technophileabodement-blog

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux didn't have much to do on that particular night either. Usually, this wouldn't bother him. He'd just sit around his apartment, playing video games, coding, or just messing around on the internet. It wasn't like he had much of a social life here after all, so he couldn't go do anything with anyone...

So, for some reason, he found himself drawn to the idea of actually going outside. The obvious place for something like this was the park close to his apartment complex. Sighing softly, he shut down his computer. Why was he even doing this? What would he do in the park, besides loiter like some creep? But despite these persistent inner questions, he'd learned by now to trust this kind of bizarre instinct. It generally paid off.

Within fifteen minutes, he was walking through the park, enjoying the evening scenery. The sun was just setting, and it actually looked really pretty. It made him wonder what the sunsets were like back home, and if he liked them then too. His name did kind of mean sunlight, after all, so it made sense that he was drawn to this scene.

Another scene in front of him was the girl just dancing in the grass. There was no music, but she seemed totally content and carefree, like she couldn't care less what anyone thought of her. And just like that, there was the ghost of a name on his lips, just barely out of reach. When would he stop running into people he somehow knew? But, a slight smile on his face, he approached the dancing girl.

"Hey, I'm Sollux. I don't know why, but uh, I kinda feel like I'm supposed to talk to you. I've been having weird feelings like that lately, but I guess that's kinda weird to say to a total stranger."

shoot a star on the boulevard tonight (open)

It was a nice evening, in her opinion. Not like she was going to ask anyone else, since she was alone. It’d be weird of her to ask some random stranger how their day was without being provoked, but you know. She’d do it if it wasn’t weird. There’s nothing wrong with being nice to strangers.

Jade wasn’t doing anything in particular, actually. Just taking a stroll, she supposed would be the best way to describe it. After all, like she had said before, it was a lovely evening. Lovely in the sorts of romantic. Of course, Jade didn’t really take to that term. Hopefully the couples out there were having lovely dates, to match the lovely evening.

Jade’s walking resulted in her arrival at the park. She looked around, taking not of the lack of people there. It seemed like she had the park to herself. That only gave her one option.

Dance.

Now, Jade wouldn’t normally be the one to dance in a park on a nice night. Especially when there was no music. However, said girl absolutely loves to dance, and she does what she wants, whenever she wants. As long as it doesn’t get her arrested, of course. That wouldn’t be very good.

That brings the girl back to the present, dancing oddly while alone in the park on a lovely evening. If she cared what other people thought, she’d be a bucketful of embarrassed. Luckily, she did not. That would probably be the best thing about the whole ordeal.

#gaudiloquentgramary #jade #newworldstuck

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux just nodded, sure that his skepticism was pretty obvious on his face. This guy didn't seem like he was planning on going to a barbecue. It was nice out though, like he'd said..."Uh, yeah, it's pretty nice out. I don't usually take walks, but I got bored of waiting for my friend to answer me, so I figured I might as well do something."

Yeah, this was incredibly awkward. But he was practically willing to bet that he was standing right in front of the Skaian he was looking for. So he'd deal with a little awkwardness if it meant finding someone else who could help him figure things out. Sollux chuckled, shaking John's hand.

"Yeah, I'm Sollux. And I might just be imagining it, but you seem really familiar..."

Sollux couldn’t help staring at John at first, struck by a now-familiar feeling of, well, familiarity. He looked to be the right age, so could it be that this was the very person he was looking for? Probably not, but it was worth a shot to continue the conversation rather than just walking away. He shrugged off the slight awkwardness he felt, returning his gaze to the ground for a moment before looking back up.

It was a good thing he had done that, because it was only then that he realized that at some point in the whole running into this guy and stumbling backwards while trying not to fall flat on his ass, his glasses had slipped down just a little too far to be safe, even though it was dark. He nudged them back up, hoping that the other boy hadn’t noticed what his eyes looked like.

"It’s fine, I’ll live," he said with a soft laugh. "Um, I’m Sollux, by the way. I guess I wasn’t the only one who decided to take a walk tonight…" He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket and rolled his eyes. Figures that his friend would just decide to answer him now. Oh well, now he could be the one to wait.

#((hhh mine's really short too)) #newworldstuck #spiritusaeterno #john thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux couldn't help staring at John at first, struck by a now-familiar feeling of, well, familiarity. He looked to be the right age, so could it be that this was the very person he was looking for? Probably not, but it was worth a shot to continue the conversation rather than just walking away. He shrugged off the slight awkwardness he felt, returning his gaze to the ground for a moment before looking back up.

It was a good thing he had done that, because it was only then that he realized that at some point in the whole running into this guy and stumbling backwards while trying not to fall flat on his ass, his glasses had slipped down just a little too far to be safe, even though it was dark. He nudged them back up, hoping that the other boy hadn't noticed what his eyes looked like.

"It's fine, I'll live," he said with a soft laugh. "Um, I'm Sollux, by the way. I guess I wasn't the only one who decided to take a walk tonight..." He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket and rolled his eyes. Figures that his friend would just decide to answer him now. Oh well, now he could be the one to wait.

  A week into school, Sollux had almost gotten accustomed to this weird new life. The operative word being almost, of course. The total lack of memories beyond the one he had told Eridan was weird, that was for sure. But that one was enough to motivate him to keep up appearances and act normal, all while trying to puzzle some things out about Skaia and its displaced residents. There were faces that seemed familiar in his dreams, and he had seen a couple of them, but Eridan was still the only one he dared interact with.

By the second week, he had noticed something. In some of his classes, there was a mysterious individual by the name of John Egbert, who had never once bothered to show up to class yet. Sure, it was entirely possible that John just didn’t give a fuck about school, but to not once show his face in the building for the first two weeks of school? A medical excuse? Perhaps…

The unlikely explanation that Sollux couldn’t just drop from his mind though, was that he was from Skaia, and trying to solve the mysteries on his own. He was probably just being ridiculous and too-hopeful. How would he even find someone he had never met, anyway? Sollux had already figured out that any traces online of someone from Skaia were those from the past two weeks.

