Realistic or Modern The Kids Aren't Alright | Main

Dede · Feb 26, 2021

Stu

Stu didn’t give up on the door. How could he when his own life and the lives of his two friends depended on it? Every second they spent trapped in the toilet, the ocean grew darker and more forbidding, and biblical clouds black as soot rolled over the waters and loomed over the bay. Here were glimpses made of a beaching monster twenty times the size of Willy the Whale, a monster infinite in guile and strength. Not even the Kraken with its four tentacles, or Charybdis with its spinning terror could contend with the sheer evil that this name, Herman Toothrot, conjured.

With our heroes locked in a race against time, one Neck Tie Boy rose to meet the moment.

He panted heavily and tipped his whole weight over the handle, forcing a click out of the door that loosened along the hinges.

“I. . . I think it’s budging!”

Stu made this herald of progress with eyes bright with premature optimism. The door opened. It opened to the face of Herman Toothrot.

The boy’s jaw hung about his neck like a pendant. His heart dropped between his shoes, and by an inexplicable force of habit he juggled it over the floor like a football.

Toothrot spoke. He was more rot than tooth. The breath of the fish glided over the boy’s blonde head and made his hair flutter about the scalp. From that great mouth came the rage of Juno and the winds of Aeolus strong enough to scatter the fleet of Aeneas to the other side of Africa.

The room was filled with the unspeakable stench of the ocean. He didn’t comprehend what the grey man said in his fish language. Ivy said it was the ancient tongue of the deep kingdom. Stu imagined it was some kind of voodoo spell that, if endured to its final syllable, would cause his soul to come spilling out of his guts, and him to be swallowed away into the deep sea.

Stu was an English boy born and bred, who spoke only English. Thus the word that came next from his mouth resonated with all its intended meaning for his two friends, who also spoke English, as opposed to the ancient Cthulhu tongue.

“RUN!!!” the boy cried.

Chimney Swift

Twin Fantasy

0k_mang0 · Feb 26, 2021

Mathias

filler

home (filler tab)
mood

is ready for next skip, needs break

filler
outfit
CLICK HERE

filler
location

Parish Bay High School, helping with parade float stuff, about to leave soon

filler
interactions

Astraea Dupante

filler
tags

Dazzle , Soap (Katherine)

filler
home (filler tab)

Until Then

Lo'fi Boy

“It’s fine,” Matt said after Astraea apologized for her touchy nature. There were not many people he would tolerate for it. “You’re just lucky I like you—you know, because we’re friends.” He kept his voice evenly, but he might’ve stated that last part a bit too quickly after saying I like you.

Did Matty have strong feelings for Astraea that made him want to be more than friends? Well, he admired her for everything that he wasn’t. She was carefree, expressive, and had this sort of cheerful positivity that he could never have. Matt was cynical, probably more than he lets on. He saw the world as a dark, horrible place to live in because it had too many people who were horrible jerks, and more cynical than him, making it that way.

But when he’s with Astraea, he would feel a little hopeful for a while. Just a little. Maybe that’s why he stayed friends with her for so many years. And Matt didn’t like a lot of people in Parish Point. So far, Kat (well, for a while) and Astra were the only ones he liked for the past 5 years.

Astraea’s reaction after learning about Bartholomew’s disappearance startled him more than the thought of the “Cat Killer”. Matt lost focus on his paintbrush movement, and the paint he was currently using left a long smudge outside the line that he was coloring in. He’ll fix that later.

Matt did know about it from Twitter, but there wasn’t enough info for him to draw any certain conclusions. Also, he tried to social media as much as possible. For all he knew, it was probably just some stupid kid from town taking advantage of the creepy drama, made the Twitter account, and somehow found those creepy videos and pictures somewhere through the Internet, maybe from the Deep Web or from indie horror movies that not many people have seen.

He did remember reading the town library’s old articles about the strange disappearances of Parish Points’ housecats and strays many years ago. Whoever was doing this now couldn’t be the same person back then. So, this could be (dare, I say) a copy-cat killer situation.

When Astraea had calmed down mostly, Matt took a deep breath and quietly exhaled away the sudden and unnecessary spike of anxiety he felt for a moment.

“Yeah, Kekoa told me misses you, too. I might be home a little after dinner,” said Matt. “You know, volunteering at the public library. And then I’ll try looking for Bartho at his usual spots. Maybe he’s just hanging out with Catford.” Mr. Catford, the elusive local stray cat and probably the real ruler of the town. Well, maybe not so elusive if you knew what treats to offer him, or just have a picnic for him to steal off. Some people say Catford might be older than the town itself... well, maybe no one really says that.

About his sister inviting Astraea for dinner tonight, that had been an impulsive move on Kekoa’s part—his family usually had sushi every other Saturday, and today obviously wasn’t Saturday. Matt was very certain that Kekoa had a crush on Astraea since knowing her, but she never talked about it to him or anyone. It’s mainly why Matt never acted on his feelings. He couldn’t hurt his sister like that.

Some time passed. Matt glanced at his wristwatch and realized it was time to take a break from the apple float for today. Slipping on his backpack, he turned to Astraea. “I’m gonna pick up what I missed from my classes. You’ll be okayy for Parish Bay’s cheer team tryouts after school today?”

♡coded by uxie♡

Chimney Swift · Feb 26, 2021

MOOD: Just the usual mental breakdown

LOCATION: Parish Bay High School
basics

MENTIONS:
Toothrot @me

INT:
Stu Dede
Vered Twin Fantasy
tags

TL;DR nerd squad narrowly escapes the deadly clutches of Toothrot. Also Oliver passes out in front of his history class. Yeah, he's not going to be taking that test today.
tl;dr

Oliver Dreyfuss

Quiet people have the loudest minds

Oliver seemed not to have noticed the door had been opened until suddenly everything went very quiet. Stu was no longer tugging and rattling the door handle. The air in the room suddenly felt colder. Oliver tried to stop pacing, but found that he couldn't, as if his legs had mechanically taken control of themselves and locked permanently into the five-steps-back-and-forth pattern.

Stu had been frozen too, however, frozen still, staring out of the now open door, mouth agape and eyes stuck wide. Stu was silent. Everything was as silent and as dark and as cold as the vacuum of outer space. Only Oliver's own disfluent stammering whispers filled the void.

And even Oliver, who wasn't an expert reader of facial expressions, knew fear when he saw it on Stu's face. Fear was something to which Oliver was intimately familiar. He lived his life in varying degrees of it, never quite coming down into calmness. The best he could manage was slightly nervous.

But right now, seeing his friend looking as though he was staring death in the eyes, Oliver was panicked. He went to rush to Stu's side, hand instinctively reaching for his knife, only to have his legs force him back around and pace in repetition back towards the stalls. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

Oliver's blood turned to ice in his veins. Even with the door now open, he was stuck. Stu was right there and needed him-- it could be anyone outside that door. It could be Ryan. It could be Toothrot the janitor, or the police... or his mother...

Without thinking about it, Oliver grabbed onto the sink countertop which forced him to stumble to a halt, giving him time to break out of his repetitive pace and spin around to defend Stu with whatever deadly force was necessary, just as Stu screamed RUN

And run they did.

The sudden burst of adrenaline shut off all but the most primal of Oliver's senses and kept him from feeling the fractures in his ribs, his head spinning, his heels pelting him down the hall faster than he could safely carry himself... in him there remained only the burning need to be very far away as fast as possible before he died a horrible death. Whatever was there in the hall that Stu saw, Oliver didn't see it. It could be anything. It could be anywhere. He could be running right towards it and he wouldn't know--

Oliver didn't know what it was his foot hit, or why he suddenly found himself tumbling over himself onto the floor, but he had no time to stop himself and assess the damage, seizing control of the fall and coming up on his knees, staggering up to his feet and sprinting forward all the faster.

He didn't know how close behind Stu was anymore. He hadn't lost him, had he?
He had to be there.
Please be there.

He ended up crashing through the open doorway of his history classroom, to the startled shrieks and mocking laughter of his classmates, his teacher yelling... something... slow down... late pass... detention... alright... stop...
Oliver?
Oliver!?
Oliver!!

The next several seconds went by in disconnected snapshots.
His brain was cutting out and skipping like a damaged disc player. Back and forth, in and out of consciousness, perspective warping and turning in nauseous shifts.
All he really knew at the end of it was that now he was on the floor again.

code by valen t.

TerrorKitty · Feb 26, 2021

◈◈◈
Vibe Check: Fuck....

Outfit: X

Where?:
Parish Bay Main Hall;

Parish Bay Girls Bathroom;

Parish Bay Football Field;
basics

◈◈◈ Mentions: Liz INT: PenguinFox
tags

◈◈◈ TL;DR Talks to Liz; Has a breakdown in the girls bathroom; Takes Diazepam; Heads to cheer tryouts;
tl;dr

Piyeone (Penny)

Barely Holding On

The other girl's seemed sincere, and made Piyeone smile. "Well, thank you for your opinion. I needed to hear that honestly." It was definitely weird to interact with new people at school in this way. At Blackwood everyone knew everyone, hear there were too many people to know.

Piyeone chuckled covering her mouth with her hand, the girl beside her popping a toothpick in her mouth like something you'd see in a movie, only for a teacher to appear, the man tried, and completely failed to hold any kind of authority over this apparent school rule against toothpicks of all things. It was more than amusing to watch, though she almost felt bad for the guy, almost.

"It's a long story, to be completely honest. I ha- well, it doesn't really matter. Just a lot of minutia and what not. Though I will say it's a bigger change than I was expecting. Fish out of water would be an understatement." She replied, trying not to dig into the issues she tried to leave behind. "I graduated Blackwood, but to get my diploma I need to take some classes, so I may as well do it here." Classes she had missed while she was in the mental facility for half a year, a truth that Piyeone avoided at all costs.

"Getting a chance to tumble even if it's watered down cheerleading is worth it, and I'm sure I handle Mean Girls wannabe's." She said using her only reference to what Liz was warning her about. "Thanks though, I mean it." she added with a slight nod, a quiet gesture of appreciation.

__ __ __ __

Piyeone gripped the sides of the bathroom sink with a vice like grip as the bell rang in the mostly empty halls outside the door. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she desperate tried to keep her composure. Staring down at the leaky faucet, unable to bring herself to look up at her own reflection, if she did she would surely shatter.

She had just been in her last class of the day. Everything was going fine, if not a bit boring. The day for the most part was uneventful, primarily teachers giving her quick run downs of everything she needed to catch up on, which wasn't even that bad. Until....

After checking her phone, Piyeone had to resist the urge to throw up, excusing herself in the middle of class and spent the rest of period crying alone in the bathroom. Now it was the last period of the day, one which she didn't have a class for. Piyeone had planned to spend the time reading in the school library, but now all she wanted to do was disappear. The pit in her stomach kept growing and didn't let up. After a few moments, with a shaky hand she reached into her bag and hesitantly pulled out a small pill bottle. She stared it, trying not crush the container as the medicine rattled from her quivering. A last resort. Eventually managed to take out a single capsule of the Diazepam. She would have taken two but the girl knew better than that.

When the last bell of the day rang she was already heading towards the football field. The rain didn't bother her, nothing did, not right now. All Piyeone had to do was get through cheer tryouts and get home, and everything would be fine.

code by valen t.

Soap · Feb 26, 2021

MOOD: Eh.

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Pizza place
basics

MENTIONS: N/A INT: Graham, Dazzle
tags

TL;DR We're eatin' pizza, boys.
tl;dr

Genevieve

All the other kids, with the pumped up kicks, you better run betta'run.

She didn't comment on his terrible pizza tastes, everyone was gonna have their own opinions.

No matter how wrong they were.

"Brothers, sisters? Both?"

She was always a little jealous on the people who had siblings. Only because then she would've had someone to bitch to whenever someone pissed her off. And it sounded kinda fucking cheesy, but she always wanted a brother. But only because, like... there wasn't much her and her mother had in common besides sharing a common name.

But it was what it was.

