#readbentweenthelines

[azraflowers]

Where: Dance-A-Thon Who: Ben @readbentweenthelines

Azra swayed awkwardly from side to side, as Joe had instructed, while the doors were tossed unceremoniously open and a woman came striding in, making chaos everywhere she went. She had not been in town long, and truthfully, she'd never been to an event like this before, but she had been having fun, getting to know people and dancing the night away. Now... She leaned in close to partner. "Is this normal? Are we supposed to keep dancing?" She knew this town was unusual, but this behavior was a little concerning. "Should we...do something to help?"

[kadiraksoy]

Kadir smiled wryly. Yes, he knew a lot about that. If he didn't stay busy, if he didn't keep moving, he thought he was going to finally lose the small bit of control he'd finally gained after all these years. If he ever stopped moving, he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his anger back anymore. "Maybe, maybe not." Kadir didn't want to scare Ben, but he did want to make sure he was on his guard, make sure he was prepared. He took off his boxing gloves and and set them next to his gym bag. "They took humans too. They wanted to make an example, and they didn't seem to care who they hurt to do it. You're a traitor to their cause, working with people like us." A human who worked side by side with vampires and wolves and fae and witches, a human who embraced this interspecies sanctuary that Lunar Cove was meant to be. "You've been at this longer than I have," Kadir reminded him. "I respect that." Kadir might have been alive longer--much, much longer--but this town was still relatively new to him. He had been there when it was first founded, over two hundred years ago, but he hadn't stayed long. He'd been in and out for centuries. Ben had stayed. "Fifteen years is a commitment. That means something." He sighed and ran a hand over his face, squeezing the bridge of his nose as he thought about Valentine's. It wasn't like he could really stop thinking about that day, about what had happened to them all, happened to him. "We can't just wait for them to come back."

Ben had known and loved and lived around vampires for too long now not to know what that look meant. It probably should have bothered him a lot more, but there was a level of trust. He trusted Kadir. Perhaps it was foolish, but behind the violence, Kadir was just a man. A man that was hurting, and struggling, and trying. Just like the rest of them. He didn't really believe Kadir, but he didn't push the point. "I try very hard to stay busy. Keeps me active, you know." It kept him occupied. Honestly, Ben knew that if he slowed down, he'd think too much about everything. He'd think about how difficult things were. He'd think about all the horrors that so many had been facing recently, and he'd think about how this wasn't over. "I'm holding up. As far as dangerous positions of power go, I'm likely pretty low on the in danger category." He wasn't too worried for himself. He was worried for everyone else. "We have the one being held but... This whole situation, it's like nothing I've ever seen. And, I know I'm still relatively knew to all of this, but I've been in town for fifteen years, now. I've been a part of the Coalition for just as long. This... Hunters have always been a problem, I know, but not like this. Not in Lunar Cove."

[cantfightmoonlight]

@readbentweenthelines

"Whoa, no, no, no, I've got it," She exclaimed, speeding back into his room the moment he had made the slightest move to sit up. Her voice was still hoarse from the hours she had spent screaming out for help the other day, not that she noticed. The girl who prided herself on being put together at all points in time hadn't looked in a mirror once since he had been nabbed in the fun house. Her cheeks were stained by distinct mascara streaks, her thick curls were tied back in a messy bun and she hadn't stopped to breath let alone pay attention to how she had been parading around his hospital room, pleading with the nurses, in a trapeze outfit that, without the trapeze, looked like 18th century inspired lingerie. "Water?" She guessed, carefully sitting down on the edge of his bed as she lifted the glass, holding it up for him to be able to sip from. She tried her best to keep her hands steady, despite them having not stopped shaking since they had checked in. "I spoke to your doctor and the good news is that she seems willing to let me bring you home tomorrow and I already found a physical therapist who can work with you at the house so that we can get you back on your feet and I've been chatting with a number of different companies that manufacture prosthetics and-" She bite down on her quivering bottom lip hard as she felt herself beginning to choke up on her words once more. "S-sorry," She turned the slightest bit away from him so she could dab at her damp eyes with the back of her hand as she tried to continue on. "And I'm having some banana pudding from Magnolia's Bakery in the City postmated to the house, so that we can upgrade you from this tapioca bullshit," She grumbled out, not bothering to mention that having a postmate driver drive nearly three hours to deliver a vat of pudding might cost a small fortune. "And- I- I-" An iron taste began to fill her mouth as she bite down even harder on her bottom lip. Her entire body beginning to tremble all over again as her brown eyes locked on his once more. "I- I'm s-sorry. I-" She needed to keep it together. She needed to stay strong for him and, yet, she couldn't seem to shake the crippling anxiety that seemed to have a hold over her chest over the thought she had nearly lost him.

