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emy-loves-you · 5 years ago

Text

Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays (Chapter 7)

Happy Halloween!

Warning: Minor burns

Chapter 6 | Masterlist | Chapter 8

V- (8:04 AM) Happy first day of Halloween!

L- (8:05 AM) Virgil, it’s October 1st. Halloween isn’t for another 30 days.

V- (8:05 AM) We must be celebrating different holidays. Halloween lasts from October 1st to October 31st. For the entire month, you watch cheesy Halloween movies and decorate your home in black, purple, and orange. Spiders and bats become your daily esthetic. There are no exceptions to this rule.

P- (8:06 AM) I have arachnophobia and most of our decorations are green. Is that alright, Kiddo?

V- (8:06 AM) … There is one exception.

L- (8:07 AM) This is preposterous.

R- (8:07 AM) Calm down, Specs. Let our Dark and Stormy Knight have his holiday. We don’t want another incident of Pi Day, do we?

V- (8:08 AM) What happened on Pi Day?

P- (8:08 AM) Logan wanted to spend the day memorizing as many digits of Pi as possible. Roman told him that Pi day was only for baking pies. Logan decided to etch as many digits of pi as he could fit into the crust of a pie before baking it. Sadly, baking isn’t Lolo’s exPIEtise.

R- (8:09 AM) He almost burnt the house down. It was hilarious.

L- (8:09 AM) I will back down from this argument, if only to preserve my dignity. Since you decided to text us at 8 AM, I assume that you have plans to celebrate your “first day of Halloween?”

V- (8:10 AM) Yep. I’ve got my Scooby-Doo VHS tapes, an entire gallon of iced coffee, and enough decorations to cover every square inch of my house. Life is good.

R- (8:11 AM) Wait which tapes?

V- (8:11 AM) Zombie Island, Witch’s Ghost, Alien Invaders, and Cyber Chase. The 4 best Scooby-Doo movies to ever exist.

R- (8:12 AM) Now I REALLY wanna watch Scooby-Doo

V- (8:12 AM) What’s stopping you?

L- (8:12 AM) The desire to have a stable income

R- (8:13 AM) I’m starring as Van Helsing for our theatre’s production of Dracula. I’ve got rehearsals and performances almost every night.

V- (8:13 AM) Sorry. I’ll watch it in your stead.

R- (8:14 AM) Gee, how thoughtful of you

(October 8th)

L- (2:32 PM) Virgil, did you seriously buy MORE chocolates?

V- (2:32 PM) Do you like them?

L- (2:32 PM) That’s not the point.

L- (2:33 PM) This is the 7th set of sweets you’ve sent us in the past 8 weeks. First of all, this is extremely unhealthy. Second of all, how much money have you spent on these? Third of all, you tend to send chocolates specifically when you’re planning something that we disapprove of. So what, pray tell, are you planning this time?

V- (2:34 PM) Wow, I didn’t realize you were keeping track of that.

L- (2:34 PM) I keep track of everything. Quit ignoring the questions.

V- (2:35 PM) Okay. First of all, if they make you happy it doesn’t matter. Second of all, if it makes you happy it doesn’t matter. Third of all, if it makes you happy it doesn’t matter :)

L- (2:35 PM) …

V- (2:35 PM) Besides, you wouldn’t want me to STOP sending you sweets, would you?

L- (2:36 PM) … Curse you and your knowledge of my sweets addiction.

V- (2:36 PM) :)

(October 15th)

L- (5:47 PM) VIRGIL!

V- (5:48 PM) Hm?

L- (5:48 PM) DID YOU SERIOUSLY TP OUR HOUSE?!?!?

V- (5:49 PM) You have no proof

L- (5:50 PM) [*Photo Attachment*]

[The photo is of a door. There is a square of TP taped to the door, the words “VIRGIL WAS TOTALLY NOT HERE” written in sharpie]

V- (5:50 PM) See? I was totally not there.

V- (5:51 PM) And I sent you pre-apology chocolates, so you can’t get mad!

L- (5:52 PM) I CAN STILL GET MAD

V- (5:52 PM) NO YOU WON’T OR I’LL STOP GETTING YOU CHOCOLATES

L- (5:53 PM) YOU WOULDN’T

V- (5:53 PM) TRY ME BITCH

R- (5:55 PM) I don’t know WHAT you did, but Logan called me, screeched your name, and hung up. Keep up the good work, storm cloud ;)

(October 22nd)

V- (3:42 PM) Hey Pat?

P- (3:42 PM) What’s up, Kiddo?

V- (3:42 PM) You bake, right?

P- (3:43 PM) It would be very hard to run a bakery if I couldn’t, Kiddo!

V- (3:43 PM) True

V- (3:43 PM) So what do you do if your cookies catch on fire?

P- (3:43 PM) WHAT

V- (3:44 PM) [*Photo Attachment*]

[The photo is of an oven. The door is open, and inside is a tray of Pillsbury ghost sugar cookies. They are all on fire]

P- (3:44 PM) PUT IT OUT

V- (3:44 PM) HOW

P- (3:45 PM) DON’T YOU HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER?!?!

V- (3:45 PM) WON’T THAT RUIN THE COOKIES?

P- (3:45 PM) THOSE COOKIES ARE GONERS. ACCEPT YOUR LOSS

V- (3:46 PM) [*Photo attachment*]

[The photo is of the same oven. The door is still open, yet the entire inside of the oven is covered in foam]

V- (3:46 PM) Now what?

P- (3:46 PM) First of all, turn off the oven.

V- (3:47 PM) Done

P- (3:47 PM) Okay. Now answer me this: HOW THE FUDGE DID YOU MANAGE TO CATCH PREMADE SUGAR COOKIES ON FIRE???

V- (3:48 PM) I DON’T KNOW! I JUST PUT THEM IN THE OVEN AND SUDDENLY THEY WERE ON FIRE

L- (3:48 PM) Are you alright, Virgil? Did you sustain any burns or other injuries?

P- (3:48 PM) HOLY STARS I SHOULD’VE ASKED! ARE YOU OKAY VIRGIL?

V- (3:49 PM) I’m fine. I burned my wrist but it’s not that bad.

L- (3:49 PM) Will you please send a picture of your injury?

V- (3:49 PM) [*Photo attachment*]

[The photo is of a left hand. The hand is long, slender, and pale. The nails are long and painted black with cat noses and whiskers. The person’s wrist has a minor burn wound, around the size of a golf ball]

L- (3:50 PM) You are correct, Virgil. It appears to be a minor burn, no need to contact the hospital. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you tend to your burn at your earliest convenience.

P- (3:50 PM) Go wrap up that burn, kiddo! Make sure you add burn cream, too!

P- (3:51 PM) AND OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOUR NAILS! They’re PAWsitively PURRfect!

L- (3:51 PM) Please stop

P- (3:52 PM) Alright. Wouldn’t wanna have a CATastrophe, would we?

L- (3:52 PM) Please. I beg of you.

V- (3:53 PM) Okay, all patched up. What do I do about my cookies?

L- (3:53 PM) Make sure your oven has fully cooled down before attempting to clean it.

P- (3:54 PM) AND DON’T DO THAT EVER AGAIN, MISTER!

P- (3:54 PM) You nearly gave me a heart attack!

V- (3:55 PM) Sorry, won’t happen again.

L- (3:55 PM) I assume that this means you will be buying post-apology sweets? I assure you that it is unnecessary, Virgil. Your health and safety are more important than confectionaries.

L- (3:57 PM) Virgil?

L- (3:57 PM) Please refrain from buying more sweets.

L- (3:58 PM) I’ve already gained 3.4 pounds alone from these “Gifts”

V- (3:58 PM) Too late, already bought them

P- (3:58 PM) You don’t have to, Kiddo!

