#with literally the most extra least tasteful design imaginable

[sixpossumsinatrenchcoat]

something i like about omori is that Headspace is riddled with secrets and Something’s design is intensely thoughtful in that way that feels instantly retroactively obvious, AND (afaik??) omori’s knife has no connection to that night whatsoever. sunny just thinks knives are cool. knife boy. as a grown-up knife kid this is the rep i deserve

(edit: it feels important to clarify that i did not grow out of being a knife boy, i just grew up. now i am a knife Man)

[penncilkid]

Alright, I'll bite. (Sparked by this post) I'm gonna preface this with some context: 

First off: I'm Black in case you're unaware

Huxley is my favorite speaker. Full stop. You ask me to choose, it’ll always be him. 

Likewise, you ask for my favorite listeners, I will say Starlight and Darlin'. (I'll save my Starlight rant for another day)

My designs for both Huxley and Darlin are Black.

With this in mind, I want to be clear from the jump: I don’t have an inherent problem with these headcanons. If I did, I wouldn’t have chosen then myself. That said, I have noticed that Hux and Darlin are, more often than not, the characters that get headcanoned as POC (specifically Black) in design rosters. In some cases, they are the only POC designs present. Why is that?

Furthermore, the more often I notice this pattern so to speak, the more I sit and think about why those headcanons are so popular. I find my answer when I think about the characters I see headcanoned as white most often. Tell me why it’s "practically canon" for Lasko to be pale with light/white hair. Tell me why white Sam "just makes sense". Why? Because Lasko's a nerdy ball of nerves that stumbles over his words? Because Sam’s a sweet Southern man at heart? Those are not inherently white attributes.

Except they're treated as such. They go virtually unchallenged because they're so widely accepted by fandom. People see these personalities and character details and come up with their vision. So, let's apply that to Huxley and Darlin, shall we?

Huxley: Athlete. Canonically implied to be big, as indicated by statements made by him and other members of the DAMN crew. Classified as a himbo with parallels in Imperium highlighting how some will view him as stupid. Overall chill vibe.

Darlin: Reckless with their safety. Known to lash out/lose control of their emotions when they’re not actively hiding them. Gets injured often because they’re too stubborn to run from trouble. An overall intense demeanor that makes them difficult to approach (at least at first). 

Explain to me why this screams Black to so many people. Is it because Huxley's a dumb jock who you imagine gets stoned all the time? Oh, is it perhaps because Darlin is just so aggressive compared to your Golden Retriever-coded Asher, needing to be calmed down by everyone around them? And here's the thing: I can already imagine people saying, "That's not why I made them Black". Then explain why it "just makes sense" for them to Black. Why them out of a sea of characters? Make it make sense.

Now let me make this clear as well: I'm not expecting every headcanon to have elaborate thought behind it. For one, I get that some people take a more casual approach with designs and such. Not every choice has to have a reason or justification behind it. But when literally 95% of the Huxley designs I see are Black and half of y'all don't even know what a fucking durag is? Saying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth is putting it lightly.

You know what I wish I saw more of? Black Huxleys and Darlins with attached nuance.

Give me a Black Darlin who struggles to articulate how they feel with the people in their lives because they haven't been readily given the language to do so. You want to pair a Black Darlin with a White Sam? Why not talk about how POC have an insanely difficult time getting support from the medical system so not only does it explain why Darlin is so resistant to go to healers, but also gives an extra weight to the fact that Sam was their absolute last resort when injured? Give me a Black Darlin who has been taught their entire life that no one will have their back, that they need to learn how to depend on themself alone, and that's the reason why they struggle to feel like the pack would've cared when the Quinn shit went on.

You wanna talk Black Huxleys? Let's touch on how he's learned to control his emotions/anger because he knows how people will take it if it comes from someone who looks like him. Talk about how his moms teaching him not to use violence speaks to a deeper desire for him not to be viewed as a threat because they fear for his life otherwise. In one of his BAs, he mentions how a lot of people used to sleep with him/flirt with him solely because of his body and he could tell. Do you know how often black men are sexualized and fetishized? Why not talk about it through him? I see people explore that concept through Gavin constantly, where's the energy for Huxley? You wanna make him Black so bad, why not actually put some thought behind it? Because right now, it seems like he gets the "luxury" of being the token Black guy in the DAMN friend group at best.

I know a lot of people are probably going to dismiss this post. I am already anticipating that as I write this. But I'm so tired of pretending like this shit doesn't get to me. Because it does. I've got no intentions of leaving this fandom because I have met so many amazing people and adore Erik's content immensely. But what I am going to do is talk about the widespread normalization of attributing certain personality traits to certain racial groups. Because the non-white people in this fandom deserve better than that.

[advancedthetapractitioner]

TGIWednesday: The simple way to improve your health

TGIWednesday News

Our bodies are over 70% water. 🌊  Imagine how many clients I speak with daily who aren't even close to drinking enough water?  It can cause headaches, joint pain, exhaustion, poor memory and the list goes on. 🙃 During LIVE sessions we can always figure out exactly how many ounces or liters you need to drink daily just to break even!  Also we can test if your water circuits are turned on or not. 🔄  This is an energetic switch which seems to allow more water distribution.  If your water switch is turned off, you'll always seem thirsty, run to the bathroom constantly and your body will act like it's dehydrated. Take extra care now that you've read this to get your daily allowance of water into your routine.  My rough calculation is everyone needs at least a MINIMUM 44 ounces or 1.30 liters per day of water. 🥤 That's water, other drinks don't count!  It's ok to drink even more, but I've also seen clients who drink too much water and flush out all their minerals and the good stuff, so like life; it is a yin and yang balance. ☯️  Drink up! "We are all one and our origin is the Sea" - Armin Van Buren 

Reach out whenever we can help/contribute to you and yours in any way. View Calendar First, Then Pay and Schedule 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins | Appointments

TGIWednesday Video Download

 ~ MY WATER CIRCUITS ARE TURNED ON ~

I believe, think, know and feel that my water circuits are turned on allowing me to utilize water in the most productive manner.  I know when, where, how and why to stay hydrated, and make it a point to drink more water to improve my life and I am ready, willing and able to make minor changes like drinking more water so that my overall health improves.  I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.  If you'll make a little daily progress, the rest of your life will be the best of your life!

▶️ Watch here on YouTube - Please Like 👍 and Subscribe 🔔

FREE Live Appearances

JOIN THE FINALLY FEEL FREE TELESUMMIT Series 3 with host Aiswarya Starting on May 25th and Awaken Your True Soul Design and Destiny

This is more than just an event; it's a turning point. Equip yourself with the tools, insights, and support you need to break free from the chains of the ordinary and create an overflow of vibrancy, abundance, conscious love, and divine support in 2024. I've been invited as one of the dozens of speakers during this 25 day event. FREE REGISTRATION, Sign up here!

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

May LIVE  Zoom Event

Special Announcement! For the remainder of 2024, each month we will focus on the theme of Clearing the 7 Well-Springs of Life during our monthly Zoom event.  Body, Mind, Spirit, Relationships, Health, Money, Work/Job/Career/Purpose

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2024 4:00pm ET  |  1:00pm PT  | 10:00pm UK Pre-registration is $22 30 minutes live | Includes replay access SIGN UP HERE: 👉https://calendly.com/jmh-calls/body-clearings-ywr Then submit your 3 brief statements to change in the format below by Wed. the 29th to support@jimmymackhealing.com  IMPT:  All Darius YWR Season 27 Package B buyers are receiving this call free with your purchase.  Look for a call confirmation email and reminders to send in your submissions in the coming days.

THEME:  Body Clearings: Head to Toe 1) Check up from the Neck Up One of the clearing submissions from you can be about or include anything from the neck up. [No long stories, please be brief].  Suggestions include: stuck senses, sight, hearing, tinnitus, lack of taste, lack of smell, teeth issues, thyroid, throat, speaking, memory loss, hair loss, (you get the idea) 2)  Torso / Main Body  Clearing you from things like: shoulder pain, back issues, arm and hand challenges issues with blood circulation, organs, glands or systems, heart issues, lungs, acid reflux, indigestion, too much weight loss or gain. 3) From the Waist Down Items can include: elimination too loose or too constipated, sexual dysfunctions, bladder leakage, hips, knees, feet, adema, neuropathy, temperature of too cold or too hot, balance when walking, stamina. We want you to get the most out of the event and yet for it to be organized, and have a cadence or rhythm of clearings for everyone! 

Pre-Register Here - $22

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

MAY 22ND "Today I will realize that where I am today has potential to elevate me to heights unknown in a very short period of time. I will fulfill my duties with passion and determination and I will hold my dream close to my chest and remember that all things are possible when I believe."

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

From the Fish Box

MY DAILY PRAYER TESTIMONIAL

 Hi Jimmy, Just wanted you to know that the MRI report came back as "no evidence of tumor progression."  Yeah!!!  So grateful.  We'll meet with the Oncologist next week.  Again, we express gratitude to you Jimmy and your team.  We know daily prayers are answered."   - Courtney / Virginia

What's On Deck?

We're in the homestretch working on the final touches for the newest release: Returning to Your Ethereal Restore Point  PDF, MP3 and bonus clearings!

It's looking like a mid-June release and this thing really took on a life of it's own - I think you'll be really pleased with it. It's good for either the novice who just wants to listen and have things change and radiate higher in Energy, Frequency and Vibration. And the pros witll love it because it gives instructions on how to raise your energy and go above things. We're already getting in some amazing comments from our Beta testers. 

Things people have said after listening to this: 

"reinforcement of positive feelings"

"feels like a brain reboot"

"like a squeegee clearing gunk off your windshield" 

"reminds me of my creative potency"

"it untangles the fish net of trauma and negative self-talk"

"relaxing and rejuvenating to listen to"

"easy to listen to but the impact is immense!"

"I definitely felt lighter each time I listened"

"If you had to choose one clearing track from Jimmy’s treasure chest...this would be it!"

"a powerful recording creating an instant positive shift in wellbeing, calmness, peacefulness, and lightness."

The Fish Market

Our online shop is getting a makeover! Get a preview now as you look over the 40+ audio titles in our MyBeliefWorks Audio Collections. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s)  We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better and we are ALWAYS working on the next one. Don’t forget… you can share these with your immediate friends and family.  

The Prosperity Collection  The Body, Mind and Spirit Collection The Improve Your Life Collection

Browse over 45 Videos in the Zoom Replay Collection 

The 5 Anchors Energy Process The Purple Rain Energy Process The Magical Golden Key Process TheNight Passage Sleep Process  

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you. Looking for a new job?  Going through a court proceeding? Upcoming surgery scheduled for you or a loved one?  Need help selling or buying a property? Troubled times in your relationship? These are just some of the life at the crossroads events that are ideal for My Daily Prayer program.

30 Days of Daily Prayer (single month) - $99/month This $99 service is for ONE SINGLE MONTH of 30 DAYS ONLY.  Click here After the 30 days, you will receive an email from Jimmy and have the opportunity to renew for an additional month plus update your list, but you are under no obligation.

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

**NOTE: Most clients save money and choose the auto-renew option listed below so they do not miss a single day of prayers PLUS they take advantage of the cummulative effects of this service over time. Monthly subscription - $95/month on auto-renew 

Use PayPal for subscription Click here 

Use Stripe for subscription Click here. 

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

---------------------------------

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy?  If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins  

​Visit our ​O​nline ​Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

All are welcome to CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT to access the NEW and IMPROVED My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple Basic Training Course. Anchors Away Masterclass:  Sustain and clear and sovereign energetic field of dark energies and anomalies. Life Force Energy Masterclass: Enhance your fishing practice by approaching from a deeper, numeric level. MLF Mastery & Advanced Practitioner Certification Courses

Visit now, Click Here!

TGIFunny

Share

Tweet

Forward

Pinterest

Jimmy Mack | Appointments ​​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins Search FAQ Learn MyLiquidFish technique for FREE Clearing Audio Downloads​ and eBooks Get Certified in MLF Mastery or Practitioner Watch Free Videos on YouTube Radio Show Archives Healing and Grounding Mats ...enter code: MyLiquidFishfs at checkout for Free shipping! http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com ©1996-2024 All Rights Reserved.  

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.sandybidinger.com

[365dailyaffirmations]

TGIWednesday: The simple way to improve your health

TGIWednesday News

Our bodies are over 70% water. 🌊  Imagine how many clients I speak with daily who aren't even close to drinking enough water?  It can cause headaches, joint pain, exhaustion, poor memory and the list goes on. 🙃 During LIVE sessions we can always figure out exactly how many ounces or liters you need to drink daily just to break even!  Also we can test if your water circuits are turned on or not. 🔄  This is an energetic switch which seems to allow more water distribution.  If your water switch is turned off, you'll always seem thirsty, run to the bathroom constantly and your body will act like it's dehydrated. Take extra care now that you've read this to get your daily allowance of water into your routine.  My rough calculation is everyone needs at least a MINIMUM 44 ounces or 1.30 liters per day of water. 🥤 That's water, other drinks don't count!  It's ok to drink even more, but I've also seen clients who drink too much water and flush out all their minerals and the good stuff, so like life; it is a yin and yang balance. ☯️  Drink up! "We are all one and our origin is the Sea" - Armin Van Buren 

Reach out whenever we can help/contribute to you and yours in any way. View Calendar First, Then Pay and Schedule 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins | Appointments

TGIWednesday Video Download

 ~ MY WATER CIRCUITS ARE TURNED ON ~

I believe, think, know and feel that my water circuits are turned on allowing me to utilize water in the most productive manner.  I know when, where, how and why to stay hydrated, and make it a point to drink more water to improve my life and I am ready, willing and able to make minor changes like drinking more water so that my overall health improves.  I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.  If you'll make a little daily progress, the rest of your life will be the best of your life!

▶️ Watch here on YouTube - Please Like 👍 and Subscribe 🔔

FREE Live Appearances

JOIN THE FINALLY FEEL FREE TELESUMMIT Series 3 with host Aiswarya Starting on May 25th and Awaken Your True Soul Design and Destiny

This is more than just an event; it's a turning point. Equip yourself with the tools, insights, and support you need to break free from the chains of the ordinary and create an overflow of vibrancy, abundance, conscious love, and divine support in 2024. I've been invited as one of the dozens of speakers during this 25 day event. FREE REGISTRATION, Sign up here!

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

May LIVE  Zoom Event

Special Announcement! For the remainder of 2024, each month we will focus on the theme of Clearing the 7 Well-Springs of Life during our monthly Zoom event.  Body, Mind, Spirit, Relationships, Health, Money, Work/Job/Career/Purpose

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2024 4:00pm ET  |  1:00pm PT  | 10:00pm UK Pre-registration is $22 30 minutes live | Includes replay access SIGN UP HERE: 👉https://calendly.com/jmh-calls/body-clearings-ywr Then submit your 3 brief statements to change in the format below by Wed. the 29th to support@jimmymackhealing.com  IMPT:  All Darius YWR Season 27 Package B buyers are receiving this call free with your purchase.  Look for a call confirmation email and reminders to send in your submissions in the coming days.

THEME:  Body Clearings: Head to Toe 1) Check up from the Neck Up One of the clearing submissions from you can be about or include anything from the neck up. [No long stories, please be brief].  Suggestions include: stuck senses, sight, hearing, tinnitus, lack of taste, lack of smell, teeth issues, thyroid, throat, speaking, memory loss, hair loss, (you get the idea) 2)  Torso / Main Body  Clearing you from things like: shoulder pain, back issues, arm and hand challenges issues with blood circulation, organs, glands or systems, heart issues, lungs, acid reflux, indigestion, too much weight loss or gain. 3) From the Waist Down Items can include: elimination too loose or too constipated, sexual dysfunctions, bladder leakage, hips, knees, feet, adema, neuropathy, temperature of too cold or too hot, balance when walking, stamina. We want you to get the most out of the event and yet for it to be organized, and have a cadence or rhythm of clearings for everyone! 

Pre-Register Here - $22

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

MAY 22ND "Today I will realize that where I am today has potential to elevate me to heights unknown in a very short period of time. I will fulfill my duties with passion and determination and I will hold my dream close to my chest and remember that all things are possible when I believe."

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

From the Fish Box

MY DAILY PRAYER TESTIMONIAL

 Hi Jimmy, Just wanted you to know that the MRI report came back as "no evidence of tumor progression."  Yeah!!!  So grateful.  We'll meet with the Oncologist next week.  Again, we express gratitude to you Jimmy and your team.  We know daily prayers are answered."   - Courtney / Virginia

What's On Deck?

We're in the homestretch working on the final touches for the newest release: Returning to Your Ethereal Restore Point  PDF, MP3 and bonus clearings!

It's looking like a mid-June release and this thing really took on a life of it's own - I think you'll be really pleased with it. It's good for either the novice who just wants to listen and have things change and radiate higher in Energy, Frequency and Vibration. And the pros witll love it because it gives instructions on how to raise your energy and go above things. We're already getting in some amazing comments from our Beta testers. 

Things people have said after listening to this: 

"reinforcement of positive feelings"

"feels like a brain reboot"

"like a squeegee clearing gunk off your windshield" 

"reminds me of my creative potency"

"it untangles the fish net of trauma and negative self-talk"

"relaxing and rejuvenating to listen to"

"easy to listen to but the impact is immense!"

"I definitely felt lighter each time I listened"

"If you had to choose one clearing track from Jimmy’s treasure chest...this would be it!"

"a powerful recording creating an instant positive shift in wellbeing, calmness, peacefulness, and lightness."

The Fish Market

Our online shop is getting a makeover! Get a preview now as you look over the 40+ audio titles in our MyBeliefWorks Audio Collections. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s)  We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better and we are ALWAYS working on the next one. Don’t forget… you can share these with your immediate friends and family.  

The Prosperity Collection  The Body, Mind and Spirit Collection The Improve Your Life Collection

Browse over 45 Videos in the Zoom Replay Collection 

The 5 Anchors Energy Process The Purple Rain Energy Process The Magical Golden Key Process TheNight Passage Sleep Process  

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you. Looking for a new job?  Going through a court proceeding? Upcoming surgery scheduled for you or a loved one?  Need help selling or buying a property? Troubled times in your relationship? These are just some of the life at the crossroads events that are ideal for My Daily Prayer program.

30 Days of Daily Prayer (single month) - $99/month This $99 service is for ONE SINGLE MONTH of 30 DAYS ONLY.  Click here After the 30 days, you will receive an email from Jimmy and have the opportunity to renew for an additional month plus update your list, but you are under no obligation.

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

**NOTE: Most clients save money and choose the auto-renew option listed below so they do not miss a single day of prayers PLUS they take advantage of the cummulative effects of this service over time. Monthly subscription - $95/month on auto-renew 

Use PayPal for subscription Click here 

Use Stripe for subscription Click here. 

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

---------------------------------

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy?  If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins  

​Visit our ​O​nline ​Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

All are welcome to CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT to access the NEW and IMPROVED My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple Basic Training Course. Anchors Away Masterclass:  Sustain and clear and sovereign energetic field of dark energies and anomalies. Life Force Energy Masterclass: Enhance your fishing practice by approaching from a deeper, numeric level. MLF Mastery & Advanced Practitioner Certification Courses

Visit now, Click Here!

TGIFunny

Share

Tweet

Forward

Pinterest

Jimmy Mack | Appointments ​​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins Search FAQ Learn MyLiquidFish technique for FREE Clearing Audio Downloads​ and eBooks Get Certified in MLF Mastery or Practitioner Watch Free Videos on YouTube Radio Show Archives Healing and Grounding Mats ...enter code: MyLiquidFishfs at checkout for Free shipping! http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com ©1996-2024 All Rights Reserved.  

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.sandybidinger.com

[divinefishingtips]

TGIWednesday: The simple way to improve your health

TGIWednesday News

Our bodies are over 70% water. 🌊  Imagine how many clients I speak with daily who aren't even close to drinking enough water?  It can cause headaches, joint pain, exhaustion, poor memory and the list goes on. 🙃 During LIVE sessions we can always figure out exactly how many ounces or liters you need to drink daily just to break even!  Also we can test if your water circuits are turned on or not. 🔄  This is an energetic switch which seems to allow more water distribution.  If your water switch is turned off, you'll always seem thirsty, run to the bathroom constantly and your body will act like it's dehydrated. Take extra care now that you've read this to get your daily allowance of water into your routine.  My rough calculation is everyone needs at least a MINIMUM 44 ounces or 1.30 liters per day of water. 🥤 That's water, other drinks don't count!  It's ok to drink even more, but I've also seen clients who drink too much water and flush out all their minerals and the good stuff, so like life; it is a yin and yang balance. ☯️  Drink up! "We are all one and our origin is the Sea" - Armin Van Buren 

Reach out whenever we can help/contribute to you and yours in any way. View Calendar First, Then Pay and Schedule 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins | Appointments

TGIWednesday Video Download

 ~ MY WATER CIRCUITS ARE TURNED ON ~

I believe, think, know and feel that my water circuits are turned on allowing me to utilize water in the most productive manner.  I know when, where, how and why to stay hydrated, and make it a point to drink more water to improve my life and I am ready, willing and able to make minor changes like drinking more water so that my overall health improves.  I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.  If you'll make a little daily progress, the rest of your life will be the best of your life!

▶️ Watch here on YouTube - Please Like 👍 and Subscribe 🔔

FREE Live Appearances

JOIN THE FINALLY FEEL FREE TELESUMMIT Series 3 with host Aiswarya Starting on May 25th and Awaken Your True Soul Design and Destiny

This is more than just an event; it's a turning point. Equip yourself with the tools, insights, and support you need to break free from the chains of the ordinary and create an overflow of vibrancy, abundance, conscious love, and divine support in 2024. I've been invited as one of the dozens of speakers during this 25 day event. FREE REGISTRATION, Sign up here!

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

May LIVE  Zoom Event

Special Announcement! For the remainder of 2024, each month we will focus on the theme of Clearing the 7 Well-Springs of Life during our monthly Zoom event.  Body, Mind, Spirit, Relationships, Health, Money, Work/Job/Career/Purpose

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2024 4:00pm ET  |  1:00pm PT  | 10:00pm UK Pre-registration is $22 30 minutes live | Includes replay access SIGN UP HERE: 👉https://calendly.com/jmh-calls/body-clearings-ywr Then submit your 3 brief statements to change in the format below by Wed. the 29th to support@jimmymackhealing.com  IMPT:  All Darius YWR Season 27 Package B buyers are receiving this call free with your purchase.  Look for a call confirmation email and reminders to send in your submissions in the coming days.

THEME:  Body Clearings: Head to Toe 1) Check up from the Neck Up One of the clearing submissions from you can be about or include anything from the neck up. [No long stories, please be brief].  Suggestions include: stuck senses, sight, hearing, tinnitus, lack of taste, lack of smell, teeth issues, thyroid, throat, speaking, memory loss, hair loss, (you get the idea) 2)  Torso / Main Body  Clearing you from things like: shoulder pain, back issues, arm and hand challenges issues with blood circulation, organs, glands or systems, heart issues, lungs, acid reflux, indigestion, too much weight loss or gain. 3) From the Waist Down Items can include: elimination too loose or too constipated, sexual dysfunctions, bladder leakage, hips, knees, feet, adema, neuropathy, temperature of too cold or too hot, balance when walking, stamina. We want you to get the most out of the event and yet for it to be organized, and have a cadence or rhythm of clearings for everyone! 

Pre-Register Here - $22

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

MAY 22ND "Today I will realize that where I am today has potential to elevate me to heights unknown in a very short period of time. I will fulfill my duties with passion and determination and I will hold my dream close to my chest and remember that all things are possible when I believe."

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

From the Fish Box

MY DAILY PRAYER TESTIMONIAL

 Hi Jimmy, Just wanted you to know that the MRI report came back as "no evidence of tumor progression."  Yeah!!!  So grateful.  We'll meet with the Oncologist next week.  Again, we express gratitude to you Jimmy and your team.  We know daily prayers are answered."   - Courtney / Virginia

What's On Deck?

We're in the homestretch working on the final touches for the newest release: Returning to Your Ethereal Restore Point  PDF, MP3 and bonus clearings!

It's looking like a mid-June release and this thing really took on a life of it's own - I think you'll be really pleased with it. It's good for either the novice who just wants to listen and have things change and radiate higher in Energy, Frequency and Vibration. And the pros witll love it because it gives instructions on how to raise your energy and go above things. We're already getting in some amazing comments from our Beta testers. 

Things people have said after listening to this: 

"reinforcement of positive feelings"

"feels like a brain reboot"

"like a squeegee clearing gunk off your windshield" 

"reminds me of my creative potency"

"it untangles the fish net of trauma and negative self-talk"

"relaxing and rejuvenating to listen to"

"easy to listen to but the impact is immense!"

"I definitely felt lighter each time I listened"

"If you had to choose one clearing track from Jimmy’s treasure chest...this would be it!"

"a powerful recording creating an instant positive shift in wellbeing, calmness, peacefulness, and lightness."

The Fish Market

Our online shop is getting a makeover! Get a preview now as you look over the 40+ audio titles in our MyBeliefWorks Audio Collections. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s)  We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better and we are ALWAYS working on the next one. Don’t forget… you can share these with your immediate friends and family.  

The Prosperity Collection  The Body, Mind and Spirit Collection The Improve Your Life Collection

Browse over 45 Videos in the Zoom Replay Collection 

The 5 Anchors Energy Process The Purple Rain Energy Process The Magical Golden Key Process TheNight Passage Sleep Process  

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you. Looking for a new job?  Going through a court proceeding? Upcoming surgery scheduled for you or a loved one?  Need help selling or buying a property? Troubled times in your relationship? These are just some of the life at the crossroads events that are ideal for My Daily Prayer program.

30 Days of Daily Prayer (single month) - $99/month This $99 service is for ONE SINGLE MONTH of 30 DAYS ONLY.  Click here After the 30 days, you will receive an email from Jimmy and have the opportunity to renew for an additional month plus update your list, but you are under no obligation.

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

**NOTE: Most clients save money and choose the auto-renew option listed below so they do not miss a single day of prayers PLUS they take advantage of the cummulative effects of this service over time. Monthly subscription - $95/month on auto-renew 

Use PayPal for subscription Click here 

Use Stripe for subscription Click here. 

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

---------------------------------

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy?  If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins  

​Visit our ​O​nline ​Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

All are welcome to CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT to access the NEW and IMPROVED My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple Basic Training Course. Anchors Away Masterclass:  Sustain and clear and sovereign energetic field of dark energies and anomalies. Life Force Energy Masterclass: Enhance your fishing practice by approaching from a deeper, numeric level. MLF Mastery & Advanced Practitioner Certification Courses

Visit now, Click Here!

TGIFunny

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Jimmy Mack | Appointments ​​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins Search FAQ Learn MyLiquidFish technique for FREE Clearing Audio Downloads​ and eBooks Get Certified in MLF Mastery or Practitioner Watch Free Videos on YouTube Radio Show Archives Healing and Grounding Mats ...enter code: MyLiquidFishfs at checkout for Free shipping! http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com ©1996-2024 All Rights Reserved.  

