𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 / * ᑢᕼᗩᓍS.

“ yes padme! just the person i wanted to see. ” okay, not exactly. at least not here out of all places. but it’s been a while since he and padme have gotten into shenanigans and who says that they can’t do that while stuck --- him, supposed to be stuck in bed and who knows what her condition was since he hasn’t asked quite yet --- in a hospital. 

but nevermind any of that. for he has stole two wheelchairs. one for himself and the other for padme. okay, one of those wheelchairs were actually in his room for when he needed it but he’s not going to mention that little thing. after all, he lost his ear, not his footing. which just means he’s perfectly fine with a bit of a hole inside of him.

he pushed the wheelchair closer to padme’s bed with a grin on his face. “ come on! get in. we’re going to race. ”

oh my god. at this point, it was still hard to tell if he was doing it for her, for himself, or because he didn’t know how to do anything else. it worried her, just a bit, she wanted to know she could read him, she wanted to know him the best. her mouth fell open slightly before giving a short laugh, “that’s not funny.”

it was expected, that joke specifically, they had almost shared a moment of pure hysterics in the middle of the battle after it happened and he was holding his ear in his hand while he tried to make a joke about it. but the smile on his face still made her heart stop for a second, if she ignored what he said.

“how’re you feeling? do you need me to call a nurse for you?” she started playing with his fingers, lacing and hooking different ones with her own, keeping herself busy with the fact that he’s still here and he’s mostly okay, and hearing his voice helped in calming her down. 

honestly, half the time mer has no idea what’s coming out of his mouth. it certainly wasn’t like this back home, before the velia mess. but after seeing so much crap --- after watching people fall apart, it was easier to play the role of the joker. sometimes he forgets that’s not something he should always be doing. it was easier than falling into despair. and right now felt like a good time of any to play this role --- even through the pain that seems to be getting worse as he continues laying there.

“ you’re laughing. i think that means it’s pretty damn funny. ” which means whatever he’s doing, he’s clearing doing it right. perhaps if she hadn’t laughed at it, the jokes would have stopped by now. but here he was --- and he is just getting started. nevermind the fact that there was a hole on the side of his head now. it was worth it at the end.

how was he feeling? yeah --- not great. “ uh --- could probably do with some more pain killers or whatever is the velia equivalent. ” really, this might be the first time he’s been this badly injured at a boss battle. despite being a lancer, he always managed to be just fine. not this time now. at least it was him in this chair and not her. 

Location: Hospital in Nova

Players: Open @veliastart

Sad azure eyes looked out the window from his bed. Syphon had been admitted into the hospital a few hours before the battle had ended. A Raptor snuck up on them; thankfully ( depending on who you asked) syphon had a graze all things considered. The dinosaur hadn’t cut through his intestinal track. But he did slice him open, leaving him with three horizontal wounds on his abdomen. He got lucky…

Same couldn’t be said for Randy. 

His friend ( also drunk) had a chunk of his side missing; thanks to the same raptor. He lay in a medical induced coma, with Mandy at his bed side. She had come into his room the other day. Thanking him, telling him how happy she was that he had saved Randy’s life. And he just snapped, screaming bloody murder at her. Throwing objects at everyone that came into the room. This lasted for a good 20 minutes before a nurse got close enough to sedate him. 

As he heard the door open. Syphon’s piercing blue eyes turned towards the unwanted intruder. He didn’t want to see anyone, or talk to any one. Syphon wanted out… and he wanted a god damn drink. Reaching for the vase next to his bed, he threw it towards the door… the glass shattering upon impact with the wall.

“ What the hell are you looking at.” he growled reaching for something else to throw. “GET OUT!: 

at this point, the battle was a real blur though there were few details he does remember --- mainly about kali and him pushing her out of the way of some dinosaur animation resulting to the lost of his right ear that was not clean off which was a real crime. but that was a very minor detail of the battle he’s certain. 

he’s not sure how much longer he’s going to be forced at this hospital --- or maybe he could just leave right here and now. though violet wouldn’t forgive him if he did so. so for now, he’s staying up. though, stealing a wheelchair, having some wheelchair races and bothering other occupants of the hospital has taken up most of his time. 

which would lead him to wherever syphon is holing up in this hospital. even with an ear gone, even he could hear the crap the guy was going on and on about. which was alarming, mostly because this wasn’t a side of syphon he’s heard of before. and so, like a good friend he is, he’s forced himself into the room --- not without a nice little welcome to dodge.

