Winds and Light Wizards

“Yeah, Netflix has some good shows, but it also has some shows that are just… weird. Or boring. Or just plain horrible.”

Feferi nodded in agreement about the dorm. “Yeah, absolutely. And other things, too. Like if I don’t get my homework, I can just duck over and ask someone in the dorm for help, or ask to meet someone in the library in two minutes and we can work on it together. It’s nice, having people you like so close to you.”

#avantattitude #Sleepover Saturday in 102

“Being close to my friends is good, although it can be annoying to be so near to everyone in the school.” Aranea was actually very lucky that she had the dorm space to herself, at least for now. “So a classic, or a gamble?”

Aranea hovered her mouse over one of the movies, its little synopsis popping up on the screen. “It’s easier to make friends when keeping in touch is going outside more than 10 minutes before class.” She wasn’t very used to being good at making - or keeping - friends. But the academy had given her many chances to do just that.

Ey Yo Shawty

He bit back a growl of annoyance, narrowing his eyes. “If you’re not gonna do anything helpful, you could just leave.” he told her in annoyance, running his fingers across the spine of every single book up on the correct shelf, trying to find the correct one.

#twiinacademics #ey yo shawty

Aranea chuckled, replying, “I could. I could also not.” She was “patiently” waiting for Sollux to find his book, and she had already helped him. Might as well stick around to see him find it, or not. The latter would be funnier but the former more satisfying.

Ey Yo Shawty

And now it seemed he might just be on his own. He frowned a bit, biting his lip but in the very least managing to drag the stool over to the basic area where he had been previously. Now, he just had to figure out where exactly that book had been again, so he could actually position the stool properly, reach up and grab it…

#twiinacademics #ey yo shawty #aranea u lil

“You got it yet?” She teased, knowing full well the blind boy did not, in fact, have his book yet. It was just funny to her to watch him struggle to get it, although she did understand the pain of his difficulties. She just preferred to watch, out of amusement for the most part. She’d helped him with what he needed, he’d figure out the rest.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

“Yeah! Like, watching movies with a twist ending, or the whodunit movies. It’s always more fun to have a lot of people around to guess and speculate and talk about than to just think of who you think did it.” Feferi beamed at her. “I think Equius likes sci-fi too, and so do I, so we might want to start looking in that section.

“I’ll get it!” She hurried over once there was a knock on the door, smiling and giving Equius a quick hug, shutting the door behind them and following them back over to the pillow pile. “Oh, you brought your own blanket and pillow. I forgot. Whatever, my dorm’s over there, I can just go grab some if I need it later.”

#avantattitude #Sleepover Saturday in 102 #since nova left we'll just make eq npc uwu

“Sci-fi, sci-fi…” Aranea mumbled as Feferi got up to retrieve their friend from the door. “We could watch the classic Star Trek movies, or Star Wars. Those are the true epitome of sci-fi. There’s the whole section of it on here…though most of them look like crap.”

She scrolled through the sci-fi section of Netflix, very disinterested in most of the titles. “The dorms make sleepovers real easy, don’t they?” She did like that it wasn’t too far from anyone else. She had all her friends only as far as a floor away at any given time. It was…nice, to say the least.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

“I mean, if someone spoils it, that’s no fun, but speculating is half the fun in a movie! Everything’s just… more with friends. Like more intense! Like in a scary movie, you might jump if you’re watching it by yourself, but you’d probably scream if you had a bunch of friends there. What kind of movie do you want to watch?” She nodded slightly. “I usually get corrections on pitch, I have a tendency to shriek and squeal.”

“Tell them I saw their posters and I hope they someone to help out soon!” She told Aranea when she began texting, still smiling from the comment about the brick wall. Aranea could be very forceful, but she could also be very sweet. She made a great friend. “Oh, maybe you should ask them if they have a preference on genres!”

