#who trusted Jade with a pencil?

[wheezecheese]

Guess who’s started doing embroider again

after two years…

[rory-multifandom-mess]

I finished catching up on BFDI and I wanna give my final (not really) thoughts on it. Yes I was thinking about this the entire time I was taking a shower. And yes I did accidentally spend too much time in there because I was focusing too hard. What do you want from m

Anyway I'm putting it under a cut because I'm so so nice

TL;DR: I REALLY LIKE TPOT & BFDI people aren't looking at it DEEP ENOUGH. AAAGH

Ok so basically. I don't think BFDI was ever about the prize. Well maybe in the first season when Cary and Micheal had no idea what they were doing because they were like 12. But y'know. Anyways.

I think, over time, the series became focused on the contestants more than anything. It started to focus more on relationships, how the characters interacted with each other and their surroundings and circumstances. It became like a ... not a message. What's the word. A story, I guess. About how easily relationships can be changed, good or bad, maturing and growing, learning to respect boundaries, finding a soulmate. All of this stuff packaged in like. 5 seasons. kind of.

Like. Firey and Leafy for example. They were good friends until Firey refused her entry into Dream Island when he won. She got angry and jealous and felt betrayed, so she Fucking Stole It from him, breaking his trust. And for the longest time they stayed strained. Nobody liked Leafy, not even Firey, and that hurt Leafy a lot, I imagine because she'd been isolated for so long. But through communication and almost forced proximity, they managed to work things out. While it took them a little while, they finally reconciled. They forgave each other. They realized that their friendship was more important than some dumb prize. This is really important to me I think. It's such a strong message- that nothing- nothing- is more important than connecting with other people.

And I think what perfectly contradicts this is Pencil in TPOT and. a lot of Golf ball too. Golf Ball says it herself in the most recent episode- she'd been so focused on winning that she hadn't realized she was hurting people- Donut literally had to shout that at her for her to realize that.

Meanwhile, because of Pencil's tarnished relationship with Book and Ice Cube - and the trauma that came with being trapped in Four's head for years - she's become jaded almost. She doesn't care who she hurts or what she has to do, she can't go back there. Even though she wouldn't-- there's a new host, with a new elimination area. I know her """"Crashout"""" scene gets dogged on a lot, but it's genuinely a super powerful scene. It's a view into her mind, into what she's thinking. She's not thinking rationally. She doesn't care if the timeline is ruined, she has to win.

I think another big reason why Pencil is the way she is is. well. she was away from everyone for years. Things have changed so much. Freesmart is gone. Match isn't by her side anymore. Everyone is so different. She wants things to go back to how they were before Four and X showed up, I think that's why she's so adamant on Book joining her alliance.

Meanwhile, Book is already learning to move on. She's making new friends like with Winner and Price Tag, she made up with Ice Cube and Gaty by giving them the space they wanted. In a way, Pencil and Book are very good foils of each other. One can't move on, while the other is already on her way, working her way towards betterment.

Pin and Coiny are a good example of another thing-- codependency. Ok that's not the right word I think but it's similar. She relies on him so much. They've stuck with each other since BFDI I think, they've been through so much together- him getting eliminated in TPOT was hard for her because of this. And also the fact his elimination was during a high-stress situation. She used his ass as a shovel wdym thats not love LMFAO. Anyway.

I just. AAGAH. There's so much more I could say, so many good examples, but this'll get way too long if I keep going. Final message is this:

Don't judge things at surface level. Looking deeper into things is how you find a deeper appreciation for it, even if there's flaws. The BFDI series is very good and well written, and the attention it gets is much deserved.

Oh and btw if anyone disses you for liking TPOT or any object show in general I will personally kill them for you ok? ok. Thanks for reading guys I'm totally normal about the characters in this show

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Yuu can do it!

Part 50

First - Previous - Masterlist - Next

Kuroki had thought, originally, the reason why he hadn’t been scheduled much since Savanaclaw’s whole… thing was because people weren’t visiting the Mostro Lounge as much, and therefore there wasn’t as much need for a second ‘nonthreatening’ server. Kuroki had covered all of Smee’s shifts while his coworker was injured, he thought it was only fair that Smee would get prioritized now that he was able to work again.

But then Smee had come over during their class on Yajugen. Kuroki had paused, his pencil half off the page. Because, yeah, Smee was a TA, but Kuroki didn’t really need help right now? Did he look stressed or something? Or… more stressed than usual? He thought he was doing fine. Relatively speaking, at least.

“Hey, man, you good? I haven’t seen you at work in a while…?”

Kuroki blinked at him.

A realization hit him over the head. He took a pencil to paper, making a note to check out a book from the library later.

He smiled at Smee. “I think you’ll see me around more, don’t worry. Can’t leave my favorite senpai hanging!”

Smee had to have known it was meaningless flattery, but he still smiled and blushed bright red.

Until Professor Hook called out to him and he had to go running back over. Ah, the inconveniences the working class has to put up with…

Kuroki looked down at the new note on his study guide, drumming his pencil on his desk.

(He skipped his next class. It wasn’t like he had ever really cared for choir, anyways, and his voice was always so quiet that he doubted Professor Kaa would even notice that he was gone.)

~

Kuroki stepped into the Mostro Lounge, the familiar sound of jazz washing over him. He hummed along, absently, making his way through the kitchen, mumbling “Behind” whenever he got too close to someone working, because he was not in the business of getting stabbed or doused in hot oil.

He was in the business of getting what he was fucking owed.

He saw the exact moment Jade caught sight of him, and sent his senior a slightly nervous smile. He had, somewhat, gotten used to the primal terror that loved to take him over whenever he got too close to the Leech twins.

Unfortunately for him, he just generally had anxiety about being around people who could and would beat him up, so he was still utterly terrified because of that.

“I didn’t know you were scheduled for today,” Jade said, more for the sake of being polite than anything else.

“I’m here to meet Ashengrotto-senpai, actually!” Kuroki said, bowing slightly, trying to resist the urge to cover the back of his neck with his hands.

Jade brought a hand to his mouth, chuckling. “I see. Then, I suppose I should tell you that customers need to buy something while they wait to meet him. We do not appreciate loiterers.”

Kuroki nodded his understanding and took a seat at the bar. He was half tempted to ask for a shot of ‘liquid courage’, but alcohol tastes terrible, so he would pass on that. Instead, he got himself a plate of nachos that was way too expensive and picked at that while he waited.

He spun around in his bar stool, watching the patrons of the Lounge. Business was booming, if only because there were so many people waiting to see Azul. No one was meeting each other's eyes.

Kuroki thought back to the contract Floyd had once tried to rope him into. Something about how If you’re from another world, Koebi-chan, you’re toooootally gonna fail your tests, right? Kuroki was a little insulted by their lack of faith in him, though he supposed it wasn’t personal — Floyd was trying to pick at a perceived insecurity, which was just part of being a salesman.

Kuroki had always known better than to trust a damn salesman, though.

He wondered, absently, what these people were getting themselves into. What the catch was.

The door at the back of the Lounge swung open. Azul was smiling widely as he led a Savanaclaw student out of his meeting room.

Kuroki sighed. It was one of the people on the Savanaclaw Magift team. Antlers Man. Whatever his name was. Kuroki didn’t particularly like the guy (literally didn’t even know his name), but he felt a little bad for him. The guy was clearly lacking brain cells, Azul was kind of messed up for taking advantage of him.

Azul’s eyes locked onto Kuroki, and for a second the boy’s expression dropped in horror.

0/10 performance, senpai, take notes from, like, any of us Ramshackle people, we could do better, Kuroki chided, mentally. Though he was smart enough not to let this thought show on his face, which only proves his expertise in this particular subject.

Azul hesitated, briefly, before striding over, his weird cane thing gesturing at Kuroki. “It is rude to show up uninvited, but in the spirit of benevolence, I will hear you out!”

Kuroki smiled, leaving his half-finished nachos on the counter, hopping off of the stool and lacing his hands behind his back. “How gracious of you, senpai. Did the Headmaster give you lessons?”

Azul’s eye ticked.

Jade looked like he was having the time of his life. He handed Azul something, and then continued on with his work, mumbling something about how it was a shame Floyd was skipping today…

Which, first of all, hell yeah! No Floyd!

Second of all, Azul was now eating a shrimp cocktail. Okay. This was fine, probably.

“Many people know I’m here,” Kuroki lied, just to ensure that Azul didn’t actually try to eat him. “Just… for the record.”

Azul gave a thin-lipped smile and continued to usher Kuroki into his meeting room.

Oh, they actually had a decent chair on both sides of the desk this time! Probably for the sake of lulling people into a false sense of security before they sold their — souls, or whatever. Still, Kuroki appreciated this much more than the plastic chair he’d been given the last time he was there.

Azul took a seat opposite him, folding his hands on his desk.

“What brings you here?” Azul asked. “Are you interested in one of the Lounge’s services?”

Kuroki gave a small hum. “Actually, I noticed a small discrepancy in my pay. You see, I got the bonus for all of the hours I did during the Magift game, but… funnily enough, I never got Worker’s Comp.”

Azul grimaced, caught.

If he had just scheduled Kuroki as normal, Kuroki wouldn’t have even thought about it. Why would he? He wouldn’t naturally assume Worker’s Compensation was a thing in this world — it just wasn’t something he thought about often.

“Yes… I was attempting to determine just how much the Lounge owed you. You were treated quickly, and there was little reason to assume you would get hit with a stray Magift Disk during the game… it made the situation a little gray.”

Kuroki nodded, slowly. “Well, luckily for you, I seek an alternative means of compensation.”

Azul’s eyes narrowed. “Such as?”

“I would like to cancel any deals my friends — Enma Yuuken, Ito, and Grim — have ever made with you, and ask you to never make a deal with them in the future.”

Azul blanched in surprise. “That’s… why aren’t you including yourself in that?”

He was pretty sure that Azul was just trying to buy himself time to think, but Kuroki didn’t mind answering regardless:

“Because I’m pretty sure you’d use it as an excuse to terminate my contract with you, and I really don’t want to have to find another job.”

“… I’m not sure this is an entirely equal arrangement.”

“I could always go to the Union and ask them why you took so long to even mention possible Worker’s Comp. to me,” Kuroki said, innocently. “And I’m sure the school would be interested to know why our schedules on the day of the Magift Tournament had a sudden alteration that prevented all of our workers from being in the way of that sudden stampede, almost as if you had known that it would happen ahead of time. Or, maybe, I should mention Leona-senpai’s use of a very difficult to obtain Mana Potion?”

The last one was a shot in the dark. Kuroki really didn’t know for sure whether Azul was involved with that, it was just something that he would do. But the way that Azul was getting progressively paler with every word was confirmation of a sort.

Hell yeah. Bluffing for the win!

And then, just to watch his senpai suffer a little, Kuroki added:

“How many other people here know about Worker’s Comp.? Are you giving the bare minimum benefits? Should the Union know about anything else?”

Golden light flickered in Azul’s hands, and before Kuroki knew it a contract was being shoved into his face.

He smiled as he looked it over. Everything was in order, even if the wording was vague in places (because Azul couldn’t admit on paper that he wasn’t complying with the Union’s demands).

He signed his name on the dotted line.

And then leaned back in the plush chair.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

~

Not even three days later, Grim took a sudden interest in Kuroki’s work schedule. Asking him which days he would have off… and Kuroki would usually assume that the monster was just missing him now that Kuroki was going to work again…

However, the way Grim came home sulking the next day, mumbling about stupid fish, was a small hint towards the monster’s true intentions.

Kuroki breathed a sigh of relief. They were already poor, no need to get indebted to Azul somehow.

As for Ito and Enma… he hadn’t really expected them to go to Azul, the guy was visibly shady. Kuroki simply… hadn’t wanted to risk it. They had shown they were willing to cheat in dire circumstances, back during the Culinary Crucible, and Kuroki would have stressed about every little increase in their grades, natural or not, until exams were over.

In the end, Kuroki never noticed any strange behavior from either of them, so he thought it was safe to assume that they hadn’t gone to Azul.

(Not that they couldn’t fake that, of course, they were both decent actors when they wanted to be. But if Kuroki spent too long thinking about that, he could and would spiral over that thing he wasn’t thinking about right now, so he was ignoring the possibility.)

