things just happen so much don't they

[adamantlyardent]

WHO: Cecelia, a cast of tens
WHERE: All over (except Jeopardy -- frick u, Jeopardy)
WHEN: April
WHAT: ACTIVITIES
WARNINGS: teeeeeeeeeeenager


Yo hit up whyellewhy to plan shit let's party

Comments

[adamantlyardent]

[these moments feel like a chaotic haze — from the terrifying entrance to the utterly farsical rapport the two have on display, Cecelia gapes with her face still contorted in dismay.

when addressed, she is slow to react, slow to blink, slow to look at Archie directly.

another beat passes before she blinks again, then turns on her heel and walks out of sight and to her room, door quietly clicking behind her.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin clings to the side of the tub like a drowning man at sea and cranes his neck over to where Cece was standing.]

[There's silence as she walks away and leaves the two men in the bathroom, and when he hears her door click shut, he turns to Archie.]

...See what you did? She's totally weirded out by you.

[h2no]

[archie gives darin a flat look, then whaps him upside the head.]

I'll finish you later.

[getting up (ignore his knees clicking THANK YOU) after giving cecelia a few minutes, he saunters over to her room and knocks lightly on her door.]

Hey... are you okay in there? Darin's gonna be fine. Thank you for calling me... I know I didn't make the best entrance but you did the right thing.

[adamantlyardent]

I see.

[the response comes late -- a minute or two late, following some nondescript sounds. during those few minutes of dudes being dumb, she had taken to screaming into a pillow and then fixing her makeup. as you do.

now, though, the door remains closed and her tone clipped:] Well, thank you. As long as no one is going to die in this house, that is enough, I suppose.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin is draped over the side of the tub like a seasick, waterlogged cat.]

Man, I should find out whatever the hell was in that junk and extract it. Nothing's ever done that to me before.

[h2no]

Darin.

[darin has likely never heard a more irritated hiss.]

Ah... yeah, we're good out here. Are you alright in there? [he directs to the door.] I'm gonna stick around for a half hour or so to make sure Darin's alright-- I'll get him out the bathroom so it's free. Can you... maybe come out and tell me what you were using while this all happened when you're ready?

[adamantlyardent]

[still refusing to open the door:] It’s all downstairs. I arranged them in the sequence used, but I don’t know which did the deed for sure.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...I think I know which one.

She mentioned something about it being 'untested.'

Look for the one with that on it and we should have the culprit.

[h2no]

Right. Thank you for being so neat, Cecelia. That'll make this a lot easier.

[he looks back to darin, then gestures for him to come downstairs.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin follows him downstairs with a towel slung over his neck.]

[adamantlyardent]

Just throw the whole lot out!

[this call comes a bit late, but that's because she's late in reemerging and lingering at the banister upstairs.]

I don't want any chance of a repeat -- on myself or anyone else here.

[h2no]

[archie stops as darin goes into the living room where they're laid out, padding back to look up at cece from below.]

We're not gonna toss your make up. [he says up to her, not sounding at all annoyed. this isn't unlike a problem he'd had with some of his grunts back home, actually...] They all work fine on you, don't they?

[adamantlyardent]

[already backing up toward her room:] I didn't try yet, so I don't know. And I don't want to try, in any case, so...so pitch the lot!

[h2no]

[ah--! shit. okay. don't that.]

We'll have a look through them. Maybe we'll toss them, maybe we'll only toss a few. You're welcome to join at any time.

[he beams up at her.] I already like the glittery ones!

[to darin, after he joins him:] Which one was untested?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin finds the culprit on the floor where Cece had dropped it in a panic and tosses it Archie's way.]

This one. I'm gonna take a look at the others, though.

[adamantlyardent]

[choosing to LEAVE THOSE POSITIVE ARCHIE REMARKS UNCOMMENTED ON:] Just don't try them and wind up bloating like a toad again! It's nightmarish.

[h2no]

I figure we could look over the listed ingredients and pick out the odd one out. Better to know so Darin can avoid it in any other products.

[he hums.]

Unless there's a better way... it wouldn't involve using any of them. Just might take a while to go through them all... help would be real good here!

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[When Archie's done trying to get Cece to join them, Darin clears his throat loudly and motions him over.]

[adamantlyardent]

[no one asked for this to turn into Archie trying to coax an irate cat down from a tree, but i guess here we are, because Cecelia still lingers in her spot, leery and hardly compelled to move.]

Throwing them out is quicker.

[h2no]

And less efficient in the long run!

[he calls back up to her, then looks over to darin. his expression isn't crossed with exasperation like it was before, just curiosity and concern.

quieter, so cecelia can't hear:] What's up?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Quietly, as he turns the foundation over in his hand.]

You ever hear of make up or any other consumer product making it to market without proper testing before?

[h2no]

Only sketchy companies and very rarely...

[he leans over to get a look at it.]

I wonder what drew her to it...

[adamantlyardent]

Oh, I don’t know. A SALE?

[keen hearing, y’all!! she scowls from above.]

This isn’t complicated, is it? Idiots buy awful product from snake oil salesmen all the time! [arm wave.] Behold: an idiot!

[forgeabettertomorrow]

You're not an idiot, Cece. The point I'm trying to make is, doesn't OTO have a lot of money in different companies?

We already know they have no qualms roping in innocent civilians into their vendetta against us. What if they're releasing untested harmful, potentially lethal products onto the market. Things that people from other worlds might not know about or understand, in an attempt to hurt us. Hell, this could be something released under the guise of an imPort owned company just to discredit us.

Might be worth looking into.

[h2no]

Let's not jump to conclusions until we figure out what the mystery allergen actually is.

[he's not disagreeing with darin, though. he sits in the couch, looking over some of the other ones.]

An' you ain't stupid! This just happens sometimes. You think I got my waterproof facepaint right on the first try? I'll tell ya, I didn't quite end up in A&E but it was close one time.

[...]

Hey, can I keep the silver glittery eyeliner?