“ watch it, sy. you really gonna hurt an injured man? ” ignoring the tone, the anger, mercutio strolled right on into the room. taking his place at the seat near the bed and plopping his feet up on it. because what else was he going to do? “ i don’t know who looks more like shit, you or me. actually, it’s you. i think i still look pretty dashing without an ear. ”

location: the hospital

players: violet & @playermercutio

violet had loved hospitals. in fact, her first job as a physical therapist was in a hospital. but the hospital here in velia didn’t bring her the same sense of healing that one would in real life, leading her to avoid it as much as possible. and yet, she found herself sitting in a chair next to her sleeping boyfriend, right arm in a sling, left elbow on the bed, propping her chin up. watching the rise and fall of his chest helped lessen her pout, but it still didn’t completely go away. 

she still couldn’t wrap her mind around what had happened, her stomach dropping every time she remembered that he pushed her out of the way. in the moment, there was not an ounce of calm left in her body, the pure fear helping with her shoulder and getting him away from there. as vi had watched his health bar deplete, there was the very real thought that she could lose him followed by the very real afterthought that she never wants to be without him. 

his voice broke her from her train of thought, not even noticing he had woken up, her eyes searching his face for any signs of pain before giving him a smile. “good morning sunshine.”

perhaps it was pure adrenaline from the battle or the brief moment of relief when violet was still standing, but mercutio didn’t feel the raptor tearing across his face. hardly took notice of his ear dangling from where it was meant to stay put --- after all, ears are not suppose to be dangling from their sockets. what happened next really was a blur but what he would remember involved violet grabbing them away from the battle. with all the blood that wouldn’t stay inside his body would eventually cause him to black out. 

as his eyes fluttered back open, it was no big surprise to him to find himself in a hospital bed --- though how long mercutio will stay put is a bigger question. he could feel the wrapping all across his head, and a faint pain where his ear should be. this might be a good time to ask for some pain killers.

mercutio reached out to grab kal’s hand, knowing that was the best way to reassure her that he was, in fact, still here and not turned into an npc ( which definitely could happen in a situation much like this to clarify ).  “ what was that? you might wanna speak up, ” a lopsided grin appeared on his face despite this very stupid and horrifying joke which he will definitely proceed to make countless times.

location: nova hospital  players: @playermercutio and hades

He was bored. Ridiculously and overwhelmingly bored. Back when he was high off medication, he hadn’t felt it, but now that they were weaning him off of the drugs, the boredom came like a wave (just as the pain did, but not as terribly as before). He glared down at the crossword in hand before writing in big capital letters FUCK YOU ASPEN, right where 32 down was suppose to be (he knew it was meant to be ‘VOLUMINOSITY’, but he didn’t care). He suspected the demon creator of this game was watching from somewhere, and he wanted to send a message. 

“I hope you see this, Aspen! I hope Raptors come for you and use your legs as chew toys!” He yelled up at his ceiling, wincing slightly from how it made his head throb. 

“I’m going crazy. This is it. I’ve gone mental.” He murmured to himself as he pulled out some white-out (he wasn’t going to let Dick Aspen ruin his crossword puzzle). 

for a guy who’s ear was essentially torn off by some dinosaur animation, he should probably be a little bit more mad. but really, now without an ear this was just a chance for some new joke material waiting to come out. he’s sure that the hospital could --- what? regrow limbs? an ear? maybe an ear transplant if that’s a thing in the game. but he could hardly care. having a gaping hole on the side of his head where an ear should be is exactly what his mother would call ‘having character’. 

he was getting bored in his own hospital bed --- something about staying still doesn’t suit him well. especially if a bunch of npc hospital staff tell him to. so mercutio has taken to stealing a wheelchair and wheeling around to bother other guests of this fine establishment.

and hades is our lucky contender. 

mercutio entered the room, quit loudly mind you getting through doors on a set of wheels isn’t easy, just as our favorite god of the underworld went on about their little rant on aspen. “ you know, i have been telling people to speak a little louder all day but you, my friend, i have no need to say such a thing to. ”

he set the wheelchair onto the corner before flopping next to the guy in his bed --- not a whole lot of space but hey, mercutio is going to take as much as possible in order to annoy his friend even further. “ oh hades, hades, hades. you have always been crazy. i’m so glad that you have finally come to the same conclusion as the rest of us. first step of recovery is acknowledgement. ”