~

Ah, thought Kuroki. Consequences.

He had thought that Azul wouldn’t have any easy ways to get back at him. He needed Kuroki to be on the waitstaff, so he couldn’t really force Kuroki to get the short end of the stick shift-wise, not without hurting his bottom line. He couldn’t fire him without getting in trouble with the Union. He couldn’t even pull a classic Japanese Evil Boss move and exclude Kuroki to try and make him quit on his own, because Kuroki would love to have an excuse to not interact with others.

He had been invulnerable to anything and everything Azul could throw at him.

Now, his customer service smile was more of a grimace, because he had forgotten about the fucking Leeches.

“Koebi-chaaaaan,” Floyd sulked, practically laying across the bar. “Why don’t you ever go Pistol Shrimp on us?”

“Because my pistol got confiscated.”

Floyd blinked. “What.”

Kuroki blinked right back at him. “What were you saying?”

“I — you had a pistol?! And it got confiscated?!” Floyd said, suddenly perking up, as if he had never been upset at all. Kuroki… wasn’t sure this was a win.

Kuroki sighed. “Yes, I did, now can you please keep your voice down?” He set down the shot glass he had been polishing. It was, typically, best to go along with whatever Floyd wanted, lest you put him in a bad mood, so — after a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying attention to them — he, briefly, pulled a fake gun from his suit jacket. “I would prefer people don’t know that this one is…”

He trailed off, mostly because Floyd had jumped to his feet, smiling widely.

Ah, it seemed he was going to be having a bad time regardless of Floyd’s mood. Damn.

“Fight me!”

“U-uh?” Kuroki said. “No thanks? I’m trying not to die.”

Floyd was, apparently, not taking no for an answer, because he grabbed Kuroki by the arms and hauled him up, right off of the floor, dragging him bodily over the counter and starting to carry him away. If Kuroki wasn’t very invested in the whole ‘not getting his ass beat’ thing, he would have probably made a joke about it.

And then he realized that it wouldn’t help him either way, because Floyd was apparently very interested in fighting him.

“Don’t you know anything about consent, senpai? No means no.”

“Not funny, Yuuya-san. That is a very sensitive topic that you are joking about,” a new voice chimed in, and Kuroki was torn between screaming and crying. A strange, slightly garbled sound tore its way out of his throat in its stead. He wasn’t even all that embarrassed, because why did Jade have to be here, too?!

Kuroki just wanted to do his job!

“Should’ve fucking let Azul fire me during that deal. Could’ve played dumb ‘n everything. Would have been less of a hassle…”

(He could’ve been a really cute librarian, like Grim suggested way back at the beginning of the year! Or! He could work in the infirmary! Crowley hates work, Kuroki can take over for him! He would rock a stethoscope! Or whatever the magical equivalent of one was!)

He’d spoken in a mumble but, it turns out, the Leech twins’ hard of hearing-ness was only applicable when Kuroki wasn’t being actively carried by them.

Jade smiled. “Oh? And what, exactly, did your deal with Azul entail?”

He blinked, stunned into silence.

“Don’t worry, Jade. You’ve already used your UM, but I can get the information out of him the old fashioned way!”

Kuroki spluttered, and only half because Floyd had just tossed him to the ground and it did not feel good. “That’s what this is about?! You could have asked, you know!”

Floyd frowned. “But that’s no fun.”

“Hurting me isn’t ’fun’, either!” Kuroki snapped back.

“Wrong,” Floyd said.

How was he supposed to respond to that?!

“Now, now, Yuuya-san, you said you would give us answers, don’t attempt to change the subject,” Jade said, sharp teeth on display.

Kuroki held his hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t trying to distract you guys!” He would have been more subtle about it if he had been. “I just —…”

Wait.

Azul hadn’t told them what happened? Is that why they’d been paying more attention to Kuroki as of late? Why didn’t Azul say anything? Weren’t they all supposed to be pretty close?

Unless.

Ha.

Hahahahahaha.

No way! Was Azul actually embarrassed?

Kuroki snickered into his hand. “Oh, I’d be happy to tell you about it. Hell, I’d do it through song, if you want.”

“Oh, sweet! Do you need a beat?” Floyd asked.

Kuroki hesitated. “That… was a joke.”

Jade gave what must have been his best approximation of a pout. “Aren’t you in choir? I’m curious as to your singing prowess.”

“How do you know about —?” Kuroki remembered the background check they’d done on him at the beginning of the year. He sighed. “Nevermind. So, what happened was…”

So, he regaled the two Leech twins with a colorful account of his meeting with Azul. He hadn’t told Enma and Ito (he didn’t want them to know — he didn’t know how they’d react — and, if he was lucky, they would never find out), so he might have been a little… pent up? It was strange. He’d never been a particularly social person back in his own world. His throat had ached a little, towards the end of that first day, after he’d shouted at everyone to get them to stop arguing… if he hadn’t gotten that healing potion from Crowley, he might’ve actually lost his voice at some point. He had never had people to talk to like this, he hadn’t known he could be so… reliant on others. To the point where the words were spilling out of him so freely.

Or maybe it was because he was scared the Leech twins might kill him if he didn’t tell them everything.

Or, worse: they might keep bothering him.

At least they would leave him alone once they got their answers.

~

They did not, in fact, leave him alone after they got their answers. In fact, it felt like they were actively trying to be even more annoying now.

”Wooooah,” said Floyd, his head on Kuroki’s shoulder. Kuroki had been placed in the kitchen today, the Sevens only know why. Maybe Azul was getting back at him for telling the twins what happened, maybe Jade had meddled with the schedules. “It’s real shrimp fried rice!”

”This is beef fried rice, actually, senpai,” he said, in the tone you speak to a small child who had said something extremely stupid and were now explaining a basic concept to. “That’s what the customer ordered.”

”You sure do like playing dumb, huh?” Floyd said.

Kuroki’s hand stilled on the cutting board. He had never really… thought of Floyd as observant. If anything, he’d thought the opposite. The guy clearly held no regards for social graces. Even the simple ones, like give the people you don’t know fucking personal space. He had, kind of, just assumed that the guy didn’t know, and it wasn’t as if Kuroki was going to stick his neck out and try to teach him.

But, no, Floyd might actually have a brain rattling around in there. This was, in his opinion, far worse. Kuroki’s hand twitched with the sudden urge to use the paring knife he was using to cut vegetables for something far less kitchen-safe. It would even hurt extra bad, because he was cutting chilies right now.

This mental image calmed him, somewhat. Which was, probably, not a good sign for his current mental state. But whatever. He smiled, and it wasn’t even all that forced.

”No, I think I’m just actually stupid.”

”I hear your grades are pretty good, though. Especially considering your situation.”

”Poor people can get good grades, too, senpai,” Kuroki said. “Lack of money does not necessarily indicate a lack of talent. Usually it’s actually quite the opposite!”

Floyd laughed. He tugged on the tiny puff of hair in Kuroki’s ponytail, as if trying to punish him for playing dumb again. “I was talking about you being from another dimension, actually!”

Kuroki was going to kill this guy. Without lifting his head, he glanced from side to side. If anyone had heard, they were minding their own business. So… no one had heard.

Probably.

He pressed his palms into his eyes, groaning in a strange mix of relief and frustration.

And then he screamed. He’d been working with chilies. Right. Right.

Fucking ow.

At least his screams alerted Azul to the fact that something was off, because he poked his head into the kitchen. “Why are you here? You were scheduled to man the bar today.”

”I was — schedule changed,” Kuroki said, scrubbing his eye furiously with water. It was not helping.

Azul scowled. “I see. Well, get behind the bar.”

”Y-yeah, okay,” Kuroki mumbled. He considered staying for a little longer to soothe his eyes, but whatever. He could not handle any more time with Floyd today. He could deal with blurry vision for a while, if that was the alternative.

Who knows. Maybe he’d get more tips if it looked like he’d just been bawling his eyes out, out of pity.

He pulled his hair out of his ponytail and wrapped the… hair… band… thing around his wrist. It was borrowed from another Mostro Lounge worker, but Ito had a tendency to complain about how hard ‘ligas’ were to keep up with, so… theirs now. Thank you, random coworker, for your generous charity donation.

He made his way over to the bar, still blinking back tears.

”Here.” A towel touched his hand. It was wet, and smelled distinctly of milk. “Press this to your eye. It should help soothe the pain.”

”Thank —,” Kuroki started to say, only to pause. Because he knew that voice. If he gave a strangled scream, it was just because his eyes really hurt. “Thank you, Jade.”

”Of course! I wouldn’t want my coworker to be in pain. I’m not often put on bar duty, and I’ll need your help ensuring I don’t make any mistakes. Let’s do our best, today, yes?”

Is there no justice in this world?!

~

The doorbell rang.

The Ramshackle kids were stunned. They hadn’t known they had a doorbell. Ace and Deuce usually vented their frustrations on their front door — if Ace didn’t just waltz in like he owned the place.

Grim floated over to open the door. “Nice to see you guys have finally discovered electricity — oh! It’s Jack!”

“At least say Jack-kun,” Enma scolded him lightly.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Call me whatever.”

“Alright, Jack-chan,” Kuroki said.

Jack sighed and, surprisingly, didn’t rise to the bait. “That’s on me.”

“Nah, it’s on Kuroki,” Enma said, cuffing him over the head. He sent Jack a grin. “Hey, you’re early.”

“I’m… on time?” Jack said, checking his phone for the time. “Honestly, I think I’m a little late. You guys said 18:00, right?”

“Yeah, but Ace and Deuce are usually thirty minutes late.”

“I just — respect your time!”

“Eh, we don’t mind. They’re off, like, making out, probably, and I’d prefer they get that out of their system before they come here.”

“What’s ’making out’?” Grim asked.

“Kuroki, why are you all pouty?” Enma said, a little louder than was strictly necessary.

Kuroki pouted harder now that he had been acknowledged. “Why did Grim get off with a warning but I gotta deal with a bruise?”

“First of all, if you get a bruise from that you’ve got bigger problems. Second of all, Grim is way too small for me to feel comfortable hitting him. And don’t act like you wouldn’t be pissy if I hit him.”

Kuroki pouted even harder.

Enma rolled his eyes.

Ito poked their head out of the kitchen. “Hey! Jack, do you want something to eat?”

Kuroki’s eyes lit up. “Ito, Enma hit me!”

“Did you deserve it?”

Kuroki spluttered, his fake pout immediately dropping in sheer shock and horror. “What the fuck?!”

“You guys really are… spirited…” Jack said, glancing behind himself, as if he was considering turning tail and running.

Unfortunately for him, Ace and Deuce were actually somewhat on time today, somehow, and they all-but pushed Jack through the door.

“Ito, what’re you making?” Ace called.

They shrugged. “I was thinking about whipping up a few sandwiches. I don’t know what Jack can stomach.”

Deuce shook his head. “Nonono, it’s his first time here, you have to go big or go home!”

“We can’t go home, we’re already in our home,” Enma pointed out.

“Exactly! So you gotta go big!”

Ito crossed their arms over their chest. “Fine, fine. I’m guessing you guys want tacos?”

“Yes!” Ace said, pointing. “Make the red thing!”

“… the red — pico? Okay, sure, fine. I’ll make some.”

Kuroki opened his mouth.

“Jalapeños on the side, yes yes.”

He smiled.

“Jack, do you have any preferred type of meat? Or is ground beef fine? Because if not I’m going to have to send you on a quick grocery run, we’re out of everything else.”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Um. It’s fine. But I thought we were all going to be… studying?”

“Can’t study on an empty stomach!” Grim said.

As if he could study on a full stomach.

~

The plan had been simple:

Step 1 was Food. It was a good step 1, Kuroki thought, probably the most important one. Not starving is fun. So is eating tacos. Hell yeah.

Step 2 was to study one core subject each.

Step 3 was to make everyone give a presentation on their chosen subject.

They would still have to study for their elective courses on their own, but… Kuroki was trying not to think about that, frankly.

The first years study session went as so:

Ito, the only person that could actually pay attention to Trein’s class and therefore knew what the man prioritized, gave an abridged history lesson. No conspiracy board this time, thank fuck, just a couple of study guides they’d written up when work was slow.

