❛ クリプター.

  KADOC ZEMLUPUS. | FATE/GRAND ORDER.

does he look tired because it’s stress? because he’s not getting enough sleep? good question, it’s both!

*slaps his back* this bad boy can hold a lot of maladaptive coping mechanisms.

and multiple different kinds of complexes.

no he will not talk about any of them.

if you think he’s garbage, don’t worry, he does too.

but he’s working on that.

if u notice. i never say much i keep my feelings to myself 'tell us more kadoc' i said enough.

Goth rising Punk sun Emo moon.

general state of being is always “i’m so tired,” or “i’m losing my mind.”

he cares but he’s not gonna, like, tell people that he does. who does that.

undying loyalty to a certain princess certainly almost lead to him actually dying, but she stopped him.

she’s also a rather touchy subject, all things considered. 

now he refuses to die and he’s going to make that everybody’s problem.

if you ever have any questions, ask anyone but him.

      ✂ Frankly, she sort of lazily swiped away at the strange message on her… Well, whatever it is (someone told her the name and Three has already promptly forgotten; it probably wasn’t important). The next thing the girl knows, she’s in a new place within the blink of an eye. Confused but also mildly entertained, the Intoner had decided before the other stranger approached her that she would do as she pleases on this strange island.

     … So essentially, the same plan as always.

      ❝ Ohh… Yes… I suppose some would have a different definition… Of what exactly makes a good pair of scissors… ❞ she starts off tiredly, words slow… Until the mauve-haired girl suddenly perks up, her matching eyes widening with excitement.

      ❝ … Well… Theyshouldbeextremelysharp;sosharpthatifyousomuchasbrushyourfingeragainstthebladesitwillsliceyourfleshinstantlyotherwisethey’rejustnotverygood,youknow? Ohandtheyshouldmakeanicesharpnoisetoowhenyouopenandclosethembecausethatisjustsosatisfyingtohearit’soneofmyfavouritesounds, ❞ and just as soon as she’s done her quick, enthusiastic rant, Three slumps back over, looking like her tired self once more.

she — that's fast.

at first, he's stunned. he picks up everything she says, but it takes a moment for him to parse all of it.

and essentially, they were on the same page, in some regard. he figured the sharper the kind the better, although he's not sure how he feels about the noise they'd create. was it satisfying? ... it doesn't matter, they weren't for him to begin with.

still, this does give him something better to work with.

"'Extremely sharp'... got it." with that in mind, he moves to the next room — the lights flicker, and then go out completely. he knows he can only really get away with groaning so many times, so he refrains this time, instead taking a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the sudden change so he won't be fumbling around in the dark. or at least good enough for him to tell where the shapes are, and he moves to one of the many many drawers. clinics had scissors, obviously, but he's not sure how good any of them would be.

he regrets it. he regrets opening the message. he regrets pressing the button. because now he's stuck on — wherever this is. certainly different scenery than that he was just looking at moments before, and he takes a deep breath.

and when he releases, he's groaning with it. he doesn't pay any mind to the person that joined up with him, as if he were the only person here. he thought it would be a good idea, at least, because it'd be better to be with someone else than by himself, wouldn't it? but, well, at least he knows he'll probably be fine. he can take care of himself. maybe it's more up his alley than the last place.

it's just.. he's not entirely confident he'll be able to find a 'good' pair of scissors. he didn't promise, but saying he'd try seemed to be enough.

★ : she’s not easily offput by even the prickliest of people — even a raging god can’t stifle her antics — and marisa’s been known to talk her way in and around the best and worst of people. one pallid-looking newcomer off the street isn’t the worst choice in conversational partners she’s ever had. still: he asks some pretty difficult questions, ones she’s dwelt upon often and for far longer than she likes to even admit to herself, and still she has no good answers.

‘okay, like… i thought i had a theory but that’s kinda dead now.’ those scientists are here, but they’re not the ones that are in control. or are they? everything’s been flipped on its head, and nothing makes sense. they don’t announce themselves by name anymore, so it’s hard to tell anything for certain anymore. as much as she likes to extrapolate based on pure speculation for the fun of it, now doesn’t seem like the time to go off on a wild tangent.

