Futuristic Sharing Arcadian Nights

[Sylvio]

18:22 26 June 2060
The Penthouse, Newton, Prosperity Island, Arcadia
Interactions: strawberrycelia | open ​

The rooftop was where everyone used to hang out to drink, smoke, and poke fun at each other. The warm tropical sea breeze blowing on their face as the mature siblings made fun of the younger lightweights. It was also a place where some came for comfort, crying on shoulders, screaming at nothing. Every area of the Penthouse was special, and the memories these places generated had proved to be overwhelming yet safe. On the roof, Kevin and Nina stood by the anti-climb fence. it had been so long since they stood together side by side looking at Newton's skyline. Nina smoked a pack of cigarettes as they reminisced and caught up. "How're you feeling?" Nina asked her older brother as she puffed out a cloud, last time she saw him was at his family's funeral and he was in a way worse shape than he is now. "Better to be honest." He replied.

"Why's that?"

"Just feels good to be home. Seeing everyone safe and sound where we all grew up, where we were given a second chance, made a family out of each other, I'm glad I'm here with you guys." Kevin replied, almost as if he wasn't phased by all the shit he went through all his life. Mom was dead yet here he was, not happy, but not sad either. His calm composure just made Nina feel so overwhelmed she started to tear, "You ok?" He asked as Nina dropped her cigarette to wipe her tears. "Yeah..." Nina whimpered, "It's just so weird that after everything you went through you're fine... And I can't get over the fact that Mom's gone." Nina sobbed as tears started to fall. Kevin immediately reached out to her which was met by an embrace from Nina. As she sobbed into her older brothers shoulder, Kevin stroked her hair trying to calm her down. Every time someone played with her it soothed her and made her fall asleep sometimes and slowly the sobbing started to stop. "Better?" Kevin asked as he smiled looking into her eyes while Nina nodded her head wiping the tears away, which Kevin replied by ruffling her hair. Something he always did to those who didn't mind it. The two went back to staring at the skyline through the fence. "I always noticed whenever you're up here with me you always cry." Kevin remarked sarcastically. Nina replied by punching him really hard in the arm but knew her brother didn't mean harm in his statement, but Nina meant all the force she put into her fist.

They heard footsteps behind them and saw Ramon walking up to them, he smiled as we waved to his older brother and sister. "Ray coming up here after other people?" Kevin teased as Ramon approached him, putting his arm around him as he got closer. Everyone knew Ramon would usually be on the roof if he wasn't inside. Sitting on a vent just staring out into space for no reason but his own. The fact is most of his life was just living on at the bottom, and to take this view and lifestyle for granted was something Ramon couldn't take for granted, so he indulged in every second of sitting on top of the world. Nina offered him a cigarette to which he kindly refused and just hugged her instead after not seeing her for a while. "How's gang life been? You're Lola's bodyguard right?" Nina asked cheerfully. Shy in his mannerisms, Ramon responded, "Yeah. We came here together, I need to talk to her about something and I just wanted to get fresh air like usual."

There was more than something that Ramon and Lola needed to talk about. They almost had a falling out before they came back and barely spoke to each other ever since. Now that Mom was dead and everyone was back together, the two had to at least try to bury the hatchet to not cause friction within the family. "So yeah, I'm just gonna see her right now, talk to you guys soon!" He said enthusiastically before he went back inside to find the girl he was meant to protect.

 

[strawberrycelia]

"All the living are dead, and the dead are all living / The war is over and we are beginning"

Lola Jimenez

Back home. How strange. Lola lays on her back, staring up at the ceiling of her childhood bedroom. It's markedly different, unlike how it used to be, but not any worse than her life has felt for the past few years. Maybe better? She can't tell, it's all so overwhelming. This place is the only world she's ever known outside of Los Serpientes. The absence of violence, of strife, of people to lead, it leaves her feeling like... nothing. Who is Lola when she isn't La Princesa? She's a helpless little girl, a terrified and traumatized child looking for acceptance from the woman who saved her. She's lost.