Ace was the best at math, so he had been put in charge of Personal Magical Ability. This wasn’t a core class, but it was close enough. Over half of the people present took it and, from what little Kuroki had overheard about it, the class was difficult. Kuroki didn’t want to know about how gravity and wind speed affected how your magic interacts with the world. Nor did he need to know, he was magicless. Convenient!

Enma had chosen his Magical Analysis class with Professor Yaxha. No one else was in it — a class on Magical Theory isn’t exactly the kind of thing the average teenager finds fun. But it actually did help the mages get a better understanding of their magic… probably. Jack, Ace, Deuce, and Grim all looked enlightened by the end of Enma’s lecture on visualization and observing those around you, at least. Kuroki, frankly, hadn’t understood a word of it. Nor did he need to! Once again, he couldn’t use magic, so who cares!

(Kuroki and Ito didn’t particularly mind being left out for Ace and Enma’s lectures, since it gave them time to whip up a quick marshmallow recipe, which was a nice break from studying.)

Deuce chose theater, because everyone present was in it, save for Kuroki and Enma. Because everyone else was lucky enough to not be from another world, and therefore didn’t have to spread out all of their classes for the sake of efficiently getting a grasp upon the new reality they had been thrust into without warning. They were free to take the only art elective that didn’t fully require you to put yourself out there.

And Ito had won nosegoes.

Kuroki wasn’t sure which side he hated more.

At least Ace was also suffering. Every time Deuce made a point, everyone would make him recite it, word for word. This was what he deserved for not doing a single page of the homework on his own this semester.

(Enma and Kuroki spent most of that time arguing over whether they should roast the marshmallows or not. Kuroki still held that the only reason Enma wanted to roast them was that he knew he would make their food spontaneously combust regardless of whether he was intending it.)

Jack had chosen Phys Ed. This was a little unfair, seeing as there wasn’t really much to teach in Gym class, but Jack was a sudden addition to their study group, and they’d had to scramble for something to make him do.

And, admittedly, for how little he had to work with, he did a pretty good job presenting. Next semester he would be a valuable addition to their friend group.

Kuroki, of course, ended up with Alchemy, because none of the others should be trusted to teach it, considering they didn’t understand it themselves. Kuroki himself was decent enough at it. It was mostly just following directions. Unfortunately, his friends were basically incapable of following instructions, so his job was essentially to drill all of the rote memorization into their heads.

If they got a good enough grade on the written portion of the exams, the practical portion might not be an issue!

Hopefully.

Thanks to the hours upon hours of his life Kuroki spent poring over their Alchemy textbook, though, he finally figured out why Ito’s cauldron kept exploding:

“Mana! It is a Thing!” he said.

“Ohhhhhhhh…” said Ace. “I’m stupid.”

“Nah, Ito is,” Deuce said.

“You’re not getting dessert,” Ito mumbled.

Ace and Deuce never learn, do they?

Deuce hit the floor. “Aghhhh my blood pressure… it’s so low… I need… sugar…”

Ito raised an eyebrow. “Or salt.”

“… noooooooo...”

Kuroki waved his hands for their attention. “Guys? Hello? I’m trying to fix our explosion problem?”

They, reluctantly, paid attention. Kuroki huffed. He was trying to make sure they didn’t have any more accidents! He had spent an entire day trapped in the same body as Ito last week! He didn’t want a repeat of that event! Please!

“Right, so, Mana, yeah?” Kuroki said. “It’s in everything. When you stir clockwise, it increases the potency of the potion — and, therefore the mana.”

Enma hummed. “I mean, yeah, they didn’t know what clockwise and counterclockwise meant until very recently, but they’re left-handed, wouldn’t they accidentally stir counterclockwise more?”

“… Ito is left-handed?” Kuroki asked, devastated. His theory!

Ito nodded. “Technically, I’m ambidextrous. Most lefties are. But, yeah, I prefer my left hand.”

“Freak,” said Ace, his nose scrunching.

“Dessert,” Ito reminded him.

“Nevermind.”

Ito nodded, once, approvingly. Then they turned back to Kuroki. “I stir with my right hand, though.”

“Oh, wow, left-handed people are just like the rest of us!” Jack joked.

Jack can make jokes? Wild.

Ito rolled their eyes. “It’s so I can prepare ingredients with my left hand at the same time.”

“Anyways, Ito, I am going to drill the difference between clockwise and counterclockwise into your head. Also, stir counterclockwise to dilute potions, don’t add water. It is not cooking. Water has a lot of mana, you’re doing the opposite of what you’re intending.”

Ito huffed. “Alchemy sucks. Is it too late to drop out of school?”

“No! You have to stay!” Grim said.

Ito looked somewhere between touched and wary, as if they were waiting for the catch.

Indeed, Grim soon realized that that sounded too nice, and promptly course corrected:

“Because you’re the best cook here! I can only eat so many omelets.”

“Hey! Why am I catching strays? Make fun of Enma for burning shrimp instead!” Kuroki pointed at him.

He wasn’t sure whether Enma was more offended by the pointing or the reminder of his lack of cooking prowess.

“Excuse me?!”

Kuroki screeched as he was pulled in a headlock, a hand messing up his hair. He called for help, but to no avail.

Even Jack stood by and did nothing. Apparently this visibly uneven fight wasn’t the kind of thing that he would get between.

Damn it.

He hates this school.

~

Grim did not have to do a presentation. Because it was Grim. He gets special privileges.

(And no one wanted to fail, which would certainly happen if they put the fate of their grades in the monster’s hands. He didn’t even have hands! He had paws! How could he properly cradle their fates, how could he keep them from harm, when he had no opposable thumbs?)

When Grim questioned why he hadn’t been forced to do a presentation, Kuroki recalled, loudly, that they had yet to eat dessert. Grim didn’t burn the dorm down, and they got sugary goodness out of it, so Kuroki was calling this a win overall.

~

“Alright, so… practical magic exams…” Enma looked over the four mages in the room. “How about you all try and use each other’s go-tos? Magic is all about visualization, right? You all know each other's magic pretty well…”

Because they’re constantly fighting each other.

Enma cleared his throat. “Alright. Grim, try Ace’s wind magic. Ace, try summoning something. Deuce…” He glanced at Jack, before shaking his head. “Try Grim’s fire magic. Jack… uh… I guess take your pick?”

Kuroki’s eyebrows knit. Why wasn’t anyone trying Jack’s magic? Does Enma not know how closed circuits work?

His thought process was cut off when a cauldron went crashing through the floor. Ace grinned widely.

“I’m so good at magic.”

“… we should have done this outside,” sighed Ito.

“You’re covering repair costs,” Kuroki told Ace, flatly.

Ace swore, loudly.

Enma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How about all of you mages get some practical magic practice in and summon enough gold to fill this hole?”

“That’s more of an Alchemy thing,” Jack admitted. “And it's super high-level, too…”

Kuroki perked up.

“Nicolas Flamel? King Midas? Watch out, I’m about to steal your shtick.”

“Going to steel their shtick?” Enma asked.

It was hard to tell who groaned the loudest. Jack looked like he was back to wanting to leave and never come back.

“And right after I do that, I’m going to murder Enma.”

“Deserved,” said Grim.

Enma rolled his eyes. “I’m not eating your bell peppers for you anymore.”

“Wait,” said Kuroki.

“Hold on,” said Grim.

“C’mon, man, I was kidding! Don’t do this to me! Do you want me to die? You’re going to kill me —!”

[krisrisk]

as someone who started an apprenticeship in a very exclusive and high end stationary shop (we had inkepns for up to 10'000.- and possibly more expensive), and has tried to keep physical notebooks because I love writing, hear this:

the perfect notebook is made by the perfect paper.

I cannot stress this enough: the artsy cover, the material of the cover, the pen - they're all important, but the singlo most important thing is the paper.

Why? Bad paper makes for a bad writing experience. When it doesn't soak up the ink of your pen at the right amount of time, your writings gets messy. When it feels bad to write on it because it's too squishy or too stiff, your muscles will get sore and your pen will get broken or bent. Also, unless you're writing like a chinese painter, your skin will touch the paper, and if it's scratchy or jelly that will trigger emotions.

Now, the paper might be the most important thing, but the second most important thing is that the pen and the paper must form a good pair. Every paper reacts differently to every ink (or graphite) and pen-style (pencil, pen, inkpen). So you can have the perfect paper, but with the wrong pen, the magic won't happen. But you most likely own several pens, so the paper is more important.

There's a lot to say about the material of the pen, especially with inkpens, because depending on the material it's a lifelong pal or a onedaystand. The tip of an inkpen, if made of gold, will for example adjust and bend to fit your handwriting (similar like the Stabilo tips wear down depending on how you use them). This also means that someone else will likely have problems at first with an inkpen that you have used for a year or so.

the rule is: the harder the material, the lesser the chances of your writing getting "more elegant" or whatever, because the tip will stay in it's shape.

the outer shell of the inkpen is also pretty important to te touchy-feelings, and there are several features that will impact your use; if the handle changes temperature (being made of stone for example, like jade or amber) that might make writing more relaxed, because it might become the same temperature as your skin. It could also be that this is not beneficial for you, because your brain gives order to hold on tighter because it can't feel the pen via temperature difference.

There's a lot to be said about the perfect pen, no matter the pen style or ink. But generally: with the right pen, you will write more and it will not feel like a task from hell.

But before you go to find the perfect pen, go to find the perfect paper. Trust me, there is so much more to it than just wether it has lines, dots, squares or is blank. The material, the weight, how it bends, the sounds it makes - all of that immediately impacts how you interact with it.

And yes, shitty paper is a key reason why those stunningly beautiful notebooks sold at bookstores are never used. It's got little to do with the human need to "spare" things. It's just that their paper is really shitty in general.

[traincarsandstars]

When Stelle next wakes and intends to leave her room she'll find a piece of paper had been slipped under her door while she slept. It's a pencil sketch like the many she's seen in Dan Heng's notebooks, but this one is a headshot of her. It's not the most realistic but even in his style the details shine, particularly the softness in the smile, the light in the eyes, and the way there seem to be stars in her hair. His signature is in the corner along with a short message: 'For my guiding star'

~Starlighttrain

Stelle had spent an extra twenty minuets in bed, with her phone scrolling through video's and replying to messages. She didn't do this often, but she had gotten behind on a few messages, mainly from Serval and Gephard.

What started as one or two texts turned into a landslide of thinly vailed worried messages inquiring if they're younger sibling was okay. At least the siblings had enough tact to be indirect about it; most of the time. However, recently the number of text has slowed down to a manageable level—thankfully. Stelle isn't sure if they've finally decided to trust Lynx and stop worrying, Bronya found out and is distracting them, or Pela threated them with murder. Regardless, it's a relief to Stelle's own sanity; otherwise she would of had to rat them out to Lynx for her own sake.

After typing a few more replies, Stelle placed her phone on her nightstand and shifted her covers so she could roll out of bed— literally. Worry not, she has three fuzzy rugs by the side of her bed to break her fall, and she's been doing this long enough so that she knows how to avoid hitting her head on the nightstand.

Stelle laid there for a minuet or two, allowing herself to sink into the plush carpets before finally rolling onto her back and standing up. She stretched a little before padding over to her closet which was right by the door (which was a weird design choice, but okay). That's when she noticed the drawing.

Stelle felt her eyes widen as she bent down to pick it up. She didn't need to read the message to know who it was from, she could recognize Dan Heng's drawing style a mile away. Stelle smiled, studying every stroke; but now she wanted to draw him something too. Still smiling, Stelle returned to her bed only for her to stand on it in order to reach a small shelf that was mounted above. It was an ordinary white shelf she picked up from Belobog, but it held things Stelle consider 'priceless'; so far it includes pictures of herself with her friends and brother, the snow globe she picked up when she went on a mission with Bronya and Seele, a flower made from scrap iron, a bottle of marbles, the jade abacus she got from Jing Yuan, drawings from Pitch and her friends, and the hair pin Dan Heng gave her.

Carefully, Stelle propped up the drawing; wedging it between pin—which was on a stand—and the wall. She took a wobbly step back to admire the picture once more before hopping off and getting dressed for the day.

