space is gay

“I agree wholeheartedly and thank you very much. I’m quite the sucker for cute stories too. Just makes the old heart feel all warm and fuzzy,” Ender responded with a soft smile. He could listen to the types of tales he just told all day. They redeemed his faith in the world, that maybe things wouldn’t go all ‘Dark Ages’ any time soon. His attention soon turned back to Margot as the mini lesson resumed and he nodded along.

“Honestly, I’m more than fine with learning more. That sounds really cool, so thanks again for imparting some wisdom. Maybe we could make this a regular thing? We teach each other something from time to time. Because apparently moments like those create strong friendships, where people learn from one another,” he rattled off. At the question, he gave a tiny shrug as he mulled over his answer for a bit. “Call me an uber nerd or whatever, but I’ve kind of been researching the language of flowers. Like what different ones mean and all that nonsense. Thinking about sending a few specific types to family and friends with notes that reveal the meanings. Let them know exactly how I feel about them. Then there’s a coworker I’m not a major fan of, so he’s going to get the most passive-aggressive bouquet with no note attached. Let him suffer as he dwells over why I could have possibly sent him that.”

“There’s already too many bad things in the world. It’s nice to hear more sappy stories from time to time,” She agreed. Especially with the events from the past few weeks, Margot needed a break from misfortunes and more bad news. That wasn’t to say that news wasn’t important, but for the sake of her own sanity, she needed a well-deserved break.

“Oh, a regular thing? Like...a weekly class about plants and detective work?” Margot asked. “That might be interesting, actually. But it has been quite a few years since I’ve been in school,” She admitted. Still, Margot always enjoyed simply learning, and would be more than happy to both teach and learn from Ender.  “Well, I’m not sure how much I can help you about the language of flowers. I can tell you about the parts of a plant, different types of leaf or stem modification, but I haven’t spent much time looking into the symbolism of them all,” That was more of the arts aspect of flowers whereas Margot had always focused on the science aspect of them. “That...does sound rather passive-aggressive,” Margot laughed. “Or he could just think you’re trying to be nice by giving him flowers.”

grxmviscera·:

mouthing the words ‘smart girl’ as margot passed along the improved choice in weaponry to her wife, there’s a rather pleased expression on her face as agreement to reasonable terms is met. that is, until, it’s soon replaced with a variant of confusion instead at a name barely recognized and then … minan. minan … oooh. recognition. almost. 

still, there was that feeling. again. something like a ripple, a trickling drop that cascaded to depths formerly untouched and barely known. like a tether drawing her in. it was a similar reaction before as well, a vague sensation brushing in the back of her mind when she’d first seen lisbeth on screen way back when – lungs desperate for air, choking out feeble threats. laela recalled the oddity of her reaction then, which she considered anything other than indifference to be if we’re honest, but it was almost like … sympathy? maybe pity was a better word. not quite guilt. guilt always seemed beneath her somehow. it was a mix of something unpleasant, at least. and that something led her all the way here. to this quaint little family home she was now stepping into and, sitting in actually moments later. rather comfortably, in fact. and without so much of a word at first despite the questions barreled in her direction. no, she was familiarizing herself with the details of this lovely abode. securing it for later, maybe, to mentally sort through. getting lost in it seconds longer than she should have before lips parted finally. 

“the beginning’s a little muddled, i fear. there was dirt and .. aching. and then car lights. i don’t quite remember how there were car lights, but an unscrupulous gentleman introduced me to his lab shortly thereafter and i stayed there awhile. you could say it was my link to well .. to you ..”  and at that she motioned to lisbeth in particular with a slight wave as she sat with crossed legs and rested hands at her knees. “they kind of let you go, and then i decided to follow for .. a few weeks? maybe? there’s not much security here, you know. you should probably fix that. alarms and things, though i never quite stepped inside so maybe that wouldn’t be much help.” pausing, as if considering what might work better in this type of situation, the doctor pushes the thought aside for another in due time. “oh, you know, there’s a cute coffee shop not too far from here i could introduce you to if you’d like as well. the clientele’s occasionally unsettling, but the barista’s pleasant enough. i’ve sat there waiting for you a few times without so much as a worry from her. a sweetheart, really.”

