he could, Himei snapped, "Tov."
Agent Pol snapped her fingers. "Tov. Right. Well, we had her in here to ask her questions just like you. We asked her about you." She did that annoying head jerk to the side again. "Put in a good word for you. She's your... hmm, friend, right?"
Friend felt reductive. Himei didn't say that out loud. "Yes."
"So she could be covering for you? Or she's just that biased. Or stupid."
Himei's jaw clenched and ticked. If the light on her collar hadn't been red before, it was now. "She's the smartest person I know. Smarter than you, anyway."
Pol snorted, slid a leg off the table, and leaned forward like she was about to say something incredibly important before Agent Irin once again cut her off.
"We won't keep you long, seeing as you have a performance coming up in the next few days," he said after clearing his throat. "I have some questions for you. Did you and Lark associate much, in the Anakt Garden?"
"No." Himei folded her hands and tried not to clench them. Sweat slicked her palms the longer she had them pressed together. "He was quiet."
Agent Irin wrote something down on a tablet. "Did he and Tov associate?"
"No. Tov was... mostly with me."
And Tallis.
More tapping of the tablet. Agent Pol took over the questioning with a sharp, "And you and Tov? You're close. You would have reason to take out an opponent of hers to ensure her victory."
Oh, if only victory was all that mattered. If only it wasn't a game of survival.
"I wouldn't..." Himei flexed her fingers and tried not to let so much as a flicker of guilt cross her face. "I wouldn't do that to someone just to help her win. Not allowing each performer a fair chance is an injustice."
"Yes." Agent Pol lowered her voice to a murmur. "And you know all about injustice, don't you."
A pause.
Agent Irin finished tapping away at his tablet and cleared his throat again. "Recent investigations have shown us that the guard accused of treason, Hayate, is your biological brother. Not only that, but you were not separated at birth and grew up with the same guardian, namely Guardian Iquia. That all sound correct?"
Himei's eyelashes fluttered as she looked down at the table. "That's right."
"Lark had poison in his system when he died," Agent Pol said. "Poison that any ordinary Alien Stage contestant would have a hard time coming by unless it was provided to them. These are experimental drugs used in labs to study humans who know they're dying from the drug and the effects of impending doom on the brain. This isn't just a take-it-and-you're-out type of euthanasia like they use at kill shelters. This is... well, Himei." Agent Pol laughed a little, disbelievingly. "Well, this is just cruel, dare I say. And I'm sure you'd have had no trouble acquiring this drug with the help of your darling brother."
Himei could hardly even hear Agent Pol over the swell of her pulse in her ears. Her skin felt clammy everywhere from sweat.
"I didn't have any drugs," she whispered. "He didn't give me any drugs."
Agent Pol grunted. "You sound hoarse. Need some water?"
The image of Lark with his eyes closed, chugging poisoned water, jumped to the forefront of Himei's mind.
"No." She sat up straighter. "I'm fine, thanks."
The electricity from the harsh overhead lights buzzed in the silence.
Both agents scrutinized her for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like eternity to her. Then Agent Irin folded his tablet shut. "Thank you for your time. We'll escort you back upstairs." He turned to unlock the heavy black door blocking the exit. "I assume you have rehearsals to get to. The show must go on."
The show must go on.
Himei practiced. She tried on the outfit her team had made for her. She didn't sleep a wink the night before her performance, mind plagued with the golden glow of the stage lights, the golden glow of Lark's eyes, the way they morphed into dark hazel.
Another contestant was dead, but the show must go on. That was Alien Stage for you.
For weeks and weeks since Himei made it through her first round, she's been consulting with her team. First, in the immediate aftermath of Round 4, they thought they should try a ballad next time to contrast her pop performance. After Round 7, once Himei could finally think again in the weeks afterwards, she proposed a ballad about grief. Love. Like Aurien and Vermillion's performance during their round. She wanted to encapsulate that.
But plans had changed.
"Grief is overrated in this competition," her choreographer told her boredly. "No one wants to see another weary widow snivel on stage for four minutes before taking a bullet through the brain. You have to have something more interesting in you, or we've already lost."
Himei couldn't even respond to that at the time. She was too shocked.
