#joey talks trolls

[sandflakedraws]

hey is anybody gonna talk about this excerpt from the artbook or can i lose my mind about it. we cool? cool.

anyways. always screaming over it.

like, i know from a narrative standpoint that this excerpt is designed to make floyd look even more sympathetic to the audience; framing the brothers' disbandment as a 'well they stormed off first' kind of deal.

but!!!

... the absolute agony of could have.

could have kept everyone together. could have talked them through their issues. could have spared them so much of the heartache he never wanted any of his family to go through.

like!!!! all this unforeseeable anguish lying in wait, maybe entirely avoidable if floyd had just ... asked for it. if he maybe talked about his own feelings on the matter. if he hadn't buried them in inscrutable boyband puns, in an effort to comfort a confused three year old. if he had maybe made this expression somewhere that somebody could see it.

we all love the 'quietly bears the bulk of emotions' trope in fiction but man. martyrdom as character flaw my beloved....

dEVAStating!!! to me,

[relaxxattack]

SAHCon Hiveswap Act 3 Panel - Art Assets!

here's what we got a look at in the panel today! :D

during the entire stream, a song by james roach from the Act 3 OST played in the background, which used similar sounds to the wii channel shop theme.

started off with some lovely background art of the area outside of fiamet's hive by xamag, followed by some character sprites of trolls done by dagmar! along with a still image of an imperial drone by paperseverywhere.

onhors's pants were reportedly a point of contention, as their design was difficult to stylize and simplify!

then we got a couple more lovely backgrounds by xamag of a mall, cridea's hive, some areas within the jadeblood caverns, and a spaceship with a giant heart in the inside?!

the team members commented that you can infer a lot about cridea's personality just from her room, which has a lot of cute animations in it in the actual game. they also mentioned that her design was reworked from its initial version and it's a lot cuter now!

apparently, we will be seeing a few "mall crawler jades" who were designed for this area. this is also where the new james roach track plays

this cavern entrance gate is a piece of adult-designed technology that has since fallen into disrepair over the sweeps. the team talked for a moment about how much adult-built architecture there may be abandoned all over alternia.

it was spoiled for us that joey is going to space!

the team talked a lot about how they would love to tell us the lore behind this heart, and many other alternian and hiveswapian things, but they must resist until the game is released.

after this they moved on to the QNA portion which i'll post separately :]

hope everyone is excited for the next installment of hiveswap!

this panel was streamed as part of SAHcon, and the vod is up here for archival viewing.

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

THERE'S A CASTLE ON THE HILL, AS THE STORY GOES...

As promised, some initial thoughts on the things I loved about seeing this show. Spoiler free, since most of us haven't gotten to see it yet, and under the cut since I do wax a bit poetic...

Cinderella’s Castle is, in a strange way, an exercise in irony. The show is a retelling of an ancient story that is beloved and recited throughout so many cultures, and yet somehow feels completely fresh. The modern take on glam-punk lighting, a score infused with styles from 80s synth to anime, a high fantasy set with the costumes to match, the spirit of Jim Henson lingering through both the puppets and some larger and intangible vibe, a script combining that Starkid humor and Hatchetfield darkness with a whole different style of speaking… all of these beautifully executed elements melted together into something that I’ve never before seen. To take a tale as old as time and make it unique is no easy feat, but Starkid did so with magic and charm to spare.

Like any good Starkid show, Cinderella’s Castle is relentlessly dynamic: fun and tragic and exciting and just-plain-silly, with many twists and turns and character moments will make you gasp or cheer just as often as you laugh. It simply rollicks. The story clicks right along, especially in act 2, but the characters are so distinct and fun that I found myself almost wishing the Langs had sacrificed their plotting and pace just to spend more time hanging with every single member of this ensemble of personalities.

And that’s also a tribute to the actors themselves. Jeff is David Bowie reborn as the impish and fabulous narrator. Jon and Joey bring Hop A Lot and Crumb to life with so much charm and presence that they practically had the audience eating out of their hands from the very first second. Like, seriously, you will not believe how invested you will immediately become in these talking animals. Kim’s Fairy Queen is as radiant and terrible as promised; her portrayal of immortal inhuman power compels and commands and stands fully distinct from the Lords in Black. Lauren and Mariah are delightfully disgusting as the vile but deeply lovable troll step-sisters; you can feel the fun they’re having practically radiating off of them. Curt’s Tadius is dryly funny and put-upon, but also provides a vitally grounding and centering presence in the larger-than-life world of the Lands That Are. His big scene with Bryce is probably my favorite part of the whole show. James Tolbert is nothing short of an absolute STAR as the Prince, stealing scene after scene after scene with ease and charm and more jokes about genitalia than I think any of us expected. Angela once again displays a completely different facet of her never-ending range, exuding such elegance and control even in trollish filth that I do fear that the kids on the internet are going to start calling her “mother” with greatly increasing frequency. "Facade" was an absolute highlight of the night. And of course Bryce anchors, propels, and heightens every scene she’s in with such apparent ease you forget she’s been rehearsing for weeks and isn’t simply Ella herself. Ella is this world’s bruised, brave, and angry heart, and you will absolutely root for her every step of the way as she wrestles with who she is and learns what it means to claim her own power.

This was Starkid’s biggest budgeted show to date, and you could tell. This group of Michigan Wolverines and friends have accomplished incredible things since the Very Potter days of a single door and some cardboard columns, and I’m so proud of how far they’ve come. And yet Cinderella’s Castle, the fifteenth musical in the fifteenth year, still retains some of that core Starkid magic that I’ve always believed boils down to love. You can so often see that love emanating from the performers on a Starkid stage: love for the show, for their friends, for their craft, for the audience’s energy pushing them through. And the sense of love and support and community radiating from the audience is just as palpable. The man sitting behind me last night was at his first ever Starkid show, and afterwards he remarked in awe how that was the best audience he’d ever been in. And all that love isn’t unearned—it is built and it is nourished by a proud history of creativity, of song and of dance and of laughter and tears. And Cinderella’s Castle, I think, is going to prove an installment worthy of both Starkid’s past and future.

Starkid family, Bogs Hollow grants thee Starlight.