[kenxmatsui]

for: @readbentweenthelines type: paired activity

"Which torture method do you prefer?" Ken's question rang out. Already vexed with what the day had in store was not the best mood to be in, but the energy he had maintained up till now had dipped drastically. While he couldn't deny that he did have fun, the effort he had put into participation felt wasted when it came down to the end. And given how everyone had treated Leyla, did nothing but sour his mood further. Realising that a fresh level of hell was in-store for them as everyone seemed to get paired up for more nonsense, Ken did not hide his scowl. But at least, there was one morsel of sanity left to not make him completely walk out, despite knowing this was mandatory, he would've done so were he paired with anyone he truly disliked. Ben was okay. Looking at the options they had available though, a heavy scoff fell through, "These are all hell. But here's one that seems quick. Observations." Reading details he turned to Ben, "You're Ben, you're not Ken," he said, "Now say that back with an I statement so I can be on my way. Task done."

[jonahxrivas]

for: @readbentweenthelines location: ben's campus office

As time rolled without stopping, Jonah had no choice but to follow along. Despite wanting to confine himself indoors there were moments when he felt walls were closing in on him, spiking unnecessary panic into his already rattled system. Respite, thought little, thankfully wasn't non-existent, moments where he smiled and even laughed without guilt bearing down but it didn’t last though, restarting the cycle anew. Thoughts both aided the heaviness and offered a distraction, and one such thing took up more prominence in his head than anticipated, especially since the Murder Mystery dinner, perhaps this wasn’t a good idea, perhaps it was, either way this conversation went he’d have an answer and that counted for a lot these days. 

Weaving through the campus, Jonah wasn’t, for once, a bundle of nerves. Something about the place that made comfort seep into him, a familiarity in atmosphere if not halls, brought forth an easy peace that settled in nicely as he knocked on Ben’s door. They weren’t strangers but he had checked ahead for availability out of politeness. “Hi,” the greeting followed a smile once the door opened, “Do you have a minute to talk about the environment?” Letting out a laugh with the question, Jonah relaxed a little more, “Oh, wait, waxing poetic about nature is more your style right, Professor?”

[crescentcrowd]

Location: Council Headquarters Closed For: The Council & The Hunter ( @cantfightmoonlightlight @moonglowmagic @nicocastillo @readbentweenthelines )

⁺✦.° ☾ °.✦⁺

For the past year, the citizens of Lunar Cove had been terrorized by some faceless adversary that had taunted them, taking the lives of everyone in leadership and leaving the town floundering. On Valentine's day, they made their biggest strike yet, a year after the first attack. For the first time in that year, Bea felt like they might have gotten the upperhand, despite having been kidnapped with a small portion of the population of their town, no one on their side had died. Of the hunters, only one remained, and she was being restrained in a soundproof room on the other side of the building while the Council best decided how to handle the situation. "I think we should probably make a game plan before we get in there. Maybe we make a list of all the things we want answered before we head in, so we know what information to aim for?" There was also the matter of what to do with the captive after the interrogation, but Bea didn't want to think about that just yet. "Do any of you have experience in... interrogation?" she asked uncertainly.

[lunarcovehq]

BENJAMIN ANAK BANDI (HENRY GOLDING) IS LOOKING FOR...

Connection: Coalition Advisor

Suggested Name: UTP

Age Range: 35+

Species: Human

Suggested FCs: UTP, but POC is preferred; some suggestions: Pedro Pascal, Idris Elba, Gil Birmingham, Chris Evans, Tawny Cypress, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Sofia Vergara, Rachel Weisz, Keanu Reeves, John Krasinski, Temuera Morrison

Connection Description:

After the murder of the former Coalition Leader on July 4, 2022, the Coalition held an election for leader, with Benjamin Anak Bandi winning the election and becoming the Human Coalition’s new leader. Your character would become Ben’s advisor not soon after.