But... she's also a big and little sister. A part of a family. Lola blows out a sigh through her lips, rubbing a hand across her face. What if it's not the same? What if those she's grown far from don't accept her? Why would they? She's less innocent than she was the first time she roamed these halls, much more hardened. Her people trust her, yet seeing her childhood home is enough to make her distrust herself. It's then that Lola's door creaks, jolting her from her spiraling thoughts.

"Ramon..." She has to remind herself that she's angry at him, but her heart isn't in it. She's frustrated, sure - it feels more than ever like Ramon doesn't trust her. He's been second-guessing her recently, urging her away from more fights than usual. It stings, but she doesn't feel as enraged as before. Her hands flex and she wraps her arms around herself, pushing down the urge to hug him. "What is it?" Lola finally grits out, looking away.

mood.

Anxious

location.

Lola's Room

outfit.

Lola's Outfit

tags.

Sylvio

code by deer of 9 colours.

 

[VomitIcicle]

James nursed the half-filled bottle of whiskey in his hands as he stared at the uncomfortably sterile floor of the air cab he had rented, his designer suit rumpled and expensive shoes scuffed. He had gone on a bit of an adventure last night, from what he could remember through the blackouts. The snappy email he had received from his superiors had filled in the rest. Apparently 'violent assault' and 'grievous bodily harm' didn't properly reflect Orion Arms standards, and that he needed to get his act together, and that they'd be docking his pay as a consequence for this incident and blah, blah, AI generated corporate garbage. If they really cared they'd have done something by now.

"Arriving at target destination." The aircab announced tonelessly. "Please input landing zone."

James swiped a few buttons, causing his expensive ride to float down, down, down, until it was only hovering a foot off of the penthouses roof.

James stepped out of the vehicle, his mechanical foot making a noticable impact. With a grin on his face he drains the last of the alcohol within the beverage, throwing the bottle casually off the roof, like he had a thousand times before.

"Been a long time, old pals!" James said in a sing-song, arms spread wide. "Fucking missed you two!"

Sylvio

 

[Doctor Infinity]

Carlos was driving to the Penthouse to greet his family that he barely got to know. He just got finished with his work, and today was the day that he finally would meet his family again. Carlos was extremely nervous, his gut told him not to go, but it was too late. Carlos’s past was waiting for him, and there was no turning back.

Carlos eventually found the Penthouse and went inside. The place was just like he remembered. Each room was memorable, especially the roof. That was his favorite place to go to. He would usually go there at night, when everyone was asleep. He would look at the night sky and think about his life, how messed up everything was, and what he should do next. Carlos looked around and saw that no one was there to greet him. They must be scattered around the building. It didn’t really matter. No one interacted with Carlos that much when he was younger, so it was expected that they were currently somewhere else. Carlos decided to go up to the roof to see if anyone was there.

Carlos found the entrance to the roof, and opened it. He expected the place to be empty, but apparently there was 3 other people in the area. He recognized Kevin and Nina, but not the third guy. The third guy looked like a war-torn soldier who had seen some terrible things, things that should not be talked about. He also had a expensive set of clothes, which made Carlos deduce that this man went to some kind of formal event. What’s interesting though is that these clothes were damaged, and this event that he was in must’ve been pretty rough. Carlos kept his distance, and decided to wait for the right opportunity to interact with the others. It would be a long time until this “family reunion” would end.

 

[Kenshin772]

Neil stood in the ground floor of the building that the Penthouse sat atop of. He stood in the lobby for a bit, mentally preparing to face the others. It had been rough getting sleep since Mom passed and it was effecting his nerves. "It's alright Neil, we're family no ones gunna be bothered if you're a little out of it" he thought to himself as he finally worked up the courage to approach the elevator.

