Remnants of the Earth

AEDOLIS => The Rest of Aedolis => Topic started by: Lion on March 30, 2018, 07:51:15 pm

Title: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on March 30, 2018, 07:51:15 pm: “If your father knew you were coming here, he’d kill you, y’know. Nothing else gets him fuming these days other than the knowledge that you’re out doing your own thing, living your life. Did I ever tell you that when you were taken into candidacy, he went completely off the wall? No? Pffft, well, he marched into his office, upturned the desk, ripped out the drapes and threatened anyone with that spring loaded knife of his if they tried to come in and ‘calm him down.’ He said you were betraying the family… Said you were dead to him.”

Mom was unusually chipper on that call, and the rail to Travica was taking a little bit longer than normally scheduled, and Theo busied his hands with a leather band he’d been braiding along the way and the music playing on his earbuds. Travis Nothing, classic retrowave, and he tapped the phone off once the call was over. What else was new regarding what the Colonel thought of him.

Cry him a motherfucking river, why not. Theodoryk Kray snorted to himself as the railcar passed over the city’s lower levels, pretty soon passing through to the sector junction that would take him to his mother’s. Amitra was a stunning woman, well into her 300’s although you’d never immediately tell by looking at her, eyes a fiery red that burned at the edges like molten lava. There wasn’t any doubt as to why the Colonel married her, made her his, begat children by her.

Amitra, however, was no woman to be trifled with. When you spent the last few centuries of your life with someone, that tended to be all you knew, and it was no wonder that the things that once drew you to them would ultimately become abhorrent to you. Make you cringe at the very sight and sound of them. The Colonel was not a good man - if he could even be called a man at all, but for the simplest of terms it was suitable in this instance - and there were things that were said between them that couldn’t be forgiven.

Theo had been gone by then, he’d gone off and graduated and moved to Samariel where the water drew him and where there were no worries beyond the duties dictated by his Dragon. Asphodei Ramsey Kray was what the Colonel called himself at some point. It was never a name Theo used, and he tried never to refer to that seedbearer as if he’d ever been anything resembling a father.

Besides, the last thing Theo wanted to think about was him, and he wasn’t about to ruin his visit to Amitra. The 15 hour ride to cross that putrid toxic ocean was a chore, and the junction through Ryun to head north was even more time for him to get lost in his head. Even more time to muse on the past and what little meaning it really held. Visits to Travica were rare enough as it was with work being what it was, and him being who he was.

No reason to ruin it. None at all.

-----
“And then after I told him I didn’t have any interest. He got angry and said, ‘Yeah? Well maybe I’ve got interest enough for both of us.’ He got handsy then I had to rip his balls off and hand them to him,” she went on and on as Theo took her into the Manolins on a wester upper level sector. It wasn’t as busy at this time of day as he assumed it would be. No snapbacked, half-dressed would be screenwriter hacks pounding away on tablets and keyboards. Except that one guy in the corner, his peach fuzz stache covered in dried latte foam. Theo rolled his eyes.

He sniffed, pinching his nose, and grinned at his mother. “You smell that right?”

“You mean the incandescent festering of a prolific hipster’s magnum opus?” she snickered.

“Exactly. That right there is probably the next Yuletide action blockbuster. I bet you seven pearls.”

“Fucking yes. You’re so on! I expect those pearls in necklace form. Either that or seven butterfly kisses.”

Theo snorted and took a seat across from her, once their orders were made and drinks being prepared. “So what’s the big news you had to tell me? And….Mom, stop picking at the fucking cookie. Here, lemme show you how it’s done.” Theo took his own chocolate chip cookie and promptly shoved the whole thing into his mouth. It was too much to try and keep a straight face when Amitra looked at him dead in the eye and did the exact same thing, staring him down with the glare only a mother was capable of.

It took everything to keep from spitting it out immediately from laughter, and for a full 3 minutes straight, red orange eyes met to red orange eyes. Theo’s narrowed, holding cookie firmly in mouth until the corners of his mouth started to drool over, and when a small bit of slobber rolled out, he swallowed down what he could and spit the rest out into a napkin and cackled madly. “You win, mom. You win.”

His grin softened as he watched her eat and grin wildly. He brought over their coffee and settled hers down gently.

“I guess there’s no use beating around the bush. I really shouldn’t be surprised that you didn’t know though. Your father would do everything in his power to keep anything from you.”

He sighed and frowned. “Don’t call him that. He’s not my father. He’s the Colonel. That’s all he ever will be. His own words not mine.”

Her eyes narrowed and she frowned, mouth drawn into a tight-lipped line. The corners of her mouth only showed the faintest signs of wrinkling, and the coloration of her lipstick stayed right where it belonged rather than coating the lid of her cup after she took a thoughtful sip. “Leander is engaged. Your father arranged it several months ago, but I’ve only just now found out about it. She’s going to be married.”

Theo’s hand stopped playing with the lid of his cup and he froze, staring at the lid and he could have sworn his stomach grew cold, the cookie sitting on a geyser of bile, and he scowled, frown deepening at the cold twist his gut continued to pretzel itself into. His eyes faltered, unable to look at Amitra anymore and tilted down at the cookie pieces he couldn’t eat. “Any thought as to when? Probably soon I imagine.”

“So far that’s all I know… But...I’m sorry.”

“No...it’s…. Thanks for telling me mom. Hey, so how about them Titans huh?”

---
There were few places in Travica where one could achieve a decent swim. The pools of Samariel could only largely be rivaled by those of Ryun, and even that was kind of pushing it. Ryun had its charms. But Samariel had its spirit. But since beggars didn’t want to spend the next 24 hours on a rail right back home after only speaking with Amitra for less then a day, his choice remained the Strega Training Complex for Pilots less than esteemed enough to get their kicks out at the Titans facility.

Theo stripped down to orange and blue compression shorts, the orange stripe running down the side and ending just before his thigh began. The small spiked fins along the sides of his arms and legs frilled out from the lack of clothing to snag on them. And with the presence of water so close, even chlorinated as it was, he could feel every nerve of his standing on end.

He undid his hair from the bun on his head and with a small leap, dove right in, staying underwater for a number of minutes, the dim lights in the pool area just barely enough to light the nonslip edges, and there at the bottom he lingered for a bit. Wishing just for a moment that he could drown...
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on March 30, 2018, 11:55:14 pm: Cry her a motherfucking river.

The slam of metal echoing throughout the womens' locker room in the less-esteemed Pilot-only pool of Travica was louder than necessary. It rang against the other metal doors, making them shake in their cubbies as she stood there in her high-cut one piece bathing suit, teeth grit and fists clenched as she stared at the rather unassuming metal door. Her civilian clothes lay just behind it, wadded up into a random net totebag out of sheer spite and frustration, shoved as far to the back as possible, as if in doing so she could ignore what was really bothering her any easier.

She couldn't.

Her seafoam green gaze affixed itself on the slight three inch hairline scratch in the dark navy blue paint, revealing the locker's true brassy color beneath right on the center of the door. It marred an otherwise perfect and untampered locker door, and under any other circumstances she probably wouldn't have even noticed it--but tonight she stared at it, glaring with daggers in her eyes of hate and pure loathing. Those feelings weren't meant for the door, they were meant for another person, but staring in a mirror didn't quite produce the intended effect.

Always getting her hopes up. Always letting herself down, letting everyone down.

She snatched her towel angrily from the bench behind her and set off for the pool. She'd come here to work off some of this excess steam, since talking about her problems had never been a skillset she'd learned. Sure, she knew of it in theory.

Knew other people did it.

But she wasn't other people. She was Andromeda Messiere. She was... Different. In a not-so great way.

She tossed her towel carelessly to a bench along the wall as she stepped out to the pool and the scent of the chlorine hit her like a wall. The serene and unnatural aqua waters were perfectly untouched, like she was looking at a pure sheet of blue glass with lines some 12 feet beneath. It was fairly standard, and later in evenings like this, usually abandoned. Most Pilots, particularly here in Travica, often occupied their time with other hobbies. Swimming was a bit unusual; and yet she loved it so.

As far as she knew she was no water demon; her mom was just some crazy kinda succubus she'd seen once in a photo, and that was really all she needed to know. All Andy knew right now was that Andy liked the water, Andy needed to work off some steam, and Andy wanted to go to the pool. Roll it all up into one and you got Andy doing a perfect dive off the board to the waters below, the immediate silence of the pressure of the water against her ear drums oddly satisfying as for a moment she felt suspended in "air." Bubbles danced around her in swarms, and when she opened her eyes the pool itself was rather blurry. Underwater vision was not something her genes had granted her, dangit.

She eventually came up, breaking the surface and shaking her hair out of her eyes as she started to do some laps. Work off the energy, focus on left, right, breathe, left, right, breathe, and nothing else.

Let all problems melt away to be tucked under the rug later. Ignored, forgotten, until eventually the sore wore away and she was left back at square one again. And again. And again.

"Fuck," She spat as she stopped in the middle of a lap, taking a breath to dunk her head violently under the water and come back up again, spitting the nasty taste out of her mouth with a snarl on her face.

This was stupid, she was so, so fucking stupid. Always had been. Always would be.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

With another deep breath she plunged back under the water again, playing. Fucking around. Trying anything and everything she could think of to stop thinking about the issues here, because fretting and stewing over things out of her control was pointless. Simply, utterly, completely pointless.

It was at one point when she was under the water that she didn't realize she'd been joined in the pool by other company--and even when she came up, throwing her hair back in an arch that sprayed water in 180 degrees above her head she heard the noises of other splashes, glanced and saw someone else, and promptly ignored whoever it was. The entire reason she came to this pool in particular when she was in these kinds of moods--which had happened twice now in the past six months, a rare occurrence, but whatever--was because any other Pilots who came here couldn't use the Titan's pool, most likely. It meant they didn't know Andy much, and didn't care, and would leave her alone. Any regular patrons had long learned by now that when Andy visited this pool, particularly at this hour, the absolute last thing she wanted was to engage in friendly conversation.

They knew better, so she assumed this person knew better, and kept her back to them as she tossed her memorable purple mess of hair around over her shoulders, brushing it back from her face as she stood in the shallower end, water running down her form as she stared blankly at nothing. Thought nothing. Tried to feel nothing.

Keyword being: "tried".

Because no matter what she did her heart kept throbbing, and her heart kept hurting, and it was showing no signs of letting up this time.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 02, 2018, 01:35:33 am: Frankly he hadn't even been aware of another body already in the water before he joined in. The water was his home and he'd been too lost in his head to think of anything else that would have made any remote difference in whether or not he went for a swim. Water was home. All was right when he was in it, and the rest of Aedolis melted away. There was no engagement, no Colonel, no Amitra, no Samariel or Ryun, no politics or policies to worry about.

It was a dark deep sanctum.

He breathed quietly down at the bottom of the pool, feeling the gills on either side of his neck open and flare out, filtrate the oxygen in the water and he laid down at the very bottom, eyes opening to see another shape in the pool, upside down as he was, his back against the bottom of the pool. Through the glare of the water, he could see a great set of legs standing in the shallower end, muscle shifting as they stood, water waist deep.

Theo grinned, wondering who was attached to such a pair of legs. It'd briefly passed over his mind, the thought of swimming over to them, grabbing those legs and pulling them under, holding them a second and passing air to them before letting them go. That was always a classic, but tended to have disaster written on it since most people were terrified of drowning and likely anyone else attached to legs like that was probably not intent on sinking like a stone so fast.

He did swim over, twirling over from his back and kicking forward, staying at the bottom and swimming along it until he was around those legs. And the closer he got, he felt a small jolt in his chest. He knew they were familiar. But why of all people would their owner be in a place like this. Didn't she have a facility where she could go swimming, not that he minded necessarily. Theo grinned and breathed out from his nostrils as he burst up from the surface, standing eye level with none other than Andromeda Messiere.

He said nothing for a long set of seconds, just meeting her gaze and watching the water fall down her face and body, dripping down the crevices of each muscle in small rivulets.

"Hey hey, Andy, what's up?" he asked, reaching back and brushing his own burgundy red hair out of his face, his fins flaring and twitching. Water dribbled down his face, beading along his skin, and eyes flared, keeping level with hers. "Fancy seeing you here."

Was she just going to scoff and ignore him? Yeah probably. Sounded like she wanted to be by herself from the mere look on her face. She was in a place known to lesser Pilots, had access to exclusive workspace, yet wasn't there. Had a one piece swimsuit on which clearly was doing her a disservice when a two-piece suited her so much better - but he wasn't one to judge since he swam better naked anyway.

Theo shook his hair out like a dog and floated around onto his back around her, gliding along the surface, water sweeping off his chiseled chest and highlighting the brightly colored neons of his nautical tattoos, that seemed reflective in the dim lighting even then.

"What? Piranha got your tongue?" he snickered.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 02, 2018, 10:21:25 pm: The longer she stood there and spaced out, the less she saw the water before her and instead remembered breath on her skin and arms around her, sending chills up her spine that meant the warm droplets of water rolling down her cheeks weren't full of chlorine like the rest.

She sucked in a breath, right as her heart jumped and nearly stopped as the water suddenly erupted before her. For a moment, instinctively, she snapped ready into a defensive position, hands raised to fists in front of her as fight or flight kicked in, and she'd always been the fighting type. She was so abruptly jarred from the memory, the shock making her gaze harden as she glared hard at whatever had decided to try and test its fate against Andromeda motherfucking Messiere and........

She blinked, staring right back at the guy before her shoulders relaxed and she stood straight again, hands dropping to rest on her hips as she arched a brow and realized she was face to face with...... Whats-his-face. From like last week or whatever. They'd tied in their wrestling match. Couldn't be bothered to remember his name, though.

"Oh look, I wasn't expecting to run into the missing member from the Backroad Boys tonight."

She sneered, glancing at his hair now let down from its bun to show its wavy glory that reminded her of similar styles that had been popular about twenty years ago. Ahh, it just needed the tips dyed blonde and it'd be perfect.

She rolled her eyes however, giving her hair a flippant toss over her shoulders as she started to turn away, cold fury bubbling up in her chest that she'd been disturbed when all she wanted was some fucking alone time, gods dammit-- before she stopped and realized that hey, actually...

Maybe a distraction was what she needed.

She tilted her head, back facing him as she favored one of her sharp canines, raising her brows in mischief as she glanced over her shoulder at him and suddenly whipped around, throwing her arms through the water with all the strength in her core and splashing a great wave on him, loud and hard and uncalled for.

"So dead set on losing you've decided to pester me for more, have you?" She crowed, though perhaps it wasn't quite as boisterous as it had been the first time they'd wrestled.

Something was missing, or maybe it was the slightest waver there at the tail end in her voice, or that shine in her eyes, that universally easy-to-understand look that wasn't caused by the wetness of a pool.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 03, 2018, 11:41:55 pm: If anyone had told Theodoryk Kray that he was going to end up in a pool one day with none other than Andromeda Messiere, he would have scoffed and threw a drink at them, laughing all the way to the fish tank. Theo didn't believe in luck, that kind of thing didn't exist for people like him. Furthermore, such an incorporeal concept didn't and couldn't determine one's fate. If that was true, then he'd still be under his father's thumb, engaged, married to someone he didn't love and would never get to swim with fish.

Funny that, the blood that burned so hotly in his veins, both his gift and his curse. The his wings and his albatross. or so an old poem went that he'd read some time ago. He could believe in what he saw and felt and the feelings that inspired in him, he could embrace his freedom and for him that was real.

Theo flipped around, righting himself in the water until he was standing and kept his visage uniquely on her, scoping out her form, her stance, her weaknesses, where she would be most vulnerable if he pulled her under. Would she drown? No, not Andromeda Messiere. She was the best, she was invincible, she was untoppable. Andromeda the Indominable - that was the headline for Apex Magazine, back when he was fresh out of Candidacy. She was the best and gave 0 fucks.