‘they say it’s an experiment, but honestly i don’t see what it’s all supposed to be for. they like to throw weird stuff at us for a while, but then everything goes back to normal — if it wasn’t for the people here, you wouldn’t even be able to tell by the buildings themselves.’ she sighs, shrugging. ‘i wish i knew. i’d tell you straight up.’

that's... more disappointing than he wants to admit. if there's no outright definitive answer, he's certain that it's there. even if someone doesn't know it. he can just do what he always does, and that's digging into things he probably would be better off not touching at all.

he is trying to make sense of everything she's saying, though. he's not confused anymore, so much as grabbing parts of what she says to remember for later. it has to be related to something, he just needs time to...

well, anyway.

"What exactly do you mean by 'weird stuff'?" at the very least, it sounds like she's been here awhile. knows more than he does, even if the bar for that is painfully low. he hasn't seen anything, but he can only lead himself to the conclusion that something big enough happens for everything to 'go back to normal.' "So.. your experiences and memories are still there, but the buildings and all are fixed?" it sounds like something is messed with them, at least. he can only infer it means they received damage, somehow. it also doesn't sound grand to deal with. he has to remind himself to relax his shoulders — he's tensing too much.

“Definitely not. You always seem so moody, so I’m pleasantly surprised to find you here.” She says it matter of factly, without an ounce of consideration. Her personality demanded that she always be blunt and to the point, as it seemed dishonest to ever be otherwise. She’s not lying when she says it’s a pleasant surprise to find him here however as his presence makes it so much easier. Two heads are better than one and between the two of them, they’ll be sure to win the prize, Shinobu is sure of it.

As Kadoc walks off on his own into the unknown, Shinobu trails behind taking careful mental notes of the direction he headed in along with keeping a careful eye on the teacup pig. “Why, for the prize of course!” Shouldn’t that be obvious? Well, maybe not. Perhaps there were people doing this solely for the fun of it, but Shinobu wasn’t one of them. “My monthly allowance just isn’t cutting it. I’d like to be able to win the extra dust to spend on some much-needed essentials.” As she says so, the pig stops a few feet away from Kadoc and turns it’s nose up into the air. It seemed to have caught the scent of something, probably to do with the golden truffles they sought to find.

“Oh?” Finally having caught up with both of them. Shinobu stops at Kadoc’s side and looks down toward the pig. “I suppose we ought to give it a moment then since it seems to have found something.” With that, she turns her gaze up toward him, smiling. “What about you, Kadoc-san? Why are you here?”

that's... well, he did kind of ask for that. it doesn't stop him from grimacing, because he is aware of it. putting in effort only does so much, and it's not like he's putting in a lot of it. behaving in a way that feels unnatural to him is just as uncomfortable. he knows it's necessary, just... he's not sure how comfortable he is taking bigger steps than what he has yet.

"Pleasantly, huh.." those aren't words he'd ever think would be stringed together when the context is about him, and he almost interjects — she might not be mocking him. gut instinct leads him to wanting to believe that's what it is, but again, small steps. he falls silent until she speaks again.

"I'm, uh... surprised." no, he doesn't know enough about her to infer her intentions, so it's on him for presuming otherwise; for essentials makes sense enough, though. he doesn't think about it much before adding on, "You don't look like you'd need it." and he's not sure how he meant for it to come out, but he almost instantly regrets it.

stopping at the pig finally, he was grateful that he was given a bit of time to adjust. he's not so tense now, and doesn't flinch away when she stands next to him. when he looks towards her, he looks back away once — she's very sincere. or.. at least, she seems that way.

     ✛ ❝ No, but… Well, it sure is interesting. Plus, I’m sure I would have been wide awake regardless, ❞ or so she thinks.

     ❝ It’s called ‘Super Scary Real Stories To Tell In The Dark’. Are you interested in true crime stuff, too? ❞

he knows how that is, at least. 

he's actually surprised he managed to get in the habit of getting into something like an MMO. in any kind of attempt to find something else to occupy his time, this was something he'd been putting off for awhile. he can't sleep very well most nights, so it's not odd for him to get on at 2, 3, 4AM; but he does run into this one other player frequently. whether he sees them while he's running around, or however any other way, he'd already memorized the name.

kadoc is mostly grinding mats, which includes killing the same monsters over and over again, and when this person goes for the same kind it.. only leads him to believe that's why he's here too.

he might as well message them.