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.sandybidinger.com

[thedivinefish]

TGIWednesday: The simple way to improve your health

TGIWednesday News

Our bodies are over 70% water. 🌊  Imagine how many clients I speak with daily who aren't even close to drinking enough water?  It can cause headaches, joint pain, exhaustion, poor memory and the list goes on. 🙃 During LIVE sessions we can always figure out exactly how many ounces or liters you need to drink daily just to break even!  Also we can test if your water circuits are turned on or not. 🔄  This is an energetic switch which seems to allow more water distribution.  If your water switch is turned off, you'll always seem thirsty, run to the bathroom constantly and your body will act like it's dehydrated. Take extra care now that you've read this to get your daily allowance of water into your routine.  My rough calculation is everyone needs at least a MINIMUM 44 ounces or 1.30 liters per day of water. 🥤 That's water, other drinks don't count!  It's ok to drink even more, but I've also seen clients who drink too much water and flush out all their minerals and the good stuff, so like life; it is a yin and yang balance. ☯️  Drink up! "We are all one and our origin is the Sea" - Armin Van Buren 

Reach out whenever we can help/contribute to you and yours in any way. View Calendar First, Then Pay and Schedule 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins | Appointments

TGIWednesday Video Download

 ~ MY WATER CIRCUITS ARE TURNED ON ~

I believe, think, know and feel that my water circuits are turned on allowing me to utilize water in the most productive manner.  I know when, where, how and why to stay hydrated, and make it a point to drink more water to improve my life and I am ready, willing and able to make minor changes like drinking more water so that my overall health improves.  I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.  If you'll make a little daily progress, the rest of your life will be the best of your life!

▶️ Watch here on YouTube - Please Like 👍 and Subscribe 🔔

FREE Live Appearances

JOIN THE FINALLY FEEL FREE TELESUMMIT Series 3 with host Aiswarya Starting on May 25th and Awaken Your True Soul Design and Destiny

This is more than just an event; it's a turning point. Equip yourself with the tools, insights, and support you need to break free from the chains of the ordinary and create an overflow of vibrancy, abundance, conscious love, and divine support in 2024. I've been invited as one of the dozens of speakers during this 25 day event. FREE REGISTRATION, Sign up here!

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

May LIVE  Zoom Event

Special Announcement! For the remainder of 2024, each month we will focus on the theme of Clearing the 7 Well-Springs of Life during our monthly Zoom event.  Body, Mind, Spirit, Relationships, Health, Money, Work/Job/Career/Purpose

THURSDAY MAY 30, 2024 4:00pm ET  |  1:00pm PT  | 10:00pm UK Pre-registration is $22 30 minutes live | Includes replay access SIGN UP HERE: 👉https://calendly.com/jmh-calls/body-clearings-ywr Then submit your 3 brief statements to change in the format below by Wed. the 29th to support@jimmymackhealing.com  IMPT:  All Darius YWR Season 27 Package B buyers are receiving this call free with your purchase.  Look for a call confirmation email and reminders to send in your submissions in the coming days.

THEME:  Body Clearings: Head to Toe 1) Check up from the Neck Up One of the clearing submissions from you can be about or include anything from the neck up. [No long stories, please be brief].  Suggestions include: stuck senses, sight, hearing, tinnitus, lack of taste, lack of smell, teeth issues, thyroid, throat, speaking, memory loss, hair loss, (you get the idea) 2)  Torso / Main Body  Clearing you from things like: shoulder pain, back issues, arm and hand challenges issues with blood circulation, organs, glands or systems, heart issues, lungs, acid reflux, indigestion, too much weight loss or gain. 3) From the Waist Down Items can include: elimination too loose or too constipated, sexual dysfunctions, bladder leakage, hips, knees, feet, adema, neuropathy, temperature of too cold or too hot, balance when walking, stamina. We want you to get the most out of the event and yet for it to be organized, and have a cadence or rhythm of clearings for everyone! 

Pre-Register Here - $22

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

MAY 22ND "Today I will realize that where I am today has potential to elevate me to heights unknown in a very short period of time. I will fulfill my duties with passion and determination and I will hold my dream close to my chest and remember that all things are possible when I believe."

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

From the Fish Box

MY DAILY PRAYER TESTIMONIAL

 Hi Jimmy, Just wanted you to know that the MRI report came back as "no evidence of tumor progression."  Yeah!!!  So grateful.  We'll meet with the Oncologist next week.  Again, we express gratitude to you Jimmy and your team.  We know daily prayers are answered."   - Courtney / Virginia

What's On Deck?

We're in the homestretch working on the final touches for the newest release: Returning to Your Ethereal Restore Point  PDF, MP3 and bonus clearings!

It's looking like a mid-June release and this thing really took on a life of it's own - I think you'll be really pleased with it. It's good for either the novice who just wants to listen and have things change and radiate higher in Energy, Frequency and Vibration. And the pros witll love it because it gives instructions on how to raise your energy and go above things. We're already getting in some amazing comments from our Beta testers. 

Things people have said after listening to this: 

"reinforcement of positive feelings"

"feels like a brain reboot"

"like a squeegee clearing gunk off your windshield" 

"reminds me of my creative potency"

"it untangles the fish net of trauma and negative self-talk"

"relaxing and rejuvenating to listen to"

"easy to listen to but the impact is immense!"

"I definitely felt lighter each time I listened"

"If you had to choose one clearing track from Jimmy’s treasure chest...this would be it!"

"a powerful recording creating an instant positive shift in wellbeing, calmness, peacefulness, and lightness."

The Fish Market

Our online shop is getting a makeover! Get a preview now as you look over the 40+ audio titles in our MyBeliefWorks Audio Collections. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s)  We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better and we are ALWAYS working on the next one. Don’t forget… you can share these with your immediate friends and family.  

The Prosperity Collection  The Body, Mind and Spirit Collection The Improve Your Life Collection

Browse over 45 Videos in the Zoom Replay Collection 

The 5 Anchors Energy Process The Purple Rain Energy Process The Magical Golden Key Process TheNight Passage Sleep Process  

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you. Looking for a new job?  Going through a court proceeding? Upcoming surgery scheduled for you or a loved one?  Need help selling or buying a property? Troubled times in your relationship? These are just some of the life at the crossroads events that are ideal for My Daily Prayer program.

30 Days of Daily Prayer (single month) - $99/month This $99 service is for ONE SINGLE MONTH of 30 DAYS ONLY.  Click here After the 30 days, you will receive an email from Jimmy and have the opportunity to renew for an additional month plus update your list, but you are under no obligation.

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

**NOTE: Most clients save money and choose the auto-renew option listed below so they do not miss a single day of prayers PLUS they take advantage of the cummulative effects of this service over time. Monthly subscription - $95/month on auto-renew 

Use PayPal for subscription Click here 

Use Stripe for subscription Click here. 

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

---------------------------------

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy?  If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins  

​Visit our ​O​nline ​Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

All are welcome to CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT to access the NEW and IMPROVED My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple Basic Training Course. Anchors Away Masterclass:  Sustain and clear and sovereign energetic field of dark energies and anomalies. Life Force Energy Masterclass: Enhance your fishing practice by approaching from a deeper, numeric level. MLF Mastery & Advanced Practitioner Certification Courses

Visit now, Click Here!

TGIFunny

Share

Tweet

Forward

Pinterest

Jimmy Mack | Appointments ​​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins  | 30 mins  | 60 mins Search FAQ Learn MyLiquidFish technique for FREE Clearing Audio Downloads​ and eBooks Get Certified in MLF Mastery or Practitioner Watch Free Videos on YouTube Radio Show Archives Healing and Grounding Mats ...enter code: MyLiquidFishfs at checkout for Free shipping! http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com ©1996-2024 All Rights Reserved.  

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.sandybidinger.com

[silence-burns]

Please Hate Me //part 37

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine​ Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers

The vast sitting area of the rooms was where Loki and you spent the rest of the night. It was a comfortable place, clad in silks and velvets, but there was a certain tension in the air that prevented you from enjoying it fully. 

The sounds coming from outside, mostly from the wilderness of gardens beyond the balcony. They were nothing of what you might've experienced on Earth. The wild shrieks followed by soft cooing and voices unnervingly similar to child's laughter sent shivers down your spine whenever you tried to imagine what sort of creature might make them. 

And how close it was.

There was fruit left on the table in a large bowl polished to the point of mirroring whatever came close to it. Some of them resembled in shape what you knew from Earth, but there were many that didn't. 

You reached for a yellow roundish one and peeled the skin off. It had a sour taste of overripe mush. 

Loki munched on small blue berries while he sat by the fire. He did his best to remain calm, but his foot kept twitching nervously every now and then. 

"How many assassinations have you been through?" you asked when you sat next to him. He turned to let you put your head on his knees. 

"Two for political reasons, back on Asgard. Some idiots thought they could wipe out the ruling dynasty and take over. There was one more when Thor and I have been sent as ambassadors to a place newly conquered and visibly unhappy about it. And one when I just didn't get along with some noble. To this day I have no idea why," he stated with a smile that said otherwise. 

His finger followed the plane of your brow tenderly. 

"Sounds like you were a dick to the wrong person. You have that effect on people." 

"...could be."

A soft knock at the door ended the moment. You looked through the balcony. The colors began to shift. 

A man you'd never seen before waited for you in the corridor. You weren't sure if he was a guard, but the thin, needle-like sword by his side suggested so. Or maybe no one there felt safe anymore. 

Loki took your hand as you followed the silent man. He was as tall as the High Prince and the Queen, but of a slender build, almost as if he would break should any pressure be applied to his bones. What startled you the most was that you were finally able to see him clearly. The shadows still seemed to cling to him as a second skin, but there was no blurriness that made your head hurt like yesterday. 

His sharp and cold eyes noticed you watching him. There was no softness to his features. The untamed darkness of his skin shifted wildly as a storm front would swallow the sky in endless hunger. 

He guided you through winding paths between the pillars in shades of off-gray, partially hidden under the climbing ropes of tiny flowers. The breeze snuck between them, careful as to not make a sound. 

The man led you to a terrace bathed in shadow from overhanging roses. Their thick thorns and sturdy branches intertwined savagely, forming a close-packed, unbreakable surface. 

"High Prince." Loki bowed his head toward the lord waiting underneath the roses. You quickly followed suit. . 

The guard left you without a word, walking away on silent, bare feet. 

The High Prince wore a tunic of deep blues and intricate patterns of interlaced branches, or maybe animals, or maybe spiders with their long, thin legs creeping from behind whatever tried to run. The design shifted whenever you thought you finally grasped it. You turned your eyes away before it became impossible. 

"Despite the outrage among my people," he said in a tone rich with shimmering starlight, "I still hope this mess can be solved bloodlessly. And quickly." 

His head was close to the concentrated woven wall of thorns and roses above him. The Prince didn't seem to bother staying careful. His horns, painted with a silver dye, glinted sharply. 

"We'll do our best," Loki promised. "What happened on the day of the murder?" 

"Nothing beyond the usual. Asgard's ambassador had taken a liking to our library, and spent most of his days there, along with one of the librarian's assistants. And then one day, they were found right there, bloodied and cold." His hand moved. The long, spindly fingers were tipped with claws. 

He motioned towards a niche under the overhanging roses. When you first entered the balcony, you thought it was bathed in dense shadow. But shadows could never be red. 

"The lord had of course faded by the time his remains were found, and not much was left of him. We have moved the Asgardian’s… body to the rooms he used to occupy, and spelled it to remain intact had you any need to investigate it."

"We are terribly sorry for the loss," Loki said, watching the dark splotches of dried blood. Judging by their expanse, no one bothered to clean them. 

You wondered if, in a world where its inhabitants simply faded, and their life energy was returned to the core of their world, they were surprised to see such a mess left. You looked up at the roses in full bloom, their flowers meaty and wide open to the endless light of the sky without sun. 

The Prince followed your gaze. 

"Beautiful, aren't they?" For the first time since arriving, he addressed you. "I have never seen them bloom. The assistant's link to the core wasn't strong, but even it was enough to revive a part of it." 

Despite the warmth of the castle, you shivered. There was nothing human in the eyes regarding you with calculated care. 

"We'll do our best to bring this matter to a swift end," Loki said, taking a casual step ahead, cutting through that stare. "And investigate everything thoroughly." 

The smile he wore like an armor was edged and unpleasant. In a place where thoughts shaped reality, words could be knives, used carefully and meticulously. 

"I hope so." 

The High Prince left the balcony, his horns scratching the unyielding surface of roses. One of them was cut, and rained down in tears of red petals. The spiraling patterns of the lord's tunic seemed to look at you as he walked into the bright corridors with his hands clasped behind his back. There was something wrong with the shadows circling beneath his feet. 

You let out a breath you hadn’t noticed you were holding. "I try really hard, but the longer we stay here, the harder it gets to find at least one normal thing in this place." 

"I promise that once we're done here, I'll show you a world less… corrupted."

"I honestly can't wait." 

You walked over to the place where two people you'd never get to know had their lives ended. There was nothing special about the crumbling stone, corroded by the passing of time and the shifting currents of energy in the air. 

Loki reached into the depths of his magic in hope of finding any trace of whoever was behind it. But the Edge's magic was wild and tangled, and whoever paid a visit there, left no magical footprint. 

Loki came closer and reached over your shoulder. The curtain of roses lifted a little, showing a hole where the balcony's railing should've been. Beneath it, the castle's wall was in a rough state, with pieces missing. You both looked down through it, toward the ground. 

"I may not be an expert climber," you said, "but I have a feeling getting on this balcony through there wouldn't really be a problem." 

"I am an expert climber, especially when it comes to castles," Loki judged the distance and crumbled stone, "and it definitely wouldn't. The only question is, why not actually use the stairs?" 

"If I was a 7 foot tall High Prince with murderous intent, I'd prefer to stay out of people's sight too. And if I knew the whereabouts of the most hated person in my kingdom, I don't think it'd be hard to sneak into the place he passes on his way from the library every day."

"That sounds oddly specific, darling, and almost as if you suggest that the most important lord on the Edge wanted to murder that ambassador, but not in a way that would immediately start a war. Why do it sneakily and request an investigation? That sounds like extra steps leading nowhere." 

"That is a hole in my theory," you admitted, walking away from the dried swaths of blood. "But you have to admit he acts a little off. Literally everything is suspicious about him. And it would actually make sense if he started murdering people in order to keep himself from fading. You've seen what it already did to some roses. If he used more people..."

You leaned on the railing and Loki followed. The gardens the balcony overlooked were a tangled chaos of branches, flowers, and trees leaning heavily to the sides, as if in the middle of moving. Huge statues of people you had no knowledge about rose through them, staring with blind eyes. If anyone wanted to use them as cover to get to the wall, it wouldn't be a problem. But what for? 

You put your head on Loki's shoulder and felt his arm wrap around your waist. 

"My theory makes no sense," you said into the leather of his armor. 

"We don't have enough clues yet to make a sound one. Don't worry about it, we just got here." 

He sent you a soft smile, one he rarely let anyone see. It often caught you off-guard with how much tenderness could be found in his smallest gestures. It was a relief to have someone by your side, wherever you went and whatever you had to deal with. There was something reassuring with knowing that even in the vast expanse of the universe, you weren't alone. 

"Thank you," you muttered into his lips softly. 

Standing so close, you felt the moment his surprise shifted into something else. 

Loki pulled you closer into the kiss, with need and joy digging his fingers into the nape of your neck. He didn't force you, though, and when for the briefest moment something else caught your eye, he didn't stop you moving away. 

His lips were pink and the breath they caught, ragged. With heavy lids, Loki followed your gaze towards the gardens behind you. 

The Queen stood as still as if she already were one of the statues overlooking the gardens and the narrow, gravel paths winding between them. Her gown was made out of silk as ethereal and delicate as moonlight, and on anyone else, it would look regal and grand. But the fading was a cruel destiny, and one that paid no favor to those afflicted. The Queen clad in silks and jewelry like falling stars was barely there, gray despite the light bathing the world. Despite the remnants of life still dwelling deep inside her. 

Her eyes were empty to the home around her, no recognition or emotion showing on her face. She looked at a patch of flowers climbing over one of the statues, but it was uncertain if she actually saw them. 

An appropriate distance away, another figure stood. It was a woman with a headpiece covering her squat, stunted horns like morning mist on a spiderweb. A scar ran down her right cheek, old and badly healed. Her eyes were trained on the Queen, but her pose was stooped and bored. She must've been a guard delegated to ensure the well-being of the fading ghost of the Queen. 

"I might've just shifted into detective mode, because something is telling me that maybe we should think of looking for witnesses," you whispered. 

Loki shivered, feeling your breath brush his neck in a gentle caress. 

"Talking to her would be considered a great offense," he said with a slight rasp to his voice. "The ones who are fading are supposed to be left alone to reconcile with the core as their essence fades. It's a tradition, and an important rule." 

"When do we break it?" 

Loki eyed the guard. 

"...once she's alone. It shouldn't be difficult to find her, even though everyone seems to overlook her." 

"And that's why she could be a witness to so many things," you said with newfound hope. Something clenched in Loki's chest as he watched your face lit up. It was a beautiful sight. 

"Looks like we have a plan." He offered you his arm. "But before we spit on tradition, how about we pay a little visit to our lovely corpse?" 

"Of course." You took it. "I can't wait to see what he has to offer." 

[wc-ff]

X.

There wasn't much to be done in a situation like this. What could you do?

Sage was almost sure she'd have to plead for her job back after having two detectives come in to take her to the station and interrogate her, leaving them with one less staff member for the day. They were already short and had called her in on her day off. She could always use the extra money so she agreed to work.

She knew they would come asking for her eventually but she didn't expect for it to be this soon and it showed in her demeanor. She couldn't stop moving around and fidgeting with her fingers as she sat all alone in the dull colored room. The room was cool but she still felt hot as she waited for them to come back in. Sage was also beginning to taste blood from the excessive amount of gnawing she was doing to the insides of her cheeks.

Her eyes couldn't do anything but dart around the room as she sat there. They had nothing else to focus on. She looked like a train wreck but was trying her best to seem as cool as a cucumber.

The detectives abruptly entered the room with stone cold glares on their faces. They weren't exactly looking at Sage though, and it made her a little nervous because she couldn't keep her eyes off of them.

Agents Morris and Steele sat down almost simultaneously, Morris releasing a slow sigh as Steele sat the case file on the table and opened it up. She sat a few pictures of the twins' dead disfigured bodies out in front of the platinum haired woman and Sage instantly winced. Her eyes quickly averted back up to the detectives. She could have kept the close up of the girls out of her imagination forever but now it was permanently etched there.

Still, no one said anything. She didn't know what they wanted her to say to those photos.

Sandra was getting tired of looking at this spec of dirt who she already felt most likely did the crime. She was just ready to put this woman behind bars so the case would be over with. At that point, there were no other leading suspects. "Do you know these two young ladies?" Her voice came out firm and slightly echoed throughout the plain room.

The only color on the walls was a dull gray that contrasted with the darkness of the double-sided windows the detectives were using to watch Sage before they entered themselves. The table and chairs they were sitting on were also metal and cold to the touch. The interrogation room was cool in general and wasn't quite designed to make people feel comfortable.

"No, I don't." Sage answered without so much as a second glance towards the disturbing pictures that were still laid out in front of her.

"That's Kaniya Holt," Sandra spoke as she pointed at one of the disfigured bodies, "and this right here is Malaysia Holt. Mayor Holt's twin daughters and only children. Well they were at least." She added, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Sage with her lips cut into a scowl.

Ronald felt like it was then his turn to speak up. He knew how worked up his partner could get and if this was a good cop bad cop scenario, she would most definitely be the bad cop. "And your phone?" He pulled the evidence bag containing her phone seemingly out of nowhere and placed it on the table. "Was found at the scene of the crime."

"And I saw you running away from the crime scene the next day when we were gathering evidence. Perhaps coming back for a certain cellphone you dropped while you were running away after you finished murdering those two girls." Agent Steele added, her voice stern like a mother scolding her child.

"What—no! I can explain that."

Sage barely even got to plea before Sandra cut in again. "Well you're gonna have to because surveillance cameras showed you running away from the crime scene around the estimated time of death. And after doing a little research... you have a motive better than anyone to hurt Malaysia and Kaniya."

The platinum haired woman's eyebrows instantly furrowed together. "What are you talking about motive? I just said that I don't know them." Her tone came out a bit more harsh now as she got defensive. She hated having to reiterate herself, it didn't matter who it was to.

Sandra only smirked and flipped through a few pages that rested in the manila folder sitting in front of her before laying out an article about Shamar's car accident from a couple of years ago. The headline read: Man Left in Critical Condition After Brutal Collision on Intersection.

Sage's face turned up in disgust and she pushed the article away, no longer wanting to read it. The way the title alone sounded as if there was no empathy involved when coming up with it was enough to turn her off completely. "What does this have to do with them?"

"Kaniya Holt was behind the wheel of the vehicle that hit your father and her sister was in the passenger seat. They both came out seemingly unscathed." Steele responded as if the woman was slow for even asking her the question. She knew exactly what the detective was talking about, Sandra was sure of it.

Sage stared at her for a while, unable to form any words to reply with as her eyes unwillingly swelled up with fresh salty tears. They were the reason that her father could never hug his family again? Why wouldn't anyone have told her that? "N-no, you're lying. I would have heard about it, the news would have reported about it."

"C'mon now. They're the mayors daughters and Kaniya didn't even have her driver's permit so the drivers of the other vehicle were kept under wraps and you're angry about that... aren't you?" Agent Morris' Italian accent was in full effect as questioned her, studying her behavior.

"Of course I am. My dad almost died! That girl should have been in jail, not protected. And y'all knew about this and just did nothing about it? You say your duty is to protect and serve but only when it's convenient, huh?" In all honesty with the news she had just received, Sage had completely forgotten what she was being interrogated about and was just livid as hell now. They did nothing to help her family when it was their job to do so. It made her realize how corrupt the world really was and how close to home it could hit.

"You're angry we didn't do something about it so you took it upon yourself to get justice for your dad. It's only human to feel that way and all but you have to own up to what you did now and sign a confession. These girl's families deserved justice too." Ronald continued, trying his best to sound as soothing as possible so he wouldn't upset her anymore than he knew she already was.

Sage immediately sucked her teeth. "For the last time, I don't know those fucking girls and fuck their families!" She stood up from her seat as the detectives just sat back and watched her point a harsh finger at them. "Neither them or you gave a fuck about my family when it came down to it. But that doesn't mean that I killed those girls."

"So who did then?"

The light caramel toned woman's words got caught in her throat as she tried to think of a response. She gulped hard as she sat down and began trying to explain everything that had happened that night. The date, why she was walking through that area in the first place, and what she saw and heard coming from that abandoned house that night. She hated reliving that moment but knew she had to for the sake of her freedom.

Sandra and Ronald looked at each other before looking back over at their suspect. "So you mean to tell me a 'black figure' beat them to death?" Agent Steele looked Sage dead in the eyes as if she was completely bored by the story she had just told her. It was unconvincing to say the least. She had the strongest motive and was literally in the area at the time of death. Sandra knew for certain that they had their man, they just needed to get this damn confession out of her and she was making it hard.

"I don't know how else to describe it. The person was dressed in black from head to toe, I couldn't see any skin."

"How convenient." Sandra gave her a sarcastic toothless grin, not moved by her story in the slightest.

Suddenly the door busted open and in walked Sage's mother followed by her attorney. "Sage, you don't have to say anything else."

It was sort of already too late. She had already said everything that she needed to say, she just didn't know where to go from there. The detectives didn't seem like they believed her at all.

Steele immediately rolled her eyes and closed up the case file, already knowing exactly where this was going and it annoyed her. She wasn't finished with the suspect, she knew she could break her down if she just had a bit more time with her. Everything lined up and pointed to her as the murderer but it was all circumstantial evidence. Neither her prints nor DNA were found in the actual house or on the persons of the deceased so they needed that confession from her to be able to make the arrest. Sandra was itching to slap some cuffs on her and finally close the case.

"If it's ok with you all, I'd like to take my daughter home now. You interrupted her life enough today." Sanai spoke in the voice she used when she was trying to sound as professional as possible.

Sandra scowled at the both of them but said nothing as she and Ronald watched them walk out of the door.

*******

Ronald sat in his office, typing away on his keyboard. His partner assumed he was doing the work to find more evidence on their case like she was, but instead he was chatting with a woman he had met on a dating app a few days ago.

She was average looking to him but she was of actual Italian descent and had a body that most women her age didn't have anymore so he felt like they could make something work. Thus far, she had been cool and funny. She had jet black hair that she had cut in a blunt bob that reached her shoulders, pale skin that had a few beauty marks scattered here and there, and thick fluffy eyebrows that arched perfectly over her dark brown eyes. She was a seven at the very least and since she exercised frequently, her body was nice and fit.

Ronald could only imagine how much stamina she'd have in bed. She seemed like she was down to find out too. They had planned to meet up that weekend at a bar for the first time and have a few drinks. He was ready to put that entire Chantell situation behind him now.

She had been texting him nonstop since the night before and apologizing about making him feel like she was playing with him but he could honestly care less. He said what he had to say already and wasn't going to spend anymore energy on it. He was too old to be playing games or going back and forth with anyone so he wasn't going to.

He already had his next few options lined up and while Chantell was one of the best looking ones, she wasn't the only one and that was something he felt he needed to make clear to her.

A light knock sounded off on his door which instantly caused his eyebrows to come together in confusion. Usually, Sandra would just barge right in without so much as a warning first so he was sure that it had to be someone else. "Come in." He called out, his eyes trained on the wooden office door.

As if he had thought her up himself, Chantell sashayed through the door and closed it shut behind her. Her bronzed skin was radiating and the lip gloss that coated her lips made them look extra kissable. An all black strapless sundress hugged her curves perfectly and she wore a pair of black furry Ugg slides on her feet to match, showcasing her freshly polished toes. Her hair was slicked back into a low curly puff with two stray curls hanging at her sideburns and framing her gorgeous face that was dressed in light makeup. Her natural beauty never failed to amaze Ronald. She looked good without even trying.

Still, he couldn't let her off the hook that quick. He wasn't about to allow her to hypnotize him. "What are you doin' in my office? I'm at work and my partner works right next door so if you think you're about to come bring drama into my workplace 'cause I ain't been answering you then you got another thing comin'." He seemed to say all in one breath while Chantell just inched closer to him.

She inwardly rolled her eyes about his nagging before he even knew what she was actually there for. She rounded the corner of his desk and approached him seductively causing him to roll back in his chair a bit, unsure of what her next move would be since the last thing he did was smack her food out of her hands and left her standing on her front porch.

Chantell reached out and lightly caressed his face, slowly making her way down to her knees. Within seconds, the detective's belt buckle was undone and his pants were unzipped. Ronald kept his arms at his sides but kept his eyes on her as she kept eye contact with him with each new movement she made.

Her soft plump lips wrapped themselves around the tip of his member, immediately causing it to begin to harden in her small hands. The middle aged man's eyes rolled to the back of his head as her tongue traced circles along the skin of his dick which had now grown stiff. She kept her eyes trained on him, knowing how it made men crazy when they looked in her eyes while her mouth was full of their manhood.

She was glad he wasn't an unattractive older guy because it would have made everything ten times harder. She knew she needed to get back into his good graces, especially after speaking about the surveillance video he was going to show her the night before. He couldn't leave her hanging like that.

One of Ronald's hands rested on the back of her head as she began bobbing it up and down, an audible grunt escaping his mouth which made her smirk to herself. She wasn't even giving her best effort and she still had him right where she wanted him.

Her spit slowly oozed down his shaft while she picked up her pace, deep throating the entirety of his length with no hands as loud gargling sounds filled his office. She continued to orally pleasure him, allowing herself to get sloppy and nasty with it until he released in her mouth, a long barely audible groan coming from his own since he was sure Sandra was still closed up in her office beside his.

Chantell gathered all of his nut and the tip of her tongue and traced small circles on his tip with it before sucking it back off and swallowing it whole, a smirk forming on her face as Ronald widened his eyes at her. She stuck her tongue out to show him that she hadn't missed a single drop of it.

He had never had a woman swallow his kids like that with no problem before. He couldn't do anything but watch her astonished. His ex-wife, Marjory, could and would never. She always said his semen was too salty to keep in her mouth and would spit it back onto him. He should have known she'd think that though because she barely seasoned her food.