[psiionic]

Marvus is clearly to me an underling of doc scratch/lord english in the same exact say Damara is, all the signs are there. The fact that he's a time player, that he's surrounded himself with weird fetish material, that he's meta cognizant and aware of what's happening in the narrative of the story. It would explain why he has so many cherub-themed things in his clown car, which also makes me think that he was likely responsible for the clown house that the Soliel Twins were trapped in. You know, the one that was centered around timeloops? And was only broken when also vaguely engaging with his weird fetish shit? I can't help but notice how this ties into the twins existance as well, they are the most cherub-based-characters I've ever seen. Something that stood out to me is that trolls DO have a concept of siblings, they know what that means, so when MSPAR asks the twins if theyre siblings and they seem confused, before stating they came from the same egg, I almost immediately assumed they were time clones instead of twins. From there I began to wonder why they would have different aspects if they're time clones and from what I can gather it seems like all three of them at least were in on the whole planning-to-kill-a-purple-blood thing. Marvus clearly is on Joeys side from the beginning and I think this is also more evidence connecting him to LE/Doc scratch, but I genuinely can't figure out how much Barzum and Baizli were in on it. They were both at least a little bit in on it. I noticed that Baizli is almost always the target of Barzums deadly acts, Baizli always avoiding right before Barzum kills them. Barzum frequently talks about killing and gore, where as Baizli has more emotional and expressive sprites and statements. Baizli was the one who said they needed to get drinks, but I'm unclear if this is him playing along, or if this is him attempting to put off the inevitable. Barzum was excited to get out of the time house where as Baizli seemed more hesitant about it. I also think the statement "my heart my life" is very interesting in regards to Baizli dying. Anyways, I am almost a little convinced that Marvus is one of Doc Scratches underlines, especially with the meaning of "xoloto", and that the twins are Marvus or possibly Doc Scratches attempt at summoning Cherubs as trolls. Especially with Baizli and Barzum standing infront of the mural with Gamzee holding the Cherubs.

[changingplumbob]

York Household: Chapter 9, Part 7

Deanna expresses her feelings while Joey tries to be supportive. Kelly does not try to be supportive.

The Yorks are Italian so if you see them using words that don't look like English it's Italian, or what google assures me is Italian. Caro/Cara: Dear Buongiorno: Good morning Piccolo: Little one Tesoro: Treasure Nonno: Grandfather Nonna: Grandmother Si: Yes Grazie: Thank you Per Favore: Please Buon Compleanno: Happy Birthday

Deanna moves inside forlornly, hardly looking where she’s going. She feels sadness and anger swirling inside her.

Joey: Come here sis

Deanna: Joey?

Joey: Pa thought I should stay. He’s gone to buy cheese

Deanna goes and throws her arms around her big brother, hugging him close. Thank the watcher for her family. The tears in her eyes flow freely now and she couldn't say how long she stood there sobbing into Joey's jacket. Eventually she manages to slow down the sobs to speak.

Deanna: I just got dumped *sadly* I didn’t see it coming

Joey: Come and sit, we can talk

Deanna: No. I need to block that… I need to block my ex. She’s left, she doesn’t get the luxury of seeing my life anymore

Joey: I mean… straight to block? I thought you loved her

Deanna: I do! I mean I did *sighs* it’s complicated Joey

Joey: Thank the watcher I don’t get romantic feelings

Deanna: I’m sorry, if that's you trying to be helpful I'd rather face it alone

Joey: I just wonder, if you loved her, why aren’t you fighting for her

Deanna: She thinks I loved what she was more than who she was

Joey: What does that mean

Deanna: Nevermind. She was wrong

After Kelly has stayed on the second floor patio long enough to see Paris fade into the distance he goes to join his siblings in waiting for dinner.

Kelly: Woah you look terrible

Deanna: Shut up goblin, I’m not in the mood

Kelly: I thought saying you’ve looked better was a compliment for all those other times you didn’t look like this

Deanna: It isn’t and you know that

Kelly: Hey Joey, are you coming to my birthday party tomorrow

Joey: Am I invited

Kelly: You’re my brother, of course you’re invited. I’m evil but family get a special pass

Deanna: You literally insult me daily

Kelly: Do I? Or do I prepare you for the harshness of the world

Deanna: Look, I just got dumped, I’m not in the mood for your mind games

Kelly: Good riddance. She was clearly a peasant

Deanna: Look, you may be too young to understand-

Kelly: I’m 13 tomorrow

Deanna: Whatever. Point is if you love someone it’s hard to lose them

Kelly: But… she… was… a PEASANT. Sooner you accept that the happier you’ll be

Joey: That kind of made sense

Deanna: *scoffs* Don’t encourage him Joey

The oven needed a quick scrub but Aaron manages to cook some excellent level Mac and Cheese.

Kelly: YES! De you should get dumped more so we get greasy food

Deanna: *sighs* Pass me a plate then troll

Joey: Home is where the good pasta is. Grazie pa

Aaron: You’re welcome

Deanna: Grazie pa *sadly moves food about*

Aaron: You’re welcome *long silence* Kelly?

Kelly: Si pa?

Aaron: Do you have something to say

Kelly: Si... Wombats poop squares

Aaron: Do they now

Kelly: Si

*phone noise*

Aaron: Joey, it’s still no phones at the table

Joey: But I’m running some tests on my mini game. It’s like blicblock, but forget everything you know about blicblock

Aaron: Do you think the main game will be ready for release soon

Joey: I hope so but I’m trying to grind at work so I’ve only got pockets of time. Plus Alfred and Rilian like to show me their toys. I want it polished before I release it, start strong

Before everyone is finished eating Calista gets home from her shift.

Calista: I do love mac and cheese

Deanna: Mama… Paris left

Calista: I’m so sorry cara (Aaron has already text her a heads up of the situation so she’s not caught off guard)

Deanna: And she accused me of not loving her. Can you believe that?

Calista: So she said “it’s not me it’s you”

Deanna: Not exactly. She kept going on about wanting to find herself and needing to go out into the world. I offered to keep in touch but… she didn’t want that. She didn’t want me

Kelly: She was a peasant *leaves table without being excused* I vote for the watcher to delete her

Deanna: *sadly* What am I meant to do now

Joey: Whatever you feel like. Have a day of mourning if you want. Eat ice cream and drink nectar and watch films until you cry. Then tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep, you dust yourself off and carry on. You understand robotics De, don’t let this mess up your study because I think you could be a pioneer one day

Deanna: You really think that?

Joey: Of course I do. And you have to listen to me, because I’m a genius

Deanna tucks into the last of her food with the most energy she’s had all meal while Calista mouths grazie to Joey.

When the table is free Kelly grabs out his trusty diary. There’s the normal entry start, who’s on his hitlist today and why. Then comes a more thoughtful paragraph wondering about teen life. Will it be what he expects? Will he be what he expects? Will people treat him differently? Can he still keep the evil mantle with more personality? At least Mantis is immortal and can never leave.

Deanna is lounging in her cottage with the comedy channel on but she's paying it no attention. She's scrolling through photos on her phone when a familiar sim bursts through her door.