@whistx

the set of shaky hands to meet that pocket knife which spoke for her aversion to the thought of holding a weapon up to their old friend. it was a fear, at first, that it would come to that. following, of course, the initial fear of coming to grips with the fact that either their friend wasn’t dead after they were lead to believe so– that the body in the coffin they’d seen was a carbon copy of the one that stood in front of them, or that there were larger evils at work here. that they had moved on to physical torture, that the nightmares and haunting dreams were not just figment of her imagination, but implemented thoroughly only to be manipulated with the apparition in the room. while she was familiar with what the Doves could do to her, the evil technology they had in their grasp, she didn’t think that evil would follow her home, prey on her family for weeks, and threaten her tiny family. she didn’t think they would use old faces against her.

she allowed for her wife to set the boundaries, set the atmosphere, and control the room as she was better at it than her. the caution on Margot’s face, the bravery, and the furrowed strong eyebrows all beautiful in their defenses. it was what she’d fallen in love with so long ago. it was a peace of mind she held on to as her grip tightened on that knife as Laela, or Minan continued to explain herself. 

and her eyes fell to the hard wood once more as the imagery of earth and dirt and mud crawled at her mind– the resurrection. it intrigued her, held her mind at bay as she tried to imagine it, until of course the woman spoke of their connection. “Link to me?” her voice rose, “What link to me? What do you mean they let me go?” that wasn’t at all how she remembered it. of the memories she tried to push back she vaguely remembered the white blank space, the lab coats, the voices of the others, and the familiar set of brown eyes that stared down at her, offering her nice words every now and then. they weren’t minan’s, were they? she tossed a look to Margot to wearily nod in confirmation, as she felt her breathing give out once more. the thought of Minan, her friend helping them causing her to take steps backwards.

@margotdayal

Margot had too many questions and not enough answers. If Minan -- Laela -- herself couldn’t remember, how were they expected to get to the bottom of things? She wanted to trust her old friend, but with so much mystery surrounding her return, Margot didn’t know what to believe. She couldn’t confirm if this even was Minan. What proof did they have other than the word of a woman that had supposedly died more than two years ago?

“Why did you decide to follow? Why her, of all people?” Margot questioned, her eyes darted from her wife to the unfortunately familiar face. What man? Was it true that Minan had contributed to what the Doves did to Lisbeth? Had they just let her go? Nothing was adding up for Margot and she wasn’t enjoying it one bit. “We can deal with any threat that comes our way,” She countered, which lead Margot to beg yet another question: was the woman in front of them a threat? Her fingers nearly itched to the larger knife she had concealed, but Minan, Laela, hadn’t tried anything yet. Hadn’t demanded anything, other than to speak with them both.

“I don’t care about a coffee shop right now,” Margot shook her head. “What I want is to know why you’re here,” She questioned. Laela may have worn Minan’s face, had the expressions of a former friend, but as much as Margot wanted to believe her friend had returned, the odds weren’t stacked in Laela’s favor. “What do you want from us? Are you trying to scare us off? Threaten us? Bring Lis back to that place? Because I’m not going to sit here and let anyone do that.”

“I can understand that. Something about getting out of the concrete jungle then into the closest thing that we have to a jungle can bring a breath of fresh air,” Ender answered then gave a nod followed by a polite shake of the head. “We met when we were kids, actually. Became partners in crime in first grade then never looked back. Definitely fell in love in high school though, so we’re high school sweethearts in that aspect.”

“Couldn’t agree more on the modern day nonsense thing. Just a whole bunch of it and for what reason?” He then nodded along as he listened to Margot talk about plants and flowers, yet found himself quite surprised at how interesting it all sounded. Plus there were some familiar remarks, ones that he’d heard back in his school days in science. “I think I learned that during junior high, the whole flowers attracting pollinators type of deal.”

“Taking walks in the woods isn’t exactly easy in the city, but I think more people should take the time to do it. At least for that breath of fresh air. Both the literal and the figurative,” She continued. She found that she thought better in the woods, or just among nature in general, further away from the usual hustle-and-bustle found in their current concrete jungle. “That’s gotta be the sweetest story I’ve heard in a while. I’m such a sucker for stories like that,” She grinned.

