#probably so you can't punch dream lets b real

[guardiansvalor]

the star dreamers are deities or at LEAST linked to moonlight. éclair's dream was a vision. —a theory

you know what time it is! the theory i ALWAYS ramble about.

some parts of this may be taking stretches, but let's not waste any time. more important factors are in bold for ease.

this is in sections.

- a summary of the story

- an observation of the costume set's descriptions and inspirations

- observation of the costume set's bond story

- why the nightfall butterfly was used by moonlight to induce éclair's dream as a vision

with that, allow me to begin.

a summary of the story :

the bond story is linked here if you'd like to read it for yourself. butttt, for those of you who can't be bothered :

éclair cookie falls asleep whilst writing a relic journal on nightfall butterflies. he dreams of three cosmic entities, constellation guardians. these being financier cookie, wildberry cookie and cream unicorn cookie. éclair wakes up, and there is assumption his dream was from the nightfall butterfly, tales say it can cause dreams of the night sky.

an observation of the costume set's descriptions and inspirations :

éclair cookie, stargazing scholar :

let's clear éclair up first, shall we? éclair is not as significant as of currently compared to the other three. he is an astronomer and the observer, serving as the gateway to what we see about the star guardians. he is based around the fantasy-astronomy aesthetic. he has no zodiac basis, yet for...some reason the fandom just appointed him as aquarius someday. he is the main character of the story.

financier cookie, brilliance of justice :

alright, to the deities here! financier cookie's brilliance of justice costume is based upon libra, as well as the greek titan-goddess themis (lady justice). the theming of lady justice is extremely blatant.

and as of the manner the costume is described in. it's pretty straight up.

the phrasing of so divine that you do nothing but revere to her is head on. that's a deity right there! these descriptors are...obviously deliberate.

wildberry cookie, hero blessed by the stars :

wildberry's costume is based off of heracles, the greek divine hero. there are also hintings of the leo and serpens constellations.

also pretty on the nose. the beginning of a new legend, plus this description is literally how you'd tell an epic tale or legend..... a hero protecting the peace of the night.

cream unicorn cookie, memories in the night sky :

cream unicorn's costume's basis is pegasus! the fandom also kind of collectively agrees there's virgo stuff LOL

a moment too magical to be true. this theory can also lean on cream unicorn a little more due to them being a mythical creature and powerful figure already.

yeah? yeah! the common theme here is that the three guardians are described like you'd think of a divine myth or something.

the theming is also very well picked out. the costumes could have easily been designed with the same midnight theme as éclair, but they chose great figures. verrry deliberate.

it's also established in stormbringer cookie's update that gods and deities appear to be a different matter in cookie run. deities are seemingly “lesser”. do what you will with that.

you probably think "this is just a dream this is going to happen", i can counter that

observation of the costume set's bond story :

hope you didn't forget the summary too fast! lets get into this next part where we apply more onto this.

as i said, the story begins with éclair adjusting himself for a night of stargazing.

the first constellation he falls onto is wildberry. wildberry knocks out the serpent and lion constellations via a punch, calming them. apparently things have been growing dangerous in the northern sky. his powers seem to include peace induction.

this isn't normal, no shit sherlock. oh but wildberry in the real world is something i'd like to discuss.

wildberry cookie's strength does not appear to be natural, or at least stronger than the average cookie. okay, gauntlet, sure, but he doesn't seem to have much problem fighting an ambush of white masks bare-fisted. he also can carry his gauntlet around without problem while crunchy chip (a strong WELL trained cacaoian warrior mind you, literal beast tamer) struggles with it. we can assume somethings going on here

wildberry is outshone by the dazzling light of financier cookie's sword. financier, as her description pretty obviously states, weighs out justice with her scales. the stars with "murky lights in their hearts" flee from her.

financier in the real world has a great sense of justice (see: cookie odyssey). it'd be a nice pointer to these things. a fair just paladin, the glass slipper of serving as lady justice would fit perfectly.

and finally, cream unicorn's mild light pacifies both stronger lights of wildberry and financier's. well, i'll use the dream excuse for them walking across the milky way because How™.

cream unicorn's case in the real world is interesting. they are already powerful, the role of a deity wouldn't be far off from them. at least i believe so? i'm not too caught up on their lore and i apologise for that.

and the story concludes with éclair awakening. he makes his way to the natural ecology wing to see a faint glow coming from the nightfall butterfly. as stated, tales say they can induce dreams of the night sky.

this actually gets into the next point.

the nightfall butterfly and why moonlight used it to induce éclair's dream :

for reference, here's the relic!

in the bond story it's actually called the nightlight butterfly, but we can pretty easily equate them to be the same thing. plus the butterfly is in the nature hall, no doubt the ecology wing.

the alternative name to the butterfly is the star jelly butterfly. the city of wizards has a motif of star jellies throughout, especially with say, milky way cookie. it even takes place on moonlights clock tower!

also wings like the night sky? providing dreams? that's the city of wizards for ya.

onto miss "night sky and dreams" herself — moonlight cookie!

moonlight's crescent guardian attire is on par with the guardian star dreamers costumes. right off the bat.

moonlight providing the dream makes sense. note this could have been ANY cookie as the observer, though they chose to play around with éclair's relics. moonlight can prooobably grant specific dreams.

this, is moreso a vision than a dream. the nightfall butterfly was in the reach of éclair. and listen, he's knowledgeable enough to hold such a revelation and to piece the puzzle. it'd make sense for him to be plucked out.

wouldn't it be nice to see some of the stars moonlight yearns for, those who she'd dance with upon twilight?

moonlight is awake when gaining her crescent guardian state. this is reality. it is achieved upon reuniting with stardust cookie (look. STARdust. the stars). stardust is essentially the key to this, and this perfectly falls in line if we assume this time period is when éclairs dream happened.

my point is also to say that the dreamers are in a state of dormancy of some sort.

a few extra points to this :

sea fairy blesses the gem mermaids with powers. why shouldn't a fellow legend be able to do the same?

the odds of the costumes having relevancy to lore is NOT impossible, contrary to belief. due to the setting being a dream, it could've actually happened and had no effects on the lore quite yet. also, white lily's costume was presumed to just be an "au" but became canon to the storyline. it's not impossible!

éclair doesn't know these cookies. or at least, he is never seen to interact with any of them. éclair DOES interact with financier in the crunchy spring picnic story, but wildberry and cream unicorn? debatable. why dream of cookies you don't know? the brain cannot make up faces.

this is a stretch but getting a whole bond story when easily able to have been lumped in with crunchy dreams?? goddamn!!

also.. face it. if devsisters can get money off of this for a beast yeast plot or something, why not go in for it? AND there is still room for a moonlight update. she will gain a crystal jam eventually, as well as other untouched city of wizards things that could be expanded on.

some of this might not make sense, i was extremely tired typing. butttt.. here's my whole input of it. thanks for coming to my ted talk

[theloveinc]

caitie let me bug ur inbox rq 🥳 i can't stop thinking abt how ppl would assume deku would have a nice sweet baby and bkg having the opposite, but when they do have their kids it's the other way around and deku's baby is so mean to EVERYONE even tho they're literally a couple months old or smthing, just mean mugging ppl and not letting them touch or hold them except deku or you.. then they see how bkg's kid is so much nicer and sweeter and loves to socialize and walks/crawls up to ppl and smiles and lets them carry them and loves to laugh and everyone just thinks,, did the babies get switched at birth? 😭 but their kids look just like them so they know that isn't true but idkk i just think deku with a mean baby is so €}!*]€~ bc he's just like "haha idk where they got that from :D" or "wdym they're a sweet baby?" and the baby is just frowning at the person taking to their daddy 😭 anywho gnn~

AW :( Deku's baby isn't mean!!!!!! Just sensitive!!!!!!!!!! And colicky, and cranky b/c they need sleep, and picky, I mean... they just have preferences!! It's not their fault they love their parents more than anyone!!!! -Deku, at some point, probably smh...

No but it's funny because... EVEN BAKUGO thought he'd get the mean one and was so ready to like... provide discipline and therapy for his child for YEARS, only to not need it even remotely (at least, for his first, maybe)... and then there's Deku who, out of everything, never even dreamed of the possibility of having a mean baby... and there he is suddenly having to pull out all the stops just to get them to stop swatting at strangers and then later, hiding behind your legs at parties. Man is STRESSED as all hell.

("safe hands, baby. SAFE HANDS--" and he's grabbing their little fist at supersonic speed to stop it from going straight into Iida's glasses. Thank god he's not offended (because the babe can pack a real punch for someone no bigger than a watermelon)... even if for the first time in, almost ... EVER, Iida's looking back at Bakugo with some kind of genuine respect. Who, meanwhile, is just smirking proudly about it.)

asdnfjkasd even Bakugo's kid is a little wary of the Deku's baby... which Baku finds absolutely hilarious because it was kind, uncle Deku's 8-monther that was able to make his sturdy two year old cry just by refusing to be held (he was mad about it at the time though lmao because of course he was).

But Deku's kid never quite gets over the mean streak, don't you think? Has a good heart but is still just as grumpy and cranky, w/ a permanent frown, except now they can verbalize their excuse... just like their dad. "What do you mean, I'm mean? I'm just sensitive >:(" they say, because that's exactly what they've been hearing their whole life. And to be fair, it's true... just, very poorly expressed.

Bye.

-

Thank you for buggin me with this, anon!! I hope I did this lovely idea justice... I enjoyed it very much <3 sleep well + lovely dreams to you🥰

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 10th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

Season 1 | Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 | Ep. 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9

LETS GOOOO MCD flashbackkkkk

Oh look finally a good look at TBH and the mastermind's faces, nice thanks OFC the big bag is Kaibyaku the medical dude

ah so in the end it all leads back to that company if all three of them worked in the same place

Ofc the classic cheek punch then pass out, always happens

LMAOO they knocked each others teeth out and made friendship bracelets out of it thats a romance right there.

Oh damn does that mean that kaibyaku has some of of medical issue? that was an IV in his arm im pretty sure or at least some sort of drip. Maybe Jakurai will play some sort of big end of series role that heals him? I hope not, that would be a bit boring but it would make sense since kujaku posse is the only duo not affiliated with the whole TBH trio thing

Leader battle lets goooo we'll probably get another leader song which is always fun

I hope we get a TBH one

EYYY HEADSET MIC LETS GOOO I looooveddd rosho's one and im so glad theres another one which is always fun

Huh mic embedded in the hand? Thats an interesting concept

[On a second rewatch I think its interesting how Kenji specifically says "I can't fall here. Not we. Theres some foreshadowing that he is the only real one here. He specifics in his rap vers that its "that wretched party" that belongs in a grave, not any of our characters in particular]

[also another detail. The necromancy + skull imagery to their rap verse…. they are bringing back old ghosts with their song… they are so tragic. The rap on as second watch is just so much more tragic once you know everything]

Kuko's rap uses the letters T B H as the starts of his verses which is fun

NIce imagery of three dragons fighting for dominance, a very apt metaphor for IchiSamaKuko who are just hothead extremes

huh wonder what was ripped up

oh thats a neat explanation of how they were able to do a lot of supernatural stuff. I feel like it would have been more interesting if it was a hallucination, but hey I'll take that L its not that bad even if a bit uninspired/not very well foreshadowed

Also the vibrations as controlling element, as someone who can hear electronics, is something that would work for me 100% wwwww I would go crazy if i had to hear those annoying sound waves 24/7

I mean exposition episode but its kinda cute actually? I hate that they're doing this after revealing that they're dead but it does put in the point that they were people, not good people, but still people

bro… bro… satoru specifically says in his rap that the world's our kitchen… he has so many kitchen metaphors here…. bro still holds his dream of opening a restaurant with his totally platonic life bro even after death… bro…..

