alright, i'll go wake up my backpack!

✫⌒ OPEN STARTER ( halloween event )

a girl’s number scribbled on her left hand, her helmet hoisted up on a light fixture somewhere, and a bit of the punch already spilled on the edge of her shirt … beatrix was having a good night. stopping to take a breath in, she ran her hand through her hair and set her sights on the machines. 

“ it is a casino …” she thought aloud. “but, like … i’m good with the casino aesthetic. not the potential-to-lose-all-your-life-savings thing,” she gestured her hand around. “ still. snake eyes knows how to throw a party. that sweet drink thing?” beatrix did a chef’s kiss motion. 

“and in the spirit of gambling … i bet … that guy over there — “ she pointed at a man in a viking costume seated at the bar, wavering a little with a glass in his hand, “is going to fall off the chair in less than a minute. you on?” she smirked, turning to them.

Johnny turned his head with a nod to the dressed up Pilot. Though he didn’t know them, at least, not yet. “I mean the playing for fun is still like a thing too y’know.” He added, mostly on his part. He had been to casinos before and never had any ill will towards them. 

He pushed himself up to get a better look at the Viking across from them. “I don’t know, Top Gun. I think he’d take little more than that so sure. You’re on!” He agreed, glancing at the figure before them. 

thackery binx had spent three hundred years in the cursed form of a black cat. three full centuries’ worth of halloweens befurred and bewhiskered. one can only imagine his dismay upon realizing he’d be spending this halloween as a black cat as well. fate is as funny as she is cruel, he’d thought miserably as he donned the cat-ear headband that evening. it was his own fault, though, really - everyone knows you plan costumes months in advance if you want a good one. 

the costume proved to be comfortable at the very least, which thackery was grateful for. although he did sort of hope ( stupidly, really ) that anyone that might have known him in his feline form would be kind enough not to acknowledge he was even wearing one. though he supposed that would be a bit odd, considering costumes were a requirement for the party itself but sometimes one could stand to endure an oddity or two for the sake of one’s dignity.

you would think that for someone who didn’t like to let his guard down, thackery would be less inclined to lose himself in thought in an unfamiliar setting. alas, here he was - wandering a bit aimlessly about the casino and caught up in his own costume-related woes thoughts. so caught up, in fact, that he very much wasn’t watching where he was going and accidentally almost collided with someone head-on. 

“i’m terribly sorry,” thackery all but yelped - his attention quickly snapping back to the situation at hand. “i wasn’t paying attention. you’re not hurt, are you?”

Too caught up with the environment, Johnny hardly was paying any attention to his surroundings. That and the treats he scored from the snack table. Thankfully he just stumbled back a bit and not fall flat on his face for once. He was a natural klutz. “No, no. You’re good, see!” He took a step back, extending both his arms to show there wasn’t any damage done. “Though I didn’t get your tail, did I?” He looked around jokingly before erupting in a chuckle. “Get it because you’re a cat.” 

༶ ⋆ open starter ( halloween event )

just seeing orion earlier, in the distance acting as the gracious host, brought the most uncomfortable feeling. seeing his face again after so long … it was like someone had poured ice water down her back. even remembering it  just now … she hurried away to the farthest corner to calm herself before she next spotted him — or worse, if he spotted her. she had to be ready. chest heaving from breathing so quickly, she found a couch against a wall and sat down.

since her visions had failed her, almost like a complete mental block, she’d sworn to herself that she’d keep an eye on orion. there was dread in her stomach, and it hadn’t left since she last spoke with jasper. 

noticing her hair caught in one of the stars on her headband, she sighed as she tried to untangle it. nevertheless, she started scanning the crowd again, preparing to keep watch once more.

“ orion bartholomew  … ” she muttered like a warning, an unusual hint of anger in her tone. still trying to untangle her hair, a worried crease appearing between her brows. feeling a presence nearby, she took a chance: “ i’m sorry, could you help me with the, um, the stars?” she gestured with a weak smile at her hair.

The mortal had always been fascinated with the spooky holiday. Though Johnny was easily frightened he still loved Halloween so much. Whether it was the costumes or the fact you could be whoever you wanted for one night just was ideal for him ever since he was a child. 