@starlighttrain

[purplesurveys]

1709

What’s your current favorite song at the moment? I'm still on a Seven high. I can't believe how stably it's been performing on both Spotify and YouTube. Makes me feel very proud!

Have you ever read any self-help books? I don't buy into those. Most of them talk about situations irrelevant to me anyway, or otherwise come from an entirely different cultural perspective.

What was the last book you read? Man this new Tumblr format SUCKS. Typing out answers is a mega bitch compared to before...anyway, I last read BTS' memoir. The funny thing is I breezed through the first 400/500 pages within 24 hours of getting the book, but now I'm struggling to finish the rest of it haha. It's not at all because it's bad as it's a lovely read...maybe a part of me just never wants to finish the book yet.

Do you thank the bus driver? Not quite the bus, but when I get off a Grab I always make sure to tell the drivers 'thank you' and 'drive safe' like 7 times as I get off the car. I'm mostly a quiet passenger so I try to compensate by verbalizing how grateful I am that they got me to my destination in one piece lol.

How many tabs are open right now? Just two Tumblr tabs and one for YouTube as I have something playing in the background as I take this.

Have you ever had your heart broken? Of course.

Do you wear makeup much? I'll wear foundation pretty much every time I go out just so that I don't look so obviously dead and jaded lol, so in terms of frequency, yes I have it often. It's a different story if we're talking about types of makeup because I couldn't care less for it.

When was the last time you flirted? I never flirt; not my thing.

What should you be doing right now? NOTHING. It's 1 AM on a Saturday and I'm right to be doing nothing. I just spent the last 16 hours outside and all I wanna do is sit back and take a bunch of these in the dark. I also can't wait to get the best sleep ever. 

Do you usually get good grades at school? They weren't consistently outstanding, but I think I did good enough for my classmates to like, rely on me and ask me questions or let me lead group work and stuff like that. So many people way smarter than me though, and more often than not these are the classmates who are now either in med or law school.

My performance was also dictated by how much I care for the class, so I always got good grades in my favorites, like history.

How did you and your first best-friend meet? We were seatmates and I accidentally pushed a pencil into her palm, making it bleed and having some of the lead still stuck in her hand to this day.

Do you like short hair on girls? It's not my preference, but of course girls can rock the short hair.

How about long hair on guys? ^ Pretty much the same.

When was the last time someone told you they loved you? Last night, I think.

Are you a righty or a lefty? Right.

Do you think someone’s thinking about you? Not at this moment, I don't think.

What is your favorite month? April and June.

What is your favorite color? Purple.

Who was your last phone call from? Someone from work, but I genuinely missed the call because I keep my phone on silent.

Have you ever trusted someone you wish you wouldn’t have? Sure.

What color are your eyes? Dark brown.

If you could go back in time and change things, would you? Nah. I've made embarrassing or just overall horrible mistakes, but it seems like an easy way out to be able to change them every time.

Do you like your smile? Sure!

What made you the happiest today? Coming back home and seeing my dogs.

Who was the last boy you texted? A contact for work.

Do you get along with your parents? I do. My mom and I will still clash every now and then but we no longer go at each other's throats, which was the daily case when I was younger.

Are you scared of needles? Terrified.

Do you believe love can last forever? Yes.

Do you like the ocean? Love it.

Are you allergic to anything? If so, what? Grass, apparently. I don't always react to it, though.

Do you know anyone who is/was a drug addict? Apparently, I did. I only learned after my cousin's dad died two years ago.

What is currently the most tan spot on your body right now? I uhhh...don't know. My skin color is equally distributed haha?? 

What is your dream job? Doing in-house PR for a company I personally like/follow, like WWE or Hybe.

Would you say you are ‘popular’? Nah. Is that still given a fuck about in your mid-20s?

Do you tend to cave into peer pressure? Nope. 

Have you lost anyone close to you? Through death or otherwise, yes.

Would you say that you are an intelligent person? In a general life sense/street smarts sense, no.

Who was the last person to hurt you? Celeste took me aback last night because she was being super (and a little unnecessarily) curt about a matter she eventually turned out to be wrong about, so there's that. I wasn't hurt per se, but I just genuinely didn't understand where her irritation was coming from. Then she turned out to be wrong on top of it all, so lol. We're good though.

Are good-byes easy or hard for you? Mostly hard.

[merakiui]

mermay but plot twist, you're the mermaid and it's your first time up on dry land! all these boys are so nice to you and give you so much attention! you are a little confused though, you know you're supposed to wear clothes but your new friends seem so eager to take yours off so they can show you how humans play together, how weird.

You ask Floyd if that’s normal because he’s been on land much longer than you and so surely he’d know a little more about how humans play. But then Floyd’s mismatched eyes are darkening and his happy expression sours, and it isn’t long before he’s slinking off to go play with your new human friends himself. He’ll return with bloody knuckles and an exhilarated smile. Playing with your friends really is fun. Shrimpy better tell him all about any other friends just so he can have his chance to play. Although whenever Floyd plays with your friends, it’s a guarantee they’ll never talk to you again.

Azul just about loses it when he learns you practiced (in your words) “breathing techniques” with other students. He tells you you’re not meant to do that with just anyone! It’s important and special and shouldn’t be taken so lightly. When you ask who you’re supposed to practice with, he offers himself as a worthy candidate right away. Azul knows you’re not this gullible, but then he’s too busy enjoying a dozen kisses to worry about whether or not you’re playing him for a fool or if it’s the opposite hehe. <3

Jade takes you on his mountain hikes because he wants you to see more of what the surface has to offer. Even if it ends with you pressed against the tree, with Jade claiming this is how humans have fun on land, you’ll trust it because Jade knows best. Jade also introduces you to other humans, but he’s always sticking nearby. You’re more than welcome to socialize; just do it after he’s cum inside you so that those with a keen sense of smell will know not to get too friendly with Jade’s possession. :)

Good luck to the human students who want to be your friend. Riddle’s always hounded by the twins whenever he interacts with you. All he did was borrow you a pencil and yet the twins are hunting him down because you mistook it for a courting gesture. Or Deuce genuinely trying to get to know you on a personal level because he likes you, but Azul is always getting in the way because no one will know his angelfish better than him! >:( or Rook making you his next curiosity because he just loves how adorable you are when you’re exploring the campus. So many possibilities!

[wheezecheese]

It's all J's fault. If she had just kept an eye on Cyn instead of locking her in the basement none of this would have happened. If J never felt the need to terrorize those she viewed as below her everything would have been fine. She deserved everything that happened afterwards. J is lucky she gets to rot in the core of Copper 9! She has nobody to blame but herself. She had every chance to help her fellow drones, but she sided with Cyn (out of selfishness and fear, unlike V.) like a coward.

[symphonicsoul]

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ It's not like he would ever refuse Kain in the first place but the more he explains as they walk the more he thinks he has to take Kain along with him if only for the fact that Kumo has seemingly told Kain much much more about his life before Wonderland than he's told anyone else. But they were together weren't they? So that makes sense that Kumo would be so open with him then.

"Of course you're coming." He explains, as he rounds a corner and walks a little further down the hall until he finds himself at Knave's general office of sorts and he pokes his head in.

"Hey." The blond sounds. "Kain and I are leaving in Sylvia." There is little explanation to his words as he starts to pull away. "We won't be long. Kumo needs help. He's okay but he found his family and they aren't. Said he can't carry everyone himself, so we're going to pick them up. We'll be back in a few hours."

The engineer doesn't give much time for a reply as he's already out the door again and rerouting his course to the hanger that Sylvia is kept in. Lights coming on one after another as they enter with all of them focused on his crowning achievement.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

But there are only a few seconds of lag time to admire her before the technician is already moving again to work his way over to board his beauty and get her up and going again. More hallways built into this massive ship until the two of them come out to the main deck where Cid wastes no time to get into the pilot's seat and bring her into the air.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ The looks that are on him are not ones that look pleased with him. Valo is tired, Aamunkoitto is frowning, Revon is injured and Sielu - he doesn't know how Opettaja feels about anything with all he's learned in just the matter of these few quiet moments of having them in his life again.

Herba has done more damage in nine years than a few moments with him can undo. He doesn't know how long it's going to take his opettaja to trust him fully again, but he'll give him all the time he's able in order to do just that.

So the prince is coming to find a spot on the ground in front of Revon and close to Sielu to take a seat again. Cid and Kain are on their way and soon enough he can get them all home and they can all get proper medical attention. They can all have a proper meal and proper beds and a decent night's sleep. They have have as much water as they can drink and a warm bath and a place where they can finally set their worries down and not have to think about fighting for their lives to survive anymore.

Never in a million years did he think he would see any of their faces again beyond the drawings of pencil and ink that were produced by his own hand and he's so caught up in the moment that the next question that is dropped into the air hits him like a ton of bricks.

"What of the Windarian?" Revon sounds at him from the side with slightly narrowed eyes, which only has jade looking back at ruby pink rather confused.

"Svaardzjetrorahm." Aamunkoitto cuts in. "Where is he Pilvi? The wanted posters with your faces on them implied you were traveling together."

Ah. There it is. Nevermind. It makes sense now.

His own shoulders drop as he sighs. His head tilts to the side and suddenly he's a child again, picking at the grass of the forest floor before him.

"Not with me." He starts to explain. "He is at a place called the Comodeen. That is where Kain and Cid are from. Black Wind and I live there now. I left without him. I don't even know if he knows I left honestly. So he's probably off gnawing at a block of cheese like a feral animal." It's a sigh and a laugh before he continues.

"But yes, your assumption is correct. Black Wind and I do travel together. Those posters you found were put out by officials from a faction known as Gaudium. I need you all to stay away from anyone who hails to that name. They aren't safe. I - I lived there once but I - I ran away."

His head drops as his sentence ends and he only finds himself ripping up more grass from the ground in his awkwardness.

"Nothing good can ever come from anyone who sees valor in that name. Nothing good will ever come from Gaudium, and if you ever find yourself speaking to anyone who hails that name - you didn't see me and you sure as hell don't know me. I speak this single order as your Liege. You cannot associate yourself with those people. They'll - they'll hurt you. Never trust them. I will command nothing else of you for as long as I live."

He does not know anyone named Cid and he certainly doesn't know of the prince being close enough to someone else to call them something like rakkautensa.

Before he can question it, though, there's an acknowledgement of all of their weaknesses with names attached. Pilvi speaks like he will allow this Cid person to carry them and he cannot help the way his face twists into a frown behind his mask at that.

He doesn't like the idea of being touched by anyone he doesn't know, and he especially doesn't like the implication that whoever is being brought along will separate him from Aamunkoitto even more whether it's Pilvi who handles him or not.

There is a strict order of "don't go near Sielu". A statement of "he needs stability".

No, that's not all. He needs his friend.

And he needs to know more. It seems that Kain is the name of who the boy referred to so affectionately and that Cid is the one who altered his mask. But Sylvia is a mystery and he still has no clue where Svaardzjetrorahm fits into any of this.

Sielu decides immediately that he does not like any of them and he'd very well rather die than be separated from Aamunkoitto in a strange place with strange people, but he keeps himself quiet.

He doesn't know how he feels about those strange people knowing his name, either. It's his, isn't it? It's his to decide what to do with, right? Why do total strangers need to know his name?

There isn't a point in causing conflict over it given it's already happened, but... he hates the risk of his name being turned into another bad phrase. He hasn't decided what it means to him yet and he doesn't want unwelcome influence on that decision.

His gaze travels again to Revon. His mind wishes again he had purple Mist instead of blue.

He guesses it'll just have to be a waiting game.

Slowly, he reaches for the bag he'd dropped earlier. Shaking, pale fingers grip the package the best they can. The karkkia smells so good.

That's not why he pulls it closer, though. He pulls it closer in case he needs it as a bartering tool later, not speaking a word of his plan aloud. He pulls it closer because maybe he can offer it to Cid and Kain and Sylvia to let him stay with... well, he supposes that doesn't matter because Aamun isn't going to think twice about him right now with Valo having all but collapsed not too long ago.

He'll use the bag to keep choice over his arms, then. That's what he'll do. If he is nice and he gives them the treats, maybe they'll spare him any restraints.

For a moment, Pilvi is like a broken record. He listens as the Misterican struggles to get to the main information, and it quickly becomes apparent why.