Finally, on the second Friday that he had been there, he sighed softly, got out of his tangle of blankets, and decided to take a walk. Sollux was most definitely not an outdoorsy person, but something told him that it was very important that he needed to take a walk.

And since it was nighttime, and therefore dark, his red and blue glasses would be sufficient on their own, and he wouldn’t have to fuss with sclera lenses and all of that. Giving up on pestering Eridan for the moment, he tugged on his favorite hoodie and headed out to take a walk. Maybe just thinking alone in the dark for awhile would help.

Awhile into the walk, head down and looking at the sidewalk, Sollux found his progress abruptly halted by quite literally bumping into someone. Stumbling backwards a few steps, muttering under his breath, he looked up at the other person. Familiar…

"Shit, sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going…"

#spiritusaeterno #john thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

A week into school, Sollux had almost gotten accustomed to this weird new life. The operative word being almost, of course. The total lack of memories beyond the one he had told Eridan was weird, that was for sure. But that one was enough to motivate him to keep up appearances and act normal, all while trying to puzzle some things out about Skaia and its displaced residents. There were faces that seemed familiar in his dreams, and he had seen a couple of them, but Eridan was still the only one he dared interact with.

By the second week, he had noticed something. In some of his classes, there was a mysterious individual by the name of John Egbert, who had never once bothered to show up to class yet. Sure, it was entirely possible that John just didn't give a fuck about school, but to not once show his face in the building for the first two weeks of school? A medical excuse? Perhaps...

The unlikely explanation that Sollux couldn't just drop from his mind though, was that he was from Skaia, and trying to solve the mysteries on his own. He was probably just being ridiculous and too-hopeful. How would he even find someone he had never met, anyway? Sollux had already figured out that any traces online of someone from Skaia were those from the past two weeks.

Finally, on the second Friday that he had been there, he sighed softly, got out of his tangle of blankets, and decided to take a walk. Sollux was most definitely not an outdoorsy person, but something told him that it was very important that he needed to take a walk.

And since it was nighttime, and therefore dark, his red and blue glasses would be sufficient on their own, and he wouldn't have to fuss with sclera lenses and all of that. Giving up on pestering Eridan for the moment, he tugged on his favorite hoodie and headed out to take a walk. Maybe just thinking alone in the dark for awhile would help.

Awhile into the walk, head down and looking at the sidewalk, Sollux found his progress abruptly halted by quite literally bumping into someone. Stumbling backwards a few steps, muttering under his breath, he looked up at the other person. Familiar...

"Shit, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going..."

It had been two weeks since John had decided to stop going to school, and in that two weeks a lot of things had occurred that John had noted, all of which had taught him a great deal.

Firstly, no one had called home for him. He’d waited the first Monday out anxiously, only managing to stay in bed for an hour longer before he was up and pacing around his room, checking his emails religiously, only going downstairs when he realised it must be around lunchtime and he would usually be at the cafeteria at this time. (He didn’t realise however that he never actually opened the fridge to eat.) By nine pm, he finally accepted that the school wasn’t going to call to see where he was today. Maybe they were busy, maybe they didn’t mind one day of unexplained absence, but when the next day passed the same way, and then the day after that, and the day after that, it was starting to seem like either they just didn’t care, or just didn’t notice.

Secondly, his dad had never come home. In all the time John had stayed home, the front door hadn’t opened once, either to let anyone in or anyone out, and there were never any noises in the house except ones John made himself. John had even stayed up all night one time, just to see if he could catch his dad in the house, maybe he only came in at super ridiculous hours? But the house remained quiet as ever, even when John stayed up all night the next as well, camped out in the living room downstairs for the rest of the week, the beginning of the next. By the second Wednesday he gave up and retired back to his room feeling surreal. Where was his dad?

Thirdly, well. He was starting to realise that his online presence didn’t exist. After accepting his school wasn’t going to try to contact him, he’d given it the first week before checking his emails again. He’d suddenly remembered about them, a sudden strike of inspiration, and he was sure his friends were missing him, he’d isolated himself for so long, surely they’d filled up his chat box by now.

He couldn’t even log on to find out. His emails wouldn’t sign him in. His chat client wouldn’t accept his password. What was wrong with everything? It kept saying his username didn’t exist, so after struggling for half an hour and getting frustrated enough to knock over his lamp, he made new accounts with his original name, hoping dumbly that maybe everything would be saved? They let him in, but his contacts were blank, his emails were blank, his chat logs were blank. Panicking, he opened his browsing history, and that was blank too.

Everything he’d looked up over the…how many months, years of having this computer, did it just delete by itself? What even….what had he even been looking up. What sites had he even been on, he was looking something up last night wasn’t he, he couldn’t remember what it was, what was he…

Did he imagine the whole thing?

Time had passed relatively quickly, and on the second Friday, John decided it was time to get out of the house. Things were freaking him out, everything in the house was starting to feel less and less real; his life before this impromptu vacation, even the house itself. His head felt like a constant painful foggy mess of partially formed memories and dumb thoughts, and he needed to do something normal before he dove off the deep end.

Dragging on a jacket, John left the house, shutting the front door behind him and stepping out onto the sidewalk. It was nighttime, and it was a little windy, but it felt comfortable and real and he could hear laughter from down the street and see cars passing by and streetlights sparkling and it was open air and wide spaces and he felt great to be looking up at the sky again. The ache growing in his chest felt amazing as he walked, and before he knew it there were tears prickling the corner of his eyes, weird but not unwelcome. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed this.

#((lmao super cliched im sorry)) #newworldstuck #spiritusaeterno #john thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

"I know," he murmured, nodding as he tried once again to sift through his mind for potentially relevant memories. "This is pretty much the weirdest shit ever, but I don't think we're crazy. There would have to be too many coincidences for us both to be experiencing the same delusions and then actually meeting each other and..That's impossible. It has to be real."