"I'm sorry for what I said." She mumbled as she planted a light kiss on his skin of his shaft, batting her long mink eyelashes as she looked up at him. "Forgive me?"

Ronald couldn't even form any words so he just nodded his head instead which instantly made Chantell smile at him before standing to her feet. "Call me when you get off. Don't wanna get you into any issues with your partner." She added, along with a seductive wink before making her way back out of his office with a grin, twisting her ass with each step she took.

She had him right back where she wanted him.

*******

Loud and hurried knocks sounded off on Sergio's front door as if it were the police ready to break it down at any second. He smacked his lips and instinctively pulled his strap out from underneath his mattress before heading over to find out who the hell was banging on his door like that.

He looked through the peephole and immediately furrowed his eyebrows when he saw his sister's face staring back at him. They hadn't had any type of contact with each other since the day he went over there and Sanai slapped him. Sage hadn't texted him either so he wasn't sure what she was here for but he unlocked the door and swung it open anyway.

Sage instantly barged in, pushing Sergio with all her strength and causing him to stumble back a few feet, twisting his face up as he glared at her like she had lost her mind. He wasn't sure what she was mad about now but he didn't have the time or patience for her shenanigans at the moment. "Fuck is wrong with you?"

"What the fuck is wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with you!" She pushed him again and this time he forcefully grabbed her wrists, snatching them away from him. "You're the one that told me to watch the news so you knew who those girls were!"

Once he realized what she was rambling on about, his faced straightened out into a more bored expression. He was just telling her to let her know, he didn't think it would be a problem. "And?"

"And when you and daddy got into that accident, they were the ones driving the car that hit you. You didn't think that was something I should know?" Her face was a reddish tint and her blood was boiling at this point. Her family kept so many big things from her all the time when all she did was help them and she was beginning to get really tired of it.

Sergio slightly rolled his eyes at her dramatics. She was always overreacting to things that weren't that big of a deal and then blew up the same way she was doing now. "Why would you need to know that? You wasn't in the car. You wasn't even in the state. You wasn't around when it happened so it's irrelevant." He shrugged.

Sage only glared at him for a split second before she swung but her little brother's reflexes were a bit quicker than hers and he swiftly dodged out of the way in time before grabbing both of her arms and spinning her so that her back was to him as he pinned her hands by her sides. "Aye, stop fuckin' hitting me!"

"They think I killed them because dad got hurt and they didn't get in trouble for the accident. You should have fucking told me that when you found out it was them!" Tears were coming to her eyes because she was so pissed she couldn't take her anger out on him. He was stronger than her and had an advantage.

"I don't like talking about that shit Sage, you know that." Sergio retorted right before his sister abruptly stomped on his foot causing him to involuntarily let go of her as he howled in pain. He was barefoot and only wearing slides so he felt all of the creases from the bottom of her shoe sink into his toes.

Sage quickly tried to gain an advantage over him with the time she had bought herself but was again pinned down ten seconds later. Now they were both angry and their tempers were no match for each other. "You wouldn't understand Sage."

"No, I don't understand because you don't tell me shit and I barely see you because you moved out and never come around except when you feel like it. Mom was right, you're selfish!"

Sergio smacked his teeth. "Man, fuck you and fuck mom. Both of y'all bitches can go choke on a dick. Y'all not the ones that gotta walk around everyday feeling like it's your fault your family's fucked up now. We used to be close and now we always fighting and I'm the one that gotta carry that burden, not y'all."

"Gio, what the fuck are you even talking about? How could it be your fault when dad was protecting you from those girl's reckless driving? And they said they found you only with a few cuts and a broken arm in the passenger seat which was a miracle considering they hit that side."

Sage couldn't even see her brother's face because her back was turned to him but if she could, she'd know that he was silently shedding a few tears. He hated to be reminded of that night but it seemed like no matter what he did, even years later it would never stop. "They weren't the ones in the wrong that night, Sage. Kaniya just didn't have her permit but her light was green."

"So their light was green. That still doesn't make everything your fault, you weren't even driving—"

"I was driving, Sage!" He snapped causing the entire house to fall into an eerie silence. Sage began to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, realizing why her brother barely liked to come around or why he rarely saw his father in the hospital unless Shamar was asleep.

He felt guilty for being the reason their dad was the way he was and he beat himself up everyday for ruining his family with just one dumb mistake he wished he could take back. Everything was starting to make sense to her. The drugs, the isolation, the constant state of anger Sergio always seemed to be in. She couldn't even say it wasn't his fault because it was. He had only just turned fifteen when it happened so she was sure he didn't have his license and he still ran a red light.

"So why'd they say they found you in the passenger seat?"

Sergio released her arms and walked away from her, running his hands over his face as he began pacing the ground. He had lived with his secret for two years and hadn't told a soul. He wanted to keep it that way because he didn't want her to look at him any differently but something in him had to let her know. "They did find me there... I knew I would never be able to get my license if I was the one responsible for the accident so I switched me and dad around before the cops could show up and when they did, I acted like I had passed out from the impact so they wouldn't suspect anything. And dad never told them nothing either."

"So you moved daddy to the driver's seat? What if he was..." She trailed off, not even wanting to think of the possibility of her father passing away. Him getting hurt was enough heartbreak for her. "You really would have just let him take the fall like that?"

Sergio didn't look at her nor did he answer verbally but that told her everything she needed to know. She shook her head as she looked at her brother, barely being able to recognize the chirpy teenager she had left in charge of helping out their parents when she first went off to college.

With tears clouding her vision, she slowly began backing out of her brother's house before turning on her heel and running out the door.

[thesilkenlair]

(Casey Here!)

As much D&D as I play, you'd imagine I would eventually get around to illustrating some of their most iconic monsters! Which is to say, the ones that I personally find the most iconic. Which is to say, the ones I memorized when I was reading my dad's monster manual at age nine. Purple worm - Sandworms never go out of style. I've seen a lot of rad designs for this bugger over the editions, but I favor the slightly less reptilian older takes for this particular critter. It's kinda basic, but sometimes that's what you want. It's like a shark or a crocodile: Just flat out unchanged across the ages. Hook horror - I've heard it rumored that Gygax used a small Gigan figure to represent this monster. I can't verify that, but it definitely sounds right. Hook horrors are one of the very first things you meet when you play around in the caves, and they kind of remind me of the Father Deep monsters of the Hork Bajir homeworld that way. Mind flayer - Mind flayers! Basically, take all of your Dracula conventions and dip them in a fresh coat of Lovecraft. There's that old "decadent aristocratic upper caste system who literally eats the poor, but still somehow comes across as less evil than the actual real life 1%" setup that will never stop being relevant. Though personally, I see mind flayers as the first alternative for folks who want to play that monster-who-feels-the-urge-to-eat-their-friends-but-refuses-to-do-it shtick but don't want to deal with vampire baggage. You know, the furry option! ... Slimy? Rubbery? Do we have a word for anthro-cephalopods? I'm only a casual furry. Gelatinous cube - I'm not apologizing for giving this one a slot. Froghemoth - So, back when I participated in my very first long-term campaign, I played a druid. You've met Talia before. Naturally, I was chomping at the bit for the day I finally got to turn her into a froghemoth, and celebrated the day my wish was finally granted and she was allowed to chug human-supremacist-cultists like popcorn. Yeah, okay, the froghemoth is one of the classic vore-monsters. But it's a charming design in its own right. Kind of a freaky Hanna Barbara critter, like you'd see Space Ghost fighting. No matter how many artists draw it, they can never shake that inherent goofiness that third edition tried so hard to purge. I would probably cram them somewhere onto Fronterra if I was sure they were public domain. As is, I'm 99% certain that this is what Visser Three turned into when he ate Elfangor. Tarrasque - D&D's original kaiju! Kind of just takes the name and nothing else when it comes to its mythological origins, but I don't mind. The Tarrasque is that endgame "let's test the players" final boss monster... Or at least it's supposed to be. My DM reskinned it for our final Pathfinder session, and one of the PCs still nearly killed it in a single turn. Also, he let Talia turn into one, so maybe Pathfinder is just bullshit? Regardless, the Tarrasque has one of those simple, iconic designs. I've heard rumors it was based on the concept art for Fallout's deathclaws, and like the Gigan-figure, I can't verify this in any way. With its reptilian features, twin horns, spiny carapace and grabby fingies, it has an undeniable lizardlike quality that I can't help but find charming. Kinda feels like a more refined version of Zilla? Though for an insatiable eating machine, I notice a lot of artists give it very little belly to work with. Come on, this guy eats entire cities! Give him somewhere to put it! Rust monster - An icon of icons, the rust monster! Drawing its origin from a bizarre Chinese "dinosaur" toy, later designs have made it more insectoid in appearance, but never feeling QUITE like anything Earthly. It's the four limbs. Between the four limbs and the tail, it's hard to tell if it's an arthropod mimicking a vertebrate or the other way around. I'm pretty sure this is part of what inspired my ossaderm creatures for Fronterra. Also, Ryla can turn into one in our campaign. I have no shortage of havoc to wreak when the opportunity comes. Behir - Dragons in D&D are kind of... extra. Godlike beings, paragons of whatever personality trait they represent. Whenever there's something uber powerful in D&D, it gets compared to dragons. It makes them kind of unapproachable. Behirs provide all the essentials of a dragon - Serpentine body, scaly skin, horns, sapience, breath weapon, taste for human flesh - wrapped up in a smaller, weirder, IMO cooler package. You know, your Lambton Worms. A lot easier to port in and out of adventures, a lot less of an event when they show up, but still a formidable force in their own right. I like the behir. The behir knows how to taunt me just the right amount. Bulette - Another Chinese "dinosaur" figure monster, the bulette is actually another one I associate with Talia. Whenever we faced a problem that didn't have a glaringly and immediately obvious solution, she would turn into a bulette, whether it was for beating up robots, digging through obstacles, trampling smurfs, navigating labyrinths, distracting slashers with cute dog tricks... it was kind of her signature form. But shenanigans aside, the bulette is just an excellent monster. While the "land shark" shtick may be common, there's a lot more going on with the bulette's design. It's rumored to be a mad wizard's creation, as he combined a snapping turtle with an armadillo and mixed in a helping of demon blood to taste. Personally, I always considered that to be a neat little rumor to flesh out the world, but never assumed it to be true. The bulette just feels too naturalistic for that. Like some kind of protomammal or crocodylomorph, or weird triassic monstrosity. Magic and demons and dragons and so on DO affect the ecosystem. I always figured the bulette was just something that evolved to compete in this new biosphere. Owlbear - This one, on the other hand, I fully believe the "mad wizard was bored" explanation. Another chinasaur critter, the owlbear is frequently made fun of. What makes it scarier than a regular bear? It can't fly, so why have owl parts at all? Why trade fangs for a beak in what is at best a latural move? Well, first of all, fuck you, owls are creepy motherfuckers, and that alone is enough to justify it. But secondly, that's part of its charm. Besides some improved vision, the owl DOESN'T make it more dangerous. What makes the owlbear dangerous is that it's an insane, Frankensteinian monstrosity roaming uncontrolled through the wilderness! It doesn't need weaponry, its sheer temperament is enough to make it a worthy opponent. Sure, the practical threat might not be hugely above that of a bear, but storytelling isn't about numbers. Any asshole can go outside and get eaten by a bear. The owlbear is part of this world. The owlbear is a reminder of what magic can do. Someone somewhere actually made this thing, for whatever reason, and now the world is irrevocably changed because of it. Owlbears go beyond practicality. They bring the lore! Also, bears don't have very good eyesight, so the big owl eyes probably make them better hunters. Flumph - Is that a Japanese-style martian? Do we just have aliens in D&D? Dear lord, I love them! Okay, the flumph has got a sizable hatedom. And that hatedom can eat my ass, because the flumph is precious and perfect just the way it is! Flumphs are designed as a sort of sidekick-type creature. They're not very good fighters, but they bring knowledge and lore to the table. Whether they're aliens from some far off star, seeking your aid to prevent catastrophe, or psionic natives of the Underdark eager to bask in your positivity and hopefully stick it to the tyrants they're forced to share real estate with. My group generally treats them as straight up aliens, benevolent but strange. Course, we're all pretty strange, so we get along just fine. Otyugh - Okay so, the aberration creature type implies that this is something from another world that doesn't belong. And yet otyughs, which are aberrations, are an essential part of this world's ecosystem? Okay, I can buy the idea that an alien organism adapted to our world and is now a key part of it. Fronterra's got a TON of that. It just feels like after a point, the otyugh would be considered a beast? Otyughs are great. Every ecosystem needs a decomposer, and every fantasy story needs at least one dive into the sewers. Otyughs provide both, and are intelligent enough to keep the plot moving if it hits a snag. There's always going to be garbage, refuse, carrion, decay, things that need to be broken down and processed. Carrion crawler - The carrion crawler is pretty similar to the otyugh in that it's technically not considered a beast, and therefor must have its origins elsewhere, but feels so integrated into the ecosystem that it just feels like it belongs. They usually can't talk, so they're not just reskinned otyughs, but I still consider them pretty essential. Otyughs find a singular spot where waste is dumped and shovel it down at their leisure, while carrion crawlers skulk through the tunnels, actively seeking their food. The crawler got one of the most radical redesigns on the transition from second to third edition, but I can't really choose a single favorite. The oldschool tentacle-faced cutworm looks like it could be a real animal, while the googly-eyed Halloween decoration feels like it could be from another world, merely having set up shop here. Could there name apply to two wholly different creatures? If so, then I'm not sure which one mine would be considered. I kinda mashed them together into something that doesn't quite feel like either. But I like it for what it is. Maybe I'll sneak it onto Fronterra. Aboleth - Tentacled, telepathic sea creatures who turn humans into slimy minions, who remember everything their race has ever seen, and who are always plotting something behind the scenes. Yeah, the aboleths really crank up the Lovecraft elements. Actually, between the mind flayers, the flumphs and the aboleths, even the most oldschool D&D covered quite a few essential Lovecraftian bases. The flayers are your corrupt yet still recognizable humanoids who can be considered truly evil, the flumphs are benevolent-yet-bizarre guardians who know more than you, and the aboleths are the truly unknowable, sinister intellects. The fact that they can barely function on land honestly only adds to that, IMO. They're inherently difficult for a party to reach, and they offer some nice underwater adventure seeds. Not enough adventures go underwater. There's this perception that the ocean is bad for storytelling because so many writers lack the creativity to make it work. I wanna run an underwater adventure now. Beholder - Icon of icons! THE D&D monster! The beholder! Paranoid, jumpy, always five steps ahead and twenty steps perpendicular! Beholds are fun in just about every way. Between their wacky, diverse designs, their elaborate lairs, their eccentric personalities, their bizarre powers, you're never gonna run out of fun with beholders. Remorhaz - It's always been a thing that bothered me with environment-based monsters. Why does the ice monster who lives in the cold use ice as a weapon? Aren't most of the things it encounters going to be resistant to the cold? Sure, a cone of cold will still kill a polar bear, but a lot of the monsters in the tundra are outright immune to cold. A while dragon's not going to get much use out of its breath weapon fighting frost worms and frost giants. That's one reason the remorhaz sticks out to be. We have an icy tundra beast whose insides are a scorching furnace, which it can intensify and weaponize as it sees fit. Which also conveniently explains why its design - a sort of cobra-esque centipede - invokes warm-weather creatures, despite its icy environment. It's a nice subversion of the usual tropes, plus it's just a memorable, cool looking critter to begin with. On a smaller note, the remorhaz feels like a good loophole for Ryla's "no cold weather morphs" rule. Turning into something elementally affiliated with ice is no good, but a non-magical monster that survives the cold by superheating its insides? That seems perfectly viable to me!

[defeatedbyamerechild]

What are your favorite grunt designs in order of least to most favorite?

OK, this took me a while... Here’s the result:

#13: Team Flare grunts:

Kill me please.

#10: Team Rocket Grunt (RBY):

Folks didn’t even bother to design a girl grunt... I understand it was the first grunt design so all right, it’s very basic... And it didn’t change much later on, it’s true. But like... I’m not a fan of those boots and the whip...

#11: Team Plasma grunts (BW):

Would probably be 10x better without that hood in my personal opinion. I like the bottom part but I don’t really like the tops. Also that dude’s hair... I gotta add that this is totally not a bad desing, I recognize it’s overall pretty good, I just don’t like it.

#10: Team Rocket grunts (FRLG,HGSS):

Counting those as the same because the only big difference is the hair color and I like both. I think they improved the boots a lot and I like the colorful hair. ^^

#9: Team Rainbow Rocket grunts:

Not a huge difference from standard Rocket grunts, but the rainbow R adds some extra points. I also like the girl’s hair, it’s more similar to the FR/LG one, but it’s a bit more “messy”, I like it.

#8: Team Aqua grunts (RSE):

They are not bad, they have the “pirate” look to them, but I think they are a bit simple, specially compared to their counterpart Magma grunts... Not a super fan of their trousers. They are a water-type focused team, and like... long loose pants get soaked and unbearable when wet. Imagine them walking on the beach or near any body of water with those babies... Nope.

#7: Team Magma grunts (ORAS):

I mean, I like the Magma hoodies with the two little horns, it’s cute, and unlike the Plasma hoodies, they leave some extra space around the hair which makes me enjoy the resulting shape. But I think designers kinda messed up with the dark red parts on Team Magma’s re-design overal, and I’m talking about Maxie too. These guys hang around VOLCANOES. In a HOT region. I mean, why would they wear that thing? It looks thick! It looks like wool or something... Just looking at them makes me feel dizzy because it must be so hot... I gotta admit that I like the girls’t shorts though, I like it when shorts look lie skirts.

#6: Galactic Grunts:

The only reason they got so high on the list is their hair, I just love their stupid cute hair. I love it. That aside, honestly... There is not really so much to it. I think Team Galactic was going for some “astronaut-like” look or something? I suppose? And it makes sense with the name of their Team... But well, It looks a bit random considering they don’t have any goal to leave the planet or anything. They earn points for having clothes that cover their whole bodies while living in a very cold region! The long sleeves and the leggings, the high colars, those are very apropriate. Maybe they could have gloves? But well, can’t have everything. XD

#5: Team Yell grunts:

OK... You guys made it to top 5, but stil, I have stuff to criticize. Normally, if I hadn’t seen the game, I would have put these guys before in the list because, even though I don’t like it when designs are too plain, these folks are TOO complex for my taste... BUT I’ve taken into account that they are 1- punks, so they have this complex aesthetic and (more importantly) 2- fans cheering on an event. The banners, the face paint... these things make sense in that context. Also, the fact that they have a fat grunt and a girl with really short hair add to their desings in my opinion!

#4: Team Magma grunts (RSE):

That looks better than the new designs. It’s complex enough, it has a strong personality, it’s pretty unique... The colors are elegant. I like it that the girls have long hair because girl grunts always have that same length of hair, so when they change it I find it cool. I don’t like their boots much? But it’s not like the new ones are any better, so whatever. I really like the little... shoulder capes... that their hoods have... Sorry I have no idea what those are called. I like them though.

#3: Team Aqua grunts (ORAS):

While the Magma grunts in my opinion got worse, I think they improved the Aqua grunts quite a lot! ^^ I like their “scrappy” look, like the thorn clothes, and I like their stupid socks. Yeah, their socks could get annoyingly wet, like their pants... But these boots really look like they will protect their feet from humidity. Also, the socks look sorta... “shiny”... So I’m guessing the material is something more like a swimsuit? I also like the striped tops being blue while the bandannas are black, I think it looks better. The only thing that makes me really sad is that they changed the girl’s hair color to brown... I liked when they had red hair, because of that “magma grunt has blue hair and aqua grunt has red hair” thing. Also, like... not everyone has to have the exact same hair and skin color in a team??? Please??? 

#2: Team Plasma grunts (B2W2):

They just straight up look awesome. I like their vests. They kinda resemble cops but also... ninjas? I don’t know I just think they are neat OK? They kept it simple but cool-looking, and like... that’s not so easy to achieve when folks are literally wearing a spandex suit and no pants! The contrast between them and the old Plasma grunts is unbelievable! Also, the boy grunt still has that same silly hair, but it just looks a lot better with that cap.

#1: Team Skull grunts:

Peak performance, congrats, Guzma. I think they nailed it in terms of climate appropriate while still playing around this... “street gangster-like” look that usually involves a lot of black and loose clothes. I think the girls could have more loose tops, instead of skin-tight, but that’s ok. Their caps are adorable, and I like how they combine with the... thing... the fabric thing over their mouth (vocabulary missing sorry) to make a skull! Also, FINALLY SOME DIFFERENT HAIR COLORS!!! OK, they did go for the old “blue is for boys and pink is for girls” thing, but still, I like that they gave each grunt a different hair color because they never do that. And well, I love both pink and blue. Also, look at the floofy-ness in that girl’s hair! The lengh is a bit longer than the usual grunt and it’s so poofy and lovely! Also, what’s that on the boy grunt’s head? Is that some short curly hair I see? That’s awesome! Yeah, I’d say they are my favorite design. ^^

Anyways, this is all my personal opinion, based mostly on my personal taste and not on any objective notions of “good or bad design”. It’s just my personal preference. :3

[gukyi]

plant boy | jhs

summary: after seven years of doing it, you’d like to think you’re an expert at skipping class. stay hidden, stay quiet, and act inconspicuous. but when you accidentally draw the attention of jung hoseok while you’re camping out on the benches outside the greenhouses, you begin to realize that all it takes is a boy with sunshine at his fingertips and a particular affinity for herbology to change things.

{hogwarts!au, opposites to lovers!au}

pairing: hoseok x female reader word count: 11k genre: fluff, light angst warnings: playing hooky - stay in school kidz! a/n: happy lunar new year, everyone!!!! here’s my gift to you as a blessing for the new year. hope y’all lucky as hell. aside from that, a couple notes:

1. i know it’s literally been 84 years since i last posted a part for my sorted series. my bad! anyway, here is the much awaited plant boy, and the rest of the parts should be following shortly.

2. this takes place before the events of tutor! that’s why namjoon’s still kind of a dick in this one. sorry for any confusion!!

3. dedicated to this fic’s numero uno fan, 陈 anon!

Time seems to pass by extra slowly on days like this.

Days where you’ve earned yourself another detention, adding it to the list of the ones you go to (and the list of the ones you’ve skipped), trapped in a classroom that you can’t Alohomora your way out of, one designed specifically for troublemakers like you. Back in your first and second years, they used to give you detentions that sent you into the Forbidden Forest to do some other teacher’s bidding, or they’d make you clean out and reorganize the Potions closet, or tidy up the disastrous greenhouses at the edge of campus, or sort the library books or wipe down the tables in the Great Hall.

They learned after the first two years that even menial tasks such as those can’t be trusted to be placed in your hands.

Now, in a punishment seemingly designed for irritable, easily-bored, fidgety, vengeful students just like you, you sit in a classroom supervised by a snotty teacher—or even worse, the Head Boy or Girl—and watch as the seconds tick by.

It’s normal; you’re used to it at this point, but that doesn’t make it any less soul-sucking. All you can do is wait with your chin resting in your palm, the wooden pencil you use (because quills are archaic and weird) tapping against the desk. It’s not much, but at least the noise distracts you from the ticking time-bomb in your brain, on the verge of explosion. Not to mention, it does tend to drive the person who has to keep watch over you just a little bit mad.

Deduction of House Points doesn’t seem to have any effect on you whatsoever. You pity the poor folks who share the same house with you, the same blue and bronze decorating their robes and ties, having to suffer through watching their House Points decrease and decrease until the professors felt so terrible they stopped punishing your House and started punishing you instead. It worked out for everyone, really. The teachers stopped having a guilty conscience and the rest of your House-mates stopped giving you the stink-eye whenever you passed by them in the hallways.

You’re in today because Potions class is a joke and that’s that. You can’t really be too sure what you actually did in Potions today, anyway, because anything you’re taught really does just go in through one ear and out the other. You spent the entire class, rather than focusing on the actual lesson, brewing a Confusing Concoction so potent it permeated the air, causing everyone else to fall into a bewildered stupor and turning the lesson into chaos. All it really takes is double the amount of sneezewort. Simple, when you think about it.

Regardless, the lesson ran amuck and who else was to blame except you, of course. Imagine everyone’s horror if it had turned out that it wasn’t you who claimed the blame for the overwhelming scent of pure, unadulterated befuddlement. The day someone else is as disruptive as you is the day the entire Hogwarts campus bursts into flames.

Tap, tap, tap.

Your feet have started to join in, creating a rhythm that surrounds you as you match up the beats to the ticking of the clock above the doorway. It’s natural for your hands to turn to this, resorting to music as your immediate form of entertainment—you played piano all throughout your childhood and even now, music seems to be one of the only things that hasn’t abandoned you entirely, alongside your disregard for structured education and your charm.

Tap, tap, tap.

How much longer? It seems like you’ve been here ever since classes ended at three. It feels like you’ve been sitting in the same desk in the same empty room for the past three days. Your stomach grumbles. You think you’ve forgotten what food tastes like. You might die in this room, to be honest.

Tap, tap, tap.

It’s a real shame they don’t trust you to do the other standard detention tasks. Not that their judgement is misled in any way, because it’s not, but even rearranging the Potions closet would be more intellectually fulfilling than this. There’s more to life than rewards and punishments. You’re just waiting to see when they’ll actually realize it.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Y/L/N.”

Interrupted from the sick beats you were laying down, you look up to see Kim Namjoon, your designated chaperone for the afternoon, appearing severely disgruntled. The thick-rimmed glasses he’s wearing have slid all the way down his nose bridge, and he’s clutching onto the quill in his hand so tightly you think it’ll snap in half.

“Yes, Namjoon?” You ask sweetly, resting your chin in your interlaced hands as your elbows press down into the desk. You know he hates when you call him by his first name. It’s just another reminder that he is in no way superior to you. Just because he gets good grades and all the professors fall to their knees at the sight of him. His so-called academic excellence doesn’t excuse him from being an asshole.

“This might be a particularly difficult concept to get through that empty head of yours, but have you ever thought of being quiet for once in your life?” He asks, peering over the top rim of his glasses. It’s clear he wants to be here as much as you do. But you’ve been graciously handed the opportunity to torment who is probably your biggest enemy on campus, and you won’t pass it up.

“But we’re having so much fun, Namjoon,” you continue, condescending tone thick on your tongue. “You wouldn’t want to just sit here in silence, would you? I can hear you thinking from all the way over here, and trust me, it’s not pretty.”

“Are you treating this as some kind of joke, Y/L/N?” Namjoon asks with a frown, looking more and more like an angry, eighty-year-old professor who eats his students’ hearts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  

Truth be told, the last time you took detention seriously was in your first year here. Back when you were a little baby of a student, intimidated by all of the teachers and older students and desperate to make a good impression. Now, you like to think of detention as an opportunity to clear your mind, maybe meditate for a bit, and of course, be a nuisance. It’s one of your most favorite hobbies.

“It’s only a joke because you’re here,” you singsong, making the kid at the desk roll his eyes behind the thick lenses that he’s wearing. “You take everything so seriously, you should learn to lighten up once in a while. It’ll do wonders for your grades.”

Namjoon stiffens. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be telling me how to manage my grades,” he quips. You force out something between a chuckle and a cough, disappointed but not surprised that Namjoon would whip out his superiority complex about his academics as a means of shooting you down.

“You humor me, Namjoon,” you hum to yourself.

Namjoon continues scowling. You think that if he frowns any more the expression will be permanently etched onto his face. “Have you ever considered that maybe the reason you end up in detention all the time is because nobody likes you?”

Never has Namjoon been so rude to you. Granted, you’re well aware of the fact that you’re certainly not the most popular kid on campus, by a long shot, too. You know that people like Namjoon, with good grades and fake attitudes and quirky little characteristics are the ones that will go on to succeed within these walls. But Namjoon seems to be particularly hostile to you today. Maybe he drank something strange this morning.