I mean its not that bad of a motive, im not that convinced that they're in the wrong. I'm also very much a sucker for acts of destructive love which is why i may be more inclined to cheer for kaibyakumon

While I do wish that they had fleshed out Kenji's relationship with Satoru and Akira a bit more, I do feel like the duo's dynamic on its own was really well presented before the big reveal. Like what's Kenji's feelings about SatoAkira, why is he so invested in this whole plan other than borderline idolizing kaibyaku?

I feel its hilarious how kenji's just sitting there while kaibyaku is just going on his monologue wwww

Nice, i like how they used Oosaka's island nature into their planning but there Are other bridges going into the mainland im pretty sure?

okay but why should you care? Like hes doing a overall good? Kaibyakumon's goals are aligned with the overall cast's motive of making sure that the government is placed in check so if the team wants us to have a reason to root against them, gotta give a good reason, esp after that backstory

LMAO HIFUMI oh i feel so bad for him

[iolaussharpe-24]

Thank you for tagging me! I'm sorry I took so long to respond.

Favorite Genre to write?

Well, my go-tos tend to be romance and horror, always have been. Probably because I think I'm good at dialogue and both genres allow me to work with drama and comedy as well, and I think I can write good conversations between characters that cover all four bases. Also, most of my original fiction boils down to girl and hot monster. Sometimes an actual monster, sometimes a flat out lunatic.

2. Your catch-22 of writing?

I try to be complex with my writing... but I don't think I have the mental capability to actually do it.

3. The first 'story' you ever wrote (as a child).

No.

4. Something that icks you out to read (or write)

..... I haven't found anything yet. If you'd asked a couple years ago, I would have said smut but I've read so much now that I'm starting to dip my toe in to writing it. I guess watersports? Gore porn?

Oh god, that just reminded me of a horrible fic I read a while back. Yeah, let's go with that one. I've got a pretty strong stomach when it comes to Ao3, I've seen it all, but that crossed so many lines I don't think it should have been allowed. It was the most disgusting thing. Literally just gore and porn. With Disney characters. Specifically Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, the seven dwarfs, and Jessica Rabbit. Alice and Snow are both canonically minors and that was the least disgusting thing about that shitshow I'm ashamed to call a fic. I don't even want to describe it. But... here are a few keywords so you can taste a bit of my lasting trauma: giantess, feet, blood, cannibalism, insertion, loss of limbs, death.

5. Something you aren't the best at writing and you want to get better?

Sex and describing the setting. The white void is my biggest issue while writing, and I've only ever written smut twice, only once with any detail.

6. Something you are very good at in writing?

I'm very proud of my dialogue. I know I've said it already, but that is my strongest suit and that's what I heard people comment the most when I was in the creative writing club in high school.

Also, I think I can describe people pretty well. I never write without having someone in mind to describe and that really helps me to visualize my characters when I write.

If I need Character A to punch Character B I'll assign an actor to each. So then in my head it becomes Daniel Radcliffe punches Adam Driver. I'll break it down from there. Okay, they're both fairly pale, they both have dark hair, can't use those as descriptors to single them out. There's a very clear height difference between them and they're both standing. How does he hit him? Character A gets a running start in the heat of the moment, jumps up, and clocks him. Okay, where? He can't come down at him like a Superman punch, that's too high of a jump. Upper cut. Right to the jaw. Enough to knock Character B back, but not enough to knock him out. When he retaliates, he can hit him with a right hook. He's a lot bigger, physically. There's more force. Character A is smaller and lighter. The impact is gonna be worse. He'll get knocked down if not out.

7. An author (fanfic or published) that you aspire to be like

So many answers. Stephen King, Kate Baxter, Rick Riordan, Guillermo Del Toro, Kami Garcia, and Mimi Jean Pamfiloff all come to mind off the top of my head. I love all of them. I also love @waywardrose, @reallyrallyauthor, @callmehopeless, @have-you-seen-my-sanity, @giorno-plays-piano, @politemenacephd, and so so many others that I can't begin to name them all because we will be here all day.

8. Would you consider becoming a published author?

That's my dream. The fics I post here are so I can see what works and what doesn't with my style. I'm using them to test whether or not I have a real shot at finding an audience.

I'm writing an original fiction novel now.

9. Something nice to say about another fanfic author

So many of yall deserve to be great authors and I don't know if you realize that. The best part of having this Tumblr page is being able to finally interact with you all where I couldn't before. Some of you got me through the worst points in my life. Some of you are the reason I realized that I love to write. All of you keep me reading where I'm sure my life would have made me stop by now.

If you read this, I'm asking you to reblog and join in! There are so many people I want to tag that I don't know who to tag, but you're all mutuals anyway!!

Writer Things

idk here are some questions about writing. maybe we can start a game or something.

Favorite Genre to write?

I like writing mysteries and big adventure stories because I loooveeee building the tension. And writing scenery is my favorite thing ever (I have to delete so many paragraphs tho because I go a little too hard). Actually I prefer writing original fiction as opposed to fanfic, I've just never put it online lol.

Your catch-22 of writing

I do not like reading about pregnancy but I love reading about little babies or young children as sidekicks or a found family. So either I have to write a massive time skip or just....hm

2. The first 'story' you ever wrote (as a child)

LMAO it was in....sixth grade? I think? And it was basically a Harry Potter rip-off but with my own character and I changed all the names. I was super into it tho, until I had a massive realization that it was basically OC fanfiction and immediately abandoned it. cut to nine years later and I am writing basically the same thing with different fandoms.

3. Something that icks you out to read (or write)

pregnancy. I think it's a dysphoria thing.

Something you aren't the best at writing and you want to get better?

Smut. Idk smut isn't my favorite thing to write, I did it for a while but I really prefer the romantic or at least emotional writing.

Something you are very good at in writing?

Emotional distress. Idk I can write a mean mental breakdown. Also! atmospheric writing.

4. An author (fanfic or published) that you aspire to be like

Oh boy. Alix E Harrow is a really good author, I like her fantasy stuff (I know it's YA but her skill is very good). James Patterson is also a good genre-bending author. Maybe George RR Martin? Idk he basically built an empire and still lives his own simple life. He's got it down pretty well.

4. Would you consider becoming a published author?

Yeah! It scares me a bit because the publishing world has changed a lot but I think I'm up for the challenge.

4. Something nice to say about another fanfic author

Okay! @ writefightandflightclub does a phenomenal job with characterization and it adds so much depth to the story I am always amazed! The inner monologue, dialogue, character interactions are always *chef kiss* (I didn't tag them because we don't actually know each other but remove the space and check out her stuff!)

um as far as other people to tag...

@loki-hargreeves @my-secret-shame @winniethewife

yay

[babeyvenus]

My Future

Derek Hale x OC

Samantha, Stiles and Scott are always joking about the impossible. Who wouldn't when your best friend's dad is the sheriff of Beacon Hills? All jokes stop when they realize the impossible is indeed possible.

Chapter 4: Challenge

"I just woke up covered up in sweat.", Scott said as we walked up the front steps of the school. "I never had a dream like that before."

"Really? I have.", Stiles said. "Usually ends a little differently."

"A, I meant I never had a dream that felt that real and B," Scott began but I cut him off.

"We don't wanna know what you dream about, sir.", I said, in disgust.

"Thank you.", Scott agreed with me and we turned right down the hallway.

"Okay.", Stiles said. "But, let me take a guess here."

"No, I know, you think it has something to do with Allison tomorrow. Like I'm gonna lose control and rip her throat out.", Scott says.

"No, of course not.", Stiles said. We both looked at him, unamused. "Yeah, that's totally it.", Stiles confessed.

Scott sighed and looked down at his feet.

"Scott, it's gonna be okay.", I said, rubbing his back. "I'm going over to Derek's tomorrow to clear everything up."

"Ok, well, back to Scott's killing Allison dream, I think you guys are handling this thing really well. I mean, you can't actually take a class on this.", Stiles says.

"We can definitely learn from a master, though.", I smile.

"Who, Derek?", Scott and Stiles exclaimed in disbelief. I crossed my arms. "He was compliant when we talked, we can definitely learn a thing or two."

Stiles shook his head. "Did you forget the part where we got him tossed into jail?", Stiles asked, widening his eyes in emphasis.

"Uh, who's we???", I asked. "You guys are the one who got him tossed into jail, not me."

"The dream did feel so real though."

"How real?"

"Like it actually happened."

We pushed through the back door and stopped abruptly when we saw cop cars everywhere. There was a school bus with the back door bent and ripped off its hinges and there was blood everywhere.

My jaw dropped. "Scott? What the hell did you do?" Scott rushed back inside, us following behind him.

"She's probably fine.", I reassured.

"She's not answering my texts, Sam.", Scott urged.

"It could just be a coincidence, Scott.", Stiles said.

"Just help me find her, ok?", Scott gruffed. I looked and saw a girl with black wavy hair

"Look there she is." I said, pointing in front of Scott.

"Where??", Scott exclaimed looking around.

"I'm sorry, I'm just messing with you.", I felt bad.

"Sam!"

"Sorry, sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.", I say, sighing.

Scott turned to a locker and punched on it with his fist causing a big dent in it. "Whoa, Scott, take it easy. Look there, she is over there.", Stiles said.

"Stiles, not you too."

"No, I'm serious, she just came in through the front doors." Scott looked up from the locker and rushed over to Allison and picked her up into a big bear hug. "Well, glad to see she's ok."

I looked to my right and saw Jackson trying to fix the bent locker door.

I sat next to Stiles in Chemistry, copying the notes off the board. Scott was in front of us, shaking and fidgeting. "Maybe it was my blood on the door.", Scott whispered to us.

"Could have been animal blood.", I said.

"Yeah, maybe you caught a rabbit or something.", Stiles joked.

"And did what?", Scott asked, in shock.

"Ate it.", Stiles said, bluntly. I kicked his leg to get him to hush. "Raw?", Scott asked in disgust.

"No, you took it and baked it, what do you think??", Stiles replied, sarcastically.

"Mr. Stillinski.", our teacher called Stiles. "If that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while. I think you, Miss Wilson and Mr. McCall would benefit some distance apart, yes?"

"No.", Stiles and I said in unison.

He didn't listen. "Mr. Stillinski, over there, Mr. McCall, over there, Miss Wilson, you stay where you are."

Stiles and Scott got up and moved to opposite sides of the room. "Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much."

I heard Stiles laugh sarcastically as he moved to his new seat. I hurriedly continued to take notes until a girl jumped up and looked out the window.