Evie always thought it was a little weird for families to follow certain traditions, their footsteps or whatever. It just sounded dumb. Just because someone had went to a certain school, a certain job or something people did for like family legacies or whatever... it just didn't sound all that fair. Maybe she just didn't really get it though. Evie never really had a big family thing, it was always her and her mom. Or, her mom and one of her shitty boyfriends. Not like it mattered much though. Jen never really... set any traditions or talked about her own parents, much less her own dad so forgive her for not catching onto the whole traditional family generation thing.

"I don't see why you'd want to go back if it was like this place but... you should do what you wanna do, move back by yourself. Even if Anchor Bay is a pretty dumb name it was your home or whatever so, you should go. Even if it's for like... I don't know, a getaway or something." They both knew he couldn't move back by himself, but in a way that was Evie just saying fuck your family. Sorry not sorry. No matter how dorkish, stupid, or weird this guy was. Nobody really deserved to be forced into something. And unfortunately for Genevieve.

She knew what it felt like to be stuck in this tiny town with big arcades.

“What about you? Where were you before here?”

She paused on a bite of her pizza. Taking a moment to chew on the singular piece, pondering how to respond to his question before placing her pizza down onto the amazingly cheap see-through paper plate and reaching over for his drink. Look, the dude gave her diet coke-- no way she was about to go argue with this guy so he could spit in her order next time. She didn't care if he thought she had cooties or some shit. No matter if it was more likely that it was the other way around. Evie would rather drink after Sawyer than drink diet fucking cherry cola.

It was disgusting.

A shrug rose to her shoulders as she sipped on the drink.

"Before here? Ohio," She said, placing the cup down and barely giving him another moment to speak. "And before that? Iowa," Evie started picking the olives off of the pizza and began to eat them before continuing.

"then Texas, Minnesota, then Chicago, then New Jersey, and then finally--" She reached for a napkin, wiping the excess grease off of her fingers.

"Manhattan. It's where I was born. Kinda miss it sometimes, much better pizza than Sweaty Rocco back there." Evie heard a faint 'Hey!' from the back of the place but it did nothing more but place a faint grin on her lips. It was the little cashier/waiter guy she had a bone with. He was a little bitch. But Rocco? Man, he was pretty cool. Who knows? With enough insults maybe Evie will fill up her punch card and get a free pie.

"Maybe I'll take my own advice and take a trip there one day, all by myself."

code by valen t.

Soap · Feb 26, 2021

MOOD: ... Oh. OUTFIT: Clark's oversized sweatshirt, but with jeans instead because... cold. LOCATION: School gymnasium
basics

MENTIONS: INT: Clark KingofAesir PenguinFox
tags

TL;DR Josie's makin' mistakes.
tl;dr

Josephine

I'm no quick-curl barbie, I was never cut out for prom queen.

Josie wiped the smile off her face, avoiding his gaze so she wouldn't laugh. Everything suddenly became a little more funnier when you weren't allowed to laugh. Maybe it was the sheer rebel in her, or her disastrous humor that kicked in the worst times. "I-- No! I am. Honestly, very, truly sor--" Before she knew it, Clark's hand was ran along her face with the most gross, cold, and wet feeling of red paint smearing across her nose and Josephine gasped in shock. If looks could kill, Clark Holland would be very much dead right now.

Her glare subsided after a few seconds spent in death glares before she sprung into action, holding her paintbrush as if it was the most dangerous weapon in the game-- and not long afterwards, paint was splattered everywhere, and Josephine means everywhere. It was on her clothes, her hair, her face, the float, the floor. There was people that was watching the pair before they just shrugged and went on to mind their own business, high schoolers didn't exactly hold the apple float as dear as one Josephine Baker.

"You think you could get away with that? Nonononono, it's un-" Josie flicked paint onto him with the brush, "for-" The blonde threw caution to the wind, instead-- using her hand to pick up a tiny puddle of paint and throwing it towards him, successfully landing into the middle of his chest. "givable. Unforgivable, Holland."

Ah, straight in the heart.

She wasn't about to stop there though, Josie had another handful of paint and began to run after him-- which wasn't very hard to catch up, the float wasn't that big. Unfortunately, she had managed to miss the puddle of paint she created and slipped, one second Josephine was bracing herself for impact and she felt herself hit something with a small thud.

Only it wasn't the floor.

She landed on top of Clark, momentarily feeling guilty that he was the one who collided with the floor and Clark's concern for her had made her heart skip a beat, but it wasn't long till Josephine burst out into laughter for a reply. "You're so--" Josie gently whacked him onto the chest, finishing her sentence for her, her laughter faded and a smile appeared, clearly satisfied and now believed that she, was one hundred percent the winner of this paint war. It was only now when Josie started to realize how little distance was between the two and her heart didn't skip a beat or two, it had started to race.

It pounded so hard she was almost sure he could feel it too.

Her smile faded and Josie swallowed hard, following whatever self-control she had left not to glance at his lips.

It didn't work very well.

Her gaze fell to his lips and ever so quickly returned to his eyes.

"I-- uh... sorry."

code by valen t.

Dazzle · Feb 27, 2021

MOOD: worried for shes gonna die in Zach's car

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: diner
basics

MENTIONS:
KingofAesir (sawyer)
Chimney Swift (max)
Soap (ben)

INT:
lion. (zach)

--------don't type anything after this comment--------

[/COMMENT]
tags

TL;DRkidnapped to the diner, helping zach with max rescue mission
tl;dr

Harper Anderson

when you wear a mask for so long, you forget who is behind it.

“Except??” She raised her eyebrows questioning Zach, unsure at what he could possibly be getting at. Max wasn’t terrible looking, he was actually quite, well, adorable. She was sure that Max was plenty of girls’ types, with his dark brown hair and blue eyes. She never got her answer as the question was lost in the crowd.

Harper quickly came to regret her decision, she stared at the side of his car before she cautiously gripped the handle of the door. She glided into the passenger seat, slipping the seatbelt over her chest she clicked it into place. She in fact, did not trust Zach in the slightest, and was just proven as to why she shouldn’t as he took off. Pushing the speed limit, drifting on every corner he could. Obviously ignoring every direction, she uttered. They were obviously going the wrong way, and Harper had a good feeling as to why. Zach liked to poke the bear; he was looking to get a reaction from her. This was his version of fun.

Her and Max, well they just happened to be the new targets.

Harper’s fingers gripped tightly on the handle inside of the car. Her knuckles turned white from the tension she had left. If she had stayed in the car any longer, she may have accidentally ‘on purpose’ pulled the handle right from the car. Harper’s teeth clenched together, her jaw hurt from the tension placed between. Pressing her tongue against the back of her teeth.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the diner, Harper breathed a sigh of relief, maybe this wasn’t where Harper was told they were going. But, she was happy to be out of the passenger seat of his car. She rolled her eyes as he offered to pay for her and Max, skipping over Sawyer just because he wanted to. ‘his favorite past time really is getting a reaction out of people.’

She followed Zach in through the doors, sliding into the booth across from him. She didn’t respond as he commented on what she would be allowed to order. ‘I’ll order what I want thank you very much.’ She grumbled to herself, though she wasn’t going to be ordering a salad either.

Harper just nodded with an amused look on her face, the fact that Zach was treating her as if it was her first time at the town’s diner was almost laughable. Harper bit her bottom lip and just looked down at the menu in front of her. Not like she was reading it, she already knew what she was going to order, she practically knew the menu like the back of her hand.

She looked up at Zach who had hidden himself behind the menu as he called her an outsider. She furrowed her eyebrows leaning back against the cushion of the booth behind her. Her hands placed beside her, she leaned into the palm of her hands. Why was Zach asking her this, she had made it obvious that she wasn’t his biggest fan. She wasn’t cheering him on from the sidelines. But, maybe, that was the whole reason. She didn’t really know him.

She was an outsider, to him and his relationship with Tatum at least.

Harper didn’t have a chance to respond before the waiter came up to take their order. She let Zach order before she passed her menu back to the waiter. “I am going to have two double cheeseburgers without tomatoes, one of them to-go with a chocolate shake. And then a caramel shake for here, please.” She smiled smally as the waiter took the menu from her hand, picking up the one that Zach had left on the table. “What?” she shrugged her shoulders. “You said I could order something for Max.”

As the waiter turned to leave, Harper turned her attention back to Zach. “I can’t believe you ordered waffles, it’s so far past brunch.” Harper really didn’t care that he had ordered waffles, she loved eating breakfast at random times of the day. Breakfast was one of her favorite meals as it was. She just wanted to diffuse the tension that now resided at their table. She looked down at the ring that rested on her neck. Lifting it up between her two fingers she dragged it along the chain of the necklace. “It’s not a big shock I guess.” Harper chuckled, she could tell Zach was trying to cut through the thick air around them.

“You’re just missing the chocolate sauce, its superior to syrup.” She smirked as she brought her own burger to her lips, taking a bite out of it. The food at the diner was so much better than school lunches. No questionable chicken and the burgers didn’t taste like carboard. There was actual flavor, to them.

She chuckled shaking her head as he complemented her choice in food. Granted Harper would occasionally make a salad for lunch or dinner at home, but she wasn’t about to buy a salad when going out to eat, she wanted real food then.

“I think you’re annoying.” She raised her eyebrows, staring down at her plate as she popped a french fry into her mouth. “You don’t really seem to think much through either, you’re impulsive.” She looked up to meet Zach’s eyes. She could tell that Zach wasn’t joking around and he looked genuinely hurt…

Harper sighed as she pushed her finished plate away from her. “I don’t know Zach.” Harper wrapped her fist around the ring hanging from the chain, resting her hand against her chest. She could feel her heart beating, confrontation was not Harper’s thing. “You obviously care about her a lot. But I think you let your own emotions get in the way of that.”

“Don’t you trust Tatum?” She released the necklace from her grasp out of fear that she might break it. Harper reached for her shake, wrapping her lips around the straw she took a long slow sip. She could feel Zach’s eyes on her, waiting for a better answer, but she didn’t have one. The paper cup tapped on the table as she placed it down. “Has she ever given you a reason not too?” She furrowed her eyebrows a worried look on her face.

Harper wasn’t sure that she wanted to get a response from Zach, she wasn’t exactly looking to become his relationship therapist. It wasn’t like she knew much about being in one herself, Ben had been her only relationship and sure they had their issues… But they weren’t anything like Zach and Tatum.

Harper waved over the waiter, asking him to bring out the to-go food when he had a chance and adding a ginger ale onto the order. What? She wasn’t going to leave Sawyer hungry, plus Max didn’t want anything but a ginger ale, her plan worked perfectly. Probably better than Zach’s was going to.

code by valen t.

Dazzle · Feb 27, 2021

[/COMMENT]

MOOD: neutral

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: hartfield
basics

MENTIONS:
NA

INT:
Chimney Swift (peter).[/USER]
KingofAesir (cyrus)
tags

TL;DR clase de espanol
tl;dr

Maxine Rhodes

she wears darkness, like some wear the little black dress

Maxine nodded, she was sure that Cyrus would liven up the little apple town, for better or for worse. “Cyrus, that’s a way better name than mine.”

“Maxine, but I go by Rhodes, Rhody, or anything but Maxi.” Maxine rolled her eyes. She despised her name more than anything. Just because when she was little her classmates would call her maxi pad. “Alright Ms. Extraordinary, let’s see what you’re about.” She loved hearing about all the traveling Cyrus had done, though it had only been in the states, it was still more than Maxine could ever wish to experience. Maybe one day she would get out of the little apple town.

Maxine let Peter explain the purpose of the festival, in a lot of ways he covered all the parts to the experience. “And that’s all it is.” She chuckled. “Just a way for this town to seem super wholesome and precious.” She rolled her eyes.

“Though, the caramel apples aren’t half bad. The games are all rigged so you can’t ever win.” Maxine remembered when she was little, she would always try to win the biggest bear on the wall. But, she always fell short, she could never knock all the pins down. Leaving her with a stupid apple cup as a prize. For whatever reason, she always showed up at the apple festival, despite it all. The memories hurt, but it was the type of hurt that Maxine liked to remember.

