333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 15, 2020 2:45:46 GMT -4
need a body cry? IT WAS FRIDAY NIGHT, and Tokyo was teeming with nightlife. Raucous drunks, girls in tight clothes, cars screaming past. Charlotte had been there most of the week, following Saito's hospitalization. She couldn't go in the house. Not without her entire "family" there. It made her sick and restless. Charlie was a fixer. She could repair the door to Saito and Hye's room, scrub the discoloration from the laminate as if Saito had never fallen there. But no amount of cosmetic cover-up hid the gaping, Saito-shaped silence in the house.
Hye was with her Dad, thankfully--but in a selfish way Charlotte hated it. If Hye was there it'd give her someone else to care for. If Hye was there, Charlie could sweep her own baggage under the rug.
So she lied-- told everyone she was high-tailing it to her parents' house for a few days-- and then went into the city instead. They were in Niigata, so it wasn't… totally impossible to visit. But visiting Mom and Dad meant acknowledging everything.
Running was easier.
Charlotte felt like a yo-yo, though. She could only run so far before going back to visit Saito. And then she'd run again.
Some people were catching-on. If they looked too closely, her lies would come apart at the seams.
Don't worry about me. I'm fine.
I'll just stay with my folks for a few days, take trains in when I can.
I'm fine.
It'll be okay.
No, really, I'm fine.
She wasn't. And all it took was one teeny, tiny inconvenience to take Charlie's carefully-constructed farce and tear it all apart.
She'd stayed too late at the hospital, and didn't arrive at the café until after dark. Overstuffed backpack draped over one shoulder, she went in. A twenty-something with impossibly spiked hair stood behind it, dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans. Charlie set her backpack on the counter.
"Is there a room available?"
"Public or private?"
"Private, with room to lay down."
He dispassionately turned to his computer, selected a few dialogs on the screen.
"Sorry sir, all private rooms are full for the night. We have a few public seats, available for up to four hours? They're at a cheaper rate."
"No thanks."
She gathered her backpack into her arms, tucking her head. Charlie strode quickly back outside, tears welling in her eyes. Once out of view of the café windows, she sank against the wall, tears welling in her eyes.
Where would she go now?
Maybe there was another internet café?
Or a youth hostel?
Charlotte sank into a seated position, pulling her phone from her pocket. She tried to rub the tears from her eyes. They were blurring her vision. Why couldn't she even keep a stall at an internet café properly? Shit...
| quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 15, 2020 8:49:55 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
"--yeah, you too. I'll see you around, Hacchan. Amo a tu hermano." Elena clicked off the call function on her phone and continued her walk down the calm, quiet--well, relatively--streets of Tokyo City. It had been a while that she'd gotten a call from a friend and gone for a little walk-around, but it was a pleasant experience nonetheless. With how comfortable things had been at the apartment she hadn't had any need to get out for something that wasn't buying food or going to work or seeing a lady about a scandal. Things were pretty remarkably calm. She knew it wouldn't last forever but, hey, when you had a moment you took that moment, right? Her heels clicked and clacked on the sidewalk as she went along alone from the little park she used to take walks in before work, back to where Mikhail lived. There were your usual shops along the way, most of them closed for the night or getting ready to close, as well as some capsule hotels and twenty-four-hour internet and manga cafes. Those places used to be havens for her when she was working at the Reddorōzu Hostess Club. Those hours had been hellish, and when her old roomie Tatsuya had school at a reasonable hour, sometimes she'd need to duck in there to sleep so she didn't come home smashed at three in the morning and wake him up. Though by "sleep" she meant "browsing the internet because sleeping in a building full of strangers who she could hear moving around was fucking terrifying".Man having sane work hours was nice. No more nightmare-fuel nights like that.She was approaching one of the cafes that she used to frequent when something on the street made her stop, heels clicking as she did so, and her eyes went wide. There was a person sitting against the wall with a very large bag besides them, phone in their lap, rubbing at their eyes. Normally that alone would be cause for concern but...This person had a Quirk. A really, really obvious one at that. They looked like some sort of insect thing? Or a crab? Lobster? Something with a shell and antenna, only in their case they were brilliantly sea-green and blue instead of black or red or whatever color crabs were. They honestly reminded her a little of G's summon, Goliath, in appearance. Just more humanoid. Somebody with a Quirk like that and with a bag, seated crying outside of a cafe that Elena knew hosted rooms to sleep in but at this time of night was probably already packed like a sardine tin...she did the math in her head. A runaway? Or somebody kicked out of their home? Were they an adult, or were they a teenager? Did it matter? She couldn't just walk around them. Well. She could. But she sure as hell wasn't going to. "Hello? Si--uh, mis--err...persona langosta?" She gave up on gendering them one way or the other and just went with a dumb name because fuck it, why not. Elena took a couple more steps forward, brow furrowed under the shock of white hair on her otherwise dark silhouette. Even her clothes were pretty dark for somebody who was walking the streets at night and, like most of her outfits, too light for this season. It wasn't like she would get cold. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? Or lost?"
As she drew a couple more steps closer, far more obvious in the dark, her bright blue eye glowed and cast a faint light through her bangs. It illuminate her face at least.