Devin: De! Joey told me what happened! Come here

The two kiss on the cheek and hug. Even though Devin has already heard the story she lets Deanna tell it again to get it off her chest.

Devin: Oh my! Clearly we need to make some changes

Deanna: What do you mean

Devin: *gently* Cara you are not going to heal with photos of the two of you in your face

Deanna: But *sniffles* she’s in most of my friend photos

Devin: Come to your room, I’ll work my style magic on your walls

Devin: There. Now she’s not in your room. The friend photos with her are not where you’ll be trying to sleep

Deanna: Thanks Devin

Devin: Of course. Now sleep, tomorrow after classes we’re going shopping

Deanna: But I hate shopping

Devin: I know but I used my status as favourite to convince the watcher she needs to change your skintone to fit the rest of us, may as well get a style over. Nothing says I’m newly single like changing your hair

Previous ... Next

[swarmof-bees]

I've finally watched the Cinderella's Castle digital ticket and OH MY FUCKING GOD IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

Spoilers under here:

Bryce Charles the WOMAN that you are!!! That was such an incredible performance and she sold every single moment of it. Obviously her voice is gorgeous but MY GOD. I almost cried at the deaths of Justine and Lucy because of her performance, Jesus Christ. Tadius is my favourite character other than the Fairy Queen of Sweet Dreams who was absolutely the best part of the show for me, because, as she said, she IS mother. Tadius was everything I hoped he'd be and more. He was so fed up of the prince and deeefinetley didn't kill the king. Jeff as the narrator was amazing and so 💅. Sir hop a lot and crumb were absolutely delightful and Jon and Joey once again play off each other so well (also Joey as Ragweed was great) The trolls are EVERYTHING!! I absolutely HATED the Stepmother but in the BEST way possible. Angela fucking killed it, she played the villain so well and Putrice and Rancilda were so funny!! The Prince was also funny as hell and I absolutely love getting to hear James sing more!! But as I said OH MY GOD THE FAIRY QUEEN OF SWEET DREAMS I could talk about her for ages her multiple arms are everything and HER VOICE!!!!!

Also Ash to ash is absolutely my favourite song and Neon light and the second to last one (don't know the names of them all but the one where Bryce Curt Joey and Jon song together) is up there too!

[spawnofdeath]

Species Notes!

Because I like to creature-fy people

Joey is a humanoid griffin with combined features of a human (most of head), a scarlet macaw (chest and wings, and arms like parrot legs), and a tiger (lower body and tail, and eyes and ears)

Gem and fWhip are children of an unusual couple, they are half fae and half mountain troll

Since they are twins, each parent chose one of their names, so fWhip has a fae name and Gem has a troll name, while a single child would have received a double name

fWhip gets his love and talent for engineering from their mother, while Gem takes a bit more after their father, with a strong penchant for fae nature magic, but shares their mother's love of the mountains

Being fraternal twins, they inherited differing physical traits from their parents as well, for example, Gem gets their mother's thick, smooth hair and short, goat-like tail, while fWhip has their father's long, thin, tasseled tail and fine, more textured hair

fWhip is a bit upset that his hair isn't as strong and won't grow as long as Gem's troll hair, but he much prefers having their mother's short, thick finger nails over Gem's longer fae claws, which he thinks might make it difficult to handle some of his tools

They both have excellent dark vision and are great climbers, as well as both having their mother's tusks and their father's hooked nose, they also both have pointy ears, which is a trait trolls and fae share

Katherine is fully fae, but from a different community than Gem's and fWhip's father, her nose is more cat-like and her ears have fur tufts

Pearl is fully human, but grew up in a fae and human mixed community, so knows and observes a lot of fae cultural customs as well as human ones

Sausage is a human who grew up in a somewhat isolated community, and is initially a little clueless about cultures other than his own, but very willing to learn

Pix is a sand sprite, a pile of sand held together and animated by strong magic. He can add other materials to his form, so long as they are in small particles, he can phase through sand, dirt and even porous stone, and can shape shift to an extent, although he prefers to be broadly humanoid for ease of existing in a humanoid-centric environment

I've already extensively talked about Joel's species here

I've also talked a lot about Lizzie and Jimmy, and Scott and Xornoth, in various other notes posts

And unfortunately, I haven't got many thoughts about Shrub right now, but I might write something about her at a later date

In summary:

Scott and Xornoth: Winged Mountain Elves

Gem and fWhip: Fae/Mountain Troll Hybrids

Pearl: Human

Sausage: Human

Katherine: Fae

Pix: Sand Sprite

Joey: Parrot/Tiger Griffin

Shrub: Gnome

Joel: Clay Folk

Lizzie: Axolotl Merfolk Goddess

Jimmy: Cod Merfolk Demon

[davekat-sucks]

Hello monsieur davekatsucks. Sorry if this is a lot but your cherub talk reminded me. I am thinking about how hypocritically sexualized all the friendsim trolls were. You know, on the planet whose society's whole deal is that *only kids live there*... and then one of the authors said Chahut would be over 18 earth years of age like that matters? It's a whole different society man, they aren't considered adults until they go off planet, they would think you're a sicko, it's just another "erm she's actually technically 30 she's just a species that ages slower" argument (mixed with a fun flipped sprinkling of "erm actually the age of consent in some places is xyz"!) except all of the antis bought it this time because they personally thought the character was hot and that justifies as many loopholes in their logic as need be to make them not feel icky or ever have to think about their own capacity to do bad things. It's almost like the randomly generated number they stick on the wiki page for a character doesn't matter at all in comparison to how mature they look and act! You're so close to getting it!!!! Idk I'm tired. And randomly paranoid that tumblr won't keep me anon for this ask, if it's not then kmn ig

It doesn't help as well that Chaut also tells Amisia that she knows trolls YOUNGER than her that have already in quadrants. So that implies someone as young as say 3-4 years old, would have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe she doesn't imply outright sex or do pailing, but it shows that trolls in Alternia are aware of how their species reproduce and the consequences if they contribute for the Mother Grub. Just try to comprehend someone as young as that would have to know about sex and said child is told if they don't contribute to sex, they will DIE. By that logic, if someone as young as that could start a quadrant, then that means age gap would be NOTHING since they are all kids and they need to fuck with someone else to make future troll babies. If Alternia is not just a dangerously environmental planet that grooms aliens about racism and violence, it's also a breeding ground for the young. The other time WhatPumpkin backed down on the Hiveswap Trolls being older than the humans was with Hiveswap Act 2 where Elwurd would flirt with Joey. It has been implied in Elwurd's route in Hiveswap Friendsim that she is or close to an age of adulthood that she would have to leave the planet when she tells MSPA Reader that she and her ex (Bronya) wanted to request combat assignments on the same ship so they won't be separated.

