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[swatsflies]

@ZD
Yo! I'm not in right now. Leave me a message.

((OOC: Zell may show messages to Jim Hawkins. If you do not want Jim to see/know, then please let me know.))

Comments

written on a long strip of paper and braided into Zell's hair while he's sleeping, 125/126

[rattlingthestars]

Yours is getting longer too. I like it.

SILLY IN RESPONSE

[swatsflies]

[ When he does find it, he doesn't respond with a note or message in turn. While they are getting ready for bed the following night, he's just going to climb on top of Jim to shake his head and let his bangs brush against his boyfriend's neck. Settling half of his weight on him as he bids him good night. ]

Day 144; Text | @Summoner

[ninjainviolet]

Hey, Zell... I was wondering how you were doing. We haven't talked in a while.

[ Although, she had seen your reaction to that book... But she's going to be nice. ]

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

[ Good he needs nice. Things have been pretty much up and down. Feeling like a heel not knowing his friend died, though.

Instead of sharing that, he'll sum up how he is doing. ]

I'm doing better. :)
Have to up the pain meds, but I'll deal.
How have you been?

@kingdomkey ; Audio - Night of 145

[seekthelight]

[It's late and he probably shouldn't be bothering anyone right now but he really wants to get a headstart on his new job.

And if there's any group of people that can help him..]

Hey Zell? I could use your help with something, if you've got a few minutes.

@zd; voice

[swatsflies]

[ It's okay. He's mostly free anyways while it's his turn on watch. ]

Yo, Sora! What's up? [ He's checking the time. ] Yeah, I'm free for a bit.

Night 148

[spoileralert]

[ Steph is wrapped up in a nest of blankets, towels and stuffed animals with Zach and Steve when she calls. ]

Hey, I need a favor. Do you have any secrets you're willing to give up that would entertain Ecks?

[swatsflies]

[ At least they are warm.

Zell is tired, and his voice is a little sore, but he does perk up over Steph calling and her mentioning Ecks. ]

Yo, Steph. Secrets, huh? [ Thinking about it. ] Not sure if it's a secret, but House joined him when Jim was putting our initials around the school. He drew mechas and motorcycles with the initials J.W. inside of them.

@Ecks | text | 155

[ecks]

It is valentines day and I appreciate you.

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

I appreciate you, too.
Happy Valentines Day, Ecks!

@Mnemosyne; voice; night 160, ~3AM

[bookofnope]

[Most of the message is stubborn, sharp static. Maybe there aren't words at all, just heavy breathing. When Beckett's voice comes through at last it's strained, almost cracking.]

- hear me? Are you there, Zell?

[swatsflies]

[ The static has him closing stopping the message from playing and tossing his tablet away. He waits a couple of minutes, before retrieving his tablet. Taking a deep breath and hitting the button to play the rest of the message.

It’s Beckett and he’s alive!

Well, he might be alive. This place could be screwing with him. Everyone could be a lie and none of this is real.

It takes another couple minutes of arguing if he should believe it’s really Beckett again. That Beckett is alive.

Breathing in a deep, shuddering breath as he responds. ]

Yeah, I’m here. [ A pause. ] I think. Is it- Are you really back?

@jwatson; text; Night 160

[jumpthegun]

Hullo, there, Zell. Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you lads had fire still. Maybe a lighter or matches? I saw that vid from a long while back where you made a flamethrower and went after an anomaly.

Found myself in a bit of tight spot. There's someone I'm treating for frostbite, but it's gotten very bad, and I'd like to use something to cauterize the wounds. We're in the aquarium at the moment. If you do still have fire, I'm willing to trade you whatever you'd like to use it.

I'd just ask that anyone running it up to us come alone or with only one other person. The anomalies have gotten really bad lately, and I'd rather not invite one. The person I'm with isn't very keen on company, either, as you might imagine.

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

Yo, Watson!
It's no bother. Jim still has it.
I'll check with him if he's cool with you guys using it.

That sucks, though.
Oh! Yeah. We have one trapped in the firehouse.
It's still in there.

early morning 155

[rattlingthestars]

let me know if this is okay

[swatsflies]

[ Zell is an early riser. Years living in Garden did it to him. He carefully disentangles himself from his boyfriend and scoot out of bed. Ready to start with his morning stretches, he locates his shoe only to find there's something occupying them. Pulling the hearty out carefully, and looking back to Jim's for a moment. He opens it carefully, remembering how he undid every fold so he can put it back later.