“So Cyrus, does it sound like your type of scene?” Maxine smirked sly, crossing one of her legs over the other she leaned forward onto the desk in front of her raising her eyebrows suggestively at the girl. “I can tell its your scene Pete.” She nudged him roughly in the side.

“If it is, we should meet up. I think we’d have more fun together.” She nodded her head, pressing her lips together.

code by valen t.

Dazzle · Feb 27, 2021

MOOD: Ecstatic

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: pizza place
basics

MENTIONS: INT: Soap (evie)
tags

TL;DR eating pizzaaaaa
tl;dr

Graham Moore

can I go home now?

Graham smiled thinking about Clayton and Ellie. “Yea both.” Man, he missed them, probably more than he did when they were at Hartfield. “One sister, one brother.” He was always close them, they were like the ‘perfect’ family, picket white fence and all. He couldn’t imagine living without them.

“I think I just miss my family more…” He trailed off. “I know that seems lame… But it’s weird being away from them.” He shrugged taking another bite of Evie’s pizza. “I mean, Parish Point isn’t much better.” He laughed, hanging out with Evie had distracted from his racing mind for a bit. But it could only last so long.

“I’ll go back for Thanksgiving, but other than that my parents want me to try to fit in.” He sighed, taking another sip from his drink. “Is a lot easier said than done.” Without a word Evie had swiped his drink from his hand, leaving him speechless to listen to her list of places.

“Wow.” He quietly said under his breath. “You’ve, like..” He thought for a moment chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Lived everywhere.”

“Soo what you’re saying, is the pizza is better in Manhattan.” He took another bite. “And that’s where you got the weird tastebuds to overload your pizza so you can’t taste the cheese?” He raised a single eyebrow, receiving quite the death stair from Evie.

Without even a chance to duck, Evie balled up the greesey napkin in her hands, tossing it across the table hitting Graham. “Hey!” He laughed. “You should visit, especially if you miss it so much. It’s like what, only 4 hours from here?”

It was fun being away from the stress of school, the stress of Willay, and the stress of missing home… Wait a minute… SCHOOL! HE HAD A FRENCH TEST TODAY.

“I FORGOT ABOUT MY FENCH TEST.” He yelled, quickly slipping out of the booth, he pulled his phone out of his pocket 2:32.

“I missed it.” He sighed. “I doubt they’ll let me make it up…” Well that was one way to end a really good day.
[/COMMENT]

LittleWolfie · Feb 28, 2021

Madi Lexington-Montgomery

Shit.....take mushrooms....

Some spy she was, Madi had even noticed when Kat broke away from the squad and came over to the bleachers. Aaand now she'd gotten caught. Megan was going to kill her. Well, that was if Kat didn't kill her first of course.

The guilt of spying was already weighing on the little blonde as she walked towards her summons, like it was getting a little bit harder to breathe. Her former squad captain was just a little bit intimidating to say the least and Madi did not want to be on her bad side; but it seemed like that was already happening sadly. Could this situation get any worse right now?

Well, apparently, it could. As she reached Kat, it came to her attention just who Kat had been talking to. Of all people it had to be Hayden, who was already on her case a little about the whole Megan situation and this was not going to improve that. Her eyes were therefore trying to look anywhere other than at him which resulted in her gaze being caught by the stern gaze of the other girl and from that there was no escaping.

"I'm sorry. Megan said I didn't need to go to tryouts because I was already on the team and instead she told me I had to come and see what the Parish Bay squad was looking like this year and take pictures and stuff so she could see for herself next at next practice because she didn't want ay surprises and wanted to know what she was up against this year." The words tumbled out of her mouth almost like one long word spoken really fast, the explanation was basically word vomit to be honest. Madi was almost hyperventilating by the time she'd finished, her head a little all over the place since her loyalties were being torn in two as she tried to keep Kat happy but also wanting Megan to be happy.

Interactions:

Soap (Kat)
Mentions:

Dazzle (Hayden)

Dazzle · Feb 28, 2021

MOOD: Meh

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: football field
basics

MENTIONS:
@thecheerleaders

INT:
Soap (kat)
LittleWolfie (madi)
tags

TL;DR watching cheer tryouts like a creepy boy
tl;dr

Hayden Anderson

you get what you give

Hayden didn’t notice when Kat’s attention had changed, over to behind the bleachers. She must of saw something or someone, that he had missed. Hayden bore a confused look on his face as Kat glided off the benches waving someone over.

Hayden’s eyebrows furrowed together as someone came out of the shadows, he leaned back into his hand pushing himself off the bench. He walked down the bleachers two steps at a time. “Hey Madi! What are you doing here?” Hayden wrapped an arm around Madi’s shoulder, squeezing her into his side before letting the small girl go.

Hayden’s eyes went wide as Madi spoke faster than he could understand. Something about tryouts, Megan, and …. Surprises. Yea Hayden was pretty much lost. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry, I missed most of that.” He stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

Hayden rocked back and forth on his heals, he could feel that there was something odd about the whole situation. Shouldn’t Madi have been at tryouts, even if she was already on the team, wouldn’t Megan want her help picking their new teammates.

Hayden looked between Madi and Kat, Madi was doing her best to avoid contact with either of them, while Kat looked more annoyed than anything else. Hayden pressed his lips together wondering if he should of left the two of them alone. But, Hayden could not think of a way to sneak away from this small group casually. He also had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he shouldn’t leave Madi alone with Kat, not that Hayden thought Madi couldn’t handle herself…. But, she couldn’t she easily was pushed around and Hayden already thought it was ridiculous that Madi wasn’t captain herself this year.

code by valen t.

lion. · Feb 28, 2021

MOOD: amused

OUTFIT: - FINALLY IK

LOCATION: Max's swamp
basics

MENTIONS:
@Elf_Ruler

INT:
Dazzle
tags

TL;DR
tl;dr

Zachary Lee

Surf's up.

Don’t you trust Tatum?

He did. Of course, he did-

Has she ever given you a reason not to?

Tatum Browne had given no reasons, but neither do most people. People could leave so easily without reason.

“I-,” he prolonged on the pronoun, “Don’t know.” They say what you don’t know can’t hurt you. In such wise, for the time being, he lied to save himself.

The waiter systematically journeyed over when Harper ushered for him. Recovering almost too variably, Zach provided service with a smile, taking the bill off the table with a possessive velocity. His eyes didn’t scour over the summary of the receipt for long, fingers trivally itching for movement. Prenaturally, his fingers fell to a fast sequence of retrieving his card and skidding it down into the bill holder. “Harper Anderson— I hope you know that you made a wealthy man like me less rich today,” he dramaticized, as he shut the book of the bill, “You are , how should I put this: a conflict of interest. One in a million.”

He beamed at the waiter, retracting his neck back to glimpse at the waiter. “How about that? You’re still around?” Zach asked. The waiter’s rough features were marketed with neutrality.

“Well, you are paying-” the waiter clarified.

Once his card had been returned, Zach began sliding out of the booth with wads of green bills left behind for the waiter. He pulled himself up to his feet, shifting the windbreaker jacket on the tracks of his shoulders, and then bearing witness to Harper who trailed afront with blazing brunette hair, fingers entangled to a bag of food.

The slowly setting sun was a paradise on the dashboard of the car as Zach’s zealed for his second chance as a driver. The radio thrummed gentle basses against the speakers lifting off through the partially opened windows. The tires took a trip down the local roads of Parish, a gradation of brick houses and porches roping into a loafing blur of ordinary browns made beautiful by the touching rays of apricot. Zachary Lee’s hands were imprinted to the wheel, spinning on the axis where turns were seeked. Riding through the light, they lastly arrived in front of Max’s house.

“How do I look?” he purred, tousling his hair into a valentine manner as they discordantly walked together up the sidewalk, “Before you say anything. I know, I know. Don’t compliment me too much. I always shine. Watch and learn.” He winked.

Ding. Dong.

Zachary Lee stood before the door like he had been given fifteen minutes of fame: a heavenly host with baby blues and bombshell blonde hair. Harper reached out to knock, but before her knuckles breached against the thick wood, the door swung open. Mrs.Berkowitz met the duo with an inviting expression. She was, as his dad had described the couple, classical chic. She had sophisticated brown wiry hair and worldly eyes on light ivory skin.

“Mrs.Berkowitz!” Zach exaggerated, leaning his elbow into the doorframe with a rictus grin, “You look fantastic. Not even a day over twenty. How are you doing-” Daddy Lee was right. Ha, ha. Mr. Berkowitz just got lucky somewhere in his life.

“Oh, us?” he answered when Mrs.Berkowitz relayed back the same question, “We’re doing great. Two peas in a pod.” He shrugs an arm around Harper’s shoulders, hesitantly patting it. Was that still even a phrase?

“Anyways, can we go fetch Max’s car?” then, “Oh, his car keys are in his room? Could we pass through. No, no, it’s no hassle and no need to thank us. It’s our pleasure to help out Max.”

The switch of amiability reversed as soon as Max opened the door bedraggled and confused.

“Hey, Max,” Zach suddenly said, “Nice catching you in your room doing nothing, but I need you to strip.”

He gave himself a nod and self-assuredly added, “So, I can strip...”

He paused, “To change clothes.”

code by valen t.

Chimney Swift · Feb 28, 2021

MOOD: What the fuck, Zach!?

LOCATION: The Berkowitz Residence
basics

MENTIONS:
Lulu PenguinFox
Sawyer KingofAesir
Stu Dede

INT:
Zach lion.
Harper Dazzle

--------don't type anything after this comment--------

[/COMMENT]
tags

TL;DR
Zach and Harper are here to rescue their dumb friend. Zach makes an uncomfortably risque request. Max tries not to lose it.
tl;dr

Max Berkowitz

How do you run from your own mind?

It was good that Zach knocked on doors so obnoxiously hard that it could be felt. Max, who had been slumped like a corpse over his desk, lifted his head to see the door shaking as though someone was trying to break it off its hinges.
At long last, the rescue squad was here. So he could accompany on what was probably the single most dangerous thing any one of them had ever attempted.
Something that might very well end in a death, if it meant sparing themselves.
And more so than he would ever be able to say, Max was scared. Scared for his friends, and Zach, and for that kid who insisted on coming along to hunt for a missing backpack... hell, even for the girl who spoke in code with the criminal and insisted on coming along despite not being one of his stalking victims. Whatever she was up to, Sawyer trusted her so he had to shut up about it and play along.
The thought of something happening to them, after everything that had happened, was too much to carry. As much as he could, no matter the risks or the odds (or the repeated requests for him to sit the fuck down), he had to be there to defend them himself.
He wasn't scared at all for himself.
Perhaps he should have been.

Zach kept shaking the door, and Max, not wanting to waste another second, ran up to open it. He shot Zach a confused look, but softened when he saw Harper. A ghost of a smile crossed his face. Harper: one of maybe three people he could speak freely with, who he felt really cared what he had to say. Harper was more than he could ever have asked for in such a small and insular town. Anything he could do to stand by her, anything at all, he'd do it. She was ~~everything~~ his best friend, and it worried him that she'd volunteered for this treacherous mission too.

Max was prepared, but not... ready. That much was evident in his appearance.
He'd slung his backpack over his shoulder with the flashlight and first aid supplies, and Isa's knife was safely stowed in his pocket. He had managed to dress appropriately in a dark jacket over a green sweater, durable grey jeans, boots with heel support and good treads. At least he'd remembered all of that.
But despite all of this, he looked unmistakably shaken and exhausted. Though it had only been a day, he somehow looked like he'd lost 10 pounds and hadn't slept in a week. Dark shadows under his eyes, hair unkempt and falling in his face, shoulders tensed, hands trembling ever so slightly as he gave a weary "Hey. Thanks, both of you," but before Harper could interpret that for Zach, Zach had already started talking. The blonde's eyes were glinting with a disturbing amount of mischievous excitement. Oh, no... that was never a good sign.
Even Harper couldn't keep the discomfort off her face.

"Nice catching you in your room doing nothing, but I need you to strip.”

What!? There it was. Max choked and stepped back away from Zach as if being too close would give him an allergy attack.