It had to be real, because it was pretty much the only thing Sollux had now. Eridan was like his whole world, and as odd as it was, he intuitively knew that this wasn't the first time it had been that way. Their lives were hopelessly entangled, and he was going to get to the bottom of this mystery.

He nodded slowly at Eridan's response. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I don't either. Like I said, we know each other."

Sollux could feel Eridan's anxiety pretty damn intensely, and it was making him nervous too. He wondered if the other boy could tell, even without his own intuition. It was kind of obvious, his hands were a little shaky and he was tapping his foot anxiously against the floor, adjusting his glasses again. "Fuck, you're really nervous. I forgot how bad anxiety fucks me up."

He was about to respond to Eridan's sudden question when he was hit with a memory of his own, like a physical pain in his chest. Rather than a rapid slideshow like Eridan had gotten moments before, this was one solid, concrete memory, and somehow he knew that he had figured out how to save this one before whatever happened to remove the rest. Stunned, he fumbled in his bag, pulling out a notebook and pen. "I remembered something, but I probably shouldn't be talking about this stuff out loud..."

Pen in hand, he started writing down every detail of the memory, even forgoing the odd quirk he had felt drawn to write in. "it's like i knew how to save just the one memory, because i guess it was important or something? anyway, there was this huge, fancy building, with lots of people. all official like, you know?? and we were both there, together, with a bunch of other people that seemed familiar. i remember that i was upset, like something bad was about to happen. and i said to you "god, ED, calm down. it'll be fine. i'll find you, i promise. it's what best friends do." and then i guess you were worried i wouldn't, or i was worried, i don't know which. and so i said "just in case..." and then, um, fuck...then i kind of kissed you. and that's all i remember." Still shaky, he set the notebook in front of Eridan, letting him read the memory.

"If that isn't proof, I don't know what is."

Jumping a bit at the very audible “thud” that sounded next to him, Eridan stared over at Sollux with a look that could only be described as confusion mixed with embarrassment.

"If your head hurt so much I’d think you wouldn’t be going around slamming it into tables, huh?" he asked, hands going up to adjust his scarf’s position, just a tad.

With a soft sigh and a small scoff, he turned to examine the other occupants of the room, wrinkling his nose as a ball of paper flew at his face. Without even thinking, he flicked his index finger outwards, mumbling incoherently, and it soared back at the original owner. Realizing what he had just done, Eridan straightened his posture and curled his fingers into fists, sliding down in his chair a little. Control, Ampora, get your head out of your ass.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone around him noticed, and he promptly turned back to gaze at Sollux. By this point, his heart was beating incredibly fast in his chest and he was surprised no one else could hear it. Nervousness set into his veins and flowed throughout his body but he did his best to keep his cool.

"Did you? Seems unlikely," he mumbled, raising an eyebrow (a perfectly shaped eyebrow, at that). "Believe it or not I was fairly popular back at my old school. Did a lotta… fine arts stuff. That’s why I’m in drama this year."

Eridan had no idea if he was popular or not, but he had assumed so because really, how could he have /not/ been popular? He also wasn’t sure whether or not Skaian schools had anything relating to normal human schools, and the fact that he was in theatre was completely random, but still.

The apology, to say the least, surprised him. It calmed down his nerves for the time being and all he did was blink at Sollux, before shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “It’s whatever,” he replied, leaning his elbow on the desk and fiddling idly with his earlobe. “I don’t really care. I guess it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to for now, anyways, but I do kinda wish you didn’t make such a bad first impression.”

Him saying sorry was rare, very rare, so the fact that he didn’t return the apology wasn’t surprising. Still, Sollux’s apology gave him some brownie points (and also made him that much more attractive, knowing he wasn’t a total douche) and Eridan could confidently say (in his head, not out loud) that there was a chance the two of them could get closer.

#thaumaturgedisavowal #eridan thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux was sure that his concern showed on his face, but he couldn't help it. The nervousness was practically flowing off of Eridan in waves. And for some reason, Sollux was sure that if he just leaned in...It sounded ridiculous even in his mind. A kiss couldn't suddenly bring back lost memories, all it would do is make him seem creepy. 

"You're nervous again," he said flatly. "Don't try to tell me you're not, that's bullshit. I can tell. Look..." he sighed softly, relieved to hear that Eridan felt that same familiarity. It clearly had something to do with Skaia and his lost memories. How could it not at this point? Sollux could feel everything starting to come together. There was a eureka moment in his future, he just knew it.

He leaned in a bit closer, nervous that someone would overhear. This was so dangerous, but there was some innate instinct telling him that he could trust Eridan. "I feel exactly the same way. Fuck, I trust you way more than I should, but how can I not when it's like we're long-lost best friends? This is going to sound like a weird question if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. Do you remember anything from before last week? Not obvious stuff like your name, but...your past."

Last week was when he found himself in this city, in his apartment. Before last week, he was at home in Skaia. And hopefully, so was Eridan. Nervousness started creeping up as he waited for an answer, but he wasn't sure anymore who it belonged to. Pushing up his glasses more, just to be sure the other didn't get an accidental glimpse of his alien-like eyes, his hand slowly settled on top of Eridan's on the desk.

Jumping a bit at the very audible “thud” that sounded next to him, Eridan stared over at Sollux with a look that could only be described as confusion mixed with embarrassment.

"If your head hurt so much I’d think you wouldn’t be going around slamming it into tables, huh?" he asked, hands going up to adjust his scarf’s position, just a tad.

With a soft sigh and a small scoff, he turned to examine the other occupants of the room, wrinkling his nose as a ball of paper flew at his face. Without even thinking, he flicked his index finger outwards, mumbling incoherently, and it soared back at the original owner. Realizing what he had just done, Eridan straightened his posture and curled his fingers into fists, sliding down in his chair a little. Control, Ampora, get your head out of your ass.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone around him noticed, and he promptly turned back to gaze at Sollux. By this point, his heart was beating incredibly fast in his chest and he was surprised no one else could hear it. Nervousness set into his veins and flowed throughout his body but he did his best to keep his cool.

