★ OPEN; — once I had a love & it was a gas, soon turned out had a ❤ of glass.

[southernchere]

WHO; rogue & YOU.
WHERE; entertainment district, city center, & on the network.
WHAT; a injured drunk mutant wandering around in the middle of the night / asking for assistance for repairs & whereabouts of bones.
WARNINGS; intoxication, spoilers of x-men '97 possibly, maybe talk of loss/death of a loved one, & partial nudity.

— PREVIOUSLY ON THE X-MEN.....



⨂ A. S1 / Episode 10-1. — ❝load up on guns & bring your friends.❞

[ rogue's breathing is coming in rough gasps as she stumbles occasionally on her two feet down the streets. she wouldn't have to worry about walking if she would just hover along the sidewalk. but she had attempted that a few times, but being in the air somehow makes her feel queasier than just maneuvering ahead like normal. her body is aching way worse than earlier this afternoon, and it's most likely because she is overdue for some kind of ointment treatment for her burns or a dose of painkillers.

and while that might be the most adult and logical thing for her to do next, her slosh mind believes drowning in booze is the best medicine for her current predicament. actually, her hazed thoughts feel it'll fix all of her problems. after all, there has to be a reason why logan would sometimes wake up in the crack of dawn with a beer can in his hand, right? something she never believed in doing before, but maybe that ground beast was on to something with his little ritual. ]

[ clutching onto the blanket that's covering her entire body in one hand, and holding onto the neck of a half-drunken bottle underneath with the other, the mutant sways off the sidewalk and back again while singing horrendously off-key to herself. ]

♪ When I was young, I never needed anyone.
And maaaakkin' love was just for fun. ♪

[ in the mist of her walking and singing, the bottle underneath her covers slips through her fingers. a quiet muffle of "oops" leaves her lips as she struggles to pivot around to retrieve it. and when she hunches over for the booze, rogue looses her balance, and she tumbles sidewise against a building structure — creating a dented print in its place. thankfully, the damage isn't terrible enough for the building to collapse, but whoever the owner is of the establishment will definitely not be pleased in the morning. the bump drives rogue to fall flat on her back in the middle of the street, and instead of gathering to her feet, the woman remains on the lane and bellows out the chorus: ]

♪ Allllll byyyy myseeeeellllllfff....!
Don't wanna be... all by myyyseelllf, anymoooooooore...!! ♪

[ if this keeps up, there will definitely be a noise complaint. and the last thing the chosen needs right now is for the local to be even more pisser at them than they already are. ]

⨂ B. S1 / Episode 10-2. — ❝it's fun to lose & to pretend.❞

[ maybe she promised some people she passed by that she was fine, and she stated she will definitely head on home and get some rest. but somewhere in the blur of her doing so, rogue manages to find herself at the city center, nuzzling against the metropolis' massive water fountain on the ground. by the looks of it, she appears to be sleeping with her arms folded underneath her head to use as a pillow. just how long has this woman been out here? well, the fact that the sun is over the horizon is a big indicator that she spent the rest of the night in this one spot.

it's quite a blessing that aldrip is nowhere near New York standards, she would have been robbed without noticing it. but then again, besides a blanket, she isn't carrying anything of valuable. even underneath the covers, she is wearing nothing but her gloves, bandages that's covering her entire torso, and her undergarments. if anything, she just seems to be some poor unfortunate soul who is down on her luck. and whoever believes she is one is...well...probably partially right. should you leave her be, wait for her to wake up, or shake her awake? whatever choice you choose, this woman is going to get up with a very nasty hangover, and having to do the walk of shame. but maybe you can make it less shameful for her. ]

⨂ C. S1 / Episode 10-3. — ❝she's over-bored & self-assured.❞

TXT; un: Sugarlips

[ she feels she doesn't have the right to ask the network for any help, but. here goes: ]

Mornin yall.

Anyone got any experience with sewin a suit? Or stitchin? Or just know how to make clothes? I've tried the tailor in town, but the local folks are eyin me like I've done stunk up the place. If you're willin to help a gal out, I'll pay ya back once I get money or for some other way if that ain't ya cup of tea.

Thanks, Loves.


Oh. One thing I wanna ask. Does anyone remember Leonard McCoy? He's not in my phone anymore. I know this place likes to brainwash folks so. I want to make sure I haven't lost my ever-lovin mind. If it means he went on home, that's fine. I just wanna make sure I didn't make him up.

