PatientBean

Lamplight: A 'Monster of the Week' Campaign

This looks interesting. I think I played something similar back in the day before I joined the Guild. I'd love to join. Leaning towards The Crooked, the Spell-Slinger, or the Spooky

Château de La Lune

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Millicent

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Location: Château de La Lune
Skills: N/A

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Millicent followed the others, unsure if there was a destination in mind of if they were going to wander around the grounds. Millicent didn't really want to be doing this. There were still a few people here she didn't trust. Whether or not they killed Renee or disappeared Miguel, whether or not they were in on the blackmail, there were too many weird things going on.

It was a shame too, because the Chateau was beautiful. Any other time she would be in a place like this would be heaven, but considering there was likely a murderer and/or a blackmailer here, on top of the wirdness of the La Lune family in general, she wanted to be back home, in her cramped apartment, dining out on Chinese take-out and preparing for her next gig.

Eventually they came to a graveyard and Millicent thought for the briefest of moments that they were about to be gunned down and buried here, but Ralph led the conversation. It seemed the others had talked and shared. Millicent bit her tongue, though every instinct wanted her to say "I told you so". That wasn't fair to Renee. But Millicent also wasn't ready to divulge everything her and Brendan found out also.

Before she could share her own insight into the blackmail and how it connects, Sam spoke up. She trusted Sam to get the conversation on track. And then...wait...did he...was he...?

Millicnet stared at him, flabbergasted. Did Sam seriously think Brendan was someone new? She looked around at the others, wondering if they thought the same.

"Sam...Brendan is Ivanna. You know, a Drag Queen. You didn't think Drag Queens remained in their Queen ensemble the whole time, right? I need you to know that."

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: Haven
Grimoire: N/A
Skills: N/A
Current Outfit

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Cassie felt her heart inside her chest, which would be a good thing because yay her heart was still working, but it was clear this was some panic response to the candy and to the mound of writhing body parts. The sounds it made played through her mind in reverb and she felt herself grow more and more panicked as it inched closer.

Soon, the moving parts coalesced into the crevices and knotches of the wall and was gone. Cassie felt itchy and cold, like the thing was still there. Despite the silence, she could hear, ever so slightly, in the distance a voice. A soothing, calm voice. She didn't quite catch the words, but she could feel some semblance of peace from their whispers.

Cassie heard another voice and panicked that she was now hearing multiple voices in her head when she caught someone near her. Cassie looked to see a new face and this one was attached to a body and not writhing around on the ground. "It was so real. The wall...the wall had secrets but not the good kind. Bad secrets." Cassie looked around as the room came more into focus. She felt calmer now, still a slight giggle infused in her breath. "Connie, thank you. I'm Cassie. Oh wow, how cool, similar names. Well, kind of, since my full name is Cassiopeia but that's like a mouthful right?" She started giggling again.

But at the corner of her eye, in her peripheral, she paid close attention to the wall, lest it decide to spill out more.

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Sabine Bassard

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Location: Contest of Champions
Gear: N/A
Skills: Force Field Generation (Maintained), Memory Manipulation

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The two teams were doing the most, it was clear. The Young Avengers were strategizing in sync, yelling out plans. They had discussed strategy, but nothing to that level. Either way, the team was doing what they did best: improvise.

Sabine noted that Wiccan was engaging a lot with his magic, which meant he needed to be stopped. With her and April safely inside her force field still, she sent her consciousness out to Wiccan and was met with force pushing against her. He had to have some protection. Try as she might, every push was blocked. She felt herself growing more frustrated. She needed to do this, to be better. Her team was counting on her.

”Do you even know the basic teachings of Wicca? Or did you pick the name because it sounded cool?” Percy shouted in an attempt to help Sabine pierce Billy’s mental defenses.

Danni watched the dream team try to tag team the guy who made his head woozy and his aim awful and well, he definitely wanted that over as soon as possible so why wouldn't he cheer them on. “Aw, yeah dream team kickin’ magic butt again! You can do it, yes you can! If Beanie can't do it, no one can!” Danni cheered, fiery pom poms appearing as he danced around in the air.

Sabine looked over towards Percy, seeing him attempt to get into Wiccan’s head. It worked the last fight. Sabine also heard Danni and saw that he had produced pom poms on fire, cheering for her. With both of them behind her, she pushed forward. Soon, the protection she felt against her shattered, and she was able to enter his mind.

