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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 23, 2020 11:19:49 GMT -5
...
...
... Oh.
"... You made this sound way worse than it actually is, Ev," Arti said in response to seeing Evan's new shape, clearly not phased by whatever. "'Sides, status quo is god unless the people that write for us say otherwise! And I highly doubt your writer would make this permanent." A grin, quickly broken by a twitch. "I'm trying to lighten the mood a bit! Work with me! Embrace the situation! Or at least take some comfort in knowing that this will be gone in a few threads, even if it feels like years."
Taking out a series of cards, Arti pulled what seemed to be a perfectly normal metal folding chair out of one, sitting on it. "So! Let us psychoanalyze this shit with me, Dante M. Arti, totally not a phony Ph.D! ... What the hell caused this? Did someone let deviantART in?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 23, 2020 11:54:52 GMT -5
Evan clenched his teeth, took a deep breath through his nose, and dragged his fingernails along the door. He was already annoyed before he opened Pandora's box, and it wasn't like he was expecting to feel better afterward, but this conversation was deteriorating much more rapidly than he would have liked. Arti's subtle wordplay certainly wasn't helping matters; it was clutch, but Evan just barely managed to stop himself from shutting Arti inside the closet again the moment he said "lighten."
"Yeah, see, this is exactly what I didn't want to happen," Evan hissed, glaring at the ceiling. "I don't need a therapy session right now, Arti. What I need is time to let this sink in. Now will you please leave me alone?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 25, 2020 14:09:22 GMT -5
"No."
Arti stretched his legs out a bit, smirking. "What, when has anything been easy with me? Short of actually throwing me out of your apartment, I'll be all over ya like a bad itch! ... Platonically of course." Beat. "Uh. Pretend I didn't say anything about the throwing me out. Or that."
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. "You might feel better if you get this off your chest. What caused this, and how long has this been going on? I've got all day, because what does a rich idiot with no day job like me have to do?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 25, 2020 17:31:25 GMT -5
"Don't tempt me," Evan growled lowly, narrowing his eyes at Arti. Likewise, Darien covered his face with his hand and retreated into the living room. This was still happening. Why was this still happening?
"Look, all you need to know..." Evan groaned, "...is that I got sick, we got a cure from Rainflower, but I took the wrong potion first, hence why we're looking for them now. Okay? Can we please drop it and leave it alone now??"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jan 25, 2020 17:44:24 GMT -5
"Oh, come on, Evan, you don't have to indulge him..." Swift grumbled under her breath. She very much wanted to storm out and kick everyone to the curb, and yet she still couldn't will herself to open that door. She didn't even know why at this point. What was stopping her?
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 28, 2020 13:38:57 GMT -5
"After dealing with me, one would think you would be a wee bit suspicious about eating or drinking things from a dubious source. I'd hate to imagine what would make you disregard that. What, did you turn plaid with polka-dot hair?"
Ah. "... So, why didn't you tell me we were on a manhunt? I could've saved you a world of humiliation and your girlfriend a world of irritation." Arti waved nonchalantly at the door. "I've got some people that are really good at finding things, they're Hufflepuffs and all that. So, if you can describe this Rainflower dude chick whatever, I can get crackin' on this case!"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 29, 2020 18:30:53 GMT -5
Evan's eye visibly twitched. He didn't feel inclined to justify his motivations to Arti, and moreover, he had reached his limit when it came to attention. With little prompting, Evan turned around and stormed back into the bathroom, muttering to his roommates, "You guys explain it to him. I'm done," before shutting the door behind him.
Darien let out a deep, exasperated sigh and shook his head before turning back to Arti. "As I said, you're a little late to the party. We're all taking a break from tracking down the psychotic fairy. If you get back with us in the morning, we'll graciously accept the extra eyes, but for now, we need to unwind."
The term "extra eyes" rubbed Darien the wrong way the moment he said it. He could almost sense Evan flinching on the other side of the door, still not over the trauma of his previous form.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jan 29, 2020 18:39:18 GMT -5
"Swift provided a fairly succinct description of our mission in her memo on the Dimensions and Clashes bulletin board," Aether flatly noted, frowning at Arti. "I understand if you missed it the first time around, but perhaps it would be wise to look it over if you truly want to bring yourself up to speed."
Andromeda's gaze turned towards the floor, her bangs obscuring her downcast, frustrated eyes.
"I will say, though, we searched high and low both above ground and in the caverns today and found no trace of Rainflower. Don't be surprised if-"
"Oh, there were traces. Just no source."
The new voice directed the attention in the room to the door at the end of the hall. Swift stood in the open doorway, clad in her pajamas, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, a dissatisfied glare directed at Arti.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 31, 2020 18:44:17 GMT -5
"Hi. I'm Bob. ... No, I'm Dante M. Galileo. I'm certain you remember me?"
Arti gave a lazy wave to Swift, his expression unworried. "I was here to see what the big deal was, and I can say I was underwhelmed. It sounded like he had become an unholy cross between Botched and the average anime character design. As I came from the former Florida, I can safely say I've seen worse than your boo. He still has all his teeth for one." Arti, you're not helping.