"Did you? Seems unlikely," he mumbled, raising an eyebrow (a perfectly shaped eyebrow, at that). "Believe it or not I was fairly popular back at my old school. Did a lotta… fine arts stuff. That’s why I’m in drama this year."

Eridan had no idea if he was popular or not, but he had assumed so because really, how could he have /not/ been popular? He also wasn’t sure whether or not Skaian schools had anything relating to normal human schools, and the fact that he was in theatre was completely random, but still.

The apology, to say the least, surprised him. It calmed down his nerves for the time being and all he did was blink at Sollux, before shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “It’s whatever,” he replied, leaning his elbow on the desk and fiddling idly with his earlobe. “I don’t really care. I guess it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to for now, anyways, but I do kinda wish you didn’t make such a bad first impression.”

Him saying sorry was rare, very rare, so the fact that he didn’t return the apology wasn’t surprising. Still, Sollux’s apology gave him some brownie points (and also made him that much more attractive, knowing he wasn’t a total douche) and Eridan could confidently say (in his head, not out loud) that there was a chance the two of them could get closer.

#hell yeah #thaumaturgedisavowal #eridan thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux was dealing with the same feeling of intense familiarity. He didn't mind the staring really, but it only increased the feeling. Maybe Eridan recognized him too. It was such an odd feeling, like the reason he felt like he knew him was just barely out of reach, taunting him. He realized he was staring back just as much, as if he was trying to memorize every angle of the other's face. "Mm, okay then.." Sollux gave up the topic, not wanting to push it. He, obviously, knew that Eridan really had been nervous for some reason, but he clearly wasn't going to get any type of explanation. Sollux was equally tired after spending all night coding. Yet another mystery of this whole situation was why certain codes that he was positive he used to know were gone from his memory. Things he knew that he knew how to do at some point, but didn't now. The only logical explanation was that someone in Skaia had removed or blocked all of those memories on purpose. Why though? Was he somehow dangerous? A rebellion leader maybe, advancing his cause with his badass hacking skills...yeah. Clearly, that's what it was. He yawned quietly, wishing that he actually slept for a reasonable amount of time the previous night. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. Probably should've slept..." "That's one way of putting it," he said with amusement. "I'm not necessarily saying that it's always a bad thing though. Just that you're dramatic. It could wind up being pretty entertaining for me." Sollux didn't even mind the melodrama much. It was definitely entertaining, and maddeningly familiar. He shook his head slightly, thankful for the way his glasses obscured exactly where he was looking. Studying someone's face because of them looking familiar was one thing, staring at the way they bit their lip and wondering how it would feel to kiss them was another entirely. "Yeah, I should just remember this date forever so I can celebrate it as an annual holiday. The day you decided I was worthy of talking to." He chuckled, involuntarily leaning a tiny bit closer. "Should I be swooning or something?" At the moment, he really did think Eridan was pretty great, so it wasn't hard to keep their banter going. "I have no idea what you're talking about. There was no sarcasm there whatsoever. It must just be because of how in awe I am of how amazing you are. How do you get through the day knowing that nobody could possibly measure up to you?" He smirked, going back to analyzing Eridan's face from this new angle, like he would suddenly remember. "Mhm, I'm honored that you consider me an equal. I might even go as far as saying that I'm smarter, considering I'm taking advanced programming, and you're taking drama." He took his schedule back from Eridan, returning the smile. "I doubt you'd be very good at programming anyway, though. We'll just have to endure forty minutes apart every day," he said dramatically. "For the sake of my sanity." As soon as he said it, Sollux blinked, muttering what he said under his breath. "Deja vu," he said in explanation. He brushed some of his hair out of his face, only making it even more messy. Should he mention the true extent of this deja vu type experience? "It makes sense," he protested. "How does it not make sense? I like twos, so taking the first letter and a letter from the middle of your name makes perfect sense. It's better if there's two of the same letter, but ED works." He shrugged, glancing at the clock. Homeroom was, sadly, almost over. "It's just a thing I've done forever, don't ask why because I don't know." Was that a thing he had done forever or had he just thought of it now? "Okay, fuck it, I can't figure it out. Why does it seem like I know you? It's not even like you remind me of someone I know, it's like I know you really well, from before..." He frowned slightly, hoping that Eridan wouldn't find it odd. Maybe he was experiencing the same familiarity.

Jumping a bit at the very audible “thud” that sounded next to him, Eridan stared over at Sollux with a look that could only be described as confusion mixed with embarrassment.

"If your head hurt so much I’d think you wouldn’t be going around slamming it into tables, huh?" he asked, hands going up to adjust his scarf’s position, just a tad.

With a soft sigh and a small scoff, he turned to examine the other occupants of the room, wrinkling his nose as a ball of paper flew at his face. Without even thinking, he flicked his index finger outwards, mumbling incoherently, and it soared back at the original owner. Realizing what he had just done, Eridan straightened his posture and curled his fingers into fists, sliding down in his chair a little. Control, Ampora, get your head out of your ass.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone around him noticed, and he promptly turned back to gaze at Sollux. By this point, his heart was beating incredibly fast in his chest and he was surprised no one else could hear it. Nervousness set into his veins and flowed throughout his body but he did his best to keep his cool.

"Did you? Seems unlikely," he mumbled, raising an eyebrow (a perfectly shaped eyebrow, at that). "Believe it or not I was fairly popular back at my old school. Did a lotta… fine arts stuff. That’s why I’m in drama this year."

Eridan had no idea if he was popular or not, but he had assumed so because really, how could he have /not/ been popular? He also wasn’t sure whether or not Skaian schools had anything relating to normal human schools, and the fact that he was in theatre was completely random, but still.

The apology, to say the least, surprised him. It calmed down his nerves for the time being and all he did was blink at Sollux, before shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “It’s whatever,” he replied, leaning his elbow on the desk and fiddling idly with his earlobe. “I don’t really care. I guess it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to for now, anyways, but I do kinda wish you didn’t make such a bad first impression.”

