Taco Bell Hits Different at 3 am
Summer 2021, Week 4
Sunday witching hour
Earthen Designs
Ari Thomas
"-So that jerk really shot at you after he couldn't take your power? I'm surprised he hasn't been taken in already." Pulling onto the street where his workshop is, he almost couldn't believe how much Taco Bell they ordered. It was more food than he normally saw in a few days, and yet now he was so hungry he could eat his half of it in a single sitting. The poor crew didn't know what hit them. Pulling up to the workshop home, he opted to park on the curb for now, pulling to a stop. "So, uh... this is my place. Lemme unlock the doors quick." He says as he steps out of the car with their massive bounty of food, walking to the door with his key and unlocking it.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Well… Didn’t help I kinda said I fucked his mother, but I got the feeling if I hadn’t said that the result would be the same. Luckily, I can fly and I didn’t really tell the cops. I preferred when the EHEA didn’t know I existed. Brings up a lotta issues for me.” Unbreakable hadn’t even taken off his face mask, even as they got food and he got out of the car. He tried to order lighter than usual. Since what Ari got was he usual breakfast lunch and dinner meals. He helped pick up some of the food so Ari could get the door and he looked over to the car. It was hard to tell Unbreakable’s age given his height, stature and the speed at which he managed to change the wheel easily. Not to mention half of his face was hidden. “Also quick question did you start eating this much when you found out you were an evo too or is this an exception for you?”Ari Thomas
The workshop seemed more like an oversized and dingy garage, very much unlike the fine fencing around the property (was that... marble?). Unlocking and opening the large, rolling garage-style door, the messy interior of the workshop was revealed, a few potter's wheels each with their own project bagged and ready to be worked on with a little bit of water, shelves of unglazed statuettes and glass ornamental pieces adorn the walls. Laughing at the brazenness of what he just heard, he replies "At least you got to tell him off. Screw that guy." Taking a couple TV trays off the wall from amongst the other tools and stands, he sets them up, placing a bunch of food on one before pulling up a couple of stools for them to sit. His expression darkens a bit at the mention of EHEA. "Yeah. EHEA showing up brought back some bad memories from when I was in Minnesota, and why I had to leave.." After they had both entered the building and turned the lights on, he moves to close the door. "Do you want to stay to eat, or do ya gotta go? I understand if you do, I'll just show you what I was working on, and you can head out." Smiling wryly at the last question, he replies "I, uh.. never really ate this much until I started using my powers more. Last couple of days were pretty intense training for me."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Aloy was looking around trying to act nonchalant but the fact there was a fancy fine fence. It was a bit hard, but he managed to pull it off and shrug with a chuckle at Ari’s response joining in sitting down with him. “Yeah. I’ve only seen them a few times, but it hasn’t been pleasant. Sorry about that.” He started slowly unwrapping his food as if to answer the question of if he was staying or going. “Honestly I’ve got an overflowing house at the moment, it’ll be nice to have something to eat before I sneak back in, I’ve been eating so much since summer began.”Ari Thomas
"S'all good! Nothing we can do about it, honestly. I mean I get why they're a thing, with the whole Ragnarok business way back when, but still... you'd think they would encourage people to learn to use their powers for more constructive uses, y'know?" He says as he closes the rolling door. As Ari turns to pick something off a shelf, Unbreakable would notice there is strangely a lack of kilns or even a normal oven. "An overflowing house? Have you got a lot of family getting together?" There it is. He pulls off the bisque bust of Unbreakable he made a few days ago, hand sculpted with a plaque that read the hero's name. It was a fine piece that you could tell he sculpted it by hand, a work of art that took time and effort. Beaming with pride, he presents it to Unbreakable. "There it is, bud. What do ya think? I started working on it since our... Uh... last meeting." His smile goes a little sheepish at the thought of that night. "I haven't glazed it, but something like this doesn't necessarily need it."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Yeah. I know. Woulda been helpful if I had people to help teach me how to y’know fly. Instead of the messes I made. Y’know the recent small craters that’s been appearing in the parks but stopped? Yeah that was me…..in my defense the last time I did one was because I was shot.” He smiled under the mask before he pulled it over and some of the food in front of him was almost inhaled instantly. Aloy had no clue what the fuck a kiln was, and he barely used his oven. It was more like a weird bench for him. Since every meal he’s ever cooked was instant ramen, microwaved to radioactive perfection. “Oh uh I’m letting a friend and his family stick around for tonight, they heard things were gonna go down and they lived close to the chaos so I let them crash at my place. Y’know- Whoa.” Unbreakable stopped talked even broke his heroic tone for a second there. It looked really good. He was a bit scared that this guy could remember so well. “You even got the goggles and the crappy dollar store facemask with the hood. It looks great but I don’t know what you mean by glazed it but I presume this isn’t a doughnut.”Ari Thomas