#avantattitude #Sleepover Saturday in 102

“You’re right, everything is more fun with friends around. It gets all excited in the room, I love it. That’s why I wanted to have a sleepover!” was her excited response. Just having the bubbly girl around was enough to boost her mood. “Romantic comedies are always fun, but I love mysteries and sci-fi too. Anything goes, actually!”

She added on to her messages what Fef had said and the question ‘what genre of movie would you prefer we try to pick out?’. It was important to her to not pick something the others wouldn’t want. Then what would the point be? “Alright, now we just have to wait for their reply. Or maybe they’ll surprise us and just get here first.”

Ey Yo Shawty

He raised a brow slightly at her wording, but didn’t say anything about it.

“Yeah, I suppose.” he sighed, frowning a little as he hoisted the thing up, frowning a little. Trying to maneuver while carrying both this and his cane and trying not to bump into anything was going to be… a huge pain, to say the least.

#ey yo shawty #twiinacademics

Aranea’s work was done, so now she was just watching. It was interesting how capable Sollux seemed to be despite not being able to see anything he was doing. It was kind of amazing, but at the same time almost sad. Not that she actually was thinking it through that far.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

“Shame on you, Aranea! You should know by now I’ve very interested in what you have to say.” Most of the time. Well, a good portion more than anybody else, at any rate. Enough for it to count, she felt. “And I like to get chattery during a movie too, you have no idea how many glares I’ve gotten at plays or movies or things like that.

“Aw, no, I’ll just skip the popcorn or steal some of yours. And you should definitely ask Equ. Their sense of humor is pretty hysterical, especially if we’re watching a sci-fi movie.” She shrugged. “You know me, Aranea, I could make friends with a brick wall. I don’t mind who you invite, it’s your party-sleepover-movie night thing!”

#avantattitude #sleepover saturday in 102

“You can never be too careful. Not everyone has the same attitude towards movie chatter.” Aranea knew to be considerate around those whose opinions mattered to her. As long as she received full confirmation that she could talk, however, that would be opening the metaphorical floodgates. “I know what you mean. There’s a reason I am very aware of whatever given volume my voice is.”

She did very much enjoy Equius’s company. The two had been friends for awhile now, and Aranea had even helped them come out as genderfluid. It would be fun to have two of her close friends with her. “The brick wall would make friends with you first. It would want to, anyway. I’ll ask them if they want to come while we decide on a movie.” She began typing in a message to Equius on her phone.

Ey Yo Shawty

He just quietly followed after her, walking at her heels, wondering where the hell they were going. He paused when they stopped, pursing his lips slightly.

“Will what—?” Ow wait ow. Just got fucking smacked in this shin with something. He stooped over slightly, running his hands along the thing to identify it. A stepstool. He supposed that’d probably work.

“Yeah. I mean, I think so. Thanks.”

#ey yo shawty #twiinacademics

Aranea didn’t feel like she needed to communicate every little thing she was doing to the other boy. Then again, she wasn’t used to being around anyone blind either.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we.” That wasn’t really…a question…she was making it more of a statement. “At least it’ll get you closer. And you can say you tried.” She felt a little awkward watching him maneuver with his hands. The idea that someone couldn’t see partially didn’t fully process for her, and partially just made her sad. Without eyes a lot of her favorite media wouldn’t be available. It made her appreciate her eyesight, as bad as it was or had been.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

“Oh, Aranea, of course they would! Your comments are going to have me sobbing with laughter before the first one is over.” She assured her, grabbing her in a tight hug and giving her a squeeze before heading for the softest area of the room, the pillow pile with the laptop, and joining Aranea on the fluffy cushions.

“Aw, don’t worry, I always get kernels stuck in my teeth and I don’t want to be sprinting back to my room to find dental floss.” She settled back. “But I don’t doubt someone else will bring popcorn too. We can always text someone later, if they say they’re coming.”

#sleepover saturday in 102 #avantattitude

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Fef. You’d be surprised how much I can talk when I’m interested…” Aranea was not a very good movie-watching buddy. She accepted the hug happily. “I’m glad you joined me, either way.” She settled into the pillow collection, absently scrolling through her Netflix queue.