P- (3:59 PM) And Lolo, don’t blame V on your weight gain. I know Ro’s not the only one sneaking whole jars of jelly from the cabinets at night.

L- (3:59 PM) Virgil, how much are you spending on these sweets?

V- (4:00 PM) Would it help if I said that I get a discount since I purchase chocolates almost weekly?

L- (4:00 PM) VIRGIL

V- (4:01 PM) :)

R- (6:58 PM) Why does all the interesting stuff happen while I’m at work?

V- (6:59 PM) Get wrecked Princey

R- (6:59 PM) :(

V- (7:00 PM) Don’t worry I got you sweets too

R- (7:00 PM) :)

(October 24th)

L- (2:32 PM) VIRGIL!

V- (2:33 PM) Did you get your sweets? Send me a pick! I didn’t get to see the end result

P- (2:33 PM) [*Photo Attachment*]

[The photo is of three vases, each of different colors. The light blue vase is filled with tulips made of white chocolate. There are also chocolate-covered straberry and a giant chocolate lollipop with the words “I appreciate you a chocoLOT!” The red vase is filled with milk chocolate roses and another chocolate lollipop that says “Good luck slaying Vampires!” The navy blue vase is the most elaborate (probably just to mess with Logan). It’s filled with dark chocolate tulips AND roses, with a whole jar of crofters nestled into the middle of the bouquet. It’s lollipop reads “Weight and Cost are just #s!”]

P- (2:34 PM) These are ADORABLE, Virgil!

L- (2:34 PM) How much did you spend on this, Virgil?

V- (2:34 PM) Did you not read your lollipop?

V- (2:35 PM) Don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t buy the chocolates if I couldn’t afford them :)

L- (2:35 PM) My digestive system can’t afford them.

V- (2:36 PM) Well I couldn’t give you pre-apology chocolates so I had to give you epic post-apology chocolates.

P- (2:37 PM) Well, I cannot wait to eat these! Seriously, I’ve already eaten half a tulip. And these vases will look so pretty holding ACTUAL flowers! Thank you so much, V! But remember, you don’t have to do this. We don’t need apology sweets!

V- (2:38 PM) I know, but it’s comforting to know that there’s at least ONE way I can interact with you guys beyond texting. I’m sorry that I’m still not comfortable talking face-to-face yet.

P- (2:38 PM) That’s completely fine, Kiddo! Take all the time you need. We’ll be here when you’re ready.

L- (2:39 PM) I agree.Though I still do not see the purpose of excessive spending on our behalf.

R- (2:39 PM) Well I find it extremely thoughtful, storm cloud. I would type an entire ballad of how caring and kind you are, but I must get back to work. I shall speak with you tonight, fair raven.

V- (2:40 PM) Thanks, guys. It means a lot to me.

(October 31st)

L- (10:17 AM) How are you feeling about your “final day of Halloween,” Virgil?

V- (10:18 AM) Incredibly depressed

P- (10:18 AM) Aww. Why’s that, Kiddo?

V- (10:19 AM) You guys know how I travel around with my friends, right?

V- (10:19 AM) Well apparently we have to travel out today. We won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.

R- (10:20 AM) I’m deeply sorry, my precious stormcloud. If I may ask, why do you have to travel tonight?

V- (10:20 AM) My friends like to go to parties out of town, and I go to make sure they don’t get themselves killed.

P- (10:21 AM) I’m sorry you have to miss Halloween, Kiddo. I know how much you were looking forward to it.

V- (10:22 AM) I’m still gonna wear my costume. Just because I can’t celebrate at home doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate at all.

L- (10:22 AM) What costume have you decided to wear?

V- (10:23 AM) [*Photo attachment*]

[Photo is the bottom half of someone’s face. They’re smiling, with black lipstick and fake Vampire teeth. There’s red liquid running down their chin.]

P- (10:23 AM) That looks FANGtastic, Virgil!

L- (10:23 AM) I hope you have an amenable experience at the party, Virgil.

R- (10:24 AM) I agree! You look amazing and I hope you enjoy the party, storm cloud. Do not worry, I will watch The Nightmare Before Christmas in your stead!

V- (10:25 AM) Wow I feel so grateful

R- (10:25 AM) :)

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

#sanders sides fic #useless gays #LAMP fic #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders

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ducktracy · 5 years ago

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129. plane dippy (1936)

release date: april 30th, 1936

series: looney tunes

director: tex avery

starring: joe dougherty (porky), billy bletcher (sergeant, professor blotz), bernice hansen (kitty)

the first cartoon to proudly display “featuring porky”—a trend that would continue on for years and years (my favorites are cartoons that explicitly have daffy in the title, yet the title card still says something like the daffy doc featuring porky or tom turk and daffy featuring porky.) beans makes his last ever appearance for real this time, reduced to cameo, kitty also bids goodbye by possessing a small role, and a glasses wearing dog with an overbite makes an appearance and would reappear once more in shanghaied shipmates. ham and/or ex are the last to survive, making a small cameo in porky’s pet. porky’s time has finally arrived. our hero wishes to enlist in the air force, but quickly discovers he isn’t much good at it. instead, he’s sent to clean a voice operated airplane, and things quickly turn sour—and destructive.

we begin with our hero strolling down the street. he comes across a poster: JOIN THE ARMY — INFANTRY DIVISION. porky thinks it over with careful decision, yet decides it’s not for him. another: SEE THE WORLD — JOIN THE NAVY. the same thoughtful mulling, the same rejection. and finally: LEARN TO FLY — JOIN THE AIR CORPS. the perfect job. porky gives his affirmation with a dutiful salute, and marches inside to speak about the job.

right away, he approaches a burly (and surly) general, who is scribbling away at his desk. porky wordlessly salutes at attention, and is blown back from the impact as the sarge growls “WELL?” porkys says “i wanna learn to f-fl—i wanna learn to f-f-f—“ he can’t quite get it out, and instead resorts to making airplane noises while imitating a plane with his arms.

the sergeant grunts “what’s your name, bud?” and once more porky gets tripped up in his words. the sarge instead hands him a slate and some chalk and instructs him to write his name. a gag too good for words as porky physically writes out “P-P-P-P-P-“ as he continues to stutter his name. to get him to spit it out, the sarge whistles—a common dougherty era gag as i mentioned previously—and porky gives us his easy to remember, alliterative name that rolls so easily off the tongue: “porky cornelius washington otis lincoln abner aloysius casper jefferson filbert horatius narcissus pig.” a fantastic joke that hits really well with the timing. i wonder how many takes that took dougherty—he only stutters a few times. i don’t even have a stutter and i certainly couldn’t spit that out to save my life.

instead, the sarge drags porky by the arm and throws a uniform in his arms. he tosses porky into the changing room and waits patiently for a few seconds. out comes a giant lump of clothes, much to the sarge’s surprise. to assert he’s dealing with the same stuttering pig from before, the sergeant pokes his head inside the oversized collar, and a “hello!” responds from the abyss of fabric. porky’s “hello!” is hysterically out of place and sounds nothing like him, and was likely used for that reason. it’s incoherent, and slightly confusing at first, but it also enhances the gag. to remedy the situation, the sergeant picks up the mass of clothes and dunks it in a nearby barrel of water. the clothes gradually shrink, and we’re reunited with porky as he now dons a suitable uniform.

tex’s love of typography gags is prominently displayed as we get white text on a black background: DIZZINESS TEST. the words whirl around in a circle as we transition to the next scene, the sergeant winding porky up like a top with some duct tape. with a whip of the tape (or ribbon, up to interpretation), porky whirls around the room tasmanian devil style. the sarge stops him and picks him up, just in time for beans to make a cameo by drawing a straight line on the floor. the sarge places porky back down on the line, and he zips uncontrollably around the room.

bullets spell out our next test: TARGET PRACTICE. porky and the sarge are in a different room, both positioned behind a gun on a tripod. the sarge provides a demo by propelling a toy plane into the air and shooting the gun at the plane, hitting it in one go. he grins at his handiwork and offers porky the gun to do the same. the sarge tosses another toy plane in the air, and porky attempts to shoot it. instead, he has great difficulty controlling the gun, shooting everywhere BUT the plane and nearly taking out the sergeant himself. a cloud of smoke fills the scene. once the smoke clears, porky’s left standing on a wooden floor, now finding him outside as the entire building is reduced to debris and bricks around him. the gun and the plane survive the wreckage, and porky gives the gun a frustrated kick. to his befuddlement, the kick prompts the gun to shoot, and it hits the plane perfectly.

