#People not using custom themes anymore is a pain and lost art

[fukatsu-u]

Man. Whatever happened to theme repository blogs?

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

1, 9, 15, 17, 21, 25, 26, 29, 33, 41, 46, 48, 54, 59, 68, 73, 81, 96, 98

😊

Oh my word! That's a lot!

Ok, here goes.

Behind cut for length

1. Name - I prefer Shanie but my parents call me “Mis”. Well, my mom calls me “Mis” my father calls me “Pooch” which I despise. Just stick with Shanie.

9. What did you study - I changed majors midway through college. I started out as an art major focusing on computer animation. That didn’t work out at ALL. Turns out I sucked ass at computer animation. Too much math involved. So I switched to a major in teaching with minors in history and popular culture. Unfortunately I failed at that too and, while I did graduate, it was with a degree in “Planned Program” which is a polite way of saying “General Ed”. I did earn my two minors though, so I guess that’s something!

15. Relationship Status -  Single. Very Very Single. I haven’t had a single date in about 10 years. By the looks of it, I’m going to stay single.

17. Do you have a crush - Do celebrities count? If not then no. I don't even know anyone IRL to have crushes on. I legit have nobody in my IRL life outside of my parents and my case manager. Kind of hard to have a crush when you don't have any friends or even acquaintances.

21: How was your day -  Well, today I got nothing accomplished. I did have a meeting with my case manager, so that was nice. It’s nice to have someone to talk to and infodump on (which she lets me). Outside of that I woke up, had breakfast, lunch, and dinner, had a nap, and went to Dairy Queen for ice cream on the way home. Unfortunately, DQ is on the far side of town and by the time I got home, it was melted. So it went in the fridge to eat later once it refreezes. Outside of that it was a pretty boring day.

25. Your fears - Whoo-ee. Ok. So coming in with the borderline I’d say my biggest fear is abandonment. That just comes with the territory. After that I have a huge fear of storms and waking up in a fire, both brought about by recurring nightmares. I also have a fear of flying (too much Air Crash Investigations) and I hate elevators. I’m not claustrophobic mind you, I just have a fear that they will fall on me. Anything over 3 stories and I’m having an anxiety attack. There are other, lesser fears but those are some of the big ones.

26. Your dreams - Well, in a literal sense, my dreams are wild, crazy adventures that I get most of my fanfics from. From a metaphorical standpoint I really don’t have any. I’ve given up on hoping for anything good in my life. I’m too busy trying to get from day to day to indulge in long term planning. I know it seems terrible, but it’s the truth.

29. Hobbies - Obviously action figures, that much is clear. I collect and customize them to display in my apartment. I also like making digital art (sometimes) and am starting to get into illustrations/artwork. However, I don’t have a tablet/pen for the computer so everything is done with the mouse and GIMP (which makes it difficult). I’m an avid collector of digital media. Some of my big ones are Doctor Who DVDs, Wrestling Entrance Themes, and Official Xena Photos (not the physical ones, jpeg scans). I used to be big into Wizard101 and, while I don’t really play anymore, I still like following the game on YT and on here.

33. Languages you speak – Only English, except it’s a very specific English. I usually speak what’s called the “Yinzer” dialect which is a dialect that is unique to the Pittsburgh region. That’s why you see me use the word “Yinz” a bunch. That’s our word for “You guys” or “Y’all”. However, while most of my speech is Yinzer, I have watched enough British TV in my lifetime to have picked up some Brit speech. It confuses the hell out of people when I use it because you’ll have me say things like “My apartment needs cleaned” and then follow it up thirty seconds later with, “I’m rubbish at cleaning.” My mother has picked up on this and sometimes calls me her “British Daughter” because of it.

41. Your Device Background – My phone’s lock screen is a picture of Shane in his Roman Centurion outfit from the one Royal Rumble photo shoot. My phone background is a checkered wallpaper with “SZ” on it for Sami Zayn. (That one might be getting changed if he stops being Sami.) And my computer background is just a night sky over the mountains. I rarely ever see my computer wallpaper so I don’t mind that it is a generic background.