Him saying sorry was rare, very rare, so the fact that he didn’t return the apology wasn’t surprising. Still, Sollux’s apology gave him some brownie points (and also made him that much more attractive, knowing he wasn’t a total douche) and Eridan could confidently say (in his head, not out loud) that there was a chance the two of them could get closer.

#newworldstuck #thaumaturgedisavowal #eridan thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux was relieved that Eridan didn't comment on his blush, which was fading but still probably fairly obvious. He didn't quite believe that his new friend wasn't always this irritable, but he chose not to voice his doubts. Better not to get in another argument, probably. He was already smiling a little more than he meant to, so having a friend here might just be a good thing. He was becoming more convinced by the minute that he had seen Eridan before. His emotions came in that much stronger, his mannerisms were that much more familiar...there was no way he was a stranger. It didn't feel right to mention it yet though, especially when it would probably lead to Eridan asking where he had lived before. Sollux didn't exactly have a pre-planned answer for that yet. He shrugged, trying to seem casual and not like he was just as nervous. "Just seemed like it. I have pretty good intuition." Heh. Pretty good intuition was such an understatement it was laughable, but he didn't think he'd particularly like telling even other Skaians about that particular empathic power, given the stereotypes. Sollux didn't exactly want to be seen as some delicate, sensitive little flower. He was still convinced there was something off with Eridan though. Completely normal people with nothing to hide didn't get that nervous that fast with seemingly no catalyst. It couldn't be anxiety, that felt a little different...He frowned, unable to figure it out. "Yeah, maybe I am calling you dramatic. Can you really say that isn't accurate?" He smirked, feeling more comfortable in teasing him now. Eridan sticking his tongue out was childish and yet kind of endearing. Sollux was already resigning himself to this crush of sorts, so he only berated himself for a moment about how he found the tongue piercing was actually pretty attractive. "Obviously," he drawled. "How could I have been so mistaken? Now it's clear that you're the most wonderful person in the world." He grinned, snickering as well. "I must be so lucky, being the one person here that you've willingly talked to." He stopped short of making a little quip about falling in love with him, not sure if that would be taking it too far. It was still their first day of friendship, after all. "You're shitting me." It was his automatic reaction when he saw Eridan's schedule, he couldn't help it. "Looks like we'll be spending plenty of time together." He handed both schedules over to Eridan to see. When he had programming, Eridan had drama; but other than that, their schedules were exactly the same. He returned the slight smile though, happy that he was pretty much set with a friend for every class except programming. There he didn't need anyone anyway, he had a computer. "Thanks ED...you're not that bad either." It wasn't exactly a proclamation of love, but it was getting there.

Jumping a bit at the very audible “thud” that sounded next to him, Eridan stared over at Sollux with a look that could only be described as confusion mixed with embarrassment.

"If your head hurt so much I’d think you wouldn’t be going around slamming it into tables, huh?" he asked, hands going up to adjust his scarf’s position, just a tad.

With a soft sigh and a small scoff, he turned to examine the other occupants of the room, wrinkling his nose as a ball of paper flew at his face. Without even thinking, he flicked his index finger outwards, mumbling incoherently, and it soared back at the original owner. Realizing what he had just done, Eridan straightened his posture and curled his fingers into fists, sliding down in his chair a little. Control, Ampora, get your head out of your ass.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone around him noticed, and he promptly turned back to gaze at Sollux. By this point, his heart was beating incredibly fast in his chest and he was surprised no one else could hear it. Nervousness set into his veins and flowed throughout his body but he did his best to keep his cool.

"Did you? Seems unlikely," he mumbled, raising an eyebrow (a perfectly shaped eyebrow, at that). "Believe it or not I was fairly popular back at my old school. Did a lotta… fine arts stuff. That’s why I’m in drama this year."

Eridan had no idea if he was popular or not, but he had assumed so because really, how could he have /not/ been popular? He also wasn’t sure whether or not Skaian schools had anything relating to normal human schools, and the fact that he was in theatre was completely random, but still.

The apology, to say the least, surprised him. It calmed down his nerves for the time being and all he did was blink at Sollux, before shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “It’s whatever,” he replied, leaning his elbow on the desk and fiddling idly with his earlobe. “I don’t really care. I guess it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to for now, anyways, but I do kinda wish you didn’t make such a bad first impression.”

Him saying sorry was rare, very rare, so the fact that he didn’t return the apology wasn’t surprising. Still, Sollux’s apology gave him some brownie points (and also made him that much more attractive, knowing he wasn’t a total douche) and Eridan could confidently say (in his head, not out loud) that there was a chance the two of them could get closer.

#thaumaturgedisavowal #eridan thread 1 #newworldstuck

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux looked back at Eridan, praying that it wasn't obvious that he was blushing. "I...yeah, that was probably stupid. Today's just a shitty day already. I swear I'm not always this..." He waved a hand vaguely in the air, not even sure what adjective to use. The important part right now was damage control. He had to make Eridan hate him less. He was finding that even the little sighs and scoffs that came from Eridan sounded better than usual sighs or scoffs. He knew that it was impossible for them to have known each other before, or at least highly unlikely. Skaia was probably like a closed community, for safety's sake. Only interact with other Skaians. All the same, there was an air of familiarity about him, which would explain both of their instant irritation with each other, and Sollux's nearly instant attraction. Needless to say, he hadn't noticed Eridan's slipup. This was good for both of them, seeing as evidence of someone else with unusual powers would've made Sollux excited enough to forget the importance of not causing a scene. He definitely noticed how nervous the other boy was now, and nudged his own glasses a bit further up, just to be safe. "Are you okay? You seem really nervous all of a sudden." That was a reasonable observation, right? "Mhm, sure you were." Sollux had programming as his elective, something that he could vaguely remember having an interest in, and being very good at. "Drama doesn't surprise me at all for you..." He smirked slightly, an idea coming to him. "Can I see your schedule?" As he asked, he pulled out his own, unfolding it. Might as well see if they had any classes together or just homeroom. Eridan's nervousness was leaching over into him, and Sollux made a mental note to get his hands on some sclera lenses as soon as possible. There was way too much chance of his eyes being noticed this way. He would've thought Skaia would provide them for him, but apparently not. It seemed that his apology had dulled Eridan's nervousness somewhat, and he relaxed more. "Bad first impressions are my specialty. That way you get desensitized to my mood swings as soon as possible. I guess it wouldn't be awful to be...friends..." As soon as he said it, Sollux was internally cringing. God, that sounded so stupid. I guess it wouldn't be awful to be friends? There were /so/ many better things to say. Distracted with his thoughts of self-deprecation, he nearly made a worse mistake than Eridan had. Moving a hand forward, it was natural to just use telekinesis to grab his schedule, but instead, he caught himself and completed the action normally. That would've been awful to do with someone watching. Glad he hadn't messed everything up, Sollux decided that if he had to have a best friend to fit in here, that best friend was going to be Eridan.