READY FOR DUTY. now, the sergeant tosses rifles into the hands of aspiring soldiers, the force of the throw so strong that they each stumble backwards (fittingly accompanied by a gunshot sound effect.) dutiful porky prepares to receive his honor... and a duster is thrust into his possession (still hilariously accompanied by the gunshot sound.) as porky ogles at the duster, the sarge thrusts a paper that merely reads “ORDERS” into his grip and points to a nearby shed. outside of the shed reads a sign: “ROBOT PLANE — KEEP OUT!” perfect for porky to wander into.

porky obeys captain’s orders, and meanders into the shed. he gives a few whistles to alert his presence, and he’s met with nothing. suddenly, a monkey whips a cloth off of a covered object, spinning porky around like a top from the impact. thusly uncovers said robotic plane as the monkey inquires “well?” porky hands him the orders with a loyal solute. “to professor blotz — this helper O.K. for your robot plane tests.”

professor blotz wastes no time interrogating porky, instead showing him his new invention. he drags over a radio and microphone, ordering “get ready!” into the microphone. a signal is sent directly to the robot plane, the propellor whirring to life. “take off!” porky runs out of the way as the plane zooms into the air. professor blotz shows off his fancy voice activated plane, much to the fascination of porky. loops, nosedives, ascensions... there’s nothing the plane can’t do.

now the professor offers the microphone to porky, coercing him with “try it!” porky struggles to get his command out, and the plane comically shudders and jitters in conjunction with porky’s stuttering. the plane does an uncertain l-l-lo-loop d-de l-lo-loo-lo-loop and hastily g-go-goes u-u-up. the plane inches closer and closer to a nearby hot air balloon, and porky manages to order it down just in time. professor blotz yanks the microphone out of porky’s grip as the plane parks itself outside, growling “ooooh, get to work!” and thrusting the feather duster in porky’s hands.

while porky starts his cleaning duties, the professor haughtily places his radio in the window of the shed. out come little kitty, a puppy, and the unnamed dog with an overbite from i haven’t got a hat. kitty giggles as the puppy licks her and asks the dog (a goofy and pluto situation going on it seems) “does he do tricks?” of course! the dog orders his pup to sit up. of course, the microphone picks up on his voice, and porky, who’s dutifully dusting the plane, now finds himself clinging onto the plane which is now sitting on its hind legs.

“wag your tail!” the plane shakes its rear wings to the befuddlement of porky. now kitty tries, armed with a balloon. “get the balloon!” she tosses her balloon and giggles as the puppy chases it. and, of course, porky is thrown into the seat of the plane as it takes off at frightening speeds and immediately pops the hot air balloon, the gag made even more amusing with the detail of two figures floating with parachutes after the accident.

porky is now stuck in a shanghaied plane. kitty orders the pup to chase his tail, and the plane spirals towards the ground in an attempt to chase its own tail. in the midst of the game gone horrible wrong, porky reduces a clock tower to debris as he rams into each “level”. he finds himself flying through a nearby circus. he pops out of the other side of the tent, acrobats performing their routine as they hang from the bottom of the plane.

now led towards the ocean, porky’s plane serves as a speedboat as the acrobats transition into water skiers. the timing of all of these scenes is very well done. just the right sense of urgency conveyed, yet executed so the gags have time to settle in as well. a swordfish leaps out of the waters and cuts the line connecting the acrobats to the plane, and they’re left behind as porky is sent underwater, desperately trying not to cut the fish into sushi. some nice camera angles as porky chases a fish in and out of the foreground.

the plane leaps in and out of the waves like a dolphin, chasing the hapless victim fish. eventually, porky resurfaces with an intimidatingly huge whale hot on his tail. elsewhere, the dog overbite orders his pup to chase a cat (“sick ‘im!”), and porky is sent hurtling straight towards an innocent victim flying in his own plane. the two planes tussle, the poor pilot clinging onto a lone propellor as he sinks towards the sea below. porky tears into a blimp. once advertising “SMOKE ROPO CIGARS”, the blimp is cleverly reduced to “SOS” thanks to porky cutting up half of said blimp.

even the clouds fear porky, taking form of an anthropomorphic human running away from the destructive blades of the plane’s propellor. the cloud man seeks refuge in his cloud house, slamming the door on porky. porky is then launched into a nosedive, shredding a farmer’s stack of hay into a shower of already made straw hats. a group of planes zip out of frame so as to avoid porky and zip right back up into their leisurely positions, the timing spot on and making a seemingly pointless gag much funnier.

a whole crowd of children have congregated around the pup causing so much trouble. all of the kids shout various conflicting commands, all picked up by the receiver. porky’s plane is all but in control, at one point doing back hand springs and zigzagging all throughout the screen. the little puppy has tired itself out, and his owner coos “you’ve had enough”, summoning him home.

good news for porky as the microphone picks up the “come on home” command. the plane skids to an uneasy halt, animation light, delicate, and floaty as the wings scrape the grass. the plane skids right through the shed, and porky is launched out as it crashes into the window. and, with amazing speeds, porky propels himself to the registration office. a sign on the outside advertises the army as porky declares “i wanna learn to march!”

finally, our happy little soldier gets the ending he’s always wanted. bob clampett animates an eager porky marching in the infantry, intermittently flashing hilariously ecstatic grins at the audience. perhaps even funnier is that he isn’t even in time with everyone else’s march, doing a much more hurried speed walk (speed waddle?) slightly out of time. a happy end as we iris out.

while this isn’t my favorite tex porky short, it’s undoubtedly entertaining. speed is a big factor to tex’s cartoons, and it certainly plays a big role in this one, conveying the urgency and out of control nature of porky’s shanghaied plane. the opening almost feels a little TOO fast, with porky getting registered right away and doing all his tests one after the other. it’s a minor complaint, and it isn’t even that noticeable. my ADHD would much rather prefer too fast than too slow. also amazing how, for lack of a better word, relevant this cartoon is today, where voice control becomes more and more popular. not in a durrr technology bad way, but just in a comical way that makes you draw comparisons. a highly amusing short that’s worth a watch, just because.

link!

#lt #plane dippy #reviews #long post #avery

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etherealblasphemy · 7 years ago

Text

The Mechanic

just a little gift for you all to tide you over while i’m off in west virginia :)

(this is completely unreviewed, so apologies if there are any grammar/ spelling/ continuity mistakes)

TW: Mild language

�� They flew for Legion, a foreign country on a foreign planet in a foreign system. Cal couldn’t help but feel nervous as their ship slowly entered the atmosphere, not used to being completely new to a place. They didn’t know the people, they didn’t know the land, they didn’t know what resources were at their disposal if push came to shove and Draven showed up. It made them uneasy, squirming in their seat as they pressed their lips into a thin line, willing the worry to go away.

