underground.

"You know, I understand. Letting people in is hard," She started, hoping that none of this would sound assuming or offensive. "I have never been with anyone, most people think I'm odd. I'm that girl who talks about dragons and fairies, with a house full of dried flowers and crystals, you know?" She chuckled softly. Those crystals had done nothing to protect her lately. "But it's not something you can force, you know? Letting people in or even letting your own feelings in. Maybe you're just not ready and that's okay. Or you could start off with allowing yourself to feel good things. Like... the sun on your face or... trying to dance along to a good song? Cooking your favorite meal and letting yourself enjoy it. Things like that?"

" maybe  you're  onto  something, "  they  continued,  their  voice  growing  softer.  " allowing  myself  to  feel  the  little  moments  of  joy  and  finding  solace  in  simple  pleasures  can  be  a  good  starting  point.  trying  to  be  kind  to  myself  and  finding  the  beauty  in  the  small  things.  i’m  not  always  terrible  at  that,  but  since  halloween  i  haven’t  exactly  been  feeling  myself  entirely.  so  i'll  give  it  a  try. "  they  concluded,  feeling  a  sense  of  comfort  in  eisa's  words.  zero's  gaze  met  eisa's,  a  subtle  hint  of  admiration  in  their  eyes. 

He paused for a moment, debating whether or not he wanted to just mind his own business. But he was friends with Hedwig, and hadn't ever really had a chance to meet Zero in person. "You're Zero, right?" he asked. "Sorry, not to be like... weird or anything. I just know you from Chokehold. I've seen some of y'all's shows, and I'm a friend of Hedwig's," he sad. "And co-worker at the station. Name's Reed. Big fan of your work," he said with a smile.

as  reed  led  them  towards  the  build-your-own  radio  kits,  zero  nodded  along,  “ that’s  exactly  what  i  thought,  you  know.  my  family  are  a  bunch  of  privileged  little  shits  who  don’t  know  how  to  do  anything  for  themselves.  so  i  want  the  kids  to  actually  learn  some  valuable  skills  and  have  fun  with  it  at  the  same  time  –  you  know ? ”  they  asked,  looking  over  the  different  coloured  models.  “ i  think  i'll  go  with  the  purple  one,  it  feels  like  it’s  not  a  conventional  colour, ”  they  decided,  holding  it  up. zero  couldn't  help  but  feel  a  wave  of  surprise  wash  over  them  at  the  mention  of  chokehold  on  love.  it  wasn't  as  if  the  band  was  unheard  of,  or  super  underground,  but  zero  was  so  often  consumed  in  so  many  different  projects  that  they  were  surprised  at  any  kind  of  recognition.  “ oh,  yeah,  that's  me, ”  she  replied.  she  was  proud  of  chokehold  and  their  achievements,  and  considered  the  band  one  of  her  great  loves.  “ thanks  for  coming  out  to  see  us  play,  it  means  a  lot.  the  crowds  always  have  good  vibes  and  the  show  is  nothing  without  that, ”  she  added,  a  hint  of  a  smile  on  her  lips. as  reed  introduced  himself  and  mentioned  being  a  friend  of  hedwig's,  zero  felt  a  sense  of  relief  wash  over  them.  it  was  always  easier  to  talk  to  people  when  there  was  some  sort  of  mutual  connection.  “ oh,  so  that’s  where  i’ve  seen  you !  hedwig  is  great,  i’m  always  dropping  demos  off  at  the  station  for  them  to  sneakily  play  while  no-one  is  really  paying  attention, ”  she  laughed,  though  she  felt  a  little  guilty  that  she’d  never  gone  out  of  her  way  to  introduce  herself.  zero  was  so  often  preoccupied  with  something  in  particular  that  she  didn’t  pay  too  much  attention  to  those  around  her.  “ nice  to  finally  meet  you  properly. ”

it  wasn't  the  first  time  that  loki  had  found  dead  rodents  on  her  doorstep.  at  first,  she’d  been  a  little  superstitious,  thinking  that  perhaps  someone  had  it  out  for  her  and  it  was  a  warning  of  sorts.  that  was  until  she  saw  the  orange  cat  dropping  something  at  her  door  –  and  it  all  had  started  to  make  sense.  “ is  this  a  normal  thing  for  cats ? ”  she  asked  her,  raising  a  brow.  she’d  never  had  a  pet,  and  knew  next  to  nothing  about  them.  she  wasn’t  afraid,  but  uneasy.  the  doctor  understood  humans,  body  language,  facial  expressions,  tone,  all  of  which  she  learned  in  no  time  through  books  and  study,  not  because  it  came  naturally  to  her.  so  something  as  simple  as  a  housecat  was  unknown  to  her.  “ if  i  want  to  be  your  friend  should  i  start  putting  dead  animals  outside  your  door ? ” 