She was almost as big of a sucker for cute romance stories as she was about plants, but studying the environment was her life’s work. “It’s usually briefly covered at some point in high school. In college you learn more about the plant anatomy and how certain flowers are pollinated. There’s this one sort of flower that can only be pollinated by a certain kind of insect because of its proboscis length. If it’s too long, it won’t be able to get the nectar from the flower. But...the case is also the same if it’s too short, which has sparked many interesting papers about the relationships between tubular flowers and pollinators with long tongues...” Margot rambled. “Sorry, I’m sure that’s not quite what you were interested in,” She shook her head. “That sort of flower isn’t even why I’m interested in going to the flower shop today. But what about you -- is there something in particular you’re interested in getting?”

Bambi rested his coffee cup down, features tight as he ran a manicured hand through blonde locks. This was the first time in a very long time that he’d been out on his own. Usually, Aiden was close behind or he didn’t leave the safety of the house at all. But how was he supposed to feel like himself when his roots had gotten to be so long and his nails had grown out beyond a reasonable length? Both his hair and nail artists had given him a pretty stern talking to. It wasn’t like him to forgo these kinds of things. Appearance, aesthetic, these were both things that he spent a lot of time perfecting.

But it really hadn’t been his choice. 

The aftermath of his time in the ‘camp’, prison, HQ– whatever it was that they were calling it– had been rife with nightmares that left him ignoring the need to sleep for days, scarred both mentally and physically, and hypersensitive to noise, to social situations, and touch. 

Bambi had wanted to try, though. He had wanted to feel normal and like himself. 

He’d started his day by stopping by his club, checking up on things. Then he’d taken care of his somewhat haggard appearance. Now he was struggling to exist in a fucking Starbucks. His nerves were getting the best of him, his chest feeling just a touch tight as he had only made an appearance here to get his coffee, to maybe show off that he could do things on his own for once. But instead, he just felt afraid. 

A deep breath as he reached over to take the cup, only to misjudge the distance and send it tumbling off onto the floor. That really did seem to be the last straw, though, as his throat felt a touch tight. His hands shook, and even crouching down to clean it felt like defeat. “Damn it,” He mumbled as the drink only seemed to smear and seep through the mess of paper towels he’d yanked from the table.

Margot should have enjoyed the silence. With three kids in her house, a two-year-old, a nine-year-old, and a twenty-one-year-old that enjoyed playing video games, a single quiet moment was difficult to come by. And when they did, Margot had tried to savor it for however long it lasted. And then she’d been arrested, left alone with nothing but her own thoughts and muffled shrieks of fear from the other side of the cell door. All she wanted was to return to her noisy house full of both laughter and screeches; anything over that horrible silence. Except two of her three kids were no longer there, for their own safety of course, but the absence of noise only served as a dark reminder, both of what she’d been through and how her full family had been broken.

The time she didn’t spend with Lisbeth, she spent trying to lose herself in the lively city, either amongst chattering people on the street, restaurants filled with loud families enjoying their meal, or coffeeshops that always had soft music playing as background to the puffing coffee makers and the clicks of keyboards.

She sat at a table alone, her eyes fixed on the cup in front of her while her ears lost themselves in the cluster of conversations. At least they were, until she heard something fall behind her. Margot’s mind was dragged out of the clouds as she turned to see coffee spilling onto the ground and the younger man’s poor attempt at cleaning up the mess with thin paper towels. Eager to do something, Margot lept to help.

“Is there a rag or something somewhere that could be used to clean this up?” She asked, looking to the baristas behind the counter for a moment before she turned her attention back to the man that had knocked the coffee over. “Was it hot when you spilled it? Did any of it get on you? If you run your hand under cool water, that’ll help with the burn.”

“Why do you care about me so much, Mrs. Dayal?” she asked, softly. “You’ve gotta know by now that I’m not like you.” Dark eyes focused on the waves crashing onto shore, unable to return Margot’s gaze after such kind words. Dottie didn’t feel like she’d ever had female role models – well, of the three-dimensional and non-cartoon variety – apart from Margot. “Good, I mean,” she said. “You’ve gotta know by now that I’m bad, and that it’s not all Gilbert’s fault either.”