Halfway through the journey, Anxiety and Logan returned from the med bay, the earthling sporting a cloth sling. “It honestly doesn’t hurt that much now that Logan’s put some salve on it,” he told Roman, who placated immediately.

“Anxiety, I wanna see the Halo Sword, show it to us,” Cal begged. Anxiety shrugged, pulling out a small stone nonchalantly and holding out for all to see, palm outstretched. Cal’s eyes narrowed. “Is that… is that it?”

Roman hopped out of his chair, strolling confidently and swiping the stone from Anxiety’s hand. “It’s not activated yet, it’s still in its hidden form,” he told them as he whispered to the stone, waving his hand over the smooth surface. Before their eyes, the stone disappeared, replaced by a shimmering sword, its handle the color of roses. It seemed to glow, growing brighter every second Cal’s eyes were trained on it. “Ta-da!” Roman exclaimed, proudly showing off the gleaming blade. Cal marveled over it, running their fingers along its sharp length, careful to not cut their hand on the serrated edge.

“Calypso, Vasryians have the coolest things. When we defeat Draven, you’re going to get me one, deal?” Roman laughed, nodding his head as Cal continued to poke and prod at the Halo Sword.

“You might want to settle down Cal. Trust me, you’ll need that energy when you meet Wonderling,” Anxiety mused, stifling his giggles with the black sleeve of his hoodie.

“Okay, now I’m really curious about this ‘Wonderling’ person. What- how- who even are they?” Cal asked. The other four shared a look, a wistful look in their eyes. It was Logan who took up the duty of explanation.

“Wonderling… is an enigma, to say the least. She could very well qualify as the definition of sonder or ebullience; though, she’s a rather complex character to describe. We crash-landed once near her shop a few years back when we were less experienced pilots and had had a run-in with intergalactic law enforcement. She repaired the Sanders Yersinia and offered us hospitality. Wonderling is the best mechanic in the universe, without a doubt, and one of the few people besides Remy that we trust wholeheartedly,” Logan detailed. Cal pursed their lips, deciding to pretend that they understood half of the words the robot had used.

“She’s very tough when the time calls for it, but she’s a sweetheart otherwise,” Patton chimed in. “We’ve had an adventure or two-”

“Which we do not speak about,” Anxiety cut in. “The sooner I forget, the better,” he snickered. “The sooner Wonderling forgets, the better.” Cal smirked, planning to ask the mechanic about the incident in question as soon as they met.

“Hey, kiddos, we’re going to arrive soon,” Patton informed them as Anxiety cheered quietly, eager to see their friend.

Before Cal knew it, the world of Honua approached them, a spinning ball of blue and green, a marble of life in the bag of existence. Patton guided their spacecraft for the land of Legion, heading for Niner, a city that shined like polished gold and copper. Gears and stained brown off-white cloths seemed to be the decorations of choice in this town, mechanics taking center stage. As the Sanders Yersinia touched ground, Cal caught a glimpse of a blimp soaring across the sky like a man-made sun. Every single building appeared to be made of gold, bronze, or copper, gleaming in the early morning aurora as the sun crept over the mountains towards the east. In the sky, metal creatures of all sizes flew about, some transporting goods and people.

Cal stepped out of the ship with their jaw agape, spinning around to take in everything all at once. A wind-up songbird landed on their shoulder, whistling a tune merrily before flying away. They had half a mind to chase after it, but Logan called their name, gesturing them over down the street, where the others were waiting for them under a sign that read, “Exotic Wonders Trading Company and Mechanic.” Below it, a second sign was added, scrawled with messy handwriting, reading, “arbor & arbor tailoring.”

“Looks like Rowan’s finally got his stuff together since we last stopped by,” Patton was saying.

“Please, we both know Moxie threatened to show his baby pictures to Ada to get him to help her,” Anxiety retorted with a snort. “C’mon, let’s find Wonderling.”

They went inside, a small bell tinkling as the door swung closed, disturbing a cloud of dust. Cal sneezed, waving their hand to clear the air as their eyes adjusted to a place not illuminated by the sun. A couple lanterns were stationed on antique tables, their flames flickering. Aging portraits hung on the walls, little brass placards at the bottom describing them and their sitters, the dim light casting shadows on the canvas that made the people come to life, ready to pop out of their confining frames in a moment.

The tables and shelves doting the space were filled to the brim with exotic goods. One table’s surface was covered entirely in pocket watches carved with intricate miniscule details, and another was devoted to journals and tomes, some opened to seemingly random pages filled with doodles of mythical sea creatures and far-away lands. Cal’s attention was divided between a metal robot and a collection of shiny minerals when a voice spoke right behind them.

“Like what you see?”

Cal shrieked, jumping into the air as they whirled around, clutching their heart. Their eyes landed on a petite young woman watching them with interest, her icy blue eyes piercing Cal’s. Her mocha skin blended into the shadows, giving her the appearance of a ethereal creature. Something told Cal she enjoyed roaming unseen. The woman stuck out a hand in greeting, unhesitant as she grabbed Cal’s and shook it vigorously.

“Name’s Moxie Arbor. I run a tailor shop in the back of this treasure trove. You here for Exotic Wonders or Arbor & Arbor?” she asked in one breath. Cal stuttered, unsure how to respond.

“They’re with us, Moxie,” Roman said, coming to Cal’s rescue. Moxie rolled her eyes, turning towards the prince with a hand on her hip. “Do you know where Wonderling is?” Moxie laughed, her head falling back.

“Oh, she’ll have a fit when she sees y’all,” Moxie cackled.

“Hello to you, too, Moxie,” Logan said, approaching them, dragging Anxiety and Patton away from old telescopes and compasses. “I assume Wonderling is on another delivery?”

“Should be back by now-” Moxie was cut off by the ring of the bell, signaling the entrance of another customer. “Oh, heya, Wonder!” Moxie called, waving them over. “Look who showed!” Cal gulped at the heavy tread of boots, the newcomer’s face obscured by shadows.

“Well, I’ll be damned. If it ain’t the li’l shits who almost broke Axel,” the person, presumably Wonderling, grumbled deathly quiet, her voice devoid of humor. Cal heard Roman curse under his breath. She stopped right as the flames of the gas lanterns lit up her face. A grin suddenly broke across her face. “...who also happen to be my favorite customers! Y’all can head inside the workshop and help y’allselves to a glass of lemonade while I see what y’all broke this time ‘round- oh, who’s the sweetheart over here?” Wonderling asked, taking notice of Cal. Cal swallowed thickly, blushing furiously as they offered a awkward, toothy smile. “Don’t be shy, honey, I don’t bite that hard,” Wonderling reassured.

Cal bit down hard on their lip, willing themselves to not blurt out anything stupid and make a fool out of themselves. They eyes glanced over Wonderling, pausing on her warm chocolate eyes and ebony hair streaked with gold. Her smooth skin, the color of walnuts, glowed in the firelight of the lamps, the white of her blouse standing out in the shadows.

“Cat got ya tongue?” Wonderling inquired, pursing her lips teasingly. “C’mon, I’m guessing y’all are acquainted with one another.” Wonderling ushered Cal and the others into the back, passing into a sizeable room filled with gears and cogs and all sorts of tiny trinkets. A falcon made of metal sat on the largest table, half its wing dismantled on the surface.

“Don’t mind the mess, I’ve got to fix Axis’s wings before I use her again for package delivery,” Wonderling explained as they headed past into a much smaller room, where six chairs circled a table laden with a glass of lemonade and a small plate of cookies that smelled divine. “Help y’allselves. Just leave me some this time, a’ight?” Cal and Anxiety dove at one for the freshly baked desserts, shoving several in their mouth and moaning as the sugar melted in their mouths. “I’ll go take a look at the Yersinia; if y’all need help, just holler.” Wonderling left with a swish of her navy cloak, sending a wink towards a flustered Cal.

