AlteredTundra

What Are You Listening To?

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

_{In Hell, I'll Be in Good Company — The Dead South — Good Company
Modern Guns — Eyeshine — Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight
Pushing Me Away — Linkin Park — Hybrid Theory
Youngbloods — blessthefall (feat. Jesse Barnett of Stick to Your Guns) — Hollow Bodies
Fuck The System — A Skylit Drive — Identity On Fire
Like You Do (Acoustic) — TakingBackSunday — Happiness Is
Unfold — Alina Baraz and Galimatias — Urban Flora
The Magic of the Wizard's Dream (German Version) — Rhapsody of Fire (feat. Sir Christopher Lee) — Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret
Graveyard Dancing — Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows — D.R.U.G.S.
Boom Clap — Charli XCX — Sucker}

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

And with that, my second character has been added to my post in the CHARS tab. Really feelin' proud of him if I'm being honest.

that's so meta || character storage thread

Damien Morpheus Black, Son of Nyx

"Silhouettes above the cradle hold me down. They won’t let me go the wrong way. My mother taught me all the fables, taught me all the sinners have to pay." —Silhouettes (Smile Empty Soul Song)

_Name

Damien Morpheus Black
_{↳Just Damien}

_Age

21, 11/9(November 9th)

_Gender

Male in every way that matters

_{Sexual Orientation}

Heterosexual

_Ethnicity

½ Greek, ½ English/Scottish

_{Years at Olympus Academy}

5.

"I ventured into the dark, in search for a torch and it would light the path I had. Over mountains so high, far and wide, searching for a place to rest my head" — Closed Eyes Still Look Forward by Chiodos

_Appearance

some might say that Damien is the type of man to invoke a certain kind of fear in others. Honestly, they wouldn't’t be wrong. On the surface he looks like any other man from Britain would. The way his head is shaped, the flowing locks of golden hair that perfectly fall down his oddly-shaped head, and the pale skin that’s said to glow in the moonlight. He is gifted with unreasonably blue eyes that glow like a full moon hovering over a mystical lake. It is said to be one of the few things about the Son of Nyx that can bring a serene feeling, though his general attitude completely contradicts that. He is a young man of a lanky stature standing just a partial inch over six feet. As far as how his height quite literally weighs against his body weight, it is surprisingly high given his height and overall body type. From the average muscles and slightly defined body throughout, his total weight comes just past 170.

Damien’s clothing style is quite simple and fitting of self-proclaimed “Punk of the Night”. Mostly consisted of dark-colored attire, his entire closet is full of various punk rock memorabilia such as armbands, bandanas, tanks and t-shirts, as well as long-sleeve shirts that are dedicated to iconic legends in both anti-government, anti-religion, and overall anti-establishment figures. He also has an unhealthy obsession when it comes to fire designs. Don’t why, but he has over three dozen shirts that should’ve been left back in the early 2000s (yeah, he’s one of those guys). His pant wear and overall lower body article of clothing isn’t really complicated to understand. He has varying shades of blue, gray, and black jeans, as well as similarly colored shorts. He also has the most basic form of shoes. That’s right, he’s a sneakers guy.

_Personality

Protective ☾ Observant ☾ Selectively Compassionate ☾ Honest to a Fault ☾ Overtly Emotional ☾ Lacks Impulse Control ☾ Violent ☾ Arrogant ☾ Overconfident ☾ Displays Psychopathic Tendencies ☾

If Damien Black was to take one of those percentile personality tests, he would probably score pretty damn high on the protective instincts category. It is because that’s the most dominant trait - positive or otherwise - is. He has the distinct desire to protect those closest to him. Whether this takes on the form of the subtle protection for his friends by getting them out of a jam or extreme such as taking on fights he shouldn’t or being a bit too violent when he thinks someone is a threat to those closest to his heart- especially his sister - he’ll do it no matter what it might cost him. He’s also pretty brash and arrogant. Clearly not a trait lost on him because he sometimes knows it. Another thing that separates him from all famous children of Nyx. Unlike hsi sister, Damien is not so much a mystery as he is a cocky, brash, arrogant, borderline-psychopath.

