— ❝ SO THEN THE G SITUATION STARTS AROUND OCTOBER … and that’s shortly before the masquerade incident takes place. ❞ They’re intent and FOCUSED on their current objective : trying to make sense of the recent past , especially now that everything has come back to them and , therefore , have brought them inches closer to getting even more of the answers that they’ve so wanted to deduce. Rock music softly plays from their phone on a bluetooth speaker besides them , and they’re currently using dry erase markers & a whiteboard as a map and section for notes so there’s a visual to make connecting these far much easier. They uncap the red marker with their teeth ( it’s their own ) and drag it from a quickly drawn manor to a cluster of stick trees , speaking to themselves , ❝ And forest possibly invokes similar scenarios to that of the manor , so that means the manor and the forest could potentially be connected … ❞ They draw three question marks beside the line to show their uncertainty. And they stand back to survey their work , before a finger points to the left of the board. ❝ So then how does G … ❞ A few moments of hesitance as they trail off , tongue in cheek , before they cap the marker and look down. ❝ Excuse me - but do you think you could graciously pass me that blue marker right there ?? I’d greatly appreciate it , if you’d kindly. ❞

As if to emphasize the point, she was tapping on the side of her computer, to the USB port.

With one hand still on the crash cymbal, she pulled her sticks close to her, as if it was a shield.

             ❝  WAIT ,  SO THE STOLEN ITEMS  were given back ?  oof ,  finally …  i didn’t even realize that had happened !  ❞   mostly because of how the girl had been trying to ignore things that weren’t directly relevant to what she considered the busiest time of the year  —  and consequently ,  the worst .  besides her friends ,  career and university ,  helena couldn’t bring herself to care or want to keep up with much else ;   it was just too much work !  not to mention ,  someone was bound to update her on everything sooner or later ,  regardless of whether or not the magenta - eyed girl asked for it .   leaning back in her seat ,  helena continued to sketch a new piece of jewelry in her ever trusty ,  baby pink notepad .  ❝  the  holiday season  is just a lot for everyone ,  you know ?  i hate being kept out of the loop ,  but i also hate having so much to do …  oh well ,  i do have to focus on my shop ,  so i suppose i could just trust on you to keep me updated from now ,  right ?  ❞   she pauses the sketch ,  gaze lifting towards her companion for the day .  ❝  you’re obviously really well informed …  even if i tried ,  i could  never  be as good as you !  ❞

All of these thoughts whirled in her head as she locked up her classroom for the day. To say she seemed distracted for once would be a bit of an understatement as she turned around and nearly ran into you, luckily quick to snap out of her train of thought and stop herself before she did. “ Oh, my apologies. . I got caught up in my thoughts and . . Did you need something? ”

&&  — “ I FEEL LIKE I’M FALLING ASLEEP JUST SITTING HERE. ” for the past half hour , it’s true , link had been drifting off , though they didn’t know why. it wasn’t like them to find themselves that exhausted , though it seemed as if their recent pattern of staying up all night was really taking a toll on them. they’ve been noticeably nodding off , too , head resting in their hands as they stifle back another yawn. “ i wonder if i could like, parkour and nap. ” there’s a pause , a clearly terrible idea forming in their head. “ wait , imagine it. i create a new trend , it’s called napping in terrible spots. the first spot ?? on top of the roof of a car. i can just go outside and lay on someone’s car with a blanket and fall the fuck to sleep. does that sound brilliant , or does that sound brilliant ?? ”

&&  — THERE’S A CERTAIN, SPECIAL KIND OF HUMILIATION YOU GET WHEN YOU’RE STOOD UP ON A DATE , vienna’s eyes moving from the drink in front of her to the door , hoping that maybe , possible , the cute girl she met at the diner the other day would walk through those doors. maybe she’s just in traffic ?? granted , it’s not that traffic around the saturnalia was that bad , much less at 8 pm when everyone was finally starting to settle in for the night. the defeat was finally starting to settle over her after finally , she heard the door open again , only to find that , well … it wasn’t her. it was enough to make her sink back in her seat , the confident aura she often carried with herself now dissipating as she swore she felt her ego shatter. wow , this was shit. turning to face the person closest to her , she cleared her throat , trying to act as if this was all just a coincidence and that she hadn’t been waiting for someone. after all , nothing was worse to her than showing that kind of emotion. “ so , i’ve heard people say this place is better than the burlesque but honestly i don’t fucking know. what do you think ?? ” it’s dumb , but it’s something. 