"Hey, I think they found something.", she announced. Everybody got out of their seats and rushed to the window. Stiles, Scott and I saw paramedics pushing a stretcher with a man on it to an ambulance.

"That's an awfully big rabbit, Scotty.", I muttered. The man on the stretcher sat up quickly and yelled in pain. I jumped back, scared from the quick reaction and sighed. Scott back away from the window, horror plain on his face. Stiles and I looked over at him, walking over to his side.

"This is good, he's not dead.", Stiles reassured Scott. "Dead guys can't do that."

"Guys, I did that.", Scott said. "Psh, how would you know? It was a dream right?", I say.

Scott wasn't convinced.

I grabbed my lunch tray and walked over to an empty table with Scott and Stiles behind me.

Sitting down, I sigh. "Dreams aren't memories, Scott."

"Then it wasn't a dream.", Scott argued. "Something happened last night and I can't remember what."

"What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?", Stiles asked me.

"Well, one, he's kinda the reason why we're in this mess in the first place.", I said.

Stiles nodded. "Two, during the full moon he wasn't changed. He was in total control. And the night of the game, when I ran off into the woods, he was there.", I say.

Thinking back, I quirked my lips. "I was kinda relieved to see him again."

"You were relieved to see Derek?"

"Yeah.", I say, confused.

"Derek Hale?", Stiles expressed.

"Yes, Stiles, Derek Hale.", I roll my eyes.

"If he was in control of himself on the full moon then he can help me. He was in control while I was running around in the woods chasing some innocent guy.", Scott said, ashamed.

I frowned, sadly.

"You don't know that." Stiles said.

"I don't not know it.", Scott retaliated.

"That doesn't make any sense.", I say.

"I can't go out with Allison. I have to cancel.", Scott groaned.

"You can't cancel.", Stiles said. "You can't just cancel your entire life. We'll figure it out."

"Figure what out?", Lydia sat down on the left side of Scott.

"Uh," Stiles stuttered.

"Homework.", I said bluntly.

"Yeah.", Scott replied quickly.

"Why is she sitting with us?", Stiles whispered to me. "How the fuck should I know? She's your girlfriend.", I say, making him sputter. "N-Not yet! But thanks for having some faith in me."

Allison sat down on the right side of Scott. Enya sat to the left of me and Mark sat at the head of the table and Danny to the right of Stiles.

"Get up.", Jackson ordered Mark.

"How come you never ask Danny to move?", Mark whined.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot.", Danny answered. Mark reluctantly got up and moved to a different table as Jackson sat. "So, I hear they say it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar."

"I heard a mountain lion." Jackson said. I roll my eyes.

"A cougar is a mountain lion.", Lydia said. Jackson looked at her. "Isn't it?"

"Who cares?", Jackson said. "The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyways." Fucking prick.

"Can we talk about something that's slightly more fun?", Lydia asked. "Like, where are we going tomorrow?"

Scott and Allison looked at Lydia in astonishment. "You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?"

"Um, we were thinking about what we were going to do.", Allison said, swallowing her mouthful of food.

"Well, I am not sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun.", Lydia said.

"Hanging out?", Scott questioned Allison who chugged her water nervously. "Like the four of us?"

Stiles and I shrugged at Scott.

"It sounds fun.", Allison said.

"You know what else sounds fun?", Jackson said, picking up a fork. "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." Lydia snatched the fork from his hands. I rolled my eyes. The guy was such a dick.

"How about bowling?", Lydia suggested. "You love to bowl, Jackson."

"Yeah, with actual competition.", Jackson said.

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison questioned him. "You can bowl, right, Scott?" Oh, boy.

"Sort of.", Scott muttered.

"Is it sort of or yes?", Jackson asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Yes. In fact, I'm a great bowler.", Scott said with confidence and a glare.

Me and Stiles looked at each other in disbelief. This can't go well.

[bitchy-marvel-dude]

when u get this u have to answer with 5 things u like about yourself, publicly. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool)

positivity IS cool. Okay, bet.

1: I like my hands, and I like how fucking weird they look. I have fucking Huge palms that are probably too big for my fingers, and I have a lot of little scars on the backs of my hands from a dog bite and a couple on my knuckles from punching A: My asshole brother (play boxing that went a Bit too far), B: A wall (long story). They're just really fucking weird looking, it's great.

2: I like my hair. It's very fluffy, and really fucking curly some days. And when it actually, y'know, cooperates with me, it always looks really fucking badass. At least, in my opinion. I'm thinking about letting the top grow out and shaving a bit of the sides, as well as reshaving my undercut. I think that would look cool, especially if i tied it back. And if it doesn't, yknow, oh well. Hair grows back.

3: I like my personality, most of the time. I can be an asshole, but I like to think of myself as a funny asshole. And I just really like making people laugh. When people do that thing where they like, jerk their head forward and laugh real sudden-like, cause they weren't expecting it? Makes my fuckin day. I'm like the stereotypical fat, gay comedy relief. On the subject...

4: I like my body! Some days are kind of sucky, some days I feel hot as fuck, and most days I'm in a healthy medium. I like being able to wear baggy shirts. I think my legs look hot as fuck in tight pants. I like how squishy my stomach is, which is a weird thing to say, but sometimes it's little things like, reminding myself that I like those little things about myself, that make the really tough days awesome, y'know?

5: I am proud! Of! My! Accomplishments! That isn't always the case, but that's what I'm going for right now. I'm passing all of my classes. I got invited to stay at fucking Yale for a week the other day, and while I'm not going because uh. I'm poor. It's still fucking awesome that they would consider me for that. I made a 99 on my science final last year. I have a solid 3.343 GPA, and I'm in the top 25% of my class, and I'm on the right track to go to my dream school. Things are looking good from here, my friend.

This was actually pretty fun. Thank you so much for the ask, @natures-marvel! Sorry if it was sitting in my ask box for a while, my dumb phone never gives me the notification ;-;

Now, for my favorite followers:

I.... don't interact with a lot of my followers, I've come to realize. Hopefully that changes, you're all awesome. Uhhh...... hmmm....

Can't go wrong with @wendywilliamscankles

(seriously y'all, come visit my ask box so we can be bros lol)

[indigobackfire]

HPHM MC Profile ✧

Indigo Silverwood

“ Getting near you is like stretching my hand into an open flame. I know I’ll burn myself, yet I crave the heat. ”

Nicknames: Indie. Didi (only by family). Silverwood. Silvie (by people who don't bother learning her name).

Gender: Female.

Birthday: 6th of March, 1973.

Born: Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mother: Clarin (née Tramer) Silverwood - Half-blood, Ravenclaw, English.

Father: Palmer Silverwood - Pureblood, Slytherin, Scottish.

Siblings: Jacob Silverwood (b. 1968), Phoenix Nobleworth Silverwood (b. 1973) - Phoenix was adopted after the death of his parents when he was just a couple of months old.

Ethnicity: Scottish, English, (probably with some Spanish roots).

Sexuality: Straight.

MBTI Type: ENFP-A

Blood Status: Half-blood (by her muggle grandmother on her mother's side).

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor.

Appearance

Eyes: Naturally yellow/golden/amber (nobody knows why, since their parent’s eyes are brown) but both hers and Jacob's eyes are like this). She wears glasses for her Astigmatism.

Hair: Naturally dark brown, but she asked her mother to turn it red when she turned 8 and doesn't plan on undoing it any soon.

• She’s average tall and reasonably strong build, honey-brown skin littered with scars from venturing with the vaults and being freaking attacked by dark wizards, big hands and feet due to her height. A large chest that grows at once in her 4th year (”Everybody's starring, Rowan!”).

• She keeps her nails short. Her makeup is often down to just some lipstick (mascara smudges her glasses, eye shadow irritates her eyes), her hair is often long wavy and fluffed for extra volume. She often smells like coconut oil from all the creams her mother insisted she used.

• She looks a lot like her father which gives her a rather rough look - like a handsome but wild animal - yet has enough of her mother’s attributes to be considered attractive and poise if well-groomed.

Magical Aspects

1st Wand: Red Oak wood with Dragon Heartstring core, 12″, pliable. "The true match for a red oak wand is possessed of unusually fast reactions, making it a perfect dueling wand. Its ideal master is light of touch, quick-witted and adaptable, often the creator of distinctive spells, and a good person to have beside in a fight." Indigo had good times with her red oak wand but as the years went by, her emotions start affecting the wand's efficiency. The wand would bleed a glowing red light in moments of extreme physical or emotional pain and become extremely unstable.

2nd Wand: Beechwood with Thestral hair core, 13", rigid flexibility. "The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond their years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. When properly matched, the beech wand is capable of a subtlety and artistry rarely seen in any other wood, hence its lustrous reputation." Indigo has a hard time adapting to her new wand, it's stubborn to her spells and acts upon its own will especially considering its unusual and unstable core, Thestral hair, which is of unknown habilities, except for its use in the mythical, Elder wand. Her wand is one of a kind which is why she has to adapt her abilities to match the wand's requirements. Despite all, it's a remarkable instrument for undoing curses/spells and detecting danger.

Animagus: Somali cat. She's already certain she wants to be a cat animagus - harmless, of easy blend, and enables an approach to humans -, but decides for the Somali breed, during the process, for its sumptuous golden fur and agility.

Patronus: Kangaroo, for its fighting spirit and family values, not to mention its strength. (In-game it's the Abraxan, but only because I thought it would be cool.)

Patronus memory: (During the first times) Her first Quidditch match, not just because they won but because everyone she loves from Hogwarts was there, and she got to cheer their victory together. (Later years) Her family gathering for hot cocoa during a rainy night with Jacob with them.

Abilities: Legilimency, and great emotional influence over magic (Don't get her frightened or angry or she will blow you up).

Boggart:  Her boggart changes constantly - she can't decide if it's either because she overcame the old fears, or if the new ones toppled those, creating a pile of fears. And since the new DADA teacher is always teaching Riddikulus again and again, the famous curse-breaker is always the most awaited in the line.

Jacob, eyes dark and musty, clothes covered in blood, someone's blood. He walks to her and slowly raises his sleeve, the Death mark is craved deep in his flesh and it glows. Behind him, it rises the Dark Lord.

Riddikulus: He turns into a younger version of himself from a photograph she recalls laughing about with her mom (he's running wearing a loaded diaper, crazy hair, rosy cheeks).

For a while is someone in a cloak threatening to cast the killing curse over her friends, whispering each of their names like a snake but she's frozen unable to stop them.

Riddikulus: The cloak falls to reveal a bunch of gnomes piled up wearing wigs and makeup.

For another, very realistic corpses of all of her friends spread at her feet, a dark wizard across from her, it's over and there isn't anything she can do to save them anymore - it was a grim day in DADA, but they all wanted to see it didn't they?

Riddikulus: This is the one time she fails to defeat a boggart, letting the horrible scene consume her, she falls to her knees defeated, and even after Rakepick's shouting, when she tries to cast the spell, it fails again and again.

This last boggart came to show everyone around her how truly terrified she was, not for her own life, but for that of those around her. How despite the confidence she was constantly displaying, in reality, she was afraid she couldn't save them from whatever was trying to get her.