While Damien is clearly someone not to be trifled with, he has some moments of - oh, let’s say clarity - that can bring him back to planet earth. He may have a hard time knowing when to dial it back, but it’s not like he lacks that thing people have that allows them to understand people’s point of view. What do they call that? Oh, yeah! Empathy. Oh and being a decent human being. If anything, he has a problem with recognizing that not all situations need to be settled with his fists. Now, this isn’t to confuse him with the children of Ares. They fight for pride and to test their skills. Damien Black fights because some unlucky son of a bitch decided to appear to pose a threat and being the kind of guy he grew up to be, Damien never did quite grasp the concept of controlling his emotions. Let’s just call that a work in progress.

Oh. Damien also forgets that words hurt. So yeah, he’s an asshole on top of being a violent, borderline psychopath (note it’s never been clinically proven). As long as he is able, he’ll stay far away from doctors who poke into his mind.

_History

The origins of Damien Black is, if nothing else, a twisted, old tale that dates back to the times where technology wasn’t even a concept and faith to the many, many, many deities in the various religions around the world. For Damien’s ancestors, however, that particular origin centers around an old cult devoted to a very, very powerful, and most importantly, dangerous deity rumored to have been at the start or close to the beginning of creation.

This was the cult of Nyx. The only thing about this cult recorded in any history book - modern or otherwise - is that they existed during the times of Ancient Greece and had a small, but devout, batch of followers who believed in the most extreme views that were thought to be far too extreme even for the mainstream cults back in the day. A lot of rumors and theories surround the cult even in its modern charters. Some theorize the cult has become a lot more modern and hid well within countries all over the world, but no matter how large it grew, The Order always remained ever-present and ever-devoted to their forefathers.

This is where the tale of Damien Black resides. Specifically, it resides in a small, yet surprisingly technologically-savvy, utopian village in England called Shadow Lake. It is rightly named, too, because this village - the place where Damien Black grew up - holds a mystical story. They say on the night of the Lunar Solstice, which is somewhat different than the Winter Solstice. The Lunar Solstice is a grace period during the early morning hours that, despite all science suggesting otherwise, the moon is as bright and as full as it usually is on the night of the full moon, though some say they can hear the whisperings of a beautiful melody. It is said that the voice belongs to the Goddess of the Night, Nyx and that she sings for the union of two souls that have proven to be faithful members of the cult. Of course, these are just rumors.

The only truth that Damien has known for his entire life was on one night, ironically during that very night, the rumors about the village and the supposed voice of Nyx was the same day he was brought into the world. And since becoming aware of it since he was ten years old, which his parents explained it to him as a literal gift from the gods. They claimed Nyx traveled through his mother and blessed her by taking control over the body. Damien told them they were full of shit and had slowly but surely started to reject his family’s beliefs in the so-called “Order of the Night”. And in the process, he became the village pariah.

And then he decided to embrace it. He started to act more outlandishly, embraced the movement of anarchism and started to show certain characteristics that would otherwise be barred from the cult he belonged to. In other words, he spoke blasphemy the village elders shunned him for. He rejected everything about Nyx from the tales told to him by his father and mother when he was younger to downright declaring his disbelief in the goddess. This, as he had found out, was the final nail in his coffin (so to speak).

Even to this day, the words from his parents, from his cousins, his friends, the adults who babysat him while his parents were out working, and every single person who had come to know him and love him and who he had come to know and love, spoke to him reminded and still reminds him how horrendous religion is and how it brings the worst out in just about everybody.

”You are no son of mine,” his parents repeated over and over.

“We have no place for nonbelievers,” the rest of the villagers and the Elders spat at him with such disdain in their eyes and mouths.

An eruption of rage and shame fueled their words and all he could do was stand there on the outskirts of town as the literal angry mob of villagers in black robes with pitchforks and torches literally drove him out. On that day, part of Damien died, but as he left the inland village, he also gave birth to a part of him that, at the time, he had no idea existed.

A few years later, Damien, who was now fifteen, had found himself in the great capital of Britain, though his stay was anything but the royal treatment. Quite literally, he had to scratch and claw himself in order to survive the next day. He stole, hurt, and even threatened to kill people who didn’t give him their money. He fell into bad crowds, gave himself to whatever drugs would carry him on, but no matter how he tried, the drugs themselves never had any effect. And then, as he started to crave more from his life, this was right around the time he started to see weird symbols. At first, he thought it was the drugs, but soon it was revealed to him it was a lot more.

And what was it that enlightened him? None other than the very person he had sworn off when he was just thirteen, the apparent Goddess of the Night. What was a tale told to him when he was a little kid, was actually the truth. She came to him in a dream no less, making it last forever as she explained it all. And throughout the entire time, her voice reminded him of that night. He couldn’t really explain it, but he heard her voice as a fucking infant. How was that even possible? And that’s when she told him that her children bear incredible gifts. She told him about her other children and who their father was.

