Yikk's POV
My life may've taken a 'strange turn' as of arriving at the Skeld company, but I'm having the time of my life there ever since! Never thought this'd actually come into my life after my early graduation in 11th grade and before I decided to which college I even wanted to go.
Squee and Billy are still my best friends, but since Billy and I are moirails, I honestly think we have a better bond than I have with Squee! I never thought my life would take such a turn either, even my siblings are jealous that I have a special someone of a different quadrant than matespritship, also known as the quadrant that most of them are currently in.
I also never expected to actually see one of my old classmates back. It's not that we barely spoke or anything (the contrary: my best classmates from my time in Ireland and I have contacted one another pretty often ever since I emigrated to the Nether and signed up for stuff like Skype), but to both Buggs and me, it came as quite the surprise. And he's a crewmate for the same reason as me, really, that's what he recently told me. Out of all of our 'best neighbours', him and Marny (the crewmate with whom I share a signature colour) are the ones that I interact with the most, by the way.
As for Digit, they're still doing good. They're one sturdy little robot for a simple-looking gift that I got as a get-well-soon wish. I check them daily, and aside of a few scratches, they only need to be charged every now and then, to prevent a broken heart from both of our sides. And they're a very sweet friend to occasionally be with whenever I need some alone time, too! Are you jealous yet? *giggle*
Also, my childish traits (thumb-sucking, tantrums, weeping a ton, and malfunctioning organs when I'm sick (even if I cannot quite call that one a trait, to be honest)) make me a unique part of the team of crewmates, that's what Arnie told me recently. None of my fellow crewmates even minds about those traits of mine either, and especially not those with whom I am the closest. I'm only glad to have such open-minded people around me nowadays!
Furthermore, I still hate being (presumed to be) the impostor. Aside of my traits, that's one of the very few things about me that hasn't changed throughout my time of being a crewmate.
Squee's POV
The Skeld is an amazing company to work at. 10/10 I'd recommend. We have a top-notch leader and manager, and most of my fellow crewmates are quite helpful as well, especially when doing difficult tasks.
The building in which I live is so much nicer than the student residence that I previously lived in, and the people are a lot nicer and tidier, too, in my honest opinion. They even teach me manners, such as that I do have to put my documents in my own folder and not just leave them all scattered over the place. But hey, I'm blonde, and that's a common thing that blondes like me do, right?
My favourite tasks have become the sabotaging- just kidding, charting the course, refuelling and med-bay scanning. As an impostor, I do like to sabotage, but I still have sore eyes if it comes to knocking someone out and wanting to get away before getting busted. There are seemingly just so many people around me whenever I knock someone out! Isn't that just strange?
As for being a crewmate with those difficult tasks, I still need some assistance every now and then. The tasks that I hate the most are the calibrating, the wires, inspecting samples, sorting stuff, and the diagnostics, because how in the name of the King of all Cosmos am I even supposed to know these entirely?!
My best friends are still Yikk and Billy, even if they're now… whatchamacallits as of quite a while ago. Something with pale or platonic partners? Quadrants are so difficult, in my honest opinion. Charlie and Choco are flush partners or whatever that's called, as are Arnie and that Snippet guy as of only just a day or so ago. I don't know Snippet too well, but at least he's nice enough for me to know.
If I had to choose, I'd rather go on missions than stay home. Staying home has become so boring for me if 10 out of 12 of the crewmates are on a mission, but that could also just be me. I don't know.
Billy's POV
My life has indeed become a ton better ever since joining the Skeld. So much nicer than that lame student residence with those boring old rotten apples that I lived in beforehand. At my living building, everyone at least understands my feelings, and I've barely wept myself to sleep ever since as well. That's quite the accomplishment, if you ask me, compared to the emotional wreck that I used to be prior to being employed here.
Arnie is an amazing leader, Mack is a just as amazing manager, and my fellow crewmates are also very nice to be around. Our assigned doctor, Erin, is also very kind whenever someone falls ill, and also commonly very careful because she knows about (especially my own) nervousness during researches and check-ups so well! I wouldn't want to wish for anyone other than her to be my multi-functional doctor who's also a psychiatrist, surgeon and dentist. Why aren't all doctors in the world like this!?