The ride up felt weird to Neil, usually he was never alone on these long elevator rides. Always with a younger sibling or Archer to keep noise in the air preventing stray thoughts from surfacing. Lucky for Neil his elevator made no stops and the silence was short lived as he stepped out into the main room of Mom's Penthouse. The living room was surprisingly empty but Neil could hear from the hallway to the girl's rooms that he wasn't alone.

Peering down the hallway for a moment Neil spied Ramon standing in front of Lola's door. Ramon had been one of the younger siblings Neil hadn't had much time with so he didn't know much about him other than the fact that he was in the Los Serpientes with Lola. "Best to avoid them for now, seems important" he thought as turned around to the roof's stair access.

Climbing the stair Neil could already spot Carlos, one of the youngest in the family, standing by awkwardly at the door. Blowing air through his nose Neil contained a short snort as he thought about how Carlos was as a kid "Guess some people don't change" he mused as he climbed the remaining stairs. Once at the door Neil silently pushed the door open and slid through it with professional stealth as to not alert Carlos to his presence too soon.

With his target unsuspecting Neil reached out and wrapped his left arm around Carlos and pulled him closer "Hey there kid, it's been a while." Neil whispered as he watched James stumble his way toward Kev and Nina. "Ah would you look at that, a jackass." Neil sighed and removed his arm from Carlos "Don't be such a stranger Carl, gotta go say hi while James can remember"​

 

[Sylvio]

18:34 26 June 2060
The Roof, The Penthouse
Interactions: VomitIcicle | Doctor Infinity | Kenshin772 | open​

How long it had been since everyone was together like this? The amount of memories they had here would take way too long to count. Even though each of them pursued whatever their dreams and aged, they all felt younger again. It felt so natural, almost like no one changed at all. "Couldn't even taking a fucking metro like everyone else?" Nina said when she approached James, "Thought Orion Arms would shake those chills you'd get when you'd be in the streets." As much as she teased her, James had a lot to teach her thanks to his combat experience around the world whenever he came back home. Nina who was new to assassin work herself relied on him for advice to help her survive, climb the ranks, and cover her ass when they communicated at a distance. Seeing him now, he looked like he needed to have some fun and live a normal life for a bit. Nina smiled as she stroked his beard as if it was normal, it was thicker than it was last time she saw him. "If you shave I'll kill you." She joked, snatching his half whiskey and taking a swig before handing it back.

Neil or "big bro" was the nickname most people had for him. Him and Kevin were the oldest and were both considered the leaders of the family, always looking after their foster siblings, getting them out of trouble, giving them advice while also getting their life back. The two were almost as old as Arcadia itself and seen way too much shit for kids like them to handle at the time. The two didn't have a older brother/younger brother dichotomy, the age difference was barely recognizable since it was only one year. But there was already a sense of camaraderie between them and they both knew their siblings had to have a life better than what they would had. At most times they acted more like the parents more than Mom ever was sometimes as they aged. Kevin saw the discomfort in Carlos' face when Neil urged him into the group, "Go easy on him." Kevin said to his older brother as he dapped him up and hugged him. "It's been too long bro." He then looked at Carlos who still seemed a bit uncomfortable and simply waved at him. He was always the odd one out, but everyone did their best to take care of him while he lived with them. Mom knew him the best and financed him. No one was as close to him, but he was still their brother and they all shared a troubled past so feeding him and making sure he didn't die was the best they could do without invading his privacy.