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done – You know how Lucy breathes fire on Xena? I taught myself how to do that. That wasn’t bright to begin with but it was made so much worse that I was underage and couldn’t buy Bacardi and was using lamp oil instead. I was young and dumb.

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life – Funny thing, I’m a sucker for strange foods. There was a list going around that said “How many of these weird foods have you eaten” and I think I had eaten all but six of them and that was only because I didn’t have access to them. I’m proud to say that, since then, I’ve knocked Quail Egg off the list! Turns out the local Japanese restaurant served it. So that knocked it down to five. Still need to get ahold of some gator meat and haggis. I’d love to try Foie Gras but it’s just so damn unethical that I don’t know if I could bring myself to eat it. Pheasant is another one that I’d love to try but I can’t convince my parents to buy me one (and I’m far too poor to afford it myself). But, yeah. I love strange foods. I’ll pretty much try any food once if I know it’s safe to eat.

54. Any tattoos or piercings – Unless you count partially pierced ears then no. And my ears are only partially pierced because after I had them done they got infected so I tried to let them heal shut. They ended up not closing fully and now, if I’m not adverse to a bit of pain, I can still wear earrings occasionally.

59. Song you wouldn’t normally admit you like – Judas is my guilty pleasure song. I know Jericho is a douchebag and I have tried to hate the song but I can’t. I end up singing along every time.

68. Favorite Movie/Series - Hmm... well, my all time favorite movie is definitely “The Towering Inferno”, hands down. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen that. I’m a sucker for disaster movies and, in my opinion, that one is the cream of the crop. I actually like it better than “The Poseidon Adventure” simply because I think the movie is inferior to the book. That said, I’ve also read both of the books that “The Towering Inferno” is based on and I like the combined movie better than them. Favorite series, however, I don’t think I have one definitive favorite series. I’ve had favoriteS like Xena, Buffy, Sherlock, Doctor Who, etc, but I’ve never had one all time favorite.

73: Favorite Greek God – Oh geez. Hmmm... You know, I’m going to have to go with Hermes here, primarily because I have this theory that he is the god of the internet. I know there was no internet in ancient Greece but, frankly, Hermes is the god of commerce, communication, travelers, and thieves. While it’s true that Hephaestus is the god of technology and would probably be the god of computers, I fully believe that Hermes would be the patron of the interwebs.

81 Favorite Books – In all honesty, going to college for 8 years burned me out for reading and now I can barely bring myself to read a comic book. For this reason, most of my favorite books come from childhood. My all time favorite book as a kid was “Flight #116 Is Down” by Caroline B Cooney. It was a disaster story about plane crash in a young woman’s back yard. Somehow, everyone didn’t die – a fact which was called out in the final pages when a fireman says that the crash was extremely odd because “usually they’re all dead.” That book might be another reason I’m terrified of flying. Other favorite books of mine was the “Fear Street Saga Trilogy” (Not the Fear Street Series, the trilogy that served as the origin story). I also like the Hitchhikers Guide saga but when I found out that Douglas Adams died before he could finish the saga, I stopped reading after book 4 so that the story had a happy ending. Novelizations in general are a big thing for me too, I’ve read some really good ones over the years and it’s fascinating to see how they differ from the movies they’re based on.

96. Hero or Villain – Well, if my dreams are anything to go by, I’m a villain at heart. I know, weird right? You all think I’m such a nice person but really, I have a huge dark side to me IRL and, if I was in a world where superheroes were real and I had superpowers I would almost certainly use them for evil. Or, at the very least I would use them to force social change ala Dr. Horrible.

98. Shapeshifting or Controlling Time – SHAPESHIFTING! Oh my goodness shapeshifting! I would love that so much! First of all, I wouldn’t be this huge anymore. I could be as heavy or a skinny as I want. Also, I wouldn’t have to worry about looking old or losing my hair! Plus, can you imagine the cosplay potential!? Forget dressing as the 13th Doctor, I AM THE 13th DOCTOR! That would just be the best!

PHEW! That was a lot! Thanks so much for the ask! This was fun. I love ask games.

[madamhatter]

act 0. observer’s notes your name is….. occult, the remnants of antiquated ‘ichor’ theory meta.

Rugged and torn leather cover, its moss green color held a title that most eyes wouldn’t be able to translate; if anything, the words read more like markings as opposed to a formal and recognizable alphabet.