He's with other Mistericans. Not only that, but those Mistericans are ones he knows. Ones he loves. Pilvi isn't alone anymore.

Revon, Aamunkoitto, Valo, Sielu - all of those names are Pilvi's family. He lets Cid handle the talking, instead making mental notes of stuff to grab on the way to Sylvia.

Jubilee is one of them. Being without glasses out in a place like Wonderland is a nightmare. He'd know firsthand.

A bunch of stuff off the medical shelf just for Kumo is next, all placed carefully into two bags while he waits for Cid to end the call.

"Family's right, Cid," he says softly, placing the bags next to the other technician so he can wipe his own tears away. "Family's right. They raised him. Revon is his guard. Valo taught him language and history, Aamunkoitto math and government, Sielu... music, I think, but Kumo's... He gets a look about him. I uh... might be able to help if they're worried. I know some Misterican and I have a way to prove I'm close to Kumo. Please let me come with you."

It's not often good things happen to Pilvi. Kain can't help but to thank every higher power that he's got this much finally.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Perhaps a hc of Jamil crushing on someone [reader] from Octavinelle who (unfortunately for him) shares a close relationship with the Octavinelle trio? :DDD

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Jamil knows from firsthand experience that students of Octavinelle are not to be trusted--so he often curses himself for being enamored with you. It’s an odd sort of crush, the kind that he’s constantly questioning and fighting against.

Part of him suspects that the feelings are meticulously engineered by Azul and the twins in an effort to lure him into making a sketchy deal for “true love”, and the other part of him suspects that the ploy is entirely yours. The poor guy’s always grappling with his own suspicions and holding himself at a distance because of that.

Jamil doesn’t seek you out unless necessary, and makes it a point to conceal as much of his emotions as possible when he does. He typically avoids Octavinelle like the plague and is very curt when he does need to interact with them. He doesn’t want to disrupt that pattern--lest you offhandedly mention it to Azul or Jade, thus giving them a weakness to exploit.

Though his words remain to-the-point and professional, Jamil finds his gaze sometimes lingering on you. He pries himself away right as your sense the heat of his eyes and your own eyes flicker up to meet his. Jamil’s had several close calls, but he doesn’t think he’s been caught staring red-handed... yet.

He doesn’t let it show, but a vein of excitement runs through him when you show up at basketball or Magift games. Jamil tells himself that you’re most likely there to support Floyd or your own dorm, but just knowing that you’re in the crowd, watching, drives him to play his very best.

If he sees you hanging around the seafood trio, he immediately turns and walks the other way. There’s no way he’s risking exposing himself with them around. For Jamil, it’s enough to watch you being happy from a safe distance (even if he thinks you’re choosing to spend your time with all the wrong people).

He carefully calculates his moves, treating the crush as though it’s a game of 5D chess to be won. If he wants to say something nice, he’ll craftily word it to avoid directly complimenting you (saying the same thing but in a roundabout way). If he wants to give a gift, he’ll make sure that it doesn’t come across as “too” special. (For example, he might make a big batch of food and insist on sharing it with multiple classmates, including you.) Jamil won’t leave a single trace of evidence behind, either--no paper trail or physical items for the Ocatrio to potentially discover!

All this extra effort, for a crush he’s too apprehensive to fully realize, for feelings he has yet to express to their full extent. Sometimes, Jamil wonders why he even bothers doing all of it. His heart, a tangle of confused emotions.

When that hesitancy hits its peak, he’ll find a private location and break out into a dance. Jamil channels his unsure feelings into every step and move, putting on a wordless show of love and longing for an unseen audience.

... What he doesn’t realize is that you’ve stumbled across him, quietly watching on in awe. You wonder who such a dedicated dance must be meant for, and pencil in a note to ask the next time you’re able to meet with Jamil one on one.

[georgiapeach30513]

James and Iris are perfect couple goals!🥰 and also what their first arguement was like?

Their first argument was most likely something extremely stupid. They did meet when they were 3 and 4. But I'm assuming you mean big argument. James is such a laid back guy, but Iris has a lot of anxiety issues, and has for a long time. So as far as the first BIG argument, they were in high school. These two hardly argue, and when they do, it's because Iris gets in her head.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Me and My Arm

Summary:  Iris gets mad at James

Pairings:  James Rogers X Iris Drysdale

Rating:  high school drama

Warnings: mildly implying sexual activity, 18+ ONLY

Word Count:  650

Desperate Lives AU Masterlist

Iris Drysdale Masterlist

Iris slams her locker closed, holding her books close to her chest as she turns to walk away.  James watches his pretty little girlfriend set off without him, and not even asking to be walked to class, that Cheer outfit a bit too short for her to be wearing for anybody but him.  With a look down to his own arms, he realizes that she walked away mad at him.

“What did you do?” Carter asks with a laugh, swatting at his friend’s jersey-ed chest before the two of them head to class.

“I...I don’t know.  She...she walked to class without me, and I’m not holding her books,” Carter lets out a chuckle, scratching at his head when the two head to class.  When they walk in Iris turns her head to look the other way.  “Ris?” he whispers to her seeing the teacher walk in, but she pulls out her book, ignoring him.  “Iris Jade.”

Her body turns back to look at him with a furrowed brow, “Do not full name me, James Carter,” she looks at Blair who walks in.  Her hair perfectly styled, uniform just barely in the dress code, and her perfectly perfect headband.  Giving James a smile and a wave, which he returns.  Iris scoffs spinning back around in her desk.  

“Ris,” James taps at her shoulder, “Do you have a pencil.”

“Ask Blair,” she responds without turning around.

James throws his hands up confused, but Carter covers his mouth stifling his laughter.  He now knows exactly why Iris is pissed off, and it has to do with the perfectly dressed Blair that now is sitting in Iris’s usual seat.  

Iris’s thumb spins around his class ring on her finger, hers now on a necklace around his neck.  Even though she’s mad over his ‘flirting’ with Blair, she still needs her to know, that Jamey is hers.  Slamming her left hand down on the desk, she rests it awkwardly in a way that Blair can see the gleaming green stone, but still the girl taps on James’ shoulder.

“Jamey, can I borrow a pencil?”

"Sorry, but I don’t even have one.  And my girlfriend won’t give me one,” he gives Iris another tap, but she refuses to look.

“If I were your girlfriend I would make sure to give you one.”

Iris takes a deep breath.  Her eyes wide at that comment before she turns around to glare at the other girl.  “You will never be his girlfriend.  You are nothing but a delusional trust fund baby, that thinks you can flirt with my boyfriend.  And Jamey, you need to stop being so nice to her, so she doesn’t get the wrong idea.  Blair, sweetie, he’s not flirting.  He treats my sisters the same way.  He’s just being nice.  Now, if you could please keep your slutty little hands to yourself, and get out of my damn seat.”

“Iris Drysdale, office now,” Iris huffs out a puff of air, turning to glare at her teacher.  Her hands grip her books tightly as she stands up.  “I expected better from you.  Mr. Rogers, do you need to join her?” she asks when James goes to stand.  Iris stops to look back at him, pleading him to go with her.  Her mind racing of how this is going to be on her record, and won’t look good for college applications.  With a quick nod, he follows her out of the office.  Grabbing ahold of her books, before wrapping his arm around her.

“That was the hottest thing I have ever seen.”

“Jamey, stop it.”

“That’s why you’re so pissed off at me?  Ris, you know you’re the only girl for me.”

“But she...she touches your arm, and you don’t say anything.  That’s my...” her words stop because she can’t bring herself to say it, but James smirks down at his little baby doll.

“It is.  It’s yours.  And later on tonight, I’ll let you claim my arm.”

“Jamey!”

“Leave your scent behind, that way when she touches it, she’ll know exactly who me and my arm belong to.”

Masterlist

[2andahalfcatastrophes]

11, 12, 20, 23, 24, 28, 35, 38, 43, 62, 77, 78, 96 (I am a menace, I know <3)

you are NOT a menace ily <33 also sorry this is super late, i had to stop and make pasta lol

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

honestly this varies a ton bc sometimes i forget to eat breakfast, but mostly either some fruit or a toasted english muffin with butter :)

12. name of your favorite playlist?

oooo probably either my 80's playlist which is just called 80's or the giant playlist where i toss all my super high energy songs which is called bangers (i do not have very good playlist names hehe)

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

definitely my laptop! im super used to typing so it goes much faster and i hold pens and pencils incorrectly so writing by hand for too long hurts my lil fingeys :( i love the vibes of writing in a notebook tho!

23. strange habits?

when i was younger i watched spirited away (and most ghibli films) a LOT and there's a scene Chihiro taps the toes of her shoes against the ground after she puts them on. I started doing it too because i thought it was Funky and now i do it without thinking lmao

24. favorite crystal?

oh this question made me BIG think... im really partial to most colors of beryl though, they just have nice vibes :) also some opals are really pretty!

28. five songs to describe you?

i kinda went more for vibes than for subject matter bc thats how i experience music so these are kinda all over the place hehee

Vienna- Billy Joel

The Village In May- Joe Hisaishi

Super Trouper- ABBA

Make Me Feel- Janelle Monáe

Wild Young Hearts- Noisettes

35. average time you fall asleep?

I have an Old Person sleep schedule so usually i fall asleep around 10 or 10:30 because I am simply Quite Tuckered Out

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade, mostly bc i have very specific Tea Preferences and if im out eating somewhere i would feel bad asking for so many specific things lol

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Bomber jacket! One of my favorite coats is a massive leather bomber jacket that my dad gave me, its a vintage WWII reproduction and it is SO cozy in the winter

62. seven characters you relate to?

get ready for a THOROUGH tour of my extremely eclectic media tastes lmao

Annie Edison from Community (because i am also Insane about academic achievement)

Hermann Gottlieb from Pacific Rim for the Hectic energy

Hypnos Hadesgame. He sleeby. I am also sleeby.

Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle. I just really feel that one scene of her angrily cleaning the house and also we are both part of the needlecraft gang

Scarlett from Four Weddings and a Funeral just because of the clothes

Anne from Anne of Green Gables. i read that book as a child and i do not remember much but i do remember relating to anne Very Much

I could not think of another character so i asked my friend and she said Flora from Winx Club :)

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

it depends! If that window gets a bunch of light every day, you want something that thrives on a ton of direct light like jade, sargo palms (poisonous to pets!), herbs like sage or rosemary, air plants, snake plants, or many other leggy succulents. Also if you have pets who eat every leafy plant in the house like my absolute MENACE of a cat then succulents are probably better :)

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

definitely gas station coffee, mostly bc i do NOT trust grocery store sushi even a little

96. desktop background?

A screenshot of the main street of the spirit town from spirited away :)

[hi-i-do-stuff]

So I made a whole bunch of quick x reader oneshots here are a handful of them so. Enjoy I guess.

Jade Harley

You were feeling childish today, so you decided to take a day trip to the park! What fun! You decided to ride a scooter to the park with your decorated backpack with some food and your sketch pad and some coloring stuff, you had planned to ride around the park then take a break and draw. And that you did! You rode your scooter for about half an hour before parking it next to a tree and you walk to a bench and sit, eating your snacks and sketching some people's dogs as they walked by. You felt like something was going to happen, so you looked around and suddenly saw at the tree you parked your scooter at some jerks were stealing it! You quickly set your stuff down and bolt to the scooter, but before you could get there some girl decided to drop kick the guy stealing your bike, causing him to fall over she took the scooter from him and said, quite harshly "This doesn't belong to you." And they guy got up and ran, yelling "You're crazy lady!" As he seemed to disappear away from view. You walked up to the lady and she handed you your scooter "Here you go! Earlier I saw you riding it and then i saw that guy taking your bike, but I didn't see him with you earlier. Then I saw you at the bench over there and you seemed to not know what's going on so I got him for you!" She smiled this HUGE freaking beautiful smile, you smiled back "Thanks! You really didn't need to though. I have more scooters at home if he took it anywho." You shrugged and looked at your scooter "Well maybe we could go ride our scooters together sometime!" She says, then started to walk toward the bench you were previously sitting at "I'm Jade by the way!" She called before taking one of your pencils and writing down her chumhandle really quick before skipping off "Text me sometime (Y/N)!" "S-Sure?" You called back, a bit dumbstruck. Well guess you made a new friend... wait how did she know your name-

Dave Strider

You were in a shop that your friend dragged you to, and you hated this shop for more than one reson. It was a sex toy shop. You were so disturbed and desperate to get out and your friend wouldn't let you stay in the car. So you were stuck. Suddenly you heard another distressed person in the aisle over, so when your friend wasn't looking you peaked over, to see two boys with shades on, inside, odd. "Bro why am I here." "So you don't mess up my stuff at home." The shorter of the two groaned again, as the taller one looked away you whispered "Hey!" At the shorter blonde, and he looked over at you "Wanna get out if here?" You whisper-shouted. He looked over at the taller one then back at you, and he bolted for you. The both of you left the store and walked to another nearby one, talking about yourselfs and stuff you both had in common. He was currently talking about his caretaker's 'Job'. "-and I kid you not he threw it right at me. (Y/N) stop laughing it's not funny dude." You couldn't help yourself, suddenly you both got texts from the people who brought you into the store in the first place, you quickly traded chumhandles and went your separate ways.