She tried to pinpoint how to drop his defenses, but felt herself drained; she had to persevere. She struggled still.

“Are any of your achievements really your own? Or did you just warp reality to your liking? I’ve heard of nepotism, but typically that’s for a celebrity parent - is there even a term for what you are?”

She heard Percy, albeit it sounded like he was underwater, attempt to drop Wiccan’s defenses again, but she couldn’t do it. She had to pull back for now. She returned to her own mind and took a few deep breaths. ”Thanks guys. His protection is down, so if someone could hit him hard, his spells should drop also!”

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Sabine Bassard

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Location: Contest of Champions
Gear: N/A
Skills: Mental Enhancement, Force Field Generation

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This was the moment. This was what they had been working towards. This wasn't going to be like the last fight with the Hex Girls. Sabine doubted the Young Avengers would resort to cheating. They were....intimidating. They already had the skills and the teamwork to back up all the hype.

But Excelsior had something too. They had three full teams that, through the worst, shapeshifted into one. And they had managed a win despite it all. There were missteps and fumbles. But they had won. And even though she had been knocked out, she saw that she had impacted the fight.

Strategy would be key. It was imperative that the supports be protected and the heavy hitters out swinging. Sabine knew and had gotten her sword back from the KG house. She was prepared this time around and would not go down easily.

As the fight started, she felt air brush past her, followed shortly after by another. She saw Kate Bishop lining up another shot and felt the hit impact her. She stumbled back and caught herself. They weren't playing around this time. Sabine got ready, sending her mind to Danni to boost him. She knew from the last fight that Danni was a strong contender here. She struggled at first, the hit from Kate's arrows disorienting her. After another attempt, she managed to find what she needed and gave Danni the boost he would need to do some serious damage.

Sabine then ran back and made her way to April, slamming her sword down and generating a force field around both of them. "You got my back last time, allow me to return the favor," she said, giving April a warm smile. This team could do this, they just needed to be smart.

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: Haven
Grimoire: N/A
Skills: N/A
Current Outfit

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Cassie continued to stare at the moving wall, inspecting it ever closer. Surely the secrets held within would be as magical as this place had been. Maybe if she cut it open it would spill out glitter or candy or a unicorn. Did unicorns exist? Really was it out of the question to think so considering there were multiple universes and shapeshifters and people that can fly or shoot lasers out of their eyes or hands or other orifices?

She giggled to herself again at this thought. Whatever that candy was had opened her mind to the cosmos. She wondered how Jake was feeling and quickly looked over. Bubble mouth seemed to still be happening.

Her attention was drawn back to the wall when she heard a light ripping sound. She looked over and over to see where it had come from. "Oh, is it happening? Is the magic wall finally spilling its secrets?"

It was spilling something all right. She noticed a tear, ever so slightly, and move along with the wall. It opened wider and wider. Cassie turned to peek, anticipation growing. Soon the wall split open more to reveal the contents as...was that a hand?...moved outward as if reaching for something. Cassie stood up a bit straighter now, the fuzzy feeling mixed with an ever growing sense of dread. Eventually the wall had fully split as a kaleidoscope of mutilated corpses within itself spilled out in front of her, writhing and wrangling. Mouths opened as if screaming but no sound escaping as they clawed and stretched, moving closer and closer.

Cassie was reminded, briefly, of seeing her first dead body when she was a child and it was her grandmother on her mother's side. She remembered being freaked out because why was everyone staring at a dead person?

This was not like that time and Cassie shrieked and fell back. She scampered away as the corpses came closer. She quickly righted herself and ran back to where she stood before, yelling to no one in particular "The wall held secrets and the secrets were dead people! I see dead people!"

Château de La Lune

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Millicent

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A

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Millicent stared daggers at the good Doctor, but he passed along a genuine message that they would be walking around. Millicent suspected more to this, but she wanted to catch up to Sam and Ralph (and by extension every other fucking person they spoke to about their suspicions), and this would be a good opportunity.

"All right, I will be there. Thank you." As Tony left Millicent debated seeing if Sam was still around, but opted to head to the foyer to meet up with everyone. As she approached, she noticed the others had gathered. She nodded towards Brendan and grabbed an umbrella.

Felix approached them to talk about a meal, but wasn't that interesting? Despite a dead body and a missing guest, things were still running along. Appearances mattered.