Chuckling as he set the bust down on the floor beside a potter's wheel, he plops himself onto his stool to dig in. "Well, you kinda made a killer first impression, and I have an eye for detail when I make something. And naw, glazed means that I give it a coat that makes it colorful, two coats if you want a glossy shine or for it to hold water." "So it seems we've both been giving my big bro a run for his money! He works mostly in construction and landscaping, so I imagine he has his hands full." Demolishing a few tacos and a quesarito, he nods. "That's a very good thing for you to do, bud. Taking in the friends and their family, I mean. I... can't imagine how scared they must have been hearing stuff was going down."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Well, that makes one of us with an eye for detail, and Ah got it. Makes sense I guess.” Unbreakable had slid the straw of his drink under his mask as he took a sip and nodded along with Ari’s statement about giving his big brother a run for his money. But something kept eating away at him. Maybe it was the way that EHEA agent looked at him, or maybe it was the broken ribs, or having to do compressions on Victory…. no. No that’s not it……It’s that officers frozen expression after he watched the man die that was what was eating away at him. He stared seemingly into the air for a second still sipping his drink before he snapped out of it. Need to be better. “Ehhh, I dunno about that. Nothing good about having to sit there and worry about if they are still gonna have a home tomorrow. I just postponed the inevitable. Don’t get me wrong I love the city. This will forever be my home but, the wards are no place for those people.”Ari Thomas
"Yeah... It's a crummy place for anyone, really. I'm glad I make enough to live here. It's not as cheap as the Wards, but a much better neighborhood as long as you keep an eye out for creeps." He chewed on this last taco thoughtfully, taking a sip from his soda. "What kind of place did they have? Were they unable to move somewhere else?" I can maybe convince Derek to try and zone something for them if they can't find a place for sale.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Easier said than done. And I’d rather not chat about ‘em. No offence or anything but if I bring it up anymore you’ll be able to figure out who I am. And no offence I wanna keep the whole hero thing separate from my actual y’know normal life.” He commented as nicely as he could. Not that he didn’t like Ari, he didn’t know him well enough to conclude if he did or didn’t, but he knew Ari wasn’t that bad. Still for Aloy his normal life doesn’t really involve many friends…Ari Thomas
He bows his head and raises his hand up in a 'say no more' fashion. "No worries, dude. I totally get it." Finishing up the last of his food, he starts to condense all of the wrappers into a ball and shoots it like a basketball into a nearby trash can, pumping his fist on making it on the first try. "Welp, I suppose you'd like to head out, eh?" He asks, smile a little sad. "It was nice to have, like, an actual conversation with you rather than-" He chuckles, remembering a choice encounter "Rather than yeeting ourselves past each other."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Yeah, there’s a lotta issues with being publicly known.” Aloy had finished and instead of throwing his rubbish out he just jammed it into his pocket before rubbing his ribs again. “Yeah. I’ve gotta head back and patch up. Being made into a crater isn’t fun.” He joined in with the chuckling before he coughed a bit and stood up. “Yeah, sorry for y’know bashing you up before. Though you gave me a run for my money. I might be seeing ya around.” Aloy nodded and walked out waving before the air around him cracked like a whip and he was gone again.Ari Thomas
Waving goodbye, he watched as Unbreakable flew off. He's gotten a lot better at flying. Turning to go back to his car, he opens the car garage door, starting up and properly parking his car: right where it belongs, in the garage and not the street.Ari Thomas