Zach's next bit was not at ALL comforting: “So, I can strip...”

Max fought down the instinctive 'Fuck off, Zach', in favor of the slightly more constructive "Zach, what the fuck!?"

Harper turned around to face the door again. Max didn't question it... maybe she was just checking to make sure his parents weren't onto them. It didn't matter that much as long as she turned back before Zach had more bullshit to say. Anyway, there were much bigger confusing things on his plate right now (like why Zach was suggesting they strip their clothes for what was supposed to be a simple rescue mission).
There was no way Max could have known Harper was actually doing this to give Zach a furious "What are you doing!?" As far as Max knew, Harper was just as versed on this crazy scheme as Zach was, Obviously, it wasn't her idea-- This was the kind of nonsense humiliating bullshit that only Zach would come up with. But Harper had to have agreed to it at some point... so there had to be a reason. Harper wasn't one to be easily swayed by Zach's awful ideas.

Max, rolling his eyes and groaning louder than was polite, knew that whatever Zach wanted to do was his only chance at being there to protect his friends.
After the beach party, the protest incident, and everything that had happened in between, Max was on strict house arrest. He was also probably the least sneaky person in the world, his parents had eyes in basically every inch of the house, and he had no chance of breaking out without Zach and Harper's helping hands.

If Zach wanted a fucking striptease, then fucking fine. Max could punch him about it later.
"You know I don't want to see that." Max started aggressively as soon as he knew he'd regained Harper's attention. "What, you want my clothes? Can't I just pull you something out of my closet?" He stopped to let out a sharp frustrated exhale, hands clenching and unclenching rapidly before picking up. "Why!? Why this!? What reason?!?!"
Didn't matter.
Zach had the floor.

code by valen t.

Dazzle · Mar 1, 2021

MOOD: Chaos of personalities

OUTFIT: Well Max and Zach are naked soo.... I'll leave that to your imagination.

LOCATION: The Berkowitz's then Hawking House #ScoobyGang
basics

MENTIONS:
@Idk Prob Sawyer and Crew

RP Collabers:
lion. (Zach)
Chimney Swift (Max)
Dazzle (Harper)
tags

TL;DR Zach explaining the plan while Harper and Max question his sanity
tl;dr

Opperation, Break Out Max

Who let these two run a rescue mission???

“Like the same Zach, just with messy hair.” Harper swung open the passenger side door, she gripped the side of the door before lifting herself out of the car. Falling in stride beside Zach as they approached the front of the Berkowitz’s house.

“Hi Mrs. Berkowitz.” Harper said softly as she opened the door, it took everything in her to not visibly cringe when Zach wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Keeping a strained smile on her face, it was obvious that Mrs. Berkowitz was happy to see Zach, Harper, not so much. She could feel Mrs. Berkowitz’s lingering glare on her, Harper looked down at her feet. She could never understand why Mrs. Berkowitz did not like her, though she never admitted to it, the way she greeted Harper versus the way she greeted Zach made it all the more obvious.

Harper quickly followed after Zach as he practically invited himself inside of Max’s house, pushing past Mrs. Berkowitz and heading straight for Max’s room, to be honest, Harper was shocked at how confident he was in knowing where it was.

Harper waved a ‘hi Max.’ She just smirked for a moment, ‘of course I’m always here for you.. Though I wish you chose a better partner in crime for me.’ She signed to Max. However, the small laughs between two friends didn’t last long, as her eyes went wide at Zach’s quick change in plans. “What do you mean strip.” Harper’s shock had her completely forgetting to translate to Max.
“Why is anyone stripping?” She turned to face Zach, her back to Max. Harper was not expecting this part of the plan. “I’m...” Harper shook her head. “You know what.”

“If this goes wrong, it's your fault.” She pointed at Zach walking past towards the far wall of Max’s room, hiding her head in her hands till this was all over.

Harper didn’t hide for long, Max tapped a hand on her shoulder and began signing to her, she had forgotten the main reason she came was to interpret for Max. “He says he doesn’t want to see, well, that.” She gestured towards Zach’s entire body. “And, why can’t he just get clothes out of his closet.” She looked over at Max once more. “Wait?? Why can’t we do that Zach??”

“What are you even planning?” Harper continued to repeat everything in sign that she was saying to Zach.

“Why-” Zach’s mouth upturned to an electric smirk, “I’m just gonna become Max. And, Max is gonna become me. The rest I’ll handle as you guys make a break through the window.”

“We don’t have time for his closet,” Zach conceived by a peek at the time, “We have to move quickly. Who really would take fifteen minutes to pick up keys?”

The dull blue jacket slipped off his torso in nothing flat of a couple seconds. Balling it into a crumple, he projected it in Max’s direction. With flying colors, he picked up the corner of his shirt, and tugged it over his head.

“You can look if you want Harper,” he thoughtfully vocalized at the risible scene that was in motion, “I mean my pants haven’t hit the floor just yet.”
Breaking into a laugh, he turned his attention to the zipper of his pants. With a tug, he pulled a leg out of his pants and then the other.

“Maxxy, what the hell is with your air conditioner on?” He shivered, turning towards him, “Hurry up and get moving.”

Max, who had lost his interpreter to whatever internal strife led her to stare at the wall instead, was left completely at the mercy of Zach and his rapidly decreasing amount of clothing.

He got Zach's jacket after it hit him square in the face, then the shirt… and then the realization hit.

They were supposed to be swapping clothes.

Fucking Zach at it again.

Swallowing whatever sliver of pride he had left in him, the smaller of the two narrowed his sharp blue eyes, tugged his jacket sleeves off his shoulders and tossed it to the blonde. While Max was considerably narrower than Zach, he was only an inch or so shorter. It would be awkward, but they'd likely fit each other's clothes.

…that did not make this idea any less stupid.

Max was less of a speedster at removing his shirt, clumsily pulling it over his head and getting caught in the sleeves. Very conscious of the fact that Zach could count his ribs, he hastily grabbed Zach's shirt off the ground and tugged it on, keeping his eyes down so as not to subject himself to any further eyefuls of Zach pantsless in front of him.

Max still had to trade over his own pants. The task felt only a little less painful than massaging his face with a branding iron. Unzipping and removing his jeans, he handed them over as though handing the last of his dignity along with them.

The only solace he found in this unbearable moment was that Zach's clothes were clean… smelled clean, at least. Hopefully clean. Zach's pants slid on his hips uncomfortably, his larger jacket giving Max an awkwardly boyish look. He'd get over it eventually. Worse things had happened.

Max’s clothes felt unusual from the fabric to each seam and stitch. Nevertheless, Zach’s arms nettled through Max’s lightweight shirt, and he yanked the material through the neckhole. In a reflection from the exterior, it stretched too tensely against the coronal plane of his body, contracting at the expanse of his chest. As for Max’s pants, they yielded over his hips with more ease, but he was regretting his free spirit for ideas.

“Very Vogue Max,” he inputted, tampering with the sleeves. He wasn’t sure whether Harper was still translating, but he forwarded his comment anyway.

Odds and ends, Zach changed his displacement to shift towards the window. He chewed over the estimates in his head. If Zach stayed long enough as a decoy, Harper and Max could indefinitely climb through the window. Would Zach make it, though?

Mrs.Berkowitz was an intelligent woman with a judicial invisible cape; she’d know it was Zach if the room was not dark enough. Unknowing to what the future consisted of, he whisked on his foot again facing the two brunettes.

“Hey, Harper,” he called out, “Take Max and yourself out of this window. And, take my keys. They should be in the jacket Max is wearing. Get the car started.”

There would be running. There would be a countdown as soon as the hallway filled with mother dearest’s footsteps.

Somewhere between the age of time between Max and Harper opening the window, he shut off the lights, and made himself comfortable at Max’s desk. Radically, his hand thumbed over Max’s plants, and froze when clacks of shoes smacked down the hallway.

3…

The window creaked as the two silhouettes strapped themselves over the ledge, the backs of their sneakers weighted over the ledge as they readied themselves for a leap. The curtains lashed out with the evening gust as they bound hand and foot for the jump.

2…

The door prattled open by a near apparition. It wasn’t until an oval-shaped face ducked in frame was it certain that it was Mrs.Berkowitz. Zach, now enjoying the quietude, swiveled in Max’s chair like an elusive mafia don. He didn’t realize that the spin would be cut off with his own long legs acting as friction.

Max? What’s with the darkness? Mrs. Berkowitz inquired or so he thought by the hand movements she was imposing, genuinely bewildered by her son’s behavior.

“It’s always been dark,” Zach echoed in his best impression of Max, “Don’t you know? I die everytime my friends step out of the house. But, no. That’s not the reason today. I just- I just- am done with all of this.”

1...
His feet floated towards the window, as Max’s mom reached for the lights. He pulled himself to the window, cambering up the width.

Max!? Max, don’t jump. Mrs. Berkowitz became more urgent with the fluctuations of her hands, and logically, Zach tried to adjust it poetically to what he thought it meant. She tried to adjust to the sudden burst of lights. That’s when she realized.

Zach gave her his best salute as he made a charge for the jump. As he hit the ground, he revolved around to where Mrs. B incredulously was left flabbergasted.

“Sorry, Mrs. B. I had to kidnap your son. So sorry. Harper, Max, and I have a threesome planned. Bye, bye!”

The car gave a honk, screeching as Zach ate up to the distance.

code by valen t.

0k_mang0 · Mar 1, 2021

MOOD: unusually broody-ish
OUTFIT:
click here
INFO

LOCATION: outside Sleeping Hedgehog

WITH: Oliver
ACTIVITY

Chimney Swift
TAGS

Colby

figuring out how to add music here

So, Colby went to school with blue hair. Kind of.

Hang on. At least try to understand. First, if he lost a bet, he lost a bet. He wanted to be a man of his word, even if this was for a stupid beer pong bet that ramen-head had very much cheated on. Plus, he couldn’t keep his promise to beat that ass-clown Ryan away from Tatum at the beach party, so he thought of coloring his hair as harmless and potentially humiliating self-discipline.

After his trip to the church’s soup kitchen event, Colby had gone on a quick solo shopping trip to buy the temporary hair color products for his loss—no one clarified how he should’ve “dyed” his hair. Gotta love loopholes. The next morning, before going to school, he decided to color his hair after learning Tatum and Noemie were having an out-of-town road trip. She said she would be back before the end of the day, but a part of him wasn’t sure if she would have enough time to hang out with him as she’d promised. Also, she never messaged him yesterday if she had been free in the evening to help him bleach his hair.

He had to rush a bit. Y’know, because of school. He thought the spray had just a platinum color. Blame the poor packaging design.

It started out as a silvery-white color in the first several spritzes, but afterward, he noticed the light blue tint under the lighting of his bathroom. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed the very tiny additional description under “Platnium Silver Fox” because his stupid big thumb covered when he picked it off the shelf—with an icy blue tint.

Colby didn’t have time to wash his hair, so he just kept spray—probably a bit too much—and went to school like that. A lot of students giggled when they saw him, and he just smiled and waved at them with a middle finger. Whenever a teacher gave him a confused look, he would tell them, “I’m auditioning for Jack Frost for the school drama club play later.”

Was he in the drama club? Nah, but it was a good excuse not to get sent to the principal office. Besides, nobody does anything to the few other students at Hartfield with crazier colored hair than Colby.

Before arriving at school, Colby noticed a bunch of papers covering half of the breakfast nook table. His grandparents weren’t in the kitchen yet, so he took a quick gander at the paper pile. Just some financial stuff. Most people probably expected Colby not to understand anything like that, but he managed to understand it just fine, and he didn’t like what he found.

This week’s income at his grandparents’ cafe, Sleeping Hedgehog, was low again. It had been steadily decreasing over summer. Colby had noticed fewer customers showing up, probably buying from one of the bazillion new coffeeshops that began popping out of nowhere across town. His grandparents added their own money to their business’s account sometimes, but they still had to be frugal and pay attention to their utility bills, healthcare things because they’re old folks, and the loan they have to pay back for their grandson’s school tuition.

