Altered Tundra

World Beyond the Lexicon

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Location || Train A — Fifth Car • Interactions || @Matsuri

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“Someone clearly woke up on the wrong side of the thorn bed you sleep on.”

Despite his often careless nature, sometimes Caelum knew he liked to push the boundaries, to see just what sort of reactions he might get. It wasn’t always a success, but when Alberta glared at him and vocally expressed the displeasure she felt when he called her by anything but her surname, that’s how Caelum knew he got to her. Did it please him that he could get such a reaction out of her? Maybe. Did he fear for his life during the three-hour train ride? Again, that was a maybe, but if there was one thing that was clear as day to him, it was this:

“If I can get away with that, how far would I be able to push this?”

As the swordsman hummed curiously, he wouldn’t push it at this instant for, just moments after he would attempt it, Professor Nyx ordered the other students who weren't a certain prince to take a seat. Came hugged his sword, Stormbringer, close to him with one arm and another doing the same with his bag and he intentionally took a seat close to Alberta, though in a different row than she was on. It allowed him to keep her in sight whilst not invading her immediate personal space.

World Beyond the Lexicon

@Dead Cruiser Yeah, I agree. Although it just might a busy time for some what with 4th of July inching closer and closer. I do wonder how many posts we can get in before blu's gm post is required?

that's so meta || character storage thread

Himura, Natsumi

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_{“They're not ready for this! I'm Mira, the future Crismon Flash!”}

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Personal

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_{N A M E}

Himura, Natsumi _{(緋村 夏美)}
"Mira. It's cute, isn't it?"

_{A G E}

13

_{C L A N}

Himura

_{S E X U A L I T Y}

Bisexual

_{B L O O D T Y P E}

O-

Characterization

---

_{H E I G H T}

5'0"

_{E Y E S}

Sky blue

_{H A I R}

Auburn hair that appears to be a scarlett red when under light. It is styled straight and comes past her face and almost as long as her head.

_{H E A D B A N D P L A C E M E N T}

Mira wears her headband as an accessory around her waist with a light pink cloth so it matches her outfit.

_{C H A K R A N A T U R E}

Raiton | Lightning (Affinity)
Fūton | Wind (After timeskip)
Jinton | Swift (Kekkei Genkai and without Raiton amplification)

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

Energetic → Quick-witted → Courageous → Somewhat Lax → Naive → Impulsive → Gets carried away

Mira is a lot like her clan's kekkei genkai, Jinton. Just as she is fast whilst using Jinton, she's also fast when it comes to her first impressions. She's quick-witted in every way that would apply: her comebacks, ability to talk someone's ear off, and her overall energy as in she's chalk full of it. She also has the tendency to rush into things, which might not make her the ideal teammate but with her abilities, sometimes it works in her favor. Mira seems to think second and act first, not really exercising any form of tactics. If she gets hit, then to her that means she just has to be quicker than her opponent. As for first impressions, she's definitely got that "you'll either find her extremely adorable or extremely annoying" vibe about her.

In a nutshell, Mira is a lot to handle but an eternal friend if you'll let her.

_{P E R S O N A L H I S T O R Y}

Growing up for Natsumi Himura wasn't exactly what one would call a normal experience. Normal began and ended with her having parents and siblings, but that's where her life gets a little bizarre.

You've probably heard about her clan: The Himura Clan, masters of Swift Release, and chakra manipulation. They didn't invent Jinton but those within the clan have all, in their own way, made Jinton their own by incorporating the shared trait of being able to manipulate chakra that is unique and specific to each individual member. There's Hana the Whispering Wind, Raito the Blur, Suiken the Flowing Rapture, and Kage the Shadow who have been shining examples of the clan's legacy, each with their own style and able to set an example for the clan. On top of everything else, almost every single Himura has become elite Jounins and even a couple made their names known by being part of the 12 Guardian Shinobi who protect the Land of Fire Feudal Lord.

But despite all of the great success, easily the most powerful as well as the most famous lies within the bloodline of the current head of the Himura Clan, Hayate Himura, a former Jounin commander who now happily sits on his makeshift throne in the Himura Manor. Hayate is known for his valor and pride. He is known simply as the Unexpected Terror of the Leaf. And also as Mira's father.

Mira grew up under his and her siblings' shadows, under her mother's excellence, and her father's sometimes tyrannical fist. Maybe it was just her, but at some point, she thought he put her through the unrealistic training regimes that forced her out of bed before the sun did and forced her to run five miles every day.

She was five when this started.