Nobody was sure how old Joey was and people think she is 12 or 13. It wasn't until Homestuck Team in a Curious Cat question that they clarify that Joey is 14 years old since she was born in the year 1980, that Elwurd was 16 and Bronya was 17. But that raises the question on what can be considered adulthood at this point if someone like Elwurd and Bronya could request early to be on the same group before they can leave the planet for good. And knowing that most Jadebloods would have be sent to isolation upon adulthood, a request for a cerulean and jade to be together might be rare, but could be possible if planned ahead of time. So would the years of 16-18 are considered the early stages of young adulthood before becoming legal adults? So wouldn't that mean Elwurd will still be older than Joey in that regard because in Elwurd's POV and stance within Alternian society, she is already an adult at that point. And yeah, the trolls in Friendsim are kind of sexualized. At least by the end in Lanque's route where Ardata reminds you that the Hiveswap Friendsim game is for MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. And the Bad End in Lanque's route if you confirm you are an adult, is him and MSPA Reader (You) having a ONE NIGHT SEX STAND. Sure it fades out to black, but they don't beat around the bush that the two of them FUCKED. Lanque is stated in that same CuriousCat question that he is 18. So if the person playing the game was like 13 when they first played this game and would think MSPA Reader is the same age as them.... then yeah, that makes it all worse because of that 5 year age gap.

[kittyball23]

Theories for the New Trolls in Trolls Band Together...

All righty, I kinda want to talk about that interesting website that popped up titled takeyoutoabetterplace.com, which from what we can see, features a sneak peek at four different trolls – one blue-haired with sparkly blue skin, one red-haired with purple skin, one gradient green/yellow/pink with sparkly yellow skin, and one with purple hair with orange skin and goggles above the head. Also featured on this site is Branch. Behind them is a logo in the style Trolls Band Together’s title, with a star and the letter N.

This *N is usually an indicator of *NSYNC, which has been rumored to be coming back together for an original song in the movie, and it seems to me that the correlation is with these other four Trolls. That being said, I’ve been thinking about who exactly these Trolls will be in the movie, and I’ve come up with some theories that I thought I might share

They’re more relatives of Branch

Maybe these four other Trolls are even more family of Branch and his brothers. Like cousins, or uncles, or something of the like.

2. They’re childhood friends of Branch’s

Maybe Branch did have a few friends after his brothers had left who sang together with him in an unofficial band of sorts

3. They’re BroZone’s inspiration

Maybe those four were originally a boyband of their own who had gotten famous, and served as an inspiration for BroZone to sing and perform together as they do

4. They’re an up and coming boyband

I remember an article about the Annecy Film Festival said that a fan of BroZone’s approached the reunited brothers and practiced a few dance moves with them. Maybe, instead of BroZone being inspired by them in my previous theory, it’s the other way around and they are the ones inspired by BroZone

5. They’re just cameos

Maybe it’s none of the above, and the four of them are just there to be a quick cameo performance or something in the movie (sort of like how Red Velvet was used very briefly in Trolls World Tour)

Regardless, it seems that we may be getting JC, Lance, Chris, and Joey joining the cast. I’m not going to say I believe it, at least, until I actually see it. What’re your thoughts? Which theory do you agree with most? Or maybe you have a different one?

[deathlygristly]

I really need to stop checking other platforms for news. Yes, they can be more local. Yes, they can be more diverse with groups I've never really interacted with so I learn more about others.

On the other hand I am starting to feel how social media can stress people out and make them more cynical and negative, the upper middle classness of the local reddit is downright depressing, and I am not always able to stop myself from replying when I shouldn't.

Anyway I just saw someone claiming that the military helicopters delivering supplies to the mountains and the official emergency workers and help from FEMA in our mountains must be recent since it's not what they've heard about, and I don't even know what to do with that.

I linked a small easy to understand local story talking about the Swannanoa fire chief begging people to stop spreading misinformation and I said you're getting Russian propaganda from whoever told you the government isn't here helping. Maybe that will help, I don't know.

It's just...man.

And they were talking about the concert and saying at least those musicians would help when the government wouldn't. The concert where the governor held a press conference beforehand!

Also how could they have not seen all the videos like this one?

But that's what I mean about other social media being more diverse and showing me groups I don't interact with so I can learn more about them. I have no connections to people whose media diet consists solely of propaganda, so I tend to assume that people know what they're talking about and that they have good information and they're just trolling because they're from a troll farm or they just like fascism.

So I guess this experience is good for learning about people who may not be fascist at heart but who only listen to media run by fascists.

It's just...if no one in the government was in the mountains helping, there'd be so many more dead people. People would have starved or died of dehydration. People would have died from diseases caused by whatever water or food they could find being extremely contaminated. The entire region would still be closed off, because the state department of transportation wouldn't have done any work on the roads.

The N.C. Department of Transportation crews and contractors have reopened more than 600 North Carolina roads, mostly in the western part of the state, since Hurricane Helene. Transportation crews were nearly done cutting and moving debris to the shoulders to reopen roads, NCDOT officials said Monday. They created over 4,100 debris sites on roadsides. "Damage estimates from what we have been able to assess to this point are up to several billion dollars and we’re not done,” said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins in a news release. “The damage to our roads and bridges is like nothing we’ve ever seen after any storm, and this will be a long-term recovery operation. But we will be here until western North Carolina can get back on its feet.”

Also if the government wasn't helping no one would be able to communicate that they were all there dying of starvation and lack of clean safe water.

In the catastrophic aftermath of Helene, “disaster roaming” has been enabled in North Carolina to help connect residents who may be otherwise offline. Disaster roaming allows any phone on any cellular network to access any available network to connect to, regardless of provider. Service providers are required to activate disaster roaming during the following situations: When the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Support Function (ESF-2) is activated When the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) is activated When the Chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau issues an activation Public Notice upon request of a state When a state has activated its Emergency Operations, activated mutual aid, or proclaimed a local state of emergency

The government had to act to get disaster roaming enabled.

I just....god. What do you even do about this level of propaganda?

[sandflakedraws]

hey-hey-j replied to your post “god i need to draw more dreamworks trolls…”

sits. please. talk to me about JD :)

it boggles my mind that JD is likely the most touch starved out of his brothers. like, branch went gray, but he also stayed with the village, and was routinely roped into hug-time against his will. floyd, for all of my own speculating, must have at least kept around civilization. clay had the putt putt community & viva, and bruce had his own family.

but JD..?

all of the information we can glean about him implies that he went off to the middle of nowhere and just. stayed there alone. roughed it pop idol style....

and there's something so deeply, incredibly sad about that. JD makes my heart hurt, the poor idiot.