He wished they hadn’t done that for him. Hartfield Academy was one of those private schools with a crazy amount of admission fees, and Colby didn’t want to go. A public high school would’ve been just fine with him! It always had, especially since they were free. (Mostly. There were still small class fees to pay for.) But nooo, James and Rita wanted him to have the best education available.

Okay, Colby was still thankful that they did that for him. He even had his childhood friend Maxine suffering along with him at Fartfield. But the thought of him being a dent in his grandparents’ financial stability? That didn’t sit well with Colby. He’s still kicking himself for causing too much trouble for his mom to tolerate back in California with his illegal activities, even if he had done them with good intentions.

Colby stopped looking at the papers when he heard his grandparents showing up.

“Oh my god,” his Nona Rita said. “What the fuck did you do to your hair?”

Yeah, his grandmother had a bit of a sailor’s mouth, especially when she saw something she didn’t like.

“It’s not permanent. I’ll wash it off after school,” Colby replied evenly. He finished eating his second breakfast blueberry muffin, kissed his grandmother’s forehead, and took out the key of his Honda scrambler bike to go zippy on his way to school.

• • •

After school, Colby went back home to switch out of his school unfirm for a navy blue bomber jacket and one of the few tapered black jeans that Maxine hadn’t thrown out.

He washed his hair as much as he could, but after shampooing three times, some parts of his hair were still peppered with Silver Fox (with the icy blue tint). Maybe he should consider joining the school drama club and convince them to make a play about Jack Frost. He’s a cool dude.

Anyway, after school, Colby messaged Oliver to meet him outside Sleeping Hedgehog at a certain time. He got there before him, parked his bike on the curb, and sat on the bench against the wall of the storefront.

Apparently, from what Colby could deduce from the little punk’s past reactions, Oliver had stolen money from the church, or at least some of it. Colby wasn’t sure why the kid was so adamant about paying the bill that the dork squad dashed away from. Tatum already paid it for them (plus the coffee that Colby’s gave her) and didn’t ask for anything in return, but for some reason, this Parish Bay sophomore kept refusing to accept any form of generosity. It annoyed Colby greatly, and he was already in a sour mood from epically screwing up his friendship with Tatum on Twitter.

Yeah, he knows he fucked it up big time by trying to argue with her. He'll deal with that later somehow.

God, he needed to punch something. Preferably the face of a certain arrogant blonde surfer who needs to suffer the consequences of being an asshole to Colby. Or maybe at least 50 cinderblocks. He’s been slacking a bit lately.

Eventually, Oliver showed up. Colby got up from his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “How much did you take?” he asked in a neutral tone.

code by valen t.

Chimney Swift · Mar 1, 2021

MOOD: Troubled

LOCATION: Parish Bay High School -> The Sleeping Hedgehog
basics

MENTIONS:
Stu Dede
Vered Twin Fantasy
Lemon @Elf_Ruler
INT:
Colby 0k_mang0
tags

TL;DR Oliver stows away in the school library until he gets kicked out and has to find somewhere else to hide from his family. Colby asks for his money. Fuck.
tl;dr

Oliver Dreyfuss

Quiet people have the loudest minds

________A few hours ago..._________

This was not Oliver's first time fainting in class. Far from it. Since before he could remember, it was a recurrent problem, and he knew he was pushing his luck being out and about with a concussion and fractured ribs.
But it wasn't fainting itself he was afraid of. That was just annoying and a little embarrassing. It was what happened afterward that chilled his spine.

He knew the drill: one of his taller classmates would drag him arm-over-shoulder down the hallway to the nurse's office, where they'd make him lie down and drink a glass of water, and then ask a series of complicated questions he never really knew how to answer.
Then they'd call his mother so she could bring him home early. This is the part he was dreading. Usually, he got lucky: If she was at work or in one of her usual inebriated stupors, she wouldn't pick up the phone, and he'd get to leave freely. But on the off chance that she was home and lucid…
Oliver did not want to think about it.

"Oliver? Hey Oliver… Heyyy," The nurse came back from the other room of the office and got his attention with a slow, condescending voice, waving her hand in front of her face to try and demand eye contact (which he avoided by turning his whole head away to watch the opposite wall.) She sighed through her nose, pushing her glasses up and continuing, she dropped into a slight crouch as though she were talking to a small child. Oliver grimaced, offended, but said nothing.
"Your mom didn't pick up. She must be working, right? Can any of your sisters come to get you?"
Oliver didn't answer.
"Can I get a yes or no? Just nod yes or no for me, okay?"
Oliver shook his head no.
"Oooookay. Okay. If no one can come to pick you up, are you feeling like you can get home safely by yourse--"
"YES. Yes. Yes. I-it's… it's, I… can do it. I'm leaving. Leaving. Goodbye."
Oliver stood up from his chair as sharply as his broken ribs would allow and walked out without another word.

He couldn’t just leave the school today, though, unless he wanted to wander around in the rain for six hours. Most days, the only time he could safely be at home was after dark, so for today he slipped unnoticed into the library and hid away among the shelves. First, he yanked his phone out of his pocket and quickly sent a series of texts out to Stu and Vered, starting to settle down as they one by one confirmed that they hadn't been killed by whatever happened back at the bathroom. Although the band of nerds had yet again left each other in a panicked scramble, this time they at least all knew the others were safe. Satisfied, Oliver pulled down a heavy volume on marine biology from the shelf next to him, one that he'd been poking his way through for the last few weeks. After the two days off, he was actually kind of looking forward to returning to it. He rarely checked anything out of the library, actually. It was easier just to read while he was there.

But reading proved disturbingly difficult. Every line seemed to blend into the next, and trying to separate the words seemed to gnaw away at his brain until he was left with only a splitting headache.
He pushed the book back into its place on the shelf and held his head, groaning in pain as quietly as he could manage.

Despite his actions and insistence, he wasn't recovering any faster than his bones and bruises were going to permit.

The next few hours passed in stillness.

___________...Presently.____________

The school library closed promptly at 4:30 every day except Friday. Today, Wednesday, was no exception and the librarian quickly found the poor tired sophomore curled up in the alcove of the shelves and promptly told him to get on his way home. Oliver acquiesced to leaving, carefully sliding his backpack back on and hurrying out of the building onto the damp and rainy streets, but he was still committed to staying away from his family's apartment until he was sure he could simply sneak into bed and leave in the morning unhurt.

That left several hours of empty space. It was far too cold and too wet to find something enjoyable to do outside. Sometimes, in more pleasant weather, he actually kind of liked wandering through Parish Point and seeing all the trees and old buildings and the soft grey-blue of the ocean stretching out past the town.

Parish Point wasn't always kind to Oliver. Still, he saw its charm.

Oliver, shivering and pulling up the hood of his windbreaker to stay out of the wind and the cold drizzling rain, quickly found himself looking for somewhere quiet and dry to just hide for a while. A tad concerning, perhaps to some, that a fifteen-year-old would be spending his afternoons and evenings hiding in alleyways. At least with the cookies and snacks that Lemon and Stu had kindly given him, he wouldn't have to steal food just to get through the day. Friends really did ease the pain of enduring life's constant attacks. He hoped that, in whatever way he could, he could do the same for them. He supposed he offered Vered and Stu some protection, being the scrappiest of the three and the only one who carried a knife. And Lemon... Lemon listened to him about his passion for sea turtles, and trusted him in return with her hidden dreams of owning a bakery. Trust. That was one of the things that was important in friendship, wasn't it? Books certainly made it seem that way.

Luckily, he didn't have to spend too long holed up in the alley behind the hardware store. After a few quiet minutes drained away, he checked his phone. Oliver habitually left his phone on silent with the brightness dimmed all the way down. Safer that way, but it meant he tended to miss messages. As was the case today.

Colby. Meet by the Sleeping Hedgehog. Sent ten minutes ago.

Oliver felt his lungs paralyze. Colby. Colby threatened to get the police involved if Oliver didn't turn in his ill-earned $15, and Oliver, believing police involvement would ensure his death, promised to comply with Colby as long as they could handle it amongst themselves.
Colby was savvy. Oliver had to give him that. Somehow, just based on his brief observation of Oliver's erratic behavior, he'd correctly put it together that no one else was desperate enough to steal from a church. Perhaps Oliver felt Colby's deductive skills were little more impressive than they actually were... it didn't take a genius to realize Oliver had no money and was acting incredibly off.

Still unable to run without further injury, Oliver made it to the Sleeping Hedgehog as fast as he possibly could. Colby, already there waiting for him, sat sternly on the bench out front. As soon as the small teen skidded to a halt, already looking as though he were about to flee the other way, Colby stood up and walked over. Colby was taller, broad at the shoulders and still held a cross and beleaguered expression in his eyes.
His mother's eyes.
Oliver had all but stopped breathing.

“How much did you take?”
Colby said this without malice or threatening tone, but Oliver failed to read it as such. His shaking hands frantically rummaged through his pocket as though he were being robbed at gunpoint and he thrust a fistful of small bills at Colby. He seemed to try to say something that ended up being more stutter than syllable, feeling his foot slide back to bolt before he really knew what was happening. He kept his head low, brown eyes looking up from under the arm that shielded his face as though he were sure Colby was about to break his jaw. The knife, though, stayed in his pocket and he didn't reach for it.
Oliver was impulsive and disturbed, not stupid.

code by valen t.

KingofAesir · Mar 1, 2021

MOOD: Hungry

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Church parking lot
basics

MENTIONS: Idk The Gang INT: Lulu PenguinFox , Stu Dede
tags

TL;DR Lost her keys, and was kinda late to pick up Stu.
tl;dr

Sawyer

I'm Georgia Peachy, believe me.

At some point between saying goodbye to Lemon and arriving back home to pack up everything she thought they might need, Sawyer lost her keys. How did someone lose their keys as soon as they got home. Sawyer was blowing through the living room, flipping over and looking under everything in sight. Her father wasn’t home yet and she really needed to be out of there by the time he got home. She’d left him a note on the kitchen table informing him that she was going to hang out with Harper. Technically that wasn’t a lie, she just hadn’t told him where they were going. If she was gone by the time he got home she could avoid him asking her a bazillion questions that might poke holes in her hanging out with Harper story. So where the hell were her goddamn keys!?

“Aughh! What the fuck?” Sawyer kicked the table in the entrance hallway, knocking off several things in the process, including her beanie. She frowned and leaned down to pick up the thing. A jingly noise sounded and Sawyer’s keys hit the ground with an audible clink. Great. She was still so frazzled from Kat that she couldn’t remember putting her beanie on top of her keys. Sawyer was losing her mind. She pulled the red beanie back over her head and moved toward the door. The lock on the front door was finicky and tended to be hard to lock from the outside. Oliver had been meaning to fix it, but he hadn’t quite gotten around to it yet so everytime Sawyer left the house it was a struggle to get the door locked. It might have been almost three whole minutes Sawyer was standing where trying to lock the deadbolt when her father’s truck rumbled up into the driveway. There used to be a time when she was younger that the sound of that piece of junk was the most wonderful noise Sawyer had ever heard. She used to get so excited when her father got home from work, if only because the babysitter she had for years was a demon woman. For some reason, Oliver Andrews didn’t feel like hiring a local teenager like normal parents and instead had hired an older woman who was evil. Agnis was at least sixty-nine and she was entirely too strict for a wild-child like Sawyer Andrews. The woman hit her elbows with the end of a butter knife when she put them on the table, and slapped her wrists when she tried to grab things without asking. She also never, ever, let Sawyer climb trees because, ahem, “It isn’t lady like.” What kind of horrible person prevents a kid like Sawyer from climbing trees? None. No person does that. That’s why she was convinced Agnis was a demon. So the sound might have been a saving grace seven years ago but now, it was the worst. Sawyer gave up trying to lock the door and sprinted to her car, managing to climb inside and close the door before her father got to her.

“Where you going, Sprout?” Oliver tapped on her window and Sawyer grinned as she rolled it down to smile at him and point at the house. Sawyer put the car in reverse when Oliver looked in that direction and spoke with her words all strung together.