- ACT. ????, outlandish occultic occupancy. 

*For clarity purposes: Read ichor as having two forms: its material concentration (used primary by machinery nowadays) and its emitted energy emitted that has flow and connection to living matter and reality. 

At pivot of magical ingenuity was the equally technologically breaking and devastatingly powerful Order and ichor-infused knights. While the prestige of the Order’s influence has long since dissipated from dominant culture of Topaxi alliance, and the fallout of the empire it originated from, they remain the most commonly recognized basis and symbol of the empire’s advancements into the future. 

However, the development of ichor manipulation and human subjects is one that rests upon a foundation of modern and scientific findings and research into the stability, security, and utility of ichor. expanded much into the golden era of the Empire. Though, what is imperative is to realize that all foundations to greatness once preceded another that would soon be lost to time. It is the larger bank underneath the modernity of the times. A long since recognized and theoretical unbound.

This time period we will formally refer to as the “antes de mecanism” or AM for short.

During AM, salvaging and refining ichor wasn’t a conquest but a partnership between both unrivaled and untouchable power and humans. The usefulness and depth of ichor to be a human enhancer  hadn’t been recognized during this time; it was seen an untapped and respected entity of sorts, only those capable of respecting and devoting time, blood, sweat, and every mortal fiber of their person to it would be able to be ‘granted permission’ to use it. 

Most of what can be harnessed wasn’t completely possible without the creations of a language. Just in the way that humans have created speech and scripture, accumulating each utterance and reference to have meaning in a common symbol, humans developed a language around magic. This will be referred to as raíz.  Just like common languages differed, as did raíz, as the concentration, nature, and flow of ichor varies differently throughout the world and has more specifics to how it must be used.

However, the bridge between ichor and humans wasn’t completely raíz, as it was only a human equivalence of translating the true nature of ichor and how to conduct it. Under raíz is the universal laws of ichor, all of which cannot be given phonetics and cannot be pronounced normally like how a human would practice their common language. 

Understanding this true nature meant to coast around the immaterial, uncontrollable reality that existed between planes ; it is paper-thin and invisible to humankind. It exists between the boundaries of all life forms and the planet they inhabit. It is the subspace that ichor naturally travels and the same space that ichor, at its core, can be channeled through.  

This language does exist by human hands, but it was written by ichor itself. Devotees of acquiring knowledge, known as magi, were able to create writing instruments that could temporarily channel ichor at its raw state. Onto paper, the instrument would begin writing and creating shapes for whatever object, person, other material forms were nearby. Each material form is known to have a glyph. There are variations of glyphs that exist to indicate actions, movement, and change too. One can then create a unique sigil through combining glyphs that behaves like a pre-coded command. 

Access to glyphs and knowing of its existence was very far and few in-between. Most populations relied on raíz and were only aware of the secondary language. 

As a sword to its knight, as too was a grimoire/tome, scroll, and tablet were to the magi. These were the tools necessary to exchange knowledge and glyphs, as well as use them. It is required for them to use these tools. Other variations existed but they weren’t as safe. In current times, and MUCH earlier in this age, most of these artifacts were destroyed. As to why they were, well, it was considered mainly ‘unsafe practice’ and ordered to be destroyed by major empires. However, this can very well be a ploy to remove knowledge and power from civilians and keep such power available only for the elite and wealthy. 

Only very few ancient writings remain and all are written in these dead languages (sometimes all in regional raíz , glyphs, or a combination of the two) that a normal person would find useless/unable to be understood. It’s basically the equivalent of them seeing chicken scratch and nonsensical scribbles.. 

In the time before mechanical ichor handling was possible, there were several forms created that were attempts to harbor its power. These would be the ‘lost arts’ that varied by culture, location, etc. 

Lost arts would include, but are not limited to: 

Possession of a cemi on the person, acting as a concentration and anchor for ichor. This used either raíz or glyphs -- sometimes both (which is possible to mix in order to cast magic). Considered one that has greatest outcome for the type of spell casting. However, it is the most demanding on the subject and tends to greatly reduce their life expectancy. Lost texts have also described a personality shift in the person and distinct change in features like having a ‘glassy look’ in their eyes. It is almost as if the original life had been sapped out of the body in place of the magic. 

