#Joel Berry

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Megan Squire and Creede Newton at SPLC's Hatewatch:

An SPLC Data Lab investigation of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant content on The Babylon Bee and its sister site, Not the Bee, has uncovered multiple controversial businesses formerly run by owner Seth Dillon, along with the identities of 14 pseudonymous Not the Bee writers, despite the website’s efforts to keep information secure. The Babylon Bee is a right-wing satire site that borrows a format from the satirical news outlet The Onion while amplifying far-right rhetoric and disinformation. Its sister site, Not the Bee, is a junk-news site with salacious headlines about culture-war issues designed to stir up right-wing outrage. Dillon, who purchased the Bee in 2018, has been tight-lipped about his past businesses, with prior biographical articles making only vague references to his history in “e-commerce” or a “legal filing service.” Publicly available data reveals that from 2004 to 2011, Dillon operated two term-paper writing services, Custom-Writing.com and TheWriteElements.com, which charged up to $18.95 per page to write term papers for college students.

The Write Elements website listed Dillon’s phone number, and that same phone number appeared in data sets stolen from Elance, a now-defunct freelancer search service, and later leaked to the public internet, where the Data Lab viewed it. Along with the phone number, the Elance data breach also listed email addresses for “sdillon” and “Seth Dillon” at both of the term-paper websites. The Custom-Writing.com site claimed to have been in business since 2001, and both term-paper businesses were located in Palm Beach County, Florida, according to information posted on the now-defunct essay mill websites. Seth Dillon attended Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Christian college, in Palm Beach County from 2000 to 2004. He has had several residences there, including his current home in upscale Jupiter.

[...]

From Babylon Bee to Not the Bee

After purchasing The Babylon Bee from Adam Ford in 2018, Dillon launched a sister site called Not the Bee, with the tagline “your source for headlines that should be satire, but aren't.” Despite the claim to be “humor-based,” many Not the Bee stories feature strongly anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant themes. Nearly 600 stories on the site were tagged “Illegal Immigration,” “Biden’s Border Bloodbath,” “Border Crisis,” “Deportation Now,” “Build the Wall” or “Great Replacement,” while the word “illegals,” a dehumanizing word used to refer to undocumented immigrants, was used in 109 stories. More than 800 stories were tagged “Transgenderism,” “Transgender Craze,” “LGBT,” “Trans Cult” or “Trans the Kids.” These stories frequently misgender and mock the appearances of trans people, and some refer to Bible quotes about “millstones” being tied around the necks of LGBTQ+ people. Another 96 stories were tagged “Libs of TikTok,” promoting content from Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist. Bee owner Seth Dillon stated on Twitter in 2022 that he “worked out a deal” with Raichik to financially support her and her videos.

In 2022, the social platform Twitter, now known as X, suspended the Babylon Bee account for hateful posts aimed at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine, a transgender woman. Eight months later, after Elon Musk took over the platform, Twitter reversed its decision and reinstated the account. Not the Bee was not suspended by Twitter.

[...] Joel Berry, who is the managing editor of The Babylon Bee according to his LinkedIn profile, has written about 20 articles for the site under his own name. However, the data exposed about Berry by the website also matches to a pseudonymous writer, “Davy Crockett,” who has written 140 articles, nearly all of which stoke fear about immigration with headlines about migrant crime waves and “illegal invaders” taking American jobs.

SPLC’s Hatewatch blog has a bombshell report on right-wing satire site The Babylon Bee and its sister far-right “fake news” site Not The Bee.

[berrysquared]

I just think LDShadowLady’s husband joel sHOULD PUT HER ON THAT BILLBOARD IN HIS BASE I KNOW UR LURKING JOEL I KNOW UR SEEING THIS, PUT QUEEN ON THE BILLBOARD

[harveyguillensource]

Harvey shared an emotional trip down his WWDITS memory lane. Happy birthday and happy Shadows wrap, Harvey 🥹

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

making yourself up as you go (a 12x100 about ESMP S1 and transgenderism)

(fic can also be read on ao3 here. cw for gender dysphoria and mild transphobia)

Katherine has, as far as anyone knows, always been Katherine. Always been the beautiful, lithe, perfect fairy they expect when they hear her name.