@survibers

~~~~~~~~~~

cordelia  was  not  unfamiliar  with  the  feeling  of  eyes  on  her.  the  only  time  she  had  ever  welcomed  it  was  when  she  was  on  the  field  with  a  ball  in  her  hand,  ready  to  pitch.  since  she’d  had  no  choice  but  to  quit,  she’d  gone  back  to  feeling  anxious  whenever  someone  stared.  it  had  started  after  the  accident,  and  it  happened  more  often  then  when  the  wounds  were  fresh.  she’d  taken  good  care  of  herself  for  her  scars  to  heal  nicely,  but  they  were  still  noticeable  all  over  her  body.  when  she’d  caught  the  blonde  staring  at  her,  she’d  assumed  she  was  either  staring  at  the  scars,  or  staring  at  her  because  she  had  a  dog  in  the  mall.  ( many  people  were  unaware  it  was  perfectly  legal  for  her  to  do  so. )  when  the  blue-eyed  girl  looked  up,  cordelia  refused  to  look  away,  knowing  it  was  likely  to  make  her  feel  uncomfortable. “ didn’t  anybody  tell  you  it  isn’t  polite  to  stare ? ”

honey finally snaps out of her daze when she notices someone nearing the small market stall that she's hosting this sunday market, one of many occupied by commune members, amongst others. despite her mind previously being consumed by her concern over being so close to the bloody scene reported in the news recently, she shakes it off quickly and she readjusts a few of the jam jars in front of her while engaging with the other. "good morning!" she greets them. "enjoying the market so far? do you care to try any of our jams?" she asks them as she ensures all of the handmade labels are facing forward, presenting them with all of the different fruit options.

delphine  was  taking  a  break  from  the  leafwell  market  stall  -  her  main  purpose  there  was  take  over  for  leaf  or  orwell  when  the  two  of  them  needed  a  break.  between  then,  she  spent  her  time  checking  out  the  other  stalls  and  keeping  her  friends  company  -  especially  honey.  more  often  than  not  delphine  was  with  honey,  and  if  she  wasn’t,  she  was  looking  for  her.  delphine  was  most  comfortable  and  most  herself  around  the  wozniak  siblings.  “ i  think  the  fig  is  good, ”  delphine  recommended  to  the  customer  who  had  approached  the  table,  “ it’s  nice  to  have  a  taste  of  fruit  that  isn’t  in  season  -  and  it’s  very  good  with…  uh…  fromage  frais,  you  know  -  the  cheese  that  is  very  soft, ”  she  clicked  her  fingers  and  hoped  that  they  understood  what  she  meant  -  cream  was  the  word  she  was  missing,  “ honey,  you  know…  the  cheese  you  spread  on  things.  very  good. ” 

COURTNEY EATON AND SOPHIE NÉLISSE ‘Yellowjackets’ Cast Tests Skills By Acting Out Emojis

📷 Stephanie Hsu by Daniel Kim

the  doctor  couldn’t  remember  a  time  in  her  life  in  which  she’d  actually  thought  marriage  was  romantic,  or  anything  desirable  at  all.  even  when  her  father  was  still  himself,  and  there  was  more  warmth  in  their  household.  part  of  her  thought  maybe  it  was  because  she  had  to  witness  her  mother  become  an  even  worse  person  as  her  father  faded  into  a  shadow  of  himself.  but  even  then,  she  didn’t  think  she  could  ever  really  understand  love,  or  why  people  did  what  they  did  for  each  other.  “ i  couldn’t  agree  more, ”  she  said.  most  people  within  the  mall  ended  up  starting  conversations  over  one  thing  or  another,  so  she  was  used  to  being  dragged  into  human  interaction  spontaneously.  “ i’ve  never  seen  a  truly  happily  married  couple.  i  think…  whatever  love  is,  it  sucks  the  life  out  of  people.  like  a  parasite.  it  makes  people  tired.  