*stumbles around, as if waking from a coma*

What.... day is this?

Just kidding! =D I’m back bitches! @starsworn - I’ve tried to add you to Skype with my new name. I saw you’ve gone through some shit. Add me.

Hey... It Could Happen....

Lock's fingers trailed over the row of ivory, bare fingers touching the age stained keys so softly that they didn't make a sound. He eyed the bench that sat before the grand piano as his fingers fell to the key slip just before the keys, the heat from his fingers causing slight prints against the cool cast iron. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this thing... He'd been but a child in the halls of his family's manor, long before he learned what greed and corruption were. So much had changed since then... So much had transpired. Two hands fell flat to the seat of the bench at the head of the piano, fingers curling around the edges of the seat. A deep breath was taken as he steadied himself, then finally pulled up the seat, opening the hatch to a past he thought he'd all but lost. Within the belly of the seat were papers among papers and books, things he didn't know even still existed. The scores of music from the simplest Sin'dorei verses to more elusive works from Dalaran. It was like a piece of his past that had never been touched by the darkness that followed him and the name of his family. It was from a simpler time... From a time where music could erase the truth of the world around him, and take him to another place. Lock had been surprised by the slow trickle of artifacts and items that had began to show up at the Lighthouse since his parent's... Untimely demise. He never expected to gain so much from the death of his parents. And this piano was the last thing he'd thought he'd see being rolled in to the parlor of the shop. The Lighthouse around him was silent, he'd been left home alone to deal with some affairs of his own. Ara had taken Serah shopping and Nana had taken the twins out to the forest to gather berries and herbs for potions that Ara and Lock were running low on. He thought he'd be alone for a while longer, so when the voice pipped up from the door behind him, he jumped slightly, but smiled. "Daddy... Is that... A piano?" The small girl asked as she came up behind Lock and peered out from behind his legs. Lock's left hand came back to his side so that his fingers could bury themselves in the girl's dark curls, wrapping them around his fingers much like he did with Ara's own curls on occasion. "Yes, Princess... I forgot you and your brother haven't ever seen one up close." The small girl giggled at that, her small frame slipping past Harlock and on to the bench. She crawled over it and pulled her knees and legs beneath her, sitting on them as she reached up to touch the keys. But she touched the keys a bit harder then Lock had, and a musical tone of mixed pitches sounded out through the room. This shocked the girl and her hands shot back to her face, covering her mouth with a gasp. "Sorry!" Lock laughed softly at his daughter, moving. "Don't apologize. That's what it's supposed to do. And if you press the keys just right... Well it can make some very pretty music." He said softly, moving to sit on the bench beside his daughter. Carefully, he plucked the small girl up, causing her to giggle, and slid her on to his lap, so that his feet reached the pedals and her hands reached the keys. He took her smooth, small hands in his much larger and rougher ones, and carefully made her put out both of her index fingers. "Watch..." he whispered down to her. Carefully his feet hit the pedals of the piano as he guided his daughter's two fingers slowly and carefully over simple keystrokes, causing a soft, simple tune to ring out. The girl watched in awe as she watched her father guide her hands to create music, a smile curling her cherub lips upwards. "Woooow..." She whispered, giggling. But the sound wouldn't attract just the small girl's attention. In no time, with just a few tones from the belly of the piano, small feet came rushing in to the parlor behind them, wide eyes peering at Harlock and the girl through an all too familiar tangle of hair. "Awesome! Daddy me too! Show me!" The little boy called out as he rushed to the bench beside Harlock, his toy dragons tossed to the floor on the way. "Aha... Alright alright... Here... You sit here..." He said, moving the small girl again so that she was sitting beside him, opposite of her twin brother. "Play something, daddy!" The girl demanded in a sing-song voice. "Yeah! Play something!" The little boy chimed in as well. Lock laughed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "I'll try but... It's been a very long time since daddy has touched a piano..." He mumbled, looking at the keys. But the kids were ready for him. They were entranced by the simple yet elegant tones of the piano... And Harlock was remembering a happier time from his past, one he'd forgotten long ago. He used to sit at this piano for hours and play these songs, drowning out the sounds of the manor he'd grown up in. But now... The piano was before him again, and it wouldn't be used to escape his reality. It would be used to teach two children a talent that would grow with them.  Lock's fingers began to move over the ivory keys, carefully pressing both off white and black in rhythm and patterns that began to create a simple but well rounded song. His feet moved simply over the three pedals below the bench, hitting soft, sostenuto, and sustaining respectfully. Of course, there would be small slip ups where he'd hit the wrong key and a note would be one or two tones too high or low, but the twins wouldn't notice the difference, and Lock would just keep going. In time, the twins grew restless and Lock would stop, putting one of each of their hands on the keys. The little girl's hand was on the high keys, her brother's on the low, and Lock's left hand on the middle toned keys. "Now... Do what I do, alright?" He asked, and both twins would nod their heads excitedly. One key at a time, Lock lead them to play an all too familiar lullaby, and as he did, his voice, though extremely hushed, matched word to tone in soft song, something very few knew he could do. "Twin-kle.... Twin-kle... Litt-le... Star..." He sang each syllable to the twins, and they smiled brightly as their father taught them carefully how to play their first song on the piano. Lock wouldn't see Nana in the doorway behind them watching silently, and he wouldn't see her turn to look over her shoulder when she heard the front door to the Lighthouse open. The old woman turned and walked up to the woman and older girl that accompanied her. "Serah... Come help me with dinner..." She said in a very quiet voice, looking to the dark haired woman and smiling, putting a finger to her lips and letting out a soft 'shhh' as she ushered Serah away, leaving Ara to see Lock's secret and his time with the twins for herself...