“Noteonthetablecan’ttalk.” She started pulling away and Oliver narrowed his eyes at her, opening his mouth to protest but Sawyer interrupted him, “Gotta go bye!” Sawyer slammed her foot on the gas and screeched out of the driveway and down the street before her father could say a word. She could see him kinda just standing there in her rear view with a takeout bag in his hand and his head shaking. But he didn’t look angry so Sawyer was going to take that as a win. Sawyer may be a good liar when it came to literally anybody else, but most of the time her father could tell immediately and she knew she couldn’t lie to him. Hence the “gotta go fast” attitude once he’d arrived. Sawyer only realised she was going the wrong damn way when she blew past Max’s house just in time to witness Zach’s car whipping away. Great. That was a wonderful sight. Sawyer groaned and proceeded to do a very illegal u-turn so that she could take the right way to Lulu’s house. Sawyer had never been to Lulu’s, but this was a small town and there were only so many places she could be. This was the kind of place where everyone knew where everyone else lived even if they didn’t know them. Which was why Sawyer hadn’t been as freaked about the whole house pictures thing as everyone else had. Everyone knew where Sawyer Andrews lived anyway, how else would they be able to randomly appear in Hotel Sawyer at stupid hours of the night? Speaking of Hotel Sawyer, she still hadn’t found out who left that half eaten taco on her roof. Gross.

Lulu lived a little bit outside of town, which was why she wanted to pick her up before Stu. Hawking House was on the complete opposite side of the town. After her mistake of going the wrong direction Sawyer was a little late. They’d probably leave Stu waiting at the church for like twenty minutes, even if she was driving a little fast. The road to Lulu’s wasn’t paved and her tires kicked up dust as she pulled up. She shot Lulu a text to let her know she was here and settled back into the seat to wait.

“Gonna catch a cat killer.” Sawyer hummed idly, drumming on her steering wheel, “Gonna make him pay. Ba dum ba dum. Gonna catch a cat killer with my friends and a pretty girrlllllll!” And Stu, but she couldn’t think of how to add him into her song. She was too busy singing to notice that Lulu was standing outside her car.

“Oh!” Sawyer unlocked the car and reached over to push the door open for her, “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” She chose not to mention the whole singing thing in hopes that Lulu hadn’t heard her. She was pulling away from Lulu’s before she said anything else.

“Gotta go pick up the nerd.” Sawyer was still humming as they pulled back onto the streets of Parish Point. Her leg was shaking nervously, for some reason, and she put her free hand on it to keep it from moving. The church came into view and she felt a little less nervous than she did five seconds ago, “Church ho!” Sawyer parked in front of the church where she spotted a small blonde boy waiting for them. She rolled down the window and yelled at Stu.

“British boy! Let’s go we gotta catch up with the others!” Sawyer had a burger to eat before they trekked into the Hawking House.

code by valen t.

PenguinFox · Mar 1, 2021

Lulu had been quite pleased with the reading she had given Lemon. According to the blonde there was a lot that was accurate, so hopefully the prediction she made was also accurate. Sure it was possible the other girl was just humoring her and none of it was true but she didn't seem the type. Lulu had warned her that it was her first reading and Lemon seemed like the type to be politely honest. From what she read it seemed like Lemon would have something stable in the future and that was exciting for her. The Woods girl truly wanted people to be happy, and that outcome seemed like one that pleased her new friend.

Riding the endorphins of excitement Lulu had wanted to do an act of kindness to pass on the joy. She had decided on bringing a ZZ plant for someone who needed it but was unable to find them during the school day. She supposed another time would be fine and left the plant in her locker. It would likely be okay for a long time in there, not that she was planning for it to be there for an extended period. The plant was not a very fussy breed which is why Lulu specifically chose it as a gift. It didn't require heavy maintenance which made it a perfect gift for someone she hoped would be a friend.

Speaking of new friends, Tallulah was making quite a few these days. It was incredibly exciting for her as she had never really had many friends growing up. The combination of what some call peculiar interests, and her mother being rather controlling limited the amount of people she was really truly close with. One such new friend that Lulu had made recently was Sawyer Andrews. Originally Sawyer had invited Lulu to come with a small group to a supposedly haunted house because of her photography skills. The two messaged back and forth for a while however and discovered they both had a passion for exploring and adventuring. They bonded over that and talked about all sorts of things for a while. Lulu was so excited about meeting someone with similar interests who was also very nice, she just hoped that she didn't jump to quickly at the chance of friendship. The Woods girl had a tendency to get so excited about things that she jumped the gun. There were a couple of instances where she was starting to become friends with someone and she got over-enthused and became clingy. Subsequently those people were then turned off of the friendship that was forming. She didn't mean to be...obsessive, she was just someone who could be considered overly passionate.

The plan for tonight was...well Lulu wasn't entirely sure what the plan was. There had been the beginnings of a discussion in a group chat but things didn't work out. She must've done something because the second she was added to the group Max and Sawyer were tense with each other. It continued until it boiled over and there was an argument. Lulu tried to apologize for whatever she had done but everyone said that she hadn't done anything. The small brunette had heard that before. If she really hadn't done anything then why were people upset when she arrived? Harper and Sawyer both said that Max was just being stubborn about something and Max denied there being a problem at all. It saddened her a little, she didn't like seeing friends fight, and disliked being the cause even more.

Lulu took some time to meditate in her sunroom as the afternoon sun began to sink lower. She put aside her negative feelings in favor of excitement for the adventure that laid ahead. Her measured breaths releasing the negative energy into the room so that the plants may absorb it like they did with carbon dioxide and exchange it with something beneficial. Each breath in was filled with the freshest, cleanest air of anywhere in the house. It was practically as restorative as walking in the woods. Once she had organized her emotions she set about getting ready for the night's event. She scrounged up her father's headlamps, her extra camera battery, a couple of water bottles, and made up a bag of trail mix. While joyfully dancing around her room, she neatly packed everything into her messenger bag and changed into her usual adventuring attire. A pair of dark colored overalls on top of leggings with one of her father's old shirts. The shirt was covered in paint and various other old stains and it was way too big for her but she cherished it. He had given it to her when she was little as a sort of art smock. He had told her that it had gone on all sorts of expeditions with him so Lulu felt it was only fitting that she used it for similar purposes. The adventurer may be different, but the shirt was the same. She tied the excess off with a hair tie at her hip so that it stuck out the side of her overalls. Loose clothes were a hazard in an adventuring zone and needed to be secured like hair would be.

Looking in the mirror Lulu couldn't quite decide what to do with her hair. She probably spent most of her time getting ready just messing with her hair in hopes of finding a suitable solution. Once she finally settled on something she went downstairs and waited by the door for Sawyer to pick her up. Lulu could've walked to the Hawking House but she appreciated the lift seeing as it was practically the other side of town as her. Her mother happened to walk by but stopped and stared at her. "Young lady, just where do you think you're going dressed like that?" the disgust was fairly evident in her tone. Amalia Woods didn't like that her daughter would dress how she currently was. She felt it wasn't lady like and went against everything that she was trying to instill in Lulu. Whenever she put on that old shirt it meant she was going somewhere with the explicit intent to get dirty. At least that's the way it seemed. The only good thing about her 'exploration outfits' was that they kept her nice clothes intact and clean. Lulu looked down at her black hiking boots that looked more expensive than necessary; they were likely meant more for fashion than actual hiking. "Uhm...well..." her tone was quiet than normal, as it always was when dealing with her mother. There wasn't a chance that she would allow Lulu to go if she knew the true destination, so a small lie was thought up. "It's sort of a photoshoot for a friend...I wanted to try a worm's eye view...there's lots of mud still and...I know I'm not supposed wear other clothes to get dirty..." hazel eyes struggled to meet her mother's gaze. A perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in suspicion. "I want to see the photos when you get back, which will be before eleven thirty. And don't go tracking mud in the house when you return." Lulu nodded quickly just as a car was heard pulling up into the driveway.

The young girl rushed out the door as her mother stood in the doorframe, eyeing the girl in the driver's seat. After a few moments Amalia retired back inside the house, presumably to find a bottle of wine. Lulu practically skipped to Sawyer's car, already giddy with anticipation. She still wasn't sure they'd find anything weird or creepy there, so in her mind this was just going to be a group expedition into an old house drowning in mysteries. The Woods girl's presence was evidently not noticed yet judging by Sawyer's mouthing of something. Getting lost in her own world; something Lulu could relate to. Just as she was about to tap on the glass Sawyer realized she was there and opened the door for the petite girl. She giggled as she got in. "That's okay, I've been there before." she gave the blonde a wide smile and buckled herself in.

The ride was mostly spent in quiet, but not at all uncomfortable. At least not for Lulu. Granted, her focus was mostly on taking apart her camera and making sure there was no dust anywhere. Where they were going was likely to have plenty of new dust to get lodged in the crevices of the device so it was best to clear out the old dust before their arrival. The shaking of the driver's leg caught the attention of hazel eyes. Lulu bit her lower lip slightly, considering what to say, if anything. Was Sawyer nervous, or excited like Lulu? She didn't really know her well enough to be able to say for certain. "I brought the headlamp for you like I promised. Some water bottles too. Hydration is important." she stated as she finished screwing her camera's lens back on. She had no idea if the words were necessary but felt like saying something was better than nothing at all if Sawyer was indeed nervous.

Soon enough the pair pulled up to the church; a place Lulu never entirely felt comfortable. There was just always something about them that made her...uncomfortable. She'd never had a bad experience with other religions, but just got the sense it was best that she stayed away from those kinds of things. It was bad enough people thought she was strange for her beliefs, she didn't need to add on people thinking she's evil for them. Truth be told, Lulu had only ever directly stated her religious beliefs to a few people. She heavily implied them in interactions online, but only rarely did she come out and say it straight. Sawyer had been one of those times. The younger girl had figured that if they shared similar hobbies that others considered weird than maybe she wouldn't find Lulu's beliefs to be weird. Thankfully that line of logic had been correct. Not only did her new friend not mind Lulu's religion, she told her it was cool! The brunette could count on her hands how many people thought she was cool.

The reason behind stopping at the church stood just outside. A small blonde boy whom Lulu had seen online a few times. She also thought maybe she had seen him at the soup kitchen the other day but couldn't be sure. According to what Sawyer shouted out the window, he was British. The brunette gave a small, quick wave to the boy as he approached the vehicle. Another expeditioner to join the cause. Based on what Max said, he was coming to search for his bag. Lulu didn't quite understand the circumstances of how the bag could've gotten there, but she would never disallow someone from joining. She'd know the disappointment of being withheld all to well in her life to tell someone they couldn't come. Not that she really had a say in this particular situation anyway. This was all up to Sawyer. She was the fearless leader. A small smile rose to Lulu's face as she looked to the blonde. She'd have to figure out a way to thank her for the invitation.

KingofAesir

Dede

Dede · Mar 2, 2021

Stu

When the appointed time came and passed a look of worry began to cross his features. He had been there half an hour early, and now his ride was nearly half an hour late. He glanced at his phone to watch the minutes tick in real time. He didn’t sit on the bench, because in his excitement of joining something fun he had forgotten that sitting existed, so had been standing this whole time.

What if she had just pranked him by saying she’d pick him up? That wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Stu had an unhealthy predisposition to trust everybody and take them at their word. For example, a group of kids once told him it was costume day at school and he so came in a costume and nobody was in a costume. Or that time they told him the science test was cancelled and then, lo and behold, it wasn’t and he failed because he thought Monocotyledon was a dinosaur.

You would think by now he would have developed a lot of trust issues, but Stu’s instinct was always to think the best of people. He could never fathom doing such mean things to others, and so by a failure of imagination he was incapable of seeing why they would do mean things to him. If he was accosted in the hallway by a gang of older kids and deprived of his lunch money he would think they were doing it just as a joke or out of affection, because they found him, um, endearing.

So perhaps Sawyer had pranked him, and maybe it was kind of funny from a neutral perspective. But the feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t agree, because he’d just been standing nearly an hour in the cold and had not had any nourishment since breakfast. After they were locked in the toilet, he came late to maths class and got in trouble and had to eat quadratic equations for lunch. The equations cancelled themselves out with a few broad strokes and he was left on the brink of famine.