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 15, 2020 14:33:13 GMT -4
need a body cry? THE PRAWN JUMPED SLIGHTLYat the greeting, not expecting anyone to take notice of—or moreover address—her. The woman stood before her was unusual, to say the least—if the prawn had any right to call anyone “unusual”. Dark skinned with an explosion of white hair, dressed in an outfit that was half-flapper and half-goth. And her eyes seemed to shimmer—no, glow even. It might have been dark, but the prawn’s sensitive eyes saw the woman as clear as day.
The prawn gaped, her mouthparts slackening behind the surgical mask. She politely tilted the screen of her phone towards her chest, momentarily stunned for words. Remembering her manners, she dropped her gaze. But only briefly, until the woman finished her greeting. And then she was right back to staring again.
“¿Se habla español?” the prawn asked, bewildered.
God, she hadn’t heard Spanish since… well, since Tía Alma. It was something else that tugged at her heartstrings.
“I had an Auntie that knew Spanish,” she said distractedly, “I only know a little. Do you know English?”
The inquiry was uttered in English.
In comparison to the woman before her, Charlotte—in a hoodie, tank top, and cargo pants—all of this topped-off with a surgical mask. She wasn’t dirty, since the café had showers. But her voice was clearly female, however sultry, despite the androgynous attire.
The introduction of this unfamiliar woman was enough of a distraction to jar Charlotte from her welling tears—and all that was leading-up to those tears—so the teen found themselves a bit more willing to talk than usual. It helped that the Spanish snippet reminded her of Tía Alma, even if “langosa” was not a familiar word.
The woman’s response determining, Charlotte would either catapult into a response in English—or, if she didn’t speak English, Japanese—
“I’m not hurt,” the teen replied, “Or lost.”
She avoided the question of whether or not she was okay. Admitting you weren’t okay invited help, and Charlotte didn’t want to cause a stranger trouble.
“I had a room in there, but I was back late tonight,” she confessed, “It’s all filled-up, now, of course. So… I’m frustrated.”
Which, you know, was nothing to cry about. There were always more rooms at other locations. Unless you already had too much on your plate as it were. But, again, not trying to cause problems—
She mopped at her eyes, putting-on a more optimistic tone—her voice was still wet, betraying her—as she remarked, “It’s okay, though! I’ll find somewhere else. Tokyo’s big enough. No problem.”
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 15, 2020 17:46:10 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
Whoops, she'd startled the poor thing, but after a moment of awkward silence they spoke up in a voice that was decidedly feminine. And pretty young as well, from the sounds of it. Elena's surprise-slash-concern fell into a slight smile at her question. "Si. Vos si?" Well, she had an aunt who spoke it, apparently, but she sounded more confident in English. That was strange. It was impossible to place the girl's ethnicity because of her appearance, but her bouncing between languages wasn't helping. Elena took another couple of steps closer and bent down so that her hands were on her knees, helping her to look her in the eyes without squatting or kneeling because, well, skirt. Short skirt. Fishnets didn't do much for modesty in that regard.
"I speak it alright," Elena spoke, in turn, in English, though her accent was very thick.
She listened to her explanation as to why she'd wound up sitting on the concrete in front of a cafe this late at night. She'd had a room here? Wait, for how long? Elena's deep blue--nearly black--painted lips pursed into a frown. Why was this girl staying in a cafe instead of being home? Was she a runaway? Had she been kicked out? Maybe she was an immigrant, like she had been, but without the support of an actual citizen to at least cover for her living space. Elena glanced back at the windows of the cafe with visible disdain before returning her attention to Charlie.
"How long were you staying here?...how long were you planning on staying? This isn't a safe place for a girl to spend too long a time. Not at night. Do you not have money for a hotel?" The capsule hotels weren't much better than the cafes, but at least each pod was a little more secure than a booth. But she just might not have had the money. And if she was out here without money, relying on an internet cafe for a place to sleep for multiple days in a row, Elena had a sinking feeling that she didn't have another place to go. Who in the world would choose this sort of living, willingly?
Mikhail was going to have so many questions, but she couldn't just leave her sitting here. He'd understand, right? He was a hero. That's what they did. Helped people.
And hey, maybe if she was all on her own, he could get her into UA if she was the right age. They had dorms there, right? It wouldn't be easy but it would be a roof and meals and security. Maybe that was even why she came to Japan to start with?
"If you don't have anywhere to stay, I'm going to insist you come with me, pequeña cangrejo dama, at least until morning. I won't be able to forgive myself if I leave a Quirker kid out on the street, or in a shady place like this. That's just not right." Elena straightened her spine, placing a hand on each hip and looking down at Charlie with a look both stubborn and worried, her frown not letting up yet. "Vamos niña."
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 15, 2020 19:06:35 GMT -4
need a body cry? THE WOMAN STOOPED CLOSER, and the prawn followed her with her lavender gaze, still hugging her backpack to her chest. God, this lady was really pretty. Like, mesmerizingly pretty. A ripple ran over her bioluminescent pores, only momentarily visible—almost like a chill skittering through her. Charlotte politely averted her eyes.
“Only a few days,” the prawn answered sincerely, wrapping her arms around her legs, “Since Tuesday.” However long ago Tuesday was, “I’m just waiting for… some roommate drama to blow-over is all.”
She wasn’t lying, per se. Saito was a roommate, and his hospitalization was drama. But uh… terming it as “roommate drama” was just vague enough, and it made her seem older. College kids had roommates. Adults had roommates. And made decisions to do things like stay in internet café’s while drama settled. Right?
She hadn’t really considered long-term plans, though, and certainly not with the pragmatism that Elena had. Charlotte’s stomach knotted.