His eyes travelled every where since he walked through the door. He soon found himself by the bar and got himself a drink. He casually leaned an elbow on the counter, rocking his head to the music. He was truly in his element. Taking a few swigs of his beverage he was ready to leave his place from the bar to the dancefloor before being interrupted by a feminine voice. Johnny’s head turned towards the voice, confused for a second. “Oh, sure.” He agreed, understanding the issue at hand or well her head. His fingers now were gently pushing the woman’s hair back. Now that is was out of the way, he pulled the star out of what looked like a knot in her hair. He tried brushing the bit out to look somewhat neat. “I think I got it!”

johnny loughran ;; EVENT??    — orion’s halloween bash 

🚐 ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────     barley   liked   to   think   he   was   a   connoisseur   of   music.   at   least,   he   liked   to   believed   his   taste   in   music   was   great.   scrolling   through   the   other’s   playlist,   barley   nodded   and   mumbled   to   himself   praise   for   the   work   before   him.      “   oh,   dude   are   you   like   a   dj   ?   that’s   so   sick.   ”      he   smiled.      “   yeah,   this   is   wicked.   these   kids   are   gonna   have   their   socks   knocked   off.   ”      he   added,   hands   doing   a   sort   of   blowing   away   motion   and   mouth   mimicking   that   of   an   explosion.      “   what   do   kids   even   listen   to   now   a   days   ?   i   don’t   think   i’ve   been   around   someone   under   the   age   of   like   …   19   in   a   long   time.   the   vibes   are   great,   though.   real   nice   work   here.   ”

The hint of a smile that snuck through the corners of his lips. Jonathan DID IT. He created the best music mix for the event. To say he was a bit proud of himself would be an understatement. Although the job seemed easy he still took everything seriously. He was committed to cater to his client. His hand closed into a fist, pulling towards himself in a self satisfied fist pump. “ Sweet!" Jonathan chimed in, shrugging his shoulders as if showing ease. "–and you know it. Been a Bar Mitzvah Dj since '07 so it's pretty wired in me by now."

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-  

Belle gave him a knowing look as she laughed. “It’s all right, it’s not the first book that’s been painful to get through. Sometimes I just don’t like the way they talk, or the choices they make — I’m all for human error, but it looks like this time the author just had no idea what they were doing,” she rolled her eyes with a smile.

She put aside her book for a while, dog-earing the page before closing it. She laid her chin on her hand as she thought. “Ben. Tenth birthday, likes Just Dance,” she nodded, reciting the facts for herself. “How about … God, what’s something popular …” she thought aloud, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (Ben’s Version)? Like a play on (Taylor’s Version)? Or is it bad to mention ‘kill’ in a ten-year-old’s playlist? Or, oh! Mr Ben, Back At It Again?” She cringed. “Oh, all of that sounds terrible.”

“Oh.” His voice prolonged at the end slowly lowering in realization. Johnny understood the feeling all too well from his preteen years reading comics. How frustrated he got reading about his superhero doing something so out of worldly for them. “Yeah, I get that. It’s like it feels so out of character that it throws you off as a reader.” He shrugged his shoulders in displeased agreement before leaning to give the stranger more room. 

Johnny’s brown eyes shifted from the woman to the screen semi-frequently. His own anxiety getting the most of him, he crossed his arms to somehow distract himself with his fingers fidgeting with his shirt sleeves. His eyes shifted back to her upon hearing her speak again. “Most ten year olds like shooting games so I mean you wouldn’t be far from it.” Johnny paused to think for a moment before interrupting the stanger. “Hey! No, no. Trust me! I’ve heard worse and most likely made worser names. But- hmm, how does aBENgers assemble sound?” I heard this little dude is obsessed with superheroes.” He mused with a big self-satisfied smile spreading on his lips.

“Oh!” Jarrah exclaims, almost spilling his drink with realization. “Oh! I’m sorry! People don’t usually come to me with issues unless they’re at their wits end.” He says with a laugh as they leans in to look at the computer again. Well not before taking a bit of the gumbo. “Oh it truly is, trust I’ve had good gumbo before and this has gone straight to the top.” They say through a few bites. “Now what’s this for?”