It was, at this point, Damien was ready to shit his pants. The idea of actual smokey darkness being a non-physical form of Erebus and her children, those who were fucking fables told to scare children were his half-siblings. Unbelievable as it was, Damien hadn’t even been told the most shocking part. He was told that no more than just a few months ago, his sister - half-sister - was on her way to a sanctuary in America surrounded by jagged mountains. She told her son that his sister, Emma, needed him more than anyone. But, she offered him the choice.

As he thought about it, only was it a minute later did he utter the one thing that would earn him an approving smile from his Godly mother, something Damien had been craving for three years.

”I’ll go to her. I will protect Emma.”

Simple words to some, but it was everything that Nyx needed from her son. In one fell swoop, darkness surrounded his entire body and it wasn’t even a second to him did he find himself waking up in a bed in the medical wing of the infirmary on the campus of Olympus Academy.

And that was that. Damien Morpheus Black, the Son of Nyx whose name comes from both the one who tames and shapes shadows, was here for one purpose: to protect his sister at all costs.

"you are gifted with the ability to shape and tame. Use it to protect and to destroy anyone who dare come to harm you or your sister. Make me proud, Damien." — Nyx, Primordial Goddess of Night

_{Godly Parent}

Nyx, Primordial Goddess of the Night

_{Relationship With Godly Parent}

Damien's complicated relationship with Nyx is a fusion of the longing of a mother's love, a disdain for someone who has been absent from his life, and the total admiration of her power. He does not entirely reject her, though the expectations laid upon him from her has put a strain on his relationship with her. He is thankful for her part in his birth but fears the worst of what she'll demand of him.

_{Demigod Abilities}

Wear it Proudly!

Much similarly to his sister, Damien can utilize the shadows in a way that he manipulates and bends it to his will, but unlike Emma, his isn’t to hide from view and escape away from existence into a safe space. Damien uses the gifts his mother bestowed upon him as a tool to further his physical prowess. He uses it to don a literal Shadow Skin. It starts out as a flicker of black and white stars in his eyes and then spreads as it consumes his entire body in a metallic black skin. It hugs to his body so tight it bonds with every cell in his body until the only thing that remains of Damien’s previous form is his lanky body.

Being a tamer and a shaper of the shadows, he can shape it to grow spikes/thorns of darkness - tendrils in other words - that tear from the sanctuary of his ebony skin and rip through the any and all physical substances. These tendrils respond to his will. If he wishes to attack, they will embody the wrath of the night and should he wish to protect, they grow in density and will do everything to protect whoever his heart desires to shield from harm.

In an alternate, the somewhat evolved form of this ability, the shadow’s completely rearrange Damien’s body matter and allow him to travel through the shadows, and appearing wherever he desires (though this is a limited ability only to be used in rare instances). An emotional link to calmness is required and due to his lack of emotional control, the distance in which he can travel within the shadows is limited to a mere ten yards.

The Eye Sees All

Otherwise known as “The Eye of Nyx”, when he activates the hidden power in his right eye, Damien’s visual prowess is increased nearly tenfold. He is able to see clear images up to a hundred miles ahead of him and with a crippling pulse that emits from his dull purple eye, he is able to invoke a fear similar to the feeling one gets when they wake up from a terrifying nightmare. When this happens, though it is only temporary, the chosen target is paralyzed for a total of one minute. The biggest drawback is, the more time Damien spends focusing on this target, the weaker his vision gets and thus the more likely it is for worsened effects in the long term. As it stands now, he can only target two people at a time, after which he has to wait a full twenty-four hours before reusing that same ability and/or using it on the same couple of people.

Connected, Are We

Sibling bonds tend to be the strongest, if not the most difficult ones to understand. This is no truer for his bond to Emma. While Damien alone lacks a certain impulse and emotion control and even lacks empathy, the one person he understands more than anyone else is his only mortal sibling. When they are less than three feet away from each other, not only is his powers magnified by nearly three times, which in itself is a great feat, he also is able to suppress her more unstable abilities. He serves as a unique siphoner for her darkness. His entire body quivers and shakes, but it is also the only way to prevent any further catastrophe to those within yards of them. He does this by holding her hand and uniting his own darkly essence with hers until she feels safe.