“Most people can’t even tell I’m a girl,” she insisted, “I’ll be fine. Really. And I’ve got… enough money.”
It was a sort of teenage foolhardiness—a teenage sense of being able to take-on the world without facing repercussions. And the money thing, well—that was an outright lie. Her money would really only carry her through two more days, tops, at the café. Maybe four if she was careful about how much she ate.
And she couldn’t call her parents. Then she’d have to come clean about anything.
The woman reached her own conclusions, rising to her full height once again. And Charlotte, as she listened to the woman’s proclamation, could feel her eyes welling with tears again.
As she had so many times in the past few days, she remembered Oakland—she remembered when Chief had first found her, and showed her kindness—before insisting that she had to pay him back for his kindness by committing petty crimes. And even if this woman reminded the prawn so profoundly of Tía Alma, she was scared that the woman would be more like Chief.
“I only have eight-thousand yen,” the prawn confessed, her voice small. How could you say what Charlotte wanted to say, without offending the person you were trying to say it to?
And though her tone seemed to be an outright refusal of the woman’s offer of kindness, she was hesitantly unfolding her legs and rising into a standing position, still hugging her backpack. The woman before her was taller than most humans—almost eye-level with Charlie, in heels.
“A-and I am… okay with tech, so if you need anything repaired, I’m your gal. B-but I have n-nothing else to offer.”
The urge to run was growing stronger, and her face felt impossibly hot. The pores that lined her body winked to life, pulsating with their fearful, rippling pattern. Her heart was still hammering pathetically in her chest. An irrational panic was clinching in her throat.
In any other context, the prawn could’ve recognized kindness for what it was, but since she was already panicked and on the run, she could only panic and run more.
“Nothing else at all.”
She kept her head tucked, glowing like a runaway Christmas decoration and progressively getting tearier.
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 15, 2020 20:04:19 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
Elena wasn't sure she entirely believed the girl's reason for being out and alone. But then again Elena herself totally had stayed out, sometimes well into the night, after having a fight with her ex-roommate. But a few days? That felt like more than your usual drama. And she still sounded so young...again, not like Elena could say much.
Still she began to stand up at Elena's insistence, and the dark smile turned into a warmer one, teeth showing and everything. The corners of her mouth twitched down as Charlie continued to talk. Eighty thousand yen was only, what, seventy euro? That wasn't a lot for being out on one's own. But she kept going. Fixing things? Nothing else to offer? What--oh, for the love of God. Elena sighed and reached out a hand to gently touch her arm. She meant to just comfort the poor thing but then she started to pulse with light, and Elena drew her hand back for a second, surprised. Wow.
Eso es hermoso.
After a moment, she closed her eyes, drew in a small breath, and light behind her bangs grew brighter. A second later the tips of her hair pulsed to life with a brilliant blue flame. Then, as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. Elena's hand then continued the path it had been taking to touch Charlie, gently, on the forearm.
It felt like, well, shell. Shocking. And cool to the touch but there was very little that Elena touched that wasn't cooler than she was. Her brow stayed knit even though she tried to smile again. "Hey, cut that line of thinking off. I'm not going to be asking you for any kind of payment for this. We've got to help out each other in this world, right? It's not like the libre de peculiaridades will do it." Letting her go Elena's hand dug into the plain black faux-leather purse over her shoulder and pulled out a little plastic thingie of tissues and offered the whole thing to her, smile a little more like a smirk than before. "Here. Your eyes are leaky. You don't owe me for these, either."
She waited for Charlie to take the tissue before starting to walk, making sure her hand found their arm again to try and lead them along without tugging or pulling.
"Vamos vamos. Have you eaten yet? And I won't accept 'snack food' as an answer."
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 15, 2020 21:08:20 GMT -4
need a body cry? THE WOMAN TOUCHED CHARLIE'S ARM, and the prawn stiffened slightly, closing her eyes. It was a feathery touch, anyways, barely perceptible through the thick shell, but the woman inhaled, which prompted the prawn to open her eyes again. The woman showed-off a quirk of her own, her hair blooming into a brilliant blue flame. A quirker!
Her brows betrayed her surprise, leaping at the display. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished. Charlotte’s own pulsating light quelled itself as her heartbeat grew less frantic. The woman reached for arm again, and this time the teen didn’t wince away from her.
The prawn nodded as the woman insisted that they had to look-out for each other—the libre de peculiardades wouldn’t—now there was a term she was familiar with. Quirkless. She’d heard it all the time from Chief and Alma, both.
“Okay,” the teen agreed, inhaling sharply and trying to simmer.
She really was like Tía Alma. The woman dug around her clutch—procuring disposable tissues after a brief search. These were surrendered to Charlotte. The light-show finally fizzled out. The prawn tried to smile with still-tearful eyes.
“Thank you, tía.”
The phrase left her maxillipeds so easily, the prawn didn’t even catch it. She didn’t even leave space to feel embarrassed about it.
It was hard to hold phone and backpack and tissues all at once—so Charlotte wriggled back into her backpack, pocketed her cell phone, and clutched the Kleenexes as if they were a lifeline.
Soon they were arm-in-arm—and what an unusual sight they must have been! This fashionable, metropolitan woman in the company of such a strange, casually-dressed companion.
“Not yet,” the prawn replied, “I have some ramen, though. It’s fine.”
