#having a cane just ups your drama by a good 50%

[catsafarithewriter]

Guess who slammed her foot into a wall and possibly broke several toes in the process!

On the plus side, I'm actively researching walking with a cane now 😂😭

[ckret2]

Chapter 72 of human Bill Cipher being 50% the prisoner & 50% the weird guest of the Mystery Shack:

Soos makes a deeply significant moral decision. To redecorate!

If you're seeing this picture, it's because I either didn't have enough time to draw a better one before the queue spat out this chapter, or I decided that nothing else I could draw would be half as funny.

####

Whenever Soos faced something difficult, he talked to Abuelita. And Bill was nothing if not something difficult.

Soos laid out the situation to her in the living room as she watched her telenovelas—she didn't mind the distraction, she far preferred real life drama over anything they put on TV. He told her about the confiscated canes, the daily injuries, the bargaining for food, the threat of forced showers, the bruises and burns and blood Bill said nothing about. He told her about Bill's door trick and how he'd only used it to talk to a teen about life and tuck a kid into bed. Once he'd told Abuelita all his thoughts, she nodded slowly, eyes still fixed to the TV screen; and for the moment, said nothing.

The doctor on TV confirmed the tearful new mother's suspicions that her husband had cheated (DNA tests confirmed the baby was another woman's), and Abuelita muted the show as it went to a commercial break. Soos waited as she collected her thoughts to render her judgment.

"I have been talking to Mr. Cipher for the last month or so. He keeps me company while I cook so I do not poison him again," she said. "I think he is ruthless, manipulative, and self-centered."

Soos winced, but nodded. "That's true."

Abuelita went on, "I like him. He is self-confident. He's blunt in a way you only get when you're old and cynical. I think he is a bad person; but, many bad people are good company."

"That's also true." Soos nodded again thoughtfully. Like whenever a comic book had a young idealistic superhero team up with an old jaded ex-villain who played by his own rules, and they ended up best friends, in spite of their glaring ethical and political differences.

"But, more importantly than whether he is a good person or a bad person," Abuelita said, "he is a person. And if you do not like a person, there are three ways you can deal with him." She counted off on her fingers, "You can kill him; you can avoid him; or you can set your feelings aside, and treat him with decency. Yes, get rid of the people who are bad for you—but no matter how terrible a person is, you must treat him like a person."

Soos's eyes lit up. "Oh, like with grandpa!"

Abuelita nodded slowly. "Yes. Just like grandpa."

"Yeah but—what if treating him decently is, you know... dangerous? Like if he uses any privileges we give him to do bad stuff? The Pines think he will. And I think he might be secretly talking to his cultists or whatever? Who miiight wanna destroy the world? But what if they can't destroy the world actually, and if I tell about the people he's talking to, he gets treated even worse..."

"Without his devil powers, he couldn't destroy a bookclub," Abuelita said. "But, if he is so dangerous, are you going to kill him?"

"No. I actually don't think we can anymore?"

"Are you going to avoid him?"

Soos let out a heavy sigh. "I can't as long as he lives here."

Abuelita shrugged, as if to say there you have it. "You are a good, kind man, mijo. I am sure you will figure out the right thing to do."

####

He took Melody out for lunch. They went through a drive-thru so they could park and talk privately in the truck.

She took a firmer stance on it than Abuelita. "I do not want to be stuck with Bill forever," she said. "I could put up with it this long because I thought the Pines would get rid of him as soon as possible! Now that he's staying here indefinitely...?" She shook her head. "I really don't like it, Soos."

Soos wasn't surprised. "Do... you think they should have 'gotten rid' of him?"

Melody paused, then shook her head again. "This whole thing is such a bizarre situation. Like, I can get why it makes sense to execute the guy that can end the world, but... I just don't think that's a decision two random guys with a big gun should be allowed to make," she said. "Honestly? I think we should call some federal agency and put him in jail somewhere. You know I've been iffy on Ford's 'only we can contain Bill' thing from the start."

"Yeah. I know." Soos agreed with Ford—he was the Bill expert, he would know—but he couldn't say Melody was wrong, either.

"Our wedding's scheduled for the end of summer," Melody said. "And... I'm sorry, Soos, but I just can't live under the same roof as the guy that turned me into a statue. We'll still get married—"

"—Oh, phew, almost had a heart attack there—"

"—pff, sorry. But if Bill's still in the shack after the summer, then... then I'll keep staying with my aunt, or we could move into your old house and just visit the shack for work, or something... but I can't move into the shack permanently until he moves out."

"Okay. I accept that." Even if the rest of them had sorta gotten used to living with Bill, Soos thought not wanting to live with a former torturer/conqueror/dictator was a pretty reasonable boundary. "I dunno what we'll do long-term just yet, but—we'll decide on something before the wedding."

Melody let out a long, nervous sigh. "Okay," she said. "Okay. Thanks, Soos." She reached across the truck's center console.

Soos took her hand. "But, how do you think we should handle Bill until then?"

Melody stared out the window at the gray sky. The rain had dried up before dawn, but the sky was still hazy. "If we keep guarding him ourselves instead of getting law enforcement involved... personally? I wouldn't give him any kind of special treatment at all. He tried to end the world! He stuck the whole town in a throne! He can just keep sleeping on the floor and being miserable, and I'd be fine with it."

Soos winced. "I see."

Melody squeezed his hand. "But—the fact that you're kinder than that is one of the things I love about you. Even when the creep you're being kind to doesn't deserve it." She gave him a resigned smile. "Do whatever you feel is right."

He considered that. Then he nodded. "I will."

####

Bill kept Soos's Abuelita company while she cooked, and gossiped with her in Spanish better than Soos's about people Bill had never even met. Bill liked watching cartoons, sports where people got hurt, and weirdly intellectual movies Soos didn't get, and he heckled historical documentaries and the news. Bill was offended by white rice and had incredibly strong opinions about salsas for a guy who'd only started eating them a month ago. Bill hadn't taken his friendship bracelet off once since Mabel gave it to him. Bill might not have been a human; but he was a person.

It was high time they start treating him like one.

####

Soos came home late in the afternoon with his truck laden down with supplies. Stan's car was gone, and when Soos came in with an armload of wooden boards he didn't see anybody around except Abuelita, napping in the living room, and Dipper, laying on the living room floor watching TV. "Hey dude," Soos whispered. "Where's everybody else?"

Dipper whispered back, "Hey Soos. Stan and Ford are at McGucket's mansion." He didn't look up from the TV. He was watching a rerun of Ghost Harassers on mute. "Mabel's with Bill in the floor room. He's in a bad mood about something so they've been doing karaoke all day."

"Huh." Soos could faintly hear someone playing his electric piano. It sounded like it was on the organ setting. "I didn't know he plays piano."

"He's alright," Dipper said. "His singing's terrible, though."

Soos shuddered. He could imagine.

Well, at least it meant Bill was out of the way. Soos began his first of many trips upstairs.

####

"What's all this racket?" Stan trudged upstairs to inspect Soos's noises—and abruptly stopped at the top of the stairs as he almost ran into a wooden beam. "What the—?"

"Oh, hey Mr. Pines!" Soos hooked his hammer on his tool belt. He'd put up wall framing to section off the corner of the attic floor that included the window seat.

Stan circled around the framing, inspecting it in bafflement. "Soos, what the heck is this?"

"So, remember at the beginning of summer, when I said that me and Melody were thinking about putting in a gaming room-slash-guest room in the attic? And Ford said not to bother until Bill was gone because he wouldn't be here long enough for me to finish? Welp! Sounds like he's gonna be here long enough for me to finish now! So I thought, hey, might as well, right? No reason not to!" He shrugged. "By the way, do you think I should put the door in front of the stairs, or on the long side of the room opposite the window? If it's in front of the stairs, you can just walk right in the room when you come up, and we'd be able to put a big screen on the long wall; but when you're walking out of the room it'd be really easy to forget the stairs are there and fall, and uh, we already have enough of a problem with that—"

Stan finally got his dropped jaw working again. "But this is where the demon sleeps! Where are we supposed to put him now?!"

"Oh, it's fine! Bill can keep sleeping in here. I'll put up a curtain instead of a door for now. This way the room's ready for gaming once Bill's gone." Soos planted his hands on his hips and surveyed his handiwork with pride.

"Are you crazy? You're giving Bill his own room?! No way! He could do anything in private. We can't trust him with that—"

"Listen." Soos gave Stan a serious look. "Mr. Pines, I respect you, and I love you like the dad I never had except technically I do have a dad but he's off being a deadbeat in Florida or something so he doesn't count."

He pointed at the floor. "But this is my house now. My name might not be on the deed, but my butt is in the master bedroom! And nobody under my roof is living like—like—like some kind of starving hobo sleeping on a bench under a newspaper, you know what I'm talking about? The Mystery Shack is a happy place! Where people come to see dreams come true and have their imaginations expanded! And I won't see it turned into some sad one-man prison!"

Stan stared at Soos, speechless.

"So." Soos took a deep breath. "With all due respect—I'm building a gaming room, and it'll have walls, and Bill gets to sleep in it. Because he's a person! And we're gonna treat him like one!"

Stan slowly looked from Soos to the wall framing, to the boxes of supplies he'd bought for the room and pushed against a wall to wait—to the pathetic couch cushion bed still sitting on the floor in front of the window. "All right. That's—that's fine. I'll let Ford know."

Soos's shoulders relaxed. "Thanks, Mr. Pines."

Stan clapped a hand on Soos's shoulder; looked for a moment like he wanted to say something; then just shook his head and said instead, "Knock off the hammering before the kids go to bed, all right?"

"No problem! I've gotta set up some furniture and stuff in here anyway." He got back to work as Stan went downstairs.

####

Soos paused his work when he overheard Bill's voice: "Hey Stanford. Figured out the kitchen situation yet?"

Soos had to strain to hear Ford (jeez, Bill was loud) as he said, "We haven't had a chance yet. For now, we can at least leave one of the counter cabinets open."

"Huh." It didn't sound like an impressed huh. "And will this open cabinet have any of the foods you put in the cabinet to hide from me? Or just more of the junk I've already been scavenging."

Ford was silent long enough to provide the answer.

"Right."

"I went by the grocery store," Ford offered. "I got avocados."

"Uh huh."

"And several pepper varieties."

"Ooh." Bill sounded intrigued in spite of himself.

"And protein drinks. They're nutritious, at least," Ford said. "But—I know that's not adequate. Stan and I will have something permanent figured out by the end of the week."

"I guess it's fine as an emergency measure," Bill said, "but you know how the phrase goes! Give a triangle a protein drink, and it'll eat for a day. Teach a triangle to open the fridge, and it'll eat for the rest of its life. If you lift that curse..."

"We'll talk. But don't get your hopes up. Neither of us likes the thought of giving you the power to come in our bedroom and smother us in our sleep the next time we have an argument."

"Fine." Bill's voice had hardened again. "You've got to the end of the week. But don't forget! If I don't like your offer, I don't have to take it! You can't keep me in this rickety barn anymore."

"I haven't forgotten."

The conversation seemed to be over and Soos didn't hear anyone coming up the stairs. He got back to work.

He felt good. He was doing the right thing.

####

When Mabel came up to bed, she stared in confusion at the modified attic floor, squealed in excitement when she realized what she was looking at, surprised Soos with a hug, and gushed about how great it was; and then she let Soos know Dipper and Ford were out tonight investigating weird stuff and went on to bed herself.

The first notification Soos had that Bill had come upstairs was a flat, offended, "What."

"Oh, hey!" Soos ducked out of the opening he'd left for the doorway—which he'd ultimately decided to put straight across from the window, to let a little light back into the attic. (He'd have to add more lighting in the main attic now that the window was blocked off.) Bill was standing at the corner of the new room, surveying the work with an expression of deep suspicion.

Soos said, "I was just getting started on this gaming room Melody and me wanted to put in—it's okay though, you can keep using it, we'll just turn it into a gaming room, uhhh... lllater. Whenever, it's cool!"

Bill turned his suspicious look on Soos; but when Soos gestured for Bill to follow him into the room, he reluctantly followed.

"Yeah, I got up the framing," Soos said, "but I couldn't get to the drywall today, so I just stapled up some tarps to be walls for now. But, look!" He gestured grandly. "I brought up the old orange sofa and chaise thingy that used to be in Abuelita's room! They've been in storage for like a year. I bet we could sit, like, six people on it for game nights. It turns out the sofa's a daybed, so we can use it as an extra guest bed for visitors, we do not have enough beds for visitors in the shack, haha. And, check it—" Soos flipped up the lid on a chest he'd placed in front of the right end of the sofa like a footrest. "I put in one of those top-down chest fridges for gaming snacks! It uh, the top of it swings up, that makes it a lid instead of a door, right? Sooo I guess you can use it too, right? You can just, put whatever you want on the weekly grocery list, and we'll put it in here. Oh, and!" He pointed at the ancient TV console table he'd hauled up from the cellar, "I set up a hot plate here, too! So you can cook stuff in the attic! For—for normal legitimate gaming room purposes."

Bill's gaze followed where Soos pointed, from the ancient orange sofa to the fridge chest to the hot plate. He didn't say anything. His expression was completely unreadable.

Soos swallowed. "Oh, and, by the way, speaking of home improvements, I took out the doorknob on the main bathroom, and put in one of those, like, little slidy dealies like public bathroom stalls? Plus I gave the door those swinging hinges—like the kind on saloon doors in the movies, o-or, say, the door into the gift shop—"

Bill whipped around to face Soos.

Soos jumped. He laughed nervously and tried to remember what point he was making. "S-so, um... there's no latch now, so it doesn't latch, which means there's no way to accidentally get locked in—or out, of the bathroom, and... and I don't actually know how much of that you understood, due to the whole curse thing? Just forget everything I just said, I guess, the important thing is you can use that bathroom without asking someone else now! Cool, right?"

He had to turn away from Bill's intense gaze, pointing back at the gaming room's doorway. "Anyway since the room isn't finished yet and you're probably gonna use it for a while, I hung up a curtain instead of a door. And I added that cool zodiac spell blanket thing Mabel gave me inside the curtain! Since you said you liked it so much when you first got here. And like... having it in our room kinda creeps Melody out, I think it might be giving her nightmares? So I thought you might like it better. Anyway I've still gotta do some other stuff, like add power outlets in here, and air conditioning, and... a-and..." He petered out weakly.

Bill was giving Soos the most venomous look he'd ever seen. 

"Sure. Terrific." Bill crossed his arms, seething. "I've slept on the floor, I can cope with sleeping in the middle of a construction zone too. No big deal! I'll make do."

"Oh," Soos said. "Uh... if it bothers you, I could try to get the walls finished tomorrow? Shack's closed tomorrow too, so, I was already planning to keep—"

Teeth grit, Bill snarled, "Don't put yourself out on my behalf."

Soos froze. "Oookay! Uh... well, I'll be getting ready for bed if you need... yeah, no, you—you probably don't need anything. Bye." He ducked out into the attic, letting out a whoosh of a sigh as soon as the curtain swung shut behind him.

Bill had looked like he was two seconds from ripping out Soos's throat. Why? Had he liked sleeping on the floor? He'd never seemed like he had. Maybe he'd preferred the attic's open flooring? Maybe he hated extremely 70's orange upholstery? Was this a mistake...?

Bill watched through the tarp until Soos was down the stairs. Then he lunged over the sofa, hanging over the back by his waist, to reach the attic window seat. He groped for the corner of the seat cushion where he'd hidden Journal 4.

He sighed in relief when he felt the familiar rectangular block in the cushion. He pulled it free: there was Journal 4, along with his two stubby crayons. As well as two marker pens, black and red, with a sticky note wrapped around them that said, "Thought these might be useful, dude!"

Bill's hands trembled with fury.

####

Soos was brushing his teeth when someone pounded on the bathroom door, making him drop his brush. The door swung open a couple of inches; Soos heard Bill mutter a confused, "What?" before it swung shut again.

Soos opened the door. "Bill? What's..."

Bill's face was completely flushed. It was hauntingly reminiscent of the look he'd had last year right before trying to murder Soos and the kids in Stan's mind. His rage had shot past "apoplectic" and landed on "apocalyptic." Soos understood how Pompeii had felt when the rumbling began. He took a few steps back.

Bill stalked into the bathroom.

He slapped the red pen down on the counter.

And, avoiding eye contact, he muttered, "Fine-tip yellow highlighter would be better. If you've got it."

"Oh," Soos said. "Sure, I... I think I have some skinny highlighters in my office. Just... lemme finish brushing my teeth."

####

Bill leaned in the office doorway, arms crossed tight, waiting. As Soos rummaged through his desk supplies, back to the door, he got the uneasy feeling that maybe Bill had lured him here to stab him in the back or something. He seemed mad enough. And the office was narrow; if Bill came up right behind him, there'd be nowhere for Soos to dodge...

When he found a new highlighter and turned around, Bill was glowering inches behind him.

Soos jumped. "Dude! You freaked me out."

Bill didn't condescend to respond. He just snatched the highlighter out of Soos's hand and stormed from the room. A moment later, Soos could hear him stomping up the stairs (and stumbling on one step. Soos really needed to figure out how to make the stairs more safe). 

For the life of him, Soos didn't know how he'd offended Bill.

####

The contraband supplies Bill had hidden behind a loose board in the wall still appeared to be undisturbed. He could only hope Soos hadn't found them during his snooping. For tonight, he could hide Journal 4 there; tomorrow he'd have to find a new, more secure hiding spot that kept it close enough to where Bill slept.

He turned around the hanging zodiac blanket and curtain so Bill's watchful triangular face was guarding the new attic hallway rather than staring into the room.