Millicent wasn't about to give up the goods she and Brendan had uncovered to everyone. After all, someone here could very well be the person blackmailing the others or working with someone in the family. And Miguel was still missing. She made her way to the door, waiting for the others to follow. "Shall we get this started then?"

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Sabine Bassard

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Location: New Orleans: Hotel
Gear: N/A
Skills: N/A

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The jubilation slowly began to die down, as Max felt his phone go off. He wanted to ignore it, to stay in the moment, but as his kids made their way out, he fished out his phone from his pocket to see if it was important. After all, he was currently still a chaperone for some students who were currently on the field and Vision loved to text. He opened it up and noticed it was from Sabine. Panic set in at first, wondering if something happened after she'd been eliminated. But as he read the message that sense of worry turned into something more. He couldn't quite describe the feeling beyond…disappointment. Only days ago had they had a conversation about the importance of powers and consent. Sure cheating was a massive accusation and if she'd gotten whiff of it during the fight then that was ok. But now she was at his hotel and…he let out a sigh. ”Be right back.” He said as he vanished in a black hole.

He appeared in the lobby, spotting April and Sabine. Great. He calmly, but quickly, made his way to the pair of them. ”Sorry April, I'm going to need to borrow Ms. Bassard for a moment.” Max said with a warm smile before turning to face Sabine.

Sabine felt less pressure when Max appeared. As he strode toward them her joy slowly turned to…not dread, but worry. But why would he not want April there with her? They were so close. Why did she feel a pit in her stomach now? ”I have a feeling I am not going to like this, am I?”

Max gave Sabine a shrug. He wouldn't exactly know how she would feel about the news that she was about to receive, or about the potential talk they might very well be about to have. He held his hand out for Sabine to take, and once she did the pair of them vanished. Only to reappear a few feet away into a vacant room within the hotel. His hand waved lazily in the air and more locks were added so that they wouldn't be disturbed, an out of order sign appearing in front of the door.

”Let's start with your concern about your powers. Someone was indeed blocking you. Me. As you know, telepaths form a great threat to my family, even those that we are close with like Ms. Frost, her children, and Reeva. New Orleans is under my watch, and as such is under several enchantments I command. One of which is the one you encountered. Telepathy is not to be used within the streets or buildings of New Orleans. But now I must ask you, who and why did you target?” His tone wasn't angry, or irate, he sounded as if like a father concerned for the well being of his child wondering why they had done something so reckless and stupid.

Sabine damn near forgot Max was a strong Sorcerer in charge of New Orleans. How could she have been so stupid? Of course her powers would be blocked here. ”The front desk woman because I am trying to find evidence of the Hex Girls cheating. I only wanted to scan the surface memory to find their room number. That was it. I wasn’t going to change or alter anything or force her to tell me or do something against her will. If it didn’t work I would have done something else. They intended to hurt Leah by using her father to scare her before our fight. I know our team won, but I can’t just let them get away with hurting her like that with no consequence. That’s not justice.”

Max leaned against a dresser, hands planted to either side of him as he tried to parse his way through what Sabine was telling him. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he closed his eyes. ”Next time I would appreciate you, or anyone, not use their powers on my employees. Cheating is one thing, but hurting someone under my ward with family trauma is another. You say this happened before the fight, can you tell me more about it. What happened, where, any detail is important.” Max stood up, his gaze soft but focused. He clearly took what Sabine was saying seriously, but was divided by what she had done and what she was now presenting him with.

Sabine bit her lip. It wasn’t like she was going to hurt Astrid. Nor was she intending to hurt anyone. She only wanted the Hex Girls to face their actions. If nothing was done, then it was like they didn’t use performance enhancement drugs before a fight or intend to use someone’s trauma to mess with their head.

No, if she couldn’t find what she needed, then there was no point. ”Ask Leah about it. She experienced it firsthand. I was only collateral damage.” Her tone wasn’t rude, but it was disregarding. She was slowly getting done with this conversation.

”She isn't here. You are. What's more, I ask because I have more than one enchantment placed upon this city. I know when, where, and what spell is being cast at any given moment. I am alerted to it when it happens, and I see to them personally. So if you are stating that she was being messed with by one of my students, then that would mean magic was involved. But I haven't had a single alarm go off.” For the first time, Max's voice went stern. The safety of his city meant everything, it was an extension of his family, and if someone was causing havoc within his walls he would get to the bottom of it.