There's a smile as he reads the words. It just gets bigger and brighter with every sentence. Once he gets to the top dating spot list, Zell quietly snickers. It does down quickly as they hit number two and one. He swallows and finds his heart rate picking up as he thinks about a couple of memories from those places.

Too bad there is only one room here. He feels his cheeks heat up as he ponders on addressing one issue or bothering his boyfriend.

Jim wins over in the end. Taking the note with him as he returns to bed. Sitting on the edge closest to Jim as he reaches over to place a hand over his. ]

Hey, Stars. [ His voice is still husky from sleep. He waits for the signs that Jim is starting to wake up and then he lays down beside him. Draping an arm across his midsection as he nuzzles against his shoulder. ]

@zachtastic; day 167; text; private

[majorlazer]

[Zach turned this in his head over and over. He'd have used video, but text keeps his traveling companions from hearing his conversation, and also, it's a lot easier to write this shit down than say it out loud. He privates it right away, too, because. Fuck that being public.

Also, he would totally have asked Jim, but that would probably have been incredibly awkward, and Jim probably wouldn't tell him anyway.]

Hey man, you good? Sorry to barge in, and it's gonna sound really weird, but...

you and Jim, you're together, right? Did you ever - [Seriously, this is so awkward. Why is Zach doing this to himself.]

What do you do to, like. Be romantic?

private; text (long response is long. sorry)

[swatsflies]

[ He gets the message as they arrive to the police station and after he uses an incredibly cheesy line about Jim arresting his heart.

He plops down on the desk to respond, while stealing looks over at Jim while he does so. Nothing suspicious happening here at all. Nope. ]

Yo! Yeah, we're good. [ He's so sure to people asking about the group as a whole. ]

It's cool and not that weird. I mean it's a little, but I asked Steph for advice before!

Yeah, we're together. [ He wants to know what he was about to ask before he changed it. ]

It depends on if we can get alone time.
He's my Stars, so I used paper to make a tube and cut little dots out to make a star projector.
We don't whip it out unless we can get our own room for the night.

Morning 167, @spectreone, text

[dumed]

Hey, ZD?

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

Yo, Kanan!
How are you doing, man?

T-T-TWISTER; Day 174 [Here for now.]

[rattlingthestars]

[ Yesterday had been rough, in more ways than one. Jim's still a little sore from the searching, and a little emotionally wrung out, but he'd had time to read a bit of the instruction manual on the strange party game he'd found. The deeper he read, the more he was grinning imagining trying to play this stupid thing.

When they've finished searching around the house that night, he stakes out a room and pushes the furniture away before spreading out the plastic-y sheet over the ground and positioning the spinner as closely as he can. Mochi, following at his heels, meows loudly and bats at the spinning wheel as Jim watches on with a grin before sticking hiss head out the door and calling for Zell. ]

this okay?

[swatsflies]

[ After the events of yesterday, Zell is a little worried about his boyfriend pulling away. Other than the exhaustion, things seem pretty normal between them. It's still there though. Just a tiny bit of a worry pressing against the back of his mind as he digs through his stuff.

Zell knows he should do something to help get Jim's mind off of it.

He perks up the moment he hears his name, and immediately it's all forgotten. Snatching up and pocketing the bottle of lotion as he heads for the source of the voice. ]

Yeah? What's up, Stars?

Night 152

[rattlingthestars]

[ Jim's aware that he hasn't been the best boyfriend over the past few days. The best anything, really; even compared to his usual attitude, the day following his talk with Zack have been bad. Zack said he'd been different since his death but right now Jim feels like the same person he was before the map changed his life. Miserable, withdrawn, unwilling to meet the people that cared about him halfway. Unwilling to meet Zell halfway.

He slips away again once they've made it inside, but it doesn't feel right to be alone tonight. He's spent enough time turning it over and ha has gotten nowhere - no closer to making peace with the idea that there really is something wrong with him that he can't fix on his own. He needs help, as much as he hates to admit it; he's not strong enough.

He abandons his pack but keeps his tablet and digs out a blanket, too, before going to find Zell. Wherever he finds him, Jim stays slightly back, trying to think of some way to start the conversation.

Eventually, he can't manage anything but a feeble: ]

-Sunshine?

dumb 1/2

[swatsflies]

[ There is a boyfriend-shaped hole missing from his life over the last couple of days. It wasn’t forgotten even amongst the excitement of exploding pickles yesterday. His hand hadn’t felt this empty since the split, but this time it was imposed by Jim himself.