He surveyed his atrocious new sofa. If he'd known he would be plagued with this thing in the future, he would have found a way to make Ford get rid of it thirty years ago. Would Ford have thrown it out if his blessed Muse had told him it looked hideous? Maybe, but that would've put a ding in Bill's benevolent image. He could've said the sofa would lead Ford to doom? No, too implausible. Ford had always wanted a nice set of leather furniture; maybe if Bill had claimed the cost of leather furniture was about to skyrocket, and if Ford ever wanted to build his dream sophisticated gentleman's den then he should buy as soon as possible—maybe sell his current sofa to recoup costs and free up space... Yeah, Ford would've eaten that up, he'd have been so grateful Bill was thoughtful enough to care about his silly little life dreams and look out for his financial future. He shoulda done that. Hindsight.

So. What did he have here? A daybed; personal fridge; mini-stove; walls (tarp); two pillows; throw blanket; two markers; a lamp (unplugged); a clock radio (unplugged); a low console table with two shelves, onto which Soos had emptied the contents of Bill's cardboard box of clothes; and an implicit promise to keep a pile of secrets.

How humiliating.

He considered sleeping on the bare floor in protest; but, his back still hurt. Once again, subject to the tyranny of an organic body. He sighed, pulled his bedsheet from the console table, and curled up on the sofa.

The moment he lay down, a scent soaked into the seat cushion made his heart leap into his throat. He was sure he could smell home. Familiar and comforting and right—and for a moment the evidence of his other six senses didn't matter: he had his power back, he was in his kingdom, and all was right with the world. It took a moment to figure out what about the scent had so strongly disoriented him: he was smelling the atmosphere of the Nightmare Realm.

And then took another moment to work out that it wasn't really the Nightmare Realm, but a very similar scent—sulfurous, organic, burning. Burnt hair.

The cushion still smelled like Ford.

Bill groaned in frustration, rolled off the sofa, and flopped to the floor.

After permitting himself a moment of rage at the injustices of the multiverse, Bill crawled up onto the chaise lounge on the left end of the sofa, avoiding the part of the sofa where Ford used to sleep.

The chaise was smaller than his floor cushion bed used to be; but he'd make do.

####

(I know we're all busy going insane over the website but i'd love a comment when y'all read this chapter lol)

[quill-of-thoth]

The Saga of Great Uncle Asshole And The Priest From Hell

It's thanksgiving (in the US) so have a family gathering disaster that is old enough to be funny. Almost a decade ago, after a life of stirring up drama everywhere she went, my grandmother died. She was an unhappy woman who tried to be better to her grandkids than she was to her kids, and didn't always succeed, and she's the reason that when I smell cinnamon tic tacs they're accompanied by the reek of an illusory cigarette. This is not a sad post. This is a post about the fact that her funeral was a fucking disaster and it was ultimately about 50% her fault. See, my whole family was at one point or another catholic. Grandma really enjoyed going to church in her last years because it got her out of the nursing home, and priests have to listen when you tell them about the husband you divorced and the children who think they know better than you. Grandma did not consider the fact that the local priest she'd latched onto like a talkative moray eel in a cloud of nicotine smoke was an unmitigated bigot. She left instructions that she wanted her funeral to be at that specific catholic church and for that priest to do the sermon. It didn't occur to her that the person who would be organizing her funeral would be her gay daughter and her daughter's wife.

Shit started getting real about when the doors opened to recieve mourners. Over the course of ten minutes, my aunt summoned:

her elder sister, a paralegal

my father, who has never seen a conflict he would not cheerfully walk away from

Their younger brother, in order to swear at the priest

My mother, who hadn't had a good opportunity to fight a priest since we left our own church and was game to do it again.

This left me, the eldest grandchild, in charge of the receiving line, despite the fact that I knew approximately no one there. My brother and cousins were woodenly shaking hands and then whispering "who's that?" "I don't know." My aunt's husband was escorting the elderly and infirm up the stairs one at a time. My uncle's wife was also around but she knew even fewer people and was mostly listening at the door of the ongoing argument.

So when my brother and Boy cousin went to see if we could pry someone who knew who was related to us out of the argument and I was busy trying to convince an octegenarian that she did NOT need to figure out which of her cousins had married one of grandma's siblings before sitting down, Girl Cousin was alone at the door.

Great Uncle Asshole arrived in a storm of curses and a faux-coonskin cap. He blew past Girl Cousin, thumped his cane up the steps, and seized my hand. It was like shaking hands with an extremely strong mummy. "You look just like your mother! It's the hair, what a bird's nest. Where's your daddy? And the rest of Helen's brood."

I muttered something about them finalizing details with the priest.

"Well, they'll come see me soon enough. Bet you don't know who I am!" I didn't know who anyone was. Everyone older than me was having a verbal cage match with a member of the clergy or escorting some other old fogey to their seats, everyone younger than me had even fewer clues, and my only hope was to wrap this conversation as fast as possible. "Nope!" I said, "I haven't seen most of the people here in years." If I had ever seen them in the first place. He was going to be mad, but I figured if I had to be the bouncer I could probably take an eighty-something year old guy who breathed like the surgeon general's personal warning to smokers. I could at least shut the door on him.

"Of course you wouldn't! Your gran wouldn't have told you. I'm your great uncle Roger, and I'm here to bury the hatchet, by which I mean your grandma! She and I swore over our father's casket we'd never be under the same roof again while we both lived, and by god I kept my oath!" People were starting to stare, and it was at this moment that a thirty-something man in a suit sprinted up the stairs, and my uncle's wife, with a look of dawning horror, called her husband. "Roger's here." The middle aged folks descended immediately. Here is a snapshot of the ensuing conversation: "Roger, why don't we find you a seat?" - my mother in her best teacher voice "Glad to see you're doing well enough to make it" - My father, in his best 'good god I want to be anywhere else' voice. "Take me to the coffin! I want to see her with my own two eyes!" - Great Uncle Asshole, "And hang up my **** hat! Killed it myself!" "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he could walk that fast" - strange suit man "If you are QUITE finished, I am starting the ceremony in ten minutes" - the priest

As my father and his brother towed a grinning and cursing old man to the furthest reaches of the family section, my mother and my oldest aunt caught all the cousins up on the argument with the priest. My youngest aunt was still crying while her wife stared fixedly at the stained glass panes and periodically handed over tissues. The upshot of it all was that my aunt and her wife would be allowed to attend the funeral (on pain of the whole family literally walking out on the priest) but would not be allowed to take communion, because the priest didn't believe in their marriage. My aunt's wife had neglected to point out that, being Jewish, she wasn't going to take communion anyway. "That's fucked" said boy cousin, and the four of us immediately resolved in whispers to refuse communion as well. The priest opened his sermon with pointed remarks about the older generation's devotion and respect for the church. He continued on through psalms and all that until he got to the blessing of the eucharist and asked the family up to receive communion. My father, who hadn't taken communion since I could remember, stayed seated. My mother stayed seated. My aunts and uncles stayed seated. The cousins stayed seated. About a third of the church didn't move. "Well father, I'll have mine! These young folks think hey have all the time in the world to get right with the lord, but you and I know better!" The priest, who had been visibly hoping god would smite us, turned a wincing glare on my great uncle and the series of distant relatives and nursing home neighbors who were now shuffling up. The service dragged on. We were lined up to say goodbye to everyone, while the suit man (who would turn out to be my second cousin) bodily hauled great uncle asshole and his coonskin cap down the stairs. "I should have known my sister wouldn't manage to raise any good Catholics! Horrible woman." he said loudly as he was stuffed into a car driven by suit man's apparent twin. The priest approached as we were finally ready to leave, to ask why we were so stubborn that we deprived ourselves of communion. After all, unlike my youngest aunt, we weren't obvious sinners! "Oh, I'm Lutheran" - My eldest aunt. "I'm an atheist" - My uncle "I don't think you're qualified to bless anything." - My mother, who learned her religion primarily from a horde of socialist-leaning nuns.

With that, we left the wreck of my grandmother's funeral behind. "Helen," said my mother, very deliberately, when we were safely in the car, "would have HATED that." My dad started laughing. "Are you kidding? She would have loved that! It would have been all she complained about for years!"

[kdramaxoxo]

Can I get something off my chest?I MISS THE OLD KDRAMAS LIKE HELL. I miss that time when writers gave us flawed characters with not so perfect lighting, and real people faces and ugly hair. City hall? My name is Kim Sam soon? Healer? Heartstrings? Princess Hours? Coffee prince?My princess? I especially miss SBS , MBC and KBS. You could understand which kdrama was produced by which channel from the lighting alone or the photography. I feel like TVN's dramas, while aesthetically pleasing, are for the Western audience and are so perfectly perfect.

Literally THIS anon!

I feel like an old lady saying things like "k-dramas were so much better before netflix took over" and "remember drama fever service?? SOB!," but I really miss my dramas and the wild range of them.

You want a specific kind of slice of life that takes risks without worrying about viewership? JTBC was your jam. Need something really low rent and old school? MBC!

Worried you can't find a k-drama? IMPOSSIBLE with both viki and drama fever! And the combined subscription was like $14 bucks a month.

Now I have to illegally watch 50% of my dramas, and pay netflix AND disney so they can cast the same huge stars with disappointing endings (I'm NOT looking at you Run On, you were a gift). Because these streaming giants only care about growth, after they screwed up the k-drama eco-system, there's literally nothing on. I went from struggling to keep up with all of the new releases to only watching 2. Finally, Viki doesn't really get many good dramas anymore because they can't afford to buy them, and lots of actors are struggling to find work.

As a side note, everyone should just give up and watch No Gain No Love. Is it miraculous? NO. Is it shiny and glossy like anon is complaining about? YES. But is it old school cute? You bet aside from the horrid Amazon Prime interface.

And speaking of interfaces--

---PULLS SHANA OFF THE STAGE WITH A CANE---

[pamphletstoinspire]

Appropriating the Christmas Appropriators

Three businessmen – a Catholic, a Protestant, and an atheist – go to lunch during Advent to discuss what Christmas means to them. The Protestant says Christmas means a 50 percent increase in profits. The Catholic says he looks at the bottom line; Christmas means a 20 percent increase in earnings after taxes. The atheist says that the Christmas business is so profitable that on Christmas day, he and his friends gather around the Christmas tree, hold hands, and sing, “O what a friend we have in Jesus!”

Some people think this is funny. I used to until I was woke or awakened or woke up – or something. The “woke” culture is, of course, the very latest thing these days. Until the next self-proclaimed enlightenment comes along. You claim victim status, share your grievances with semi-serious drama, and scold opponents à la Greta Thunberg: How dare you!

Practicing Christians have become a ridiculed – even despised – minority in this country. It is more dangerous to your reputation and career to bring a Bible to work than dirty books from the Fairfax County School libraries. The less we talk about Jesus and Christmas – excuse me, “Winter Holiday” – the safer we are in an atheist culture.

“Cultural appropriation” is just one of the grave injustices recently discovered by the “woke” culture. It is – according to authoritative sources – the inappropriate adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of a dominant culture. Most of mainstream culture has already taken Christ out of Christmas. But you might argue that, by “cultural appropriation,” it continues to make money off of Him, while abusing the rights of Christians. So we have winter holiday trees, festive lights, wreaths, holiday spending – without Jesus.

How dare you!

I have no problem with atheists making an honest buck off Christmas. But when an atheistic culture cashes in on Jesus while impugning His followers as intolerant and hateful, it’s time to rise up and, well, claim victim status.

How have they offended us? Let me count the ways:

They have appropriated the Christmas tree. But the Christmas tree is a symbol of Jesus. In winter, what is evergreen becomes a sign of everlasting life, and it reminds Christians of the “tree of life,” an image of Christ on the Cross.

They have appropriated wreaths. Wreaths adorn our shopping centers and businesses. But the circular shape – without beginning or end – represents God, and the evergreens represent eternal life.

They have appropriated holly. But the holly tree is another Christian symbol. The sharp leaves symbolize the crown of thorns worn by Jesus, while the berries represent drops of His blood.

They have appropriated seasonal lights and candles, but the festive glowing lights symbolize Jesus, the source of all light. Jesus is the Light of the World.

The star atop the tree represents the star that led the Wise Men to Jesus. It directs us to follow the light of the Savior just as the Wise Men found Him by following the star.

The poinsettia is like the evergreen tree. It thrives during the winter and symbolizes everlasting life. The shape resembles a star (see again the Three Wise Men). Red poinsettias remind us of the blood that Jesus shed for us. The white poinsettias symbolize His purity.

Christmas bells symbolize the hymn of the angels in Heaven announcing the birth of Jesus and praising God: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of goodwill.”

Candy canes remind us of the staff carried by the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus – and that Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who gently leads us to safety and peace. “The Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want.” (Ps. 23)

Santa Claus brings gifts to children on Christmas. Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Catholic saint – Good Saint Nick – forms the basis of his popular image.

Christmas is the season of giving – and consumer spending. The Wise Men “offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Mt. 2:11) But the greatest gift of all came from our Heavenly Father: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) On Christmas Day, we remember that the Savior is the true gift of Christmas.

They can’t even escape Jesus when they reduce Christmas to a “winter holiday.” “Holiday” is a conflation of two words: “holy day.” Get it? Ha, ha!

How dare you!

If they are serious about excluding Christianity, let’s insist they get rid of all Christian symbolism in our public spaces and workplaces. No public displays of Christmas trees, wreaths, candy canes, festive lights, and Santa Claus. No Christmas music, ever. Not even “Santa, Baby,” or “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”!

We can change this country into a workers’ paradise without public expressions of generosity or joy or any public sign of Christmas. Demand honesty! Let’s make our cities and workplaces look as lifeless and sterile as the concrete buildings of the Soviet Union. Our feast day, our choice!

How dare you!

In the meantime, during Advent, Christians may continue to prepare for our Savior’s birthday with a good Confession and light penitential practices: “Prepare the way of the Lord, [and] make his paths straight.” (Lk. 3:4)

Amidst a harsh, barren, intolerant, and ugly culture, let’s adorn the sanctuaries of our churches and homes with the symbols of Christmas: twinkling lights, evergreens, candy, and gifts – the reminders of Jesus and the sweetness of the Gospels. On Christmas Day, let’s gather around the decorated Christmas tree and the Nativity Scene and sing hymns of peace and joy. O Little Town of Bethlehem. Silent Night. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

At need, even throw in the Elvis Christmas album for good measure.

By: Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky

[srbachchan]

DAY 4451

Jalsa, Mumbai                       May 14,  2020                      Thu 11:27 PM

Birthday  EF - Brinda Shah ..  Pawan Randhawa .. Friday, May 15 .. and our wishes go out to the birthdays of the two .. may you remain safe in these times and be happy .. .. love from the Ef

Old times of the past times .. remembrances of the School times .. moments of the lasting times .. of class mates and dormitories .. of theatre plays and farewell concerts .. of singing ditties .. of humour among all .. of a recapture of the events of the year .. of still knowing the moments that went by then in 1956-58 .. names , pet names, and the happiest days of our lives ..

..a picture from the School records .. the School play of 1957 .. The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol .. I played the Mayor of the city .. this picture is after the play finished and our Principal the Rev R C Llewelyn , the tall collared on the right reading the results of the Best Actor Kendal Cup results .. and  .. yooo hooo .. its moi .. and I am dumbfounded and cannot move .. Ma and Babuji in the audience .. especially come up to see me during our Founders Week .. 

find me .. found me .. our Drama teacher Mr Berry the tall figure right in the middle .. well just behind him with a smile on my face .. uniformed ..

moment of pride for Parents .. when you achieve they are filled with a most peculiar emotion .. its tears and happiness .. happens often .. see a film where you appreciate your sons work and you cannot speak for quite a while .. just choked with emotion .. the Hall is Milman Hall , named after an important contributor to the School .. the Hall where we held all our theatre and farewell concerts .. where the odd film was shown on an 8mm projector .. where we all recovered when the flu of 1957 hit the nation and the world .. the Hall where our prize distribution took place .. the Hall where we were instructed at the prize giving ceremony to look into the face of the dignitary giving the award .. the Hall where on the class of ‘58 get together after 50 years , yours truly is made the Chief Guest and does what he has been witnessing when in School as a student ... time and life brings so many changes and challenges ..

.. and this new challenge .. looms large now .. a DIGITAL release ..

.. Amazon Prime .. June 12, world wide release .. 200 plus country’s .. a first for many reasons .. a situation that cannot be altered .. theatres opening could take time .. or not open at all .. uncertainty .. 4 complete films in line for release .. must do in this year .. contracts severe .. finances and other contractual obligations need consideration .. not just my films there are other artists too .. they also need to space out their films .. recovery of investment .. cannot take forever .. if the digital price is amicable then they go for it .. it is the future .. the option to release in theatres later always open .. that contained in the terms .. so yes in time there could be theatre  release as well .. others wait for the results of digital release to make decisions on their films .. will find out by June 12, 2020 .. some complain why on Amazon only and not of Netflix .. but the deal has been struck with Amazon .. so Amazon .. cant have two different distributors of the same film in the same city .. yes imagery is reduced to the mobile or TV screen .. but most of the stuff these days is seen thus is it not .. patience then .. a few more days and we shall see ..

gosh !!!  almost started putting down the words of our School farewell song :

“ a few more days and we shall be .. rejoicing at our liberty .. and when the moment comes to scram .. we’ll trundle down to Kathgodam .. “

‘then the bells will ring .. and the boys will sing .. as the boxes are being taken away ..

‘and the girls will cry .. as we bid them goodbye .. and we wish them a happy holiday ..’

Goodness ... never ever imagined that I would remember the words of the singing .. that was 1956 .. its 2020 now .. 64 years .. !!! 64 .. thats a life time !!

brought to tune by our Vice Principal Mr Thomson, and written by him too .. he would also write the farewell ditties too .. a compilation of all the events that had taken place and were of some importance .. put together in a humorous manner .. and the students involved in that moment had to come up and sing their portions on stage .. such fun .. still remember my lines ..

the matter was somewhat .. err.. dubious .. breaking bounds .. the girls sister school had come for a picnic on the hill above Sherwood, on Dorothy Seat .. thats the name of that location on the hill, at the edge of a spur, where a young girl named Dorothy used to sit and paint the Himalayas that could be seen from there  .. she fell over tragically and died and the Hill was named after her ..