And now she was standing in a pool in front of him and he felt his gut lurch. A small jolt rush south, a natural reaction to the chill he assumed and just grinned at her.

"Backroads Boys, that's a good one," he snorted, raising a brow at her and he couldn't help the small crease of disappointment his brow made at the let down of a comeback that was.

That being said, he braced himself for the shift in her stance, the way her tongue prodded at her canine, and when the shwoop of water came, he feigned a gasp and was grinning ear to ear. A snort escaped him, his red eyes lingering on the red and seemingly tired traces underneath her eyes, that familiar look of sorrow and weariness all balled into crow's feet and mischief.

"Oh you wanna play like that huh? Pretty sure I could make waves bigger than you. I'm slippery when wet," he snorted and reared his arms back to slap a huge wave right back at her face, knocking her majestic purple hair sideways. And turned his gaze devilish, the grin turning wicked as his eyes flicked to the other end of the pool. "How about we make this interesting. First one to complete 5 laps from one end to the pool to the other wins. One trip back and forth is one lap. Later loser."

He grinned and swirled his arms again to throw another wave of water before immediately diving underneath the surface and undulating his whole body to wriggle through the water, darting through it like a blade's edge.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 04, 2018, 07:14:49 pm: The splash back was to be expected. She quickly raised a hand to shield her eyes, but the force of the water almost knocked her off-balance. Almost. She grabbed a handful of hair and tossed it back from her face, eyes shining now with real mischief and dangerous intrigue, her grin fierce as it showed off all of her sharp canines.

"Slippery? Oh I bet your pants must be a real slip'n'slide then, huh?" She sneered, but before she even had much of a chance to rub it in he proposed her a challenge--and didn't even give her the option of turning him down.

Had she had movable ears like some creatures, they'd have perked instantly at the mention of making things more interesting, and like that, as if he'd simply snapped his fingers, he had all of her attention like he was dangling a carrot in front of a horse. Games? Excellent. She needed the distraction, and thus when she saw his muscles tense as he started to move, heard the "Later, loser!" She wasted no time in springing after him.

She threw herself wholeheartedly back into the water, diving down under and kicking with surprising agility and coordination for a gal who played with glorified Pop 'Em Sock 'Em Robots all day. She tore through that water like a shark, pushing hard off of the wall as she completed every lap, determined to win. And yet the one time she happened to glance over, closing in on the fifth lap, she realized he was still ahead.

Andy didn't falter, but she felt her heart did. It stuttered for a half a second, and in that fraction of a moment she saw his splashes in the focus of her vision, other people flashed across her mind instead. Her heart clenched with more than just the exercise.

She reached the wall just after him, and it was clear the moment he pulled his head from the water. She took a moment to catch her breath, her forearms crossed on the side of the pool before she suddenly flexed and pulled herself up over the edge with ease, turning to sit, feet still trailing in the water as she tossed her hair back and smirked at him--though it was only half there.

"Not bad, Fishstick. Even though you cheated." She bared her teeth just slightly, nodding and making a pointed glance at his fins.

She pulled her feet up underneath her and gracefully stood, water splashing down her form and hitting the pavement with hard pitters and patters. It had been fun; a good workout, a good distraction. But she looked away, her gaze on an imaginary someone across the pool who clearly wasn't there. It worked but it'd been brief, and the throbbing aches in her chest were back once again, hardly something that made her feel up to socializing. She couldn't even be bothered to challenge him to a rematch.

She glanced over, spotting her towel on the bench and going over to it to pick it up, squeezing her hair into it as she started to head back to the locker rooms with a wave at him over her shoulder.

"Your prize is a pool to yourself. Enjoy it, Fishstick."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 04, 2018, 08:33:41 pm: Theo wasn't a competitive son of a bitch, but when a challenge was on the line, a faint primal need was abruptly ignited within him. Not to prove anything, not because he was the best and thus had to prove it. The heat of a challenge alone was enough to set his heart racing, it was the very thrill of the action that made it worth his while. And the possibility of kinda rubbing it in Andromeda's face was just the icing on a fish cake.

And the fact that it took so little to instigate her, that he took off and she followed behind him, he could hardly hold back the smug bastard grin he had under the water, throwing his whole body into every stroke. The fins along his arms and legs took to each movement and propelled him further along, catching water, scooping it and jetting him forward.

One lap, then two, then three, and already he knew he was ahead by a long shot. And damn could Andy keep up. She was bigger than him, just by a hair, although his own body was chiseled and carved out with a strong musculature, all of which aided him in moving so naturally through the water, but she took to it as if it was second nature. And a small jolt leapt south from abdomen to groin.

And when he no longer felt her presence in the water, Theo abruptly halted and shifted around so that his head and hair broke surface, tossing it back with a mighty swing and wave of his head.Paddling closer to her, he eyed her long legs, pulling herself out of the water and standing, of which he followed suit, hoisting himself up and the water drenching all the way down his form.

Theo's eyes narrowed, watching her turn to walk away, and he scoffed, sniffing a little. "It ain't cheating if you're born this amazing," he snorted, even knowing then how stupid he sounded tooting his own horn as he was. But there was a playful glint in his eye and he moved closer to her, keeping a level gaze the whole while.

"Don't think I'm letting you off that easy. You just earned yourself a consolation drink, butthead," he snorted and nudged her shoulder with his. It was a gentle touch, his shoulder brushing against hers. "C'mon, what do you say? You gotta redeem yourself. I mean, that display in the water was pretty fucking impressive, but I'm wondering if you can drink like a fish as well as swim like one."

Theo headed to the unisex locker rooms where his stuff was stored away and let the water drip drip drip along the way. The towels folded on the cart just at the entryway was unfurled and dragged along his body, the rivulets of water being immediately soaked up and the frills of his fins casually relaxing and easy against his skin. He didn't even mind if she followed him or not, and casually pushed the wet swim trunks from his pelvis and tossed them into his gym bag, wrapped in his own towel before throwing on a pair of boxers and jeans.

"Well," he called out to her. "You get the molasses out your brain yet? How about that drink?" Theo hung up the towel off to the side, throwing it on a hook just beside the edge of the lockers where she was and he leaned against it, bracing one arm against the cool metal, his t-shirt draped of his shoulder, pants being buttoned one-handed and the ankles bunched up under worn, dirty boots, and his gym bag at his feet.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 04, 2018, 09:15:10 pm: To be honest, as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, tossing it against her back as she headed back to the locker rooms, she hadn't been expecting the touch. She'd been thinking he'd call her a sore loser and leave it at that to keep playing in the water, or whatever fish guys did. She didn't know. She wasn't a fish guy.

The brush against her shoulder caught her by surprise, made her step away and sharply turn her head to give him an accusing look that largely read 'The fuck you think you're doing?' She wasn't in a mood to be touched, wasn't in a mood to horseplay. Not with those faces flashing across her mind, or the painful ache that felt like a winded stitch in her chest, as if she'd been running too far for too long.

"Butthead? Oh yeah, I'm practically dying to go get drinks with you now, boy." She said with a roll of her eyes as he passed her to head to the locker rooms.

When he just got here?

She paused in the doorway a moment, crossing her arms underneath her chest to raise her breasts onto her forearms, totally not intentionally, as she arched an eyebrow and stared at him with a smirk for a moment as he just dropped his pants in front of her, naked for a second before he wrapped himself in his towel.

Uh-huh. Very subtle.

She snorted softly and shook her head, going to the locker set right across the isle from his, her back to him as she opened the door and pulled out her bag of wadded clothes. She followed the same suit, uncaring of what he saw as she peeled out of that one piece swimsuit and toweled off quickly, slipping into a set of blue and purple triangle patterned leggings, black sports bra and a pair of sneakers.

"Drink like a fish? Hmm, well." She pondered the notion for a moment as she ran a brush through her hair real quick, bending over to toss it down and then back up as she straightened so it dried with a natural fluff to it, rather than hanging there like a dead thing on her head. Wasn't her style.

Drinks sure as shit sounded good, but she also knew that something like that could be hella dangerous, as if she hadn't just spent the last week stoned out of her mind in a sad attempt to forget how she felt. Because feelings were never something she'd learned to handle well, or handle at all honestly. Getting drunk would be a great way to fend the pain off, but it could turn into a real nasty habit.

She glanced over her shoulder at Theo, meeting his gaze briefly.

Could also turn into some real nasty mistakes.

"Fine, you're buying. Don't complain about your wallet when I'm done, Fishstick. Any particular place in mind, or hadn't you gotten that far yet?" She asked as she tossed her bag over her shoulder, dropping the towel on the bench and tilting her head at him curiously.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 04, 2018, 09:48:13 pm: Theo gave exactly 0 fucks about whether or not she saw him in his skivvies and then some. Seeing as it was a locker room, someone was bound to see something at some point. And the same he was certain went for her. So he didn't bother looking away at all when she went about changing, letting himself admire the finer points of her form, eyes taking it in and the nonchalant way with which she went about stripping. The sheer casualness was a nice change of pace. And for a moment he was actually glad they were the only two people in there - merely for the lack of sheer interruption.

Theo snorted a little, watching her hair fluff up and dry from it's initial swamp thing status to a Kreseme commercial model, whipping her hair back before she showed up her pointless male costar how shiny her hair was. And for some reason Theo enjoyed toying with the thought that if anyone was going to star in a commercial just like that - there'd be no one more fitting than her.

"The only thing I'm worried about is keeping your hair out of the way when you drink so much you puke all over the floor," Theo grinned at her, eyelids half lidded and smug. His hand reached up and scratched at his stubble, pulling his tshirt over his head and likewise hoisting the bag up onto his shoulder. He led the way out of the gym and motioned for her to walk with him. Not behind or in front, but his footsteps comfortably fell in line with hers.

"Thirsty's down in Sector 12-G is really damn good. They distill their own whiskey," he grinned at her, gesturing to the tram that would take them their faster. "I'm sure you've got plenty of stories yourself about good places to get smashed. Considering how long you've been in Travica," he commented. "Got picked up right out from Candyland." He grinned knowingly at her, giving her side-eye, stepping onto the rail right behind her. "Think you can handle whiskey?"
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 04, 2018, 10:10:49 pm: To be perfectly honest, there was a tiny part of her that wondered if this was a good idea.

Andromeda might have crowed constantly about her greats, exuding confidence as if she were a walking talking G.I. Jake doll with the entire world on her side like it was impossible for her to ever be in the wrong, but she was still human. Most of that was a front put on for the public, or other Pilots--basically, anybody that wasn't her. That was who she was in company. Who she was by herself was far less amusing, far less riled up, far less brimming with bravado.

And it seemed like every time she showed that real side of herself to someone, it never fucking worked out.

Alcohol could bring out the absolute best and the absolute worst in people if you weren't careful. Could also bring out utter bullshit that made no sense at all. And she found herself glancing over at Theo occasionally, wondering what she was getting herself into. Clearly, he was into her. That wasn't uncommon. Sure, he was pleasing to the eye and all that, but her heart wasn't in it, and what might have ended up in a one night stand any other day was less likely to do so now--she just hoped he wasn't expecting it.

Cause if he tried to get it he'd be sorely mistaken.

Still, she'd said she was gonna go for it, and she couldn't back out now.

"Thirsty's is good, yes." She nodded, rolling her eyes at his commentary and ignoring his grin. "Ah, congratulations you did your homework, want a medal?" She couldn't help but sneer a little as she found a spot on the tram car and plopped down, spreading her arms across the back of the seats, crossing her legs at the knees and taking up plenty of space, much to the chagrin of some of the other passengers.

"Whiskey?" She tossed her head back and cackled, "Boy that shit might as well be apple juice! The hell kinda things you fish drink, huh? No, I usually like to start things off with absinthe, rum." She tilted her head, eyeing him carefully as the tram picked up speed to take them to their destination.

"For all your research you sure as shit have some low expectations of me, don'tcha?" She arched an eyebrow, looking at him pointedly. The drinking scene was one of her best played games, usually. Getting shitfaced was something rarely done by her, and she could usually hold her weight against most men with ease.

"So why're you here in Travica?" She asked, purely for the sake of making idle conversation and less so because she cared, as they stepped off at their stop and she took the lead, knowing exactly how to get to Thirsty's from the station.

It was a trip done often, a place visited frequently, sometimes with her fellow squad members, or just other random Pilots she decided to shack up with for an evening. Point was, when she walked in the bartender recognized her and she nodded her chin at the guy, and business was perfectly as usual. The bartender quickly slid her one of her favorite poisons to start, and two shots of raw rum for both as she perched elegantly on a bar stool, one foot on the bar at the bottom, the other leg draping gracefully down where her other rested on the floor as she knocked back the shot glass without blinking an eye. The liquid went down burning her throat, leaving the taste of nailpolish remover in her mouth and she grinned, glancing back to Theo.

"I mean I sincerely doubt you took that longass train ride just to see lil' ol' me." And if he tried to say that he did she'd call him out on that bullshit quicker than he could try to backtrack and come up with a better excuse.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 05, 2018, 12:31:31 am: Not only was this a good idea, it was a fan-fucking-tastic idea! And after a swim like that, even one he won singlehandedly with such ease, Theo wanted nothing more than a good stiff drink. He could have gone back to his hotel and drank alone, watched TV then waited around til Monday with his dick into his hand before taking the rail back to Samariel. Frankly while seeing Amitra was fun and he enjoyed their little visit, Travica had more to offer than just coffee and cookies.

And a good drink would ease the anxiety he'd felt bubbling at the pit of his stomach since entering the gym. Odd how water had done so much to distract him and yet here was another Pilot that seemed to do just that, only on the go. And Andy was at the very least an entertaining bean. And from the look in her eyes, she seemed to need something to distract her, herself.

Something was clearly on her mind. Something that needed absinthe and rum to distract her with.

Following her onto the tram, Theo stayed standing, watching her with a small mischeivous grin. So, she was going to be right up front with him. Good, excellent. No use in pussyfooting around the issue. It wasn't like he lived here. And if it weren't for Amitra, he wouldn't find himself in this sinkhole of a city anyway.

Even Haviah had nothing on Samariel.

Once they were in the bar proper, Theo took his place beside her, greeting the bartender in much the same way and thanking him for the shot and watching her knock it back with his grin just growing wider.

"Visiting my mother. She lives here. Good lady and I don't get to see her as often as i used to," he nodded and saw no reason to dance around the answer. It was the truth. "How about yourself? What brings an esteemed Pilot Noble to a place like Strega's? Just trying to get away for a while, huh? And it's too bad I can't get a good cup of sake here, but whiskey does just fine for my purposes. That shot of rum's gonna do real well too." He waved the bartender over for a refill and a whiskey sour on the rocks.

"And for the record fish drink all kinds of things. Why stick to just one? That's boring."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 05, 2018, 01:11:54 am: "Your mother, huh?"

She gave him a level look, staring at him for a moment to see if he was telling the truth. But he was so calm about it that she felt he probably was; and if he wasn't, he was good enough at lying he really didn't want her to know otherwise.

She wondered if having a mother was any different from having a father--it wasn't like she would know. Hell, she was getting mopey as fuck about everything today and she was sick of it already. She heard his question, and elected to ignore it for the time being in favor of taking her glass of poison and drinking the entire thing in one go. Her head tipped backwards farther and farther, back arching as she drained every drop and let out a sigh as she set the empty glass on the counter. The barkeep had paused a moment in his drying of a glass, staring at her with furrowed brows, coming when she stared him down and waved him over with a gesture of her fore and middle fingers.

She slid her gaze over to Theo, swiping a bead of drink from the corner of her mouth with the pad of her thumb as she let out a sigh.

"Lil' ol' me? I just like a change of scenery." And the frost that coated her words said more than enough about how she absolutely was not up for talking about it.