Sundials that have raíz inscribed around the round base, all of which are related to the unique function and purpose of its wielder. It is one, however, that isn’t transportable and has to be fixed into the ground. Depending on the time and weather, and where it shadows landed, was considered the most opportune time to partake in particular magical spells that is heightened by ichor. This method was popular mostly for artisans, blacksmiths, and other careers that had a ‘home base’ for work from. 

Tattooing transmuted ichor into one’s body, allowing them a range of casting possibility and ability to bend elements around them. This technique used glyphs. The particular ‘hot spots’ to tattoo would be centered around the five senses (face, hands and feet). This one fell out of fashion as quickly as it was introduced due to the horrific ramifications of overexerting ichor through an unprepared and unfit subject. It ended with human combustion, sudden suffocation/collapse of the lungs, spontaneous and rapid growth and decaying of limbs, etc. 

Ichor, as previously mentioned, was portrayed by most to have its distinct characteristics that placed emphasis on the the power it has over people, rather than the people having power over it. Alluded to in the ‘lost arts,’ there were many effects for those who tried to overwhelm themselves with power and tried to exploit the capability with ichor. It is by the fact that ichor carries an immaterial presence and its energy exists the spaces of reality and acts as a conduit between living matter and magic. A space that not humans do not naturally exist in, but only around it. Avarice can lead to negative consequence, especially for beings not made to survive in that plane. 

Miasma refers to the repercussions of ichor usage/magic casting. Back in AM, the term specifically referred to the repercussions of unregulated and overabundant that ichor would do to the ‘soul’ of a being. It’s commonly depicted in tales and art as a seed; it is a corruption that slowly reveals itself like a plant growing inside the person’s body that takes a toll on their physical form. Miasma does not appear the same for everyone during that time, but there will always be the fact that the affected areas revolve around where the magic is concentrated (hands, eyes, ears, mouth, chest, etc). In the case of which ichor was used for internal improvements, for example,  the flesh could have discoloration over vital organs.

"Depues de mecanism” (DM) finds that miasma can be referred to any repercussion that ichor has on a subject. This extends away from only being about ichor usage/magic casting. . 

There isn’t a supernatural element or ‘corruption’ theme surrounding it anymore, as science theorize it as the body reacting to overexposure to ichor. Instead of corruption, however,  it is now referred to as ‘rot’ by common people and not all supernatural connections were cut from it.  

Modern medicine has helped those who suffer from miasma with things like sedatives, pain relievers,  psycho-pharmaceuticals, or any other drugs to specifically alleviate symptoms. Miasma, in this case, isn’t seen as permanent for those generally exposed to it .

However, not all miasma can be handled with drugs. Those capable of ichor usage/magic casting* still suffer permanent psychological and physical scarring and alterations to their psyche/body. Thankfully, these cases aren’t as extreme and deadly as they were back in the day. 

( *coming up soon w/ explanation )

In the current state of the world, most countries under the Topaxi alliance have forgotten. Most instead look towards more updated and published works, a great amount unaware of the antiquated groundwork. One would find that in reference to ichor, most would only reference creations and discoveries made during DM and only a handful of AM creations (ie: sundial) that existed at the end of AM/beginning of DM. 

Current countries under the Topaxi alliance long have forgotten these customs and practices. However, it is commonly found in smaller countries that pose no militant threat but get ichor concentrations. Similarly, however, a lot of the theories and practices have long since out-of-fashion and magic casting isn’t as typical or sought-out anymore (unless in cases of specializations, academics, and high-ranking officials).

However, in both the Topaxi alliance and remaining countries, there are still remnants.  Language integration has happened in Topaxi that has combined raíz into local dialect.  The same could be applied for glyphs, but they are only used as symbols to refer to particular buildings, and guilds. These languages do not possess any power unless if they’re being used by the trained magi or certain people.

These ‘certain people’ were once the subject of debates for scholars and researchers during AM. The future that was theorized for them, however, was lost to history. 