So some of us enterprising Lotharios during our lunch break broke bounds, stealthily went out from behind the School up the Hill to simply get a glimpse of the girls and return in time before the bell rang for class .. as we were negotiating some bushes on reaching the top of the location, one of us saw a Teacher of the girls School, coming across in our direction .. we , thinking that she had noticed us panicked and scrambled down the hill, in some velocity, making a lot of noise in the rubble and stones that came our way  .. the Teacher we came to know later had not actually seen us but was coming to pick up a pullover of one of the girls which was lying close to or vantage point .. but because of the scramble she reported the matter to our Principal who at dinner when the entire School sits for their meal in one Hall , came and announced that some boys had been seen going up to Dorothy Seat and to own up and stand up .. all of us stood up, much to our embarrassment .. for the rest of the School boys had not known of or escapade .. 

It was 6 of the best for us .. 6 cuts of the cane , from the Principal, a Tennis Blue from Cambridge or Oxford .. had a most devastating forehand .. we were taken into a side room in his office as was the drill with all these cases and were given the cane .. a wheel barrow lay in one corner, we were made to bend down and hold the handles so our posteriors were nice and tight .. and then .. whack .. 6 cuts from the well oiled bamboo canes safely kept in a separate drawer .. dark black bruises, lines of the cuts, would appear on our backsides despite the frantic rubbing to ease the pain, we would indulge in .. the morning baths were a site for us all .. for the entire dormitory bathed together under showers in a line and the rest of the guys would giggle and laugh at our black bruised stripes on the skin of our behinds .. !!!!

ahhhhh .. the happiest days of our lives ..

oh  .. heck .. so .. forgot to mention what was written for us in the concert .. there was a piano ditty played by Mr Thomson .. and each of us that had a verse written for us came up on the stage in rhythm and said our line and went back .. mine and another co artist that broke bounds with me had this . .. after the description of the event that took place was sung out in tune , ours was ..: like a culmination of what we did on that day and what the end result was .. of getting caught and being punished .. so we had to sing :

‘we’re now confirmed misogynists, and worthy of the name .. we’d rather run a thousand miles than meet a blooming dame ..’

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

the innocence of those times and the factor of fun and enjoyment even in the most adverse conditions .. not a care, not a concern .. never again to be relived .. which is why they be the happiest days of our life !!

Amitabh Bachchan

[networkpersonal534]

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[thesmalltowngal]

Snowbaz 28- If I Had $1,000,000

OTP Prompt #28: Penny spells the boys to sing what they really mean. 

~ So this takes place during eighth year, but Shepherd is there for some reason because why not. This is based on the song If I Had $1,000,000 by the Barenaked Ladies, and while listening to it while you read isn’t required, it might help. This is a total crack fic, and it is very self-indulgent, but I had soooo much fun writing it. Enjoy! ~

*Penny’s POV*

Simon and Baz are bloody bickering again. Lately, it hasn’t been anything too hostile, just a few small arguments here and there while we’ve been figuring out how to kill the Humdrum. But if I didn’t know that they ‘hated’ each other, I’d call it a bit of a domestic. Simon has come to breakfast every day this week complaining about Basil and how posh and perfect he is. I swear, sometimes he can be the daftest person I know. All I know at this point is that I need to knock some sense into the both of them before I fall in love with Baz. And at the rate Simon complains about how perfect he is, it might be bloody soon. 

As Simon, Shep and I are walking to the abandoned theatre off campus, he’s (once again) ‘complaining’ about Baz. “His hair was clogging the drain again, Penny!” (See? Domestic.) “And the prat had the audacity to just smirk about it! Can you believe that?”

“Well, I-” He tugs at his messy curls as he interrupts me. 

“It’s like, we bloody get it, you have great long hair and you always shower with your posh cedar and bergamot soap!” I just sigh and try tuning him out as we make our way across the pitch. Seriously, how does Simon manage to complain about Baz’s beautiful hair and great smell and still think they’re just enemies? Shep and I give each other a look and roll our eyes- their feelings for each other are really only not obvious to the two of them. 

“Remind me again why I agreed to this truce, Pen?” Because you love him, dolt.

“Because we need each other’s help, Si.” And then he’s off again jabbering, even as we enter the theatre and see Baz sitting on the stage. Simon only shuts up when we get close to him. 

“Bunce. Snow,” Baz starts, eyes lingering on Simon. (The pair of them, I swear.) “Where do we begin today?” His eyebrow is arched in the way that riles Simon up (and not in the way he thinks), and he moves his gaze to me. He looks tired- I don’t think he’s getting much sleep. 

“Well I was actually thinking we’d start with a sort of bonding exercise…” They both roll their eyes but go to stand on stage next to each other while Shep and I stand off in the wings. 

“What are you going to make them do?” He asks, elbowing me with a smile.

“You’ll see,” I wink.

“Well, Pen? What is it?” Simon asks me, determined to stay at least four feet away from Baz. 

“I’ve decided I’m done with your relationship drama.” Simon blushes and starts stuttering, trying to deny it. 

“Wh- Pen, no. I mean… Baz and I- we’re enemies!” Baz stays silent, skin flushing slightly as he sets his jaw and looks the other way. I roll my eyes for what feels like the hundredth time today.

I huff, “This is what I’m bloody talking about!”

Before he can protest further, I lift up my ring and cast Music is What Feelings Sound Like. The magic takes hold almost immediately, darkening the lights in the room and stiffening the boys to stand straight. A spotlight moves to Baz, and music starts playing in the background. This song?! I have to stifle a laugh as I watch my spell play out perfectly.

*Baz’s POV*

Bunce is trying to kill me. I never intended Simon to find out my feelings- not like this. I wanted to tell him as his sword plunged into me, tears welling in my eyes. Not in a fucking song that is not even what I listen to, anyway. But my mouth moves with a mind of its own as I start singing the folky lines of a song I would never sing in a million years. 

I look out into the crowd, a serious look on my face. (I can feel Simon’s eyes on me.) “If I had a million dollars-”

“If I had a million dollars…” Simon’s voice echoes mine as another spotlight shines on him, and I can hear Bunce’s stifled laughter from here. The spotlight fades off of him but stays on me. 

My body moves now, too of its own volition, walking over to Simon and doing a small dance move that seems as though it could be from the 50s. He smiles at me and he’s the sun. (I know it’s just the song doing it to him, but a bloke can hope.) “Well I’d buy you a house-” After I sing the words, my body freezes in an ending dance pose. The spotlight moves from me to him. 

Simon copies the move I just did, echoing me again and saying “I would buyyy you a house!” He freezes in the same pose as me. I love him.

“And if I had a million dollars-”

“If I had a million dollars!” I spin him into me and then back out, keeping our hands together. 

“I’d buy you furniture for your house-”

“Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman!” He comes back close to me and we do something resembling an upbeat waltz. There are many thoughts going through my mind, such as what the fuck, why me, and fuck me, Simon Snow. Mostly I’m just focused on how I tried to convince myself all those years that Simon’s eyes were boring blue. Nothing special. But the way that he’s looking at me right now, I have to come to the conclusion that I was bloody dead from the neck up, and his blue eyes are the most exceptional thing I’ve ever seen. 

“And if I had a million dollars-”

“If I had a million dollars!” As we swing around the stage, Simon’s terrible wailing might be simultaneously the sweetest and most torturous thing I’ve ever heard. 

“I’d buy you a K-car-” What is a K-car, and what the bloody hell am I doing with my hips?

“A nice reliant automobile!” We sing together the next part and Simon comes in close, twirling and pressing against me. If magic wasn’t controlling me I’d be sporting a right hard-on. 

“And if I had a million dollars…” We sway together, looking into each other’s eyes, which is completely cliche and absolutely perfect. “I’d buy your loveeee…” I understand why this is the song I’m singing, but- why is he singing it if it’s supposed to tell each other how we feel? Perhaps Bunce’s magic is faulty. 

But I don’t have much time to ponder over it, because the next thing I know, we’re ripping our clothes off to somehow reveal posh outfits that seem as though they could be from dapper dancers of the 1800's. We suddenly have tophats and canes, and before I can think much of it, I’m whisked away from Snow into some sort of solo with the spotlight on me. 

*Simon’s POV*

I hate Baz very bloody much sometimes. His unwavering, pitch perfect voice and flawless dance moves. The way he looks right fit in the new clothes we suddenly have on. (Seriously, no bloke has a right to look that bloody fit in clothes from the 1800’s.) And now he has some sort of solo and I’m standing off to the side admiring watching him and singing a few parts with him. 

“If I had a million dollars-” We sing together, Baz facing outward, me facing Baz. 

“I’d build a tree fort in our yard!” He finishes, facing me with a smile. (I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Baz smile before. It’s… nice.) 

“If I had a million dollars-”

“-you could help it wouldn’t be that hard!”

“If I had a million dollars-”

“Maybe we could put a little tiny refrigerator in there somewhere…” He comes over and grabs both of my hands, pulling me back to the center of the stage in some sort of dance-walk mix, and I copy his movements. 

My mouth moves without my consent, as it so often does. “You know we could just go up and hang out.” I sing-talk.

“Like open the fridge and stuff and there'd be foods laid out for us!” (Even though it’s just a song, I would love to really do that. Maybe not with him, but maybe.)

“With little pre-wrapped sausages and things, mmm.” A part of Baz peeks through and he rolls my eyes like he so often does when I mention food. Usually I see it as hostile, but right now, it only seems like good fun between mates. 

“They have pre-wrapped sausages but they don't have pre-wrapped bacon!”

“Well can you blame them?” He lets go of my hands when I say that and does some sort of dance step spin. 

“Yeah!” He laughs and goes back to dancing with me. As we start on the next verse, I find myself not minding this so much anymore. This is… well this is a right fun ‘bonding exercise’. (I wonder briefly why this is the song we’re singing to each other, but my thoughts are wiped away as Baz takes my hand again.)

*Shepherd’s POV*

I lean into Penny as we watch the boys dance and sing, and I feel her shaking with laughter. As I stare on, I whisper into her ear, “What the fuck.”

She laughs harder. She continues watching the boys, and I start watching her. (She’s brilliant when she laughs.)

*Penny’s POV*

The boys are twirling around on stage in their dapper outfits and spotlights, singing about fur coats and elephant bones, and when Shepherd leans in to say what the fuck, I can’t help but nearly bloody colapse in a fit of laughter. I think Shep notices because he secures an arm around me as I’m about to go down and laughs into my shoulder with me. He doesn’t move his arm when I’m done laughing. 

And I don’t tell him to.

*Baz’s POV*

I think this is what dying feels like. Simon, the bloody prat, comes back to my arms (I know he can’t help it) and starts swaying with me again as we sing the line “And if I had a million dollars, I’d buy your loveee…” He’s mere inches from my face, and right when my stomach nearly empties itself because fuck is Simon going to kiss me, he smirks and then dances away, begninning his solo. I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or relieved. 

“If I had a million dollars-” We sing in unison.

“We wouldn’t have to walk to the store!” “If I had a million dollars-” “We’d take a limousine ‘cause it coooosts more!”

“If I had a million dollars-”

“We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft dinner!” And then we proceed to have a conversation about how we would eat Kraft dinner (whatever that is), but just more, with fancy dijon ketchups, which results in us both bursting into laughter. 

*Simon’s POV* 

We sing the rest of the song, and I can feel my body getting rather tired. But I also feel like this song is leading up to something- a big finish of sorts. To what I’m not sure, but I decide not to think about it, and instead focus on the fit bloke in front of me. We get to the last line, closer to each other than ever. 

“If I had a million dollars…” We sway together, harmonizing. We throw our top hats and canes haphazardly into the crowd. 

Just as the song hits its most musical, most climactic part, I yell “I’d be rich!” (Which is a very dumb me thing to say.) The music gives one last hard trumpet spurt and then cuts out. Just as it finally ends, the magic gives one last push and forces Baz and I’s bodies together, making us kiss. 

It feels forced at first, but as the magic wears off, we both melt into it, grabbing hair, clothes, cheeks, anything we can get our hands on. (It must still be a little bit of the magic.)

The spotlights black out and Baz and I only spring apart moments later when we hear Shep and Penny slowly clapping. 

*Penny’s POV*

They’re both somehow back in their normal clothes, and when they spring apart, they’re both flushed (Baz as flushed as he can physically be) and sputtering. (I’ve never known Baz to stutter- he must be very bloody into Simon.) They’re looking everywhere but at each other. 

Shep and I come out of the wings clapping and I can’t help but wear a smug grin. “Yeah, enemies. Sure you are.” I laugh as they start sputtering out denials, but I can tell that both of them have some glimmer of hope- some sort of feeling that maybe they both feel the same way. (It took them long enough to figure it out.)

Even though they both deny it, by the time we walk out of the theatre (after Simon and Baz chatted privately), they walk out holding hands. 

And I’d be bloody damned if either of them ever let go. 

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

Plea for My New Self

Sanders sides Vampire College AU - it’s gay - it’s full of fun fluffy tropes - a bit o’ hurt/comfort - mostly fluff

Words: 5,659 Warnings:  Arguing, Violence,  Characters: Virgil, Roman, Patton, Logan, Thomas, Remy, Joan, Talyn Ships: Prinxiety, Anxceit, Roceit, Analogical, Remile, Joan&Talyn Universe: Plea for my New Self Rating: T Genre: Vampire Nonsense and Drama

Chapter 30: Full Moon in Scorpio

Chapter 1 for New Readers - ffn mirror

   “Jesus Christ Superstar, is this whole thing our room?” Roman asked, stepping into the hotel room in awe, looking around and taking a spin on the polished floors.

   “It’s just a step or two below a presidential suite or something. I don’t know the lingo, I just needed a place with a big enough living room,” Virgil shrugged. Roman called out to listen to his voice echo.

   “Oh, my gosh, I have to sing in here,” Roman declared, spinning into the living room and started singing A Whole New World from Aladdin. It echoed off of the marble enchantingly. Virgil waited and in the doorway, holding it open for Patton and Logan who took the elevator. Patton smiled and waved at Virgil when they turned the corner and Virgil waved back.

   “A whole new world! A new fantastic point of view!” Roman loudly crooned as he danced around on the glinting tiles.

   “Oh, he sounds so good!” Patton cooed as they stepped in, making a bee-line to the table to put their takeout food down. Virgil offered his hand to Logan when he strode up and Logan took it. They walked into the hotel room together, and Logan looked around with interest.

   “This seems a bit much just to watch movies in, Virgil,” Logan said after slowly examining the room.

   “It’ll be more comfortable for me, there will be lots of beings here,” Virgil said and squeezed Logan’s hand. “I don’t suppose I can have a hug?” Virgil asked and Logan nodded. Virgil pulled Logan in and kissed the top of his hair gently. “You’re sure you’re okay being in the same room with all these vampires? I honestly don’t mind taking you back to the dorms,” Virgil reminded him. He was confused when Logan said he wanted to come. He’d be a lamb in a den full of super-powered wolves, but his curiosity was greater than his survival instinct, it seemed.

   “I’m confident you wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I find the entire event intellectually fascinating,” Logan said, sounding excited and nodding brightly. Virgil heard Patton giggling and looked over to see Roman was dancing around the living room with them, now singing Once Upon A Dream. “I admit the concept is odd that I will be the only fully human person in the room, though,” Logan didn’t let go of Virgil and turned to watch the two dance around the suite. Virgil kissed Logan’s temple affectionately and Logan nestled in, looking amused at Roman and Patton’s antics.

   “Let me go unlock the balcony and show them where to land. Feel free to claim a room, there’s plenty. Just put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door and people should get the message,” Virgil pointed to a small pile of signs on a side table under an ornate mirror.

   “I look forward to utilizing the hot tub,” Logan smiled and slid out of Virgil’s arms, squeezing his hand before heading off to explore the hotel suite. Virgil headed to the balcony, passing Roman holding Patton princess-style and spinning around the room while Patton squealed in delight. Roman’s voice echoing against the walls as he sang was captivating. He winked at Patton while he passed them and Patton giggled and stuck out their tongue playfully.

   Virgil unlocked the large glass doors and stepped out on to the wide stone balcony. There was a sunken fire pit and a seating area out here, along with a small garden of flowers near the windows and a long thin pool. Virgil snapped a quick photo of the balcony and flitted up to the top of the hotel, taking a picture of the overhead. He jumped back down on to their patio and marked up the photo, then sent the two off to everyone else. The first one to come from above was Remy with Thomas over one shoulder and Emile over the other. He landed silently and put down Thomas and Emile, and Emile handed him a cup of iced coffee.

   “Hecate, dude, you’re not worried about getting attacked or something with your arms full?” Virgil asked incredulously.

   “I don’t need to worry about that kind of stuff, babe,” Remy set down a smiling Emile, and a very ruffled looking Thomas, who tried to fix his hair in the window’s reflection as soon as he got down. He had one of those pocket flip combs that were popular in the 50s.

   “Nice to meet you, Virgil! I’m Emile!” He beamed, holding out his hand for Virgil to shake. Virgil hesitated before shaking his hand. He wasn’t used to doing it anymore. His old life was blessedly far away now. Emile’s smile was very reassuring, and he had a kind face. He also had bubble-gum pink hair, which Virgil did not expect. It suited him, though. He was dressed like a dad in slacks and a soft tan cardigan. This being Remy’s type was also something Virgil did not foresee.

   “Hey,” Virgil said nonchalantly. “It’s good to see you again, Rem. I’m surprised we haven’t had to beat the shit out of each other yet, considering how close I am to Thomas,” Virgil motioned with his head to Thomas who was walking back over. He looked very put together and not like he had been lugged over a shoulder for a few miles. He wore a white button-down over a graphic tee and black jeans, which he admittedly looked fantastic in.