Closing up and locking the doors, he lets out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes. But instead of the normal blackness he sees the fire. The panicked look on his family's faces, the same type of look on the officer's faces when things went haywire. More fire. It scared him to his core. He panicked. Rocky lances impaling officers as they cry out in pain. Rocky lances he tried to stop, but couldn't. He panicked. Everything went sideways. He lost it. Cracking of his stone. Never enough, never strong or smart enough. His own lances darted out. A face that said he would haunt Ari's nightmares before it sank beneath stone. And it did.Aloy Fumi's Home, Lakeview
Storyteller
The two story house that had seemed to be decorated in remnants of a family long gone and seemed to be home to a man who didn’t know how to use anything besides a microwave was quiet, besides maybe one of the few teenagers that Marsh was raising, it was entirely possible, there were enough rooms to separate the younger kids and the older. Either way the oddly warm midnight air of summer softly tapped against a window on the second floor. Everything was quiet and peaceful.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Well, that quiet was broken rather quickly, not from the chaos that had happened a few hours ago from across town but from a floating teenager trying to open the same bathroom window that was being softly pressed by the cool air. “Fuckin’ cunt just open so I can have a fuckin’ bath.” Aloy grunted before he hit the window with his fist managing to stop the sticking he flew in with a bag of ice that he had ‘procured’ and by procured he meant took and left the money behind while no one was around for. The ice hit the bottom of the bath as he emptied it out and sat down finally pulling off his hoodie and his mask. “Fuck I hope I didn’t wake the kids up.”Storyteller
It would seem as if the sudden noise would wake some of the lighter sleepers amongst the guests, but in the quiet that followed they were softly reassured with a familiar voice, ushering them to go back to sleep.Saint Marsh
Having reassured the kids had nothing to fear, and making sure they were put back to bed, Tobias Marsh would wait patiently for Aloy to be finished. He was in the bathroom, after all, and the boy liked his privacy even in the orphanage. Having a safe place for the kids and Sorin finally getting back to him, something about losing his phone somewhere, he was able to for the most part, clean himself up.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
After a while, mostly spent soaking in an ice bath. Aloy headed downstairs brushing his teeth, he was dressed in his pajamas, deciding it was best to throw on a shirt at the moment. He looked like a zombie, exhausted, few cuts on his face and some bruising up his knuckles and arms as he walked into the kitchen still brushing his teeth and very slowly began to make himself dry noodles. Dry noodles meaning instant noodles, just not heated, or boiled…..just the hard noodle brick with the flouring poured onto it. A sad half added meal for the teenager who god body slammed into a crater.Saint Marsh
Hearing him come down the steps, Tobias gets up out of the chair to greet Aloy, only to see the sorry state he was in. The boy looked like he took one hell of a beating. "Th' little ones wanted ta save some stew fer when ye got back." He says softly, just loud enough to catch Aloy's attention. "Beef stew with carrots and potatoes. And ye've got a fairly quiet microwave if ye catch it at th' last second."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Ah, how they holdin’ up? Luckily the fighting stayed far enough from your place so it should be safe to go back tomor- ahem later today.” Aloy smiled as he spat into the sink and washed his mouth out before he bit into his dry noodles and looked at some of the leftover stew preparing to microwave it instead before rubbing his side again. “Yeah, luckily it came with the house that it’s so quiet. So did you call about Sorin and inform the authorities?”Saint Marsh
Nodding, he smiles warmly and says "Aye, they're doing all right. A bit worried, but popcorn and a movie were a good enough distraction." He exhales heavily with a chuckle. "As fer Sorin, I finally got that knucklehead ta answer me. He said somethin' about losing his phone at a concert or whatnot." His smile fades a small bit, lines of worry creasing his forehead. "The police I got ahold of, but with all th' goings on around town they have their hands full, an' it's apparently a lot of trouble just ta formally investigate a famous person." Taking a deep breath, he asks Aloy the question that was bound to come up sooner or later: "What happened to ya, lad? You look like someone tried ta pound ya into a hamburger."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Oh yeah? Well, if you still think it’s bad, I’ll check out his address tomorrow and if he isn’t there I’ll check where the concert was. Do some of my own digging.” He finished eating his noodles as he seconds counted down slowly, like a bomb in an action flick, 5.4.
3.
2.
“God you’re so slow sometimes.” Aloy hit the button to open it and started eating the stew from the container he cooked it in. “Well, let’s see. It’s either the guy who could change my momentum who I kicked in the nuts deciding to make an ‘Aloy’ sized hole in the cement floor.”