But this was a normal thing in the Himura clan. Kana went through it, Raito did, Suiken, and Yami. All of her four siblings, whom she loved dearly, were just as insane as her father was. High energy and with no filter. It's no wonder Mira ended up the way she is now. Her saving grace growing up was definitely her mother, Sakura Himura, who most called the Blossoming Beauty of the Himura clan. But even growing up in that environment put a lot of things into perspective. None of the outrageous family dinners or ways that her father would suddenly punch her two brothers, Raito and Raito out of nowhere, or how the sounds of Jinton which often sounded like a quick wind blowing over strands of grass, always filled the manor -- none of that ever bothered her. When she looked deep down into her soul and she looked back on it, those were the memories she went to in order to make herself feel better whenever she was feeling down.

And deep down, Mira knew she was just as bonkers as they were, if not more so than all of them combined.

_{C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T}

At the core of Mira's journey would be for her to learn humility and to not always go forward into battle impulsively. While it's true she might exhibit overconfident tendencies, I firmly believe she's not above growing and I would love to see her lose a lot of battles so she can learn that her way isn't going to achieve anything for her -- at least, not until she learns some strategy.

As for power upgrades wise, my hope is to focus on her speed and help her achieve Minato levels of speed (eventually). And a lot of nintai combo attacks. I want her to eventually be a master of swift release but her overconfidence, again, will limit her ability to plan ahead and I think that'll remain even after powerups. But at the end of it, she'll become the Crimson Flash...regardless how long it takes her.

Attributes

---

_{T A L E N T S}

---

• Taijutsu
_{JinTaijutsu — The Himura Clan-exclusive Taijutsu style is a multi-purposed, chakra-friendly taijutsu style that hold a lot of clan-exclusive similarities to that of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist style. Although its origins could potentially be learned by those outside of the Himura Clan, it would be extremely difficult as it is founded with the presence of Jinton chakra at its core. This is due to the high speeds one moves at. Though the precision and chakra control could be learned and movements may be copied, the Dragon Flash is very specific to the Himura Clan because they are born with Jinton chakra inside them and the innate characteristics of one faster than the average shinobi. It is ideal for them because their Jinton chakra makes it so.}
• Strong reflexes
_{All members of the Himura clan possess some form of enhanced physical condition that range all across the board, but for Mira specifically, her specialization is centered in having reflexes that appear to have the potential of being superhuman and being able to react as though it was second-natured to her. Her years of training with her family, being taught how to fight and what to do in fights has allowed her with advanced skills that would technically place her on chunin levels as far as how quick her physical offensive and defensive capabilities extend.}
• Chakra Control
_{Another layer of the Himura Clan and Mira by extension is their amazing chakra control. Like her family, Mira displays an uncanny and, of those within the clan in her age group, unmatched ability to control and distribute her chakra like she would breathing. This all comes back to taijutsu training and knowing that one strike can make or break a fight. She has mastered all beginner and has made excellent progress in intermediate levels of her chakra control training.}

_{T O O L S}

---

• Specialized shoes and gloves — Crafted by a blacksmith in the village, the pink and black gloves and boots that Mira wears is made by a special cloth that works in the same way that chakra blades do. They absorb any chakra thrown into them to give Mira the fighting edge. Plus, they are just so darn cute!
• Standard Shinobi Tools — Mainly kunai knives and shuriken.

_{T E C H N I Q U E S}

---

_{C R A N K}

_{D R A N K}

Chakra Flow (Lightning only for now)
Rolling Heel Kick — By utilizing Chakra Flow, Mira concentrates her lightning chakra into her boots and jumps into the air, spinning her body halfway, and kicking her opponents with her heel.
Spinning Back Fist Combo — Same as With her Rolling Heel Kick, Mira utilizes a combo of a sequence of four punches and one roundhouse kick: straight right, straight left, straight right, spinning back fist, and spinning roundhouse kick

Other

---

_{K E K K A I G E N K A I}

---

_{N A M E}

Swift Release (迅遁, Jinton)

_{A B I L I T I E S}

Users of Swift release are capable of moving faster than most. With both wind and lightning chakra natures amplifying their movements, not only will their taijutsu be stronger, faster and more precise than those without it, they can recover faster than most. Their reaction time is amplified by both chakra natures. If level one is simply swift release without the addition of other chakras, then level two would be with one of the two, and the top tier is when both wind and lightning work together in unison with the innate swift chakra.

Mira is at level one, so it is not quite up to par with the elite users of Jinton.