Jonathan pressed his lips together and nodded his head politely. He himself was familiar in experiencing the same feeling growing up.  No one truly relied on him growing up not even his own siblings. “Trust me. I know the feeling.” He agreed with a shrug. His gaze soon shifted down towards the stranger’s bowl. “I’ll definitely take your word for it. Might get me a bowl myself too. Oh, it’s just a playlist for some kid’s party. He’s some ten year old kid or more so he’d gonna be ten.” 

          Marco  was  one  of  those  people  that  was  used  to  seeing  strange  and  unusual  people.   He  lived  with  a  strange  and  unusual  person  if  he  wanted  to  be  honest  with  himself  and  he  did  want  to  be  honest  with  himself.   Sometimes  he  liked  the  hustle  and  bustle  of  Elias  without  being  around  people  he  knew.   Though  there  were  days  when  the  sadness  seeped  in  further  than  he  wanted  it  to.   Being  lonely  was  the  worst  especially  in  a  public  setting. 

          Mama  Odie’s  was  one  of  his  favorite  place  to  chill  and  people  watch.   Usually  no  one  paid  mind  to  him  as  he  sat  and  ate  his  food  which  was  good  but  never  as  good  as  his  own  nachos.   Maybe  he  should  swap  his  major  to  business  and  owning  a  restaurant.   Well,   if  he  could  make  anything  other  than  nachos.   “Oh,   I  don’t  mind.   Go  ahead.” 

The sigh of relief that escaped Jonathan’s mouth, he was grateful they agreed to help. He turned his laptop towards them to allow a much better view at his screen. His vision focused on just them for a couple of seconds trying to decipher what was running through their mind. Was it good? Was it bad? Johnny knew of the benefits from having a fresher perspective of things usually helped. His own suspense building up the more he eyed the stranger curiously. “Thanks again. You don’t know how much it’d help.” 

 His fingers lightly tapped onto the surface once more now picking up his cold drink sitting on the table. Johnny’s hand reached up to take an anxious sip at his tea. It was sweet against his tongue yet it brought some kind of comfort back to him. “So, we got any thoughts? Or– “ His voice trailing off as if the waiting seemed like forever.

johnny loughran ;; TASK 25    — next gen

johnny loughran ;; TASK ??  — intro task  

Jarrah had been stumbling his way around town, attempting to get land legs was taking longer than expected. They were attempting to map out the city when the delicious smell of classic gumbo flooded his sensations. He had no choice but to stop and grab a bite. That is how they found themselves seated at a table, scrolling though his phone as they waited on finally being able to taste the tantalizing smells drifting from the kitchen. 

“Huh?” He said looking up to the question. They blinked a bit as they processed the question and action. “Oh mate, I’m shit with computers. Probably break it more then what you have.” He says with a small laugh.

"Well maybe I’ll just scoot it more to me but- I meant if what I was working on looked alright.” He corrected the other, already feeling bothersome within the minute. The other came in most likely to enjoy a hot meal and there Jonathan was asking for assistance about a playlist.  “Though that looks good what you got there.” Johnny added as if trying to change the subject. He had finished his snack an hour ago and felt his stomach wanting something more filling. 

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

He stepped back and shook his head. “No, it’s my bad. I’m just used to a different atmosphere. This city is just really new to me.” The idea of just being out in the open without constantly looking over his shoulder was also new to him. “Yeah, thanks. I’m fine. Just distracted. I didn’t hurt you?”

He himself knew more than anyone about being distracted. That entire time Johnny, himself, delaying from meeting up with an old friend himself. “No, no I swear I’m good, man. See. I’m not hurt here.”  He lifted his hands up as if trying to demonstrate to the other that he was unscathed. Even though he didn’t know the stranger he just got the feeling they meant well. “You sure you alright? I so happen to have a yellow belt and sometimes I can’t control these big guys.” Johnny teases, showing his hardly present muscle on his bicep.