   “I’m probably far enough from campus, we live in a condo downtown. We’re out of range of little Thomathy most of the time,” Remy shrugged, leaning back against the wall. “I’m still happy to for fun, though,” Remy winked. “We’ll have to tonight, anyway, with my other Blood here,” Remy mused and Emile moved to lean against Remy on the wall. “Do you only just have the one turned? That’s wild. I’ve got way more than Joan and Talyn, they’re just the only ones that stuck by,” Remy asked curiously, his eyebrow arched over his mirrored sunglasses.

   “I don’t keep track of them if we weren’t romantically involved. I could have more, I don’t remember,” Virgil shrugged and shook his head.

   “Are you feeding on your Brood yet?” Remy smirked. He dusted off his red leather jacket absentmindedly. Emile leaned affectionately into his arm and stole a sip of his coffee.

   “Ro got me drunk and tricked me into it,” Virgil grimaced a little as he joked. He was still a little bitter about it he agreed that perhaps he was being extra again.

   “Darling, that’s not what happened,” Deceit purred, pulling Virgil in from behind right after he landed.

   “He’s right, Deceit tricked me,” Virgil laughed more genuinely and angled his head to kiss Deceit. Deceit hummed happily as he flipped Virgil’s hair out of the way.

   “How’s business, Remington?” Deceit asked, wrapping himself around Virgil and rested his head on Virgil’s shoulder. His cane held in front of Virgil, resting under Deceit’s hand with his normal level of class and panache.

   “Very good, thanks. Made a shit-ton off your boy. You seriously wear a suit and bring a cane to movie nights?” Remy asked, motioning to Deceit incredulously.

   “I’m not a savage,” Deceit smirked and kissed Virgil’s neck, tapping his cane on the ground dramatically.

   “People think I’m batty,” Remy rolled his eyes and pulled his mouth to the side. “So, remember any fun memories now that you’ve gotten the good stuff?” He asked provocatively.

   “Hmm, just some forgotten vocabulary and how to fish for some reason. I can’t believe I ever fished,” Virgil shrugged dismissively. He was hoping for something more fun, too.

   “You were probably looking for an excuse to go out to sea and hangout with merpeople,” Deceit laughed playfully and kissed his neck again.

   “They know how to rock, what can I say? Their instruments don’t work above water,” Virgil said defensively, flicked at Deceit’s side. Deceit dodged it with an evil grin.

   “You might have been in a merperson band or something, I wouldn’t put it past you,” Deceit teased lightly. Virgil softened quickly as Deceit carded his fingers through Virgil’s hair affectionately.

   “Oh, Hecate, girl, that must of fucking hurt to grow,” Remy said, possibly just noticing Virgil’s hairstyle.

   “My clan likes to heckle me and bully me into things,” Virgil huffed, crossing his arms and slightly motioning his head to Deceit.

   “You look so good with long hair. I think you should grow it longer,” Deceit cooed and leaned in to press a kiss behind Virgil’s ear.

   “It’s the least practical thing on the planet to have knee-length hair, D,” Virgil groaned in objection, shaking his head.

   “I’ll get him to do it by the end of the night, just watch me,” Deceit smiled impishly and nibbled affectionately at Virgil’s neck. “Oh! Thomas! My Child!” Deceit released Virgil swiftly and picked up Thomas to spin him around in the air, holding him up with both hands.

   “Did you adopt my omega without telling me?” Remy sipped his drink with a raised eyebrow, looking very amused at the baffled expression Thomas made.

   “He’s just so young,” Virgil smiled affectionately. “We want to buy him things and spoil him,” Virgil rubbed his hands together mischievously.

   “He is baby,” Remy smirked at Thomas knowingly and he turned a little pink.

   “I’m not baby!” Thomas groaned, jumping out of Deceit’s arms and landing a few feet away from him on the patio.

   “You have so many dads now, Thomas!” Emile clapped in delight. Deceit smiled wickedly and leaned against the wall.

   “Emile, gross, don’t call Remy my dad,” Thomas rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, sticking out his tongue in distaste.

   “Oh, daddy is okay, though?” Remy grinned darkly and winked at Thomas, who blushed wildly and shot straight in an instant.

   “I’m saying hi to Roman now, bye!” Thomas ran inside in embarrassment, causing Virgil and Deceit to cackle.

   “He’s so fucking cute,” Remy chuckled and shook his head affectionately. “Babe, you should order room service. Joan will be thirsty and Logan will make Thomas thirsty eventually,” Remy pat Emile on the butt. Remy cracked his knuckles. “We might also have a visitor,” He added cryptically.

   “What? I don’t smell anybody,” Virgil said, looking around frantically for any sign of another vampire.

   “Might, babe,” Remy smirked. “We’d win, it’s whatever. I just really want to crack somebody’s face in,” Remy motioned a punch with his free hand and flashed his fangs.

   “I keep wanting to throw people off roofs, so I’d love to do that if you’ll share,” Virgil said sinisterly, silently cracking his knuckles in his fist.

   “Don’t worry babe, I get it,” Remy nodded sagely and sipped his drink.

   “What vampire would be dumb enough to go where there are obviously two clans congregated,” Deceit hissed, walking back behind Virgil and resting his head on Virgil’s shoulder. “The smell here is ridiculous,” Deceit said, and the repulsion in his voice was clear. It really was bad. Virgil was ready to snap somebody’s neck, the scent was so powerful.

   “Maybe they want to fight and assume we’re fighting and not just watching humans get murdered for sport,” Virgil reached up to stroke Deceit’s face. “Speaking of, are Joan and Talyn almost here?” Virgil asked inquisitively.

   “Yeah, they’re closing in,” Remy took a long sip of his drink and set it down on the patio.

   “Do you feel like working a little of this out now before everybody’s here?” Virgil smiled viciously and flashed his fangs at Remy.

   “Babe, you know it,” Remy chuckled darkly and came at Virgil without hesitation. Deceit cleared away in a shot and Remy picked up and threw Virgil into the air, trying to go in for a kick, but Virgil grabbed him in the leg and tossed him back down to the ground, landing a hit with his knee on Remy’s chest.

   “Woah, woah, what the fuck guys?” Roman ran out yelling.

   “They’re just playing love,” Deceit purred, pulling Roman into his arms and backing against the wall while Remy flipped Virgil and socked him right in the jaw. Virgil snarled and kneed him in the stomach, and Remy sent him flying again.

   “That doesn’t look like fucking playing!” Roman shot while Remy landed a kick in Virgil’s back with a malicious laugh.

   “I’m-” Virgil got hit in the chest and lost his breath, but punched Remy hard enough to send him sailing back in return. “Fine, Ro, we’re just-” Remy came back and flipped Virgil onto the patio, knocking the wind out of him. Virgil had to catch himself before breaking the stones and used the momentum to launch Remy off the roof. Remy hissed and flung himself back at Virgil, and they both went tumbling and wrestling for dominance again. Emile cheered excitedly with his arms in the air.

   “The playfight is making it easier to sit in the same room together, dear,” Deceit kissed Roman’s cheek. Deceit paused, looking confused, and then grimacing. “… Roman, you didn’t tell Patton we are seeing each other, yet? They’re freaking out for two reasons now. Logan has the good sense to keep them indoors, at least,” Deceit sighed.

   “Uh, whoops,” Roman muttered, rubbing his head sheepishly.

   “Hey, Remy,” a person an orange knitted cap landed on the balcony while Remy waved and connected another punch to Virgil’s face. They were dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt with a big chunky watch. Virgil hissed and flipped Remy over, slamming his knee into Remy’s solar plexus.

   “Are they giving you trouble or is that Virgil?” A smaller person with bright lavender hair landed next to the one with the orange beanie. They wore a crop top, asymmetric shorts, and high boots and looked very fashionable compared to the other.

   “That’s Virgil,” Deceit provided, looking like he was keeping Roman safely in place. Roman was scowling and sometimes pushing at Deceit to move his arms, but Deceit held him firmly, which Virgil was grateful for. Remy was enough of a handful as it is. The fight was evenly matched so far. They were both holding back but keeping like that when his throat was right there was difficult and he didn’t want the distraction of one of his Brood in danger.

   “Woah, Deceit? What the fuck are you doing here?” The person in the orange beanie asked, looking surprised and leaning back.

   “I’m Virgil’s Blood. Don’t go advertising that,” Deceit said disdainfully. “Darling, you’ll need to stop soon and show Patton and Logan you’re okay or they might actually have a panic attack,” Deceit informed him plainly and motioned with his hand to the interior of the hotel.

   “Shit,” Virgil hissed, punching Remy in the back of the head. Remy spun around and his eyes flashed brighter red for a millisecond.

   “Boo!” Remy whined, grabbing Virgil’s shoulders and yanking him down over his kneecap. Virgil let that be the last hit and fell to the patio after Remy dropped him unceremoniously. He got up off the ground and dusted himself off. Remy laughed and patted himself off as well, going back over to pick up his drink. Patton came running out on to the veranda and immediately stared fussing over Virgil.

   “Are you okay? Oh my god! Why did- Ugh! You’re a meanie!” Patton shot angrily at Remy and glared at him before grabbing Virgil and surveying for damage. Picking a fight with a rival alpha vampire was not the best idea, but Virgil appreciated their spunk.

   “I guess I should have been more clear on the way here,” Virgil rubbed his head and pulled Patton in for a hug. Patton hugged Virgil tightly, pressing their face hard into his chest.

   “Virgil, why in the world were you fighting like that? You terrified me!” Logan bellowed, pointing to Remy. Remy just rolled his eyes as he sipped his drink and Virgil cringed. Oh, he fucked up spectacularly.

   “You didn’t warn them?” Emile asked incredulously, furrowing his eyebrows at Virgil. “Virgil, apologize to your friends right now,” Emile said angrily, motioning to Logan and Patton.

   “Sorry! I’m sorry!” Virgil held up his hands, but Patton stayed clinging on. “I didn’t know my heads up wasn’t enough, I’m not used to talking to humans about this stuff. I didn’t mean to scare you. Remy and I are fine. Claws and fangs were not involved,” Virgil reassured them.

   “I would have loved to sink my teeth into you,” Remy huffed, sounding disappointed and glowering at Virgil.

   “Me too,” Another hiss broke out from Virgil which caused Patton to flinch slightly but not let go.

   “Boys, I know the instincts are loud, but please focus,” Emile said firmly and Virgil fought back a snarl towards Remy. Remy looked like he was doing the same. They probably didn’t fight enough.

   “Listen, Remy’s an alpha. We’re sort of wired for killing each other. It’s what the whole territorial thing is about. We were blowing off some steam. I promise we’re both fine. We didn’t want this evening to devolve into a deathmatch. I’m sincerely sorry I wasn’t more clear on what vampire instincts meant. I should have warned you more clearly we were going to fight to try to trick our wiring. I won’t do it again,” Virgil explained quickly, trying to apologize.

   “Good job, Virgil. Patton, Logan? Do you have anything to say to Virgil?” Emile directed them.

   “Don’t scare me like that again!” Patton sniffled and Virgil pulled them up into his arms.

   “I’m so sorry, Pat,” Virgil apologized sincerely.

   “I accept your apology, Virgil. Thank you for understanding. I would appreciate further information for the future so we can avoid these misunderstandings,” Logan said, sounding stiff. Virgil grimaced slightly. He must have broken Logan’s trust for him to talk like that again. That hurt, but Logan was willing to forgive him. It was entirely Virgil’s fault, and he couldn’t blame Logan for being upset.

   “I know. Sorry, Logan. I forget what is and isn’t common knowledge sometimes. Maybe you could prepare some questions for me?” Virgil offered sheepishly.

   “I think that would be acceptable,” Logan nodded, crossing his arms. He at least didn’t look that angry, just upset.

   “He is battier than me,” Remy rolled his eyes and gestured dramatically.

   “Remington, you feed on me all the time. Virgil has been trying to respect his friend’s boundaries. It’s considerate of him,” Emile chided Remy firmly.

   “No, no, I’m batty, I know I am,” Virgil laughed slightly, still too upset with himself to genuinely laugh.

   “And Roman! When did you start dating D?” Patton said, pushing Virgil’s chest. Oof. Pat’s on the warpath. Virgil slid Patton down and Patton marched over to Roman sourly.

   “Are they always like this?” The one in the orange beanie whispered to Thomas.

   “I have no idea, but I’d kill for some popcorn,” Thomas whispered back behind his hand.

   “I, uh, the night we got the dancing video we were going to watch. I’m sorry, I was drunk and kind of forgot about telling you,” Deceit smirked and kissed Roman’s temple, releasing him.

   “You were drunk?” Patton yelled, perhaps even more upset now, and stomped right into Roman’s face. Roman held up his hands and backed up. Virgil was impressed at the amount of tiny fury Patton contained and was sincerely glad it wasn’t aimed at himself anymore. He still felt bad for Roman, who looked completely blindsided by the whole event.

   “Holy shit, this is better than a soap opera,” The orange beanie-wearing vampire whispered.

   “I know,” The one with the lavender hair whispered back, looking incredibly bemused.

   “I didn’t get cast as Semptimus or Bernard because of some stupid rule about freshman not playing leads and wanted to have fun instead of moping all evening,” Roman explained himself defensively, holding up his hands. Logan also looked upset at Roman, which was surprising.

   “Roman, you are eighteen, that’s illegal!” Patton shot, pointing a finger at him assertively.

   “I’m pretty certain most of the people out here are illegal, that doesn’t make their existence wrong,” Roman said warily. Oh, wow, he could almost hear a sports commentator shout ‘powerful misdirection by the defense’!

   “Huh,” Logan looked considerate for a moment. “I suppose you’re right,” Logan moved up one of his crossed arms to his chin with interest.

   “Logan, don’t you agree with him!” Patton said angrily, shooting Logan a glower.

   “Patton, the laws are created for those in power, not necessarily with the best interests of every being in mind. There are plenty of unjust rules. As long as Roman doesn’t make a habit out of it, I don’t think it’s significantly more objectionable than Virgil’s very presence in human society, which you are fine with,” Logan explained evenly. Oh, the misdirection landed! Fantastic play by the defense! Deceit arched his eyebrow curiously at Virgil who just shrugged. He had very little control of what was going on up there and had little explanation for it. Roman made him watch the Olympics recently, so that may have contributed, but he had long since accepted that he was batty.

   “Thanks? I think?” Virgil responded, but he was not entirely sure what was happening.

   “Damn, this kid should do law,” The one with lavender hair whispered in awe. Patton made a frustrated noise and Deceit pulled them close and spoke quietly right into their ear.

   “Young man,” There was a chorus of sputtered laughter at that angry declaration from Patton. “Don’t think I forgive you for being an accessory to Roman’s crimes,” Patton huffed, sounding less distressed.

   “His crimes? Darling, please, he had some whiskey. It’s a forgivable offense. You’re upset because you don’t want him to hurt himself,” Deceit corrected Patton and took their hand. That assuredly wasn’t the complete story, but Patton must want to keep it private.

   “I-” Patton cut themselves off quickly. “I am,” Patton muttered, drooping slightly.

   “It’s reasonable to be scared for your friend’s health, Patton. It’s okay that you’re angry at him for taking unnecessary risks. But Roman was with people who love him and surely made sure that he was safe, right?” Emile asked gently.

   “Of course, we made him drink a ton of water and he had two dinners. Roman was barely even hungover the next day,” Virgil attempted to placate Patton. Roman really did have so many pancakes he hated himself and a serious amount of water.

   “I wasn’t!” Roman piped up and corroborated Virgil’s story, sounding hopeful.

   “It was a misunderstanding, but I think it would be healthy to apologize to each other, anyway,” Emile smiled reassuringly and nodded to Roman.

   “I’m sorry I made you worry, Pat,” Roman apologized dejectedly. He sounded very sincere and looked down to the patio.

   “And I’m sorry I yelled,” Patton muttered back, walking over to hug Roman. Roman wrapped his arms around Patton and pet their hair. They both seemed much better already, and that impressed Virgil. Roman was the type to fume, and Patton rarely let things go easily.

   “Great! Let’s go watch movies, yeah?” Emile chirped brightly, motioning with both arms to head inside. Okay, wow, having him around was actually pretty awesome.

   “Thanks, Emile,” Virgil sighed in relief.

   “Anytime, Virgil! Especially during my office hours!” Emile chimed with a knowing smile aimed directly at Virgil.

   “Ugh!” Virgil groaned loudly in objection. Hopefully, he’d drop it.

   “Uh, well, that was a fucking event! I’m Joan,” The one in the orange beanie provided.

   “I’m Talyn,” The lavender haired one added.

   “I like your hair, Talyn,” Patton said shyly.

   “Thanks, I think you’re rocking that pastel rainbow, too,” Talyn offered. Patton blushed slightly. “We both use they/them,” Talyn motioned between themself and Joan.

   “I do too,” Patton smiled.

   “Roman, he/him. Glasses over there is also he/him,” Roman said, holding open the door for everybody to go inside.

   “My name is Logan,” he narrowed his eyes at Roman but seemed to let it go. “Virgil, are you feeling anything different today?” He asked mildly.

   “I’m don’t have any feelings about it at the moment,” Virgil shrugged. “Whatever you want to call me,” Virgil walked in and settled on the floor in front of the couch. Patton crawled up behind him and started playing with his hair again. Deceit quickly claimed Virgil’s lap with a smug smile.

   Roman examined a pile of movies left on the coffee table and Logan went to the dinner table and pulled out his food to eat, though he angled himself to watch the TV. Roman flipped through the movie cases with a disgusted look while Remy flopped on the couch, leaning against the arm and pulled Emile into his lap. Thomas sat next to Patton and Joan and Talyn claimed the recliners next to the couch.

   “Pat, don’t you want to eat your pizza while it’s hot?” Virgil asked. He wasn’t bothered by Patton playing with his hair, but didn’t want Patton to forget about their food.

   “Just let me do one hairstyle first,” Patton said, very focused and tugging at Virgil’s hair. Patton was excited about the pizza, so Virgil was vaguely flattered that they’d rather play with his hair.