The innate, those who were adept in ichor channeling without needing to dedicate themselves to academics or use glyphs and raiz to use magic. Innates were considered the ‘path of the future’ as their bodies are naturally possessing abilities to have ichor flow through them (not that they are born with it, but think of them as prisms). This, in itself, is a mutation; they transcend the need to use the magic languages to cast spells, do not need spells to use ichor, and their ability is usually naturally occurring and always active.  

This ability is extremely rare and the chances of having it if there’s an extended family history of ichor exposure (or genetics, give or take). The innate usually have one of these senses altered by the ichor and provides them a unique ability to interact with living matter and reality. Sometimes, the ichor allows them enter/see/hear/talk in ways humanly impossible. The innate, as well, can naturally translate/read/understand glyphs.  Raíz is a different case, given that it varies per region and still functions in the sanctions of human languages. It has to be learned just like any other language. 

Tose who are innate are often not aware of such a mutation or even the title they possess. All information are kept by magi and made exclusive to them. It is without saying, however, that these gifts are often kept quiet about and are not usually shared with anyone. Tales of those naturally controlling ichor are usually ones that end with disappearances, short lives, and worse fates. These are stories that not all know, but it is the risk of standing out that would usually keep others on the alert and secretive.  

The innate, versus the acquired (anyone else who can channel ichor/cast magic), have uncharted possibilities and growth available to them. And it is the fact that they’re unbound that makes them terrifying, even profitable. 

However, in the rise of new history awaiting to be made, the remainders of the past have not always slumbered peacefully in its death. The innate still linger in a society that will soon be met with tides of great change in the city of Topaxi. 

A once ancient civilization, perched upon a sky-breaking mountain, is now home to another presence. But the spirit of the ancestors have never left. All are bound to the past and all are as capable to be subjected to meet the phantoms past in present day. 

“I felt that..” A shiver down their spine, a phantom sensation embracing their mortal coil. They turn their cheek, locks of silver dancing in the autumn breeze, eyes wide and intent on discovering the source.

“Whatever that was.” 

The phantasm arts, will it make its undead return? 

NOTES:  This only one school of practice (and theory) used to understand and channel ichor. Not all countries and cultures would have the same developments surrounding ichor. (This is basically me saying this isn’t cemented and more pathways are available and you can write your own interpretation.) 

Topaxi residents will not be aware of this extensive history. This should be considered something entirely scholarly and academic that is branched from others. Those from smaller countries (as described before) would have familiarity with the customs, but not the complete story. 

Yon mentioned this before, but magic is STILL not at all common with people. It is completely rare and the same can be said for ye ol’ days. It was just more accessible to the lower classes and was vastly present in conversation (but not practiced). 

[chasholidays]

Bellarke Soulmates au where all your life, you see black & white, and then when you touch your soulmate, you see colors. Please and thanks!

To Bellamy, not having a soulmate sometimes feels like knowing the setup for a joke and never hearing the punchline.

Not, admittedly, that he knows he doesn’t have a soulmate. He’s only thirty, and plenty of people find their soulmates at that age or later. It’s just that it seems easier, at this point in his life, to assume that no one is coming along, that he’s going to be one of those people who never gets that.

In some ways, it’s not hard to fake it. He knows that leaves are supposed to be green, and the sky is supposed to be blue. The rug in his apartment is brown, which is the same color as dirt and tree bark and his eyes. Apples are red or sometimes green, and traffic light colors are always in the same order: red at the top, then yellow, then green.

But he’s getting to the age where a lot of people he knows have soulmates, where a world without color is becoming the exception, rather than the norm. He has to fake it now, because if strangers find out he can’t see colors, it changes things. People will feel sorry for him, and that’s even worse than not having a soulmate.

It’s not as if he isn’t happy, honestly. It’s not as if not having a soulmate is this great blight on his life. But he’ll be out with his coworkers, and someone will ask which color was most surprising, when they first saw it, or they’ll try to describe what fall leaves look like, and he just has to nod and smile and hope no one asks him too many specific questions.

His favorite color is blue, and if he never sees it, he still thinks it’s a pretty good favorite color. From what he’s heard.

It’s three weeks after his birthday when Miller finds his soulmate, a cute, geeky kid named Monty, and Bellamy tries not to be too bitter.

“Is it as awesome as everyone says?” he asks.