The instant kind, of course. Cheap as it was, that shit was filling. And it wasn’t, as the woman termed it, snack food. People could, and often did, subsist on ramen.
“My name’s Charlotte, by the way,” Charlotte offered. If she was going to crash at this woman’s house or… wherever… they should know each other’s name, “Everyone calls me Charlie though. What’s your name?”
While the teen spoke, clumsy hands picked at the package, trying to undo the sticker that held it closed. After a momentary struggle, Charlotte managed to unfasten the package of tissues.
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity ooc notes: you are now officially the auntie of a wayward prawn. congratulations. <3 |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 15, 2020 22:25:58 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
Tia?Elena felt a pang in her chest not unlike a pinprick, and she had to pretend to fix her hair to hide it from the girl. The last person who called her by that name wasn't in her life very much anymore--rarely ever, in fact--and it still stung to have that word associated with that memory. But they knew what it meant and called Elena by it. That came with its own mix of complicated feelings. She wanted to help this girl, sure, but now it was starting to feel less like a good Samaritan thing and more personal. With the tissue taken from her hands she pulled her phone out instead, swiping away from the home screen to the texting app before she and Charlie began to walk arm in arm down the street. It kept her from seeing her lock screen. "Ramen? Psshah, no, that's not real food. When we get to my apartment I'm making you something actually good for you. I bet you haven't eaten healthy since you've been sleeping here, right? Just warn me if you've got any food allergies, and I'll make you something good." Elena smiled at Charlie and tapped quick Japanese and the occasional Spanish into the text app. "I'm Elena. Some people call me 'Elle' or 'hothead' but you can keep calling me what you want to. Gusto en conocerlo."
"Hang on, I'm just letting my partner know I'm bringing you home. He'll deal. He's a good guy...no importa lo que el diga, lo juro por Dios..." Elena huffed and stuffed her phone into her bag again. Alright. Mikhail was fine with her bringing the kid home but had some qualms about it. If Charlie were a boy, would this same nonsense be on his mind? He hadn't been an idol in two years now, he was a hero! Honestly, who in their right mind would see a hero taking a kid off the street and go "ooh what a creep". Tabloids. Ugh. She could only imagine the chaos that could have unfolded if she were still a hostess by the time they started living together. Well. Semi-living.
Look all her stuff was there, she commuted there, she slept there, she cooked there. They lived together. Even if he never said, aloud, "do you want to move in with me".
It just kind of happened.
Maybe that was a good thing.
"He's a Quirker too. Mutation-type, about as dramatic as yours? He might not be back tonight though since he works really late sometimes." Should she mention who he was? Or would he rather she didn't? He was so careful about who knew about her and him, and Charlie, while young and helpless, was still a person. Possibly even a person who might wind up his student if this went really well? If not, maybe Tsutsuji could take her in. She had a habit of doing that, from what she'd heard. "Where're you from, Charlie? Your English is really good and you know some Spanish...so I'd take it you're either American or from somewhere in Europe? Am I right?" She thumbed to herself with the hand not locked around Charlie's arm. "I'm from Spain, immigrated about three years back for work. Man, my Japanese was horrible. Is still. But my boss is Italian anyway, so I can just shout at him in Spanish or English!~"
Hah, like she would ever shout at Giovanni. Antonio? Yes, the flirty fuck boy. But not her actual boss-boss. He had too much of that "actually a mafia boss" energy going.
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 15, 2020 23:59:54 GMT -4
need a body cry? CHARLOTTE WAS SO PREOCCUPIED WITH the package of tissues that Charlotte missed the chord she’d struck altogether. A tissue was wrestled free of the other tissues that accompanied it, dabbling at her eyes as they walked. Thankfully there was no running nose to address, since she didn’t have a nose to speak of… but her throat still felt thick with emotion regardless.
Elena dismissed the prawn’s ramen as not real food, insisting that she’d make Charlie real food once they arrived at the house—Elena was on the nose with her assumption that Charlotte hadn’t been eating well. She’d scarcely eaten at all. With all the stress, Charlotte was nervous about making herself ill, and the only way to avoid that was not to eat. And when she did, she ate terribly.
“Correct~” the prawn confirmed, in Japanese now. She hadn’t been eating well, and she didn’t see any sense in lying to Elena about it.
The dark-skinned woman had pulled her phone out about a half-block back, and the prawn had politely kept her attention forward—she at least had enough manners not to read over other peoples’ shoulders. They paused, and Elena advised her newfound ward of the conversation that was taking place.
“O-oh, sure,” the prawn said agreeably. She turned her attention towards the window of a neighboring storefront, shut hours prior to their passing, once again making note of what an odd pair she and Elena were.
Charlotte wasn’t sure what to make of a “partner”. Was this a good thing, because Charlotte wouldn’t be in the company of just a strange woman that she’d just met? Or would it be bad because there were two of them, and one of her…? Could she take them?
No, it wasn’t good to think like that, Elena was being very kind—welcoming Charlotte into her home, offering to cook her food—
Better than being unpleasantly surprised, though.
With the correspondence handled, the phone was tucked away again, and again the two were strolling down the street. Elena filled the air with talk of this “mysterious partner”, and the prawn listened, trying to concoct a story for them, or a visage, all on her own.
“I really hope he doesn’t mind,” the prawn muttered, bowing her head. She felt rather like a stray cat, at this point—and stereotypically, girlfriends were always quick to take in strays, while boyfriends were quick to insist on throwing them out—at least in those trashy rom-com’s Hye had forced Charlie into watching. Charlie hoped this wasn’t a case like that, “I’d hate to be a bother.”