Squee is a good friend of mine, even if they're still dumb as ever despite their seriousness, and you know about Yikk, right? They're my moirail, and the best one that people like me could wish for, too! I honestly never expected to have someone so loving in my life, and I'm absolutely glad to have met them and their cute face and traits. I wouldn't want to wish for anyone else. They have uplifted my life and spirit so much.
As for on the job of missions itself, I still prefer being a crewmate or a ghost over being an impostor. Even if I have kinda mastered straight-face lying at this point, I still get ratted out a ton whenever I'm the impostor. But practise makes perfect, doesn't it? Furthermore, as a regular crewmate, I like doing the more difficult tasks, and I always do my best to show the others that I'm genuinely doing them as well, to decrease the chance of being ratted out.
Arnie's POV
Being the leader of my group of crewmates is such an amazing thing that has happened in my life.
To be honest, I have found the army a bit boring if I compare it to my current job as crewmate and leader of those. This job is so much more diverse! We get to go to three (almost four!) different places to do our tasks, and occasionally to pack a few punches as the impostor. Being the impostor is okay for me, but whenever I'm a team with one or two others, it always becomes a little bit better.
My overall life when not on missions is also nearly as precious as when I still lived with my parents and little brother. I have my sweet Brainslug named Bobby, and I have Snippet, my matesprit, whose son Jeff is now kind of my stepson. Snippet thinks I can interact with children very well, despite the fact that I very much think the contrary since I neither had any children in my life (partly because I'm gay), nor lived in a home situation from which either of my parents would run anything in the way of a children's day care centre. (They're both veterinarians who run a veterinary clinic from home, that's partly why we have so many pets back there.)
To me, the crewmates from whom I'm the leader are often very much like siblings that I never had. They also often consider me as an older brother that they never had (for many different reasons, including being the oldest and wisest among everyone), so in this case, we're even. And I got to tell you that it's awesome to have people in my life with whom I'm so close! I bet no other group of crewmates ever feels like they're a whole bunch of siblings from different parents, and that's also what makes us all unique as a group.
Pop's POV
Being a crewmate is something so much different than being an occasional model! It's still fun, though. The diversity of the locations and tasks, and I've heard from Mack that a new missionary location will soon be revealed, I'm so excited!
As a crewmate, I'm not that much of a tattletale anymore, and whenever I sense an impostor near me, I try to not fall for their tricks (that often involve sweet treats) too much, because even if I've been a crewmate for quite a few months now, that exact thing is still a trait that rests in me and occasionally just has to take a strike. Being a ghost afterwards, however, isn't that bad, because ghosts can still finish their tasks, too, much against your expectations, I presume.
My closest friends among the crewmates have become Choco and Charlie, they're just so amazing to be with! And I think I've also become their auspistice recently, because whenever one of them comes to be about being a little strained about the other, I give them advice, and then consult them together which has often been a great success so far, because after the consulting, they can talk to one another by themselves, and then feel relieved that one weight is finally off of their mind. Choco and Charlie are also both very pleased with the fact that I have suddenly become their auspistice recently, and that's only a good thing, right?
Out of those two matesprits, Charlie is also my best friend since we're definitely polar opposites. I mean, my girly girl versus her tomboy, isn't that just an amazing combination? One doesn't have to be someone else's best friend just because they have a ton in common, and you, the reader, should also keep that in mind.
Also, as for Lava? She has improved so so much throughout the months of being a crewmate in our group. She's only mean and snobbish on occasion, but now that me and my fellow crewmates finally know why exactly, we try our utmost best to sympathise with her in an attempt to not get her back to her old self too much, which does help well for most of the time, and that's also an improvement.
Lava's POV
At first, I didn't really have anything on my new status as a crewmate. Nobody to serve and help me at all times, but at least they gave me my own space where I can occasionally have a good smoke and where I have a neat bathroom. I should definitely stop complaining about all of the cons in this case.
My favourite status on missions is still impostor, because from my deepest roots, I'm already quite a mean and sneaky thing, and nowadays, I also act as some kind of counsellor when I'm with one or two more impostors who're not that experienced.