“You can always go get it now before we start.” She shrugged. “I might ask Eq if they want to come, but I don’t know almost anyone else well enough. At least, anyone who you’d be comfortable with me inviting.” She knew inviting her girlfriend - and Feferi’s sister - to a fun friend thing would not be a good mix.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

Feferi was weaving her hair into two loose braids when her phone started buzzing, not getting any attention until both braids were secured with a pink hair tie. Scooping up her phone, she woke it up again and grinned as she swiped the message. Having her step-sister’s girlfriend in her contacts turned out to be good for more than just questions about her sister’s whereabouts, she could also go see a movie!

Movie night meant she didn’t have to change out of her shorts and tank top pajamas.

She threw on a sports bra for decency’s sake before exiting her own dorm room and heading down the hall, easily finding room 102 and knocking loudly on it. “Aranea!”

#avantattitude #sleepover saturday in 102

Aranea didn’t have to wait too long to hear her girlfriend’s little sister at the door. “Feferi!” she exclaimed as she clambered to her feet and half-jogged to the door. “I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually want to sit with me and watch something random off of Netflix.” She gestured to let the Peixes into her room.

“I’ve only got two bags of popcorn, so we’ve gotta go slow.” She shut the door once Feferi was inside, going back over towards her pillow pile, plopping down next to her laptop and gesturing for Feferi to do the same.

Sleepover Saturday in 102

Movie night. It'd sounded like a fun idea, but Aranea had forgotten a key part of movie night. Inviting people. She'd need at least one or two friends to make it really fun. She could try testing this out, just for once. Holding onto her phone, she began typing vigorously into "Alternia Academy Students" that she "invited first come first served to movie night in room 102. Pm!" It was a silly ad of sorts, but she was already comfortable in pajamas. She awaited a reply with freshly opened popcorn, a laptop with Netflix opened (paid for by her adoring father), and a pile of pillows. God she was hoping that someone she at least semi-knew would reply. That almost covered everyone at this point, though, so she was just hoping for anyone to reply.

#AAstuck open #aastuck #I'd love anyone

8usy8lockingouttheh8ters

Saturd8y in Room 102

First week at Alternia Academy fucking beat. And not a single trace of little half-sis. Well, high time to go and seek her out- and a little bit of snooping went a long way in a school with so few students. Room numbers weren’t exactly some big secret anyways, though. Not long after getting dressed up in some ripped designer jeans and a dark blue tee (weekends = no uniforms. Perfect.) she got a message back that her destination would be Room 102.

She took the short walk to Aranea’s room and knocked, hoping to god that she 1) had the right room and 2) a confused roomie wouldn’t answer just to tell Vriska that Aranea was out for the weekend.

The Serket siblings had never been particularly close. They were friends on the Internet, and chatted from time to time. Never got particularly close. Aranea was touched when Vriska started attending her clarinet performances when she could. She'd heard that her older half-sister was going to attend the school she did, but she hadn't looked into it too much.

Right now she was copying down some information from one of her many books to organize into notes. Notes on fantasy creatures, but notes nonetheless. She heard a knock on her door, however, and so she put down her pencil and her paper. She smoothed out her dress and, despite not having shoes on, confidently walked to the entrance to her room. Swinging open the door, she was a little dumbfounded. After a moment she realized she should speak. "Hello Vriska."

#to tag later #np dear!

Ey Yo Shawty

Being short is stupid and obnoxious.

Luckily, however, it seemed that that other girl had it in her heart to pity him enough to help, turning slightly at her voice before nodding a little. As if he had much of a choice. He just followed her quietly, able to track the sound of her footsteps fairly easily in the quiet of the library, keeping close to her as they walked.

#twiinacademics #ey yo shawty

Not even noticing his head nod as she continued on her way, Aranea brought Sollux into the next aisle. They had to continue even more before finding a stool. It would probably be enough if they really reached.

