maskormenacelogs | [OPEN] Something about the world today

WHO: Adam Young and YOU
WHERE: All over
WHEN: First half of February
WHAT: The whole CnC thing was a mess, and Adam has found himself back not only dealing with years of memories from an alternate life, but also several friends of his are gone. Lots of changes happening.
WARNINGS: Sad child, big thoughts

1. [OUTSIDE NONAH, HOUSE] Packing up
He's still in there a lot, for the first week.

There's no reason to pack up things by hand. He could easily make it all go away, will it all into boxes, cut himself the slack. But he doesn't want to.

There's a lot of books. Stories, comics, the occasional mysterious tome that may not be entirely age or theme appropriate, but that his former guardians didn't seem to have an issue in him keeping. There's toys, of course, some of them partially chewed on by either of his pets. There's souvenirs, including a small, very accurate guilhotine they'd given him after they came back from Paris.

There's other stuff around the house. The plants, the other books. He doesn't know what to do with them, but he's not going to give them away. As far as he's concerned, the house is staying where it is, how it is, mysteriously locked and unbreakable.

He could use some help with packing, though.

2. [NONAH, STRIKE A PAWS PET STORE] Something to do
Nobody really knows how the boy stays employed, but it doesn't look like the shop owners mind or care. There's justifiable absences, every once in a while, but they do an eleven year old, so there's a lot more questions than anyone cares to ask.

It doesn't seem like a lot of people are really into bringing their pets in here lately. Makes sense, really, probably after everything that's happened in the last couple of months, and with rumors of strange creatures roaming about again. Not that Adam really gets why people are into bringing their pets over so often, anyway, but he's always happy to play with the little pups that come in.

Today, though, he's diligently going down the aisles and picking up assorted items. Pet beds, toys, cans and bags of food, the latter of which don't seem to keep only to dog and rabbit food, strangely enough.

He's got a good sizable pile of things in his arms as he's reaching for another small plastic dish, and ends up dropping half of them in mess of clatters and thuds.

3. [DE CHIMA, STREETS AND FOREST] Hideout
Many times, more often now than before, Adam can be spotted around De Chima. Often times, past school hours, he'll be walking down to the residential area and well past the houses, into the forest that surrounds the city.

A good couple of times, he seems to be carrying a rather full backpack and a couple of heavy looking bags, with assorted items. He's also always accompanied by his canine friend, and often carrying Bubsy the Jackalope in his arms.

A couple of people may know where he's going, all those times. Those that don't are welcomed to ask. A secret that isn't really a secret, but younger imPorts will have a better chance of being invited along.

4. [JEOPARDY] Curiosities
He hasn't been here in a good while. At a point, he pops in to see how far along the city's doing ever since what happened a couple of months, curiously watching the rebuilding efforts.

He likes Jeopardy a lot. It's spooky and weird, he's pretty sure half the people he sees around aren't really alive. There's just this odd feeling about it, not new to anyone, but that he finds...fun? Welcoming? Just weird? He doesn't know. But he likes it here.

He's decided to go to all manners of shops, though he's more often found in bookshops. Crystals and cards? He doesn't really understand those, but the crystals are neat.

Might as well build up his collection.

5. [ANYWHERE] (Make up your own prompt)
During these weeks, Adam can be found wandering around, as usual for the boy. Usually with a backpack on and accompanied by Dog, sometimes Bubsy the Jackalope, he can be almost always found anywhere between Nonah and De Chima, though that doesn't mean he won't go to other import cities.

All week days, he can be found at school, usually with his face buried in a book or notebook, specially nowadays. He seems to be keeping a lot to himself.

A few times a week, during the late afternoon, he can be found doing his shift at Strike A Paws Pet Store.

He can be spotted in several parks with his pets. Many times in book shops and the library, often coming in and out of sweets shops and cafés. May even find him heading deeper into the forest around De Chima.

Come and say hi.

--

[OOC: For plotting, feel free to privately message this account, or contact me at skree or Skree#9889 on Discord.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There is a unique kind of anger reserved for when people hurt animals. Even some misanthropes still find themselves loving animals, preferring them over people (and probably likely so). And Anathema is notoriously something of a hippie herself, all earth and animals and the balance of nature compared to mankind—

"He did what," she repeats, her voice steely, even though she heard perfectly well.

One could consider, of course, that not everyone in that world was the same as they are here. If imPorts are aware of that at all, if it had to simply do by personal experience or something entirely different. But things happened as they did, and Adam doesn't feel entirely different - he thinks. Two different sets of memories now sit on top of each other, and he doesn't know what to make of it. But there are some things he simply will not change his feelings on.

He's looking down at Dog, expression a bit tight. Dog continues to try to comfort his master.

"We got away." He says eventually, with a clean space for something that isn't being said.

Anathema's always been perceptive, though, and so her head tilts and she sizes him up. There's the chance that he just fled, safely got away, but against someone as powerful as the archangel...?