•Swift Release: Shadowless Flight Jutsu is taxing after three uses. Each use is a quarter less effective the more it's used
• Swift Release: Vacuum Kick An series of two kicks (one upward and one downward) that slices the air in front of it, creating a powerful vacuum in its wake. Deflected air rushes back one second later in the place of the opponent.
•Swift Release: Sonic Boom A barrage of kicks delivered with such intense speed and precision that each kick creates a condensed, if not thin, sickle. When any form of physical contact is made (human or object), a shockwave of pure chakra explodes wherever it makes contact. Mira uses this ability as a cover for vacuum kick by aiming for the ground as a form of cover.

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

Swift Release is a Kekkei Genkai that allows users to move at incredible speeds, appearing as a blur when in motion. It is a mixture of wind and lightning chakra, which both enhance the speed and precision of its user. WIthin the Himura Clan, each have their specific appearance and colored-blur as it were. Since Mira mainly wears pink, though her speeds aren't quite up to the blur level, her fast movements create half-blurs of pink, white, and black.

Sentaku

@Hey Im Jordan @KZOMBI3 @Fabricant451 Finally got this bitch finished!

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Himura, Natsumi

---

_{“They're not ready for this! I'm Mira, the future Crismon Flash!”}

---

Personal

---

_{N A M E}

Himura, Natsumi _{(緋村 夏美)}
"Mira. It's cute, isn't it?"

_{A G E}

13

_{C L A N}

Himura

_{S E X U A L I T Y}

Bisexual

_{B L O O D T Y P E}

O-

Characterization

---

_{H E I G H T}

5'0"

_{E Y E S}

Sky blue

_{H A I R}

Auburn hair that appears to be a scarlett red when under light. It is styled straight and comes past her face and almost as long as her head.

_{H E A D B A N D P L A C E M E N T}

Mira wears her headband as an accessory around her waist with a light pink cloth so it matches her outfit.

_{C H A K R A N A T U R E}

Raiton | Lightning (Affinity)
Fūton | Wind (After timeskip)
Jinton | Swift (Kekkei Genkai and without Raiton amplification)

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

Energetic → Quick-witted → Courageous → Somewhat Lax → Naive → Impulsive → Gets carried away

Mira is a lot like her clan's kekkei genkai, Jinton. Just as she is fast whilst using Jinton, she's also fast when it comes to her first impressions. She's quick-witted in every way that would apply: her comebacks, ability to talk someone's ear off, and her overall energy as in she's chalk full of it. She also has the tendency to rush into things, which might not make her the ideal teammate but with her abilities, sometimes it works in her favor. Mira seems to think second and act first, not really exercising any form of tactics. If she gets hit, then to her that means she just has to be quicker than her opponent. As for first impressions, she's definitely got that "you'll either find her extremely adorable or extremely annoying" vibe about her.

In a nutshell, Mira is a lot to handle but an eternal friend if you'll let her.

_{P E R S O N A L H I S T O R Y}

Growing up for Natsumi Himura wasn't exactly what one would call a normal experience. Normal began and ended with her having parents and siblings, but that's where her life gets a little bizarre.

You've probably heard about her clan: The Himura Clan, masters of Swift Release, and chakra manipulation. They didn't invent Jinton but those within the clan have all, in their own way, made Jinton their own by incorporating the shared trait of being able to manipulate chakra that is unique and specific to each individual member. There's Hana the Whispering Wind, Raito the Blur, Suiken the Flowing Rapture, and Kage the Shadow who have been shining examples of the clan's legacy, each with their own style and able to set an example for the clan. On top of everything else, almost every single Himura has become elite Jounins and even a couple made their names known by being part of the 12 Guardian Shinobi who protect the Land of Fire Feudal Lord.

But despite all of the great success, easily the most powerful as well as the most famous lies within the bloodline of the current head of the Himura Clan, Hayate Himura, a former Jounin commander who now happily sits on his makeshift throne in the Himura Manor. Hayate is known for his valor and pride. He is known simply as the Unexpected Terror of the Leaf. And also as Mira's father.

Mira grew up under his and her siblings' shadows, under her mother's excellence, and her father's sometimes tyrannical fist. Maybe it was just her, but at some point, she thought he put her through the unrealistic training regimes that forced her out of bed before the sun did and forced her to run five miles every day.

She was five when this started.

But this was a normal thing in the Himura clan. Kana went through it, Raito did, Suiken, and Yami. All of her four siblings, whom she loved dearly, were just as insane as her father was. High energy and with no filter. It's no wonder Mira ended up the way she is now. Her saving grace growing up was definitely her mother, Sakura Himura, who most called the Blossoming Beauty of the Himura clan. But even growing up in that environment put a lot of things into perspective. None of the outrageous family dinners or ways that her father would suddenly punch her two brothers, Raito and Raito out of nowhere, or how the sounds of Jinton which often sounded like a quick wind blowing over strands of grass, always filled the manor -- none of that ever bothered her. When she looked deep down into her soul and she looked back on it, those were the memories she went to in order to make herself feel better whenever she was feeling down.