He didn’t get his phone out or text Sawyer because, well, maybe that would be rude or imposing. She was doing this out of kindness and nobody wants a freshman breathing down their neck. His longing for adventure kept him optimistic, but more importantly the thought of reuniting with the pencil case his mother gave him. He had “borrowed” a flashlight which he hid in his sleeves, and clear bag of snacks (mostly the usual suspects) dangled at his side.

As planned, he told his dad he was going out for dinner. With whom? With Max and his friends of course. The idea of Stu having friends to dine with was unheard of enough that his father was part supportive and part relieved. He appeased his father’s curiosity with talks of hamburgers and nuggets that evaded all mention of site or place. The details of Hawking House were a state secret which Stu honoured with all the dignity of a proper English gentleman.

The car when it came was met with bright eyes and a sprightly skip. He went up to the window, looked in, and passed a little wave to the driver and the other passenger. He smiled and got the door gingerly, sat down and awed at the novelty of being in somebody else’s car, touching nothing and scratching no leather. He dimpled again into the rearview mirror where the older kids might gauge his appreciation. “Thanks for picking me up,” he said. “I was gonna walk... But I don’t even know where Hockey— Hawking House is!’

Nor had he any idea who the other girl beside Sawyer was, and although his curiosity peaked he dared not inquire. Sawyer might call him dumb or clueless for his ignorance of her social circles. This would be a valid criticism, but one he didn’t need to hear announced when he was trying so hard to fit in and be normal.

So in perfectly Stu manner, he feigned knowledge, saying, “I didn’t know you were coming, too! That’s cool.”

Then he looked out the window and wondered where in the world they were going. The trees along the sides that grew denser by the minute offered little clue, and when the darkness began to settle they offered none at all.

“So where is this Hawking House?” he asked with intrigue. “Is it true… about the cats…?”

Already the discomfort of standing for an hour was forgotten, and Stu had his eyes on the road ahead. Only, it was a shame Oliver and Vered couldn't join in on the excitement. He couldn't wait to tell them about his adventure afterwards, and to embellish the story with at least one Slenderman sighting, plus sound effects from his phone for maximum impact.

KingofAesir

PenguinFox mentions:

Chimney Swift

Dazzle · Mar 2, 2021

MOOD: stressed

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: Hawking house
basics

MENTIONS:
PenguinFox (lulu)
Dede (stu)

INT:
KingofAesir (sawyer)
Chimney Swift (max)
lion. (zach)

--------don't type anything after this comment--------

[/COMMENT]
tags

TL;DRMeeting up at the Hawking House with Scooby crew
tl;dr

Harper Anderson

when you wear a mask for so long, you forget who is behind it.

Harper usher Max out the window quickly, bolting over to Zach’s car she quickly grabbed the keys from the pocket of Zach’s jacket that Max was now wearing. This plan most definitely could have and should have gone smoother than it did. But they were in it now, why Zach hadn’t bothered to follow them out the window, she would never know.

She quickly turned the keys in the ignition as she took her seat in the driver’s spot. She saw the silhouette of Zach climbing out of Max’s window running towards the car. Harper laid on the horn as she threw the car in drive, Zach waving to get them to start moving, Harper gingerly started to pull away from the house as Zach threw his body through the moving car’s door.

“Well, that couldn’t have gone any worse.” Harper adjusted her rearview mirror as Zach grumbled, “Just. DRIVE.” She was pretty sure that she could see Mrs. Berkowitz hanging the upper half of her body out of Max’s window. Harper pressed on the gas as they sped off from the Berkowitz’s house, she could feel her heart beating hard,

No one said anything as Harper drove through town, passing the only stoplight and taking the right turn down the dirt road to the house Harper and Sawyer had adventured in the other day.

The road was only lit by the headlights of Zach’s car, it was almost impossible to see the road in front of them. Harper wanted to turn on the high beams so she could actually see the road, but figured that if she did that would only draw more attention to them. They needed the rest of this plan, which she still wasn’t sure she knew much about, to go smoothly. They couldn’t allow the Cat Killer to know that they were there before they had even a chance to get inside.

As the house came into view, Harper pulled over about fifty feet away from the house, turning off the headlights of the car. It would be better for them to wait till everyone got there before they easily announced their arrival. Harper turned to the back seat and signed to Max ‘we’re here.’ To say she was nervous was an understatement. In a lot of ways, she was thankful for the cover of the night, Zach and Max wouldn’t be able to read her face like a book.

Harper’s hands felt clammy, she stumbled over the few words she signed to Max. Soon enough she saw the headlights of Sawyer’s car creeping up behind them. At least, she hoped it was Sawyer’s car, no, she was sure it was Sawyer’s car. She had been in it so many times, and lived across from it, she knew it was her. "Here we go.." She spoke out loud, watching Sawyer's car approach in the rear-view mirror.

Sawyer followed suit, turning off her car and walking over to Harper’s window. Harper reached into the back and grabbed the plastic to-go bag from the diner, rolling down her window she handed Sawyer the burger and passed her the chocolate shake. “Sorry if it’s a bit melted.” She shrugged, earning a glare from Zach who had thought he was buying food for Max. Not her fault he had no idea what Kosher meant. “Alright, so what’s the game plan.”

code by valen t.

KingofAesir · Mar 2, 2021

MOOD: Excited

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Hawking House
basics

MENTIONS: Cleave and Clobber INT: Lulu PenguinFox , Stu Dede , Harper Dazzle , Zach lion. , Max Chimney Swift
tags

TL;DR She thought the roof was gonna collapse, shut up.
tl;dr

Sawyer

I'm Georgia Peachy, believe me.

The drive to the Hawking House was a little shorter than Sawyer remembered it being, maybe that was just because she was driving faster than Harper had been before. Still, by the time they reached the arching entrance way to the grounds of Hawking House, the sun was beginning to retreat it’s way back behind the horizon. The entrance to the grounds was quite beautiful really, in a sort of haunting way. The last rays of the sun were just barely gripping the top of the arch as it sunk directly behind the house in the distance. The way those last wavering spurts of light hit the arch and house accentuated the rusty metal and the cracks and chips running throughout the black paint over it. A sign that read “EST. 1753” hung down from the arch but looked like it might fall off soon. Sawyer grinned as the car rolled slowly through the arch and came to a stop next to Harper’s a short distance away. There was something so alluring about places like this, especially at this time of night. It was nearing six and the low light levels made the whole place look just that much more ethereal. The left side of the roof was caving in and there was a spot at the base that was missing, making the whole left side lean slightly. All around the facade, there were boards missing that left holes that peeked into the inside. There wasn’t a single intact window and glass shards were strewn about. There was a gaping hole in the middle of the roof that led to a darkened room, what she assumed was part of the attic space. The pillars that had originally held up a great awning over the door had fallen over a long time ago and their broken remains were scattered about in the grass. There were also vines crawling up the walls of the house that looked a little out of place in the cold of their home. The whole house was two stories, plus the attic, and maybe a basement. It extended back pretty far and Sawyer figured there were at least six or seven bedrooms inside. She and Harper had only really seen the parlor and like two bedrooms before they were chased away, so Sawyer was excited to see more.

Sawyer closed her car door as quietly as she could, but not before hitting the button that rolled back the car’s roof and helping it along with her hand. That had been something new her dad had helped her get working, before she had to unlatch and roll the thing back by hand. Harper might as well look an angel to Sawyer the second food was placed into her hands. She grinned excitedly down at the stuff before running back around to her car and hopping over the door to sit back in her seat. She kicked her feet up on the steering wheel as she unwrapped her burger. It was a beautiful sight to behold and her stomach growled loudly in anticipation. Sawyer’s eyes slid closed as she took a bite and her head lolled back onto the seat, the delight squeak that came out of her throat after was just for dramatic flare. When she opened her eyes again, the rest of Harper and carmates were standing there just looking at her and she realized that she’d been too excited about the burger to answer Harper’s question. Sitting up in her seat, Sawyer pointed at the house with a grin.

“The plan is to tie the guy up. Right after I finish this.” Sawyer practically devoured the burger in ten seconds flat and she was out of the car again, jumping over the door and landing back on solid ground with her shake in hand. An arm snaked its way around Harper’s shoulders and Sawyer shook her excitedly. What could possibly be more exhilarating than skulking about in an old house on the hunt for a killer? Nothing. This was teen horror flick material and Sawyer was living for it. She squealed again and ran around the back to pick up all the stuff she’d brought out of the trunk. Flashlights were thrown every which way and she tossed a rope at Zach soon after. From within the depths of the trunk Sawyer pulled out something that gleamed in the moonlight. It was a very sharp axe, the handle painted black and Sawyer’s name written in red down the side. Sawyer grinned and kissed the thing before closing the trunk and smiling at the rest of her little group.

“This is Cleave, he’s glad to meet you all.” Sawyer looked the picture of insane, her teeth glinting as she grinned with an axe held softly to her like it was her child. She’d used this thing more than once, actually, several times in haunted houses she’d been a part of and even as decoration. She’d never actually used it to chop wood though, Cleave was above all that, he was a special axe. Sawyer didn’t wait for anyone to protest her weapon choice before she was reaching into the back and pulling out a bat that matched Cleave to a tee. Painted black with Sawyer’s name scrawled in red. She walked around to Lulu and handed her the thing with a small smile.

“Just in case. Swing like your life depends on it. His name’s Clobber.” The last thing Sawyer wanted was for Lulu to get caught alone with the guy and end up hurt or worse. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if that happened, so she’d rather her have something than nothing. Sawyer just hoped she’d be able to swing the thing hard enough should the need arise. She winked before turning back to the group, “Okay, folks, we’ve got a crazy guy to catch, let’s get on with it. No one dies, or I’ll kick your ghost asses.” With that inspiring pep talk, Sawyer set off toward the house, expecting everyone to just follow. The door was stuck. Sawyer was sitting there kicking at it before she remembered she had an axe for a reason. A little swirl of excitement sprang up in her stomach as she took a step back, making sure no one was directly behind her before swinging Cleave down on the door. One, two, each swing was met with a laugh until finally the door just fell right off its hinges with a loud thump. Shit. Sawyer really hoped that wasn’t near as loud in the rest of the house, they’d just completely lost the element of surprise. Curse her axe excitement.

“Well, he definitely knows we’re here now, be careful.” Sawyer smiled sheepishly back at the rest and stepped quietly into the house. The parlor looked the same as it had when she and Harper had been there the day before. The fireplace stood stoic in the center of the room and there were old chairs and a raggedy couch strewn about in the same places they had been before. A rat ran past Sawyer and out the door, squeaking off into the night. Sawyer blanched at the thing as it ran past her, eyes wide.

“That was the biggest fucking rat I’ve ever seen. Wow.” She shook her head. They weren’t here to marvel at rats. Sawyer stepped further into the house only the second she did a loud “crack” resounded from above and she found herself spinning around and folding herself over the person closest to her like she was prepared to let the goddamn ceiling hit her instead. She stood there for a few moments with bated breath. They were about to die and they just fucking got here. When nothing happened, she finally pulled away and was met with the face of the person she’d been hunched over. Lulu’s eyes stared back at her and if it wasn’t so dark, you might have been able to see the dark red spreading across her normally pale features. Sawyer cleared her throat.
“Sorry. Ahem, do...do, uh, do you have that headlamp you told me about?” She rubbed the back of her neck, her features switching only momentarily to a dark glare when she spotted Zach looming behind Lulu as a warning not to say shit, “Can’t see shit in here.”

code by valen t.

lion. · Mar 3, 2021

MOOD: excited, still ignoring relationship problems

OUTFIT: - max's fit obviously

LOCATION: Hawking House
basics

MENTIONS: Dazzle Chimney Swift Dede KingofAesir PenguinFox 0k_mang0

INT:
tags

TL;DR
tl;dr

Zachary Lee

I'm so not Daphne, but if I am.. purrrr cat killer

Hawking House.