“Are those wedding bells I hear?” Anxiety teased, dodging a napkin thrown at his face.

“How about we leave me alone and figure out what we’re going to do now that we have the Halo Sword?” Even Logan cracked a smile at Cal’s flusteredness.

“We’re going to start a rebellion, and you’re going to start a relationship,” Roman said as Cal groaned, burying their face in their tanned hands, feeling their face heat up even further. “Just before the Guard of the Snake found us back on Vasryia, Terrence told me he knew every single staff member who was still loyal to my father and would ask them for their support if I decided to challenge the throne. As we speak, he’s probably rallying up the common folk. By the time we return, we should hopefully have people to help us fight back.”

“Let’s hope Terrence and the others aren’t caught by Draven,” Patton added, Logan humming in agreement.

“Once we rally the support of the commoners, we can storm the palace and capture Draven. We’ll ask any commoners who have any grievances against him to come forward and we’ll transcribe them,” Roman continued, accenting his speech with animated hand gestures. “As soon as we have a big enough list, we declare him overthrown and start imprisoning his original supporters for conspiring against the crown. That’s all I have for now. I think for the time being, we should forget about our impending doom and enjoy Niner while we still can.”

“If it’s fine with you guys, I’d like to explore the city before we leave. I saw some shops selling silk scarves and I wanna get one,” Cal piped up, rising from their seat, wolfing down their third cookie.

“Sure, kiddo, just don’t be too long,” Patton told them. Cal assured him that, of course, they wouldn’t be more than an hour or two, and bolted out of the shop. Their eyes instinctively narrowed in the bright sunlight. They spun around in the street, passerby swerving around to avoid their outstretched arms as they reveled in the glory of the shining city of Niner. Up ahead, they saw Wonderling cautiously approach the Sanders Yersinia, stepping up onto the platform they had landed on.

Cal meandered closer, biting their lip as they idly watched the mechanic set to work, tilting her head as she surveyed the damage dealt to the spacecraft, mumbling to herself as her eyes narrowed.

“Will Draven ever stop running them up the creek?” Wonderling whispered to herself, unaware of the onlooker.

“Um… excuse me, M-Miss Wonderling?” Cal spoke up, internally berating themselves for sounding so stupid. Wonderling spun around, eyes wide in slight panic. “I, uh, I surveyed the damage before we came. I can s-show you the, uh, the diagram if it’ll help…” they stuttered. Wonderling flashed them a bright smile.

“That would help me a mighty lot, honey. Thank ya.” Cal hurried into the ship, coming out with a thin device where they pulled up the ship’s diagram and began explaining where the ship had taken damage, pointing a shaking finger at the different areas. “Say, sweetheart, did they give ya a name along with those fancy scars ‘cross your cheek?” Cal flushed, laughing nervously as they rubbed the back of their neck sheepishly.

“My name is Calrex. Bennova. Calrex Bennova,” they spit out quickly, tripping over their words. Wonderling’s eyes narrowed.

“I reckon I’ve seen your face beforehand on some account or another,” Wonderling mused, gaining a faraway look in her eyes before snapping her fingers, straightening. “Might ya be the one they call the Pirate?” Cal went pale, stuttering their response. “Don’t be afeared, honey, I respect what ya’ve done. I know ya didn’t destroy that galaxy- all my eye ya did. Ya’re a right-lookin’ angelica with yar head set on straight. Now, I know what y’all are allotting upon. Mind ya, I wish the others’d stop poking their heads into the firing range, but that’s no business of mine. Ya just remember there are people out there who know the truth. They’ll follow yar lead, Calrex Bennova. Trust them, and they won’t let ya down when the clock ticks midnight.”

Cal was at a loss for words as Wonderling’s unhesitant, impassioned speech. The mechanic took notice of Cal’s nerves and gently grabbed their hands, her calluses rubbing against the soles of their palms.

“If y’all need help at any time during yar rebellion whatnot, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m a mighty fine pilot, if I may say so myself, and I’ve seen my share of battles. I’ve lost some and I’ve won some, but it’s knowing that yar friends are fighting right beside ya that keeps ya pushing ‘til ya’ve made things right.” Cal squeezed Wonderling’s hands, smiling thankfully.

“Thank you, Wonderling. I’m really starting to see why everyone’s eyes would light up when they talked about you,” they told the mechanic, who colored, looking away.

“Oh, I’m nothing but a mechanic with grease stains on my soul. Yar the one who’s going to be savin’ the universe, aren’t ya? Now, ya didn’t just come outside to talk with li’l ole me. Go off and explore, Pirate. Find some booty to show off,” Wonderling laughed, smirking as they let go off Cals hands. Cal flashed her another grateful smile as they turned away, ready to set off and run around the city before they were stuck in the Sanders Yersinia for far too long again.

They paused, turning back around. “Would you happen to know where I can myself a silk scarf?” Wonderling smirked, extending a long, dainty finger down the street, saying nothing as she sent a wink towards Cal, suppressing her giggles.

“Make sure to get one in red, sweetheart. It makes your eyes shine.”

Cal ran through the street, dodging loitering shoppers as they weaved in and around the shops, the sun climbing further up the sky to burn the shoulders of mortals. They found the stall selling scarves hanging from hoops, their multicolored fabrics standing out in the golden browns of the wooden beams. They ran their hands over the soft materials, chatting energetically with the shopkeeper, a stout, elderly woman whose gnarled fingers tapped the wood rhymically as she watched Cal��s eyes widen to the size of the moon, studying the potential buyer.

“These scarves are made by Olga,” the old woman said with an accent thicker than the trunk of a Farafallen haedel tree, pointing a finger at herself. “They good for love-finding.”

“Sure. Is this what you tell all the couples that walk by?” Cal quipped, examining a different scarf. The hag cackled, her eyes wild and crazed.

“Not that kind of love, child,” she snapped. “The kind of love you wish for when you lonely, the kind between lovers of another kind who fight side by side in heat of battle. The kind of love for family.” Cal felt their breath rush out of them, shuddering a little. It had been so long- too long- since they had heard such a beautiful word. Since they could even imagine someone loving them the way a parent loves their child, shielding them from the horrors of the world until they could fend them off for themselves and still return to patch up their little one’s scratches. “Is five galleon, child, but three for you with eyes the color of sky kissing grass,” the shopkeeper offered, holding out an ancient hand to collect the three coins she knew she would receive. Cal wordlessly dropped the coins into her palm, snapping shut and delivering the handwoven cloth to the pirate staring soundlessly into the distance.

“May you find the love you seek, young Pirate,” the shopkeeper whispered conspiratorially as she shooed them away. Cal ran their fingers through the scarf before wrapping around their neck, heading further down the street full of peddlers and overflowing bars, all a raucous celebration of the enjoyment of life.

A less crowded alleyway drew Cal’s attention. They headed down, brick walls shouting up from the ground, stained with the scribbles of wanna-be prophets and teenagers aching to have a voice. They lost themselves in a maze of backways and alleyways, letting their mind wander as their feet did. Eventually, the walls opened up and grass roots forced their ways through cobblestones. Before them stretched out a main street of a different neighborhood, one enclosed by the confining towers of apartments stacked on top of one another like a child’s blocks. Lines of laundry stretched across the narrow street, the sheets dirty and the clothes ragged.

Cal approached this odd alley with hesitation. Glancing to their left, they saw a handmade sign with the words “Union Alley” carved into the rotting wood. “Might be like home,” they mumbled aloud as they meandered further into the neighborhood of one winding street. “Oi, ‘zis the choir infantry?” they called to a passing beggar, praying they slang they had learned was known in a place as exotic and far-away as Honua. The man’s eyes were bright and deranged as they focused on Cal’s body, gazing just over their shoulder as though there was someone standing right behind them.