Maybe being a mutant would help appeal to The Boyfriend's better nature. Or maybe she’d humor Elena, and stay for dinner, but sneak-out before The Boyfriend got home. It was best not to push her luck.
“Yeah, America,” the prawn confirmed, “California, to be specific.”
Elena outlined her own journey here, from Spain, for work.
“My Japanese was horrible when I first got here, too,” the prawn sighed, “Been about a year. My speaking is getting better. But my writing and reading are still rough. Kanji is the devil.”
Charlotte had never been much of a liar. The closest she could manage to an outright lie was a vague truth. But even then, the façade would slip.
“We’re always reading and writing in school, though, so hopefully I’m not totally illiterate by the time I graduate.”
Again, no grade-level was mentioned. But Charlotte was a student, and one that hadn’t graduated. From high school? From college? It had yet to be revealed. Again, the prawn realized the slip-up belatedly, and dropped her gaze.
She’d really need to decide how old she was, and where she went to school. Charlotte had an inkling she’d be in a world of trouble if Elena figured-out that she was a teenager.
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity ooc notes: you are now officially the auntie of a wayward prawn. congratulations. <3 |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 19, 2020 21:23:59 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
Elena pursed her lips into a slight pout as Charlie doubted whether or not her being at their apartment would be a bother. "He won't. He said he's worried about how it might look if the neighbors see me bringing a stranger home, but he's just so obsessed with his image. I swear he makes up his own problems that nobody but him worries about. But then again, I could not care less about how people see me."
"I know once I've got you there he'll stop worrying and just be like 'yes you can absolutely stay the night'. He's a big softy under the, well, scales. And attitude."
A slight grin still wormed its way back onto her face. As annoyed as she was when Mikky put his personal image before compassion, she knew he did it for a reason, and it wasn't just himself. He had such a harsh view of himself because he was a hero now and not some teen heartthrob who could get away with this shit without hurting every other idol in the industry. It wasn't just his reputation at stake. Still, other heroes took in Quirker kids off the street--he told her about it all the time--and they never got flack for it. And seriously, nobody who couldn't hear Charlotte's voice would guess that she was a teenage girl. Elena didn't know what she looked like but she absolutely didn't look like anything los tabloides could easily make a story about.
Unless they wanted to, like, make up some shit about him liking sea food too much.
Yikes que se oscurecieron rápido.
So she had come here from America, and had gone to a Japanese school? Huh, for what reason had she moved all the way out here, only to end up on the streets? Maybe she was older than Elena assumed, and, like her before getting her "visa", she just didn't have the resources to have her own place. Or maybe after moving here she had a falling out with her family and thought the streets were better than home. It might not even be a Quirk thing. It could just be an argument gone very wrong.
Elena could relate. Even if it had only been a couple of days for Charlie and not three--no, four--whole years, it was just too hard to go back home and apologize or forgive, whichever was necessary. But that was neither here nor there, nor something she wanted to think about now. Or ever. Preferably ever. "My Japanese only got better when I started spending my nights out with native speakers. Reading and writing is fine but nothing beats experience. And some of the pronunciations are wildly different from how they're spelled phonetically. Don't get me started on kanji. I suck at kanji."
It wasn't a long walk back to the apartment from here, and the neighborhood wasn't one of the slinky bad ones like Kabukicho or Nakano. Elena was much less worried about walking at night than she was the thought of sleeping in a public building like the cafe. Even if the neighborhood wasn't bad, though, as they kept going the buildings got nicer and nicer, and the shops looked more expensive. Elena pointed up at a moderately tall complex--there weren't any lights on, so he wasn't home yet.
Alright. Good. She had time.
"We're up on that floor, third from the top. The view from there is amazing at night so take advantage while you can!" Elena grinned and steered the pair of them in the direction of the front doors. Elena took a key from her purse to unlock it, holding the door open for Charlie to go in first if she so chose. But if she didn't want to be boxed in, Elena was fine taking the lead up to the elevator. The interior was all shiny and sleek, very modern in design, and while there weren't visible doormen there was a security camera she had memorized the location of. "Don't worry, if you're feeling way too under-dressed for this place, just know I don't always look this good. Usually I'm in, like, t-shirt and shorts walking around here, and I never get in trouble."
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on Apr 28, 2020 21:36:43 GMT -4
need a body cry? THE PRAWN KEPT HER GAZE directed towards the sidewalk as Elena reassured her, explaining that her boyfriend was predominantly concerned about how their neighbors would regard them bringing a stranger over. She didn’t want to make trouble with the neighbors, either. Despite Elena’s reassurance that it would be “okay once Charlotte was there” and that “she personally didn’t care what the neighbors think”, Charlotte found herself sinking deeper and deeper into the mindset that she was imposing upon this couple by being there.
Stay for dinner, then get the fuck out. That’s what she was going to do.
Charlotte was so busy mentally rehearsing her script for bolting after dinner, she missed the remark that the Boyfriend was “actually a big softy under the scales”. As far as she was concerned, this guy was the one person Charlotte wanted to avoid.
Charlotte spent most of the remainder of the walk in relative silence, her measuring how many blocks they went and which way they turned, in anticipation of the walk back downtown. God, finding a place to sleep would be shit after dinner… ah well. At least she’d have some decent food in her belly, even if it was a frosty night outside.