“Damn, and here I was thinking we were best friends,” you deadpan, unfazed. “You know, unlike you and everyone else here at this school, I don’t really care what people think of me.”

“You think you’re so special because you’re rebellious and alternative and you don’t give a shit about what others think of you,” Namjoon taunts. “But you’re not. You’re just another reject Hogwarts kid that doesn’t have a future outside of these walls. Maybe if you learn to conduct yourself properly, then you will.”

The belltower in the courtyard chimes, signaling the end of your detention. Wordlessly, Namjoon gathers his belongings and struts out of the room, turning the corner sharply to go and gossip with his other bratty, pretentious friends that dislike you as much as you dislike them. The things Namjoon said to you pale in comparison to other things you’ve been told by disgruntled professors, angry students, and everyone in between. But it’s a modern day tragedy that Namjoon gets to treat you like a buffoon and still gets hailed as the king of the school, meanwhile you telling it like it is earns you weekly detentions.

With a groan that reverberates off the walls of the classroom you’re in, you pull yourself to your feet and head back to your dorm, where you plan on wallowing in self-pity, ignoring anyone who does try to talk to you, and of course, not doing your homework.

Some things never change.

The next day finds you strolling right past the stairwell that leads down to the dungeons at half-past twelve, thinking that maybe your professor won’t be too happy to see you after the previous debacle. You wouldn’t be surprised if the scent of the Confusing Concoction still lingered, not strong enough to make your head spin but just enough to leave you a bit in the dark. You imagine not many people were productive in the Potions classroom that day.

It’s not that you skip class on purpose, per se. It’s more a result of the snowball effect, one thing leading to another and another until human confrontation seems like it’ll worsen the problem, rather than alleviate it. Even if the professor doesn’t berate you in front of the entire class, being there immediately after one of your… incidents stirs people up, makes them whisper about you. You don’t care what they have to say, but you’d rather not hear them try to mask what they’re saying while right in front of you. You have ears, too.

So, electing to go to the place that is practically the entire opposite of the dingy, dark dungeons, you head up the stairs at the end of the hallway, towards the greenhouses. You’re not too sure if Sprout has a class right now, but even if she did, you’d just go hide on one of the benches and wait until your next class. If you felt like going to it, of course.

Whenever you do skip class, you don’t allow yourself the luxury of holing up in your dormitory and sleeping the hours away. If you aren’t going to be in class, you’re going to at least be productive elsewhere, whether it be hidden away in the library bookshelves or taking one of the hidden passageways to Hogsmeade or now, camping out by the greenhouses and letting the fresh air clear your mind.

You find a bench to settle in on, stretching out your legs as you lean against the glass, hidden from the inside by a wall of plants. Shuffling through your belongings, you pull out a muggle book that had been left in the Great Hall for a week without anyone laying claim to it. It’s a little too fantastical for your liking, a story about a futuristic world where children have to fight each other to the death as payment for their ancestors rebelling against their capital city, but it’s an alright read. It’s certainly much more enjoyable than anything you’re assigned to read for class.

You’re not worried about getting caught—in fact, it’s probably the lowest on your list of concerns—but at this time of day, when all classes are in session and students are only roaming the hallways if they’re in need of a bathroom break, footsteps do catch you off guard. Not that another detention will do you any harm or good.

Rather, when you look up from your page you see, through the fogged up glass of the greenhouse, a Hufflepuff boy from your year looking back at you, a watering can held in his hands. Red-handed, you feel yourself forcing a smile his way, hoping he doesn’t think much of another student being here, let alone you. Maybe he doesn’t know who you are at all, though you doubt that entirely. Frozen, you watch as he places down the watering can and heads towards the back door of the greenhouse, right by the bench you’re sitting on.

Without the foggy glass to blur his features, you recognize him instantly. It’s Jung Hoseok. In your fifth year, you often had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs in your year, and he stood out far more than anyone else. You didn’t pay much attention to him, but you’ve seen enough to know that he has quite a knack for the subject, not to mention Sprout wrapped around his finger. He would open his mouth and already she would be handing ten points to Hufflepuff.

Needless to say, him walking towards you makes you a little nervous, as you suspect the first thing he’ll say when he sees you, clearly skipping class, is Sprout’s name. You’ll be handed another detention in no time.

You turn back to your book and pretend that he’s not there, acting like you’re engrossed in the novel as you hear the footsteps along the cobblestone path getting louder and louder. Within no time, you feel his presence next to yours, looming over you like a cloud that spells out doom. Turning the page, you brace yourself for what’s to come.

Then, “What book is that?”

You look up at Jung Hoseok, who is peering down at you not with disdain or contempt, but with pure, unadulterated curiosity. Straining his eyes to see if he can make out a title on the front cover.

“Uh, just some muggle book,” you say casually, hoping you can get through this conversation without being punished.

“Really?” He asks, eyes lighting up with interest. “My friend Tae is muggle-born, maybe he knows it? He’s a fifth year.”

“Cool,” you say, nodding. The faster this conversation is over, the better. Before he recognizes just exactly who you are and runs away screaming to tell a teacher on you.

“Do you come here often?” He asks, motioning to the greenhouse behind you. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think this was an undercover interrogation. With seven years of constant trouble under your belt, any sort of questioning seems to turn into a court hearing whenever you’re involved.

“Less often than I should,” you respond cryptically. It’s true—the greenhouse is definitely one of the more peaceful places you frequent when you should be attending class, always so calm and serene. Nature seems to have that effect.

“It feels that way, doesn’t it?” Hoseok muses to himself. “No matter how much time I spend here, it’ll never be enough.”

This piques your interest. “How often are you in the greenhouses?” You ask somewhat accusingly, like you’re in total disbelief at the idea that the greenhouse goody-two-shoes would even suggest such a thing as skipping class. Someone like Jung Hoseok? Impossible.

Hoseok smiles sheepishly. “I know every inch of every greenhouse, from the roots of the plants buried deep in the soil to the cracks in the panes of glass on the roof. I have etched the feeling of the dirt beneath my palms into memory, memorized the makeup of every plant that this school grows. But I have no idea what’s going on Arithmancy right now.”

His self-awareness makes you laugh, chuckling as you smile to yourself. “Hey, that makes two of us.”

“You’re Y/N, right? I’m Jung Hoseok. Mind if I sit?” He asks, pointing to the empty space on the bench next to you. There’s more than enough room for it to not be awkward or invasive.

You motion for him to go right ahead. Nothing in the conversation has raised any red flags, and as far as you’re concerned Hoseok’s a nice person to chat with, someone to keep you busy as the two of you avoid your legitimate responsibilities.

“Surprised you’d want to be seen out in the wild with me,” you joke, trying to make light of the situation. “I’d hate for your reputation to be ruined.”

“Yeah, my reputation as Nerdy Plant Boy would be soiled,” Hoseok says. He pauses for a moment and then bursts into laughter. “Get it? Soiled? Because I like plants?”

Maybe his pun was the worst thing your ears have suffered through in a while, but his happiness is electric and his joy is contagious. You find yourself grinning at the mere sound of him enjoying himself, laughing his head off at the pun he just made.

“I mean, you are technically skipping class right now. Just saying,” you remind him.

“Yeah, under the guise of Sprout asking me to help maintain Greenhouse 3. It’s totally overgrown with ivy; she can hardly use it for any lessons. Transfiguration was never really my forte anyway,” Hoseok comments. “But you skip class often, don’t you?”

“Is that a problem?” You challenge.

“Only if you make it one,” Hoseok responds casually. “I mean, you do you. Didn’t you make some superhuman Confusing Concoction the other day?” You nod guiltily. “Oh my God, I walked into Potions that afternoon and felt my head spinning! I had to run down to the greenhouses to get some air. I never made it back to Potions.”

“So neither of us actually knows what happened in class that day?” You ask with a smile.

“Nope,” Hoseok says, shrugging. He doesn’t really seem to mind the fact that he doesn’t attend his classes either. In fact, kind of just rolls with it. “I’ll probably have to ask Namjoon about it.”

The mention of who is probably your biggest enemy makes you inwardly groan. “Oh, don’t tell me the two of you are friends.”

Hoseok chuckles. “He’s certainly not keen on you, that’s for sure,” Hoseok says, crossing his arms. “We’re not close, but I guess you could say we’re sort of friends. I just see him around a lot, and sometimes he asks me for Herbology help. ‘S all.”

“The great Kim Namjoon? Head Boy? Best grades in the class? Asking for help? Unheard of,” you say dramatically, making Hoseok chuckle.

“I doubt he has the best grades in the year,” Hoseok says. “There’s that girl that McGonagall loves that does better than him, I think. He told me he has a massive crush on her.”

“That’s… grossly adorable,” you admit. “But you’ve always been good at Herbology, haven’t you? You were in my class fifth year. You know, when I went to class. Sprout loved you.”

“I don’t know, I don’t really think I’m that good at Herbology. Sprout’s way more educated than I am, and sure, that comes with experience, but really, I just love plants. I love nature, more broadly. I’m a certified tree-hugger,” Hoseok tells you proudly.

“Hey, listen, there are worse things to be,” you reason out with him. “For example, you could be the girl that made a superhuman Confusing Concoction and earned herself a detention for it.”

“Oh, her? I think she’s pretty cool, though,” Hoseok says, pearly white teeth on display as he smiles at you.

“Do you really?” You ask, only a little skeptical.

Hoseok leans back against the glass of the greenhouse a little too heavily, making the wooden bench wobble as you both sit on it. You jump slightly before the two of you regain your balance. Like a Disney prince, he reaches up next to him and plucks a flower growing on the vines along the outside of the greenhouse walls, twirling it between his fingertips before handing it to you. “Yeah, I do.”

Meeting Hoseok outside Greenhouse 3 becomes a regular thing for the two of you. More often than not it ends up being because either one or both of you are skipping class, but what the rest of the world doesn’t know won’t hurt them. It’s strange, in a way. You’re an incredibly independent person as it is, but you never realized how much of a sanctuary you can find in another human being, even if it is just for a little bit.

In a trade for the muggle book you had been reading when he first stumbled upon you outside of the greenhouse, he brings you a little succulent for you to take care of.

“It’s just a normal succulent,” Hoseok says with a laugh as you nervously take the pot from his hands. “Nothing magical about it. Just a cactus’ weird cousin.”

“Don’t you know how irresponsible I am? What makes you think I can take care of a plant?” You ask skeptically.

“Succulents are so easy even irresponsible people like you can handle it,” Hoseok says with a wink, making you fake gag. His false sleaziness makes you a little sick. It’s just difficult to reconcile Greasy Hoseok with Nature Hoseok, who legitimately raps to the plants he’s taking care of. One time, you got to the greenhouse a bit early and found him transferring a plant to a larger pot and spitting some sick fire while he was at it. It was, admittedly, incredibly endearing.

“I don’t know if I should be offended or honored by that statement,” you say as you stare down at the succulent in your hands. It’s small—your palm can easily cup the entire pot, and it looks sort of like a very green lotus flower. Unsure of what to say next, you look back at Hoseok, helplessly.

“Well, aren’t you gonna name it?” He asks like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why in Merlin would I name it?” You retort.

Hoseok pouts, lips turning into into a little mountain peak as he frowns. “Because naming plants makes them real. Without it, they’d just be plants. Name it!”

“Do you name your plants?” You challenge, though you’d be entirely unsurprised if he said yes. He seems the type. Not that that means anything.

“Only the ones that are important to me,” he tells you. You make a mental note to explore the greenhouse with him one of these days so you can learn which plants matter to him. Which ones he cares for the most. “Are you going to name your succulent?”

“What would I name it, though?” You ask. You’ve never been super… creative when it comes to things like this. Sure, you’re good at coming up with the occasional prank or two, but nothing of any sort of artistic substance. “I’m not too good at naming things.”

Hoseok thinks for a moment, humming to himself as he searches for the right name. He taps his foot on the cobblestone, one beat per second, when his eyes widen. “Oh! I know. How about One?”

“One? As in the number one?” You ask, a little disappointed. You thought he’d whip out some fancy name in a foreign language that you’d probably have a bit of a difficult time pronouncing at first.

“Yeah, One. So that you can keep track of all of them,” Hoseok says with a grin, beaming into himself, radiating like the sun that beats down on the bath.

“What do you mean ‘all of them’?” You interrogate. “Are there more?”

Hoseok smiles, reaching out to hold the pot in his hand, letting the edges of his palm rest in yours. “There just might be.”

What ends up happening is, by the end of the month, there are at least five more pots of succulents sitting on the windowsill by your bed in the Ravenclaw dorm rooms, each of them named accordingly. They look a little bit like an army, a succulent soldiery, if you will. The rest of your dormmates have said nothing about the brand new additions to your corner of the room, luckily enough, seeing as you haven’t the faintest clue how they’d respond to you suddenly acquiring six tiny cacti. Hoseok had told you that they need cold water once a week, and you haven’t done something so faithfully since the time in your sixth year where you attempted to get a detention over the winter holidays.

The thing is that you’d just hate to let them die. Hoseok gave them to you because he believes you’re qualified enough to take care of them, and while you most certainly don’t think you are, you’ll be damned if you don’t follow through.

It’s nice. Having someone like Hoseok around is nice. He is, by nature, one of the brightest people you’ve ever met, both intellectually and emotionally, just the right amount of humor, confidence, and self-deprecation. It’s like he’s the person you’ve been waiting for at Hogwarts, someone who isn’t obsessed over grades and looks and popularity. Someone who just is. Existing, being, is humanity’s simplest task and yet so many people seem to overlook it.

You’re camped out in the Great Hall, sitting alone at the edge of the Ravenclaw table as other students wander in and out, completing bits and pieces of their homework and taking handfuls of the provided snacks, trying to accomplish everything before the weekend’s up. You’re doodling in the margins of the used textbook you have for Charms, working tirelessly on a stick figure flipbook comic. Whoever gets this textbook after you is in for a treat.

The eraser at the tip of your wooden pencil furiously scrubs at a flubbed-up bowtie (how can one side of it be larger than the other—it’s basically just two triangles and a circle) when someone, a very familiar someone, interrupts your thought process.

“What are you doing?” Hoseok asks, eyes wide as he stares down at the writing utensil in your hand.

“Um, drawing?” You respond, albeit a little unsure.

“But—but what is that you’re drawing with? I saw you just a second ago, you drew something and then you removed it!” Hoseok says, sitting down across from you. You suck in a breath and pray that no one’s noticed the Herbology king himself, actively engaging with a delinquent such as yourself.

“This?” You ask, holding out the offending object. “It’s a pencil. Muggles use it all the time—I had a friend smuggle me a few last year. They’re much more convenient than quills, no ink, no mess.”

“Fascinating,” Hoseok says, sketching a couple of lines in your textbook. “It’s much lighter than ink.”

“It’s graphite, I think. Less pressure,” you say.

“And what’s this?” Hoseok asks, looking down at the rounded eraser at the end of it. He puts it up to his nose and sniffs in hard, coughing at what is probably a strong whiff of rubber in his nostrils. “Oof, it smells awful.”

“It’s an eraser,” you say, carefully taking the pencil back and showing Hoseok how to get rid of the lines he just drew. “It… erases things.” You don’t really think you have a better way of explaining it.

“Amazing,” Hoseok says, still awed by the pencil in your hand. “But I didn’t come here for you to show me this muggle creation. I have a treat for you.”

“Don’t tell me it’s another succulent, Hoseok. I can barely keep up with the ones I already have,” you say, pleading a bit. You’d hate to sound ungrateful but Hoseok really has been piling it on with the plants and you’re starting to get the slightest bit overwhelmed.

Hoseok chuckles. “It’s not, I promise. Are you busy?”

“Eh…” you respond helplessly, staring down at your half-finished flipbook comic.

“Please,” Hoseok says with a snigger. “No offense Y/N, but you and I both know you weren’t going to do any of your homework.”

“Touché,” you concede, shutting your textbook roughly and standing up. Hoseok grins, leading the way out of the Great Hall (you attempt to ignore the stares and strange looks the other students are sending your way, especially as you pass Namjoon and that girl that he’s got a crush on, arguing about something) and directly to the greenhouses.

Hoseok’s got a bit of an extra skip in his step today. Maybe he has something extra special to show you. Is he upgrading you from succulents to actual cacti?

“If you wanted me to come to the greenhouse, we could have just met up at our usual time,” you remind Hoseok, citing the scheduled noon meetup you have almost daily, at this point. You don’t think Hoseok will ever go back to Transfiguration if you can help it. You’re rubbing off on him.

“I know, but this is different,” Hoseok says, grabbing onto your hand as he unlocks the greenhouse door. You pay little attention to the way his fingers fit between yours, holding on tightly, like he’s afraid that if he lets go, you’ll vanish. With a shake of the knob, he opens the door to the greenhouse and walks you inside to reveal what you would consider a fairy’s dream home.

He’s strung up little lanterns all over the place, hanging from the ceiling and taped to the wall in strands. There’s a peaceful sort of aura, the warm yellow lights of the lanterns mixing with the clear daylight outside, giving a sort of ethereal glow to anything inside the greenhouse. Besides just the decorations, Hoseok has a collection of various plant species on the tables in the center, all of different shapes and sizes, and next to it, a pile of the gardening tools you use in class.

“What’s this, Hoseok?” You ask in awe, fingers dancing along the strings of lanterns taped onto the walls.

“Just a little something,” he says bashfully, curling into his Hufflepuff robes slightly. “I just thought that maybe you wanted to see what I get up to in here when I’m supposed to be in class.”

“So scandalous,” you chide jokingly. “But that sounds lovely, Hoseok. What do you want to show me?”

Hoseok’s brushing his hand along the plants on the table like they’re his own children. In a way, they sort of are. “If I recall correctly, you didn’t necessarily make frequent appearances in our Herbology class in fifth year, did you?”

“I did not come here to be attacked like this,” you claim defensively.

“Well, since you skipped so much, I thought that I could teach you what you missed. Show you the proper way to care for plants, not the way that the barbaric students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry do. If you want, that is,” he says, smiling shyly. As if you were going to tell him no.

“I would love that, Hoseok,” you tell him. Hoseok beams and the golden of his robes seems to shine a little brighter.

Quickly, he scurries over and gets to work, pulling on some gloves and motioning for you to do the same. Once you’re all prepared, gloves and thick lab coat on to protect your robes, he begins to show you all of the plants he’s lined up, young trees that are still small enough to fit in pots, flowers with magical healing properties. One by one, he introduces you to them, tells you their name and their age like he’s showing you his children.

Ah, so these are the plants Hoseok cares for the most.

Normally there would be some snarky comment on the tip of your tongue, maybe a self-deprecating joke if you’re feeling extra spicy, but you don’t dare interrupt him as Hoseok’s talking, gestures animated and smile wide as he tells you everything he knows about the things he loves. There isn’t a word that even thinks about leaving your lips, not wanting to take away from the love Hoseok holds for these plants and the trust he has in you as he tells you about them.

“And this one only likes direct sunlight when the sun’s rising or setting, otherwise it gets too bright,” Hoseok says, a hand brushing along one of the thick, floppy leaves of the flower. It’s far past blooming season, so all that’s left of the annual blossom are the green bits that are holding onto the remnants of seasons past. “Keeping up?” He asks, leaning into you slightly with a hand on your wrist. “I know it’s a lot.”

“It’s wonderful,” you tell him honestly. “The fact that you know so much about these plants… spent so much time with them… it’s incredible.” You don’t think you’ve ever held so much dedication to anything in your life.

“Ah, well,” Hoseok says with a shrug, like the achievements he’s had in a subject like this mean nothing. Not everyone can do this—not everyone can speak the language of plants, of greenery, of nature. Perhaps Hoseok doesn’t notice this, but you do: the way that even just in his presence, the plants seem to perk up a little, drawn to him, to his existence, like bees to honey.

It’s like that, sometimes. Sometimes there are people so electric that you can’t help but be closer to them.

“Herbology is really all I have going for me,” Hoseok says, and even though it’s supposed to be a joke it sounds kind of sad. Sad like Hoseok really thinks the only thing he’s good for is agriculture. Sad, because Hoseok is so good at so many things that it’s turned his heart into gold. Priceless.

“That’s not true,” you respond instantly. You stop in place, making Hoseok turn to you from where he had been looking down at the pots, looking at you with a kind of helpless expression on his face. “There is so much more to you than Herbology.”

“Like what?” He asks somewhat skeptically, chuckling to himself.

“Like your smile,” you tell him immediately, making him grin a little bit, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. “And your laugh. People don’t go to you to ask for help because you’re good at Herbology. There are plenty of kids who are good at Herbology at Hogwarts. But they go to you, Hoseok, because you are someone who can teach them something. Because they know that you will treat them with respect. And because you’re good company.”

He’s silent.

“At least, I think you’re good company,” you add on. Knowing the students that walk the hallways of this magical school, there are people who take Hoseok’s gift for love for granted, coming to him just so they can get a better grade on this essay or finish this lab report. And maybe you don’t really care for grades and you haven’t done a lab report in years, but that doesn’t matter, because instead of knowing Hoseok as your homework helper, you know him as your friend.

“You do?” He asks, hopeful tone evident in his words.

“Yeah, I do,” you say back, meeting the dark brown of his irises with your own as they twinkle like stars, the fairy lights reflected in a sea of chocolate.

Hoseok smiles like it’s the last time he ever will and pulls you closer to him, handing you a freshly-filled watering can as he continues on with the lesson. And maybe, just maybe, the feeling of his arms wrapped around yours as he guides your grip on the watering can, showing you exactly how to hydrate the plant in front of you so as to ensure maximum consumption, makes your heart beat a little bit faster. Just maybe.

Something that’s come along with plenty of experience as a class-skipper is extensive knowledge of the best ways to get off of campus. You’ve heard tales, legends and fables, of this magical map that shows everybody’s whereabouts at every point of the day, alongside all of the secret passageways out of the castle, but unfortunately you don’t have your hands on something like that, so you’ve had to learn on your own.

Sometimes there are just days where even the wide, open hallways of Hogwarts are too suffocating to stay in.

Because of this, you’ve become a frequenter of Hogsmeade on the average weekday, when students are definitely not supposed to be Hogsmeade regulars. But you never really fit into the status quo, anyway.

Besides, you don’t think anyone in your standard Hogwarts classes will miss you too much if you’re gone for the day.

Hoseok is in Greenhouse 2 when you find him right before the noon classes are in session. Specks of him, little glimpses of his figure are visible through the ivy that covers the walls as he speaks with Professor Sprout about something, watching as he towers over her much shorter frame. You’d probably join in on the conversation, but you and Sprout haven’t necessarily had a great relationship the past few years (re: skipped her class all the time) and though she’s kind, she’d rat you out in a heartbeat.

Instead, while you wait, you wander into Greenhouse 3, its walls still lined with lanterns and all of Hoseok’s favorite plants waiting on the table. Slowly, almost instinctively, you begin to brush your fingers along their petals, their leaves and stems, just as Hoseok does. It only feels natural—to treat them as gently as Hoseok does. You’d feel as though you’d be doing him a disservice if you didn’t.

Perhaps it’s because the skies are overcast today, but the plants look a little sad. Not in the sense that they’ve been poorly taken care of—because you know for certain that that’s not the case—but more that they seem to be drooping, like their moods are down.

“I know,” you hum to them softly, looking at them like you relate to them. “I feel better when I’m around him, too.”

You pick up the watering can by your feet, still half-full, and slowly begin to water the plants in front of you, remembering that this one prefers having the water drip down its massive leaves rather than right at its roots. As you do so, you hear the door open behind you.

“Thought I’d find you in here,” Hoseok muses.

“Guilty,” you say fondly, finishing up the last few drops of the watering can.

“Hey, you remembered how to water them!” Hoseok exclaims excitedly, watching as you empty the can and place it back on the cement floor. “I saw you waiting outside while I was talking to Sprout.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what we you two chatting about?”

“Oh, she was just telling me about one of her old students that I remind her of,” Hoseok says with a shrug. “Said he was really good at Herbology, too. During the Second Wizarding War. Said he helped kill Voldemort.”

“Hmm, I don’t think you’re cut out for war,” you joke, making Hoseok roll his eyes.

“Oh, God. If I had to help kill Voldemort, I think I’d just die instead,” Hoseok responds back with a chuckle. “Anyway, what’s up?”

With a cheeky grin, you turn to face him, eyes alight with something devious waiting in them. “Do you want to go on a little trip with me?”

A little trip consists of telling Hoseok to look as inconspicuous as possible as you run through the hallways of Hogwarts, scurrying around corners on your way to the passageway to Honeydukes. Acting inconspicuous is already much more of an issue for Hoseok than it is for you—most people don’t ever want to bother you if it appears you’re in the middle of something, whereas Hoseok will enter the Great Hall, laden in his yellow robes, and have a plethora of people waving to him.

But the idea of doing something so blatantly against school rules (re: sneaking out to Hogsmeade) seems to have no effect on the boy as he follows you around the courtyard, hand held tightly in yours until you reach the entrance to the tunnel. He’s paid no attention to the glares you’re getting, the confused stares sent your way as the two of you scamper through the campus. To him, this isn’t something bad. It’s something fun.

“Wow,” Hoseok says as you’re creeping through the passageway. Though it’s dark, it’s clearly been heavily used. It’s probably been here for centuries. “How long have you known about this?”

“Since third year,” you respond, boasting a bit. Your creativity when it comes to your delinquency is something you pride yourself on, ever so slightly.

“You’ve been sneaking out to Hogsmeade since third year?”

“Yes,” you admit casually. “This leads right to Honeydukes’ cellar. But you’re the first person I’ve ever shown this to, so don’t spill any of my secrets.”

“Really?” Hoseok asks. You can’t turn around to make out his face, not that you’ve even be able to in the darkness of this tunnel, but you can hear the way he smiles, lips curling upwards. “I’m honored.”

After a few more minutes you finally reach the trap-door into Honeydukes’ cellar, pushing it open with all your might until it pops unlocked, allowing the two of you to climb out of the tunnel and take a quick respite amongst the boxes and boxes of treats.

“Smells like…” Hoseok says, taking a quick survey of the room. “Smells like Honeydukes.”

What he means is that it smells like sweetness.

Before any of the workers can come down here and find the two of you hiding out amongst the storage compartments, the two of you sneak up into the store’s main room, pretending to be customers rather than stowaways. You don’t suspect Hoseok’s got any money on him, but you’ve brought enough for the both of you, knowing very well that you will probably end up purchasing something on this outing. Maybe you have little regard for school rules, but you’d never steal something.

“Want anything?” You ask, giving Hoseok a nudge when you catch him staring down some Pumpkin pasties.

“I don’t have any money on me,” Hoseok says sadly. “Next time, give me a day’s warning so I can prepare accordingly.”

“I’ll buy something for you,” you say, already reaching into the pocket of your robes to pull out a couple Galleons and a few more Sickles. You’re craving something as well, though you keep eyeing The Three Broomsticks for a nice cup of butterbeer.

“Oh, no, it’s alright,” Hoseok says immediately, but already one of the Honeydukes workers behind the display case has spotted you, smiling to himself as Hoseok insists that he doesn’t want you to buy him anything.

“Come on, please? You showed me all of your plants, the least I could do is buy you a pasty,” you try to reason with Hoseok, smiling up as the fond looks from the worker cause his cheeks to redden, a little embarrassed.

Hoseok seems to grumble his consent, knowing you won’t really take no for an answer when it comes to buying him something from Honeydukes. You end up purchasing two Pumpkin Pasties and escape any sort of questioning as to whether or not the two of you should be in school right now. It seems as though you aren’t the first group of Hogwarts students to play hooky for a day to go to Hogsmeade instead.

Hoseok’s already beginning to bite into his as you make your way out of Honeydukes and onto the single street that stretches down all of Hogsmeade, thanking you through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty.