18:34 26 June 2060
Lola's Room, The Penthouse
Interactions: strawberrycelia
​

Ramon sighed as he entered Lola's room, she spoke in her icy voice that she always gave him when something was wrong that always felt like daggers. But honestly it was good to hear her speak again. Being in her room made him remember the moments they had, before they left home. They were actually really close at the time, since they came here together they naturally just clicked and lived like normal siblings, two peas in a pod some would call them. It was so hard to remember one without the other. No one sensed the rift between them yet, hopefully no one would. "I just don't want us getting in the way of everyone else." He said to her, "Everyone's probably really happy to see each other again. I don't want our thing to mess with everyones heads, especially with Mom dead." He shifted slightly, his voice slightly trembled. It was so weird for them to speak like this without it turning into a shouting match and it was always the same back and forth. Los Serpientes was in Lola's blood, she had a responsibility to what her father prepared her for and many in the gang looked up to her for guidance and leadership. Ramon was trying to protect her, after all that's what Lola's father entrusted him with and it only made sense for him to honor the man who gave him a second chance with Mom. His lips quivered as he was about to speak, this was so weird. Ramon and Lola were always open to each other, why did it have to be so weird. "Let's stop being Los Serpientes for a bit, and be Ray and Lola." A small smile creeping on his face as he looked at her.

 

[Abendrot]

Nadine

Interactions:
Sylvio
Kenshin772
VomitIcicle
Doctor Infinity

Stepping through the door of what had been Nadine's home for half her life was like walking forward in time and backward at the same time. Everything looked the same as she remembered; the pictures on the wall, the white couch pressed up against the far wall, the dining table with its tacky centerpiece. Looking around the living room, Nadine felt a twinge of nostalgia in her chest; some of her earliest memories here had been watching her new siblings have late night conversation, sharing genuine happiness and good-natured enjoyment, which daunted her as a little girl. With time, Nadine would feel comfortable enough to properly join the fun, but when she was very young she just sat and watched with hidden envy. And once, when she was 12, she came home from school to find there was no food in the house that she could just heat in the microwave, so she tried her hand at mac and cheese, which ended disastrously. Mom came home to find Nadine covered in cheese dust with macaroni in her hair and stuck to her cheeks, crying. Mom just laughed and cleaned her up. They ordered pizza that night. Nadine endured leftovers for days and teasing for years.

She ran a finger over the coffee table and it came away dusty. No one had been living in the Penthouse for a few weeks now. Nadine moved on to look around the rest of the house, even Mom's old room, which she supposed was hers or one of her sibling's now, as was everything else in the house, to be divided up between them. Her old bedroom lay bare, the bed stripped down and the shelves empty. There was nothing of value left there, sentimental or otherwise.

As for her siblings, there was no question in her mind where they'd gather.

Cold grey daylight fell through the doorway on the rooftop where she stood, watching her siblings from afar, just like that scrawny little girl she'd been at age eleven. She hadn't seen many of them in years. She didn't even know what they were doing with their lives, and she found she hadn't so much as wondered. When did they all look so different? Nadine marveled at the change. When she first saw the penthouse, she'd barely come up to Neil's chest. Now he was taller than she by only an inch.

She stepped forward towards the group, but stopped just a few paces short of joining the circle proper. "Hey," she started carefully, working her voice around the lump in her throat. "Just here to pay my respects... settle some of Mom's affairs, yeah?"

code by Stardust Galaxy​

 

[VomitIcicle]

18:34 26 June 2060
The Roof, The Penthouse
Interactions: VomitIcicle | Doctor Infinity | Kenshin772 | open​

How long it had been since everyone was together like this? The amount of memories they had here would take way too long to count. Even though each of them pursued whatever their dreams and aged, they all felt younger again. It felt so natural, almost like no one changed at all. "Couldn't even taking a fucking metro like everyone else?" Nina said when she approached James, "Thought Orion Arms would shake those chills you'd get when you'd be in the streets." As much as she teased her, James had a lot to teach her thanks to his combat experience around the world whenever he came back home. Nina who was new to assassin work herself relied on him for advice to help her survive, climb the ranks, and cover her ass when they communicated at a distance. Seeing him now, he looked like he needed to have some fun and live a normal life for a bit. Nina smiled as she stroked his beard as if it was normal, it was thicker than it was last time she saw him. "If you shave I'll kill you." She joked, snatching his half whiskey and taking a swig before handing it back.