When he saw the message from Zack that night, he figured it would be like the whole Monster Silver incident. Jim would shut himself away, before seeking someone out. When the minutes dragged on to hours, Zell realized Jim wasn’t coming out on his own.

It’s only been a little more than forty-eight hours, but it feels like it’s been much longer. He’s been withdrawn and he barely says anything. Any and all touches were avoided or not returned at all. He told Jim he would stick to him as long as Jim wanted him there. What does he do if Jim doesn’t want him?

He tries to keep in mind what Al told him when he said Jim’s been in a bad mood. Sure, Zell may have lied to his friend and told him it’s the annoying hum of the house they were in last time, but his friend’s words did help. They gave him a mantra to repeat, while he resisted holding on to Jim tight.

I bet it helps that you're there at all! Sometimes just having people around us, especially people we care about, can make even the most trying of situations easier to handle.

He’s not sure how long he’s supposed to give Jim space for. After feeding the cat and setting up stuff in the second bedroom, he decides to try to find Jim to peek in on him. This choice might be why it takes Jim a little bit longer to find his boyfriend. ]

Day 182; action; @dreamsnhonor

[heroproceeding]

[ Another day, another night passing things by as well as he can. He's got his tablet out flitting through what remains of the photographs. Trying to focus on that instead of his reflection here and there, but he can't help that. Can't help the way he occasionally checks his eyes to make sure they're back to how they ought to be. And that they're staying that way.

Which is why he needs to focus again and he does, tapping to the next photo. Studying that next victim of this town. He's so engrossed, he loses track of the time pretty quickly. So much so that he doesn't hear the footsteps when they come his way.

Not that he necessarily wants to be relieved of that duty that night. ]

if he screams, Zell will rescue him from the cat ᕙ[ ・ ∧ ・ ]ᕗ

[swatsflies]

[ The pitter-patter steps are from a cat that has been removed from bed. Having been displaced when Zell got up to get ready for his turn at watch, Mochi seeks a new place to sleep. He spots the stationary lap of Zack Fair, and heads over for it. There is no warning or anything, just the round ball of fur climbing in and using accidental claws in the process. ]

Mochi. C'mon. I'm sorry.

[ From the sounds of his footfalls, Zell isn't far behind the cat. He's the one responsible for disturbing the cat in the first place when he got up for his turn on watch. Leaving his tablet behind and following the light of Zack's tablet as a guide to both furball and the Soldier. ]

night of 185; text

[armoured]

Hey, Zell. I need to ask you a favour.

[swatsflies]

Yo, Al! What's up?

Evening 196, action

[rattlingthestars]

[ For once, it isn't Jim that finds Zell first, though he's not far behind. Instead it's a floating pink blob that seems to have a sense for when something's wrong, and he's trying very hard to nuzzle Zell's cheek if he'll let him. He is making noises that sound a lot like Jim, though, small shoosh-it's-okay noises, and that seems to be attracting Mochi to Zell's side as well.]

[swatsflies]

[ Zell can be found sitting on the floor in one of the far rooms with a tablet out when the pink critter finds him. Smiling at the nuzzle as he looks at Morph. If the situation wasn't so shitty, he might have laughed at Morph's impersonation. Then he spots Mochi coming over to investigate as well. ]

Hey, you two. [ His voice is hoarse with emotions. It wasn't just one friend or two. There were too many names he recognized on that list. Drawing in a breath as he rubs Morph with a finger and offers his palm to the cat. ]

@totheark; text; night 195

[0thingsonmymind]

we put
all dolls
up on stands in place

ithink some thing op en ed ?

wewill check
door
to mor row

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

Whoa! Good job!
We went to that place where Winter was killed.
Took pictures and tried stuff.
Want to see?

@LELRIC; audio; evening 196

[armoured]

Hey, Zell...

[He's been a little worried.]

I didn't see you in those corridors, and I haven't heard from you for a while, are you... you're okay, right?

@zd; audio

[swatsflies]

[ He finds himself touching the bandaged gash on his head while he responds. ]

Yo, Al! Yeah. That was probably for the best. I wasn't feeling well there. [ A pause. ] I'm much better now! Thanks for checking up. How are you?

Backdated to Day 188; text; @dreamsnhonor

[heroproceeding]

hey Zell. Jim told me you guys beat lockdown and you're good. Kuns is good too. the blood transfusion was a success as far as we know. by the way have any good photos of you and Jim you could shoot over? just realized I don't really have much on my tablet but you know me.