So she was a means to an end. Not concern for her or for Leah, but because someone possibly got through his wards. Typical. ”Again, you would have to ask Leah. All I know is what I saw from her memory…” Wait a minute…”Wait a minute….I saw Leah’s memory. I did so in the hotel when it happened. If your wards were in place I wouldn’t have been able to do that. But someone made Leah’s father appear and threaten me. Vision was told about it too. He seemed to know who did it, but didn’t tell us.”

”I'll have to speak with Vision about what he knows then. You say he appeared and threatened you? Within the memory or in person? As for her memory, I assume you asked her for consent and she gave it?” It was a lot of information real fast, and if Vision had had to deal with just as much while supervising the kids all alone, chances were he compartmentalized and lowered the priority or something. His sternness turned to concern once more.

Sabine rolled her eyes. ”Yes, I got consent. I can show you the memory if you want, but as I said, repeatedly, Leah would be the best person to speak to as she had firsthand experience. And Vision, though I imagine he has his hands full right now. I only know what I saw in the memory and what Leah told me.” She was, quite frankly, done with this conversation. It was clear nothing was to be done about the Hex Girls cheating. ”If that’s all, could we go back to April? If nothing can be done I’d like to celebrate my team’s victory before we’re thrown back to the wolves.” This time, her tone was more defeatist. Less thrilled with the win, more so like the victory was hollow.

Max snapped his fingers as something finally made sense. ”That explains how you viewed the memory at least. Consent is literally key here, gain consent and your powers are yours to use. It's simple as that. As for what happened with Leah, I'll speak to Vision about it later if he also has the full story. I'd rather Leah not have to relive that memory of her father if she can help it. Especially not when she seemed so happy out on the arena when they'd won. To the end of the Hex Girls cheating, I'll see about ordering a secondary exam on them much like the one you all had to go through when signing in. Whatever magicks or other possibilities they may have employed will still be on their system or leave behind an arcane trace we can follow. If they did cheat, I'll have words with Agatha and see if we can't find a suitable repercussion for what they had done. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to them than cheating never gets you a win. No matter how badly you want it to. But I think you're more than right, we shouldn't worry April and quite frankly you all are far too young to be having to deal with so much in so little time. Let's go celebrate with everyone, but know that I am actively working on everything you have just told me. If any more information or issue arise, please don't hesitate to contact me.”

Sabine had to be okay with that, at least. Something would be done, hopefully. ”All right. Thank you.” She was right, she didn’t enjoy this conversation. But it was still necessary. It told her a lot. She stood and waited for Max to teleport her back. Hopefully, there would be some time for her to see the others. They had to get ready for the Young Avengers. If the Hex Girls were trouble, cheating or not, they were going to be even worse.

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Sabine and April Bust Some Cheaters

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Location: New Orleans: Hotel
Gear: N/A
Skills: Perception, Acting

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Sabine had to admit this side of April was incredibly hot. It had been a battle she had been waging in her head for a while now. She had doubted herself on numerous occasions, wondering if she made the right call when she shifted a memory, locked something out, implanted something new, or even just read the most recent thoughts. Messing with people’s autonomy wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

But April was right. She could do good with these powers she had. She knew a villain wouldn’t pause to decide if their powers would hurt another or mess with them. She just had to be mindful and make the best decision. Ultimately, decide if it was justified and not determine she knew best.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she checked. A message from Vision. She wondered if he was checking to see if she had found proof or not. She read the message.

Excelsior had won.

Sabine read it again. She nearly dropped her phone. ”Holy shit, they won? They won!” Sabine nearly collided into April to give her a hug but stopped herself. They weren’t there. Yet.

But now….what would she do? She was here to find proof of the Hex Girls cheating in the event that her team lost, but was there a point? Then Sabine remembered that it was likely one of the Hex Girls had messed with Leah and used her father and, in turn, nearly messed with Sabine and April.

So no, they had to pay.

”You coming?” Sabine led April inside the hotel and strolled up to the front desk. ”Hello, I am so sorry to bother you and I can respect guest privacy, but I was wondering if you knew who it was that checked the Hex Girls team into their room tonight? I heard about their recent loss and wanted to send a gift with my condolences.”

“A fan, huh?” The hostess, Astrid her name tag read, glanced around for a second before leaning in. “It was actually me. Let me see what you're sending and I'll put it in their room for them.”