He does not care what it does to him. The only thing that matters is her safety. His own well-being be damned.

Notes in Constellations

Every night - especially if there’s even a partial moon out - Damien’s powers magnify to godly levels. The power of his mother fiercer than they are during the daytime. The shadows that hug to his body can even spread around, creating almost a field of darkness that clones what he creates. Should he forge thorns and tendrils, they will double in numbers as well as in any other way that Damien sees fit. Additionally, his visual abiltiies find themselves doubled as well. He can induce fear into twice as many people as well as when he is in the company of his sister, their ability to influence those around them, though doubled, is equally as controlled when in the presence of a full moon.

As an added bonus, under a full moon only, Damien can create miniature black holes in the size of his palm that, while they do not consume entire bodies or even partial bodies, there is a gravitational pull within them that can, for a very small window, completely immobilize anyone within five feet of it. The only kicker here is that Damien must be conscious and maintain full eye contact on it. Obstruct his vision in any way and it will completely evaporate into thin air, ceasing to exist.

_{Jamie Campbell Bower | 6c697e}

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

i n t e r a c t i o n s / / Themselves

l o c a t i o n / / / The Dancefloor

As the time in Stella’s mind went on (even though real life time was a lot slower), she began to panic both inside her own head. That happened a lot more than it should have and when Stella’s mind came out of it, she immediate shook off the uneasy feeling deep in her gut as she dusted herself off in more ways than one. Her brown eyes focused on the blonde hunk in front of her and smiled at him with same glow she always was known to have.

“Never mind that. Let’s just forget about the brief encounter with the Devil. He’s clearly forgetting about me,” Stella said, a rare showing of her self-deprecating darkness surfacing, though she laughed it off. “Let’s dance!”

Forgetting about it was a good choice, simply because Oliver had no way to respond. Sure, he could have given Diablo a response, but the guy had taken off before anyone had the chance to speak. Struggling for things to do or say, Stella suggested that they dance. ”Uh… Stella. Confession time, sweetie. I can't dance. Not unless it's the Cupid Shuffle or The Wobble. And even then, I still suck.”

”Wait what?”

She had to have been hearing things. No, it wasn’t that she expected him to be a good dancer simply because he seemed like the type because how fabulous he always looked. Stella was so far beyond believing stereotypes defined a person. Just because he looked like a dancer didn’t actually mean he was one. If that was true, she would have been the kind of girl who liked to listen to Taylor Swift and dream about the perfect guy sweeping her off of her feet. No, she was more of a Katy Perry girl and liked to think of herself as a ‘meet you halfway’ kind of guy. She’ll jump into his arms and he’d catch her.

Yeah, who was she kidding? She totally dreamed about the perfect guy sweeping her off of her feet while she was swooned by how gorgeous he was. But, this wasn’t the time for her to get lost in her own mind.

”Well, lucky for us we’re in a place where people won’t judge, right? I mean, what do they think this is? High school?” And there came Stella’s poor attempt at a joke that she was hoping would get him to laugh.

Stella's weak joke did manage to get a small smile out of Oli. She had a fair point. Looking around, it seemed that the rest of the students were engaged with their own conversations. ”You've got a point, Stel,” he responded.

Bowing to Stella before coming back up with a smile, he offered her his hand. ”May I have this dance?”

Oh my god! Oh my God! Oh my God!

Stella had to do everything that she could from not doing exactly what she had dreamed of doing and jumping into his arms. Even though she clearly knew that he was doing this out of the kindness of his heart and not actually because he liked her in the way she was hoping he would (Stella was easily swooned and wooed), but his poise, the way he has treated her, and just his overall pleasantness just reminded her of the tales that her Uncle Wesley and Aunt Florence had behind their love. It was beautiful in the sense that her uncle was such a gentleman when he and her aunt were her age. To this day, the love story between Florence Lambert and Wesley Cross is still her favorite to hear.

So, you bet that Stella took Oliver’s offer with such a willingness to take his hand that when she did, it felt cold and comforting to her almost-sweaty palm. Hell, she couldn’t deny that her entire body was starting to shake and shiver and sweat and tremble from the nervous excitement she felt. Yes, she knew she was the personification of an oxymoron and she didn’t care. Whatever the truth of this moment meant was a foreign concept to the young Lambert. Only thing she could see was the sparkle in Oliver’s grayed eyes and how earnest and true he was.

