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Post by Safy on Sept 12, 2023 20:43:59 GMT
Raphael looked down, not sure what to really say, but sympathized heavily, “It’s hard to shake off a bad image once you have it, trust me I know…. I don’t think those friendships online matter any less….” She scratched the back of her head, “I know the multitude of foster homes I was in and out of, none of them gave me much care…” She fumbled trying to find words to relate, “Hell I spent most of my time in the library trying to get away from them…”
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Post by Akkordian on Sept 12, 2023 21:24:05 GMT
Ava just kinda stands there and half-cries for a while, until she composes herself enough to speak again.
“A-anyways, thanks. For letting me just kinda unload all of this on you, outta nowhere. But I feel like we might kinda understand each other, now, or something. And I kinda like you, so far. So, uh…”
“I know I can be pretty… prickly. But that’s just kinda the wall I built up because of, y’know,” she gestures vaguely with her hand, “I’d never be mean to someone that doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. Someone like you.”
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Post by Safy on Sept 13, 2023 4:43:09 GMT
“It’s fine…” She rubbed the side of her own arm, “I appreciate it…though you know, I don’t feel like many people here deserve it…..” She put her hands on her hips, “Just saying it wouldn’t hurt…. To be less standoffish …. Even if it can be hard.” She then sighed, “I didn’t have a family, was never adopted after I lost my parents, and I lost all my friends, I know how hard it can be…. To want to trust others…”
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Post by Akkordian on Sept 14, 2023 3:53:15 GMT
“Yeah, I’ll… try.” Ava bows her head to Raphael as she stops crying. “Good talk. I think. But I’d like to talk to you more about other stuff, sometime. Maybe. If you want…”
As she makes the awkward offer, she starts messing up her own hair, pulling at it and fluffing it, and jostling around her multiple layers of clothes…?
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Post by Safy on Sept 14, 2023 22:42:18 GMT
Raphael smiled comfortingly to her seeing she was nervous. “of course, we are friends now after all, so I wouldn’t mind.”
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Post by Akkordian on Sept 15, 2023 0:00:34 GMT
Ava gives Raphael a small smile in return, as she keeps doing... whatever it is, that she's doing. What started out as twirling her hair, as long-haired people tend to do sometimes, or tugging at her clothes because of nerves, is going on for a lot longer than could be considered reasonable. Is she purposefully making herself look disheveled?
"So I know I turned on some white noise to cover up our little secret talking sesh in here, buuuuut-" Ava starts to explain, while taking her thumb and smudging her black, glossy lipstick around the edges of her mouth, "I thought it might be smart to make it seem like we might've been up to something in here, like, as a cover-up. Throw 'em off our trail, maybe, y'know? Anyways, thanks for the talk, again, and see ya later, Raphy! Byeeeee!" And with that, Ava wiggles her fingers at the other woman and quickly flees from the bathroom stall, trotting out of the bathroom.
And no, she did not turn off the showers during her quick exit.
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Post by Safy on Sept 15, 2023 3:50:06 GMT
“As a what…. Up to something?” She didn’t really get it as she watched Ava leave, “Interesting girl….?” She felt content though to have one friend in this place, while she got along with the others, it was hard to call them friends.
She went to turn off all the showers, and exited after her.
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Post by Doctor Nanjo M.D. on Oct 20, 2023 17:37:36 GMT
[Chapter 3 - Renewed and made permanent by Ava - epic!!]
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Post by Safy on Oct 21, 2023 17:04:09 GMT
Raph twirled around a cup of coffee with her spoon, looking half asleep, sitting alone in the Cat Cafe. She jolted awake every now and then, to almost fall back asleep. It is unknown at this time if she's expecting any sort of company or not.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 21, 2023 18:27:57 GMT
Thanks to the plot convenience that comes with a new FTE scene, slowly walks into the cat café and immediately freezes up in the doorway when she sees Raphael alone. Surprisingly, she’s wearing a sundress reminiscent in color to her signature off-the-shoulder tops, and her arms and legs are covered in sheer, silky white stockings.