[ Takes more pictures of dead bodies than friends. Uh. Probably should make a better habit of things. ]

text; @zd

[swatsflies]

[ He's busy pumping up an air mattress and building a fort with a fitter seat and various pieces of furniture around the house. As soon as he finishes, he does get back to Zack! ]

Yo, Zack.
Thanks for the update!
Jim said you guys talked.

Did he tell you we found something with his name on it?
They had long ones we dueled with.

[ Look, they are keeping their sword practice up. With Slim Jims. ]

@totheark; text; Day 217

[0thingsonmymind]

*He hasn't looked at his inbox yet or else he'd just respond to Zell there. He's having a hard time handling everything now, but a few people needed to know he wasn't still dead.*

i'm back

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

HEY! There you are.
Welcome back :)

Action, Night 214; Building 263

[rattlingthestars]

[ Jim's lounging in a rolling chair above the mattress, feet up and spinning back and forth as he watches his boyfriend play with the remains of the confetti. It's a pretty good view, he thinks.

Sweeping a handful of paper stars off the desk and dumping them on Zell's messy hair makes it better, of course. ]

When did you even have time to make all this...? And out of what?

[swatsflies]

[ He may be tracing the path between paper stars, but his attention is on the other occupant of the room. Watching him move around on the chair is entertaining in it's own way. Soon it's raining stars and he has a fond smile as he scoops some up. ]

Falling Stars. [ Grinning as he blows them towards Jim. ] I made them in-between training or during meals. [ There were moments when Jim got up for his turn at watch, too. ] They are made from books.

Day 117 (Beautiful Dreamer Continuation)

[rattlingthestars]

From here

--

[ Jim picks up on the images and his eyes widen and dart around. Did anyone else -?

They're not reacting, which just leaves Jim to be flustered.

He clears his throat loudly. ]

You got to see my place. Take me to yours.

[swatsflies]

[ Whoops. Looks sheepish as Jim glances around flustered. On one hand very worth it, and he's trying to keep his thoughts on super innocent things when Jim says take me to yours. Licking his own lips to chase the taste there as he nods. ]

Y-yeah. [ He's up and fumbling with slipping his shoes back on deciding to skip the socks. His socks are shoved into a pocket and then he's reaching for Jim. Hesitating for a moment and then deciding to change his mind and offer the crook of his elbow to him instead. ]

Come on, Stars. [ Not quite meeting his eyes. ] Your turn to meet my Ma.

@totheark; Night 230; text

[0thingsonmymind]

have seenheard
jade @gardengnostic
?

*Please say yes.*

;-;

[swatsflies]

I haven't sense we decided to meet up.
She was still hanging around that building from before.

@Spoiler ; audio ; morning 245

[spoileralert]

Hey, Zell. Are you guys alright?

@zd; audio; later in the morning/day

[swatsflies]

Yo, Steph. [ After all of that hell and conversations he had, he's tired. But there is a real undercurrent of warmth there. Like things are already looking brighter. ]

Yeah, we will be alright. Going to meet up with the other two soon. How are you?

Mid-Afternoon 242; @jphawkins, text

[rattlingthestars]

You already know I'm gone.

It's pointless to tell you but don't come after me.

Something's happening. Something bad. I don't want you to see.

@zd; text

[swatsflies]

[ His heart was thumping hard in his chest as he headed across the skywalk when the message alert sounded. Pulling it out quickly and feeling everything stop as he sees the name on the screen. Opening it up quickly and reading it.
Reading it again.
And then just making a frustrated noise

It didn't explain much. Immediately he fires a response. He's pretty desperate and that scared him. He was afraid this place spirited Jim away... or worst... ]
What's happening? Jim? Talk to me please

Late Night 217, Action

[rattlingthestars]

[ Jim's climbed back up on the server towers, keeping company with a hoard of dust bunnies and his own tangled thoughts. It's a little claustrophobic up here, but at least he's alone to sort through it all.

He thought that was what he wanted, but the weight of things is to much and he needs something. Someone.

His voice is quiet, but it carries in the silence of the all-but-abandoned building. ]

Sunshine?

Re: Late Night 217, Action

[swatsflies]

[ After a few serious conversations, Zell is working off his aggression through the very healthy coping mechanism of fighting invisible foes. Layers have been removed during the course of the night and the heat is getting to be a bit much. Zell is down to just a tank top and his jean shorts when Jim calls for him.

He snags his tablet as he heads back towards the racks that his boyfriend was favoring earlier. ]

Yeah, Stars? [ He pauses a moment to pull up the hem of his top to wipe away the sweat. say hello to your fave tattoo. ]