A powerful gust of wind fights for control of her parasol, flipping it inside-out and causing the handle to slip out of her grasp. Dottie’s first instinct was to use her abilities. Long, painted fingernails glimmered in the moonlight as she lifted her hands overhead, hoping to stop her umbrella to make it too far down along the beach with a barricade of mushrooms. But, the dryness in the ground prevented her from doing more than sprouting a handful of half-dead toadstools on soggy litter abandoned along the shore. 

“You’re just saying all that sweet stuff to make me feel better,” she sighed. “But, what’s the point? I’m overdue for a wake-up call.” She took a few small steps forward, planning to retrieve her broken parasol from the waters.   

Margot answered her question without a moment of hesitation. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t care about you?” She asked. She remembered the day she met Dottie, just a girl crying literal mushroom tears. “There’s too many people hurting in this world. If I can make a difference by caring for at least a few people...why Shouldn’t I?” At least, that was the way Margot saw it. As much as the ambition in Margot wanted to make grand, sweeping changes to the world, the realist in her knew moments like that weren’t easy to come by. If she could just be there for others in need, to make a change in their life, it would have to be enough.

Thick, long hair blows in her face along with the gust of wind. Only too late does Margot see the parasol slide out of Dot’s hands. She frowned at Dot’s misfortune, for her broken parasol, for whoever, or whatever, put her in a bad mood, for whatever had happened in her past to bring her to the life she lead.

“I wouldn’t have said any of it if I didn’t believe it myself. Look up at the sky for a minute,” She said and tilted her head up to the vast darkness. “Okay, well...this doesn’t work as well here because we’re too close to the city. But there’s billions of stars out there even if you can’t see them, billions of miles away. If you get far enough away from light pollution, the sky lights up. How is that not magical?” Margot asked. “Well...okay technically, it’s science. But I don’t see why it can’t be magical too. Balls of fire lightyears away light up the night sky. Glowing bugs light up our woods. You can make mushrooms grow all on your own. Who else can say that? How is none of that magical? It’s there, you just have to look for it. I ask again, why would you want to live in a world without magic? Sometimes you just have to make your own. A fairy might not come and let you fly from an umbrella, but that certainly hasn’t stopped anyone before, has it?”

with the music in the background, a ring back in its place, a forehead pressed lightly against another and arms wrapped tightly around Margot, there wasn’t an excuse to not begin to sway in the middle of that kitchen. there wasn’t an excuse to not begin a slow dance in the middle of their home. contributing to this ordeal, there were not tiny hands pressing on legs to stop them for attention. it was just Lisbeth and Margot, just as it had been in the beginning of it all. nuzzling her head in the corner of the shoulder where her wife’s neck met– the soft yet strong tendons brought her the comfort of being home. 

on second thought, a brownie in a mug could wait. just a moment longer to finish a dance, or perhaps they’d spend the rest of the night in each other’s arms. it helped with the silence. it helped with the suffocating feeling of not knowing if their future was safe at all.  

though her eyes did catch the gleam of Charlie’s favorite mug. there was a pang in the chest and a giggle to erupt at the habit. “It’s going to be hard getting used to not having them around.” she sighed, “But I do like having you all to myself, now” 

Margot wanted to stay in that moment longer. They were both as safe as possibly could be, standing alone together in the middle of their kitchen with their limbs laced together. All she wanted was this. To be safe. To be happy. But even in the moment, she couldn’t help but think of what Charlie and Annmarie could possibly be doing at that moment, or what either would have done had they stumbled into the kitchen then. Charlie, asking what they were planning for dinner, or Annmarie crying over a broken toy.

Margot loved Lisbeth more than anyone else, but home wasn’t quite like home when all three of her kids weren’t there with her. She tried to stay in that small moment without any other concerns or worries, but the otherwise silent house brought up too many memories of children that were no longer sleeping under their roof.

“I don’t want to get used to them not being here,” Margot shook her head. “But...it is a little nice not having to share you,” She agreed as a smile peeped back from the corner of her lips. “At least Hoseok is still here, but...it won’t be the same until everyone’s back home,” Margot sighed. “Let’s make a brownie for him too and at least leave it in the fridge until he’s ready to eat it.”