Sabine figured this would happen. She had an idea, but she needed help. She quickly turned to April and whispered ”Distract her, I have a plan.”

They’d won?

They’d won!

April’s brain short circuited, fully frozen for a good sixty seconds. She was aware of Sabine talking with the front desk lady, yes, but that awareness was relegated to the background. Her heart was pounding as a fresh wave of adrenaline hit her.

They’d fucking won!

And as Sabine turned to her, whispering for a distraction, April acted without any impulse control. There was one distraction and one distraction only that came to mind. She grabbed Sabine by the shirt collar and kissed her.

“Um…” Astrid looked back and forth between the two who'd suddenly sprung a kiss in front of her. “Congrats, I guess, but maybe let your freak flag fly not in my lobby?”

Sabine felt heat rise to her cheeks as April kissed her. All at once she felt uncertain and worried, but also at her best. She did ask for a distraction, after all. Sabine attempted to send her mind into Astrid’s memory to find the room, but…this was odd…Sabine tried and tried and couldn’t do it.

Sabine knew the feeling when her powers didn’t work. This was not it. Something or someone was blocking her attempt. Though she didn’t want to, she released from April and quickly scanned around her, noting nothing out of the ordinary and nothing off.

She returned her attention back to Astrid. ”I am so sorry! We got caught up in the moment. I forgot I left the gift in my own room. I’ll go grab it quickly and be right back!” She pulled April away from the desk and, once safely out of earshot, spoke up. ”Someone blocked my attempt to get into her head. I don’t think it was her, which means we are being observed.” Sabine decided not to speak about the kiss just yet, though every fibre of her being wanted to.

Even April was stunned by her own actions, as Sabine pulled her away from the desk. But she didn’t find herself regretting them. Her lips felt like they were tingling, and the euphoric feeling of victory hadn’t left her body.

“So… what’s the plan, then?” If someone had prevented Sabine from using her powers, and they were being watched… did they want to pursue that? They’d beaten the Hex Girls. They didn’t need to prove that they’d cheated to move onto the next round. They could let this go. Unless this was about more than just winning - if this was about morality.

She glanced back at the desk, at Astrid. Maybe someone here in the hotel was trying to protect the Hex Girls.

Sabine shook her head. ”I don’t know. This is more than just the cheating thing. We won so it is what it is, but even with a loss the Hex Girls will be praised for their efforts and maybe they don’t deserve that. Also I am reasonably sure one of them at least was behind messing with Leah regarding her father. So if someone is protecting them, then they know we know. I wish I could like…scan everyone’s memory in the vicinity to see if I can find them.”

April pursed her lips, considering for a moment. If there was someone here protecting the Hex Girls, someone powerful enough to rebuff Sabine, she wasn’t sure how they’d be able to find them. Most telepaths were tricky that way - even among mutants, they tended to just look like ordinary humans. And she doubted anyone would willingly give themselves away. However… They did happen to know some folks who had expertise in this area - one of who just happened to be a teacher at the academy. ”Maybe we get some help from Max?” she suggested. ”He might have some ideas?”

”That’s a good idea.” Sabine pulled out her phone. Max had provided his contact after he spoke to her after she royally messed things up. She sent off a message to him.

”Max, there’s something going down at the hotel. The Hex Girls cheated and more than likely tried to mess with Leah before the match. I know we won, but I don’t think they should get away with it. But I’m trying to use my powers here at the hotel to find their room but someone is blocking me from using my powers and I can’t find out who. Can you help?”

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: Haven
Grimoire: N/A
Skills: N/A
Current Outfit

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Cassie’s face fell at Willow, essentially blowing her off. Cassie wanted to help her new friend who seemed to struggle, seeing eye moth or not. ”All right, so be it.” Cassie debated going to the bar for her own drink but decided against it. For now. Really, it was best to see how the evening shaped up.

Rohan appeared to be telling a story and had an audience. But Willow had joined him and since Willow didn’t want her following her around Cassie looked for an opportunity elsewhere. This was when an ice breaker was suggested. Cassie had some experience with the style of game, mainly from church groups where the raciest thing someone admitted to was drinking a bit too much communion wine and jumping off the roof of the church and breaking their ankle.

She was curious to see what sins the others would admit to.