There is a certain image faer titles bring to mind, to faer fellow emperors and fairies alike. And if Katherine’s magic is any good- and it is good- that is the image they will always get, whenever they think of her.

It is only Katherine, now, who remembers that small and gangly child, hair too short and eyes too bright. He lives only in her mind, now, and Katherine is quite content to keep him there.

---

Shrub still doesn’t really get it, the gender thing. She grew up with something almost similar, but the words he used then, the words people used for his parents and baby sister, sound foreign and wrong on her new friends’ tongues.

So instead, Shrub looks at herself in the mirror, at her stocky build and choppy hair and mismatched socks, and she takes it in stride. It’s not wrong, the words her friends suggest- sometimes they even feel nice. They’re just not his, in the way nothing here truly is. In this way that means he’ll take what he can get.

---

Joey doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. Maybe when he was younger, when becoming a boy was a much darker bruise, he would’ve understood better all the stress his new friends feel about the thing. Nowadays, however, Joey’s settled so well into the feeling that it’s hard to remember he was ever something else. 

It certainly helps that no one he knows nowadays knew him as a kid, or that his closest friend and neighbor is a gnome who doesn’t understand human gender anyways. Joey is a man, now. Does there need to be anything else to it?

---

Fwhip has been grasping for whatever parts of manhood he could reach since he was young, and he still feels less than halfway there. It’s the small things- reminding ambassadors that it’s Sir, trying to match the bulk and height of his fellow emperors, making his voice sound deep enough to be believed. It’s the big things too, the things that make him taste bile when he catches sight of himself in the mirror.

But it’s easier to ignore the persistent ache, these days, with people, people like him, drowning out the voice of the angry little girl in his brain.

---

Gem sometimes feels like she hasn’t grown past the little girl she was 10 years ago. Sometimes, the face in the mirror isn’t hers, but a child in their mother’s clothes who’s about to discover her greatest secret, greatest joy.

It was hard, for a long time. The Crystal Cliffs only ever knew her as Gem, but she couldn’t help but feel like they could see right through her, through her dresses and long hair to the core of her person, to the too-tall little boy with knobby knees and broad shoulders.

Nowadays, though, all they can see is Gem.

---

Sausage knows how she looks. With her strong, tall build, her dark, coarse facial hair, her deep voice, she knows how she looks. And most of the time, it doesn’t bother him. He finds joy in the familiarity of masculinity the same way he does the novelty of femininity and androgyny.

But Sausage can’t help but be jealous. For all they love their body, they long for the beauty Katherine holds in every step, the androgyny Scott has never had to convince anyone to respect. Jealousy runs deep in Sausage’s bones, and she does her best to push it down.

---

Pearl has been pretty lucky, if she might say so herself. For the most part, her people have been quite accommodating when she slips in (or occasionally out) of being a woman. Farmer Queen or King, as long as Pearl can harvest, can defend his kingdom with fervor, how specifically he does it doesn’t tend to matter.

Pearl finds freedom in her gender, in her fancy dresses and heavy armor alike. In a world that becomes more complicated by the day, it feels good to have something, anything, that Pearl has full control over, and that makes her so happy.

---

Scott was much more of a pushover when he first became King. He let his advisors make decisions, he let the people around him form opinions of him and didn’t dispute them. It came with the territory of being a kid, of being thrown headfirst into a mass of worlds you didn’t understand. Nowadays, Scott has a century’s worth of ruling under their belt, and is much more willing to bite back against these incorrect assumptions.

He cannot deny, however, that people got one thing right. That ethereal androgyny humans tended to assign to elves? Yeah, that one was pretty spot on.

---

Joel doesn’t answer questions about her gender. There are simply more important things they could be talking about. Not only does it not matter, but it never has. No one ever cared about his gender when he was small, why should that change now that he was grown? Now that he was in charge? Lots of things that mattered as a kid didn’t matter now that xe was in charge, and in Joel’s opinion, that’s how it should be. The more power Joel gets, the older she grows, the less the world should place on her shoulders. It’s only fair.

---

When Jimmy washed up on the shores of the Codlands, the fisherman who found him called him a girl. He didn't speak the language yet, so he didn’t know what that meant. Once they learned the language, they still didn’t really understand. But sea knew it didn’t feel right, that calling searself she left a pit in sear stomach that sea couldn’t understand.