⨂ D. S1 / Episode 10-4. — ❝oh no, i know a dirty word.❞

A, B, and C not doing it for you? well come get the D! if you want to make your own starter, feel free to comment below or contact me over at buttlet or ping/dm me on discord.

Comments

ii

[nightwild]

[... Damn. Fauna can't help but feel responsible for this, but...

She leans over Rogue, careful not to touch.]

... Hey. You shouldn't sleep here when it's getting colder out. You'll catch a cold.

[southernchere]

[ she groans and stirs when a voice reaching her ears, and she lifts her head while also squinting at the slightest sunshine that peeks from behind fauna's figure. ]

Wha...? — What's happenin'? Is there trouble?

[nightwild]

No trouble yet, but you shouldn't sleep out here. It's great in the summer, but during the autumn, you're just gonna freeze.

[...]

And you smell like booze.

B.

[digthefuzz]

[Today's one of Kurt's less lazy days - he's gotten up for an early morning jog around the city center. A teleporter should make sure he still puts his legs to use, after all! Maybe that'll help him feel less irritable, as he has been on edge lately.

As he makes his way around, one sight really sticks out. A woman passed out on that fountain? The moment her hair registers, Kurt feels a strong panic and immediately teleports over to her side, nudging at her shoulder as he tries to make sure she's alive.]

Rogue? Rogue, can you hear me?!

[southernchere]

[ at the nudge of her shoulder, rogue jerks away (not intentionally trying to be rude, of course) and grumbles as she nuzzles more into her arms. ]

The rooster hadn't crowed yet. Wake me when he does, okay?

[ and to show that she's serious about that, she blindly shifts the blanket to cover her entire head, so the sunlight won't beam on her too hard whenever she does decide to wake up. ]

[digthefuzz]

[Well, she's alive at least. That's a relief! But she's still in the middle of the city and really out of it. He tugs on the blanket to try to help her stir.]

Sorry, you're gonna have to settle for your little brother crowing. What are you doing? Sleeping out here is - it's no good. For many reasons!

B

[solitarysoul]

[Levi knows damn well Rouge has a house. Or she did before the reset. Nothing seemed to be missing, but she'd been quite extreme on that AI's post so that could have something to do with it. Or not. But something was wrong if she was sleeping out here.

He doesn't dare touch her, but he does stand near her and clear his throat.]

...Rouge?

[southernchere]

[ a familiar voice chirps in her ears, and it's enough to stir her awake and shift around to the source of it. she blinks a few times, so her vision can adjust itself, and when she spots levi, a weak smile curl on her face. ]

Hey, Sweet Pea. You're up mighty early. Tryin' to catch a few worms?

[solitarysoul]

Oh, uh, no...I'm usually up this early.

[He shrugs.]

Are you okay? Did something happen?

a.

[melnik]

[ Considering the amount of chaos that took place in getting all those terminals reset at the same time, things really wrapped up much more smoothly than Miller had expected. It leaves a remarkable sense of "now what?" to ponder as the city streets of Aldrip return to their normal appearance. The glitches that change peoples' appearances and behavior seem to have ended and the "world" around them is stable once more. Still.

To be honest, he really doesn't know what to do. The thought of just going back to work in this proven virtual reality is now difficult and misguided, even more than it was before. So, perhaps he really isn't any better than Rogue, wandering aimlessly like he might come upon someone or something that can help sort through these feelings of uselessness. Such a person or thing doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, he does still find someone he recognizes and the observation that she’s not doing so well is plain to see.

Well, more correctly, he hears her before he sees her. There's no attempt to soften the heavy steps of his boots as he approaches her strewn under the blanket in the street. He simply reaches down to pick up her bottle, now empty from the fall. ]

Hey. What are you doing? Come on. Don't just lay there... It's not becoming of you.

[ Despite the apparent admonishment, he doesn't really sound that stern for once. ]

[southernchere]

[ she hums quietly as she tilts her head to the direction of the footsteps and voice. a plastered smile spreads big along her face, and while she attempts to roll on her side to pick herself up, she's not too successful. ]

Mmm, Howdy there, Tiger. Goin' my way? .... I wouldn't if I were you. Touchin' me means you'll be in a — in a coma for days, months, years.