To hell with Kavi and Sonny’s comments. She was going to just enjoy his company and dance with her homecoming dance.

And dance she did. As she would lend her superior dancing skills (not really but a little better than his apparently), she both let him guide her while she guided him into a rhythm.

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

@Rockette @SouffleGirl123 Your characters are accepted! Feel free to move them over to the CHARS tab whenever you can! <3

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

<Snipped quote by Altered Tundra>

still with you, just been doing me studies and that. should get me character up soonish. busy recovering from rockette's lot right now because christ, how am i to hold a candle to that?

@arabxlla

Don't worry about it (for both haha). We'll be starting next week, so there's plenty of time, methinks. I honestly just wanted to tag those who haven't posted or anything to see where they were at in the general sense. If you need any help with anything, myself and @Plank Sinatra are here. =)

@Altered Tundra im still kicking, just been busy with german and surviving in this cruel cold world.

also i was aiming to have the most aesthetic sheet in thie RP and rockette just fucking snatched that right out under me

@voltaic

Second place isn't bad ya know. :eyes:

But also, don't worry about it. <3 Same thing I said to ara applies to you. Let me or Plank know if there's anything we can do to help.

I'm sadly going to have to drop out. I still like the premise, but I just don't see myself actually working up the motivation to keep posting. Kind of in a RP rut.

@Cleverbird

Sorry to hear that, but I understand. Hope to see you around again! :)

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

So, a few things.

First off, @HaleyTheRandom and @SpicyMeatBall your characters are both accepted. Feel free to move them over to the CHARS tab whenever it suits you.

And secondly, though I have talked to a couple of you regarding your characters, the following people have either been relatively quiet in regards to their current placeholders or haven't posted their characters and would just like to do a courtesy check:

_{@Rockette @SouffleGirl123 @voltaic @arabxlla @ArticBeaver @Cleverbird}

I hope everything is going well with you guys and if there's anything I can do to help, please let me or Plank know!

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

L O C A T I O N / / King’s Academy Cafeteria

I N T E R A C T I O N S / / Fostering Loneliness in Arrivals of Yellow

---

He felt it. The rhythm of her body moving against to the beat of the bass dropping and the breakdown starting. The way she pulled away and he effortlessly got close again, the game of cat and mouse in the presence of chaperones and often peering eyes from those they had either interrupted or felt obligated to watch them. They were the most unlikely of pairs to dance in such a borderline-inappropriate manner, yet the game they played (more him than her) was infectious. After some point, others imitated them with the utmost flattery possible.

With that smile that Kavi was so known for brandishing more so than the words broke it, he went in one last for a subtle dip in his eyes, but not so subtle in the eyes of the wary teachers and certain guardian figures who were keeping a close eye to make sure the homecoming dance didn’t become the fuckfest that they feared it would become. As soon as he brought her up, he found it almost impossible to not chuckle at her comments.

“And who says that would be a bad experience?”

As soon as he said that, Kavi’s eyes fell on where April’s had been no more than a few seconds ago. The gathering scene of where Santiago was. He saw the little blonde troublemaker that doubled as the resident troll, the ever-entertaining Penny. A few clicks to the left, he saw one relieved Stella with her no-chance-in-hell date, Oliver being as supportive as he could. If Kavi had to wager, Santiago probably went over to poor Stella and got pulled away by the others. And if that was the case, then Kavi had a few ideas what was going to happen.

And that’s when Mara was leaving a scathing Santi. Oh, what Kavi would give to know what red buttons the little blonde touched to cause that guy to almost lose it. That wasn’t what Kavi found most amusing. No, it became evident as he had looked back at April that she was going through somerthing. If he had to place a bet, there was something about her averting glance from Santiago that gave him a...feeling that she wanted to go over there, but for obvious reasons, there was something holding her back.

He only out a sigh as he let go of her hips, stepping back. “Go on, then,” Kavi said all of a sudden. He even gestured to his date. “I know you want to go over there. It’s practically written all over your sexy face. Either that or ignore him, but subtlety isn’t your forte, Foster. I know it’s not mine either, which is why I’m telling you this. Get it out there for your own sake,” He insisted, patting her somewhat gently on the back as if trying to accelerate the decision process.

April just stared back at Kavi. It was evident that she was not expecting him to have noticed, let alone both how fast and accurately it had happened. She took in a breath in looked at him, trying to relax herself "Fuck, was it that obvious...? I'm sorry Kavi ...I can stay, its fine. I am your date for tonight."