(floyd is no. 2 on the touch-starved list. to me. the life of a transient musician is not one filled with a lot of contact. this is part of the reason that this moment vvv)

(makes me so weepy like good lord. please hug each other)

[superman--yoosung]

こんにちは！元気ですか？⬇️ I saw your taking matchups! so….I would like a Romantic Matchup for Mystic Messenger please? 어쨌든, 시작하자!

Hi @averagetoyakinnie, nice to meet you! Yours is one of the most vibrant and vividly-formatted asks I have ever seen (in a very positive way!) From one creative to another, I wish you all the best in your artistic endeavors!!

Your Mystic Messenger matchup is...................

707 !!

"Oh, Joey, I saw you were duo-ing with Seven in LOLOL the other day! You two have taken the top spots, that's impressive, hehe. But wait, why haven't either of you joined the Shooting Star guild with me?!"

To outsiders of the RFA, you and Luciel Choi seemed like a rather flashy couple. Bold fashion, Luciel's startlingly bright hair, and energetic personalities when combined - the two of you were impossible to miss whenever you cruised by in one of Seven's sports cars. To those in your circles, you were - well, you were still all those things. But you were also known to be considerate, knowledgeable, and highly creative. Out of all the members, it was often the two of you who were able to most consistently produce innovative solutions to problems that came up.

The love between the two of you already proved itself once - and Luciel couldn't wait to see what would come next in your shared story.

Fun details:

707 loves dressing up, so when he realizes your varied tastes in clothes, he'll start buying outfits that cater to those tastes. He'll send pictures of his cosplays (and crossplays) your way for you to critique the outfits and give your fashion input. Once you're an established couple, he will definitely go on a shopping splurge to buy matching outfits (and cosplays) in all the styles and brands you prefer. (And yes, that goes for Saeran, too - he's not going to be left out of this!) Honestly, this is a great way for Seven to bond with you; he thinks your taste in fashion is top tier.

Any time something you've had a hand in producing goes live, there will be an influx of posts about it on social media. Suspicious timing, you say? Seven has no idea what you're talking about. Nope. He definitely didn't make bots to promote your works the instant they're out. Why on earth would he do that? (Spoiler: he definitely did do all that.) If you take issue with the publicity, he'll stop, but only because he'll start spamming his own many socials with the information instead. His words and over-the-top lovey-dovey comments are still always sincere - he resonates with your works, and if you ever steal the headphones off his shoulders, don't be surprised to hear your music echoing back at you.

What with your humor and Seven's memeing, there is never a dull moment in the RFA chat. Even after Luciel tones it down later on, you two will always be a source of lively energy, especially when you're both together. You're able to bounce off one another's quips almost instantly, like it's second nature. You're also both very intelligent and knowledgeable. Yoosung will always come to you first, though, for help with subjects you know well; it's up to you whether you decide to help him, or do a little trolling.

Seven is delighted to find someone with as many varied interests as him; he will always take you up on an offer to join you in an activity you enjoy. He may be good at it, or he may absolutely suck at it - but he'll always give it a try and have fun with the process! Sometimes he'll pretend he's bad at something, too, like when he pretended not to know how to skateboard - but you see right through the act, because of how he handles himself in the small details. Either way, expect things to always be fun and full of laughter if he's tagging along.

Later on, your more artistic pursuits will be intriguing for Saeran to hear about and see in action. If you decide to share those interests with him, he will eventually come around to them, and if you ever put up a small gallery in your home of digital art or give a private concert for Luciel and he cries like a baby by the end of it - well, that's between the three of you.

You and Seven will sometimes switch to different languages while speaking or messaging. Sometimes it's to troll the rest of the RFA a bit, or annoy them, but sometimes it's just because one of you is bored or the thought you'd like to convey is better said in another language. Anyways, Luciel's door passwords are no match for you, so he's just going to have to learn Tagalog faster than you can if he wants to keep you out, isn't he?

Any and all of your date ideas are fine by Luciel. In fact, why not do multiple in a day? (He's a bit hesitant to leave Saeran alone, but as long as your most trusted maid is at home to babysit, he's down for anything and everything.) Expect many handmade gimmicks and knick-knacks from Saeyoung. Like the robo-cat, his gifts have dual purposes beyond just appearance, though sometimes while on a date, he'll sneak something simple home, like a flower you stared at for too long (yes, plucked straight from the neighbor's garden as is, he's a menace like that) or a keychain from your favorite anime. Enjoy these gifts - they are all given sincerely and with love!

When you give him a drawing for the first time, Seven is just... floored. What did he do to deserve something so precious and intimate? It will be his most treasured item, even long after you've settled into life together. He will take in every little detail, every sketched line or color, and his heart will never fail to skip a little faster than normal. This is, after all, the fruit of conscious effort and labor by you made with him in mind. It's proof that you think about him. It's proof you care. That's more than enough for him, yet you choose to share even more - and my, how it makes him realize how impossibly lucky he is.

It was love at first sight for Seven. The moment he saw you on that camera, he was gone. Your fashion, your looks, the way you carry yourself... He wasn't lying about the 2.35 seconds - he couldn't look away. And of course, over the time you spent on the messenger app and in person, he only fell deeper for you as he got to know your personality and soul. With you and Saeran by his side, Saeyoung thinks that - maybe, finally - he can finally learn what a true, happy family is meant to be. You are his source of hope.

~~I also thought of Yoosung for you, but I wasn't sure if you'd prefer that since he was in your kins. (And more importantly, he does the "You're just like XXXX" thing, which you mentioned you dislike.) Anyways, I hope this is to your liking!

[marvus-xoloto]

idk if you've talked about this but what do you think it would take to get marvus real and truly angry? like the kind of anger that turns his eyes the same color as the base of his horns. that pure rage. how would he react to that situation? what would it take to bring him down afterward? sorry this is such a specific prompt but im curious about your thoughts on it.

I may have spoken about this before, idk! I don't mind repeating hcs because it's fun to revisit old opinions and see how they've changed :o) PLUS i am like DESPERATE for hiveswap meta/analysis content and I'm happy to make more with people <3

Anyway. I had to sit on this one for a while; really had to think about it. (Frankly, my mind is feeling unorganized so it took a little longer than I wanted haha.) My opinion isn't super formed yet, so I'm open to discussion about this one (and. everything. i like to discuss).

My gut instinct says: nothing that he'll likely experience, but let's dive deep, shall we ;o)

First off, let's talk about Marvus and emotions in general to get a baseline.