“Oh, uh— hey there, Raphael.” She stumbles over her words, not using her nickname for the other woman and nervously twirls a strand of hair around her finger as she stands staring over from the entrance like a weirdo.
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Post by Safy on Oct 21, 2023 19:13:32 GMT
Raph head hits the table before she jumped up, smiling towards the other woman, “Oh Ava!” She waved, matching her awkwardness. “Come join me, I insist.” She really did. Her behavior was a bit off, what has gotten into her now….
“You want some coffee?” She whistled.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 21, 2023 19:26:48 GMT
Ava is a little put off by Raphael acting, you know, kinda weird, but she eagerly follows the order regardless and hurries to sit down on the other side of the table. She returns a smile, with a layer of concern and anxiety resting beneath the genuine happiness in her expression.
“Sure… uh, you okay, Raphy?” She asks, only to immediately segue to another subject, “I was trying to find you, but you weren’t in your room, and turns out you were already here.”
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Post by Safy on Oct 21, 2023 19:35:26 GMT
“Never better….!” She said, smiling. “Though uh really, I feel pretty good here. Maybe it’s cool atmosphere….? I always have been more an outdoors person, but I could get used to this place….!”
She got up, “Sorry about that, I admittedly have been feeling antsy lately,” completely going against what she had just now said, “It’s hard staying in one place…with all the crazy stuff that has been happening…it can get a bit….uncomfortable…to think about…I mean it’s probably been hard on everyone here though….” She started preparing some espresso for a sort of frappe that was fairly sweet and caramel, “I don’t mean to be presumptuous….! I just know uh, from when we cooked together before back at the first place, you like things that are pretty sweet, right? So you might like this drink…” She felt more aware of her rambling suddenly, so she went quiet for a bit.
“Here! I mean, if you don’t like it, I’ll finish it, though.” She handed Ava the Frappe she just made.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 21, 2023 19:59:20 GMT
Ava’s concern bleeds onto her face as Raphael rambles on, but it goes away when she’s handed the coffee that was just made with love, just for her. haha just kidding, unless…?
Anyways, she gingerly takes the cup and quietly says a quick ‘thank you’ before taking a sip of the sweet, creamy treat while making eye contact with Raphael the entire time. “No, no, it’s perfect! I’m honestly kinda flattered you remembered my favorite flavor like that.” There’s another pause as she just stares at the other woman for a moment, her straw just barely pressed against her lips.
“Maybe some company could help ease your nerves a bit? If, uh, you want me to be here.”
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Post by Safy on Oct 21, 2023 20:50:09 GMT
She sat back down after making herself a fairly strong Red Eye, “I would appreciate the company, admittedly.” Her hands shook slightly holding the coffee, though she looked pleased. “Of course I remember! That Salad was uh…. Really sweet…!” She laughed recalling it and purposefully did not recall anything else that might’ve happened later that day, was just a quirky fun party and nothing went wrong.
“You’re really heavy on the eye contact though…” She sounded a bit calmer already giving a usual level of awkward laugh, turning a bit red.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 21, 2023 21:28:24 GMT
“Oh. Sorry.” Ava now averts her gaze, cheeks flushing, and continues to sip at her frappe.
“…I was serious about asking you on a date, you know. You didn’t really accept the offer, but, uh, yeah. Just thought I’d… put that out there.” She awkwardly takes a big sip of coffee slush to mask her sudden rush of nerves.
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Post by Safy on Oct 21, 2023 23:59:54 GMT
Raphael shook her head, “it’s fine, just something I noticed, haha….”
She received the next part actually fairly well, holding out a hand to her side, “Well, you’re bold as ever.” She paused, “…. I am not against it though…. I did mean it when I said I wanted to hang out again, erm, just felt like it’s been a bit.” She shook her head in disappointment at the ‘produceys’, “Whatever happened to that Disneyland trip anyways……”
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 22, 2023 1:07:13 GMT
"I know, right? I was so looking forward to having the park all to ourselves..." Ava sighs, dropping her eyes to her frappe as she fiddles with the straw.