And deep down, Mira knew she was just as bonkers as they were, if not more so than all of them combined.

_{C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T}

At the core of Mira's journey would be for her to learn humility and to not always go forward into battle impulsively. While it's true she might exhibit overconfident tendencies, I firmly believe she's not above growing and I would love to see her lose a lot of battles so she can learn that her way isn't going to achieve anything for her -- at least, not until she learns some strategy.

As for power upgrades wise, my hope is to focus on her speed and help her achieve Minato levels of speed (eventually). And a lot of nintai combo attacks. I want her to eventually be a master of swift release but her overconfidence, again, will limit her ability to plan ahead and I think that'll remain even after powerups. But at the end of it, she'll become the Crimson Flash...regardless how long it takes her.

Attributes

---

_{T A L E N T S}

---

• Taijutsu
_{JinTaijutsu — The Himura Clan-exclusive Taijutsu style is a multi-purposed, chakra-friendly taijutsu style that hold a lot of clan-exclusive similarities to that of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist style. Although its origins could potentially be learned by those outside of the Himura Clan, it would be extremely difficult as it is founded with the presence of Jinton chakra at its core. This is due to the high speeds one moves at. Though the precision and chakra control could be learned and movements may be copied, the Dragon Flash is very specific to the Himura Clan because they are born with Jinton chakra inside them and the innate characteristics of one faster than the average shinobi. It is ideal for them because their Jinton chakra makes it so.}
• Strong reflexes
_{All members of the Himura clan possess some form of enhanced physical condition that range all across the board, but for Mira specifically, her specialization is centered in having reflexes that appear to have the potential of being superhuman and being able to react as though it was second-natured to her. Her years of training with her family, being taught how to fight and what to do in fights has allowed her with advanced skills that would technically place her on chunin levels as far as how quick her physical offensive and defensive capabilities extend.}
• Chakra Control
_{Another layer of the Himura Clan and Mira by extension is their amazing chakra control. Like her family, Mira displays an uncanny and, of those within the clan in her age group, unmatched ability to control and distribute her chakra like she would breathing. This all comes back to taijutsu training and knowing that one strike can make or break a fight. She has mastered all beginner and has made excellent progress in intermediate levels of her chakra control training.}

_{T O O L S}

---

• Specialized shoes and gloves — Crafted by a blacksmith in the village, the pink and black gloves and boots that Mira wears is made by a special cloth that works in the same way that chakra blades do. They absorb any chakra thrown into them to give Mira the fighting edge. Plus, they are just so darn cute!
• Standard Shinobi Tools — Mainly kunai knives and shuriken.

_{T E C H N I Q U E S}

---

_{C R A N K}

_{D R A N K}

Chakra Flow (Lightning only for now)
Rolling Heel Kick — By utilizing Chakra Flow, Mira concentrates her lightning chakra into her boots and jumps into the air, spinning her body halfway, and kicking her opponents with her heel.
Spinning Back Fist Combo — Same as With her Rolling Heel Kick, Mira utilizes a combo of a sequence of four punches and one roundhouse kick: straight right, straight left, straight right, spinning back fist, and spinning roundhouse kick

Other

---

_{K E K K A I G E N K A I}

---

_{N A M E}

Swift Release (迅遁, Jinton)

_{A B I L I T I E S}

Users of Swift release are capable of moving faster than most. With both wind and lightning chakra natures amplifying their movements, not only will their taijutsu be stronger, faster and more precise than those without it, they can recover faster than most. Their reaction time is amplified by both chakra natures. If level one is simply swift release without the addition of other chakras, then level two would be with one of the two, and the top tier is when both wind and lightning work together in unison with the innate swift chakra.

Mira is at level one, so it is not quite up to par with the elite users of Jinton.

•Swift Release: Shadowless Flight Jutsu is taxing after three uses. Each use is a quarter less effective the more it's used
• Swift Release: Vacuum Kick An series of two kicks (one upward and one downward) that slices the air in front of it, creating a powerful vacuum in its wake. Deflected air rushes back one second later in the place of the opponent.
•Swift Release: Sonic Boom A barrage of kicks delivered with such intense speed and precision that each kick creates a condensed, if not thin, sickle. When any form of physical contact is made (human or object), a shockwave of pure chakra explodes wherever it makes contact. Mira uses this ability as a cover for vacuum kick by aiming for the ground as a form of cover.