Her entire PR team was at a loss until her fight with Daiki. If you could even call it a fight. She only got one damn hit in.
Anger, they said gleefully, like it was some kind of divine revelation. You have anger. No, not anger, you have rage. You're the righteous hand of those old gods.
So instead of capturing her audience with softness after initially presenting a diva image, they were taking it further. Pop princess with an edge. Great.
Himei got to choose her look, if not her image. She poured over magazines Daiki had modeled in and cut out outfit references to give to her designers. They were giddy when she presented the idea - ecstatic.
"We've already won," they told her now.
Himei couldn't even muster a smile.
Min died for her. Lark died because of her.
Now Noora would too.
So Himei won.
She won. She would compete against Cirrus in the quarter finals...
And it didn't even matter.
She tried to ignore Noora as she sang. If she couldn't sing for Tallis, she instead sang at Daiki. She spat vitriol into her mic. She became the poison.
The crowd cheered, she took a bow, the world spun, and then she was on the floor.
Dark hairs were still tangled in Noora's fingers that had been ripped right out of Himei's head before fists and nails rained down on her in a fury, hitting and scratching and pulling. Himei thought she might have screamed, but she couldn't hear it over the sound of the crowd.
Her cheek was marred with scratch marks. Her lip split open and spilled blood. She was in so much pain she could hardly breathe.
She didn't register when it stopped. Everything hurt. Everything throbbed and screamed and burned.
Then Himei felt Noora's breath against her face, harsh and anguished. Something dripped on Himei's cheek. A tear from Noora's startlingly emotional eyes.
"He was my friend," she whispered, shoulders shaking. "He was my friend."
He was her friend, and just like the aliens, just like Daiki, Himei tossed him aside like it was nothing.
A gunshot rang out, piercing Noora's slender, delicate throat. A red arterial spray shot from the wound. Noora was gone in an instant, dead weight against Himei, dying her white suit red.
Get off, Himei pleaded, aloud or silently, she didn't know. She struggled against the corpse. Get off, get off, get off!
She scrambled away on all fours in the pool of blood like an animal.
Wasn't she? A collar clicked around her neck, and she was roughly pulled to her feet.
Aren't I?
Bonus: Sometime Before Round 16...
He'd laid in bed for days, dead to the world.
Needles pumped fluids into his veins. A breathing tube pushed past his chapped mouth into his throat, forcing its way down to lodge behind his breastbone.
When he woke, his eyelids fluttered faintly, the steady beep of some strange monitor next to the bed reaching his ears. His eyebrows twitched, stirring. His eyes widened.
He instinctively reached up to yank the tube out, but to no avail. His hands were tied down to the bed. He made a startled noise, kicking, nostrils flaring in a silent scream. Get it out. Get it out, getitoutgetitout
"Subject 060839 is awake!" a voice shouted. Footsteps rushed in and out of the room. He wouldn't let anyone touch him, jerking and fighting, throat tightening, oh god, he was going to be sick, he would choke on this thing...
"Look, it's me!"
A tall gray-haired stranger entered and waved their arms at him. One of his arms wrested free from its bond in his panic.
"Tallis, it's me!"
He grabbed for the small vase on the table next to him and chucked it at their head.
Cranked this out in an hour and a half, yeehaw
Tov and Agents Pol and Irin belong to @ivanttakethis. Noora and Lark belong to @kamersona and the scene on stage is based on their writing. Daiki belongs to @daiki1k. Cirrus belongs to @cirrusoftheclouds.
She'd made the mistake when she scorned Hayate's idea on how to get rid of an opponent before ever hitting the stage when Tallis was still alive. She'd been so blind to the realities of this competition - of this world. Morality slipped through her fingers like water in cupped hands, draining between the gaps of her fingers no matter how hard she tried to hold it there. When she left solitary confinement for the second time in the span of a few weeks, the last drops of it dried up from her skin.
Sometimes she dreamt about Min. Most of the time they were dancing, just like they'd done on stage back when it was still Round 4, not Round 6, Round 7, Round 17 now, time caving in on itself and leaving the flesh to rot. They danced on the vast floor of an orchestra hall while Tallis played his violin, perched on a stool on the stage with his music stand before him, eyes closed in serenity. Tov and Daiki sat in the crowd watching. Dian's voice called her name at a distance, never visible but always heard, and then he called Nyx's name, alternating back and forth, back and forth, tick, tock.