“‘Tever you need, Union Alley pr’vides,” he told them solemnly. “A prett’ girl-” Cal tensed- “shou’dn’t be wanderin’ this street wearin’ clothes of such… fine dis-po-si-’ion.”

“I kin punch a shit where it counts, you ‘cluded,” they threatened, snarling. The beggar backed off, throwing his hands up in defense. They sighed, rolling their eyes as they moved on, scanning over the goods presented by each shopkeeper, their stalls tiny and cramped, hogging as much space as they could to attract enough customers to manage a wage able to buy them the ability to sleep inside and not in the exposed stalls where they mongered their goods like animals.

“Buy a tonic or two?” one yelled.

“We kin teach ya magic ta use on the Mericon traitors!” another offered.

“Want a good time? Just ask me, Night Flower, your next dream,” a femme galante purred, moving sultrily against a wall to attract the flickering glances of those who walked by. Cal pressed on, giving old memories no time to rise from the dead. Searching hands of the blind reached out, aching to see the light once more as Cal danced between them.

“Pirate with the scarf of blood, watch where you step,” a voice called out from a stall hidden in shadows. “There are beasts that lurk below the ground and can hear your careful tiptoes. Allow your devotion to let you fly, and your determination to let you soar.”

The hair on the back of their neck stood on end, chilled by the voice’s words. Two yellow eyes glowered at them from afar. Cal stumbled back, their breath caught in their throat. From the darkness emerged a teenager, their eyes wrapped with bloodied cloth, clutching a yellow-eyed creature in their arms.

“Pirate, there is a snake within your midst,” the young being warned, their grip on the creature growing tighter. “Tread carefully, and escape before it bites.”

“What are you talking about? How do you- how do you know who I am?” Cal asked, their breath hitching.

“You, Pirate, are the savior of the common people who have no voice. You are exalted across the universe for standing up to King Draven of Vasryia. There are whispers of your accomplishments even in the lands the King believes are most loyal to him. You, Pirate, are a symbol of hope for us. But you are in great danger here. An old nemesis prowls this alley. Keep your eyes of an eagle and beware the snake prepared to strike.” Before Cal had a chance to process the words of the teenager, they disappeared back into the thralls of the shadows, the yellow eyes of their beasts dimming to nothing but the absence of light.

Although they tried to shake off the growing feeling of nausea in their stomach, Cal couldn’t refocus on exploring, so caught up in trying to decipher the teen’s ominous words that they failed to notice the man behind them. They bumped into him, grunting at the impact and knocking him over.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry!” Cal apologized, helping him up. The man was silent, nodding tersely at their apology. “Are you alright?” they asked sincerely, offering him a soft smile.

“I’m fine,” he said briskly before yanking his hand away from Cal’s, sending them to the ground themselves with a yelp. “Oh, dear, how clumsy of me. Let me help you up,” the man said without much emotion, all but digging his nails into Cal’s arm and forcing them to their feet. Cal stumbled, falling into the man’s arms. As they looked up into his eyes, they felt their face pale, their brain screaming with recognition as those citrine eyes bored into their soul, mocking them.

“Well, if it isn’t the Unwanted One.”

Pain bloomed from the base of their skull and their vision began to blur as they slumped in the man’s arms. The last thing they could think of before they fell victim to unconsciousness was the man’s name: Cato.

Logan leafed through the aged pages of a journal, immersing himself in the different entries, some pages long and full of awed detail about new lands, others short and content to sketch a sunset before turning in for the night. He checked his pocket watch, putting the diary away as he made haste for the spaceship.

“We should leave now,” he informed the others, who groaned but put away their objects of wonder back where they belonged. As Logan counted heads, not helped by Moxie running through the aisles, hugging all her friends goodbye and telling them to come back soon, he felt strange. Something was missing- Cal. They hadn’t returned yet, more than likely simply forgetting to come back to the shop. It probably hadn’t helped that Cal was new to Niner and didn’t know labyrinth of criss-crossing streets as well as he or a native like Wonderling and the Arbor siblings did.

“Hey, where’s Cal?” Anxiety asked. “Didn’t they say they’d be back in an hour? It’s been three.” Logan’s line of logical thinking took a slight detour, his reason turning to concern. Perhaps Cal had gotten lost, and were wandering about, sure to encounter danger. Immediately, he told himself Cal was fine and could handle themselves if they somehow chanced upon a rougher or two. This concern was nothing but him overexerting his systems, a glitch in his programming.

“Find Wonderling. The one you call Cal was taking a look to her. She’ll point us the right direction, a‘least,” Moxie suggested, holding the door open for the robot and his companions. They had no chance to exit, however, as Wonderling came running in, her breath ragged and her hair pulled back, strands smeared with grease.

“I found this on the ramp,” she breathed, pulling out a blood red scarf, her hand shaking as she held it out. “I told Cal to get a red scarf, something must have befallen her.” Her voice wavered as she finished; Logan had half a mind to comfort and tell her Cal was fine, if only to keep Wonderling from having the panic attacks that had been increasing in intensity as of late.

“Wonder, you sure some folk didn’t just lose it to the wind?” Moxie asked, placing her hands on Wonderling’s shoulders to comfort her.

“It was under a rock.” Wonderling’s voice was meek and quiet, something that rarely happened in the time Logan and his companions had known the mechanic. “Someone put it there.” Logan could hear her hyperventilating, her brown eyes brimming with tears.

“Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no, we gotta find Cal,” Anxiety was mumbling, running a hand through his long hair. “Shit, if something happened to them…”

Roman stepped towards him. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he assured the human. “Everything’s going to be alright.” Gently, he placed his hand on Anxiety’s cheek, pulling the nervous earthling into a hug, whispering comforting words into his ear to calm him.

“Right. We should hit the streets as soon as possible. While I would suggest splitting up to cover more ground, we need to know as soon as possible what’s happened to Cal, so we go as a group, spreading over a small area so if any one of us finds something, we can easily tell the others,” Logan said, already pulling up a map in his mind of the city, planning how they would search the city.

“A’right. A’right. We’ll find Calrex. They’re gonna be mighty fine, Wonder, don’t ya worry,” the mechanic told herself. “Let’s hit the craft first, ‘case I missed some’n. Sweet heavens, I hope they ain’t in a ruckus.” Wonderling held the door open as they crowded outside, squinting in the afternoon light.

Posthaste, they left for the landing pad where the Sanders Yersinia stood in all its glory. Wonderling’s box of tools and gears was left carelessly on the side on the pad. “Shall we begin searching?” Logan inquired. Wonderling, still shaken, nodded, going to pack up her toolbox as the others began scouring the area for any sort of clue of where Cal might be.

Logan watched the others for a moment as they searched. In the back of his head, he could hear himself saying how illogical this was. He had met Cal just over a month ago, and here he was, organizing a search for them and feeling- what, concern? The robot scoffed, rolling his eyes. No, this was normal. Missing people warranted concern and search parties, this wasn’t something uncommon.

But no matter how much he told himself he was not getting worried for the pirate, he couldn’t help but feel the dread boil in his stomach like a cocktail mixed wrong, a nuclear explosion only waiting to happen. He couldn’t help but feel those blasted errors in his coding.

The ominous feeling of doom only grew when his sensors caught notice of a slip of paper, half-hidden under a nearby stone. He took it out from underneath, ignoring the dread eating away at him. Unfolding the crumpled paper, he nearly dropped it as he registered the words scribbled on the off-white vellum. “I found something!” he called, watching his companion’s head whip toward him, desperate for answers.

He held out the paper for all to see, unable to keep the tremors from shaking his hand as he gripped the paper tight, reading the words aloud.