[ rogue tries to ramble further, but she gets interrupted by a burp mid-way. ]

The Professor says our powers are gifts. And....And I. I pretend mine are. But are they? To never feel another human being,... why I might as well, lie here and let nature handle me.

b;

[laserguy]

[He planned on checking up on Rogue soon, especially after the whole reset thing, but guess 'soon' is going to become 'now' as the young mutant spots his slumbering teammate. What... why's she lying there? Did something happen? Why is she dressed in a blanket? A couple of terrible thoughts flash in his mind, but Scott doesn't waste much time pondering these questions, concern pushing him to rush over to her side.]

Rogue? Rogue, come on...

[There's no disguising his worry as he touches a covered shoulder, gently shaking her and hoping that she wakes up. Whatever inner shit is bothering him is easily placed on hold as he looks over her, although it's hard to see if she's injured with that blanket covering her. Maybe he should remove the cloth or at least take a peak, but he'll wait for a moment if he can wake Rogue up first.

Her face doesn't look beat up, so there's that at least.]

[southernchere]

[ there's a grunt towards his shake, and she rolls her shoulder away from his touch. by her doing so, there's a faint clank of glass hitting the concrete somewhere around her person. it might give scott a bigger picture of what exactly might have transpired during his absence. ]

I'm fixin' to...

[ except she isn't budging nor attempting to try and wake up from this light slumber she's in. ]

A

[followyourstar]

[Even after a near-apocalypse, the simulated world continues to turn. For whatever good or ill there is to be had from that. They still half expect another meteor to fall from the heavens nearby, or for some impossible circumstance to suddenly spawn into being before them, or to turn their head and suddenly end up somewhere completely new.]

[And so it is that when Dante hears singing, they dismiss the sound as the same ordinary unordinary they've come to expect over the past month and a half or so. But then it gets louder. And louder. And they come to a stop somewhere beneath a streetlamp as they turn a corner and find a mostly-naked drunk woman laid out on the street.]

[...This isn't something they can ignore, is it?]

[They heave a heavy sigh and walk over to kneel near Rouge, nudging the bottle with their hand to send it rolling off on its way.]

< You doing okay down there? >

[southernchere]

[ her emeralds shift over, and what she expected to see was, well... not someone with a clock for a face. and rogue had to blink twice and do a double take just to be sure she wasn't seeing things, or what she is witnessing is real.

with the amount of liquor she had consumed in the last few hours, real and fiction is something that's been pretty tricky for her to distinguish. nonetheless, she gazes up at the stranger with a soft expression, with a touch of apprehension brewing across her rosy cheeks. ]

... Are you Death?

a. what a way to start this cr LMFAO

[garbagecanned]

[he was on his way home from work when he heard the loud singing, and his eyebrows raise. is that... a person or was one of the locals glitching again?

he kind of makes his way over to see which it was, and he decides that it's definitely a Chosen that's drunk and now sprawled out on the street.

Yosuke approaches... noticing that she's mostly naked, and his face warms at the sight of it. this is the sort of thing he'd be whooping and hollering about normally, but it doesn't really seem right when this woman is drunk off her ass.]

H-Hey. That's probably not the world's greatest place to stay.

[but he's still a little flustered about it.]

keep it in your pants.

[southernchere]

[ as the boy comes in her vision, a warm yet plastered smile loads along her face. despite the state the grin is in, there's a pleasant curl to it. definitely not of someone who is not dangerous or will cause the other trouble (not too much, anyway). ]

You're probably right, Sugah. The wet floors ain't no place for a lady...

[ and yet, rogue makes zero effort to try and remove herself from the concrete. instead, her emeralds fixate off to their sky above them. ]

They oughta program stars in these skies. It make 'em this place look more like the country life.

Text un:sora

[valiantarms]

Sorry, I don't know that person or anyone who can sew.

But it's weird how the people who live here are being, do you think they're upset by what happened with the computer stuff?

[southernchere]

It don't make a lick of sense, no. They oughta be happy they're all here in one piece. Guess these folks got a death wish?

a. cw: reference to past sexual trauma

[traumaticus]

[The atmosphere in Aldrip sure had changed.

Hearing commotion and ruckus carrying over the streets of Aldrip's night didn't really surprise him at all. Not with the new hostility around the city.

