SUB ❅ ZERO

EVERYDAY LIFE / DOMESTIC

📋 : how organized is your muse?

✅ : what do they pretend to have together that they don't?

🕰️ : what time do they naturally wake up when no one needs them?

☕ : what's their morning ritual, and what happens when it's disrupted?

🧺 : how often do they do laundry?

🪞 : do they look at themselves in mirrors, or avoid them? why?

🍽️ : do they eat to survive, for pleasure, or as comfort?

🏠 : what part of their living space reflects them the most?

🌱 : do they keep plants, and are those plants alive?

🧼 : what's something they're weirdly particular about being clean?

📺 : what do they put on when they don't want to think?

SOCIALIZATION / CONNECTION

🗣️ : are they better one-on-one, or in groups?

📱 : do they text back immediately, or let messages rot?

🫥 : how often do they pretend to be fine to keep the peace?

🎭 : how different are they with strangers versus people they trust?

🤝 : do they make friends easily, or accidentally?

🧠 : what do they assume people think about them?

🌘 : how hard is it to really know them?

🎉 : do they enjoy social events, or endure them?

🪑 : are they the type to leave early without saying goodbye?

INTROSPECT / INTERNAL LANDSCAPE

🕵️‍♀️ : how often does your muse think about death?

🧩 : what part of themselves do they not understand yet?

🫀 : what emotion scares them the most?

👣 : do they believe they deserve good things?

🧱 : what walls are they aware of building? which ones are they not aware of?

🕳️ : what do they spiral about at night?

📉 : what's their most common self-criticism?

💀 : do they trust their own memories?

🌊 : what emotion do they drown in when they're alone?

PERSONAL / DEEP / TRAUMA-ADJACENT

🩸 : what wound shaped them the most, even if they won't admit it?

🔥 : what moment do they replay when they're ashamed?

🧷 : who failed them first?

🕯️ : what do they grieve that no one else sees as a loss?

🪤 : what pattern do they keep falling back into?

🧨 : what pushes them past the point of restraint?

🧬 : what did they inherit emotionally from their caregivers?

🕶 : what lie do they tell themselves to survive?

🩹 : what actually helps them heal, even if it's unhealthy?

HABITS / VICES / COPING

🚬 : what vice do they justify the most?

🍺 : do they drink to socialize, numb, or celebrate?

💊 : what's their relationship with substances, past or present?

🏃 : do they move their body to feel alive or to punish it?

🛏️ : how do they sleep when things are bad?

🎧 : what kind of music gets them through the worst days?

🖊️ : do they write things down or let thoughts rot in their head?

☔️ : do they intellectualize pain instead of feeling it?

🕳️ : what habit would unravel them if taken away?

SEXUALITY / INTIMACY

🫠 : is it easy for them to get turned on, or do they need emotional safety first?

💞 : do they separate sex and feelings, or blur them dangerously?

🛑 : what's an immediate turn-off for them?

🔥 : do they crave intensity or stability?

🤲 : do they like being in control, or giving it up?

🪶 : are they gentle with people they desire?

🍒 : how do they feel about their own body during intimacy?

🎱 : what do they need to feel wanted?

🔒 : do they guard intimacy, or give it too freely?

💔 : have they ever used sex to avoid something?

MORALITY / CHOICES

⚖️ : what line will they never cross?

🩶 : what line have they already crossed and justified? or regret?

🧭 : do they believe they're a good person?

🔪 : what would they do if survival demanded cruelty?

🪙 : what do they value more, loyalty or truth?

🚪 : who would they abandon if forced to choose?

🕊️ : do they believe in forgiveness? for themselves? in others?

🧨 : what would make them snap permanently?

📜 : what promise do they regret making?

can steven be placed back in his personal housing reinherz-starphase manor (6 bedroom) in the mistwood, please! <3

Welcome to scenic Isola Radiale, Steven!

You will be housed in your PERSONAL HOUSING.

You'll be returned everything you were given previously!

Enjoy your stay!

"I can offer complimentary sermons to any frightened souls who end up in front of our door."

"Though it is certainly something that it all does blend together. Would we consider the date we moved in together to be back in Hellsalem's Lot? Or even when we first arrived here. Would it be when we moved into the house?" He smiles to himself, only a slight quirk of his lips.

"We have been through a lot together, here and in our home world. I feel selfish in not wanting to return, and yet I find myself simply not wishing to." Something difficult for someone as righteous and self-sacrificing as him, though he wouldn't call himself either of those things, as he was far too humble for such things.

"Hard to forget when we moved in together back in the Lot." it had been after the first of the year, and klaus' birthday. what a birthday present to watch the whole of new york city go up in smoke -- memories steven has relived in his mind's eye far too often. he pushes them down and away, as he always does, stubbornly determined to move forward, and yet never quite being able to give up the past. "But I don't know. I kind of like the idea of our anniversary being when we got the house here."

a pause. the redhead giving voice to something steven has been feeling this entire time. the heavy guilt, the selfishness in wanting to be happy. steven knows he's a selfish man. he always has been. klaus, though? no.

"Yeah..." he doesn't mean to stop walking, but he does.

The reason why she was doing this? Well, if anything, she thought he might be a spy like Papa. That train of thought was probably incorrect, but the girl was stubborn - she truly believed it to be so.

And maybe by following him - it'd lead her to Papa! Well, if Papa was here… she simply wanted to see -

But wait!

"Huh? Where'd he go?!" Scampering out, looking around back and forth. "He was here just a bit ago!"

he's being watched. followed, even.

breaking his stride and turning to check would be the obvious move. instead he waits until he passes a tree along the path, and casually moves to shield himself behind it, in the hopes that whoever is stalking him might either take the hint or reveal themselves in turn.

and reveal themselves they do. it's... a little girl. huh.

"Hey, are you alright? Did you need help?"

"Well, to be completely frank, it feels almost more difficult to parse out. Is it when we began living together? If so, where? We have lived together multiple times throughout the years."

"Personally, it seems the only difference now is that we are being upfront about our feelings. Among, ah, other perks." The very suggestion of it caused his ears to flare as red as his hair as he continues walking.

"Perks, huh? Like what?" he asks innocently, although the sly smile on his face is the very opposite of innocence.

they come to a stop at the beginning of the maze. steven should not find it so odd that nothing about it has changed in the year since he had last seen it, what with the proliferation of magic in this part of the city. and yet the feeling of deja vu he gets is strange.

"You know, most guys would be upset that their partner forgot their anniversary."

"But I guess you're right. The date doesn't really matter. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to have one..."

And there was the crushing guilt of knowing it was likely best for one of them to be home, just in case the worst were to happen or their absence would be noted.

But...

If he were to believe Steven was allowed to feel happy without guilt here, then certainly Klaus himself should be allowed to, right?

At least, he supposed, that was an idea to hold onto with the thoughts running through his head. A year together, then, mostly uninterrupted. And yet it feels like it had been so much longer.

(but if it's truly meant to represent love, anything less than flourishing cannot be a happy omen for things to come)

"About a year, or close enough to it." steven confirms, easily allowing his hand to slip into the redhead's. something occurs to him, now, and he really, really hopes klaus cannot see the heat rising to his cheeks in the dimming light.

"Damn. This is going to sound terrible, but..." he's mentally kicking himself in the ass as he begins, because, really, wasn't he supposed to be the one who's good at remembering these sorts of details? "...I don't remember when our anniversary is supposed to be."