Jumping a bit at the very audible “thud” that sounded next to him, Eridan stared over at Sollux with a look that could only be described as confusion mixed with embarrassment.

"If your head hurt so much I’d think you wouldn’t be going around slamming it into tables, huh?" he asked, hands going up to adjust his scarf’s position, just a tad.

With a soft sigh and a small scoff, he turned to examine the other occupants of the room, wrinkling his nose as a ball of paper flew at his face. Without even thinking, he flicked his index finger outwards, mumbling incoherently, and it soared back at the original owner. Realizing what he had just done, Eridan straightened his posture and curled his fingers into fists, sliding down in his chair a little. Control, Ampora, get your head out of your ass.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like anyone around him noticed, and he promptly turned back to gaze at Sollux. By this point, his heart was beating incredibly fast in his chest and he was surprised no one else could hear it. Nervousness set into his veins and flowed throughout his body but he did his best to keep his cool.

"Did you? Seems unlikely," he mumbled, raising an eyebrow (a perfectly shaped eyebrow, at that). "Believe it or not I was fairly popular back at my old school. Did a lotta… fine arts stuff. That’s why I’m in drama this year."

Eridan had no idea if he was popular or not, but he had assumed so because really, how could he have /not/ been popular? He also wasn’t sure whether or not Skaian schools had anything relating to normal human schools, and the fact that he was in theatre was completely random, but still.

The apology, to say the least, surprised him. It calmed down his nerves for the time being and all he did was blink at Sollux, before shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “It’s whatever,” he replied, leaning his elbow on the desk and fiddling idly with his earlobe. “I don’t really care. I guess it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to for now, anyways, but I do kinda wish you didn’t make such a bad first impression.”

Him saying sorry was rare, very rare, so the fact that he didn’t return the apology wasn’t surprising. Still, Sollux’s apology gave him some brownie points (and also made him that much more attractive, knowing he wasn’t a total douche) and Eridan could confidently say (in his head, not out loud) that there was a chance the two of them could get closer.

#newworldstuck #eridan thread 1 #thaumaturgedisavowal

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux groaned, head dropping to the surface of his desk with an audible clunk. This was just his luck. To have some unfairly attractive, unfairly normal guy sit next to him, and then proceed to make him hate him. Clearly living in Skaia hadn't provided him with exceptional social skills. How could he possibly revive this interaction from the critical condition it was in? If this conversation was personified, the heart monitor would be going crazy. "I'm not sure you understand. Try having a constant headache that pain meds don't help at all. For most of your life. Then maybe you'll have a little sympathy, not that I need it. Trust me, the pain gets kinda old. Doubt you'd do much better with it." He scowled, able to tell that Eridan really did find him terribly annoying. He couldn't just apologize now, or at least, not with pride intact. Ugh. To make the situation worse, he decided to look up again just as Eridan was running his teeth over his lip. Once again, all Sollux could think was 'unfairly hot.' Time travel would be really helpful right now. Empathy, the screams of the dead, and telekinesis were basically useless in this situation. Even his lameass precognition wasn't kicking in at the moment. He bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood, wishing he could just leave and never see Eridan again. "Yeah," Sollux grumbled. "Fucking wonderful. You got me. That was my plan all along." He couldn't be bothered to feel bad about giving Eridan a headache. It was impossible for it to be even half as unpleasant as his own. Naturally, he had no way of effectively conveying that message though. "It's my first day too. I'll have you know I have plenty of friends in my old town." Sollux had no idea if that was true, but it didn't really matter. Eridan had no way of knowing whether or not he was lying. "And for someone who finds it so awful how arrogant I am and shit, you're just as bad. We really aren't that different, ED." If he was stuck with the nickname Sol now, it only seemed fair that he give Eridan one of his own. "Besides, I'm fine with being alone. I can already tell that you're not. The only reason I started talking to you in the first place is that being distracted makes the headaches somewhat more bearable." He could think of far better distractions than arguing though. Maybe he /should/ apologize. Just the thought had him grimacing, but things would only go further downhill if he didn't. There were probably other attractive people at this school, he should just cut his losses and shut up...No. Fuck it. "Look, whatever, sorry. That what you wanted to hear? Sorry for ruining your morning, being a dick, and existing in the first place. Feel free to continue hating me in silence, and I hope you'll find the kindness in your heart to call 911 when I inevitably start to die from this torture." He bit his lip to keep himself from adding on a comment that would give away the fact that he knew precisely how Eridan felt towards him. It was a roiling mess of frustration and anger, and between that and his own emotions, he was feeling downright sick.

Starter

Sollux discovered almost immediately that he didn’t know quite as much as he thought he should. He knew that there was a war going on in Skaia, and that the government evacuated numerous people young and old into the so-called normal world. Most adults were involved in the war, but some of the children and elderly were deemed safer among normal humans. Sollux, of course, would object to being called a child. He was seventeen after all, almost eligible to fight…Or, at least, he thought so.

He could still easily recall basic details of his own life, as well as the information he needed to keep the existence of the paranormal community secret, but very little beyond that. Sollux knew that he was a pretty good fighter between his telekinesis and ordinary agility, but he also seemed to remember that he wasn’t aligned with either side in the war. So maybe he wouldn’t be fighting even if he was still at home.