It was supposed to be an ordinary house.

The car engine expired as Harper pulled the keys out. The filter of yellow light swarming through the outlets of the car’s headlights died that second. Their surroundings distended into a dark continent. Whilst it was not the coldest September night of Parish Point, it was unequivocally the darkest.

It was not a house. Houses were homes. This could not be—it was wrong in all proportions, so defectively wrong. It’s corners cemented on top of a plot of forest that thickened on overindulgent weeds, a place where hunter green vegetation crawled on all fours violently towards the frontispiece. It was an estate, a finely rotten one, that mortared upright on a suspended crying-laugh. The unsubstantial windows slung down like closed eyes and the doric columns streamed tears. The mouth, scratched and chipped, were the stairs that led up to the single door in a counterfactual north and south position.

It would never occur to Zachary Lee, but his soul was just as grotesque. Wasn’t it, too, laughing with a drain for the pain?

Sawyer Andrews bit into her burger devotedly at the wheel, her canines fleshing into the layers of bread and meat. As she did, Zach pulled a grimace. That person, with her feet dawdled up on the leather panel of her seat, and making quizzical noises in her throat at food happened to be his best friend. His initial reaction was not his truest one. Imperceptibly, while everyone grouped around her, he grinned loonily. That was really his best friend. Enjoying a burger without tomatoes while designing the princely plan right under the murderer’s nose.

Harper Anderson may have done the best thing, after all.

Sawyer Andrews commenced the mission right away after wolfing down her meal; Zachary Lee ended up with rope under his taut arm and a flashlight limply thrung around his thumb and index of his other hand.

“Lulu gets the bat?” Zach reacted with an echo, as they began afoot towards the door, turning to nobody in particular for Sawyer Andrews was well ahead in front of the group. “But, I get rope? What-”

Oddly, from the group gathered, his face suddenly morphed to a grin that was white and pearly towards Max and Harper. The joke could live one more time.

“Actually,” he reworded to the two, but mostly Harper so she could translate it to Max, “Do you two know how useful rope can be? It’s kinda a thing-”

That was when Sawyer Andrews axe cut down on the door, rifting splinters asunder. There was a cacophony laugh that followed ever blunt, and Zach pondered how far Sawyer Andrews was from insane. The wooden crumbs crunched under his feet. The entrance filled the group into the parlor that was unsettlingly taken by a massive fireplace. Zach lightly ensued Sawyer’s footsteps, his finger drawing along the brick-top of the fireplace. He couldn’t see his finger came out smoky, but felt a gunpowder-like gradient on it. It had to be chimney soot.

Sawyer made a comment on a rat, and he retorted, “If you think that’s a big rat, you sure need a mirror to see the real one back there in my clothes-”

A droning clash bounced from the upper floors to the ceiling. Sawyer’s reflexes shot out, shuttling out Lulu. He watched from behind, in a numbed torpor. The blonde’s arms had swung, pulling an impenetrable canopy of shade for the nature lover. She became the treetops to Lulu’s haven of woods. He usually would produce a joke, but he felt dry for this round.

Was that how it was to care about others? To want to protect others before yourself? A natural instinct?

You didn’t care about Tatum that Sunday on Twitter. You didn’t care about the whale.

What do you care about? The answer was there: me. Me. Me. Me.

Some kinetic furl of friction rose between the two; but he plainly let his neck descend downwards to the flashlight in his hand. It was a plastic, tubbed in with batteries that worked some hours and waned the next. He flicked it on, pending it in the direction towards the back where the stairs began.

Whistling, he decked out into a melodious voice, “You might not be able to see shit. But, I caaaaaaan-” His voice carried through the poorly held walls, “Cat killer, what do you say for a gaaaameee of hideeee and seeeeeeek?”

He flashed the orb of light into the face of the school mascot, with a wicked grin, “We have Stu.”
“Aaaand Max?” he crooned aloud, “But, that was my mistake. Even a serious killer like you wouldn’t want to deal with Max Berkowitz.”

He turned back around, delving deeper into the room with the flashlight changing direction ever so often.

code by valen t.

0k_mang0 · Mar 3, 2021

MOOD:
yay sushi night

OUTFIT:
cozy overalls
INFO

LOCATION:
House of Alo-Manzano

WITH:
Astraea Dupante
ACTIVITY

Dazzle
TAGS

Kekoa

Shortly after her mom called her down to help make the sushi platter, Kekoa told her parents that she (more or less impulsively) had invited Astraea to dinner tonight.

She quickly apologized for mentioning it almost at the last minute. She knew what her mom, Mililani, was thinking as she looked at her husband Bernard hesitantly—somewhat caught off guard, unsure if there was enough food with an extra person at the table, or they would even be prepared by the time she gets here. Kekoa and her dad had returned home almost an hour ago from buying extra ingredients for their Japanese-Hawaiian fusion dinner night and picking up the family-size sushi platter from the local sushi restaurant; they went there right after her dad finished his coaching stuff with Hartfield’s football team. During that time, Kekoa wasn’t sure how to explain that she invited Astraea without telling her parents first, but she figured if she told them just a little, they wouldn’t be able to just send their unexpected dinner guest away.

“I’ll go back to buy ten more real quick,” Bernard said to his wife reassuringly. Kekoa’s dad was a big fan of sushi with a big appetite. He pecked a light kiss on the corner of Milli’s lips, and jogged to the garage, picking up his denim jacket and car keys of his Ford truck along the way.

Again, Kekoa said sorry to her mom timidly. Nah, her parents weren’t mad. Just... well, a little caught off guard in a way. Her folks were chill, but they weren’t always a fan of spontaneity. After her mom told her to tell them about plans to invite someone next time, Kekoa began helping with the dinner set up.

A half-hour later, the doorbell rang. “I got it!” Kekoa quickly washed her hand in the kitchen sink, fixed her casual ponytail, and sprinted to the front door to greet her Parish Point childhood cru—friend. Astraea was her friend. Hush.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Astra.” Kekoa squeezed her with a hug like they hadn’t seen each other for years. (They actually saw each other last time, like, several months ago at Hartfield.) “You’re just in time. I’m just about to set up the table. You can get the slippers in the basket right there. Seen any sign of Barty yet?”

“What about that cat?” Her dad had just locked the door of his truck on the driveway, holding a bag of the ten-sushi box in one hand.

“Uh, nothing. He’s just...somewhere... probably hiding his scratching fort.” He wasn’t. She already checked there earlier. Kekoa turned to Astraea. “Please don’t tell them about the Cat Killer.”

Fortunately, her dad didn’t ask another question. Instead, Coach Alo smiled and greeted Astraea with a light pat on the shoulder as he walked past by the girls. “Aloha, Astra. Long time no see. Let’s get ready to eat. Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

code by valen t.

tamarapasek · Mar 3, 2021

MOOD: Nervous

OUTFIT: Same crop top as before
LOCATION: Her living room
basics

MENTIONS:
@Qwertycakes
INT:
tags

TL;DR Voices be annoying
tl;dr

Ashley Park

Someone help me, it’s not healthy for me to feel this way.

.

Ashley paced back and forth. Was this is a mistake? Was nobody going to show up? Would they show up just to laugh at her for daring to hope somebody would show up? She groaned at these thoughts, collapsing face down on the couch.

Fake it till you make it remember? Just tell yourself things you want to be true. You don't need anybody's approval. You'll be fine if people don't like you. You make good life choices. Fight worry by worry Ashley. How could a movie night be a mistake? And it's Hocus Pocus. Everybody likes Hocus Pocus. And Dustin would definitely show up being a good friend and all.

But somehow the thought of it just being Dustin that was even scarier. Just the two of them. Alone. At night. It was way too date-y for her liking. She might just have preferred to shove him out the door than be alone with him. If you think he doesn't like you then why do you worry so much about not making it seem like a date? A voice popped into her head.

She elected to ignore it, instead choosing to bury her face in a pillow and hum loudly. Whenever a voice in her head questioned her line of thinking, she tried making noise. Obviously not logical, but there were times when it worked. She didn't dare blast music in case somebody showed up and was greeted by Sara Bareilles.

When the doorbell rang, she let out a small squeal of joy. Trying to seem cool, she took her time in fear of appearing too eager.

code by valen t.

Dazzle · Mar 3, 2021

MOOD: scared

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: Hawking house
basics

MENTIONS:
PenguinFox (lulu)
Dede (stu)

INT:
KingofAesir (sawyer)
Chimney Swift (max)
lion. (zach)

--------don't type anything after this comment--------

[/COMMENT]
tags

TL;DRIn the Hawking House with Scooby crew
tl;dr

Harper Anderson

when you wear a mask for so long, you forget who is behind it.

As Sawyer handed out the tools from the trunk of her car, she heard Zach grumble about not getting the bat himself, and only being stuck with rope. Harper’s eyes looked over to meet Max’s, she could tell that Max was having similar feelings to Zach. Feeling uncomfortable with the idea that someone they didn’t really know having a weapon when the rest of them didn’t… Though, Harper was supposed to have brought her own bat, she never ended up going home after school to get it.

As they all began walking towards the house Harper took stride between Max and Zach. ‘He agrees with you.’ Harper nodded towards Zach, signing with Max who was visibly upset that Sawyer had put so much trust into Lulu. Harper wasn’t truly concerned with Lulu having a bat, maybe she was putting too much trust into Sawyer’s opinion of her.

Zach spoke to Max and Harper before he was cut off as Sawyer chopped down the door, Harper jumped as the door splintered under the weight of the axe, interrupting her signing to Max the same way that Zach’s comment had been.

Harper wasn’t sure what Zach was trying to get at with the rope, of course it would be useful for them. Maybe not as a weapon against the Cat Killer, but it would be helpful to them.

Now that the locked door, that Harper was nearly one hundred precent sure was not actually locked, and Sawyer just wanted a reason to use Cleave. They stepped over the remnants of the door that was left on the ground, the Hawking House looked different now. It looked more eerie than it had the other day, the natural midmorning light lit up the house differently. Now it was dark, only lit by the torches that they brought in. You could just see the outline of the fireplace, that same fireplace that few before them lost their lives to. Did Harper believe the stories that Sawyer told, not completely, but despite her trying to ignore the possibility of the supernatural, a part of her still worried that another unexplainable presence could be watching them.

Harper looked between Sawyer and Zach as the rat ran by, as they made their own comments on it. ‘I don’t think you want me to translate that.’ She held the flashlight between Max and herself so that he could see her hands moving through the motions of the words. Of course Max wanted to know, ‘he called you a rat..’ She trailed off, trying to copy the exact words that Zach said. Max deserved to know, even if he might have been better off not knowing.

As a loud sound rumbled through the house, making the entirety of the old building shake. Harper jumped, instinctively grabbing onto Max’s wrist who hadn’t moved a muscle despite the vibrations. She was ready to run. Why had she come up with this idea, why had she gotten Max involved.

‘sorry.’ She rubbed her fist between her collarbones as she released Max’s wrist from her grasp.

Harper almost yelled at Zach for singing, announcing their arrival to the house is just what they needed. However, they had already lost the element of surprise when Sawyer had decided to use Cleave to break down the door. If the police caught them here, ~~which she didn’t expect because they did nothing,~~ they were going to be in trouble for demolishing history or something like that.

“Zach, shut up.” Harper signed as she spoke to Zach. “You’re being unnecessarily annoying.” She hissed, whispering. “He doesn’t need to know how many of us are here.” She crossed her arms across her chest as she finished signing to Max.

Harper looked over to Sawyer as she awkwardly peeled herself off of Lulu, she stifled a laugh under her breath. Thinking to herself of what Sawyer had said the other day, about not having feelings for Lulu. Maybe she couldn’t see it yet but it was there. Though, Harper couldn’t tell from Lulu if there was anything mutual beyond a starting friendship. Lulu was hard to read, it was like she had something else entirely going on.

Harper cleared her throat, she nudged Sawyer with her elbow. “So, we’re in. What are we doing now?” She raised her eyebrows furrowing them together, though she was sure that no one could see the expression on her face.

code by valen t.

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