   “Did you want to watch one of these movies first or would you like a few minutes of Virgil and Deceit fancy-dancing? Patton and Logan have been wanting to see it. I only just finished editing it today,” Roman asked the room, holding up the movie cases and a USB drive.

   “Show us the fun dance that Virgil’s so embarrassed about,” Remy smirked. Virgil shot Remy a glower, but he just looked amused. Emile looked very interested as well, rubbing his hands together.

   “Yeah, that’s chill. Then I want to see the one with the ghosts,” Joan piped up and shared his opinion.

   “Nice,” Roman nodded and slid the flash drive into the side of the large TV. “You think I can see the TV from the hot tub?” He asked curiously as he came around for the remote.

   “Babe,” Remy said stoically, looking intense. “Yes. Let’s fucking hot tub,” Remy said keenly, picking up Emile. He put Emile down on the couch and headed over to the hot tub. Emile chuckled and scooted closer to Virgil.

   “I will wait until an hour after eating,” Logan said, enjoying a slice of pizza.

   “Will you be able to hear through the jets?” Patton asked as Roman trotted off to his bag.

   “It’s fine if I can’t. I’ve heard the music before, I’ve watched it a million times editing it,” Roman said, pushing the big button near the hot tub and turning on the bubbles. Roman waved his swim trunks and disappeared into one of the doors in the suite. Remy just stripped down on the spot and climbed in, looking very satisfied as he sank into hot water.

   “Did you want to play with some, too, Emile?” Patton’s bubbly voice came from behind Virgil, and it felt like they were offering a handful of hair to Emile.

   “It sure does look fun. Would that be okay with you, Virgil?” Emile asked considerately, sounding fascinated.

   “Sure, whatever,” Virgil shrugged. He felt Emile’s hand take a section of hair and it felt like he started working with Patton on a style. Patton would poke Virgil’s head sometimes and hair would tug near the last poke. He wasn’t positive of exactly what they were up to, but Patton seemed to be entertained, so he was happy with it.

   “It would be more fun if you had more of it,” Deceit enticed him in a sing-song tone after pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

   “Are we tempting Virgil out there? I want to join you!” Roman shot out of the bathroom and slid across the floor to lean against Virgil, looking extremely mischievous in his swim trunks. The smoothness of that move was for a human would have impressed Virgil if he wasn’t so annoyed. He narrowed his eyes at both of them.

   “Virgil would look fetching with more hair, wouldn’t he?” Deceit said sweetly, stroking Virgil’s face.

   “Oh, he would be dazzling,” Roman said affectionately and smiled flirtatiously at Virgil, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.

   “You have the weirdest clan, dude,” Joan said, leaning back on the recliner, looking up from their phone. Virgil sighed and shrugged. “Put the fancy dancing on already,” They motioned to the TV.

   “Virgil, can you turn it rainbow without feeding? The braids would look so cool,” Patton asked eagerly while Roman got up to grab the remote for navigating to the video.

   “Yeah, hold on,” Virgil said, leaning forward to get up, but Deceit pinned him on the spot.

   “Make it longer while you’re at it,” Deceit smirked, planting a small kiss on Virgil’s jaw.

   “For the love of- Fine, okay? I’ll lengthen my hair. Ro?” Virgil gave up and looked over to Roman. He was participating in this ridiculousness and may as well help out.

   “As if that wasn’t my plan all along,” Roman grinned impishly. Virgil got up, a very smug and satisfied looking Deceit clearing away so he could. Virgil went over to the mirror and turn his hair rainbow colors and grow it out with an exasperated sigh. The rainbows looked completely preposterous, and the length wasn’t rational in the least, but if it made them happy then he could get over it.

   “You weren’t kidding about your clan heckling you, huh?” Thomas sounded bemused.

   “Thank you, Logan, for not participating in Roman and Deceit’s evil nonsense. Roman, please order some room service with vegetables, no matter the amount of pizza you ate you’ll need nutrients,” Virgil exhaled with exhaustion as he pulled the last of the hair out he could manage.

   “You’re welcome,” Logan smiled knowingly and tapped off his mouth with a napkin. “Can I take your spot, Deceit?” He asked genially.

   “I suppose,” Deceit hummed, sitting up on the couch next to Patton instead. Virgil reclined back down on the floor in front of Patton and Emile. He tiredly motioned for Roman to press play. Logan relaxed into Virgil’s lap, much to Virgil’s surprise, as the video stared up. He was fiddling with his bracelet with one hand but latched on to Virgil with the other. It was nice that Logan was feeling huggy today. Virgil happily pulled him close and enjoyed Logan’s warmth.

   Honestly, they did look good dancing, and Roman did an amazing job recording them. His dress was beautiful to see from another angle, too. It didn’t make it any less embarrassing, though. Virgil opted to close his eyes and just focus on the sensation of Patton’s fingers resting on his head while they watching the video. They were too enthralled to keep braiding and kept squealing with delight as Deceit threw Virgil around the room. Even Thomas gasped at one point. Deceit felt so proud Virgil could feel it over his shield.

   “I’m not sure if I should be impressed with your athleticism since you are literally another species, but I do compliment you on your skill,” Logan said, sounding somewhat mesmerized with the video.

   “That was awesome,” Thomas said reverently. “Worth the wait!” Thomas cheered as the recording ended and Deceit requested Patton to thank him later.

   “Thank you!” Patton rejoiced, raising their arms in the air.

   “It was gay as fuck. I just want to take you dancing even more now,” Remy nodded, sounding hyped. Patton bristled much less than usual behind Virgil and hopefully was finally getting used to cussing.

   “There was great on-the-fly choreography,” Talyn mused, and Virgil was surprised at the genuine compliment from a stranger.

   “Uh, thanks,” Virgil mumbled. He wasn’t entirely sure how to process that.

   “Why thank you,” Deceit bowed slightly on the couch.

   “That was so cool! Can I have a copy of the file?” Patton asked enthusiastically, putting their hands back in Virgil’s hair.

   “Indeed! you can borrow that flash drive,” Roman replied airily from the hot tub.

   “Thanks again for editing, Roman. Please keep it offline, Pat,” Virgil said firmly, turning his head slightly to shoot Patton a glance.

   “Virge, you just got to change inputs to the blu-ray and press play,” Roman explained quickly. “I already put in the thing with the ghosts on the player, it’s all ready,” He melted down a bit into the hot tub, looking very satisfied with himself.

   “Woo!” Talyn cheered, holding up both their arms.

   “Fucking nice,” Joan pumped their fist. “The dance was cool, too. All the flips rocked,” They nodded sagely and grinned.

   “I want to learn how to do a ballroom dance now,” Thomas said dreamily.

   “I have to teach stupid Anton, anyway. Maybe Virgil and I will just offer to teach whoever wants to learn,” Roman considered sourly. “Better than teaching Anton alone… Remy, are you naked?” Roman asked incredulously, looking over and shooting his eyes up quickly.

   “You’re welcome,” Remy smirked. “Emmy, babe, are you joining me?” Remy flipped his hand towards Emile.

   “I’ve never played with hair this long!” Emile said defensively. “And I didn’t bring my suit, and I don’t know half the people here well enough for that,” He added slightly more sheepishly. It felt like he kept going while talking. Emile must have been really into it. Logan leaned to the side to look at what the braiders were doing behind him. He seemed satisfied and nestled back in again, still fidgeting with his bracelet.

   “I can’t resist, either,” Patton chuckled. Virgil’s head was being braided or plaited or possibly weaved into something by Patton and Emile together, Virgil couldn’t tell. But he was kind of too tired to care. He was very comfortable with Logan and everyone in his clan was feeling some variation of good, so even though he was exhausted he was extremely contented. He sighed happily as Logan leaned his head against Virgil’s to watch the movie.

personal taglist: @elizabutgayer@ollyollyoxinfree

the taglist repository  (ask to be removed):

supernatural beings taglist: @callboxkat @legendsgates @nonasficcollection @rainbowbowtie @10moonymhrivertam

DLAMP taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account @a-fandom-trashdump @averykedavra @notveryglittery

Virgil centric:  @demoniccheese83 @thatgaydemigodnerd @arya-skywalker

literally everything sanders sides: @katelynn-a-fan @dwbh888 @royal-stormcloud @grouptalekindnesssoul @the-hoely-bleach @anvil527up @fanficloverinthesun

[purplesurveys]

451

1. Do you like Ferrero Rocher chocolate?: Yeah I could probs eat a whole box by myself. I mean it is way too hyped, and the attention is unnecessary, but I like it nonetheless. 2. What’s the most expensive thing your car needed to get done?: It hasn’t been seriously damaged so nothing huge...maybe just oil changes. 3. If you had a thousand dollars to spend on a pricey brand you like but can’t really afford (until now of course), which ONE brand would you chose?: Michael Kors sneakers. They’re not super pricey but they still cost a bit for a pair of sneakers, so I’d loooove to have one for myself.

4. Do you still own any clothes you had in middle school? Like what?: NO. I threw up them out years ago. Fortunately–my middle school wardrobe was barf-worthy. 5. Do you like candy canes?: Yeah but it’s only super exciting to eat them during Christmas. I’m never in the mood for them if it’s a different time of the year.

6. What genre was the last movie you saw? And was it any good?: Revolutionary Road is romantic drama. It’s one of my favorite films; it’s really, really good but it’s the kind of piece you’ll have to emotionally prepare for because it’s so heavy.

7. Do you think George Clooney was hot when he was younger?: He’s attractive then and now.  8. …what about now?: ^ 9. How many pairs of flip flops do you own?: Two or three. I don’t keep track because I hate flip flops, the thongs make my feet bleed all the time :/ 10. How old were you when you got your first Tumblr/LJ?: I made a Tumblr for the first time in like May 2010, so I had just turned 12. 11. Remember Teen Ink? Did you ever submit anything to them?: Never heard of it. 12. Do you still talk to any of your old teachers?: Not anymore. I keep in touch with some but only barely – that’s to say I’m still friends with them on Facebook/following them on Twitter, but that’s it. I don’t talk to them, except for one who’s a little cooler and more understanding than the rest of the more conservative teachers I had. 3. Do you have Twitter? What do you mostly use it for?: Yes, it’s my favorite social media. That’s where I put everything – life, feelings, annoyances, sad stuff, fangirling, talking to my friends. 14. What color is your cell phone?: Space gray. 15. How many cell phones have you had in your lifetime?: 7. 16. Does your family still use the home phone or are you all on cell phones now?: Yes. The older generation and even company offices will still prefer landline so it’s common to see home phones everywhere. 17. How old were you when you got your first cell phone?: I had mine on my 7th birthday. The kids around me were starting to get their own phones and I got super envious, so it was what I asked for. Looking back, it’s an insanely young age to get a phone and I probably wouldn’t do the same for my kids. 18. Enough with the phones. When is/was your 21st birthday?: This year! 19. What color was the dress you wore to your senior prom?: I didn’t have a senior prom. My prom was in junior year and it was a shade of gold/beige; I don’t really remember. I hated prom and I deleted all photos and memories from that night. I was also invited to a senior ball though and for that night I had a royal blue gown. 20. Ever go to another school’s prom?: Not prom, but another school’s senior ball. 21. Ever take melatonin supplements to help you go to sleep?: Nope. 22. Do you like burning candles or incense?: I’d enjoy it if I encountered them, but I don’t buy them for myself or know anyone who uses them regularly. 23. Do you like doing laundry?: My mom prefers to do everyone’s laundry by herself and it kinda frustrates me cos I want her to start like, teaching me or something so I’ll know how to do it when the time comes. She’s not though, so I guess I’ll have to teach myself. 24. Ever throw a pair of your shoes in the washing machine? How did they come out?: No. Is that allowed??? 25. Do you own a real pair of Uggs?: No. 26. Do you ever venture into the woods? What do you normally do in there?: No. I live nowhere near the woods. 27. Favorite pizza toppings?: Barbecue sauce, chicken bits, any kind of cheese. 28. Favorite salad dressing?: I don’t really mix and match with salads so the classic caesar dressing will do (cos it’s all I know hahaha). 29. What’s the most you’d spend on a new pair of jeans?: P2,000. Google says that’s equal to more or less $38.60. 30. Do you like to wear shorts or capris in the summer?: YES. I need to wear airy, short stuff in the summer because otherwise I’d feel constricted and hot and I would be very pissy. 31. What do you think of Bermuda shorts?: Not my style. 32. What does your bathing suit look like this year?: It’s an all-black two-piece that just looks super cute on me hahaha. 33. Are you ready for summer 2018?: It’s 2019 now but I remember being meh about that summer. I enrolled in a midyear term to keep getting allowance from my parents lol, but I never wanted to go to school then, so I was still a bit miserable. 34. Did you ever use iconator.com? Are you upset that it’s gone now?: I don’t think I recognize that. 35. Speaking of AIM icons… do you still use AIM?: Isn’t it dead? 36. Do you still buy CDs?: Not anymore. The last one I got was either Paramore’s self-titled or One Direction’s Midnight Memories. Both came out in 2013 so I don’t remember which one I bought last. 37. Be honest…how much of the music in your iTunes library did you actually pay for?: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA NONE. YouTube to MP3 was my lifeblood back then, along with the habit of downloading album art from Google Images to match to the songs so that my playlists looked legit. 38. Does your significant other ever make you mix CDs?: No, because that’s not a thing anymore. Gabie did make me a couple of personalized playlists during our first months together. 39. How often do you have to empty your text inbox because it got full?: My inbox never gets full. 40. Does your phone have a keyboard, touch screen, or neither?: Touch screen. 41. How did you dress your freshman year of high school?: I was peak wrestling fan back then so I liked wearing wrestling shirts paired with jeans, and Chucks because AJ Lee was into those. Pretty straightforward. 42. What religion are you?: I’m a frustrated atheist. 43. What color are the pajama pants you wore last?: I don’t wear pajamas to bed. 44. Were you obsessed with the Spice Girls back in the day?: I was never into them, and the only songs I know are their popular ones so I really couldn’t be any less interested. 45. What does your wallet look like?: It’s pink and has three main sections. First is for bills, second is for coins, and the third is for random receipts, papers, and extra 1x1/2x2 photos. There’s a slot for cards as well so I have my license and Starbucks and arcade cards in there, as well as several business cards I’ve been handed in the past. 46. Is your middle name embarrassing?: Not at all. I love the name Isabelle. 47. How many Facebook friends do you have? Do you add people you don’t know sometimes?: 450+. No. 48. Do you like pumpkin pie?: I’ve never tasted one. 49. What’s your favorite kind of yogurt?: I hate yogurt. 50. Do you like frozen yogurt?: ^

[kimberley2021]

Day 3 9th August

We now have 13 on the tour from today(max is 21) plus driver and hostess. 3 are from the tour I was part of in the past 2 days and rest joined today. The group joining are a group of 7 people all friends or related and about 30ish age group. Remainder are in the 50- late 60’s ,1 81yr old and a daughter of one in her early 40’s. A very nice group so far so should be a happy trip. Today we left at 0630 and dove to about 2+hrs to a famous Road House on the way to Derby and had breakfast. It was all set up on a lovely shady lawn area and very pleasant. Even able to buy a real coffee at the road house and of course a toilet. Toilets become a real focus when you are driving distance and don’t have control on stops. However of course there is the Bush wee option if desperate😂. The Roadhouse was very busy with road trains and horse carriers,caravans, cars and tourist buses. Took your life in Your hands to cross from where we had breakfast at one side to the roadhouse door! Apparently the horse transport numbers are due to a big Rodeo and Broome races all occurring the weekend we are away.

Seen lots Boab trees and then the Derby Prison Tree and big trough. Here we also filled in our census online as we are out of reception for several days once we leave derby. There is also very little to no access to power for those days so couldn’t charge if we did have acces😂. Then depends on you provider after that.To do it on the night we would have had to travel 30kms do it by paper and drive back and access to the paper versions closed before we got anywhere close🤔.

We then drove to Derby to Norval Aboriginal Gallery. Beautiful paintings and even had someone sitting outside painting. I didn’t succumb to pearls bu did to a beautiful vibrant painting from the gallery! Fortunately I had it shipped home so no extra luggage. Then as I am told everyone who passes through Derby does we went out to the Jetty.

Now on the Gibb River Road with our destination Windjana Gorge where we’re camping.

Just saw some Brolgas which are apparently harder to see in the dry. Then stopped on the side of the road to collect wood for tonight’s fire (no power at the site). Discovered that collection of wood is another task we do every few days. We all went into the Bush dragged it in and then helped pass it up to Sean (Doc) our driver who was storing it on the roof. We turned out to be pretty fast and good collectors.

We went to Windjana Gorge and camped. Very remote and unpowered site again. Your headlamp is definitely your friend on this trip🤣. There were showers and toilets all set out individually but only about 6. This night we had swags and our sleeping bags and could put up our own little tent if we wished. However it was recommended to sleep in the swag under the stars which I did. An unreal experience. Even had a wallaby sniff around me and the swag next to me. We had a bit of a laugh when one of the younger men complained of being cold overnight and turns out he slept directly in his swag, no sleeping bag! We also had a drama when both men lost their mobiles, everyone mobilized and found one still in the pocket of the stored tent and one had been put in his wife’s bag for safety but he forgot to tell his wife🤣. Has become a bit of a joke all trip.

The stars that night were spectacular because no light pollution.

In the late afternoon we went for a walk into the gorge which is incredibly pretty with lots of water and lots fresh water crocs! One pool is ok so we had a swim in that.

We of course had a fire pit fire that night which was lovely as we all sat around had dinner and chatted.

We couldn’t do Tunnel Creek due to a rock fall a few days earlier.