Himei and Min stepped to the music, and Min was always smiling, so much so that it unsettled Himei. Sometimes she had blood on her face. Sometimes Himei had blood on her hands and she tried to let go of Min, afraid to get the stuff all over her too, but she held on tighter. They were locked in a dance like schoolgirls until someone had a bullet in their head.
I thought about poisoning Min before your round, Hayate had told her, and so casually, too. Himei recalled briefly thinking that it could've been for the best. Min wouldn't have had to be scared in her final moments.
She quickly wrote it off, because Min deserved a chance; she did.
But the idea stuck in her head leading up to Tallis's round. And she didn't act.
And he died.
Faith. She tried to rely on faith when Tov went up against Minori, and it worked. Faith. She had to have faith in herself when she went up against Noora; she wouldn't hurt her to pave the way for herself. Faith. She tried so hard to have faith as Tov's second round approached.
Leona had warned her that all eyes were on Tov, and not all of them wanted Tov to survive. Some wanted her dead. Some probably wished her captured for interrogation.
Tov is the best of anyone in this competition, she reminded herself when she couldn't sleep night after night, staring at her dark ceiling and left with her thoughts. She leads in points. She's the face of the show. They can't write her off like they tried to do to me.
Then she was reminded of the sight of Tallis falling limp on the stage, and her will crumpled.
Lark was a plain boy. He wasn't particularly eye-catching in appearance. He was quiet and observant. He looked... he looked harmless. Sweet, even.
Just like Tallis.
Himei chickened out every time she thought up a plan to poison Lark. It wouldn't be a walk in the park, but it wouldn't be horribly difficult. She was heavily monitored - more so than everyone here already was - but every system had its cracks. Hayate knew that, and he knew how to expose them.
He thought he did, anyway.
Himei wasn't worried about the consequences she could face. She'd rather die doing something to try and ensure her friend's safety than stand around complacently like she did when Tallis needed her most. She didn't care about what would happen to her. Only her conscience held her back. She wouldn't do it. She couldn't.
But the day of Round 17 came...
Himei panicked.
And single-mindedly, she dropped a quick-dissolve tablet in Lark's beverage at breakfast while he was gone to use the bathroom, nerves clearly making him feel ill. It was invisible within seconds. Hayate had been right. If you need it, only use it once or they'll know. Even once is a risk. Don't take it lightly.
Himei calmly moved on to sit with Tov. She ate a bite of mash. Sipped her own beverage. Felt the color drain from her face.
"Himei?" Tov's voice was careful, gentle. It had been since they kissed. "Are you alright?"
Himei made to stand, a sick churning in her gut. She needed to dump it out. She needed to get rid of it. She couldn't do this, she couldn't—
Lark had returned, and he'd already drunk half the glass to help calm his stomach.
Himei's own stomach sank like a stone.
"Himei?"
Tov couldn't think anything was wrong. Not now. Even if she did have this one in the bag now, she still had to give this performance her all.
On shaking legs, Himei sat back down, white as a sheet.
A shaky smile curved her mouth.
"I'm fine."
Later, she puked up all of the breakfast she'd forced herself to eat.
Uh oh. The girlfailure did a bad thing. @season39 Posting this now since the final results are in
@kamersona and I chatted about this when the round began, so here it is! The poison didn't take full effect until the performance, so Lark still made it to the stage, but he felt sick from more than just nerves leading up to it and during. At some point maybe he just... crumpled. And even the aliens are confused.
Anyway, Lark and Noora belong to them, Tov belongs to @ivanttakethis, Min belongs to @starry-skiez, Daiki belongs to @daiki1k, and Dian and Nyx belong to @rockwgooglyeyes. Himei hasn't been able to be with her bestie Dian much since the season started due to the isolation she faces as a contestant (and a rebellious one at that) but I see him as this constant voice of reason in her head telling her nooooo don't poison the innocent bird boy
The contestants were gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast. Nobody seemed interested in talking anymore. Not now that over half of the kids they grew up with were dead or missing and in danger. All was quiet until the shrill voice split through the air.