Neil or "big bro" was the nickname most people had for him. Him and Kevin were the oldest and were both considered the leaders of the family, always looking after their foster siblings, getting them out of trouble, giving them advice while also getting their life back. The two were almost as old as Arcadia itself and seen way too much shit for kids like them to handle at the time. The two didn't have a older brother/younger brother dichotomy, the age difference was barely recognizable since it was only one year. But there was already a sense of camaraderie between them and they both knew their siblings had to have a life better than what they would had. At most times they acted more like the parents more than Mom ever was sometimes as they aged. Kevin saw the discomfort in Carlos' face when Neil urged him into the group, "Go easy on him." Kevin said to his older brother as he dapped him up and hugged him. "It's been too long bro." He then looked at Carlos who still seemed a bit uncomfortable and simply waved at him. He was always the odd one out, but everyone did their best to take care of him while he lived with them. Mom knew him the best and financed him. No one was as close to him, but he was still their brother and they all shared a troubled past so feeding him and making sure he didn't die was the best they could do without invading his privacy.

18:34 26 June 2060
Lola's Room, The Penthouse
Interactions: strawberrycelia
​

Ramon sighed as he entered Lola's room, she spoke in her icy voice that she always gave him when something was wrong that always felt like daggers. But honestly it was good to hear her speak again. Being in her room made him remember the moments they had, before they left home. They were actually really close at the time, since they came here together they naturally just clicked and lived like normal siblings, two peas in a pod some would call them. It was so hard to remember one without the other. No one sensed the rift between them yet, hopefully no one would. "I just don't want us getting in the way of everyone else." He said to her, "Everyone's probably really happy to see each other again. I don't want our thing to mess with everyones heads, especially with Mom dead." He shifted slightly, his voice slightly trembled. It was so weird for them to speak like this without it turning into a shouting match and it was always the same back and forth. Los Serpientes was in Lola's blood, she had a responsibility to what her father prepared her for and many in the gang looked up to her for guidance and leadership. Ramon was trying to protect her, after all that's what Lola's father entrusted him with and it only made sense for him to honor the man who gave him a second chance with Mom. His lips quivered as he was about to speak, this was so weird. Ramon and Lola were always open to each other, why did it have to be so weird. "Let's stop being Los Serpientes for a bit, and be Ray and Lola." A small smile creeping on his face as he looked at her.

He laughed at Nina's remark on his... unusually expensive and gaudy method if travel.

"What can I say, perks of being a war hero." He smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness that hadn't been present before. "You should see the digs, too. I'll tell ya' something, those bigwigs got money to burn alright."

Nadine

Interactions:
Sylvio
Kenshin772
VomitIcicle
Doctor Infinity

Stepping through the door of what had been Nadine's home for half her life was like walking forward in time and backward at the same time. Everything looked the same as she remembered; the pictures on the wall, the white couch pressed up against the far wall, the dining table with its tacky centerpiece. Looking around the living room, Nadine felt a twinge of nostalgia in her chest; some of her earliest memories here had been watching her new siblings have late night conversation, sharing genuine happiness and good-natured enjoyment, which daunted her as a little girl. With time, Nadine would feel comfortable enough to properly join the fun, but when she was very young she just sat and watched with hidden envy. And once, when she was 12, she came home from school to find there was no food in the house that she could just heat in the microwave, so she tried her hand at mac and cheese, which ended disastrously. Mom came home to find Nadine covered in cheese dust with macaroni in her hair and stuck to her cheeks, crying. Mom just laughed and cleaned her up. They ordered pizza that night. Nadine endured leftovers for days and teasing for years.

She ran a finger over the coffee table and it came away dusty. No one had been living in the Penthouse for a few weeks now. Nadine moved on to look around the rest of the house, even Mom's old room, which she supposed was hers or one of her sibling's now, as was everything else in the house, to be divided up between them. Her old bedroom lay bare, the bed stripped down and the shelves empty. There was nothing of value left there, sentimental or otherwise.

As for her siblings, there was no question in her mind where they'd gather.