"Here, think this will work?" She pushed it over towards the kid and made sure it hit the side of his leg as she did so he wouldn't trip over it. He probably would anyways, but this was already a favor.

Ey Yo Shawty

Ugh, alright. He could work with that, probably. Well, he could try to. Biting the inside of his lip, he nodded a little.

”Oh-kayy…” he muttered, carefully beginning to make his way over to the next aisle, letting his hands drag across the shelves in order to guide him before starting to blindly (haha) search for some sort of stepping stool with his feet, scowling to himself and feeling vaguely like an idiot as he kind of just kicked around with his feet. Oh my god this was fucking impossible, it would be easier to just scale the shelves.

#twiinacademics #ey yo shawty

Aranea continued on her private quest for a book. She didn't actually have a book in mind. Reading was just her pasttime. She read all the time. If she didn't have a book to be reading, it would be reasonable to suspect that she was trying to find a new one.

She did, however, have a moment where she felt bad for the kid. Maybe, just maybe, she felt somewhat bad for him because they had a tiny, idiotic connection. They were both stupidly, extremely, short. And maybe that made her want to help him that much. "Follow me," she instructed, returning towards him and gently brushing his hand with hers. At least she'd be the one in control here.

Expressions

mer-gangsta-blog

Meenah bit her tongue at the work comment. She wasn’t one for dismissing her work, but this was one time and she knew Eridan and Equius could hold down the fort for a while longer. She had never shirked work before, not once, so she let herself believe for a temporary amount of time that what she was doing could be acceptable. If she came back with burgers, Eq and Eri wouldn’t even be mad about it. It’s just… This felt important to the teen heiress. It felt more important than work at the moment, and even more important than breathing for a moment. Right, breathe. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, the Peixes let herself relax a bit at the piano bench, fingers poised over the keys as she hesitated, then slowly started to play.

She played “I’m a Ruin” by Marina and The Diamonds, remembering learning the song a long time ago for her sister during a vocal competition. She was the accompanist for her sister, and from practicing it constantly for a solid month, the song was ingrained into her. It felt fitting to play it for Aranea, the one person she felt like she might have wronged. The Peixes should have stayed the night instead of leaving, she should have taken Aranea’s invitation instead of stepping back with heavy breathe. She felt like Aranea was shyer now, more guarded after that, which hurt a bit. And Meenah wasn’t good at expressing herself with this kind of stuff. Anger was easy, it was harder being gentle, being careful and warm, not just burning hot. But she wanted to be there with Aranea, she wanted to learn to be just warm. For her. Aranea.

Not even thinking about it, Meenah was playing the intro for an extended period of time. Quickly snapping out of it, she began to hum the first words, working up to singing carefully as she began, “… I know I’m playing with your heart, and I could treat you better but I’m not that smart…" slowly at first, almost worried Aranea would tell her to stop before fully relaxing and playing with more of her heart, feeling the keys and breathing in the music like this was all she could say, "I’ll ruin, yeah, I’ll ruin you… I’ve been doing things I shouldn’t do…" She lulled, words pouring out of her like water in a fountain, "…You still can’t look me in the eye, ‘cause you’ve been bitten once and now you’re twice as shy. I’ve had my share of beautiful men, but I’m still young and wanna love again…" continuing, the room filling with sound as she kept going even though her fingers had since began to tremble as she played, "… And I’ve tried to stay. Babe, I’m gonna ruin you if you let me stay… You still mean everything to me… It doesn’t feel right and it doesn’t feel fair… Don’t wanna keep a secret, but I don’t know how to keep it fair…" Meenah pressed, eyes moving from her hands as they continued to play, her gaze fixing on Aranea as she tried to apologize for everything with her eyes, "But I don’t wanna say goodbye, but, baby, I don’t wanna lie… To lie, to lie to you… I’m a ruin…" she finished, fingers not moving from their end places as she sat there, still watching Aranea as they sat there in silence. Because silence was easier to swallow than saying anything else for the teen heiress.