Daiki, as usual, was sitting by herself. Nobody seemed to want to sit with her, and if they tried to, she gave them a withering enough look to send them packing. When Himei threw two halves of a magazine right in the food in Daiki's tray, she looked up with arched eyebrows like this was nothing but a particularly amusing hiccup.
Himei stood before the table with clenched fists. Rarely was her expression this intense; she was always the friendly girl in Anakt Garden. Never the troublemaker.
Now the light on her collar was as red as her face as she repeated harshly, “What—the fuck—is this?”
If the cafeteria was quiet before, only filled with the sounds of utensils scraping unenthusiastically against trays, now it was dead silent.
Daiki lifted one half of the magazine from her mash with her index finger and thumb, looking over it briefly before dropping it back onto the tray.
“My exclusive interview?” she asked, unimpressed. Himei could’ve thrown something at her stupid, smug face. She knew. She knew damn well what she was referring to.
“Don’t you fucking dare play coy about this, you fucker!” Himei slammed her shaking hands against the table hard enough to rattle it, a loud bang! echoing out across the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nyx flinch where he sat with Tov and Lang, his expression growing increasingly wary. Guards posted at the doors were stirring. “You just had to fucking gloat, didn’t you? Gloat all about how fucking great you are because you didn’t get shot. Like you deserve to live, like he doesn’t!”
“Himei,” Daiki cut in, her expression still as infuriatingly uninterested as ever, small smile not even close to reaching her eyes. “I deserve to live because I won. He didn’t. It’s not my fault I’m more appealing to fans.”
”You’re more appealing to fans because you’re a fraud.” Tov’s voice sounded colder than Himei had heard in a long, long time. She’d come to stand next to Himei, her eyes narrowed, mouth set in a grim line. Himei felt her heart do a strange flip. Thank you. Thank you for being on my side. His side.
Daiki huffed out a short, airy laugh. “Oh, you’re part of this now? That’s ironic coming from you. You’re the star of the whole show, aren’t you? I'm sure you could easily get your own interview to repair any damage you think I did on poor Tallis’s reputation, right?"
"Don't you ever—“ Himei growled, stepping around the side of the table to stand before Daiki. Even when Daiki stood from her chair at her full height, staring Himei down, Himei didn't relent, glaring daggers up at her. "Don't you ever patronize Tallis. Don't you ever disrespect him like that. And don't you ever talk to Tov that way. She's more talented and worthy than you could ever dream to be. Your kind is going out of style. Azure is dead. Ellie is dead. Min is dead and is still a million times the person you will ever be. You will fucking lose and I won't be one bit sad when you do." She gripped the collar of Daiki's shirt to yank her down to her level, snarling, "You deserve everything you have coming."
"Hey." Nyx stepped closer to the three of them, touching Tov's arm to try and get her attention. "Himei, Tov, don't. She's not worth it. Don't do this to yourselves."
Daiki just laughed and taunted in a voice that only betrayed a hint of strain, "Do you really need someone to babysit you so badly? First Tallis, now him? Are you going to blame me when he dies, too? When she dies?" she nodded at Tov.
And Himei just...
Snapped.
With a shriek, and in a surprising show of strength, she slammed Daiki back into the table, forcing her legs to buckle so she was thrown off balance. She threw a punch that didn't quite land, a weak, unpracticed one that barely made any impact. So fucking tired of being the good one. Another punch, this one making good contact with Daiki's cheekbone and splitting the thin skin of Himei's knuckles. So fucking tired.
Hands gripped her arms and yanked her away from Daiki before she could really get going. She half-expected to turn and see Nyx dragging her away, but Nyx was too busy holding Tov back. Instead a guard jabbed a taser against her side when she tried to break free. No. She had the presence of mind to think only that. No, not this again. Please not this again.
A second shock, and the world went dark.
Himei wished solitary confinement was a blur. She wished it passed by like every other day without Tallis did, nothing but hazy, swimming thoughts and perception struggling to take on a concrete shape.
Being alone in that white, padded room with occasional bathroom and food breaks wasn’t like that.