Rose Lalonde

You were chilling on your roof, your house had woods behind it and a lot of people passed by or went into the woods, and your family didn't mind at all. You were half asleep when you heard two people arguing "Dave just admit we're lost." "No no- I know where we are-" "David I've never even seen this house in my life what if we're trespassing!?" You laugh to yourself a bit and sit up, looking over the roof to see two people who looked almost exactly alike. You called out to them and they both looked up at you, the girl spoke first "Hello, I apologize are we trespassing? We are kind of lost." She smiled a bit, the one who she called 'Dave' simply nodded. You hopped off the building(dont worry it's not to high off the ground, about 6-7 feet off the ground) and made your way over to them, turns out they were simply hiking, so you vave both of them your chumhandle so you could guide them if they got lost on the way back. You took a look at the map they are reading from and show them where they are. Apparently their just on the other side of town and somehow walked all the way around through the woods. You said your Goodbyes, and trust me, that girl is not going to let it down that you helped and will 100% try to do something to thank you.

John Egbert

You were at the store, looking for a movie because your friend wanted to come over that evening and watch one with you. Somehow you wandered to a section full of weird looking movies and you let out a panicked/confused whine. Apparently someone heard you and walked over "Hi, uh, are you alright?" He asked nervously, obviously the boy didn't have much social interaction so he was a bit nervous. "Yeah I'm fine... I'm just looking for a good movie for my friend-" you said smiling at him, he seemed to light up at this "I know some good movies! Follow me." He said cheerfully as he dragged you around the store, and for a good while you talked about each other and some other things. When you finally had picked out a movie he offered you to come over to his house sometime and you two could watch a movie together. You thought this was a great idea and exchanged Chumhandles before you left the store.

This was awful but eh. Hey I take request :/

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Why So Jaded? Chapter 5

FFN, AO3, Enjoy. 

Why So Jaded

Chapter 5

The next week, on Thursday, Buddy noticed there was a new delivery man that dropped off his various shipments and Buddy nearly cried tears of relief when he recognized him but Buddy did his best to act nonchalant and unaffected because the delivery guy was in fact, one of his oldest and most trusted friends, partners and colleagues- John Clairborne.

"Mr. Pine?" The new delivery guy greeted, acting like he didn't know him.

"Yes, that's me. And you are?" Buddy felt the need to ask.

"Jack Reacher. Sign here please sir." He offered and Buddy barely contained his amused reaction to that name.

"Yeah I know, you have no idea how many jabs I get." Jack offered good naturedly.

"Then I won't make any." Buddy insisted as he took the device to sign that had a special screen on it so that only when you were looking directly at it, would you be able to read what was on it as Buddy took it and then there was an infrared flash that was invisible to the naked human eye but it was for a secret camera on the device that positively ID'd Buddy before it flashed him a special screen that had super quick message for just a moment but Buddy had caught it before vanished and returned to the signature screen before he signed his name on the signature screen to receive the packages as usual, using Jack's pen that doubled as a stylus to do so.

"I really like your pen." Buddy praised as he recognized his own work, this had been one of those super secret spy pens that had all kinds of extra features and hidden devices. Buddy was impressed it had made it through security.

"Keep it sir, I have plenty." Jack grinned.

"Thanks." Buddy thanked him as he took the pen and simply placed it behind his ear like he usually did with his pencils.

"You're welcome. Have a good day sir." He wished him.

"You too Mr. Reacher." Buddy thanked him before Mr. Reacher left before he went about unpacking the boxes, careful not to cut the packing slips and collected all the slips and put them aside as he double checked what he got, doing everything he could to act as normal as possible and when he was done, he took the packing slips and put them in the folder he kept, just in case he needed to return anything and when he looked at these packing slips and the others, he saw it . Coded messages in the barcodes. How had he not seen those before and went through his owner's manual for one of the first pieces of equipment he had ordered and found the cipher because the message that flashed on the reader told him to. How had he not put it together before?

According to the hidden messages. There had already been three new "employees" at SEB Industries along with new "agents" that were infiltrating all these other companies. They were gathering what they could to make a counter case against SEB and were working on getting him out. The new employees with SEB were infiltrating the tech department and one had been sent as a new security guard and the other was simply working his way through the corporate side.

"Good evening Mr. Pine." Violet greeted as she came into the lab which nearly made Buddy jump in his skin as he realized what time it was, he had lost track of time deciphering the messages and hoped and prayed he wouldn't get caught.

"Good evening Ms. Parr." Buddy greeted back as he quickly got up and came over to her, the new pen tightly in his grasp.

"So, do you have anything outstanding you would like to report?" Violet asked per usual, a little disappointed he didn't have a snack ready for her but tried to keep that disappointment to herself because his little snacks had become an extra perk to her day. They would always tide her over till she could get dinner and Buddy actually kept his snacks relatively healthy if not very delicious which she always appreciated.

"Uh, nope, all my shipments came in, so I was just squaring those away, matching the shipments to the packing slips and tickets, making sure everything is all here and accounted for and I'm not missing anything." Buddy answered because that was the closest truth he could offer because he didn't trust himself to lie to her at the moment.

"Oh good. So we don't need to mail anything back?" She asked, realizing how seriously and meticulously kept things like that and he probably got caught up in that, and it was that- that was the reason he didn't have a snack ready for her.

"Nope, not this time." Buddy answered, knowing that from now on, his packing slips were going to be used as extra communication and he was going to try his hardest to make it as discreet, unassuming and secret as possible.

"Awesome. I'm glad everything was correct." Violet nodded as she went through her checklist and notes before she noticed Buddy was still holding the pen before she looked at it just a moment longer and realized it was new.

"New pen?" She asked.

"Uh yeah, the delivery driver had it, it writes really nice and I said something to him and he let me keep it." Buddy answered before he offered it to her and she took it and used it both as a stylus and a pen.

"Ooh, that does write really nicely, I can see why you would want to keep it. I wonder who the company used to make it. Because this is obviously a company pen." She said as she gave the company logo a dismissive glance but appreciated the pen itself and it's aesthetically clean and sleek appearance but surprisingly stylish.

"I don't know." Buddy shrugged.

"Well obviously if you're envying a delivery company's pens, your pens must be lacking then, I'll put in an order to get you decent pens." Violet noted.

"Oh, don't bother Ms. Parr, it's just a pen, you're looking too far into this." Buddy tried to discourage her casually because the last thing he wanted was for anyone, especially her to be tipped off about the recent developments, but he had to play this off convincingly.

"Mr. Pine. I too would like some really nice, decent pens so this is an excuse to get myself some decent pens too and one can never have too many writing utensils, at least in my office. I've misplaced my fair share of them and all the stylus' to the point I keep several extra ones in my top drawer. I'm notorious for it in fact. The next time you get a delivery, you could ask them where they got the pens if they know. If not, it's not the end of the world. But keep this one close and don't let me or anyone else steal it from you." Violet advised with a fond smile which brought a smile to Buddy's face in turn.

"You might as well just keep that one if it'll make you happy." Buddy offered, he was helpless against her charms and she wasn't even trying to charm him.

"No, this is your pen. The next time that delivery driver comes though, if you happen to get another one, I'll take that one." Violet compromised as she put it back into his hands.

"Or you can just have this one now," Buddy pointed out as he tried to offer it back.

"I'll take the next one besides I would still probably lose it between now and then- "I have spoken"." Violet good naturedly teased as she refused, putting her tablet down on the counter so she could use both of her hands to reach out and grab his and folded his own hand around the pen as Buddy savored the small, gentle touch. It was really nice.

"Ok fine." Buddy put the pen behind his ear before he put his hands up in defeat because arguing with her was pointless.

"By the way, next Wednesday we should return to Black Orchid for the first preliminary suit fitting. Mr. Nelson will be joining us and we will have Mr. Soche accompany us instead of Mr. Leland because again, the more of the security detail that get to know you and how you behave normally, and your 'twatwaffle protocol' the better. The last thing I need is for us to have an incident and have to defend you when half of the security doesn't know it or you." She began.

"Smart." Buddy praised.

"Thank you," Violet beamed.

"By the way, if someone yells ‘twatwaffle’ at you, what would your answer be?" Buddy felt the need to ask.

"Glitter nugget." Violet answered which got them both to laugh.

"That's...that's very fitting." Buddy appraised.

"Oh that's not as bad as Phillip's." Violet murmured lowly before Buddy could help himself, he sidled up next to her as he folded his elbows and leaned on the counter next to her.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me." Buddy begged.

"No, once anyone but myself and his security knows of it, it has to be changed for his security."

"Oh come on, who would I tell? I only ever talk to you and the doctors in the medical wing. Please, I need it to live!" Buddy pleaded as he playfully grabbed her arm and shook her a little which got Violet to giggle again. Oh what a melodious and perfect sound it was.

Then she caved so she reached up and whispered it into his ear which Buddy again, relished in the close contact before his eyes got wide when he heard it as he gasped softly but couldn't help the giggle that escaped him.

"No." Buddy breathed at her before she nodded and waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Well, if that will be all, have a good evening Mr. Pine." She said before she gave him a wink before she sauntered out of there.

"Good evening Ms. Parr." Buddy beamed back. Oh she had been in a really good playful mood today. He wished he could have tempted her to stay longer.

"Oh a snack." Buddy realized after she left and rubbed his hands over his face before he realized his mistake. He didn't make her a snack, that's why she looked disappointed at first, she could have stayed longer. Tomorrow though, he was going to create an awesome one before he went to his kitchen to see what he had and could make before the thought occurred to him of what he could make before he looked up recipes and put in a grocery order and looked at his watch to make sure Leslie or Dion would get it for him tonight so it could prep overnight. And sure enough by the time he had made himself dinner, his groceries were delivered to him by Dion at the door on the apartment side of the floor.

"Thank you Dion." Buddy thanked him as he got the groceries and went back to his kitchen to begin prepping what he needed because this particular snack would be a labor of love, but a labor he wouldn't mind making, especially if she liked it because she had told him about her preference to them before.

On Friday morning Violet walked in to the smell of the lab smelling divine.

"Good morning Mr. Pine." Violet greeted.

"Good morning Ms. Parr. I realize I didn't provide you with any sustenance last night. My apologies." Buddy offered as he offered her a plate of macarons.

"Where did you get these?" Violet gasped in delight as she readily took one from the plate.

"I made them. They didn't turn out perfect but hopefully they'll taste ok." Buddy offered.

"You made these?! Macarons are like, one of the hardest things anyone can make. They're a labor of love and test of patience. I've only tried to make them a handful of times and every time I've tried, I swore of baking for months at a time. But I'm not that great in the kitchen. Only because I'm rarely ever home long enough to cook half the time. So thank you very much. I love macarons. There's a pastry shop a few blocks over that knows me and my order by name that I get every Friday to start out my weekend with. They make this white chocolate raspberry one that is to die for. When we have our outing next week, I'll have us stop there so you can get it." Violet offered before she took one and bit into it and chewed thoughtfully.

"Ooh, strawberry vanilla, very nice." She praised as Buddy beamed happily that she could taste the flavors.

"Close enough." Buddy admitted.

"Like how close?"

"Strawberry champagne." Buddy revealed.