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

Swift Release is a Kekkei Genkai that allows users to move at incredible speeds, appearing as a blur when in motion. It is a mixture of wind and lightning chakra, which both enhance the speed and precision of its user. WIthin the Himura Clan, each have their specific appearance and colored-blur as it were. Since Mira mainly wears pink, though her speeds aren't quite up to the blur level, her fast movements create half-blurs of pink, white, and black.

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

_{Eastside — Benny Blanco (feat. Halsey and Khalid) — Friends Keep Secrets
Enormous P***s — Da Vinci's Notebook — Brontosaurus
Winter Has Come — Ramin Djawadi — Game of Thrones: Season Six (Music From the HBO Series)
Dark Days — Wyland — In A Circuitry of Lonely
Kill Em With Kindness — Selena Gomez — Revival (Deluxe Edition)
Incurably Innocent — At the Drive-In — Incurably Innocent
Autopilot — Eyeshine — Gone Tomorrow
Near or Far — Us the Duo — Us
Last Living Souls — Gorillaz — Demon Days
Be Alright — Arts the Beatdoctor (feat. Skiggy Raps & Wudstik) — Progressions}

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Procrastination has returned

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{A @metanoia, @Rosalia, & @spooner Collaboration
Featuring Sonny Drake, Marisol Castillo, & Max Wallenberg}
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

For almost two songs, the couple that had been on the brink of breaking up, had celebrated not being single again by dancing their asses off-- something that Sonny was most grateful for. They did so figuratively by letting loose with the limited amount of alcohol both of them have, screaming as loud as their lungs would allow them, pulling each other close, twirling around in some of the most ungraceful displays of white people dancing since Jersey Shore. Sonny may have had a year or so of classic training but the ungodly displays of fist-pumping and off-centered footwork was so bad that when they stopped, everyone around them cheered.

Well, that and during the last thirty seconds, they truly entered a new low for their demonstration of how not to twerk. White people could twerk, but when two flat-assed misfits did it, it truly was the thing of nightmares.

“All that dancing made me a bit horny.” Sonny muttered into Mari’s ear, biting it teasingly. He walked arm in arm, going side to side, shaking his ass with Mari’s for those with the benefit - and deathwish - of watching them make their way to the exit.

"You're fucking digusting," Marisol scolded him, lightly elbowing her boyfriend's ribs but shooting him a playful wink. "Does this mean we'll get to test out the backseat of that new ride of yours?" she asked him, biting her lower lip.

“Talk about disgusting, miss little walking irony,” Sonny teased her, bumping her shoulder. He took a glance around the dance, sighing quietly. He had plenty enough of the dance to last him a lifetime. “Yeah, let’s blow this joint.” He grinned at Mari, squeezing her hand as the two walked through the crowd, maneuvering their way through hopeless romantics and their need to fight for their right to get laid.

A few minutes later, the two were outside in the parking lot. Sonny had to take a moment to take in just how many cars filled up the parking lot. He remembered where he parked his brand new Audi TT. He scanned the front row of the lot. When he couldn’t find it under the veil of darkness, Sonny tricked the alarm from his keys and the light flashed, giving its location to his immediate left.

“There it is!” Sonny pulled Marisol with him gently. “It’s not really my style but it sure is pretty to look at.”

"Holy shit!" came the girl's enthusiastic response, rushing over to the car to carefully inspect every inch of its glistening, pristine exterior before turning back to her boyfriend with sparkling eyes. "No wonder you needed that fitted suit and the wardrobe change: you're a full-blown fancy gentleman now. I am so unworthy," she teased with a smirk.

“Are you now?” The boy looked at her, matching her smirk with one of his own, “then I guess I’ll call you an uber if you’re feeling so unworthy,” he teased her back, walking forward and sitting on the edge of the hood.

Grinning, Marisol chose to stand in front of him, reach out for his hands, and lock her fingers with his. “I know you say it’s not your style and whatever, but this car looks really nice. I think you should keep it… Even if it means I have to get a new wardrobe myself to match,” she joked with a small laugh.

“Don’t you go changing on me too,” Sonny glared at her, “don’t do exactly what your worst fears think my mother wants you to do. I’m her son, so obviously I have to change to satisfy her but as far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t change your style, but most importantly--” Sonny kept his eyes on her and pulled her between his spread legs, “--you don’t need to. I don’t want to date a Mexican Julie. I want to date the idiot who always gets jealous whenever some slut of the week tries to seduce me.”