#mergangsta #expressions #/lays on floor #/flails

Aranea had never seen Meenah do anything but be diligent at her job. Even when they sat together while the Peixes was on break, they promptly waved goodbye when it was over. Right now, she could care less about any career. Maybe that was a little harsh. Who would care. Being there, not being able to breathe, watching keys on a piano being pressed to create a melody. A melody that pierced her ears, her eyes, her throat. It wove itself through her and made her feel everything right there. She wanted to speak but any word that attempted to crawl out of her throat was strangled by the thoughts and the song that was saying everything she didn't want to hear because it validated everything she was thinking, validated every emotion that'd been driving her insane in the past day. It wasn't fair because it made her feel.

With every word, every part of the song, she didn't think about what the person writing it had been thinking. Had been feeling. It was as if Meenah - right there, right then - was saying everything through a song that was just for her. For Aranea Serket, the silly sophomore who had never been on a date, had never kissed a boy (she had, however, now kissed a girl). Who had never before felt her heart swell with feelings that she hadn't said yes to, yet begged for at the same time. She had felt like she wasn't worthy of anything that'd happened. She'd talked to Meenah before Halloween, but never anything more than morning coffee or passing one another in the halls. And for a split second, at that party, she'd been hoping that, through the alcohol, there was something really there. Having been left alone, to run to her dorm, wash herself off, and curl up trying to ignore everything swirling in her head. It felt like all at once she was breaking again and that little spark of hope she'd had was back.

The Serket was unaware the song was over for a few seconds, her eyes having to blink and stare at the keys for another moment to bring her down to earth. She didn't know whether she was going to throw herself at the other girl, unlikely, say nothing, also unlikely, say something wrong, the most probable, or start crying, also probable. It only took one moment of slipping up for her to cry, for tears to stain her face and drip onto her lap. She was trying to pull herself together, to figure out if she was crying for joy or for heartbreak, and managed to say two words. Two words that made no sense to say after…whatever that was. "Thank you." They were shaky. And sounded a little uneven. But she said them, and with the hand not currently rubbing smudged makeup off the corners of her eyes and her cheeks reached out to grab Meenah's hand. To confirm for her that it really wasn't a dream. Or something she wanted, but wasn't quite there. To make it really real.

mer-gangsta-blog

Meenah knew better than to just simply ask her girlfriend to the Valentine’s dance. They’d been dating for a while, but it just so happened that they never really ever went on a real date. A date as in, just the two of them on a planned excursion that was meant to be just them. The teen heiress knew what she had always wanted to do with Aranea - taking her ice skating, going into stores and trying tons of stuff on but not buying anything, sitting in Aranea’s room watching movies they both liked in their pyjamas - but the Peixes’ brain just would not let it be that simple. So here she was, standing at work in a freshly cleaned dress shirt and pants as she waited eagerly behind the counter for her girlfriend to enter. Things were planned out perfectly, Meenah just needed the final piece of the puzzle to be-

Oh, there she was. At least that meant it was time for Meenah to get her plans back in place now, her finishing plugging in an order before handing the next customer over to Eridan, the teen heiress not even wasting time walking around the counter as she slid over it, hand grabbing the bouquet she got - white roses with the very tips of the petals hand-dyed blue - from behind the counter before landing a few feet from Aranea. She knew very well her face had cracked into her usual shit-eating grin regardless of her own nervousness, and didn’t even hesitate to thrust the bouquet a little too roughly towards Aranea before talking quickly, “)(ey, gill. Good mornin’ right? Shoal, these are shore you, though ya already probubbly guessed that. I-I mean, obviously they’re shore you, yoar the shoalnly gill I reely pike right here. An’ by here, I mean everywhere. Shoal, don’t worry if ya thought I didn’t mean you alwaves are my gill!” Shit. Instincts bad.