Once it was refilled, she picked up her glass by the rim, swirling it and watching the liquid sling and slosh around until she took another drink. "Well, fish also drink piss and shit in their water so you might wanna rephrase that a little." She smirked, looking up from her glass at him. "If you're here visiting mommy then how come she ain't at the bar with us? You holdin' out on her? What a rude kid you turned out to be."

Not like she knew jack shit about parenting. If he was her kid she'd have swatted him though for not offering to take her out drinking too. Very selfish and inconsiderate.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 05, 2018, 01:37:42 am: Theo snickered over his own drink, snorting and putting down money on the fact that this was turning out to be a fantastic idea. Yes, she didn't wanna talk about whatever was on her mind and frankly he didn't really give a shit if she did or didn't. They were here to shoot the shit and have a drink and it seemed to make her ease up considerably all ready. Theo downed a long swig of his whiskey and let it scorch it's way down his throat. He was perfectly fine with taking it easy, even if the little nagging bulb in the back of his brain prodded him to combine the rum shot with it.

And it didn't take much longer for that too happen too.

"Pfffft," he snorted. "Lookitchu trying to be a judging ninny. You're very concerned for her well-being. She'll be so touched that Andromeda Messiere told me i was a shitlord son and couldn't be bothered to take mommy for a drink." He was actually cackling into his glass and knocked the bar for another drink his way, even going about as to order a cheeseburger on the side.

"Nevermind the fact that she's a grown woman and has her own life to live. And since you're very concerned, yes we had lunch and hung out all afternoon. She had a date tonight. I hope she gets laid." He shrugged and tilted his head at her.

"Man you've got quite a fixation on body fluids there, Handy Andy. Too bad you can't win a wrasslin' match for shit. That was fun. We should do that again some time."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 06, 2018, 12:39:22 am: Andy rolled her eyes and scoffed at his idiotic remarks, particularly in concern to his mother and bodily fluids as she knocked back that second drink, holding off on another for now as she let those two settle in her gut. She should look into replacing her lungs with robitic ones here soon, she thought, because it seemed a worthy investment. She stared fixatedly at a small knick in the countertop, the dim lights barely bright enough to highlight its polished surface covered in hairline scratches.

How fitting.

"Oi oi, don't go putting words in my mouth and making me sound like I actually give a shit, bud. You're stretching way too far for those insults. I'd tell ya to try harder but then they'd just get worse."

She didn't look at him as she said it; her mind was running around a race track, and to her he was merely a bystander sitting in the bleachers she passed by on every lap. Only getting a portion of her thoughts and attention. The faces kept playing across her mind and the sting of realization and misjudgement kept plaguing her, making her chest clench. Her ribcage felt tight, and the shortness of breath didn't go away no matter how much or how little she exercised.

She just couldn't fucking win.

She glanced up at the wall on the other side of the bar, catching her reflection skulking back at her. Her shoulders were tense, hunched as she leaned heavily on her forearms on the counter. Her hair was drying, fluffy and far prettier than the look on her face. The way she was sitting made the light hit her starkly, highlighting her strong cheekbones, brows, nose and lips, while shadows consumed the rest of her. Her eyes had that glow in them like always, but it was faint. She looked like a villain in a children's movie where the princess gets the prince and her happy ending.

What'd the villain ever get? Usually death. Mostly death.

And the princess right now was that shithead bamboo-legged--no. Stop.

She put her head in her hands, rubbing at her temples as she shut her eyes tight, remembering vaguely a song in a musical tv series she'd caught one time on a day off at home spent flipping through channels.

I'm the villain in my own story
I'm the witch in my own tale
Though I insist I'm the protagonist
It's clear that my soul is up for sale

Fuck.

Fuck.

Only sparing a quick glance up through her fingertips she waved down the bartender again, the warm tingles starting to work there way up from her fingertips and toes to the rest of her and she knew that definitely was not enough fucking alcohol.

"What do you do when you have a song stuck in your head that's really fucking annoying and you want it to go away?" She asked, looking over at Theo and his burger and wondering if that was a good enough idea for her to copy.

Court decision ruled no.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 12, 2018, 12:42:28 am: Theo snorted and almost choked on a fry. She didn't think he was serious about that, did she? He hoped not because that was going to make this little meeting a bit short and that would just be disappointing on all fronts. He loved her company so far, but that could easily go south the moment both of them thought the other was about to go on a tirade on semantics of the ages. He'd saved conversations like that with his mother.

He just shook his head vehemently and ate a few move bites of his burger. "No insults intended," he shrugged, snorting enough to clearly show his glee in the moment at hand. "I just think it's funny is all." A few more bites and he scarfed the rest of it down. Much like after sex, Theo turned into a hungry bastard. He usually ate before going diving down into the ponds to look after the filters and the fish.

It wouldn't help his job or his reputation to accidentally eat a koi because he couldn't be bothered to get out of the water in time. That would be unfortunate. At least now, he had something that resembled beef inside of him and took another swig on his drink, feeling it warm him up and make his head feel a little lighter on his shoulders.

He didn't need to get shitfaced, although that felt like fucking heaven right now. Nothing would make him feel better really.

Cept drowning but that couldn't happen. Even now, staring back at Andy, as she seemed lost in thought, preoccupied with stuff, he felt as if he were still in water, deaf to everything, deprived of his senses and the room around them was slowly spinning. He would have fallen over were it not for the fact that he was still sitting, and braced over the bar like he was. Theo gripped his drink and downed the rest, motioning the bartender for another.

Yeah, he wanted to get wasted.

"An ear worm? Usually that requires a surgeon, but in a pinch of I've got rusty tweezers i can pluck it out with," he joked. "What song you got on your brain? It's probably some shitstorm show tune isn't it?" He snorted again. "I ain't serious. How about a different song. Hmm. OH, I know." The look on his face changed, eyes widening and he looked her dead in the eyes.

"We're not gonna take it/
No, we ain't gonna take it/
We're not gonna take it!/
Anymore!" he murmured in a sing-songy voice, melodic and deep and he grinned widely at her. "You know who sings that?"
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 12, 2018, 05:49:21 am: Just thought it was funny, huh?

She couldn't help but raise a skeptical eyebrow at him, not exactly believing or disbelieving him--she really didn't care. But she wondered what it must feel like to be that carefree to find amusement in such little things. Normally she could do the same but the past week or so had been a neverending torrential downpour as she fell down from her high horse and remembered the harsh impact of the ground and real life again.

Nobody cares about assholes, but that's all she knew how to be.

She took another drink and glanced over at him again, brows knitting slightly when he also waved down a drink and she realized both of them weren't taking this the smart way. Was he doing it to compete or because he actually had some heavy shit on his mind too?

Fuck it, what did it matter if it was either or? She didn't care.

She really didn't fucking care.

"Yeah, yeah somethin' like that I guess." She grumbled, drawing her finger around the rim of the glass and snorting as he started to mumble song lyrics.

She lazily bobbed her head in rhythm with it, rolling her eyes when he asked who sang it. "Yeah yeah, duh of course I fucking know who that is." She grumbled, the alcohol swimming right to her head and making her feel like her brain was floating in a hot tub. "Twisted Brother or something. It's a classic. S'good though. Ain't workin yet though, clearly means you gotta sing more. And louder."

She gestured to him with another snort, nodding her head to the imaginary beat she remembered (though her movements were slightly off by a second or two, and perhaps a bit accidentally exaggerated,) taking another drink before she also started to sing. She didn't have the absolute best singing voice in the world, but it was unique and surprisingly nice for a girl like her.

"We've got the right to choose it
There ain't no way we'll lose it
This is our life, this is our song
We'll fight the powers that be just
Don't pick our destiny 'cause
You don't know us, you don't belong,"

Well at least of all the songs he could've picked, at least he picked a fitting, yet good one.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 12, 2018, 06:19:10 pm: They had a general consensus at least, and that was good. Neither of them gave a shit about what the other thought. Except where it seemed that Andromeda was wound up about something, Theo tried to let himself chill out. And the good food settling into his belly, much needed calories where that cookie had been nothing more than empty sugar, and the whiskey making him all warm and fuzzy, he was actually settling down. Enjoying himself.

Whether she knew it or not, she was a decent distraction, just as he was certain he was for her. Whatever had gotten on her mind previously, seemed a short distance away. And the second he started murmuring the lyrics to that terrible rock ballad, he knew he had her attention. At least insofar as getting her to sing it back was concerned. He couldn’t help himself. He was grinning ear to ear and the fact that she continued without being prompted had him turning to her with skeptically raised eyebrows.

It was terrible, like someone was beating a cat. Not that his was nothing more than a bit of a gurgling drunken rumble.

He snorted and shifted so that he was partly facing her, repeating the chorus once more and trying not to ruin his ability to actually belt out the song now, full force with laughter.

”Oh you're so condescending
Your gall is never ending
We don't want nothin', not a thing from you
Your life is trite and jaded
Boring and confiscated
If that's your best, your best won't do”

And followed that with a high pitched howl, as he banged his hand on the counter and looked at her expectantly to join in along the next round of the chorus and ordered more rum shots for both of them. That burger could only absorbs so much alcohol. Right now he wanted to get as trashed as possible and he wanted no one else to share a moment like this with than Andromeda Messiere.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 13, 2018, 09:44:35 pm: Once he turned to face her, something in her lit up with a bit of glee and a tiny joyous jump as she slowly forgot the too-many thoughts plaguing her and gave him her full attention. He was a unique case--she didn't do that often with just anyone. But right now was only happening because she was drunk.

As he started to sing back to her she quickly joined in, their timing off by a half a second as she forgot some of the words, mumbled the ones she didn't know and the two of them both kept the drinks coming, much to the chagrin of the barkeep and the patrons surrounding them. But they were Pilots, Andromeda a well known one at that, and so they didn't argue or bother to confront.

Before Andy knew it they'd wasted several hours away and she had fallen over once when she tried to get up to go to the bathroom, then laid there on the bar floor cackling so hard she was laughing in silence with tears in her eyes before she pulled herself together enough to sway her way there.

On her way back she tried to toss her hair back with her signature move and the motion almost threw her entirely off balance again, bumping loudly into a (luckily) unoccupied table and nearly taking that out with her.

"FFffffFFFFfuck. Shit. Shit," She was laughing again as she stumbled over and leaned right up against Theo's backside where he sat on the stool, her chin resting on his shoulder as her hands found their way onto his hips. "Dude, dude. We should... We should uh. We should fuckin... Go?" She was still snickering in between her words, at one point just burying her face in the back of his neck as she tried to pull it together, almost losing her balance again.

Floor was definitely uneven, totally.

"Hotel, motel. Whatever. IIIIII ain't goin home. Like this. Nuh-uh. Noooo way. S'go. Come on. I forgot your name."

She slapped his back hard enough that had he been drinking he might choke or spit it out, and paid it no mind as she paid for the last of her drinks and took a step or two away from the bar, watching Theo carefully as she gauged whether or not he was ready to follow. She didn't care where they ended up--all she knew was that she felt almost as if she were high; her head was warm and fuzzy, foggy and thick with the buzz. What had she been so upset about? She'd struggled to remember while she was sitting on the can but couldn't figure it out for the life of her, but something told her she was better off that way.

Also, Theo was kinda cute. She tilted her head, eyebrows furrowing as she comically squinted at him for a moment, finally taking a moment to give him the most obvious drunken elevator eyes ever before she kinda brushed it off. Any tingles she'd felt earlier had been drowned out by her tenth shot so you know what sounded good right now? Snuggles. A pajama party. A pillow fight. Maybe some ice cream. Ice cream definitely, fuck the maybe.

"Dude let's get ice cream."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 14, 2018, 12:47:15 am: The room was spinning. Yes. The room was spinning and he was on a spinny chair and he was spinning right with it and if he tilted backwards just enough he'd fall right off, cracking his head open on the floor. That'd be unfortunate. Bob the barkeep didn't need that kind of mess to clean up and if his head cracked that easily, he'd be sad. He was rather fond of his head. It was a good head. Nicely shaped with useful gills just at the base of his ears. It would suck if he couldn't swim anymore.

Theo could only hear himself cackling and Andy guffawing with full force as she fell on her way to the bathroom. He only laughed harder, holding his stomach and practically wheezing at how dumpy she looked on the ground. "Oh shit, you good?" he said somewhere between feeling like he was about to cramp up along his stomach.

But she was good, and she got up and when she got up she practically barreling into him, throwing him forward into the bar. Theo was warm and fuzzy, grinning ear to ear and letting the din settle and tilting his head when she rested hers against his shoulder, then something pinched his hips and his stomach did a little flip and his eyes flicked to hers once. Naaaahh, she was just drunk.

Drunk people sometimes got handsy. It happened. Besides, that face was too pretty for him to want her to eat pavement.

"'S a good idea, Andy. A good one. I like it," he nodded to her, swiveling out of his spinny chair managing somehow to stay on his feet. Whoa yeah the earth was spinning. "Y'got good ideas." He stepped out behind her clinging to the door after paying for his drinks and food. Yeah that burger wasn't enough, and he was having fun and fuck if he wanted that to end any time soon.

Oh...wait. What!? Theo feigned a gasp, then he snarled at her, scooping her under his arm and hugging her close to him, uncaring whether she cared for it or not. "Forgot my name. Pffft, well ain't no fuckin' surprise, that. Theo. That's my name. Theeeooooooo. Theo Kray."

He snorted a little and have her hooded eyes, grinning goofily. "Just Theo s'good. Good. Good good. Like you're ideas. Ice creeaaaam... FUCK. Fuck. Andy...donuts. I want donuts now." He gave her saucer eyes. "Let's get all kinds o' food and we can sit in my hotel. S'a good hotel. Better'n your average rathole apartment ya prolly got here in Travica," he snorted and pulled his arm from around her, instead taking her by the hand, dragging her along behind him to catch another tram back up to where Dazzenhogg's Ice Cream and Dewey Donuts were just in the sector above them.

Somehow they managed to make it there without eating too much pavement. And Theo laid his face against the cold glass guard over the ice cream, letting his breath fog the glass. "Mint...Mint n chip. Gimme. Andy, what kind you want?" he hissed, looking up at the employee behind the counter who just looked irritated. "Gimme the ice cream man, please. Please."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 14, 2018, 05:40:01 pm: Perhaps his reflexes were just that impressive, or perhaps Andy was just that drunk. When his arm reached out to snag around her and pull her in she was caught off guard, too much so to prevent it from happening.

Had she been sober, had she had her wits about her, she might've karate chopped his arm off. Or, alternatively, let him do it, and then their eyes would've met and in a moment of weakness lips might've been crashing down onto lips, hands tangled in hair--or maybe she'd have just punched him in the face.

But no, what drunk Andy did was snicker and giggle, brows furrowed in confusion because she didn't know anymore what emotions she was feeling. The butterflies in her chest from their faces being inches apart was interesting, not an uncommon reaction probably, but it more or less just got brushed off in favor of laughing at him because dude his breath staaaaaank.

"Yeah man my ideas are th'fuckin' best." She nodded sagely, frowning super seriously as he told her his name was Theo and she knew damn well she wasn't gonna remember that in the morning either. Or five minutes from now, even.

"Ttttthhhhhheeeeeeoo ooo." She said it along with him, nodding again as it was obviously very important she remember this even though she couldn't fuckin remember why she needed to remember it in the first place. "Theo Kray, more like...... Theo Crazy." And then erupted into another fit of giggles.

Because she was so clever.

"Dude I told you already I think, I have great ideas. Great ideas." She scrunched her nose at donuts though, well, no, maybe donuts--and then he took her by the hand and he was pulling her along as she slowly realized he just called her apartment a rathole.

"H-Hey..! Rathole?! What the fuck man you ain't even seen my apartment it's dope A-F. So cool. I have a pool. On a balcony. You got that? Probs fuckin not, dude."