His hands lowered down her back, almost to the point where they were in the perfect position to get her nonexistent ass a good smack, but Sonny settled for a gentle caress. “Now how’s about a smooch, darling?” He couldn’t keep a straight face but he was completely serious about wanting a kiss.

He didn’t have to tell her twice. With a soft smile on her face and a warm feeling in her heart, Mari let her body gently clash with Sonny’s, and pressed her lips against his.

And as they tried to enjoy it, Sonny couldn’t because of some horrendous song being played over and over again. It wasn’t just any ordinary song; it was a familiar tune. How did Sonny know this? That was due to the painful memories of working out at Asgard Fitness with one of his closest friends. Day in and day out, as they pumped iron and ran on the treadmill until their legs were jelly, Max always played the same song over and over until it was a literal broken record.

Sonny broke the kiss, vocally expressing his frustration with a loud sigh. “Max is nearby,” Sonny muttered, trying to find his truck. “Only he would play such a shitty song that loud.” After looking around for a couple of moments, Sonny’s eyes kept to the limited light the lamp posts around gave way to and they illuminated a path to the left of his Audi for him to spot Max’s truck half way down the front row. Luckily for him, it wasn’t hard to find that fugly truck of his. Between the luxury of most of the cars and the sore thumb Max drove, Sonny found it. “And there it is,” Sonny announced, pointing to it. “Wanna go say hello?”

Marisol shook her head. "Nah. I'll stay here and mess around with your car a little bit," she told him cheerfully, giving him another kiss before pulling away and stepping aside.

“Suit yourself!” Sonny shrugged, digging into his pocket and handed her his keys. “If you crash it, well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.” He almost meant that, chuckling lowly. “Seriously though, have fun.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked away, leaving the very excited Mari settling in the driver's side of the Audi.

The further he walked from his car, the louder the calming, if not terribad sounds from Max’s truck became and Sonny laughed as he found himself near the hood of his truck. It amazed him that Max could drive such a hunk of junk, but then again, people might say the same thing about his orange monstrosity. To them it was ugly, but it was just the thing he, as his grandfather would say, fancied.

Sonny announced his arrival by tapping on the hood as he went further back, keeping up the same rhythm. “Maxie!” He called out, hoping his typically obnoxious tone would overpower his workout partner’s choice in music. “Arise brother!”

Max had been dreamily staring upwards to the sky, letting the stars glitter in his eyes as he listened to one of his favorite tunes. But as soon as the sound of something slamming on the metal hit his ears he was snapped back to reality. Slowly, he sat up and looked around groggily, his blue eyes searching for the source of the sound. “Oh!” he exclaimed as he saw the short figure of Sonny standing beside the bed of his truck. “Son! How’s it going, Little Man?” he smiled widely before he rested his head on the wall of his car.

Sonny rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore that totally unoriginal pet name. “Not bad, Burger King,” Sonny clapped back, meeting Max with a smile of his own. “Dance got lame, so decided to bounce, then I heard your lamer music, so I figured I’d pop by and see what’s up.” Sonny let the silence take over for a second and a half. There was definitely something off about Max but Sonny couldn’t put the nail on the head yet. “So, what is up? Why are you laying out here all alone?” He asked Max.

Lame?! Max raised an eyebrow and was about to comment but decided against it, just chuckling and shaking his head. “Yeah, the dance is kind of lame, huh?” he agreed, while standing up, jumping off the truck and effortlessly walking around to the side where Sonny stood. He leaned back, spreading out his arms. “Nothing much, really,” he shrugged, looking around. “Just… doing some -- what’s it called?” Max screwed up his eyebrows in thought “--Head searching!” his booming laughter filled the parking lot. “I just need to deal with rejection that’s all.” he let out a weaker laugh looking at his feet. “Something that’s a bit strange to me.” The burly teen looked back up at his friend.

“Rejection?” Sonny repeated back, giving Max a strange look. He had never heard rejection and Max Wallenberg in the same area code, let alone being next door neighbors. He almost wanted to call his bluff, but knowing Max like he did, his whole vibe was both absolutely genuine and a little unnerving. “Damn bro…” Sonny scratched the back of his head and offered his friend a sympathetic smile. “It’s never a fun experience to put yourself out there and get totally crushed.” Sonny reached out and gave Max a supportive pat on his arm. “Who was the bitch that did this to you?”

Max shifted a little uncomfortably on the spot when Sonny asked about what had happened just a few moments ago. “She’s not a bitch!” he started. “Maybe Ariana just wasn’t as into me as I thought she was,” he said quietly. “You know the feeling, am I right Little Man?!” he tried to deflect with a joke. Knowing that Sonny had a past with Ariana, he knew the ups and downs of dealing with the Mossos girl.