The two of you have been Coalition members together for well over a decade now. Perhaps you’ve always living in Lunar Cove, or perhaps you arrived shortly before Ben (he’s been in town for over fifteen years) 

You and Ben are either peers of around the same age, or your character is a bit older, but totally down for workshopping how you believe their relationship might have developed. Ben himself is a pretty amicable guy, so, at least on his end, there wouldn’t be any bad blood.

Speaking of Ben’s amicable personality, it might be interesting if your character has a bit more steel. Ben’s no pushover, but he also tries to find solutions that lead to the least amount of bloodshed possible, and he’s heavily concerned with minimizing the loss of life. He’s not fond of dishing out strenuous punishments, and he tends to ere on the side of teaching lessons as opposed to serious reprimanding. Your character could possibly be the one that proposes the hard solutions that Ben doesn’t want to consider.

On a slightly different note, with the increase of hunters and Lunar Cove being the only supernatural safe haven left in the entire world, your character could be increasingly concerned about human/supernatural relations, particularly if they might start turning sour in the town. Also, with this increase in population, there’s also an increase in supernaturals unaffiliated with their specific species groups. How are we feeling about that? Annoyed about the extra paperwork? All of these are things to consider!

Just as Ben was elected to the position of Council Leader, your character was also elected to the role of advisor.

Please be sure to contact the player before applying:

Virginia is available for DMs on @readbentweenthelines!!

[lunarcoveinspo]

@faerietothe-otherside , @masonxmahir , @swimmingwiththefitzes , @akiss-from-a-rose, @illputabexonyou, @nicocastillo, @firefighterxefe, @readbentweenthelines, @ofbloodandsnow

[moonglowmagic]

Who: @readbentweenthelines

Where: Ben's House

“Thanks for well….” Dilan gestured to the bed that wasn’t hers that she was sitting up in after spending the night in it. “I don’t usually do this just life has been a lot recently so...” She rambled on and ran a hand through her messy slept on hair to try and calm it down. “Good stress relief.” She added. Leaning her elbows on her knees as she looked over at him. “I would offer to get you a balloon or a thank you card but seems a little formal for this whole transaction.” Dilan joked, before getting out of bed and grabbing her clothes off the floor. “So maybe just a thanks and I’ll see you around?” 

[mateoangelortegarivera]

"Yo!" Mateo's reaction was as enthusiastic as if Ben had just told him he was a sky-diving trainer or stunt performer. "That's dope as hell. You know about all the symbols then, huh? Like what all the colors mean? And what people are thinking." He pointed to his own head then nodded sagely. "Hey, you got a favorite metaphor? Do you have a staff room? Does anybody ever microwave fish in there? How hard is grading? Did anybody ever find out what the grapes were mad about?" He leaned against the counter, cupping his chin in one hand as he looked at Ben like he was the most interesting man in the world. "Hell yeah." He again offered his hand to high-five, this time for the hard work of looking at paperwork. Mateo couldn't stand paperwork or planning of any sort and luckily had a lawyer and a manager to do those things for him. "So you're kind of like a hero, man. That's really cool. A council hero."

“It’s a great place to live,” Ben agreed. “A great community.” And fascinating, so very fascinating. That was why been had stuck around, why he planned on staying for the rest of his life. He appreciated the way that the community looked out for each other, even in times of duress. Especially then. Laughing, he said, “I absolutely understand. It’s… something, being here the first time, becoming aware of everything. It was like falling in love, an irony that wasn’t lost on him, since love was what kept Ben in Lunar Cove in the first place. Love of a person, first, and then love of the community. Love of a people. It really was quite the dream. "I’m a professor at the community college, actually, which, I know, sounds very exciting. I teach literature.” And he was teasing, of course, because to most people it wasn’t exactly a “dope job.” But it was his, and he loved it. “I’m also the Coalition Leader and a member of the Council, so I probably saw your paperwork at some point or another when you first arrived in town.”

[cantfightmoonlight]

@readbentweenthelines

"So how do I do this exactly?" She asked as she sank into the seat. Tilting her head back so that she could helplessly meet his gaze. Fluttering her lashes up at him, she looked up at Ben as if to ask if he could help her. In truth, Bri had taken a pottery class or two back in her high school art classes and she had done pretty well at it. But, it had been years, so a lesson from her very handsome professor of a boyfriend wouldn't exactly hurt, would it?