And yet despite her mock offense she was still grinning like an idiot as she said it, following him and stumbling her way out of that bar with this guy she barely knew in this city that felt more and more like a prison every single passing day.

She was amazed he made it to the ice cream shop, cause she sure as shit didn't remember where it was, and she rolled her eyes as he pressed his face to the glass case like the idiot he truly was.

"Yeah, yeah dude, yes. Mint. Kay. Got it. Get this bitch a scoop of mint, anddddd............ . I want.......... Some nnnnuts." She grinned as she leaned on the counter and pointed to the ice cream guy who seemed to be confused if he should be irritated or amused that Andromeda Messiere of the Titans had walked into his workplace, tonight of all nights, totally plastered.

"Yer nuts, specifically. Bet they're extra salty dude because you look salty as heeeeeeeeeell right now. I'm just fuckin with you though, I want a scoop of dark chocolate cherry. Put it on my tab."

"You don't have a tab with us."

"Then fucking make me one or just scan my wrist dude, fucking hell don't take a joke or anything nah nah life is too fun, gotta be a sourpuss and fuckin' ruin everything. Hell, man."

The poor kid was happy to hand them their ice cream so they could leave, and Andy got turned around once they stepped outside, thinking the donut shop was one way when it was the other, realizing halfway there and then taking Theo by the hand again to drag him the proper way while she grumbled under her breath that her sense of direction was fantastic and if he said anything she'd totally punch him later.

As if she'd remember later.

They entered the donut shop and she made a face again, biting a huge piece out of her cone and not realizing for a solid forty-five seconds that she had ice cream on her nose while she let Theo harass the poor workers for some damn donuts.

See that was way too sweet, even for her.

She wanted something salty in her mouth now, maybe they shoulda picked up some chips.

Nahhhhh. Too much effort.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on April 25, 2018, 04:32:05 pm: Theo Crazy.

Nope he’d never heard that one before. That must have been completely original on her part because it was freshly pulled out of her ass. Her…fine fine ass. He could rest a drink on that ass, slap it’s underside, watch the muscle bounce, and not a single droplet of his juice would spill. Juuuuuice. That sounded really good right about now, bit so did everything. Right now ice cream was on the menu.

The second he had his ice cream he paid the man and swiveled on his heel, shifting around so that he could tilt his head lazily at Andromeda and give her just the tiniest glare. Why? Because he would and she was kinda cute when she was acting stupid. Which was all the time. That little glare that turned into a languid gaze because he wanted to snort as they finally were ushered out the door and Theo could finally get some donuts. Donuts were good. Yes, they were good and tasty and filling, and had funny holes you could stick your finger into and make lewd jokes with.

Theo got a whole box full of them, chocolate and cinnamon and some glazed ones. One of them had rainbow sprinkles, that was for Andy. And extra pink icing. Theo had finished his ice cream in seconds, instead mooning over that box of donuts and taking one into his mouth, holding it there before closing the box delicately and leaning against Andy, his front to her back and he let out a breathy wuff into her ear, munching on a chocolate donut with some peanuts on it that he scarfed down and licked his fingers, snorting at her a little bit.

He didn’t say anything and just leaned forward to swipe his tongue over her nose and snicker some more. “Doofus. Le’s get some like real party food. These donuts aren’t gonna last. Like pork rinds. Yeah.” He stumbled onward, first taking her hand and hooking it into the back of his jean’s pocket, stuffing it against the meat of his ass. “So you don’t get lost,” he nodded firmly to her and stumbled along to a small corner store not far from his own place, and dragged her useless ass along, making sure her hand stayed in his back pants’ pocket.

If she let go he’d drop her ass down the stairs. The apartment in Travica was by no means Pilot Noble status, but it was spacious and lofty. More broad than up and the high ceiling had drop lighting that ignited the slate gray walls and the shells that decorated along the sides of it. He dropped the donuts on the counter and shook his head of the dizzies that threatened to have him fall on top of her.

“You’re lucky. See. Lucky. My apartment’s great. Yours sucks. Sucks salty balls. Like, I dunno why they pay you paltry sums for a fucking Pilot Noble. You…like need to make a lotta credit for all the cool shit you do, Andy. I don’t think they’s give you enough credit he mumbled and stuffed his face with a crunchy pork rind, sitting at the barstool next to the island countertop at the center of his kitchen.

The bed was on a raised platform, where stairs along the side guided it upward, and the living room just underneath, where a tv and a computer were sprawled lazily out. It wasn’t exactly a mess, but it’s sparse decoration meant it was barely used. But it was a place to crash on the weekends when visiting Amitra. Crashing at a hotel all the time was a waste of credits and half the time the staff complained about all the sand everywhere. Pffft, that was just silly. Sand in Travica.

Total BS.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on April 26, 2018, 09:26:35 pm: Andromeda just stood there and made faces in between bites of ice cream the whole time they were in the donut shop. Donuts still weren't her thing, even drunk, and the sight of how many he'd gotten in that box almost made her gag. She'd been about to elbow him in the gut when he'd had the gall to lean on her and chew on one in her ear, no doubt probably getting chocolate on her somewhere, but he moved before she could.

Instead he licked her nose instead, and she had a delayed reaction of a small shake of her head and a surprised step back. "Motherfucker--" She started, but then he'd grabbed her hand and shoved it into the pocket of his pants so she could grip the meat of his ass.

And grip she sure did.

What, he had a nice ass and it'd been an open invitation. She squeezed it and huffed as she followed him like a stray dog, wandering through the streets of Travica in a drunken haze that made the neon lights blur together as she wallowed through the fuzziness of intoxication. It was warm, inviting, and all too tempting to become addicted to, honestly. Even she realized that.

At the convenience store she snagged herself a Crocolade--it was icey aqua, called Arctic Freeze, whatever the fuck flavor that was. She popped the cap off before she'd even paid for it and started chugging it because goddamn she was thirsty. And it'd probably mix well with something later, whenever they got back to Chucklefuck's apartment. If he even had one, or was sober enough to remember how to get there, which she had her doubts.

"Great?" She asked as she stepped through the front door after him, taking a moment to stand there in the doorway, holding her Crocolade like a bottle of whisky by the neck as she lifted it to her lips and drank, a droplet escaping the corner of her mouth to run down her chin and throat.

"Dude this is awful." She grumbled, barely remembering to kick the door shut behind her with a mighty slam.

Although she had to admit she liked the layout with the bed there in open view, goddamn that bed looked comfy, so comfy, and she set her drink off on a counter somewhere to be immediately forgotten in favor of tossing her bag of clothes on the floor and jumping onto the mattress and covers.

She was quick to bury her face in the pillows and take a deep whiff, expecting it to smell like Theo--instead the scent was stale at best, and it more or less just smelled like... Sheets. That had been sitting out for months. Fuck it, she'd take it.

In the middle of rolling around and getting comfy on that bed she decided somewhere in there that real clothes weren't necessary, quickly discarding her pants in favor of sticking to bra and panties, hair loose as she pulled it from the ponytail holder and tossed that too. She tangled herself up in those sheets, looking over at him across the way with her hair a mess on the blankets and pillows beneath her.

"My apartment's way better. Not like yer gonna see it." She said with a snort as she promptly flipped over onto her stomach, the curve from her shoulders down the small of her back to her ass undeniable; her hair fell about her face in a tangle as she crossed her arms in front of her and laid her head to rest on them, kicking her feet lazily in the air behind her.

"You don't come here much often, do ya? Where're y'from? Samariel? Ryun?"

She was guessing based on the fact that he was a fish stick and also had seashells.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 07, 2018, 11:58:18 pm: It was nice to be home away from home. Well, this little slice of Samariel when he had to leave. Hamtato had enough food and water to last for the weekend and his cage was always cleaned before he left. The critter was happy and always liked to play by the time he got back. Maybe it wasn't ideal for a demon of his sort to have a pet hamster. The little guys tended to croak way too soon and easily and for all he knew Hamtato was a bajillion years old and could flop over and become stiff any day. Until then though, he was gonna love the little guy for all he was worth.

The place was broad and widely built. Echo worthy, even if just for a few days. And whatever Andy said, it did not suck. Certainly not enough for her to remove her clothes down to her barebones bra and panties and curl up into his sheets. His eyebrows shot to his hairline - any higher and they'd fly off and he slipped out of his shoes, kicking them off to the side before stomping up the stairs to the loft and shrugging out of his shirt, bringing the snacks with him and licking his fingers from a pork rind afterward.

She looked hot. And being in your underwear by yourself kind of sucked. So he joined her, wriggling out of jeans and hucking them to the side and flopping down onto the bed with her, promptly rolling her over and straddling her and pinning his hands on either side of her head, looking down her with a drunk surly grin.

"Pfft. I don't have to see it to know it sucks. But that's because ya won't prove it and I don't give a shit," he snorted, rolling his eyes playfully before taking another pork rind and shoving it into his mouth, munching on it and sitting up onto her lap, taking one of her hands from the bed and settling it onto his chest, just laying it there and casually swiping it down the slope of his abdomen.

"See because, it's comfortable. 'Sall I need for visits up here. Samariel is my home. My Hamtato. He's a hamster. Looks like a potato. Hamtato. I know, I'm brilliant," he snorted, grinning down at her and taking her hands again, threading them in his and letting their fingers tangle together. His gills flexed and frilled out at the tingles she brought about laying underneath him like that, jolts running south and the sound of the pulse between them left them was quite loud.

He grasped her other wrist and pinned them above her wrist, holding her down and lazily quirking his brow at her. "I like you like this. You look good, that ain't no fucking surprise. But I mean like comfy," he murmured, his mouth just a few millimeters from her lips. The temptation to kiss her was strong. Maybe later. Maybe not. "It's a nice look."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 09, 2018, 05:51:34 pm: Andromeda watched lazily, resting her chin in her hands as he kicked his shoes away, grabbed those snacks and headed over to supposedly join her on the bed. She quirked an eyebrow as he stripped himself of his shirt and pants, and when he rolled her over she obeyed and flipped onto her back. Her hair pooled in a mess of purples, pinks, and deep blues on the blankets underneath her.

Her seafoam green eyes watching him sling a thigh over her hips, letting himself get all nice and cozy. She noticed the bulge in his boxers, and her gaze slowly drew up over from the trail to his belly button further up over his torso to settle on his face. She tilted her head slightly, the sound of the sheets shifting sounding so loud in her ears.

She watched him grab her hand, watched where he placed it so she was touching him. His skin felt really warm and smooth, and a really large part of her wanted to just snuggle up against him and forget the world existed past the boundaries of his bed. Her fingertips outstretched as he pushed her hand down over his abs, and she explored what he allowed her to--curious, drunk, and yet largely indifferent to his actions.

"Hamtato. S'real dumb, dude. A hamster? Those things die fast, don't they?" Her brothers had somehow gotten a hamster, once.

It died in a week, because they handled it too roughly.

Their fingers were entwined together, palms against each other as she looked up into his eyes, her own somehow distant and not quite all there. He was hot. It was a moment. A moment she might've jumped on any other time, but the longer she lay there, the more she felt the weight of all that alcohol settling in her gut, and her brows furrowed slightly as he moved to pin her wrists above her head. Her eyelids fell half-mast as she watched him lean in closer. She wasn't really sure what to say, or how she felt.

Part of her wanted to say fuck it and screw him, because that's what she normally would've done. Maybe even habits like that died hard. The other part of her wanted to curl up and go to sleep, to be left alone. She couldn't make up her mind which part was louder in her head; they were both screaming, both muffled, like she was underwater again.

"You would say that." She mumbled. "Dreamt about it before?" She arched her brows slightly, glancing down to his lips and casually straining against his weight, shifting her hips underneath his, arching her back a little in the process as she tilted her head back, baring her neck just slightly for him.

Would getting lost in another person be so terrible? Maybe she should give it a go, even if only for a few moments of hot makeouts or something. It was tempting, and she wanted to forget everything else.

"E'ccept this isn't a dream. This is real. If you could do anything right here, right now, what would y'do?"
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:07:08 pm: This wasn’t a dream? He straddled in his bed above one of the hottest Pilots in all of Aedolis, his hands above her head, holding her down playfully, and he was supposed to believe this wasn’t a dream? Theodoryk Kray didn’t get prone to flights of fantasy insofar as being awestruck was concerned. But when it came to Andromeda Messiere, yeah he could stare at that gorgeous hair and set of meaty thighs for a few long hours and wonder where the time went.

Who wouldn’t? There were plenty of beefcakes to get a decent gawk at, but even less so that just had such a smart-ass look in their charming eyes that it gave Theo chills when he looked at them. Andy had that look. She had that charm, and now she was under him and they were both drunk out of their minds enough to make wonderful mistakes right here and right now.

“I’d be naked on a beach in Ryun, diving and swimming with some sharks. What about you, Andy?” he mumbled and let his breath splay out along her mouth and cheek. It probably smelled of pork rinds and alcohol, but he didn’t care. He let his lips graze her cheek, the rough patches of his facial hair rubbing against them and shifting up along her temple to her forehead where he kissed her forehead, his grip loosening on her wrists and shifting so that she could move them again.

Despite her wriggling underneath him, squirming just enough to get comfortable, he didn’t move but a few inches, and despite the semi in his pants, he didn’t press it against her or anything. Although she’d definitely be able to feel it pressed against her waist as he stayed leaned over her. There was an instance of grind (ok he lied about not wanting to press it against her), and instead laid his whole body down against her, chest to chest, and rubbed his leg against her, encouraging her to tangle it in his.

“You smell really nice,” he commented. “LIke sweat and hairspray. I like it. Not even the gross sweat either.” A soft cackle snort as he grinned down at her, trailing his lips from her temple to her cheek again and kissed against the corner of her mouth. “And Hamtato is a fucking Hamster Survival Champion. Brother lived through being squished, run over, and pummelled by other hamsters. Probably gonna outlive me at this rate. So pffffttt on your criticisms.”

He snorted softly, dragging his mouth down in soft tender kisses from where she opened up her neck to him, focusing on her pulse and lapping his tongue gently, soothing it over with a languid kiss.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:07:50 pm: What about you, Andy?

Her gaze drifted away from him to shift to stare up at the ceiling, that distance in her eyes growing farther as she felt less and less like she was here in this moment with Theo, and more like she was drifting, lost, in an endless void.

If she could do anything right here, right now, what would she be doing?

He said she smelled like sweat and hairspray, said something else about his hamster, pressed kisses to her face and down her cheeks before he found a spot on her neck to toy with in the meantime while she pondered her answer. The brief image of someone else flashed in her mind and she lazily blinked, her hands having not moved an inch from where he’d been pinning them moments before even though he’d released her.

“If I could do anything right now, I think I’d just not exist.”

She finally said quietly, resolutely, still staring up at that ceiling and feeling not at all there. For once in her life she wished she had different powers--maybe if she could have been one of those Pilots who could separate their mind from their body or whatever. Would that help? Would that be nice?

All she knew was that, while she was here right now, she wanted to be somewhere else that was also nowhere. She didn’t want to be dead--she just didn’t want to exist, or have ever existed at all. Her swimming brain roamed back to her childhood, the things she’d experienced and seen, the things she’d done back in Candidacy, the things she did today for a living.

She had a lot of blood on her hands, and who did that help, really? Did it matter whose blood it was, or who you thought you were saving?

Fuck, the alcohol was supposed to help, yet here she was thinking about this depressing shit anyways. No matter of wishing for something so pathetic wa going to make it happen, so why was she dwelling on this? This feeling of loneliness, isolation from others, betrayal?

She glanced down at Theo and for a moment her gut twisted and her brows furrowed. What was his goal, here? They always had a goal, an endgame. A reason for tangling with Andromeda Messiere--they had to, because getting involved with her was a chore and she knew it. So nobody would waste their time trying to do it if they didn’t have some promising ulterior motive awaiting them at the end of the title.