“Ariana?” Shit, of all the-- “Damn, that’s fucking rough, buddy.”

Sonny still had conflicted memories whenever he thought of her. He could tell just by how he defensively reacted to his comment that whatever Max felt for Ariana was the real deal. Just like I had. How foolish Sonny was, but in hindsight, he knew why they couldn’t work. He was a different person two years ago, a less cool version of the slightly older boy he was now.

Not important right now. Back to Max.

“Yeah she can be a trainwreck or a beautiful mess given the right circumstances.” Sonny laughed, somewhat nudging Max’s arm. This was just between bros so Sonny could speak without any worry of pissing off Mari.

After a brief moment of silence, he asked, “So what happened between you two?”

Max let out a deep sigh, “I might as well let it all out, huh?” He let out a defeated chuckle. “Well…” He threw his head back so he could look up at the stars again “I decided tonight was the perfect night to ask her to be my girl.” he paused focusing his attention back to his bro. “And man Son, you should have seen the look of sheer panic on her face when I asked.” He shook his head as if to get rid of the image. “It was as if she had lost her ability to talk! She didn’t say a word.” He crossed his arms in front of him.

“It’s obvious she doesn’t think of me in that way… I’m just another body to her.” He sighed “Another name on her list…” he trailed off, looking past Sonny and into the woods.

Listening to Max explain what went down between him and Ariana hit him with a rather familiar, stinging-like pain in his gut. It wasn’t the same, but there was a time where Sonny felt that much for Ariana and he couldn’t help but feel for Max. Even if he didn’t intend to, he fell hard for Ariana and got bitch-slapped by Cupid’s open palm - something Sonny had experienced when Ariana dumped him.

Hell, Max is exactly what Sonny was two years ago. “I’m sorry man. This isn’t right. What she’s doing to you, it’s just not right.” With a mix of repressed anger, Sonny made sure Max saw his eyes. “Guys like us don’t need her, bro! You really want someone good? Get yourself a crazy bitch. They might gut you if you cheat, but you’ll never find someone more loyal than a bitch with a disorder.” Sonny found himself laughing a little too much, knowing full well if Mari heard him, he would lose one of his intestines.

Max cracked a smile and let out his signature laugh slapping Sonny on the shoulder. “Thanks man! I guess I needed this.” he continued letting small laughs escape him. “Don’t worry dude, I’ll get over it” he shrugged. “Right now I just want to get out of here! You wanna join me for a late workout session?” he asked, pointing his thumb towards the front of his truck. “You know who’s working the late night shift at the gym?”

Sonny had to think for a moment and not just to remember who in the hell was manning the Asgard fort. Today was Saturday, so that meant-- “Justin is working tonight, but knowing that pothead, he’s blazing it up in the back so we’ll practically have it all to ourselves.” Sonny recalled that Justin loved the night shift because it meant he could get high as much as he wanted. “But just let me text Mari real quick, tell her what’s going down.”

And it was in that moment, Sonny realized that his girlfriend had the keys to the new car his mother bought for him. That was going to be a nice story that’ll end up with him being grounded. “Ah well, not like it’s my style, anyway,” Sonny muttered, chuckling. About seven seconds later, he sent Mari a text:
‘Hey, Max got big R’d by Ariana, so we’re gonna hit the gym.
Feel free to take your time with that silver and black beaut.’

Looking at the two messages, Sonny felt iffy about it but it was going to be fine. I hope.

Before dread could find itself into his already-pacing mind, Sonny pocketed his phone and grinned Max’s way. “Alrighty! Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

The simulation just went bad
But you're the best
I ever had
Like handprints in wet cement
She touched me it's permanent

It was strange being Kavi Antonio Salvador right now. This has been the longest he’s ever gone without talking to anyone who wasn’t here or working his game on some unsuspecting girl who might not even know he spotted them. Of course, he could have just easily and swooped in on Jasper’s attempt to woo that Danielle girl. Compared to him, Jasper was cute but not hot like Kavi knew himself to be, but then again, when he overheard them talking and Lil J doing his best to work up the courage, Kavi only smiled and continued on.

“Way to subvert everybody’s expectations of your game, Jay,” Kavi muttered to himself, hands in pockets as he played spectator to the entire dance.