“If you want the Pirate back, darling nephew, you must come retrieve it yourself.”

Roman paled, clutching Anxiety’s hand as he processed the words. “It’s Draven. Oh, sweet Calypso, Draven took them,” he whispered as Wonderling inhaled sharply, covering her mouth with her grease-smudged hands, whimpering softly.

“We have no choice but to go rescue them.” Even Logan was surprised with the words that leapt out of his throat without his permission. Patton spoke up first, voicing his approval. Anxiety agreed less than a second later, Roman joining in with desperate acquiesce.

“Beat his ass, or you’re not ‘llowed back,” Moxie told them angrily, staring in rage at the note that had been left for them. Logan looked at Wonderling, who was staring blankly at the paper, fear driven wild in her eyes.

“Y’all better make sure to bring back that sweet soul, ya hear me?” she said quietly, still focused on the note. “And tell them it’s ‘bout time to rise up. When y’all decide to end this, give me a holler. I’m loath to turn my back on my friends, and y’all need all the help ya can acquire.” With that said, Wonderling turned away and hurried back to her shop. Logan called his thanks after her, knowing she would get Axel ready for a battle as soon as she set foot in her store.

“Bring ‘em back, boys. Wonder’ll be disappointed beyond belief if you don’t,” Moxie added, wishing them luck before heading after the mechanic.

“Don’t worry. We’re getting Cal back,” Roman growled, his brow furrowing with absolute fury. Patton lowered the ramp of the Sanders Yersinia, its crew wasting no time in boarding and gettin ready to lift off.

They were going to get their friend back.

hahahahahaha I have no idea how to end stories

I hope you all enjoyed this installment of Starbound! For once I was motivated enough to write something in a reasonable amount of time, hah. Thanks for reading and leaving notes, I really do appreciate all of it :D.

(*cough cough* wonderling and calrex forever, peasants *cough, cough*)

TAG LIST:

@asofterfan

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@hufflepuffsscrewdriver

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11 notes · View notes

astrofireworks · 8 years ago

Text

From the moon, to the stars While lingering in the universe We got to know each other

- NU’EST Daybreak

hi astro’s on and i’m cryign eunwoo what are u wearing

When Eunwoo turns 7, his parents sit him down and tell him about dreams

You'll dream of someone special from now on, they say, someone who'll be your best friend and someone you'll want to spend the rest of your life with

Eunwoo blinking

Eunwoo's dad adding thoughtfully that he might not dream of anyone yet though, if his soulmate is younger

Eunwoo's dad dreamt about his mum when he was ten, for example, because his mum was three years his junior

Eunwoo nodding, because MJ's told him about meeting Jinjin in his dreams only when MJ was 9

But anyways, his mum continues, even if you dream about them you might not meet each other quite yet

His dad nodding and explaining that unless you already know the person or unless you live close enough to visit, usually soulmates wait until they're older and more able to move around

Some people don't remember their dreams anyway, so even if you tell each other your addresses it isn't a guarantee you're able to visit each other instantly, she explains

And anyway you already meet each other in your dreams every night, his father says, and if you choose to meet too early and give up your nightly dreams for measly once-a-month meetings, it might not be worth it

Eunwoo secretly thinking he'd like to meet them early anyway

And so the night of March 30th, 2004, little Eunwoo pulls the covers over his head and wiggles excitedly and waits for sleep to come

And wakes up the next morning, mildly disappointed

Because all he's dreamt about was a wild fish

And he really doesn't want his soulmate to be a wild fish, he tells his mother, poking at his rice

His teacher said fish generally had short life spans and where would he be if his soulmate decided to die before he met it?

Eunwoo's mum trying not to laugh at his logical explanation and telling him not to worry, his soulmate is probably human and not a wild fish

Eunwoo grumbling under his breath and stuffing more rice in his mouth

And so little Eunwoo pulls the covers over his head every night, wading into sleep and hoping he'll finally, finally meet his soulmate

MJ's already dreamt about a boy called Jinjin and literally would not shut up about him

MJ never shuts up in general but that's an entirely different matter

And he just wants to talk to MJ about someone instead of nodding and listening whenever MJ talks about Jinjin's smile

It's like a crinkle!! Like if you squished a fishball!!

And he wants to talk to someone every night the same way MJ does, sharing about his day and listening to them talk about stuff too

What's it like anyway? Do they just talk?

Do they just float in space or are they somewhere?

Do they get to eat?

What if they wanted to play soccer?

What if they get angry at each other? Do they just wake up?

Little Eunwoo burying his face in his pillow every night and begging his soulmate to turn seven quickly so he can answer all his questions

Until the night of January 26, 2005:

Eunwoo blinks

One moment ago he was literally in his bed, sleepily wrapped around a bolster

And now he's

Floating in space??

At least that's where he thinks he is

There are thousands of small twinkly lights and vague purple shadows

This is the first time he's dreamt of this space, Eunwoo figures, so he might as well explore

Eunwoo wobbling around space and trying to prod smol twinkly things

Until he collides into another warm body

Eunwoo turning around, apology ready on the tip of his tongue but

Eunwoo's eyes meeting with curious, cat-like eyes and chubby cheeks

Eunwoo: ??????? A human ??? In his dream?????

Bin, cheerily: "I'm Binnie!!"

Eunwoo: ?????????

Bin, peeking at Eunwoo: "are you my soulmate?"

And Eunwoo breaks out into a smile because

This is it, this is the person he's been wanting to meet for forever

"I've been waiting for you," Eunwoo says to the smol sunbeam, "Congrats on turning seven!"

Cue baby Binu floating around space

Bin: "and that's Oreo!!"

Eunwoo: "Oreo?"

Bin, scrunching up his nose: "I think?"

Eunwoo, nodding seriously because it makes sense that they'd name a star after a tasty biscuit

He'd name it after ice cream if he could, too

Bin, stopping and peering at Eunwoo: "what do you wanna be when you grow up?"

But before he can respond, Bin says, flopping onto his back and staring into more space: "I wanna be an astronaut!!"

Eunwoo: "Why?"

Binnie: "I wanna see the stars!"

Eunwoo: "Why?"

Binnie: "Because they're big and twinkly and I wanna see aliens!"

Eunwoo: "Why?"

Binnie, flopping onto his belly and chinhands-ing at Eunwoo: "Cos it's cool and I wanna protect Earth! What do you wanna do?"

Eunwoo staring at his hands and looking back up at Binnie squishing his cheeks and wondering if his dream of being a judge was too boring

Binnie, blinking expectantly:

Eunwoo: "A judge?"

Binnie, slightly squished: "Why!"

Eunwoo: "I wanna protect good people from bad people and put bad people away?"

Binnie, beaming at Eunwoo: "CoOooOoL!!!"

Eunwoo, blinking and blushing slightly:

Binnie: "So we both wanna protect people!"

Eunwoo, smiling a little: "Yeah?"

Binnie: "We're gon be protectors of the universe!"

And Eunwoo can't help it, Binnie's enthusiasm is so infectious he starts giggling and Binnie does too

Eunwoo: "Is this why we're meeting in space?"

Binnie, blinking: "I didn't choose it! It was just here when I fell asleep!"

Eunwoo, humming a little: "Well, I like it."

Binnie, wrapping his smol arms around Eunwoo's middle and beaming sleepily up at Eunwoo: "Yeah, and if we come here again tomorrow we can explore more!!"

(Eunwoo's heart seizing up then melting a little)

Eunwoo, carefully kissing Bin's forehead the same way he sees his dad kiss his mum in the morning

"Goodnight, Binnie."

"Night night, Noo."