Even now, Jimmy doesn’t quite know why this new gender feels better. Codfather, Codboy, man, he doesn’t understand it in the way his human friends do. But that doesn’t matter as much as knowing it feels right.

---

The first person Lizzie met on land was a beautiful woman, tall and slender and suddenly, Lizzie understood everything she’d ever wanted to be. Lizzie molded herself on the humans of Pixandria, the fishfolk of the Codlands, and she took their words that sounded nice in her voice, looked right next to her name, until she’d made a person that felt entirely, totally, hers.

As time has gone on, that person has evolved. They’re taller now, they remember where they came from and what they originally wanted out of life. But Lizzie doesn’t think she’ll ever forget that beautiful woman.

---

Pix is beginning to get sick of being people’s queer awakenings. They’re happy to help, of course, but this is getting ridiculous.

Pixandria has always been removed from the cultures of its fellow humans. Being so far away, it was only natural that its people would care less about the customs that mattered so greatly to their fellows. So Pix gets it, when these young kids stumble through the gates of his city and take in all its differences for the first time, get exposed to the idea of more. He does, really!

But does it always have to be them?

[your-local-crypt1d]

The seasonal depression has been kicking me in the ass atm so sorry for no uploads. Have some esmp art I did throughout yesterday, I thought I'd mix it up and draw some emperors I have no designs for. Tap for better quality.

((Close-ups under the cut))

I actually really like Joeys' eyelashes in this one. he's a king he deserves blade-sharp eyelashes

Joel "massivebeans" my beloved. Those smudges are clay he got all over his face (I understand from personal experience).

I probably won't include it in her final design but I'm a sucker for hats with veils so I gave Shrub one.

I love Jizzie and their cursed ship name 💖

[imaloregremlin]

Why I shouldn’t punch you, Empires Season One edition:

[waytooobsessedwithmcyt]

Emptober Day 8: Wings of Fire

Gem: Nightwing (mind reading and prophecy)

Fwhip: Nightwing (no powers)

Sausage: Nightwing (mind reading)

Pearl: Night/Mud hybrid

Shrub: Mud/Leaf hybrid (fire resistant)

Scott: icewing (duh) (first in rankings)

Katherine: leafwing (sapwing)

Joey: leafwing (poisonwing)

Jimmy: seawing (duh)

Pix: sandwing (also very obvious)

Joel: sand/sea hybrid

Lizzie: Seawing (a fourth very obvious one)

[rhymeswithfart]

Hello my friends!

I am Ahmed from Gaza 🇵🇸🍉

Asking for help is not easy. Ask for a small donation of€20 or€25 from each person...

I need your help, if you can donate to save my life and the life of my family. My donation link is in my bio.

Every donation, even if small, will make a big difference in my life.

Help me and my family 🇵🇸😍

https://gofund.me/dd544a0e

Has a clean reverse image search, very low on funds!

https://gofund.me/395dfbcf

I hope this will help reach more eyes: I'll add images to add more tags

[fruityenderman]

What if season 1 had a princess tea party?

Here's the first 5 party-goers + a party crasher

[Part 2 will be here later]

[ID: 6 traditional drawings of empires smp season 1 characters in dresses.

The first is of joel, wearing a mesa patterned skirt and a flowery moss cape.

The second is shrub, wearing a short, leafy patterned skirt, as well as brown shorts and a red cape with mushrooms growing on it.

The third is fwhip, wearing a vampire cape, a flowy red shirt, black and red corset, and a long black skirt with slits on the sides.

The fourth is Sausage, wearing a white unbuttoned shirt, teal and gold corset, and a red and gold skirt.

The fifth is gem, wearing a large purple cloak, and a multi layered skirt with purple and green layers.

The sixth is xornoth, wearing a red-to-purple gradient dress, with a slit down one side of the skirt.

End ID.]