Saint Marsh
"Only if yer able to, m'boy. He's got an apartment over by th' library, but he definitely found his phone. Says it was left backstage an' was a bear ta get back." He looked incredulously to Aloy. "Change momentum? That's crazy... and I hope he was chokin' on his stones after ye kicked 'em. How many other powered people were there?"Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Eh, I’ll go after I get some rest and get checked into that shady evo hospital or whatever. Just a checkup make sure all my marbles are together or whatever kooky saying you’d use.” Aloy tried to not rub his side as he admittedly confidently lied about not having broken his rib cage and chuckled. “Oh god so many, if I’m gonna be honest I lost count after the body slamming and the robot girl I had to help.”Saint Marsh
"I'm just glad yer okay now, m'boy. It seems that you've more than earned yer rest." Smiling warmly and shaking his head. "A robot girl. Never thought I'd see th' day... I think I'll need some shuteye fer myself, too. Been worryin' myself sick lately. First th' kids, then Sorin, then you. Not good fer an old tortoise such as m'self ta worry so much." He turns to head back to his cot, then pauses. "Thank ye. Fer keeping us safe, at the least."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Oh yeah, and she summoned a giant robot too, and I had to stop victory from dying as best as I could too. It was. It was bad.” Aloy quickly grabbed some generic pain tablets to help ease the pain before heading up the stairs softly waving his hand. “It was nothin’ really. Gotta get EHEA of me tail now but I’ll shake ‘em off. Have a good night, Tobias.”Saint Marsh
He takes in a shaky breath. "I know ya don't need me ta tell ye be careful around 'em, but they've got some overzealous people that are itchin' fer a chance ta lock up people like you, me, an' Anna without a second thought." He turns back to Aloy, smiling a smile that betrayed how helpless he feels in that moment as he adds "It sounds like ye made a big difference out there, lad. Savin' lives is th' biggest job of nights like tonight."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“I know, I know. They still don’t know my face yet. I hope that’ll be enough to get them off my ass. Don’t worry, they ain’t gonna take me away. I ain’t gonna run either.” I’m not like him, I’m better than the super powered asshole who I called a father. Always going on about how it’s MY Job to save people. Yeah right, he left once he realized I wasn’t gonna have powers….idiot couldn’t wait. Aloy’s fist clenched he was angry; he didn’t understand why. Was it because his parents had basically abandoned him? Or was it the fact he couldn’t save anyone good enough today. He looked up to a photo of a younger version of him and both of his parents before sighing. “it’s not a job I’m good at. Lots of people didn’t make it.”Saint Marsh
Seeing the hardened look that crossed Aloy's face, he starts slowly walking back towards him. "Lad, yer still gettin' used ta what ye can do. An' tonight was yer first real hard look at a life that won't be easy. But everybody starts somewhere and often times don't do well on their first day. But I know that God knows you did the best job you knew how to do, lad." He points a finger at Aloy's chest for emphasis. "And I know that, in here, if you wanted ta get better, ye'll do yer damned best ta make sure ye'll be better, because that is the kind of person I see from ye durin' th' summer."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Aloy sighed heavily, and softly shook his head. "I dunno if it's a job I should have. I'm still a teen....Guess if I do this or not isn't really a choice." Aloy shook his head softly and sat down so he was resting a bit more before the climb up to his attic-based room. "Yeah, but you don't see the kids I beat up in school. The gangsters I almost killed........" Aloy rubbed his eyes tiredly. He'd been up for way too long and had done way too much. "It's whatever I need to get some rest, I'll check in tomorrow to see if the guy who was meant to help me is still breathing. I hope he is."Saint Marsh
Oh, my God... I've been pushin' th' poor boy... "...If it's not somethin' ye want ta do, ye don't have ta be th' town's hero, lad. I'll keep this fella in my prayers tonight, an' hopefully ye can find th' help ya need soon. Fer now, ye've earned some rest." He puts a comforting hand on Aloy's shoulder before turning to retire to his cot. "Good night, m'boy."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
"If I don't who will Tobias? Sure, there are others who can do it. Doesn't mean they will, and this town needs all the help it can get. Hell, you try and help and they call for AERI to be shut down." He shook his head side to side and took in a deep sharp breath when hand rested on his shoulder the reflexive movement he made forcing his hand resting on his ribs into it a bit more. "Ow. I’ll be fine Night."Storyteller
Aloysius went to his room and fell asleep later. The late-night wind still softly howling outside.Sunday midday