She remembered every moment. She was awake for every moment, too paranoid by the red blink of the camera on the wall and the knowledge that she was under constant surveillance. Her collar felt like lead around her neck. She tried to scratch underneath it; wiggle her fingers in the space between the wretched thing and the skin of her neck. But there was no space between. It was practically a part of her now, it felt. Practically melded with her skin, reminding her of what she’s lost and what she will lose. Everything.
Tov watched her with soft, worried eyes as she tended to her torn knuckles. Himei had never had a physical fight before, so the skin gave way at the sudden contact with Daiki’s cheek immediately and with ease.
“They should’ve washed this before they put you in there,” Tov murmured under her breath, dark eyes refocusing on dabbing at the ugly scabs with disinfectant solution. “It could’ve gotten swollen.”
Himei smiled humorously and exhaled a weary huff through her nose. “As if they cared.”
Tov offered an equally unenthused half-smile. She wasn’t the type to fake smiles, but she tried for Himei, sometimes. She had to get better at it if she was going to last as Alien Stage’s sweetheart.
Once she was satisfied with her work, Tov threw away the cotton balls she’d been using. When she sat back down next to Himei, she ran a gentle (always gentle) hand down the sleeve of the olive green sweater Himei wore over her clothes. The neck was almost high enough to obscure some of the collar. Almost.
Himei inhaled slowly, a swell of emotions flooding her chest, dulled by fatigue and anxiety. “I was thinking you could have the… the one with the white stripes, you know? Do you want it?”
Tov nodded, lips parted in a silent sigh of relief. “I would. Very much. Thank you.”
Himei nodded, wringing her hands in her lap. Tov’s hand fell to her side.
“I could really go for a cigarette right now,” Himei muttered. “I’m all out.” Hayate had been her source, after all.
Tov arched a single perfect eyebrow at her. “You shouldn’t smoke even if you weren’t out.” She tapped her chest and added, “Don’t want to end up like me.”
Himei offered her a small, soft smile. “Not in that way. But star of the show isn’t so shabby.”
The corners of Tov’s lips curved into a frown. “I’ve already told you how I feel about that.”
“I know.” Himei reached for her hand and pulled it into her lap, squeezing it. “I know it’s not what you wanted. I’m still glad it happened. If Daiki was right about one thing—and one thing only, I’d like to add—she was right about you being this competition’s sweetheart, having a voice now.” Her fingers traced over the lines on Tov’s palm. “At least one of us finally has agency in this thing.”
Tov’s mouth hung open, but no words came out for a long moment. Then she whispered, “He deserved to have this more than anyone. He understood music. He loved it like… nobody else here knows how to.”
How hard it was, to try and love something that would either kill or destroy you.
How much worse it must’ve been for Tallis to fall into that love without a second thought.
“It can’t be him anymore.” Himei blinked the wetness from her eyes, but that only served to send more tears rushing to the surface. She thought she’d already expended every bit of energy she had on this grief, but continually, her body found something left of her to give away. “So it should be you.”
Tentatively, Tov lifted the hand that wasn’t held within Himei’s grasp to wipe a tear from the corner of Himei’s eye. “I can’t be him,” she said, her voice holding that terrible pain that Himei felt so alone in amongst all the other contestants. But not Tov. She hurt for him, too. She understood.
So Himei should’ve responded with I know. She should’ve reassured Tov that she didn’t have to be him. That all she had to do was be here and carry one end of Tallis’s memory while Himei held up the other.
But she didn’t. Maybe she didn’t feel like there was a point. She was too tired, too empty, her insides carved right out of her to leave a void that could never be filled. She was still angry, a quiet, dangerous fury that festered inside of her with that emptiness, and it was the only thing that gave her any substance at all. She was too empty for words she didn’t even know if she believed in.
So she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the noise and kissed the only person she had left in this grief.
It was different than kissing Tallis. It was softer than his thin, chapped lips, and yet harder around the edges because after everything they couldn’t help but be.
Tov didn’t push her away. It was Himei who pulled back after a few seconds and put her head in her hands.
This shouldn’t have been the first time they kissed.
It couldn’t have been any other time, either.
“Eddy!”
Eddy had barely set foot through the door and holstered their pistol when an AREPH guard ambushed them. They blinked as they were promptly ushered towards the northwest stairwell.
“You were supposed to be back an hour ago, where were you?”