“What do you want, Theo?” She asked suddenly, the playfulness of earlier gone in her voice as she stared him down.

Drunk she may be, but stupid she wasn’t.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:08:22 pm: Asking what Theo wanted never ended well. Not for him, not for anyone that really wanted to know. All Theo could do was what he wanted and everyone usually decided to disagree with him. What traditions they’d set in place and how what he wanted didn’t matter at all. The way things had always been would be how they should stay.

Even if he disagreed. Even if he fought tooth and nail against that heavy chain and in doing so, broke free not only from bondage, but from the only thing he ever really cared about. His mother had gotten out, but his sister wouldn’t. Her chains would remain, and the pang in his chest that she’d have no way to get out of it made Theo’s skin crawl even there above Andy.

He still stay settled on top of her, rubbing his leg gently against hers, his face losing the playfulness too and he met her gaze levelly, pupils dilated and his pulse hitching. “I can’t say I know,” he answered honestly. “I didn’t even think you’d want to give me the time of day. So I’m clearly gonna hang around you until you get tired of me.”

He smirked, just enough and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I honestly just think you’re fun. Always got something cool to say. Or not to say. Why does there have to be a reason for anything. We’re Plots, we can do whatever we want to do. Not everyone can say that. Not everyone has that freedom. Why shouldn’t we take advantage of it.”

In so many words he turned over and coaxed her to lay back on him, his arms winding their way around her considerable girth. She was a strong woman, and he could feel every rippling muscle along her back and just under her bra, his hand slipping underneath the strap to dig his fingers along the ridges of her spine. “Why worry about anything else? Just be here with me. Unless you have somewhere else you wanna be. I ain’t going anywhere.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:09:18 pm: Andy stared at him a few moments longer, brows slightly furrowed as her brain slowly, drunkenly processed his response.

He definitely had a point. Without thinking, after a few moments of satisfaction with his answer, she rubbed her leg back against his, letting out a soft sigh as he kissed her forehead. Yeah, they were Pilots. While still slaves of the dragons, of anybody currently on this planet, they were the in the group of individuals who were able to do almost anything they pleased and move with the most freedom from consequence.

She followed his lead and laid out on top of him, drawing a thigh between his legs to casually rub against his semi while she rested their foreheads together, lazily staring at him eye to eye, shifting as he played with her bra.

Be here with him, he said.

It wasn’t a bad proposition. She’d been in much worse places. Why would she dwell on those worse places, when she had something fairly decent to see and experience right now?

“You’re a simple man. Smart. I like the way you think.” She murmured, voice low as she leaned closer, their lips grazing before she let her eyes close, one hand sliding behind his neck to support her weight on the bed while the other smoothed down over his chest as she caught him up in a soft and deep kiss.

Gently she nipped and tugged at his lips, sliding her tongue along his lower one before she parted her lips for him and let a soft noise escape her into his mouth, one of her thumbs finding a nipple and grazing over it with a slight smirk. Enjoy this moment with him she might as well, she decided. It didn’t take much convincing to win her over, but maybe that was for the best.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:11:45 pm: Feeling the weight of her body firmly planted on top of him, made Theo feel even more relaxed in bed and he arched his back into her while she settled in. Her being comfortable finally allowed him to ease underneath her and those soft kisses he’d been trying so hard to distract her with finally went home.

She kissed him back, and he easily fell with his lips against hers, parting them enough to feel her tongue slip into his mouth and he could run his own along hers. A moan escaped him and he wanted nothing more than to tear that bra and panty set off her and pin her to the bed and go to town.

Bed rockin’ town. Whatever that was.

Either way it was a dome no one else was gonna be knocking it.

A soft hiss escaped him when she rubbed at his semi- and felt himself growing against her. Theo could only moan softly into that kiss and his hand unhooked the straps of it and pried that troublesome piece of clothing from her chest. His hand found her breast that he squeezed and fondled generously, rubbing his thumb over her nipples and shuddering when she returned the favor.

His hands slipped down the arch of her back and gripped the meat of her ass, gripping a handful of both cheeks and pushing her panties down. “You taste so good,” he murmured. He moaned into her mouth. “I just wanna lay like this all day.” Between kisses, he panted lightly against her, encouraging her leg to press more vigorously against his crotch.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:12:38 pm: She moaned back against him the moment the bra was off and he was groping one of her breasts. Her breath shuddered and caught in her throat, body jolting as he squeezed her and played with her nipple before moving further down to play and push her panties down. The draft was barely noticeable; it was the feeling of the cotton fabric against her throbbing entrance that alerted her to his ideas, and she couldn't help but grin.

She sat back at his words, tugging and pulling on his lip one last time before releasing him and raising her hips enough to reach down, find the bulge in his boxers and give it a good hard squeeze. Fearlessly her hand dipped into his boxers and she pulled out a thick, ribbed and unique surprise. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at it and gave it a few teasing strokes, watching it throb and twitch in her hand before she looked up at him with a wicked grin.

“Oh, y’think so?” She teased, before suddenly shifting and crawling further up his person until she was poised just above his chest and throat. Her ache was undeniable, as was the scent of her and how ready she was already. Foreplay was never something she needed, but always something fun.

She slid both thighs on either side of his face and lowered herself down, running her fingernails over his scalp as she tangled them in his hair, tossing her head back with a loud and needy moan the moment she felt so much as his breath on her.

“Nnnh, ffuuuuuck. I think a proper taste test is in order, Theo, before I believe you.” She teased, spreading her thighs wide for him, placing her hands on either side of his head on the mattress to support her weight as she started to roll her hips into his mouth, desperate for attention.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:13:01 pm: His head wasn’t swimming nearly as much as it first was with all the alcohol he’d ingested. Still though, Theo was hot and heated enough that even where she dipped her hand into his boxers, he was so sensitive that the tingles that erupted from his belly jolted up from there and back down again, and his cock throbbed eagerly in her grasp.

Those few strokes, slow and in such strong hands, he didn’t need to look down at her to have a clear view of what he wanted. He kept his gaze level with her, eyes locking with hers and nostrils flaring up in challenge. “Yeah I know so,” he murmured. Not a single moment did he break it and when she started to crawl over him, he roll his hips under her, already feeling where she was dripping wet.

She sat on his chest, the way her hair cascaded down from her shoulders only setting the animal lust in him further on edge. Theo was patient though, where he could have easily rolled her over onto her side and fucked her sideways, and he wanted to see just exactly what she would do.

It wasn’t long before she made that perfectly evident and he let her settle her heat over his face. Theo grinned up at her, shifting his head to leave a fat wet welt on her inner thigh, and it was then that he lifted his head long enough to swipe his tongue along the underside of her twat, flicking it to the knob of her clit.

“Yeah, just as suspected,” he wagered, voice confident. “You taste really good.” He hummed against her, moaning softly as his hand reached up from gripping around her thighs and found the slicked slit of her folds, rubbing fingers against her and in the meantime working his tongue in slow circles around her clit, moaning hotly against her.

Occasionaly he’d pull his head away and blew his breath on it, tilting his head off to the side to leave another series of red hickies along her inner thigh, taking his sweet sweet time about tasting her. Already his cock was throbbing with such want that he could scarcely ignore it, his other hand slipping from her thigh to grip the base of it and slowly stroke it, tugging on that appendage as he continued to lav at her.

“Fuck, I could taste you all goddamn day,” he murmured, locking eyes with her again as he got her clit between his tongue and his teeth and sucked on it lightly, his first hand slipping inside of her finally, two fingers running along the most sensitive parts inside of her.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:13:22 pm: At this point she couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or just the fact that it’d been a little longer than normal since she’d gotten any, but she was aching so bad and it hurt in the best way possible. The moment she felt his tongue swipe along her she shivered, barely choking back a moan as more jolts made her stomach tense as they ran down her abdomen to her groin.

He teased her with his fingertips, his warm wet tongue sliding over her clit, keeping those jolts coming consistently as she had to bite her lower lip to hold back any noises, keeping it instead to low growls and whines. She gently rocked her hips with the rhythm of his tongue, and there was something so erotic about feeling and hearing his breath splay out over her tan skin, feeling the wet heat of his tongue against her.

He slipped his fingers inside of her and she couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped her as she sat up a bit better, keeping her weight distributed on her knees as she tangled her fingers back in his hair, glancing over her shoulder to see him stroking himself. He said he could taste her all goddamn day, and another soft shiver and a wave of heat washed over her.

“Yeah, kinda want you to.” She took in a deep breath, visibly twitching when he brushed against sensitive spots, her breath hitching. “I wanna feel that thick cock of yours inside me, too. All day. All night. Thrusting nice and hard in this pussy you like the taste of so much. Whacha say, Fishstick? Think you can hold up?~”

As she spoke she reached back, letting her fingernails trail over his abdomen, dragging across his skin just hard enough to leave light red lines that would be gone by morning--for now.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:13:35 pm: Theo meant every word he said wherein he had room enough to speak. For now, he had to be content with letting is tongue taste every part of her that would normally never experience this kind of contact, swiping it up against her, letting his fingers find spots that made her whimper and shiver just enough. He knew he was doing everything right, because she could barely hold her breath and he had her right where he wanted her.

Aching for him already and begging for more. No expectations or prerequisites, just a place and time to lie back and enjoy the moment. Theo Kray swiped his tongue over the hardened bulb of her clit, swirling his tongue around it and sucking on it lightly as his eyes swiveled up to meet hers at her challenge.

His eyes never strayed, sucking on her, and removing his mouth long enough to bite at her inner thigh before removing his fingers from inside her. He didn’t reply, not with words anyway and his hard cock was already throbbing for more, growing and throbbing at the anticipation of slipping inside her and wanting her to feel every ribbed edge of it.

Theo promptly wrapped both arms around her legs around her flipped her over like a pancake, gently bodyslamming her into the bed. He pinned her, positioning himself over her, and keeping himself secured between her thighs and letting the precum that had already beaded out of him, slicked up against her already soaking hot entrance. He looked down at her, leaning back a bit with one hand tracing the folds of her entrance and positioning his cock right into place.

“Yeah I think you’re ready for something a little thicker,” he murmured, grinning up at her and looking down at himself as he slipped inside her, watching her swallow every inch of him and he slowly rocking his hips against hers. “Just a little.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:14:16 pm: The moment her eyes met his and she saw that challenging glint among those swirling depths filled with lust and alcohol she grinned like a madwoman, her teeth sharp and fierce. She felt his sink into her thigh and she let out a soft hiss, tugging at his hair.

Suddenly his arms were around her, and in her drunken stupor her surprise hit her faster than her instinct to react. Theo had no problems pushing her down, and a whuff of air escaped her as her legs were spread and she watched him position himself between her.

She was aching, throbbing and so so empty from where his fingers had left her, but there was something about the sight of him grinning down at her that made her mind flicker. The slightest millisecond of hesitation, the briefest memory of something she'd thought she had long since forgotten. But she shoved it to the back of her mind, refused to let it in, and instead slammed her hips up and back against his the moment she felt him pushing in.

She felt every ridge sliding up against the inside of her walls as she shoved him in without giving herself time to adjust. Her core ached as her muscles strained to stretch and fit around him, giving him a tight fit despite the pain that bit at her briefly. She didn't care about taking this slow. She wanted it now, and she wanted it to be done sooner rather than later. Drunk sex wasn't the kind for crooning and slow passion. And Andy wasn't the type, anyways.

She wrapped her legs around him, clenching hard as she grit her teeth against the pain of taking him in so quick and rough.

“A little, huh? Well I hope it's nice and tight enough for you, big guy.” She sneered as she threw her arms around the back of his neck and yanked him down into a passionate kiss--or perhaps an attack on his mouth would be a more appropriate descriptor.

She bit at his tongue, letting their teeth clack and scrape as she rolled her hips against his and ground against him with impatient growls.

“Now are you gonna give it to me or what?”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:14:22 pm: Theo expected at least a modicum of enthusiasm. Enough to make them both eager to roll around in the sheets for the next few hours. But this of course was much better and he found it so easy to just let himself fall into her like this, like she’d be the last thing he’d get to screw around with before both of them were shipped off to some far away planet for war. He hoped that day would never come again - heh, come - not just since he’d be next to useless in a fight like that but also because he probably wouldn’t get to see her again.

For some time.

She was Andromeda Messiere.

“It’s perfect,” was all he said as he ground his hips down into hers, his cock filling her up completely and he closed his eyes, eyeballs just about rolling all the way back he could see his brain. “Fuck you feel so good. You’re so hot and wet.”

Theo began to rock his hips into hers, steadily and enthusiastically, but not so quickly he was going to blow his load right away. He wanted to enjoy this for as long as he could. Not just because he was drunk and wanted to bone Andromeda Messiere. A motherfucking TITAN, but because well this as Andromeda Messiere and how many opportunities was he going to get? Might as well enjoy it the best way he knew how.

Theo didn’t say sweet nothings. Didn’t bother with sugary bullshit, but he kept himself grounded to her, locking lips and moaning into her mouth and letting her know how good she felt, fucking her deep and hard, rhythmically as he whispered into her ear. “You good? Faster?” he murmured.

Sure, maybe checking in was probably stupid, and he could just come right all over her, but he wanted her to enjoy it too. Not that she had a reason not to. He was fairly well endowed and kept hilting her every time he slid on out and back in to her slick tight folds. “Hang on,” he instructed and pulled out soon enough. HIs cock bobbed and throbbed from being robbed of her heat. He was throbbing with want as he changed positions.

He soon instructed her to turn around, rolling her gently onto her belly and pulling her hips back against his, so that she was on her knees and his hand loosely gripped his cock, spreading her like a hot knife through butter when he slid his heavy manhood back inside. He rocked forward again, hitting a different angle and thrusting in deeply, the bed squeaking underneath their frantic rhythm.

“Fuck, Andy, you feel so good,” he bit his lip, keeping himself from coming just yet. He wanted to hear her scream first.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:14:58 pm: He said she was perfect--or rather, her twat was. Well, good for him. He was only telling her something she already knew very well.

She smirked into those sloppy kisses, nipping and tugging at his lips as she rolled her hips back up against his to match him in that steady rhythm--or as steady as it could be considering they were both drunk as fuck. To anyone on the outside it probably looked like a really, really ungraceful rutting. Like deer fucking in the woods: an absolute tragic mess.

But considering their drunken stupor, and the sheer wonder at the fact that Theo didn’t have horrendous whiskey dick, this currently felt like the best thing ever. She found his hands and guided them to her tits, squeezing them for him as she ground right back against him, already panting and huffing. When he whispered in her ear a shiver ran up her spine and she suddenly turned her head to bite his earlobe and tug on it.

“What do you think?” Came her muffled reply through her sneering grin. “Fuck me harder already.”

And then when he pulled out a flare of irritation was spurned inside of her as she threw him a glare for leaving her like that, already empty and throbbing for him to get back in. She normally put up more of a fight, but as he instructed her she just didn’t have it in her to protest. She obediently laid down, ass in the air as he pulled her hips back against his and slid back inside of her, and in doing so struck her g-spot completely by accident.

Caught completely off guard because she just straight up had never been expecting that, she let out a particularly loud moan that bordered on a scream as she tried to look over her shoulder at him with wide eyes cuz holy fuck dude. That dick really was amazing!

“Oh, f-fUCK--” She gasped as he kept thrusting in hard and deep inside of her, hitting that spot over and over again as her hands scrambled to get a hold of the sheets and she slammed her hips back against him like a bitch in heat. “Fucking hell Fishstick y-you really know ho-how to use that thing, ohfuck--”

She bit down on the sheets to muffle a scream as he drove her closer and closer to her edge, her hips moving faster and faster as she rode that dick harder and harder, desperate to come and desperate to pass the fuck out and let this day pass and be over and done with.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:15:43 pm: Well, she asked, and so she shall receive. If Andy wanted to be fucked so hard into the mattress, she could barely walk, then he’d be more than willing to oblige. So when he’d flipped her over and began to plow her from behind, Theo went to town, throwing all his body weight into her until all she could do was scream and grasp desperately at the bedding for purchase. And talk a lot of smack he might, but at the very least she felt so fucking amazing he didn’t mind taking her sloppily like an animal at all.