[waytooobbesesedwithmcyt]

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while from back when I first heard about fake dating aus and thought that it was just gay people trying to make their family happy, so here are my incoherent thoughts about who would be sold off to who for a marriage alliance in medieval times, probably going to post something based off this on AO3 at some point because I have a general plot idea:

Gem and Scott are married and Katherine and Jimmy are married, Katherine and Gem spend all their time complaining about how oblivious Jimmy and Scott are

Pearl and Pix are married by name only, they live miles away from each other and barely speak

Fwhip, Sausage, Pearl, and Gem are all the kids of one kingdom and are all siblings (I'm sorry shiny duo shippers)

Joey and Xornoth were secretly dating until Joey was caught kissing Xornoth and was put to death for being gay, Xornoth has never recovered

Lizzie and Joel are married and the one couple who are actually in love

Shrub is a lady in waiting to Katherine (she's not of noble descent, Katherine is just really gay for her)

In my mind I call it the kingdom au but there are definitely better options for names I just can't think of

[fayegonnaslay]

Photo by Jean-Paul Goude.

Halston with his creative team and models, Esquire Magazine, August 1975.

[berrysquared]

🍞🪜🍞🪜

Here’s my piece for the 4th edition of @trafficzine it was so much fun and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it <3

[harveyguillensource]

Laura Montgomery shared a ton of behind-the-scenes photos showcasing the amazing costumes on WWDITS Season 5!

[barlowstreet]

the last of us text posts - part three - Oops All Joel edition

aka my dashboard was really thirsty this week

(part two) (part one)

[your-local-crypt1d]

It's pride month so here's some pride headcanons for the empires s1 members

Most people have pots and pans, Jimmy solidarity is pan with POTS

Kinda stolen from my favourite fanfic but he's also polyamorous

People in the ocean empire and codlands often have multiple romantic partners over their lifetimes, and they don't like to be told who or how many to love

On that note, Lizzie has bi wife energy to me

Joel is as cishet as they come but is also the biggest ally ever, buys cakes with the bisexual flag on it at Lizzies' cake shop specifically for her

Along with already being gay, Scott is bigender to me (he/she pronouns). She's mostly referred to as the Elvenking of Rivendell, but it's not uncommon for his subjects to switch it up to Elvenqueen here or there

Elves are just very fluid with their gender

Both fWhip and Gem are trans and they swapped names as children. Because they're identical twins, they nearly swapped identities on accident because of this

fWhip is also gay you can FIGHT me on that

This isn't exactly a new idea but Xornoth is non-binary and uses they/he pronouns

Pixl strikes me as an aroace kind of guy, the kind who doesn't mind a kiss on the lips from his friends yknow?

Pixl "It's not gay to kiss the homies goodnight" riffs

Katherine Elizabeth the angry bisexual and Shrub Berry the even angrier lesbian, that is all.

Also because mlm wlw besties with Joey and Shrub

Anyway I leave you all with this final image

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

got a tendency for codependency

(robert aeor high p4)

masterpost

eyooo and welcome to part four of the robert aeor high au and it's a very special update today! i welcome you to...JIMMY POV!!!

Jimmy can feel  Shelby watching him, feel her eyes boring into his back, telling him to stop talking. But he doesn’t, because Scott looks like he’s hurting and Jimmy wants to help. All Jimmy’s ever wanted to do since he got away is to help.

or, Jimmy's determined to make friends in his new school and just kind of a chill update

(3493 words)

TW: mentions of running away, insinuated past abuse, dissociation, insinuated ptsd, panic attacks

It’s only Jimmy’s first day, and already he’s made a friend. Her name is Shelby, or Shubble to eir friends, ey use she/ey pronouns, she’s a gnome, and ey wears a really, really big hat. Jimmy’s never really had a friend before, but even so, he feels like he’s lucked out with Shubble. She’s kind and funny, and ey really listens to him when he talks.

Jimmy doesn’t know if he’s friends with Scott, though. The gorgon was kind of intimidating, asking all those questions about if he can fly or not. Jimmy supposes it’s kind of hypocritical to be thinking this, because he himself was asking some questions of the more personal variety as well. But how was he to know that Scott would be so sensitive about that kind of thing? But how was Scott to know that Jimmy hated being asked about flying? He’s checkmated himself with that one. 

Scott and the tiefling, Jimmy thought he heard Shelby call him “Owen,” have just gone into the corner where they’re having some kind of intense conversation. Scott looks really uncomfortable, his arms hugging himself tightly, and Owen seems to be quite angry about something, throwing his hands in the air. 

Jimmy can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but he does know that a while ago, he heard his name. They had both glanced back quite conspiratorially after that, and then quieted their voices considerably. Jimmy’s half-listening to Shubble’s animated chatter, half-watching the two boys in the corner. 