“Um.” Eddy glanced behind them, searching for an explanation for the frantic atmosphere of the complex, aliens and the few humans in the facility alike swarming about in a panic. They looked back at the guard. “I was walking a patrol route to see if I’m fit for a medical release. And I am not late, I was only just called back twenty minutes a—“
“No matter! Come with me.” Which Eddy already was. “We have a special assignment for you.”
Eddy’s eyebrows scrunched up in concern, mouth twisting underneath its mask. “Is it the new guard unit?”
“What? Oh, no. This is much more important.” Down into the medical ward they went, making Eddy tense. They’d only recently been in intensive care here, and the place still felt wrong. “The patient is awake. And he’s, err, not being very easy. We thought you could take a crack at calming him.”
And in an instant, Eddy brightened. Their friend was awake? “You should have started with that! Let me see him!”
They entered through the door at the end of the hall into a darkened observation room with a one-sided glass panel covering the wall that the patient room shared. Several smaller aliens with lab gear were peering inside with grimaces as the boy inside thrashed and kicked against his binds.
When Eddy put its hand on the doorknob to enter, Yakun, a purple alien with goggles covering his one eye, gave it a nervous look. “Good luck with that.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Eddy chirped. “I’m his friend.”
The second it opened the door, the patient, evidently having wrestled out of one of his wrist ties, sent a decorative vase on the end table soaring at their head.
“Told you,” Yakun sighed as Eddy hit the deck.
Himeitov, Himei and Daiki fight, and Eddy content all in one, we cheer as we hold hands and spin in a circle
Mentioned characters: Daiki belongs to @daiki1k; Nyx belongs to @rockwgooglyeyes; Tov belongs to @ivanttakethis; Lang, Azure, Ellie, and Min belong to @pwippy, @azureitri, @bittersweet-adagio, and @starry-skiez, respectively.
“Does it matter if they’re gushing blood? Come on, we’re running out of time, AREPH will never let us live it down if this one dies.”
Lights. Color. Music. It had all faded to a dull, shiny spatter across their senses. Their hand twitched and reached out for something from the stretcher that was no longer there.
Blown pupils. A trembling frame.
The human had been very scared. Eddy wondered why they were so scared. It was just going to return them to safety. It was trying to help.
Wasn’t it?
Their fingers spasmed, and the outstretched arm fell back to the stretcher, a choked gurgling sound leaving their mouth.
One of the guards pulled their mask from their face to help them get air, and Eddy receded further into the hazy, swimming downpour of sensation around it, blocking out the brush of cool air against deformed flesh.
A new towering, skinny figure danced before their eyes with several sets of arms in eyes, shiny black skin stretched over its frame.
“Arol?” Eddy murmured, delirious. “Am I g’nna—g’nna be okay?”
One of the guards said, “…What did it say?”
Darkness settled over Eddy’s mind, and as warm and heavy as they felt, it was easy to fall into it.
For hours until they woke to spidery hands covering its sweaty forehead and bandaged, trembling chest in a loving apology, Eddy would know no more. Nothing but the mantra echoing in the back of their dreams.
Why were you
so
scared?
(If anyone couldn’t tell who the person in question is, it’s Solei, lmao. Solei belongs to @solei-eclipse. Thanks for a wild Round 6, guys)
Eddy's first thought when the contestants took the stage was how pretty they were.
The girl, Aurien, was more eye-catching than the night itself with her dark hair and equally endless eyes. A haunting sound erupted from her throat when she began to sing, and Eddy leaned so far over on the rooftop they perched at, binoculars in hand, that they almost toppled right over the edge. Just when Eddy thought to itself that she had to be the winner, the other contestant, the boy with the red hair, began his verse. And oh. Oh. He was beautiful too. His voice echoed around the stadium deeper than Aurien's, richer, maybe, and sent an excited shiver up Eddy's spine.
It had never seen a live Alien Stage performance before. Technically, it wasn't even here to watch, but how could it help itself? This was the most stunning thing Eddy had ever seen. The lights, the sounds, and the sights combined into a beautiful orchestra of music and color. The contestants sang of such devastation that Eddy could feel it in its skittering heart, pounding against its ribs.