"And, well, you really wouldn't mind? I mean, I've been interested in you this whole time, but, uh... I couldn't really be sure if you wanted to get to know me any better, too. I know I can be a lot to deal with, and we haven't spent all that much time together, but still, I just- I just like you."
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Post by Safy on Oct 22, 2023 1:21:24 GMT
Raphael tossed her hands to the side, “I agree, and honestly you’re not much more a handful then any of the other characters we’ve seen here, though uh we are still friends you know, so you don’t have to act so coy, even if it’s been a bit,” She put her hands together and set her chin on top of them, as she references their past FTE. “I enjoyed all our previous conversations, let’s get to know each other even better then,” She said plainly, finishing her coffee in one fell swoop. “Why waste time even we only got about 50 days, let’s do it now too, I’m sure you have some ideas!”
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 23, 2023 1:09:05 GMT
“…wait, like— for real? You wanna go on a date with me?” Ava’s face heats up, and she looks genuinely incredulous, with none of her usual armor masking the pure mixture of hope and disbelief on her face. She’s unusually… vulnerable.
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Post by Safy on Oct 23, 2023 1:27:40 GMT
“I said I want to get to know you better! This is a good way for us to talk again. Hahaha, I mean, I could’ve gotten on the boat with you all last time but…. Honestly I was pretty worried…rightfully so, you saw what happened when I decided to…..geez!” She suddenly jumped up, unusually energetic, “No idea huh? Let’s check out that Dance club! I never went to one back home, I mean…. Well you know…. I definitely would’ve not been welcome there even if I had….total vibe killer huh….” She was making her way in that direction, beckoning the red head, “No need to wait, 50 days and all…” She gave her a finger gun, “You seem like a fun life of the party girl too…. Know how to dance?”
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 23, 2023 1:32:52 GMT
“Raphy…” A bit of Ava’s elation fades as she nonetheless follows Raphael, catching up to walk beside the other woman. “Look, I’m like, really, really happy you accepted, but more than that, you’re really starting to freak me out now.”
She steps in front of Raphael and stares up at her, clearly concerned, “What’s up with you right now? Why do you keep mentioning we’ve got 50 days left?”
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Post by Safy on Oct 23, 2023 2:53:38 GMT
Raphael paused, getting a bit defensive, “Well it’s true. You know!” She quickly went from defensive to defeated as she sighed, “It’s true…. And I…. I just can’t…. It might be getting to me now, but I want to do more….I feel like especially after the fire…I felt so….defeated…and anxious…the memories of what happened before. But I moped around too long, and I became too scared. I wasted too much time. And now…. Now seeing Sara and Decker die…. And after losing Jackson, my friend…..” She seemed to be fighting back getting too emotional.
“I’d rather end up like that doing something…. Fun…. And exciting…. And having new experiences, making new memories. Even back home, I would play it safe and just focus on my goal. And being in a town of people who hated me too didn’t leave me with a lot to do socially….. if I have 50 days left to live freely….as a free woman,” She quoted Decker meekly recalling what he would always say, “Then I want to do that - live freely…as I can at least here…. With my friends, the only friends I really ever had. Then, dying wouldn’t maybe be that bad….or I’d at least have some good times to look back on while I’m working in a corporate prison….”
Her rambling was incoherent, but the heart was definitely there. “I just want to be able to have a good time with you, and make some memories here, with you, so, could you give me that?” She gave weak smile.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 23, 2023 4:46:52 GMT
As soon as Raphael finishes speaking, Ava wraps the just-slightly-taller woman’s torso in a hug, head resting in the crook of her neck. With the close proximity, it’s easy to hear the sniffle that prefaces her response.
“…you and me think the same way, I guess. This whole game is so fucked up and scary, and I feel like I’m just counting down the days until someone murders me or I’m in jail forever. So I just— I wanted to ask you out. Get to know you. Go on a date and spend time with a girl I actually kinda feel something for, before the end.”
She squeezes Raphael’s waist gently, desperate, possessive, and longingly, as she tilts her head against the brunette’s shoulder.