Notes 10th

Notes Bells Gorge

Very rough nearly 3 hr drive there, stopped twice for photos and included a Bush wee,King Leopold Ranges magnificent. Once arrived it is a km walk downhill over rocks and pebbles, very rough and includes a slight water crossing. When you get there a number of smallish pools or upper pools greet you and a big view down to the bottom of the gorge where there is the lower pool and a waterfall. The upper pools are cold but the lower ones are freezing! After all that work to get here all I wanted was a swim! Pragmatism won and I decided to stay at the lower pools, one person went straight back after the walk and the rest went on to the lower pool. The lower pools are freezing, the access into the water is mossy and slippery which is fine getting in but I noted they had some problems getting out. They now need to walk 20mins to get back to me and then we walk the km out. We both got a swim. I have had a lovely time dipping into the water then walking and now under the shade where my back pack is I am sitting on a rock seat I made for myself with available suitable rocks so I don’t have to sit in the sand writing this waiting for them to get back.

More scrambling over rocks and swimming! Very rough roads at time in after dark at Manning River site. Tents fixed but showers and toilets as usual distance away and hot water turned off 8pm along with lights! They turn the generator off! Will see how I go getting to the toilet my usual 4 times. Another 5.30am up breakfast at 6 and walking to Manning falls which included swimming a river and climbing over more rocks! Will see how far I go! Then another walk and swim after lunch!

Wednesday 11th

Freezing this morning and the usual 0530 wake up. Decided not to go to Manning Falls. Not keen on the cross river swim in the cold plus a rocky walk for. Km to arrive at the steep decent to the falls and swim pool and I can’t do those steep rocky descents so would have done all the hard work and no swim! . Also seen gorges and swim holes and another (easier to get to one that doesn’t require rock climbing skills 🤣) this afternoon.

The area of the Manning river here at this campsite is just a few hundred yards walk and is stunning. Wonderful to have a gentle swim and explore and even has sandy white beach! Spent a wonderful morning in the water chatting to people crossing the river to start the Walk to the Manning falls. Probably the most relaxing start to a day yet. We have been going from early to sundown every day and apparently will do for the whole trip! Whole trip is physical activity heavy and along with setting up and taking down camps, helping with meals, firewood and any other jobs. We are up before 0530 every day and finish and to bed between 2000-2100. We have had a fire pit last 2 nights and last night had roast lamb and Veges cooked in The camp oven on the fire. After dinner we usually sit around the fire for a while and get tomorrow update. We also sit around the fire in the period while dinner is cooking and have a drink. Yes we were able to order alcohol at Broome(we paid for it) and it was loaded into the truck in big eskies which we keep iced during the trip! Restriction is that drinks need to be in tin or plastic as the vibration would break glass in the sky and has been known to cause tins to break! We also went to Adcock Gorge (ok but not exciting but a truly terrible road to get into it!) and Galvins Gorge which is spectacular and I got photos of that!

Thursday 12th

Longest drive of the trip from Manning River (Mt Barnett) to el Questro over about 8hrs all bone rattling on the Gibb!

We have done a lot of driving on the Gibb river road and rough in places with some bitumen some graded and some not. The closer you get to El Questro end the rougher it got. It is bone rattling especially after a couple of hour! On the way to El Questro we stopped including at Ellenbrae Station whose claim to fame is its scones and cream! The part of the Gibb going this way was surprisingly winding in parts and the whole area is mountainous so you are going up and then down. EllenBrae is Real oasis and also does a small campsite. Apparently all the stations make their money on the tourism but are Obliged according to the lease arrangements with the state to run at least 2,000 head of cattle all the time. They all do it but just let the cattle run free with pretty much no fences or care unless the cattle prices go up (every few years) then they get them herded by helicopter and employ the bull grabbers(or some such name) who drive fast with a contraption on the vehicle which somehow grabs the bull. Sounds dangerous! The station manager and his wife are friends of Doc’s so they gave us a bit of an over view of life on the isolated stations. We had some drama when we went to leave to discover we had a flat! Doc was laying in the dust getting it done and the wood he had under the lifter thing kept sinking into the soft earth so he had to borrow more from his mate. Then when the spare was being lowered it didn’t come right down and some judicious application of WD 40 was needed. All round quite an effort but at least it was in relative civilisation with shade for us and a toilet! Again we were very fortunate. We then kept on rattling along the Gibb including a side trip the actual Gibb River, photos at Durack River and crossing and photos at the Pentecost. Earlier we had been able to see some recent rock paintings. Also unfortunately we saw quite a few dead cane toads☹️. Also went to Telstra Hill overlooking the Pentecost River. Then I to El Questro which is a pretty slick operation. The company has tents set up here and camp kitchen and the ablutions are very good and prolific relative to other sites and has hot water and power plus our first phone reception for 3 days! I up graded to a bigger tent with power (read lead with power board fed into the tent and into which are plugged a fan and a bedside light! ) It was 38 and stinking hot in the tent but the fan helped as the evening wore on. Real beds as well and a treat after camp beds and sleeping bags. We went out this morning to Zebedee springs which is a hot water spring of 3 pools, rocky and in tropical setting and easy walk in for a change😂. Spent hour or so there and it was idyllic. The off to Emma Gorge which also has Resort facility’s including a pool, restaurant shop and excellent facilities. I decided not to do the hour walk to yet another waterfall and pool when Doc said it is an ankle breaker of a walk. We have clambered over more than our fair share of rocks on the tour to the extent we are becoming part mountain goat🤣🤣. Anyway I opted for a big mug capacino and a wander through the lush gardens, shop and then laying by the pool waiting for the walkers. It was another 38 day and they were hot and exhausted! Felt I had made the right choice. We have since come back to our ElQuestro which is still hot so sitting by the river pool in the shade doing this blog since after lunch. Coolest place to be at present. 5pm we need to order our dinner as it is the cooks night off, so just pay for yourself pub food, then shower, pack for an early start again to leave for Kununurra and on to Lake Argyle which is our next overnight and to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy start as we are leaving so it is a full camp pack up not just for the day so up about 5am to achieve that! Dinner at the pub and pack. The donkey that lives here and roams free was right outside my tent about 11pm!the pub here has live music every night but thankfully stops at 8.30pm.

[itsjesperfahey]

modern soc au

inej: 

loves to dance !!! esp ballet but she can dance to whatever tbfh, she’s that good 

likes to wear caps, esp backwards. really loves bomber jackets too. 

has a couple, small tattoos dedicated to her saints 

is that one kid who loves to do parkour (both ironically and unironically) for instance is really good at it but sometimes just yells PARKOUR and steps over a rock

usually found eating lunch with her pals on the roof of the school 

is amazing at hide and seek like holy fuck ????? hid for 2 hours once and wasn’t found, came back the next day and was like “y'all losers SUCK" 

loves to study other people’s cultures, as well as history and is great as p.e (never has gotten a bad grade in the flexibility tests) 

likes to read poem books 

has a black cat as a pet named "saint" 

pronounced meme as "mehmeh” the first time she read it 

only has snapchat and instagram. is that kid who ALWAYS posts the sunset every day, esp from weird/high places and the comments are always “HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET UP THERE" 

cried the most during fox and the hound 

always braiding nina’s hair. Knows how to do all the super advanced onces as well

"I don’t know, CAN YOU?" 

 the best one at pushing people on the swings 

AMAZING AT JUST DANCE WITH JESPER 

"sorry I ran out of fucks to give try again later maybe?" 

gives the nicest presents. always knows what a person wants for christmas/their birthday 

the one who’s really into photography and is always taking aesthetic™ pics of Nina for her social media accounts 

Prefers tea over coffee

wylan:

bullied for not being able to read (at least up until high school), so is super shy 

loves drawing. the artistic™ one who takes anatomy to be able to draw people better 

MASTER FLUTE MUSICIAN. On the school band. Jams hard af when he plays it 

is in gem math and AP chem with kuwei. 

loves sweet. addicted to blue jolly ranchers. his tongue is always blue 

constantly pushing up his thick rimmed glasses (even if they ain’t on, which causes him to poke his eye)

looooves all the superhero shows on the CW 

V neck sweaters. always

always has his trusty satchel

only has tumblr. has like 10k followers because of his artwork. 

”‘illuminati’ ? is that a band?“ 

cat person even though he’s allergic to cat fur. absolutely adores inej’s cat. settles for owning a horned lizard named "shrek" 

secretly a huge fan of memes 

really gay for tom holland and ed sheeran (calls him "ginger Jesus”) 

gamer with jesper. they always play overwatch together, wylans better tho. a genji and Ana main 

cried the most during big hero six 

wylan, with blank eyes: “I like my coffee how I like my men” // jesper: *spits out his drink* 

matthias: 

sports fan obv. On the schools hockey team bc his fav is hockey. is extremely competitive when he plays it. Is constantly checking but never gets penalties (aka slamming the other players against the walls)

played basketball against jesper and surprisingly lost. jesper won’t let it go 

dog person. owns a pet pomsky (Pomeranian-husky) with nina who’s name is “bub" 

“long hair don’t care”draws inspiration from Harry styles 

really philosophical. takes all the philosophy/ethics classes available 

kind of sounds like Thor (thick and deep accent) 

a good™

"you’re all horrible trash”

“do we really have to be doing this now? I have to finish my homework" 

loves baking. bakes everything for the love of his life 

grey sweatshirts and adidas shoes 

wears contacts Because he hates how glasses look on him. only wears them when he’s home 

oblivious to all the women in love with him

"CAN YOU EVEN LIFT BRO? BECAUSE I SURE AS FRICK CAN” (doesn’t curse) 

real 👍🏻🤘🏻👌🏻life🤰🏻👼🏻🌱student📚✂️✏️athelete🏃🏼🥇🏆🥅🏒

has Facebook and Twitter only

cried the most during bambi and dumbo 

little spoon™ 

has a couple tattoos with very deep meanings

jesper: 

dancer with inej. dances like those ppl who look like robots ??? the ones who look like they freeze parts of their body while the others move. AMAZING at it 

loves jazz but also dubstep/edm and rap/r&b. Beyoncé is MOM/QUEEN. 

sometimes djs parties 

again, huge gamer with wylan. he’s a lucio and junkrat main for overwatch. loves like every video game ever 

loves all the marvel movies, in love with black panther (was team cap) 

dresses like a hipster but also sometimes a fuck boy (tank tops and shorts with a backwards cap style) 

favorite subject is business and debate. great negotiator 

cried the most during the lion king 

A+ cosplayer (especially his lucio cosplay) 

big supporter of human rights (LGBTA+, feminist, black lives matter, poc representation). Will LITERALLY get into fights over anyone who thinks otherwise. Fist fights, always supported by Kaz and Matthias. Got suspended for 3 days for breaking a kids nose who thought LGBTA+ people should **** ** ****) 

that one kid who has 50 fidget spinners and can do cool tricks with them. also manages to sell all of them 

skateboard pro™ 

always sends the blinking face meme, even if it’s out of context 

all the social medias. 

one tattoo only of a gun with a 'bang’ flag coming out of it 

nina: 

 PROFESSIONAL👏🏻 MAKE 👏🏻 UP 👏🏻 ARTISTS 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 HAS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS ON HER INSTAGRAM AND THE SAME FOR HER YOUTUBE CHANNEL 

Speaking of YouTube, she always does cute videos. Baking/cooking tutorial videos featuring Matthias, 'i do my boyfriends makeup’, 'my boyfriend does my makeup’, 'my boyfriend buys my makeup’, does make up tutorials obviously, challenges with her best friend inej like the 'whisper challenge’. everyone loves her and says her and Matthias are their otp 

loves fashion design, takes that class. 

loves horror movies/creepy things but also Disney 

great at roller skating 

always wins the best dressed awards ad school 

also huge fan of ed sheeran. loves little mix more than 5h. 

cried the most during 'up' 

Can speak like 4 languages (English, french, Latin and spanish) 

loves traveling and learning about new cultures too 

dancer!inej’s biggest fan and hockey!matthias’ biggest fan 

always breaks snapchat streaks 

likes to (friendly) debate with jesper, especially over stupid things 

amazing with kids. babysits all the time. calls “bub” (the dog) her and matthias’ baby 

big spoon™ 

notes are so fucking pretty. buys the most expensive stationary and notebooks 

also huge supporter of human rights. runs the feminist club. (Jesper is the Vice President) stresses loving yourself and your body, and makes sure to design comfortable yet GORGEOUS clothes for “"plus sized people”“ 

wins 'dynamic duo’ award with inej 

always eating lollipops 

has a few very small tatos of cute things like roses and crowns. has one quote written in cursive on her rib

kaz: 

prefers black coffee as well 

loves crime shows, whether they’re real or fake. for instance loves both 'Dateline’ and 'Criminal Minds’ also loves 'House’

 favorite class is psychology, learning how a person thinks and acts and feels

has the dregs tattoo on his arm * edge lord 9000™ * such a drama queen and diva like damn 

*deep sigh* "I think I’d rather go take a nap” *gets up and leaves* 

also loves computer science. knows how to hack shit like a pro 

always rough housing with jesper. broke a table once 

does walk with a cane. likes to slap matthias’ ass with it 

“bow down you fucking peasants" 

only types in lower case with 0 emojis and no punctuation marks. CONSTANTLY leaves people on read 

only has Twitter and snapchat. His posts on snapchat never have captions, yet somehow has a 200 day streak with Jesper and a 250 day streak with inej 

loves watching horror movies with nina 

 *in a fight* "oh I’ll sHOW YOU SOME DIRTY HANDS” *swings* 

gets second place for best dressed award 

always sending memes with no context in their group chat, as well as vines 

indie and alternative rock fan 

“does it look like I care because I’m sorry if it does I didn’t mean to give you that impression" 

head over heels for inej Ghafa like wow 

likes to read a lot of mystery books and non fiction books 

cried the most during finding dory 

can solve a Rubik’s cube under a minute and won’t let you forget it 

The one asshole who picks either Kirby or metaknight in super smash brothers brawl

 hates seeing the notification bubble so he always has all chats muted and notifications turned off for apps 

kiss ass to all the teachers to get them A’s

Kuwei: 

SCIENCE NERD. ALWAYS singing the bill nye theme song. Loves ASAPScience on YouTube. Master at chemistry and biology 

"hey did u know bill nye is, like, my dad" 

nina treats him like a baby 

loves everything to do with Star Wars while wylan loves star trek more. Fighting ensues. 

has a pet Siamese cat name sparky 

Used to have a huge crush on jesper and everyone knew it except jesper. 

knows the intro to the bee movie ("according to all known laws of aviation-”)

 jesper in the group chat: “gonna go shower be right back” // kuwei: “without me ;)?” // wylan: “KUWEI SWEAR TO FUCK” // kaz: “watch your fucking language wylan" 

obsessed with Pokémon go even if it died out (chose team instinct) 

"fight me on this" 

has Twitter, snapchat and instagram 

Always drinking ginger ale 

master at bop it 

the one kid who always forgets to pay you back for stuff 

is also into the CW super hero shows, so him and wylan are constantly talking about it 

loves cartoons and anime 

speaks fluent fuckboy 

God awful at comebacks 

"let’s take a selfie guys !!!” // “kuwei no-” // *snapshot sound* 

talks !!! Like !! This !!!! for,,, some reason ???????? 

huge nerd for other things too like lord of the rings and Harry Potter and game of thrones 

cried the most during inside out

 "do you think planes are scared of heights?“ // "for fucks same kuwei it’s 4am”

[mechagalaxy]

John T. Mainer: Personal Log: Sgt "Bubba" Kerzov

Personal Log: Sgt "Bubba" Kerzov

Life is simple as a Sgt in the Meji military. Since the Iron Prince took over control of the military directly, his loyalty purges to remove the progressive elements of the Prince of Flowers returned the officer class to absolute control of all commissioned positions in the Shogunate mecha forces. Lowborns like me can't rise higher than Sgt, but the powers of Sgt rose to include all the actual drafting of plans, logistics requests, duty schedules; you know, the scut work. Our lords and masters kept their delicate hands free for beautiful calligraphy on the after action reports, and the personnel reviews that made or broke careers. As a result, good officers got rare, and bad officers got a lot of us killed.

Chu-i (Lt) Toyo Hinata is a classic example. A bright hyper aggressive academy project who thought warrior spirit was everything. Of course his little man syndrome caused him to risk feedback damage running machines that were too big for his level of competence. He was running a Specter, jade green missile spawning lord of hell, he could rain down spikes of hyper velocity HESH or AP over half an acre with a single trigger pull. Of course he frequently fell flat on his face when trying to run and fire at once, but his speed made those quick attacks devastaating enough he never seemed to understand the inability to dodge meant outside the range you generally died before you found out what your second salvo might have done.

I was running my Slate, a big slow crystal machine that paired ice weapons and missiles to slow and pummel enemies into submission. I had half my Chu-i's weapons and base speed, but I mastered my machine, so tended to be around for the whole of the battle, not just the first shot. I also read the damned briefings, when I didn't write them. Chu-i Hinata did not.

"Bubba, I am taking the front line ahead with me, I have the present mecha in sight, it is running for the cover of those trees. I won't let it get into the forest and lose us. Follow ahead with the rest of the platoon at the best speed those peasant crystal junkers can do" Hinata was so excited, he totally forget such things as call signs, radio procedure, standing orders for contact reports, and....oh yes....what planet we were on. That last one is super important right now"

"Volley Actual this is Volley2-1, suggest you hold position for rest of company, that is a trap" I was almost done saving his life when the little twerp cut me off with his command override.

"Bubba, I am the Chu-i, the officer, appointed by the Son of Heaven himself to lead this platoon, and you will do as I say! I am samurai, and with four niode powered assault mecha cannot show fear in front of one pint sized mecha that looks like a Christmas present. I will catch him in those trees, and you will follow at your best speed. Chu-i Hinata OUT!"

Well, that was that. I whispered the last of my message before switching to the company frequency.

"This is a trap sir. We are on planet Saskatchewan, there are no trees outside of private gardens. That mecha is not running to a forest, he is running to a battalion of Xmas tree mecha" Oh well, time to break in a new Chu-i, assuming I live. I switched to the company frequency and called to the other fresh meat Chu-i running the patrol's other flank. Chu-i Kagayama. Cold bastard, but intense in the manner of a craftsman.