“Oh–” the bashfulness rose to her cheeks almost immediately in a pink flush. shaking her head, outright to deny such a treat. she’d already had enough caffeine for the day, add in the sugar from such treats and she may as well go home for the day. “Your treat. I get it!” badam tsssss. she chuckled at the double entendre. she shot a pair of finger guns to add to the awkwardness of her own giggles, though thankfully the other woman was already peering into the selection of treats.

“I suppose, if I were to pick, it’s always banana bread.” she sighed a happy sigh at that. “But you don’t have to thank me” she waved her hand to dismiss the idea completely. 

A grin couldn’t help but force its way onto Margot’s face as Go pointed out her unintentional pun. “I guess that technically means it’ll be your treat,” She hummed as she turned her attention back to the display of various baked goods. “Oh, I know I don’t have to thank you, but I’d like to anyway. Banana bread, you said?” Margot stood up straight to catch the attention of the man behind the counter. “Hi, excuse me. I’ll take two of those large chocolate chip cookies and three slices of the banana bread,” She ordered before turning back to Go. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you’d like?”

“They’ll be back before you know it too. Both of them.” the conviction in his voice was stronger than ever, despite his still weak smiles and furrowed eyebrows. “It must be really hard. I’m sorry you and Lis have to go through this. It’s…” the words escaped his sentence. the immediate need to cover his swear words in a head shake prohibited the world bullshit. what he’d heard of their previous fate was bullshit. and, yes, it was enough to strike a bit of inspiration to want to help do well, but they weren’t heroes anymore, were they? they had little lives to look after, and despite his reassurance, there was no way he could ever conceptualize being separated from his children-–– no matter how challenging single-parenting was. “It’s unfair. You’ve been through so much together, and it probably feels like life is getting you down, but–” he shook his head, he was starting to sound like one of those people in group therapy. he searched for more honest words, “You’ll get them back.”

at the topic change of Shi-Lan, there was shiver in Judas’ spine. the question rattling him a bit, and stirring the guilt that he was trying to avoid–– bringing Max to the park was not only to get Max’s energies out, it was to help clear his mind for an apology. “I think she’d benefit from that a lot. We’ll have to set that up.” he sighed a defeated sigh, “I’m not her biggest fan lately. I’ve– become the villian” he hung his head, “I almost don’t want to tell you about it in fear of what you’ll think of me, but she hasn’t spoken to me in a full week.” 

“I know, I know,” Margot instantly nodded. Both Charlie and Annmarie would only be gone for a short while, and it was for their own protection. For their safety. Logically, she knew they were safer outside of the city, but her fluttering heart betrayed her with one glance into either Charlie or Annmarie’s empty room. On top of that, her quiet home only served as a constant reminder of her solitary Dove cell. “We’re…we’re trying to look on the bright side of things for now. At least we get a small break from temper tantrums and making lunches and stepping on legos…” Truth be told, Margot even missed all that without Charlie and Annmarie around, but she decided to keep that to herself.

Even though Charlie and Annmarie weren’t currently at home, at least Margot could still do something, at least she could extend her energies to assist Judas with Shi-Lan. “You do realize you’re her father and she’s a teenage girl? I think I went just as long without talking to my uncle once because he thought the shirt I wore was too short and I refused to change it,” Margot offered. “Have you tried Apologizing? Or making the first move?” She then suggested. “Whatever the case is, I’m sure Lis and I could have a fun girl’s day with her. It’ll help get everyone’s mind off...everything.”

“I guess I did, didn’t I?” he asks with a small, embarrassed laugh. “Sorry about that, I don’t mean to be so messy.” He couldn’t really blame her, he was the one covered in food like a child and he would probably laugh, himself, if he’d witness another do the same thing. He didn’t want to appear as a slob, truly, it was just that after going so long in the day without eating, he didn’t even bother thinking of slowing down or considering the others he was probably distracting. “Ah, well.” he thinks to himself, “It’s not worth dwelling on.”.