“Let’s sit down before you finish that entire thing within the next three seconds,” you suggest warily, eyes wide as Hoseok opens his mouth for another bite. “I’m craving some Butterbeer.”

Hoseok nods in agreement, wrapping up his pasty and placing it back into the bag that the Honeydukes worker packed your purchase in, hand reaching out for your own. Instantly, your fingers interlock, and maybe it’s because you aren’t cooped up in a stuffy classroom, or a dingy dungeon, but it feels like a breath of fresh air.

You’re seated at a table in the back corner, far from anybody who may be suspicious of two student-age customers trying to be as unmemorable as possible. You order butterbeer for the table and immediately begin to dig into your own Pumpkin Pasty, a little crushed from all of the moving around. It still tastes just as nice as it always does.

“How often do you come here?” Hoseok asks after taking a sip of butterbeer.

“Not super often,” you reassure him. “I swear I don’t just… leave school all of the time. But when Hogwarts starts to get especially suffocating, I’ll come.”

“You feel it too, huh?” Hoseok asks, more to himself. Like he’s telling himself that he isn’t the only one who feels this way. “Like being there is almost… choking you to death.”

You nod in understanding, knowing fully well that there are some things that can’t be explained through words. Hogwarts is wonderful and you’re incredibly lucky to be there, but sometimes it feels like… like it’s pressing down on your shoulders, hands wrapped around your neck. Like you’re stuck in an endless cycle, rinse and repeat of the same exact day, no freedom or autonomy to do what you want and be who you are. Combining that with someone like you makes for a very poor recipe.

“Hogwarts has always been like that for me,” you tell him. “It’s kind of obvious why. I don’t really… fit in with the crowd.”

Hoseok nods. There’s a reason you were wary of befriending someone like him, someone who is well-liked and popular and not a public nuisance. Someone who is the complete opposite of you.

“And I don’t mean to say that in a cool, alternative way that makes me better than everyone else because I’m not some pretentious asshole. I mean… I love being a witch but being at Hogwarts makes me feel isolated. And that’s kind of my fault, too, because I’m probably the bothersome student in our year, but there’s no way for me to change anybody’s minds about me.” You sigh. Stuff like this—you hate talking about it. After spending seven years building up the walls that surround you, brick by brick, conversations like this make you feel as though all of that work has gone to waste.

Maybe Hoseok is the kind of person worth breaking your walls down for.

Hoseok nods, the mutual feeling going unspoken.

“I know where you’re coming from,” he says, and it feels like a slight shocker, hearing something like that from a boy who seems to have almost everything. “I know our situations are different but… oh, I don’t know. I feel sort of… empty? In a way? God, this is hard to explain.”

“Not to sound fake deep but believe me when I say I know what feeling empty is like,” you say, sort of joking, even as you reach your hand out across the table. He takes it instantly. Maybe things are beginning to feel different.

Or maybe this is how they’ve always been.

“Let me put it this way,” Hoseok says, taking a deep breath and another sip of butterbeer to clear his throat. “If people only know me for my aptitude for Herbology, then do people really know me at all?”

And then what happens is it clicks. The gears shift into place like a key into a lock, and you realize that even if you and Hoseok are nothing alike on the outside, you being a delinquent with an affinity for rule-breaking and him being a Herbology nerd who tutors first years in his free time, there’s a reason the two of you found each other. A reason that you ended up locking eyes on the bench outside Greenhouse 3. You don’t believe in prophecies, destiny or any other higher powers that act outside free will, but it feels sort of like that. Feels sort of like you and Hoseok were always meant to find each other. Even if it did take seven years.

“People know me for what I’ve done and not who I am,” Hoseok says. It feels sort of familiar.

“People know everybody like that,” you remind him.

Hoseok’s eyes gaze to where your hands are resting upon each other’s on this hard, splintered wooden table, and then he looks up at you. Suddenly, it’s as though you’re drowning in them. In his being. In him. “Not you,” he says.

Maybe things are beginning to feel different. But maybe this is how they’ve always been.

Like in the real Wizarding World, news spreads around Hogwarts quickly. For the past few weeks or so, you and Hoseok have been meeting up at relatively quiet times during the day at Hogwarts, where very few students are out and about and even less are at the locations you frequently meet up at. But with your meetups becoming more and more plentiful, what has also increased is the number of students around you when you do spot Hoseok.

It isn’t a problem when you’re the subject of their whispers, their stares and pointed fingers. It’s never really been a problem anyway, not when it’s been this way for seven years and counting. You’re used to it.

But it is a problem when you begin to notice that it’s happening to Hoseok as well. That you being around him is like losing popularity in a shitty video game, where suddenly less and less people are interested in the both of you. He hasn’t seemed to notice—not yet, at least, he hasn’t—but when you’ve spent the past seven years of your life watching as other people glare at you, you begin to pick up on it.

It’s the small things. Small things like Hoseok walking into the Great Hall for lunch and instead of being greeted with waves, being greeted with whispers. Small things like him telling you, in the greenhouse one day, that he’s getting fewer requests for Herbology tutoring from the underclassmen. Small things like Namjoon barely saying hello when Hoseok greets him in the halls one day.

The real tragedy is how obsessed everyone at this school is with titles, with labels and popularity and association. How not only do you have to have the best grades and the coolest extracurriculars, you also have to have friends who are equally as high in Hogwarts status as you.

And it’s bullshit no matter who the vicious cycle ends up targeting, but it’s especially maddening when it’s someone like Hoseok. Someone who is only kind and giving and considerate, friendly and reliable, who, even with his faults, is still one of the best people to walk through the front gates of Hogwarts.

In the greenhouse the other day, as the two of you were caring for his plants, Hoseok told you he thought he was beginning to lose his touch with Herbology, as less and less students were asking him for help. And shit like that—that’s unacceptable.

Maybe Namjoon was right. Maybe, if you begin to be the person everyone expects you to be, it won’t be like this anymore.

Hoseok’s always been too good for you, anyway. What made you think this would be any different?

“You’re just another reject Hogwarts kid that doesn’t have a future outside of these walls. Maybe if you learn to conduct yourself properly, then you will.”

Things won’t change unless you do.

For the first time in years, you wake up in time for your first class. In fact, you wake up a healthy hour before, having completed your homework early the previous night and tucked in before anyone else. Before you leave your dorm room to go and get breakfast, you make sure to water all of your succulents, the number of pots sitting on your windowsill now up to nine.

All of this is for Hoseok. Even if you didn’t realize it at first, everything you do is for him.

Your roommates don’t seem to know what to do with themselves when they see you, a full stack of the proper textbooks in your hand, as you walk out of the dormitory with your head held high, heading straight for the Great Hall. Despite what people may think, you are actually on top of most academic events in your life. Whether you choose to act on them or not, well, that’s always a toss-up.

You hope to get to breakfast early, as you have a test in Transfiguration today. It’s a written one with a single spell at the end, the one you’ve been working on perfecting for the past week. Granted, you, didn’t necessarily attend all of the Transfiguration classes in your schedule that were held in the past week, but you know enough. At least, with a bit of last minute studying, you do.

Hoseok’s begun to meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast, but by the time he’s strolling up to where you normally sit, you’ve already packing up your belongings.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” He asks playfully as he swings his body over the seat, sitting down across from you. “Or are you actually doing your homework?”

“I have a test today,” you say simply, turning back to finish gathering your books.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about going,” Hoseok says with a disbelieving chuckle. “You hate tests. You always say they’re a poor measure for actual intelligence and proof of learning because knowledge from books isn’t the same as the knowledge required for survival in the real world. Or something like that.”

“I’m rubbing off on you,” you say with a shake of your head. “But I really do have to go, Hoseok. I need to get to class.”

Hoseok seems a bit in shock, like he can’t believe the conversation he’s just exchanged with you. You’re normally much more playful, joking around and smiling. Even still, he sends you sort of a shocked wave, bidding you goodbye as you walk out of the Great Hall, trying your very best to ignore the stares sent your way. You feel your heart thud against your chest, as if it’s just fallen slightly.

Your noon class is Charms, whose tower overlooks the courtyard with all of the greenhouses in it. Before your professor calls everyone to their seats, you quickly peer out of the window, just out of curiosity.

Below, waiting on the very bench where you first met, is Hoseok, clearly looking for someone.

Your heart sinks a little more.

You get the highest grade on the Transfiguration test. As your professor is handing back your exams, she stops by you to congratulate you on a job well done. You look down at the E written in dark red ink on the front piece of parchment. As you page through, noticing the lack of red marks and slashes in comparison to the papers around you, you can’t help but feel yourself frowning. Sure, you did well on a test, but it means almost nothing in the grand scheme of things. All it tells you is not that you’ve mastered the material but that you’ve mastered the system.

Namjoon approaches you after your Transfiguration class. You had almost forgotten he was even in it to begin with—not because he’s quiet, but because you seldom attend your Transfiguration class in the first place. His angry red robes and loud, obnoxious personality are relatively difficult to ignore.

“Y/N,” he says, coming up to you as you’re headed out the door. You have to take a different path to Charms now, one that doesn’t take you anywhere near the greenhouses.

“Can I help you?” You ask politely, albeit bitterly. Namjoon isn’t necessarily one of the friendliest people you’ve met.

“I heard you did well on that test in Transfiguration,” he says casually.

“Yeah, I did,” you respond. There’s no point in boasting any further—Namjoon wouldn’t be talking to you if he didn’t already know you received the highest score.

“Good job. I’m impressed,” Namjoon says, and if that isn’t the world’s worst backhanded compliment. Suddenly you receive a decent mark and you’re being showered in false attention by one of the smartest kids in your year? No, thank you.

“Is that all? I really do have to get to my next class,” you say, trying to break away, but Namjoon is bigger and faster than you, and catches up quickly.

“Wait, Y/N, I wanted to ask how you knew Hoseok. Is he helping you get your grade up in Herbology as well?” Namjoon says, pulling you to the side of the hallway so the two of you can chat. You know you can’t necessarily make a break for it now.

“We’re friends,” you say stiffly. Your heart seems to plummet. Just a little.

“Oh. That’s interesting. You know, if you ever want to hang out with us and my friends, you’re welcome to.”

“Because I got the highest grade on our Transfiguration test? Because you suddenly realized I had more to offer than being a nuisance? Because suddenly, now I’m smart and worthy of your time?” You challenge, making Namjoon take a step back in shock. You’ve taunted and teased him before, but never like this. You’ve never directly shouted at him. “News flash, Namjoon. I don’t want to be a part of your crowd. I don’t need all of that fake validation and clout like you do. If grades are all you care about, talk to someone else. I will not be taken advantage of, especially not by you.”

In pure anger, true unadulterated rage, you storm off, leaving Namjoon standing at the side of the hallway outside of your Transfiguration room, speechless. Almost immediately do you find yourself heading towards the greenhouses, ready to rant to Hoseok about how much you hate this school and the people who attend it.

And then you reach Greenhouse 3 to find all of the lights off and the door locked, like it hasn’t been visited the entire morning.

It’s been over a week since you last exchanged more than three sentences with Hoseok. He hasn’t spoken to you in two days. You haven’t even seen him in one.

And yet, here you are, waiting for him like a fool. Like a desperate fool who’s lost the only friend you’ve had in a very, very long time.

Like a fool in love.

When you walk into Charms that day, the very first thing you do is peer out the window. You know it’s hopeless, at this point, to be holding out for someone you’ve all but abandoned, but maybe. Just maybe.

Just as you reach the window, you spot a figure in yellow robes walking inside, not even bothering to spare a glance behind him, but it’s enough. Quickly, you pull out the homework assigned and leave it on the professor’s desk, rushing out of the room and bounding down the stairs, much to the displeasure and slight confusion of your fellow Charms classmates.

You reach the greenhouses in no time, banging on the door to Greenhouse 3 as you begin to catch your breath.

The door creaks open.

“Y/N?” Hoseok asks, looking only slightly worse for wear as he looks at you, almost as if he’s in shock that you’re even here. “Did you… run here?”

“It’s the most exercise I’ve done since you tricked me into getting on the Whomping Willow,” you joke, making him laugh slightly. Slowly, slowly, slowly. Slowly, the Hoseok you know is beginning to return.

“Hey, I promised that I knew how to control it, alright?” He says, letting you inside.

“That didn’t make it any less terrifying,” you tell him pointedly.

A silence settles around the both of you, neither of you knowing exactly what to say next. Hoseok seems to drift towards the watering cans, fingers itching to care for the plants behind you, but then he says, the most bitter you think you’ve ever heard him, “Don’t you have a class right now?”

“Hoseok…”

“Tell me the truth, Y/N,” Hoseok demands, turning to you. “Was it me? Am I the reason you stopped hanging out with me, coming down to the greenhouses? Is it something I did?”

“No—”

“Then why didn’t you tell me,” he pleads. “Why didn’t you explain what happened? I waited for you, right here, for the past week, and you never came. Every time I tried to talk to you, you dismissed me and went off to do your homework. I had to hear from Namjoon that you did well on your Transfiguration test. Why didn’t you want to tell me those things? I wouldn’t have told you the bullshit that Namjoon said to you. You know that I wouldn’t have.”

“Hoseok—”

“Y/N, I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve always been waiting for you. Why?”

“Because you’re too good for me!” You shout back, voice desperate, hoarse. “Because you are way, way too good for me. Don’t lie to yourself, Hoseok. You know that we’re different people. We started hanging out and people began to talk about you. You know that I’m the reason you stopped getting less tutoring requests? Because people began to associate you with me?”

“I don’t care! I don’t care about shit like that, Y/N. I hate that you’re always putting yourself down because you and I are different. That doesn’t make you worse than I do. You, of all people, should know that,” Hoseok responds, equally as distraught.

“I can’t help it! Everyone talks about it; I can’t just pretend it isn’t happening! Sure, I hate that this is how it is, but I can’t change that. You know I can’t change how this world works. But I can change myself, if you’d just let me explain—”

“You turned into a different person overnight, Y/N,” Hoseok says with a frown. “Suddenly you were doing your homework and going to class and being on time and it felt like you didn’t have time for me anymore! It was like I didn’t know you at all,” he trails off, looking down at his feet. “Why did you suddenly turn your life around? To impress everyone else? I never thought you’d turn into one of them, Y/N.”

Red flashes before your eyes. “You want to know why I changed?” You shout. Hoseok nods, furious. “Because I love you, Hoseok! That’s why I changed. Because I love you and you’re too good for me and I thought that maybe if I was a bit different, we’d have a better chance.”

Hoseok is speechless.

“I’m sorry,” you say, much quieter. “I hated the way people were treating you because of me and I know you probably don’t even feel the same way but I just felt like I had to do something, so I—”

Within the second, Hoseok is storming over to you, footsteps heavy, and planting his lips atop yours.

It catches you by surprise instantly, making you gasp into his mouth before you feel his hands come up to hold onto your waist, pulling you in tight. It’s not a deep kiss, no tongue or anything else, but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. Doesn’t make the rays of heat that radiate off of his body bleed into your skin, warm you from the inside out. His hold feels like home and his lips taste a little bit like strawberry chapstick and pumpkin.

Eventually, you part, and all of the fight seems to have drained out of the both of you. Like you had forgotten why you were shouting in the first place.

“Do you mean it?” Hoseok asks, holding you close, hands having moved from your waist to your cheeks, to cradle your head in his palms.

“What?” You ask.

“You know what,” Hoseok says, rolling his eyes at your defiance.

“I do,” you hum softly, lips curling upwards.

“Good,” Hoseok says. “Because I do, too.”

“What, exactly, is it that you also do?” You ask cheekily. You really just want to hear him say it.

Hoseok groans, but follows it up with a gentle kiss, a simple press of lips against your forehead. “I love you, too.”

You end up spending the rest of the day in the greenhouse with Hoseok (old habits die hard), caring for his plants and having the civil conversation you were probably meant to have before the whole argument from earlier in the day. You’ll never know what you missed in Charms that day, but that’s alright.

“I never got to congratulate you on getting the highest grade on your Transfiguration test,” Hoseok says.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“You know, Y/N. You don’t need to 180 your personality if getting good grades and doing well in school is what you want.”

You stiffen at the implications of this conversation, hidden beneath Hoseok’s words.

“I’m serious,” he says, dropping the watering can in his hands on the ground and coming up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist to embrace you from the back. “I know it goes against your whole ‘school is a societal construct that ranks us via arbitrary values that are meaningless in the real world’ but you’re actually a genuinely intelligent person. You could stick it to someone like Namjoon, if you want. I’ll tell you he was floored when he found out you out-scored him on that test.”

“Was he, now?” You ask, interest piqued. Nothing quite like sticking it to people like Namjoon. You’re their worst nightmare: a public nuisance with brain cells.

“You bet,” Hoseok says.

“I may… consider it,” you tell him, feeling relatively keen on the idea. Sure, it’s the latter half of your seventh year, but it’s never too late to start getting good grades.”

“You better. I want to walk around and tell everyone about my genius girlfriend,” Hoseok says.

“Is that what I am now? Your girlfriend?” You tease, turning around in his hold so that you’re facing him.

“Is that what you want to be?” Hoseok asks, looking down at you.

��I may consider it,” you taunt playfully, making Hoseok roll his eyes.

“Consider it done,” Hoseok corrects you, pressing a kiss to your lips before reaching down to tickle you, ruthless as always. You burst into laughter, tears falling from your eyes as you shout at him to stop.

Maybe things are different now. But if you think about it, maybe this is how they’ve always been.

⇒ hmu with feedback or just talk to me here!

[weaselle]

Let’s talk about Witchcraft!

I used to pal around with people who considered themselves witches and pagans. California is a great place for finding people of a similar mindset, and I began a journey into what I then considered witchcraft with books by Aleister Crowley and a skill with tarot cards. Later, I celebrated a year’s worth of Sabbats with a group I joined in Germany. In Alabama I helped a couple people who were struggling with leaving christianity remain connected to a natural spiritualism through concepts such as the Lord and Lady. But my personal witching identity never truly fell in line with Wiccan paganism.

My grandmother had Gifts, I’ve written about them before. She had The Voice and she had True Dreams and some kind of Sight, all of which I personally witnessed before she passed.  I share the same birthmark as she, and, present at my birth, she pronounced some kind of minor prophecy regarding me when she saw the mark. My mother died when I was very young and nobody else took it seriously enough to remember this ‘prophecy’; Grandma herself when she recounted the story seemed to feel telling me her actual words would... not be a good idea.

I have my own variation of her gifts, more like Charm than Voice I would say; nothing special about my dreams when I have them at all, definitely some kind of Sight. But these gifts are not the kind of thing that are controlled or used on purpose, and, at least in my own family, come rarely into our lives. Altogether I have had noticeable access to these gifts perhaps ten times in my 40+ years.

However, I have developed a brand of practical witchcraft that suits me and seems more (not to be dismissive of other folks but) more real than what I was participating in when I was spending time with wiccan flavored witchery. Perhaps an example is in order. Let us consider the Athame, the witch’s blade.

Most of the people I’ve known to have an Athame have had some silly ceremonial decorative thing. Some chrome plated jagged shaped enormous monstrosity, and they only use it ten times a year to salute the 4 directions and ritualistically sacrifice some cheese or whatever.

But witchcraft is old. The OLDEST magic, the FIRST magic -- witching is older than the very concept of a decorative knife. Witchcraft, in my opinion, is a very practical practice.

My own Athame is my chef’s knife.

I use it every day. I know its weight, the feel of it in my hand, I’m skilled with it, I care for it daily, sharpening, cleaning; it feeds me, a part of almost every dinner I eat. If I lost it I would feel as though I lost a part of myself. I can use it to create things that will, for example, win over a romantic partner’s family (let’s be honest, cooking and witchcraft are closely tied together). It is well suited to butchering a small animal, if I was the kind of witch that did animal sacrifice, this is the knife I would use.

This, to me, is a witch’s blade.

The rest of a witch’s tool box is just as practical. Knife, music, wand, chalice, candle, pentacle. Other witch’s tools are basically these same things, much the way a torch is basically a big candle. Mystical as they may seem in a modern setting, these things are, in their purest form, simply the things you would need to be different than an animal, and survive as a human being in the wild.

You have fire (candle). A musical sound (bell is often simplest but plenty of witch kits substitute a flute, or a small drum, or some other simple instrument). A pentacle is little more than a flat work surface, like a cutting board, which is far more rare and valuable than we take it for if you live in the wild. And lets talk about the chalice and wand.

A wand is a stick. Possibly the first multi-purpose tool humans ever regularly used. You can use it to dig tubers. Draw diagrams in the dirt. Stir a stew or poke a fire. It extends your reach when getting fruit from trees or poking into holes for small edible creatures. A spear is, at its base concept, a large wand (the chimpanzees we’ve observed making and using spears are mostly mothers btw). And there are two reasons I suspect one might attach significance to waving a stick around in the air.

1: if you see a group of people talking and gesturing, but one of them is gesturing with some kind of stick, that one is in charge or has some special say in things. Right? I mean obviously there will be exceptions, but that basic observation is pretty true. In this way, it confers an invisible power.

2: if you are entering an old holy place, one that you only enter a few times a year, some kind of cave, or small grove, or temple... I can tell you from experience you’re probably going to want to find a stick and wave it around in front of you, around the entire space. Or you’re going to get that icky startle you feel when you catch a strand of spiderweb to the face. Imagine how that whole process might look to someone who doesn’t know what’s happening.

But there’s something else about a wand. A classic wand will have a pointy end (of obvious use in a variety of situations) and a thicker blunt end. This is not just for grip. That blunt end can combine with the chalice or cup to be a mortar and pestle. Now your wand, knife, chalice and candle are really coming together, because when you are done making whatever it is with the knife and mortar and pestle (probably on the surface of your pentacle) you can hang your chalice over the candle and heat it. This is how a witch might make a medicinal tea, or potion. 

Sometimes, one might attach something to the tip of the wand to specialize it, so a wand might have a rounded riverstone that would be a greater pestle. Or it might have a crystal that can make fire from sunlight. Or it might have a gem with a point hard enough to inscribe things on stones. All manner of things. Practical Things, though, is what I’m saying. Things that would have bordered on magic when the first humans had access to these tools.

So that for the tools. But what about Spells?

I don’t know how witching on the internet works. I’m old. But I’m going to tell you how a money spell I’ve used works, and that will give you an insight into my brand of witching and magic maybe. What you do is, you put a container on your altar (you have an altar. No, you DO. It’s either that place your keys and wallet always wind up, or the desk you do your creating at, or the spot next to the stove that’s supposed to be clear space but your cutting board and favorite knife is always there in front of jars of your favorite seasonings even though technically all that stuff has other places they are supposed to be kept. Sadly it might be your TV. These places fill altar functions. Unless you have a specially designated altar somewhere else already, of course) ANYway, you take a container, the bigger it is the stronger the spell but also the more time and effort it will take. Anyway, you put it on your altar. You stand in front of your altar and you make a solemn promise to put every penny you find there, in that container. Only literal penny coins, mind you. You vow to fill it to overflowing. You get an image in your head of what that looks like, and you concentrate on that, and you dedicate yourself to arriving in a universe in which this image is a reality. Basically, by spending time and energy on the promise, you make yourself take it seriously. You decide what you will do with those pennies. Be standing there making your penny collecting vow when you decide on that thing. It must be a whole thing, don’t add them to other money for anything, and don’t spend them on things you already set money aside for regularly; ideally you pair what you are doing with those pennies to concepts of reward and/or sacrifice. So you could vow to take them to a wishing fountain and throw them all in yourself or give them to other people to make wishes, or decide to take them all to a dessert place you like but rarely go to, and spend them on your favorite dessert they have for you or your bestie (fountain or cake, you walk away from spending them without owning anything more than when you started - hence an aspect of sacrifice… eating the pennies as cake or throwing them out as an offering is the same as burning them in a fire in many ways) And - this is important - you think about how money is desirable and vital enough that even the smallest possible increment, the lowly penny, is still worth handling and saving and spending in a planned and disciplined fashion. You THINK about that. Then you go about your life. But as you do so, you pick up and pocket every single penny you see. Pennies are worth so little, that we would often rather dump one in the garbage than pick through the dustpan to save it, but that’s not you anymore. Now, you will cross the street to pick one up out of the gutter if you see one. You’ll still put your change in the tip jar, but you’ll hold back the pennies. The more crazy into this you are, the stronger the spell… top-tier witches doing this spell would wade waist deep in cow poop to acquire a single shit-stained penny. You’re on a mission. You’ve made a promise. And you’re witching. When you get home with these pennies, at some point you’ll put them in the container on your altar. Each time you do, because of how brains work, you’ll be reminded of your promise. You’ll see your vision of overflowing coins again. You’ll imagine how fun the wishing fountain is going to be, or how delicious the cake is going to taste. And - this is important - you’ll think about how money is so desirable and vital that that even the smallest possible increment is worth handling and saving and spending in a planned and disciplined fashion. It may take you weeks to fill the container. It may take you months. But when you are done, when you have completed your vow, dispense the pennies as you planned. Don’t forget to give it extra time here. Look lovingly at the vision you have manifested, at the overflowing container when you have filled it. Feel the weight of it. Count them, roll them, recognize specific pennies that look different, think about pennies you collected in memorable ways. Fill yourself with pride and satisfaction, and carry that feeling with you to the fountain, to the dessert shop. Let your planned activity at that place magnify those feelings, reinforce those feelings. This is the culmination of the spell, the fireball leaving the tip of the wand -- experience the wonder and power of what you have done. See, true witching is, at its heart, extremely practical. It’s just a way for a human being to use intuition to reach truths housed in the dark mystery of our beings that science is only recently able to shed some light on. Things like how wearing clothes you perceive as “tough” will actually make you produce more “tough” chemicals like testosterone and adrenaline (according to studies that measured hormone levels of people switching between wearing leather jackets and pink dresses) or how if you BELIEVE a substance is medication, it can have some curative effects even if it’s just a sugar pill (placebos). Witching is often just working with these realities without access to detailed knowledge of all the science behind it.

Anyhow, when this spell is done, you will see money differently. Your spending habits will be different. You’ll think about money differently. Throwing your change in the tip jar won’t be a mindless activity, and maybe it makes you realize how little you’re actually putting in there and you wind up spending more money on tips than you used to - that’s okay, that’s good, the fact is, the thing you are doing with that money, how you chose to allocate your change from buying a cup of coffee, that is no longer an activity that you don’t really pay attention to; you put thought into it now. Money will have more value, now that not only are you WILLING to pick though dirt for a single cent, but it is actually habit to do so if you see one. Now something is no longer “just a dollar” it is ONE HUNDRED CENTS, and you have a visceral understanding of how much each of those cents is worth to you. And - this is important - you have completed an exercise in money management, wherein you dedicated to a planned expenditure, saved up the necessary funds, and followed through, laying paths in your neural network that take long enough to become habit and end in reward experience (it doesn’t have to be cake, simply completing your plan will give you the reward feelings, like finishing a video game level). You did this without having to change your finances, expenditures, or budget. It was just pennies, it wasn’t like when you try to save for a vacation and the saving is like a new bill you struggle to pay. This fit into your budget like it was nothing. Like it was extra money from nowhere, like it was… magic. The effects will keep spreading, rippling, transforming your life, your RELATIONSHIP with money will have been transformed, in a way too big to fully understand all implications - maybe people see a change in how you are with money and become more likely to trust you with it, more willing to loan you some when you need it. Maybe this will have filled you with ideas for other money management goals and the confidence to see them through and who knows where that will lead you? There is so much mystery and interconnection in this universe, the effects may well be long lasting and incredibly impactful. And that’s how a witch does a money spell. imo. Obviously, if you’ve read the first part of this post, you know I’m not saying this is how all magic works, or that there is no true mystery -- after all, did i not get suddenly taken to a casino for 15 minutes one morning so Grandma could win that poker jackpot with a royal flush in clubs that her late husband told her about in a dream? Clearly there is a great mysticism in the universe. But in my experience, much of the day to day experience of life and magic for a witch is rooted in practical practices.