[cantfightmoonlight]

Bri Rivas - Decorating Pt. 2. || Halloween '24

Given that Bri is currently crashing at @readbentweenthelines' given the whole just lost his leg situation, she also decorated his to make his home feel festive, though it is more understated in comparison to hers (she felt like she couldn't go all out at a home she doesn't technically live at lol). While she will not be handing out full 2lb candybars at Ben's, she still got a ton of giant hershey bars to hand out for any trick or treaters.

[cantfightmoonlight]

@readbentweenthelines

"Okay, so I'm going to preface that I have likely once again went a bit too overboard. But, I'm going to need you to bare with me and just go with it, okay?" She asked, extending out her hand for him to take as she held the door to the library open for him. Bri was well aware that Ben was more of a low key guy, while she clearly didn't ever learn the definition of low key, having signed up for the Hideaway's Cupid's Getaway on a whim. But, while they clearly weren't dating long enough, to do any grand romantic gesture with roses and the works, maybe there was a way to find a nice in between. "Ta dah?" She hesitantly offered up as she walked them into the empty library that in deed looked like a library. There was no sign of Valentine's decorations in sight, but as they entered the room, she did place a boom box she had been carrying on the center table. "We have the library to ourselves for an hour and, I figured the one thing you can never do in a library, right, is be too loud, so now we can either grab some books and plop down over in the bean bag chairs to read or play music and be as loud as we'd like? Oh! I also brought this too, in case," She offered up, finishing a bottle of champagne out of her bag and two glasses. "This okay or did I fail at being a girlfriend once again?" She asked, half teasing.

[moonglowmagic]

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Zoey gave a laugh at his growl, she couldn’t continue the amusement she got from him trying to be scary. “God you all really are some Cracker Jack box team aren’t you?” She remarked with an amused laugh. “Oh you see we use these magical things called walkie talkies to communicate with one another.” She informed him with a smug expression. “Although if you’re meaning how do we communicate with The Catalyst well that’s far above my pay grade. Guess you should have let one of those other hunters live and you might have an answer to your question.” She mocked. At his words she kicked her feet up on the table, she leaned back in the chair. “I might know of an attack that’s coming, but there’s no real motivation here for me to tell you now is there.” 

@readbentweenthelines

Nico felt sick with rage and disgust, hearing about the list they'd traded their lives for. He had always considered himself open-minded, willing to hear out anyone he didn't agree with and try to see their side of things. But this? Indiscriminate slaughter of people who weren't even necessarily a threat? This he didn't know how to comprehend, let alone forgive. His knuckles tightened on his crossed arms as he tried to keep his cool. He still had more questions, but he no longer cared about giving Zoey any of his compassion. His voice dropped to a hard growl. "When and how are they communicating with you and the other hunters? Using tech, or magic?" He remembered that they hadn't had any luck when Tony tried to trace the messages through, but getting a grasp on what capabilities the Catalyst had at their disposal could make it easier to prepare a defence against them. Especially if they were supernatural, too. "Do you know what else they're planning?"

@moonglowmagic

[cantfightmoonlight]

BRI RIVAS - HOWL-O-WEEN

Bri and Ben decided to go as the Princess Bride for Halloween, with her going as Buttercup and him going as Westley. Given how red isn't a color she typically wears, she decided that if they were going to commit, they needed to go all out. So, she worked with Kui and the prosthetics team she uses for Cabaret's shows to create their costumes. Hers features a shrieking eel wrapped around her, while Ben's Westley costume features an ROUS grappling onto his back (though this costumes were designed before the Carnival, so Ben's may or may not need to have the addition of some crutches...).

@readbentweenthelines

[cantfightmoonlight]

@readbentweenthelines

"Hey Benny Boo," Meena hummed lightly under her breath as she gave the door that was currently wide open to his office a knock. "Surprise," She teased as she place an edible arrangement down on his desk, the joke hopefully not lost on him as she moved to slide into the seat across from him. "And before you give me that look, don't worry. Ralph knows he actually needs to make it up to Jonah himself. This is just an apology on my part. That and a nice way of asking if I can steal you away for the evening? I figured after everything, you and I could use a break? Go do whatever friends are supposed to do whatever that is exactly. So, what do you say? You want to get a drink and be actually off the clock for a couple hours?"