[SIDESTORY] Morbit Vignettes (Mature)

[skinstealer]

tiny peeks into side characters, done regularly... who knows, maybe some will become established characters?

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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[skinstealer]

Flex- 2020
Ringor Mortis
CW: Nudity, mentions/implications of sex work
Flex does some aftercare.

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Flex closes her phone and sighs, flopping backwards onto the bed. It’d been a hard day at the shoot today, and Spider seems busy...looks like she’d have to try and do some self care alone.

Usually she’d invite the de’moneres over and they’d help each other out and talk, but she had mentioned going out with Chief today...Flex guesses she just wished for the company anyway, on the sparse chance of Spider changing her mind or cancelling. It wasn’t that she wanted to get between her and Chief, the two of them are like, totally meant for each other. But still...it’s hard to find proper friendship in Bellows. Sure, there’s acquaintances and business contacts, people that could hook her up with whatever she needed, but not really people to hang out with. 

All the same, she’d have to take some time for herself. Days at shoots were always a bit strenuous, but she had to work extra hours to get the scenes done and her body was sore all over. Her scene partners had been careful and respectful as always, but the chemistry just wasn’t there and she’d be damned if she let something release without being considered quality, and high quality at that. If she was going to plaster her face on VHS covers and pinups, she was going to make that shit look great. 

Flex drags herself out of bed and nearly trips on the clothes piles on the floor as she heads to the bathroom, turning on the tub and getting herself stripped down. She’d indulged recently and ordered something new from Hearth, definitely a fad thing...but fun all the same. She opens up the mirror cabinet, picking up the chalky ball off of the shelf and half regretting getting something so...glittery. Not that she minds it getting into her fur, she loves glitter...but it’s gonna take some time to clean the tub after. Either that, or she just lives with it. Probably that.

She slips into the tub after testing the water, bringing the bath bomb with her and getting it under the water. The fizz is pretty startling as soon as it starts up, but she can’t help but giggle. It makes her feel like she’s getting away with doing something so silly, taking a bubble bath but for proper adults. People in Hearth definitely seem to care less about that kind of thing compared to here in Consumption, where the interesting and innovative is looked down upon in favor of tradition. Bellows was all against that, though...so she guesses it works out in the end. 

Maybe I should get some of these for Spider...wait, doesn’t she use a shower? She’s too big for tubs, right...wait, doesn’t Chief have a massive tub? Like, one of those big ones that’s practically a hot tub? I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m remembering that wrong, but he’s just the kind of guy who’d have one of those…

She’d have to try and crash one of Chief’s sleepovers, but maybe Spider could get her in with the bribe of a few tapes on the house...or something. She’d figure it out, and god knows it’d be worth it to share this goofy experience with a friend.

[skinstealer]

Mariah- 2020
Ringor Mortis
CW: Drugs, gore(?)
Mariah gets to work.

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People are late with their payments again. It’s become routine at this point, but Mariah’s getting pretty sick of it. They had a business to run, and this was just starting to stress them out more and more. 

Like I didn’t have enough to be anxious about.

Even then, they don’t want to change the system- getting people to pay for their stock upfront would definitely be the better idea, the logical business model, but they know that people here need what they’ve got. It’s not that their stuff is addictive- no, they make sure to avoid that. The last thing they want to do is bleed people dry (heh) over their product, get them hooked on something they’ve gotta pay for over and over- they’ve seen enough of that in this hell zone. People getting into shit they can’t handle, getting in over their heads...they doesn’t want to contribute to that. But...people do like the drugs, and they’re willing to pay for a night of calm, getting soothed by weird blood flakes. They’re providing a service to people, one that doesn’t harm anybody. They sleep better at night knowing that, and whenever doubts come up, they brush them away.  

They stretch out as they enter their greenhouse, the lamps providing all the light their herbs need underground. They take good care of these plants, and for good reasons- they’re the moneymakers behind the operation. Blood magic has been passed down by generations of their family, secret techniques that don’t require scraps to use...how it works, Mariah has no idea, but they can do it, and the aptly named blood pitchers are a completely humane source.

They trace a hand along the lip of one, reaching for their heavy duty gloves before placing a hand right above the opening and setting off its hunting reaction. It tries to swallow their hand and they move fast, using the specialized tech sewn into their gloves and a swift hand motion to swallow up the boiling blood inside, wincing a little at the sudden heat. The blood travels up  their wrist and into a containment chamber, and when it’s full up, they yank their hand out and shake it off. These things are old at this point, handed down from their grandmother- and like the magic they use every day, they don’t have a single clue how any of it works. It just does, and that’s good enough for them. 

Now they need to get this blood mixed with other natural ingredients, dried, and made into flakes. From there it’s just a matter of getting it packaged up and ready to go, and boom, stock for customers that probably would not pay them in a timely manner. People sprinkle it on whatever they’re eating or drinking and enjoy, the soothing effects unlike any other drug currently on the Bellows market.

It just works, they remind themself, and get back to work.