Theo grunted and growled with pleasure, driving his hips forward and grinding hard against her. He heard her yelps and deep throated screams, his tip brushing over her most sensitive spots until she bit down on the sheets to muffle her cries. He shuddered, his entire body locking up and all of a sudden he burst his load inside her.

“A-AAANDY!” he howled and gasped desperately for breath. He kept thrusting until his aching muscles couldn’t hold him up any more and his palms were damp from gripping at her hips and driving them back against his crotch. He kept himself there, forcing himself back on his knees and staying inside her as some of his cum dripped out from where he’d filled her completely.

“Fuck me…” he panted. “Fuck that was so fucking good.” A soft moan and he gently laid down on top of her, breathing into her ear and soon kissing back along her shoulder, staying inside her still. “Yeah, I know how to use it. Even when I’m drunk.”

He kissed the back of her neck, a delicate pressing of his lips and dragging his face down her back, laving his tongue along her spine until he slowly pulled out of her tight heat, already stretching her as he did so. She was gaping, his eyes flicking down to witness the damage he’d done. “Not too shabby if I do say so myself.”

He chuckled and slid off her, laying on his belly, his arms tucked underneath his head as he sought her face. Not a bad way to spend a drunk night in Travica. Could be a helluva lot worse.And not once did he think about the shit news of his sister getting engaged.

Nope. Just not gonna think about that.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:16:12 pm: It didn’t take long at all for the change in position to make their moans transform into screams as the two of them rutted desperately against each other, eager to hit their climax. Eager to tear into and lose themselves in each other. She could feel it as his muscles were tensing, her cries getting louder, as well as higher in pitch.

He came first, and she felt the hot wet burst of his cum shooting inside of her and filling her up. But his thrusts didn’t stop there and after only a few brief moments she was coming too. Her whole body locked up, back arched as she pressed her hips back desperately against his as she let out her loudest scream yet, gasping and panting for breath, mouth dry when she was finally able to see through the stars and static in her vision again.

As her muscles relaxed and she let herself lay on her stomach on the bed, with Theo now on top of her and covering her in soft kisses, she let out a soft snort.

“U-Uh-huh. Yeah. Good enough I might just come back for more someday.” She admitted with a lazy smirk and eyebrow raise.

She could feel his essence dripping down her thighs and making the sheets wet once he slowly pulled out of her, making her wince. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, too much more and she likely would’ve started to get raw. At least now it was done and over, but there was still that nagging feeling of emptiness in the back of her mind, and it was irritating enough to make her scoot closer as he laid down next to her.

She propped herself up enough on an elbow to find his lips and kiss him desperately and passionately, pressing her body against his, a large part of her still wanting to lose herself in him, just for tonight. As their lips locked she let her eyes close, her free hand reaching up to smooth gently through his hair, fingertips massaging his scalp.

She wanted comfort and distraction, and her heart was throbbing painfully, an aching that was only soothed by Theo’s attention right now it seemed.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:16:36 pm: Today was just filled with the unexpected, apparently. And in the midst of it all Theo could honestly say not all of them were unpleasant. Here he was, sharing a bed with Andromeda Messiere. Which a lot of people could probably boast about, then again. That wasn't a miraculous feat into itself. This was Aedolis after all. But that didn't at all make it less of a feat to be desired. He hadn't realized it at the moment, but in the aftermath he wanted very much to just lose himself. And he was very glad it was Andromeda Messiere. The pressure of reality just melted away from him. No thoughts of his mother, his sister, or the future. Only the here and now.

And the Now, it was perfect.

He hadn't been expecting her to kiss him back, not at all for the sudden intimacy of it. Not the way other people would romp with him and then just be ready to get dressed and head out to the rail the next minute. Honestly, it had caught him off guard

He found himself moaning softly into that kiss and his hands wound their way around her back. Theo plucked softly at her lips, the heady haze of the alcohol fading away, leaving behind only the heat between them. He could still taste her, she lingered on his tongue when he pulled away long enough to breath.

His eyes glistened in the darkness shared between them, feeling his heart beating, her heart racing all the same. “Hi,” he murmured softly. A small grin stole into the corner of his mouth, his arms content to hold her closely against him, hooking back around her head and keeping her face tucked into the crook of his shoulder and chest. He continued to kiss her softly, liking the way it felt, made gooseflesh pimple along his skin.

And casually tangled his legs into hers, wanting nothing more than to get lost in her again. His mouth trailed from her lips to her jawline and down to her neck, tenderly lapping at her pulse.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:17:06 pm: She caught it, in the back of her mind, that moment when she caught him by surprise with the kiss. To be honest, it had surprised even herself a little bit. But she wasn’t about to give that thought the time of day. The way he moaned into the kiss and she felt it and tasted him on her lips made her shiver.

She didn’t fight it as he held her close and tangled their legs together, locking the two of them together as she let her hand explore his torso, smoothing up and down his side as he kissed and sucked on her neck, drawing soft breathy groans from her in return. She let her fingertips turn so she was gently running her nails over his skin, occasionally squeezing his hip or smoothing over his pecs and abs.

Andromeda found herself pressing kisses to his forehead, his cheek, the bridge of his nose. Her legs folded and pulled him closer until their bodies were flush against each other, the hand that hadn’t moved to lay on the mattress between them still rubbing at his back.

“Hi,” She finally answered back, quietly, and yet it sounded so loud in the room.

Her hand came up to stroke his cheek, feeling the stubble there and exploring all of his textures, all of his features. Her brow furrowed; she didn’t know what she wanted. Perhaps there was some part of her that wanted an easier life than what she’d been handed--a life that she’d have been forced to live if she didn’t have these psychic powers. To simply exist, solely for the purpose of being someone’s trophy wife and to never have to worry about a thing, or think about herself or what she wanted.

Maybe there was a small part of her that did care, that did want to make someone else happy. But she just didn’t know how to. That thought, that realization, had small tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She was never a crier when she was drunk, never a crier at all. She never let herself cry--what good what it do, what could it accomplish? Nothing, except making her look like a weak fool. And yet in the softness of the moment she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder, her arm wrapping around him and hugging him tight as she tried so desperately to keep the urge to cry at bay.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:17:17 pm: The greeting just made Theo smile, that he was heard and responded to. He leaned his head against hers after she had done so and he sighed softly, enjoying the feel of her breath, the pulse of that strong heart to course blood through that equally strong body. She was a pillar for sure, an example of the strength of all Pilots and their invulnerability. Theo might never grace the covers of anything that wasn't “SCIENCE! NOW!” magazine, but he'd sure as shit seen her in everything from paparazzi magazines to fashion blogs, and new training tech for Pilots in Travica.

And she had fascinated him every time. Theo was a fan and sure he'd gotten initially starry-eyed, in a moment like this however, he wasn't bogged down by any illusion as to who Andromeda was on those covers. He didn't care for any of that nonsense. He had Andromeda here in his arms, and what other man could ask for more than that? Other than the usual but they did that already.

His eyes squinted as they tried to meet hers, but she kept her gaze at bay, refusing contact and he leaned in close to kiss her forehead. Something was kind of wrong here. Different than the soft kiss she'd given him before.

“Hey,” he whispered to her and tilted his head to bury her face against his chest. “Are you ok?” Typical words to say when someone was about to cry, or so it felt. She was holding on to something. What it was he couldn't tell, but his instincts told him to just hug her close. His hand fell to her back and he gently rubbed it. “Hey now, what's the matter?”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:17:42 pm: It wasn't as if Theo was stupid, and for a good few moments she wasn't sure why she thought he might be. Why she thought he might not notice her sucking in a breath, tense as she curled up with him and just tried to bury herself in his arms. Almost like she hoped if she tangled herself within him enough she might just melt away and cease to exist, and that thought honestly felt very comfortable right now.

But Theo wasn't stupid, and he did notice her on the verge of tears. He hugged her tighter and his voice became softer, comforting. She wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but something in her responded and she had to choke back the urge to sob, tears streaking down her face despite that. What the fuck was he doing to her?

“Nn,” She pursed her lips, taking in a deep breath through her nose as she tried to force herself to calm down. “Nothing. It's nothing.”

She didn't fight it when he tucked her head in against his chest, but aside from that she was clueless on what else to do. She'd never been a snuggler, so she just let her arm drape over his midsection, still hugging him close.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:17:49 pm: The gesture of that hug was genuinely unexpected and it wasn't at all lost on him. Theo wasn't that stupid, when it counted for something important. No other flippant booty calls or love affairs had happened where someone started crying because the fucking was just that bad. Although if it was he'd figured there'd be fewer tears and more “Haha. That was awful. Ain't ever happening again punk.” Followed by a quick stomp off the premises.

But when Andy did it, he didn’t ignore it as he might have been wont to do. Theo let her cuddle into his chest, the warmth of the moment they shared and the soft thudding of his heart against his ribcage was nice. It was nice feeling held and pressed against, even if it was by a stranger that just wanted his dick.

Theo shifted so that the pillow propped his head up so that he could look more at her, shifting his head to continue to brush her hair back. “You sure? It doesn’t seem like nothing,” he muttered. But he didn’t press it anymore. Just let his thumb roll around the corner of her eyelid and brush away some building moisture.

He closed his eyes and breathed gently. “It’s kinda nice. Having you stay,” he mumbled. Not sure if he should say something or if keeping his mouth shut would have been better. Either way his tongue waggled regardless and he just kept gently stroking her face.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:18:16 pm: He asked again if she was okay; he really wasn't stupid, not like a lot of other guys. She didn't know how to react to this, to whatever he was doing to her. Holding her close, touching her softly, speaking so gently. It called to something deep within her that found it soothing and it threatened to pick at and tug down the walls she'd built up, and that thought terrified her and put her on edge, in the back of her mind.

She didn't know how to respond when he caught those tears and wiped them away, but when he said what he did next she finally met his gaze again. She stared at the man like he'd suddenly grown a second head, clearly thrown off guard and confused and unsure if she should be upset or.. Or..???

“Nice??” She echoed, quickly wiping the other tear away as she looked away, brows furrowed as her brain struggled to process what she'd just heard.

She'd never been told that; nobody enjoyed her company, and that was the way she preferred it. Even if deep down maybe she wanted to make others happy, herself came first and everyone else could fuck off--and they always did. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, see you never again.

But neither of them had left yet, in fact he was holding her so tenderly, like the way you did with a lover in a film or something. Oh--oh. That was it, that was his schtick. A good way to get people coming back for sure if you treated them special every time.

As she came to that conclusion she visually relaxed a bit, shoulders losing their tension and the alarm fading from her eyes as her brows eased and she rolled her gaze.

“You must be crazy, do you even know who I am?” As if that kind of thing was going to work on her--and yet, she knew somehow that it kind of was.

Maybe for just tonight it wouldn't hurt so bad to just pretend.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:18:25 pm: Did he know who she was? Did she know who he was? Apparently having very important parents disown you really did make you a nobody and he was genuinely 100% bonafide ok with that. Her question, however, made his eyebrows raise high on his forehead and he snickered.

“Do you know who you are?” he countered, although he knew it was clearly a stupid question. “I’m the guy that lucked out here. Now, if only I could think of some stupid cheesy line to ruin everything here. Maybe that did the trick. I dunno, the buzz is kinda wearing off, but I’m ok with that.”

Man did he know how to ramble when he was half dazed, half tired, half-horny, half satisfied, and fully - thoroughly even - enjoying the company of another. He really didn’t want it to be over and maybe some small part of him was hoping that if he kept talking long enough it wouldn’t. Then he’d be back to dealing with the knowledge that his little sister was getting hitched against her will, that the Colonel was intent on repeating history, and that the despair he’d hoped to keep at bay in his eyes would become apparent to Andromeda.

“Yeah I know who you are,” he answered. Theo shifted his form so that he was flat on his back again and shoved her fat purple head onto his shoulder, into the crook of it so he could look at her better. “Your thick thighed Andy, and a great lay, and a badass Pilot, and you’re probably thinking that you just want me to shut the fuck up. And you’d be right. But I keep talking because maybe I’ll be able to charm the panties off you again or whatever.”

His hand laid lazily on her side and he gently fingered where her panties had otherwise been. “Oh, would you look at that, gone. Huh,” he muttered, snorting a bit from the foolishness he’d been entertaining. “I guess the real truth is, I must be absolutely crazy. Because I just like you. I’m having fun. Are you having fun?”

It was an honest assessment, and nothing in his eyes betrayed feelings of an untruth. There as mirth in the orange of them, and in his goofy grin. Which he thought at this moment was dead sexy, but he probably just looked like he’d taken too many painkillers and looked like he had a lazy eye.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:19:00 pm: "I'm having fun. Are you having fun?"

She'd been content to brush off his ramblings as him being tired and kinda buzzed, would've ignored it and just rolled over to sleep, but something about the way he said that, the way he tried to smugly grin at her, struck a chord in her that hadn't been plucked at in a really, really long time.

"You're having fun, you're enjoying this! Stop lying, you bitch!"

Suddenly the feeling of Theo underneath her head felt like the weight of the hand holding her down as her screams were muffled. She felt the raw red marks on her throat, the pressure behind her back of a looming presence.

At some point she'd sat up, putting a hand over her face as she tried to pull herself back out of it. Sometimes alcohol helped, sometimes it made it worse. This was the latter; the clenching feeling twisting in her stomach and chest as she remembered something breaking in her in Candyland as she held a man's head down on the floor, other on his neck as she rode him and she felt the sense of power that she'd lost just months before. Felt the satisfaction of her fingertips raking down his skin and leaving raw, bloody marks.

She hadn't cared if he liked it or not, even though it turned out later he did. Was that wrong of her? Was it justified?

What was she fucking doing?

As the thoughts started seeping into her mind one after another, over and over, she remembered nearly every person she'd shared a bed with, even now, how none of them cared about each other. Not them for her, or her for them. What was her goal here?

The air in the room was starting to get noticeably hotter, all things metal starting to glow red and change their shape, the color of any remaining light from electronic fixtures twisting and changing in luminosity, emitting strange smells as the atoms within were mixed and tampered with.

It was the barest whiff of the scent that snapped her out of it, as she realized what she was doing. In a moment it stopped, the metal fixtures sizzling as the molecules stopped moving and they cooled off. She got up from the bed, snatching her clothes from the air with her telekinesis and throwing them on.

This had to stop.
She had to stop fucking doing this.
She just wished she could fucking figure out how!

As she was pulling her shirt down over her head she remembered that Theo had asked her a question and she turned to look at him over her shoulder; there was something strange in her eyes.

"No, not really."

She didn't wait for his response, turned to the door and left, letting it slam shut behind her.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:19:17 pm: Well that wasn’t at all what he’d planned. Not that he had any plans, but if he did, it definitely wasn’t any of -- whatever the hell that was. She up and left so fast, she made him practically dizzy. Theo blinked and when the residual dust of her exit fell to the ground, he sat up in bed and rubbed his face.

“Well ok then,” he muttered to himself. “She’s crazy.” He shrugged it off, not taking it personally because nothing he had done had been particularly wrong. He’d been on plenty of dates and outings and getwhathaveyous to know when he dun fucked up. That was, not one of them.

In any event, it’d be another few weeks before he decided to hit up Travica again. Work kept him busy, and Travica was far. When he got leave, it was usually his favorite place to go, and seeing his mom and hanging out made the tiring journey all that much more worth it.

