#explosivedesire 1

"The one that left colored foam all over??"

Harpuia had discovered a lot of things about himself since the fall of Neo Arcadia--since he'd had the time to discover things about himself, because he was no longer the General of the Strong Air Battalion, no longer the right hand of "Master X." Because as much as he was fallen, disgraced, used goods...he also had time to simply be a person. (Whatever that meant.)

One of the things he'd discovered about himself is that he liked clothes. Loved them, actually. He liked trying on new things, experimenting with different styles, mixing and matching--as long as there was some green on him, he'd wear just about anything. Currently he had a predilection for heavy fabrics like wool blends (he liked the weight of them; it comforted him), especially pleated wool skirts (and don't forget the two petticoats beneath, one green and one black). Upon arriving in Spirale, Harpuia had been wearing a collared long-sleeve button-down with a thick green sweater-vest over it. Which there was nothing wrong with.

But the clothing shops in the Fibonacci Ward--with its busy neon-lights aesthetic that reminded him so much of Neo Arcadia at its peak--called to him, called him to try on new tops. And since he'd secured employment at Café December and soon would have money to burn, he answered the call without hesitation.

He had just finished trying on a slew of new shirts and had purchased both his selections (one a form-fitting baby-tee, a mottled "botched tye-dye" black and slate grey with swirling designs traced out in silver rhinestones; as well as another collared long-sleeved button-down, but this one a pale green with tiny repeating pineapples dotting it), had just stepped out of the boutique on a busy downtown Fibonacci street. He'd been minding his business, well and truly--he hadn't even been staring at anyone (long-range vision tended to make that an unfortunate habit).

That's when she ran by, toting a launcher over her shoulder nearly as big as her entire body. Harpuia had to jump out of the way to not get bowled over by the giant gun, or the girl carrying it.

"Begging your pardon!" he hissed, clutching his shopping bag close to his chest. "I swear, if humans were any more entitled...!"

the facility that lay dormant on haugst hung like some sleeping beast, dilapidated and crumbling among the tangles and overgrowth that had begun to reclaim the structures. it definitely wasn't some sort of beautiful island paradise, and mikoto- so unceremoniously thrust into a new world, onto this island that so reminded him of where he was before-

well, he was struggling to adapt.

he had at least avoided the monsters that crawled through the island's worn down pathways, found himself in one of the gloomy rooms that the facility housed, and once there, once alone, he couldn't help but weave his fingers into his hair and attempt, some measure, of calming himself down.

"it's just a dream- it's all a dream, it's just fake. it'll be fine. it's just some terrible dream-"