Eddy had wondered in the past what their life might have been if they were pretty enough to be on a stage, too. They pondered what it would feel like to be on that stage dressed in a glittering outfit with a crowd cheering its name. It was too easy to imagine such a life now that it was right in front of Eddy's eyes. Would its classmates at Anakt Garden have liked it? Would they look at it with as much emotion as Aurien and Vermillion regarded one another with as they moved around the stage like a sweeping, swirling wind? It was hard not to wonder.
Eddy loved their own life. They loved Arol, who treated them with love and did his best to compensate for the loneliness Eddy dealt with. They loved Blob, their big Waygein who was getting too chubby from all the food Eddy fed him. They loved their job and they loved how important they were in their job.
But to live a life like that...
Well. It wasn't meant to be for someone like Eddy.
Eddy swept its gaze over the crowd once they reminded themselves of their purpose here. Solei. Eyes out for Solei. If Solei came, Eddy was to find them and take them alive. It would return Solei to their home, where they belonged and where Eddy never would.
A blare of sound nearly startled Eddy into dropping their binoculars. They jolted and snapped their head around. The flash of a red light. The whine of that sound again. The alarm.
A panicked voice spoke through the earpiece in Eddy's ear. Then it crackled and cut out.
Eddy's eyes widened. Was Solei actually here? Did they come back? Its employers had warned it that Solei was likely deranged from spending time on the run, that they could be dangerous. This was bad. This was bad.
The stage was where Aurien belonged. Why would Solei try to take that away from their friend?
They had to find Solei.
(Solei belongs to @solei-eclipse; Aurien belongs to @aurienneirua; Vermillion belongs to @subzeromoron)
The power in the stadium was shut down, hence the darkness. Solei tried to eliminate some backup lights/generators beforehand (the glass shattering), but they couldn't get to all of them in time.
In the end, they only bought themselves a short period of darkness in order to make the escape.
The broadcast is still ongoing, but the video has been cut. Occasionally there are short seconds of distorted video and audio, but for the most part it's completely black.
Solei arrived to the stage rather late. Shortly after the power went off, the guards were given the instructions to eliminate Aurien. One fired, but missed and shot her in the hip instead of a more vital area.
Solei can now see in the dark.
Solei is physically more animalistic, but the most obvious changes are their limbs. Their face still remains distinctly human (although slightly uncanny. Their hair has greyed even more, their eyes/eyebags have become more prominent, plus a few other things so it's kind of a whole change on its own).
It's hard to recognize them at first glance, but close friends and particularly observant people will be able to tell it's Solei once they really let the image sink in.
They may or may not have had a bloody encounter with Eddy....
Due to their altered ( Ouro's words: improved ) physical form, Solei has gained certain abilities that have aided them in the interference. They are also in perpetual pain.
They've also lost a significant amount of their sanity.
Eddy is here to ask post-escape Nene what the fuck her problem is and let her know *checks notes* that if they were her they would *squints at notes* kms is scratched out with guilt and replaced with “seek therapy”
actually! what is YOUR problem? oh wait, i think it’s the fact i can’t die! my bad. i feel soooo bad about that. it’s almost like… you’re a big loser… who’s bad at their job… cuz you can’t kill me… THUMBS DOWN THUMBS DOWN ERGHHHHH ETGHHHH UGHHHHH BIG LOSER DIE BLAHHHHH 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
020716's grades have been very well, though it isn't as good as his S grade from last year, it's still good though Madam Rayjiun deems it disappointing. He's displayed exemplary behavior with his teachers, though some students have complained about being his behavior, most notably his teasing or ignorance to them. Have him sent to the disciplinary office regarding this issue.
019864 on the other hand has had a notable dip in his grades, and not only that we've received complaints from both staff and students regarding aggressive and out of character behavior. AREPH believes that there's been a setback in his testing and that he's relapsing. Available personnel, please pick 019864 and have him taken down to the ANAKT testing rooms to be evaluated.
I was originally going to draw some art for Halloween (Theseus and Asier swapping with their guardians), however I probably won't be able to post it tomorrow since I spent so long drawing the brain in this art, and I have a portfolio review tomorrow morning.
will solei save those who do not want to be saved/don't believe they deserve to be saved?