Now go have fun darlings, and make magic happen

[vickypoochoices]

Scrabble Heart.

Author's Note: I don't write James fics ever, but this idea came to me and he was the only person I could imagine pulling this off! I also need you to excuse any mistakes regarding the rules for Scrabble. I played once, over ten years ago, and cried because I was so awful at it! I've had a quick Google of the rules, and I know I've forgotten about the double points on the first go, but we can forget all about that when we see the outcome of this game right? I hope!

Tagging: I don't really have a tag list for James, so i'm sorry if I've tagged you and you aren't interested. @zigortega4life @emerald-bijou @littlegreenmoo @krsnlove

"I miss Zack. He would never pick on me like you have. Relentlessly. All day long.”

“Oh boo hoo. Cry me a river. Who do you think planted this little idea in my head in the first place?” Kaitlyn retorts, not even glancing up from where she's picking at her worn down, stubby nails.

A sharp hiss of breath, grinding teeth and a tight ball of scrunched up fingers under the table was her only response initially, a half hearted threat eventually following. "When he gets back I’m gonna...”

“Shower me with kisses? Squeeze me so tight I literally explode?” A giddy squeal from the entrance to the coffee shop interrupted her.

“ZACK?! What are you doing here?”

“Did you really think I’d miss one of the biggest nights of my best friend’s life?”

A sharp slap sounded out as the palms of Zack and Kaitlyn met in unison for a high five. Both wearing matching smug smiles. Both watching on as their friend sagged against a corner seat.

“Good job Liao. She’s a tough one to crack but with a little perseverance we’ll have her coming round to our way of thinking in no time.”

Zack slid into the seat next to her, bringing an arm up to hang loosely around her shoulders. Her nostrils flared at the overwhelming and intensely overpowering scent that followed. Not what she had grown accustomed to. Zack smelt fresh, fruity, exotic. Shrinking back slightly, she eyed him cautiously, taking note of his face. Flecked with a smattering of fresh freckles, and the tone of his skin; a shade pinker than what was probably deemed desirable. She flinched at the sudden thud of Zack's backpack tumbling to the floor.

Whilst one eyebrow remained in place, higher than the other, her hands betrayed her, instinctively grabbing at thin air greedily, eager to snap up the thick slab of chocolate she could see poking out the top of the bag.

“Present!” He exclaimed, still not making a move, eerily still and watching her closely. She swallowed hard, suddenly on edge.

“Did you get abducted by aliens whilst you were away or something? One, you are being really weird right now. Like, really weird. Two, the Zack I know would buy chocolate as a gift for me, but find it too irresistible and end up eating it himself then palm me off with a fridge magnet. And three, am I really supposed to believe that you got a tan if that’s what you want to call it, from a last minute trip around Europe?”

“Okay well one, if I really was abducted by aliens I’d be selling my story and making my millions right now instead of wasting my time here with you. Two, that was one time that I ate your chocolate and i’ve spent the last five years apologising for my mistake, how much longer are you going to hold it against me? And finally, Europe does get hot. Sometimes. I’ll have you know.” Zack puffed out the breath he’d been holding, cheeks reddening with each word. He looked her over, a smirk tugging at his lips, a glimmer in his eye.

“And I thought it could serve as your first engagement present too, I was going to get James a nice bottle of wine for tonight, but I ran out of money.”

She rolled her eyes, tutting loudly. “That’s it, I take it all back. From this moment on I am best friend less.” She stared pointedly at Zack, Kaitlyn giggling in the background as she stealthily swiped the chocolate bar, taking advantage of Zack's momentary lapse of concentration.

“Love you too babe! I’d better be the first person you call once James pops the question or I’ll seriously have to reconsider my answer when you ask me to be your man of honour.”

A sweet smile ghosted her lips as she flipped him the bird before flouncing out of the coffee shop. An unsettling feeling began to rise in the pit of her stomach, a bitter taste still apparent after the conversation she'd just had.

The fresh air hit her face on, hair whipping around wildly as a gust of autumnal wind swept past her. But she barely even noticed, subconsciously winding her pashmina a little tighter around herself, her nose burying into it. As her feet carried her off down the path littered with crunchy, crisp golden leaves, her mind was stuck in St. Mark's Basilica. The large round domes and marble multi coloured pillars. With her feet now rounding a corner, her mind wandered further, now walking along the Bridge of Sighs at the Doge's Palace. She paused for a second, surprising herself as a rumble of laughter escaped her mouth unexpectedly.

"It's fascinating here. And beautiful. We could get lost in Venice and roam the streets for months and I'd still never tire of this place." James talked animatedly, his pace of speech hurried as his excitement grew, all the while his thumb brushed over her knuckles soothingly, despite his apparent excitement overtaking his mouth.

The glistening water that passed them, as they both stole glances of each other. James looking at her wistfully and lingering. Nope. If he was going to propose it would have been then. In Italy. One of the most beautiful and romantic countries in the world. Or any one of the other amazing places they'd visited together. Not a random Thursday night in their apartment of all places. She shook her head, unsure why she even entertained the idea. This was Zack and Kaitlyn anyway. Why did she ever take them seriously in the first place?

A long, drawn out breath escaped as she made her way into her shared apartment with James, silently cursing the loud jangle of keys that seemed to slice through the silence. At least Zack didn't bring her another keyring back. Her set contained two keys but dozens of mismatched keyrings, mainly little momentos as a memory of the places her and James had visited. They'd taken a year off together. They were both busy and successful in their own rights, but some days it had seemed as though they were slipping into the old ships in the night routine, which so many long term relationships always seemed to suffer. James had often talked about showing her the world one day, until the words 'Why not today' tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, little to no thought actually going into the logistics of it all.

Twirling around on the spot, her eyes narrowed, skepticism pooling within her as she took note of her dimly lit surroundings. James sat hunched over their dining table, flicking his wrist a few times, a flickering flame from his matchstick disapating cleanly, her nostrils flaring slightly at the heavy smokey scent drifting towards her. The room would have been pitch black, were it not for the dozens and dozens of candles strategically dotted around the living room. Shit. He's not...?

Catching sight of her, James's demeanor changed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, mustering up a lopsided grin, neither confirming nor denying her suspicions.

"Hey." His voice was normal. Not squeaky or strained, no hint of nerves in the slightest. Her voice however betrayed her, the notes wavering shakily as she choked out a terse 'hey' of her own in response.

Something in the way she remained rooted to the spot, anxiously eyeing every candle painfully slowly must have prompted James as to the inner turmoil she was currently battling.

Striding the short distance between them, her fingers greedily snatched up the half full wine glass she found pressed between them, a trace amount dribbling out of the corner of her mouth as she struggled to knock it back cleanly in one.

He eyed her curiously, warmth jolting her to her senses as his hand covered hers, steadying, as he seamlessly removed the glass from her grasp and sat it down on a nearby coffee table. The warmth radiated through her, her whole body fighting off a chill she wasn't even aware of until now. Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his warmth spread to her face, a rosy glow heating her cheeks as he cupped her face in his hand, watching her with an unreadable expression.

"The electricity's out."

She tried to reign in the breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding, a short puff of air the only thing to pass her lips somehow. Idiot! There's a perfectly good explanation after all!

"That...makes sense."

A rich chuckle rumbled, James cocking his head to the side as he looked her over from top to bottom, perplexed. "Are you okay?"

She stared, deadpan for a moment, mouth slightly agape before pulling herself together. She wasn't about to let Zack and Kaitlyn ruin this night. Game night was one of her favourite nights of the week!

Nodding her head once, setting her shoulders back and fixing her face with an award winning smile she hoped wasn't too over the top, she took a step towards the 'game table'. "I'm fine Ashton. Just eager to beat your ass, as usual!"

Breaking out into a grin, he paced over to the table, both now hovering by their designated seats. "Is that so?"

"Have you been getting a little extra practice in tonight?" She jerked her head towards the Scrabble board set out in the middle of the table, a few words scattered around.

"The pressure is on me tonight."

She swallowed hard, mind going into overdrive for all of thirty seconds before James pressed on.

"If I remember correctly, you've won two weeks in a row."

Bringing a hand up to cup around her ear, her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Say it a little louder."

He chuckled distractedly, his gaze dropping to her lips. As James took a step towards her, she took one backwards, the heel of her foot knocking into contact with her chair. Her eyes widened, a brief moment of panic washing over her. Fingers curling tightly around the fabric of James's shirt reflexively, she braced herself for the fall, expecting James to come tumbling down with her. Instead, strong arms encircled her waist, gently placing her harmlessly into position on her chair.

A momentary loss of balance forced James down with her. Their foreheads coming to rest together, her chest rising and falling exaggeratedly as she caught her breath. Grateful for the strong arms wrapped protectively around her and the feather light strokes of his fingertips along one of her hip bones that followed.

Her eyes found their way to his and found them seeking out an answer to his unanswered question. A slight angle of her head was all it took, her lips latching onto his once, then twice, hoping that would be enough to reassure him that she was fine.

"Someone's eager to play." James whispered into her covered neck, before dipping lower to place a single kiss against her collar bone.

Her cheeks flushed, slowly unravelling the long pashmina she'd long since forgotten about.

"How about we play later?" Her lips tugged upwards into a coy smile, as she beckoned him closer still with a crook of her finger.

A startling crackle from one of the candles distantly in the room pulled them apart.

A small patch of skin on the back of her hand glistened under the candlelight as James left a lingering kiss there. "As tempting as that offer is..."

The formation of a sharp crease between his brows had her unintentionally mirroring him, a furrow of confusion flitting across her features at the obvious deflection. His words were at odds with his facial features, and she couldn't understand why.

Swallowing down an influx of unwelcome emotions, a breezy smile slipped into place as she turned her attention to the table, eager for a distraction. Settling back in the chair and sucking in a healthy amount of air, she welcomed the space as James eased himself off of her, and into position opposite.

Hands steepled together, her wandering eyes latched onto the opposite side of the table. A collection of tiles with a mismatch of complete and half strung together words caught her attention, the most striking being Eternity. Chin jutting, eyes narrowed, voice croaking, she managed just one word.

"Cheat!"

"This is one game I very much hope I can win tonight." His eyes sparkled in the darkness.

"Ready when you are."

Dipping his head, James alternated between an awkward squint and a cocky flit between his letters. After what felt like an eternity, he finally placed down his first word. Love.

Really? All of that build up for four letters and seven fucking points?

"Losing never looked so sexy before." She smirked teasingly.

"I just need a little more time to warm up."

A thin sheen of sweat shone off his forehead, but before she could voice any concern a sharp buzz at the door interrupted. Raising an eyebrow questioningly, James shrugged casually, using the back of his hand to swiftly swipe at his clammy forehead.

"Well I couldn't make us dinner with the electricity out, so I went ahead and ordered us some pizza. Could you go? I'm pondering over my next move and I'll probably just start spurting out random words to the delivery guy if I go."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Ashton. I think you'll find it's my turn next. We didn't up the stakes last week without my knowledge did we? Because you are acting strange all of a sudden. Unless you just can't take the humiliation of being beaten by me three weeks in a row..."

"Sounds like someone is worried about that winning streak coming to an end."

With a stern face and narrowed eyes, she outstretched two fingers in front of her, before moving them back and forth between the pair, signalling that she's watching him.

"I promise you." James smiled, raising his hand and placing it over his heart, sincerity flushing his features. "I'm not cheating, and we didn't up the stakes. This game is an important one. There's no coming back from this for me if you beat me three weeks in a row."

She nodded her head once in acceptance before bounding over to the door, eager to get back to the game.

"Good evening ma'am." A muffled voice greeted her, buried behind a stack of pizza boxes.

"Seems everyone in the building had the same idea tonight, we're rushed off our feet. Now then, which one of these is yours?"

A middle aged, kind faced man suddenly appeared as he carefully manoeuvred the tower of boxes onto the floor.

"Huh, looks like there's been a mix up. Nothing is labelled, makes my job a hell of a lot harder let me tell you kid! There's no other way to do it than opening the boxes and looking through."

A slight huff and an irritated glance back at James followed, not that he noticed. He was hunched over, scrutinising each tile whilst stroking his chin absentmindedly.

"Alright let's do this. James is awkward and orders extra toppings, so I guess his should be easy to spot."

Time seemed to stand still as the delivery guy sifted through the mountain of boxes painstakingly slowly.

"Well what do you know, the bottom two eh? What are the chances?"

She found her eyebrows raising and her foot tapping, her patience well and truly tested now.

"Okay great. Thanks so much. Have a great night!" She strained out, struggling with all her might to refrain from slamming the door in his face.

"Can you believe that James? Next time I think I'd rather just starve!"

Winding her way back to the table, she frowned at the now vacant seat, James no where to be seen. Setting down the pizza boxes in the middle of the table, she let out a long sigh. Same thing every Thursday. Wine goes straight through him! Her lips curled up into a cunning smile, as she risked a peek behind her, ensuring James wasn't about to walk in and catch her stealing a glance at his rack and tiles. With the coast clear, she loomed over the empty seat on his side, her throat constricting instantly.

There were no spare tiles, on either James's side or her own. Just the Scrabble board, positioned perfectly straight, and completed. Her legs buckled, the safety of James's chair acting as a net and catching her, her elbows coming to rest on the table as she leaned forward, eyes erratically scanning over the words in place.

Love. Eternity. Italy.

Stomach clenching as realisation set in, she allowed her eyes to drop a little further down. An unmistakablely large diamond ring sat in the centre of the board, the accompanying tiles set out directly underneath it spelt out just four more words. Will. You. Marry. Me.

"I hope Zack and Kaitlyn didn't ruin the surprise."

Mouth agape, her head slowly turned to her right, gaze falling to the floor and landing on James, knelt down on one knee looking at her earnestly.

"James what...?"

"Is it hot in here all of a sudden or is it just me?"

"That might have something to do with the hundreds of candles you've got heating up the room."

"Right, yeah. I didn't think that one through properly did I?"

Her arms folded across her chest, the penny finally dropping.

"The power isn't out?"

"Nope."

"And the pizza delivery guy?"

A sheepish look flits across his face. "He might have been paid handsomely to help me out." He paused, clearing his throat loudly. "But babe, we've sort of strayed a little here."

Her stomach twisted into knots, her heart pounding harshly. "Right err..."

"No wait. This isn't right. I've spent the best part of a year planning all of this and I've messed it all up."

"A year?" She repeated quitely.

"It would have been too obvious to do it whilst we were jetsetting around the world. We'd talked about doing that together for so many years, I didn't want to take anything away from that experience for you."

Her face softened at his words. My James. Always so thoughtful.

"I didn't think it was possible, but every day I fell more and more in love with you. I nearly caved in a few times, even went as far as to check out a jewelers whilst we were in Malta. Then you text me saying you'd woken from your nap and you were starving so I came home with food instead of a ring."

She couldn't help but giggle, cursing herself mentally. Damn you stomach!

"And then we came home and we settled back into our old routine and I thought I'd missed my chance. Then I realised, none of that even matters. I could wine you and dine you in an extravagant restaurant. Or we could stay in, surrounded by all of our firsts."

She chewed on the inside of her lip nervously, but her expression must have faltered, as she felt James stroke her hand timidly, taking a moment to find the right way to answer her confusion.

"The first time we kissed. The first time together properly, how could I ever forget? The first confession of love I'd ever muttered to anyone before. The first experience of living with a partner, my beautiful partner." His eyes softened.

"The first proposal. Hopefully the last! The first moments afterwards, when you've given me your answer..."

Diving downwards and pressing against him forcibly, they fell backwards, tumbling together into the floor. For the second time that night, James found himself instinctively curling his arms around her protectively, their lips melding together in a sudden fierce frenzy.

Panting as he pulled away, James cradled her face in his hands, thumb gently stroking either side in adoration. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad I could soften the fall for you."

"That yes was an answer to your original question James."

"Right right." He nodded his head slowly, taking a moment for the words to sink in properly. "Yes, as in yes yes?"

"Okay, that word is officially banned from now on!" She quipped, face widening in a broad smile.

Raising her hands to his lips and brushing a kiss to each finger individually, he kept his eyes locked on her's, the threat of happy tears brimming in his eyes as he slowly slipped the ring onto her finger.

"There's just one thing left to do now." He murmured against her mouth, tugging at her bottom lip.

"Which is?"

"Finish the game, of course. What else?"

[cosmicmoved]

IT’S TIME FOR MIN’S OFFICIAL INTRO... a mintro, if you will. KIM MINWOO, KNOWN AS MIN; 24 YEAR OLD POPSTAR, MEMBER OF POP DUO SO:DA. this is a muse i made back in march for a closed rpg that didn’t open so i wanted to give him a second chance! (:< i’ll write a proper bio for him soon, one that makes him sound like less of a moron, but this is just a basic rundown of his basic situation & some extra facts about him! sorry if this sucks, i can’t introduce a new muse without getting nervous for the life of me asdfghgfdfg anyway !! this gets pretty lengthy, even though it’s all just bullet points, so i threw it under a cut to save the dash. please click the read more to learn about min! if you have any trouble reading the theme, please refer to the mobile version of this post!

FIRST!! I want to be clear that Min is not a K-Pop idol, he’s a popstar. Technically, he started off in the K-Pop industry, is still ‘owned’ by a Korean company and was trained under that system but to describe him that way is no longer accurate. (i’m also very aware there’s already a k-pop idol called min but as he’s fictional, a man and, again, not a k-pop idol, it doesn’t really matter that much but m!ss a deserved better anyway)

BASICS

min is tomo’s best friend. tomo, having a lifetime of awful hollywood experience on min, was one of the first friends he made after moving to LA and they were both around the same age. they’re a chaotic combo and i love them... (i know the fc choice seems a bit too easy but i actually made both of these characters totally separately & making tomo made me want to give min another shot so i decided to lump them together)

full name is kim minwoo (김민우 / 金玟雨 / kim min-u) but he goes by MIN, both as a stage name and a nickname. call him either min or minwoo, he doesn’t really care either way. (he’s fed up with people pronouncing the W...it’s silent...)

birthday: 12th June 1995. he’s 24 years old.

nobody can tell whether or not he’s a jerk because he’s essentially a nice person. is it false bravado or does he just lack tact? is he just a part-time bastard? like.....he’s not mean, he’s a good person, he cares about other people!! ...but he’s also kind of a brat & he’s VERY stroppy. he gets upset if stuff doesn’t work out the way he wants it to.

he’s a member of the pop duo, SO:DA; an okay singer, more of a rapper, but a solid dancer. also very much known for his look, something about which he’s more bitter than he lets on. (he pretends to eat it up but he actually finds it pretty frustrating, a direct contrast to tomo who loves being the designated Pretty Boy so long as it’s not in clean, shiny way; if ur gonna call min pretty a bunch of times, compliment him somewhere else too at least once if u don’t want to end up on his list of enemies)

SO:DA debuted in south korea back in 2014 but the company made the decision to move it abroad a year later in an attempt to globalise their output. it’s hard to consider them as a k-pop group as they’ve been based in LA for 4 years now and they release music entirely in english. (pls don’t mention super m to me, i made this character in MARCH asdfghgfdfh)

the group’s name was originally short for SOL & DAL, taken from the french word for sun (soleil) and the korean word for moon, but they dropped it after the move abroad. min was the member who represented the moon while his partner in the group was the sun. they’ve sort of kept the concept in terms of visuals and all the rest but they mostly don’t speak about it.

min actually grew up in the UK. born in seoul, moved to a london when he was four and then moved back to seoul when he was thirteen and then to LA when he was eighteen.

EXTRA TRIVIA

min’s not as into partying as tomo so like...he’ll go along with it and go to clubs with tomo but usually doesn’t drink as much & often ends up in charge of dealing with the aftermath of tomo being an idiot. min doesn’t really mind bc he’s used to people trying to chase after him & being treated like an irresponsible child so he likes being the responsible one for once. (actually, he’s just a much tamer character than tomo in general. i think the same heavier topics will come up by virtue of him being a big part of tomo’s plotline but, in isolation, min’s less intense. min doesn’t take any drugs, for one thing; it’s part lack of interest, part he’d never get away with it like tomo does)

min isn’t allowed to do wild shit in public or else his management will come down on him like a tonne of bricks but he likes the idea of the Bad Boy image so he kinda...mooches off of tomo for the street cred. like they’re genuinely best friends and he’s not using tomo or anything shitty like that but i can’t say that min doesn’t enjoy being seen as trouble by proxy.

got banned from club penguin when he was ten for saying fuck. (more than once bc saying it once only gets you banned for 24hrs.) it was his first experience with resenting authority for enforcing their rules on him 😔

he likes to keep this sort of...mysterious, tortured image but his upbringing was actually fairly ordinary. he gets on with his family and loves them a lot. nobody’s dead, there’s no awkward relationships.

he has two siamese cats, both aged about 3 years. they have their own instagram account that’s about 40% run by min and 60% run by his manager when they have nothing better to do (usually after min has spammed them with pictures he’s taken). in conclusion, they are baby.

this has actually resulted in them having to separate their channels of contact by purpose; one messaging service will be used for important stuff, one will be used for casual stuff, one will be used exclusively for social media (cat pics & selfies), so on and so forth.

his management won’t let him get tattoos and he’s mad about it. like to the point that he’s been known to wear fake tattoos occasionally. do NOT clown him for it. he won’t take it.

actually, min’s management is just very controlling and overbearing & he’s totally overworked but hahaha we’re just going to ignore that bc arguing with the people in charge means risking your dream career in music & potentially losing it all, esp bc you skipped out on uni and fucked up a lot of high school just to pursue this job hahaha let’s just internalise that shit and get on with it

owns the cherry coke aesthetic. actually thinks classic coke is better. shhh, don’t tell. his favourite sweet is basset’s cherry drops though hehehe (not that he gets to eat them very often, given i can’t imagine they’re easy to find outside of the uk)

actually drinks too much coca cola. that probably explains the stroppiness, as well as his awful sleeping patterns.

pepsi can get fucked

min claims to be a vegetarian.

min is not a vegetarian.

the backstory there is pretty simple; min’s fussy. he has particular tastes. most kinds of meat, esp red meat, do not fall into his OK Zone. instead of having to suffer through important, fancy meeting dinners with posh steaks and not being allowed to use his fussiness as an excuse, he started claiming he was a vegetarian. people seemed to be more accepting of that. the only trouble is that he’s now widely known as a vegetarian when he doesn’t actually give a shit. the only people who know he’s bullshitting are his friends. he just wants a mcdonald’s double cheeseburger.

min lives on a diet of utter shit. he’s contractually obliged to eat healthily when preparing for promotions so he doesn’t just fuckin collapse on stage from malnutrition. pls eat a vegetable.

o yea he’s petty as fuck. wrong him like...once...and it’s fuck u city.

also he currently has silver hair. he’s icy...u see that he’s icy......i know the graphic is pink hair but i made it as a sidebar for smth like a year ago and i wanted to reuse it (:<

ALSO !! uhhhhhh, if anybody’s interested in rping the other half of SO:DA.........pls let me know asdfgfdf i’d literally LOVE for someone to take that role hehehe! p much everything is up to you besides a few requirements; he has to be close enough in age to min, probs not too different in build (duos always kind of have?? a sorta physical symmetry??) and he's a vocalist. the personality is totally your call but there has to be that sunny image. fc and everything else is your choice too but i’d have to be chill w/it & agree that it works asdfghdd!!

[verdigrisprowl]

Feb 11 Dancitron Movie Night - Venom

Due to the fact that rabb.it has fucked up its interface, it’s now impossible to copy/paste the chat more than a few lines at a time, AND it requires messing with the code to even copy/paste the names. Because I had to go the fuck to bed, @slenderwave compiled the log instead of me tonight. Thank u slendy.

Also we probably ain’t gonna have any more movie nights until we find a site without a fucked up interface.

Prowl liked the movie more than he indicated; while actually at the movie, though, he was mainly busy being shaken by the uncomfortable parallels between being Venomed and being Bombshelled/Devastatored. He probably said more to Soundwave tonight about what being under Bombshell was like than he has sum total to anyone else so far.