Thankfully the anomalies known as 'glitches' were gone but so seemed to be the hospitality and friendliness from the locals towards the Chosen. The sudden change did leave Richard feel even more suspicious of their situation, and whether they had done the right thing with their last mission. But oh well. He wasn't one to linger in regret and wonder over 'what-ifs.' The only thing that they can do now is to deal with the situation, wait and see.

At first, his plan was to ignore the very obvious drunken sounds echoing somewhere not too far. But, it seems like his companion had other plans because when the song got stronger accompanied by a loud sound of rocks falling Whitey, the always alert boar, decides that he wants to investigate what's going on and takes a turn away from their home.] Whitey, don't. That's not--, [He begins, but gives up knowing very well that he didn't have any other option than go after him, unless he wanted to risk Whitey getting into trouble. So, sighing deeply he turns around to follow his boars footsteps.

It takes only about five minutes from Richard to arrive to the source of ruckus. However, instead of Whitey he is met with a completely different sight. A young woman, whom he presumes to be one of the Chosen, laying a few feet away from him on the ground with a merely a blanket covering her. His gaze lands on the limbs peeking underneath the cloth and all of the sudden he feels his throat tighten, air struggling to get out of him as he watches the body in front of him. It's as if he had been struck by an invisible lightning, his memory taking him to that nightmarish night in the freezing cabin from his childhood. A much larger body crowding his own, pinning him down as he struggled against his attacker while another man stood in the background.

"One time won't kill you--."

Then the woman stirs on the ground and continues her singing, snapping Richard back to the present. Face still absent from any color and hands shaking, he hurries to her side. Crouching down on the ground next to her, he removes his cloak and wraps it around her.]

Miss? [He calls for her, forcing his voice to sound steady.] Here. Let me help you.

[Worry not Rogue. Richard's body is fully wrapped in cloth, wearing leather gloves and all!]

[southernchere]

[ rogue may be drunk, her mind might be sloshed, but hearing the phrase,"let me help you" springs a defense mechanism response. helping her means touching her, and her body was ready to jerk violently away, and to scream at whoever is near to not touch her.

but when her wide emeralds meet richard's gaze and his attire (especially his hands), she settles cautiously, and finds her breath coming easy for her lungs again. false alarm, it's okay, she tells her fear and rogue sits more up-right as a wince squeaks pass her lips. ]

I'm all right, Darlin'. I'm — I can sit fine.

C | un: peterparkour

[spideyguy]

i don't know anyone by that name, sorry.
but i think a lot of people might have disappeared during the reset?
i had a friend who was just gone.

but to answer your first question, i have some experience?
not a professional by any means, but i might be able to help.
i'm self-taught but i've had a lot of practice
what are you trying to make? or tailor?

[southernchere]

That's alright, Sug. If McCoy gotten out of here, that's right good with me. I can rest easy knowin he don't have to experience anythin else we might go thru.

My suit. Or hero suit if ya want me to be specific.

b

[querulus]

[Here's the thing: sometimes family members are cringe. When the family is as messy as mutants, the cringe is as exceptional as their superpowers. So in Rogue's case, the capacity for cringe is, well... uncanny.

That said, being a hot mess unfortunately does not exclude Rogue from being mutant family, and Quentin will treat her as such. Doesn't mean he has to be nice about it, though.

A box of miscellaneous clothing items drops loudly to the ground inches from Rogue's resting place. Were she to look up at who's responsible, all she'd see is a young man with pink hair standing about 10 feet away looking irritable. If there's any doubt the box is his doing, he puts it immediately to rest.]

You're welcome. Now get your shit together. You're an X-Man, for Pete's sake.

[He's not in uniform—he probably would've been if he'd known his old gym teacher was going to be passed out next to a fountain, but hindsight's 20/20—but he assumes his recognition of her as an X-Men member will make it clear who he is. Surely Summers has mentioned him by now. I mean, who wouldn't?]

[southernchere]

[ the thump of clothes startles the southerner, and she blinks rapidly in hope it'll clear her double vision and to ground herself. but the only good it did was worsen her already throbbing headache as she slugs herself off the fountain — a gloved hand smearing across her face. ]

I declare some folks will arm wrestlin' ya over that.

[ rogue mutters as she finally peeks over to the boy he doesn't recognize, the pile of clothing, then him again. ]

I don't suppose you got some goody powder mixed in there?