Oh they'll try.... but they can't visit every round. It's going to be hard, and they can't pick or choose who they'll save. It just depends on their situation and if they feel prepared/the circumstances are right enough to strike again. If an opportunity opens up, then they'll try and save whoever can be saved, even if they might not want it.
Right now the AREPH are at large, Auri is weak and vulnerable, and everyone is on high alert. It's too dangerous to go back out again.
They don't know that Tallis is dead, but once they do find out, they're going to be very sorry about it. They always hoped to save everyone, but it's such a great and seemingly impossible feat for just one person being. Still, in their mentally deteriorated state, they try desperately anyway. It's kind of the only thing they're holding onto at this point.
wanted to ask somehhing about. areph. becuase sirius could join them perhaps perchance mayhapssssss BUT. her main thing is mostly using people for their experiments regarding humans and other living things which areph may not? really? enjoy? like imagine getting a pet human back only for their body to be preserved with a plant growing out of their back i think that’s a bit uh. yeah. what does areph do exactly when they catch pet humans? and like what are their goals and such? how do they treat captured pet humans? if any of that has been stated before IM SORRY MY MEMORY IS HORRIBLEEEEEE
NO WORRIES I GOTCHU
Essentially their primary goal when capturing escaped pet humans is to return them to their owners—most of the time. Pet humans are captured, conditioned under wraps into more obedient behavior (they don’t like the t word around this workplace! torture. it’s torture) chipped for easy tracking in case they do escape again, then returned. If they’ve simply been found off the streets with no one claiming ownership, they typically clean them up a bit and socialize them before sending them off to a shelter for adoption. Under rare circumstances they may keep the humans for guard training.
That’s their standard procedure, however, there is a way Sirius can fit into this. Extremely high profile escaped pet humans who are a known danger to alien society are not returned or sent to a shelter—not like anyone would want those ones anyway. Like the “conditioning” only higher ups know about this, but these “throw away” pets are often taken into the deepest level of the AREPH facility for advanced interrogation and experimentation. Seems right up Sirius’s alley 😃👍
HUMAN NOIR HAS BEEN ESCAPING AND EVADING MIGRATION INTO SOCIETY.
AREPH HAS LABELLED NOIR AS A THREAT, IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON IT, PLEASE COME FORWARD.
NOIR HAS EVADED CAPTURE FOR OVER 17 YEARS, WE WARN PEOPLE THAT HE IS A VERY DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
PHOTO TAKEN BY BIBBLE [ @apple8ees ]
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REBELLION MEMBER: NOIR
Member of the rebellion, he has never been owned by a guardian, being raised in the slums and evading being noticed up until he found our rebellion.
Currently is married to E, and previously had a beautiful child named KOEMI.
8 years ago KOEMI and NOIR were captured by aliens while her and him were alone on a mission, however only NOIR came home, announcing the death of the aliens who had kidnapped them, but also the death of his child.
Ever since then, he has been throwing himself into his missions and rebel work, becoming more and more injured everytime he comes home. We've tried to communicate with him, but he no longer listens.
"...No. It's like any trace of him has vanished. I know we're supposed to hunt down pet humans, but do you think we can get someone like Eddy to find Ignis?"
"Maybe? We might be able to weasel more info on Ignis out of Clove. Did you get all the file data for him? Did he know his ID number?"
"I have everything, and no he didn't know his ID number. We don't have much time left with him before he's sent to HP- wait- yeah he's going to HP, so he'll be with Eddy right?"
"Not sure who's taking his case file. That's why I said 'maybe' to Eddy finding Ignis. The only way they'd bother is if they were responsible for Clove."
"How fun..."
"Yeah. He's a good kid, poor thing. None of this is his fault."
"I didn't think you had sympathy for any of the pet humans that come through here, Niere."
"Hush, you. Clove has no idea what he is. It's not his fault he has to burden these responsibilities. It's just what the Great Anakt gave him."
"Yeah, yeah. Here's his new file, by the way. He asked for the hair cut and if he could get rid of those piercings. We kept the one for his HP tag, though."
"Have they already started work on his eye?"
"No, they're just bandaging it for safety reasons."
"Fair enough. Thank you, I'll send this down."
"You got it, babygirl. I'll see you at home, kisses!"