It wasn’t until they reached the complex that the prawn remembered her voice.
“Wow, that high up?” the prawn remarked. She breathed an appreciative whistle. The apartment she’d lived-in in Oakland was a cinderblock thing, five stories and nestled amongst much taller buildings, so this—wow, this was already a huge step-up from what she was expecting.
The prawn would follow Elena through the doors, only leading the way into the foyer before assuming a place behind the woman. Charlotte didn’t know where she was going, and was growing increasingly more nervous with each step onward. It didn’t make sense for her to lead. Her stance was hunched, and she fiddled with her hands, her eyes darting around for any of “the neighbors” that might take issue with her being there. Elena spoke again.
“Okay,” the prawn said quietly. Don’t worry about not being dressed-up. She would try not to. Not that the prawn had nicer clothes to change into anyways.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid noiselessly open.
“Are you really sure that this is alright?” the prawn inquired again, for perhaps the thousandth time that night. She still stepped into the elevator, even if she was voicing her concerns. Charlotte pressed her back into the corner furthest from the buttons, her lavender gaze searching Elena for any sign of uncertainty.
The prawn’s heart was hammering, and it felt like it would climb out of her throat if she opened her mouth wide enough. In the sterile lights of the elevator, the wink of Charlotte’s bioluminescent pores was like glitter along her shell, barely perceptible. She was scared—undeniably scared. Being offered dinner and a place to stay, no strings attached, seemed too good to be true. Anyone who wasn’t a fool knew that when “things are too good to be true”, they often weren’t that good, or true.
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity ooc notes: are you sure? really? really really? |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on Apr 30, 2020 23:15:15 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
Into the elevator, press the button, resist the ever present urge to just poke all of them like a six year old would, and the doors shut in front of them with a smooth clink-clink of metal. Elena looked at the corner that Charlie had squished herself into and tilted her head to the side a little, smile a little confused and brow furrowed. Was she okay? Was she doubting coming here? Come to think of it, if it were Elena picked up off the street by an older woman and brought up to a high floor of an unknown building, she'd be kind of worried as well. But Elena wasn't any kind of sketchy! And Mikhail was literally a hero. Once Charlie saw him she'd totally realize it was okay.
"Ahora, estaré bien. You don't have to be nervous! I swear the place is clean, if you--oh, actually, are you allergic to ferrets?" Elena's smile grew a little less worried. Yes. Small fuzzy things. That might help to distract her. "We've got two of 'em and they're very cute, but they can be a bit noisy and grumpy. You're welcome to pet one if they'll let you! There's treats to bribe them with if they don't. Works every time."
Ding!
Elena let Charlie step out of the elevator first. The hallway only had two doors in it: one that was to the stairwell, and one that was, if one were to assume, the door to the apartment. Elena made quick work of the lock with her key and pushed it open. "Adelante!" Whether Charlie went first again or stalled, Elena moved in, taking off her heels in the little front room--they dropped her five inches, but even without them she was still very tall--and hung her purse on a coat rack in the corner, snagging only her phone from it before stepping into the main room of the apartment. Everything was, honestly, very comfortable. The kitchen was open to the whole of the living room, which was taken up mostly by a ridiculously sized couch. Even for one that was the kind built into an "L" shape it had wider seats than a normal couch would. Elena had made fun of it a lot when she'd first come to visit but, hey, it was very comfortable.
She'd fallen asleep on it--and on Mikhail--way too many times to count by now.
What? He was cozy too.
"Set your bag wherever you'd like, pequeña pepita. Do you want to take a bath now, or after you eat? It might be a while--not too long, but, like, if you're worried about it you can take it now so you feel fresher?" Elena stepped over to a linen closet that branched off of the kitchen. Another door, slightly closer to what looked to be the bedroom, had small thumping noises coming from it, and audible squeaking. Elena snorted as she pulled out a towel. "Oye, no pelear allí! Veo cualquier mordiscos y te vas al cono de la vergüenza!" She called towards the closed door, which did not stop squeaking, and then returned to Charlotte holding a comfy white towel. It, too, was weirdly large for a towel, but not ridiculously so. It could have passed as a luxury instead of "this is for a ten foot long snake man". "Here you go, fresh and clean."
"I didn't hear any allergies to foods on the way in," Elena placed her hands on her hips for a moment, smile still bright, "So I'm going to whip you up some croquettes. Got any preferences? We've got chicken, cheese, mushroom, and octopus I can add."
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333 Posts
EP
EXP
Total
27 Years
Female
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Charlotte Fujioka on May 3, 2020 18:46:12 GMT -4
need a body cry? "I... DON'T THINK SO..." the prawn murmured, effectively sidetracked by the possibility of ferrets, “I’ve never seen a ferret in real-life, just in pictures or videos.”
California was very strict about pets that were or were not allowed. No one was allowed to keep ferrets. What kind of noises did a ferret make, the prawn wondered? What would petting such a strangely-shaped creature be like?
The elevator coasted to a stop, the bell signaling their arrival at the appropriate floor. The prawn took her cue from Elena—the woman unfolded herself as if to disembark, but let the prawn step-out first. Charlotte did so, lingering just outside the door. She didn’t know where she was going, so it didn’t make sense to lead. The prawn’s eyes wandered ahead, however, and… where the heck were the other units? There was the elevator, the stairwell, and… literally one other door.