and  they  feel  obliged  to  stick  with  it  because  it’s  what  they’ve  known  for  so  long. ” oftentimes  she  wondered  if  love  even  existed  the  way  that  other  people  seemed  to  believe  it  did.  how  were  they  so  sure  that  it  wasn’t  just  a  conditioning  of  society?  loki  had  never  been  a  romantic,  she  had  never  been  a  dreamer.  she  might  have  been  built  different,  but  her  ego  wanted  nothing  more  than  to  believe  that  she  was  the  one  who  was  right,  over  everyone  else.  “ humans  are  weird.  that’s  why  i  studied  their  insides,  and  not  the  thoughts  in  their  brains.  i’ll  never  know  why  people  choose  to  get  married,  or  even  why  they  think  they’re  in  love  with  one  another  –  but  i  can  understand  why  someone’s  blood  pressure  is  low.  you  don’t  have  to  buy  me  anything,  i think i’m  okay. ”

paulie stops in his tracks as he spots another person and notices that their gaze is on him. he isn't the kind of person who normally initiates conversation, but just because he's a quiet person, that doesn't mean that he's incapable of being social. he sighs before he speaks; just because he can start conversation that doesn't mean he necessarily wants to. "i know it's late, i know i should be getting home, that's where i'm headed." he readjusts the guitar case strapped to his back. he's had one too many resident of the town tell him that it's unsafe out at night; funnily enough, if they hadn't all stopped him, he'd already be safe at home. he doesn't know if this person was even going to warn him, too, but he feels the need to get ahead of them, just in case.

loki  hadn’t  planned  on  actually  speaking  to  the  man.  in  fact,  she  wasn’t  usually  the  type  to  speak  to  many  men  at  all  if  she  could  manage  to  avoid  it.  ( though her job made that particularly difficult. ) but  what  paulie  says  is  exactly  what  loki  was  thinking  to  herself. it slightly irks her that the man had assumed that she was even slightly interested in his safety.  “ it’s  none  of  my  business, ”  she  puts  her  hands  up  in  front  of  her  a  little  defensively,  “ if  you  stay  out  late  and  get  hurt  it  doesn’t  affect  me.  except  perhaps  you’ll  be  seeing  me  later  when  you’re  in  need  of  stitches  or  worse  –  surgery. ”  it  isn’t  a  warning  –  just  a  statement  based  on  many  experiences  the  doctor  has  had  over  the  past  year  and  a  half  or  so.  “ what  are  you  doing  out  so  late  anyway ?  with  a  guitar…  for  what  –  self-defence ? ” 

soren  sipped  a  little  obnoxiously  on  the  soda  that  she’d  just  purchased  at  the  counter,  waiting  impatiently  for  the  line to move.  when  tj  addressed  them,  they  couldn’t  help  but  give  him  a  polite  smile.  despite  being  older  than  her,  he  was  a  familiar  face  –  only  because  soren  had  been  given  the  task  of  fetching  items  for  her  brother  from  dick’s  sporting  goods.  he  seemed  like  the  kind  of  person  who  might  even  be  friends  with  her  brother  –  but  she  wouldn’t  be  the  type  to  pry  such  a  thing  out  of  him.  she  almost  felt  bad  for  anyone  her  brother  had  been  friends  with.  he  must  have  made  himself  out  to  be  a  much  better  person  than  he  actually  was  in  order  to  befriend  such  decent  people.  “ yeah,  i  wouldn’t  miss  it  for  almost anything.  winona  ryder  is  so  cool  –  did  you  see  beetlejuice ?  showtime  got  a  hold  of  a  few  copies  not  too  long  ago.  she  was  great  in  that  one, ”  soren  was  lucky  enough  to  have  rented  one  of  the  last  copies  at  the  time  when  it  had  come  out.  their  family  was  not  impressed  with  the  film,  but  soren  had  felt  like  the  aesthetics  and  the  theme  were  not  dissimilar  to  her  own  art.  “ christian  slater  is  cool  too.  i  read  in  a  magazine  that  his  character  is  a  bit  of  a  bad  boy.  is  that  your  kind  of  vibe ? ”