She's sorry?

Kavi was finding this the most confusing thing ever and he had to deal with Stella's nonstop texts during her Santiago phase. But, Kavi wasn't a total ass, so he wasn't going to hold that against her. If he had his choice, he'd rather hold himself against her. "Listen, I'm going to say this because I actually have respect for you, which is a lot more I can say for most of the girls here," Kavi said, his eyes falling directly where he remembered seeing Marisol. "You have unfinished business with Santiago. I don't know what it is, but you need to do that. Now, if you happen to still want to finish this date like how everyone here thinks they are supposed to, come to find me. I'll be around," he informed her, leaning in, stopping directly in front of her face and it took a left and on that cheek, he gave her a simple kiss.

"Thanks. There's just...more going on than you know." April paused, her brain moving faster than her mouth could keep up with. "This has been a great afternoon, despite everything." She froze as Kavi leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, her heart racing. April's cheeks flushed red and she looked down as Kavi pulled away. All April could manage before she turned to leave was a gentle smile, and then a simple "Goodbye Kavi.." before she turned and began her approach to hell that awaited her.

“I hate her leaving but I love watching her go.”

As much as he would have loved to keep her in his arms and try and woo her into forgetting Santiago, there was no way that was going to happen. If she was constantly thinking about that pill salesman while Kavi did some of his best moves, it wasn’t going to be an enjoyable experience for either of them. Besides, the sooner she got the devil off her mind meant more time she would be able to focus on the Kavimiester.

He casually took out his phone as he started to walk away from the dancefloor. He sent the following to Santiago.

You can’t ever say I never did anything for ya, amigo.

By the time he sent that message, Kavi scanned the area. The problem he found with doing the right thing - something he was trying to do more of - was being left to his own devices. Granted, he wasn’t as unliked as Sonny was. He heard things about his comments and how it rubbed people the wrong way. And perhaps Kavi wasn’t the shining example of a good guy, but he was leagues above Sonny and definitely wasn’t as obnoxious as the current obsession his homecoming date had, but he knew he wasn’t perfect. Surprise! Kavi’s flawed.

However long he was lost in his own thoughts, he found himself in one of the tents where he saw Santiago’s homecoming date. Thinking to himself, he thought it could be a fun time getting to know the troublemaker, especially since they have something in common in Santiago Fernandez.

“Sup, Lil Yellow?” Came Kavi’s comment from behind. There was a decent height difference. It wasn’t a sizable amount. Kavi couldn’t rest his arm over the top of her head. Or rather, he could do that but it wouldn’t set a good first-ish impression. But there was something that could be accomplished. “I thought you had a date with the devil?” He asked mockingly.

---

L O C A T I O N / / Homecoming at the Country Club

I N T E R A C T I N G W I T H / / Oliver, the Gay Sweetheart

Never in her life did Stella’s heart beat any faster than it was in the span of just three minutes.

She made the terrible, terrible, unfortunate mistake of calling him over when she first saw him. Stella didn’t know why she did it even after he had left her and Oliver in peace. Even after Penny, who for a short moment, had casually started a conversation with Stella and Oliver, but promptly left when she saw that Santiago had left. Everything happened so fast for the anxious girl that by the time she was able to have a moment of peace, her heart was all in a flutter and she couldn’t find the time to actually take a moment to breathe. It took her hunching over on all fours and deeply wheezing as her dark locks fell over her face, hindering the fearful face of the fragile girl.

Boy, what a fun minute it was for her trying to gather herself. Thankfully, Oliver was there for her the entire time. She still couldn’t fathom what it was about her and Diablo. Why did she have so little control over her actions around? And added to that, why god’s name didn’t he stay? She knew how he was and knew exactly what drove him to do the things he often did for his own amusement. It was that reason alone that boggled her why he didn’t stay. It wasn’t a full sequence of moments did she see a group gathered around him. She didn’t know what happened, but something along the lines of a pissed of Mara running past where Stella had previously been hunched over.

“I am now,” she quickly answered Oliver when he asked if she was okay. “I just don’t understand what it is about me and that boy.” Stella breathed out a somewhat confused, if not just slightly annoyed, sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see me do my best imitation of Koffing’s evolved form.” Stella made the most subtle, unrecognized, totally-indie joke about a generation one Pokemon.