Byleth’s eyes narrowed. They didn’t like the immediate defeat, a tone, Byleth took, as if their suggestion of leaving was something to be laughed at. Just how hopeless was it? Was it truly impossible to leave? Perhaps Byleth had a hard time understanding due to their last memory being falling into a seemingly bottomless pit. Out of all the strange occurrences, arriving here was an arguably strong contestant. What Byleth hated was being unsure about things. They felt nothing more than helpless. “Have you not tried?” Byleth asked. “You sound so sure… I don’t think I can accept that.” They had things to do, people to save. What of the students? The friends Byleth had made? Were they safe? Maybe they were here too, in which case, that’d be one less worry to think about. Byleth gave another glance at their phone. Even if they didn’t know how things worked here, it didn’t deter them. They felt more determined than ever to leave; Byleth was never the sort of person to be tackled down. They were always on the move.

Byleth recalled not even having their sword. That was one of the most worrying things. They felt incomplete without holding something in their hand that could do more damage than a flimsy wooden sword. Of course, Byleth had had other powers, too. But their was a gaping absence felt. First things first…. perhaps to find their weapon. Or to ask someone who knew where it was. Was this perhaps a both stubborn and foolish way of thinking? Yes. But Byleth themselves was incredibly stubborn, surprisingly. “….You seem calm. Haven’t you lost things and have been brought here against your will, too?” They knew a lot. Perhaps for the residents who had been here longer, they had come to accept this fate. That didn’t sit well with Byleth. “I’m missing things…” With all due respect, this phone was cool, but Byleth would prefer their weapon. 

“Maybe we can find our things together.” Byleth preferred working alone, simply because that was how they were raised. But the disadvantage they were at restricted their options. Working alongside a stranger could bring a whole load of unnecessary problems, but Byleth was only just getting used to the idea that in some situations, perhaps they did need help. 

ah — he didn't pay much attention to how he was speaking before. it's true that he doesn't want to waste his energy in something he sees little point in, hope being one, he realizes not everyone is wired the same way. had he tried? honestly? "N..no, I haven't tried. It just feels obvious? I mean—if it were so easy to leave, then why hasn't anyone done just that?" he glances elsewhere, growing increasingly uncomfortable. he hasn't given up, he just... "You're welcome to try finding a way. I'm not going to stop you."

but being compared to calm catches him a little off-guard. maybe he is. he doesn't feel like it, but compared to someone who may throw an audible fit over how things are.. yeah, maybe he is. "You ask a lot of questions." he hopes to redirect it just a little, but truth be told he doesn't want to answer more about himself than he has to. his feelings, what he's done, what he hasn't done—it makes his chest hurt. but, yes, he is missing things. he just thought the things he was missing were sealed.

Thankfully for Kadoc, Prompto’s always full of things to talk about. Even the dullest conversation can be turned into something interesting, especially when it’s with a friend!

SENT TO: Kadoc  SENT FROM: Prompto!

That’s a long time to sleep…you missed half the day already when you woke up, didn’t ya?

Some nights I have a hard time sleeping since it’s so busy in Golden. But I like it, reminds me of the city I grew up in!

I’m not really doin’ anything. Just catching up on my webtoons. There’s this pretty neat site that hosts a buncha comics.

Do you like comics? I could recommend a few if you’re interested!  v(￣ｰ￣)v

to. › prompto. from. › kadoc.

yeah, but it doesn’t feel like i missed anything. you live in a big city before here?

webtoons... what a goofy sounding name. and does he like comics...? he’s got a lot of anxious energy, he’s not sure he’d be able to sit still long enough to actually enjoy them. 

The last thing Shinobu had been expecting was to be giving advice on how to get a full night’s rest to a stranger. Still, it seems harmless, and judging from the bags under his eyes it seemed he hadn’t been getting much rest if any at all. He seemed…unwell and looked like it too from the way he grasps at his chest. It’s as if at any moment he’d collapse from exhaustion. Shinobu can’t help but feel a little bit concerned, as was her way of being medically-inclined.

“Yes, well, you haven’t given me very many options to lead on with.” That said, it was fair enough. But still frustrating all the same. Shinobu’s voice remains soft, understanding of his situation as she tries to think of something that doesn’t sound typical. “You wouldn’t happen to want to try regulating your breathing, would you? It takes some physical fortitude, so I would rather not recommend it.”