Getting ready to leave the apartment, the teen sighed and popped an Ibuprofen. Normal pain meds didn’t exactly work on headaches caused by the screams of the dead, but it was a habit. Besides now having to pretend he got migraines to explain the constant headaches, his faux-3D glasses were now necessary. Apparently having blue and red heterochromatic eyes with no visible whites or pupils was abnormal. Who knew?

Bag filled with the notebooks and pens typical of a high school student, he put his headphones on and headed out the door, resigning himself to a fate of boredom. Had Skaian school been more interesting? He wasn’t quite sure, nor did he remember anyone he knew there. It was like an itch at the back of his brain that he couldn’t quite scratch. If only he could figure out how to remove the memory blocks…if memory blockers were even a real thing. Were they? He suspected that he knew a lot about the topic at one point, and simply didn’t remember anymore.

Once he arrived at the school, things weren’t much better. Patented scowl on his face, he elbowed his way through the groups of students. Sollux had found his schedule, locker number, and map of the school in an envelope back at his apartment, almost like someone had orchestrated this whole thing. Barely acknowledging any of the people around him, he located his locker and tossed a few things inside before locking it and heading to his homeroom. This was basically total bullshit.

Choosing a seat near the back of the classroom, he slouched a bit, hoping that nobody would try to talk to him now that he was forced to take off his headphones. Hopefully everyone had been part of the same cliques since freshman year and therefore wouldn’t be interested in the new kid. Meanwhile, the voices in his head were still going strong. Who the hell sent him here anyway?

#newworldstuck #eridan thread 1 #eridan #thaumaturgedisavowal

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux bit his lip slightly, feeling Eridan's irritation as viscerally as his own. That combined with the ever-worsening headache made him want to cry more than do anything else, but he had learned at a young age that nobody took you seriously if you were so sensitive. That was one thing he was able to remember. His mood swings and rapid switches from arrogant to self-loathing were really quite understandable given that he could always know how other people felt when they were around him, and had hardly ever experienced silence in his seventeen years of life.

The one thing that provided a metaphorical ray of hope was the clear feeling coming from Eridan of not wanting to be alone. This was pathetic, being so desperate for a friend, but at least now he knew he wasn't alone in feeling that way. "Fucking excuse me," he retorted, dragging out the 'u' in excuse. "You wouldn't be a ray of sunshine either if the inside of your skull felt like it was being violated by a jackhammer. Really, everyone here should be lucky I haven't murdered anyone yet." His lisp was a bit more obvious now that he was frustrated enough to forget to try and control it, which only made him more self-conscious.

"So yeah, maybe I am a presumptuous prick, but you're stuck with me for now, so deal with it. If you think you're so much better than me, I'd think you'd have friends who would give enough of a shit to save you a seat, or at least text you if they're not in this class." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, which only messed it up more. "You didn't need to answer me though, so that tells me that you don't." Sollux shrugged and glanced away. He mentally went through all the information that he remembered from his life before and came up with absolutely nothing on the topic of what his type was when it came to romance. He wasn't even sure if he preferred boys, girls, both, neither...As he was thinking, he snuck another glance over at Eridan.

This time, the voice he heard in his head was his own thoughts, pressing through the constant voices of the dead. The only advice his subconscious deigned to give him was something he had already figured out, however much he didn't want to. 'Face it Captor, you think he's hot.'

Starter

Sollux discovered almost immediately that he didn’t know quite as much as he thought he should. He knew that there was a war going on in Skaia, and that the government evacuated numerous people young and old into the so-called normal world. Most adults were involved in the war, but some of the children and elderly were deemed safer among normal humans. Sollux, of course, would object to being called a child. He was seventeen after all, almost eligible to fight…Or, at least, he thought so.

He could still easily recall basic details of his own life, as well as the information he needed to keep the existence of the paranormal community secret, but very little beyond that. Sollux knew that he was a pretty good fighter between his telekinesis and ordinary agility, but he also seemed to remember that he wasn’t aligned with either side in the war. So maybe he wouldn’t be fighting even if he was still at home.

Getting ready to leave the apartment, the teen sighed and popped an Ibuprofen. Normal pain meds didn’t exactly work on headaches caused by the screams of the dead, but it was a habit. Besides now having to pretend he got migraines to explain the constant headaches, his faux-3D glasses were now necessary. Apparently having blue and red heterochromatic eyes with no visible whites or pupils was abnormal. Who knew?

Bag filled with the notebooks and pens typical of a high school student, he put his headphones on and headed out the door, resigning himself to a fate of boredom. Had Skaian school been more interesting? He wasn’t quite sure, nor did he remember anyone he knew there. It was like an itch at the back of his brain that he couldn’t quite scratch. If only he could figure out how to remove the memory blocks…if memory blockers were even a real thing. Were they? He suspected that he knew a lot about the topic at one point, and simply didn’t remember anymore.

Once he arrived at the school, things weren’t much better. Patented scowl on his face, he elbowed his way through the groups of students. Sollux had found his schedule, locker number, and map of the school in an envelope back at his apartment, almost like someone had orchestrated this whole thing. Barely acknowledging any of the people around him, he located his locker and tossed a few things inside before locking it and heading to his homeroom. This was basically total bullshit.

Choosing a seat near the back of the classroom, he slouched a bit, hoping that nobody would try to talk to him now that he was forced to take off his headphones. Hopefully everyone had been part of the same cliques since freshman year and therefore wouldn’t be interested in the new kid. Meanwhile, the voices in his head were still going strong. Who the hell sent him here anyway?