&&  — HE CAN HEAR THE PERSON IN FRONT OF HIM TALKING , BUT HE CAN’T REALLY FIND A REASON TO LISTEN. it’s not unsual to find claude in this predicament , clearly bored out of his mind as his eyes drift from the dark , amber gaze before him over to the figure across the room , almost immediately keeping his attention on them. “ eh , i think i’m good and about done with this conversation. ” nobody could say claude every claimed to be graceful about these things because , well… he didn’t. not really when it came to people talking his ear of. without any hesitation , he moves over to the person he spotted , leaning against the wall as he offers them a small smile. “ thank god you looked at me , i was so fucking bored over there. ” shrugging , he looks over to the person he just ditched , then back to his new companion. “ lets say we ditch this place , hm ?? i can think of ten better things we could be doing. ”

   — ❝ IT WASN’T A HUGE ISSUE , ❞ Jacob’s of course referring to whatever seemed to have caused the ugly shiner he’s sporting along his right eye - right underneath the sickly white eyebrow scar above it. He cleans a glass , continuing , ❝ Some prick in a back alley was lookin’ to start a fight n’ I wasn’t havin’ it so I let him get one good punch in and then he started talkin’ about how he was gonna wreck my shit n’ all that before I fought back n’ kicked his ass to kingdom come. Y’shoulda seen it , he had no chance. ❞ Of course , all of this is just a COVER-UP story so he doesn’t have to explain how he slipped and fell while getting out of the shower. No , he’s a badass - and everything he does has to be badass. Slipping & falling isn’t badass. ❝ But that stuff happens everyday , y’know ?? It’s NORMAL , I’m USED TO IT. I go toe-to-toe with dumbasses like that in m’sleep. ❞

Ezra rarely seemed like he was at work, given that he frequently hung around the arcade on his off days and rarely acted very seriously when he was on the job. In fact one of the few times he did pause to be serious in any manner was when it came time to help someone who had fallen in the rink, though he still remained calm and light hearted in his demeanor even as he rather carefully checked fallen patrons for injuries. Just now he’d had to carry someone with a sprained ankle up to the front to sit and wait for their ride, and he was currently skating back towards the rink itself. As he went he paused to greet people as he passed. “Hey, you look really good today,” Ezreal said with a warm smile. “Just wanted to tell you that!”

Lux was indisputably asleep leaning back in their behind the desk, though it was much harder to tell given the shades that were resting on their face as they always did. Still it’s made obvious when someone knocks on the hardwood of his desk and Lux jolts awake, hidden eyes snapping open. “Hello, welcome to Cozy Corner how can I help you?” Lux rarely works off the typical customer service script, but his ability to launch into it is practically second nature at this point after working here for so many years.

Surrounded by so many people had never made him feel so alone as it had in that moment, unsure of where it was that he belonged anymore. The crisp air blew against his red cheeks, burning him in such a way that soothed the ache inside of him. Breathing out through the mouth in childlike wonder as the gust of smoke blew out with it, smiling for just one second. He belonged to the earth, to the world around him, it reacted to him and gave him the small comfort of know that at least he had that.  Lost in between memories of two different people that where one in the same, having so much and yet feeling like he had nothing. Wondering if he would ever feel a semblance of normality, or if his world would continue to collide in such a way that he was unsure of how to deal with.  Reality suddenly rushed at him as he found himself in the middle of a crowded street, bumping into people as he moved with the motions. “Excuse me. Sorry. I beg your pardon. Omph,” he mumbled as he finally stepped out of the crowd. “I almost thought i’d be eaten alive.”

          ❝ You  have a habit of  watching  a              poor guy get his heart broken, or              is this just a one-time thing ? ❞

       a part of her wanted to  do something  —  anything would be better than standing still and watching as people came up with dozens of different theories that were most likely far from the truth .  she had never been good at leaving things in the hands of others .  that being said ,  it is only when she hears a voice directed towards her that the blonde snaps out of her thoughts ,  emerald gaze instantly shooting up towards the source .  ❝  huh ?!  … sorry ,  i wasn’t– i got a bit distracted .  my apologies .  ❞  with a sigh ,  she offered an apologetic smile ,   ❝  would you repeat that ,  please ?  ❞

   — THEY’LL ADMIT THAT THEY’RE NOT AS CAUGHT UP ON THIS G SITUATION as much as they maybe should be ; because things are growing out of control fast , and Shiloh’s not really much of the type to try and feed into this stuff. And , also , they feel … bad. Not because they did anything wrong , but because they were one of the unaffected. But now it seems to be all people are talking about , and as they pack an order for a customer scheduled to pick it up soon , they try and make conversation. ❝ S-So , um … ❞ They bite their lip , looking up at the other. ❝ Did … did they catch that guy yet ?? The one that stole all of the stuff ??  ❞