“ did you hear that, toothless? “ icarus inched the corners of his lips higher into a gleaming smile, “ they have lizards, wild lizards ! “ he was indeed speaking of floor 61 to his pet lizard whom was seated in the palm of his hand glancing up at him with large glazed over eyes. it did not take long after for him to remember of the warnings he had heard of the floor, surely whatever was happening could not be dangerous to humans… but he should better make sure. “ uhh… sooo…. is floor 61 safe to explore? “ he asked the first person he made eye contact with. 

what can mercutio say? if there’s a way that he can fuck around on a floor, he’s going to figure it out. and right now, the idea of having a little lizard army from floor 61 was his ultimate mission. yes, you heard that right. mercutio has been meticulously training a bunch of lizards that he has trapped in some make-shift cage and has been declaring them as his first recruitment of the lizard army. long live lizards. 

“ huh? ” mercutio tore his gaze from the lizard army up towards the kid walking along. “ oh yeah, yeah. safe. definitely. pretty sure. i mean, other than the poison. but yeah, it’s safe enough. ”

“Oh.” She stopped to look at the man, who indeed did look very intoxicated, though his hand had come to settle on her hip, and that didn’t seem like a rejection. “Oh. I have to go,” she told the man, who hadn’t asked. “My friend is here. You are very nice.” She patted the stranger’s cheek, pulled his hand off her hip, then turned around to face Merc instead, throwing her arms around his neck at once. 

“This is a really good song.” She tugged him the rest of the way to the floor. “I like this one. Do you like this one?” 

geez -- poor dude. not sure if the guy was bummed about being dumped by padme or thrilled. or maybe that’s the face a guy makes who had too much to drink. either way, mercutio was here for whatever the hell padme was on -- or whatever amount of drinks that he would have to take to get to her level. 

the music might be loud but that’s expected. after all, this was some club. “ it’s a good song, ” mercutio agreed. there was the brief moment where he wondered if padme was dancing to avoid something or someone or if this was just her letting loose. he’ll have to bring that up whenever she sobers off. “ wasn’t expecting to see you out and about! ”

even when there was that one time with radish she never brings up, they never went on a date, as jal coined it, he was strictly a postmortem rebound. she was hoping that mer didn’t automatically think that the invitation to her place was her trying to blow this off or make it mean less than it did. but the idea of having a quiet place where they could figure out how all of this was going to work seemed like a good idea.  

“in game talent only,” she laughed while he helped her up off the ground. “back home my skill reaches sangers and snatch and grab.” she caught his arms in her hands for balance, this being her first time standing in at least an hour and a half, her vision dotted with stars. with her eyes shut tight she translated herself, “sorry i mean sandwiches and take out. i should probably work on translating now, hm?” 

she already missed the closeness from when they had been sitting, but pinned that down to being nearly deprived of it for so long instead of admitting to herself she missed his touch already. after the brief dizziness wore off, she locked her eyes on his face while wrapping her arms around his torso, pulling him closer to her, doing her best to read his face to gauge how he felt about it. 

once she figured he seemed okay with it, she moved on to one important topic. “you’re going to have to tell me what you want, otherwise you might just end up with handmade pizza.” if she kept herself busy by cooking before he got there, she’d have less time to worry and think about the fact that for the first time in over two overs, she would be going on a date. that someone was coming over with more than friendship strings attached. “and please tell me you like cheesecake, you might break my heart if you say no.” 

who knows how long these two have actually been sitting here talking. it was probably only fifteen minutes or so but to mercutio, it just felt much longer. and that hasn’t exactly happened to him in a while -- not with another person, not like with kali. it hardly mattered where they go, whether it’s out at some bar or back at her place. as long as they were together, that’s what mattered.