Aloy Fumi's Home, Lakeview
Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
The bright yellow gaze of the sun cut through the window down onto the pale bruised and slightly cut face of Aloy. He moved erratically in his sleep. He was having a nightmare of last night’s events in flashes. Victory’s body there still with a slowing pulse. The police officers head exploding in a violent mess of gore. The cracking of the gangsters’ skulls. And the sudden force slamming him into the ground. The last one made him roll onto his broken rib cage waking him up with a grunt before he quickly sat up covered in sweat as he looked into his closed off phone to see what he looked like. Still bruised, still worn down. He almost instinctually rubbed the numerous cuts, scabs, bruises and swelling that was on his face, he quickly hissed as they all stung in pain, the bruises feeling like he was being punched again and he closed his eyes. “Argh! F-fuckin’ hell what the fuck. I cleaned them all.” He screamed silently in a whisper. Still staring at his phone to see that the swelling was gone. The cuts healed. The bruises fixed. He looked weird, he’d always have a bruise or black eye. Huh, well maybe if I. Hmm. I could maybe fix this. He grabbed his pillow and put it into his mouth before putting his hand into his rib cage. CRACK Aloy felt the pain he did last night, every single little fracture being broken down again and again and again. He screamed into the pillow this was worse than the break. before he screamed again as like a teething baby his new rib cage had to break though where it separated and rebuild itself. His swearing increased and the entire house would hear nothing but... ”FFFUUUUCCCKKKK!”[Power: Self-healing/Flying Basic X1 0EP 15/15]
[Self-healing/Flying Normal X 1 -3EP 12/15EP]
Saint Marsh
Awoken by a scream that sounded like it came from upstairs, he immediately got out of bed, the room starting to spin as the change in his blood pressure rapidly tried to compensate the sudden movement from a resting position. Not even bothering to change out of his long johns or throw something on over them, he rushes as fast as an old man can upstairs to the source of the screaming. The kids are waking up, panicking on what was going on, and Tobias urges the older ones to find something like a baseball bat and bring it to him. Reaching the top of the stairs, the older kids had procured for him a sturdy wooden bat, and clutch their own blunt instruments of improvised defense. He urges them to stand back and help protect the younger ones if need be, and shouts through the door "What's going on?! M'boy?!" Before attempting to hurriedly open it, ready to bash in a skull of a potential intruder.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Aloy had collapsed onto the bed by this point. Too out of breath to respond in any way but from a final broken breath of a quiet scream. The pain finally ending. Oh god was he so happy it was over. This was when Tobias pulled down the stairs to the attic and rushed up to see a sweaty shirtless Aloy collapsed onto his bed with a thumbs up. His body lacked any cuts or bruises and as Aloy found the energy to get his face up it was also drenched in sweat, but all the wounds were gone. Even though it was clear to Marsh before that Aloy was an evo. If he didn’t know before now would be the time that people realize that Aloy is either on steroids or an evo who lucked out on strength. “S-sorry, I’m sorry just a uh-… bad dream!” He breathlessly reassured through labored breathing. “Then I jump up and stunned my toe, the double combo really took me… out.” Aloy looked like he was fighting off a fever before he looked at Marsh and then himself. Quickly grabbing the sheet on his bed to cover himself before looking to Marsh. “I appreciate this but put some clothes on please!”Saint Marsh
Seeing no immediate danger and a very off-put Aloy, his face grows red from embarrassment and hobbles quickly back to the stairs to make himself decent, shouting "Sorry, lad! I thought there was somethin' goin' on! False alarm, kiddos!" He was all banged up yesterday. Now he looks fine. That’s... strange. Maybe he's one o' those healy types that fixes themselves, too. Best keep it quiet from th' kids.Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Marsh luckily hobbled out of the way at the perfect moment as Aloy threw a pillow that slammed with a scary amount of force into where he used to be. Not meaning to hurt the older man just to scare him out quicker. Aloy collapsed onto the bed for a few minutes before he sat up and grabbed his towel wiping off the sweat and getting dressed in his usual ‘superhero’ outfit of trackpants and a hoodie before he heads downstairs and into the kitchen. Looking on his phone’s camera curiously at himself. Guess that explains the obsession with rubbing wounds? I’m able to heal myself but fuck I’ve never felt such pain.Storyteller