R.I.P. - Ara's Insides.

Lock cut his hair... And put on some real clothes.... Ara's mind and possibly lady parts... R.I.P.

What Happens When Ara Leaves Harlock and Rei Alone...

They sat in the war room, each of the two men sitting in chairs around a small table, the bottle of rum between them half empty at this point and their mugs all but forgotten about. The red headed mage was chuckling softly at something the pirate across from him said, shaking his head. "You just won't ever learn, will you, Harlock?" Harlock laughed softly, reaching up and swiping hair from his face. "What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment." He said, shrugging his shoulders upwards slightly. He was relaxed, which was surprising after all of the things that had happened in Draenor recently. "Can you really blame me though, Rei? I mean... You've met her." Rei laughed again, nodding his head. "Aye... I've met her. You gave her quite the damned scared too when you up and vanished the other day. Should have seen her, nerves all in a twist. You owe me by the way. You never warned me about how she can get when she's panicking!" Harlock was laughing at this, taking a long drink from his mug after. "Ah so you were introduced to the typical Arainea meltdown. Those are fun, aren't they? I'll admit that she catches me off guard sometimes. The woman has quite the array of emotions." Rei snorted at this, rubbing the back of his head. "You're telling me..." He mumbled softly, causing Lock to raise a brow. "What do you mean? What happened, Rei? Spill it." Rei sighed, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "Alright, alright! But this stays between us. If not, I swear, Harlock..." Rei took a deep breath at that and began to recount the few times over the past few weeks in Draenor that Ara had flipped back and forth on what she was saying and how she was acting. Rei told the pirate about what had happened in the war room the day Lock had gone to talk to Maya. He told Lock about why she'd been yelling at him and why he ran the way he did. Lock found humor in all of this of course, until Rei started to speak about how she reacted when Harlock went missing. "S-She... She said all that?" Harlock asked, blinking. Rei nodded his head. "She contradicts herself in everything she says to people... And when you call her out on it, she throws up walls like you wouldn't believe. She's cracking, Harlock... You're breaking down so many walls so quickly and I don't think you even see it..." Harlock sighed, and Rei continued. "So... Are you ever going to tell me what exactly happened between the two of you a few months back? I know you said something about Ara being kidnapped but you never went in to detail..." Lock's jaw clenched at that and he brought his mug to his lips, pausing for a moment before taking a long drink. "It's nothing to worry about, Rei. It's between her and I and honestly... We don't talk about it anymore. It's better that way." Rei eyed the pirate, skeptical for a moment, then decided it was time to change the subject. "Fair enough. So what are you going to do if she finds the ring you've stashed away?" Harlock laughed, setting down his mug. "She won't find it, don't worry your fire head about that. Tochi has it, and he's not going to give it up any time soon. I told him I didn't want it until February." Rei rose a brow. "Really? You're going to use that holiday out of all of them to propose to a woman? That's so cliche..." Lock laughed at this, shaking his head. "Oh no! I'm waiting until -after- the holiday. I'll spend that entire week making her -think- I'm going to... Make her want it juuuust a little... Then not do it until after." Lock was smiling triumphantly and Rei looked at him with a deadpan stare. "Brother... She's going to -murder- you." Lock and Rei both burst in to laughter at that, but before long, Lock sat up and put his arms on the table, taking a deep breath. "I have a question for you, Rei..." This made the mage blink a few times and raise a brow. "Why do I not like the sounds of this? What's going on?" Lock sighed some. "I'm sure you've noticed she has a bit of a... Wild spark to her. One that she's constantly teasing me to calm." He shook his head, rubbing the left side of his face as he did so often. "Ara is constantly trying to get me to agree to a threesome." Rei was taking a drink when those words came out, and it caused him to snort rum out of his nose. "Wait, wait... You're not actually considering this, are you!? Harlock! I haven't seen you have a threesome since -" Lock waved a hand, stopping him. "I know! I know! And there was a lot of alcohol involved in that and I was at least a hundred years younger then I am now." He chuckled, shaking his head. "I mean she even commented about you being that third person." Rei was a fit of laughter at this. "Me?! Oh yes that would go over great.. You know, this is why you should have studied as a mage. Create a mirror image of yourself and bam... Girl gets what she wants and you don't have to bump balls with another man." Lock blinked, looking at Rei. "That's it..." Rei blinked too now, staring at Lock. "What's it?" Lock downed the rest of his mug, leaning back some and looking towards the door of the war room. "She's still off writing... We've got maybe an hour... Think you can teach me how to create a duplicate of myself?" Rei looked confused. "A-Are you... Serious? You're going to go through with that...? I was just kidding, Harlock!" Lock shook his head though, smirking. "Teach me how to do it. I know you can. Or give me one of those nifty potions I know you can make... Come on, Rei..." Rei sighed slowly, shaking his head. "Everything about this just sounds like a terrible idea... Alright... Come on before she catches us..."