"What happened?"

Well, there was a point, not that long ago, where that wouldn't have been that difficult to consider. He'd managed to go against his original father, after all.

Still, he hesitates, much like most children do when they think they did something bad. When they actually believe they're in trouble. Not that anyone around Adam has quite had the same power as his actual parents, but it's really not that simple.

"He wasn't going to let us go. So I broke us out." He gave the archangel several outs. He could have let them go any time. Adam looks at his friend, and his eyes are deadly serious. "I blew it up."

A blink. Consideration, as she parses that: "It, as in, the room? The hotel?"

"The room." He could have probably done it to the hotel. But there were other people there, and he would have had to taken that into account. Even after 6 years in that place and trying to hone his control on his power, it didn't always go how he wanted. It's like trying to hold water in your hands, and there's just so much of it sometimes.

"I don't remember what happened after that. Then we showed up here again." Dog whines, high pitched and worried.

That sound from Dog is slightly heartbreaking, and so Anathema shifts to angle herself down to the floor, reaching out a hand to scritch the animal behind his ears, a reassuring ruffle to the fur on Dog's head. She hasn't been intimidated by the hellhound for a while; he's too much of a good dog, too.

"G—" Muttering god in the presence of the Antichrist feels odd, so she cuts herself off short, simply adding, "I'm glad you're both back safely." A twinge in her heart, knowing that Aziraphale and Crowley aren't. That Adam's essentially out his second pair of parents.

And then she looks at him. Not incredulous, exactly, but reassessing what he'd said earlier, the possible platitude he'd offered:

"Are you really sure you're alright, Adam?"

Dog welcomes the petting. Maybe the hellhound's nature just has changed too much; he feels no need to be demonic, the only thing that hasn't changed is his loyalty to his master - but maybe that isn't quite correct, either, as he's allowed himself to question that too. But Adam is a good kid. A good kid who's upset, and tried to do his best to help his best friend. It hurts Dog to see him that way.

The hellhound turns his head to lick at Anathema's fingers. She's a friend too, she's proven as such. Humans really aren't so bad.

"Yeah." The boy responds, but there's a furrow to his brow, and he's mostly looking at his hands, now back on the table. "I think so. I dunno." as he works closer to honesty.

"It's just a lot to think about." He's had far too much to think about since his birthday.

She can't help grinning down at the animal. They've come a fairly long way since Dog's growling unhappiness at entering the witch's cottage, at stepping anywhere near her various protective enchantments. Then her expression sobers again, as Adam picks his way through his thoughts.

"Yeah. I get it," Anathema says after another pause. "I'm still coming to terms with what it means, too. What it feels like to return.

"If you need anything, Adam. Let me know, okay? Especially since Aziraphale and Crowley aren't around anymore. I know you've got Jane, but—" An exhale. "I'd like to help, too, if there's ever anything I can do to help."

She also can't help but feel mildly responsible for him, ever since she first changed her mind and decided to not bring about the kid's death for the sake of her Duty™. It's complicated!!

For what it's worth, he doesn't even know what was Anathema's objective. But, also, he doesn't blame the people who openly tried to kill him that day, so, you know, it's fine.

Adam nods at the sentiment. Anathema is his friend, has been since that day, even though things have gone a little crazy over here - things have been a little crazy from the start, even before this world -, but his feelings about her haven't changed. "I will." He answers simply, because what else can you do in a moment like this?

While he's still conflicted about the events, at least he feels a little better telling someone. Doesn't feel so much like he's in trouble. But he doesn't like the idea that he lost control, even if it doesn't compare to things he's done in the past.

"What do you think happens now?"

"Mm. Well." Anathema crosses her legs under her, neatly tucking in her feet and cradling her cup of tea against her knees, making herself comfortable again.

"What we do every time, I suppose: try to get back to our regular jobs, the regular swing of things. Go about our lives. I'll have to see if my shop even still exists, and if so I'll have to reopen and tell all the clients that we're back in business. I'll probably need to hire on some extra help, because I'm still down one colleague since he Ported out. You keep feeding Bubsy and Dog, and making sure they feel very loved and appreciated."

She tries to offer him a smile. "Just live, really."

Adam supposes she's right. What else are they supposed to do? What else can they do? Even just a few years-months-- however ago, when he ended up here, all he could really do was keep going. And even before that, when he found out things about himself that he could have never suspected before, when it was all over, that was all he intended on doing - to just continue being.

Just keep going, and keep living. That's all you can really do.

So, he nods, looking at his hands. He feels tired. Not tired tired, but some sort of tired. A weird kind of tired.

"Yeah." He looks down at Dog, who rests his head on his master's lap again, gently waggling his tail.

She reaches out, catches Adam's hand and gives it what she hopes is a reassuring pat. Everything's gone sideways and he doesn't look at all like she remembers, and they're wrestling with a headful of memories that never happened (or did they), but—

All they can do is just keep going.

[OPEN] Something about the world today

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