“I’m not a fun party girl, like you said. I’m just a fucking loser that tries to act like one to make myself feel like I’m not such a waste of oxygen… I’ve never been to a party, or a club, I’ve never held a girl’s hand, went on a date, or had my first kiss and I just… I wanted to maybe have a chance with you before it was too late.”
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Post by Safy on Oct 23, 2023 5:16:29 GMT
Raphael held her hands up at the sudden affection, turning away, “AH…. Well, I don’t think you have to worry about that…. Honestly I just don’t think I can keep up with you, Dae, Yu and the others…. My score is pretty reflective of that….” She mumbled disappointedly, and shook her head. “But I get it…. The anxiety is still there….. being at the whim of the audience….”
She shook her head recalling how they tanked Ava’s score after the first trial over something petty, then she returned the hug a bit awkwardly, flinching again at the squeeze.
“Erm, right, I remember us talking about that….. well you should already know I’m not either….” She turned away, “I never done anything like that in my life….sorry….. hell no one wanted to fucking adopt me, no one even wanted to work with me, who was going to seriously care about me….hahaha….” She laughed off her own depressing feelings, her heart beating rapidly. She then let go, getting a bit teary eyed, “I don’t really know how to even process those types of things or feelings, sorry….. after my parents died I never even talked to people…you’ll see….I’m pretty disappointing.”
Feeling pressured to get over her self defeatist attitude suddenly, she grabbed Ava’s sleeve, tugging on it desperately, “Let’s go, we don’t need to be experienced at this, who cares what people may think, it’ll just be us anyways….” She was referring to the clubbing scene, though it could also end up having a double meaning here, potentially?
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 23, 2023 5:49:31 GMT
Ava was seconds away from recoiling from Raphael and apologizing for crossing those boundaries that the other woman was uncomfortable with, which I don’t care if it seems out-of-character for her to do, because it’s just the right thing in this circumstance, but when Raphael tugs her forward, some melancholic hope seeps back into her expression.
She leans back and offers Raphael a shaky smile, nodding her head and reaching up to wipe a tear away from her freshly-ruined eyeliner. “Yeah…! Let’s hang out and dance and have a good time together. That’s what we’re both looking for right now, and that’s all that matters, right?”
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Post by Safy on Oct 23, 2023 20:21:59 GMT
“Right!” She gave her a reassuring smile as they get to the dance club area.
She led the ginger up the dark stair case and into the bright flashing room of the night club. She let go of her, and went over to the music station, “Woooo, uh….” She scratched her head, her lack of technical expertise kicking in. Yikes, embarrassing. “eheheh…. If only I had Felix’s expertise……..” She spent way too long just staring at it and trying to press random buttons. If she was trying to impress someone this would be a pretty rizzless moment.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 24, 2023 0:14:19 GMT
Ava gives Raphael an encouraging thumbs-up and smile from the dance floor. She’s almost like a totally different person when she’s not concerned with maintaining her other persona. Kinda weird, honestly.
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Post by Safy on Oct 24, 2023 1:04:19 GMT
After a while of messing with it she managed to get the option to pull up some music. At least I’m going to presume you can pick music straight from the system for this specific moment to save having a character go grab a laptop since I didn’t think about it at the time, how convenient!!!!
It was pre-loaded with basic pop dance hits from the current time period, music Raphael had very little experience with, so she just selected the track “Disco club” from the black eye peas cause it had disco in the name which means it’s good for a party or something. “Hey I’m kinda feeling this one!” She yelled over the music to Ava before going back to her, and explaining the basic music choices, “If you want something else you’ll probably have to grab your laptop, but this seems fine to me.” She cheered.
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Post by Akkordian on Oct 24, 2023 1:14:12 GMT
Ava giggled a bit, starting to kinda just sway to the music in a manner that probably fit better and looked less awkward in her head. “It’s perfect, Raphy. We’re just trying to relax and have some fun together, after all. So this’ll do just fine.”
She tries to punctuate her statement by bumping her hip against Raphael’s and shooting her a wink.
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