Eunwoo, blinking a little at 'Noo' before drowsily smiling and drifting off into unconsciousness

(It's only when he wakes up the next morning that he realises he and Binnie have traded literally no information whatsoever, and so his Notebook on Soulmate remains empty except for: "Binnie, Jan 26, 2005: Space!")

Of course, the next time they meet, it's no longer in space

Well, not outer space, anyway

It's in an empty room on what feels like a space station, and Bin's hugging a gigantic teddy bear taller than he is

"I've named him Cloud," Binnie says, by way of greeting

Eunwoo bowing to Cloud and settling down next to Bin

"Where are we?"

"Dunno," Binnie says, snuggling into Cloud, “but there’s a window over there and I think you can see Earth?”

"No doors," Eunwoo muses, and gets to his feet to explore the room

"It's a dream," Binnie looks at Eunwoo prodding at the wall, "I think you get to make the room."

And almost as Bin finishes his sentence, the walls of the room start changing colours

Suddenly the walls are white and blue and Bin's legs are swinging off a blue platform

Bin squeaking and scrambling away from the edge, then squeaking again because he's ended up in a hammock

He has to steady himself and climb onto Cloud before peering down at Eunwoo

Eunwoo looking up at Bin and blinking

Hmm, overestimated the distance, he thinks

"You're too far away, Noo," Bin says

And suddenly a blue slide appears to Bin's right and Eunwoo laughs, "Slide down!"

Bin looks doubtful for a second, but Eunwoo moves to the end of the slide, hands outstretched and waiting for Bin

And so Binnie does, giggling and crashing into Eunwoo's waiting arms

Eunwoo surveying the room and declaring: "you know what's missing?"

Binnie, half a beat before Eunwoo says it: "a ball pit!!!!!!"

And they're surrounded by blue and white and navy balls and they're flailing around and tossing balls at each other and Binnie is laughing and beaming at Eunwoo and all Eunwoo can think about is how much he really, really likes making Binnie smile

Jan 27, 2005: Cool blue room - Binnie likes ball pits!

In another corner of space, this time one of Bin's creation:

Eunwoo: "I'm a Taurus I think? And an Ox?"

Bin, wiggling: "You're an Aries, Noo, and your star's there!"

Eunwoo: "where's yours then?"

Bin, spinning on his back and pointing at another patch of space

Bin also pointing out another star: "that's Rocky's!"

Eunwoo: "Rocky?"

Bin: "One of my friends from my neighbourhood!! He hasn't turned seven yet, so he hasn't had a soulmate dream so I tell him about you!"

Eunwoo, peeking at Bin: "what d'you say?"

Binnie, beaming: "it's a secret!!"

Feb 16, 2005: Bin's galaxy - I'm an Aries and Binnie's an Aquarius. Binnie's best friend is called Rocky!

In a small cafe, with doors opening onto strange red sand and a full view of a green moon:

Eunwoo: "why are there only two seats?"

Binnie, looking at Eunwoo like he's crazy: "there are only two of us!"

Eunwoo flushing and laughing

Binnie, pulling out random items from bright red cupboards: "what do you wanna eat for your birthday?"

Eunwoo, staring at frozen dumplings and uncooked rice grains and tubs of sauces and asking doubtfully: "can you cook?"

Binnie tugging Eunwoo closer to the counter: "if I can dream it being cooked, why not?"

Eunwoo: "can we even eat in dreams?"

Binnie, beaming: "we can try!!"

Binnie pulling out popcorn kernels: "popcorn?"

Eunwoo, doubtfully looking around for a stove (that seems to be made of glass) and for pans (that seem also to be made of glass)

Eunwoo, prodding a blender: "why is everything made of glass?"

Bin, juggling two eggs: "dunno?"

Eunwoo, mildly panicking because ??????? that'll make such a mess if Binnie drops them??? ???? ?

But also this is a dream so when Binnie does drop them it's into a glass pan over a glass stove with obviously invisible heating skills, because the egg cooks in no time

Bin carefully slicing the egg yolk out of the centre of the egg and delivering it to Eunwoo's plate

Eunwoo: ????

Bin, tossing another egg into the pan: "don't like egg yolks"

Eunwoo hesitantly holding a forkful of yolk to his mouth: "what if we can't eat and we wake up?"

Binnie pausing to consider this and tilting his head

Binnie bounding around the counter and pressing a sticky kiss to Eunwoo's cheek: "just in case then! Happy Birthday and g'night, Noo!"

Eunwoo flushing slightly and beaming at Bin: "here goes then!"

And as soon as the fork hits his mouth, Eunwoo blinks awake, moonlight streaming in through the curtains onto his bed

Eunwoo groggily reaching for a pencil and scribbling onto the nearest piece of paper to him

March 30, 2005: Bin's kitchen - Binnie hates egg yolks but loves popcorn. Also, we can't eat in dreams.

By a lake running yellow and strange purple bubbles that smell like freesia:

Bin: "and she just started scolding us for no reason!!! We weren't even making that much noise!!"

Eunwoo: nodding sympathetically: "perhaps she was just having a bad day?"

Bin, groaning and leaning on Eunwoo's shoulder: "she's just a witch and I hate her, Noo!!"

Eunwoo sliding his arm around Binnie's shoulder and laughing because: "are you sure you don't just hate math?"

Binnie glaring half-heartedly at Eunwoo before smiling reluctantly: "that's only half the problem!!"

June 8, 2005: A lake, somewhere - Binnie hates math and his math teacher?

In a garden of Eunwoo's imagination:

Binnie, prodding a pear blossom: "and this one?"

Eunwoo, scrunching up his nose: "friendship I think?"

Binnie, pointing at a smeraldo: "this one?"

Eunwoo: "something about the truth? I think?"

Binnie, poking a red rose: "what about this one?"

Eunwoo pretending to think really hard

Binnie, peeking at Eunwoo expectantly:

Eunwoo, finally: "it's a red rose, silly, it means love"

Binnie, nodding: "thought so"

Binnie, plucking it and stuffing it behind Eunwoo's ear and humming happily and moving into a gardenia: "and this one?"

Sept 27, 2005: Flower garden - I think my new favourite flower might be a red rose.

Eunwoo learns in school that you don't have to marry your soulmate

He frowns a bit, because the only pair of people he's actually confirmed to be soulmates are his parents and they're married

But his teacher taps gently on the board and calls the class to attention and explains that soulmates don't necessarily have to be romantic

They're meant to be your best friends, first and foremost; they're meant to be the person that understands you best and someone you'll want to spend time with

Sometimes they're your siblings, sometimes they're your best friends, sometimes they're someone you meet online

Taeyang pipes up and says there are a pair of twins two years up that he knows are soulmates

Dokyeom nods and tells everyone about the time his cousin went to his new job and his soulmate turned out to be his new boss, and the whole class erupts into giggles

When his teacher asks how many of them have dreamed of their soulmates before, more than half of those who've had their birthdays raise their hand

When his teacher asks again how many of them have met their soulmates, only Mingyu has his hand raised and everyone ooooohs at him

Mingyu sheepishly telling them that he had no idea what his soulmate was saying when he first met him because when they met in dreams they spoke the same language, but when they ran into each other at the airport, he spoke all in Chinese

But also that they're working on it everyday after school so please don't expect Mingyu to finish all his homework on time, please?

Their teacher, bursting out laughing: "I'll keep that in mind, Mingyu"

But also their teacher reminding them to not feel pressured when they first meet their soulmate (or even when they first dream of them), because everything works out in the end

Eunwoo swinging his legs and thinking hard about Binnie and his squeaking laugh and the way his eyes disappear when he smiles

He isn't sure yet, he thinks, but he feels like he'd quite like to marry Binnie

hi astro’s still on and jamming to their own songs and mj’s still the most talented artist i have ever seen i love him so much

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