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[sing_for_me]

« Alex.Benedetto» TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION Alex Benedetto✦ GANGSTA
RESIDENCE ✦ Apartment
GEMBOND ✦ Amethyst

This is Alex, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon.

INFO ✧ PERMISSIONS ✧ KINKLIST ✧

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Late April

[long_live_the_queen]

[Stay home, the orders said. Stay inside, even. The trains back to Sumarlok weren't running, anyway.

Kaede was usually the type to openly ignore such instructions. But...then sun had gone and sunk below the level of the trees, which brought a late spring chill to the streets. Normally tolerable, but no sooner had Kaede slipped out of a window than cold sank through to her bones. She only had clothes on the still-human part of her, and those striped scales might as well have been paper for how much they kept her warm.

So, the lamia had crawled back inside through the same window she'd escaped from. Quite literally; her arms and vectors were the only things that wanted to work quickly enough. The monster had taken over one of the common rooms--not intentionally, but, well. All this snake had to go somewhere, and even wrapped up into a coil there was still some fifteen feet of her.

On top of this sulky red, gold, and black garter striped pancake, a stubby horned person flopped over on her belly like a sadly deflated and rather disgruntled cherry.

Her hair was even the right color.]

Comes back in June wheezes

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex had been helping out wherever they’d let her, which landed her the job of passing out blankets to those in the shelter. She’d thought she’d gotten to everyone, with one blanket left for herself. Feeling the adrenaline start to fade, the manticore searched for a nice quiet spot to settle down, freezing when she catches sight of a giant snake in the room. ]

Ah—-S..sorry...

[ The door is closing ever so slowly. She ain’t about to mess with that.

Oh, but had she missed them during her initial rounds? ]

Um, did you...need a blanket?

[long_live_the_queen]

[She wasn't cold enough to shiver, Kaede was reasonably sure. She was also reasonably sure you could get cold enough to stop shivering entirely. But that wasn't what this was, surely. It was just...cold and she didn't want to move, even when she heard the door open and someone come in.

The lamia stirred, lifting her head up in what should have been a sharp spring to attention, but was instead almost comically slow and jerky.]

D-don't-- [ugh her voice was all stuttering and pathetic sounding. The lamia grumbled to herself while she gathered her breath and energy, speaking a bit slower and quieter this time but without that stutter.] -blanket wouldn't...fit, anyway. [She was a lot of snake.] Heater would...work better.

[But there was just a normal sized vent in this room, and up off the ground. Kaede would have periscoped her body all the way up to the ceiling to reach it, but she was too cold. And thus she stayed in this coil of cold, sulking scales.]

nevermind this is in may~

[salaryman]

Forgive me for not contacting you sooner.
I cannot blame cowardice on this but this sort of talk is best done in person.
Is it all right to meet you?

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex fumbles with her phone as she almost drops it. Had it been a month? She feels her chest tighten as soon as she reads the message, not having blamed him one bit for the silence. It’s more relief to hear from him at all. ]

There’s nothing to forgive. Did you want to meet somewhere private or public?

[ She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but considering that they did what they did in public…maybe there wasn’t much of a difference. ]

[salaryman]

Private seems best for what needs to be said.

[ He realizes how his words sound, but he feels like it would be best to say what he needs to say to her and not to a screen. Too much is left out in text, and he does not want anything to be left out with what he wants to say to her. ]

text; un: "Stiles"; fwd dated to 06/27

[mensrea]

Hey Alex. Sorry I missed class. Want to tell me what the chef covered? Can’t let myself fall behind, after all.

Audio

[sing_for_me]

[ His phone will start ringing as soon as she reads the message. ]

Stiles, where are you?

[mensrea]

[ But Stiles doesn't answer the phone. After having had the same conversation with so many people in such a short period of time, he has no energy to deal with the questions in real time. ]

Sorry, kind of busy. Can we stick to texting right now?