"Setter Actual this is Volley 2-1, contact report" I sent, because dammit, we had radio procedures and call signs for a reason, even if the noble brats were too important to learn them.

"Volley 2-1, send over" Kagayama was cold, focused, and look at that, had put us on tight beam to limit the chances of the enemy catching the signal splash. Bastard might have promise, why did I always get the idiots instead?

"Setter Actual, Volley 6 and front rank in pursuit of present class specialist mecha closing on figures 125 trees expect Volley 6 to make contact with present mecha inside tree perimeter in figures two minutes. over"

I saw the whole of Setters formation perform a parade ground perfect wheel and switch from march order to battle while advancing to flank speed. It wouldn't be in time to keep us from getting corn-cobbed, but the company would be saved. His reply came back, still cold, but focused tighter than a Galaxy Eye.

"Volley 2-1, slow advance, prepare for delaying action. This is Saskatchewan, those are not trees but Santa's 50 ton Xmas trees. Delay them as long as you can, I am inbound with my forces to extract the survivors. The Tai-i is forming a line with the rest of the company to stop them short of the gate. Just buy time Sgt, and keep that little idiot from getting good pilots killed. Setter Actual out"

That was how a professional officer sounded. Now to watch an amateur die. I switched to my beloved leaders own feed. It was glorious, if you had no clue what competent mecha pilots looked like. The clans would view this as slapstick comedy, watching the clowns fall down, a circus of errors. The Shogunate would turn it into high drama, a glorious tale of duty, honour and sacrifice. Honestly, public affairs officers and politicians have killed more Shogunate soldiers through this crap than the civil war and last two invasions by the Illyrian Hegemony combined.

Chu-i Hinata had amazing reaction speed, it allowed him to switch operations so fast you might almost think he had the bandwidth to pilot a 110ton machine, but in battle, the fine coordination broke down, and your reflexes tried to fire, dodge, and move to cover at the same time you re-balanced your shield emitters against the pattern of incoming fire and tweaked your ECM to disguise your actual signature behind your shield footprint so the enemy fired on sensor ghosts not your actual hull, and therefore fragile ass.

"I've got him! He can't run from me, I am the fastest man alive!" Hinata crowed. He was the fastest in Karasano company, and the best shot, but he could only do both in mecha of 80 tons or less at the same time. His Specter was 110 tons. This would be something to watch.

The odd bow topped mecha that looked like a golden Christmas present stopped and opened to reveal a battery of plasma cannons that splashed over Hinata's fire shields to little effect. He unloaded a swarm of Predator missiles that shattered the little mecha into bronze gold chunks and caused him to cheer. It also caused the trees surrounding him to grow taller, and begin to spin, each layer alternating in direction to gyro stabilize and bring a battery of weapons to bear.

Tandem Bombs lashed out from four enemy mecha, to of them decended on individual mecha in Hinata's line, ramming an Ignus and Apatotron to a halt, one fell just behind the sprinting Notos of Sgt Jawinder, but it didn't matter, the other wide forked and fell on the whole line like the hammer of Thor and turned all the mecha save Hinata's own well shielded machine into shut down or outright destroyed scrap. Hinata tried to salvo another save of penetrators as he shuffle stepped to avoid the incoming missiles. He had the bandwidth to do either well, but not both. His front legs crossed, but his forward speed was such that it caused his mecha to perform half a somersault, ending up turtled on its back, ass to the enemy, legs spread in the air.

His predator salvo fired, even though he was on his back with the missile ports closed, so they detonated in the bay, the belly blast plates vented the reaction out the belly of his beast, but they gutted it on the way through, shutting it down. The Xmas tree closed and casually fired a Candy Cane suppository right up Hinata's proffered posterior. That is where we found him. Legs in the air, candy cane up the ass.

We pulled back to the gate at Saskatchewan base Moose Jaw. Let the Clans deal with this crap. Whole forests of Xmas trees are not something house units are up to, especially not with noble dimwits in command. I can't wait for Christmas to be over, and it to be safe to patrol again. Even the pirates are staying indoors right now.

John T Mainer 28840

[pineapplesquid]

I rarely write much of anything in fandom, and I haven’t written for Rivers of London before. But I started thinking about how things might have happened if Nightingale were a woman, and how things might have been different. I doubt she would have been accepted in any official role in the 50′s, even if she were the only practitioner left in Britain; the arrangements would probably be even less formal. Anyway, I got to writing a little bit, and then I got to writing more, and if this turns into a real fic I’ll put it up on AO3. In the meantime, here’s a little bit. (she learned magic from a brother who was at Casterbrook, so she was educated in the Newtonian tradition, not via the Society of the Rose; her name is Frances because that was approximately as popular as Thomas around the turn of the century, and I felt like it worked).

Whole lines of this are lifted from the book; I don’t think that everything would be different, and I didn’t want to change all of it.

At one point a hen party went past, a dozen women in oversized pink t-shirts, bunny ears and high heels. Their pale legs were blotchy with cold. One of them spotted me.

“You’d better go home,” she called. “He’s not coming.” 

Her mates shrieked with laughter. I heard one of them complaining that “all the good-looking ones are gay.”

At least they didn’t try to go for me, is what I was thinking, when I saw the woman watching me from across the Piazza. And look, it’s not like women throw themselves at me on the street all the time, but it wouldn’t have been the first time, is all I’m saying.

She was tall, about 170—that’s a bit under six foot in old money—and dressed in a tailored suit with a skirt that was somewhat longer than usual and a well-fitted jacket. Mid-thirties, I thought, with a long face and brown hair that was pinned up somehow. It was hard to tell in the sodium light, but I though her eyes were grey. She carried a silver-topped cane.

She didn’t look the usual type to be picking up guys on the street after midnight, but when she strolled over to talk to me I started to reconsider that assumption.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice was soft, but with a proper RP accent, like the lady of the manor in a costume drama. “What are you up to?” 

I’m not going to lie, she wasn’t all that much older than me and wasn’t bad looking as these things go, and under other circumstances I might have gone along with it. But I didn’t much feel like that tonight, so I decided to go with the truth. “I’m ghost-hunting,” I said.

 “Interesting,” she said. “Any particular ghost?”

 “Nicholas Wallpenny,” I said.

 “Hmm,” she said. “Why?”

 Unless I wanted to admit that I was police—which I didn’t—that was a slightly harder one to answer. “I think he may have seen something that happened here,” I answered after a minute.

 She nodded at that, apparently not surprised. This was not exactly the conversation I’d expected to have. “Who are you?” she asked.

 No Londoner ever answers a question like that unchallenged. “Nobody in particular,” I said instead.

 She just nodded again. “Well, then, carry on,” she said calmly. “Although, if it does turn out that Mr. Wallpenny saw something, I’d be interested to hear what it was.”

 “I—I’m sorry, what?”

 She reached into a pocket and produced a card, which I accepted automatically. I tilted it towards the light, and saw that it read “F. Nightingale, consultant,” with a London phone number as the only contact info. “I’d be interested to hear what he witnessed,” she repeated calmly.

 “Um, sure,” I managed. She gave me a strange, small smile, and turned, strolling back up James Street.

**

 The CPU was, well, the CPU. It took about an hour for them to get me set up with a computer and a stack of paperwork, and less than that for me to figure out how to do it in half the time that they clearly expected it to take. I surveyed my now-clear desk, contemplated finding someone to ask for more to do, and pulled out my phone instead.

 “Yeah?” Lesley answered, sounding distracted.

 “What are you up to?” I asked.

 “Doing data entry on a HOLMES terminal.”

 “Funny,” I said, “Me too.”

 “I figured that. What do you want?”

 “Wanted to know how your first day on the Murder Team was going,” I said innocently. The long pause told me that Lesley wasn’t buying it. “Also, I met someone last night. Who was really interested in my ghost.”

 “Peter, please tell me you did not try to pick up a woman by telling you were looking for a ghost who witnessed a murder,” Lesley said, sounding disgusted.

 “I wasn’t trying to pick her up!” I protested. “And I didn’t tell her about the murder, just that I was looking for a ghost.”

 “Jesus, Peter.”

 “She asked me to call her if Nicholas told me anything else.”

 “If this ghost told you anything about an ongoing murder investigation, you can’t go telling a woman about it just to try to get into her pants.”

 “I’m not—I don’t want to sleep with her, I just thought it was weird that she was so interested. Maybe she knows something about ghosts and could help me figure out how to find Nicholas again, ask him some more questions. But I dunno. . . ”

 There was another disgusted pause. “You’re sitting right at a HOLMES terminal, and you know her name. Run a background check on her. And then do me a favor, and don’t ever call her, because ghosts don’t exist, and even if they did you could never use one as an admissible eyewitness.”

 As always, it was obvious once she’d said it. I was spared the necessity of thanking her, though, since she’d hung up.

I didn’t, actually, know her first name, but Nightingale wasn’t exactly a common last name, and it didn’t take very long to find records for a Frances Nightingale. There wasn’t all that much, though—she’d apparently never had a driver’s license, never been arrested, or done much of anything else that left an official paper trail. One item in her spotty work record did catch my attention. Bingo, I thought. She was on record as an occasional civilian consultant for the Metropolitan Police.

[munkleon37-blog]

Find out Garba Dance: the Ultimate Comfort!

The festival is a implies to join with the supreme power in a period of time of nine times. This festival is devoted to the 3 incarnations of the goddess durga. It is committed to the 9 diverse types of Devi Durga. A people dance is designed by men and women who mirror the daily life span of the folks of a specific country or area. Indian Classical Dance is a considerable component of the Indian tradition. It is a variety of dance originating from nevertheless another dance called the Garba. As an example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin usually are not believed of as folks dances. Folks should dance, giggle and cry on you, he'd say. It really is a fantastic way to invite close friends and family members. My two-and-a-50 % calendar year-old son motivates me to carry out a lot far better.

There are various techniques in which Navratri is celebrated in different states of India. Navratri is celebrated with a assortment of methods in distinct sections of India, but the main purpose is nonetheless the exact same. Anokha was between the only teams whose act did not consist of dance. The UMBC group B-Far more Bhangra relied on a number of diverse tools to enhance the spectacle, for instance, cane-esque khunde sticks and retractable picket instruments called saaps. Kathakali is acknowledged amid the most innovative and great dance drama form. Garba is a type of dance that was originated in the condition of Gujarat. This kind of superb dance type. Putting up a action-by-action tutorial for this. Standard 2 Phase two Clap or common ras garba. Enjoy this Navratri by indicates of your family associates and Pals. An elaborate clarification of Navratrifestival can't be accomplished in a hub. The proper solution was appropriate-wing folks. When reading other peoples function, you're most likely to understand a couple of new factors you in no way understood and they are likely to aid you when you create your own. The 1st factor which could go to your mind is going to be to use your possess name for the studio. It really is a positive indicates of getting new concepts. In truth, it's not attainable to genuinely publish down every thing that any person suggests. Much more so, people are loving the straightforward simple fact I have a spouse who's supporting me working day and night. Dance education is offered in group batches alongside with independently. It's truly an inspiring understanding to salute the most astounding degree of boldness that is to a good degree uncommon. Try out this and you will adore the expertise. People have emerged and they are far more intrigued in observing your operate. Choose a title wisely because it's something which will remain for fairly a lengthy instant. The tenth day is usually recognized as Vijayadashami or Dussehra'. 1st a few times are devoted to goddess durga who's the goddess of vitality, up coming three days are devoted to ma Lakshmi who's the goddess of prosperity and final few times are devoted to goddess Saraswati who's the goddess of information. The ritual and the ceremony started with the invitation card distribution among friends and household. With an incredibly joyful but reliable way, a marriage ceremony happens in our nation. Your wedding is just one of the most critical times in your lifestyle. Acquiring the Ideal Discover Garba Dance The display is a massive dark material close to 3 meters. Movie is the new text and expertise is very easily the most effective currency within this digital age. A quite easy love tale is one thing which will not damage any person. With the certain focus provided to the footwork detail, it's tremendous effortless to grasp the actions. The skirt is manufactured in this sort of a way it flares spherical once the female steps back and front. It is dependent upon the dancing type you are keen in understanding. So, creating a dance studio is always wise since dance fanatics are heaps in number. Each term is essential, and learning shorthand is the excellent way to make sure practically nothing is missed. It is explained that in the function you decide on a title starting up with A, B, or C, it is going to be in the commence of the yellow internet pages, which assists in great advertising and marketing. Every single variety of folks dance has a specific costume and rhythm. Every kind of Goddess Durga signifies a particular energy. The most common sort of all dancing designs provided by Arya is bollywood dancing that is also called filmi dancing. For instance, if you had been signed in, you will need to have to sign in yet again. Chogada Dance about garba although is it has no tough and rapidly policies.

[squaredancing-weston]

para || Romancing the Cards

Time: Saturday night, 18 February 2017

Setting: Online

Summary: On the heels of Valentine’s Day, the staff decides to play up their less-than-romantic side with a new game of Cards Against Humanity…