“ sangers and snatch and grab? ” now those were all words all on there own. in a sentence together, stringed like that? it made absolutely no sense. but then she explained and mer slowly nodded -- now that was something he could understand. he studied english back at university, but it was more british-american english than anything else.  “ nah don’t worry, i can always learn a few new sayings here and there. just might need you to explain them to me more than once. ”

the hug was a welcomed surprise -- not realizing how much he desired her to be closer until she was already in his arms, his own wrapping around her, pushing some of her hair behind her shoulders as he was doing so. “ honestly do it. make a handmade pizza. i would offer to help but last time i cooked, it was with padme and i ended up eating the entire batter before she could put it in the oven... so it might be best if i don’t approach the kitchen. but i can entertain you with a couple jokes i’m sure i have up my sleeve. ”

now cheesecake, that was the important topic here. “ are you trying to say you know someone who doesn’t like cheesecake? who? i’m going to stuff them with cheesecake until they love it. ”

Location: A bar somewhere

Players: Padme + Open

Padme sat at the edge of her barstool, sipping at her fifth glass of red wine and watching the pool players yell and fight. She was in half a mood to join them. She could recall something another player–Skittles–had said to her earlier that week, about using a good NPC fight to level up and never care for the consequences. All she knew for certain was that she was comfortably drunk and when the room was spinning, then really, it was a waste not to be dancing and spinning too. 

She downed the rest of her wine then set the glass on the counter and moved to the center of the room, grabbing the arm of the first person she came across. “Dance with me.” 

he’s been on his fifth drink for quite some time now -- really just letting it sit. right now, he was a bit too focused on something else -- really on someone else. this wasn’t exactly a bar that he would expect to find padme. considering the reputation of it involving a few several bar fights, broken limbs, an npc or three having to respawn. 

he hadn’t approached her quite yet -- waiting to ensure that she wasn’t going to get in any kind of danger before. but it appeared that she was just as intoxicated as he suspected considering he watched her clumsily move across the room, grabbing the arm of some poor gent before finally finishing off the drink and saving the guy from all of this.

“ hey hey pads. guy looks like he’s about to puke. but i’ll dance with you. ”

“I don’t think you liking Padme only for her pastry skills is a secret Mer,” he chuckled ruefully throwing his arm over the other man’s shoulders. As long as you ate her food, Padme would be happy. She was the mother hen that they all deserved and Achilles found he loved her all the more for it. Walking them towards the door of the guild hall. Waving a hand at a few of the guards; because he was right. He couldn’t say no to Mercutio; his company would always be welcomed. Dare he say even needed by a few. 

“ Considering that I like you, let’s just go to a tavern on this floor. Mobs tend to have a long memory.” he said stretching his arms above his head as the pair made their way down the stairs. twilight casted a soft glow over the floor now and Achilles couldn’t help but feel a small weight be lifted off his shoulder. Achilles hadn’t really stopped since, he got back from his mini break. Crickets death caused him to double his efforts. Even with his dislocated shoulder - now fully healed. Achilles had been at HQ all day and got home late. Finding a sleeping Padme in his bed most nights, the absence of Leo weighing on them both but left unspoken between them.

Achilles walked along in a comfortable silence as he lead the way way to the small tavern near the Catalyst HQ. “So…” he finally said after a few minutes. “- are you going to tell me the real reason you just had to go out drinking with me?” he posed his question. Not that he minded the company, he welcomed a change of pace. Still, Achilles knew how these nights tended to go. He wanted to make sure he answered any concerns in a clear frame of mind before a very long night of drinking began. 

“ oh god. do you think padme knows? think she’ll stop making me pastries if she knows? if she doesn’t make me pastries, how am i going to live? ” all a joke of course. mercutio would just have to go through all of the leftover pastries that he’s stored for bad days -- even if some of those have gone bad. can things go bad in your inventory? who knows. mercutio certainly doesn’t and doesn’t have any desire to check. that would be far too much work.

“ awww you like me, you really like me, ” the goofy grin crossed his face. “ but damn, there goes my saturday plans. do you think they’ll forget by next week? the bar surrounded by one of those mobs is my favorite one -- to fuck with at least -- and i’m hoping to get in there and throw a bunch of water balloons around after a couple of drinks. ” because, where else would he do that? and why in the world does mercutio have so many damn water balloons in the first place?

 silence always seemed to bug mercutio -- the quiet is where people start getting lost in thoughts and if this game has proven anything, when you start thinking, things start getting serious or sad. usually both. “ other than the fact that we haven’t been out together in a while? ” which really, was the huge reason. achilles was a great guy to go drinking with. but with the events of the last boss battle, he knew it was time for them to forget a few things for one night. “ wanted to check in. see how -- things are going. y’know, after. what happened. ” 

kali: iiiiiiiii cannt spoesk clesrly

kali: u don’t understabd kangaroo

kali: !!!

kali: he’lllllllll get overit soone nough

mer: clearly

mer: im starting to thnik u had more to drink than i did

mer: wauit

mer: wati

mer: wait

mer: did jyou ride a kangaroo

mer: this eis important kali

“ Fine,” he conceded quickly. Mostly because he knew that there was no way to win. Mercutio was nothing if not relentless when it came to getting what he wanted from you. Given the greater state of things, this was a small concession that Wolverine could let him have. Though in the back of his mind; he would regret this.