What the hell kind-of apartment was this?
The high-class kind.
The prawn’s eyes swung towards the number above the elevator, committing the floor number to memory, before tagging after Elena. She had lingered a touch too long, and had to jog to catch-up. The call of “Adelante!” spurred the reluctant teen into motion.
Elena unlocked the door to the apartment and strode in, removing her shoes and other accessories in the foyer. The prawn waited, eyes trained politely on the hall.
She wiped her feet on a doormat, but had no shoes to remove. No accessories to deposit. Just her. The prawn trailed the Latina woman hesitantly, her eye flitting over the apartment. Charlotte’s hand involuntarily clenched her backpack strap. It was a… very lovely place. Very metropolitan. Perhaps the nicest apartment Charlie had ever set foot in. The prawn was frozen in the entryway, unsure of where to go or where to sit. It was so clean… and Charlotte, having spent the better part of a week on the streets, wasn’t. She didn’t belong here.
Again, Elena’s voice jarred her from her thoughts.
The prawn did as she was bid to do, removing her backpack and tucking it in a corner where it wouldn’t obstruct the walkways. This, of course, gave her nothing to hold-on to though. So she fussed with the sleeve of her hoodie.
Then when Charlotte was given the option to shower, the prawn waivered. She’d feel bad sitting on a couch if she was grimy—but she didn’t want to shower in an unfamiliar house either. Her indecisiveness gave Elena the time to go to the linen closet and procure a towel. She returned to Charlotte and surrendered it.
Wow, this had to be the fluffiest towel the prawn had ever seen, too—she accepted it shyly, and held it up to her muzzle, inhaling the powdery, recently-washed scent.
Okay… maybe she could stand to take a shower now. Even if she was a surprise-guest in Elena's and the Mystery Boyfriend's apartment, the prawn could at least be a good-smelling surprise-guest.
“Thank you,” the prawn murmured after marginally lowering the towel. She had some clean clothes wedged into her backpack, Charlotte was pretty sure. A clean shirt, at the very least. That was what was important. No soaps, though. She’d have to borrow soap.
“That sounds… really lovely, th-thank you…” the prawn agreed, to the offer of croquettes. Hearty, homey-feeling food. More filling than anything she’d recently eaten, “Chicken or cheese would be wonderful.”
Charlotte knelt to rummage through her bag, finding the fresh shirt in question. She had some clean undergarments, too. Good.
“I… think I will take you up on that shower before… if that’s okay,” the prawn said, clasping the towel and fresh clothes to her chest, “Where’s the bathroom… please?”
This was all so much to take-in, and… if the boyfriend wasn’t actually alright with the prawn being there, Charlie wanted to shower first rather than risk overstaying her welcome after dinner.
She’d wait until Elena directed her, and then the prawn would pad quietly down the hall to the bathroom. The door would slide shut quietly behind her, with a gentle *click* of the lock.
Once in the bathroom, Charlotte would survey the room—again, very nice, in terms of apartments—before setting her fresh clothes, and her towel, on the counter. Cell phone was removed from her pocket, and added-to the counter pile. Surgical mask was peeled away from her muzzle, and added to the pile. The remainder of Charlotte’s clothes were discarded unceremoniously on the floor near the sink, leaving a very bare prawn standing in this immaculate tiled room. Charlotte caught her own reflection’s gaze in the mirror, and huffed.
What have I gotten myself into?
Charlotte padded towards the shower, opening the door into the stall. It was huge, as though two showers had melded to form one, ultimate shower. There was a tiled the bench—the thought of naked butts sitting on a tiled bench made the prawn stifle a laugh. That seemed unsanitary. There were a sundry of soap bottles along the bench, a clear “his” versus “hers” rift between the two collections. And then came the shower-head—nice and high, perfect for a tall person. Sweet.
It only took some momentary fussing with the shower-knob to get the water running and decently warm (which is to say, a few millimetres shy of scalding). And once the water was running, Charlotte would simply stand beneath the harsh stream of steaming water, tilting her head towards the ceiling.
A notification winked in the upper left corner of her phone—Charlotte eyed it, fighting the passing impulse to call her parents. But she’d be dead if anyone found-out about her off-campus escapade. She’d think about it. A shower and dinner would give her the clarity of mind to think about it. One step at a time. The prawn closed her eyes.
| ft. elena strike quirk: d-rank durability, range, swimming; f-rank regeneration, eyesight, and dexterity ooc notes: shower thoughts with charlie #1: if a prawn breaks the rules, and no one's around to see it, are they still in trouble? |
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236 Posts
1 EP
EXP
Total
19 Years
Female
"Blue Blitz"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Elena Strike on May 9, 2020 10:15:48 GMT -4
- REMIND YOURSELF - TO TAKE A MOMENT - AND FIND YOURSELF -
"Chicken and cheese croquettes coming right up! And it's this door right here," Elena pointed to a small hall leading off the kitchen, opposite the direction of the ferrets and the bedroom. If one could see the apartment from above, it'd look like one big room surrounding a smaller one that was divided in three places; those smaller--relatively--rooms being the bathroom, ferret room, and a room for the laundry and toilet. She was still not super used to the "bathroom" and "toilet" not being in the same room. Japan. Eh. "You can use any of my soaps, though he's got a specialty cream-wax thing in there for scales as well? If you need that? He won't mind, I'm sure."