Late Brumfast Gift

[long_live_the_queen]

[At the front desk of the bar where Alex had brought Kaede during the time of cursed transformations, a small package has been left for her. It contains a corded bracelet strung with blue beads the same color as her eyes and violet ones like Alex's Amethyst. Some of the beads are a little misshapen and clearly handmade, but they're relatively evenly spaced despite the sizes being off in places.

Whoever left it didn't also leave their name, but they did have pink hair and a knit cap pulled down low on their head. Rather convenient for hiding something on the top of it.]

[sing_for_me]

[ She needs to hunt her down now to give her a gift!!!!!!]

hella hella backdated but i do what i want

[lockedon]

[ At some point, before the holidays are over but after Alex moves into her new place, she'll receive a delivery. Specifically, a small box with some weight to it, though not so heavy she won't be able to carry it back indoors. Inside is a wonky-looking radio - a rift transistor, to be more specific - and a neatly-written note.

They said this should be able to trasmit music from your home world. Let me know if it works.
— Eustace

Is it a Brumfast gift or just coincidence, who can truly say? ]

[sing_for_me]

[ooc: I THOUGHT I POSTED YOUR GIFTS TOO BUT I DIDNT ]

[ Alex absolutely loves the gift and plays it almost all the time…everyday…

For Eustace, he’ll receive a few records along with a small record player, and a plush toy that looks similar to one of the toys his siblings had in the dream. It’s her first time sewing something like this so it’s not perfect and a bit misshapen, but its ears look a lot like his own and seemed to have the most care and attention put into them.

I hope the music can bring you comfort just as it does for me.

Alex

She might have scrapped a note that asked if they could be friends. ]

un: acala

[indignitas]

[ He had approached her at one of her gigs, introduced himself politely. To a trained eye, he's obviously yakuza. Slicked back hair, gold necklace, nice clothes. However, he's less intimidating than all that. His manners are warm and earnest and when he says he is trying to keep an eye on things for the sake of the other gembonded, he seems to mean it. He pays regularly, whether he's asked her to do something or not.

Although today seems like the day, ]

Miss Benedetto, I have a request for you.

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex was on a break when she receives the text, sipping on her water while reading over the message. The man had approached her not too long ago, and it amuses her a little how he seems even less intimidating through text. He had quite the presence and his appearance was one she associated with keeping away from. But his demeanor was different, and he’d managed to put her at ease rather quickly. ]

Hello Mr. Daigo. How can I help you?

ice things

[mtoc]

[Out in the snow for an uncertain length of time, Marco hadn't been particularly concerned by it at first as the initial storm hadn't bothered him, something he'd attributed to the sapphire gem's offered protection against the cold. And it had generally prove a reliable supposition and gone unchallenged. Though now he feels it, an almost rapid drop in temperature from within, as if he'd only just stepped into icy water, the chill deep and almost painful. The apartment building shouldn't be far, but somehow it's too daunting, too hard to walk more than a few feet at a time, and too hard to think, and when he places his hand against the side of a building to help with balance, he can't feel it. Pulling his hand back, his fingers are bone white, greying at the fingertips, nails almost translucent. They're too stiff and inflexible to move much at all. The snow continues to fall fast in large clusters of flakes, piling heavy on the sidewalk and quickly turning to ice. The next step he takes, he bumps into someone he couldn't see until it was too late, visibility now extremely poor.]

... Sorry.

[His voice sounds far away to him, hollow and flat.]

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex herself hadn’t experienced a winter like his in Noctium. Something about it drew out emotions she hadn’t touched in some time, ones that she thought she had buried after months of trying. Faces of the past come to mind, unresolved feelings and problems she never received closure for.

The bump should have brought her back from her thoughts, she would think, but when she turns to apologize she catches a face she hadn’t hallucinated about before. It stuns her, but her hand reaching out reflexively to grip his arm.