Being a regular crewmate is okay, because some of those tasks are literally so boring! In the meantime, I did get more used to them, so they're not that difficult anymore as they seemed to nearly everyone at the start.
Our neighbours are also pretty neat, but not as neat as Arnie and Mack, who are the best leader and manager respectively, and especially Arnie is someone amazing to talk to. He's the agony uncle that everyone really wishes for, and he knows so much so well. If I'm in need of advice or even have done anything remotely bad, he'll be there to give me some useful information.
My fellow crewmates are also alright, and also know when to lecture me when I need it (trust me, I often do!), even if they do it in a way rougher fashion than Arnie does, but every now and then, I do need a little roughness aimed at me, too, if I may be honest. I've definitely learned that during my time as a crewmate.
Choco's POV
I'm only just glad that I became a crewmate, rather than following my parents up with their chocolate business – this job is so much more diverse! My two siblings aren't that jealous of me and my job, however. Oh well.
As for chocolate itself, however, it's still one of my favourite things in life, as well as gingerbread biscuits. I still love to trick Pop with them whenever I'm the impostor, ha ha.
Being an impostor is okay, but a huge disadvantage is that at of all of the locations where I've had missions so far, the vents are way too small for me. Or maybe I'm too corpulent for them, that's also a possibility. But I can always run and occasionally hide after cold-clocking an innocent crewmate, even if that increases my chance of subsequently being ratted out, but that's all part of being the impostor, right?
As a regular crewmate, I love the diversity of all of the tasks, and I especially prefer those for which you don't have to focus that much, such as swiping your card, scanning your boarding pass, down- and uploading data, and emptying the trash chutes. Yes, you've read that well – I'm not the kind of person that has a good focus, but according to Arnie, that only makes me someone unique among us all. That's absolutely right, and my leader's one wise man. If only everyone, crewmate or not, would have such a person in their life, wouldn't that be lovely?
In the meantime, Charlie has also become my matesprit. We started off as acquaintances that apparently hit it off well as very good friends. We did a ton of stuff together: making lunch, listening to music, watching movies and shows, and all of the other stuff that best friends often do. This friendship became a flush crush, and eventually evolved into matespritship on one mission where our love apparently sparked quite hard. As of recently, Pop is also our auspistice whenever Charlie and I are a little strained and we're both afraid to bother one another with it too much. The three of us are only just glad to have such a balanced relationship, and that we also know quite well what and what not to do, because that's also very important when you're in both a matespritship and auspisticism, please remember that.
Charlie's POV
Even if my original goal was to become a professional street musician or anything remotely interesting in that way, being a crewmate is also very neat. I definitely don't regret joining the Skeld and being introduced to many new terms and people there. As for music, that's still part of my free time, don't worry.
As a crewmate, I'm kind of a perfectionist if it comes to the tasks that I do. I have to take a little more time to finish them, even if it's something simple like swiping a card or rebooting the wi-fi. Out of all of the crewmates that I work with, I'm one of the most oriented (according to Arnie), and I'm only glad to know that nobody should bother me when I'm fully focused on a task, because a distraction could mean trouble, restlessness galore and all that jazz.
In my opinion, I've barely been an impostor so far, but if I am, I'm also very oriented there. I time my knock-outs well, and use my senses (specifically my hearing) to detect when or when not to strike, and when or when not to vent. That's how I usually win a mission as an impostor, whether I'm doing that on my own or with one or two others, who often use their senses a lot less than I do. Oh well, I could always teach them, since most of my fellow crewmates have a very good sense of hearing, albeit not as sharp as me.
You guys also know how Choco and I are in a matespritship ever since once mission where our love just happened to spark hard after we both confessed our flush crush to one another, right? Well, we're an as-good-as-perfect match. We love each other lots, we do a lot together (whether we're on missions or not), but we don't have that much in common, of course, but to have any relationship from the quadrant, you're not mandatory to have literally everything in common, of course, because otherwise, it'd be such a boring relationship, huh? I'm literally laughing at the whole idea while merely writing this.