He watched them like he was a ghost, like he was a literal spectre, watching them, observing them, seeing his friends and his acquaintances mingle amongst themselves. He saw Max rush out and Chrissie go to the bathroom. He saw the two hot lesbians dart out in each other’s arms and then he saw Mari and Sonny leave hand in hand. He saw Stella and Carter dance like they had no control over it, then park themselves at the edge of the beverage table in the back of the room.

Kavi saw all of his classmates enjoy themselves, he witnessed all of the events of laughter and happiness unfold before his very eyes.

Even Ariel was having fun.

She was probably the only person who ever made him feel something...real, was striking up a similar conversation that Jasper did with Dani but with Sawyer Lockwood. He, of course, didn’t hear them, but he didn’t have to because he remembered that look. She used to look at me like that.

Ariel had a tell that Kavi locked onto the first time they met. It wasn’t so much a physical tell but the way she laughed. She had a cute tone of voice and it kind of cracked when she was into someone. Kavi knew that because every time they talked before things got bad, her voice cracked when he made a joke or just said something mildly inappropriate. All of the things that Kavi was going to miss, that was just an example of the number of reasons why he’ll miss her: her laugh, her ability to make him feel on top of the world while keeping him grounded.

Not like I have any right, but..

But nope, she looked happy. That’s all Kavi ever wanted. It didn’t matter if it was with him. So taking one last look around the dancefloor, Kavi took in the sights of friendship and love, seeing the couples either getting their last dances in or just getting started and he turned away, heading for the parking lot.

And once there, he smiled, spotting Ariana and Chrissie--well, more in the sense that Ariana was crying in Chrissie’s arms. Again, he simply observed and didn’t interact -he didn’t need to. Chrissie had it handled and again, like with Ariel, he smiled.

Standing there, Kavi was fighting against the part of him that wanted to leave them be and the part of him that wanted to see if they needed a ride. Chrissie looked like she had it handled, but Ariana was a friend and he considered Chrissie to be one too. But then again, who was to say they wanted his company?

“Fuck it!”

Kavi was walking even before he made up his mind and was a few feet away from them. “Seems like you both are just about as done with the dance as I am.” He laughed off his less-than-enthusiastic tone. “I was gonna jet out. You two want a ride to...wherever it is you wanna go? My ride’s got plenty of room--” His eyes went directly to Chrissie “--as I’m sure you know.”

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

“That was great, Carter! I haven’t danced like that in a really long time!” Stella smiled gleefully at her boyfriend.

Looking at him made her smile. Seeing him next to her made her smile. The way he smiled back at her, in what she was going to assume a case of I’m happy because you’re happy, made her smile. Everything about the evening right after they talked out in the garden and how Stella was just overwhelmed with emotions after the fact was bringing such a jovial grin to her face that her old self was starting to return.

And she was starting to realize it.

Before Chrissie did what she did, before all of the stress that came after her ex-best friend’s betrayal, everyone knew her to be a wholesome, unproblematic person. She never did anything out of spite. While that might still ring true to this day, she’s definitely changed. Sometimes when Stella looked at herself in the mirror, she didn’t always like the person staring back at her. She knew it was the direct result of how much she hurt when her cousin betrayed her. Slowly but surely, she was starting to come back from it. She knew it was because Carter had a positive influence on her even before they became official.

Which now had her thinking about something that was kind of weighing heavily on her heart. Maybe Carter noticed it or maybe she had become such a different person that she was able to hide certain things from him.

As they reached the beverage table, they were near the end of it so Stella could take a seat in a chair that was no longer being occupied by one of the students at the dance. She let out a heavy, almost exhausted sigh. “Whew, those last couple of songs sure wiped me out,” she admitted, leaning her head back against the wall. Her heart was still beating rapidly, sos he had to take a couple extra breaths to calm herself. “Carter…” She looked up at him. “Do you think I’ve been too harsh with Chrissie? Today before the dance, we had a pretty terrible argument. We said a lot of really ugly things and it got to the point where the water boiled over. And, well I think the point of no return was reached, but if not..” She let the thought trail off as she looked down, fiddling her index fingers and thumbs. “If not, do you think it’s possible we--I mean, her and I--could work some stuff out?”

If she was being completely honest with herself, Stella missed having her best friend but she also felt extremely hurt by what she did. Stella was so angry when she spilled her Paris trip secret to Carter without her permission and held onto it like the pain was the human body her leech-like grudge was holding onto, but Stella was starting to reconsider everything. Maybe finally being someone’s girlfriend again was putting some things into perspective for her. Or maybe Stella missed her best friend that much.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just being stupid,” she said somewhat low.

World Beyond the Lexicon

@Matsuri Caelum is turning out to be quite the fake bitch when it comes to Alberta and I'm loving every minute of it.