With Charlie off in the bath getting freshened up, Elena ducked into the bedroom to do a quick change herself. Her dress was comfortable and pretty, but she didn't do her cooking in clothes she didn't want to get dirty. She didn't want to get into "lazy clothes" in front of a guest though. Oh, there was that super cute and comfy thing Mikhail had bought her...a jinbei? Was that the word? She still mixed up the names of different clothes he wore around. The first time she'd called his outfit a kimono he'd laughed at her. Cheeky snake. Jinbei's were a lot easier to get on, and had pants instead of the long flowing robe-dress-thingies he wore around. She much preferred them. With that on she went back into the kitchen to start cooking.
It wouldn't take too long to have the chicken mixed into a thick béchamel sauce, with flour and a beaten egg in separate bowls to the side. By the time Charlie was finished and dried and coming out of the bathroom, Elena had a pot of boiling oil on the stove, and was quickly flouring, egg-ing, and breading each little croquette with a long pair of black cooking chopsticks, before dropping them in with care. Elena turned to grin at her as she emerged. "Sentirse mejor? Food's almost done! I've got white rice and some rolled egg or whatever it's called ready now, if you want it. Tamagoyaki? That one." It had been easy to do, since she was already using an egg for frying. And the little square pans were pretty fun to use, too. "Wanna grab a seat at the counter?"
Sure enough, lining the counters that "divided" the kitchen and living room were some high chairs--more stools, really--with wide seats and cushioned backs. Apparently it was easier for Mikhail to sit on a stool than a chair. Probably a tail thing. She didn't mind, it made serving food that much easier. As each croquette finished frying she plucked one out and put it on a clean serving plate, then replaced it with another. When she was done there were about ten of them, which she set down with a proper eating plate, already with the rolled omelette on it and a bowl of rice, in front of Charlie wherever she chose to sit. Elena killed the heat on the stove so she could stand on the opposite side of the counter, and put some chopsticks next to the plate.
"Grab as many as you want! I made a ton, since mi serpiente tonta will want a few when he gets home. I swear, he doesn't eat anything but my cooking. So spoiled."
Not a second after saying the words, Elena heard the door lock open.
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115 Posts
5 EP
EXP
Total
21 Years
Male
"Serperior"
Rookie-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Mikhail Orlov on May 10, 2020 19:04:07 GMT -4
It was strange how coming home had swapped from a burden to a relief since Mikki had started living with Elena. Before she’d started staying over, Mikki had quietly resented his apartment. Not that it was a bad apartment. For downtown Tokyo, it was practically a mansion; well-furnished, comfortable, perfectly suited as a snake-man’s lair. But Mikki needed the pulse of the city. He needed the spotlight, the traffic, the drinks and the danger to distract him from all the stupid, endless anxieties and inadequacies that rattled around his brain constantly. And after his accident, after he’d spent nearly two long, long months a prisoner in his body, trapped with his ferrets and the TV, and visits from his personal trainer to break the monotony and replace it with pain, he couldn’t shake the feeling of his apartment being a jail. But perhaps what he’d actually needed, rather than something to distract him, was someone to share his problems.
However, he couldn’t leave his problems at the door just yet. This time, one had followed him home. Or rather, had been brought home by Elena.
It wasn’t the sort of invasion of his privacy that Mikki could have ever imagined allowing before he’d met his current girlfriend. Much less imagined happening twice in the space of a few months.
Was taking in strays going to become a habit?
But despite his misgivings, Mikki wasn’t rude enough to act like having his girlfriend bring home a desperate teenage mutant (ninja turtles, his brain helpfully completed) was anything but a pleasure.
Even if he felt the tickle of a paparazzi’s camera on his back all the way up the stairs.
He slithered in the door with a spring in his...scales?...and carefully began to peel off his Hero Armor, placing each piece on an armor stand by the door, until he was dressed in the Yukata underneath. Then, slithered over a small “floor basin” next to where visitors were expected to leave their shoes, turned on a tap, and cleaned the scales of his underbelly in the water, using a small brush to scrub out the dirt.
It was a daily, meditative experience for Mikki, and one that made him desperately wish he could wear shoes.
Finally, after patting dry his scales with a towel, Mikki slithered into the main room, moving straight over to his girlfriend, who was--as best he could tell--just about finished making something that smelled delicious.
“I see you’re already a few steps ahead of me, my heart!” Mikki exclaimed brightly, striving to keep everything as normal as possible. Even if this wasn’t a normal evening. He bowed, pulling out a long-stemmed violet from the sash around his waist, holding it by the stem. He’d bought it on the way back. As was their tradition, already--something small and pretty, for her to wear. Payment for dinner, in his eyes. “For you.”
“And, is this our guest?” Mikki hummed cheerfully, turn to look directly at the large, chitinous...shape...he’d seen as he passed the living area.
“It’s a pleasure to have you, Miss…”
Mikki trailed off, though his smile didn’t slip, recognition flaring to life in his eyes.
Oh gods. It’s a student. A student is in my apartment.
“...Charlotte…”
Doesn’t she have a house off-campus? Doesn’t she have a group of friends? The 3S kids, and Chimera? They wouldn’t have kicked her out. Is she hurt?
“Fujioka.”
If the press find out about this, this could kill my job. Elena, what have you done?
Is she okay?
To his credit, he didn’t break his “stride.” He slithered up to her, hand extended to shake. His fingers were wrapped in small bandages, a single one around each tip.
Though introductions were somewhat superfluous at this point.
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