THROW IT ALL AWAY

You're a little distracted by your own thoughts, so the deep voice ordering makes you jump a little. But it's easy to slip back into your script before you even see who's ordering.

"Sure thing! Black coffee, coming right up!" you say in your customer service voice. "I'll have that ready in... just a..."

It's the little animal guy. He drinks coffee? Is that safe? He'd know better than you, wouldn't you? You're staring, abort!

"Hahaha ready in just a sec!" you say, effortlessly salvaging the situation. God, you didn't even remember to try and upsell him on a cookie or breakfast burrito. You're really slipping.

Only a minute later, the order is done, or rather, it was already done. It's not a fresh pot, because this is McSpiral's, so the prep for black coffee is literally just pouring it into a cup. The little animal guy is waiting for it, arms crossed, staring at you with an uncomfortable intensity.

"Here you are!" you say, sliding the cup over. "Be careful, it's hot! Might wanna let it sit for a few minutes!"

After receiving his coffee in a surprisingly fast fashion, they stare into the brown liquid before returning their attention to stare at the employee, who has since turned her back to them.

Tch. "Wait"? There's no need for that.

Shadow lifts the cup to his lips and proceeds to take a sip--

"PFFFFTTT--"

They can't savor any taste, good or bad. The coffee's spat out instantaneously. With Shadow's arms flailing, the cup releases from their grip, its contents splashing all over the hedgehog.

It... burns.

...No, it hurts.

...Why does it hurt?

All Shadow can do is stare down at cup lying in a coffee puddle in confusion.

WHY ARE WE NOT INTERACTING YET?

A COMPREHENSIVE SYMBOL ASKBOX PROMPT LIST OF REASONS FOR WHY OUR BLOGS MIGHT BE STUCK IN INTERACTION LIMBO. ( INSP. )

Send both the EMOJI and the TEXT.

If you cannot see the emoji, send the [ BRACKETED TEXT ].

❓ [ question mark ]﹕ I am a newcomer to tumblr’s roleplay scene, and I do not know how to get started.

🥺 [ pleading ]﹕ I am very shy in general.

🧵 [ threads ]﹕ I have too many threads right now, but I do want to interact in the future.

💼 [ briefcase ]﹕I am busy with life, but I do want to interact sometime in the future.

💕 [ two hearts ]﹕ I ship our muses romantically, but it feels awkward to ask you about shipping.

➕ [ plus ]﹕ You already interact with a lot of duplicates of my muse or faceclaim, and I am uncertain whether you would feel comfortable with adding another.

🛏️ [ bed ]﹕ We have interacted before, but I am currently fixated on another roleplay community.

🍽️ [ plate ]﹕ You seem to have a lot of interactions on your plate already, and I don’t want to stress you out further.

✏️ [ pencil ]﹕ I’m worried about whether my writing style will be able to hold up against scrutiny in comparison to yours.

🪢 [ knot ]﹕ It takes me a while to work up the courage for approaching a new mutual out of character.

😬 [ grimace ]﹕ We have interacted before, but I worry that I will bother you if I reach out to plot / talk out of character.

🧠 [ brain ]﹕ I’m struggling to think of ideas for interactions, or my ideas are vague and consist only of specific Vibes™️

🤝 [ handshake ]﹕ My muse is an original character with familial ties to your canon character, and I don’t know how to approach you to start plotting.

🎀 [ bowtie ]﹕ I headcanon my original character as being close friends with your canon character, and I don’t know how to approach you to start plotting.

🍿 [ popcorn ]﹕ Don’t mind me; I’m just here to lurk!

✉️ [ envelope ]﹕ First meeting threads aren’t my forte.

🤷🏻‍♀️ [ shrug ]﹕ You haven’t reblogged a lot of askbox prompts yet, and I interact primarily by using askbox prompt responses as starters for interactions.

🧍🏻 [ standing ]﹕ I interact primarily through starter calls, and you haven’t posted a starter call yet.

🎲 [ dice ]﹕ We already interact on other blogs, but I don’t have any ideas for interactions with this one yet.

🧚🏻‍♂️ [ fairy ]﹕ I keep meaning to approach you out of character, but I forgot … oops :/

👑 [ crown ]﹕ We’ve already interacted before, but I want even more threads!

🪡 [ needle ]﹕ I want to interact with you because I enjoy your writing; however, your post formatting is difficult to read.

He gives the student a withering look. "Oh, yeah. I forgot that a learner's permit lets you go wherever you want, unsupervised, with a killer on the loose."

It's going to take more than a glare to intimidate him, especially from a diminutive teen. Jack is taken slightly aback by the last comment, though. He quickly looks Shadow up and down, checking for any visible injuries.

"Tch... Worry about yourself first..."

Shadow hates this kind of pitying look; not to mention the assumption that he would allow himself to get hurt is almost insulting. The killer isn't his priority right now either nor his problem, not that they could ever catch him. He's too fast. Jack knows that... or maybe he's just another fool.

An adult underestimating his true skills... Typical.

One that he absolutely doesn't take seriously.

The moment Shadow turns back, he raises the gun again, aiming at the ground right by Shadow's feet. He doesn't shoot him, but he does shoot the ground, aiming to at least make the hedgehog jump.

Perhaps a Chaos Snap will be enough to frighten him. If not... There are other methods, but Shadow's patience is running thin. Then again, he somewhat relishes in putting fools like this in their place.

"...What...?"

There's no trace of his latent Chaos energy. How is that possible...?

Shadow tries yet again, tries to tap into that power... Nothing. Taking the Chaos Emerald is one thing, but the "Stars" being able to alter his own biology is an entirely separate matter. Unsettling.

Frustration rises, as now he looks the fool. Shadow looks at his closed fist, baring a fang as his attention returns to the rabbit.