Amortentia: Her Amortentia smells like Jacob's cologne — which he used to borrow from their father which is why she recalls so easily —, fresh Catnip ever since she became an animagus, bakings just out of the oven — extra intensity if there's chocolate involved, and freshly washed sweaters (from hugging Barney and the Weasleys).

Mirror of Erised: She's under the shadow of a tree, Jacob on one side along with Phoenix and Aspen, Barnaby's head resting on her lap, Rowan by her side, and Orion for some reason. They're laughing and reading books, it's an eternal spring afternoon.

Miscellaneous

Pets: A Sphynx cat, Mocca, a brown and white rat, Franccesca, and (later in her Hogwarts years) a Great Horned owlet, Plum.

Things she always carries with her: Her wand (duh), a handmade Gryffindor bracelet that used to belong to Jacob, the Handbook of Magical Theory, a handful of peppermints, a pouch with some money, a flask of Wideye potion, some Murtlap Essence, and a family photo during Christmas of 1980.

Lucky Amulets: She has a dream catcher made by Phoenix from feathers he shed during transformations and a "broken" knight from Murphy's chessboard who decided to leave the game for good and now sleeps on Indigo's nightstand with its horse, she likes stroking the horse the night before every Quidditch match

Best Friends

Her brother, Phoenix, takes the crown in matter of importance because, well, they're siblings who grew up practically like twins, but their relationship deserves their own detailing.

Rowan has got to be the first. Not only they share the same adventurous nerdy spirit, but Rowan also is the one to stick around even when everything is dark and uncertain and Indigo's popularity plummets. Indigo is always excited to hear whatever Rowan has to say - most times about books or Bill Weasley - and she's rarely fazed by the weird things Rowan does.

Murphy McNully is a close second, having officially met in the middle of her second year, they're both still fresh in a matter of friendships which allows them to open up, both in desperate need of company and support. He's often a companion in the girl's library and common room study sessions and sits with them during meals.

Charlie Weasley has her heart and soul from the moment they first speak during year one, but it actually takes a while until they form any real bond, which begins after he finds out she has been seeking his brother's help to search for the cursed vaults.

Ben is a friend she cherishes deeply but often finds it hard to break through his protective shell which makes him feel distant even when he opens up to her. Unlike her friends, she grows more liking towards Ben after he has his change in personality, as he feels more open about himself.

Chiara is a friend she deeply appreciates for her courage in reaching out for her help in times of need and trusting her with her secret. In Marauder fashion, she likes keeping an eye on her on the nights of full moon - which is good to train her cat tree climbing. They often have afternoon tea together and she teaches Indigo useful healing spells.

Andre and Indigo didn't have a great start, as she thought of him as arrogant and inconsiderate, and he thought she was careless and selfish. But when she helps him with a transfiguration mishap during their 3rd year when he was trying to be creative - and the reason he now has a two-headed cat - they start opening up to each other and begin a friendship. He's a good friend to confide in about the mundane aspects of her life and Quidditch intrigues.

Orion means to her more than she can put into words. Not only he is her team captain, but also a dear friend whom she turns to in times of emotional instability cause she knows he'll be the one to successfully help her clear her mind. They enjoy each other's company even if they don't have anything interesting to say. They sit together during every Divination class for as long as the subject goes.

She has no "rivals" as she finds that sort of labeling quite petty, but would definitely punch Emily Tyler on the stomach and perhaps Face Paint kid for all his eavesdropping.

She has an easier time bonding with her fellow Gryffindors since they spend most of their time together in classes, lunch, and hanging around in the common room.

Dormmates: She and Rowan got placed in a room for three people, as the ones for five were already full, along with a girl called Tanya. But at the beginning of their 4th year, they find out she has bailed out to another dorm room claiming they 1. Snort and speak in their sleep on a regular basis, 2. Will eventually endanger her with their cursed vault shenanigans, 3. Will get her killed - which, spoilers, actually happens, oops. So they basically have the dorm for themselves.

Academics

Favorite Classes:

Potions

Flying

DADA

Magical Theory

Least Favorite:

Transfiguration

History of Magic

Arithmancy

Favorite Professor: Kettleburn. Despite CoMC not being on her top favorite subjects, she enjoys her time in his classes and reminds her of her grandfather on her father's side who's a highlander wizard.

Least Favorite: Binns. Just retire you old man!

Quidditch Position: Chaser. Despite enjoying her time as Gryffindor's beater, she notices the position takes a toll on her physical wellbeing, having to carry a heavy bat and being injured by bludgers more times than she can keep track of. So she returns to her chaser position after a year.

Favorite Team: Montrose Magpies. She never had an interest in Quidditch before she began playing but decided to pick a team to support. Of course, it had to be a Scottish team and settles for MM because of professor McGonagall who's also a supporter.

She's not indigo's face claim, but it's hard to find good red-haired characters out there.

I guess I'll leave her background and history for another post since it interweaves very tightly with her sibling. And since I'm still exploring her story.

Well this is just an intro to my beloved MC

[straightouttaneptune]

Partner

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Warning: FLOOF, everyone except Tasha and Y/N is stupid, swearing, guns, fighting, that’s it bb!

Summary: Natasha is assigned a mission with an Agent she doesn’t know. So, she ends up dragging a civilian who she assumes is her partner into a highly-violent mission.

A/N: AHHHHH EVERYONE ITS MY FIRST FIC IN MONTHS IM BACK THANK YOU ALL FOR THE LOVE AND THE PATIENCE!!

—————————————————————

Y/N Y/L/N. You were just another citizen of the planet earth, not an inhuman, not an assassin, not a super, not a mutant and certainly not an Avenger. You grew up in an everyday household, went to school, had decent grades, led a good career, and overall life. 

So... how did you get here right now? To know this, we have to rewind time, to around a month ago.

-11:00 am, SHIELD office 09

"Agent Romanoff, sorry to do this to you." Nick Fury looked over at Natasha apologetically, while she herself remained stoic. "But you know that the rest of your teammates can be... unpredictable." To this, she let out a small chuckle.

"It's not a big deal, I know they can be dramatic." She slid the file on the table, opening it to examine the details of the mission. "Wait, this is a doubles mission?" The surprise was evident in her voice, as she assumed that this would be a one-woman job.

"She's a beginner agent. Don't worry, she's just there for support." Fury stated casually as if he didn't leave out one of the most relevant information. 

"Right, okay, can I meet her?"

"No. She's out at the moment."

"How do you expect me to work with someone I've never met?" Natasha inquired, confused beyond words.

"There's a description! And everything!" Fury defended himself, pointing at the file she held in her hands. At that moment, Natasha could see why he was the leader of the Avengers. Sighing in defeat, she retreated back to the training area.

Y/H/C hair, Y/E/C eyes, around her age, pretty, it probably wouldn't be hard to find this partner. And just like that, her mind wandered away from the mission, to her training regime for the day.

-5:00 pm, Y/N's apartment

"C'mon, Y/N! It'll be so fun, I'm telling you!" Your old uni friend pleaded over the phone, while you balanced the pros and cons of going out tonight.

"Mm, I don't know... I mean, I was going to have a Star Wars marathon." You pouted, glancing at your TV wantingly. Oh, what you'd give to cuddle up with a tub of ice cream tonight.

"Y/N, come on. You can't just couch potato every day." You ran out of excuses to give, reluctantly agreeing to her offer.

"God, I haven't been to a club in forever." You rummaged through your closet, only finding office clothes and comfy hoodies. In the very back, though, you knew that there was a little skimpy dress you used to wear back when you were in university. "... Fuck it. It's just one night."

You closed the door to your apartment with your heart hammering in your chest. You hadn't dressed like this in what felt like forever, you almost forgot how good you looked. Whatever happens, you had your trusty taser gun hidden in your thigh-high boots.

Feeling like an utter and complete boss b*tch, you entered the booming club with your friends in tow. "Y/N! I knew you still had it in ya." You rolled your eyes at one of your friends' comments, but your heart secretly swelled at her words. 

The start of the night was amusing, but as time flew by, your buddies were swooped away by unknown guys and girls, leaving you to drink all alone by the bar. Of course, it wasn't like you didn’t have dance requests and numbers asked, but none of them really interested you.

Natasha had arrived at the club a little later than you did, clad in a spy-dress and spy-shoes with various weapons hidden underneath, inside, wherever there was space. The infamous Strucker was reported to be here in this club tonight, but first, she needed to find her associate.

It wasn't hard to find you, as she assumed that an Agent would be somewhere that was easy to see, unlike the dance floor. So the bar. And luckily, by the bar, there was only one woman who fit the description given to her. You. 

To her surprise, you were way more distracting than she had expected. Your short dress hugged your curves just right, your effortless movements were eye-catching and elegant. And your smile, god. The way you smiled at the bartender made her wish she was him. 

But at that moment, she was an Agent of SHIELD, and she had a job to do.

You were just about to order another glass of your drink when a hand was laid on your shoulder. You looked back to see if it was another flirter, but was taken aback by the gorgeous woman standing there. She had her calloused hand on your shoulder, yet her eyes were not on you, scanning the crowd. 

"Uhm, can I help-" 

"How did you get here?" Natasha recited her code-word, to double-check if it really was her assigned partner.

"With my friends...?" You wondered if you were drunker than you thought, and hallucinating this beautiful woman in front of you, asking weird questions.

But the problem was, "With my friends" was the actual code-word. 

"Good. Agent Natasha Romanoff. I assume you already know about the mission. I've got intel that Strucker's up in the VIP lounge." She gently tugged at your arm and pulled you off of your stool, handing you an earpiece. 

"Oh, um..." You tried to ask this 'Agent Natasha Romanoff' what was happening, but she continued to talk about things you couldn't even start to comprehend.

"Come on, put it on. We might need it." She stared you down, in a quite intimidating manner, that you had no choice but to follow. You really didn't know what was happening, whether this was role-playing or something else, you had no idea. 

You really didn't have much else to do anyway, maybe it wouldn't be that bad to just go with it. You were a little tipsy, but not so much that you could be dreaming about this whole conversation. Maybe it was this woman's way of hitting on you? They say weird things happen in clubs, right? (They don't)

"We have to get through the 4 security details on the outside, plus the 10 estimated to be inside." You watched with your eyes glued to her smooth movements, as she checked her various hidden weapons. You were so entranced that with a little help from alcohol, you managed to completely ignore the fact that this didn't look normal. At all.

"It's fine, I know you just started. Just be on alert, alright?" Although Natasha felt her partner's whole attitude was a little off, she shook it off, reminding herself that she had just started out. "Say, what should I call you?" She asked, starting to walk towards the stairs leading to Strucker's location.

"Oh, uhm- Y/N's fine." You stuttered, suddenly pulled away from a trance-like state you were in. "Right, and where are we go-" 

Suddenly, as the two of you got to the top of the stairs, Natasha shushed you and slammed you on the wall before you made a turn around the corner. Your cheeks burned up at her roughness, and her close proximity to you.

"Okay, I've got visual. 4 men, not an issue. Stay here." She whispered, and before you could even respond, she was out of your sight.