And what better mother and some time was there than walking around a mall complex trying to find something nice for her. That he was paying for of course. And of course nothing he’d picked out for so far was to her liking, and it was walking around for the last 3 hours that was starting to grate on his nerves. He loved his mom, he really did, no one else in the world he had left really other than his sister. But even that was on a contingency plan.

“We’ve been to 5 stores already,” he whined, trying not to sound petulant, but the evidence was painfully obvious to her.

“What, you don’t like spending time with your mother?” she countered.

“Ma, don’t even go there, you asshat,” he snorted. “But we’ve been shopping for literally hours. Scoured this mall, and you’ve already made your steps for the day twice over. And yet we have like 2 shopping bags. A sweater for your cat. And like a pair of boots for me.”

“Pfft. Watch your mouth, Theodoryk. I’ll still swat you. Calm yourself, boy. Or I definitely will.” She fixed her hair with one stray hand and cleaned her eyebrows with the other. He was busy carrying the bags of course. “The point of this, is to spend time with your mother. Just in case you forgot. And I’m having a great time. Look, there’s a Go-Go Starship game, like you used to play when you were a kid. Wanna have a go?”

“Noooo,” he wailed overdramatically. Although he eyed the small game machine and the space ship that was occupied by small children. “Ok, maybe just one game.”

“That’s my boy,” she laughed and shoved him off toward the game. “Then, we’ll worry about buying me something.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:19:46 pm: If there was one thing Andromeda was good at, it was ignoring the real problems she had to face within herself to focus on something else and excel at that instead. It was much harder for her to admit to herself that she wasn’t perfect like she wanted so desperately to be, or at least to seem to be, than it was to pour her all into other activities and keep up that reputation she had. Easier to be a perfect Pilot, and a gigantic asshole, than it was to work on herself.

And so when she got home she downed some more booze and went straight to bed.

But life had other plans--she couldn’t run and hide from herself forever.

Today she was a rare sight in one of the Travican mega malls, a main feature of a new collection opening in a store featuring a designer collaboration that she’d been the main model for a few months back. The press was eating it up and the mall was swarming; she was also good at looking gorgeous in just about anything you put her in, but for the event the designers had determined she needed to wear something as flashy as her public persona.

So she found herself at the store entrance, talking with VIP customers, signing autographs and taking photos, shockingly well-behaved and good at putting on an amicable face for the crowds. She was decked out in the most expensive evening gown from the collection, which she’d also received as a gift--an open shoulder with a steep v-neck that ended just below her navel. The bodice was decorated in glittering iridescent Swarovski crystals, shimmering brightly as she turned under the light and standing out in the stark contrast of the deep royal blue sateen fabric. It was a closely fitted number that flared out in a mermaid-style skirt at her knees, ending just shy of her ankles to show her strappy high heels, also adorned in crystals, and also a part of the collection.

Inside she hated how restricted her movement was in this dress, but she knew she looked damn good in it at least. The layered crystal necklace that laid over her collarbone and breastbone felt cold and heavy in the air conditioning, and the heels were already starting to hurt. She’d much rather be at home, but she put on that gorgeous smoldering smirk that she’d always been so good at in every photo, despising every time someone felt bold enough to put their hands on her shoulders, back or around her waist for the time it took to take a selfie.

After a few hours of that she was given the go-ahead to take some time to leave the event which she was glad of, but as she slipped out through an employee exit into the main part of the mall she paused, realizing it’d been a long time since she’d last been in here. Even though wandering alone was dangerous (in the sense of being swarmed by fans, anyways) she found it worth it to go explore and see what had changed in the last few years.

Naturally there was a lot--stores had come and gone, and there were new stalls selling wares, new restaurants to try, new attractions for the kids. But the arcade area was still there, which she vaguely remembered one time beating her brothers in some scifi games one time when they’d come here under the nervous watch of several nannies. As she slowly approached (often stopped by excited civilians for sometimes up to ten minutes at a time) she blinked when she thought she recognized someone on one of the games--and found herself staring when she realized it was Theo, her most recent lay. Oh, gods.

What the fuck was she doing?
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:19:56 pm: Go-Go Starship wasn’t just any arcade machine with a spaceship cockpit and a flight simulator screen. It was the ULTIMATE IN COBRA STARKILLER ACTION GAMING, with ULTRA POWER THRUSTERS, PYRONIC MISSILES, PLASMA CANNONS, and ANTIMATTER HYPERBLASTERS! YEAH!

At a local arcade near you! AND ALSO AVAILABLE IN YOUR LOCAL STORE! GET YOURS TODAY!

Theo played that game relentlessly as a child. When he was casually avoiding the Colonel’s wrath, when he stayed up late at night trying to beat his high scores. He had been pretty sure he’d beat some kind of record too. And remembered the day quite vividly when he did, having stayed up almost 48 hours fighting waves upon waves of Cobra horde.

He was trying to save the Legion of course, and his was the only vessel equipped with the right antimatter blasters that could destroy the Queen Cobra. No on else could stand a chance and his entire squadron had been destroyed already, and it was up to him. But finally, after 7 packs of Fizzy Lifties, 3 extra cheesy pizzas, and firmly strict 30 second bathroom breaks, he did it. He beat the high score and then not long after the Colonel stomped in and smashed his computer with a club.

Theo pushed all these thoughts out of his mind as he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. And after shoving off all those tiny kids and sitting in the cockpit with his knees up to his shoulders, his hand on the throttle and the attached metal headset indicating things onscreen and off.

“Look at you go, Theo. You’ve got three bogies hot on your starboard side,” his mom cheered on next to him.

“Roger, Red Pigeon,” he quipped and righted the stick until he could swerve and avoid them.

“You still got it.”

“Damn right I do.”

He was quiet in his concentration, until someone was leering in the window at him (the game was situated close to it and he felt his mom’s hand jabbing into his shoulder. “Theo. Isn’t that Andromeda Messiere?” she asked, and gestured her head to her.

He stared back for a moment, eyes taking her in in that glittering gown and strapped heels and he grinned before hearing his ship explode in game. Ah well, that was a good run anyway. “HI!” and waved his hand like a nerd. A blushing nerd? No, Theo didn’t blush. But he was definitely happy to see her again.

And waved her inside.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:20:24 pm: What… Was he doing?

Andromeda stared with eyebrows furrowed, clearly not amused as she saw he was playing the starship game with an older woman there inside with him. It was her who got his attention, and then he sat there waving at her like a fool.

Her first reaction was to roll her eyes and walk away, the last thing she needed was bad publicity of her doing weird things like hanging out in childrens’ arcades or something, how strange would that be? As if it wasn’t hard enough for PR to keep her out of trouble based on her abhorrent personality alone; the more she stirred up the angrier the manager always got.

But she thought she heard some kids squealing her name some helluva distance away, so before she was spotted she quickly ducked inside.

Totally not because she wasn’t secretly itching to talk to someone like normal for five seconds or anything. Put away the nice face.

“Oi, what do you think you’re doing? If PR catches you they’ll--” She blinked as it occurred to her why it probably didn’t matter to Theo and crossed her arms over her chest. “Ah, nevermind. Nobody really knows you exist so I suppose it doesn’t matter much.”

She glanced at the screen, seeing how long he’d lasted and scoffing. “And yet you suck at this game. Were you even trying?”

She glanced over at the older woman though, eyes narrowed as she assessed her thoroughly. They looked somewhat similar, and judging by her age…

“Is this your mother?”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:20:35 pm: Theo stopped caring that he died. Even if this current game wasn’t his best score. Nothing would beat that time as a kid, but seeing Andy like that in that dress was a close damn second. He admired her for a moment, and blinked when someone asked him a question. Oh that’s right her mouth was moving, as it usually does.

He blinked again. “Oh wow, something crazy actually didn’t come out of it,” he said, genuinely shocked. “But yeah, this is my mom Amitra. Amitra, this is --”

“Pilot Noble Andromeda Messiere,” she finished and reached out to take Andy’s hand even if she didn’t offer it. She shook it delicately before letting it go and putting her arm around Theo’s shoulders. “Theo you didn’t tell me you were friends with a famous Pilot.”

“Mom, I’m a Pilot.”

“But you’re not a Titan.”

“Pfft, rude,” he rolled his eyes and got off the starship machine. “But yeah I know Andy. We hung out a while back.” Hung out was a better way to put it than drunkenly boned. He didn’t want to know about his mother’s sex life and she didn’t need to know about his.

“You’re even prettier in person,” Amitra glowed and beamed before looking back to her son. “How did you guys meet? I guess Pilots just all know each other. Theo lives very far away though. Comes to visit me on the weekends.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:21:09 pm: .
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:22:10 pm: Andy studied his mom for a moment, ignoring Theo’s obvious staring because she was very used to the staring whenever PR put her in something sexy. What could she say, she had great tits.

“Amitra,” She mimicked, shaking the woman’s hand with a grip that was firm yet soft--the strong iron handshakes were reserved for other Pilots and assholes. “Pretty name.”

The banter between mother and son was arguably cute, though she’d never be caught dead using that word out loud. She stepped back enough to let Theo stand up, and while her initial reactions were wont to be a snarky bitch, the voice of the Titan’s PR agent was ringing in her head, practically telling her to play nice with the mother of another Pilot whether she wanted to or not.

So she gave Amitra a cordial smile, bowing her head slightly in humble acknowledgement of the compliment. “It takes pretty to know pretty.”

Her seafoam green gaze flicked between Theo and his mom, unsure if she should trust him not to run his stupid mouth even to his own mother.

“At the pool,” She supplied with a soft shrug. “Decided to have drinks after, it was a while ago though. He seems tolerable enough I suppose. And a very good son to visit his mom, far more loyal to family than I can be bothered with.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:22:25 pm: He was pretty sure she was going to just run her mouth and sprout whatever nonsense amused her or would make him out to be a douchebag to his own mother. She was Andromeda Messiere and he wouldn’t really expect anything less of her, to be honest. And yet…

She surprised him. He watched her steadily and her factual response took him back. There was an edge of truth to it without it being the whole truth and that was both surprising and pleasing. Fuck, he was actually smiling, he couldn’t help himself!

“What can I say, guilt tripping is her psychic power,” he shrugged and put an arm around his mom to hug her. “But she’s the sweetest.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek really hard, smudging her foundation until it was on the side of his cheek. He snorted when she pulled away and momentarily glowered at him.

“He’s all excited from playing GoGo Starship, it makes him overly affectionate,” she laughed and reached up to return the humiliation by squishing his cheeks together and mushing them like the mom she was. “Lookit this face!”

“MOM!” he grumbled and pulled away.

“See that, so grumpy. It’s like I don’t even exist to him.”

“M o m,” he grumbled again. “Don’t even go there.”

“Anyway, say Miss Messiere, shall we go and get a drink, standing here isn’t doing us any good? Watch my bags, would you, Theo? I know a great martini place just around the corner from here.” And she dawdled off with Andromeda whether she said yes or no.

And Theo was left with the shopping bags in tow.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:22:45 pm: There was a moment where Theo smooched his mother on the cheek and there was a playful moment between the two where Andy felt something pang in her chest.

It was jealousy. She'd never met her mother and her dad had always treated her like an object, unlike her brothers who got anything and everything they could have ever wanted. She knew nothing about her mother; only the one crinkled photo she'd found in her father's office one day and scurried away with, a photo of him standing next to a tall vixen with enough of Andy's own facial features to recognize her as likely her mom. She didn't look like mother material, with the seductive smirk she wore in the photo and her hand lingering on her father's chest, layered black hair making her look like a wild lion. Probably why she left.

Andy stared at the two of them for a moment, unsure if what they were doing was a societal norm or not, since she knew nothing of how adults should act with their mothers in public, and thus had no idea how to react other than stand there with a fake and polite smile.

She arched an eyebrow, finding their antics mildly amusing, and when Amitra invited her for drinks she could have sworn she felt her muscles sag inside of her with the wave of relief that followed. Her feet were killing her and sitting down in a bar away from small children sounded like paradise.

"Oh, certainly! Nice of you to offer, I could definitely use some drinks. So have you always been here in Travica?" She asked, following the woman's lead and letting Theo trail behind them as the two walked side by side to Amitra's bar of choice.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:23:03 pm: It was partly awkward to be hanging out with his mother and the actual living version of his once boyhood crush. Theo tried to spend as much time with Amitra as he could and work and commute took a lot of that quality time away from him. That said, he didn’t mind at all when this stranger just came in with her glitzy high heels and swept his mom away from him.

HOly shit she was hot.

It was fine letting him walk behind the lot of them because it gave him some quality time to admire Andy’s ass in that dress. It cupped it the curvatures of it and he found him staring away longer than he intended until they were lead off by Amitra in another direction.

“This is my favorite font of worship,” she announced. “All my friends are here.” She walked in like she owned the place and casually removed her coat as they walked in through the dim lighting of Lulu’s Lounge. “Zack Nathaniels, Captain Zorgan’s, and a perfect chardonnay.” She hummed and greeted the bartender who welcomed her by name. The hostess showed them to an available seat and offered to take her coat.

Amitra settled into the chair at a smaller table just as a server came by to take their drink orders. Theo pulled out a chair from another table to sit with them.

Amitra settled in and observed the menu momentarily and hummed softly. “Hmmm, I’d like a nice crisp riesling if you have one, dear, thank you.”

Theo just ordered a glass of rum and a cola and then looked between Andy and his mom again. “Make that 2 shots.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:23:39 pm: You could say Andy remained blissfully unaware of the grown man drooling over her ass behind her, but really it didn’t matter one way or another because she was used to it--and besides, he wasn’t the only one looking.

She completely ignored the hungry gazes of passerby as they ogled her in that dress and those heels, with her hair and makeup done to be immaculate. She was more focused on the conversation with Amitra; drawn to her like a moth to a flame, she found herself mesmerized by how friendly, warm and outgoing the woman seemed to be outright.

Andy never knew her own mom, and she sure as shit hadn’t met anybody else’s ever before. The closest she’d ever gotten were the maids in the house as a kid, but none of them dared get close to troublemaking Andy for fear of what deep shit they could be roped into if they did.

She found herself smiling softly as the two of them chatted, and she felt her stress and irritation from earlier melting away as they sat at a table in Lulu’s. Amitra had a certain zing and spark to her personality that Andy found fascinating, and she almost forgot to order her drink when the waiter turned to look at her expectantly.

“Lemon drop with extra shots, I want it to burn.”

For now it was like Theo was all but completely forgotten where he sat as Andy immediately turned back to Amitra, curious to learn more about her but not exactly sure which questions to ask. What do you talk about with someone else’s mother?

“Are you still working?” She asked curiously, crossing her legs at the knee as she rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:23:49 pm: Theo was content to be forgotten for now, but he was forced to watch this interaction between Amitra and Andy as if he was watching a really long movie where he knew the ending a mile away and was strapped to the chair he was currently sitting in. Of course the reality was much nicer, he could have left the situation at any time but like hell was he going to just walk away from hanging out with his mom just because Andy was there.

He got to see her maybe once a week if he was lucky. But it was extremely grim reality that held him back: That his mom, his favorite person in the whole wide world, was going to become friends with his boyhood crush, who likely found him to be the cringiest person in the world.

He knocked back the rum and cola way quicker than he wanted and immediately ordered another one, along with a big greasy sandwich to follow. He was here, and this conversation didn’t involve him, he might as well chow down and get comfortable.

“Oh heavens no,” Amitra laughed at Andy’s question. “I’m divorced, retired, and a freeloading ice cold bitch when I please. I have investments that keep me happy, and I get alimony from my garbage ex-husband. So I am very comfortable in the finances department. I donate a good deal of my time and money to organizations I’ve thoroughly checked through. Some of them for animal shelters, and one of them is a creative arts group for children.”

She smiled at Andy and sipped her wine. “I’ve been behind on the Titans’ activities of late. Everything is quiet on the dome-front, right? Your life must be very exciting.”