Marvus is ice cool COLD. He's very easy going, only lashing out when things that are important to him are going to shit (and even then its's not a terribly strong reaction, see: his bad end when all the clowns are fighting. "Man wtf is going on" or something like that. Marvus enjoys performing for his crowd; more on that in some other post). That being said, he recovers quickly and will generally just Not Get His Hands Dirty (come on troll nostradamus letz skeet skoot).

He is in control of himself. He has to be.

In my opinion, this indicates that he has a very high emotional IQ. He has to have a high emotional IQ as both an artist and a manipulator (some might say these two things are one and the same for him). Not much shocks him, nothing can really get to him.

This does mean that while he is generally friendly, it's not easy to actually get close to him unless it's his idea. That's not relevant here, though, haha.

Here's another part of Marvus that explains his anger response: he always has a plan. The gears in his head are always turning; he's very intelligent. For him, anger doesn't solve any of his problems or bring him closer to his goals: he needs to be approachable (see: with Joey, how he manipulates her [don't get me started on their clown and kid friendship it fucks me up sooo bad]), and he needs to appear only as threatening as he needs to. He's quick to improvise (see how he protects Joey in the purple car at the end of act 3).

So. What gets to him!

In my opinion, the only two things that have the potential to get him this angry are:

-> Lack of privacy

Marvus needs to keep his secrets in order to, well, do what he does. This leads him to the instinct to keep his personal life and secrets VERY well hidden. Even if it's not a big deal on the surface, something like the name of his matesprit dropping or tracks leaking (that he didn't stategically leak himself) might frustrate him more than the average person. Something like explicit pictures of him, or something that someone could use as a metaphorical thread to follow towards his motivations or his ego; these might make him actually pissed.

That being said, though, I genuinely can't see him getting red-eyed angry about this. Generally, I do see him as someone who enjoys getting out of trouble, even if he's not thrilled about it at first. Like playing a puzzle! I'll leave it open as a possibility, however. What I really think could get to him is...

-> Knowing that he is, for whatever reason, not free or otherwise helpless

This is more esoteric and, frankly, extremely rare in his life.

Marvus really does not like the idea of having no freedom. We can infer from his general dislike of seadwellers combined with his ideas to "shake up" the hemospectrum (emphais on "shake up," notice that he never mentions improving it) that it's less about inequality and more about inconvenience. He dislikes that anyone might have percieved power over him (notice during his diatribe that he does view purple blooded trolls as unquestionably stronger and more influential than the caste above, and how he doesn't do this for say, bluebloods, who are a caste below but still in a position of relative power).

But having a plan is pretty much the core of Marvus's id. Not having that? Losing that sense of himself? Failing? I can see this genuinely making him rage-y angry.

Calming him down is simple: find him a solution. He's timeboud, thus goal based. He needs to have a focus point, something to reach for.

Anyway! Hope that made sense!

[xblueoceanfloor]

JUSTIN Timberlake and Britney Spears' "feud" is non-existent and the trauma over her abortion has been resolved privately.

Timberlake apologized to his ex-pop superstar partner and they are now "fine," his NYSNC bandmate Lance Bass revealed in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.

Bass is a friend to both Britney and bandmate and long-term pal Justin.

Bass says that Britney addressed the break up in the book to set her record straight on that split, but "that was the past”.

He insists that while publicly it appears Spears remains upset, seemingly through her social media posts, “They don't care. They are good.”

Speaking exclusively on camera, at the annual Environmental Media Association Awards in LA, Bass said that the deeply personal issues between the couple was not even a "fight".

The ex-NSYNC star feels that his friends’ personal woes were "just life".

Bass, 44, also added that Britney fans' successful push of her single Selfish ahead of Timberlake's new single of the same name on the iTunes Charts is "good for everyone".

Currently, some Spears’ fans continue to attack her ex-partner following her memoir heartbreak of him wanting an abortion and cheating allegations in 2001.

When asked how the famous couple solve their differences, Bass declared: “Well, the problem is they've already sorted it out and everyone just forgets.

“No, they are fine. They support each other. They love each other in their own ways.

“He has apologized. She is amazing. It's just like everyone, this has happened already.

“So I think just people like to keep fights going, but look at the people that are in the fight. They don't care. They're good.”

Spears claimed in her memoir, the media portrayed her as “a harlot who’d broken the heart of America’s golden boy," while she was really “comatose in Louisiana” as he was “happily running around Hollywood”.

Justin has not made any public comment about Spears’ claims, but did tell fans at his Vegas gig in December “no disrespect” before playing Cry Me a River - a tune penned about her cheating on him.

Hours later she appeared to fire back on Instagram: “I never mentioned how I beat him in basketball and he would cry... no disrespect.”

Bass, wearing a vibrant green suit and sporting violet hair, says The Woman In Me is not reflective of their status now.

"But she was talking about her past. She's not talking about right now. Okay. So what's happening right now - they are fine.

"I don't know why people try to keep this fight going. It wasn't even really a fight. It was just life.”

Bass also feels that Spears‘ fans continuing to disrupt Timberlake is not necessarily a bad thing.

'GOOD FOR EVERYBODY'

They sent her tune named Selfish to No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart, stopping his tune from a top spot.

Bass, 44, feels Timberlake, whose new album Everything I Thought It Was is released on March 15, is winning despite the drama.

“It's good for everybody, right?

“Yeah. Any press is good press is what they say. . So yeah, I mean, it's fine. Now they both have singles in the top 10, which is great.”

Bass admits that while Timberlake has his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which kicks off in Vancouver, Canada on April 29, There are no NSYNC reunion plans.

He added that there is "always hope”, especially after how fans reacted to Bass, JT, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and JC Chasez, reuniting for The Trolls film comeback single before Christmas.

”The fans are incredible. They keep us alive, but they've been with us since the last NSYNC tour.

“So it's like we've never felt like they've left us at all. So everything that I've ever done, I felt that they were there.

"They've always shown up for me in every individual project I've done.

"When we get together as a group, it is a different thing.

“It's just this kind of craziness that happens and it's fun.

"It's fun to see the reaction. I love the smiles and how happy people get seeing us all five together. It is rare, but it's special.”