"What the fuck?!" After a few moments, you peeked over at where Natasha had gone, just to be met with a sight of 4 bodies on the floor. You debated whether to just run away while she was distracted, but she had already gotten to you, pulling you by your arm.

"I know this is your first field mission, Agent. But I need support." You had no reason to comply, except for the shiny black gun she held in her hands. Your breath hitched at the weapon, your mouth unable to form words. Telling yourself that this will be over soon, you could only follow. At the very least, she didn’t look like she was going to shoot you.

From there, you experienced something you never thought you would, ever, in your life. As soon as Natasha kicked open the door to the lounge, bullets were flying, kicks and punches were being thrown everywhere, knives flying across the air, and whole lotta things that had you cursing in confusion and fear every 10 seconds. 

Natasha, in the corner of her eyes, saw the panic that flashed across your eyes. She shoved you to the farthest corner of the room, shielding the knives and guns that pointed your way. She usually would’ve been annoyed at an Agent’s lack of experience, but seeing you so small almost hurt her physical heart.

You were curled up by the wall, watching this intricate dance of deadliness. But even though the chaos, the woman, who called herself Agent Natasha Romanoff was like a magnet for your eyes. Her movements, her punches, kicks, even the way she held her gun was so rhythmical and controlled, that you almost forgot you were in the middle of a gun-fight.

That's when it hit you. 

She was a real Agent who mistook you for her partner. 

So when Natasha was going one-on-one and overpowered by who seemed to be the leader of the gang, you only had 2 choices in front of you. Either you run while all the other men are knocked out and the leader is distracted, or you toughen up and help Natasha.

It was perfect. The mafia-looking guy had his back to you, completely unaware that you were even in the room. All rational thoughts went out the window as you heard Natasha choke in his grip. You almost don't remember what you did after that. All you know is that you slid your stun-gun out of your boot, and shot him right on his shoulder. 

You stood still in your spot after that, watching as she cleaned up.

"Thanks for the last-minute save." Natasha's voice sounded like you were hearing her from underwater, your senses dulled from the shock. You fell to the floor, suddenly losing control of your legs. 

"Hey, what's the matter?" She dropped the knocked out and hand-cuffed body of the man on the ground, and ran over to you.

"Agent... I'm not who you think I am." You looked up at her with glossy eyes, not even knowing why you were about to cry.

-a whole lot of explaining later-

"You're a civilian." She fell down next to you, clearly horrified by this new revelation. "I don't even know how to apologize. I'm sorry." She cradled her head in her hands, cursing herself for being so irresponsible.

"Uhm, Agent Romanoff? It's okay, I think." You wiped away your stray tears, cry-laughing at yourself and this whole ridiculous situation. Natasha looked over at you with sympathy filled in her eyes, laying a hand over yours that rested on the carpet.

"Oh god, this is crazy." Natasha couldn't do anything but laugh. The two of you kept on talking and laughing about how today turned out as you dragged the handcuffed body out of the VIP exit, and into her police-car like vehicle. 

You had to let her take you back to her office, to check you for injuries and explain the situation to her boss. You must’ve received at least 50 apologies from the both of them, but you assured them that you were okay.

And... it turns out, not a lot of people can react like you did in a first fight. On top of this, the Avengers were actually looking for a support agent, who stays back at the compound and become that “girl in the chair”. 

And guess how all of that coincidence on top of a coincidence turned out.

That simple night out led you inside a gigantic tower that everyone in New York knew about, where the notorious Avengers lived, the Stark Tower. 

“Hi, my name is Y/N Y/L/N.” 

-a month later-

You felt emotionally fulfilled, looking out at the sight of the living room. When it was just you, it was always quiet, considering you used to lived on your own. But in a short span of a month, you quickly got used to the noisy mornings, the laughters and banters filling the room.

“Hi, принцесса.” You felt a pair of arms slide under your arms, and a small kiss planted on your bare shoulder. You giggled as Natasha twirled you around, sitting you down on the counter as she kissed you.

“Mm, good morning babe.” You whispered back. And in her strong arms, you felt what the people call love, in this fiery assassin. Natasha couldn’t ask for a better partner to share her deepest secrets with, to follow to the ends of the earth, and protect with all she had.

“Tonyyy, Y/N and Tasha are making out on your coffee beansss.” Clint yelled from his place on the couch, an evil smile on his face as Tony ran into the kitchen.

“Not my Tanzania Peaberry Coffee beans!” 

All is good. (?)

(The real Agent got shit-faced and was fired lol)

[silver-wields-a-pen]

Illthdar High: An au fan fiction

Tuesday Afternoon

Nyima checked her watch as she hurried down the side-walk. She kept her head down, ignoring the occasional call out from passing creeps. A familiar voice made her glance up. Is that the janitor? She shuddered and pulled her long, dark hair over part of her face in an attempt to hide. She had roughly half an hour before she had to be at Vyxen’s, which gave her plenty of time to drop off the mail for her mom and then pop into the nearby GameStop to see if the new Final Fantasy game was in stock. Her mother didn't let her preorder it and the last time she’d checked they were all sold out. It was a soul crushing experience. She almost threw herself on the floor in a fit of misery. Only the thought of being looked at by everyone stopped her. If it's not here today, I really will scream. The lie made her giggle.

Ten minutes later and her letters were safely in the mailbox and a wall of games were in front of her. She bounced on her toes with excitement. It's here! It's here! I can play it! Yay! Tunnel vision got her across the store in record time, but not without gracelessly crashing into someone on the way. “I’m so sorry!” Panic swept her game-induced euphoria to the side. “I’m so, so sorry!” She repeated, crouching down to grab the game the other person dropped. 

“Uh, um.. no. No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

The strangled voice was too familiar for Nyima not to realize who it belonged to. She froze and went cherry red. Oh my god, no no no way, not him! Anyone but him! Let me die! This was the worst thing that could happen and it took every ounce of bravery not to just drop the game and run out of the store.

She stayed frozen in place, fingers curled around the game box. She stared so hard at the pair of sneakers at the edge of her vision she could draw them with her eyes closed. The tension was so thick she thought she'd drown in it and she wished she could.

“You can’t drown in feelings, they’re not substantial. Same for evaporating, so stop thinking it.” She could hear Rae’s voice in her head, speaking too much logic for her liking. “Can't stay on the floor either. They'll close eventually.”

You're not my friend anymore. Mustering all the courage she could scrape together, Nyima stood up. She left her gaze on the floor until she forced herself to look up. Jingyi was wearing a gaming t-shirt and a Pokemon beanie. He looks so cute. “Hi, Jingyi,” she mumbled, her voice barely audible even to her own ears. He's so cute, he's super cute! Look at that cute smile and the way his hair looks perfectly messy and his eyes are so kind and warm and I RAN RIGHT INTO HIM! I'M SUCH A LOSER! She was so mortified she could die.

So could he. Jingyi was used to people running into him, so he didn't mind until he saw who it was. He thought he’d have a stroke when she mumbled apologies, so he kept a hand solidly on his inhaler in his pocket just in case. He took a deep breath, trying to commit the flowery scent of her shampoo to memory because he’d probably never be this close to her again. Or maybe he would. This was a good chance to talk to her. Richard told him to seize opportunities when they came his way and this was as good an opportunity as he would ever get. Yes! I’m going to talk to her. Decision made, he straightened up and smiled until his cheeks ached. “You play games?” He rolled his eyes at himself. Smooth move, dork. Of course she plays games. Why would she be in here if she didn’t?

“Yeah,” Nyima replied. Her voice was soft and her eyes darted around, looking at everything but him. Her face tinted pink and if he wasn’t already stupidly head over heels for her, he would be now. “You too?”

“Yeah,” he responded. Silence overtook them again.

“Oh! Here.” She pressed his game back into his hands and made to leave.

Fearing he was losing his first real chance to talk to his dream girl, Jingyi blurted out the first thing he could think of that wasn’t about how beautiful she was. “Have you ever played?” He gestured to the Mortal Kombat game in his hands.

“No.” Nyima stopped mid-stride and turned back to face him, keeping her eye line level with his chin. Her hands fiddled with the cuffs of her cardigan. “Is it good?”

“Yeah,” he said for the second time. He chuckled, awkward, and she looked up at him. They both smiled. “You should try it sometime. My favorite character is Sub Zero, he can control ice––”

“Like Shiva!” Nyima perked up a little. She held up the game box in her hands although it didn't have a picture of the character she meant on it. “Shiva from Final Fantasy, I mean. She's really cool.” She giggled like a nerd at her pun. “I couldn't be like that; I hate being cold.” She shut up when she realized she was rambling, wary of looking like a bigger idiot than she already had.

Jingyi laughed. She's so cute. “I don’t like the cold either,” he confessed, his formerly inexistent confidence sparked to life when the corners of her lips rose. “Shiva sounds like a cool character, no pun intended. Her and Sub Zero would probably make an awesome team. M-may––” he stuttered as his courage fled the shop. No, come back! I need you! Shit. “Erm, maybe if you want, we could, like, maybe play together sometime? You could show me Final Fantasy and I’ll show you Mortal Kombat?”

Nyima squeaked. It sounded like a date. She scuffed her shoe against the floor and tugged on her cardigan.

“Ok,” Jingyi said, deflating after guessing she was about to say no.

Nyima sucked in a breath and looked up at him. She opened her mouth and whispered, “Yes, please.”

Jingyi nodded, dejected. “I figured a girl as pretty as you would––” His brain caught up to her reply and he looked at her, incredulous. “Seriously?”

Nyima was tense and nervous as a rabbit seen by a lurcher. She jerked her head in a yes, clutched her game to her chest and ran towards the tills calling in a squeaky voice, “Text me!”

~*~*~

Zercey was so done with today’s practice and it just began. First, she had to deal with yelling at the JV squad members who showed up late. Their captain was still out sick and the assistant captain wasn’t even good at pretending to be mean. I mean, really, a good captain has to be good at both cheering and leading. This isn’t a Miss Congeniality contest. That mess dealt with, she had to focus on her own squad to make sure they had their routine down for the pep rally and game that weekend. They had a big week ahead of them, and if the last few practices were any indication, they’d be preparing until the last possible second. Today they were in the gym as their coaches decided it was best to separate them from the distraction that was the football team.

Zercey got in formation for the beginning of their halftime routine. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one, two... She counted along in her head as she lost herself in the sound of the groups' shoes squeaking on the floor in time to the music playing. She concentrated on making her movements precise, locked elbows, light feet. Left hurkie, toe touch… She knew her jumps were good and could see out of the corner of her eye that the rest of the squad was hitting the tempo as well. Round off, back handspring. She used the momentum at the end of her flip to propel herself higher up and back, hands above her head and legs tucked, so that her ending position was the setup for the first stunt. As one, her bases gave a slight pulse down and then she shot up, their arms extended fully overhead as she grabbed her leg with one hand and blew a kiss to the audience with the other. That was where she belonged: high above the crowd, center stage, with all eyes on her. Her confidence sufficiently boosted, she got into the groove, moving more from muscle memory than conscious effort. As she let her mind wander, she thought about Lerki. Damn that beautiful jerk! Why did he insist on messing with her and sending stupid mixed messages? He ignored her almost all day after his teasing in English class, and she found him flirting with every person with a B cup or bigger every time she saw him.