“How about trying a sleep aid? It’s quick, easy, and could perhaps provide you with the much-needed rest you seem to need.”

he knows it's probably pretty difficult to think of anything that may help, so her vocalizing it doesn't surprise him. regulating his breathing, from what he had tried, didn't really help. he was doing it wrong, most likely. if it takes physical fortitude... so he scraps that thought, for whatever next attempt he considered. so he nods, though it could have been likened to a dip of the head with how little enthusiasm he put behind it.

"A sleep aid." he hasn't tried one in — uh, too long. "I.. could try, I guess. Don't really like how they make me feel after, but.." he's normally pretty groggy, like there's a heavy cloud of fuzziness weighing down his eyelids. but he couldn't feel any worse than he does right now.

“Games.” Byleth was surprisingly good at taking in information, despite the absurdity of it all. Now that they were becoming more informed, they shifted their gaze to their phone. It seemed like this small device could accomplish a lot — It was certainly very powerful. With intrigue, Byleth began tapping quietly at their phone. All this talk of status and dust probably would have flown over their head otherwise, but in a situation where they knew next to nothing, it wouldn’t be wise not to at least try and take everything in. Byleth had no plans in staying here obviously, but they instantly knew that they’d been stripped of their powers. The girl’s voice wasn’t in their head either…. “…I see.” To be honest, Byleth had never had time to play games. Their spare time was always spent training and later on teaching, but that was the extent of it. Besides having tea, they hadn’t known what else to do. Ah… Byleth had found the camera function. With playful fingers, Byleth tapped on the button, startled when snapping a picture. The flash was on. “….Ouch.” Blinking, Byleth was then staring at themself.

“It seems powerful,” Byleth said after a few moments. They supposed whilst they were stuck here, it wouldn’t hurt to become accustomed to the currency and rankings. But the thought of getting comfortable alone didn’t make them feel any better. “….Is this all required?” They asked. “I’m just asking because I want to get going soon, if I can. I didn’t choose to come here.”

kadoc is, admittedly, just a bit startled when he sees the flash go off. primarily because he wasn't.. expecting it. at all. but it doesn't seem like he took a picture of him, so it's fine. he doesn't take many pictures himself, but... "I'll show you how to turn that off." eventually.

powerful, though? yeah, maybe. "I guess, if you aren't used to it." at least it's easy enough to adjust to, in his opinion. people adapted as they needed to, and since the phones seemed to both be an item of luxury as well as a necessity to do anything that may otherwise require it, people don't have much of a choice but to get used to it.

"Yeah, I'd say so. I don't know if there's other ways to pay for things, but since it can keep track of what you actually have, probably. The other stuff.. not really. It's supposed to be fun?" he's not sure if it is, though. it's a bit of a pain being able to receive messages from anyone that wants to. he saw how big the contacts registry is. he doesn't like it at all.

     ✦ Blinking in surprise for a moment, Artemis soon grins widely at the stranger upon hearing his compliment. Though she, of course, is aware of her talent, it’s always nice for others to recognize it… Especially mortals. A lot of the time they can be rather foolish she has come to find, but this one… He seems to be smart or at the very least, a good head on his shoulders.

     ❝ Yeah, just leave him. You shouldn’t associate with garbage like that anyways, ❞ she says, flipping her hair now.

     ❝ And not really… Well, sometimes, I guess. Only to people who deserve it like that guy, ❞ she nods to herself, humming for a moment.

     ❝ Anyway, you seem to be an alright guy. I’m going to go back to the Mistwood and walk around so you’re welcome to follow me if you’re going that way, ❞

he.. thankfully, does not tend to involve himself with people like this. he doesn’t find them appealing, least of all their company, if not for the fact that it’s rather scummy to do what they do but because they kind of remind him of... ugh.

he lets her talk more, because it’s honestly more than he actually wants to do. thinking of what to say isn’t necessarily hard, it’s just that people didn’t really seem to like what he had to say, most times. so, when she says he can follow her he’s... surprised. he almost doesn’t want to take her up on it, but her company isn’t really that bad either. 

he doesn’t want to be without connections here, that’s all it is, of course.