However, the twins had other plans. They produced an assortment of treats that looked wild and wonderful in equal measure. Barty took initiative and popped a candy on his lips as he inched closer to Cal, attempting to have him take it from him.

Cassie blushed as Cal did so, teasing. The relationship between some of the people who have been here was rather…risque. Was this to be expected?

Cal hadn’t chosen her, which, admittedly, made Cassie a bit self-conscious. Did no one want to be around her anymore? Perhaps she needed to show some of her own initiative. But who to share it with?

Cassie glanced around. There was Willow but Cassie did not want to appear like a puppy dog trailing its master. She didn’t trust the twins so much. Rohan wasn’t interested. And the others she didn’t know. But her eyes fell on Jake. Jake was happy despite the strangeness around them. He seemed to be in a good mood no matter what and Cassie wanted to relate.

So she strode forward, taking one of the candies that was on offer, a circle of green and purple, and walked closer to him. ”Hey Jake. We haven’t really gotten to talk a lot, but I’m Cassie. Would you like a piece of candy?” she asked, holding it out. She wasn’t about to have Jake kiss her for it.

”Hey, Cassie!!! I’m Jake!! Wait, you said that already,” he then realized, bouncing up and down slightly. He didn’t know much about this game. He didn’t really know anything about it. Was the point of it just to eat candy? People seemed excited about it so far. He didn’t really have an interest in food, but if his friends wanted to play this game, then he was happy too. And he was so giddy that Cassie had wanted to start with him! No one had ever picked him before!! ”Yes!! Here, you can have one too!!” he shoved his hand into the jar, tempted to offer Cassie a huge assortment of candies, before deciding on one that had a bit of a pyramid shape. He offered it out to her, beaming, before accepting the purple green one she’d given him in exchange.

Jake put the piece of candy in his mouth and swallowed immediately. Immediately, he felt incredible. It was like his senses had been dialed up to eleven, his body just more awake, more alive. And as he went to squeal about how strange this all felt to Cassie, how energized he’d become, no sound came from his lips - instead, a stream of sixteen pink bubbles, each about the size of his fist, flew out.

Jake’s energy was infectious and soon Cassie found herself bouncing on her heels. She accepted the candy from Jake and put it in her mouth, letting the flavor melt before she swallowed.

Soon, Cassie felt something. It was like she was floating. As she moved her head, she could feel herself almost fly away. She giggled, especially as bubbles began to fly out of Jake’s mouth. She popped a few. ”Whoa, have you always been able to do that? So lucky!”

She watched as the sides of her vision blurred and colors came in and out of clarity. She tried to walk but felt so floaty she nearly fell. She giggled again. She felt good. Even if…wait…what was that?

Cassie looked over at the wall on the right side of the room. No, surely not. Nothing was there. No, it did it again! She was sure of it now. ”Whoa, I think there’s something in the walls. It’s moving and grooving!”

Jake wanted to say: I don’t know!! This isn’t normal?? Maybe I have bubble magic!! But as he opened his mouth, only more pink bubbles spewed out - a few of them colliding with Cassie and bursting, leaving a sickly sweet residue on the side of her face. But at her exclamation that there was something in the walls, he turned his head rapidly, so excited and curious only to see… a wall! A wall. It was just a wall. He pouted slightly. He wanted to see the wall move and groove!! He wanted to see it dance!!

Cassie observed the wall more closely now. She was sure something in it was moving to an imaginary beat. Before she could reiterate this glowing point to Jake, the scholar that he is, one of his magic bubbles popped on her face. She let out a torrent of laughter. ”Aww, now I am all sticky!”

She moved closer to Jake now, unafraid of his bubble magic. ”You know I never thought about it but colors are weird, right? Like, who decided to look at the sky and was like…hey, that’s blue now?”

Jake gasped. Cassie had such a good point! Why were things the colors that they were? Did someone decide? Was it all random? There must have been someone calling the shots, someone with a detailed plan and an extensive list of demands about how the world should work. But instead of sharing any of that with Cassie, more bubbles came out of his mouth. He couldn’t talk! This was so funny! Why did his candy make him not able to talk and let Cassie see the secrets of walls?

”I think we’re supposed to have a conversation but I imagine that’s difficult with bubble mouth. And I swear that wall has something in it. Probably secrets.” Cassie floated over to the wall to inspect it. ”Please share with me the secrets of the universe wall.”