When Aloy heads down into the kitchen, he is immediately bombarded with questions and comments from the little ones. "Toby says you stubbed your toe." "Did you break it?" "We thought there was a scary person." "I wasn't afraid!" "Can we see your toe?"Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
Aloy puts his hand up in a stopping motion rubbing his forehead before grabbing and pouring juice from the fridge into a cup and grabbing some aspirin. He had a minor headache still. “Okay one at a time starting with you.” He points arbitrarily to each of them as he took the pills. “Okay, I woke up from a really bad nightmare stubbing my toe, no I didn’t break it, don’t worry I can handle a scary person. I bet you weren’t and no, now how’d you all sleep last night?” He smiled sipping the juice as they answered, and he proceed to pour himself another cup. And another, and looks like he’s about to pour another but realizes there are other people who might want it and very begrudgingly puts it down.Storyteller
Almost all at once, the younger ones talked excitedly about watching Tangled and the dreams they had last night before the older ones, realizing Aloy had a headache, started to shush them and talk to him one at a time, and to use more of an inside voice.Saint Marsh
"Cripes, we need ta get back to th' old place." Rubbing his head while looking in the mirror of the downstairs bathroom, he was almost finished making himself look decent. Comfortable carpenter jeans and a white cotton button-down shirt was the outfit of choice today. It was already past noon and he slept most of the day away, a little frustrated about wasting time. Heading out of the bathroom, he saw that Aloy was getting swarmed and pestered with questions. He hobbles over to them and says "All right, kiddos, who wants ta start an Uno tournament?", immediately drawing their attention away. He instructs the older ones to set up little circles with an Uno deck each and to make brackets for the groups. When the kids are all gone, he smiles as he watches them organize into groups. Shifting his attention to Aloy, he simply says "It's prob'ly a good thing that they didn't see ya as ye were last night, eh?"Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
seeing as no one took the offered juice Aloy grabbed it and once the kids were looking away karate chopped off the lid and drank the entire almost full jug in a few gulps he was looking better now than he was last time he was seen. “Yeah probably. Though they shouldn’t have heard me scream like that. Kinda just happened. Though I’m sure some of them would be psyched to know that one of the volunteers is a superhero…” Aloy sighed a bit and crushed the jug throwing it into the recycling before grabbing a box of crappy home brand cereal and pouring it into his mouth and crunching. “So Sorin is fine? I was gonna check up on him again before I figured out what they’re gonna do with victory. Might have to pick up his slack. Any plans with them for the day?” Aloy shoveled more food into his mouth like an untrained madman. It was clear his parents weren’t there for the ‘manners’ portion of raising a kid.Saint Marsh
He smiles at the thought of the kids being excited that they have a 'super volunteer' helping out. "Aye, they'd be so excited an' would never stop talkin' about it. Which... is another reason they shouldn't know, 'specially if ye've got EHEA on yer back." He raises an eyebrow but doesn't say a word about the lack of decorum while eating. After all, he was still embarrassed from earlier. "Sorin is all right. He was worried about us and didn't have much of a way ta call 'till recently. Th' boy still has trouble finding a payphone or ask a store if he can borrow their phone ta call, it seems." He runs his fingers through his beard thoughtfully. "Victory... That's th' lad with th' flight an' strength, aye? An' you said that you saved him from dyin', too?" He pauses for a moment before continuing. "If yer thinkin' of joinin' AERI, even if it's temporary, they would try ta get yer information like yer real identity. Are ya sure ye want ta go through with that?" "As fer us, I think we're goin' ta start packin' up an' movin' back home soon. We appreciate th' visit, an' I don't want ta overstay our welcome."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“Yeah, I feel like they accidentally tell everyone they could about it from excitement.” He chuckled a bit and kept shoveling more food into his mouth as he unlocked his burner phone and went through the numbers. “Well, y’know there aren’t many pay phones around anymore. But y’know I kinda understand the anxiety behind talking to people.” Yeah when the mask is off I can barely mutter a sentence around most women my age. “Yeah….don’t worry I’m not joining AERI they ain’t gonna learn shit about me. I just y’know, when the cities hero is out of commission crime is gonna skyrocket and I need to help out. It’s another volunteering act added to the list. I’m y’know different so best to help then sink.”Saint Marsh