Part 1a

[4:34:37 PM] The following Cardcast decks are in use in this game (instructions): [4:35:15 PM] Blaine2 has joined the game. [4:36:38 PM] Kurt has joined the game. [4:36:45 PM] <Kurt> Hey guys [4:37:06 PM] <Blaine2> Heeyyyy :D [4:39:51 PM] Error: Error communicating with server. Will try again in 0.5 seconds. [4:40:00 PM] <Blaine2> I think Bas will be here eventually, and I think Britt too [4:41:49 PM] <Brody> Sorry, I'm just trying to multitask [4:42:31 PM] <Brody> So Bas is coming? I figured he'd still be sleeping mostly [4:42:52 PM] <Kurt> He should be sleeping... I vote we play once Britt's here. [4:43:04 PM] <Brody> Does this count as Official Staff activity? Because he's still on leave [4:43:11 PM] <Marley> He said he was coming [4:43:21 PM] Brittany has joined the game. [4:43:23 PM] Sebastian has joined the game. [4:43:29 PM] <Blaine2> This is definitely not official staff activity, Brodes. [4:43:44 PM] <Brittany> Hi guys!! [4:43:44 PM] <Brody> It'd be kind of funny [4:43:44 PM] <Marley> There they are! [4:43:47 PM] <Brody> Hey Britt [4:43:53 PM] <Brody> Hi Marley [4:45:33 PM] <Marley> Hey, Brody.. Sorry I wasn't able to come to your party.. Did you get the wine? [4:45:35 PM] <Brody> So are we starting, or waiting for anyone else? [4:45:39 PM] <Blaine2> Give me like five seconds [4:45:51 PM] <Blaine2> Bing has gotten into something, little devil [4:46:07 PM] <Brody> did you leave a treat in his purse? [4:46:20 PM] <Brody> I told you not to put food in that SB [4:47:26 PM] <Blaine2> And I didn't! He decided to go for the leftover chinese food that I hadn't put away yet [4:47:26 PM] <Sebastian> This is why animals and humans shouldn't mix. [4:47:45 PM] <Brody> Where the heck are you leaving Chinese? [4:47:47 PM] <Blaine2> Shhh, you love him. [4:47:52 PM] <Brody> he's a //dog// [4:47:53 PM] <Blaine2> On the table! [4:47:58 PM] <Blaine2> He's a jumper! [4:48:02 PM] <Brody> why is Lil B on the table? [4:48:09 PM] <Sebastian> No, B, I /tolerate/ him. [4:48:13 PM] <Brody> that's a hell of a jump, Blaine [4:48:23 PM] <Blaine2> Nooo you love him. [4:48:31 PM] Marley was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [4:48:31 PM] Brittany was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [4:48:40 PM] Blaine2 wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:48:46 PM] <Blaine2> It's actually not. It's a pretty short table and I had one of the chairs pulled out [4:48:58 PM] <Brody> oh- then yeah [4:49:02 PM] <Brody> that's just bad parenting [4:49:09 PM] <Brody> I can't condone that as his grandfather [4:49:11 PM] <Blaine2> :( [4:50:17 PM] <Sebastian> I'd say you need to get better furniture, but then you might need me around to reach things for you ;) [4:50:46 PM] <Sebastian> Britt? Marls? [4:50:49 PM] Marley was kicked for being idle for too many rounds. [4:50:49 PM] Brittany was kicked for being idle for too many rounds. [4:50:49 PM] Brittany has left the game. [4:50:49 PM] Marley has left the game. [4:51:04 PM] <Sebastian> Nope. [4:51:08 PM] Kurt wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:51:31 PM] <Blaine2> Rude, Sebastian. Rude. [4:51:42 PM] <Blaine2> How's sleeping in your own bed, for a change, by the way? [4:52:09 PM] <Kurt> Ha! [4:52:16 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:52:24 PM] Play 2 cards, in the order you wish them to be judged. [4:52:31 PM] <Brody> yes-- reverse cowgirl is a favorite position [4:52:35 PM] <Brody> of course she'd be crying [4:52:46 PM] <Brody> Blaine-- damn it-- you can't take notes [4:52:50 PM] <Sebastian> Like sleeping on a cloud. Although I was pretty trashed last night, so I can only imagine the alcohol helped. [4:53:08 PM] <Blaine2> Are you [4:53:15 PM] <Blaine2> Are you kidding me [4:53:21 PM] <Sebastian> What? [4:53:45 PM] <Brody> You can't do reverse cowgirl with a guy-- that's the whole point of being a cow //girl// [4:53:53 PM] <Brody> he still needs a favorite sex position [4:53:56 PM] <Brody> that just won't be it [4:54:18 PM] Blaine2 wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:54:41 PM] <Blaine2> I'm more mentioning the whole, you were home not even one night alone and you went back to alcohol. Unbelievable. [4:54:48 PM] <Blaine2> Also, thank you, Kurt, you get me. [4:54:48 PM] Marley has joined the game. [4:54:55 PM] <Brody> ohh [4:55:03 PM] <Brody> yeah [4:55:09 PM] <Sebastian> I've been stuck on bed rest for three weeks, Killer. What were you expecting? [4:55:13 PM] <Blaine2> And I don't /need/ a favorite sex position, thank you. I can find my way around a man without having a favorite, thank you. [4:55:30 PM] <Sebastian> I beg to differ - and I'm still here to help with that one. [4:55:40 PM] <Brody> How drunk //were// you last night, Bas-- scale of 1 to are you fucking serious? [4:55:52 PM] <Blaine2> ...beg to differ on what part? [4:56:01 PM] <Blaine2> I'm scared to know the answer, honeslty [4:56:06 PM] <Brody> he thinks you should have a favorite sex position [4:56:19 PM] <Brody> I actually agree with him [4:56:20 PM] <Blaine2> Ah... [4:56:26 PM] Kurt was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [4:56:34 PM] <Kurt> Sorry [4:56:38 PM] <Kurt> dad needed my help [4:56:42 PM] <Brody> yes Kurt-- feel shame [4:56:48 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:56:56 PM] <Brody> how dare you help your father rather than partake in lewd thoughts with us [4:56:57 PM] <Blaine2> It's okay! [4:57:11 PM] <Blaine2> Did you go to the movie last night, Kurt? [4:57:28 PM] <Blaine2> Wait what? [4:58:05 PM] <Blaine2> WOW [4:58:06 PM] <Sebastian> Yes, Kurt, what teenage rom-com did you go for? [4:58:15 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:58:39 PM] <Marley> Sorry, I'm here.. and I missed a lot [4:58:47 PM] <Kurt> Nah... I was pretty tired when I left and decided to just call it a night [4:59:14 PM] <Brody> But your costume was awesome [4:59:17 PM] <Kurt> get any good Valentines, Sebastian? [4:59:37 PM] Kurt wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [4:59:40 PM] <Blaine2> That's fair. That party was a rager. Especially after we finally wrestled the canes away. [4:59:51 PM] <Brody> those were GREAT CANES [4:59:56 PM] <Sebastian> I did get one from someone who clearly is way too obsessed with me. [4:59:58 PM] <Blaine2> THEY HURT, BRODY [5:00:06 PM] <Kurt> And thanks Brody [5:00:08 PM] <Brody> you should have worn more padding [5:00:26 PM] <Blaine2> How was I supposed to know I'd get assault? [5:00:42 PM] <Brody> you're old-- you always get assaulted at that age [5:00:58 PM] <Brody> there's this guy at the home where my grandpa lives... [5:01:02 PM] <Sebastian> Seriously, these cards suck. [5:01:19 PM] <Blaine2> ((literally almost said so do you)) [5:01:27 PM] Finn has joined the game. [5:01:39 PM] <Brody> hey Finn-- how's the weather treating you? [5:01:43 PM] <Marley> (Blah I will be back) [5:01:49 PM] Marley wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:01:54 PM] <Marley> I might get kicked again *Cries* [5:01:54 PM] <Sebastian> ((you should have :P)) [5:01:57 PM] Play 2 cards, in the order you wish them to be judged. [5:02:02 PM] <Brody> (Brody can't) [5:02:14 PM] <Blaine2> ((Lmao Blaine knows all too well what would come next)) [5:03:05 PM] <Brody> So wait-- Bas. How drunk? [5:03:10 PM] <Kurt> Heat fixed yet Finn? [5:03:34 PM] <Sebastian> You really want a scale? I'd say about a 7. I've been worse. [5:03:36 PM] <Brody> I mean, should we call your Quack [5:03:37 PM] Brittany has joined the game. [5:03:48 PM] <Brittany> I blame Lord TUbbington for that [5:03:50 PM] <Brody> Yeah, I'm sure [5:03:53 PM] <Sebastian> No thanks, mom, I'm good. [5:03:58 PM] <Brody> LT? What did he do? [5:04:01 PM] <Brody> Fuck you [5:04:06 PM] <Finn> (Is there a way I can make the chat part a little bigger. Its had to keep up with the chat when all I see is two lines at a time) [5:04:10 PM] <Brittany> I don't know but something! [5:04:16 PM] <Brody> {No-- sorry) [5:04:20 PM] <Brittany> (sorry guys I was getting dinner out of the oven) [5:04:25 PM] <Brody> He always does [5:04:27 PM] Finn was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [5:04:28 PM] <Sebastian> ((if you zoom out on your page it helps)) [5:04:44 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:04:50 PM] <Blaine2> Wait. A 7, Bas? A SEVEN?\ [5:04:52 PM] <Brody> you really need to do something about that cat, Britt-- he's not paying his fair share of rent [5:05:02 PM] <Brody> and he acts like he owns the place [5:05:09 PM] <Sebastian> Blaine, seriously, I'm fine. [5:05:24 PM] <Blaine2> Yeah. Sure. [5:05:26 PM] <Brody> How much of that was booze //you// bought there, Smythe? [5:05:35 PM] <Brittany> Is there drama? [5:05:39 PM] <Brittany> What have I misseD? [5:05:46 PM] <Brody> Bas went drinking without us last night [5:06:00 PM] <Finn> Heating isn't fixed yet. [5:06:01 PM] <Kurt> Idiot [5:06:06 PM] <Brody> but he managed to get back home alright, so I guess we aren't complaining too much [5:06:13 PM] <Brody> except for Kurt [5:06:13 PM] <Kurt> And sorry to hear that-- at least it's warm today? [5:06:15 PM] <Brody> XD [5:06:16 PM] <Sebastian> I think I've established that I rarely ever buy my own booze. [5:06:38 PM] <Sebastian> And I know my own body. Everyone's just overreacting, Britt. [5:06:44 PM] <Finn> I agree. It was warmer today [5:06:52 PM] Marley was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [5:06:52 PM] Brittany was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [5:07:06 PM] <Kurt> Oh yeah. Everyone's overreacting. It's that same attitude that got you horrendously sick, Sebastian. [5:07:06 PM] <Brody> hey-- I just asked if the doctor may have mentioned something about taking it easy [5:07:09 PM] <Finn> [I worked out how to make the chat bit bigger :D] [5:07:09 PM] <Blaine2> >.> [5:07:45 PM] <Sebastian> You don't know shit about how I got sick, Hummel. Butt out. [5:07:49 PM] <Blaine2> {{Yay!}} [5:07:53 PM] <Brody> when did you get sick? [5:07:59 PM] <Brody> oh wait-- not puking [5:08:02 PM] <Brody> nevermind [5:08:03 PM] <Blaine2> Guys. Seriously, please don't. [5:08:10 PM] <Brody> I'm done- moving on [5:08:32 PM] <Brody> totally read that as Dry Humping [5:08:39 PM] <Brody> don't know where my head's at tonight [5:08:53 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:09:02 PM] Play 3 cards, in the order you wish them to be judged. [5:09:04 PM] <Brody> yea! Apparently somewhere good [5:09:07 PM] <Brittany> {why did it not accept my card?} [5:09:10 PM] <Sebastian> Your head's in the gutter where it usually is, Brodes. [5:10:04 PM] <Brody> You're one to talk, Bas [5:10:45 PM] <Brody> So, finn-- any word on whether your car is going to survive? [5:11:00 PM] <Sebastian> What? You're usually the one that starts this shit. [5:11:11 PM] <Brody> oh wow--some of these are really good [5:11:12 PM] <Blaine2> No. [5:11:52 PM] <Brody> yes,, Blaine-- they are well thought out, very creative [5:11:57 PM] <Finn> They are going to get someone else to take a look at it. If they can't sort it out, its time for a new one [5:12:06 PM] <Brody> damn-- sucks [5:12:10 PM] <Brody> you still hoofing it? [5:12:20 PM] <Finn> Sorry? [5:12:23 PM] <Brody> walking [5:12:23 PM] <Kurt> Where did you end up taking it??? I offered to take a look at it.... [5:13:01 PM] <Finn> I am still walking [5:13:20 PM] <Brody> Oh-- random note. Is everyone coming to the Fundraiser next month? [5:13:45 PM] <Kurt> What day is that again? [5:13:53 PM] <Finn> And it was some place in Lima. I haven't been to it before. I wish I had taken you up on that offer now [5:14:08 PM] <Brody> Saturday, I think [5:14:12 PM] <Brody> have to double check [5:14:39 PM] <Finn> Fundraiser? Wow, I need to keep up with everything thats going on [5:14:50 PM] <Brittany> {brb sorry guys} [5:14:54 PM] <Brody> Friday [5:15:05 PM] <Brody> the 17th is a Friday, next month-- my bad [5:15:34 PM] <Kurt> wait so is it this friday or a month from now? [5:15:39 PM] <Brody> Yeah-- the Blacklight Dodgeball game? [5:15:42 PM] <Brody> March 17 [5:16:02 PM] <Kurt> Oh.. Yeah you may NOT see me at that [5:16:06 PM] <Brody> it's in a month, but the kids are already talking about it [5:16:10 PM] The Card Czar has taken too long to decide and has been skipped. Cards played this round are being returned to hands. [5:16:14 PM] <Brody> you don't have to play doof [5:16:24 PM] <Brody> although yuo should-- it's awesome [5:16:35 PM] <Kurt> Gee thanks, Brody. Doesn't change my thoughts on it. [5:16:57 PM] <Brody> it's black lights-- everything's better with black lights [5:17:19 PM] Error: Error communicating with server. Will try again in 0.5 seconds. [5:17:20 PM] <Kurt> Not a fan of dodgeball [5:17:21 PM] <Blaine2> Kurt, you should come! It'll be fun! [5:17:33 PM] <Brody> Or the poor Aggies [5:17:47 PM] <Brody> what did they ever do to you that you won't support their cause, Kurt? [5:17:53 PM] <Sebastian> Aw, come on, Kurt, I promise I won't target you /that/ much. [5:18:10 PM] Marley was kicked for being idle for too many rounds. [5:18:10 PM] Marley has left the game. [5:18:17 PM] <Brody> buy some popcorn-- watch me "accidentally" throw a ball at Bas' head [5:18:43 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:18:43 PM] <Kurt> ^that [5:18:43 PM] <Kurt> maybe [5:19:05 PM] <Sebastian> You'll be too dazzled by me that you'll miss. Can't say I'm too worried. [5:19:31 PM] <Brody> uh-- it's black light, Bas. What exactly am I going to be dazzled by? The cum stains on your shirt? [5:19:43 PM] <Kurt> HAHAHA [5:19:46 PM] <Blaine2> See, but I'm immune and I totally think I could team up with dear old Dad to take the shot when he misses [5:19:49 PM] <Blaine2> wow [5:19:50 PM] <Blaine2> Um. [5:19:55 PM] <Sebastian> Eh, you know what I look like. [5:19:59 PM] <Brody> sorry son [5:20:14 PM] Blaine2 wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:20:22 PM] <Blaine2> Yay! [5:20:24 PM] <Kurt> Alright.. Perhaps I"ll consider going if Brody promises to commentate [5:20:47 PM] <Brody> I'm supposed to be playing-- or possibly reffing [5:20:50 PM] <Sebastian> Although I guess you'll have your cheerleader there. You planning on bringing your pompoms, Kurt? Just leave the plaid skirt at home. [5:20:52 PM] <Brody> it's always a trade off [5:21:03 PM] <Blaine2> Bas. [5:21:09 PM] <Brittany> I don't know what we're talking about [5:21:18 PM] <Brody> The fundraiser next month for the FFA? [5:21:24 PM] <Sebastian> Blaine. [5:21:28 PM] <Brody> it's a dodgeball game at the civic center [5:21:37 PM] <Brittany> Ooooh fun! [5:21:38 PM] <Kurt> Wow. Not only rude, but you're indirectly mocking male cheerleaders it sounds like. Classy, Sebastian. Real classy. [5:21:43 PM] <Brody> black lights-- so cool [5:22:01 PM] Kurt wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:22:08 PM] Error: timeout timeout [5:22:23 PM] <Sebastian> I thought we'd established that you were a teenage girl. [5:22:39 PM] <Brody> I can't do this [5:22:51 PM] <Brittany> Aww, Sebastian...be nice [5:23:03 PM] <Blaine2> Bas, knock it off. [5:23:06 PM] Marley has joined the game. [5:23:17 PM] <Marley> (I am kind of here brb) [5:25:06 PM] <Sebastian> What? Shouldn't dish it out if he can't take it back. [5:25:20 PM] <Kurt> It's okay guys, I'm use to dealing with bullies-- sadly they're usually just a lot younger than Smythe, so it's easier to forgive the immaturity. [5:25:28 PM] <Brody> Eh, Blaine-- this is that sexual tension we were talking about earlier [5:25:32 PM] Sebastian wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:25:45 PM] <Brittany> I didn't see what Kurt said...but everyone should be nice [5:25:46 PM] <Sebastian> Aw, you do love me, B. [5:26:04 PM] <Sebastian> Don't be vulgar, Brodes. [5:26:09 PM] <Brody> It's fine Britt-- everyone is being nice [5:26:11 PM] <Brittany> Of course I do, Seb! [5:26:12 PM] <Kurt> I said absolutely nothing worth Sebastian's immature comments, Britt [5:26:12 PM] <Brody> right everyone? [5:26:33 PM] <Brody> Come on Kurt-- guy's sick [5:26:41 PM] <Brody> lay off a bit on the bite [5:26:48 PM] <Blaine2> Brody, that's not an excuse. [5:26:49 PM] <Kurt> Not that sick if he was able to go out drinking again or whatever [5:27:07 PM] <Brody> he came home early [5:27:09 PM] <Blaine2> S, I do love you, but stop being a dick. [5:27:16 PM] <Brittany> ...I don't think you have to be not sick to go drink [5:27:31 PM] <Sebastian> See, Britt gets me. [5:27:31 PM] <Kurt> The being sick excuse isn't a get out of jail free card [5:27:35 PM] <Brody> I'm sure he learned a valuable lesson, guys [5:27:40 PM] Marley was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [5:27:43 PM] <Kurt> Which was? [5:27:48 PM] <Brittany> Sebastian! Are you in jail? [5:27:58 PM] <Brody> He's still at home Britt [5:28:01 PM] <Brody> same thing [5:28:05 PM] <Brody> his furniture's the worst [5:28:06 PM] <Marley> Blah I keep missing [5:28:08 PM] Brody wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:28:20 PM] <Kurt> It's a saying, Britt [5:28:32 PM] <Kurt> He's not in jail, just home >.> [5:29:06 PM] <Sebastian> Brody's right. It /is/ pretty much the same thing. It's boring. [5:29:10 PM] <Finn> Home can feel like jail sometimes [5:29:12 PM] Brittany wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:29:22 PM] <Brittany> Well you can come over here! Or I can come see you! [5:29:55 PM] <Finn> Me? [5:29:58 PM] <Brody> I vote go to him, Britt-- he's //supposed// to be taking it easy [5:30:05 PM] <Brody> according to the Quack [5:30:26 PM] <Sebastian> You're welcome at my place any time, Britt - all you need is a good bottle of wine ;) [5:30:55 PM] <Brody> and here I thought you hated Cali Wine Bas-- has your near-death experience finally made you see the light? [5:31:09 PM] <Brody> Speaking of-- Blaine, are we going riding Sunday? [5:31:13 PM] <Sebastian> No, I'm sure Britt has better taste in wine than you do. [5:31:20 PM] <Sebastian> She's smarter. [5:31:20 PM] Marley was skipped this round for being idle for too long. [5:31:23 PM] <Brody> my wine skills are impeccable [5:31:39 PM] <Blaine2> Yeah, we are, if you're still down [5:31:41 PM] <Brody> You can barely breathe [5:31:57 PM] <Brody> yeah-- I talked to one of the boarders-- they're getting rid of an old saddlebag [5:31:59 PM] <Sebastian> Yet I still haven't lost my taste. [5:32:00 PM] Kurt wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:32:26 PM] <Brody> if you think Bing's up for it, maybe we could bring him around and have him just hang out while we're mucking? [5:32:35 PM] <Brody> or //I'm// mucking, arguably [5:32:38 PM] <Brody> you're supervising [5:32:53 PM] <Blaine2> Yeah, sounds good! [5:33:03 PM] <Brittany> I love wine [5:33:05 PM] <Blaine2> And yeah, I'm good with supervising tomorrow ;) [5:33:08 PM] <Brody> cool [5:33:12 PM] <Sebastian> French wine - right, Britt? [5:33:17 PM] <Brody> Cali wine [5:33:21 PM] <Brody> right Britt? [5:33:26 PM] <Sebastian> Britt, don't listen to him [5:33:36 PM] <Brody> me? I'm not the one with damaged taste buds! [5:33:39 PM] <Sebastian> He's an old man. He has no taste buds. [5:33:50 PM] <Sebastian> Or teeth. [5:33:54 PM] <Blaine2> Aaand I just laughed in spite of myself. [5:33:56 PM] <Brittany> ...I dont know [5:34:08 PM] <Brody> You don't need teeth to drink, asshate [5:34:08 PM] Marley was kicked for being idle for too many rounds. [5:34:08 PM] Marley has left the game. [5:34:18 PM] <Sebastian> I'll enlighten you, Britt, don't worry. [5:34:33 PM] Finn wins the round. The next round will begin in 8 seconds. [5:34:39 PM] <Brody> Okay, if you're going to traumatize her with French wine, she's going to have to be fixed up with the good stuff [5:34:45 PM] <Brody> I owe you a glass, Britt [5:34:54 PM] <Sebastian> Brodes, Britt is my friend and I won't have you poisoning her. [5:34:59 PM] <Brody> I've got a great Sangiovese [5:35:06 PM] <Brittany> You can both give me a wine night [5:35:11 PM] <Brody> he probably doesn't know what a sangiovese //is// [5:35:15 PM] <Brittany> There. Compromise. [5:35:20 PM] <Brody> fair enough