Cold grey daylight fell through the doorway on the rooftop where she stood, watching her siblings from afar, just like that scrawny little girl she'd been at age eleven. She hadn't seen many of them in years. She didn't even know what they were doing with their lives, and she found she hadn't so much as wondered. When did they all look so different? Nadine marveled at the change. When she first saw the penthouse, she'd barely come up to Neil's chest. Now he was taller than she by only an inch.

She stepped forward towards the group, but stopped just a few paces short of joining the circle proper. "Hey," she started carefully, working her voice around the lump in her throat. "Just here to pay my respects... settle some of Mom's affairs, yeah?"

code by Stardust Galaxy​

"Mousy as ever, eh?" James asked, not waiting for her reply before laughing boisterously. "Suppose it's almost time for a group hug, huh?" He stuck a finger in the air, struck with a positively wonderful idea.

"Or, or, or.... we cut the sappy shit and go to this straight BANGIN' chinese place a few blocks away. I'll pay. All you can eat!"

 

[strawberrycelia]

"All the living are dead, and the dead are all living / The war is over and we are beginning"

Lola Jimenez

Ramon's voice trembles, and her resolve cracks. Her bodyguard, always so sensitive. It's one of his better qualities - she feels her anger melt a bit. "Silly boy." She grumbles, crossing her arms and sighing. "You're right. We owe them a good reunion." Finally allowing her body to relax, Lola scrubs a hand across her face and tries to recapture the joy she'd felt when she first realized she'd see everyone again. It was quickly overwhelmed by complex feelings about the loss of Mom, but maybe if she can recapture that...

"Alright, Ramon." Lola relents, taking his hand gently and squeezing it. "Let's go see the people we love." And with that, she heads up to the roof, marvelling at how she can make her was so surely through the house even after all of these years.

She isn't sure what she expected in seeing her siblings again, but it's... so different. They all look the same, and yet - so much more grownup, more haggard. She's sure she must look the same. It's a cocktail of joy and hope and fear, she can't help the way tears spring to her eyes. Then, she's laughing, her vision blurring from happy tears. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you assholes - you're - God, you're all so big!" She's laughing again, pressing her hand to her mouth. Lola's gaze scours all of them, before resting on Nadia. They've worked together over the years, but almost never in person. She has so much love for the woman, she almost doesn't know what to do.

So she compromises by gently taking her hand and squeezing. "Nadi, you're so tall! Can I give you a hug?" It's a soft request, almost embarrassed. Lola didn't expect to get so emotional - her fears long forgotten.

mood.

Joyful

location.

The Rooftop

outfit.

Lola's Outfit

tags.

Sylvio
Abendrot

code by deer of 9 colours.

 

[Doctor Infinity]

Carlos was busy eavesdropping on the conversation that was currently going on. Apparently, that weird cyborg dude from earlier was James Brandon. Carlos remembers him as the violent, angry kid that always had a temper whenever something bad happened to him. He was fine most of the time, but Carlos always avoided him whenever he was around. Especially that one time when James threw a table at someone. That day was not a very good day.


Carlos was still eavesdropping when a hand suddenly wrapped around his body and tugged him. Carlos jumped a bit, and turned around to see who it was. It was Neil. Classic Neil. Always trying to tease him whenever he can. Carlos thought he was fine, it’s just that his teasing always irritated him. Fortunately, Kevin stopped the teasing before it got worse. Carlos silently thanked him and waited for something exciting to happen.


A few moments later, almost everyone that Carlos knew was on the roof. The only one who wasn’t here yet was Edgar. That was strange, considering that Carlos was always the one person who was late to anything important that was going on. Things we’re getting way too boring for Carlos. He was about to suggest something else to do when suddenly James suggested that they should go to a nearby Chinese restaurant so that they could eat and socialize more. Carlos thought that was a good idea, partly because he was hungry and partly because he wanted to get off the roof as soon as possible. Carlos decided to wait for the others to put their decision in, so that they all can agree on going to that Chinese restaurant.