"Oooh, the champagne is subtle but now that you mention it, I taste it now. Very well done." Violet praised. "So how did you know how to make these?" She asked thoughtfully.

"Uh, it was Mirage's favorite dessert." Buddy had to admit but there was sadness in her eyes yet a smugness to Violet's grin as she felt some vindication that her hunch was right and was hoping Phillip was watching and listening but also hurt that when Buddy was with her, he was still imagining Mirage which she knew was probably for the best because that was the only way they could keep this up without Phillip getting too suspicious or keep herself from getting to close either.

"Well I'm grateful you've kept the skills up. These are delicious." Violet praised as she took a second one.

"Here, I made you some more because when you make them, you make a tray at a time." Buddy offered as he left and went to the fridge where he had kept the container with the extras, the best ones and handed it to her since she had eagerly followed him.

"Thank you." Violet thanked him as she readily took them before they went through their usual routine before Violet saw herself out and took her prize straight to Phillip's office. And once inside the elevator Violet let her head drop as she closed her eyes, the beginnings of tears stinging them before she pushed her hurt down.

All Buddy saw was Mirage, all Phillip saw was Invisigirl. Suddenly she felt like she was 14 again with Tony, being so invisible and no one really seeing her- for her. But it was for the best wasn't it? It would be easier to walk away from all this and all of them knowing that what everyone thought and saw- was never even close to the truth. It was better this way. That's all she needed to remind herself of. She needed to stay focused. But right now- she needed to be smug in her validation and vindication that her hunch was right. That's what Phillip would expect from her as she straightened up her posture and put on the façade once again.

"I told you." Violet practically sang as she strutted up to him and presented the macarons as proof.

"You did, you did. Bravo." Phillip congratulated her as he took a macaron and ate it, particularly proud of her for her performance.

The next day Mr. Reacher came back with another delivery.

"Hey, so my supervisor and liaison really liked the pen, is there anyway we can hook her up with some more or at least point her in the right direction to get more herself? Surely this place has website where she could order them off of right?" Buddy asked, hoping that wasn't too transparent for whoever was watching him but clear enough for Jack to understand.

"Sure, keep that one for her for now." Mr. Reacher nodded in understanding.

"Thanks. Also I have this to send out, I printed off my own return slip for it." Buddy offered a box that had a part that needed to be replaced.

"Of course Mr. Pine." He assured him.

On Monday Violet came in just as Mr. Reacher was dropping off Buddy's latest shipment.

"Mr. Reacher, this is my supervisor and liaison- Ms. Parr. she's the one who liked the pen." Buddy introduced.

"He said something to me on Saturday. I asked my boss about it this morning and he still had a business card for the company who makes them. He only got a few of the premium ones as part of an advertising promotion." Mr. Reacher revealed as he pulled the business card from his pocket and handed it over to her.

"Oh thank you so much! Yeah I really loved the way that pen wrote and the built in stylus is very convenient when you deal with electronics all day." Violet thanked him as she scanned the company card and the QR code on the back and it brought up the "company website" for her before she went through the catalog that had been put together before she placed an order right there on the spot.

"Thank you so much, you can have the card back, I got all I wanted and needed." Violet grinned happily.

"I'm glad I could be of service Ma'am. You both have a good day," He bid them before he took Buddy's own shipments and left.

"That was really nice of you to mention that to him. Thank you Mr. Pine." Violet thanked Buddy gratefully.

"You're welcome. Also he gave me this one Saturday for you. So you won't have to go without a good pen until the shipment comes in." Buddy nodded in turn as he handed the pen in question over to her. Grateful that it had worked and that he was at least, for now- above Violet's suspicion as Violet gasped with a wide bright smile.

"Aww thank you." Violet cooed as she eagerly took it from it.

On Wednesday at 9:15 Violet returned with Mr. Nelson and Mr. Soche and after going through the same protocol they returned to the Black Orchid for a suit fitting and Buddy was able to pull Violet aside as they looked over the new ties that had come in while they got some of the suits that had started to come together.

"Is there any way I can talk with you privately? Where we aren't getting listened to?" Buddy managed to breathe in a whisper in her ear as Violet gave him a look before she managed to pull a shirt that would look hideous on Buddy.

"Try this on. I dare you." Violet urged him with a giggle but a meaningful look all the same.

"Really? You want me to put on yellow? With my hair?" Buddy mock complained but did as she asked as she followed him to the dressing room.

"Ms. Parr, come on, have some mercy on my soul, don't make me come out like this." Buddy pleaded as he put it on and gave himself an unimpressed look in the mirror. He looked awful which got Violet to giggle evilly as she stepped to the other side of the door.

"Just let me see then." She urged him as she used the doors on the dressing rooms on both sides of his own to box them in before she put up a forcefield around them both.

"We got thirty seconds. What?" Violet demanded.

"About the macarons," Buddy began, keeping his voice to low murmur.

"Why do we need to talk privately about macarons?" Violet pressed, completely confused as she also hushed her voice.

"Because the look you gave me when I made them for you told me that something was wrong. I saw it in your eyes. Was it because I used to make them for Ta-Mirage?" Buddy asked in a hushed whisper.

"Do you think that I think that you remind me of her? Is that why? Do you think that I think that you're Mirage Jr or something?" Buddy asked, trying to keep his voice to a hushed whisper.

"You don't?" Violet asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"No of course not! She's her and you're you and completely different individual people. Sure there are some similarities but not enough to bring her to mind and I made you the macarons because I didn't have a snack for you the day before and I felt bad and I was hoping the macarons would be a nice way to make up for it because you told me that you liked macarons." Buddy confessed before Violet blinked in surprise.

"Oh, ok, fine, here's the deal, the only reason Mr. Sebastian is ok with these outings and me being your handler for these outings and the whole you making me food and stuff and our camaraderie is because he thinks that you think that I'm Mirage 2.0. Otherwise he is super jealous and possessive and controlling and I need these outings as a break from him. So if you could actually just drop her name from time to time, just like once or twice and "slip up" to keep him thinking that every once in a while, I would be forever grateful." Violet pleaded.

"Oh, yeah you got it." Buddy nodded.

"Thank you." Violet thanked him.

"Anything else?" Violet asked.

"No." Buddy shook his head no before she nodded dropped the forcefield and shut the doors quickly and quietly.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, let me see Mr. Pine, please?" Violet begged just as Mr. Nelson was coming back to check in on them to see Violet leaning against the wall casually on the opposite side of the wall that Buddy's dressing room was in.

"Mr. Pine is shy." Violet giggled to Mr. Nelson from her spot before Mr. Nelson nodded and retreated again.

"Come on, let me see." She giggled again as she tapped on the door with her foot before Buddy reopened it before Violet snickered a laugh because she honestly didn't notice what he had looked like just a moment before because all she focused on was his face.

"Oh my God, it does look atrocious on you. That shade of yellow isn't good for you or your complexion. Thank you for humoring me though." Violet thanked him.

"Well I'm happy I could be of some entertainment then." Buddy pretended to grump before his suits were brought into the dressing room from the back by Mr. Sudwar before Buddy practically ripped the shirt off of himself and barred his upper body in just a wife-beater undershirt and Violet was struck by how built Buddy was. She knew he was stocky, but to realize that he had some serious, frankly gorgeous sculpted muscle because in his apartment was a personal gym that he used quite often and by the way he worked out, Violet could tell that had been part of his routine before. And while he still had a bit of a paunch left, he was frankly built like an ox and strong as one too as Buddy noticed she was staring at him and was appreciating the view at least.

"Miss Parr?" Mr. Sudwar prompted which caused her to jump and break her out of her sudden lust filled daze.

"Oh, Mr. Sudwar, the suits, yes, he's ready to try them on. Uh, let me just take that and put it back." She practically ripped the shirt out of Buddy's hands and the hanger off the wall as her cheeks stained cherry.

"Are you alright Ms. Parr?" Mr. Sudwar asked.

"Yes I'm fine, I'm fine, Mr. Pine is fine, he's fine, I'm fine, we're fine, we're fine, I need to stop saying fine, thank you." Violet quickly stuttered and stammered as she just blushed harder and quickly tried to get the shirt back on the hanger and get it back to where it was in the shop as Mr. Nelson and Mr. Soche tried their best not to laugh at her clearly flustered state.

"You ok?" Mr. Nelson asked Violet as he came to stand next to her.

"Yeah, I just got caught staring indecently at the asset. Damn it his wife-beater was showing off those guns." Violet confessed in a harsh whisper to him.

"You and arms." Mr. Nelson teased.

"Shut up. This is so embarrassing." Violet complained as she managed to get the shirt hung back up before she covered her face with her hands.

"Well I mean, I've seen your dad…" Mr. Nelson continued with a knowing grin and a playful nudge to Violet's shoulder.

"Don't! Don't you dare go there! And this incident will never be known by anyone else for as long as we all shall live." Violet harshly whispered yelled at him with a dirty glare.

"You're the boss, boss." Mr. Nelson simply grinned as he put his hands up in defeat.

"Yes I am." Violet confirmed as she took a deep cleansing breath.

"Hey Ms. Parr?" Buddy called out before Violet turned on her heel and went back to the dressing room and tried to slip back into her cool composure.

"Yes Mr. Pine?" Violet asked calmly, doing her best to be professional again.

"Why are these suits so heavy?" Buddy asked as Violet took a deep breath before she turned to Mr. Sudwar.

"Is Mr. Sanchez still in the building?" She asked.

"Yes." Mr. Sudwar confirmed.

"Can you get him for me please?" She requested.

"Of course." Mr. Sudwar nodded as he left and a few moments later Benny came out, looking like just another tailor.

"Mr. Pine, meet Mr. Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez, meet Mr. Pine, can you please explain what you've done to Mr. Pine's suits that would cause them to be heavier than normal and why?" She requested.

"Of course. Each piece of the suit, the jacket, vest and pants are lined with Kalsix, it's a special fabric that will deflect anything from bullets, to a knife to a missile. It's fireproof and resistant to most flammable liquids and other corrosive liquids as well, you can pour battery acid on it and it won't melt and because of the properties of the fabric- if you get tazed- it'll lesson the tazing because it'll absorb most of the electrical current. It's the best secret armor you can wear and it will protect you when she can't or even they can't." Mr. Sanchez announced as he nodded to Violet and then to the body guards.

"The only thing is that it's not that breathable, elastic or light. But it will keep you safe when you’re out in the open in public and possibly exposed to a threat." Violet admitted to Buddy.

"Oh, well, thank you." Buddy graciously thanked him.

"Don't thank me, thank her. She's the one who insisted on it." Mr. Sanchez nodded towards Violet.

"Thank you, that'll be all." Violet thanked him.

"No problem, I gotta get back to work." Benny excused himself.

"Job done right?" Buddy guessed as Violet nodded again.

"Exactly." Violet nodded and smiled appreciatively.

After the fitting, they stopped for lunch again before Violet had them go to the Merry Cherry Bakery where they had a whole section just for macarons.

"Ms. Parr, this is a surprise, you usually come on Fridays." Mable noted.

"I know, I was needing an extra fix this week, I also brought in a friend from work, this is Mr. Pine who also shares my love of macarons, and I of course told him that this was one of the best places to find the most amazing macarons." Violet praised as Buddy looked over the selection appreciatively.

"Ooh, they have cheese crowns." Buddy realized.

"Get whatever your heart desires Mr. Pine, my treat. Guys, same goes for you, get whatever you want." Violet offered to Mr. Nelson and Mr. Soche.

"Sweet." Mr. Soche grinned before he placed his order before Mr. Nelson did and then Buddy practically got one of every kind of macaron and along with his own personal preferences as Violet made sure to make mental notes of what Buddy liked and preferred for future reference.

A week before they had to leave for Vegas, they returned once again to the Black Orchid for a final suit check and Buddy really loved what he found in the mirror, especially when Violet came to stand beside him to check the fit herself, making sure he could move freely and comfortably in them and to feel Violet run her hands over his body was frankly heaven for Buddy. Plus they looked really good together, although if Buddy was honest, it was Violet who could make anyone and everyone look good just by standing beside them and Violet had them go back to Vers for another 'man spa day' to make sure Buddy would look and feel his best and even went and got special luggage.