"Anyways, I just came here to confirm things. And get my daily jollies in. But now, I must go. After all, who's more qualified to solve insanity than Dante M. Galileo?" Beat. "But I must be back in a day. Otherwise, Biston will miss its special premiere of Five Hours of My Legs."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 31, 2020 20:26:45 GMT -5
"I don't even know what's happening anymore..." Darien mumbled to himself, staring at the bathroom door. Whatever reaction Evan was having to Arti's dialogue, he was being completely quiet about it by this point. Part of Darien was worried about this, but the rest of him was basically numb with frustration.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jan 31, 2020 20:42:42 GMT -5
"Yes, yes, we appreciate the visit and the concern, I'm sure the ratings will be through the roof, yadda yadda," Swift grumbled as she marched down the hall, grabbed Arti by the shoulders, and started effortlessly pushing him towards the front entrance. A subtle nod from Swift cued a visibly uncomfortable Andromeda to open the door for her.
"If you really wanna help get Evan back to normal, go down to the caverns and see if you can't find a three-foot fairy with color-changing hair and no concept of personal space, then get back to me in the morning," Swift bluntly continued, giving Arti one last, forceful shove out the door. "In the meantime, LET US MULL OVER OUR POOR LIFE CHOICES IN PRIVACY!"
SLAM
Swift leaned against the door, covered her face, and unleashed an only partially-restrained scream of outright chagrin. Andromeda timidly gave her her space, casting a nervous look at Aether, earning a distraught stare in response. Then the alien duo let out a simultaneous sigh and stepped away from Swift, knowing full well that the emotions she was dealing with were best left to her own devices, as well as perhaps Evan's.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 31, 2020 20:49:51 GMT -5
"Ooh, I do like it rough, but I'm also a professional courte-"
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand out he goes.
"I suppose you don't want to join my fanclub?" And there goes Arti.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 31, 2020 21:00:20 GMT -5
"Okay, that was certainly a thing that just happened," Darien sighed, taking a few tentative steps closer to Swift. "Look, don't let him get to you, alright? Just because he's not taking this seriously, it doesn't diminish the effort we're all putting in."
With that on the table, Darien allowed Swift some time to herself and walked back over to the bathroom, giving the door a light knock. "Evan? He's gone. You don't have to hole yourself up in there any longer than you want."
"Just..." Evan murmured in response, his voice quiet with heartbroken devastation. "Just give me a moment..."
"Alright." Darien gave the door a pat, then respectfully left Evan alone and returned to his spot at the dinner table. He spared one quick glance over his shoulder as the sound of the shower starting up caught his ear, then he went right back to silently picking at his food.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jan 31, 2020 21:37:46 GMT -5
Idiot...
Swift dropped her hands and dolefully stared up at Darien, offering little more than a slight nod as a reply to his reassurance. She glanced at Andromeda and Aether, who returned her sentiment with sympathetic eyes. Andromeda pointed to her salad, to which Aether translated, "You've had a long day, Swift. Maybe you should eat something. It may take your mind off of things, if only for a moment."
"Yeah... probably..." Swift softly breathed, shuffling into the kitchen. As she passed by the bathroom, she couldn't help but stare at the door, listening to the flow of water from the shower, wondering what Evan was thinking.
What she assumed was... not encouraging.
Her scowl returned as she started making herself a plate, mulling over everything that had gone wrong in such a short span of time. Evan was in a severely uncomfortable position. It was pretty obvious that he was not happy with himself, and the various reactions to the source of his discomfort couldn't have been helping matters. Swift wanted to agree with Darien that their efforts to help Evan, while fruitless so far, weren't entirely for naught... and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was making things worse. From her bumbling first encounter with him after returning from the caves, to her hesitance to come to his defense when Arti was giving him a hard time... Maybe Evan didn't feel this way, but Swift wouldn't have been surprised if he believed she was avoiding him.
She gripped her fist and pressed her knuckles on the counter, fixing a hard glare on the door. She had to remedy this. She had to prove that her own feelings hadn't been compromised. As soon as the opportunity arose, Swift was going back to square one on her mission to make Evan feel better.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 31, 2020 22:20:37 GMT -5
---------------------------
The sun had set, the day had come and gone, and everyone had returned home. After such a stressful day, pretty much everyone in the Summer Snow Apartment was in serious need of some relaxation. Jen, Darien, Patrick, Ace, Andromeda, Aether and Carter had gathered in the living room to unwind and chat, and at the very least, the overall mood in the room felt good, despite them being no closer to tracking down the demented fairy and resolving their latest issue. Speaking of...
After spending much longer than necessary in the bathroom, Evan emerged post-shower, once again dressed in his new white shirt and jeans for lack of any other clothes his current size. He didn't even look at his roommates upon stepping out into the hallway, simply turning and making a beeline for his bedroom with his head low and his hands in his pockets.
Upon hearing the door open, Jen turned to face him from the couch, clearly concerned. "Um... Hey, Evan."
Evan cringed; he had anticipated being noticed, but it didn't make it any easier on him. He continued on his way without looking back, mustering a quiet "Hey..."
"...You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... Just... gonna hang out in my room for the night..."
"Well, okay... Good night, then..." With a deep breath, Jen turned back around, rested her elbow on the arm of the couch, and leaned her cheek against her hand, earning a comforting pat on the shoulder from Darien. She couldn't help but worry about Evan's still-sour mood. She wished there was some way she could make things better, but she had already offered her two cents. The rest was up to him.
And to be fair, Evan felt at least a little guilty about giving his friends the cold shoulder, as evidenced by him hesitating at the bedroom door and casting the tiniest of glances down the hall out of the corner of his eye. He briefly considered going back and assuring everyone that he was indeed okay, but really, what was there to say? Besides "Please stop staring at me"?
Sighing and looking away again, Evan opted to let it be. Hopefully they understood. Hopefully he'd find a way to adequately express his gratitude.
In the meantime, wanting to put his problems behind him, he promptly opened the already partially-open door, stepped into the bedroom and flipped the light on...
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