It was real. He felt real. ]

M-Marco…?

backdated to uhhhh before feb event?? idk man

[dirtdevil]

[ once upon a time, in a bar not terribly far from here, a very small man threw a guy twice his size out the door for drunkenly harassing a friend of his. even though throwing belligerent drunks out on their asses was part of his job as security, his friend, as a thank you for the assist, wanted to treat him at a cafe. the very small man would usually decline such an invitation, being a socially-maladjusted goblin, but he agreed because he valued her friendship and he didn't want to be a dick.

also, she said the magic word: tea. the very small man really liked tea.

aaanyway, that day at the cafe has also come and gone, but as it turns out, it was only the first of many. no one is more surprised about this initially than Levi, whose social life has historically been nonexistent; maybe it's because he met Alex at a time when he was far more vulnerable than most people have ever—or would ever—see him. whatever the reason, it's come to be a semi-regular Thing, and this time he's brought her to a small cafe with a wide variety of teas that Erwin had brought him to a few months back.

it's quite rare that he's paralyzed by indecision, but the menu in his hand has an entire section dedicated to tea. he blows out a sigh. ]

I'll never be able to catch up with the amount of shit that exists here. I'm still processing that tea can be green.

[ green tea. can you believe it? what a world. ]

[sing_for_me]

[ It was just as surprising to Alex, that someone as seemingly straight laced and serious as Levi would agree to continue accompanying her in what became a quest to explore as many cafes and tea serving establishments as they can. He didn’t falter even when some of them turned to out to be more frilly and possibly pink and pastel for his tastes, or when the teas were decorated with colorful fruits, star shaped bobas, and bear shaped foam on top with names like Berry Nice to Meet You. Levi sat through all that even when Alex herself felt a bit embarrassed. And it was fun, hanging out with him, going on these little adventures.

It was Levi’s turn to pick this time around, and while it was on the more subdued side, it was comforting and relaxed, save for the extensive menu that has her feeling indecisive as well. ]

Just when I think we’ve seen most of it, there’s somehow more flavors I haven’t heard of.

[ She chuckles at their predicament, though she’s always interested in trying something new. It helped that there were flavors native to here that possibly didn’t exist in her world. Not that she’s tried every flavor of tea in hers either. She preferred coffee herself, mostly trying the former due to Levi’s influence. ]

Oh, I might try the lavender latte…

[ Just as important though was what they would eat with it. Levi may have noticed by now that Alex quite enjoys breads, and any bread like pastry. Savory, sweet, you name it and she’ll eat it. ]

Are you going to try something new today?

text | un: konoha

[lumberlady]

greetings ALEX
is konoha!
good evening

want to send thank you for NAVARIN
i receive some from MARCO
friend from same world?
much delicious!

can i ask recipe?

[sing_for_me]

Hello Konoha

Im glad you liked it. I based it off a similar recipe here but I tweaked it a little. I can type it up and send it to you.

It wsnt too salty?

text ; un: edamocha

[edamamepon]

[ It's easier to pretend not to be upset or worried over text! ]

Hey, have you seen Laurent around?

[sing_for_me]

[ His question brings pause, because she had in fact noticed that she hadn’t seen him around as much recently… but he was also a grown man that did his own things. Yet one couldn’t be too careful here. ]

Not in the last week. Should we be worried?

A surprise thread! ~ sometime pre-June event

[mtoc]

[One morning, while Marco goes about making coffee, his movements are a little more anxious and off, as if he's waiting for something. He'd spent time debating with himself, even after initially having the conviction to bring it up, but he's determined to do it today. And as he hears Alex enter the kitchen, he clicks on the brewer and turns from the counter, looking to meet her eyes with a bit of a serious expression.]

Alex, I need to... talk to you about something.

A most pleasant surprise!!!

[sing_for_me]

[ A slow waker as she is, her bed hair has yet to be addressed, her eyes groggy as she enters the kitchen, still in her sleep wear. But her face brightens when she sees Marco, a sleepy smile spreading on her face when she greets him.

But…he seems off. She stops right by him, peering up at his face. Sleep starts to fade now, bringing her focus to him. ]

Is something the matter?