[attr="class","top"]

Kepler’s back was to the computer so he didn’t get to see the very nice messag being left for him. The buzzing, barking hum of laughter startles him, and he launched off the computer desk with a scream, stumbling and spinning wildly until his back slammed up against the wall on the opposite side of the room, near the door.

“Fuck! Fuck this!” He wheezed, the air knocked from his lungs, spine certainly already purpling from bruising. “This is some shit up with which I will not put!” Against his better judgment he darted out into the hallway, spinning, trying to orient himself.

“RUBY!”

[scooby-doo spinning logo transition . gif]

Cerberus flames tear through the air, scorching metal tables and melting forgotten plastic trays into piles of beige goo-- to no avail. Whatever swallowed Deimos was gone, leaving nothing in its wake.

A horrible grinding noise sings out as multiple metal picnic-style tables shift and drag along the floor, crashing together to form a circle around Ruby and her Houndoom, trapping them in like the center of a bullseye.

Told… you… to… go… AWAY! sings a demonic, distorted voice over the staticky intercom.

Something snaps and a light fixture from the ceiling directly above Ruby plummets downward.

Ruby Garcia
set just pre-PAAA
wearing

[ takes place after sarajevo bc my brain is so small? ]

Thankfully the pink haired lady that Kepler bonked into seems content to live and let live which means he got to wobble around in Ashley Shepard’s arms for a bit; it’s literally perfect, and Kepler would be happy to live in that memory for the rest of his life.

But that stupid rock is still on the back of his mind and as Ash leads him off the dance floor, Kepler’s got his eyes peeled for the flash of crystal in the crowd. He vaguely clocks the changing of partners (one man-- GIDEON GRAVES-- seems to be churning through them like a pig in shit), and he drifts slightly from Ash as his curiosity pulls him outward.

He spots her-- Naomi Sato-- across the way at the bar, having finished her dance with the tall, attractive stranger. Flattening his palm to the outside of Ash’s arm, he leans in:

“I’m gonna go talk to the mysterious rock lady. Be right back.”

And with a final squeeze, he departs, using his slight stature to cut in and out of the crowd, until he’s plopping in a seat next to her and swinging his legs towards the bar.

“Nice stone. Did you catch it falling out of the sky, or after it’d already landed?” he asks, remembering he’s wearing a skirt at the last second and squeezing his knees together like a proper lady.

---

+ is lowkey stalking Naomi Sato for her tera crystal
+ brb ash

[attr="class","mintag"] Ashley Shepard Naomi Sato
outfit | mask | hair

If looks could kill, Keplers would, at that moment, be drilling right into Isaac Merlo’s brain and scrambling what little of it the boy apparently had like eggs for breakfast.

Still, he settles in for the small talk, listening intently as Isaac describes his Long List of Super Cool Past-Times.

Ashley Shepard admits that his Thwackey-- Grookey?-- monkey beats him in Mankey Ball and Kepler laughs before he realizes it isn’t a joke.

“You… you also have opposible thumbs?” he offers, falteringly, unable to stop the smart ass comment from escaping his mouth but able to soften it a little with a question mark and a small smile at the end.

“Your… your bike was called the Screaming Metal Deathtrap?” Kepler asks, puzzled. "And you... willingly got on it?" He just narrowly bit back the here’s your sign that wanted to roll off his tongue.

At the mention of battling, Kepler hums, thoughtful. “I’ve never liked battling, either,” he confesses, completely blind to the fact that Ash is outright lying. “I mean. I’m used to having to defend myself but, like, a real, you know, twelve paces away turn and face each other battle? Seems kinda pointless.”

Conserving energy was one of the key principles of thermodynamics.

Isaac Merlo Ashley Shepard

☉