Miller takes a sip of beer. “Which part, love or color?”

“Color. I’ve been in love before.”

Miller doesn’t call him out on that one; soulmate love is supposed to be unlike anything else, but Miller is still new to it. He and Monty haven’t really had time to do much more than meet each other.

“It’s kind of like looking up the answers at the end of the book,” he decides, his tone thoughtful. “Except you never did any work for the class and the whole thing is basically a mindfuck. Like, you didn’t know enough to have any idea what the answers would even look like.”

That actually does make some sense to him, even if he doesn’t entirely get it. But, like Miller said, he doesn’t really have the full picture. He doesn’t feel as if he has the capacity to know what he’s missing.

“So, it’s cool?” he asks.

“Yeah. But if I never got it—“ He shrugs. “You’re still good.”

“I am,” he agrees, and can’t help a teasing smirk. “So, what, you think it’s never going to happen for me? Already giving up?”

Miller rolls his eyes. “Who the fuck wants to put up with you their whole life?”

It’s a joke, and he knows it, but it still feels a little like it’s not. Which isn’t Miller’s fault; this is his insecurity.

“That’s the question,” he says, making sure it sounds like a joke too. “Guess we’ll find out.”

*

Two weeks later, his sister’s soulmate has a show that seems custom-designed to make him feel shittier.

Of course he knows that’s not actually what happened; the world does not revolve around him. The decision had nothing to do with him at all. And it’s honestly a cool idea: Lincoln collaborated with a friend of his who doesn’t have her soulmate yet, and they both produced paintings with the same colors and themes, something like a before-and-after game. Even without being able to see the “real” colors, Bellamy will be able to appreciate the differences in shade and design. It won’t be entirely lost on him.

It’s still tempting to just skip out, but he likes Lincoln, and Octavia will definitely notice if he isn’t there, and will guess why and have opinions about it.

So he’d better just go.

“This is actually going to be cool,” Octavia says, way too brightly. Lincoln is busy with setup, so she’s having dinner with him, Miller, and Monty before they go to the opening event at the gallery.

“As opposed to all Lincoln’s other, shitty art?” Bellamy teases.

She rolls her eyes. “Not that. But it’ll be cool to see what it’s like for you. Everyone else can see the colors, but you have the other perspective.”

“Lucky me.”

“You’re going to find them,” O says, like this is a certainty. “But for now, it’s cool. We’ll get the full experience.”

And Bellamy has to admit, it is cool. The paintings are side-by-side, with detailed breakdowns of what the instructions were and what colors were used next to them, and it’s interesting to see how much better the shades of gray on Clarke Griffin’s paintings look to him than the ones on Lincoln’s do. He’s seen art done by people without soulmates before, but they tend to work in actual grayscale, avoiding colors which they can’t actually distinguish for just this reason.

“Does it work?” he asks his sister. “Clarke Griffin’s stuff.”

“Kind of. It’s not–it feels like what you’d do if you didn’t have enough colors to pick from, I guess? Like, the sky is blue, but it doesn’t really look like the right blue.”

“It looks like the right blue to me,” he says. “I like it.”

“Thanks,” says a voice, and Bellamy turns and bumps his shoulder against this unfamiliar girl who’s standing too close, and all at once the world is bursting into what he knows must be color.

It’s as hard to explain as everyone’s always said it was, because he’s trying to put together references he didn’t even entirely know he was missing. The woman’s hair is light, probably blonde, and her skin is pale too, but he has no idea what color her eyes are, or what color her scarf is. Her shirt is gray, which is familiar, but even that shade has these nuances he didn’t know about, these other colors he can’t identify yet.

He looks down, remembering that his shirt is blue, and he does like the shade. That’s a relief.

Then he looks back at the woman, who’s not looking at him anymore either.

“Oh my god, it looks so different.”

He follows her gaze to the paintings on the wall, and she’s right, of course; the pleasing patterns of gray have been replaced by other, unknown colors that are, for reasons he can’t even begin to articulate, less appealing together than the colors he saw before were.

“You’re the artist?” he asks, although he already knows.

“And you’re my soulmate,” she says.