"Ok, I gotta know, not that I'm complaining, but why the massages and spa treatments?" Buddy asked once they got back to his apartment as she was once again helping him put things away.

"You're an important and valuable asset to SEB, and it is currently my responsibility to make sure that you perform at the most successful rate possible. And burn out, touch starvation and lack of enrichment and the like are hindrances to your performance and we can't have that can we Mr. Pine?" Violet explained. Knowing that was the 'right answer' but again the sweet sadness she portrayed in her eyes made Buddy's heart begin to feel uncomfortably constricted as his look soon mirrored hers which in turn made Violet feel so awful and guilty for giving him that answer.

"I just...I don't want you getting touch starved. I've been there and it sucks and mentally it can push anyone into reading too much into simple, kind, and genuinely platonic gestures and make them see more meaning than is there. And the way I see it, you're a compulsory guest. Might as well make your stay as comfortable as I can because we're still just two birds in side by side gilded cages. If I can share a toy or two, then I will, if it means that you'll stay in it and won't try to break out of it every chance you get and the more you can stand and bear the confinement, the better for all of us. And if you break out, I have to hunt you down, it's my job, it's actually written in my contract that 'any asset rented or owned or otherwise by SEB Industries that is lost or stolen must be retrieved or destroyed'." Violet quoted.

"And I don't want to do that. Because when I hunt, I hunt to kill, I have to. And I don't…" Violet began as she mentally chided herself for her eyes getting glassy and Buddy was awestruck that she didn't want to kill him, that she actually cared enough and was attached enough to not want to harm him, but instead help him all the ways she could.

Violet took a sharp inhale through her nose to clear it and blinked the glassiness to her eyes away and damning herself for being so transparent but at least- hopefully- Phillip was watching this and thinking that she was just emotionally manipulating Buddy again. That would be her only saving grace.

"Hunting is a hassle and I don't want the hassle. So take pity on me and don't force my hand to do it Mr. Pine." Violet said, while her tone was forced to be light and teasing, her eyes were still sincere in their pleading with him and Buddy didn't trust his voice not to break with emotion if he tried to talk so he just nodded in understanding and agreement.

"Thank you. Good night Mr. Pine." Violet offered.

"Good night Ms. Parr." Buddy managed to get out before Violet saw herself out.

"Bravo." Phillip clapped dramatically when she returned to his office which got Violet to laugh, albeit, a bit mirthlessly.

"I was ready to promise to never run away. The way you play him and pull on every heart string is just...marvelous. You're the best, you need an Emmy." Phillip praised.

"Oh stop, you're being dramatic and embarrassing me. But, there's a reason I'm the best there is and why you pay me so much." Violet could only point out, forcing her smugness.

"What am I going to do with out you My Dear?" Phillip cooed as he enveloped her into her embrace.

"You're going to be just fine. Whoever takes my post after I leave will handle you perfectly well." Violet assured him.

"What if I don't want anyone but you to handle me?" Philip proposed as he started swaying in place as he managed to get her tablet out of her hand and start dancing with her in his office, hoping that was romantic enough for her.

"Phillip, you know I'm still under a contract with you. And while I'm cool with friends with benefits- any more than that is too dangerous, especially for you. Because I already have a big enough target on my back just being a Super, but being your handler is an even bigger one and being your romantic partner would be an even bigger one than that. Now don't get me wrong, I do thoroughly enjoy being your handler and full time babysitter." Violet teased which got Phillip to chuckle and hum before he couldn't help but kiss her and was happy she at least kissed him back.

"But everyone knows I'm important to you. If I would be your handler and your romantic partner. There's no telling what could happen, and you already have enough enemies as do I, we can't risk combining them, at least not right now. I don't want anyone to use me against you or to get to you or harm you or anything like that. That and you know as well as I do that while I'm still under contract, The Agency can pull me out at any time without anyone's say so, even my own. They can still come in here and drag me out kicking and screaming. I'm still Invisigirl for the next two years and that contract is iron clad. You know it is, because you were the one to help draw it up and the only thing harder than your contracts is perhaps maybe this." Violet managed to purr as she stroked his manhood suggestively, already feeling it harden beneath her touch, even though she was far from feeling romantic herself.

"And you shouldn't have to wait on anyone, let alone me. Because while I'm a great agent and Super and handler, I'm a shitty girlfriend and would make an even worse wife because all the things that make me awesome in the former make me lousy in the latter. It's just the way it is and it's the trade off. But it's one I gladly and happily do. If you want a girlfriend that badly, get one of your ballerina/model types. They'll look better with you anyway and they're more suited to you than I am." Violet insisted. Already having had this conversation many times before and getting sick and tired of having it but she couldn't let Phillip know that.

"Fine, for now, but the second your contract is up, be prepared to be wooed." Phillip playfully warned her.

"Woo all you want, it would still be up to me to decide to accept or not. Besides, who knows, you may even grow bored with me before then or you'll find the love of your life by then too. All we have is right now, let's just enjoy it and not spoil it." Violet urged him.

"If you insist." Phillip caved, but he was far from deterred. If anything he was even more firmly set in his belief that she was the one for him. And it would just be a matter of making her see it.

Meanwhile a new mole finally made his way into the surveillance department and he set up piggybacks on all the feeds to all the cameras. And while SEB security was top of the line, the mole's was still one step ahead while another team made it's way to Violet's apartment.

"Sir, her place is already bugged, like beyond what the CIA and FBI do, any more bugs in here and I'll have to call an exterminator. You can practically hear every neighbor piss in here. She's already under very heavy surveillance. Do you want us to piggy back these feeds too?" A henchman reported.

"Yes." Came the reply and after the piggybacks were put in place, they then traced the feeds back to the data banks it was all stored on and then the hunt began to find anything and everything they could. Useful or not.

[wheezecheese]

I ACTUALLY FUCKING DREW SOMETHING

This is J from a post-canon AU I'm working on.

I don't like how the jacket turned out but the rest of it looks surprisingly good.

[mymistakewriting]

Bart Allen (Impulse) Headcanons

Let me preface this by saying it’s a weird mix of comics!Bart and Young Justice!Bart. Most of his past is based on what it was in YJ with splashes of comic canon thrown in (keep in mind, these are all headcanons for a rp group)

Can draw - it’s a good way to slow him down and pass the time when he’s bored. 

Drawing style: graphite pencil or colored pencils. Mostly graphite, he saves the color for very special pieces or for when he's genuinely happy about something. 

He never. stops. vibrating. Unless he's putting in a crap ton of constant focus on staying still, but even then, the second he gets excited or startled, that focus is gone. 

very clingy. If he hugs you it lasts until either he gets distracted or you physically pry him off you.

Bart seems to thrive on physical touch. He's clingy and will latch onto anyone he meets. However, he isn't sure how much of it is a Trauma Response and how much of it is him actually enjoying the contact. If anyone asks, he's just a huggy guy!

He thrives on affection, but only when he initiates it. He's not quite to a point where he's completely okay with someone else initiating some kind of affection (Wally is currently the only exception to this).

horror movies and games don't tend to phase him. It takes a lot to get a reaction out of him considering his past. 

has times where he's randomly confused because the future didn't have this help what is this

There's a long list of things from the current time that Bart doesn't understand because he hadn't ever experienced it in the future. It's a mix of stupid stuff and things that are... honestly, he's a little pissed about regardless of if he understands or not. (It varies from certain plants and animals to heavier things like racism and homophobia. Relationships are in there, too. He doesn't understand how they work, and honestly, he's a little afraid to ask)

You know what, good luck communicating with Bart. He's a mess of movement and quick speech and slang terms that are almost completely foreign. Easiest way to get a read on him is through touch - he clings, nuzzles more when he needs support or just needs to ground himself, whereas his usual lingering hug and then moving on shows he feels safe or at least content in his present situation and company.

He gets a lot of stares and comments because of his eyes - understandable, yellow eyes aren't exactly common - but he will always pretend he doesn't know what they're talking about. ("Yellow? You must be seeing things, they're green! Like my grandpa's.") It's a source of constant anxiety that it's just going to be another thing that keeps him from forming any real connections with people. 

he's all pastels and bright colors. Mismatched clothing and soft textures and too-big sizes. (He wore too many dark colors in his past, he wants this to feel different so it has to look different until he gets it)

fan of soda, should not be allowed to have soda. When he crashes from caffeine, he crashes hard

Bart is a strange duality in a lot of his life. Trust is no different. He trusts easily, but having his trust doesn't guarantee he won't be watching you for any wrong move. But then, what can you expect of a kid from a dystopian future? He desperately wants to trust and be trusted, he just hasn't quite gotten down how that works yet. It's nothing personal if he doesn't trust you. Mostly.

He remembers his mom, misses her, but make no mistake - she was dead in his time by the time he came back to the past. Both of his parents were

Here's the thing about Bart: He's a fast learner. He didn't learn to read properly (more than was necessary to survival) in the future. He's learned quite a bit since coming back to the past - just don't ask him to read out loud. He's not quite to that point yet and he WILL make up words if he hits one he doesn't know how to say. For the most part, his mom and Nathaniel taught him how to read/write what they could and numbers and mathematical symbols. 

This also means that he does take a second to let autocorrect tell him what he did wrong on most messages - he hopes that people don't question if it takes him a few moments to answer them, but he doesn't want anyone finding out about his lack of knowing basically anything that kids learn in elementary school.

If Bart thinks he can get away with it? He'll ask questions to learn more about a specific topic. But it's one of those things that if he thinks it's too risky, he won't ask. He'll find a way to learn it on his own.

It's canon that he has a near perfect recall for anything he learns. Whether or not he uses it is completely dependent on the situation. As of late, though, he feels like it's failing him - he's been struggling to remember details about his mom, or about Nathaniel. It feels like he's losing part of himself along with those details. 

surprisingly enough Bart's worst habit comes in the form of sitting himself down with something he can zone out with on bad days - usually drawing, sometimes video games. He's always still enough on these days that it seems like he's sick. (You'll never catch sight of his cheerful act on these days. Just full out, raw jaded behavior. He dreads the first time it happens around someone)

Listen, his mom was part of a rebellion. So was his dad. He was raised knowing about it and seeing things slowly take form. Rebellion is just part of who he is at this point. Give him a cause that he can believe in, and you can damn well bet you'll see every bit of influence his mom and Nathaniel had on him. 

He's so bad at making friends. He's still got the concept of needing people to trust him immediately or it'll end in someone (read: him) getting hurt. But everyone trusts different things and he's getting tired of having to switch between acts to be trusted. He just wants friends who like him for him - every part of him, the messy cheer and the bitter jadedness and everything in between.

He doesn't actually want to be a hero. Sure, he wants to help people. He wants to save as many people as he possibly can. But he's marooned in a time that he doesn't understand, he wants time to adjust - and help figuring out how to do that. He just won't ask. He doesn't know where to start that won't get him hurt for trusting the wrong person.

Bart's a gray area. If it's an injustice he feels he can relate to, he's going to fight like hell. He came from two parents who were rebels, of course he doesn't know how not to rebel himself. But if he believes, for even a millisecond, that him pursuing something will harm those he cares for and wants to protect? You can bet your life he'll put it to the back of his mind. His priorities are gray at best, right alongside his morals. It's a fifty fifty shot as to which side of him you'll be getting at any given point, best of luck.

surprisingly enough Bart's worst habit comes in the form of sitting himself down with something he can zone out with on bad days - usually drawing, sometimes video games. He's always still enough on these days that it seems like he's sick. (You'll never catch sight of his cheerful act on these days. Just full out, raw jaded behavior. He dreads the first time it happens around someone)

Coping mechanisms? Bart? Adorable. Closest he comes is destroying old drawings. Doing new ones. Repeat. He lashes out, takes any small chink he can find on anyone he talks to, and will destroy any chance at a working relationship with that person the second he feels even slightly overwhelmed or upset. He's used to people fighting back - people hurting him for how he deals with things. He doesn't quite feel safe and adjusted in this time enough to have anything healthier. (He wants to try, but let's face it, his grandfather doesn't exactly make a great example of how to cope with things going wrong with how quick Barry is to throw himself into work and self isolation in canon. It's going to take Bart a while to find a balance, even if he does eventually get some help with it).