He wonders what they’re talking about, what it has to do with him. Jimmy’s always been a curious little bird. 

Oh, goddamn it! It’s been a year, a year, and he still can’t shake it off, that voice, always at the back of his mind, whispering the same words every time, repeating and repeating and repeating, endless looping circles. For the first couple months after he left, he couldn’t sleep, the words the only things he could hear at night, when there were no distractions to keep them from coming. 

It’s less severe now, with Beks’ quiet snores from the bunk above him, rhythmic and soothing, and her parents always there to comfort him if he needs it. Really, the voice is more of a nuisance now, a shaking reminder that makes Jimmy’s feathers poof up every time he hears it.

Jimmy’s always been a curious little bird.  

Ugh. He shakes his wings slightly, the feathers making a soft rustling sound, and turns his attention to Shubble, who’s going on about inter-species peace or something of the sort- nothing Jimmy would know about.

“Shelby?” he asks, interrupting the gnome mid-sentence.

“Yeah?” Shubble answers. He finds it amazing how ey doesn’t even seem to care that she’s been interrupted, how ey just cuts herself off, no matter what ey’s been saying, to turn her attention to Jimmy.

“Do you know what those two are talking about over there in the corner?” While he’s saying this, still keeping half an eye on the conversation, Owen’s just enveloped Scott in a hug. The gorgon’s standing still as a stone in his embrace, and Jimmy wonders why he won’t hug Owen back. The few times Jimmy’s been hugged have been some of the nicest moments of his life. He doesn’t understand Scott.

“Oh… let’s not talk about that, Jimmy, it doesn’t matter much anyway.” Shubble’s expression has changed suddenly and drastically, going from a welcoming, warm smile to an anxious frown that she’s attempting to hide rather poorly. ���Plus, they’re coming back now, see?”

“...I guess so,” Jimmy mutters. He doesn’t want Shelby to get mad at him, doesn’t want to jeopardize what’s maybe the only friendship he has, so he drops it for now. As Scott sits back down in the seat next to Jimmy, Owen gives the gorgon a quick pat on the back before he slides into his seat as well.

Stealing a glance at the gorgon, Jimmy realizes that the person he’d bumped into on the hallway while trying to find his class was probably Scott- he’s about the right height, and Jimmy distinctly remembers cyan. If so, that did make trying to be the gorgon’s friend a bit awkward, especially as he’s certain that even though he doesn’t know Scott that well, he’s a smart, cunning person. If Jimmy’s figured it out, there’s no doubt in his mind that the gorgon has as well.

God, Jimmy’s such a clumsy idiot. 

He can see Scott right now in his peripheral vision, hunched up into himself and seemingly very worried about something. Now, Jimmy’s no expert on life, and especially not having friends, but he does know that he’s generally good at cheering people up- or at least, that’s what Beks says, and she took him in. Jimmy trusts her, so that means he should trust himself.

“You good?” he asks, tapping Scott’s shoulder. “You seem… upset about something.”

Scott looks over, surprised, his mouth drawn into a straight line. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He’s obviously not, and Jimmy’s brow furrows, confused as to why someone would say something if it wasn’t what they meant. What are you supposed to do after this, again? Oh, right.

“...Are you sure?” he asks the older boy awkwardly, not quite looking in his eyes, preening his wing feathers; an anxious habit he’s picked up in the last year.

“Um. Yeah. Yep. I’m just peachy,” Scott mutters weakly, staring straight ahead at nothing. Jimmy can feel  Shelby watching him, feel her eyes boring into his back, telling him to stop talking. But he doesn’t, because Scott looks like he’s hurting and Jimmy wants to help.

All Jimmy’s ever wanted to do since he got away is to help.

“What did Owen say when you were talking in the corner? It clearly upset you, and I know we barely know each other, but if you need to talk about something, you can come to me.” The words come out in a rush, cascading from his lips before he can stop them. He realizes what he’s said is probably very embarrassing and he can feel the red creeping into his cheeks, his eyes glancing upon Shubble’s tense expression, which looks like she’s certain Scott’s going to fall apart like a fragile little flower. 