But, when she was leaving the gym after a late practice, there he was, waiting for her in the parking lot. 

“Hey,” he said in that annoyingly sexy voice of his. She huffed and tried to walk by him, but he caught her wrist and spun her around. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Oh? I thought you might have been waiting on one of those bimbo underclassmen,” Zercey snapped, yanking her wrist out of Lerki’s grasp and walking away, nose in the air. If he thinks he can just flirt with anyone right in front of my face, and then come back as if nothing happened, he's got another thing coming.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” Lerki cooed, catching up and snaking an arm around her waist. “Come on, sweetness, come hang out with me. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll even drive you home.” He smiled suggestively and Zercey felt her resolve crumbling.

“Fine,” she agreed. And that was how she got an awesome new bracelet and lose an equally awesome bra in his car. It was a good night. She was still a little giddy when she walked into school this morning, remembering how warm his hands had been when he teasingly trailed his fingers along her thighs. That giddy feeling persisted all the way up until she saw him chatting up another freshman in the hallway. He was lucky she didn’t punch him right there and in front of everyone. 

The music ended, and the squad walked over to their coach and choreographer. When she was in school, her team won Regionals three years in a row and Nationals twice. She was even more competitive than many of the girls on the team, and Zercey could tell by the thin line of her mouth that whatever notes she had for them, they wouldn't be good.

“We showcase this routine in four days and you all still don’t have the timing right,” she began, disapproval ringing in her voice. “The first tumbling pass is beyond sloppy. Curran, I only saw four back handsprings, what happened to the fifth? And do you care to tell me why your full became a tuck?” Zercey had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at him right alongside her. Curran knew better than to switch up any of the flips this late in the game. At least he had the decency to hang his head and look sorry. She continued giving notes to the rest of the group, addressing Zercey last.

“Stay focused. Halfway through and your eyes look dead. I don’t care what else is happening around you. As a flyer, and as captain, there is no excuse for half-baked facials. Charm the crowd or else I’ll change the stunt groups.” Addressing the team at large she said, “I’ve seen enough of the dance, line up for the cheer.”

Dismissed, the squad walked back onto the floor, mentally preparing themselves for the hard work ahead of them.

Inwardly cursing Lerki for being the reason for getting reamed out, Zercey took a deep breath as she found her starting position. 

~*~*~

“Are you going to go to the dance on Saturday?” Raemina asked all of a sudden. She was sitting on Vyxen’s bed, splitting her concentration between completing flashcards they would need for their study session and watching Vyxen agonize over where to put the book she’d just finished on the shelves.

“Probably not,” Vyxen responded offhanded, grey eyes scanning her shelves for the sixth time. This book was the fourth in a set, but it was a different color than all the others. It would bother her not to keep the set together, but it would also bother her to ruin the color system she had in place. “Do you think it would look weird if I bought a cover for it so the color would match all the others?”

“I don’t think anyone but you cares what your bookshelf looks like.” Rae tried not to be amused, but she’d never seen a teenager so bothered by book colors before. “You will give yourself grey hairs if you keep that up.”

“No one would notice.” Vyxen struck a pose and dramatically flipped her platinum colored hair over her shoulder mimicking a gesture she’d seen Scyanatha do in the hallway. She placed the book down on her desk, resolving to go ahead and buy the cover before she shelved it, so that way everything would be in order. She made to return to the bed to help with flashcards, one knee pressing into her floral mint and coral bedspread, when she heard someone flying up the stairs.

A second later Nyima busted into her room, out of breath and looking panicked. “I think I have a date with Jingyi,” she wheezed as she bent over to catch her breath.

“What!?” Raemina jumped off the bed so fast she tripped. She grabbed Nyima by the wrist and dragged her over to the bed, jaw dropping lower and lower as Nyima told them the story of what happened in the video game store. “Are you serious!? This is amazing!” She hugged her until Nyima said she couldn't breathe.

“You’re really going to go to his house?” Vyxen was less ecstatic than Rae, but only because her mind was preoccupied by all the things two teens could get up to at someone’s house and it was threatening to make her faint. “Are his parents going to be there?”

“Hopefully not!” Raemina was giddy with excitement and a little jealous. Mostly she was happy. Nyima was the first of the three of them to get a date; this was a huge deal! “Maybe you guys will make-out!” She pressed on, ignoring how both Nyima and Vyxen flustered at the suggestion. “Do you think he’ll ask you to the dance? We’ll all have to go then, it will be amazing. We could go dress shopping and––”

“How's Rhys doing?” Nyima asked Vyxen, desperate to change the subject. She bounced off the bed and away from Rae’s grasp to inspect the chubby black goldfish lazily swimming around the large tank Vyxen kept beside her desk. “Is he still sick? He looks like he’s doing better. I researched what could cause it, I think it might impress the interviewer when I apply for veterinarian school for me to know about fish. Few people would care about things like that.” She trailed a fingertip across the glass and watched in amusement as Rhys followed it.

“No one cares about the fish!” Raemina noticed the attempt to change the subject and she wasn’t having it.

“I care about the fish…” Vyxen grumbled, pouting when her fish followed Nyima’s hand. Rhys never did that for her.

“Ok, whatever, we all care about the fish and he’s fine. Guys! This is serious. We have to go to the dance now, we have to.” If she could get them to agree she could ask Rhovan to be her date! This was perfect!

Nyima and Vyxen shook their heads. “I don’t really want t––”

“Vyxen, you’re going,” Raemina informed her, refusing to even let her suggest that she wasn’t. “It’ll be great, come on! We can get cute dresses, Nyima can dance with Jingyi and we’ll get to see that awesome new DJ! It’ll be so much fun! And––” Rae tried to persuade, dancing across the room to Vyxen’s computer to bring up Youtube. “Touch,’ by Little Mix poured from the speakers “––we can all dance together! We’ll show the Barbie club that they’re not the only ones with moves.”

“I don’t want to show them anything,” Nyima muttered under her breath. She tried to avoid Scyanatha and her friends and she’d like to keep doing that until she graduated and never had to see them again.

“Come on! I know you two know the moves!” Rae rocked her hips all the way down to the ground and popped her tiny butt out to the best of her capability, sending a wink over her shoulder.

Vyxen and Nyima giggled, rolling their eyes but joining in. Rae was too stubborn to let them off easy. Soon the room was full of pop music, laughter, and dance moves no one would expect from three perpetually shy and nervous girls. Butts were dropping to the floor, thighs were spreading wide and hair was being flipped every which way. They’d watched the music video enough at sleep overs to be able to follow the moves fairly well.

They were on one of the best parts of the song, all with their hands in the air and their hips thrusting forward, when a wolf whistle followed by the sound of clapping and loud laughter from the doorway caused them all to freeze in place.

Salem leant in the doorway with an evil smirk on his face, and Date and Rhovan were right beside him.

“Salem!” Cheeks burning, Vyxen stormed over to the door, screaming, “Get the fuck out!” She slammed it in his laughing face.

~*~*~

“I’m quite disappointed in you two,” Principal Chiyoko tutted from behind her desk. “Not only is smoking very damaging to your health, but we strictly prohibit such behaviour on school property.” She shook her head as she talked, desperately searching for a way to connect with the two students in front of her, who seemed to ignore her good advice at every turn.

Rhoe grumbled, arms folded tight against her chest and legs splayed in front of her. Cowan sat beside her looking bored. They were used to Ms. Chiyoko’s lectures. They'd received one at least once a week since school started. She tried everything: appealing to their good natures, suggesting they join a club so they could take up new hobbies and make friends, even going so far as to halfheartedly threaten to pull their parents in for a meeting. Unfortunately, she found it difficult making her soft and light voice sound firm. It was a challenge to get people to take her seriously.

“I’m afraid that this puts me in a rather difficult position. I can let you off with a warning this time, but if this happens again, you must serve an in-school suspension.” 

“What? That’s fucking bullshit! What kind of fucking joke is this shit?!” Rhoe let out a string of expletives.

Principal Chiyoko blinked, startled. “Now, young lady, I won’t have anyone speaking like that in my office.” She fixed the two with the sternest look she could muster. “For that outburst, young lady, I’m giving  you both a detention! You’ve dragged your friend down with you, doesn’t that make you feel bad?”

“No,” Rhoe replied bluntly.

Cowan snickered beside her.

Mrs. Chiyoko looked devastated, shrinking into her too-big yellow suit jacket and mumbling for the two of them to see the assistant principal, Ms. Queline for their detention slips.

Queline shot the two a scathing look when they exited the office. They were there every day, but no matter how many times Cowan and Rhoe got in trouble, they still caused mischief. Delinquents, the both of them, Ms. Queline thought savagely. If it were up to her, detentions would be a much more serious matter. What kids these days needed was a strong hand, none of this mollycoddling parents liked to do with them. Kids needed to learn respect even if that meant the hard way.  And they would use detention for something useful, like deep-cleaning the science labs; something where they worked with their hands and really thought about the consequences of their actions, not just another hour and a half of falling asleep and doing homework in a classroom. She sighed as she finished writing up their detention slips. “If I see you in here one more time before the end of the semester, you’ll be spending the entirety of your in-school suspension scraping gum off the desks and scrubbing this school from top to bottom, do you understand me?” She snapped, throwing the two slips of paper at them and ordering them to get out of her sight.

Detention used to be all in one room, but ever since someone found a used condom under a desk, Principal Chiyoko decided the best idea was to split it between two genders. So Rhoe stalked off to one room and Cowan walked into the other room, only to see Xyl and another underclassman whose name he didn’t know.

“What’re you in here for?” Cowan asked Xyl as he took the desk next to him. Better being stuck with someone he knew than spend the next ninety minutes in boredom. 

“Got caught passing notes.” It was true. In class earlier that day, he had tried to slip Date a piece of paper for some new Khrome ideas, but the idiot wasn’t paying attention, so they stuck him in detention when they were supposed to be having band practice.

Cowan nodded sagely. “Yeah, that’ll happen.” 

“What are you in for?” Xyl echoed, eager to keep the conversation going. It wasn’t often that he got to talk to Cowan without Rhoe there to scoff and roll her eyes at him while he did it.

“Your sister forgot to check the area before we lit up and Uwe busted us.”

Xyl nodded by way of agreement, but couldn’t think of anything else to say. He wasn’t really a people person, most of the time he just tried to stay out of the way and focus on things he enjoyed, like his band or… The band!

“Oh hey, are you going to the talent show on Friday?” he tried to phrase the question as casually as he could so that Cowan wouldn’t think he was trying too hard. 

“Uhh… I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“Oh.” They lapsed into silence once more.

“Are you?” Cowan finally said.

Xyl lost the thread. “Am I what?”

“Are you going to the talent show thing?”

“Oh, that.” He tried to act casual. “Yeah, my band will be playing there. It’ll be all right, I guess.” He linked his hands behind his head and tipped back in his seat, then overbalanced.

Cowan grabbed Xyl's chair to stop him toppling over. “Right, I forgot your sister said you had a band.”

Xyl cringed. He could only imagine what Rhoe had said about Khrome.