And Theo was still invisible. He loudly crunched on his turkey bacon cheeseburger and slurped on his drink with a bendy straw.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:24:20 pm: Andy sipped at her drink, pleased with the amount of vodka burning her esophagus, and tilted her head curiously as Amitra responded.

Garbage ex-husband?

She finally glanced at Theo and acknowledged his presence, assuming that that garbage ex-husband was probably his dad.

Andy didn’t know much about love but she did know shitty dads. She knew those very, very well.

She looked back to Amitra, wondering what a creative arts group for children even was. Painting class? Maybe? She’d never really been tapped for family-friendly PR, and her childhood never included anything fun and extracurricular like that might’ve been.

When Amitra asked about the Titans, Andy set her martini glass down and shrugged. Things were the same as always there; her squadmates hated her and the only one who tolerated her was the Commander, and even then it was with the level of tolerance of an alcoholic forced to babysit his wive’s friend’s kids for the weekend.

“Oh, terribly exciting.” She rumbled. “It’s mostly just routines right now, and PR events. I’m afraid I’m not allowed to talk much about it though, confidential info and all that. But I can assure you the dome is safe.”

Part of her itched to talk about the scathing looks she got every time she climbed out of her mecha, the level of distrust and irritation she could feel coming off of her squadmates in waves every time they sat in a meeting together. Truth be told if it weren’t for her abilities as a Pilot and how exceptionally skilled she was as a fighter they probably would’ve tried to remove her from the Titans a long time ago.

It didn’t matter, none of them mattered. She just wanted to watch the world burn either way.

The larger part of her didn’t want to talk about herself much though, so she instead turned the conversation back to Amitra.

“So what exactly is that creative kids thing you mentioned? I’m not really put with kids much for events.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:24:32 pm: Theo was partly listening. He was busy balancing his straw on his lips and leaning against the back of his chair. Truth be told he was bored out of his mind and would have gone anywhere but here if it weren't for his mama. Still it was nice not having to entertain. He could just be a fly on the wall and in that way he could be present without having to commit too much of himself to the moment.

So he remained quite juvenile in his straw balancing, content to look bored as his mother and Andy carried on.

Except when Andy asked about her program.

"Its a music program," he answered. "For kids who don't have access to that kinda stuff and wanna mess around with it."

It was an offshoot answer and Amitra rolled her eyes at her son. "Yes, he's got some of it right. Music is what I've thought to focus on right now. We rotate out different arts and trades that the kids might be interested in. So right now kids can pick an instrument to learn and we pair them up with an instructor to teach them. And then they get together to practice in group sessions. It's very exciting seeing them blossom. The instruments and tools of course are free for them to use. I tried to get Theo here to play something, but it never did stick."

"That isn't true. I'm an excellent kazoo player," he said defensively. "You just never asked me to play for you."

"Then you can play for me when we get home."

He pursed his lips, balancing the straw still. "Alas, I don't have my kazoo with me."

Amitra sighed and looked back to Andy. "I guess we're going to get a kazoo before we head back."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:24:54 pm: Hearing Theo's voice suddenly was a bit jarring, as prior she'd almost entirely forgotten he existed. She glanced over at him, narrowing her eyes at his straw, before bringing her attention back to Amitra as she clarified.

"Music, huh..?" She murmured.

She dropped her gaze, pursing her lips in thought for a moment as she looked at her hands; they had a few battle scars, but she wondered briefly if she could still play the piano as well as she used to.

"The kids chose to do music or you decided it for them?" She asked curiously.

Not that it really mattered. It sounded like Amitra's thing was optional and extracurricular. The circumstances were far different from hers--she had been forced to learn the piano because it was a traditional "womanly" thing to do that would make her that much more appealing to potential buyers to marry off to their sons.

"I used to play the piano, I hated it with a passion." She said it with a snort as she took another drink. "I didn't really have a choice though, maybe that's why it's hard for me to understand why any kid would willingly learn music."
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on May 15, 2020, 10:25:14 pm: Amitra almost couldn’t believe her ears and nearly choked on her drink when Andromeda openly admitted being forced to learn piano. That said, she could understand where she was coming from. Even Theo stopped his foolish antics and was looking at Andy.

“They decide, of course,” Amitra said daintily and examined her fingernails, one of which needed a touch up. “If not that, we offer other activities they can pursue, from athletics to arts and many others. It’s genuinely up to them whether they want to show up, but most do once they find something they enjoy doing.”

Theo had forgotten about the conversation a moment. He sat up straighter now and stood up, looking over at Andy and Amitra. “Why don’t we get going now, huh? We can talk more on the way to your house, mom.”

Amitra lit up with exuberance and she nodded. “Yes of course! Andromeda, darling, please come along and I can share a cup of tea with you and we can laugh at Theo’s baby pictures! Theo, honey, please get the tab. Thank you, you’re so sweet.”

They up and left before Theo could even protest them and he watched them go. He sighed and paid the tab and tipped before taking another swig of a hard drink the bartender was getting for himself. “That’s what I get for being such a wonderful son.”

He downed it and scurried off after them.

Amitra had plenty of money to live on after the divorce and then some. But she was content to make the most of her townhouse that she had purchased once she was free of Theo’s father. Government money was nice, that was for sure. Her son being a Pilot too had its bonuses, but she never asked anything of him that she couldn’t put forth herself.

In the end, the white palatial two story building had all the comfort one person could ever want. Taking care of it all on her own was a bit much, but having Mani as her housekeeper helped her keep the place tidy when she was away.

Mani was a middle aged woman, little more than a few years Amitra’s younger, and had stayed with her while she was trying to find her own way after a rocky marriage.

Theo took up the rear once they were at the door, and Mani answered it, and stood there in slippers, a robe, and a headwrap to catch her wet hair. “You left by yourself, and brought a party, Ami,” Mani murmured, hands on her hips.

Amitra laughed. “Well, my son has such wonderful friends. I couldn’t help but take us all back here for some comforts of home.”

“I won’t keep you -” Mani paused and caught a glimps of Andromeda, finally recognizing her. She paled and straightened. “Please, come in.”
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on May 15, 2020, 10:25:35 pm: Baby pictures? Andy arched a brow at the thought--pictures of his children was one thing her father would never have been caught dead with. None of them were really his pride or his joy, rather they were merely tools for climbing the metaphorical ladder of respect from his peers. The more prestige his children earned, the higher his own value was driven up, and that was all he had ever cared about. What could they do for him, rather than the other way around.

She wondered what it was about children that Amitra seemed to be so enamoured with; enough so at least to care for more of them even after her own son had grown and flown from the nest--or perhaps, swam, was more accurate. What did she gain from helping those kids?

Andy didn't protest as the conversation decided to move them onwards to new places--as long as she didn't have to be in the spotlight any more today, and was given a chance to take off her heels, then she would be moderately content.

The townhouse they rolled on up to felt so small in comparison to what Andy was expecting, though perhaps she was used to mansions and lavish penthouses because of her own upbringing and now, her own paychecks, but even with Theo being a Pilot she'd been expecting… More. That wasn't to say it was a bad place, not at all. It was just so small and… Casual? It gave her very traditional vibes, like this was the house someone would live in with their spouse as ordinary civilians with little cares in the world, and maybe a dog.

Essentially, this house seemed to Andy like it was from a completely different world, and therefore it was just as amazing to her as any castle would be.

The woman they were greeted with caused Andromeda's eyes to widen; what kind of person would ever answer the door like that? If she had ever tried to wear her own pajamas past 9 AM, she'd have almost certainly received a beating, and that was the rule for everyone in the house--in fact, she couldn't remember ever seeing even her own maids in their nightgowns. Who was this person?

When the woman looked at her, Andromeda realized she'd been staring and blinked, not quite sure how to react other than to give a polite and automatic smile, drilled into her by PR from day one out of Candyland.

As they stepped inside, she realized it would be rude of her not to compliment her host (as taught to her yet again by PR) and so after a few brief moments of observation, she offered Amitra a warm smile.

"What a lovely place you have here, Amitra. Did you decorate it yourself?"
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on November 20, 2020, 09:48:01 pm: Theo became a third wheel to his own weekly outing with his mother. If he'd known finding Andy and inviting her along would have resulted in this, he never would have absolutely not changed his mind. Because, if there was anyone he was happy showing Andy off to, it was his mother. Theo wasn't going to excuse himself from Amitra not a second too soon. Even if Andy was tagging along.

Now they were back at Mom's and drinks were going to be had and lots of merry fun times. He was genuinely excited, even if he was hard-pressed to show it.

He knew exactly where the drinks were too. So he slinked passed the pair once inside to get started on that.

Amitra looked up and around the townhouse at Andy's comment. "Of course not. You think I'd pick these ivory drapes? No, dear. I had a decorator come in and wreck the place. I'm going to have Mani supervise her next time because holy shit, this is what happens when I tell them to surprise me. I'm at fault, I know. But if I'd known the first one had questionable taste, I never would have gone through with it."

The high ceilings were vaulted with sculpted pillars marking the sections between entry hall, dining room, kitchen and living room. A curved staircase swooped up at their immediate right to lead to the bedrooms, a grand piano sat underneath it, old mahogany that had been recently dusted.

Lights shaped like candles ignited the hallway as Amitra led them to where Theo was rummaging through the liquor, fixing drinks at the bar behind the couch. It was a full counter too.

"The living room is the one room she spared. Mani caught her just in time, bless her." The couch was a wide, plush monster. A sectional with a lounging end, and fold out recliners for the other two if needed. "It seconds as a guest bed as well."

"It's super comfy," Theo remarked as he brought out glasses filled to the brim with more alcohol. And plopped down on the lounge, expertly laying the tray drinks on the round center table.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on December 25, 2020, 09:09:40 pm: "Ah.... Uh-huh..." She bit back the urge to say 'Yeah that was on you.' like she'd normally say to anyone else. But... Because it was Theo's mom, she wanted to at least seem somewhat likeable.

She wasn't really sure why, it wasn't like she really owed anything to Theo did she? But so far he was one of the few other Pilots she'd met who treated her like a normal person despite her personality and didn't scorn her very existence.

And that was totally on her for having such an abhorrent personality. But she didn't owe anyone jack shit, and the world had never given her a reason to be nice.

As they settled in to Amitra's living room, Andy took quite nicely to the lounge section of the couch, elegantly draping one leg over the other as she reclined with a glass in hand and they chatted on and on about whatever came to their minds. Amitra was interesting in that she seemed warm and proved to be easy to talk to, and having Theo there to help the conversation along just made it even more effortless, and even... Kind of enjoyable?

Andy told herself it was probably because she was just happy to get off her feet after a day spent in those high heels and that the drinks made her ease up a bit, but truth be told it was so rare she had a conversation like this that wasn't forced for the sake of an interview or awkward dealing with a fan. Was this what it was like to be normal?

She glanced at Theo out of the corner of her eyes as she took a sip from her drink, wondering if he got to experience this kind of thing all the time and feeling a small pang of jealousy for it.

Now jealousy, that she knew like the back of her own hand.
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Lion on January 10, 2021, 06:35:45 pm: On the rare occasion that he got to spend time with his mother, this was the first time he got to share her with someone that wasn't one of her friends. He wasn't exactly upset, but at least that person was Andy, and despite the fact that he felt like he was walking on glass around her, this was all around a good time. And like any good mother, Amitra was making good on her duty to embarrass him.

Theo was lounging beside his mother in the chair opposite Andy, and occasionally he spied her looking over to him. He was flushed from alcohol already, but still had some awareness too him. Enough to turn beet red even under his tan when Amitra showed Andy photos of him as a baby escaping from the bathtub.

Then there was the Yule Festival where he was dressed up as a slice of sweet potato pie. He was grinning like an idiot and the little dollop of whipped cream beside him, holding his head, was his little sister, Olivia.

"Gosh, Theo and Olive just before he went off to candidacy. You were how old?"

"Fifteen, I think. Shit, that's a long time," Theo muttered as he leaned across to examine the picture. "Wow, Olive must be five years old then."

It was a precious photo, each of them with small hats and chinstraps around them. Theo felt his eyes grow hot, looking at the picture of the little sister he hadn't seen in years.

"That makes her eighteen this year," Amitra sighed. "They grow up so fast. I told your father that she ought to have a chance to experience the world, but you know how your father is. Wants her to grow up, get married. He's already got a suitor lined up and everything."

Theo grit his teeth. "That's some bullshit! She's too young to get married! He knows that."

"Like your father gives a damn what anyone else wants. All that matters to him is family prestige, keeping the line strong and all that."

Theo set the glass down and stood up. "Why didn't you take her with you?" It was a pointed question and he was already angry. He didn't want to blame his mother, but he already felt like crying.

"I tried to, Theo. I did everything I could! Like I wanted to leave my daughter with that horrible excuse for a man. Hell no! But your father had the case rigged from the start. He hated you, and he was more than happy to see me leave. But he'd be damned if he was going to lose all his pawns." Amitra fell quiet and closed the picture book gently.

She peered up at Andy and frowned, contrite. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Theo was quiet
Title: Re: The Lovely, the Dark, and the Deep [Cheesi]
Post by: Cheesigator on March 21, 2021, 11:11:31 pm: [TW: sexual abuse, child abuse, r*pe]

When the baby pictures came out Andy was utterly fascinated by them. People did that? Took photos of their kids? How peculiar.

She studied each one curiously and listened intently as the conversation shifted to embarrassing stories of Theo's childhood, and she smirked whenever she peered over and caught him flushing a deep red. Cute.

She didn't usually find things or people cute but... He was cute. As an adult, not a child--children were not at all her cup of tea.

As Olive turned up though Andy found herself blinking owlishly between the two of them as the conversation suddenly turned heated; first of all she'd had no idea that Theo had a younger sibling (not that she'd ever cared to ask really) but second it seemed as if something wasn't quite right.

"... Wants her to grow up, get married. He's already got a suitor lined up and everything."

There was a sudden pain around her wrist and when she glanced down for a second she saw her father's hand clutching her little arm so hard it was turning red. She'd been younger than 18, she was still just a kid.

The room felt like it had dropped several degrees as her body broke out into a cold sweat. It was hard to repress the memories and the raising voices around her didn't help; she remembered being pressed painfully down into the sheets, she remembered the tears in her eyes and her choked up screams and pleas to make it stop. She hadn't even noticed that she had accidentally dropped the photo she'd been holding, her brows knotted and her face pale like she'd seen a ghost.

Gods, this country was the worst. Abysmal. She felt the burning hatred coiling up inside of her right next to the residual fear and pain; the cold sweat made her shiver but deep down inside she was flaming hot.

"... you had to hear that."

It took Andy a few moments to realize that she was clenching her fists, and she quickly took in a breath and released them, tiny crescent moons dug into her palms and fresh blood under the tips of her finger nails.

"Oh, no, it's okay. It happens, families are like that." She passed off a fake chuckle as she stood up, tucking some strands of hair behind her pointed ears and smoothing her dress, hoping they wouldn't notice her hands. "I actually should get going though, I've already taken up too much of your time--my PR agent will kill me if I'm late for the next photoshoot. It was lovely to meet you, Amitra, thanks for inviting me."

She made her exit quick and called a cab, biting on one of her nails as she sat with her legs crossed at the knee in the back seat, the flames in her burning as she scrolled viciously through her comm set for something to distract her, but nothing could.

All she could think about was the sweet little girl smiling up at her from the photo she'd held, and the pain she'd felt when her own betrothed had forced her into bed.

She started to dig, searching and searching online to find whatever information she could. Turns out Theo's dad was a bit of a rich hotshot, he popped up in a few articles and the name looked familiar. She was pretty sure her own father had done business with him before. That made her nearly break her fingernail.

She smirked when she found a particular article, and let out a dark chuckle as the car went speeding off towards her apartment.