On the gorgon’s other side, Owen’s back has tensed, his ears pricked. He’s turned away from him, but Jimmy can tell the tiefling’s been eavesdropping- ready to jump in at any time to Scott’s defense.

But despite what Jimmy’s expected, harsh rejection and an angry glare, one more possibility of friendship lost forever, the opposite seems to happen.

“...Thank you, Jimmy.” Scott’s voice sounds genuinely grateful, and Jimmy’s unbelievably relieved that he’s not mad. He hadn’t even realized his feathers had fluffed up until they relaxed, smoothing back down into their normal shape. He can see Scott’s eyes out of the corners of his own, hidden under glasses, the cyan irises tracing his plumage as it relaxes back into his wings, smooth and flush with his back. Jimmy feels a little shiver knowing that Scott’s looking at him, looking at his wings with such… curiosity.

Jimmy’s always been a curious little bird. Goddamn it. Goddamn it! He can’t get away from the voice, her voice, pulling and pushing and repeating and looping over and over and over and over again- Jimmy shakes his head, trying to refresh his brain, but it doesn’t work and he’s scared scared scared, he doesn’t want them to see him like this, especially not Scott, especially not Scott but 

curiouslittlebirdjimmy’salwaysbeenacuriouslittlebird- 

He’s aware of how his wings must be wrapped tightly around himself, aware of the way Shelby’s looking at him with concern, shaking his shoulder and yelling, “JIMMY!” But he can’t hear her, the voice is drowning everything else out, and he knows he should be able to feel Scott’s hand pressing against the back of his neck, making sure he’s awake, but he doesn’t feel it, he doesn’t feel anything, nothing but the voice screaming screaming screaming loud in his skull, it won’t stop, why won’t it stop-

Then something brushes his wings and he snaps out of it, shaking his head and breathing heavily. The thing that had touched his feathers, right where they connected at his back, had been the teacher’s hand- Jimmy realizes they’ve been standing over him as well, and a fresh bout of shame loops over him. He hasn’t been that bad in almost four months.

“Though that would work,” they say confidently, rubbing Jimmy’s shoulder. “You good, kiddo?”

“I- yeah, I’m fine,” he lies, mirroring Scott’s words from just a few minutes ago. Now he understands. “Don’t worry about me.” Jimmy kind of wishes someone did worry about him, obviously he has Beks, but she’s different, she’s not really his friend, exactly. He’s super grateful for her and everything, and she’s been such a help in everything, but he knows that most of her motivation to help him comes from a place where she’s just trying to heal herself, her own past wounds.

Her little brother.

“If that ever happens again,” Mx Leiverman says authoritatively, breaking Jimmy out of his thoughts, “I want you to touch his back, that spot between his wings, right? That’s one of the most sensitive spots on an avian,” they explain, “and it tends to wake them up from dissociation, which I think is what was going on here. Of course, it also wakes them up from real sleep, but I sure hope our new student won’t be sleeping in class.” The teacher sends him a wink, smiling. “Now, do you all know what we’re doing today, or were you just chatting the whole time?”

Jimmy smiles guiltily, it’s not a real smile, it’s just met to make the teacher feel better. He doesn’t want her to think he’s a nuisance. Jimmy hates being told he’s a nuisance. “I suppose it might help to have a refresher.”

The next thirty minutes go by in a blur, small talk with Shelby while doing some sort of science experiment. Everyone else seems to know what will happen, but Jimmy’s extremely surprised at the end result, an amazed gasp exploding from his mouth at the colored mushroom cloud that poofs out of the beaker. His reaction makes everyone else laugh, and Jimmy has to admit that he probably sounds pretty silly.

Plus, it doesn’t feel like they were laughing at him, it feels like they were laughing with him. That’s sort of a new feeling to Jimmy, but he decides he likes it. School isn’t as bad as he’d thought it might be- he’s already made friends, Shelby especially, who makes him laugh in a very real way, and Scott, who’s quiet but nice and after a couple more minutes with the guy, has solidly landed in the friend category. He’s really interesting to look at too, and Jimmy finds himself having to drag his eyes away from the gorgon’s snakes or hands or eyes beneath shades on multiple occasions.