He chuckles lightly. "Ah, I guess I'm showin' my age. Next ya know, I'll be sayin' things like 'Back in my day'." His brow furrows with confused thoughts. "Though he was always the type ta walk up to a stranger an' make a new friend in minutes. Kinda makes me wonder if he's got a sim'lar thing goin' on like you do." Sighing, he adds "Aye, an' know that people like me will appreciate ya keepin' 'em safe, even if the cops don't like that kind o' protectin'. But ye've a good noggin on yer shoulders. An' we'll keep prayin' that th' Lord watches over ya." Smiling proudly, he lets the words hang for a moment before clapping his hands together. "Welp, I'd better mediate th' tournament. Gotta make sure the games are fair n' such."Aloysius ‘Aloy’ Fumi
“I dunno and look it’s not a whole thing just. Don’t talk to people my age. They suck. I’m usually y’know beating them up for mistreating each other.” Aloy commented with a defensive tone in his voice that seemed to just turn into a tired excuse halfway through. “Yeah I know just hard to believe it when. They’re calling for AERO to be shut down and stuff. Anyway, I’m gonna have to head off. If you need anything one sec.” Aloy quickly wrote his burner phone number down and handed it to Marsh. “It’s my burner, I’ve always got it on me. For y’know when I’m busy volunteering.” He did air quotes before waving goodbye to all the kids and walking out the front door.Saint Marsh
He takes it in hand, smiling. "I hope I won't have ta use it fer an emergency... but thank ye. An' bless ye, m'boy." He says, waving goodbye along with the kids.Storyteller
By the time Aloy was leaving, the finals were about to begin. It was Anna, Merideth, Alec, Joy, Seamus and Renee going head-to-head in the Uno finale for the cardboard cup. The rules were as normal, except players can stack draw 2 cards with each other for a devastating, compounded effect. Each were dealt 7 cards, and Tobias Marsh flips over the top card in the deck: A blue 6. Immediately, Anna opens with a blue skip, followed by a blue 4 from Alec. Joy, having neither a 4 or blue card, ended up drawing 4 cards before placing a Wild card down, confidently declaring "Red!". Seamus grinned as he places down a red Draw 2 card, followed by Renee stacking a green Draw 2. Anna, putting on an act while saying "Oh, no! What am I going to do?" before placing her yellow Draw 2, putting the pressure on a previously skipped Merideth. Laughing wildly, she places yet another red Draw 2 card on the stack, ramping up the number of cards to draw to 8 cards, more than even Alec's starting hand. It was as if karmic justice for all the teasing finally came around as he scowls, drawing his eight cards before Joy plays a red Reverse card. Alec plays his own green Reverse card, sending the turn order back to Joy. Joy plays a green 7, doubled up Seamus' own green 7. Renee lays down a green 0, her only green card, and hopes that Anna doesn't have a green reverse. It would seem that fortune smiled on Renee that turn, because Anna played her blue 0, swapping the color to see if she can put pressure on Merideth. Unfazed, she plays a blue skip to leave Alec to stew with his 13 cards. Joy continues play with her own green skip, exhaling loudly and feeling lucky that she won't need to draw this turn. Renee, having neither a green or a skip, draws a single card and plays a green reverse card, smiling smugly towards a mortified Joy as Seamus plays a green 9. She ends up drawing 3 cards before playing a dreaded Wild Draw 4, invoking a loud "OOOOOHHHHH" from the gathered spectators, Joy stating the color be "Red". Alec shouts, "Aw, come on!" as he is forced to draw 4 more cards. Merideth plays a red 5, looping turn back to Anna. Excitedly, she plays a red 3 and looks expectantly to Renee. Renee plays a red Reverse card, switching turn order to Anna once more, who grins as the fates smiled upon her hand for now. Anna plays a blue Reverse, leaving in her hand a Wild and a Wild Draw 4. It seems that Anna had it in the bag. Renee plays a red 1, followed by a red 3 from Seamus. Joy plays a red 7, giving Alec a chance to actually play more than one card now. He smirks as he plays a red Draw 2, forcing Merideth to draw. Anna smiles, proudly declares "Green Uno!" And plays her Wild card, changing the color to one that she knows Renee doesn't have. Renee draws not one, not three, but five cards before playing a green 8, followed by Seamus' Wild, nervously saying "Yellow" and eyeing Anna's single card. Joy begins to sweat, laying down a yellow Reverse card, followed by a yellow 2 from Seamus. Before Renee could play a card, Alec piped up, saying "You didn't say Uno!" Seamus looks to Tobias, who says "Sorry, lad. Gotta draw four." Seamus begrudgingly takes four cards, Renee playing a yellow 7. Throwing he hands in the air, Anna shrieks with joy as she puts down the Wild Draw 4, making her the champion of the Uno Cardboard Cup! Hoisting her into the air, Tobias proudly declares her the winner, the kids all celebrating. Even Alec, frowning from not even having a chance that game, claps to congratulate Anna.
Type
Record, Historical
Medium
Digital Recording, Text
Authoring Date
July 11, 2021
Comments