Cowan seemed to read his thoughts when he responded, “She seemed to think you all make more noise than you do music.”

“Well, actually we’re more punk than we are a noise band,” Xyl replied, not getting the joke. Cowan’s blank stare told Xyl he didn’t know what he was talking about. “Never mind,” he said lamely.

Mr. Bracken, who had the misfortune of supervising the boys’ detention today, finally looked up from his desk and reminded the students they should be doing homework and that there was no need to talk.

“Hey, I was planning to give Rhoe a ride home after this. If you wait with me, you can get a ride too,” Cowan whispered when Mr.Bracken’s attention became focused entirely on his book again.

“I’m actually heading to my friend’s house after this...” Xyl never wished he had a good reason to get out of band practice more. He might have done it anyway, but he’d never hear the end of it if he ditched practice with a show so close.

Cowan shrugged. “That’s cool. I can drop you off there too. Where does he live?”

“WHAT DID I JUST SAY?” Mr. Bracken’s voice rang out sharply in the quiet room and put an end to any further conversation.

“Remind me to never let you talk me into anything ever again,” Rhoe said to Cowan as the three of them emerged from their assigned classrooms. “Mr. Phanuel’s easily amused, and I had to spend the last ninety minutes listening to him and Miu go back and forth in a burping war. I have never been so close to killing someone in my life.” She stalked down the hall, radiating anger as she went and leaving the two boys to fall into step behind her. “And what the fuck are you doing here?” she growled when she noticed Xyl following.

“I offered to give him a ride,” Cowan answered, ignoring the exaggerated sigh that burst out of Rhoe's mouth. You would think Imogen, Rhoe and Xyl would be close considering they were triplets, but he’d never seen a set of siblings that disliked each other more.

“Whatever,” Rhoe snapped. “Just drop him off quick cause I don’t want to look at him.”

~*~*~

“WHOO! GO BABY!” Scyanatha's heels clacked as she jumped up and down and clapped when she saw Seth make a good move in the football game. She didn’t know or care much about sports, but she had bothered to learn enough about this game to know when her man was doing well so she could cheer him on properly. She clapped for a minute longer before dropping to sit beside Imogen on the bleachers.

The same set, interestingly enough, that Imogen made out under with Salem both yesterday and today. Luckily Scy didn’t know this, otherwise Imogen would no longer be sitting next to her if she did.

“Back to what we were talking about, you have to come shopping with us tomorrow Imo, I won’t take no for an answer. That new boutique I’ve been talking about for a month is finally open. Seth’s gonna buy the three of us any dress we want and if you’re worried about that stupid project for English, don’t be. Seth already has people lined up to write it for us.” Scy informed Imogen in a tone of voice that said Imo was going shopping tomorrow whether she liked it or not.

Imogen sighed as Scyanatha flicked open her mirror to reapply the lipstick that wore off when she ‘kissed Seth good luck’ for a full twenty minutes in the locker room before the game started. It’s not that she didn’t want to go shopping – she’d never turn down a chance to get free stuff from Seth – it’s that she planned to meet up with Salem. She’d spent the last month stealing moments with him. A full afternoon with no interruptions left her jittery and excited.

Scy snapped her mirror shut and turned to look at Imogen seriously and she knew then and there that she’d have no choice but to cancel on Salem. “Ok fine, you convinced me. I’ll ditch my study session and come shopping with you.”  

“Fabulous.” Scy turned to her left where a pretty, but entirely brainless lackey sat. “Oh,” she said, as if just remembering the girl was there, “you can come too, dear. Seth can buy you a dress as long as you let me pick it.” The girl was basically a servant, but on occasion Scy treated her and a few other lessers to keep them in line. And since she bought their clothes she could guarantee none of them looked better than her.

“Of course!” Laura was quick to agree, vibrating with happiness she’d been acknowledged. She didn’t often get invited to the shopping trips the other three girls went on and so this was a big deal. “You can totes pick my dress Scy, you have such good fashion sense. I’ve never even owned or worn a dress, so I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Scy swept her gaze down to the pale yellow dress Laura had on. “Uh-huh.” She didn’t comment further, turning away from the airhead, planning to continue ignoring her until she needed something again.

Imogen snickered, unable to feel bad for the idiot. She opened her phone, sending a brief text to Salem to let him know that she wouldn’t make it to their not-a-date tomorrow. She then spent the rest of practice splitting her attention between finalizing plans for the homecoming dance and listening to Scyanatha talk about her new shoes and how she and Seth better end up as Homecoming King and Queen or else she was going to sue to school.

Laura nodded like a dog and chirped in agreement.

Practice ended an hour later and Zercey came strolling out of the gym in six inch heels, head held high with Lerki following close behind her, trying to talk to her.

Scy and Imogen rolled their eyes at the same time.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Imogen commented as she gathered up her bag. “Lerki is only flirting with people to make her jealous and it works every time.”

“Zercey needs to learn how to control her man. Oh hey, you guys should come spend the night at my house tomorrow. We can get our dresses after school and I’ll give you two a crash course in dealing with boys. It’ll be embarrassing if those two don’t go to the dance together.” Scy knew Zercey liked Lerki, and she wanted to help her friend, but she also had an aesthetic going. Zercey was the cheer captain,  Lerki was the quarterback of the football team, they had to be together. Every movie said so, and Scy liked the look the two of them gave their group, so they better get their act together. “Oh, and you,” Scyanatha added to Imogen, making her way down the bleachers to meet Seth while Laura gathered her things for her. “You need a date for the dance. There are two hot football players that Seth says are single, pick one and I’ll make it happen.”

Imogen panicked. What sort of excuse could she come up with to get Scy off her back? She liked none of the football players that was true enough. Especially since they were all more concerned with beating the pulp out of other dudes than they were in having a conversation. But that wouldn’t be reason enough for Scyanatha. “I don’t know if that’ll work,” she said, trying to come up with a good justification for turning down her offer. “It’s just that I’m probably gonna be helping with the preparation and clean up, so a guy would just get in the way.”

Scyanatha pouted. “You’re no fun anymore.”

Seth saved Imogen by coming over and enveloping Scyanatha in a big, sweaty hug.

“Ew! Babe, don’t be gross!” she squealed, playfully slapping him on the arm. He smiled and kissed her.

Imogen was used to their excessive PDA, but was still thankful that Zercey finally caught up to their group in that moment. “Hey Zerce, how was practice?” Imogen was eager to have something to look at besides Scy and Seth sucking face. 

“Great!” she said in that voice that meant she was lying, and probably for Lerki’s benefit if Imogen had to guess.

Lerki caught up, passing them all to walk backwards in front of Zercey. “Are you still mad at me? That hurts my feelings,” he appealed, trying to make her look at him.

She refused and instead turned her attention to Imogen. “What’s up with you? Are you coming shopping tomorrow?” Zercey shook her hand out of Lerki’s grasp when he tried to touch her but otherwise did not indicate she knew he was there.

“Yep,” Imogen affirmed, not looking forward to it but knowing she had to go all the same. Shopping for formal events was a nightmare with Scy because she wanted them to look a certain way and their opinions meant nothing. It was a free dress though, so she couldn’t complain too much. “What color dress are you going for?” she asked, though they both already knew that it didn’t matter and they’d get whatever color that made Scyanatha’s dress stand out.

“I don’t care about the color.” Zercey yanked open the door to Seth’s pristine silver Mercedes and tossed her bag in. She usually caught a ride with Lerki but clearly that wasn’t happening today, which meant that Laura would be forced to ride with him instead.  “I just know my dress needs to be short and hot because I need a new boyfriend.” She slid into the car and slammed the door shut before Lerki had time to respond.

“If she puts a scratch on that door, you’re paying for it,” Seth informed Lerki, clapping him on the back before sliding into the driver’s seat with Scy, Imogen and Zercey and driving down the road.

This annoyed Lerki and he resigned himself to spending the rest of the night texting and sucking up to Zercey until she forgave him instead of doing something better like making her lose another bra. He slammed his own car door shut and drove off, moving much faster than what the speed limit advised and already thinking about what sort of present he would have to buy to make her talk to him again.

Poor Laura, meanwhile, stood forgotten in the parking lot. “It’s ok,” she chirped to no one, fishing around in her pocket for her cell phone. “I can find my own way home.”

~*~*~

Salem stumbled into his room and threw himself onto his deep red bedspread, laughing hysterically. He would never, ever, forget how red the nerdettes’ faces were when they realized their little show had an audience. He wished he’d had a camera to capture the moment. “That was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.” He finally stopped laughing and crawled to sit on the edge of his bed while Date collapsed onto one end of an old black couch and Rhovan kicked the door shut before joining him there.

“I don’t know if you’re one to talk about ridiculous things when you’re carrying around a flask of Hawaiian Punch, wearing glittery makeup and claiming to be a child of the night,” Rhovan reminded him and cast a pointed look at the various vampire posters on the dark grey walls and the vampire novels lining the bookshelf to drive home his point.

“It’s an aesthetic,” Salem defended, “and the girls love it. That’s why I get panties thrown at me when we play shows.”

“I have never seen you get anything resembling underwear get thrown at you.” Date didn’t notice a lot of things, but he was sure he would have noticed that.

“You need to pay more attention then.” Salem ended the discussion there before they could call his bluff.

“Speaking of underwear…” Rhovan would never get the image of purple, lace panties out of his head now that he’d had a glimpse of them when Raemina’s plaid skirt hiked up during her dance. “Rae had nice ones, is she single?” He’d always thought she was kind of cute but he’d never paid much attention to her. She was a smarty-pants. He wasn’t. They lived in different worlds and all that jazz. He would have never thought she was the type to pull off ‘sexy’ and she’d just proved him wrong.

“Ew, please do not.” Salem pulled a disgusted face. He hadn’t seen or wanted to see any of the nerdettes’ underwear and couldn’t imagine why anyone would. “I do not need another one of you guys drooling over those brats.”

“Another?” Rhovan questioned, though his voice sounded far-away as if his thoughts were still down the hall and behind the door with a glittery green ‘V’ on it. He wondered if Rae had a date to the dance yet and if she’d consider going with him. He also wondered if all her underwear was lace, but he had to abandon that train of thought because it was sending all of his blood south.  

“Yeah, this idiot,” Salem waved his hand towards Date with a scowl, “has been creeping on my sister for months. You know that song where he mentions a ‘moon haired muse’ GUESS WHO THAT IS?”

“I’m not creeping,” Date corrected, flicking his black hair out of his eyes. He didn’t deny the accusation that the girl in his song was Vyxen.

“Do you know how uncomfortable it is for me to jam out on my bass when you’re singing about banging my sister?” Salem shuddered.

“Do you know how uncomfortable it is for me to appear in public with you when you’re wearing fake vampire teeth?” Date challenged in his usual, bored tone of voice.

“IT’S. AN. AESTHETIC.” Salem slapped his knee to emphasise his point.

“Sure it is.”

The conversation amused Rhovan and he would have egged it on if they didn’t have bigger fish to fry. “Xyl is in detention, so we’re already losing time here, we need to focus if we’re going to get a set together for the talent show.”