Owen, on the other hand… from the outside, he seems fine, treats Jimmy just the same as Shubble and Scott, but there’s something just slightly, marginally different- Jimmy doesn’t think he likes him very much. Maybe it’s the way the tiefling glances to the side as if he wants to run away, or how whenever he thinks Jimmy’s not looking, his face twists into a scowl, or the way that when he laughs, there’s an undertone that Jimmy can’t quite pin down, but certainly doesn’t like.

But Owen doesn’t matter because now Jimmy has friends, real friends for the first time ever. Well, except for Beky, of course- but she’s a grade younger, it’s not like he’d be able to hang out with her in class. Plus, she has her own friends, El and Krow and that whole lot, and Jimmy never really got on with them. Especially Krow. It’s nice and all, but he’s just always found it a bit…intimidating, especially as it’s a siren and could be manipulating him without him ever knowing it was doing anything at all.

And El, though she’s very down-to-earth and funny, is straight-up terrifying. She’s just over eight feet tall, and while that’s short for a celestial, even the forest celestial that she is, it’s still pretty damn tall for anyone else. Of course, sky celestials get taller- they can grow to twelve feet- but Jimmy’s only five foot two. He’s really quite short. 

Jimmy just generally distrusts people who are super significantly taller than him. They remind him of Patty and he does not want to be reminded of Patty- just thinking of her sends a shiver down the center of his spine, and he has to concentrate from keeping the voice creeping back into his mind, her voice, repeating and repeating and repeating.

And then before Jimmy knows it, class is almost over, and he’s packing up his stuff with Shelby’s help, letting him know where everything should go and how to keep his binder organized. 

“These uniforms are really uncomfortable,” he mutters offhandedly, picking at the rough material of his skirt.

“YES!” Scott practically yells the word, almost causing Jimmy to jump out of his skin. “Oh, sorry. But they are, aren’t they? No one else thinks they are! Everyone’s like ‘Oh Scott, they’re fine, you just have sensitive skin,’ but they mess up my snakes too.”

“For me, it’s my feathers,” Jimmy explains. “The holes where my wings stick out from my uniform are really scratchy and they’re probably going to leave an irritation on my wingbuds, if they haven’t already.” He doesn’t quite understand what’s going on, why this dumb little conversation is making him so happy, his mouth quirking up in a slight smile.

Scott continues going on and on about the uniforms, and Jimmy just watches, nodding and chirping up with little add-ons whenever the gorgon says something he agrees with. It’s kind of nice, just sitting here and talking to this kid he’s met today. 

Plus, Jimmy just finds Scott’s snakes so interesting, the way they hiss slightly when he speaks, and how they’re always writhing across his head. The gorgon will sometimes run a hand backwards through them, taming them down for about thirty seconds before they’re back at it again.

Jimmy remembers reading somewhere that a gorgon’s snakes mimic their emotions, and from what he can recall, right now it looks like Scott’s feeling- maybe not happy, exactly- but energized nonetheless.

Jimmy doesn’t realize he’s been spaced out, staring at the gorgon once again, until Shelby waves a hand in front of his face. “Hellooo? Jimmy, you home?” 

“What? Oh, yeah, sorry, I just kinda spaced out for a bit.” He shakes his head, and turns away from Scott, feeling mildly embarrassed. He doesn’t know what’s come over him, but Scott’s just interesting to look at, with his snakes always twisting this way and that, his cyan eyes really quite hypnotizing, even through his dark sunshades. Jimmy supposes they must come from his siren mother.

Hopefully Scott doesn‘t have any of the manipulative powers that typical sirens, like Krow, possess. Jimmy would actually be pretty surprised if he did, because it seems like the only feature he’s inherited that’s not completely gorgon-ish is the color of his eyes and snakes. Oh, and the fact that he apparently can’t petrify anyone. 

Jimmy’s still curious about that, wonders why Scott wears the shades if there’s nothing within his eyes he has to protect others from. But that’s a question for later, when they’re better friends, because the gorgon’s seemed to really tense up when Jimmy’s asked similar questions.

“Well, it’s time to go,” Owen says brusquely as the bell rings, pulling Jimmy out of his thoughts. “Where to next, Jim?”

“Um, lemme check,” Jimmy mutters, opening his schedule as he feels a spike of anxiety. He really doesn’t think Owen likes him. That’s bad. Jimmy doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong that might make the tiefling hate him, but he wouldn’t know, would he? Jimmy’s new at having friends, he only just got out a year ago.