“She’s your what?” asks Octavia. “Bell, you can–”

“You’re losing your alternate perspective on the show, yeah,” he says. “This is my soulmate.”

*

Meeting Clarke is almost more surreal than being able to see colors, but the colors make for a much easier topic of conversation. And it’s a good way to get to know her, too, since they’re walking around her art show, looking at her paintings, and she’s regretting everything about her choices.

It’s kind of adorable, honestly.

“Seriously, that’s what green looks like?” she laments, signing at her painting of a flower next to Lincoln’s. “That’s not what I pictured.”

“Could you actually picture them?” he asks, curious. “Like–did you know how to imagine it?”

“Not like this. I guess I kind of–” She laughs, this soft, almost shy sound that makes his heart twist. “I thought a lot about it, I guess? And people try to tell me, other artists, but–I had no idea there would be so many.”

He smiles. “Yeah, I know what you mean. At least we’re in the right place for it.”

“Right place?”

He takes the excuse to move a little closer to her, leaning in so he can point to the card by the pieces. “They’re all labeled so we know what colors they are.”

That makes her laugh again. “Yeah, we’ve got a cheat sheet. And it does help. I can see how this green Lincoln used is in the same color family as mine, but his has more yellow in it.” She shakes her head. “God, it’s so weird. Finally seeing–I’ve studied color theory, I know exactly how it’s supposed to work, that you can mix blue and red to make purple, and I know how it works with black and white and shades of gray, but–this is so much more.”

“So, you want to leave the gallery and go play around with paint mixing, right?” he teases.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yeah, but you do.”

“Can you tell that because you’re my soulmate?” she asks.

“Or it’s really obvious.” He wets his lips. “I don’t mind, if you want to go. I assume we’re going to see more of each other.”

“Yeah.” It’s her turn to pause, deliberate, lip caught in her teeth. He’s looking forward to learning all of her little quirks. “Or you could come with me.”

“If I leave with you, my little sister is definitely going to think I’m going to get laid,” he says.

“She’s Lincoln’s soulmate, right? He said she was–” She tries to find the right word. “Opinionated.”

“She’s a pain in my ass,” he grumbles, but he knows how fond it sounds.

“Is it bad?” she asks. “If she thinks you’re getting laid. I wasn’t ruling that out.”

His mouth tugs up. “No, neither was I. Let me get my coat.”

Clarke’s studio isn’t far, and she slides her hand into his as they walk, small and warm, and he squeezes her fingers. “Demographic stuff?” he asks.

“Hmm?”

“Where are you from?”

“California. I came up here for school and never left. You?”

“Here. I just never left. How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven. You?”

“I turned thirty last month. I had a kind of minor I’m never going to find my soulmate crisis going on.”

“Yeah?”

“Miller and Monty just met, and O and Lincoln haven’t been together that long either, just about six months. It was starting to feel like I was the last one left who didn’t have mine.”

“But now you do.”

He still can’t quite believe it. He’s walking down the street with a beautiful woman who was meant to be his, and even in the dark, at night, the world is full of so many colors. He can’t believe there are this many. It doesn’t seem possible.

“Now I do.”

She unlocks the door to the studio, gives him a quick tour, but the main event is the rows of paints, all bright colors in a row. They pull them down and examine them, getting the feeling of pink and turquoise, these things he understood as theory, as words, but not as reality.

“Can you believe every single shade has a name?” she asks, running her fingers over the labels with awe. “And you can mix them all, and they’ll all be different?”

He laughs. “It’s pretty unbelievable, yeah.” And then, he can’t help adding, “You really must be my soulmate.”

“That’s how it works, yeah.”

“No, I meant–don’t get me wrong, you’re awesome, so far. But I always kind of wondered about the colors more. Even if I never found my soulmate, I figured I could fall in love. But I’d never know what this stuff was like, not really. So I’m glad that’s the big draw for you.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” she says. “You seem pretty great too. But I’m glad you wanted to bail and come play with paint with me.”

Tentatively, he puts his arm around her, and when she leans back into him, he tugs her closer, kisses her hair. She smells light and fresh and a little like the chill of the air, and she’s his, somehow.

The world is new and bright and beautiful, in a way he didn’t even know how to imagine.

“Yeah,” he says. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”