“That’s some pretty clever thinking,” Wade begins, “for something a little less sweet, I also really like the Apple Gelette. The cinnamon really ties it together well, and it’s something you could both share.” Breathing in slowly, he gives himself a mental pat on the back, he was getting better at talking with others, if he did say so himself. “I’m sorry things have been difficult by the way, I hope it’s nothing too bad…don’t mean to be intrusive.”

“Oh, I can promise you that I’ve seen far messier before,” Although, it had been a two-year-old gobbling down spaghetti and not a grown man eating the donut, but Margot decided to not mention that to him for the time being. Really, it wasn’t any of her business, anyway. Instead, she turned her attention back to the treats in front of her. “Apple Gelette…okay, now I think I’m back to square one. At this rate, I’ll have to just take a little of everything home,” Margot sighed. Which, just maybe, wouldn’t be so bad of an idea.

Her eyes flicked over to wade. How could she casually let him know that both she and her wife had been arrested? That they’d sent two of their children off to her aunt to ensure their safety? It didn’t work in casual conversation, and Margot didn’t want to bring down the mood. “We’re just…missing some people at home right now,” She said instead. “Thanks for the concern but….we’ll be okay as soon as everyone’s back where they should be.”

                                                             WE HAVE DIFFERENT STARS                                                                              and different stories;

                                                 a margot dayal playlist; b side

                                              THE SKY IS SO TRAGICALLY BEAUTIFUL;                                                          IT’S A GRAVEYARD OF STARS.

                                                       a margot dayal playlist; a side

Abigail’s face brightened. “I have! I love this bakery. One of my favourite bloggers called it Crystalline City’s ‘hidden treasure’,” she said, gesturing quotation marks with her hands. Abigail didn’t often indulge her sweet tooth—but when she did, she really did; and after the discovery that her sister was a Dove, she needed it.  

“I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a difficult time. For a pick-me-up, I personally find that the sweeter, the better. I’d recommend donuts or cupcakes.” She inclined her head toward them in the display. “The real question is: what flavor should you get? Do you have a favorite? How about your wife?”

“Is it really? It looks like I chose the right bakery to come visit!” Margot nodded. She didn’t always look up places online before she decided to stop by, leaving her either pleasantly surprised or…unfortunately disappointed. Still, at least this time she seemed to have lucked out with something.

Margot turned her attention back to the display, though she now focused on the series of donuts and cupcakes. “I guess you’re right. And I don’t pick up donuts or cupcakes too often, so…it’ll definitely be a good surprise,” She nodded. “Oh, she loves powdered sugar donuts, especially the ones with jelly in the middle. You should see the sugar she always gets her nose whenever she eats them, it’s the cutest thing,” She grinned. “As for me, I’m fine with just a classic strawberry or chocolate with sprinkles. Would you recommend either of those from here?”

“Exactly and you make do with what you got,” Ender agreed before he heard Margot’s question and gave a light nod as he laughed. “That’s not the only nickname I’ve given myself over the years though. Plus in all honesty, I think my husband actually gave me that one when we were in high school because I was on the interdisciplinary academic team and knew way too much random bull for my own good.”

“But hey, nothing like forgetting your umbrella in order to make new friends or catch up with old ones,” he commented. “And last time I checked, there was nothing official that barred guys from enjoying flower shops. Just a bunch of modern day nonsense.” The detective soon nodded in agreement before he inquired, “Would you mind enlightening me with some more knowledge?”

“Walks in the woods have to be my favorite, though. There’s a lot I love about living in the city, how close and convenient everything is, but I miss being closer to the grass and trees,” Margot admitted. “Your husband gave that to you? Okay, that is pretty cute. Did you two meet in high school, then? Oh, are you high school sweethearts?” She then asked with a wide grin as she wondered just how Ender and his husband had met.

Ender did, however, have a point. Even though she didn’t particularly enjoy being rained on, at least it was a good enough excuse to chat with Ender. “Modern day nonsense, that has to be my least favorite type of nonsense, and there’s too much of it today, in my opinion,” She curtly nodded. “Well, for one, flowering plants are much newer to the plant world compared to mosses or ferns. Even though the flowers are pretty, they’re meant to attract more pollinators for reproduction, unlike plants that don’t have flowers and have to rely more on wind for pollination instead.”