Specs– ((rabbit is such a shit)) Soundwave– *Soundwave–’s so on time this week it hurts. Everything’s set up, everything’s laid out, and he not only has himself parked at the edge of his couch seat, but he’s already nibbling a little silver ingot - one of several snacks on a small tray on his lap.* ((oh GOD the color)) Prowl– ((… fuck. FUCK.)) Specs– ((I had to manually type in the goddamn URL because trying to paste it in is apparently fucking illegal)) Prowl– ((you can’t copy/paste names anymore.)) SCProwl– ((ah fuck Soundwave– ((oh FUCK)) Prowl– ((it only copies the text, not the names. this is going to make logs impossible)) SCProwl– ((oh for fucks’ sake Specs– ((rabbit fucks up everything the movie)) Soundwave– ((i’ll take the logs tonight and look into how to make this work later in the week. don’t worry about it)) SCProwl– ((it looks like a text screen on a phone and i hate it Specs– ((I KNOW RIGHT)) ((oh and it doesn’t autoscroll at least for me so)) Soundwave– *Anyway, bad site design choices nobody asked for and possible future transfers to other sites if any of them are sufficient aside, here we are, and there he is, as ready as ready can be.* Swerve– //that was ridiculous and way more efort than needed rabbit Soundwave– ((deffo looking for another site before next monday. gotta see if anyone else got their shit together or if this is as good as it gets)) SCProwl– *i suppose that means she’s here as well despite rabb.it’s attempts to make that as annoying as possible* Swerve– //smokey mentioned cytube last week as an alternative? but i don’t know if they checked it out to see how it works yet Soundwave– ((noted)) *Soundwave– absently waves the little bar of silver in Prowl–’s direction as a greeting… then remembers WHICH Prowl– that is and pings her a proper Hello instead.* SCProwl– *nods and pings back before finding a place to sit* Twincast– ((*aggressively changes icon* Specs– *enter dragon! it is Palentine’s day, so she’s brought heart-shaped snacks with the Cybertronian word for “friend” carved, iced, and just generally placed on the centers. Other than the fun shape, it’s the same selection as usual. No magnets today.* Hello, Soundwave–! Windchill– (( Jesus H Crust you guys I leave for a few months and Rabbit goes to poop. More than usual. )) Twincast– ((ikr. I’m just glad the text wrap is apparently only broken on my desktop Swerve– //from what i’ve seen text wrap is more broken on firefox than chrome but seems to vary in general Soundwave– [[Greetings, dragon. Feeling filled with friendship today?]] Twincast– ((ah, yeah. I use FF exclusively, so : ’) RIP my soul *quietly enters room as if he doesn’t randomly disappear for months on end* Specs– Isn’t that human friendship holiday coming up? I don’t know if you theme for that one like you do for the human scaring holiday, but just in case, I thought I’d make them thematic. Soundwave– *Soundwave– glances at Twincast–, back to the screen, and then RIGHT back to Twincast–. Well that’s a sight for sore optics right there, isn’t it.* [[Greetings. Rumble is not in attendance tonight, if you have brought your… friends.]] Blaster– ((WHAT THE FRESH FUCK RABBIT!? Twincast– Nah, just me tonight. Though, I’m sure Rewind would be disappointed to hear that, if he was Soundwave– [[Frenzy requested he theme to this human holiday, yes. Said this one was perfect for it.]] ((rabbit is a pile of butts, i’ll be looking for alternatives as soon as i can after tonight)) Blaster– ((It went…badly, trying to get here Twincast– ((same. clicking the link kept redirecting me so I ??? had to pull some copy+paste black magic Windchill– (( It used to be a good livestream alternative, I don’t understand why they’d make it so hard to actually get into a room. ‘Cept it didn’t even ask for a name when I typed the url in, it just bypassed it so as best as I can tell the whole vetting process is entirely ineffective. )) Swerve– //same Blaster– ((ditto, kept redirecting me SCProwl– Which human holiday are we not observing this time? Specs– ((I had to type it in manually)) Windchill– (( Yup. )) Blaster– ((yeah Swerve– //i like how their 'this is the new rabbit’ window too was all like 'people asked for this!!�� no. no we didnt Specs– I’m glad I themed, then! I hope the snacks meet with Frenzy’s approval. Twincast– ((I think we’re perma invited to this group now, though? At least that’s how it worked for the subgroup I made the other day Blaster– ((literally did not ask for this, I liked the old one damnit Swerve– //seems so based on how i’m still in smokey’s from sat night Tarantulas (( is here ooc for the Good Goo Content and hopes rabbit doesn’t ruin the fun Soundwave– [[Valentines’ Day, as far as he knows. It is when humans consume large amounts of chocolate and appreciate their closest friends and companions. He is told the beings in this film adore chocolate as well and have very close relationships.]] Swoop– ((AHA!)) Twincast– ((WELCOME Windchill– (( YOU MADE IT )) Swoop– ((Dude. Fuck rabbit forever. I shouldn’t have to type the damn URL by hand.)) SCProwl– Chocolate is a type of food, right? Swoop– ((Thanks for coming to the rescue man 😮 )) Windchill– (( Ur welcome. )) Blaster– -don’t mind Blaster– making his way in, for once NOT looking half asleep/dead on his feet- Swoop– ((Wow. This update seriously sucks. It doesn’t scroll down when I send something to the chat. I’m manually scrolling. No way that’s going to get old. Bleh!)) Windchill– (( Gonna go grab a drink that fiasco has got me SWEATING brb. Or maybe it’s this houserobe but you know what. I’m gonna blame rabbit anyway. )) Soundwave– ((stop taking the remote, it may bug out and i can’t get it back)) ((not you, just a general thing)) Windchill– (( I was about to ask I didn’t even notice. )) Prowl– ((I fucked around with a rabbit style and got a way to copy/paste everything again)) SCProwl– ((it gave it to me automatically when i first jumped in, think it’s another issue with this new look Windchill– (( Could be, maybe they’ll get rid of the issue because I can’t imagine that it’s intentional. )) ((Or, don’t want to imagine. )) Specs– ((bots suck enough without having them able to control the remote)) Prowl– ((so we’re back in business, except now I’m fucking pissed off)) Soundwave– [[Yes, chocolate is a human fuel. It is easily melted and not of much value to their internal systems, but they seem to like it.]] Specs– It probably tastes good to them. SCProwl– Not unlike some of the things Cybertronians consume. Soundwave– ((i mistimed by two minutes but whatever - GRAB YOUR SNACKS AND USE YOUR BATHROOMS here are your warnings we start at 8)) ((VENOM // Violence, blood, and death, exposed broken bone, scientific/medical abuse, animal death, body horror, the general grossness of the unbonded symbiotes, seriously bad flashing lights (after eddie fucks with the keypad), moderately bad flashing lights (during a fight scene), I don’t know what you’d call eating out of the garbage but definitely that, vomit, misogynist language, people being in other people’s minds.)) Twincast– *finally slides into seated position–because guess who just realised they were still standing?–and waves at the other Blaster–!* Swoop– ((Dear god. Is everyone having to scroll to keep up with the chat or is it just me?)) Twincast– ((scroll is working… ok for me? my posts get slightly swallowed into the void tho Windchill– (( Mine is automatic, it seems to be affecting everyone differently. )) Swerve– //i’ve noticed that i only hae to anually scroll if i change tabs; as long as i stay in rabbit it auto scrolls Swoop– ((It doesn’t move at all when someone says something new. I’d refresh the page but I might never make it back here.)) Windchill– (( Sorry to hear it’s being an Extra Butt though. )) Blaster– -blinks at the other, waving slightly in confusion- Hi? Prowl– ((mine’s autoscrolling)) Windchill– *He’s here, uglier than ever and wearing one (1) more accessory than usual.*

Swerve– //are you using FF? from what i’ve seen people using firefox have more issues than people using chrome Soundwave– ((everyone. and because i really don’t want to spend all night on a good movie complaining about stuff none of us can change: - yes i will be looking for alternatives but i can’t promise they exist - yes the chat probably will not autoscroll for most of us - this update is a trashfire - i don’t know how to fix it and i’m sorry, i only found out about it an hour ago - let’s just do what we can with what there is tonight all right)) Swoop– ((chrome)) Specs– (mine isn’t autoscrolling even on the tab- and I’m using chrome)) Blaster– ((mine throws my replies into the void Specs– ((yessir slendymun)) Blaster– ((kaaay Swerve– //rip Twincast– @boom Sup? *he is reasonably sure you’re one of Nocturne’s… things. gotta say hi!* Windchill– (( Thank for subs. )) Swoop– *scampers in, oblivious to any theme or upcoming holiday* Windchill– *Ignorance is bliss.* Blaster– Um…. Swoop– HI : > Soundwave– ((no prob, i use them myself so i get it)) Windchill– *Will stop blocking the door with his butt maybe.* Blaster– Do….do I know you? Soundwave– *Soundwave– kicks back. It’s time. He’s been looking forward to this ever since it first appeared on his human datanet feed.* Swoop– *waves at said butt* Windchill– *His butt would reciprocate but that would be weird, so he waves with his hand instead.* Twincast– Maybe not, but–think you know'a friend of mine. Looks a lil bit like our host *kind of. Slendy is a unique beast* Windchill– Swoop–. Swoop– hi Blaster– …………….. Windchill– Hi, you Swoop–. Soundwave– *Glances to Twincast–. Now who’s he talking about over there?* Swoop– HI! Keheheh. You a bad door. No moving. Windchill– You know. I could make all sorts of inappropriate jokes about openings with that…but I won’t. Blaster– I’m…yeah, we met Swoop– Me Swoop– like jokes : > Windchill– *He’s gonna find a spot on the floor to sit instead.* Who knows, maybe you’ll hear some other jokes. Swoop– *scampers in and begins his Bird hunt* Blaster– …………….. Windchill– Ah, yes, the poison movie. Blaster– Hey, uh, Soundwave–? Twincast– Hope he didn’t traumatise you too much – Twincast–. Blaster– formerly Windchill– About poison. Soundwave– *There is no Bird tonight. There is enough trouble keeping up as is. Soundwave– wants to enjoy this his own lone self.* [[Yes, Blaster–?]] Windchill– Wait, no. *Has to cup his chin and recheck the definition of poison versus venom.* Eh. Swoop– *is CRUSHED by the lack of Bird and SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHS* Blaster– That…thing. Did it just posses the woman? Windchill– *Snickers.* Blaster– And no, he didn’t Soundwave– [[An investigative journalist breaking into scandals and coverups? He approves of such nosiness.]] Smokescreen– ((OH THERE WE GO Blaster– Just…um…wait Soundwave– [[And yes. It does seem it did.]] Blaster– You used to be named Blaster–? Smokescreen– /Smokescreen–’s running in and is hopping onto the couch./ Soundwave–! Soundwave–, how are you? Twincast– Yeah, changed it post-war 'n got this fancy, blue paint scheme to boot. Blaster– Ah. Thanks. Swoop– ((I was getting bacon what’d I miss)) Soundwave– *Soundwave– startles and automatically flips Smokescreen– overhead and down onto the floor. DON’T DO THAT TO HIM.* [[…He apologizes.]] Swoop– *climbs Windchill– to perch* This a GOOD movie? Smokescreen– /OW- Smokescreen–’s staying on the floor for a few minutes, but gives a thumbs up. That was pretty cool, actually!/ Soundwave– ((eddie brock is an investigative journalist, he’s picking up a big report with the guy at the head of the Life Foundation and doesn’t really want it cause fluff piece but has to do it)) Windchill– Dunno, Swoop–. We’re gonna find out. Swoop– ((thx)) Someone DIE? Soundwave– [[He is fine. A little surprised. Obviously.]] *Pause. Lean forward.* [[…Are you injured?]] Blaster– ….so, okay then… Windchill– I guess there was a rocket crash with dead people and a mention of some kind of murder, so yes. Someone died. Smokescreen– Haha, sorry, Soundwave–. Didn’t mean to surprise you! … I’m fine, probably. Just lemme lie down for a little more. Swoop– Crash and die means proooooobably good movie : > Smokescreen– … Can you show me how to do that, Soundwave–? Blaster– …. Windchill– It’s a great start. Prowl– ((as the child of a journalist I am personally offended by how shitty and immoral an investigative reporter he is)) Soundwave– [[All right.]] *He pauses again, then offers a small orange crystal.* [[…Snack? While you’re down there.]] Blaster– Okay, on the grounds that I used to be a reporter, don’t do that. Windchill– Earth is already in space. Everything is in space. Swoop– Them kissy facing. That gross. Windchill– You Swoop– gross. Soundwave– [[And he can show you how, yes. Not tonight.]] Prowl– ((to be fair: it is ENTIRELY valid for an Eddie Brock to be written as a shitty immoral investigative reporter.)) Swoop– Me Swoop– not in space. Me Swoop– on shoulder. YOU gross Windchill– I am gross, thank you for noticing. Soundwave– *Soundwave– would do that. … Not to Prowl–. He wouldn’t break Prowl–’s trust. But he’d totally do it to another bot.* Prowl– ((but the movie acts like we’re like… supposed to side with him for it.)) Blaster– ((Blaster– is just a lil offended. Not much, but just miffed at him Swoop– *points at Windchill–* Ew Windchill– *Sticks his gross glossa out at Swoop–. Likewise.* Smokescreen– Thanks, Soundwave–, that’d be a cool thing to know! And- and yeah. /Smokescreen–’s taking the crystal and is plopping it directly into his mouth./ Soundwave– ((i got the impression we weren’t supposed to like that he did it? everything points out he was a jackass)) Windchill– (( Yes, it bites him in the butt later. )) (( But I’ve seen this a few times so I’ll be quiet. )) Swoop– *blows raspberries* Soundwave– [[Hmph. No surprises regarding Drake’s reaction.]] Windchill– What a delightful sound. Right in my ear. I love it. Blaster– -sighs- Swoop– Kehehh! *points* No eaaar! Ear a human thing. ((eddie looks so shocked)) Prowl– ((so have i; i still feel like we’re supposed to feel bad for him. he doesn’t, like, change.)) Soundwave– *…Takes notes. DEFINITELY don’t do this to Prowl–.* Smokescreen– … Why is she giving him her ring? Windchill– I have audio receptors and they serve the same function as ears. Guess which one is easier to say? Blaster– ….. SCProwl– To end their courtship is my guess. Swoop– EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeearrrrrUH Blaster– Oh. That really DID come back to bite him Prowl– ((see up here he’s getting consequences. that’s good, that’s valid. but it’s only at the start)) Twincast– Huh Smokescreen– Huh. So is that a ring he lent her or something? Windchill– Everything out of your mouth is an earful. You Swoop– noisy. Swoop– *licks Windchill–’s audio* *extra slobber just for you* Windchill– *SHUDDERS, complete with an ugly face.* Specs– She grabbed a… fish? With her bare hands? SCProwl– Courtship gifts are gifts. Meant to be kept by the receiver. Returning it is a clear gesture of rejection. Swoop– *chirps* Soundwave– [[The ooze creature is so…]] *Hand motion. What’s a word.* [[Oozy.]] Windchill– *Isn’t even going to try to wipe his ear off. Gross.* SCProwl– *not sure the ring was a courtship gift was but it seems like the most likely guess* Swoop– Booger Windchill– My thoughts exactly. A booger transplant. Swoop– Ewwwwwww *grins* Windchill– That’s quite an assumption but okay. Soundwave– [[…They have used precisely one animal. That is insufficient data.]] Smokescreen– He’s… Not a very good scientist, is he? Swoop– Me Swoop– an animal : > Blaster– -shudders- Soundwave– [[Not at all.]] Specs– Clearly not. How many people did he apparently kill? SCProwl– Impatient for the results he wants. Windchill– Are you Swoop– a wild animal? Blaster– That’s disturbing Soundwave– [[At least three.]] Swoop– *is so damn helpful tonight, it’s a shame Bird isn’t here to be helped* Me Swoop– VERY wild! Windchill– *Ear cleaning is so helpful.* I thought so. Swoop– *would lick Bird* Windchill– I’m empty, too. Swoop– Empty? Windchill– It’s a joke. I made it just for you. I thought you liked them. Swoop– ((Wow. He didn’t jump in and make it worse. I’m kind of surprised. I don’t know I’ve ever seen that in a movie before.)) Me do! :V Windchill– So, there’s a joke for you. First one. Swoop– Do it again Windchill– So soon? Swoop– Yah Windchill– These things take time… I’m not ready. Swoop– Slow keheh Windchill– Maybe so. Blaster– ….ow Windchill– Maybe…slow. Swoop– Slow *pokes* poke Twincast– *may be guilty of being that neighbor once or twice* Windchill– Excuse me sir that is my person that you are poking. Swoop– *bobbles his head in a nod* Soundwave– [[…Does he not know what he is there for?]] Smokescreen– Man, Eddie makes me look like I’m doing amazing in comparison Windchill– You making fun of me for being slow? Is that how it is? Blaster– He’s about to find out Swoop– *continued bobbling* Windchill– This man is very dramatic. Prowl– *arrives belatedly and reluctantly* Soundwave– [][][] I? [][][] Windchill– That’s the word I’m using because the others aren’t so polite. Soundwave– *Soundwave– glances at Prowl–’s late arrival. … Well, this isn’t the best scene to come in on, is it.* Prowl– *stops and stares at the screen* Windchill– Maybe you Swoop– slow. Swoop– No no no. Me Swoop– FAST!!! Blaster– -covers face- Windchill– Faster than I am? Prowl– *… tiredly closes optics. he chose a hell of a time to arrive.* Twincast– Mmm, no, that ain’t healthy Smokescreen– Is… Is that normal for humans Swoop– YAH! Me Swoop– waaaaaaaaaaaay faster. Fastest Best Windchill– Eh, you’re probably right. For now, anyway. Smokescreen– /Smokescreen–’s finally starting to get up from the floor to sit down on one of the arms of the couch away from Soundwave– Oh no Swoop– You Windchill– going to be faster later? Soundwave– *You know what, he’s just. He’s just going to make his greeting to Prowl– very subdued and start it with a mark of apology.* Windchill– When I can transform again? Yeah. Now I have to walk everywhere so I do it as slowly as possible out of spite. Swoop– Spite? Who you mad walking at? Windchill– Me probably. Swoop– *slow blinks his confusion out* Windchill– *Just smiles.* *Points* Cat. Blaster– ….huh Windchill– That’s not creepy at all! Blaster– That explains a few things Swoop– This movie so TALK. When Us do crash DEAD again? Blaster– -mostly about his own career, and the 'side-effects’ of it- Windchill– Uh, maybe later? Swoop– Fastforward Smokescreen– Hey! Cats have people they like Soundwave– [[That is a blatant lie. That cats do not like anyone.]] Smokescreen– Yeah! There’s a Ravage that adopted me! Soundwave– *…Cautiously invites Prowl– to come sit down? At least if he’s going to dislike the movie he can be seated comfortably while he’s uncomfortable with everything else.* Swoop– Sometime, uh, sometime Us watch COMP-i-lation videos. For fights and guts and stuff. That more fun than talk movie. Prowl– *starts. right, yeah, he hasn’t sat yet.* *sits stiffly.* Windchill– Then go watch one of those instead of complaining about what we’re watching now, Swoop–. Swoop– Nooo. *holds onto Windchill–’s helm* Us ALL do. Together. Fun. Soundwave– @P: [[If there is anything you need while you are here - /anything/ - …please, be certain to tell him.]] Smokescreen– … Eddie, Aliens are real Specs– Cats simply have standards about who they /do/ like. Blaster– …..wouldn’t this place have cameras? Windchill– Not when the plot demands it. Swoop– ((This seems like a talk y'all should have had in the car)) Smokescreen– Man, secret walls are always a bad sign, aren’t they? Swoop– Plot 😛 Smokescreen– Like, it was like that in Gotham too Soundwave– [[Always and ever, Smokescreen–.]] Windchill– Maybe we’ll see more goo. Prowl– ((they talked about the weather and how the LA angels were doing all the way here and then she was like “oh right shoulda mentioned the aliens”)) Smokescreen– … I guess no walls are secret for me, though, haha. Swoop– Goo is okay : > Windchill– Killer goo. Blaster– …….. Soundwave– [[…He assumes the goo motionless on the floor is de– oh, it’s the homeless human.]] Smokescreen– oh no Windchill– Why is she frozen? Blaster– ………. Swoop– ((omfg did he really just randomly mash buttons)) Prowl– *grimaces at the noise and lights* Blaster– -covers face again- Soundwave– *Of course they’re preying on those with no alternatives. Of course they are.* *Ugh, the lights.* Swoop– Her choke : V Prowl– *grimaces even harder at the living thing oozing over and under his skin* Smokescreen– Is… Is she gonna be okay Windchill– Dead people. Are you happy now? Swoop– *bounces a little at finally getting some fights* KEHEHH Yah! SCProwl– I sincerely doubt it, Smokescreen–. Smokescreen– He was like “I’ve never climbed a fence THAT high before” And then he woke up at home Windchill– What. Smokescreen– Oh… /Sad, Sad, doorwing droop/ Swoop– Kehaha! Him KILL tree. Soundwave– ((lmfao smokey)) Blaster– That’s…most humans should’t be able to do that Swoop– ((omfg)) SCProwl– ((lol smokey Prowl– ((lol)) Swoop– ((he is the most confused koala)) Soundwave– [[…He is going to go out on a limb and assume that none of this athletic ability is normal for Brock.]] Swoop– *immediately busts up* Out on limb Windchill– *Brows furrow.* Swoop–. Smokescreen– This is a mood Swoop– HI Windchill– *Shakes head.* Blaster– Um…. Smokescreen– … This is extremely relatable Windchill– Why are we being made to hear these gross eating sounds. Blaster– UM Swoop– Him Slag eat like that Smokescreen– oh … He’s kinda weak, huh? Blaster– Ah, there we go Soundwave– *Shudders. Disgustin– WELL THEN* Windchill– I mean, I eat off the floor and out of the trash sometimes. Blaster– !!! Prowl– *shudders at the voice* Swoop– *loses it again at the high pitched scream and KO* Smokescreen– Same! Sometimes, you just gotta have floor food SCProwl– Ugh. Windchill– Extra flavour. Floor flavour. Sometimes tastes oddly of feet. Smokescreen– I can’t say I know what feet taste like! Swoop– *holds his footsie up for Windchill–’s inspection* Windchill– They’re nothing spectacular. Swoop– *wiggles his borby toes* Soundwave– *Watching date Prowl– out of the corner of his optics. Part of him wishes Prowl– hadn’t put himself through this if it was going to be this tough. Another part of him appreciates the glimpse into what it must be like for Prowl– based on his reactions. Mostly, he just wishes it hadn’t ever needed to be a problem.* Windchil *Is immediately distracted by the foot in his face. You know he’s gotta do it.* Swoop– ((Lola, go fuck 'em up!)) Prowl– … That’s another one, isn’t it? Smokescreen– … /Watching Windchill–. Is he gonna do it??/ Windchill– *His glossa snakes out and strikes like a viper in case Swoop– tries to change his mind.* *Gotta lick fast.* Blaster– …… Soundwave– [[Yes. There is one that broke loose during the crash of the Life Foundation ship that brought them to Earth. It is that one.]] Swoop– *SQUEAKS but doesn’t pull away because he isn’t a putz* Blaster– I…what….what is going on here? Smokescreen– …… I’d do this Primus Windchill– *Is watching the debacle on screen with exactly one eye.* Swoop– ((omg I have never seen such a fantastic embodiment of the munchies)) Windchill– Your foot tastes exactly like a foot. Congratulations. Swoop– Good : > Windchill– What happens if you fart in a lobster tank? Smokescreen– /Oh dang he thought Windchill– was gonna bite Swoop–’s feet off or something./ Blaster– ….um… Windchill– Do they die? Well, that one’s dead. Blaster– Is……is he…. Swoop– Bubble Prowl– *it’s just a sustained grimace* Windchill– You can put your foot down, now. Unless you want me to lick it again. Which would be weird. Swoop– ((I’ve seen lots of characters called trash over the years but this man is the first one who is actual literal trash)) Windchill– *points* Dog. SCProwl– ((garbage man, dumpster fire trash loser Prowl– ((they do real good at making him look like absolute garbage)) Swoop– You Windchill– weird kehhehhh! *sets his foot on Windchill– for the grossest footprint* Windchill– You’re the one who wanted your foot licked. You think I lick things for fun? Swoop– Yes Windchill– You’d be right. Swoop– Kehehehheh Soundwave– [[…Is it the magnetic fields or sound?]] *Pity neither would work. He thinks. He hasn’t tried the sound, but Devastator’s a whole different thing.* [[Ah. Sound.]] Smokescreen– Liver failure? SCProwl– Fascinating. Prowl– *that was an amazing visual representation of what it feels like to have a monster in your head. and, of course, Prowl– hated it* Specs– I think human livers are also slightly mandatory, yes. Blaster– -he could do it- Smokescreen– What do they do? Swoop– ((this voice is a hair too close to Audrey II. It’s making me expect a song.)) Smokescreen– Do you have a liver, Specs–? Windchill– I leap up and act weird when I get hungry, too. SCProwl– ((feeeeeeed meeee, eddieeeeee Prowl– ((“does it have to be fresh? does it have to be mine?!” “actually lobster will do”)) Swoop– Weird how? Keheh Smokescreen– ((PFHPFHF Specs– I do! It processes methanol into formic acid, amongst other things. I don’t think human livers need to do that, though. SCProwl– ((bwahaha Windchill– Apparently eating garbage is weird. Blaster– ((HAH Smokescreen– Really? Why? Swoop– Me Swoop– BOMBER. Me do lots lots of flying and stuff. Soooo. *pats his belly* Weigh stuff for right amount things. : > Specs– Humans typically don’t have methanol in their bloodstream, right? Smokescreen– … Methanol? I have no idea, Specs–. Soundwave– *Slooooooowly tries to close his mouth as tight as possible.* Windchill– Because…nobody else wants to eat it? Are you implying that you poop on people, Swoop–? Windchill– It’s a biological antifreeze, for my species! But humans don’t live in the snow all the time. Swoop– *cackles* BOMB poops Soundwave– [[He is up to something. His voice suggests it.]] Smokescreen– Don’t trust him Prowl– His lab full of human experimentation suggests it. Smokescreen– oh no Windchill– Burnt. Swoop– Me : > Smokescreen– EDDIE Windchill– Some people never listen. Soundwave– [[The lab as well, yes. But he meant without seeing evidence of intention at the time.]] Swoop– *LOSES it* *this comedy is on his level* Windchill– Um excuse me that’s not a bug. Rude. Smokescreen– I wish I had goo Swoop– *stares, wide opticed and delighted* Prowl– *… Prowl– figures Soundwave– is probably dying of curiosity by this point, so…* @S «Devastator doesn’t talk to me.» Soundwave– *Lets go of the tray on his lap and pulls his feelers back in. Those will just be staying in his chest all night, yes.* Swoop– *in awe* Wicked! Windchill– I’m not even going to comment on goo right now. Smokescreen– Soundwave–, any idea where a bot can get some goo? Windchill– Just eat them. Swoop– *clacks his jaws together to let everyone know where he stands on the biting off heads discussion* Soundwave– *The tiniest blip of surprise. He wasn’t expecting that. He was wondering that, but he wasn’t expecting it.* @P: [[But you have reacted to architecturally destructive visuals before. Is it emotional instead of verbal, or…?]] Swoop– *is glued to the scrreen, loving this* Soundwave– [[He does not know where to find goo. He would not tell anyone here if he did.]] *That’s the last thing any of them need.* Swoop– *taps his heels against Windchill– as he chirps to himself* Smokescreen– Like- it doesn’t have to be that goo. Windchill– *Tolerates this.* Smokescreen– Just some goo to touch, 'cause it looks pretty cool. Prowl– @S «Emotional. Sometimes he makes… something like noises. But he doesn’t talk.» @S «… Bombshell talked.» Swoop– *claps* Windchill– *Could make jokes about lubricants…but is saving the dirty jokes for later.* Swoop– WHOOOOOO! Windchill– You like the explosions? Swoop– DUH! Windchill– I like the colour, it’s very fancy. Swoop– Me Swoop– could blue fire with some copper : > Windchill– Yeah, like how they make fireworks with different colours. Swoop– FACE fireworks! Soundwave– @P: [[Noises. Like screaming or growling, then?]] *That made sense. Maybe he needed everyone to have a coherent mind? No, Devastator had called him through Prowl– before. Someone not in control, then.* [[…Did he talk like this? Like the creature does to the Brock human.]] Windchill– Uh, yeah. Swoop– DEAD KAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA DEEEEEEEEEAD Soundwave– *…THAT is certainly one advantage of having one of these symbiotes.* Blaster– ….that oh wow Prowl– @S «LIKE that. It’s not actual audible sounds, but it /feels/ like roaring.» *he considers the question for a long moment.* «… No. It was a lot worse than this.» Windchill– That’s a lot of teeth. I approve. Swoop– KAH! BITE! Windchill– *Nods.* *He has a certain appreciation for biting the heads off of enemies.* Soundwave– *oh, it’s got Soundwave–’s teeth* Blaster– -actually squeaks this time- Windchill– I like this goo guy. Prowl– *shudders at venom’s little speech* Smokescreen– Rude! Swoop– ((Was that a NOSE BOOP?)) Smokescreen– ((YES Blaster– Yep, okay, no Soundwave– @P: [[He imagines there was never a 'we’.]] *Oh, did it HAVE to say it was in his head? Really?* Prowl– @S «… That was closer to what it was like.» Blaster– The CHILD SCProwl– That’s why this is called Venom? *Disappointed. There’s nothing venomous about the symbiote.* Smokescreen– Renal? Swoop– Gots Windchill– Hey no looking at your phone while driving, lady. Prowl– @P: [[That is - obviously you did not want a 'we’. He is trying to say, he doubts Bombshell spoke to you in any manner other than ordering.]] Windchill– I’m calling the police. Soundwave– *points to the police for Windchill–* Windchill– *He appreciates the assistance but refuses to look.* Prowl– @S «You’re correct. Nearly everything Venom said to him could have been something Bombshell said.» Swoop– ((WE <3 )) Smokescreen– ((WE SCProwl– Could they be poisoning their hosts? Would a compatible human even exist then? Blaster– -ohprimusheightsno- Windchill– Most things are less ugly from a distance. Blaster– Stop looking DOWN Windchill– Defeated by a plane. Smokescreen– Awww. Man, that is the nastiest sweatshirt ever Twincast– ((asfgh Prowl– ((i fucking love)) Swoop– ((are they fucking flirting)) Smokescreen– ((Yes Prowl– ((you know it)) Blaster– ((AWESOME Swoop– Whoaaaaaaa *starry optics* Swerve– //i know it’s canon in the comics that they;re like, married but sometimes i’m surprised that they allowed that much implied flirting in the movie Windchill– Oh, nice. Prowl– ((married with a BABY)) Swerve– //yea lmao Swoop– *in awe* Me Swoop– wanna do that….! : V Prowl– ((… multiple babies but like only the latest one counts)) Windchill– How did she get in? Soundwave– ((y'all ain’t wondered why i said venomtines day lmao)) Prowl– ((they weren’t ready to be parents before)) Windchill– You Swoop– do what? Smash people with other people? Swoop– *Snickers.* Yah! Soundwave– @P: [[He is sorry. That it was what it was. … And thankful that he can speak to you as he does. He often wondered, but - this is very - it is clarifying.]] *Oh, the scared and needing help bit tugs his spark. Damn it.* Swoop– ((And thus Eddie learns that it’s best to just listen to someone else because he has no goddamn sense)) Blaster– Oh, he’d /hate/ me Prowl– @S «This really doesn’t give a very good glimpse of it.» Soundwave– *Kind of glad she’s trying to help, at least.* @P: [[It was more than this?]] Swoop– ((Omg Venom and Annie fuckin got each other’s backs)) Swerve– //venom a+ wingman? Swoop– ((dealing with this terrible garbage man they love)) Prowl– @S «God, yes.» Windchill– Fantastic. Prowl�� ((see that there is kind of the beginning and end of his entire self-reflection on the fact that he screwed things up royally)) ((and it came with prompting and didn’t really indicate that he has any understanding that everything ELSE he did was wrong)) Windchill– Gross. Swoop– Punch it Prowl– ((the rest of the movie is like “oh… yeah… this dude really IS a villain… eddie was good for standing up for him, probably, and isn’t it sad that he doesn’t have a job.”)) ((like he’s explicitly characterized as a “loser.” as a person who failed. not as, for instance, an “asshole.” losers are victims of circumstance, not the architects of their own failure.)) Blaster– ((DOGGO Windchill– Oh joy, this is gonna be an interrogation scene, isn’t it. Swerve– //i love the movie but yeah in this case he’s only seen as a loser because he was an asshole in the first place and didn’t really seem to grasp that entirely Swoop– Whoo! Swerve– //still love that doggo tho Prowl– ((that’s why I said i’m disappointed at how we’re expected to sympathize with him. they started off strong–making everything his fault, having him say everything is drake’s fault and annie calling him out on it–that was great stuff)) ((but by the end it’s Poor Eddie The Loser Was Right All Along)) Soundwave– @P: [[Is it permitted for him to ask for more explanation? He knows you do not like to discuss this business in detail, and would ask the alternates of his that were controlled, but he has not encountered any in person. He would like to understand more - understand you. If you are able at this point in time.]] Windchill– *Smacks lips at villainous monologue.* Swoop– *leans over to see what the smacking is about* Windchill– *Smacks more.* Prowl– ((and maybe symby sees him as a loser because he sees himself as a loser, rather than as an asshole–but the more the movie goes on, the more that “eddie is the jerk here” narrative fades away)) Swoop– *mimics the smacking* Soundwave– *Starts at Riot’s appearance* Blaster– …….. Swoop– ((gay)) Windchill– *It’s a chorus of smacking with no snacks to smack on. Tragedy.* Smokescreen– Is… Is that where they’re stored Swoop– *doesn’t know what we’re doing but it’s a team sport now* Windchill– *Smack smack smack.* Prowl– @S «… For starters, Bombshell didn’t let me copilot.» Windchill– *Stops smacking.* Blaster– HOLY-! Windchill– Wow, boobies. *Resumes smacking.* Twincast– ((weakass ladyvenom design Blaster– Um…. Swoop– ((does this count as a threesome)) Prowl– ((i choose to believe that kiss was entirely symby)) Windchill– WHAT. *Fluffs up.* Swoop– King Blaster– I’m… Okay… Windchill– *Grunts in displeasure.* Blaster– Not going to ask Swerve– //i think i like the comic version of klyntar’s more tho than the mcu version Windchill– Awkward, but I’m going to laugh at this. Yes. Smokescreen– ((awwww Prowl– ((i prefer comic venom entirely)) Swoop– Laugh at what? Windchill– My mate’s name is Riot. Prowl– ((the movie version is fun but it’s not my preference)) Swoop– Sweet : V Swerve– //i havent read enough of the venom comics to know him outside the mcu but i do at least know the klyntar in the comics enough to prefer them to mcu’s SCProwl– ((this isn’t mcu. it’s its own thing Prowl– ((~*venomverse*~)) Blaster– ….-muffled snicker- Swerve– //gfhbg yeah i just. refer to all of the live action superhero movies mcu at this point lmao Windchill– …My Riot isn’t that goopy, though. Swoop– You suuure? Windchill– Not usually. Maybe sometimes. Prowl– ((*sees a new batman movie* “grimdark mcu is at it again”)) Windchill– Can’t fight for shit either. Swoop– Whoa! Him get BUTT kicked! Blaster– ….. Swerve– //lmfao i mean Windchill– What a mess. Blaster– What the heck? Windchill– Well, that didn’t last long. Blaster– Annie! Swoop– You Soundwave– can beat up EVERYONE in this movie. Prowl– ((two nerds pathetically smacking each other is the best part of the fight)) Soundwave– @P: [[You have great willpower; the amount of control he would have to have taken - what he’d have to exert to keep you held in–]] *He’s thinking about how much it would take from himself.* [[…You saw Unicron’s control of Megatron. Could you speak to - or at - him as Megatron did? Or were you denied even that?]] Swoop– ((is it just me or is everyone else waiting for venom to get all hot and bothered by his host beating up someone elses’ host?)) Windchill– Dead. Soundwave– [[Perhaps. He’s never encountered a symbiote.]] *And he didn’t do so well against the Unicron up close.* Swoop– D E A D Windchill– Is… Is the sound of the rocket not enough? Prowl– @S «Willpower shmillpower. He didn’t have to exert anything. That’s not how the mechanics of it works.» Swoop– KA BOOM! Windchill– Double dead. Blaster– -covers face- Swoop– drown dead pretty boring dead Soundwave– @P: [[Hm. Closer to a virus?]] Windchill– If you say so. Swoop– Do Do say so Windchill– Not enough explosions? Swoop– Drowning boring. Blub blub fish nibbles. Windchill– Okay. Why are his lips so big Prowl– @S «He severed the connection between my brain and my body.» Soundwave– *Sits up straight.* Tarantulas (( OOPS SORRY (( didnt mean to take remote Smokescreen– ((theif,, Tarantulas (( stealin spide Swoop– ((venom omg buddy)) Smokescreen– ((sneaky spide Soundwave– @P: [[…That is more horrifying than anything he had imagined it was.]] Swoop– ((this is a real romcom good god)) Windchill– Dog. Blaster– ((STAN LEEEE Windchill– *Gasps.* Swoop– Nom nom bite Windchill– There are rules about eating people? That’s news to me. Swoop– Me Swoop– bite LOTS of people Not eat tho Windchill– Luckily, I don’t care much for rules so like, whatever. Just bite? Why? Are you mean? Swoop– ((I hope that writing job pays well because his food budget just went through the damn roof)) Yah, mean : > Windchill– Cool. All of my friends are mean. Smokescreen– “I have a parasite” Man, what an excuse Blaster– ((not hungry anymore Prowl– *mutters* I’m calling Devastator a parasite from now on. *it’s not a term of endearment.* Swoop– ((Wait wait… that was the line from the trailer that they made all ominous.)) Prowl– ((the trailer was so misleading)) Swoop– ((no kidding)) Windchill– (( Oh yeah I’ve had discussions about that one. Marketing at its finest, as usual.)) Blaster– ((it was Prowl– ((venom is menacing toward eddie for all of five minutes and then immediately starts falling in love with him)) Swerve– //yeah when i went to see it originally i expected that scene way way earlier Specs– ((that’s the power of tom hardy)) Soundwave– *Approval ping after the parasite Devastator comment.* Windchill– Edgy. Swerve– //this def sets up for a sequel tho so i’m curious if they’re gonna follow thru on it Swoop– Him not very red ((little on the nose but I’m okay with it)) Prowl– ((i’m disappointed that eddie wasn’t a beefy mulleted blond, but tom hardy is just SO GOOD at being gross in that hoodie, i’ll take him too)) Blaster– ((HAH Swerve– //lmao Windchill– *Stretches exactly one leg.* Smokescreen– ((im still so glad the lobster tank scene was unscripted and he just did that Windchill– That sure was gooey. Prowl– ((I KNOW it was brilliant)) Swoop– ((Tom Hardy did a good job for sure. Normally, when people say “you look terrible” to someone in a movie, it’s a cue on how we should be reading things. In this movie, he actually looked fucking awful.)) Prowl– ((he did. he looked nasty the whole movie)) Swoop– ((Was it really? That is beautiful)) Swerve– //im so glad it was god Specs– *the dragon stretches* Thank you for having me, Soundwave–! Swoop– It pretty good fights : > OH! Us do Mad Max now : V That good fight movie : > Windchill– Had some explosions. Soundwave– [[You are welcome, dragon.]] Swerve– //is this a deleted scene //also wow rabbit did u need to cut off the last post of the chat Soundwave– ((yes)) Prowl– ((this is a great scene and i’m so upset they took it out)) Blaster– ((pffff Swoop– ((So damn good)) SCProwl– ((Venom is gonna make Eddie a better person via cannibalism and tater tots Swoop– ((I saw pics of Eddie getting carried away fro mthe lobster tank too)) Soundwave– ((public stream end marker: 10:00)) Windchill– *Rolls his shoulders. Will this dislodge the dinobot?* Smokescreen– So, uh, Soundwave— you up to maybe dance again sometime? Swoop– *has stayed on a bucking T-rex trying to dislodge him, this is nothing* Windchill– *Sways from side to side.* Soundwave– [[Another time, Smokescreen–. Not tonight.]] *And not to this, for sure.* Swoop– What you dancing for? Windchill– Excuse me? Dance? How dare you suggest such a thing. I’m trying to get you off. Swoop– yuh HUH dance Windchill– Ineffectively. Swoop– Oh Then you suck at doing keheheh Smokescreen– Aww, okay. I’d be up to meet up with you to dance sometime, then! It’d be fun. Windchill– *Grunts his agreement.* Soundwave– [[Perhaps after a movie that is actually fun.]] Twincast– *staaaands. maybe he wasn’t so chatty tonight, but he’d be rude to not give their host a ping goodbye. Maybe next time~* Windchill– You’ll have to get off sometime. Soundwave– *Perhaps next time indeed. Farewell, Twincast–.* Twincast– ((I was so engrossed I forgot to RP. It was fun!! Thanks for streaming : D Swoop– ((I know the movie might have MEANT to imply that Annie was lying about the kiss being Venom’s idea but Venom literally never missed a chance to try to smash them together like Barbie dolls so I 10/10 believe her.)) Nuh uh Smokescreen– … I thought that was fun Windchill– Yuh-huh. Swoop– Not if us DIE here Soundwave– ((you’re welcome!)) Windchill– Oh. Well, sure, but why would we die here? Smokescreen– Oh! Oh, I know a good dance song for us, later. Have you ever heard of Cascada, Soundwave–? Swopp *is joking but he’s got a back full of missiles if we want to end it all* Blaster– ….-yawns and stretches- Swoop– so BORED from these songs us DIE Windchill– *Snorts.* I like them. Swoop– no Windchill– Yes. Blaster– Anyway, thanks for that, but I have to go now. Hopefully to sleep. Swoop– nO Windchill– I’m not having this argument with you. Blaster– Goodnight. Swoop– yes Soundwave– [[Goodnight, those leaving.]] Swerve– //nini friendos Windchill– No. Soundwave– [[And of course he has heard of that. Again, though: another night.]] Swoop– *squeaks* YES Smokescreen– Cool! I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for the crystal- and I still REALLY want you to show me how to knock bots down like you did earlier! Windchill– No, you can’t make me. *Squints at the squeaking next to his head.* Swoop– Can too Smokescreen– /Smokescreen–’s finally getting himself up, and is dropping by the bar to grab a drink before he finally goes home!/ Windchill– No. I have a date later and you, *he points over his shoulder at the Swoop– in question,* want no part of it, so you have to get off and like, not waste my time. *Stands up, Swoop– or no Swoop–.* Swoop– a DATE? :V Windchill– That’s what I said. Swoop– *PERKS UP* TOP GUN Soundwave–, us watch Top Gun? *bounces right off Windchill–* Windchill– *Oh, thank god.* Soundwave– [[No, not right now. Now it is time to leave.]] Swoop– : < But Top Gun good movie, Soundwave– Soundwave– [[Then go home and watch it with your brothers.]] Swoop– Them LAME No flying Windchill– Goodnight, thanks for goo movie, have fun telling Swoop– no for the next several minutes. Swoop– : > Soundwave– [[Goodnight, you are welcome, and he absolutely won’t.]] Swoop– Howwww about a LITTLE top gun : > Just flying parts! Windchill– I guess it’s not for everyone. Bye Swoop–, I’m leaving you here. Sucker. Swoop– *clearly has better taste than Windchill– since he is fighting for TOP GUN* Windchill– *Clearly.* *Waves, and backs for the exit.* Soundwave– [[On your way, now, Swoop–. There is no Top Gun here.]] Swoop– *gives the BIGGEST SIGH IN THE WORLD* fine Windchill– *Normally picks up straggler children to deposit home, but is apparently choosing to be irresponsible and leave it for Soundwave– to deal with.* Swoop– You Soundwave– boring boring Windchill– *And he’s gone before that can change.* Soundwave– [[Yes. What a terrible bot he is. Best you go and leave him to do dull paperwork and listen to people talking for hours without any fighting.]] Swoop– *knows he’s being teased but doesn’t NOT believe that’s what’s going to happen so he blows raspberries all the way out the door* Soundwave– *What do you know? That worked.* Prowl– *gives Soundwave– an expectant look* Soundwave– *Looks back and then around. He’s… he’s not actually sure what to do now. This was a Bad Night, movie-wise.* [[Do - would you like to clean, like the last time, or -]] *Twitchy fingers.* [[We could walk through the settlement nearby, or - anything else you would prefer to do. Actual paperwork, even. He does not know.]] Prowl– You mean doing paperwork and listening to people talking for hours WASN’T the explicit plan? Soundwave– [[Oh. He said that mostly to be rid of Swoop– in a timely fashion, but he has nothing against it if you would actually like that. He has plenty of the first, and the second could be either of us. Or someone else, if you had them in mind.]] Prowl– *… humor ping* Soundwave– *Oh, a joke. Okay, he’s got it now.* [[Ah. His apologies. That actually IS how he likes to spend his nights sometimes.]] *He forgets himself and smiles the teensiest bit.* Prowl– Me too. Sans talking, usually. Soundwave– [[He sees. … Do you have paperwork with you? We could work on that together. Sitting together, that is. Obviously, he is not entitled to type up your reports for you.]] *Pause.* [[Though he could do so with extreme speed.]] *Shakes his head.* [[A good and comfortable shared silence is never to be taken for granted.]] [[…Unless you meant you prefer someone else to do the talking, in which case he has plenty of tales he could tell you.]] Prowl– No, I don’t have paperwork with me. I—don’t know what I want to do. *it’s partially untrue. he does know what he wants to do—go home and be alone for a while—but he can’t have that. he’s never going to be alone again.* Soundwave– *Considers this.* [[You could do nothing, in a sense.]] *Small hand gesture.* [[Sitting and resting, sleeping, doing something unimportant for no reason other than it is fun. That sort of thing.]] Prowl– So, the usual movie night options. *beat.* … The usual besides interfacing. Soundwave– [[A fair point, if an important one. Such moments tend to be good for us both. Though he would like to clarify that he was not thinking of interfacing. He may not have the ability to sing, but he is not tone deaf.]] [[He will clean before it is much later. Experiment with what you care to do at the moment as you like; all he asks is that if you decide what you wish to do is something away from him, you interrupt to bid him goodnight first instead of simply popping away. An acceptable deal?]] Prowl– Mm. I’ll help clean. *that’s something productive he can latch onto. he doesn’t want to just sit and stare around* Soundwave– *Nods and motions toward the couches. Bridge away!* [[…He doesn’t suppose he could get you to help with the upstairs, the Kangaskhan, and the outer walls as well? Being away for a week tends to inspire his deployers to leave things undone.]] *Humor ping.* Prowl– Sure. Maybe not the—the Genghis Khan. I’d rather not have to worry about stepping on organics. Soundwave– [[Oh, they’re very sharp when it comes to not being stepped on - but better to err on the side of caution, yes. Still. He should introduce you to them some time, now that they have air masks.]] Prowl– Another time.]] Soundwave– ((aw man you can’t edit now? booooo)) [[Another time. Not now. Very well, here and the upper floors - and perhaps, if you still feel up to it and are not afraid of heights, he will show you how the deployers scrub the outer walls. And how he does. Both very entertaining.]] *Another small smile, because the first wasn’t as much of a problem as he’d expected. He’s trying to be a distraction. Primus only knows if it works.* [[Come, come. Everything to its place, now.]] *Affection, times three.* Prowl– I’d hardly call that “heights.” It’s only a few stories. *height’s relative and his universe’s Cybertronians are durable. he gets to work bridging the couches back where they belong; there’s a moment of hesitation before he remembers to return the three pings.* Soundwave– [[You’ve never met Blades, have you.]] *Soft huff.* Prowl– Sure. I’ve known him since before the war, we were in Security Services under Sentinel Prime. Starscream forced him into a combiner recently. Soundwave– *Puts the snacks he was crating back on the bar and turns to look at Prowl–, mouth in a small o and everything.* [[…Were it anyone else talking, he would suspect that of being a joke.]] *Shakes his head and goes back to packing.* [[Another reason to see Starscream deposed, he supposes. And he is sorry to hear of your - friend’s? - fate.]] [[He did mean his own, however. Grounder turned extremely unwilling helicopter turned grounder again. He would be surprised if Blades is even capable of jumping anymore. Poor mech.]] [[…Perhaps there’s a link somewhere in this misfortune of theirs. He’ll note it on the map.]] Prowl– I’ve never heard of mine ever being anything but a helicopter. And since I’ve known him since before extensive body mods were allowed, I suspect that’s his original shape. *all the couches are in place, he’s going to find something else to clean.* Not friend. Just longtime acquaintance. Soundwave– [[Longtime acquaintance, then. Still - he would not have wished that on him.]] *Mopping behind the bar while he’s there.* [[Do the two of you speak now?]] Prowl– He and his team have a standing invitation to contact me if they—need anything. They haven’t utilized it recently. Soundwave– [[Disappointing.]] *Maybe it would be good for Prowl– to have someone who Really, Really Gets It he could talk about it with, instead of Soundwave–’s fumbling attempts? Then again, that means someone else had to go through it. He doesn’t know. Unpleasant and sticky situations he never gave much thought to before the war ended.* [[But understandable, in a way. Some pains are too personal to share so easily.]] [[…Thank you for trying to explain it to him earlier, while he is thinking about it. He knows he does not fully grasp all of your situation, but he will continue to try. He would like to always be someone you can rely on to listen to and hear you when you speak about it. You deserve that.]] [[Enough of this room. Let us go clean upstairs. It needs it more anyway.]] Prowl– *a jerky nod* Thanks. For listening. *it sounds hollow right now, when he’s tired of thinking about it; but he knows that later on when he’s less exhausted he’ll be grateful for it.* Lead the way. *and up they shall go.*