Wolverine scoffed as the other player gave him a boys scout’s salute. “ Were you even a boy scout Mer?” knowing the answer to the question before Mer answered. He couldn’t picture a young Mercutio sitting still long enough to be a boy scout. “ I never stop caring about you or the guild,” he said quietly as he stood from his seat. It was the truth, blood oath was the perfect guild for him. He had become attached to all of the members rather quickly. Before, when Trevor was still around. Wolverine could usually be found with a smile on his face. His deep laughter filling the halls as he cooked meals at hq. Just because that Wolverine was gone ( or seemingly so) it didn’t mean that he didn’t care. Just because he couldn’t find the will to fight on the front line anymore. Didn’t mean that he wouldn’t supply them with good weapons- better than good. If they brought him the materials or if he could find them. He would forge the rarest and the most exceptional weapons for anyone of them. Just so long as they could use it.

“ I don’t drink, anymore,”  he said with a shrug, “ but i’ll go sit with you while you do It the best you’re going to get from me Mer. Appreciate the gesture.”  

even if that wasn’t the victory of winning some weird fight over whether or not mercutio was staying or going -- he was going to take it. after all, he’s all for small victories around here and if a small victory is forcing wolverine to spend some time with him -- then that’s what he’s going to do. 

instead of having some sort of reply to the boy scout -- whether or not affirming or denying the boy scout thing -- he just gives an all-too-wide grin. let it be an air of mystery with this very minor and honestly didn’t matter much. but this was mercutio and he was a mess all around. but then, just in a flash. the conversation took a turn. which was obvious just from the tone alone. mer’s smile faltered. mercutio was known to be the goofball of the guild -- the mess up. but there are times when he can say something profound -- or just drop the silly act. this might just have to be one of those times now. “ yeah. yeah, everyone knows wolverine. no one doubts that for a second. ” after all, wolverine wasn’t the guy that mercutio would peg to just stop caring about what he believes in.

“cupid” was an especially irritating permutation of eric’s username valentine, which he already disliked. regardless, he looked upwards, only to feel be struck by balloons that popped and splashed water on his form. “what the FUCK——!” he exclaimed. his fist tightened, quivering. you’ve been pranked before, valentine reminded himself. practical jokes were a thing. a tiny thing. nothing to explode over.

he endeavoured to recall the times in his life involving practical jokes. what did he feel back then? that’s right. he was… cool and collected. he counted from one, two, three, to ten. that’s right. deep breaths. cool and collected.

( at first. )

valentine swiped an arrow in the embers which had been so kindly left untouched. he yelled, as he’d yelled before at people who played such pranks on him: “what the hell is wrong with you? i’ll fucking kill you!” he shot the ignited arrow at a branch beside the other man: not close enough to actually be lethal, but more than sufficient to set it afire and sever it. the branch dropped to the ground, burning.

the problem with velia is that everyone was so serious all the time now. three years in hell does that to you -- or to most people. really, it just made mercutio seem to amp up the shenanigans in order to bring some sort of smile on people’s faces. and that worked -- for most of them. there have been a few cases where things... go sour.

much like this right now. 

after the branch caught flames, well, there was only one thing that he could do. mercutio dropped down from the tree ( probably not wise but he’ll do better fighting against hawkeye at a closer range if it gets to that point ). hands go straight in the air the moment he lands, trying to maintain the innocent. 

“ come on cupids. i’m not an enemy here. just a guy trying to get rid of a bunch of water balloons. it was a joke. you can put down the weapon. ”

kali: heeyyyg babe

kali: wait can i call you that?

kali: anyway

kali: im sorry my brother best tou up

kali: i hope your pretty face is still incat

kali: intsct

mer: iim sitting right next to you

mer: ohw did au gnet this drunk

mer: and yes you cain call me babe

mer: sy loves me

mer: he'll gemt over this esoon