Aside of a matespritship, Choco and I also have an auspisticism as led by Pop. She's the best auspistice that a couple like us could ever ask for, and occasionally gives us the real advice when there's a small strain in the matespritship. That strain often doesn't last for too long, though, and it doesn't happen that often either, so that's only fair, if I may say so myself. Out of the two of us, I think I'm the one to cause the strains the most, because Choco is just such a sweet and calm guy to be around, and not just for me, but for everyone, really.
Nori and Rice's POV
Throughout our time of being crewmates at the Skeld company, we discovered that it's not just fun to be the impostors together, but also to be two co-operating crewmates! We've learned that step by step from some of our fellow crewmates who have their best friends and such to work together with. We're the only siblings among them, and even if we do occasionally fight with one another, we are also able to make up and continue to co-operate, because that's also very important.
We both like to do different kinds of tasks. Nori, the more silent twin, loves to focus on long tasks. Rice, the more talkative twin, can easily do the short tasks within the blink of an eye, and our different abilities in this respect are also what makes the two of us unique, despite being twins.
As impostors, we also try to work together as much as possible. Nori often serves as the brawn, whereas Rice often serves as the brains. Also known as, whenever one innocent crewmate is about to get knocked out cold, they're distracted at first before the move is struck. Of course, we do have to time it right, because impostors can't just knock innocent crewmates out all willy-nilly, that's what we've also kind of learned throughout our crewmate days. Oh well, being a crewmate or impostor is always better than sitting at some boring desk at school, and we're only glad to have graduated just in time and not have chosen a college yet when we only just graduated and the results of our questionnaire (everyone who wants to work at the Skeld is mandatory to answer one of those) were quickly revealed to us. I bet Mack never expected to actually have a pair of twins in one of the groups that he manages, and that Arnie also didn't really expect to partly be the leader of twin crewmates like us!
Navy and Vienna's POV
Since we've become crewmates, we're not always on missions as a full family. Neither of us minds too much about that, and neither do the children, really.
During our missions, we're not chosen to be impostors often, most likely because we have children, but that's not that big of a deal, in our honest opinion, no matter how hard Mack convinces us that being an impostor isn't always a good influence on the children. As impostors, however, our children are amazing distractors and tricksters, and they (mainly Nika and Neri) also serve as a second pair of eyes and ears for the sake of our surroundings.
As crewmates, we like to do all sorts of tasks, no matter the length and difficulty, and our children (again, mainly Nika and Neri) are often willing to help us out, of which we can only approve, imagine if they want to become crewmates as well when they grow up.
As for our children's education? In between missions and such, we're occasionally teaching them the little but important things, such as reading, writing and counting, and they also apply that to missions whenever they want. (Remember how Nika once entered Navy's ID code at Mira HQ? Well, that's only a positive result of the occasional 'schooling', right?)
And whenever any of the children is sick, the crewmates with a day off are always willing to take care of them, whether they do this on their own or with the help of Mack who often happens to drop by in case someone had become sick in the meantime. And in case of a mission whenever either one of us gets knocked out by the impostor(s), the remaining crewmates are also willing to take the children in their temporary care, no matter how skilled they are with them. Even the most 'mediocre' crewmates had taken the best of care of them in the meantime, and that's absolutely a fact, we can tell.
Also, we're not just the parents to our own offspring. According to most of our fellow crewmates, specifically those who are younger than us, we're also a lot like parental figures to them, regarding the advice that we often give them, the many forms of love that we share, and the help we occasionally offer. And we're only glad to serve as 'surrogate parents' to them that way, and vice versa. It secretly makes us want to have another child, but on the other and most important hand, we really shouldn't, since Yuri's birth was the most difficult one out of them all, and because the three youngest crewmates (and no offence, but mainly Yikk, but we know that's really the typical them) occasionally tend to be a little childlike, we're only learning how to deal with adolescence and other details in that way, and indirectly preparing ourselves for the future of our own children that way.
Arnie is the best leader of our group of crewmates, and Mack is also an amazing manager who is almost always willing to help us out in the situations where we need it the most. We couldn't have wished for a better job than this!
A/N: Thanks a ton for reading this! If you're interested in some unused parts of this story, then please check the same website regarding this. Furthermore, I hope you liked it, and until the next fanfic, see ya! :)