Jimmy’s always been a curious little bird. 

He shudders at the voice, still pressing into his mind, her words sharp as a knife in his mind. “Um, next class is math with a Mr Brunswick? In room 201,” he adds to clarify. 

Scott looks at him, surprised. “If you’ve read that right, you’ve got the next class with me and Joel, then.”

“...Who’s Joel?” Jimmy asks, wondering if he’s missed something.

Scott considers the question for a couple of seconds, as if he’s trying to figure out how to word the answer. “Joel is… Joel. He’s a hard one to explain- you’ll know what I mean when you meet him. Jimmy smiles uncertainly, slightly worried about who, or what, Joel is, but he gets his answer soon enough.

He follows Scott across the hall, tripping over feet and hitting people with his wings left and right, muttering “sorry”s that are met with annoyed glares from the other students, until finally, they’re inside the classroom. Jimmy heaves a sigh of relief and leans against the doorjamb, because thank god he’s out of that crowded mayhem- he’s decided he doesn’t like the hallways.

“Someone’s dramatic,” Scott smirks, turning back and beckoning for Jimmy to follow him. “So, I think your desk is next to mine ‘cause I saw it earlier, and Joel sits right behind me.”

“I don’t see a seat behind yours,” Jimmy starts, confused.

“Oh, yeah, Joel has to sit on the floor,” Scott explains, somehow just bringing up even more questions about this mysterious “Joel.”

He opens his mouth, more confused than ever, when suddenly someone walks through the door. Or more, stoops under the door frame. Jimmy’s eyes travel from their bright white shoes to their blue and mottled white legs all the way up to their head, where a scruff of brown hair with a single green streak slightly off to the side sits, a tattoo of a strand of laurel snaking down their arm.

Oh. Oh, no, he’s so tall. That’s not good.

So that’s Joel. Or at least, he assumes that’s who they are, because Scott’s waving them over, and they’re enthusiastically making their way through the rows of desks to sit on the floor behind the gorgon and Jimmy.

“Eyo, are you that new kid? The one on my bus?” Joel leaves no room for questions, his meaning blatantly clear. Jimmy supposes he has to admire that, even if he’s really not enjoying the fact that Joel towers over him even when he’s seated on the floor.

“Um, yeah, probably,” Jimmy laughs nervously, picking at his feathers and smoothing his skirt down to his knees. “I mean, I feel like I would’ve noticed you, with you being…,” his eyes take a second to trace from Joel’s shoes to his head, “That tall,” he finishes, feeling a familiar wave of nausea that always comes at times like this. “Are you a sky celestial? I’m not the best at species identification, but you guys are kind of unmistakable.”

“That I am,” Joel smirks, “and a handsome one at that, eh, Scott?”

The gorgon rolls his eyes, but Jimmy can see the hint of a smile beneath the snarky facade. “Keep telling yourself that, bestie.”

“So, Timmy, right?” the sky celestial asks, quite sure of himself as he leans towards Jimmy, who tries to hide a snicker.

“Timmy?!” He’s not sure if Joel’s joking, because even given the little he’s seen of him, he seems to tread the line between joking and being serious in every sentence. “No, sorry, the name’s Jim. So, Jimmy would be what you heard. With a ‘J.,” he adds to clarify.

“...Oh,” Joel mutters, slightly taken aback. “Well, that’s not a terrible mistake to make, is it?”

Scott smiles dryly, but doesn’t say anything.

“Um, it’s fine, I guess?” Jimmy mutters. “I really don’t care all that much.” 

“Well, good,” Joel puffs, “Because you shouldn’t. Because I’m the best. And not egotistical at all.”

“Sure,”  Scott mutters, a smirk still apparent on his face, bent down to finish his homework. Joel rolls his eyes, sticking his tongue out at Scott.

The rest of the day passes quickly. Either Scott, Shelby, Owen, or Joel are in all of his classes, and in some, all four of them are there. When Jimmy’s walking home with Beks, her owl wings contrasting directly with his bright yellow plumage, he can’t help but think that, all things considered, his life’s been so, so much better since he got out.Maybe it’s good that he is a curious little bird, because otherwise, he wouldn’t be here right now, now would he? But, even after having a day to get used to him, Jimmy just has to admit that Joel’s still too tall.