[sapphicscholar]

Chapter Text:

“That’s the last of it,” Kara said, dropping a black duffel bag on top of the pile that had accumulated in the living room of Alex’s new apartment. The moving had been going…slowly at best until Kara came back from putting out a fire downtown, swooping in and carrying towering stacks of boxes up the stairs with ease. The boxes and bags all had a distinctly smoky scent to them now, but it was better than being forced to pay for an extra day with the U-Haul from dragging everything up at a human space.

“You’re a lifesaver.” Alex pulled Kara into a one-armed hug, already slipping her phone out of her back pocket to order takeout to repay her.

“And you’re the dummy that picked a walk-up apartment on the fourth floor.”

“Yes,” Alex conceded, dipping her head in acknowledgement. “But it’s got a big balcony, and I’ve got a sister that can fly.”

“No calling me just because you got drunk and don’t want to do stairs.”

“Oh my god, that was one time, Kara. One time!”

“It’s not like you’ve ever let me forget the first time I ever got drunk and knocked into your wall.”

“Because I had to pay a small fortune to repair the damage done to literal brick by the force of your alien butt!” Even if she’d been mildly horrified at the time, watching as exposed brick crumbled into dust, once she’d gotten over the shock of the repair bill, Alex had learned to laugh about it—and mock Kara for it at any opportunity.

Kara let out a dramatic huff before sinking down onto the couch—one of the only assembled pieces of furniture in the place.

“C’mon, no pouting. I’m buying you dinner for your help.”

“Really?”

“I’ll even make a second stop so you can get both pizza and potstickers if you’ll reassemble the furniture while I’m gone.”

“Double order of potstickers?” Kara held her hand out, waiting until Alex nodded in agreement before shaking on it. “It’ll be done by the time you’re back!”

By the time Alex got back from returning the rental truck and picking up both of their takeout orders, her apartment had started to look almost like someone lived there. The bookshelves, table, and entertainment unit had been put back together, a dresser set up in her bedroom, and her mattress settled onto the reassembled bedframe. Sure, all of her worldly possessions were still packed into cardboard boxes and littered across the apartment, but they felt more manageable now.

While Alex was busy looking around, Kara snagged the bag of potstickers from her hand, settling in on the couch and patting the spot next to her.

“Don’t you want a plate?” Alex wrinkled her nose in mock disgust as Kara began eating straight from the bag.

“Still packed,” Kara managed through a mouthful of food.

“You know, besides the fact that I remembered to label most of the boxes this time, you do have this nifty thing where you can see through the cardboard.”

“Takes too long.”

Alex sighed, grateful that the pizza place had at least given her a stack of napkins.

Over dinner, they chatted about the new neighborhood, and Alex listened as Kara listed out some decorating suggestions that she knew she’d never actually get around to trying. Besides, Kara’s tastes had always been a little brighter than her own, and no amount of her mother’s less-than-subtle comments about how “homey” Kara’s place felt were going to change her interior design choices.

Once they finished eating, Kara forced herself up and off the sofa. “I should probably go—gotta finish up a draft of my article on that new guy running for mayor.”

“Ugh, this the guy who thinks we should ban Supergirl?”

“That’d be the one.” Kara grimaced at the memory of her interview with him. She’d nearly crushed her phone in anger more than once during their conversation.

“And you got this article because…?”

“Because Snapper thinks it’ll ‘challenge you, ponytail!’” Kara answered, doing a rather poor imitation of his gruff voice, but making Alex laugh regardless.

Alex could only imagine the number of drafts that would be returned to Kara with, “TRY AGAIN,” scrawled across them in red pen. “I guess I should let you get to it then, huh?”

“Probably.”

With a hug goodbye and a glance around to check for anyone out who might see her, Kara kicked off from the balcony and soared into the night sky.

---

After a few late nights spent unpacking her things when she got back from work, Alex finally started to feel like the apartment was hers, rather than the place where she crashed at night. She’d gotten her books organized on the shelves the way she liked them and managed to get all of her clothing folded in her drawers or hung up in the closet, even if it meant ignoring a few rather wrinkly button-ups that probably could have used a good ironing. What mattered was that it was done.

Of course, instead of getting to enjoy it on Friday night, Alex got the order to assemble Alpha Team to be ready to intervene in a developing situation downtown. As her team loitered in the command center, she watched the live coverage on the monitors, chuckling to herself at the small CatCo logo in the bottom corner of the screen. Despite all the DEO’s best technology, somehow Cat Grant almost always managed to best them when it came to coverage.

Alex watched as the K’hund tossed a car that had been parked on the side of the road into oncoming traffic—Kara’s timely intervention the only thing that kept it from being a complete disaster. Over the comms, Alex listened as Kara yelled at the small clusters of pedestrians still dotting the sidewalks to flee before they got hurt. Her voice was tinged with desperation as she urged them to move faster, and Alex watched as Kara opted to block the fleeing citizens from flying debris instead of taking easy shots at the K’hund.

Alex hated the guilt that she’d seen flashing in Kara’s eyes when the news first broke, haunted as she still was by memories of letting him go once while under the influence of red K, then not being able to find him again after he escaped during Myriad. Apparently he was ready to make his presence known, though, and in a rather public way.

As Kara fought to subdue the K’hund, Alex called out to J’onn. “Are you sure we shouldn’t go down there? Do something?”

J’onn grimaced. “We’re dealing with some pushback from that new division at NCPD. They say small cases dealing with aliens should be left to them.”

“There’s nothing small about him!” Alex gestured at the screen where the beefy alien was taking blow after blow from Supergirl, tearing up bits of sidewalk as the force of the blows forced him backwards without taking him down.

“I’m aware, Agent Danvers,” J’onn sighed, “but there’s only so much we can do when we’re supposed to keep a low profile.” Sensing Alex’s objections, he held up a placating hand. “For now, it’s one alien that Supergirl has defeated before. She’s keeping property damage to a relative minimum, and NCPD has managed to clear the streets and set up traffic blockades. If the situation changes at all, Beta Team is already in position, and your team is ready if anything worse comes around.”

Alex couldn’t pretend to be happy with standing by and letting a bunch of local cops pretend to save the day, but she bit her tongue, trusting her sister to get the job done.

Sure enough, within minutes, Supergirl had the K’hund subdued and took off with him in the direction of the desert base. Alex squinted at one of the monitors, watching as a police officer chased after Kara, waving and yelling after her until Kara was up in the air and on her way back to the DEO.

Once Kara had the alien in containment for the second time, J’onn called her down for a debriefing, asking pointed questions about NCPD’s involvement and how they had handled the situation.

“They were, I don’t know, fine, I guess.” Kara glanced at Alex out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Would you say they prevented you from doing your job in any way?”

“No, no, nothing like that. One or two of them seemed to want to be in the thick of things, but I yelled at them to stay back.”

Alex nodded in agreement. No use in seeing more people getting injured because they had no idea what they were up against. “What about the cop who chased after you?”

“Oh.” Kara rubbed at the back of her neck, her gaze drifting down to the table. “She, uh, she was yelling to ask where I was taking him. Mentioned something about his rights. Wondered when his trial would be.” While Alex was busy grumbling under her breath about people who didn’t get that this K’hund had already attacked multiple times, inflicting large amounts of damage and even causing several casualties, Kara cleared her throat. “She might have also said something about the DEO.”

“Excuse me?”

Kara felt the weight of Alex’s gaze on her, and not for the first time, she wondered how it was that Alex sometimes seemed like the one with laser vision. “Somehow she knew about the DEO.”

“Fuck.”

J’onn rubbed at his forehead, wondering how some ragtag group at the NCPD had already managed to create such a headache for him. “Did the others know?”

“I don’t think so? I don’t really know. None of them said anything. Just her.”

“Alright, well, we’ll keep an eye on the situation.”

Kara nodded, taking off with muttered words about needing to write “yet another draft” of her article for Snapper. J’onn dismissed the few other agents who’d been in the room, looking wholly unsurprised when Alex stood her ground.

“Sir, we can’t just let—”

“I know, Alex,” J’onn sighed, sinking down into a seat and motioning for her to do the same. “But things like this—they aren’t missions where I can send in a team of well-trained agents to take care of a threat. It requires a level of finesse, finding out exactly how much this NCPD officer knows, figuring out whether or not she’s a threat to us or to Supergirl.”

Alex’s head popped up at that. “I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“I’ll find out what she knows.”

“You know that throwing her into a cell and interrogating her for hours isn’t something that facilitates cooperation, correct?”

“I…yes, fine.”

“If you would like to go serve as the liaison between our office of the ‘FBI’ and the NCPD’s Science Division while I’m in Washington this coming week, I will happily arrange a meeting for you.”

“Done.”

“I’m serious about maintaining friendly relations between the two offices.”

“I know, J’onn. But if she’s a threat to Supergirl—”

“Then we will deal with it together.”

Alex begrudgingly agreed, resolving to find out exactly what this woman knew and make sure it didn’t go any further than that.