[landoffreaksandfrogs]

thoughts on Barzum and Baizli?

fascinating to me. the concept of a single troll egg splitting into two beings was an unprecedented, but in hindsight, obvious aspect of troll reproduction i never considered.

their telepathic and empathic communication with each other is...interesting? although i dont understand it myself, since human identical twins dont literally feel each others pain and thoughts. it might have to do with trolls as a species being pretty sensitive to psychic mutations.

but i spent a long time talking about their biology and not on themselves...

i think part of them being trapped in that house for so long before MSPAR freed them has to do with their role in hiveswap. they had to essentially be kept out of the picture until they could eventually meet up with their fellow purplebloods.

their aspects perfectly hinted as to their eventual fates in hiveswap act 2. baizli is caprimini, bound by the aspect of doom, hinting at his eventual death at xefros's hands. his signs epithet, the perilous, even foreshadows the dangerous catwalk into the purpleblood train car.

which makes barzums fate all the more interesting, assuming she didnt die in the train crash. her sign is capriun, bound by the aspect of breath. it signifies freedom, leadership, and flexibility, something barzum will undoubtedly struggle with without baizli at her side. maybe part of her arc involves her having to accept her new life as a single troll, rather than as a half of a whole. this could either rally the other trolls to turn against xefros and joey, or perhaps, inspire her a doubt in the system. after all, if baizli wasnt protected by the hemospectrum, why should she follow it? her signs epithet is the cartographer.

i would like to see barzum be forced to grow into an individual, whether as an antagonist or as a potential ally. it could definitely lead her into standing alongside chahut and doubt marvus's pseudo-leadership.

[rodentgoth]

.X| "Answer Phone" - Ch.4 |X.

◄ Prev Chapter \\Fic Playlist\\Ship Playlist\\ Next Chapter ►

Once again thank you to my girlie @candy12110 for co-writing/editing with me for the rest of the story!

let's pretend the drones didn't blow up the train, M'kay?

Rating:: 13+ // Teen

Fandom:: Homestuck

Themes/Kinks:: None

Chixie sat on the floor of the train car, her anxiety rattling her just a bit. She had already been worried because of Zebruh, but seeing a purpleblood on the platform made it skyrocket. Her thinkpan was throbbing just imagining dealing with more highbloods at Jeevik week. Though, she wouldn't let the daunting thoughts ruin this for her. A week-long train ride might be the only time she could actually relax, despite the noise of the crowded car.  The universe was clearly moving things around for her.

 She had even made two new friends on the platform, a bronze blood, Joey, and a burgundy blood, Xefros. They were both nice enough, but what amazed her was when Joey just walked up to Marvus. She quickly turned her head the minute she saw her walk up to him. She expected to hear screaming, the sound of bodyguards or drones rushing in to defend the clown. So it came as a surprise when she heard none of that, but instead heard him talking to them. He seemed to be actually enjoying their company. Even weirder he appeared to be helping them, he didn't even ask for anything in return. Part of her wanted to believe he was doing all this with good intentions, but she was still skeptical. She'd had one too many fake friends, most of whom were highbloods, take everything from her. From her music to her whole persona as an artist, the only reason it hadn’t happened a lot recently was cause of Zebruh, and he was the fakest, horniest, “friend” she’d ever had. It was purely by the grace of Troll Jesus that he was such a simp she could just flatter him and get out of anything physical. Though she knew that won’t work forever, and that only added to her nervousness. 

She needed this protest to go well, she wanted…no- needed people to recognize her for who she was and not just the indigo who promotes her. And if she dies, then fuck it, at least she went out speaking her truth. She’d honestly rather get culled than have to spend another second with Zebruh. She was broken out of her anxious thoughts by the sound of her palmhusk going off. She checked her notifications to see messages from her favorite burgundy blood friend…and Zebruh. She stalled for a few seconds to decide whose message to answer first before. She chose to check Zebruh’s first to keep him from ruining whatever good mood Red would put her in::

THECODAKKEFFECT:: Hey do you want me to bring you to the indigo car? I know the lowblood cars can be pretty crowded! You can sit on my lap and stay in my room if you want!❤️

Chixie grimaced at the thought of having to have any more physical contact with him.She swiftly texted back::

Chixie:: No thanks. I found a seat so I'm fine!

She tried to be as calm and direct as she could, it was already taking all her strength not to completely go off at him. She was so tired of talking to him, she really thought he was done for the week. She assumed that with all the purple bloods and other blue bloods around he wouldn't have the energy to bother her but of course, she was wrong. He's still just as horny as ever and behaving like an absolute oinkbeast.

She heard the device ping again, but she didn’t bother to read it. She already knew he would just whine and beg until she caved in. She finally turned her attention to the message of Red::

R3dSplatter:: I’m on the train now! I’m helping out my matesprit in the teal and jade blood car. 

She cocked her head at the device. A burgundy with a midblood matesprit? 

Now, Chixie didn’t care or pay much attention to the hemospectrum when it came to quadrants, but that sounded highly unlikely, bordering on unbelievable. Jades never left the caverns and Teals never got into any relationships that didn't benefit them. Unless this relationship with Red's matesprit was of the Zebruh variety where they're being completely taken advantage of, it felt impossible.

Chixie:: Oh you have a matesprit…Are they nice to you?  R3dSplatter:: Of course, they're nice to me! They're my matesprit. Chixie:: No, I know. I just wanted to be sure. I'm also in contact with someone of a higher blood caste and they're not that great.   R3dSplatt3r:: Are they your matesprit?  Chixie:: Absolutely not! R3dSplatter:: Then why do you talk to them? Chixie:: I only stay near cause, right now, he’s my ONLY means of making ends meet. He's the only thing keeping me from losing all my gigs at this point. And he's a critic so he could ruin my whole career, if he wanted. But besides that, he's a skeevy creep that hits on every lowblood troll he ever meets. R3dSplatter:: Sounds like a real pain in the ass. You must really hate him. Chixie:: I do, Highbloods aren't all that great to be around for trolls like us. Sorry if I was being insensitive about your matesprit but I've seen what happens when a lowblood is in a relationship with a highblood. It's not pretty. R3dSplatter:: Don’t worry, I’ve seen it too. I can promise you they’re the sweetest I’ve ever met. But if I had to deal with someone like that, I’d be cautious too. Chixie:: That’s why I need this performance to go well, if everything works out at Jeevik Week, maybe I can finally move on from him! R3dSplatter:: I wish you the best, You deserve only greatness.

The bronzeblood felt her face grow warm at that comment, but something still didn’t feel right about all this. A voice in her thinkpan kept telling her something was off about Red but she just couldn't figure out what it was. She didn't hate or distrust them, in fact, they were the nicest troll she'd ever met. It didn't feel like they were only being nice because they wanted something from her but she kept doubting what they told her. It just felt like someone that was either really naive or hadn't experienced the terror of Alternia yet. And knowing what she knew there was no way someone of an even lower blood caste than her could be protected from the horrors of this planet for long. Even newborn grubs didn't get that privilege, let alone someone around her age. 

Chixie tried to not think about it anymore. Red had been the most supportive friend she'd made and they weren't looking to hurt or pail her. Why ruin such a pure relationship with hypothetical and vague doubts? 

Chixie:: Thank you! How about we meet up later? I'd be happy to meet your matesprit as well!