Across The Universe RP Starters

"She’s the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry, still you don’t regret a single day." "Let me go on loving you tonight."

"Who will take me out next week? You’ll be halfway around the world."

"I sometimes feel you’re not telling me everything."

"Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you"

"All my loving, I will send to you."

"I wanna hold your hand."

"Oh please, say to me you’ll let me be your man."

"And when I touch you I feel happy inside."

"I believe I’m your son."

"You could excuse a bastard by saying his dad was killed in the war."

"I didn’t come here to derail your life. You know? And I’m not here for your love or your approval. I’m just here so that we both know that the other one exists."

"15 bucks says you miss this shot."

"50 bucks says your sister still marries me."

"You couldn’t hit the barn side of a broad, man."

"Shit, I’m outta shape."

"I get by with a little help from my friends." "I get high with a little help from my friends." "I want somebody to love."

"Would you believe in a love at first sight?"

"What do you see when you turn out the lights?"

"It won’t be long, yeah, till I belong to you."

"I’ll be good like I know I should."

"When did ___ get tits?" "Androgyny suits you." "I never realized I had it so easy."

"He needs a bar, brawl and a brothel."

"But after this I’ll dream of her tonight."

"I’ve been alone and I have missed things and kept out of sight. But other girls were never quite like this."

"Think about it. Great music, great dope, orgies. It’ll be a gas!"

"She’s got a boyfriend."

"Forget it, man. I’m not living here."

"I can’t have no one screwing up my beauty sleep before 2:00" "You look kind of clean-cut. Then again, could’ve murdered your granny with a hammer."

"Let it be."

"There will be an answer. Let it be."

"Come together. Right now."

"Music’s the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons at bay."

"Your girlfriend/boyfriend didn’t look too happy about us leaving together."

"It says I have to report to an induction center on the 7th."

"You got a week to contract some fatal disease, honey."

"You can burn that paper, boy/girl. But you still gotta show."

"No one and no gun is gonna get ____"

"If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true?"

"Cause I’ve been in love before and I found that love was more than just holding hands."

"If I trust in you, oh, please, don’t run and hide if I love you too."

"So I hope you see that I would love to love you."

"I want you. I want you so bad."

"I want you so bad, it’s driving me mad."

"She’s so heavy."

"I’m a cross-dressing homosexual pacifist with a spot on my lung."

"Dear ____ won’t you come out to play?"

"The sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you."

"Whoa. You’re up before 2 and looking wicked cool. Who’s it for?"

"Never knock the way another cat swings, man."

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together."

"Love is old, love is new."

"Love is all, love is you."

"Because the sky is blue it makes me cry."

"Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover."

"Something in the way she woos me."

"Somewhere in her smile she knows that I don’t need no other lover."

"You’re asking me, will my love grow? I don’t know. I don’t know."

"Believe me when I tell you, I’ll never do you no harm."

"Believe me when I beg you, don’t ever leave me alone."

"When you told me you didn’t need me anymore, well you know, I nearly broke down and cried."

"When you told me you didn’t need me anymore, well you know, I nearly fell down and died."

"Nothing is real. And nothing to get hung about."

"Living is easy with eyes closed; misunderstanding all you see."

"It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out."

"It doesn’t matter much to me."

"That is, I think I disagree."

"We all wanna change the world."

"Don’t you know its gonna be alright?"

"I don’t know why nobody told you how to unfold your love."

"I don’t know how someone controlled you. They bought and sold you."

"With every mistake we must surely be learning."

"Still my guitar gently weeps."

"Nothing’s gonna change my world."

"What’s the name? The reason you stopped writing?"

"She’s not a girl who misses much."

"I need a fix cause I’m goin’ down."

"Mother superior jumped the gun."

"Happiness is a warm gun."

"When I hold you in my arms, and when I feel my finger on your trigger. Oh, don’t know nobody can do me no harm?"

"Well don’t you know that happiness is a warm gun?"

"No you’re not listening!"

"I thought it was the other side who dropped bombs?"

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly."

"You were only waiting for this moment to arise."

"Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better."

"You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin. Then you begin to make it better."

"Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders." "For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder."

"Don’t let me down. You have found her now go and get her."

"Let it out and let it in."

"Yeah well everything below the neck works fine."

"Nobody ever loved me like he/she does."

"Don’t let me down."

"There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done."

"There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made."

"There’s no one you can save who can’t be saved."

"There’s nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. It’s easy."

"All you need is love."

"Love is all you need."