---

L O C A T I O N / / Class and then place of food

I N T E R A C T I N G W I T H / / No one but his own self

---

Sonny wasn't much of a dancer. Ask anyone who knew him even remotely well. And he hasn't been for the longest time. It's been like this since he was a little kid. His mother, bless her heart because Sonny knew it was in the right place, couldn't get him to take dance lessons early on. Jackson wanted his wife to be happy and since Andrea was too busy and thought dancing was beneath her (yes even as a little girl she thought that), Viola wanted to get her son into it. Growing up, he was quite fond of his mother - a momma's boy, even! - so he did whatever she wanted to make her happy. Only, it turned out that he didn't possess the Banks elegance, so not long after Sonny showed little to no grace, Viola happily took him out of those ballet lessons and allowed her husband to sign him up for Judo.

But, as he stood there, looking at Nadia, her face as clear and porcelain like a doll with locks of red-orange color, a moment passed through him that he was reminded of how much he hated dancing. Well, it wasn’t so much that he hated to dance, but his experience since when he was a child left a bad taste for it in his mouth. The way Nadia smiled at him seemed to quell that thought for a moment. Something about the way her smile glimmered made him smile as well.

At that moment when Nadia accepted his offer, his slight curve of a smile was briefly followed by an air of silence and a laugh that was just low enough for only the two of them to hear it. He took her hand, gripping it somewhat gently because he knew Nadia was somewhat fragile but not the tender fragile. She more in the softly-spoken, ‘handle with care’ fragile. Her hand felt like a feather that slowly fell into his open palm, guided by the encouraging breeze of the brisk Saturday night.

Sonny, with a surprisingly-gentle face on hers, was just about to take Nadia onto the dancefloor, getting somewhat closer to where the others were doing their own thing, then all of a sudden Julie Macmillan showed up unexpectedly. This was a welcomed surprise. She and Sonny had become decent friends and since Marisol had gone up and ghosted him on several occasions, she kind of filled that particular void, though it wasn’t really the same. Julie was a lot more - oh, Sonny would say elegant - than Marisol could ever hope to be. In the end, it was alright. She was doing her own thing and Sonny couldn’t fault her for that, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

But of course, hell will freeze over before he ever let her know that. Even after he happened to see her with Salem (even if it was just a brief moment), he wasn’t going to allow her the satisfaction of seeing him actually be affected by whatever nonsense she was up to, not when he had so many beautiful redheads willing and waiting to occupy his time. But if only Andres would beat it. He’s cramping Sonny’s style.

“Well, isn’t it my third-favorite redhead.”

Sonny tried to be funny, but in the end, he only made himself cringe.

“I kid, of course. I only know three redheads, so that’s not really fair.”

Yeah, that was much better.

Adjusting his jacket somewhat, Sonny’s chestnut-colored eyes gave Nadia and Julie a look a few times over. He gave Andres a bit of a judgmental expression, but that was because, by the time he had gotten off the phone, he said something in Spanish and Sonny wanted to at least pretend to care what he said, but before he could attempt that, the Latino said something that was automatically tuned out as he left.

“Well, okay I guess we’ll be seeing him later,” the male commented, unable to withhold the overwhelming need to roll his eyes. But on the plus side, Sonny could now genuine appreciate the company of not one, but two beautiful girls who want nothing more than to please him. Or engage in productive conversation. Either or worked for him. “And to answer your question, I don’t do the dancing thing often. Mom tried to get me into it and I remember it being absolutely horrible. Like who enters their five-year-old son in ballet?”

Again Sonny couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Just the thought of it made him visibly scowl at the memory.

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

_{S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W — My Chemical Romance — Danger Days: The Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Tech Noir — Gunship — Gunship (Self-Titled Album)
Everything Is Possible Now — Clouds and Thorns — Clouds and Thorns (Self-Titled Album)
Hope of Morning — Icon for Hire — Icon For Hire (Self-Titled Album)
Playing Favorites — The Starting Line — The Makes Yourself At Home EP
Blue on Black — Kenny Wayne Shepherd — Trouble Is...
Plagues of Babylon — Iced Earth — Plagues of Babylon
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry Cover) — Nick Pitera — The Covers: Volume One
Close to Your Heart — Counterfeit — Together We Are Stronger
If you Can't Ride Two Horses At Once, You Should Get Out of the Circus (Noah D Remix — Asking Alexandria and Noah D — Stepped Up and Scratched
My Famed Disappearing Act — Thank You Scientist — Maps of Nonexistent Places}