She closed the messages and put her palm husk away. No more interruptions and no more stress. A week of no Zebruh and no stress. Just her, the fifty other trolls in the car, and her thoughts.

**

Chixie's body was going to ache for weeks. The train had sped up out of nowhere, forcing her to hold on to the chair leg for dear life as a pile of bodies lined the back of the car. Miraculously, she was alive despite the violent speed of the train. If she were any weaker she would've splattered like a wriggler on the cavern floors, luckily, she only got whiplash. Unfortunately, she had no lodgings for the now week-long stay until Jeevik week started. Even worse, Zebruh survived and asked if she would like to share a hivetel room with him. She whipped out her palmhusk faster than Troll Usain Bolt to ask Cridea about accommodations. Cridea answered her, there was potential free lodging for performers. She, of course, took it in a heartbeat, she would do anything to avoid sharing a room with Zebruh. That reminded her she needed to check on Red, maybe Xefros, and Joey too.

Chixie:: Red are you okay? I hope you didn't get hurt on the train.

Chixie texted but received no answer. She waited a few minutes before she actually got worried.

Chixie:: Red are you good? You're worrying me. Please answer me.

Chixie started to panic, frantically texting her missing friend. Someone bumped into her, breaking her out of it. She took a deep breath and stopped herself. It was entirely possible Red was just busy with their matesprit or even could've lost their palm husk in the struggle. She decided to just keep calm. She had to perform in a week and wasn’t about to stress herself even more. She would take a walk to get her mind off of things.

She wandered around the concert venue and the various dressing rooms. To her surprise, the lowblood dressing rooms were pretty nice, at least compared to other places she performed. Despite being fully furnished, they were very spacious, there was even a food storage unit! Chixie put up her costumes and backup gear before going to look at herself in the vanity mirror. She's been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time, and it still felt unreal that it was coming to fruition. She looked at herself for a few seconds more before taking a breath and turning with a skip in her step, walking to the door. Because they arrived so early she had time to take in the sites and actually enjoy herself. She opened the door, excited to look around, only to see a cluster of different casted trolls screaming and crowding around something. She was curious as to what was going on, and that’s when she noticed the lopsided horns and clown makeup. It was that Marvus guy again.

The bronzeblood instinctively narrowed her eyes to the exit, doing her best not to glance at him for even a second. Over the many sweeps she'd been alive she'd perfected the art of avoiding being on any highblood's radar. Unfortunately, her only and biggest failure to date was her meeting with Zebruh, that bastard could smell a lowblood from 50 miles away. Hopefully, the purpleblood wasn't as chronically horny for lowbloods as he was, so she could get by without getting sucked into the crowd and moshed to death. She moved along the wall as fast as she could, pushing past anyone in her way, and apologizing profusely while doing so. She jerked back when a hand grabbed her arm, and she spun around to face an excited olive blood.

"Hey! Can you take a picture of me with Marvus real quick?" She asked excitedly. It was more of a demand, but Chixie was too panicked to even care. She froze immediately, desperately wanting to say no, but this fan seemed awfully young and excited, borderline pushy.

"S-s-sure?" Chixie squeaked out. The olive blood squealed and shoved her palmhusk into her hands. She scrambled to grasp it before it could fall and break, potentially bringing her more pain than she was already going through.

Chixie held onto the device as if her life depended on it which, knowing how fierce olives tend to be, it just might. They both made their way to the middle of the clump, where the clown stood. Chixie did her best to avoid looking at him directly but her nerves were already on fire from being so close to so many trolls of a higher caste than her. She couldn't help but notice Marvus's eyes constantly flickering towards her in between sending smiles and waving at his fans. Why did she have to catch the attention of so many damn highbloods, and the day wasn't even over yet. She should've known only bad things would happen the second she left her dressing room and saw the same purple pecs that Zebruh was so obsessed with.

The small olive gasped and gawked as she walked up to him. She started going on about how much she loved him, how she wanted to be as rich and famous as him one day, prolonging the bronze girl’s torture. Luckily, Marvus eventually cut her off and offered to take a picture with her. It was like he had already heard the entire exchange and was just trying to move things along so Chixie could leave faster. If she didn't already know no highblood would be kind enough to care about her comfort, she would cry in thanks to him.

He scooped the olive girl up into his arms, giving his widest smile. It took Chixie a second to fully calm her nerves and take the picture. But, after the flash went off no more than twice Marvus immediately let go of the olive and moved on to the next person, leaving the girl just enthralled enough to take her palmhusk from Chixie without complaint, or a “thank you” for that matter. She immediately dived out of the crowd the second the device left her hand and jetted out of the hall. She didn't stop running until she was outside and could no longer hear the clatter of all of Marvus's fans.

She found herself panting and wheezing for air. She felt like throwing up, just barely managing to keep it in, when she felt a hand pat her on the back.

“Are you okay?”, a familiar voice said to her. She turned her head to see Joey, with Xefros standing behind her, both equally concerned.

“Ye-yeah I’m fine,” She said as she slowly straightened her posture. 

How embarrassing. 

Running into her newest friends only to be caught dry heaving outside.

“Just a bit…nervous.” She fidgeted with her fingers a bit, her nerves still rattling.

"Are you sure? We can go get something to drink to settle your stomach," Joey offered, offering her arm to Chixie in assistance.She wrapped her arm around Joey’s to settle herself.

“No, no! I’m Okay really!” 

"Hmmm- oh! We have some cookies! Maybe eating that will help?" She happily offered. It was becoming clearer to Chixie that Joey wasn’t gonna give up till she was one hundred percent okay. Which she admired deeply, she just really wasn’t used to being treated like this, by…anyone really. She settled on eating a few cookies, she actually hadn’t eaten anything all day. She wasn't expecting to be offered food either so this was a welcome change. She can now say she doesn't completely regret coming outside. Joey looked at the slight smile on Chixie's as she ate the cookie and sent a quick look to Xefros that he exasperatedly nodded to. She put on a gentle grin before looking back at Chixie.

"Hey, do you want to join us? We're looking around cause we've never been here before. We would love for you to tag along,"  Joey said with a friendly smile.

Chixie became extremely flustered. She had been referring to them as her friends in her head but she didn't expect them to actually want to spend time with her. 

Stress-free time spent with people that actually liked her for who she was and not what she could do for them? This was very very new to her, and she loved it. She tripped over her tongue for a bit before shutting her mouth and nodding rapidly.

"I'd love to hang out with you two!" She could see it now. No judgment, no expectations, no getting ordered around or felt up. It would be glorious. 

"Great, let's go!”Joey immediately grabbed her hand and Xefros’s and with a skip in her step, they were off exploring the various vendors and pre-shows.