#newworldstuck #thaumaturgedisavowal #eridan #eridan thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Sollux hardly looked up when he noticed someone sit down at the desk next to him. He wasn't here to make friends, he was here to get through the day alive and stay under the radar. Any number of awful things could be caused by something as simple as his glasses slipping too far down his nose, so something like interacting with others would be even worse. God, he should've bought a coffee on the way here. Or an energy drink. Something. Blinking tiredly, he turned his head to inspect the person next to him. He didn't bother to be subtle about it, not caring what this guy's opinion of him was. Heh, he was a total hipster, Sollux could tell just from the glasses and scarf. He was surprised there wasn't a Starbucks cup sitting on the desk next to the notebook and binder.

Still glancing over at Eridan out of the corner of his eye even after he turned his head away, Sollux started drumming his fingers lightly on the surface of the desk, willing the headache to go away. The incessant talking from all parts of the room wasn't making it better, mingling with the voices and screams in his head until they were all part of the same damn chorus. 

All of his specific memories were just out of reach, but Sollux thought that maybe, someone distracting him made the headaches just a little more bearable. The idea of starting up a conversation with anyone wasn't all that appealing, and a little nerve-wracking, but maybe it was a good idea. He took a deep breath and once again turned to the person next to him, hoping it didn't seem like he had been staring all this time.

"What, did I seem like the most friendly person here and now you're disappointed or are you sulking because you had no choice? Too misunderstood maybe, for our vapid peers to understand?" He shrugged slightly. "Whatever, I'm not going to pretend to like you, but you don't seem worse than all the other people here. I'm Sollux, and you can proceed to be flattered that you're worthy of talking to me now." Alright, so maybe he had a bit of an issue with going over the top with the arrogance when he was nervous, but there was nothing to be done about that now.

Starter

Sollux discovered almost immediately that he didn’t know quite as much as he thought he should. He knew that there was a war going on in Skaia, and that the government evacuated numerous people young and old into the so-called normal world. Most adults were involved in the war, but some of the children and elderly were deemed safer among normal humans. Sollux, of course, would object to being called a child. He was seventeen after all, almost eligible to fight…Or, at least, he thought so.

He could still easily recall basic details of his own life, as well as the information he needed to keep the existence of the paranormal community secret, but very little beyond that. Sollux knew that he was a pretty good fighter between his telekinesis and ordinary agility, but he also seemed to remember that he wasn’t aligned with either side in the war. So maybe he wouldn’t be fighting even if he was still at home.

Getting ready to leave the apartment, the teen sighed and popped an Ibuprofen. Normal pain meds didn’t exactly work on headaches caused by the screams of the dead, but it was a habit. Besides now having to pretend he got migraines to explain the constant headaches, his faux-3D glasses were now necessary. Apparently having blue and red heterochromatic eyes with no visible whites or pupils was abnormal. Who knew?

Bag filled with the notebooks and pens typical of a high school student, he put his headphones on and headed out the door, resigning himself to a fate of boredom. Had Skaian school been more interesting? He wasn’t quite sure, nor did he remember anyone he knew there. It was like an itch at the back of his brain that he couldn’t quite scratch. If only he could figure out how to remove the memory blocks…if memory blockers were even a real thing. Were they? He suspected that he knew a lot about the topic at one point, and simply didn’t remember anymore.

Once he arrived at the school, things weren’t much better. Patented scowl on his face, he elbowed his way through the groups of students. Sollux had found his schedule, locker number, and map of the school in an envelope back at his apartment, almost like someone had orchestrated this whole thing. Barely acknowledging any of the people around him, he located his locker and tossed a few things inside before locking it and heading to his homeroom. This was basically total bullshit.

Choosing a seat near the back of the classroom, he slouched a bit, hoping that nobody would try to talk to him now that he was forced to take off his headphones. Hopefully everyone had been part of the same cliques since freshman year and therefore wouldn’t be interested in the new kid. Meanwhile, the voices in his head were still going strong. Who the hell sent him here anyway?

#eridan #thaumaturgedisavowal #newworldstuck #eridan thread 1

[technophileabodement-blog]

Starter

Sollux discovered almost immediately that he didn't know quite as much as he thought he should. He knew that there was a war going on in Skaia, and that the government evacuated numerous people young and old into the so-called normal world. Most adults were involved in the war, but some of the children and elderly were deemed safer among normal humans. Sollux, of course, would object to being called a child. He was seventeen after all, almost eligible to fight...Or, at least, he thought so.

He could still easily recall basic details of his own life, as well as the information he needed to keep the existence of the paranormal community secret, but very little beyond that. Sollux knew that he was a pretty good fighter between his telekinesis and ordinary agility, but he also seemed to remember that he wasn't aligned with either side in the war. So maybe he wouldn't be fighting even if he was still at home.

Getting ready to leave the apartment, the teen sighed and popped an Ibuprofen. Normal pain meds didn't exactly work on headaches caused by the screams of the dead, but it was a habit. Besides now having to pretend he got migraines to explain the constant headaches, his faux-3D glasses were now necessary. Apparently having blue and red heterochromatic eyes with no visible whites or pupils was abnormal. Who knew?

Bag filled with the notebooks and pens typical of a high school student, he put his headphones on and headed out the door, resigning himself to a fate of boredom. Had Skaian school been more interesting? He wasn’t quite sure, nor did he remember anyone he knew there. It was like an itch at the back of his brain that he couldn’t quite scratch. If only he could figure out how to remove the memory blocks...if memory blockers were even a real thing. Were they? He suspected that he knew a lot about the topic at one point, and simply didn’t remember anymore.

Once he arrived at the school, things weren’t much better. Patented scowl on his face, he elbowed his way through the groups of students. Sollux had found his schedule, locker number, and map of the school in an envelope back at his apartment, almost like someone had orchestrated this whole thing. Barely acknowledging any of the people around him, he located his locker and tossed a few things inside before locking it and heading to his homeroom. This was basically total bullshit.

Choosing a seat near the back of the classroom, he slouched a bit, hoping that nobody would try to talk to him now that he was forced to take off his headphones. Hopefully everyone had been part of the same cliques since freshman year and therefore wouldn’t be interested in the new kid. Meanwhile, the voices in his head were still going strong. Who the hell sent him here anyway?

#newworldstuck #starter #eridan thread 1