Salem held his hands up and said, “I will play any song you want except ‘Ravage my Heart’ or any other song that mentions my sister. I’m not doing it. This is school and everyone will know who we’re talking about.” They probably wouldn’t know as Vyxen wasn’t popular or interesting, but Salem wasn’t going to take any chances. Imogen would be there, and he didn’t need her to think he was any weirder than she already did.

It was this scene that Xyl walked into when he finally arrived at the house. Rhovan and Salem were arguing about which songs to play and Date was in the middle, ignoring them both and scribbling furiously in his notebook. “What the heck is going on here?”

“You missed an awesome dance show.” Salem read the text from Imogen, eyes sweeping over her blunt cancelling of their plans tomorrow and recognized a chance to make himself feel better when he saw one. He said the words ‘dance party’ especially loudly so Vyxen and her friends would hear it.

“How did you get here so fast?” Rhovan asked, checking his watch to see that detention had ended barely fifteen minutes ago.

“My sister’s friend dropped me off.” Xyl dumped his bag on the floor and flopped onto Salem’s bed, trying and failing not to think about how nice Cowan had been and how much hotter he was up close.

“Oh yeah?” Salem tried to wrench his head around as casually as possible to look out the window, hoping to see a glimpse of Imogen in whatever friend’s car she’d came in.

“Yeah, he was nice. Rhoe was mad about it though, so I’m sure I’ll be hearing about that when I get home.” It wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to. “Do you think I can crash over here tonight?”

“Sure.” Salem sighed in disappointment, turning his head away from the window when he realized that Xyl hadn’t been talking about the sister he was interested in.

“All right, now that everyone knows where everyone else will sleep, can we please talk about the set list? In case you somehow didn’t remember, we have a show in three days,” Rhovan practically shouted. It was days like these when he felt like he was the only one who took their band seriously.

“Hold that thought, I’m starving. Do you guys have money for pizza?” Xyl asked, prompting a great shuffling as everyone dug into their pockets to pull out their wallets and discussed what toppings to get.

Rhovan could have screamed.

~*~*~

Back home, in the safety of her own room, Nyima let out a deep breath to steady herself. She waited all of ten seconds after Vyxen slammed the door before she ran from the house after the humiliating episode with Salem and his friends. Today is so embarrassing! I should've stayed in bed! Her phone pinged with a text and she clutched her chest. Jingyi? Oh, poop. Why did I say text me?! WHY?! She inched her phone out of her pocket and sighed with relief when she saw it was just her friends group chat.

Glitteraffia: Sorry again about my dumbass bro. U ok?

Shiva fan 212: Yeah. It's okay. If I had a brother like that, I'd apologise all the time too.

Glitteraffia: LOL

Moon Princess: But, seriously, you guys, we should definitely get pretty dresses and go 2 the dance.

Glitteraffia: Rae, ur sitting 2 feet away.

Moon Princess: You keep ignoring me.

Moon Princess: Come on, Nyima. I bet Jingyi can dance.

Shiva fan 212: I can't.

Moon Princess: LIES! I saw you!

Shiva fan 212: Vyxen, get her.

Glitteraffia: Idkulik him and he likes u and it'd be cute af and pretty dresses.

Shiva fan 212: Traitor.

Shiva fan 212: Ok, fine. When things go Carrie it's your fault.

Glitteraffia: Carrie's awesome and they deserved it.

Glitteraffia: Scy would totally deserve it.

Moon Princess: She would.

Shiva fan 212: Lol ok.

Moon Princess: YES! VICTORY! After school 2moro!

Nyima put the phone down and sighed. She didn’t know why she agreed to it. She hated the mall; there was always too many people there, and crowds made her nervous. Maybe my mom will say no. She wasn't optimistic. Her mother was a free spirit. First Jingyi and then this? If she weren’t such a dedicated student, she’d consider skipping school tomorrow to avoid reality. The only redeeming part of the day was getting her new computer game, and she’d be breaking it open right now if she didn’t still have homework to do. Looking at the beautiful cover art beneath the plastic wrap, Nyima let out a sigh and then turned to her assignments, wondering somewhere between math and English if Jingyi was already playing his new game and maybe he’d tell her about it tomorrow.

By @guardians-of-las-vyxen & @yogiwithabook

[buffster]

Consequences (BTVS 3.15)

This is part of my ongoing Buffy Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the show. You can find the full list here. Gifs are not mine.

Consequences is pretty single-minded in its focus on the fallout from Bad Girls. Buffy is feeling guilty and weighed down by the Deputy Mayor’s death (literally in her dream of drowning). Faith is keeping her from breaking the surface by not allowing them to tell. The body is found and Wesley sends them to investigate what happened. 

The way you read both sides of the Faith Goes Dark storyline depends on your personal interpretation of the characters. Personally, I think Faith has too much pride and too little trust to admit to anyone that she did something wrong. 

Faith: When you gonna learn, B? It doesn’t matter what kind of “vibe” a person gives off. Nine times out ten the face they’re showing you? It isn’t the real one.

No matter how good or trustworthy a person may seem, Faith doesn’t buy it. People are liars. Faith is kind of obsessed with getting people to admit things about themselves they’d rather not look at, but that’s another essay. In Faith’s mind her good qualities are the ability to remain “five-by-five” and detached. It’s her armor against the world, and taking responsibility would require laying it down. I also think that she senses that, though it could have been Buffy that committed the murder, it wasn’t and that makes all the difference. Killing him lit something in Faith that it wouldn’t have in Buffy; it sent her over the edge. And the other characters sense it too. 

Buffy: I am trying to protect you, Faith. If we don’t do the right thing it will only make things worse for you.

Angel: She killed a man. That changes everything for her.

Buffy detaches herself from the incident. Faith’s the one with the problem here. So taking responsibility would require more than simply saying, “There was an accident. I’m very sorry. Let’s move on.” She’d be required to confront and admit her inner darkness and instability. I don’t think Faith can stand the thought of being that vulnerable. Instead she pretends she doesn’t care and mentions that she’s prepared to get on a boat and flee.

Faith: You’re still not looking at the big picture, B. Something made us different. We're warriors. We were built to kill–

Buffy: To kill demons. But we don’t get to pass judgement on people, like we're better than everybody else–

Faith: We are better. That’s right. Better. People need us to survive. In the balance? Nobody’s gonna cry over some random bystander who got caught in the crossfire.

I think this is part justification for her crime, part obsession with slaying that started long before Sunnydale. Becoming the Slayer must have been amazing to Faith. Suddenly she’s strong, she can fight back, she’s got a purpose, and she’s practically got a divine sign that she’s special. Pretty much the dream for someone with Faith’s life. 

The police question Buffy and Faith. Buffy is nervous while Faith is all attitude and says, “I’m not the throw myself on the sword type”. Buffy finally goes to Willow, where things have been awkward. Willow is jealous of Faith, which you could interpret as a sign Buffy is her first lesbian crush or just simple worry over losing her first best friend. I read it as a little of both. Buffy confesses to her and decides to go to Giles, but Faith has beaten her to it. I think Faith tried to blame Buffy for the crime both because she didn’t want to face it and because she guessed (correctly) that Buffy would get less heat for it than she would. 

Giles: She’s unstable, Buffy. She seems utterly unable to accept responsibility. Shows no remorse.

I know Buffy and Giles have discussed Faith’s instability before. The others don’t seem entirely unsurprised either. It begs the question–why not try harder sooner? Xander thinks he has a connection with Faith and shows up against the advice of Buffy and Giles. Unfortunately he lets her know he doesn’t for a second believe it was Buffy that murdered the Deputy Mayor, which sets Faith on edge. 

This was a really dark scene. Faith immediately interprets Xander’s willingness to be on her side/help her as a bargain for a sexual relationship/bragging rights. She later tells Angel “That’s what they all say. Then it’s just let me stay for the night–I won’t try anything.” Her abusive references are so sad. I really wish we’d learned more about her past on the show. She assaults Xander.

Faith: I see. I want. I take. I forget.

Faith is turned on by sexual violence. She chokes Xander and is trying to kill him when Angel hits her over the head. I really don’t think enough attention was given to this incident for Xander or Faith. Xander can’t even speak when we see him later.

If anyone could have saved Faith here it was Angel. One of my favorite things about his character is his ability to read people. 

Angel: I bet you’re not big on trust games, are you Faith?

Angel: But you’re not a God. You’re not much more than a child. And this path will ruin you. You can't imagine the price for true evil.

Angel: You and me, Faith, we’re a lot alike.

Faith: Well, you’re kind of dead…

Angel: Like I said. A lot alike.

Faith: Sorry, buddy. I’m alive and kicking. In fact, I’ve got a bodily function that needs attending to pretty quick here.

Angel: You’re not alive. You’re just running. Afraid to feel. Afraid to be touched…

He’s reaching her, partly because he understands her. He too has a very dark and at times hopeless view of humanity. He too wonders why he should bother being good in the face of all that darkness. He too had a wild side that he used to forget the pain at home. 

Angel: Time was, I thought humans existed just to hurt each other.

But that’s when Wesley barges in and attempts to take Faith for the Council. I know he gets a lot of heat for that, but he believed he was doing the right thing. Wesley likes protocol and control. But he loses her literally and metaphorically. 

Buffy tracks Faith down as she’s preparing to get out of dodge. But Buffy isn’t the right person to confront her because she’s too easily provoked. Faith is a dark mirror for Buffy and that terrifies her. And Faith knows it.

Faith: But that’s not it. That’s not what bothers you so much. What bugs you is - you know I’m right. You know in your gut. We don’t need the law. We are the law-

If I would have remembered this line I would have been more worried about Buffy in season seven. But Faith has landed on a truth…with all the isolation and responsibility of the Slayer comes a hell of a lot of power. 

Faith: See - you need me to tow the line because you’re afraid you’ll go over it, aren’t you, B? You can’t handle watching me living my own way and having a blast - because it tempts you. You know it could be you-

Buffy punches Faith. Her fear and self-loathing of her inner darkness is already here and we see it go farther in season six. We never really got to see Buffy learn to accept her whole self and live with balance. Faith dusts Mr. Trick and saves Buffy. They go back to town together, but when they part ways Faith joins up with the Mayor. I think Faith was attracted to going darker and convincing herself her issues were the better way to be. To convince herself she was superior. She didn’t want to go to Buffy with her tail between her legs and constantly look at a bunch of people who had their shit together so much more than she did. Why not be praised for her flaws instead? There’s probably also a bit of pessimism that she could ever live up to “Little Miss Perfect” anyway. But that’s just my read.

Character Notes:

Rupert Giles: He doesn’t think the Deputy Mayor’s death is worth investigating. He tells Buffy slayers have accidentally killed people before.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: He wants to investigate the Deputy Mayor’s death–he’s more cautious than Giles. The code word to talk to Quentin Travers is “monkey”. 

Cordelia Chase: She says she likes a man with two last names (Wesley) probably because he sounds high class/rich. She seems to like her effect on him more than him as a person.

Willow Rosenberg: She cries when she finds out Xander slept with Faith. Still not entirely over him or just sad that he didn’t tell her? She thinks that maybe Faith should be behind bars.